It feels like the year just started and yet we’re already so close to the Spring season for anime this year. While we say good bye to some anime we’ve been following over the months such as Clannad and Gundam 00, we’ll soon be saying hello to much anticipated titles such as the new Fullmetal Alchemist series and many others. With Spring anime, there’s always a plethora of titles to choose from and this year is no different. Don’t know what’s coming or what to watch? No problem. The KzI staff and I are here to guide you through each show to help you decide what’s hot and what’s not. Take note that not every show airing in Spring is on the list we’ve put together and that we’ve excluded most of the kiddy stuff. The following shows have been arranged by airdate so you can look out what will be hitting the interwebz first.

Things have been hectic for me over the past year. Working in a financial institution is a lot more demanding than I had initially expected which led to me falling behind with many of the shows I’ve been following as well as blogging. I really like blogging and sharing my thoughts and reading the thoughts of others here whether I agree with them or not. That being said, I’ve had to kill-off my [bad] habit of blogging more than I can handle. With work, numerous social events, podcasting, and other various things I’ve come to the conclusion that I will only do 3-4 shows per season and never exceed that number. Yes, that includes shows that carry over into other seasons. This is something I am strictly enforcing on myself, especially going into the new version of KZI. Given that I want to continue blogging for as long as KZI exists, I believe this is for the better. That and it will eliminate all of the “Leon never finishes _” jokes among the staff. Anyway, enough holding up the preview. Let me just say that I’m really looking forward to the spring season and the many diverse shows!

Sengoku Basara ANN Encyclopedia | 戦国BASARA Genres: Action, historical Airdate: April 1st OP: “JAP” by Abingdon Boys School ED: “Break & Peace” by Dustz Production: Production I.G Possibility of Getting Blogged: Medium

Leon: Oh snap! The age of Warring Countries? Aside from the fact that I totally ripped that last sentence from elsewhere, I’m pretty interested in Sengoku Basara. I’ve only heard a little about the game and manga but nothing significant so I’ll be going into it with a clean slate. So far the character designs are looking pretty good (Kasuga is particularly noteworthy) as well. It’ll be interesting to see how this turns out, especially with Production I.G. involved in its production.

Blade: Devil Kings. Maybe this name can be more familiar among those who bought the game back in the 2005. While the game was nothing remarkable, the localization was god awful compared to the original. That being said, from the promos this one seems very cool and I already listened to ABS’s JAP, the opening, and it’s pretty awesome. I’m definitely checking this one out.

Gene: This probably would have been more appealing to me if it stood next to a more realistic theme instead of this crazy, elemental fantasy stuff. I mean it’s not something I want to see when there’s a historical aspect involved. Don’t get me wrong. Rurouni Kenshin is one of my favorites. But looking at the tv spots, I can tell the fights here are just trying to be as flashy and cool as possible. Looking forward to the OP song though.

Basquash! ANN Encyclopedia | バスカッシュ！ Genres: Sports, mecha Airdate: April 2nd OP: “nO limiT” by Eclipse ED: “free” by Yamada Yu Production: Satelight Possibility of Getting Blogged: Medium

Leon: I didn’t know what to think about this when I first saw it. You have to admit, basketball and mecha is an odd combination. It didn’t help matters either when I saw that Satelight was heading the production. Given that I really love both mecha and basketball and think Satelight is a pretty good animation company, I started to warm up to the idea. I was really surprised at the CM that showed up a little while ago as well. The animation in it was slick and the quality of the brief mecha sequences seemed to be almost on-par with Macross FRONTIER. I’m going to keep my eyes open for this one in April.

Youko: Basquash… why do I think of a zucchini? Anyway… it’s not something I’d be looking forward to at first sight… but a good bunch of the Kannagi all-star cast is in this (the main ones, anyway) so I have some priority to see this whenever I can. Of course, it could always result in the Dragonaut route, but at least this one will be very climatic, yes? Actually, that’s what it supposedly will be. After seeing the preview for it, it looks ridiculously awesome in so many ways. The presentation and animation looks really nice and smooth. Here’s to this turning out to be one of the best Spring has to offer.

Blade: Okay, I may be a sucker for sports anime, albeit I wasn’t happy overall after sitting through 128 episodes of Prince of Tennis. This one, however, looks like a fresh idea. Mecha sports? Seems crazy enough to work. Another sleek animation from Satelite so I’m definitely looking foward to this one. Hopefully it won’t have the same fate of Birdy and Mighty and disappear in obscureness…

Gene: So mecha basketball animu? I’ve heard of weirder.. actually I’ll have to get back to you on that. But honestly, this sounds plain stupid. But don’t take my word on it; this could be anime of the year material for all we know. Well Satelight is in charge of this so at least the mecha sequences should be awesome. And at the helm of the OP, there’s the newly formed super band Eclipse. Eclipse consists of the three seiyuu singers Tomatsu Haruka, Nakajima Megumi, and Hayami Saori. The most interesting aspect of this anime for me, I can’t wait to hear how all three utahime will perform.

K-ON! ANN Encyclopedia | けいおん Genres: Comedy Airdate: April 2nd OP: “Cagayake! GIRLS” by Toyosaki Aki, Hisaka Yoko, Satou Satomi, Kotobuki Minako ED: “Don’t say ”lazy”” by Toyosaki Aki, Hisaka Yoko, Satou Satomi, Kotobuki Minako Production: Kyoto Animation Possibility of Getting Blogged: High

Leon: My first thought when seeing the promo pic, “Hmm. She’s pretty cute.” Then I saw that Kyoto Animation was doing it and thought, “Ho-oh, what’s this? Perhaps another gold mine like Lucky Star?” Whatever it ends up being I’m going to be there for the ride. It’s hard to pass up watching girls who want to save their school’s music club and yet can’t play instruments or even read music. That’s some hilarious stuff right there from the very start.

Youko: I’ll admit, this screamed A-1 Pictures to me the first time I saw the promo image. Being a series pertaining to music, I assumed Yamakan would be the orchestrator. It made perfect sense to me and it still does. Alas, KyoAni is the true animation producer, so either way I still look forward to this. Now that I think about it, the character design for Yui looks an awful lot like Tsukasa. The shading kinda tells me it’s KyoAni too… This is the most anticipated spring show for me. I’m not familiar with any of the seiyuu, but that won’t stop me from eventually liking them like I did for Lucky Star.

Blade: As the ONLY guy who doesn’t love KyoAni with a passion, I think I’ll let this one pass me by, that is if it really as good as it is. I saw Haruhi after people told me it was “the best anime ever” and it was far from the truth, and while Lucky Star was funny, it wasn’t hilarious. I’m not saying this one is going to suck or anything, but I’ll hold my bets this time around.

Gene: I know it’s not Haruhi 2, but hey this looks pretty awesome and at least KyoAni gave us something this Spring. For me, this feels like a mix between Haruhi and Lucky Star in terms of setting and style so this is definitely something to check out if you’re a fan of either one.

2Shea: I’ll definitely be adding K-On to my watch list this spring. KyoAni never lets me down, and the premise behind this seems quite interesting. I am not familiar with the 4-koma that is based upon, but I can see this being the sleeper hit of the spring if done correctly.

Pandora Hearts ANN Encyclopedia | パンドラハーツ Genres: Fantasy, action Airdate: April 2nd OP: “Parallel Hearts” by FictionJunction ED: “Maze” by savage genius Production: Xebec Possibility of Getting Blogged: Low

Leon: Dear lord I think I just had an audiorgasm! FictionJunction is handling the opening theme, savage genius on the ending theme, and Kajiura Yuki composing the soundtrack? That is already a huge reason for me to be watching aside from the plot, characters, and seiyuu cast. Given all that it has going for it, here’s to hoping it becomes one of the highlights of the spring season.

Youko: I know absolutely nothing about this show, but the staff looks really superb. It’s been a while since I last heard Kajiura Yuki’s wonderful music. The cast is not too shabby either so hopefully this will turn out decent.

Blade: Hmmm… This one can go either way. I am not very knowledgable when it comes to Pandora Hearts, but if my expectations are low, that means I can have a nice surprise… Right?

Gene: Like Youko, I have no idea what this is. But if Kajiura Yuki is involved, then it’s probably going to sound great. Pandora Hearts doesn’t look like something I’d want to watch so the only thing I’ll be checking out from this is the OST.

2Shea: Once again, like those above me, I know nothing about this series haha. It does look great though, and as they have said, the music alone seems to be a reason to watch this one. I may not complete this series, but I will definitely give it a chance to prove itself.

Queen’s Blade -Rurō no Senshi- ANN Encyclopedia | クイーンズブレイド 流浪の戦士 Genres: Action Airdate: April 2nd OP: “Get the door” by Oohashi Rie ED: “Omoide to Yakusoku” by Kawasumi Ayako, Noto Mamiko, Hirano Aya Production: ARMS Possibility of Getting Blogged: Low

Leon: BOOBLES!. Will I be watching? Hell yeah! I wouldn’t give up the chance to see hot chicks dueling to the death even if the zombie apocalypse came forth on the day it aired! That said the seiyuu cast is pretty stocked full of huge names. Tanaka Rie (<3), Hirano Aya, Noto Mamiko, Goto Yuko, and Kugimiya Rie are all in here. Normally I would blog a show like this but given what I said in the opening, I can’t be careless with what I choose. It probably won’t turn out to be among the best of the season offerings but who knows for sure. What I DO know is that we get to see amazing BOOBIE physics!

Blade: Oh, no! No no no! I have fallen for the trap with To Love-Ru and there is no way I’m planning to repeat that mistake yet again. That being said, it may not turn that bad, I remember people thinking Kamen no Maid Guy will turn in a disaster but honestly it was my favorite comedy of yesteryear, so who knows? I can’t believe I made it this far without saying boobs… AW CRAP!

Gene: Looks like a show concentrated heavily on fanservice. They’re pretty annoying but I guess every season needs at least one of these. Besides all the tits, the only thing that caught my eye was the seiyuu cast. Lots of big names there on the list, but still not enough to get me interested. Though if I start to hear good things, I might give the first episode a shot.

2Shea: This is one I have been looking forward to since the fall. I actually thought it was going to be airing in this winter season, so I was a bit disappointed when it didn’t. Besides the obvious draw, i.e. big bewbs, the fighting promises to be great in this series. I really think that will be it’s biggest draw, and that is why I’ll be giving it a chance this spring.

Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ ANN Encyclopedia | テレビ東京・あにてれ Phantom Genres: Mystery Airdate: April 2nd OP: “Karma” by KOKIA ED: “Gates of Hell” by ALI PROJECT Production: Bee Train Possibility of Getting Blogged: Low

Leon: Ah, Bee Train. While I dislike their handling of Tsubasa I love their work on .hack and El Cazador/other girls-with-guns series. I’ll be checking this out since I find the premise to be interesting. I’m guessing I can expect some romance between the two main characters (based on the promo image) and decent gunfights. Can’t wait to hear the new ALI PROJECT song as well.

Blade: Can someone please tell me how does Ali Project manages to release 7 million anime songs in one year?! Regardless, this look like an adult version of El Cazador so I may give it a look. It’s Bee Train so I hope it’s good!

Gene: Ali Project actually releases the same song each time, but with different lyrics.

Hayate no Gotoku!! ANN Encyclopedia | ハヤテのごとく!! Genres: Comedy Airdate: April 3rd OP: “Wonder Wind” by ELISA ED: “Honjitsu, Mankai Watashi Iro!” by Itou Shizuka, Nakao Eri, Yahagi Sayuri, Asano Masumi Production: J.C. Staff Possibility of Getting Blogged: Low

Leon: Heh, I never finished watching or blogging the first season. I’m not sure why since I really like the manga. Well, once I get done with the first season I’ll be watching this second season. Though I can’t be sure when that will be exactly.

Blade: I never watched the first season so I’ll have to pass on that one.

Gene: I kept up with the first twenty or so episodes of the first season when it aired. I really liked it when I first started the show. Great cast, good humor. Then as it went a long, I noticed this wasn’t going anywhere. The humor started to turn stale and became more about LOL REFERENCES and it just wasn’t enjoyable for me anymore. Of course, I came back for that Hinagiku episode. Now that was good. But yeah, it’s safe to say I won’t be watching this season. Unless they animate that Hinagiku arc. And no, I don’t read the manga, I read those chapters just for Hinagiku because she’s awesome. But even she couldn’t save this series for me.

Slap Up Party -Arad Senki- ANN Encyclopedia | スラップアップパーティー -アラド戦記- Genres: Adventure, fantasy Airdate: April 3rd OP: - ED: - Production: GONZO Possibility of Getting Blogged: Low

Leon: Haha, what the hell is this? This is one of the few shows that came to my attention at the last minute and it based off of the promo image, it looks hilarious. Seeing that GONZO is doing this and given the source material, I can’t help but think this is their next “Druaga”. It’ll probably be like the first episode of Druaga, except all the way through. Maybe. I love to laugh so I’ll be checking it out.

Blade: To keep with the whole “Druaga” thing Leon started, I am watching the newest season right now and so far I think it’s the best thing that Gonzo released in a LONG time, and it doesn’t take a lot to top Dragonaut or Rosario+Vampire. If it keeps the same craziness of Druaga it might be a good show, but I just hope they don’t take it too far.

Gene: I’ll pass. I’m watching too many GONZO shows this season already.

Gokujou!! Mecha Mote Iinchou ANN Encyclopedia | 極上!!めちゃモテ委員長 Genres: Comedy Airdate: April 4th OP: - ED: - Production: - Possibility of Getting Blogged: Low

Leon: I remember seeing the promo image and summary for Shugo Chara and raising an inquisitive eyebrow. Yeah, it seemed to be for girls/kids but when I actually picked it up I found it to be quite enjoyable. The girl, Mimi, is cute enough and it is also a comedy. If Shugo Chara was any indication, this too can be surprisingly good come next month.

Blade: Well, you know, when Shugo Chara came out, I disregarded it as a very lame attempt to cash in on Card Captor Sakura and its brethern, but it was actually a lot better than I thought, probably the biggest surprise. That being said, this one looks similar in design, but who knows how this will turn out.

Gene: Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be here. But Leon begged me to put this on the Spring Preview.

Valkyria Chronicles ANN Encyclopedia | 戦場のヴァルキュリア -Gallian Chronicles- Genres: Fantasy Airdate: April 4th OP: “Ashita e no Kizuna” by HIMEKA ED: “Ano Kaze ni Notte” by pe’zmoku Production: A-1 Pictures Possibility of Getting Blogged: High

Leon: Ah yes, Valkyria Chronicles. Easily one of my most anticipated games of last year (which I have to play&complete ASAP), I can say that it applies to the anime adaptation as well. Its annoucement was surprising to me though since the game hasn’t even been out for a year in Japan (as of this writing anyway). So I’ve been wondering for a while as to what they are going to cover. The main story of the game? Perhaps the anime branches away from the game? While the whole thing makes me scratch my head for a bit I am still quite excited about it all. Bring on Selvaria, Alicia, Rosie, and more!

Youko: A-1 has been my new buddy fairly recently so I have high hopes they do a tremendously good job on this adaptation. I myself haven’t played the game besides the demo, but I’m still looking forward to this.

