Another year finished and another year the wannabe buzzards prognosticate the demise of anime even when the empirical data continues to defy their constructed narratives. I’d compare these people to climate scientists who close their eyes to the last decade plus of weather but I don’t want to get political here .

Instead I’ll point out that this year saw two young studios P.A. Works and Silver Fox create series which signaled their emergence as top quality anime studios. Also, this year saw two studios – Shaft and Brains Base –  take the plunge with original works and the resulting masterpieces pushed these already well-respected studios into the stratosphere.  Nor could it be forgotten how Kyoto Animation and Satelight, two veteran studios, stretched their creative legs and produce great series in genres that their not known for. Or how a quirky little studio, david production, that spun off from Gonzo a few years ago produced not one but two quirky quality series this year and finally attracted the attention of a large number of anime fans.

So, for those reasons and others, it’s easy to see that this was a banner year for anime –  one that I want to reminisce about and remember. There’s various formats that can be used to do so but the one I like involves ranking the anime in various categories because it just seems more orderly this way.

Before starting into the “nice” awards I first wanted to list the anime series that I watched from 2011 that are eligible for the various awards and to hand-out a few “not-so-nice” awards.

Winter Season

Carry-over shows watched this season (2): Star Driver, To Aru Majutsu no Index II

New shows watched this season (10): Fractale, Gosick, IS: Infinite Stratos, Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?, Level E, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu!, Moshidora, Rio – Rainbow Gate, Wolverine

Shows that got dropped (4): Dragon Crisis, Freezing, Onii-chan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne!!, Yumekui Merry

Spring Season

Carry-over shows watched this season (1): Gosick

New shows watched this season (20): X-Men, Dog Days, Tiger and Bunny, Nichijou, Yondemasu yo Azazel-san, Hanasaku Iroha, Fireball Charming, Steins;Gate, Hyouge Mono, Hidan no Aria, A Channel, Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko, Dororon Enma-kun Meeramera, Maria+Holic Alive, Ao no Exorcist, The World God Only Knows II, Seikon no Qwaser II, C – The Money of Soul and Possibility Control, Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai, Deadman Wonderland

Shows that got dropped (8): Hen Zemi, Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai, Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi, Sengoku Otome – Momoiro Paradox, 30-sai no Hoken Taiiku, Sket Dance, Sofuteni, Astarotte no Omocha!

Summer Season

Carry-over shows watched this season (6): Ao no Exorcist, Hyouge Mono, Steins;Gate, Hanasaku Iroha, Tiger and Bunny, Nichijou

New shows watched this season (13): Mawaru Penguin Drum, Kamisama no Memo-chou, Dantalian no Shoka, Nekogami Yaoyorozu, R-15, Sacred Seven, Ikoku Meiro no Croisee, Natsume Yuujinchou 3, Yuruyuri, Kamisama Dolls, Blood-C, Mayo Chiki, Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi

Shows that got dropped (3): Usagi Drop, No. 6, The Idolm@ster

Fall Season

Carry-over shows watched this season (2): Hyouge Mono, Mawaru Penguin Drum

New shows watched this season (15): C3 – Cube×Cursed×Curious, Fate/Zero, Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!!, Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon, Hunter × Hunter, Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle, Tamayura – Hitotose, Chihayafuru, Persona 4, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Shakugan no Shana III (Final), Last Exile — Ginyoku no Fam, Ben-to, Un-Go, Guilty Crown

Shows that got dropped (3): Shinryaku!? Ika Musume, Working’!!, Mirai Nikki

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Total New Series Watched 2011:       78

Total New Series Completed:              53

Total New Series Dropped:                  18

Total New Continuing Series:             07

Now it’s time for the Anti-Awards. These are awards that the winners probably wouldn’t like winning and instead of spreading them out in the various parts, I’m going to put them here. Also, the awards will have a higher level of spoilers then  I normally use but I will still try to keep them to minimum.

