Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

Well, another season is here and I have to decide what I’ll be watching & blogging and what I’ll just be watching. There are quite a few series coming out that I want to watch and it totals at least 10 or more (probably more…). So there’s no way I’ll be blogging them all but I am thinking about blogging at least three of them and at most six or seven. Since I’ve finished a few series in the past month, I shouldn’t have to worry about “overblogging” if I stick to the number I previously mentioned. Also, for “chances of blogging”, my choices may vary despite whatever I may put have said. Don’t forget to check out AndrewLB’s Spring 2007 wiki for a list of shows and for who’s going to be subbing what. Anyways, enjoy delaying. Here are my picks for the upcoming Spring 2007 season which will include a short synopsis/summary, my thoughts and likelihood of watching/blogging a show.

---

Seirei no Moribito

Synopsis/Summary:

Based on a fantasy novel by Uehashi Naoko & Futatsugi Saki. Chagumu, the second prince of New Yogo Kingdom, is the person who is chosen once in 100 years to be deposited an egg by a water fairly, and he must become the guardian of fairies. Thinking of him as a nuisance, the king tries to kill him, while the queen asks a female guard, Valsa, to protect him.
However, the beings live in another world, Nayugu, aim at him to eat an egg laid in Chagumu’s body.

Ramblings/Thoughts:

Based solely on the trailer that I saw, this series is going to be absolutely amazing. Even before the trailer I was immensely excited from all the information I read about it. I’m a HUGE Ghost in the Shell fan and knowing that the director of GitS:SAC, Kenji Kamiyama, is on board for this epic sealed the deal for me when I first heard news about this series. Did I say that Production I.G. is behind this? If not, then they are! If the trailer is any indication, they’re bringing everything they have just like they did in GitS:SAC. Music nuts like myself can look forward to Kenji Kawai providing the score for this series (his work includes Ghost in the Shell (movies), Patlabor, Fate/Stay Night, and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, among others). Oh yeah, the opening theme is being done by the ever-popular L’Arc-en-Ciel so I think we should look forward to a lovely OP every time we start an episode.

- Chances of Watching: Very High
- Chance of Blogging: Very High

---

El Cazador de la Bruja

Synopsis/Summary:

Ellis, a young girl suspected of murdering a prominent physicist Heinrich Schneider, is on the run from an underground society called “Hunters” when she is tracked down by the bounty hunter Nadi in a small Mexican town. However, instead of turning her in, Nadi impulsively decides to help her and the two girls embark on a journey to Ellis’ hometown, where they plan on finding clues about her past. From there, they travel south to search for the mysterious Gemstone of the Inca Rose, the “Eternal City” of Wiñay Marka, and Ellis’ own obscure destiny.

Ramblings/Thoughts:

This one really shouldn’t be a surprise as I have even covered it before with its very own entry not too long ago. With a legacy such as Noir and Madlax and the director Mashimo Koichi behind it, this show is already shaping up to impress. I’m looking forward to the themes used throughout the story and the music that will be composed by none other than Kajiura Yuki. Also, the OP and ED are being performed by two of my favorite groups, savage genius and FictionJunction YUUKA respectively. God, I can’t wait.

- Chances of Watching: Very High
- Chance of Blogging: Very High

---

Darker than BLACK - Kuro no Keiyakusha -

Synopsis/Summary:

Suddenly anomalous field impossible to analyze appears in Tokyo. As if they responded to the field named “Hell’s Gate”, people that have new powers and completely different from the current human begins appear. They have lost their minds and sometimes kill people cruelly. People call them “Contractor” with fear.

Ramblings/Thoughts:

Right off the top, it’s a BONES production. This already looks better than their last effort, Ayakashi Ayashi, that I personally think is good but not really up to usual BONES-quality series such as Eureka seveN and Fullmetal Alchemist. Musical goddess, Yoko Kanno will be gracing this series with music composition. The trailers for this gives off a very urban-like fantasy atmosphere and the music is quite reminiscent of Read or Die and at times Cowboy Bebop. This should be one of the better series this spring given the amount of advertising BONES has been giving this as of late (they’ve been showing the PVs after Code Geass).

- Chances of Watching: Very High
- Chance of Blogging: Very High

---

Hayate no Gotoku!

