Spring Season 2006 is right around the corner, and I’ve finally made my picks for the series that I’m going to watch. Before I go into the list, I do have to say that there are tons of shows this upcoming season (estimated 70+) and that this list comprises maybe one-fourth of that. Of the shows I mention, odds are I’ll only end up blogging around eight or nine of them (plus the four series that carried over from last season).
For a more complete listing that includes the shows carrying over, see the Spring 2006 Schedule page (or the table version).
Note: All times are given in a 24-hour, relative-day format where times are extended to show which day they belong to. For instance, Friday morning at 1:30AM would become Thurday at 25:30 to show that the episode aired late Thursday night.
By no means is this list complete, these are just the series I watch/am planning to watch. Check out MOON PHASE for an entire listing, syoboi’s calendar for specific air-times, and AndrewLB’s Spring 2006 Wiki for who’s tentatively subbing what.
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Joshi Kousei Girl’s High http://www.girls-high.net/ Premieres April 3rd, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Mondays at 25:30 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Mondays at 12:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo A comedy series about six girls together in an all girl’s high school sounds like a good premise. They’ve also got Kage Kara Mamoru! director Fujimoto Yoshitaka and some solid voice talent (like Mamiko Noto). |
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Simoun http://www.simoun.tv/ Premieres April 3rd, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Mondays at 25:30 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Mondays at 12:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo Now this show has a really interesting premise: girls who have to choose their gender when they become 17 years old. The title Simoun apparently refers to the airplane/machine that the girls pilot. I don’t particularly like some of the character designs, but I think this show has good promise. |
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Strawberry Panic! http://www.strawberrypanic.com/ Premieres April 3rd, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Mondays at 26:45 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Mondays at 13:45 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo With all of the hype around this series, it really needs no introduction. The setting of a all-girl’s academy reminds me a bit of MariMite, except this show has plenty of yuri. That alone should be a good reason to watch this 🙂 I’m also just a bit curious on why Shimizu Ai is voicing two different characters. |
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Ouran High School Host Club http://www.ntv.co.jp/host/ Premieres April 4th, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Tuesdays at 24:50 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Tuesdays at 11:50 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo A Shoujo Comedy? Done by BONES? I am so there… I actually haven’t read the manga yet (but it’s apparently being put out by Viz), but this sounds like it has great potential. Now if only Maaya Sakamoto (who plays the female lead) did some singing too… |
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Makai Senki Disgaea http://akaitsuki.net/ Premieres April 4th, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Tuesdays at 26:00 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Tuesdays at 13:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo Based on the popular strategy RPG by Nippon Ichi, Disgaea is about Laharl, the prince of the netherworld, his (very funny) journey to become Overlord, and all of the characters me meets along the way. After seeing the Promo DVD, I’m very optimistic that this series will have the right mix of humor and action. |
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NANA http://www.ntv.co.jp/nana/ Premieres April 5th, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Wednesdays at 23:25 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Wednesdays at 10:25 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo Yazawa Ai’s current hit manga NANA, about two girls named Nana (one who is a punk rocker and the other who’s just looking for love), is now being made into an animated series. I’m most looking forward to the music that will come out of this series. If nothing else I hope this’ll be a lot better than last fall’s Paradise Kiss. The good thing is that the two series share almost none of the same cast or crew. |
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Inukami! http://inukami.jp/ Premieres April 5th, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Wednesdays at 25:00 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Wednesdays at 12:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo The description sounds like this show will have a pretty standard loser-guy-acquires-harem-consisting-of-girls-with-powers plot. I’m watching it because I’m a sucker for those type shows and because I hope that the comedy aspect plays more heavily than whatever romance aspects there are. |
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RAY THE ANIMATION http://ray.tv/ Premieres April 5th, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Wednesdays at 26:00 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Wednesdays at 13:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo A medical drama about a girl who has special “god’s eyes” that give her x-ray vision. Not really sure about this one because I’m not much into medical dramas, but it was a decision between this and Witchblade and this won out. |
