This is one of those series that I continued following because the small fan base for it seemed particularly passionate. All indications were that the series would be pretty much your normal reverse-harem series, albeit with an especially spunky female protagonist (with a refreshing lack of weepy shoujo qualities, I might add) and an international flavor. Not a terrible series, but not something I was that eager to see more of. Instead, the series appears to take its silly-sounding setup in a stride and then gradually delves more into the financial and political interactions between the protagonist's family business and a fictional country called Laginay, leaving the major romantic aspects to the side (at least for the time being).

Kajika Barnesworth, the central character, is a 14-year-old who has lived a pretty sheltered life, growing up on an island with a leopard named Mustafa and a boy named Li-Ren as her closest companions. Just as Kajika travels to Japan to spend some time in a real public school and make some real friends, something that she's wished for, she's summoned to her father's side. He has a proposition - he has chosen three men from which Kajika can choose a husband. In doing so, he'll reveal to Kajika certain truths about her past which he has kept from her. Kajika, almost amused by this, agrees to the setup, despite some mixed feelings from Li-Ren (jealous, perhaps?).

Li-Ren, Mustafa and Kajika on the beach of their island home.

She meets the first candidate soon afterward, a beautiful but aloof man named Eugene. Kajika takes one look at him and decides that he's the reincarnation of her beloved snow leopard, Mustafa , an attitude which irritates Eugene to no end. It also turns out that Eugene is quite the ladykiller, literally - more than a few women associated with him have ended up committing suicide, a major red flag that sets the protective Li-Ren on edge. Kajika, ever goal-oriented, attends Eugene's private birthday celebration in spite of his protests to the contrary, and eventually learns of his tragic past. Eugene is on a mission to commit suicide like his mother, since he feels that he was merely a tool for his father's revenge against Eugene's grandmother, who favored her other, more beautiful son over Eugene's father. Kajika snaps him out of it and gets him to want to live his life again.

Eugene is quite the charmer and, at least to Kajika, resembles the noble leopard, Mustafa.

The second candidate appears at a dinner party Li-Ren's family is hosting. The second Prince of Laginay, a haughty boy named Lumati, appears, and Kajika is instantly drawn to him, calling him "Orient Blue" (after his striking blue eyes) until she learns his true name. When an attempt is made on his life, the two end up alone together and Kajika manages to temper his rude attitude. By the end of their ordeal, the two are unlikely friends, though Lumati must live with the fact that his older brother, the crown prince with a weak physical constitution, has tried to assassinate him. The attendant who made the attempt on his life is exiled from Laginay, but Kajika keeps the man on as a bodyguard.

Kajika meets Lumati, who she prevents from beating up an attacker.

After a brief visit to Japan where Kajika reconnects with Yui, her friend from school, and spends some time with Eugene, who inadvertently wows everyone with his beautiful appearance, the story time-jumps backwards to 1955, when a conference involving countries all over the world was held in New York. The Prince of Laginay at the time, Mahati, attends in his sick father's stead. He is also plagued by assassins, people who wish to destroy the Laginayan monarchy and turn rule over to Britain. Mahati is aided in his escape by a woman named Kathleen, who mistakenly thinks that he intends to attend a costume party at a local cabaret club. Mahati, only fifteen years old, gets a sip of champagne and wants more, but Kathleen won't allow it unless he's more forthcoming. Mahati rashly makes her his attendant, thus making her worthy to interact with him. Eventually the two fall in love, but even though Mahati wants to make Kathleen his wife, their positions make this difficult. Mahati returns to Laginay to try and convince his family to allow their relationship, while Kathleen remains, already pregnant, supported by her dear friend, Fred Barnesworth.

Mahati and Kathleen, two unlikely lovers.

We learn that this brief union produced Harry Barnesworth, Kajika's father, which of course begs the question: when Mahati returned to Laginay and became King, wouldn't the progression of heirs make Lumati Kajika's relative? If so, then why would Harry Barnesworth have chosen Lumati to be part of his "game"? While marriage between cousins is accepted in many countries, it seems like an odd thing to have happen in an anime (and yes, that even takes into account the fact that there have been anime about brother-sister incest).

While this could very well have been a fairly-decent reverse-harem series on its own, the questions that arise regarding Harry Barnesworth's motives in setting his daughter up, as well as the varied political and social entanglements involving the various families (including a third - the Fang family of Hong Kong, of which Li-Ren is a member) makes one wonder whether Kajika's marriage and the romantic elements leading up to it are really the focus of the series. I'm beginning to think that something else is going on here and that we really aren't going to spend 39(!) episodes sitting around and waiting for one person to confess their love to the other. A fact which suits me just fine, thank you.