Synopsis/Summary:

With a debt of 1.5 million, 16-year old Hayate Ayasaki’s parents sell him to the yakuza to pay it off. Not wanting to be cut up and sold on the black market, Hayate escapes from the yakuza thugs, and finds a very rich girl by the name of Nagi wandering in a park at night. Deciding to kidnap the girl for ransom money, Hayate’s kidnapping speech was wrongly taken as a confession of love to Nagi. She finds out about the debt, and, feeling sorry for Hayate, pays it off, as long as Hayate will be her butler until he pays off the 1.5 million (which will take about 40 years).

Ramblings/Thoughts:

This is yet another pick that shouldn’t be surprising since I did write up a manga review for the series back in January. I love every bit of the manga, starting from the first chapter and to the latest scanlation (which is chapter 51 as of this entry). The characters, in my opinion, are instantly lovable and the humor that is conveyed through them makes my lungs hurt. This will most definitely be my comedy-fix for the spring season.

- Chances of Watching: Very High
- Chance of Blogging: High

---

Romeo x Juliet

Synopsis/Summary:

This is a story of a young and tragic love, set in the aerial city of Neo Verona. Tyranny rules this island in the sky after the Montague family took control 14 years prior. The disparity among the wealthy and poor is apparent in the present state, the earth dries and water stagnates. The sky itself is wrapped in a deep dense fog. Both Romeo and Juliet’s lineages are of present and past ruling families of Neo Verona. Romeo is the son of the current Montague dictator, Juliet (a beautiful woman) masquerades as a man (Odin), she’s the last descendent of Capulet the previous rulers who were killed by an assasin’s dagger 14 years ago. Her true background is not to be revealed to her until her 16th birthday while being raised by her sister. The cruel hands of fate introduces 2 people who will become “Star Crossed Lovers”.

Ramblings/Thoughts:

Ah yes, an anime adaptation of a literary classic. I’ve been intrigued ever since this was announced by GONZO a few months ago. Not to mention the trailer that’s available is absolutely amazing. I do have to wonder exactly where they’re going with Shakespeare’s most well-known play. Seriously, mecha in Romeo x Juliet? An aerial city? How can this not turn out to be awesome? The romance and elitist system of belief are most definitely left in tact from the novel (they’re central to the original plot). If GONZO can do to Romeo x Juliet like they did with Gankutsuou (hell, it’s even airing in the artsy timeslot that Gankutsuou did) then this should turn out to be a great retelling of an already wonderful literary masterpiece.

- Chances of Watching: Very High
- Chance of Blogging: Very High

---

iDOLM@STER: Xenoglossia

Synopsis/Summary:

Based on japanese arcade game (http://www.idolmaster.jp)

The show centers around mecha and reimagines the ten prospective pop idols as fighter pilots of those robots, eight of them also posing as students.

Ramblings/Thoughts:

Curiosity has snagged me by the neck hard with this one especially since it’s based off of an idol arcade game. This show is also being made by Sunrise so you know what that means. For the first half of the show everything will be happy and such and at the halfway point things will take a serious turn for the worst (read: emo mode ON). Will they follow that formula yet again? I don’t know for sure but I’m still watching it regardless.

- Chances of Watching: High
- Chance of Blogging: Low

---

Claymore

Synopsis/Summary:

In this world, from ancient times, people were eaten by beings called “youma”. For a long time, people lived without any means to counter them. However, a half-human, half-youma female warrior was born…. Female soldiers known as “Claymore” who, with silver eyes that can see through to the true form of “youma”, and carry a large sword as a weapon, continue to battle those which people have named “youma”.

Ramblings/Thoughts:

There’s not much I can say about Claymore really. I love the manga and the atmosphere it sets for storytelling. Claire, the main character, is one of the single strongest females I’ve seen in any anime or manga before. So I’m just glad to see that the series is finally getting a TV series which I think it so rightly deserves. From what I’ve seen in the manga to date and if the screenshots I’ve seen of the anime are any indication then we’re going to have ourselves one action-packed, blood-filled series on our hands come April 3rd.