Blade: I have to be honest, I should have played this one. I’m actually playing Eternal Sonata on the PS3, but I digress. This one looks like a “by the book” adaptation of the game, which isn’t a bad thing as long as it’s entertaining. Tales of the Abyss did a nice job doing that. One thing though… pe’zmoku? Really? Well to their credit, their other songs aren’t as boring as Gallop but still I hope the song will be good.

Gene: Having played the video game myself, I can say that I’m really looking forward to the anime adaption. Any PS3 owner should check the demo out on the PS Store. It’s a strategy game so I’m interested in how A-1 will approach animating all the battles. One thing I’ve noticed from the early screens is that the anime tries to retain the artistic style of the game with a bit of pastel shading. Not only will this please original fans, but it also gives the anime a more distinct look. The biggest thing on my mind right now is which characters they’ll bring in from the huge roster of over 50 recruitable characters. I’ll be looking out for Jane and a few other favorites.

2Shea: I never got to play this game, except for the demo, but the premise and art style always stood out to me. I know they’ve taken a bit away from the original style, in favor of it fitting the more generic anime look; but it still looks pretty good in my opinion. I will be giving this series a shot, and hopefully it will turn out nicely. If it’s good enough, I may even consider picking up the game.

Cross Game ANN Encyclopedia | クロスゲーム Genres: Sports, romance, comedy Airdate: April 5th OP: “Summer Rain” by Kobukuro ED: “Koikogare te Mita Yume” by Ayaka Production: Synergy SP Possibility of Getting Blogged: Medium

Leon: I’ve talked about this endlessly on Otaku Inbou and there’s really little left to say here about it. I’m looking forward to seeing how the animation turns out and especially the handling of Mitsuru Adachi’s brand of humor, especially the stuff that breaks the fourth wall.

Blade: A baseball anime? I am probably going to watch it. Major was great until it started declining, One Outs is decent and Ookiku Furikabutte is exellent, so I wonder how this one will be place among those.

Gene: Checking this out to see what the hell Leon’s been rambling about. I’ve never been a fan of baseball, but hey Eyeshield 21 gave American football an exciting look, maybe this can do the same for baseball.

Dragon Ball Kai ANN Encyclopedia | ドラゴンボール改 Genres: Action, fantasy, science fiction Airdate: April 5th OP: - ED: - Production: Toei Animation Possibility of Getting Blogged: Medium

Leon: Who can turn down HD Dragon Ball Z with tons of stuff rerecorded? Only haters! I really enjoyed watching DBZ during my junior-to-high school years and this anniversary project is looking to assault me with nostalgia. Of course I’ll be watching. I’m also curious as to how they’re going to make it 100+ episodes instead of the 290+ episodes like the original. Eh, doesn’t matter. It’ll still be airing for at least two years. It’s time to Fly Away!

Youko: I never brought myself to watch every single episode of DBZ before, so with Kai, I think this would be a lot more satisfying with the 100-ish episode count. Plus, with rerecorded music, sound, and voices, this is probably one of the biggest anniversary projects ever, if not the biggest.

Blade: Cha-La, Head Cha-La. Dragon Ball Z. While it’s not a masterpiece when it comes to storytelling, it’s still very fun for what it was. I like the idea they are going to sum the show in a 100 episodes, which means Cell’s transformation won’t last for a full episode and Planet Namek’s destruction will actually last… 4 MINUTES! I’m not going to blog it probably, but I’d be happy to see how this one turns out!

Gene: Man, I feel bad for all the people who bought those remastered DBZ boxsets Funimation just put out because this shit is finally being released filler free. Guess we’ll being seeing another batch of remastered boxsets after this.

2Shea: Ahh good ol’ DragonBall. I can’t ever get enough. I’m a major addict to this series, and have been since I first saw it over 10 years ago. This new remastering proves to provide some amazing quality, not only in the visual area, but with re-recorded music and vocal tracks. I’m very pleased to hear all the original cast returing (except Tien of course, who’s seiyuu sadly passed away a while back). I have very high hopes for this, so I hope it can fullfill them!

Fullmetal Alchemist ANN Encyclopedia | 鋼の錬金術師 Genres: Action, fantasy Airdate: April 5th OP: “again” by YUI ED: “Uso” by SID Production: BONES Possibility of Getting Blogged: High

Leon: I’ll say this right now: I LOVES ME SOME FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST. Then again if you listen to the podcasts, you would have known this already. I loved the first series and enjoyed the hell out of the movie. It wasn’t until after those that I familiarized myself with the manga and thought “Damn it would’ve been awesome if these scenes were animated!” Well, that dream has come true and is, as of this writing, about two weeks away. With new characters abound, interesting seiyuu changes, and all the teaser-commercials that have been airing lately I can’t help but me excited for the return of FMA!

Youko: The original FMA anime was immensely popular and a great story, mostly until around the end, and the movie was groan-inducing. But now with a supposedly more canon storyline, expectations will potentially be met. How BONES handles this one will be intriguing. There’s also a new cast as well, so I’m looking forward to that too.

Blade: I think this is the only show here that EVERYONE in the KZI crew wants to see. It’s FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST. I liked the original show, even the second half, but I thought the movie was a complete waste of time and was a complete bomb. Hearing that this adaptation will be truer to the manga, of course everyone’s hyped, but I don’t want to be TOO hyped. After all it is a new version of a loved anime and most of the cast is different, so maybe the change can be too much, but it has been a good change thus far. That and it’s interesting to hear that YUI will be doing the opening theme since “Rolling Star” was my least favorite Bleach OP, but she can always surprise me.

Gene: Being a manga reader myself, this is easily one of my most anticipated show this Spring for me and many others. I know some people didn’t like how BONES handled the end of the original anime adaption (I personally liked it), so hopefully they’ll be able to enjoy this “remake” that will feature a new storyline, new characters, and new twists and turns. The manga is still running actually so whether or not we’ll get another BONES end is up in the air. But I’d say it’s not likely as I’m expecting things to wrap up within this year.

2Shea: FMA, there aren’t many anime fans out there who can say they aren’t a fan of this series in some way. As soon as I heard they would be doing this new series, following the manga story, I became absolutely extatic. The first series was great, but knowing how the manga was, I always sensed something was lacking. I hope this revisit will not dissapoint, but to be honest I’m already pretty sure it won’t.

Guin Saga ANN Encyclopedia | グイン・サーガ Genres: Fantasy, adventure Airdate: April 5th OP: “Guin no Theme” by Uematsu Nobuo ED: “Saga ~ This is my road” by Kanon Production: Satelight Possibility of Getting Blogged: Low

Leon: I think it’s a well known fact by now that I love JRPGs. Which, when it comes to anime, translates to adventures, journeys, and good stuff like that (read: Druaga, Moribito, and others). Guin Saga give sme that feeling almost instantly. Hell, it even has one of the greatest composers ever, Uematsu Nobou, crafting the OP AND the soundtrack. That is massive amounts of awesome right there if you ask me. The story so far hasn’t been expanded on but it sounds interesting enough. Either way, you can’t go wrong with a guy wearing a leopard mask!

Blade: As much as we lack a good action anime, I am not exactly excited about it, Uematsu Nobou notewhistanding. I am going to maybe watch the first episode or something, but I am not thinking it’ll turn out as the greatest show this season, and if it will, well, joke on me.

Hanasakeru Seishounen ANN Encyclopedia | 花咲ける青少年 Genres: Romance Airdate: April 5th OP: “Change” by J-Min ED: “One” by J-Min Production: Studio Perriot Possibility of Getting Blogged: Low

Leon: Hmm. Should I call this Hana-Sei for short? Aside from the that and the main girl’s long name (Kajika Louisa Kugami Burnsworth), this one has caught my attention for reasons I’m not sure about yet. It could be because of the awesome cast or the combination of reverse harem + political intrigue (the latter which I knew of first). Or is it jsut because of the pretty girl? It’s also interesting to see Studio Pierrot handling this as well. All things considered, I’ll be checking it out.

Youko: What surprises me the most about this is that Pierrot’s actually handling a new anime! What, it’s not typical light-colored shounen slashing and beating up bad guys? Well you know what, that might actually not be a bad thing this time. Honestly, they could really use help, but I wonder if this show will help the studio.

Blade: I’ll give Studio Pierrot credit, it’s been a while since I have seen an original show they did like Great Teacher Onizuka or Yu Yu Hakusho. It also seem different than what they usually do, but then again, it doesn’t interest me that much. Maybe it’ll be good, but I’ll probably catch up later.

Natsu no Arashi! ANN Encyclopedia | 夏のあらし! Genres: Romance Airdate: April 5th OP: “Atashi dake ni kakete” by Omokage Lucky Hole ED: “Kirari Futari” by Shiraishi Ryoko Production: SHAFT Possibility of Getting Blogged: Medium

Leon: I remember starting the manga for this three years ago and enjoying it quite a bit. Sadly it became unavailable on both Japanese and English fronts not too long after it started. The manga is still ongoing and as of last November has a total of four volumes. That said, I’ll be watching the anime particularly because I’ll finally be able to continue the series.

Youko: In short, it sounds like a really weird story, but at the same time I’m still quite interested in what it’s all about. The other thing is that Omigawa Chiaki will have her next role in this one so that’s something I gotta see.

Blade: As a modest fan of School Rumble, I’m looking forward to this one. I don’t know a lot about it, but I think that’ll make it more interesting to watch.

Gene: From the author of School Rumble, Natsu no Arashi! is Kobayashi Jin’s newest work. I read the first chapter or two when this first came out. And this when was School Rumble was still running as well. I was surprised when I heard SHAFT picked this up because I didn’t like it from what I’ve read. The characters didn’t have the same charm like in School Rumble and I found myself bored at the end. I probably should give it more time, but bah. Jin’s infamous pie end in School Rumble made me hesitant to pick something else up from him. Especially since School Rumble Z isn’t doing too hot now either.

Saki ANN Encyclopedia | 咲-Saki- Genres: Comedy Airdate: April 5th OP: “Glossy:MMM” by Hashimoto Miyuki ED: “Netsuretsu Kangei Wonderland” by Ueda Kana, Koshimizu Ami, Kugimiya Rie, Shiraishi Ryoko, Itou Shizuka Production: GONZO Possibility of Getting Blogged: High

Leon: RON! Seriously, just hearing about mahjong always reminds me of Akagi (absolutely friggin’ epic show by the way). So then, how about the epic combination of mahjong AND cute girls? There’s no way that could go wrong. Well at least I hope not, especially since the director responsible for Saki also did Dragonaut. UH OH. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that this turns out to be good.

Blade: What’s the deal with the pink girl’s… anyway… A Moejhong anime. Yay I created my own word! But seriously, I am not sure I am going to watch that one, but this one seems to already get a biz of a buzz.

Gene: Saki is all about loli and mahjong. Not a bad combination at all. So what could possibly go wrong? Oh right. GONZO will be behind this one. I enjoyed Akagi a lot even though I didn’t really get most of the rules. So I’m wondering how this will go considering this replaces GAR with moe. Well as long as it has keikaku doori and RON RON RON then I should be satisfied. A lot of good names in the seiyuu department too. Hearing Fukuyama Jun play mahjong should be fun. I hope he uses his Lelouch voice.

Shangri-La ANN Encyclopedia | シャングリ・ラ Genres: Science fiction Airdate: April 5th OP: “Kimi Shinitamou Koto Nakare” by May’n ED: - Production: GONZO Possibility of Getting Blogged: High

Leon: Ever since I first saw Shangri-La, I’ve been more-than-usually interested in it. It’s sort of like when you meet a cute girl somewhere and you both keep glancing at each other from across the room, but you’re not sure if you should make the first move given that her parents are hit-or-miss professionals. Haha, kidding. I like GONZO! Anyway, I haven’t seen any of the light novel this is based on but so far I’m loving the premise. I’ve always had a lingering interest/fascination with nature and so, aside from the sweet-looking animation, attractive character design and the fact that May’n (WOOT!) is singing the opening theme, I’m really looking forward to seeing how the story fans out. I want this show to be awesome. I will blog you, so please be awesome.

Blade: When I think of Shanrgi-la, I think of that ending theme song from Chatmonchy for Hataraki-Man, but that has nothing to do this anime. Like I stated, GONZO isn’t exactly my cup of tea when it comes to anime, but considering how Druaga and Blassreiter weren’t as crappy as they could have been, maybe GONZO is on a stride? Maybe.

Gene: Despite my dislike for GONZO, I will watch another show from them this season. From the plot synopsis, it sounds compelling enough to make me want to check it out. I know global warming might not be an interesting topic for some; but mix in a “teenage girl vs anti-government forces” subplot, and you’ve got an anime on your hands. At the very least, hearing May’n sing the OP should be a treat.

2Shea: I’ll be checking out this series for the sheer fact that Leon has some odd attachment to it, that mainly came from him liking one of the preview images released, haha. I do hope it is good, GONZO is very hit and miss (usually miss) so it’s really hard to say, but I will be giving it a chance at least.

Tayutama -Kiss on my Deity- ANN Encyclopedia | タユタマ -Kiss on my Deity- Genres: Romance, comedy Airdate: April 5th OP: “The fine every day” by Kicco ED: “Kizuna no Uta” by Miyazaki Ui Production: SILVER LINK Possibility of Getting Blogged: Low

Leon: I read the summary and then thought: “…Kannagi?” Then I saw it was an eroge adaptation and then went: “Whoa!” Then I started to think about why the main girl has a pokemon. Uh, anyway, this probably won’t be on my priority list but I’ll give it a peek.

Youko: I’ve no clue about SILVER LINK’s past work(s), but what I see is a fox girl. Or is it not a fox? I’m kind of a sucker for kemonomimi girls but I’m staying neutral to this until I’ve seen what’s up with this. It can’t possibly be more… erotic than Kanokon, can it?

Tears to Tiara ANN Encyclopedia | ティアーズ・トゥ・ティアラ Genres: Adventure, fantasy Airdate: April 5th OP: “Free and Dream” by Suara ED: “Blue sky, True sky” by Yuki Aira Production: WHITE FOX Possibility of Getting Blogged: Low

Leon: A while back I took notice of the game but have yet to check it out. I also find it interesting that it was made by the same company that created Utawarerumono (which was a show I really liked). With that in mind and knowledge of a party (woot RPGish elements!) of characters, I’m going to be checking this out for sure. It’ll be pretty interesting if the atmosphere is somewhat similar to Utawarerumono’s. Hell, even Suara is on board to sing the opening theme!

Gene: Fantasy RPG turned anime? Let’s see, last time I saw one of those was when Tales of the Abyss was airing. And that turned out to be mediocre. Safe to say I won’t be watching this.

07-Ghost ANN Encyclopedia | 07-GHOST Genres: Action, drama, fantasy Airdate: April 6th OP: “Aka no Kakera” by Suzuki Yuki ED: “Hitomi no Kotae” by Noria Production: Studio DEEN Possibility of Getting Blogged: Low

Leon: It’s hard to not think of D.Gray-man when reading the summary for 07-Ghost. From the looks of promo image I couldn’t help but think of Vampire Knight as well. No idea why though. I can say that it managed to grab my attention being described as a “gothic-fantasy” which is more than enough to get me to check it out.