A more lighthearted moment from the show - Kajika and Yui have dinner with a trio of attractive men, surprising Yui's family.

I have mixed feelings about Kajika as a character. I appreciate the fact that she's different from many other shoujo heroines. She's outgoing, forthcoming, and goes after the things that she wants, which is a definite plus. It's irritating to sit through a series and have to deal with a heroine who cries all the time and whose personal happiness seems to hinge on whether she can make the right chocolate for her love-interest on Valentine's Day or get him to walk her home from school. On the other hand, Kajika is very naive to the point of believing in silly things. Naming Eugene as "Mustafa" was nearly enough to get me to stop watching the show early on, since the concept was so silly and yet she believed in it so thoroughly (and to this point, she still calls him by that name).

Kajika innocently pesters Lumati for more info about himself.

I think at this point I'm still onboard with the story, though. Once it was clear that this wasn't going to be a bunch of guys doing nothing but trying to court a young lady (I had nightmares of various competitions taking place) I felt more comfortable watching it. I'm curious to see how the family politics play out, and I really want to learn about what's going through Harry Barnesworth's mind. And of course there's the fact that the third suitor hasn't been introduced yet. I'm curious to see how he fits into the picture, with Eugene serving the role of an old friend and Lumati unexpectedly being in the family.

Fred Barnesworth and Mahati - two men with ties to Kajika.

I'm not really into the whole shipping thing, either, but I'm kind of rooting for Li-Ren ;) While not one of the "chosen" suitors, it's kind of obvious that he holds a special place very close to Kajika, whether she realizes it or not.

*cough*

In any case, the show is more than what it appears to be on the surface. Much like the author's other manga-turned-anime Jyu-Oh-Sei, this series has some flaws but remains enjoyable and fairly unique in spite of them. It's certainly not just the eye-candy series it might seem like at first, and once more political aspects of the story start popping up, it becomes fairly engaging. For now, definitely a keeper.

Souten
Kourou

Number of episodes: 26
Production Studio: Madhouse Studios
Fansub Release Viewed: KSN
Likelihood of US Release: Low

   

Here we have yet another anime adaptation of the famous Chinese epic, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, only this time the story focuses on the character of Sou Sou (Cao Cao in Chinese), traditionally more of an antagonist in the story.

Marie and Gali

Number of episodes: TBA
Production Studio: Toei Animation
Fansub Release Viewed: SFW
Likelihood of US Release: Low

Marika is a gothic lolita with a disinterest in science. One day she takes the train and ends up in a strange place named Galihabara, and meets the scientist Galileo, along with history’s other famous scientists.

Note: This contains major plot spoilers for the series so far.

I've found that sometimes anime series aimed at children are great just because they're in the unique position to be accessible to a very wide audience, and can therefore present ideas that are meaningful in different ways to people of different ages. This isn't true with all or even the majority of kids anime - just as in the United States, there's an awful lot of animation for kids that amounts to nothing more than an extended toy advertisement or a serialized account of characters kicking each-others' asses for personal gain. But every once-in-a-while, there's a real gem to be had, and Kemono no Souja Erin definitely fits the bill.

The show begins with a bang, introducing the Toudas, mounted fighting lizards, then draws back to focus on the small town that raises the beasts. Erin is a young girl who lives with her mother Soyon, the head caretaker for the Toudas. I assumed at this point the series would be a standard coming-of-age story, with Erin learning how to care for the Touda while learning valuable life lessons and also having fun adventures. It's a kids' show, after all. What I didn't expect was for things to turn dark so quickly.

Soyon and Erin share a brief moment alone together before they're torn apart.

Throughout the opening six episodes or so, there are hints that Soyon might eventually find herself in deep trouble - the race of people to which she was born is mysterious and the people of Ake village distrust them to begin with; she is a woman in a major position of power, which is unusual; there are multiple mentions of Touda caretakers being executed for mistakes involving the sacred beasts; and a certain member of royalty appears to have sinister intentions with far-reaching consequences. By Episode 7, Soyon and the village have been held responsible for the death of the Duke's own Touda, and Soyon takes on the brunt of the blame in order to save her comrades.

Erin tries to save her mother, while Soyon uses the last of her strength to send her daughter to safety.