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Best Half and Half

Winner:  Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko
Runner-up: Blood-C

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko was improved by having Shaft/Shinbou adapt it but it was also hindered by being attached to Shaft/Shinbou. Hindered because so much of what Shaft/Shinbou does occurs admidst finding the fantastic in the common everyday hustle-n-bustle of life to the point of this being the expectation. There was Natsu no Arashi:  about a boy whose first crush is a girl he meets working in a café who just so happens to be a ghost of a girl who died in WWII. Sore de mo Machi wa Mawatteiru features a normal high school girl that encounters time travelers, aliens, and visits the afterlife. Bakemonogatari has a typical high school boy getting turned into a vampire (then mostly back to human) meeting gods, spirits, and curses. Arakawa Under the Bridge has a typical salary-man fall for a woman that lives under a bridge and declares that she is from Venus (and might actually be an alien). So, when Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko started with the main female character saying that she was an alien, this primed the viewers a certain way but then to throw this out for most of the series made it difficult to not compare it to other Shaft/Shinbou series and find it feeling a bit shallow.

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Worst Half and Half

Winner:  Fractale

Saying half of Fractale was okay is probably stretching it a bit but among all the problems that it had there were several good ideas and positive aspects floating about. It’s just that these ideas and aspects were very poorly put together and then buried under a mountain of incompetence. I’m still wondering how the creators were able to take one of my favorite voice actresses – the very talented Kana Hanazawa – and made her voice about as appealing as screeching fingernails on a blackboard.

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Most Disappointing Ending

Winner:  IS: Infinite Stratos

Why, oh, why did the creators of Infinite Stratos chicken out and try to tack on a boring “serious” ending to this show? Here’s how the show should have went – the climax should have been the reveal of Charlotte’s true gender and the build-up should have involved the generic male main character having to go to greater-and-greater lengths to hide the truth. It would have complimented the nature of the show much better and not have been such a letdown.

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Most Disappointing

Winner:  Guilty Crown

Any questions? Okay, moving on…

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Most in Need of Being Longer

Winner:  C – The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
Runner-up: Un-Go

One can’t look over the year in anime without complaining about the episode counts that noitaminA series get. Un-Go actually accomplished a fair amount over it’s 11 episode run which allowed C to slip past to win this dubious award. C had some very interesting things to say but the silly CG battles and the compression artifacts from trying to squeeze C into 11 episodes just overwhelmed those interesting ideas.

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The You’re-Doing-It-Wrong Award

Winner:  R-15
Runner-up: Nekogami Yaoyorozu

Both of these shows should have been fun, light entertainment – perfect for the hot summer season – but both failed on a fundamental level and left the viewers saying, “you’re doing it wrong.” The bigger failure was on the part of R-15; the set-up was that this anime took place in a school of geniuses but somehow these “geniuses” were just a pack of boring, cliché characters. (And the one that plays the clarinet, if she’s such a genius then why does she spend the entire series practicing the same simple piece of music?)

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The Best Almost Good Series

Winner:  Dantalian no Shoka
Runner-up: C3 – Cube×Cursed×Curious

In different hands I think both of these series could have been fabulous. C3 probably needed more work to get there since the source material needed a touch of help and the style was trying too hard to look Shaftian without adding anything unique to the animation style. Dantalian no Shoka was so very close. More episodes would have helped but if that was unobtainable then trimming down the number of cases covered and focusing on fleshing these cases out and developing the characters probably would have been all it needed. Even so, Dantalian no Shoka was an interesting experiment in visual style that will probably help Gainax in the future be a better studio.

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The Series That Most Left Me Wondering “Why Did I Waste My Time Finishing This?”

Winner:  Deadman Wonderland
Runner-up: Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi

Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi had the characters and story of a really generic fan-service series and the low level of fan-service that’s typically found in a “serious” anime. Watching it every week left me confused and wondering when it would decide to fully commit to being one type of series or the other. This series was topped by Deadman Wonderland, however. I should have seen the signs early that the creators wanted to make a “dark” anime – like what all the cool kids are doing now – but lacked the ability and talent to do so. I even remember getting a chuckle over how the creators wanted to vilify private prisons but thought nothing of the implications to how the story would unfold. I did learn, though, when Mirai Nikki started resorting to implausible, silly turns-of-events to advance the story and I quickly dropped it.