Youko: I think this is actually BL or something. I took a glimpse at the manga and it has beautiful art. The story seemed to be full of action though, so I’m not really sure what it’s supposed to be, really. I’ll give it a shot just to see how it goes.

Blade: When I first saw the promo picture of it, I was think of a weird fusion of D.Gray-Man and Vampire Knight. Vamprie Knight would make sense since Studio DEEN is behind this one, but still, I don’t know what to think about this one. It seems like a blatant rip-off so I can’t really be existed about it.

Gene: The first thing that popped into my mind when I saw the promo pic and read the summary was D.Gray-man. Set in a kinda gothic world and the main character is involved with the Church and stuff. And I easily see Allen if you dye that kid’s hair white. The synopsis sounds somewhat interesting and Studio DEEN is on this and they’re decent when it comes to animation. From first impressions, the show isn’t something for me to get excited about, but I’ll be there to see the first episode or two to check it out.

Asura Cryin’ ANN Encyclopedia | アスラクライン Genres: Science fiction, romance, comedy Airdate: April 6th OP: “Sprial” by angela ED: “Link” by angela Production: Seven Arcs Possibility of Getting Blogged: Medium

Leon: Two things stand out to me about Asura Cryin’. Firstly, the premise isn’t cut from a typical, run-of-the-mill mold. Or at least I can’t recall the last time I watched something with a lead guy being haunted by a childhood friend (who looks to be the lead girl). Secondly, I find the promo image to be rather interesting because of the whole day and evening reflection thing going on. I’ll be watching.

Youko: The only things I’ve ever seen from Seven Arcs are the Nanoha series and a bit of Sekirei. I’m not totally convinced yet, but I like what I have seen for Asura Cryin’ and I pray this will be decent to follow along.

Eden of the East ANN Encyclopedia | 東のエデン Genres: Mystery, romance Airdate: April 9th OP: “FALLING DOWN” by Oasis ED: “futuristic imagination” by school food punishment Production: Production I.G Possibility of Getting Blogged: High

Leon: I remember when the only images available for this was a gun and a cellphone (and probably something else I can’t recall). If it wasn’t for the summary I would’t have had any idea what Eden of the East would be about. Then again, at the time the summary itself didn’t explain much either. I was surprised to see Umino Chika’s character designs being used. Hell, I almost thought that I was seeing Morita and Hagu! It’ll be interesting to see where Production I.G. will take this but the only thing I’m concerned about is the movie which I think is going to be the finale of the story. That would mean that we (as in those outside of Japan) wouldn’t be seeing it until it comes out on DVD until at least the end of the year or around this same time next year. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen.

Blade: Noitamina has been good so far. Last year we had the great Hakaba Kitarou, a decent sequel to Nodame and even Antique Bakery was delightful in its… erm… happiness? However the black sheep is Toshokan Sensou, otherwise known as Library war. Eden of the East is by Production I.G. as well, and I hope they learned their lessons from last time. The animation looks stunning and it’s kind of surreal to see the band Oasis doing an anime opening. Truthfully, I remember how much Toshokan Sensou hyped me a year ago and then disappointed, but you know, I would love to be wrong with this one!

Gene: Is that you, Morita? But jokes aside, it’s obvious the character designs are by the Honey and Clover manga-ka which is a plus for me. The premise is very intriguing (mysterious naked guy and loli) and we’ve got Production I.G in the animation department. Seeing the trailer just made me more hyped up for it. The animation is simply gorgeous. Movie quality stuff here, folks. Definitely my most anticipated show this season.

Hatsukoi Limited ANN Encyclopedia | 初恋限定 Genres: Romance Airdate: April 11th OP: “Future Stream” by sphere ED: “Hatsukoi limited” by marble Production: J.C. Staff Possibility of Getting Blogged: Low

Leon: I’ve read most of the manga but have yet to finish it. Why? I don’t know. Maybe I’ll finally get around to finishing it by watching the anime. With J.C. Staff heading its production I would think that it’s reasonable to believe it won’t turn out like the Ichigo 100% anime adaptation. Hopefully.

Youko: Thankfully, Madhouse isn’t pulling any punches with this one. I know it’s hard to say it, but they really effed up Ichigo 100%. With Hatsukoi, though, this should at least turn out good. I never finished reading the manga, but considering how short it is I should. Anyhoo, I’m gearing up for more romance and girls.

Blade: Okay, let me get this out of the way. I’m probably the only person who didn’t hate the Ichigo 100% anime adaptation, I just thought the ending was horrible but apart from that, I enjoyed it. I just wish this series will be better than that one.

Gene: If you’ve been following our podcast, you might remember us reporting on the anime adaptation of Hatsukoi Limited. And as I mentioned there, I have read and finished the manga. Overall, I enjoyed reading it. But not enough to make me want to enjoy it again in its animated form. And we all know what happened the last time one of Kawashita Mizuki’s works took the anime road, so hopefully J.C. Staff will stay faithful with this one and make it shine.

Fight Ippatsu! Juuden-chan!! ANN Encyclopedia | ファイト一発！充電ちゃん!! Genres: Comedy Airdate: May ? OP: “CHARGE!” by Fukuhara Kaori and Takagaki Ayahi ED: “Onegai Sweetheart” by Fukuhara Kaori Production: Studio Hibari Possibility of Getting Blogged: Low

Leon: There’s no way I can’t be watching this show. After mentioning it so many times on the podcast, reading the summary, and still not knowing what the hell it is going to be out, it has turned out to be a must-see. Here’s to hoping I get a ton of laughs from it.

Youko: Okay, believe it or not, I actually want to see what kind of show this is. From the summary I read, it made absolutely no sense, but what comedy needs to make sense of things? Hibari works aren’t actually A+ production, but who knows. Maybe there will be future memes originating out of this title. I’ll have my fingers somewhat crossed.

Blade: Studio Hibari, YES! Well, I am a fan of Major so it’s kind of an automatic response, but in all seriousness, this seems too bizarre that it can be great (Kamen no Maid Guy) or horrible (Kemeko Deluxe). Let’s hope this’ll rock.

Gene: This season’s guilty pleasure.

2Shea: This is the official anime of our podcast here at KZI, well.. not really but it is an on-going joke held by us. The questionable subject matter, along with a quite odd preview image(not the one pictured above) has caused this series to gain some attention that it otherwise wouldn’t have. It most likely won’t be amazing, but it may end up being a quite funny series depending on how well it’s pulled off.

Now ends our three-part 2008 spring season preview. I wouldn’t necessarily say we saved “the best for last” but there are some interesting ones in here that have caught my eye. Four of those being Itazura na Kiss, Amatsuki, Blassreiter, and Himitsu – Top Secret. My blogging choices here aren’t as plentiful as they were in the first two parts but things can change once all the first episodes are seen which has happened countless times.

Thats said, the the jump to see our thoughts for the final few shows of the 2008 spring season.

Himitsu Top Secret

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 8th
OP: “Kokoro Film (ココロフィルム)” by ALvino
ED: “Kemuri (煙)” by Makichang
Production: MADHOUSE

The story takes place five decades from now, when brain scanners have been perfected to the point that the government can retrieve up to five years’ worth of memories from people’s minds — even if they are dead. The investigators of the National Research Institute of Police Science’s 9th Forensics Laboratory must weigh the ethical choices in the ultimate invasion of privacy as they delve into people’s minds to solve crimes.

Leon: Do I sense a mind-f*ck anime here? Whatever it is already has an interesting summary. The character designs aren’t what I’m used to seeing…but the same thing can be said about Kaiba, especially since MADHOUSE is doing both of these shows. Anyway, I’m up for some mind-diving!

Youko:
You gotta be kidding me…

Someone call me when there’s a show that’s not set in the future.

Blade: It has a great premise that seems thought-provoking. Please make it a good show and don’t waste the potential it has, guys!

Junjou Romantica

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 10th
OP: “Kimi = Hana (君＝花)” by pigstar
ED: “Baby Romantica (ベイビーロマンチカ)” by SCRIPT
Production: Studio DEEN

Misaki is suddenly having some unexpected and odd problems. What started as a need for some college entrance exam tutoring has somehow led him to being romanced by a suave older man who also happens to be his big brother’s best friend. Confused by all of his brand new emotions, Misaki struggles to deal with his suddenly very odd life. And if that wasn’t enough, his suitor, Usami, has plenty of issues of his own. A man-child who decorates his room in giant teddy bears and toys, Usami is a famous novelist who also writes steamy boys’ love novels on the side. When Misaki cracks open one of these books and reads sentences like “Misaki licks every inch of Usami’s hot body”…well, let’s just say that all hell breaks loose.

Leon: Leon doesn’t do yaoi. Why? Leon isn’t yaoi-bait. Yaoi or shounen-ai, which ever you prefer to call it, just isn’t my thing unless it’s a joke. Not to mention most of the characters, especially the older guy looks friggin creepy. So, this gets a “nope” from me.

Youko:
Um, okay, it’s at least not futuristic.

(Who the hell put this on the list anyway, Leon?)

Blade: YAOI ALERT! There are already enough shows I’m interested in so this one is out. Still let’s see… the director of Higurashi is behind the show, so it can’t be that bad. Still, I heard some horror stories about this one, so… I’ll let others do the research for me.

Itazura na Kiss

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 5th
OP: “Kimi, Meguru, Boku (キミ、メグル、ボク)” by Motohiro Hata
ED: “Kataomoi Fighter (片思いファイター)” by GO!GO!7188
Production: TMS Entertainment

Based on a shoujo manga by Tada Kaoru serialised in Margaret.

It was love at first sight for Aihara Kotoko as top student Irie Naoki delivers a speech on the first day of high school. After 2 years of secret admiration, “I don’t want it” is the rejection she gets when she plucks up enough courage to hand him a love letter. Dejected, Kotoko vows to give him up. By a twist of fate, Kotoko’s house collapses; her dad and her put up at a friend’s place, who happens to be Naoki’s father. And thus, life with Naoki begins and Kotoko’s love for Naoki rekindles again. Much laughter ensues when scatterbrain Kotoko makes her countless advances (supported by Naoki’s wacky mum) on ice-cold Naoki who hates girls and is a genius at practically everything from studies to sports.

Itazura na Kiss tells the love story of Kotoko and Naoki from their days as high school students to their marriage. The story continues after the marriage as they continue to grow as a couple.

Leon: This seems like a good replacement for true tears. What I’m really liking about this is the fact that the story, or at least their relationship spans 10 years and shows them growing as a couple. Not many romances out there do this so Itazura na Kiss has me hooked with that particular plot point so far.

Youko:
I admit, I actually want to see how this one is like. Nothing too fancy and doesn’t sound very shallow.

Blade: This isn’t the first love story we are going to have this spring, but it has the most potential. Mainly because the show spans over 10 years, which is a good device for the writers to come up with an effective character-development. This, however, doesn’t necessarily result in a good show making, so I’ll watch out just to be safe.

Kyouran Kazoku Nikki

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 12th
OP: “Chōsai Kenbo Sengen (超妻賢母宣言)” by MOSAIC.WAV
ED: “Kyōran Senki~Nichijō no Kamisama~ (狂乱戦記 ～日常ノ神サマ～)” by Ayumi Fujimura
Production: Nomad

About 1,000 years ago, there was a creature called “Enka”. Enka was very powerful and almost ruined the world with destruction and holocaust. Human beings were in danger of extinction. The survivors banded together against Enka, and they managed to defeat it. However, Enka left a ominous curse before its death.

“My child, sleeping where no one knows, will wake up 1,000 years later, and it will succeed my will to ruin the world.”

2063 AD: Several children that are potential heirs of Enka are discovered via DNA testing. However, even with the latest technology, no one can identify the true child with certainty.

Therefore, the Japanese Imperial Agency for Supernatural Phenomena, which handles supernatural phenomena and abnormal life forms, launches an operation.

OPERATION: Peaceful Family

They gather potential children of Enka into one place to watch each other and find the true child. Also, they expect that the child will develop a love of family while it is living as a member of a family, and that he/she will feel reluctant to kill his/her family, i.e. by destroying the world.

The person who plays the role of the father is Midarezaki Ohka. He works for the agency, and was chosen to be the father before he was aware of it. The mother is Kyoka, a possible child of Enka. Add to this five possible children and a strange family life begins.

Leon: This is an odd one. So odd that I don’t even know what to say. The synopsis that I read does sound interesting but it made my head hurt. In a good way. I’ll check this out just to see what it does for me. One good thing about this show is that MOSAIC.WAV is doing the OP theme!

Youko: Okay, I just read the word “enka.” Now, my first thought was, this is a show about singing enka? Could this have been the result of Jero-san’s modern enka music?! No? Okay good. So now in essence, it’s like these children have Marlocks? I’m on the fence with this one, especially since it’s um… yeah, I won’t bother going into the setting yet again.

Blade: Neko-mimi, moe, chibi, all those words come up when I saw the scan for this show. Nothing is known on the show, and because of that, and its first impression, I won’t bother looking more into it.

Neo Angelique Abyss

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 7th
OP: “Joy to the World” by Hiroki Takahashi, Toru Ohkawa, Masaya Onosaka and Daisuke Ono
ED: “Aiai Kasa” by Tegomass
Production: Yumeta Company

A girl named Angelique attends an all-girls school wanting to become a doctor to help people. However, creatures called “Thanatos” that drain the life out of things appear. With that, our heroine, with various other guardian, attempts to dispel these malicious creatures.

Leon: How many of these have there been? I hardly remember any of the previous ones being subbed or anything. It appears to be standalone but I could be dead wrong on that one. Normally I wouldn’t watch something like this but if there are subs I will check it out just for the girl.

Youko: Okay, so it’s about a little girl fighting some Spanish folklores? Uh…never mind. Not sure how I’ll deal with this.

Blade: Reverse Harem shows are for those who like their romance show out of character, as in seeing beautiful bi-shounen guys prancing in skimpy outfits and seeking one girl. Eh… No.

Kyou Kara Maou! Third Season

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 3rd
OP: -
ED: -
Production: Studio DEEN

Yuri Shibuya is an average high school student whose passion in life is baseball. That is until he intervenes in the bullying of a classmate, Ken Murata, and gets his head dunked in a toilet. Surprisingly he is sucked into the toilet, and ends up in another world. When he reaches dry land, he sees some people dressed in medieval costume and speaking in some weird vernacular. He assumes that it is a theme park of some sort. The people seem to be fightened by him, pelt him with rocks, and begin to form a small mob. He’s rescued by Adalbert von Grantz who uses some form of magic so Yuri understands the local language. Konrad Weller and Günter von Christ then rescue Yuri and take him to Blood Pledge Castle, the residence of the Maoh, where he soon finds out he is the new Maou or Demon King will rule over the Shin Makoku (”New Demon Kingdom”) (眞魔国).

Leon: Well, I haven’t seen the first or second seasons so it’s safe to say I won’t be seeing this one. Next.

Youko: Never touched this show since the beginning. Nope.