By the end of the 7th episode, Soyon is dead, having been judged by Touda Trial (a brutal form of execution where the accused is literally eaten alive by Touda) and Erin is set adrift, having been rescued one last time by her mother. She is taken in by Jone, a bee keeper, and a new chapter in her life is opened.

Jone plays a tune on the harp near the fireside.

One reason the show is successful is that Erin is both an energetic and smart character. She first learns numerous skills from her mother, and then absorbs more from Jone, surprising him at every turn. In other words, the series isn't focused on wacky, meaningless adventures. Rather, it focuses on character growth and hints that, eventually, Erin may be involved in a much larger conflict involving herself, members of royalty, and possibly members of the Mist people who have, thus far, been in the shadows.

The energetic and curious Erin questions a mysterious man about his music.

The animation and art direction so far has been deceptively simple; I say this because the bright, colorful backgrounds appear to also have a beautiful hand-drawn quality - it's difficult to speculate about what is drawn with physical media these days and what is created on a computer, but the backgrounds appear to be created using pastels and watercolors - that give the appearance of extra work having been done on them. The character designs are cute but not cutesy, which is a difficult balance to maintain.

Erin's vision of her mother's death sentence demonstrates some of the show's beautiful art direction.

The only things that have bothered me so far have been Nukku and Mukku, two comedy-relief characters that tend to take some of the impact away from the events of the series. They were even present during Soyon's execution, which I thought wasn't the best choice. It's probably the one really major reminder that this series is aimed at young people.

With the brief introduction of the Beast Lords in episode 12 (flying beasts that seem to be a cross between wolves or lions and birds), a new potential conflict may have arisen. The question is, what will Erin's role be?

Mainichi
Kaasan

Number of episodes: 13
Production Studio: Gallop
Fansub Release Viewed: Timo
Likelihood of US Release:
Streaming at Crunchyroll.com

 

A mother deals with juggling her job as a cartoonist and taking care of her family in this sit-com about her daily life.

Hayate
no Gotoku:
Season 2

Number of episodes: 13
Production Studio: J.C. Staff
Fansub Release Viewed: SS-Eclipse
Likelihood of US Release:
Streaming at Crunchyroll.com

  

The comedy/romance/parody/harem series returns for a second season, in this story of an unfortunate teenage boy turned butler for a high-maintenance teenage girl otaku.

This will probably be a surprise to most of the people who follow this site and/or blog: I did, in fact, watch Queen's Blade in its entirety. From what I've been told, I think that I'm one of the few amateur anime reviewers who has seen it, or at least admits to having seen it - I'm sure more people watched it than are willing to talk about it publicly. Before you start thinking that my standards have slipped into the sewer or that I'm running a really high fever, I'll let it be known that the reason I kept watching it wasn't because I thought the show was good or even had some sort of hidden merit; it didn't. To be honest, I'm not quite sure what kept me going. There have been times in the past where I've watched entire series (or good portions of them) because I know people will try to get into an argument with me about how the only reason I haven't liked it is because I "haven't watched enough of it" (believe me, one episode is more than enough to tell if something is going to be worth my time or not, but many people fail to realize that). However, the general consensus regarding Queen's Blade has been that it's a terrible show, and I agree. I think what kept me watching it has a lot to do with plain curiosity - how far would the fanservice go? And admit it, when you see a terrible accident, you just have to slow down and stare.

Melona, the on-again, off-again antagonist, takes on a frightening final form (wearing nothing on top, of course).

Queen's Blade is, obviously, a fanservice anime. However, I honestly can't say which fans it's trying to service. Whereas most series stick to being teasing and tantalizing - some bouncy boobs here, a few panty shots there, and a good sprinkling of compromising situations for the characters to get into - this series has all the finesse of a full-blown hentai anime. More often than not, the characters end up bare chested (they're not really wearing all that much in the first place, so one explosive magic spell and there you have it), and every creative camera angle and cover-up is used to hide the fact that, yes, they're often bare-bottomed as well. In one sense, one becomes deadened to the fact that there are bare breasts on-screen at all (I could go into an argument here about over-sexualization of these functional female body parts, but I think that would do the series too much of a service). When the execution itself undermines the sexiness factor, the creators are obviously not doing a good job.

Covercat thinks this pic is NSFW (click to see image).

