Posted inSeason Preview Series Introduction

Fall 2011 Preview!

Another year of anime is drawing to a close, but not before the long-awaited fall season. While the number of shows pales in comparison to the 43 offered in spring, the quality of the 25 new titles is a lot higher. There are numerous sequels and spiritual successors: The third and final season of Shakugan no Shana, studio GONZO's big return with a new Last Exile eight years later, the prequel to Type-Moon's Fate/stay night, and more of our favorite squid girl, Ika Musume. In addition, we have plenty of original series, including a new Gundam and two noitaminA shows by BONES and Production I.G. Equally impressive is the fact that many of which are slated for two-cour. Anime fans everywhere should be excited. I know I am.

Note: I purposely left out Digimon Xros Wars: Toki wo Kakeru Shounen Hunter-tachi and Cross Fight B-Daman from this preview because they're targeted towards younger audiences. If you're interested in either, feel free to check out their official sites.

 

* A season poll is available on the sidebar. It will automatically close on October 1st at 12:00 AM PST to coincide with the start of the season. * This preview will be kept at the top for the next while, so be sure to scroll past it or check the Recent Entries on your right for new posts.

Posted inFirst Impressions Series Introduction WORKING!!

WORKING’!! – 01 (Pre-Airing)

「ぽうらの意地」 (Popura no Iji)
"Popura's Disposition"

Just like its first season, the sequel to Working pre-airs its first episode a month ahead of its scheduled fall season start. The opening and ending sequences along with their themes "COOLISH WALK" and "Itsumo no you ni LOVE & PEACE!!" were similarly withheld for the regular premiere, but this was otherwise a full 24-minute dose of all things Wagnaria once again -- now with an apostrophe in the title.

Posted inFirst Impressions Ouran High School Host Club Series Introduction

Ouran High School Host Club (Drama) – 01

「Episode 1」

The live-action Ouran Hight School Host Club drama is here and boy is it a doozie. I thought an eccentric Suou Tamaki voiced by Miyano Mamoru was a bit much, but Yamamoto Yuusuke takes it to another level. Don't even get me started about the twins, Hitachiin Kaoru and Hikaru, played by real-life twin actors Takagi Manpei and Shinpei respectively, who take their forbidden love act to uncomfortable extremes. That's the number one thing that I wasn't looking forward to at all. 3D can be pretty dangerous.

Posted inDantalian no Shoka First Impressions Series Introduction

Dantalian no Shoka – 01

「仕掛け絵本」 (Shikake Ehon)
"Pop-Up Picture Book"

Whenever a new GAINAX series hits the airwaves, that's still an event for me - though not as much as it used to be. And I suspect the number of us who feel that way is no longer as large as it was. Whatever it means now, this is still the studio that gave us Evangelion, FLCL and Tengen-Toppa Gurren-Lagann, and even if I'm chasing ghosts, I still get a little thrill of excitement at the prospect of something new from them.

Posted inFirst Impressions Series Introduction Snapshots

Manyuu Hikenchou – 01

「千房 離反す」 (Chifusa Rihansu)
"Chifusa Defects"

If I'm not going to give this anime an impartial and unbiased first look, is there anyone else out there who will? Chances are no, so if you're still interested in hearing me out, bear with me for a moment before jumping to any predetermined conclusions. Strap yourself in. This is a long post.

Posted inFirst Impressions Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi Series Introduction

Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi – 01

「900秒の放課後〈前篇〉」 (900-Byou no Houkago (Zenpen))
"900 Seconds After School (Part One)"

So we have ZEXCS animating and the screen writer Morita Shigeru of Kore wa Zombie fame creating something? I’ll admit that I wasn’t too excited with the premise of this show but I was blown away with how well this first episode played out.

Posted inFirst Impressions Series Introduction Snapshots

Nekogami Yaoyorozu – 01

「貧乏神インスペクト+」 (Binbougami Insupekuto)
"God of Poverty Inspection"

Local deities in the 21st century are what it's all about in the adaptation of mangaka duo FLIPFLOPs' 2007 fantasy comedy series. At first glance, the character designs are reminiscent of the ones seen in the Touhou Project anime. Replace the demons and youkai with gods and we have Nekogami Yaoyorozu -- or at least, that's the immediate visual impression that AIC PLUS+'s anime gives off.