Blade: I haven’t watched any of the other seasons, but if it gets a third season, I guess there’s a decent reason why it did. I won’t blog it, but I may watch the other seasons… That is if I can survive the shounen-ai elements.

Amatsuki

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 5th
OP: “Casting Dice” by Yuuki Kanno
ED: “Namae no Nai Michi (名まえのない道)” by Kaori Hikita
Production: Studio DEEN

Based on the shoujo manga by Takayama Shinobu, serialised in Comic Zero-Sum.

History isn’t Tokidoki’s strong subject. He’s even forced to do make-up work at a high-tech history museum to bring up his failing grades. After losing an eye to a virtual reality monster in an Edo-period simulation, he finds himself unable to leave the game. Could it be real?

Leon: This seems like something I can get into. It seems like it’ll be similar to .hack and that’s a good thing. I’ll be watching but not likely to blog it.

Youko: Wait, the guy’s name is Tokidoki? As in “sometimes”? Um okay, these descriptions are getting more ludicrous than I imagined. So it’s some type of virtual reality thing with more eye problems. Hey, at least it’s set in Edo… I think.

Blade: This sounds a little too cheesy for my taste, but Studio Deen is behind the helm, and I don’t recall they done anything bad in recent years. I’ll give it a chance, a slim one.

Bus Gamer

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: March 14th
OP: -
ED: -
Production: Studio Izena

When three complete strangers, Mishiba Toki, Nakajyo Nobuto and Saitoh Kazuo, are hired by a corporation to compete in the Bus Game, an illegal dog-fight conducted in strict secrecy, they are given the team code of “Team AAA” (Triple Anonymous). This group of three who differ entirely from their living environments to their personalities have to work together effectively, but without mutually wiping out their mistrust of each other or prying into each other’s privacy. They only have one point in common – each of them need a large amount of money for their individual circumstances. To get the money, they must play in the game despite their very own lives being at stake.

Leon: The first episode is out but I have yet to watch it. I’ll eventually get around to it but at the moment it’s not high on my priority list.

Youko: Okay, I watched the first episode and things went down a bit too fast and weird for me. First off, the 17-year old annoys the crap outta me. These other two guys seem like pricks too. The only thing they all have in common is no explained reason of wanting a billion… yen, is it? Don’t think it was all that interesting to me.

Blade: Once the OVAs are all out, I’ll watch this. It is popular among manga readers so why not? Just the premise makes me giddy.

Golgo 13

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 11th
OP: -
ED: -
Production: The Answer Studio Co., Ltd.

Based on the long-running action adult manga by Takao Saito.

Golgo 13 has been called a Japanese counterpart to James Bond, except with a darker character, a much more hardcore attitude towards sex, and a complete lack of morality. Golgo 13 is described as a mystery man of undetermined origin, possibility being at least part Japanese, who takes any assignment for any employer (it has been said he has worked for the CIA and the KGB) as long as the right price is given and will always fulfill his contracts, even if he has two or more opposing contracts at the same time. He is an uncanny sharpshooter, with near 100% accuracy and capable of lethal trick shooting, and regularly uses a customized, scoped M-16 rifle in his assassinations. He also is a heavy smoker of cigars.

Leon: So apparently this guy is a BAMF. For those who don’t know what that means Golgo is a Badass Motherf***er. I’ve been meaning to check out the movies as well. Depending on if someone subs this and if I need to know watch the past stuff (which I doubt), I’ll be checking it out for sure.

Youko: Hey, doesn’t sound too shabby, but I could be wrong. I’ll see how this fairs before complete judgment.

Blade: I don’t know why, but this seems like a very popular franchise in Japan I am not aware of. It even had NES games, seriously. Even so, I hope this one has substance to support its so-called “Legacy”.

Blassreiter

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 5th
OP: “Detarame na Zanzō (デタラメな残像)” by GRANRODEO
ED: “sad rain” by Aki Misato
Production: Nitroplus, GONZO

Set in the near-future, in a town in Germany. There have been incidents of dead people coming back to life, transforming into “grotesque shadows”, and attacking people. Living people show up who can transform themselves into demons whenever they want. They used to be regular humans, but when they gained this power to transform, people rejected them and called them demons. But they still use their powers, each for his own reason. However, they cannot deny their fate: to fight in a deadly battle royal with others who have turned into demons.

Leon: With Nitroplus along side GONZO on this, it seems like it’ll be a great effort. The animation and character designs look great and is sure to be pure-action eye-candy. I’m quite interested in the pink-haired girl at the moment. As for the main guy, he looks kinda like Hei from Darker than BLACK if you ask me…

Youko: Does “near-future” count as anything? Okay, sorry for having so much hate towards these. Maybe it’s just me again. Anyhoo, it at least has something else going for it, that being these um “grotesque shadow” things. A bit of an alien invasion thing I guess. If it’s any good I might give it a shot.

Blade: Thanks to the combined “effort” of Rosario+Vampire and Dragonaut, it’s hard to respect Gonzo like we did back in the Chrono Crusade days. The premise is already cliched enough to make me pass this one. At least it has a song by GRANRODEO, which I bet I’m the only person who cares about that minor detail.

Long story short: was supposed to post this sooner but came across some… maintaining issues. Sorry, everyone. This is the second post for the spring season. You’ve probably noticed now that we’re quite interested in blogging many shows. It’s really no surprise to me that we all wanna have out eyes-on review for R2 and SOUL EATER. You’ve seen the first 11 previewed, now here’s the next 11. Hard to say what we’ll wanna blog from this. Maybe we chose the good ones early? Don’t be so shocked to see my comments waver though. Oh yes, I’m just THRILLED.

Zettai Karen Children

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 6th
OP: “Over The Future” by Aya Hirano, Ryoko Shiraishi, and Haruka Tomatsu
ED: “絶対love×love宣言！！” by Aya Hirano, Ryoko Shiraishi, and Haruka Tomatsu
Production: Synergy SP

Based on a shounen manga by Takashi Shiina, serialised in Shounen Sunday.

In the future, people with ESP are becoming more widespread. The Japanese government has hired three of the most powerful ESPers in Japan to work for B.A.B.E.L. (Base of Backing ESP Laboratory), but all three are ten year old girls with questionable attitudes.

Leon: I’ve been interested in this since it was first announced. The premise sounds sweet and the old-school art really hooks me in. On top of those, Hirano Aya is also starring!

Youko: One of the more astract titles I’ve read about. You know that little kids with psychic powers isn’t a very safe issue. In this show’s case, it might get a little shaky, perhaps fun too.

Blade: I won’t lie, I am not the biggest Aya Hirano fan in the world, mainly because unlike most of you, I don’t consider Haruhi Suzumiya the funniest thing ever. That being said, I am setting my eyes on this one. It is probably the only show that’ll last for 52 episodes and it involves Esper girls. I wonder what this’ll have in store for us.

Kanokon

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 5th
OP: “PHOSPHOR” by Ui Miyazaki
ED: “Koi no Honoo (恋の炎)” by Yui Sakakibara
Production: Xebec

Kanokon’s story revolves around Kouta Oyamada, a young first-year high school student who moves from the country to the city and thus transfers to Kunpo High School. On his first day at his new school, a beautiful second-year female student named Chizuru Minamoto asks him to meet her alone in the music room. When he arrives, she reveals her that she is in fact a fox deity and from that day on the two hang out together. Nozomu is a first year female student at Kouta’s school, she is in fact a wolf deity and in love with Kouta, and a rival of Chizuru for Kouta’s affections.

Leon: A fox and a wolf deity? Boobs and loli-goodness? Is there really anything more that I need say to convince myself to watch this? Of course not. I’ll be watching. I also find it interesting how Mamiko Noto will be playing the guy in this…

Youko: I have a thing for foxes (hence the name) and seeing Kanokon drew me in immediately. There seems to be a school approach to this too and it has many favorite seiyuu of mine so I’m officially game for this.

Blade: What’s funny about Kanokon is the fact the girl is voiced by Ayako Kawasumi and the boy by, believe it or not, Mamiko Noto. It’s the first time they’ll perform main roles together, with the same gender as well, since Girls Bravo, that turned out mediocre at best. Now to Kanokon, Fox Deity? I don’t know about that,
but it has a strong cast, so I’ll give it a chance, but it’s going to be a slim chance I’ll follow this one religiously.

Wagaya no Oinari-sama

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 7th
OP: -
ED: -
Production: ZEXCS

A long time ago, a sacred fox was deified as the guardian of the Mizuchi Family. Kugen the Fox was very wise and it could use various magics. However, because it was too mischievous, it was sealed into a small shrine in the hill behind the Mizuchi house by a priest.

During the present, Takagami Toru, a Mizuchi descendant, often dreams of a woman seems like a monster. The head of the Mizuchi household deduces that some sort of danger looms over Toru, and she releases the sealed Kugen in order to protect him. Contrary to what Toru imagines based on the legends, “Ku-chan”, as Kugen is affectionately referred to, is not a dignified creature. Not only can it turn into a woman of great beauty, but it can also assume the form of a man.

Leon: Okay. I’ll say this from the start: The female form is SUPER CUTE. I’m really looking forward to her having most of the screentime. My thoughts on the male form depends on his demeanor. My curiosity is screaming at me to see how this one turns out so I guess I’ll be watching.

Youko: Only another show with a hot fox! This time played by the bodacious Yukana herself. Seems like another perfect role to me, which gives me no worries. I’ll check this out too though I’m not quite sure if I wanna blog it just yet.

Blade: OH GREAT, CLEVER! From one “Fox Deity” show to the next, eh? This one seems more serious, but what’s this? My god it’s like Ranma where the main character changes genders. I don’t know about this one, but I think it’ll be the superior one.

To LOVE-ru

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Airdate: April 3rd
OP: “forever we can make it!” by THYME
ED: “Lucky Tune (ラッキーチューン)” by SANTOS ANNA
Production: XEBEC

The story is about Yuuki Rito, a high-school boy who cannot confess to the girl of his dreams, Sairenji Haruna. One day when coming home and sulking in the bath-tub a mysterious, nude girl, appears out of nowhere. Her name is Lala and she comes from the planet Deviluke, where she is the heir to the throne. Her father wants her to return to her home planet so she can marry one of the husband candidates, but she decides that she wants to marry Rito in order to stay on Earth. Commander Zastin has been ordered to bring Lala back and has already battled Rito. He reports to the emperor that Rito would be suited to marry Lala, after hearing Rito say that marriage is impossible unless it is with the person you love (Rito was actually defending himself but Zastin and Lala thought he was defending Lala). With this speech, Lala truly falls in love with Rito and decides that she wants to marry Rito. Her father decides that, if Rito is able to protect Lala from her fiances, then he can be her fiance, but if Rito cannot protect Lala from her other fiances, Lala’s father will kill Rito and destroy Earth.

Leon: I was pretty surprised to know that To LOVE-Ru was being animated. I honestly was expecting this in 2009 rather than this year but hey I’m not complaining. While it’s nothing epic I do enjoy the comedy and seeing Lala, Sarenji, and Rito as well as their other friends cause all sorts of chaos.

Youko: I used to love reading this but I haven’t been keep up for a long time. I think now with an anime it might rekindled that and I’ll fall in love with it all over again. IIRC, it was quite funny with ecchi on the side. Hopefully it won’t suffer from what I call the Jump Anime Syndrome. Basically what you see in nearly all of adapted Jump titles: filler. Now of course, it’s not like this is headed by Pierrot anyways so rest assured, gang.

Blade: Now where have I seen this before? A girl escaping from her parents in order to avoid marrying a dastardly groom? This is pretty much the premise of To Love-Ru, and it’s a cliched one, but I think it’s the first time I seen it in an anime. No matter how bad it can be, it has Takehito Koyasu, and his presence can make this
a great show… can it?

Monochrome Factor

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Airdate: April 7th
OP: “Metamorphose” by Asriel
ED: “Awake ~my everything~” by Daisuke Ono and Hiroshi Kamiya
Production: A.C.G.T.

Akira Nikaido is a typical slacker high school student who thinks he has a normal life–until a mysterious man called Shirogane appears and tells him to meet him at the school that night. He is skeptical but goes anyway…and gets attacked by a shadow monster! Shirogane convinces him that the balance between the human world and the shadow world has been distorted, and that Akira must become a shin–a creature of the shadow world–in order to help restore the balance.

Leon: This seems like standard shounen to me. The images I’ve seen so far don’t really excite me but I’ll give it the first episode a watch.

Youko: Mm, I saw the PV for this but nothing special about it. Reading the summary gave me no feeling whatsoever as well, sad as it is to say. No wait, maybe it’s not sad after all. Anyways, it’s a no.

Blade: Another action show in which the protagonist meets a mysterious character that grants him powers to fend evil. Since the last season lacked action shows besides Gundam 00 (that’s not over) and the mediocre Dragonaut, I guess I’ll whip myself for any desire of following this.

Kaiba

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 10th
OP: “Never” by Seira
ED: “Carry Me Away” by Seira
Production: MADHOUSE

A sci-fi love story set in a world where digitization of memory made physical death obsolete. A world where memories can be stolen and altered, and replaced in a new human body.

Kaiba wakes up in a room wthout knowing who he is. He has a pendant with the photograph of a woman he does not remember. After being attacked all of a sudden, he has to flee to space, meet various people, and rediscover the world.

“Even without my memories, I love you…”.

Leon: This screams “I don’t need to be conventional to be awesome!”. The premise really intrigues me and the animation and character designs are obviously beyond unique. The first sentence of the story synopsis already guarantees that I will be watching this. There is also some awesome seiyuu talent in this which include Mamiko Noto, Kawashima Houko, and Romi Paku.

Youko: I’ll admit, even I thought for a second this was about the billionaire jackass Seto Kaiba. So if not, then what… seahorses? Jokes aside, the presentation definitely gives off a kiddish look. Nonetheless the look isn’t really what determines what makes the show good. It’s an interesting concept, one that isn’t all that original but similiar to others. It might turn out good, might not. We’ll see soon enough.

Blade: When I think “Kaiba”, I think: “Screw the rules, I have money!” But it’s actually a show that shows a lot of potential. Now I know I said this a lot, but this actually pulls me in. The idea of altered memories sounds ineteresting and even the amnesia cliche doesn’t bother me that much. Houko Kawashima and Mamiko Noto are playing Kaiba and the girls he falls for Neiro, so we do have a nice cast from the get go. The art style is
akin to Osamu Tezuka, which I bet will repel some thinking it’s childish and too much like Astro Boy, but I
bet that if the writers do everything right, we’ll have a gem.

S・A ～Special A～

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 6th
OP: “Special Days” by Yuko Goto
ED: “Hidamari no Gate (陽だまりのゲート)” by Jun Fukuyama, Hiro Shimono, Tsubasa Yonaga & Kazuma Horie
Production: AIC, Gonzo

Hikari Hanazono, the main character, has always been second to Kei Takishima. While Hikari considers Kei a rival and somewhat of a friend, Kei loves Hikari. Everyone knows this, but she is too dense to notice. Their wrestling loving fathers first introduced them to one another when they were 6 years old. Assuming that she was the best in wrestling, young Hikari challenged Kei to a wrestling match only to be thoroughly defeated by him. Ever since that fateful incident, Hikari swore to beat Kei in school grades, a sporting event – anything. To do this she has enrolled in the same school as Kei since elementary. Now she attends Hakusenkan, an ultra elite school, that costs her carpenter father a lot of money. Hikari and Kei are the top two students in the school, with Kei holding firmly to that number one position.