There are also quite a few extremely uncomfortable moments in the series that turn it from "sexy fantasy romp" into "grotesque and depressing." When Reina first faces the assassin Echidna, a woman who wears a snake in place of underwear, they battle it up in an oil-wrestling ring. If the scene had been some sort of catfight, there may have been some voyeuristic entertainment to be had, but the way the scene played out made it seem more like some sort of sexual assault was taking place (which may have been intentional, it's hard to tell). There's also more than one instance of characters peeing themselves. I've heard it argued that the paralysis or intense fear one would experience in the situations these characters were facing would make such a reaction likely, but considering the nature of the rest of the story, realism isn't particularly high on the production checklist. It's obvious that these acts of incontinence were included to provide some light scat fetish content, and also, more insidiously (and perhaps not entirely consciously by the production staff) to undermine the characters and make them less threatening to the viewership. A woman with a sword is much less threatening to someone's masculinity if she cannot even control her most basic bodily functions.

Even the character designs themselves stray too far into the grotesque. Most characters are more curvaceous than the average, which is to be expected. But then there's Cattleya, who happens to have admirable goals (she works as a blacksmith and takes care of her son while they search for her missing husband) but is also cursed with a chest that defies all rational definition. Melona, a recurring antagonist, is a shape-shifting demon who fights with acid she squeezes from her breasts. The aforementioned Echidna exudes a very creepy predatory sexuality that often causes more discomfort than arousal. It's as if whoever created the characters thought to themself "gee, lesbians with big tits are really hot" and assumed that more automatically equals better. I'm sorry to say that it's really not.

Even Nanael seems tired of all the gigantic boobs surrounding her.

I think the sad part about the show is that it really tries to find some sort of merit in its main character's goals. Reina begins the series as a driven but unskilled warrior, and through her continued refusal to give up and go back home, manages to acquire some fighting skill and a special attack (the Dragon Tail). Unfortunately, though some might argue this indicates character growth, I feel more like the character herself didn't grow or change, she just managed to somehow acquire more skill and remains the obnoxiously bullheaded character she was at the beginning. There's some attempt at fleshing out the relationship between Reina and her sister Claudette (who might be adopted or a bastard child, I was never very clear on how that played out), but their multiple conflicts never really resulted in any palpable drama. Twice Reina nearly fell to her death from a high cliff, and yet I never really felt any sense of danger either time. One of the basic requirements for enjoyment of a series is that the audience like or at least care about the characters and what happens to them. In this case, most characters feel like nothing more than empty shells spitting out dialog, so it's really no wonder I had no attachment to them.

Unfortunately, the story doesn't come to a close at the end of episode 12; the payoff after the credits roll is news of a second season. Essentially the series promises a fight for the throne, but meanders so much that nothing really gets accomplished - considering how low-budget the production seems, adding more episodes of this cheaply-produced ecchi series is probably a more appealing prospect than animating something in the vein of higher art, so to extend the story in this way makes some sense. I have no idea what the viewership numbers for the series are, and I know full well that I don't plan to follow the series any further. I have no idea who would be willing to stick with it, either. Whoever it is must have a strong stomach.

It wouldn't be a corny fantasy show without some skeleton warriors, now would it?

On the plus side (and there's almost always at least some minor plus side) this series avoids what I consider one of the major downfalls of the fanservice/harem genres - there's no undeserving male character serving as the focus of the women's actions or as the intentional or unintentional viewer of their frequent displays of "assets". Of course, the obvious reply to this idea is that the viewer himself is the male audience for the frequent examples of unrealistic nudity - but at the very least I didn't have to watch some undeserving asshole or milquetoast loser get what amounts to a daily peep show.

I know full well that whoever came up with Queen's Blade meant for it to be an ecchi fanservice fantasy, but in execution it indulged too many deviant fetishes and crossed too many lines to fulfill that promise. Instead it stands as a testament to the fact that "more" isn't always "better." Whatever I might personally believe about fanservice, there's a way to do it right, and this isn't it.

Ristorante
Paradiso

Number of episodes: 11
Production Studio: David Production
Fansub Release Viewed: Frostii
Likelihood of US Release:
Streaming at Crunchyroll.com

 

Nicoletta moves to Rome to reconnect with the mother who left her years ago. At her mother’s restaurant, she struggles to understand her feelings towards Claudio, an older man and employee of the restaurant.

Shinkyoku
Soukai
Polyphonica
Crimson S

Number of episodes: 12
Production Studio: Diomedia
Fansub Release Viewed: KSN
Likelihood of US Release: Low

   

In the continent of Polyphonica, spirits survive on the music that humans play. Sometimes more powerful spirits choose to live amongst them in human or animal form. Humans who play special music often form contracts with these spirits.