- Chances of Watching: Very High
- Chance of Blogging: High

---

Terra e…/To Terra

Synopsis/Summary:

In the far future, humanity has left behind an environmentally destroyed Terra and began colonization in order to reproduce their home. Humanity, now ruled by a super computer that controls the birth of children, sees the emergence of a new race called the “Mu”. The Mu, now hidden from the rest of humanity, have one dream, to return home, to Terra…

Ramblings/Thoughts:

Old-school and sci-fi? This is definitely a must watch for me. Nobuteru Yuki did the character designs for this and UVERworld is aboard to provide the series OP. Even if you haven’t seen the movie (which I’m sure most haven’t since it came out in 1980) but this will probably be one of the best of the upcoming season. The sci-fi nut in me says that the potential is strong with this one. :3

- Chances of Watching: Very High
- Chance of Blogging: High

---

Bokurano

Synopsis/Summary:

In a summer vacation, a group of 15 children discovered a mysterious man living in a seashore cave, along with his high-tech gadgets. The man claimed to be a game developer creating a video game with 15 giant robots defending Earth from alien invaders and asked those childs to test the game for him. The kids agreed happily at first, but soon they began to find the game horrifying, not only because of its realism but also for the first fatality among them happened right after their first victory. Worse yet, they had no idea how to stop or leave the “game.”

Ramblings/Thoughts:

I’ve read a bit of the manga and so far I really like it. It’s pretty morbid and so I think it’ll be interesting to see animated. Maybe it’ll even be able to send some new chills down my spine. Expect an entry on the promotional video to be posted soon.

- Chances of Watching: Very High
- Chance of Blogging: High

---

Engage Planet Kiss Dum

Synopsis/Summary:

In A.D. 2031, humans are enjoying a prosperous existence until strange life forms called Hardians appear. They suddenly begin to multiply and assault the human population. As a countermeasure, mankind organizes the N.I.D.F. to investigate the Hardians and protect themselves.

A fighter pilot, Aiba Shu, begins to become involved in the battle against the lifeforms. Rurika Yuno, one of Earth`s foremost scientists, investigates the Hardians and hears rumors about the “Book of a Dead Man.” What is the secret of this tome, and what relation does it have to the Hardians?

Now, the fight for mankind`s survival begins.

Ramblings/Thoughts:

I’m a freaking NUT for Macross and Kawamori’s superb mech and jet designs. So it goes without saying that I’m definitely picking this baby up. Also, from what I’ve read, this series is somewhat of a test run for the future Macross revival production. The mecha fan in me is burning with excitment!

- Chances of Watching: Very High
- Chance of Blogging: High

---

Lovely Complex

Synopsis/Summary:

Based on a shoujo manga by Nakahara Aya, serialised in Margaret.

Risa and Otani are always being laughed at as the comedy duo. Risa, a girl, is taller than the average girl, and Otani, a boy, is shorter than the average boy. The two are always bickering and even their teacher sees them as a comedy act. But as their friendship develops, so does Risa`s feelings toward Otani.

Ramblings/Thoughts:

I’ve been reading the manga for this one and I like it. The storyline, I think, isn’t your typical shoujo one especially with Risa being so tall and Otani being so short. I take it that I’ll be getting pissed all over again when I see the two interact but don’t act on their feelings, but this time in animated form.

- Chances of Watching: High
- Chance of Blogging: Moderate

---

Kaze no Stigma

Synopsis/Summary:

Kazuma was born in the fire-user tribe, but lost to Ayano when he was 18 years old, and her 12, over control of the legendary sword of the tribe. Banished to a foreign country, he contracted with the spirit of the wind, becoming the only wind user in the world.
But when he returns to his native country four years later, there are coincidentally a spate of murders within the fire-user tribe, and Kazuma is accused of the crimes. Is he, who has a grudge against the fire tribe, guilty? He certainly has the motive…

Ramblings/Thoughts:

When I saw the light novel covers and a bit of the summary I just knew I had to check this one out. The male lead is a wind user and the female lead a fire user. I’m not sure just how deep the romance is in this one (the light novel covers pretty much show that they’ll fall in love I think) but I find it funny that wind can either strengthen fire and, to some degree, even put it out.

- Chances of Watching: High
- Chance of Blogging: Moderate

---

Lucky☆Star

Synopsis/Summary:

Based on a 4-koma manga by Yoshimizu Kagami, serialised in Comptiq.

Having fun in school, doing together homework, cooking and eating, playing videogames, watching anime. All those little things make up the daily life of the anime- and chocolate-loving Izumi Konata and her friends which is portrayed here. Sometimes relaxing but more than often simply funny!