Leon: A school comedy! I think I can use one of these after being without one for so long. I’ve also heard good things about the manga so this one should turn out to be a winner. Fukuyama Jun is also the male lead in this. Man, he’s everywhere this season!

Youko: Hah, “special” class, huh? Good one. Alright well, I’m not all that much of a school series watcher save for a few, and this one doesn’t seem all too different in the long run. Of course, it includes a bunch of favorites like Gotou and Fukuyama, though that’s one factor that I’d actually say is what caught my eye.

Blade: It’s going to be hilarious if we had a “Special K” anime that involved cereal! Unfortunately Special A seems like another school rumble knockoff. The story is a love story of a girl who always wants to beat the boy at anything he does better, even though she is unaware his feeling towards her. This, of course, leads to many situations of competition on one hand, and sexual tension on the other. Jun Fukuyama from the Lelouch fame will voice Kei, the male lead, whereas the girl will be voice by Yuko Gotou… ah, great…

Crystal Blaze (Glass Maiden)

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Airdate: April 9th
OP: -
ED: -
Production: Studio Fantasia

S&A Detective Agency is a jack-of-all-trades in Lags Town placed on the outskirts of Diver City. Shu used to be a hot-shot police detective and fought for justice. He stood up against state authority but lost everything he had as a consequence and drifted into this town. Now he lives an easy life with his right-hand man (Akira), two assistants (Manami and Ayaka) but feels empty inside.

One day, an incident leads Shu to come across the mysterious heroine, Sara, who has no memory of her past. The unprecedented truth is about to be revealed as he investigates the incident, and it will provoke a crisis involving the entire Diver City…

Can Shu and his buddies protect what they cherish?
And what is the future of Diver City…?

Leon: Oh! What’s this? A mystery, is it? The PV I saw really impressed me even though it really didn’t show much beyond some people turning into glass and shattering. Still, I really want to see this one as I love mystery and detective stories.

Youko: Based on what I saw in the PV, it looked pretty interesting. A little intense, some dark tones, but nothing I’d probably like. I may catch the first episode to see it.

Blade: Nothing like a pessimistic story to keep my hopes up. Shinichiro Miki takes up the lead role is this dystopian future world of Crystal Blaze. When it comes to him, you know we are going to have a tough guy that you can hate when he does something inconsiderate, but more so a cool guy you should admire (Lockon from Gundam 00 or Urahara Kisuke from Bleach). I have to say that despite his inclusion, the premise of the show can warrant my attention if lives up to the hype I’m making out of it.

The Tower of Druaga: the Aegis of Uruk

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Airdate: April 5th
OP: “Swinging” by Muramasa☆
ED: “Tōchōsha-tachi (塔頂者たち)” by KENN
Production: Gonzo

In a summer once every five years, demons in the mysterious Tower of Druaga lose their powers due to the magic spell cast by a god named “Anu”. King Gilgamesh, ruler of the kingdom Uruk, uses the appearance of demons as an excuse to invade the tower and find out the construct’s secrets. As 80 years passed, the Uruk army managed to fight back the demons and built a fortress city and safe haven on the very first floor of Druaga – Metz Kier. Thus begins the story of a warrior named Gil who, finding companions along the way, embarks on a quest for the fabled Blue Crystal Rod, a powerful artifact rumored to be in the highest floor of Druaga. However, other competitors, including the kingdom of Uruk itself, want the treasure, all for their own reasons.

Leon: It’s been a long while since I’ve seen anything combining adventure and fantasy as its genres. That said, Druaga really shows promise in its plot description and the character designs are looking rather good. I’m hoping that the good GONZO team and not the OTHER one that just finished Dragonaut and R+V are in charge of this though since I really want this to be good.

Youko: Okay, it’s probably just me but I think there’s just too much futuristic settings, which I’m getting pretty sick of. That aside, I don’t find it particularly appealing so safe to say I’m skipping.

Blade:
Finally a fantasy series. I love those who take you to faraway locals and allow you to venture the unknown. This
one is based upon an old game released by Namco in the 80’s, but it has nothing to do with it. Little is known about
the anime, which is the only reason why I’m not that stocked.

D.C.II S.S. ～Da Capo II Second Season～

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Airdate: April 6th
OP: “Sakura Amaneku Sekai (サクラアマネクセカイ)” by yozuca*
ED: “Bokutachi no Yukue (僕たちの行方)” by CooRie
Production: Feel

Does this really need a summary…?

Leon: Well I haven’t seen any of the previous ones so I won’t be watching this.

Youko: I’ve only seen the first season but that was it. I would’ve gone to the second but I heard it was really bad and Sakura doesn’t even show up until nearly the end of the show. That didn’t cut it for me. I never continued from there so looks like we’re all passing on this.

Blade: Let’s see, I gave the two seasons of the first Da Capo mediocre scores, what do you think is going to be the fate of this one?

RD Sennou Chousashitsu (Real Drive)

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 9th
OP: “Wanderland” by 9mm Parabellum Bullet
ED: “Katahiza no Yogore (片膝の汚れ)” by Last Alliance
Production: Production I.G

The story takes place in 2061, 50 years after humanity developed the “Net society” that depended on information networks despite their security issues. To improve security, a new network called Meta Real Network — or “Metal” for short — was developed. People’s personal memories are reduced to information and placed within “protected virtual stand-alone organic cyber enclaves” called bubble shells online. The result was a virtual “explosion” of creative freedom as people felt safe enough to explore instincts and desires on Metal that they would not otherwise explore in real life. This “friction” between the Metal’s alluring lack of restrictions and rules-bound reality led to trouble and incidents that investigators known as “cyber divers” must handle. Masamichi Haru is one such cyber diver.

Leon: Ah, yet another Production I.G. title. It’s reasonable to expect most things to be of high quality in their productions and Real Drive seems to be no different. I’m a sucker for stories dealing with technology and the evolution of society in the future so I’m definitely watching RD and quite possibly blogging it as well.

Youko: Another show that presents itself in advanced modern times…. okay, greattttt. You know, it’s usually something invovled with humanity and something. Sorry, I don’t think I can stand this anymore…

Blade: This is a Production I.G. show, and I think they became everyone’s most respected animation studio out there, so it’s safe to say most people will follow their shows, including the sequel to xxxHolic. It does show great potential so I’ll watch the first episode. It better be good, I.G!

The time has come again and another season is about to dawn upon us. Most of what I’m blogging is about to end (or has already ended) and I’ve already chosen a few of the upcoming shows to blog. I won’t say how many I’ll be picking up this time around but with my graduation imminent and my career picking up it won’t likely be as many as I have done in the past. If you frequent KZI then you should have an idea of what shows I’ll be watching and those I’ll be blogging. The offerings this time round, like last Spring, are a bit overwhelming but there are more than enough titles that catch my eye and so the only decisions to be made is when I’ll watch and blog what.

That all being said, my usual criteria revolves around the summary and plot, artwork, production, and seiyuu talent. Of course, that isn’t in any sort of order. Also you can expect team posts on about two or three of the titles.

CODE GEASS Lelouch of the Rebellion R2

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Airdate: April 6th
OP: “O2″ by ORANGE RANGE
ED: “Shiawase Neiro” by ORANGE RANGE
Production: Sunrise

Japan or Area 11 is occupied by a great power, Britannia Empire. There are two boys living there, Lelouch and Suzaku. Lelouch is trying to obtain the power of Geass to destroy the world. On the other hand, Suzaku operates a nightmare frame ,Lancelot, to seek for ideal and truth of the world. Their contrastive ways of life make a big wave to rock the empire. A new legend of the 21st century is about to begin.

Leon: You know. I think it goes without saying that I’m watching this, blogging this, and all that jazz. If you don’t know how much I love this series by now then either you’re new, don’t pay attention, or a damn Orange. It’s time for more Lelouch/Zero, the return of Kallen and her lovely tatas being suffocated, preparing cloths for imminent Villeta-as-a-gym-teacher-drolling, looking out for Pizzahut ads and how much Miss. C.C. (and her fine ass) will consume this time around, and last but not least, seeing how far Nina has gone with the table among other things. I’m not really looking forward to seeing the douchebag knight either and what’s up with that Rollo kid? Whatever the case I want to see more of Marianne in this sequel and of course how well Cornelia is doing. Come on R2! I’m ready for you!

Youko: On the top of the list, what else but CG? As one of the biggest anticipated shows this season, you gotta admit you saw this coming. Round 2 is about to begin and we’re all anxious to see. Where we left off we got a mighty big cliffhanger. Where we continue seems like that much won’t be answered just yet but what we do know is that there will be more thrills, more suspense, more action, more everything. This season we see many fresh faces along with some old faces with change. While R2 airs in Japan in the second week of April, stateside the first season will be viewable on Adult Swim a couple of weeks after. Isn’t that grand? What I’m really looking forward to is the Knights of the Rounds, who look like they spell trouble for Lelouch. Nearly a week to go!

Blade: Okay, it’s a no-brainer how big this one is. The mother lode, the grand daddy, you know the rest. After the cliffhanger of the last show you have to wonder how it’ll go on from there? I know I’m going to join the ride whether people like it or not. Besides, it’s going to have not one, but 2 Orange Range songs, and it’s been a while since I heard them in an anime… Can’t believe the last time was Asterisk from Bleach.

Macross FRONTIER

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Airdate: April 3rd
OP: “Triangular” by Maaya Sakamoto
ED: “Ai, Oboete imasu ka (愛・おぼえていますか)” by Megumi Nakajima
“Diamond Crevasse (ダイアモンド クレバス)” by Sheryl Nome starring May’n / May Nakabayashi
Production: Satelight

Macross Frontier marks the 25th anniversary of the Macross anime franchise. It is a direct sequel to te first Macross series and Macross 7 and follows the lives of Alto Saotome, Ranka Lee and a pop idol named Sheryl Nome on board the Macross Frontier colonization fleet. After the war against the Zentradi aliens, Humankind has spread across the universe in order to ensure its survival. The Macross Frontier fleet is part of a effort to spread and maintain the culture of humanity.

Leon: I think it’s pretty obvious that I’m looking forward to this. I held out for as long as I could from watching the preview of the first episode just to reduce the amount of time I had to wait between and I still don’t think it worked out. Anyway, being a Macross fan it’s only natural that I’ll be watching this without hesitation. It’s going to be awesome and I hope it continues to be based on initial impressions.

Youko: I never seen Macross before and I’m not much of a mecha fan (’sides GEASS) so safe to say I won’t have any partake in this.

Blade: The moment I saw Macross FRONTIER, I had to think: WOW. I don’t think I have seen something so awe-inspiring in a long time since I watched the Opening scene to Seirei no Moribito. My god you can tell someone had money in their pockets when they worked on this series, it’s beautiful. However is beauty skin deep? I think I’ll give this series a go just because of that.

SOUL EATER

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Airdate: April 7th
OP: “resonance” by T.M.Revolution
ED: “I Wanna Be” by STANCE PUNKS
Production: BONES

Based on a shounen manga by Ookubo Atsushi serialised in Shounen Gangan. Set in the Shinigami technical school for weapon technicians, the series revolves around 3 groups of each a weapon technician and a human weapon. Trying to make the latter a “Death Scythe” and thus fit for use by the Shinigami, they must collect the souls of 99 evil humans and 1 witch.

Leon: I’ve been anticipating this rather anxiously for many reasons I can’t pinpoint. Badass action? Punk-style? Ecchi? BONES on board? 50+ episodes? It all seems to add up to an amazing formula in my eyes. On the OP/ED side of things, the groups are rather well-placed I think. TMR is a long time favorite of mine and while STANCE PUNKS aren’t exactly in my top 10 band list, their style of music should work with Soul Eater better than most other choices. Definitely count this as the third show I’ll be blogging along with Youko.

Youko: The new series I’m looking forward the most. I’ve anticipated for this as much as GEASS and I’m still raring to seeing it now. It has punk written all over it. A cutting-edge series with awesome characters and great designs. I’m still not sure how long this will be; I read it’s actually 50 something episodes though, which I hope so. I think the manga is far ahead for this to work but if not BONES would still do it justice. I’m loving the fact that Gangan Comics series are getting a lot of attention lately.

Blade: I was worried there were no Shounen action shows. The last one, Jyushin Enbu ~Hero Tales, was not getting any attention. Soul Eater, on the other hand, looks more promising mainly because of those who are behind the helm: BONES. Now people are going to stone me, but I find T.M Revolution doing the OP a bit underwhelming since I prefer his shift to Abingdon Boys School. Needless to say, what I am more worried about is the return of the band I hate with the red hot intensity of a thousand suns: STANCE PUNKS. I’ll still watch is since it does seems interesting.

Nabari no Ou

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 7th
OP: “Crawl” by VELTPUNCH
ED: “Hikari” by ELISA
Production: J.C. Staff

Rokujou Miharu is a boy who has a hijustu (hidden technique) living inside of him. This hijustu is the power of creation. Many ninja clans are seeking it as the one who posesses it becomes the ruler of the ninja world. Rokujou’s classmate Kouichi started a nindou (”Way of the Ninja”) club at school with Kumohira, his English teacher. Both Kouichi and Kumohira are secretly ninjas. They tried to persuade Rokujou to join the ninjustu club. At first, he was reluctant, but after being attacked by group of ninjas trying to get his hijutsu, he joins. He must become the Ruler of Nabari in order to survive.

Leon: This premise attracts me for reasons I don’t quite understand as yet. I do find the character designs to be really attractive though. I especially find the blonde pigtailed girl to be interesting. The main character’s power at the moment seems to be pretty ultimate hax but I’ll either wait for the anime to air to show me otherwise or check out the available chapters of the manga. Still though, I’m glad to see that J.C. Staff is at the helm of this so that should mean good stuff will undoubtedly come from this.

Youko: Looking at the trailer, it gave me this sort of FF feel. The modern FF ones. The characters sport very casual looking clothing and yet possess some form of arts. In fact, you could say this doesn’t look like a ninja story, but a fantasy story. I’m not quite sure what to think of it, but I suppose I can give it a go and see how it’ll fair from there.

Blade: When I think of Rie Kugimiya voicing a kid, I am think of Alphonse Elric. That being said, I don’t think it’ll fit well here. This also seem like an action show, but a little bit more serious. Even so, after reading the introduction, I can’t help myself but thinking: haven’t I seen this before? I can’t really point it, but I think I remember a show in which a clan of bad guys are after a good guy for his ability\item he possesses and he has to fend them off with his friends. I’ll give it a chance, but I am not sure I’ll follow it.

Toshokan Sensou

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 11th
OP: “Atashi no Machi, Ashita no Machi (あたしの街、明日の街)” by Hitomi Takahashi
ED: “changes” by Base Ball Bear
Production: Production I.G

Based on a light novel series by Arikawa Hiro, illustrated by Adabana Sukumo.