Konnichiwa
Anne: Before
Green Gables

Number of episodes: 39
Production Studio: Nippon Animation
Fansub Release Viewed: Underwater
Likelihood of US Release: Low

   

Prequel to the Akage no Anne series and based on the Anne of Green Gables novels, Anne Shirley loses both her parents and is adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert.

Shin Mazinger
Shougeki Z-Hen

Number of episodes: 26
Production Studio: Bee Media, Code
Fansub Release Viewed: Shinsen Subs
Likelihood of US Release: Low

  

A miracle ore called Japanium is discovered underneath Mt. Fuji, and the evil forces of Dr. Hell attack the lab responsible for the discovery. Kabuto Kouji, in order to defend against Dr. Hell, combines with the great robot Mazinger Z.

Jewel Pet

Number of episodes: 52
Production Studio: Studio Comet
Fansub Release Viewed: SFW
Likelihood of US Release: Low

  

The magical Jewel Pets, once the possession of magicians, come to the human world and study magic themselves.

I decided to start posting some continuing thoughts on series, partly because some (not a ton, but a scattered few) people take issue with the fact that I seem to pass judgment based on one episode of a series. I'm busy and have a day job, so I have to be picky and value my time by not watching stuff that I get zero fulfillment from, but I've said that so many times I'm sounding like a broken record at this point. In any case, I don't have time to blog all the series I do watch episode-by-episode (I tried it once - it took too much of my time away once you took into account the time spent taking screenshots for each episode and that sort of thing), but I thought, why not post once or twice about the stuff that I did decide to watch, so that readers can get a more thorough impression?

I certainly can't do that for every series I review, and I do think, quite unapologetically in fact, that there are a good chunk of anime series not worth a second glance or suffer from such major flaws that I have no interest in seeing mroe, but I end up watching more than just my feature reviews, and even some series I was pretty iffy about. So here you go.

The first series on my "continuing to watch" list is Dragon Ball Kai, which is, as you'll remember, a more tightly-edited version of the Dragon Ball saga, though the story of the original Dragon Ball was condensed into a few minutes of narration and the story begins with the events of Dragon Ball Z. I suspect that many people were surprised that I picked this series up, since I am, unapologetically once again, not a fan of long-running shounen epics. Admittedly, it was partly a matter of curiosity on my part, since I missed out on a lot of those anime that are considered otaku common knowledge (no, I've never seen all of Evangeleon, Trigun or Cowboy Bebop either, save your shock for another time and place). The idea of being able to get out of 100 episodes what many other people spent nearly 300 episodes trudging through was appealing to me as well, as someone with, as stated previously, limited time to devote to anime that wasn't immediately appealing to me.

Gohan's Battle Power is... significantly less than 9000.

So how is it? Well, the fact that I generally watch each episode after it finishes downloading should tell you something. It's not that I find the series especially meaty or compelling, but, while I like watching series that I feel have a lot of depth, sometimes having something to watch that's simply a lot of fun works well to cleanse the palate, so to speak. There's something very amusing to me about watching dudes kicking the living crap out of each-other, judging each-other by some "power level" based on a mysteriously undefined set of numerical values that constantly increase. It's classic, it's corny, and it's as melodramatic as any shoujo anime, but it's a lot of fun.

Tenshinhan laments Chaozu's sacrificial demise.

The pacing has also moved along at a good clip so far. I think that if someone I know had loaned me DVDs of the original cut of the series, I would have given up already. Why? With extra episodes devoted to lengthening out fights, providing story filler and other such unnecessary activities, I'm positive I would have been bored very quickly. In the new cut, however, there's a fight every couple of episodes, tasks get accomplished in a reasonable amount of time, and it doesn't feel like much, if anything, is actually missing from the experience.

Goku mistakes Bubbles the Monkey for the venerable Kaio-sama.

My quibbles with the show are surprisingly few and very minor. The number one irritation I have is with Goku's voice, which is irritatingly shrill. It seems almost completely incongruous with the type of actions he's involved in. I also think that some of the reanimated segments don't fit in well with the obviously older original animation. There's a lot of telltale over-cleanliness in the new stuff that makes it very obvious. I almost would have preferred that they upgrade the whole thing rather than bits and pieces of it, because the visual difference is very jarring.