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ZEGAPAIN http://www.zegapain.net/ Premieres April 6th, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 18:00 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Thursdays at 5:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo A Bandai/Sunrise mecha property, how could I go wrong? Seriously though, I’m drawn to this because I expect it to be a large budget show with a good dose of drama and mecha action. I’m not that impressed with the mecha design (which are rather fluorescent in color), but I doubt that’d bother me. Another plus for the series is that Akino Arai is singing the opening. |
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Kamisama Kazoku http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/tv/kamisama/ Premieres May 18th, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 22:30 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Thursdays at 9:30 Information Links: AnimeNfo A series about a son in a family of gods who falls in love. The character designs remind me a bit of Eureka Seven, and rightfully so since the character designer Maniwa Hideaki has worked on both shows. However, with a premiere date in mid-May, this show is still a ways away. |
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The Third ~Aoi Hitomi no Shoujo~ http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/fujimi/sp/thethird/ Premieres April 13th, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Fridays at 24:30 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Fridays at 11:30 Information Links: AnimeNfo A spunky girl goes on a journey in a brutal desert world. It sounds interesting enough, but I’ll be honest: I’m watching this show because it’s in the same timeslot as SHUFFLE!, HanTsuki, and now Shinigami no Ballad. In other words, WOWOW has a fairly good track record and I’m willing to try whatever they air. |
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xxxHOLiC http://www.tbs.co.jp/holic/ Premieres April 6th, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 25:00 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Thursdays at 12:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo The first of the two CLAMP series I’m watching this season, xxxHOLiC is a story with supernatural themes about a special boy named Watanuki who ends up working for a witch named Yuuko in a modern day setting. The manga has some crossover with Tsubasa Chronicle, but I doubt that the animated version will do anything special with the other series since they’re airing on different channels (TBS for this and NHK for Tsubasa). Also, Suga Shikao is doing the OP to this series. He sang several of Honey and Clover’s insert songs as well as the xxxHOLiC movie theme. |
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Nishi no Yoki Majo Astrea Testament http://www.project-westwitch.net/ Premieres April 7th, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Fridays at 25:45 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Fridays at 12:45 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo a.k.a. The Good Witch of the West. I’m not very familiar with the original novels but it sounds like it’s got a good deal of fantasy and maybe romance. If it’s got good animation (and backgrounds as good as the ones on the website), this show could have a lot of potential. |
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Tsubasa Chronicle http://www3.nhk.or.jp/anime/tsubasa/ Second Season Premieres April 29th, 2006, Series Blog Archive Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 18:25 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Saturdays at 5:25 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo I watched and enjoyed the first season. If they can keep the same level of quality they had for the Outo Country arc for all of the second season, I’ll be happy. |
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Himawari! http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/himawari/ Premieres April 8th, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 24:30 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Saturdays at 11:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo A comedy about ninjas, now where have I heard that premise before? I have a feeling that this series will lean more romance than comedy, but we’ll see. The ninja outfit designs look rather unique, and eufonius is singing the ending. |
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Soul link http://www.soul-link.com/ Premieres April 1st, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 25:35 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Saturdays at 12:35 Information Links: AnimeNfo I’m sure all of the SHUFFLE! fanboys, myself included, are watching this series just because it’s a work by Navel. The description on the official page makes it sounds a lot like a space-academy-action type series, but I’m hoping for some good character drama too. |
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Kiba http://www.ki-ba.com/ Premieres April 2nd, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Sundays at 8:30 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Saturdays at 19:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo This seems like it’ll be pretty average shounen action, especially since it airs in the morning. There are some stunning and vastly different locales drawn up, but I doubt the series will look quite that good. Still, Kiba seems like it’ll be pretty big budget, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. |
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School Rumble Ni Gakki http://www.school-rumble.net/ Premieres April 2nd, 2006 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Sundays at 25:30 Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Sundays at 12:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo I’m highly anticipating the second season of the popular school comedy-action-drama after having watched the incredible quality OVAs. More Yakumo and Eri please! |
Comments/Questions/Suggestions are welcome.