In the year 2019, the explosion of information and misinformation became a direct threat to society. In a daring decision, it was decided to create a new government agency dedicated solely to information management. Now some thirty years later, the government still monitors and controls information, suppressing anything they find undesirable, but standing against their abuses of power are the libraries, with their special agents called ‘the book soldiers.’

Leon: I’ve been really excited for this over the past few weeks. It’s not just because Production I.G. is in charge but I fell for the concept immediately after reading it. The whole idea of “book soliders” has me intrigued and the character designs as well as the seiyuu talent (Marina Inoue, Akira Ishida) are draw me in as well. I’m going to be following this for sure.

Youko: BOOK FIGHT! On second thought, the summary seems way out of the ordinary, no? You’d think that this kind of leaked information and data was something that could spontaneously combust or maybe they’re really, really, really, important documents? I have nothing for or against it, but I never wanna miss out on anything taking place in the future.

Blade: Is it a show about an otaku’s exploits in a manga rack? No, it’s not Genshiken. Anyhow, Library War already begins to build hype among my fellow bloggers in the blogosphere. I have no real idea what the show is about but just looking at the description: “Action, Sci-Fi AND Romantic Comedy.” with the addition of the support of Production I.G., I’ll definitely give a chance. Hitomi Takahashi is doing the OP theme so I’ll tag along anyways. Base Ball Bears, though? I didn’t expect to see them after Ookiku Furikabutte (A baseball anime that will take forever to be subbed properly).

ヴァンパイア騎士　～VAMPIRE KNIGHT～

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 7th
OP: “Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi (ふたつの鼓動と赤い罪)” by ON/OFF
ED: “still doll” by Kanon Wakeshima (分島花音)
Production: Studio DEEN

Yuki’s earliest memory is of a stormy night in winter, wherein she was attacked by a vampire… And then rescued by another. Now 10 years later, Yuki Cross, the adopted daughter of the headmaster of Cross Academy, has grown up and become a guardian of the vampire race, protecting her savior, Kaname, from discovery as he leads a group of vampires at the elite boarding school. But also at her side is Zero Kiryu, a childhood friend who’s hatred for the creatures that destroyed everything he held dear, is now determined never to trust them. This coexisting arrangement seems all well and good, but have the vampires truly renounced their murderous ways, or is there a darker truth behind their actions? Is Kaname’s infatuation with Yuki the beginning of a forbidden romance, or is it something in her forgotten past that draws him to her? In this world of secrets, nothing is as it seems, and the price of misplaced trust may even be worse than death.

Leon: I was surprised to see that this was being animated this year. I really enjoy reading the manga and find the characters all well-written, especially Yuki. She’s easily my favorite character in the entire show. This is my shoujo pick of the season and you can definitely expect me to follow it.

Youko: I glanced at this manga few times, but never looked in to it. I guess you could say the title caught my eye. I’ve always had a thing for vampire stories. I think what’s gonna be really interesting is the romance with a vampire. Buffy, anyone? I think this could end up being a worthy watch. Horie Yui is one of my favorite seiyuu but there’s even more seiyuu talent involved too.

Blade: After reading more about it, I am actually curious about Vampire Knight, despite having a similar name to a PS2 light-gun game. It is a shoujo anime, so there’s bound to be romance and bishounen everywhere, but the premise seems interesting enough to keep my attention and the cast includes Yui Horie, Suichiro
Hoshi and Susumu Chiba so it warranted my attention for now.

アリソンとリリア – Allison & Lillia

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 3rd
OP: “Tameiki no Hashi (溜め息の橋)” by Kuricorder Quartet and Shione Yukawa (栗コーダーカルテット＆湯川潮音)
ED: “Sayonara no Omajinai (サヨナラのおまじない)” by Kuricorder Quartet and Sou Matsumoto (栗コーダーカルテット＆松本素生)
Production: MADHOUSE

The story takes place in a world with only one big continent. This world is divided into two federations engaged in an endless series of fruitless wars. The story starts when a girl, Allison, and a boy, Ville, who have been raised together in an orphanage, set out on an adventure to find a great treasure which is worth ending the war for. After that, the story is continued by their daughter, Lillia, and her boyfriend Treize.

Leon: I think it’s been a while since I’ve watched something that screams adventure. This one has successfully tugged me into checking it out once it airs. I’m interested in seeing how time passes by and how characters develop during the series, especially seeing that Allison and Ville will have a daughter, Lillia, who will continue the story (which I assume is halfway through the series).

Youko: I like the way the story will move, judging by the summary. Of course, I don’t really know what direction it will take but I somehow just have this feeling it might be alright. The PV didn’t show much but I really love the music in the background. I don’t watch many adventure shows but this could be something I’d like a lot.

Blade: Huh. So it’s an adventure show? What’s interesting about this adaptation is the fact the 26 episodes will be divided to two and each one will be based on a different light novel. Two kids who want to stop the wars in the world seems a little cliche by today’s standards, but I think I’ll give this one a chance since Madhouse is behind the helm.

xxxHOLiC◆継 (Kei)

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 3rd
OP: “NOBODY KNOWS” by Shikao Suga (スガ シカオ)
ED: “Honey Honey” by SEAMO feat. AYUSE KOZUE
Production: Production I.G

Yuuko is a witch who grants people’s wishes, but in return the person has to give up something precious. Watanuki Kimihiro, a man who has visions, encounters Yuuko and she promises to get rid of the spirits that torment him. In return Watanuki must work in Yuuko’s shop and help her grant other people’s wishes.

Leon: I am watching this. Expect me to blog this. I LOVE YUKO!

Youko: Well I never got to xxxHOLiC before. I might so eventually but not any time soon so obviously, this I’ll pass.

Blade: I never watched Tsuabasa Chronicles and I never watched xxxHolic. From what I know, there are both good adaptations of the original clamp manga, but I think I’ll pass it and let Leon take care of it for me.

二十面相の娘 (Nijuu-Mensou no Musume); CHIKO, Heiress of the Phantom Thief

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 12th
OP: “霞　(Kasumi)” by 369 (Miroku)
ED: “Unnamed world” by Aya Hirano (平野綾)
Production: BONES, Telecom Animation Film

It was a time when the night was really dark. People talk about nothing except the Phantom Thief. The Phantom Thief only steals art collections without injuring anybody after sending a card which announces what he aims at. Chizuko Mikamo (Chiko) is a girl who lives together with the gangs of the Phantom Thief. The police, private detectives, and treasure hunters are after Chiko to obtain the inheritance of the Phantom Thief.

Leon: Chico is hot! Not only that but she’s a thief. This is also mystery tagged over it so I can’t help but be pulled into watching this already. Of course I also realise that Aya is in this and that’s an additional plus along with BONES being involved with the project.

Youko: Hell yeah, Aya’s got a new main role! Now this I’m looking forward to as well. A cat and mouse chase kind of story never ceases to amaze me. In fact, one could say part of the fun is the chase, especially for series with mystery.

Blade: Aya Hirano as a thief? I don’t really know much about it so I’m say I’m uncertain for now, but it shows potential so I’ll watch the first episode.

紅 kure-nai

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 3rd
OP: “Love Jump” by Minami Kuribayashi (栗林みな実)
ED: “crossing days” by Ryoko Shintani (新谷良子)
Production: Brains Base

Although Kurenai Shinkuro seems like a normal high school boy at first sight, he is actually a troubleshooter who settles various sorts of problems secretly. One day, Juzawa Benika, whom he respects as a top-notch troubleshooter, asks him to guard a little girl, Kuhohin Murasaki. Although he is reluctant to accept Benika’s request, Shinkuro finally accepts because he wants to be recognized by her professionally, and because he is moved by Murasaki’s sad look. The next day, Shinkuro goes to school despite misgivings about leaving Murasaki alone in her room. However, he finds that Murasaki is missing upon his return.

Leon: I’m wondering if this is going to be following the manga and light novels. Given the chapters I’ve seen so far, I haven’t seen much comedy in Kure-nai so I find it interesting that it is one of the genres. Granted it does have it’s bits of comedy in it but not enough to have it listed as a genre. Well, I’ll see how it turns out.

Youko: This is something I’d like to see. Nothing particularly extraordinarily sounding but nonetheless a little comedy and drama never hurts.

Blade: The first romantic comedy! Not a lot is known about this one except the fact it’s based on a novel. At least this one doesn’t seem ecchi, but lighthearted, as the main character appears to be a peacemaker that suppose to act as the bodygaurd to the daughter of a powerful family. It can be a recipe for success,
but I am not set on it just yet.

仮面のメイドガイ (Kamen no Maid Guy)

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Airdate: April 5th
OP: “Special Life!” by KOTOKO
ED: “Wakugai!! (ワクガイ！！)” by Yoshiki Fukuyama (福山芳樹)
Production: MADHOUSE

Fumiwara Naeka is a granddaughter of a billionaire and the heir to his fortune. She is pursued by those who desire her inheritance. In order to protect her from them, an agent is dispatched in the form of a male maid, who looks like a masculine samurai wearing a mask and has teeth like a shark’s.

Wearing a maid uniform, Kogarashi gives his best effort to serve Naeka. His noisy and pushy services make her daily life exciting.

Leon: This sounds absolutely ridiculous. It is ridiculous! Therefore, it must be hilarious. It sure looks that way. I’m hearing that it’s pretty ecchi in content as well but I expect that to be toned down. Even now I can’t help but laugh at the sight of a hulking dude as a masked maid. Not a butler. A MAID. I’ll definitely be watching.

Youko: Okay, so let me get this straight. A Masked Maid Man? Not only does that sound hilarious, it looks hilarious. Who knows, it just might make me chuckle the whole way. I’ll definitely give it a shot. It’s rather apparent that there will be several ecchi moments as well. A combination of these factors could result in something a little more than entertaining monstrosity.

Blade: Now here is another show that may or may not be a funny hit. Come on even the title can make one curious: “The masked Maid Guy”. If that didn’t do, look at the promo pictures, the guys isn’t a pansy, he’s a hulk! However, the director’s resume doesn’t look too bright, but I’ll probably watch the first episode and see how this one will be. Depends on my impressions, it’ll be blogged more.

I remember one year ago when I did my first anime preview and, of course, it was of the Winter 2006/2007 season. I think I was interested in a lot more shows back then but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward or aren’t interested in this season’s offerings. I’m probably thinking it’s fewer this time around because my graduation is coming up and I’m trying to cut-down on the amount of stuff that I watch (I’m pretty sure that plan is going to fail though). Well, whatever the case, as always I don’t know for sure how many shows I’ll be blogging but I will indicate the ones that are guarantees and highly likely. Though you should know where I grab my info from by now, as always much thanks to Pukiwiki, ANN, AniDB, AnimeSuki Forums, MOON PHASE and others. Now, let’s get this thing going.