After ten episodes, I see no sign of me giving up on this show. The real test will come at about episode forty, since that's about the time I start getting bored of most series (even ones that I really like - I still haven't finished Hayate no Gotoku). But if I can continue to squeeze this in amongst more serious shows and continue to have fun with it, then I might just possibly watch the entire thing.

Ask John at Animenation links to a fabulous (and glowing) review of Kaiba, one of my favorites and one of the best series from 2008. Check it out here. It puts into concrete words some of the reasons why I thought Kaiba was, overall, a much better series than Masaaki Yuasa's other television anime, Kemonozume.

Sengoku Basara

Number of episodes: TBA
Production Studio: Production I.G.
Fansub Release Viewed: Shinsen Subs
Likelihood of US Release: Medium

   

Yet another video game gets the anime treatment as this over the top version of the Warring States period comes to life.

Fullmetal
Alchemist:
Brotherhood

Number of episodes: TBA
Production Studio: Bones
Fansub Release Viewed: Xincode
Likelihood of US Release:
Licensed and streaming
by FUNimation

  

Studio Bones remakes the iconic anime series to more closely follow author Hiromu Arakawa’s popular manga.

Guin Saga

Number of episodes: TBA
Production Studio: Satelight
Fansub Release Viewed: AniYoshi
Likelihood of US Release: Medium

  

A mysterious amnesiac clad in a leopard mask becomes the savior of twin heirs to a kingdom in this anime based off of the long-running fantasy novel and manga series.

Well, since many other blogs are doing it, I suppose I can jump on the Summer Preview Bandwagon and take a look at the new series set to premier in a few weeks. These are by no means full reviews (since I obviously haven't watched these shows yet - still working on getting that TARDIS), just a fun way to get excited for next season.

Note: Series and descriptions are summarized from Anime News Network's upcoming TV series guide, as well as Wikipedia and various other online sources.

Aoi Hana
Promo Video (click blue "play" button to view).

Description: Two childhood friends reconnect with each-other in high school, and support each-other through their romantic trials and tribulations (while also developing their feelings for each-other?).

Thoughts: I don't feel one way or the other about Yuri anime most of the time, but since this story comes from the same manga magazine as Ristorante Paradiso, a publication aimed at young-adult readers, and is featured in the same time slot (Fuji TV's "Noise" timeslot, which also broadcast Michiko to Hatchin), I have some preliminary interest in the series. The impression I get is that it'll be a slow-burner based mostly on character development, which is the kind of series I really like. My guess is that I'll probably end up watching this.

Bakemonogatari
Promo Video (click the link directly below the image; make sure you have flash player installed).

Description: Koyomi Araragi is a third-year high schooler who recently survived a vampire attack and finds himself mixed up with all sorts of unusual spirits, ghosts and apparitions.

Thoughts: I'm somewhat interested in this series for what might be not-so-great reasons. Firstly, it's animated by SHAFT, and while their series tend to be hit-or-miss with me, they're always chock-full of visual style, which is sometimes reason enough to watch. I'll admit it - I watched all of Maria Holic because it looked great, and was nearly tempted to watch more than two episodes of Natsu no Arashi despite not liking the characters at all. Secondly, and this may or may not come through in the anime, but supposedly the author of the light novel on which the show is based is fond of word-play and otaku humor, which I often enjoy. My impression is that I'll probably watch some of it, though it'll probably be put on the back-burner until later, and I'll only finish it if I find something more redeemable than its style to enjoy.

CANAAN
Commercial (it opens automatically in Windows Media Player).

Description: Based on a Wii visual novel with a scenario by Type-Moon, it features a group of people from all walks of life who are brought together in Shibuya by a series of bizarre events.

Thoughts: The game on which this series was based was awarded a rare perfect score by Famitsu magazine, which makes me hope that some of my initial skepticism might be unfounded. A lot of what I have a problem with is the fact that the girl (or who I assume is a girl) with the white hair in the promo pics has a really weird chest. Petty, yes, but I'm sort of wondering what look the designers were going for there. Otherwise, I have a hard time telling if this show is more mystery, or sci-fi, or action or whatever, so I'll have to wait for a first viewing to provide any more concrete thoughts.

Cobra the Animation: Rokunin no Yuushi

Description: A man named Johnson has an artificially-induced dream in which he is a space explorer with a psycho-gun who takes out evil aliens and space pirates. What he finds out is that these are actually repressed memories of his real life, and he becomes Cobra, a space hero.

Thoughts: The premise of the series definitely shows its age, and the overblown look of the characters kind of seals the deal. It doesn't really seem like anything I would like, due to its inherent cheesiness.