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Best Series I Dropped

Winner:  Usagi Drop

Usagi Drop was, is, and will be on many lists as a top 10 anime for 2011. Not mines and that’s because I broke a personal rule I have about not checking out the source material before the end of an anime series. Objections to how it ends was just part of the reason for dropping it. The other part was watching a few more episodes after spoiling myself and seeing how the author clearly had the ending in mind when laying out the story and how she forced the characters into that path instead of allowing the characters to develop naturally and organically. Which is a shame, there was much to like about Usagi Drop.

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And on that note, let’s end part 0 and tomorrow I’ll put up part 1, the character awards.

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Top anime 2011 Awards Part 0: Introduction and Anti-Awards <- you are here
Top anime 2011 Awards Part 1: Cast and Character Awards
Top anime 2011 Awards Part 2: Genre and General Awards
Top anime 2011 Awards Part 3: VMA Awards
Top anime 2011 Awards Part 4: The Misfit Awards
Top anime 2011 Awards: Top 13 Anime – #13 – #7
Top anime 2011 Awards: Top 13 Anime – #6 – #1

Filed under: anime, awards

I originally wanted to post this as a single post because it is only 16 anime series, not like the nearly 30 anime series I initially checked out in the spring season, but for many of these anime I had more to say then I originally thought I would. If I had more confidence in my writing, I might assume people reading wouldn’t mind trying get through a 3500+ word post .

Before getting to the rest of the countdown I wanted to mention that this double post is just for the new anime series of the season; you’ll have to wait for the season review to see how these anime stack up  to spring carryovers.

(8) – Kamisama no Memo-chou

Rating for episodes 1 to 4 – 7/12  B

The first of two shows this season with “God” in the title features a female NEET detective (which is an oxymoron, I know) who solves crime using the powah of the Internets.

What a difference two years can make. Two years ago, summer 2009, J.C. Staff was in the midst of a string of hits and fielded not one but two great series – Aoi Hana and Taishou Yakyuu Musume – for the season. Since then, J.C. Staff has struggled and has only been able to produce a grand total of two good series, To Aru Kagaku no Railgun and Tantei Opera Milky Holmes. After producing so many great and memorable series, it pains me to see the slow deterioration of what a J.C. Staff series means. I keep hoping for a turn around but Kamisama no Memo-chou, at best, appears only to slow the decline.

The animation style is their standard style for action series that has pretty much crystallized since at least as far back as Shana season 1 from nearly 6 years ago. It was awesome the first few of times but I’ve gotten to the point that I want to see them try something new. The animation quality is the same level of better-then-average-but-not-great that J.C. Staff seems to be comfortable at with little regard about the ground their losing to the top line animation studios. (Thankfully there’s animation studios like Studio Deen which will always be around to make J.C. Staff look decent in comparison.)

I can ‘t help but compare it to the recently finished Gosick which seems to inhabit the same genre of anime. The mysteries that need solved in Kamisama no Memo-chou look like they’re more thought out then the ones in Gosick which is a definite plus but Gosick had a better female lead in Victorique (thanks in part by a superior vocal performance by Yuuki Aoi). The rest of the cast is pretty much equal in quality between the two. Gosick has the edge in the animation department but Kamisama no Memo-chou has the edge in the story department assuming the source material holds up. So it’s pretty much a wash for right now but I do see the potential in Kamisama no Memo-chou and hope it reaches that full potential.

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(7) – Blood-C

Rating for episodes 1 to 5 – 8/12  B+

I have not seen the previous incarnations of this franchise nor am I that familiar with Clamp (I did watch Kobato and enjoyed it) so I did not quite know what to expect from this anime. Certain bloggers that I respect, like psgels at Star-Crossed Anime Blog, seemed really excited about Blood-C which was enough for me to give it a try.

So far, I’m still not completely sold on the series but it’s doing better than I thought it would and when the introductions are done and we move onto the larger story this could get very good, very fast. The biggest gripe I have with the show is the one-dimensional, poorly developed side characters that are the main character’s classmates and friends. They aren’t a deal breaker so long as they continue to be used in small doses like they have been and I bet they’ll be in the anime in even smaller doses as the plot develops. At first I was also bothered by the main character’s apparent bi-polar personality between cold-blooded killer of monsters and naive Pollyanna but I decided that there’s probably a good reason for the personality split. I’m guessing that sword is involved.