	PERSONA -trinity soul- ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo Genres: Action, Supernatural Episode Count: TBD Airdate: 01/05 ~ 22:30 OP: “Breakin’ Through” by Shūhei Kita ED: - Companies: A-1 Pictures Inc. PERSONA – trinity soul - Interest Level: High Blogging Level: High Ah, yes. PERSONA ~trinity soul~ is one I believe might be on quite a few must-watch lists. I’m familiar with the PERSONA franchise however I have yet to play PERSONA 3, of which this anime is the sequel of. I don’t think it is a direct sequel though as it takes place ten years after the original PERSONA 3 game. There isn’t a lot revealed about it but regardless this is one show to watch out for in my opinion. The most notable seiyuu on board is Nakahara Mai, Koyasu Takehito, and Asumi Kana. Definitely looking forward to how this one is executed with the potential present.
	true tears ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo Genres: Romance Episode Count: 13 Airdate: 01/05 ~ 25:00 OP: “Reflectia” by eufonius ED: “Sekai no Namida” by Aira Yuki Companies: Bandai Visual, Lantis true tears -アニメ化決定！！ Interest Level: High Blogging Level: High True Tears. This anime is based on the bishoujo game of the same name that was released in early 2006. Now, I’m sure this series sounds familiar to some as it was once believed to have begun in 2006 and then again in the Spring 2007 anime season but it is finally going to air after about a year of delays. I’m not sure as to why it was pushed back so much but I hope that the reason surfaces in the storyline and in the characters and their development. I’m really looking forward to this for various reasons which include the presence of Okada Mari and Nishimura Junji who both worked on the excellent Simoun. With the standard 13 episodes I’m hoping for pacing similar to ef ~ a tale of memories. Though, like I said in my ef review, I’ve been spoiled by it and thus I hope true tears brings everything it has to the table.
	Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino- ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo Genres: Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction Episode Count: 13 (15?) Airdate: 01/07 ~ 27:00 OP: “Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi” by KOKIA ED: “doll” by Lia & Aoi Tada 新シリーズアニメ化決定！ GUNSLINGER GIRL —IL TEATRINO— Interest Level: High Blogging Level: High I just finished watching the first season of Gunslinger Girl after delaying it for so long due to many reasons. The series turned out much more than I expected and I grew to love each of the girls so much over the span of thirteen episodes. Henrietta are Triela among my favorites but overall I love them all as they’re so believable and don’t feel forced one bit. I guess what I’m saying is that the second season is definitely a must-watch for me and I can’t wait to see more into the lives of all the girls and their Handlers. I’m not too sure what to say about the seiyuu changes as I really liked the original ones but I just hope that the new cast are able to continue to flesh out the characters verbally. The same goes with the animation companies changing. Madhouse did an amazing job with the first season so I hope Artland maintains that kind of quality or even goes beyond it.
	Mnemosyne – Mnemosyne no Musume-tachi ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo Genres: Horror, Science Fiction, Supernatural Episode Count: 6 Airdate 02/03 OP: “Alsatia” by Galneryus ED: “Cause Disarray” by Galneryus Mnemosyne －ムネモシュネの娘たち－ Interest Level: High Blogging Level: High I’m really looking forward to this OVA next year. After seeing the trailer and the official site along with images as well as seeing the voice talent, it became an automatic must-watch. See more of my thoughts about it here.
	Shigofumi: ~Stories of Last Letter~ ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo Genres: Fantasy Episode Count: 12 Airdate: 01/05 ~ 25:35 OP: “Kotodama” by ALI PROJECT ED: - Companies: J.C.STAFF, Bandai Visual TV Animation Shigofumi Interest Level: High Blogging Level: Medium The very first time I saw this anime was being done I looked at a few images and instantly thought “Hey! This reminds me of Shinigami no Ballad!”. Something about the art is similar to me for some reason though both series are based on their light novel counterparts. Their main characters as well as the premise are similar in that they both interact with deceased people (sometimes with living people as well in Momo’s case) and deal with matters before and after their lives. It’ll be interesting to see what Fumiko does aside from delivering a deceased person’s last will/message to their family, friends, and significant other.
	Hatenkou Yuugi ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance Episode Count: - Airdate 01/04 ~ 26:30 OP: “Heartbreaking Romance” by Kanako Itō ED: “Te no Naka no Eien” by Kaori Hikita Companies: Studio DEEN ＴＶアニメ「破天荒遊戯」公式サイト Interest Level: High Blogging Level: High After reading the summary for this only a few seconds after clicking around because the title sounded intriguing my interest went up immediately for various reasons. Firstly, the premise is sounding sweet at the moment. Rahzel, the main character befriends Alzeido after being pushed out of her home by her father to go and explore the world. They both also possess magical powers and will travel from town to town helping others as they go along (with their powers). The character designs are looking really awesome, especially Rahzel’s. I’m really looking forward to this as I feel that it is something that I haven’t been seeing enough of lately.
	Ookami to Koshinryo ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo Genres: Fantasy Episode Count: 12 Airdate 01/08 ~ 25:30 OP: “Tabi no Tochū” by Natsumi Kiyoura ED: “Ringo Hiyori” by Rocky Chack Companies: IMAGIN 狼と香辛料 Official web site Interest Level: High Blogging Level: High I started reading the manga which began serialization just this past September and after reading all three available chapters it has become a favorite of mine. The overall story hasn’t really begun yet but Horo, the main character, is really lovable. She can be seductive and adorable by switching between them in a matter of seconds and her toothy smile is one of the most beautiful I’ve seen in art today. I’m really interested in how the story is going to progress in the manga so it goes without saying that I’m looking forward to the same thing in the anime.
	Rosario + Vampire ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Shounen, Supernatural Episode Count: 13 Airdate 01/03 ~ 23:30 OP: “COSMIC LOVE” by Nana Mizuki ED: “Dancing in the velvet moon” by Nana Mizuki Companies: GONZO ロザリオとバンパイア Interest Level: Medium Blogging Level: Medium Okay. Now, I’m quite the fan of the Rosario+Vampire manga. Despite its plot not offering much of anything new in the early chapters I still got sucked in by the characters which I think are the most attractive elements to the series. With the anime now approaching I should be totally psyched but I can’t help but worry for a few reasons. The main reason being the episode count. It is reportedly going to be 13 episodes in length. I don’t think they can cover a lot with that many episodes but then again the pacing might surprise me not to mention the episode count can change (I remember Kaze no Stigma was once scheduled to be 13 episodes and was done by Gonzo as well…). There can also be a second season later on as well so I guess I shouldn’t be too worried.
	Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de ~They Are My Noble Masters~ ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo Genres: Romance, Comedy, Harem Episode Count: - Airdate 01/04 ~ 18:30 OP: “Hizamazuku Made 5 Byo Dake!” by Miyuki Hashimoto ED: “Butler Switch On!” by Yuko Goto Companies: A.C.G.T. Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de Official Site Interest Level: Medium Blogging Level: Low Hmm. KimiAru directly appeals to my desire to see many lovely girls of varying personality and appearance. Though, like with other series similar to this, it is both a romance and harem so in the end there probably won’t be a “set-in-stone” couple though the main pairing is very likely to be between Shinra (the main girl) and the main guy. Of course there is comedy present as well so there should be lots of laughs. I await the beach/pool episode.
	Minami-ke ~Okawari~ ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo Genres: Comedy, Slice of Life Episode Count: 12 (?) Airdate 01/06 ~ 25:30 OP: - ED: - Minami-ke: Okawari @ Starchild Interest Level: High Blogging Level: Low There’s really not much to say on this one. The first series is one I really loved watching and laughed at so genuinely that it goes without saying that I’ll be watching this series as well. I’m not concerned about anything really and I like the slightly altered character designs. I just hope we get some more coverage of characters like Makoto and Touma.
	Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo Genres: Comedy, Slice of Life Episode Count: 13 Airdate 01/05 ~ 24:30 OP: “kūsō Rumba (空想ルンバ)” by Kenji Ohtsuki and Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi ED: #1: “Marionette (マリオネット)” by ROLLY and Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi #2: “Koiji Romanesque (恋路ロマネスク)” by Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi #3: “Omamori (オマモリ)” by Zetsubō Shōjo-tachi StarChild:さよなら絶望先生 第2期 Interest Level: High Blogging Level: High Another series that, for me, it goes without saying that I’ll be watching and blogging (gotta finish off the first posts season though). This is easily one of my favorite anime of all-time and I’m looking forward to seeing all of the characters again and to SHAFT’s amazing work after the absolutely outstanding ef – a tale of memories.
	H2O ~Footprints in the Sand~ ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo Genres: Romance, Harem, School Life Episode Count: - Airdate 01/03 ~ 25:20 OP: “Katayoku no Icarus (片翼のイカロス)” by Yui Sakakibara ED: “Kazahane (カザハネ)” by Haruka Shimotsuki H2O ～FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND～ Interest Level: Medium Blogging Level: Low This has the most hilarious trailer I’ve ever laid my eyes on. How can’t you laugh at the line “H2O ROCKS YOUR SOUL!”? As for the series itself, it deals with a guy who moves to his mother’s hometown after losing her. Oh, and he’s blind as well. I’m interested to see how that plays a role into the overall story, especially with the girls involved. It is the second visual novel adaptation of the season and for now is behind true tears in terms of attractiveness. I may be proven wrong though.
	ARIA the ORIGINATION ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo Genres: Drama, Science Fiction, Slice of Life Episode Count: - Airdate 01/07 ~ 26:00 OP: “Spirale (スピラーレ)” by Yui Makino ED: “Kin no Nami Sen no Nami (金の波 千の波)” by Akino Arai ＴＶアニメーション「ARIA The ORIGINATION」公式サイト Interest Level: ??? Blogging Level: ??? If you’re looking at this preview then you most likely know just how popular ARIA is. This here is the third season and so there really isn’t much to say except for looking forward to more. Though you may be asking about the question marks above. Perhaps that means that the interest and blogging level are sky-high? We’ll just have to wait and see.
	My-Otome 0~S.ifr~ ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction Episode Count: 3 Airdate 02/22 OP: - ED: - 舞-乙HiME ０～S.ifr～ Interest Level: High Blogging Level: High To cut things short, this OVA is going to follow the life of Rena Sayers. Yup. That’s Arika’s mother so that means this is a prequel (obviously). I’ve always been interested in her character since the original series but we hardly got to see her except for a few flashbacks here and there. Obviously if you’re a Mai Otome fan you should be planning to watch this. I know I’m going to be doing so.

Yeah, I used the old layout from last year’s winter preview. Don’t ask why, I just felt like it. Also for the levels I decided to stick with low, medium, and high. Those three are just fine I think and reduces the hassle of percentages and other types of levels. Oh right, I left out Wellber because, well, the first season never finished getting subbed so I haven’t seen the entire thing. I’m still in the first season for Major and Ayakashi already started so…yeah. I’ll be blogging Ah! My Goddess Tataku Tsubasa before the week is out as well. The others that didn’t make it either slipped my mind or didn’t interest me. The latter is more likely though. Anyway, as usual let me know what you, the readers, are planning to watch. This season isn’t as eventful or packed as the ones past but I think it still has a few good shows to look out for. Also, tell me which show you’d like to see me blogging.

And thus, another season of anime is upon us. It’s during this time I really start to get excited about the new shows and start to see which ones I’d take to from summaries, trailers, and images available. As always my sources come from the usual suspects: Pukiwiki, ANN, AniDB, AnimeSuki Forums, MOON PHASE and others. So many thanks to those sites for the abundance of information.

I’m not entirely sure how many shows I’ll be blogging this time around since he new semester has already started (even though I only have one class) and there are such things as job opportunities and the like that will require my immediate attention. So for now I’ll probably say I’ll be picking up at least 4-5 new shows (lol I’m sure you know, with me, it’ll be more) for blogging while the rest remain as strictly watching. I suppose it’ll depend on who’s doing what in the rest of the blogosphere (such as what series is getting tons of attention and which is getting very little) but I usually don’t care about such things if I really want to share my opinions on the show..

ef – a tale of memories

Based on the visual interactive novel by Minori, featuring character designs by Nanao Naru.

The story revolves around the protagonist Hirono Hiro, a poor high school boy who draws shoujo manga for his living. One cold Christmas night after meeting a very strange woman in a church, who tells him that he`s going to meet someone he has to meet, his bike gets stolen by another strange girl. He runs after her and finds her collapsed on the street. Her name is Miyamura Miyako and her bag got stolen by a man on a motorbike. Soon after, they start hanging out together, enjoying highschool life. Miyako falls for Hiro pretty quickly but naturally finds a rival in his childhood friend, Shindou Kei, who has been dictating Hiro`s life since ever.

I think I’ve near exhausted all that I can say about this show in the previous entry about the prologue. It goes without saying that this is a top-priority show and that I’ll definitely be watching it and expressing my thoughts on each episode right here. Personally, ef – a tale of memories (along with the rest of this section) is already turning out to be more interesting and attractive than the vast majority of the offers of the past summer season and most of the spring.

Blue Drop: Tenchi-tachi no Gikyoku

In 1995, all 800 habitants of the isolated Kamikakushi Island vanished in one night, all but a single girl who lost her memory. The cause of the disappearances was never identified. Four years later, that girl, Mari, transfers to a girl’s dormitory school, Kaihou Gakuen, leaving behind her grandmother who had been her guardian ever since the incident. There, she meets Hagino. Hagino is the school idol and completes her student council responsibilities flawlessly. The moment she touches Mari’s hand, however, Hagino freaks out, straddling atop Mari, hands around her throat. Mari is afraid of and angry at Hagino, who pretends as if nothing had happened while in front of other students, but at the same time, somehow, she is attracted to Hagino too. In reality, Hagino is actually an alien who was sent to Earth in order to reconnoitre prior to an invasion. The event on Kamikakushi Island occurred when the 200-member crew of a battleship, the Blue, whose captain was Hagino and the island’s inhabitants had killed each other. The Blue was seriously damaged and hidden. Hagino had since blended into human society and continued her reconnaissance. Within her school life, while fighting with fellow students, Mari begins to come out of her shell. Hagino has been living a double life, but her encounter with Mari makes her face human beings, and gradually she begins to have doubts about her mission. While the invasion and war draws closer unnoticed, the girls begin to understand each other.

I’m really looking forward to this one. The premise sounds so interesting that my mind is continuously thinking about how everything will flow. The trailer I saw showed off some beautiful animation and music that was more than pleasant to the ears. This probably also marks the first shoujo-ai series I’ve seen since Strawberry Panic (I have read the manga before though). The series is scheduled for 13-episodes so it should be interesting to see how this original concept is executed and how well-developed the relationship between Mari and Hagino will be. Lastly, it goes without saying that I love me some yuri.

Shakugan no Shana Second

Does this really require one?

I’ve been waiting on this for quite some time now and I can’t wait for more. I hope there’s more Margery this time around though. One other thing I’ve been looking forward to is seeing the villain that wasn’t introduced during the first season. I’ve only managed to see a few images of her about a year ago (she’s around the same age, at least in appearance, as Shana it seems) but I haven’t been able to see any lately. Hell, I don’t even know her name. :/

CLANNAD

Adaption of the renowned visual novel by Visual Art`s/Key.

Clannad is set in a high-school located in some Japanese town. Okazaki Tomoya is a third-year student who doesn`t take his studies seriously. Always late for class, he`s seen as a delinquent by the rest of his classmates who are busy preparing for their entrance examinations. Needless to say, he hasn`t too many close friends either.

Tomoya seems not to mind too – until one day he meets a girl, Furukawa Nagisa, who is left alone without friends on this school, because everybody she knew already graduated. What a clumsy girl, he thinks at first. But he can`t leave her alone and so, while helping her, he meets a few other girls from his school. Although he doesn`t care much about them at first, he soon opens his heart to them as they get to know each other better.

This is another show that comes as no surprise as being a MUST-SEE for me. I’m sure a good amount of my excitement about CLANNAD has been vented out when it was first announced and made an entry about it. I loved AIR and Kanon (AIR being my favorite of the two) and so knowing that this is crafted by the same team is reassuring and knowing that KyoAni is providing the animation assures that there’s going to be some pretty damn gorgeous visuals. I’m quite sure there’s going to be a lot of other blogs covering this show and thus a lot of opinions. Let’s just hope that they’re diverse.

Gundam 00

It is the year A.D. 2307. Fossil fuels on Earth have been depleted entirely, with mankind turning to the next available power source: solar energy. During this time, 3 orbital elevators with solar power generation systems are built, each under control by the Union (formerly United States of America), the Human Reformation League (Russia, China and India) and the AEU (Europe). However, not all countries are able to enjoy the benefits of this system, leading to widespread resentment and war. Arising out of the conflict, a mysterious non-profit military organization known as Celestial Being appears, dedicated to end all warfare using Mobile Suits called Gundam. This begins the stories of Gundam Meisters (pilots) Setsuna F. Seiei, Lockon Stratos, Allelujah Haptism and Tiera Erde as they are thrown into conflict between the 3 superpowers and the other various factions.

As a Gundam fan and a mecha fan overall, I’ll be watching this without question. One might recall the initial entry I did about this when it was first announced and I pretty much confirmed that I’ll be writing about it as well. It’ll be one long and wild ride since it will clock in at 50 episodes easy though recent news says that it’ll take a break after the first 25 episodes.

Genshiken 2007

Based on a popular comic about the Japanese otaku lifestyle, this manga follows Sasahara Kanji as he dives face first into a world of anime, manga, video games, pornographic doujinshi, and the like. Kio Shimoku pokes fun at every element of the otaku world, so sit back and enjoy the ride. This is an anime for hardcore fans, with very complicated references that will test your knowledge of all things otaku.

I’ve been waiting on this for so long. After being teased by the OVAs I hoped for a second season to be announced in the near future. Well, the future is here it seems! This is one of my most favorite series in my years of watching/reading anime and manga simply because of its otaku-related issues. That’s not the only charm of the series as it is pretty slice-of-life in my opinion and always gives me a sense of being apart of the Genshiken itself and laughing at the aspects of otaku lifestyle. Definitely looking forward to see the end of this wonderful series.

Rental Magica

The basic premise of the show is about a kid named Iba Itsuki who inherits his father’s company, called Astral. It’s business is comissioning magicians for various jobs asked of them by their clientele. The characters listed on the page correspond to the various magic fields that are shown in the show, Celtic, King Solomon (the 72 demons), Shinto, and Onmyodou.

This show here really caught my eye when I first came across the thread over at the Asuki forums. I’m a fan of magic and all forms of it and the short summary that was available really managed to peak my interest. The art of the novels are some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen but those aren’t really carried over to the anime it seems. That’s not a negative, for me at least, since the style the anime is using doesn’t look bad at all and the premise is more than enough to keep me hooked.

Ghost Hound

Reality is a dream, the dreams of the night are real.

In the world of Utsushiyo (reality), the development of an electronic brain far far away and long ago allows two different worlds to overlap.

Within the last vestiges of Japan`s raw landscape, lies a small coastal town. In it live three middle school students: Komori Tarou, Ogami Makoto, and Nakajima Masayuki. Each holds within them a unique past that cannot be erased.

Once more, but by different causes, three people learn that by the extraction of one`s soul, the coming and going between Utsushiyo and Kakuriyo (hidden world) is possible. Amidst the boys` adventure in Kakuriyo, they come to understand where it is is connected to.