Elementhunters

Description: A joint effort between NHK and Korean HeeWon entertainment, this children's series is a science-fiction adventure which aims to teach about chemical elements.

Thoughts: From the description, this appears to be something of a "collection" series like Pokemon, only in this case the characters are collecting chemical elements rather than cute animals or cards. Of course, I could find very little information on this series, so I could be way off the mark. If it's too "kiddie", though, I probably won't be very interested, even though the art makes it look pretty stylish.

Fight Ippatsu! Juuden-chan

Description: Plug is a girl from an alternate world, who is able to "recharge" people who are depressed or down on their luck, spreading good cheer wherever she goes.

Thoughts: I think the picture says it all here. We've got an ecchi fanservice comedy series with tight outfits and things that look like tentacles. I'm sure we're not talking about a deep story or anything. Whether it falls into the "so-bad-it's-good" category remains to be seen at this point, but so far I'm not expecting too much.

Geijutsuka Art Design Class

Description: A slice-of-life series about five freshman girls in a high-school art class.

Thoughts: It sounds a lot like Hidamari Sketch to me, which left me a bit cold overall. Other than that, information is difficult to come by, so it remains to be seen what I ultimately think of this show. I suspect I'll find it sort of bland, which is how many slice-of-life comedies come across to me.

Kanamemo

Description: Kana is a middle school student who lost her parents, and then the grandmother who was taking care of her. She gets by by working in a newspaper office with other women.

Thoughts: It's difficult to say. Apparently this series has Yuri content, but it's difficult to say what sway that might have on the story. I'm also at a loss as to whether this is more of a comedy or a drama. The character designs seem a little iffy to me, especially the main character who looks like a tiny child rather than a middle school student. I say it has a 50-50 shot at being interesting, though I have the distinct feeling that it might turn out to be a very bland comedy with recycled characters.

Needless

Description: In the future, Tokyo becomes covered with contaminated areas called "blackspots", which are subsequently walled-off. The people who live there develop strange powers, abilities which separate them from society which deems them Needless.

Thoughts: The premise sounds pretty ho-hum to me, like it was ripped off from various shounen manga and parts of Darker than Black. I'm not a fan of how the characters look either. With two strikes against the series already, it would have to have some pretty stellar writing and animation to make up for it, and I'm not feeling that.

Princess Lover

Description: Arima Teppei lost both parents in a traffic accident, is then adopted by his grandfather and forced to succeed as head of his family's corporation. He attends a super-elite school for children of rich families and his life as a celebrity begins.

Thoughts: Based on an adult adventure game, this series has many ingredients that I just don't like. It's got a hapless guy thrust into circumstances he neither expects nor deserves, and he's surrounded by a bevy of women of various shapes, sizes, and occupations. I think we all know where this is going. You can guess that I probably won't be watching this one.

Sora no Manimani
Promo Video (click on the button with "PV" on it).

Description: Saku returns to his hometown and gets reqcquainted with Mihoshi, a childhood friend who he saved from falling out of a tree. They have a strained relationship which begins to improve once Saku joins the astronomy club that Mihoshi founded.

Thoughts: From the PV, it seems like this could be a cute romantic comedy series, though I'm not a huge fan of super-perky female leads so I personally might not have much investment in the show. I think it will depend on how much the astronomy club aspects play into the series, and whether or not the supporting character are interesting or not.

Spice and Wolf 2
Commercial (streams in Windows Media Player).

Description: The story of Horo, the female wolf deity, and the medieval world of economics and religion surrounding her and her companion, Lawrence, continues in this sequel.

Thoughts: I enjoyed the first Spice and Wolf series, but was unsatisfied with the ending since it didn't resolve any of the major plot points. I'm hoping that this season will incorporate more of the influence of the church that was hinted at in season one, and that perhaps the story will end in a more satisfying manner. I definitely plan to check it out, at the very least.

Taishou Yakyuu Musume (Taisho-era Baseball Girls)
Promo Video (click the play button).

Description: Koume goes to an all-girls school, and is asked by her friend if she would like to play on a baseball team. The Taishou-era, the titular era of the show, is 1912-1926.

Thoughts: I can't find much more info on the series. I have a hard time deciding whether it could be a lighthearted, fun series, or whether it might be too much like Bamboo Blade, which I found pretty lackluster and boring. I'm hoping the time period might add an interesting flavor to the show, but that remains to be seen. Feeling skeptical about this one.