The biggest thing going for it right now is that Production I.G. is animating Blood-C and it looks great with only an occasion scene where the characters look like they were born on the moon. The action scenes have been well done and satisfying, probably the best of the new anime shows this season. If Blood-C can beat out Nichijou for having the best overall actions scenes still remains to be seen, though.

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(6) – Kamisama Dolls

Rating for episodes 1 to 4 – 8/12  B+

The second show with “God” in the title and the first of three new anime series from Brains Base is about what happens when a young man (college age this time) decides he wants to leave his rural village with all it’s secrets behind and live a normal life in the big city. Of course, it’s not that easy – it never is. A psychotic killer from his village escapes and decides he wants to see his old friend, the main character, and have some fun.

Kamisama Dolls has shown moments of greatness that almost convince me that this will end up a great anime but it hasn’t quite closed the deal yet. The biggest question that still needs to be answered definitively is how well it can balance it’s serious drama side with it’s slower-paced comedic side. So far it’s done an adequate job handling both sides but there’s still room for improvement.  The one area that I thought might a be problem but didn’t turn out to be for this anime is it’s animation quality, not because Brains Base is a poor animation studio but because I think this is the first time they’re working on more than one anime series at a time and I expected something to give. They even had the time to come up with one of my favorite OP this season.

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(5) – Mayo Chiki

Rating for episodes 1 to 5 – 9/12  A-

This season’s most over-achieving anime is definitely Mayo Chiki; it really has no business being as good as it is. A story about a typical high school boy one day discovering the butler of the rich girl who attends his school is actually a girl and has to hide her gender so that she can continue being a butler is not the type of show that one expects high quality from but, somehow, here we are. Actually, that’s not quite true – I understand why Mayo Chiki has been so successful. One, the comedy works. Two, the characters play well off each other and excel in the roles they are being asked to play. And three, Mayo Chiki utilizes the characters and situations behind the premise of the show fully and sometimes even to an absurd level.

The vocal work has also been great. Satoshi Hino, as the main character, hits it perfectly in portraying the typical high school boy with just enough backbone to be likable but not so much that he’s immune to the uncomfortable situations he’s placed in. Kana Hanazawa, as the younger sister, shows that she does have more range than she’s normally given credit for. Eri Kitamura is completely believable as she plays the bored, slightly sadistic rich girl and Yuka Iguchi does a superb job shifting between being masculine and feminine as the butler. The animation quality remains above average and the few action scenes have been animated surprisingly well.

Time will tell if Mayo Chiki can continue performing as well as it has been but I hope it does.

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(4) – Dantalian no Shoka

Rating for episodes 1 to 3 – 9/12  A-

Earlier I mentioned how J.C. Staff’s animation style has pretty much crystallized years ago and how it puts their anime at a disadvantage. On the other end of the spectrum is the animation company Gainax and Dantalian no Shoka is the latest example of how they’re willing to experiment with new styles and techniques while still mixing in enough trademark Gainax animation to keep fans happy. I like what they did here and it already feels like the perfect look for this anime.

The real standout in Dantalian no Shoka is actually Daisuke Ono’s vocal work for the main character and how well he plays off Dalian – a real spitfire of a woman, voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro, who happens to inhabit the mansion that Daisuke Ono’s character inherits when his grandfather dies. The pair pretty much guarantees that this’ll be an entertaining anime to follow, even if the mysteries and dangers behind the forbidden books of their world turn out to be not the most interesting. (Though they’ve been pretty interesting so far, creating a real mysterious atmosphere seems difficult in anime.)

I’m really looking forward to see where Dantalian no Shoka goes this season and I’m wondering if having a new director helm this anime means their more seasoned directors are fast at work on new projects for Gainax.