An eternal spiritual story is offered to the adults who possess the minds of boys.

At last, this fall, the curtain will rise!!

What? Both Production I.G. and Shirow Masamune collaborating on a project once again? Both are favorites of mine and I’m glad to see that Shirow Masamune (along with Production I.G.) has spawned Ghost Hound. Very little is known about it outside of the fact that it’s a show involving supernatural horror with themes of the occult and spiritualism. It’s also described as “Spiritual Animation”. I have no idea what that fully means but I guess I’ll find out first hand come October 18th.

Kimikiss pure rouge

In Kimi Kiss, you play as a high school boy who’s just come back from a lonely summer break. Will you end your high school career having never known a kiss? You decide to spend the new school year making sure to get some lip action. Luckily enough, when you return to school, you find yourself in the company of six hotties. The game begins with the start of the new school year and continues over one month, cumulating in a school festival. Your goal is to have one of the above girls confess her true feelings for you at the festival and give you a little smooch. The game lets you move about freely throughout the school grounds, selecting your desired location from a map of the full school. When interacting with the girls, the game uses what it refers to as “Matching Conversation,” a system where you select the topic that you think the girl is interested in discussing.

Hmm. It’s a school romance. While I don’t think this will be in the same league as ef – a tale of memories or CLANNAD this season I think it will be a good watch. I initially picked this up because this is the only new show of the Fall season that Tanaka Rie is currently doing and because Nakahara Mai, Noto Mamiko, and Fukuyama Jun (Lelouch in CODE GEASS and also apparently the only male seiyuu announced for this so far) are also on board. There’s also the fact that J.C. Staff is handling the production and I’d like to see what they can do with this series in their hands.

Myself; Yourself

Hidaka Sana is a 16-year-old boy who comes back to his old town from Tokyo after five years. His memories of the town do not fail him, the scenery hasn’t changed all that much. He starts attending the second year of highschool where he meets an old friend and his first love from his childhood. Life is what’s ahead of him, so he needs to jump over the gap between his memories and the reality infront of his eyes and move on.

Source

I can’t help but think of ef – a tale of memories when I look at this for some reason. It’s probably because they’re both renai games with similar plots as it seems this one involves two guys instead of one male lead. Though I find it interesting that this is being released before the actual game hits Japanese shelves (in November). I love the character designs that I’ve seen so far so I can only hope everything else will be as impressive as those once it starts airing.

You’re Under Arrest! Full Throttle

Ah! My Goddess creator, Fujishima Kosuke, is back yet again with the third season of Taiho Schihauzo (You’re Under Arrest). The gentle Miyuki and the wild Natsumi team up yet again to fulfill their duties as police officers in the Bokuto police station’s traffic division.

I haven’t seen this on most of the lists I’ve come across so far. Are there so few YUA fans in the blogosphere? Or did it just slip by their attention? Well, whatever the case I can’t wait for this to air and to see the return of the two most lovely police officers in anime. ^__^

Dragonaut ~ The Resonance

In the near future, space-travel technology has made massive strides, but humans still haven’t figured out how to go beyond the solar system. So when huge space dragons attack Earth, mankind faces total extinction. Luckily, the International Space Development Agency has been secretly developing bio-organic weapons called Dragonauts, and a young loner named Jin is chosen to pilot one of their latest models. As if that weren’t enough pressure, Jin’s life becomes even more complicated when he meets a mysterious girl named Toa and falls in love with her.

I’m one of those nuts for space-themed stuff and even more of a sucker for romance. This promises to deliver both of those and as such I’m quite looking forward to seeing how it’s all executed. There’s also the issue of the A-class seiyuu cast that is onboard. I kid you not, the entire SOS-dan is present! That alone will probably draw a lot of viewers to this one come October 3rd.

Kodomo no Jikan

Based on the seinen manga by Watashiya Kaworu, serialised in Comic High!. NOT related to the other Kodomo no Jikan by Goto Akira!

It`s the cute ones you`ve gotta watch out for…

23-year old school teacher Aoki Daisuke has a huge problem. One of his precocious 3rd Grade students, Kokonoe Rin, has the hots for him?! Yes, mischievous Rin has proclaimed herself to be Daisuke-sensei`s girlfriend and is now on a warpath to win him over or cause him to lose his job…whichever comes first!
Besides Rin, Daisuke`s got other problems to take care of — one of the students in his class, Mimi (one of Rin`s friends), hasn`t been attending school recently.

So it seems KnJ has been getting a lot of negative feedback from what I’ve seen around the blogosphere. Well, I personally love the manga as it provides for some really good laughs from the antics of the three main girls, especially Rin. While it does contain some rather risqué scenes that’s not the sole thing it has going for it. There is a serious story behind it but it takes a while to develop. It’ll be interesting to see what some others will say about this show when it starts airing (aside from “loli loli loli”, that is)…

Kite Liberator

In the previous series, “A KITE”, a killer, Suwa, suddenly disappears after she avenges her parents` death, and no one knows where she is.

Several years later, a figure dances airily on the dark side of a big city. She is an angel of death, killing her victim gracefully and disappearing.

Monaka is a normal high school student, though this quiet and modest life has a darker side. An angel of death is Monaka’s other persona.

Ah yes, Kite. If you haven’t seen the original yet then you probably should. Well, that’s only if you like some insane violence and don’t mind a few sex scenes here and there. I’m a fan of Umetsu Yasuomi’s designs (obviously female designs) and I like Monaka’s look who I find very similar to Suwa. This one’s set to be an OVA with an unknown amount of episodes and little is known about the plot and what the content will be this time around. Nonetheless I’m excited for this and can’t wait to see it once it’s released.

Shion no Ō

Ishiwatari Shion’s parents were slaughtered at their home when she was just four years old. The killer didn’t harm her but the shock made her lose her voice. She was then adopted by her neighbours; the Yasouka’s who raised her as their only child. With help from her new father who is a professional shogi player, she learned how to play and master shogi at an early age. Now, at the age of 11, she is taking her first steps at competing in official shogi matches in order to reach the highest ranks in the game. Things don’t go smoothly though because she begins to receive mysterious death threats as she advances through her matches in a stark reminder of her parents’ murder incident when the only clue at the scene of the crime was a shogi board with all the pieces arranged in perfect order on top.

The plot for this intrigues me greatly. It’s not the usual kind of story one would come across and Shion seems to be a breath of fresh air to most common female leads today. I’ll definitely be watching this to follow Shion as she aims to find those responsible for the deaths of her parents all while battling in shogi and going through life with no voice.

Prism Ark

The world of Prism Ark takes place in the equivalent of our world’s Crusade era in Western Europe. The geography is a little changed and there are stuff like magic and dragons.

The main players are Wind Land, Viella, and the Sablum Empire. Viella of Victaly is equal to Rome of Italy, and the Sablum Empire is equal to the Byzantine Empire. Sabus is the god of Islam and Rerihion is the god of Christianity. Like our world’s Christianity, Viella serves as the headquarters of the Pope and believers of Rerihion.

Wind Land is where the Holy Roman Empire would be. In Wind Land, it is always spring, and the greeting is “Good wind” instead of “Good morning”. Prior to the events that begin in Prism Ark, Viella has already called several crusades in the name of Rerihion to reclaim the Holy Land. However this was completely stopped after awhile and Rerihion and Sabus believers lived in peace and harmony from that day. The game begins with the King and Queen making a journey to Viella to get their one year daughter, the Princess of Wind Land, baptized. However, their escort was suddenly attacked by the Sablum Empire, who were supposed to be their good allies. At this battle was the first appearance of the Angels, a imposing being with wings and halo, whose height easily doubled men’s, and came wielding never before seen power.

Afterwards, the King, the Queen, and the Princess were all missing and were assumed either killed from the ambush, or in hiding. Outraged, the Pope immediately re-established the Crusades and ordered one to invade Sablum. From then on, Wind Land and the Sablum Empire were in war. However, this war has not ended years after years and continues on to this day, and still, there are no King or Queen ruling Wind Land…Finally getting the acceptance notice, Hyaweh travels to the Isle of Rozenberg, which is holded by the Rozenberg Family, the most powerful family in Wind Land, second to the absence Royal Family. In there is the best school for knights wannabes, privately funded by Duke Kizarov Rozenberg, the number one Knight in Wind Land. However, as it turns out, Hyaweh is actually two whole weeks late and from there on spirals his wacky journey to knighthood in the midst of a devastating war taking place, which will hit home closer than what anyone could’ve imagined.

Yikes! That’s one long summary! Anyways, I’ve heard a lot of good things about the game and the promotional artwork I’ve seen looks pretty damn delicious. The character designs are also undeniably cute. I’m also told that the game features some pretty kickass action scenes so I’m hoping that a great deal of those are present in the anime.

Minami-ke

Based on a seinen manga by Sakuraba Koharu, serialised in Young Magazine.

Minami-ke is a manga following three sisters, Haruka, Kana, and Chiaki in their lives at home and school. It`s a funny series that depicts how these characters interact with each other and their classmates. It`s a story about ordinary girls and their ordinary adventures told in an extraordinary manner.

I’m one of those guys who loves his slice-of-life, shoujo, comedy, and slow moving series. That said, Minami-ke is easily one of the shows that I’m looking forward to enjoying this fall. The three sisters are more than pleasing to the eyes which I’m sure is mostly due to the wonderful artwork. Seeing the sisters interact will be a treat as well, I think. I’ve sampled the manga and I’m guessing the anime will have something like two stories in one episode. This is definitely one of those shows to watch if you’re looking to enjoy yourself with some laughter and feel-good episode endings.

Mokke

Based on the seinen manga by Kumakura Takatoshi, serialised in Afternoon.

Shizuru and Mizuki are sisters born in a family with spiritual abilities. While the older one, Shizuru, is able to see spirits, goblins and stuff like that, the younger one, Mizuki, has a propensity for getting possessed.

As their calm and peaceful days of youth progress, they have many encounters which lead them to respect and treasure life and all its beauties and marvels.

This is a story about the experience of youth and growing up. In one word, spiritual.

A fantastic story about two sisters. Shizuru is a high school student who can see monsters which ordinary people can’t, while her little sister, Mizuki, is easily haunted by these monsters. They are living with their grandfather’s home separately from their parents because of their abilities. The theme for each story is not horror-centric, but rather, of a heart-warming nature.

After reading the synopsis I was instantly intrigued by this show. The concept of two sisters having two different yet similar supernatural abilities while trying to live an ordinary combined with the slice-of-life element is just too interesting to overlook. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes since I don’t have any idea what to expect.

Bamboo Blade

Based on a seinen manga by Totsuka Masahiro, illustrated by Igarashi Aguri and serialised in Young Gangan.

Kojirou is the kendo instructor at Muro`e High School. He is totally broke. He has agreed to send his team to a competition against his senpai`s team. If his all female team can win the competition, he will have free meals for a year! But, the problem is that Kojirou seems unable to find five, gifted girls to form the “dream team” — and time is running out…

Hmm. This one interests me a great deal because of my love for sports and girls (cute, hot, sexy, etc.). I’m interested to see where this one is going especially since it seems as if the girls aren’t into kendo at all at the beginning. I haven’t read the manga (maybe after the anime starts) but it’ll be interesting to see if these girls are naturally gifted in kendo or must slowly learn the sport or both.

Sketchbook ~full color’S~

Sketchbook ~ Full Color’s is about

Heroine: A very quiet high-school girl. Likes: Taking a walk, cats, sketchbooks, school’s Sui-mountain, relaxing at the art, picnic, neighbourhood cats on the way to school, strange surroundings, the art room during after-school hours, senpais that are just a bit strange, really odd creative works, rainbows, fireworks, sunsets, discovering tiny things that happens to anyone, any day, drawing quickly, quickly. Lots of laughs, just a bit of heartfelt emotion…? A faint smile, nostalgia slowly taking over. A high-school girl animation you’ve never seen before.

-Summary/translation thanks to dahl_moon

Hidamari Sketch sequel? Nope. Though it does share its roots in 4koma like it and others like Lucky Star. The vibes I got from the trailer are ones that I quite like. It seems like it’ll be quite slice-of-life and very soothing with some light-hearted comedy. I think is will be a good watch.

D.C. II ~Da Capo II~

None that I could find.

I think I’ll be watching this one after some thought. I haven’t really completed the first two seasons but from what I’m hearing you can jump right into this without seeing them.

Shugo Chara!

Everybody at Seiyo Elementary thinks that stylish and super cool Hinamori Amu has it all: But nobody knows the real Amu, a shy girl who wishes she had the courage to truly be herself. Changing Amu’s life is going to take more than wishes and dreams–it’s going to take a little magic! One morning, Amu finds a surprise in her bed: three strange little eggs. Each egg contains a Guardian Character, an angel-like being who can give her the power to be someone new. With the help of her Guardian Characters, Amu is about to discover that her true self is even more amazing than she ever dreamed.

It’s from Peach Pit. The same people who did Rozen Maiden and Zombie Loan. I love the former and enjoyed the later series quite a bit so naturally I’m going to be checking this one out since their name is tagged to it. Not only that, the premise does sound quite interesting and hey, it’s magical girl!

Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro

Yako’s father was murdered in a locked room. She then meets a man named Neuro Nougami who is a demon from Hell who eats “riddles.” He forces Yako to act as a detective so he can solve mysteries. Neuro longs to eat the ultimate mystery.

I’ve read the first chapter of this series so I can’t really say much about it based on that one chapter. I can say that it is pretty freaky when it comes to Neuro acting up and being able to solve these mysteries just by looking around the place. This should be an interesting watch though especially with MADHOUSE handling the production.

Night Wizard -The Animation-

The anime will talk about a transfer student named Ellis and her good friend Kureha who’s president of a run-down astronomy club. At first they seem to be getting along well, but something happens to Ellis one day on the school grounds. Kureha witnesses how Ellis’ eyes turn blue while she starts chanting some mysterious words.

Source: Anya

I’m not too sure about this one yet but more than likely I’ll end up watching this because I’m a sucker for RPGs and their anime adaptations. I’ve read a bit about the game and I think it’ll have enough substance to keep me interested. The characters look rather stereotypical but that’s never really deterred me from watching a show before. The staff behind this is pretty good so hopefully this will turn out to be a good watch.

Goshuushousama Ninomiya-kun

I don’t think it’s hard to figure out what this is about at least on the surface. I’m guessing that the meidos are taking care of the small guy there or something to that effect.

I’ll probably watch this but only for the blue-haired girl since her design is the most attractive. Even so it’s most likely not going to be on my high-priority list but I suppose I do need something to pass the time with when I don’t want to use too much brain power.

So which shows can you expect me to be blogging? It will be these: ef – a tale of memories, Blue Drops: Tenchi-tachi no Gikyoku, CLANNAD, Shakugan no Shana Second, Ghost Hound, Gundam 00, Genshiken 2, Kodomo no Jikan and Dragonaut. Of course, I might do one or two more or even replace some of the others I just listed (I told you it would be more). I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see. Though, I am interested in hearing what you, the readers, would like to see me blog if I haven’t already listed it here.