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
Promo Video (click the button with "PV" on it)

Description: Mirai, a middle school freshman, takes a trip to an artificial island in Tokyo. Suddenly the city is hit by a monster earthquake, she must navigate the changed lanscape and make her way home.

Thoughts: Original Series? Check. Animated by Studio BONES? Check. Airing in Fuji TV's Noitamina timeslot? Check. I'm virtually guaranteed to watch and enjoy this series. I'm not aware of too many "disaster movie" plots in most anime (Tokyo certainly undergoes its share of destruction, but not necessarily by natural disasters of this nature) so I'm excited to see where this series goes. I imagine this will be one of my favorites.

Umi Monogatari
Promo Video

Description: Marin and Urin are two sisters who live under the sea but yearn to live up above the surface. One day a ring falls into the ocean, and the sisters leave the water in order to deliver it to its owner.

Thoughts: I believe this series is based on - get this - a pachinko machine. Just the thought of that would be laughable, except that it's Japan and I feel like they could turn anything into an anime with cute girls in it. Anyway, this seems like it could be a pleasant fantasy series, but I can't quite tell what the tone of the show is (there are some points that seem humorous, and I would prefer something more serious). I don't see anything in the promo really compelling me to follow this series beyond the first episode, but we'll see.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni

Description: In 1986, the head of a wealthy family, who owns the island Rokkenjima, is near death. Family members show up on the island to discuss the distribution of his wealth, but a Typhoon traps them there. Soon mysterious murders begin to occur.

Thoughts:While I wasn't a big fan of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, based on a game from the same game creators, I have some higher hopes for this series. The story itself sounds a bit more interesting to me, almost like a classic "whodunit", though I suspect some of the murders might turn out to be shockingly violent in ways that might turn me off the series.

Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou
Promo Video

Description: A small, clumsy high-school-student becomes the protege of a 25-year-old graduate student, one of the most powerful magicians of the modern age.

Thoughts: I can't say that I was particularly impressed by the PV, mostly because it makes the series feel very, I don't know, same-y. It's a cast of female characters (with what appears to be a token male, though I can't really speculate about what his role is yet) with special powers and overblown cutesy character designs. It's no magical-girl show, but the "stupid bishoujo hair", as my friend puts it, is rampant. It sounds really average.

Zan Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei

Description: Nozomu Itoshiki returns for a third season of depression and wacky social commentary with the rest of his wacky high-school class.

Thoughts: I wasn't as enamored with the first season of this series, but by the second season and the OVA's it had really grown on me. I'm looking forward to enjoying the third. I don't expect anything drastically different to happen this time around, but it should be a fun show as usual and I'm excited for more. Hopefully the subs will come out a bit faster this time around.

Sugar Bunnies
Fleur

Number of episodes: 27
Production Studio: Toei Animation
Fansub Release Viewed: ExtycZ
Likelihood of US Release: Low

 

The Sugar Bunnies are sent from Bunnies Field to the human world, befriend a girl named Sophia, and help in the creation of delicious pastries.

Gokujou! Mecha
Mote Iincho

Number of episodes: TBA
Production Studio: ShoPro
Fansub Release Viewed: Yu
Likelihood of US Release: Low

 

Mimi Kitagami, the super popular class president, is on a mission to make everything right and take on any challenge at school. She is faced with having to take on a group of boys who don’t want to follow the rules.

The Melancholy
of Haruhi
Suzumiya 2

Number of episodes: 14
Production Studio: Kyoto Animation
Fansub Release Viewed: a.f.k.
Likelihood of US Release:
Astronomically High

  

Taking most fans by surprise, the super-popular Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya returns with new episodes to compliment a rebroadcast of the original series.

Hanasakeru
Seishonen

Number of episodes: 39
Production Studio: Studio Pierrot
Fansub Release Viewed: Hell
Likelihood of US Release: Low

  

Kajika has been talked into a marriage game by her father, the boss of a large company. She must choose between three men of his choosing in order to discover her true destiny.

Hatsukoi
Limited

Number of episodes: 12
Production Studio: J.C. Staff
Fansub Release Viewed: m.3.3.w.
Likelihood of US Release: Medium

  

The love lives of eight middle- and high-school girls intertwine in this romantic comedy.

Dragon
Ball Kai

Number of episodes: Around 100
Production Studio: Toei Animation
Fansub Release Viewed: SafetyDance
Likelihood of US Release: High

   

DBZ is back in this edited-down and remastered version of the iconic anime series.