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(3) – Ikoku Meiro no Croisee

Rating for episodes 1 to 5 – 10/12  A

I expected that I’d find Ikoku Meiro no Croisee at least mildly entertaining to watch since I love anime (live action, books, etc.) set in the past; it doesn’t matter the time period or place. What I didn’t expect was how much I’d fall in love with it. It gets the slice-of-life vibe that shows like this and Natsume Yuujinchou need to cultivate absolutely correct. The characters are instantly likeable – Yune is death-by-cuteness personified – and the setting – late 19th century Paris with it’s rapid transitioning of technology – is engaging and different. The focus on the culture shock caused by the clash of East vs. West gives this anime additional depth and helps keep the story moving along.

Ikoku Meiro no Croisee is an example of how not all anime have to try something new and bigger to succeed; all that’s really needed is the perfect execution of a simple idea. I know I’m going to be very sad when Ikoku Meiro no Croisee finishes up.

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(2) – Mawaru Penguin Drum

Rating for episodes 1 to 5 – 11/12  A+

And Mawaru Penguin Drum showcases how trying something bigger, bolder, and different can pay off. This anime continues a streak of original production anime that have been either the best or nearly the best in each of the anime seasons dating back to Fall 2010. (Panty and Stocking – Fall 2010, Madoka – Winter 2011, Ano Hana – Spring 2011) This is a trend that I hope continues and expands because I think it’s in these original works that the truly great anime are made and their existence means that anime’s future is still bright.

Once again I’m reminded that talking about well-made anime is much more difficult than dissecting why an imperfect anime is imperfect and it doesn’t help that just about everyone is already watching Mawaru Penguin Drum. Instead I close by saying that this anime has a real chance to beat out Natsume Yuujinchou by the end of the season which is really something since Natsume is one of my all-time favorite anime.

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(1) – Natsume Yuujinchou 3

Rating for episodes 1 to 5– 11/12  A+

For all my complaining about this season, finally having the third season of Natsume Yuujinchou is all I really need to be happy. The only thing I feel the need to say about Natsume Yuujinchou 3 is that it’s as good as the first two seasons and continues one of the best anime franchises ever.

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Filed under: anime, first impressions

One of the reasons I like to blog about anime is that it helps focus my thoughts about the anime I watch. This extends to doing these seasonal anime previews; not only do I hope it helps some people out there to try anime they might not have otherwise, I also discover series that I should try and other series I should pass over.

This season is shaping up to be potentially a very strong season, though the lack of a new Shaft series is kind of a disappointment.

Below are my picks for the Summer 2011 season, sorted by how good I think the show will turn out and broken into 4 broad tiers. Platinum Tier shows are those anime that I believe have a virtually 100% guarantee of being good. Sometimes I’m wrong like when Shaft/Shinbou stretches out the plot of a sequel (Natsu no Arashi 2 and Arakawa Under the Bridge 2) to, presumably, do a third series.  When that happens it’s always very disappointing. The next level is the Gold Tier. This level contains those shows that I think have a very good chance of being, at a minimum, “good” shows. Anime at this level usually miss out on being Platinum Tier because I don’t know enough about the source material or the studio animating it has been known for doing variable work or some other small thing that makes me less then fully certain. Silver tier shows still have a lot going for them but bigger potential problems start showing up. The problem might be in the source material, animation studio, or director and it’s a big enough one that I think the show could go either way. Bronze tier shows have something that makes me think it possibly could be a decent show but I’m not holding much hope. Sometimes there’s a surprisingly good show from this group.

If you want a second opinion about the upcoming shows try out the previews by Star Crossed Anime Blog and The Cart Driver and if you want the most complete coverage of all the new Summer anime go to hashihime’s always most excellent preview when it’s up (edit – here it is).

The final item of business before moving to the Summer preview/watch list is to mention the anime series that are continuing into this season that are worth a renewed look.

• Blue Exorcist – a fairly typical shounen series that has retained my attention
• Hyouge Mono – the subs are so slow but I’m really enjoying what I’ve seen so far
• Steins;Gate – I keep telling myself the ending is probably going to stink like Chaos;Head but it’s been really interesting so far
• Hanasaku Iroha – Still entertaining but the story is wandering a bit right now. Supposedly the second half introduces a more cohesive plot.
• Nichijou – After a few episodes this comedy has really dialed in on the laughs and leaves me in stitches week-in and week-out
• Tiger & Bunny – So far the plot’s been pretty decent and it’s well animated and been very entertaining

Two shows I’m not covering are Baka to Test to Shoukan­juu Ni! and Nur­ari­hyon no Mago 2 because they are sequels to shows that I didn’t watch (the later) or didn’t finish (the former).