Ramblings/Thoughts:

Seiyuu Hirano Aya and Chihara Minori. Production and animation by Kyoto Animation. What other reasons do I need to watch this other than those?

- Chances of Watching: High
- Chance of Blogging: Low

---

Wellber no Monogatari ~Sisters of Wellber~

Synopsis/Summary:

Since the war 10 years ago between Wellber and Sangatrus ended, Wellber has maintained its peace. The simmering tensions between the two countries mean that a second war could start at any moment despite efforts to avert it. The King of Wellber, Hidel, tries to resolve the issue by marrying his daughter, Princess Litta, to Prince Gernia of Sangatrus. Litta does not approve and runs away, injuring Gernia in the process. This angers King Lumbanog of Sangatrus, who announces that he will initiate war unless Litta is captured and publicly executed within the next 14 days. As a result, Litta flees to the neutral country of Greedum.

Tina, a thief who snuck into the castle the same night Princess Litta attacked Prince Gernia, witnessed the whole thing. Tina is searching for the man who killed her parents and, strangely enough, learns that he was living in Greedum. She comes to be Litta’s guard while they both head to Greedum.

Ramblings/Thoughts:

I first looked into this series and only had a summary and a few images to go by but when I saw the PV I was quite amazed. The story isn’t that all original but I don’t really care since I still like the concept and the character designs a lot. Production I.G. is involved in this one too and that means this will at least have a good amount of episodes with great animation.

- Chances of Watching: High
- Chance of Blogging: Moderate

---

Seto no Hanayome

Synopsis/Summary:

A young boy gets saved from drowning by a mermaid but, according to mermaid law, if a human sees a mermaid’s true form, both have to be killed. The only solution to the problem is for him to marry her. But can they keep her secret from being found out.

Ramblings/Thoughts:

I’ve only read a bit of the manga for this but I liked what I saw so I’ll most likely finish reading all the available chapters before it airs. The female lead, San, being a mermaid intrigues me and the male lead, Nagasumi, is hilarious. It should be a good comedy series in my opinion.

- Chances of Watching: High
- Chance of Blogging: Moderate

---

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Synopsis/Summary:

In the distant future, people build their homes and raise domestic animals in subterranean caverns. As a result, they live in fear of the occasional earthquake and cave-in, and have been for hundreds of years. Jeeha is one such village.

One day, a boy named Simon happens to find a small, shiny drill whilst digging to expand the village. At the same time, Kamina, a guy who believes that there is another land above the village, persuades a gangster to break through the ceiling in order to leave the cavern. Suddenly, an earthquake occurs and the ceiling collapses, followed by a big robot breaking through the ceiling.

Kamina is now sure that there is a world above them. Recklessly, he begins to fight against the robot. At that moment, another person appears from the land above. It is a girl by the name of Yoko. With a rifle in hand, she had been tracking the robot. However, all she could do was distract it. Then, Simon shows what he had found to Kamina and Yoko. It’s a mysterious robot whose head is also its body.

Ramblings/Thoughts:

This baby has a lot of high-octane action in it and that is very good. I’m loving the character and mecha designs and the tempo that I felt while watching the PVs and CMs.

- Chances of Watching: Very High
- Chance of Blogging: High

---

Hitohira

Synopsis/Summary:

A transferred student Asai Mugi is a painfully shy girl. She is so shy that she can’t speak when she becomes seriously nervous. However, for some reason, she is spotted and recruited as a member of drama club.

Ramblings/Thoughts:

This looks like something I’d like. The main girl sounds interesting and is quite cute. I’m not at all sure if I’ll blog it, though I’ll be watching it since I’m interested in just how the story will turn out.

- Chances of Watching: High
- Chance of Blogging: Moderate

---

Now that that’s done, I’d like to know which shows you will be watching this season.
The ones I can guarantee that I’m blogging are: Darker than BLACK, Seirei no Moribito, El Cazador de la Bruja, Bokurano, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Claymore, Hayate no Gotoku!, and Romeo x Juliet. I’m still thinking on one or two more.
Also, suggestions on what I should/what you would like to see me blog using my unique blogging/writing style (lol, right) are very much welcome (and would help me fill one or two slots).