Platinum Tier

Natsume Yuujin­chou San

Aka Natsume’s Book of Friends 3

Director: Takahiro Omori
Studio: Brains Base – Kamichu, Baccano, Durarara, Spice &Wolf 2, Kuragehime, Dororon Enma-kun Meramera

On my mental list of anime that I’d most want to see a sequel done, few shows rank higher then Natsume Yuujin-chou. In fact, only, FLCL, Kino’s Journey and maybe Haibane Renmei finish above and the chances are very slim that any of those three will ever get a sequel, sadly.

Natsume follows the adventure of Natsume, a high school student that’s struggled with the “gift” of being able to see and communicate with spirits (youkai). His grandmother had the same abiltiy and when she passes on at the beginning of the series, her “Book of Friends” is given to him as her last living relative. The book contains the true names of the many spirits that the grandmother fought and defeated during her life – a powerful artifact many humans and spirits would covet for the power it gives. Natsume, on the other hand, has no such desire; he merely wants to live a peaceful life without bothering those around him because of his unique ability. Which is near impossible and some of the dangers Natsume faces are quite deadly; so he’s lucky that he has a booze-drinking, grumpy, talking cat – Nyanko-sensei – to help protect his back.

The first season was light on plot and heavy on the mono no aware slice-of-life vibe with a pleasant dose of comedy. The execution was perfect; it was even able to work in that late summer/early fall melancholy feeling into the show by syncing the events of the episodes with when they first aired on television. The second season introduced the first hints of a real plot which explained why many people thought the second season felt different. This unresolved plot was one of the driving reasons for wanting a third season (and because it’s an all-around awesome show). I’m hoping the third season will pick up where the second season left off and delve deeper into the plot of the show. Natsume Yuujin­chou San is not to be missed.

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Usagi Drop

AKA Bunny Drop

Director: Kanta Kamei
Studio: Production I.G. – Ghost in the Shell:SAC, Eden of the East, Kemono no Souja Erin, Kimi ni Todoke, Sengoku Basara

Usagi Drop is about a 30 year bachelor who decides to take in the six year old illegitimate daughter of his grandfather after the grandfather dies and no one else in the family wants her. And then they go on Jerry Springer – just kidding. Between the studio, the trailer, it’s placement on the Noitamina timeslot, and it’s premise, this series has excellence written all over it. My gut tells me that this will be another winner of the season so I’m ranking Usagi Drop as high as I am. Though I haven’t checked out the source material like Scamp advises blog writers to do before writing a season preview. The only potential fly in the ointment is the director and other staff don’t come with the longest pedigree but I think the positives vastly outweigh the negatives here.

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Gold Tier

Kamisama Dolls

Director: Seiji Kishi
Studio: Brains Base – Kamichu, Baccano, Durarara, Spice &Wolf 2, Kuragehime, Dororon Enma-kun Meramera

Brains Base normally only does one series a season so it was surprising  to see them suddenly run three series this season. Not that I’m complaining, the chances of a random Brains Base series being good is much higher then just about every other studio.

Kamisama Dolls follows Kyouhei (he’s old enough to drink so he’s probably college age) who’s moved to Tokyo to get away from his hometown and his past but discovers a simple move is not enough when he finds a dead body and learns that the killer was someone he knew from his hometown and that his younger sister is on the murderer’s tail. To make matters worse, since every small town in Japan harbors some sort of dark secret – the people from his hometown worship some sort of weird gods that manifest in giant, creepy humanoid forms known as kukuri that people can command.

This earns top-billing in this section because the director, Seiji Kishi, did the first season of Tentai Senshi Sunred – one of best comedies of the past couple years, Seto no Hanayome – another funny comedy  and Angel Beats – whose only real problem was the scenario writer created a 48 episode anime and tried to shoe-horn it into 13 episodes.

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Neko­gami Yaoyorozu

Director: Hiroaki Sakurai
Studio: AIC PLUS+ – GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class, Asobi ni Iku yo!

Trying to keep track of which subsection of AIC did which anime can be quite a chore but it does help gauge expectations. Neko­gami Yaoyorozu is a product of AIC Plus+ which has produced two previous works: GA was a fun slice-of-life series about a group of high school art students that was somehow able to feel different then both Sketchbook and Hidemari Sketch and the other, Asobi ni Iku yo!, was a fun SF romp involving first contact with aliens. Both series really could use a sequel but instead we have Neko­gami Yaoyorozu which is a comedy series about a cat god that hangs out at an antique dealer’s store and presumably causes trouble.

I’m especially looking forward to this series because AIC has been a roll of late with a string of shows that have been well-produced, entertaining and often including just the right amount of ecchi fan service and their absence this season after a steady release of a couple series a season for the last couple years was clearly evident. (I’m guessing that AIC was working on the movie for Sora no Otoshimono which comes out this June and they didn’t have the time to do a TV series or two.)

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Mawaru PenguinDrum

Director: Kunihiko Ikuhara
Studio: Brains Base – Kamichu, Baccano, Durarara, Spice &Wolf 2, Kuragehime, Dororon Enma-kun Meramera

With essentially no real information about this anime except it’s director is Kunihiko Ikuhara – director of Revolutionary Girl Utena – that it’s being animated by Brains Base and is 24 episodes long, there’s no good reason why I’m putting this so high on my list outside of a gut feeling about it being good. I haven’t even actually seen Utena to know if being the guy that directed it means something good for the chances of this anime. On the other hand my gut is telling me this is going to be a good series and I agree.

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Silver Tier

No.6

Director: Kenji Nagasaki
Studio: Bones – Soul Eater, Xam’d: Lost Memories, Eureka 7, Full Metal Alchemist, Heroman, Star Driver, Gosick

The other Noitamina series of this season. A SF series set in the near future, No. 6 is about a boy that’s lives the golden lifestyle that being an elite student allows until he happens to rescue a boy that’s escaped from the under-city where all society’s rejects live and his life is forever changed.

As awesome as the potential for this to be an intelligent SF anime series there are two things that worry me. The first is this only appears to be 11 episodes long which isn’t exceedingly long to balance world-building, character development, and delivering a decent story. It can be done and in the right hands that’s no problem, which leads me to the second worry. Bones often has a problem with pacing and with it’s endings. So, I’m not very confident that they can make No. 6 into a good and successful anime. Though, as a minimum, it will be well-animated.

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Blood-C

Director: Tsutomu Mizushima
Studio: Production I.G. – Ghost in the Shell:SAC, Eden of the East, Kemono no Souja Erin, Kimi ni Todoke, Sengoku Basara

Normally I’d pass on a sequel to a franchise I’m behind on but apparently prior knowledge isn’t imperative with this series. The only experience I have with Clamp series to this point is the recent Kobato, which was an all-around decent series, but I know they’ve been around a long time and they’re well-liked by many people. So, it’s difficult to really rank this as high as psgels did for Star Crossed Anime Blog but with Production I.G. and a talented staff, Blood-C will probably be a very watchable series.

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Ikoku Meiro no Croisee

Director: Kenji Yasuda
Studio: Satelight – Kiddy Grade, Guin Saga, Basquash, Fairy Tail

I love anime series set in past, it doesn’t matter the time period or the location. Half the reason I’m currently watching Gosick is for the setting (and the other half is Aoi Yuuki’s superb vocal work as the main character). I don’t think I’ve every completed or watched an anime series from Satelight; so, I don’t have that easy gauge of expectations like I have for other series. The trailer, however, looks like the animators aren’t skimping on the animation – an important consideration when watching a series for it’s setting. Therefore, I can pretty much guarantee that I’m going to be watching Ikoku Meiro no Croisee to the end, even if it’s not the best.

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Dantalian’s Library

Director: Yutaka Uemura
Studio: Gainax – Gurren Lagann, Hanamaru Kindergarten, Evangelion, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

On one hand this is Gainax, a name synonymous with epic awesomeness but on the other hand it’s only with original projects that Gainax really shines. On the other hand the premise (guy inherits grandfather’s mansion and the equivalent of Index from Index) could be interesting but on the other hand the source material is from the guy who wrote Asura Cryin’. And this isn’t first string Gainax or even apparently second-string Gainax and it’s only 13 episodes long which means capable hands are required to develop a good story in that span of time. It’s still worth a look but I’m going to hold my expectations down and hope they announce their next original series soon.

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R-15

Director: Munenori Nawa
Studio: AIC – Ore no Imouto, Amagami SS, Hourou Musuko, Sasameki Koto, Mayoi Neko Overrun, Strike Witches 2

To be clear, if anyone other then AIC was doing this series I almost certainly wouldn’t bother because the premise – high school student who writes ero novels but must hide this fact from his classmates – is very stupid sounding. However, as I mentioned earlier, AIC’s been on a streak lately, turning even a show like Ore no Imouto into something watchable, and I’m guessing there’s a decent chance they can do it again with R-15.

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Sacred Seven

Director: Yoshimitsu Ohashi
Studio: Sunrise – Tiger and Bunny, Code Geass, Gundam

I pay attention to any series that is an original production like Sacred Seven is. It’s where you find much of the very best anime (and also the worse – cough*Fractale*cough). I’m currently enjoying Tiger and Bunny and if this show can entertain on a similar level then it’s definitely worth watching.

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Bronze Tier

Kamisama no Memo-chou

Director: Katsushi Sakurabi
Studio: J.C. Staff – Hatsukoi Limited, Toradora, Potemayo, Shana, Index, Railgun, Milky Holmes

I still have a residual like of J.C. Staff based on some really great previous work but they’ve seem to sunk into a rut of late. It’s like they’re just going through the motions. For example, when was the last time J.C. Staff actually wowed anyone with their animation quality?

Kami-sama no Memo-chou is about a NEET detective girl (though wouldn’t being a detective count as employment, thereby invalidating being a NEET??) and a high school boy that’s her assistant. If there are decent mysteries to solve or they get to meet the Harlem Globetrotters then this could be a very watchable series. More then likely this’ll turn out to be just a meh series.

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The IdolM@ster

Director: Atsushi Nishigori
Studio: A-1 Pictures – Birdy the Mighty Decode, Ao no Exorcist, Occult Academy, Working!!, Sora no Woto, Kannagi

This is another case of being aware of some part of anime/manga/etc. fandom without being familiar with it. The IdolM@ster is based off a game where you manage the careers of 10 wannabe female idols. Yawn. The only redeeming feature is A-1 Pictures is animating this; so it’ll look good and theirs a chance that the content of the show will be at least entertaining.

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Itsuka Tenma no Kuro-Usagi

Director: Takashi Yamamoto
Studio: Zexcs  – Wagaya no Oinari-sama, Chrome Shelled Regios, Umi Monogatari, Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu (The Legend of Legendary Heroes)

There are actually worse studios then Zexcs to see attached to the production of an anime series but the chances of that series being anything higher then just “watchable” are very, very slim. (The chances for it falling below the line of “not worth your time”, however, are very high.) I’m guessing with such a crowded summer season, it’ll be very difficult not to drop this series but I wouldn’t mind being wrong.

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Mayo Chiki

Director: Keiichiro Kawaguchi
Studio: Feel  – Yosuga no Sora, kissxsis, Kanamemo, Nagasarete Airantou

At this point I feel like I’m really scrapping the bottom of the barrel but the last show I’m going to cover is Mayo Chiki. I like reverse-traps-hiding-their-genders-while-being-a-butler as much as the next person but it’s going to be tough for this show to convince me that I shouldn’t drop this after the first episode. I’m an open-minded guy; there’s always that chance.

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There’s my list. If I missed something that you think I’d like then, by all means, post a comment to suggest it. I still remember having Cross Game suggested to me in a comment on this blog and discovering one of my favorite shows of the year. I’d’ve never picked it up since it was technically a sport anime, a genre I don’t normally like.

Filed under: anime, season preview