I wanted this to be a single post but when I finished, a quick word count showed roughly 3000 words which is just too much to ask people to read in one sitting and also, who wants to scroll through such a long post? So a hasty cut was in order and here we are.

Let’s pick up where the last post left off with number 11 …

(11) – Aquarion Evol

Rating for episodes 1 to 7 – 9/12  A-

Even more fun then Symphogear has been this anime, Aquarion Evol – a sequel set 12,000 years after the original series. Normally, I don’t try to jump into a series but I figured 12,000 years was long enough to reset the series. The story is moderately interesting at this point; I’m most curious about the reason why two different dimensions are linked together and what these two dimensions mean to each other. What pushes Aquarion Evol this high is an interesting cast of characters, the high production values, and occasionally its dialogue. The noteworthy dialogue might be more of a function of the translation but I loved two lines in particular. The first was, ‘You stink deliciously,” which was what one of the antagonists said to the main female character; this has to be one of the oddest pick-up lines ever. The other is, ‘He’ll fly for anyone,’ said by a couple of female characters about the male main character’s habit of floating when being excited by a female character.

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(10) – Last Exile – Ginkyou no Fam

Rating for episodes 1 to 16 – 9/12  A-

Gonzo has done a much better job with this sequel then I thought possible but, by being that good, this sequel of Last Exile is frustrating when it fumbles along when it clearly should be soaring. The world building is stellar; the politics is intriguing; the story is grand enough to showcase the world building and politics; and, the characters are a great mix of people who fit with the story and allow the story to accomplish what it wants to do. Yet, when examined closely, problems crop up with Last Exile 2. Probably the most disappointing is the vocal performance of two of the main characters – Aki Toyosaki and Aoi Yuuki. Both are personal favorites and have many great roles under their belts but here they are so lackluster. I don’t know if it’s that the characters are poor or if it’s the fault of the person in charge of the vocal recording for these lackluster performances but the result really saps the energy out of the show when either are on-screen. Many of the other problems with Last Exile 2 could be fixed if the person(s) behind the series composition and the individual episode scripts had been fired and more competent writers brought in.

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(9) – Hunter x Hunter

Rating for episodes 1 to 19 – 9/12  A-

I fall into the category of people who have not seen the original Hunter x Hunter anime series nor read the source manga it’s based on which leaves me in a different state of mind over Hunter x Hunter then the majority of the people I have read talking about the strengths and weaknesses of this anime. For example, at the beginning when I thought the pacing in the episodes was dragging the series out I was constantly reading people who complained about how quickly they were flying through the source material. To me, Hunter x Hunter has really started to hit it’s stride during the current winter season and, as a result, is slowly bubbling towards the top of it’s anime brethren. A good shounen series is a nice change of pace sometimes.

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(8) – Tantei Opera Milky Holmes 2

Rating for episodes 1 to 4 – 9/12  A-

The first season of Milky Holmes was a hilarious, subversive gem that flew under too many people’s radars. For a successful sequel, Milky Holmes needed to use everything good about the first season and infuse that with fresh, new awesomeness. I didn’t know if the creators had it in them but the first four episodes have shown that somewhere in the dark, twisted depths of their psyches they were able to summon new reserves of insanity to make Milky Holmes 2 even better.

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(7) – Another

Rating for episodes 1 to 6 – 10/12  A

I’m going to resist the urge to make a joke using this anime’s name – Another. It pains me to pass this over because I like jokes like that but we don’t need yet another blogger making the same joke. With Hanasaku Iroha, P.A. Works finally succeeded at producing a great anime series after a string of disappointing attempts. At the onset I was anxious to see if Another would continue in the footsteps of Hanasaku Iroha or would it fall back to being another frustratingly almost good series like their early works. Six episodes in and I’m relieved that, after a bit of stumble in the first couple episodes from trying to force the creepy/scary vibe, it’s found a pace that should end with Another being one of the best anime of the season.

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(6) – Mouretsu Pirates

Rating for episodes 1 to 6 – 10.5/12  Strong A

It is indeed time for some piracy. Bodacious Pirates is about a high school girl who finds out her absent father was a space privateer (legal pirate) and with his death she’s inherited his ship and his title, if she desires them. She does, of course, because it wouldn’t be a show if she declined but it does take a couple of episodes for her to reach that decision. This made the show feel like it started off slowly but by episode 5 it started showing it’s potential and, egads, does this anime have potential. What it does with this potential remains to be seen but this anime has become the anime that I most look forward too each week.

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(5) – Ano Natsu de Matteru

Rating for episodes 1 to 6 – 11/12  A+

Over the last several years, J.C. Staff almost always has done its best work when Tatsuyuki Nagai is the director (Honey and Clover 2, Railgun, Toradora). Last year when he directed AnoHana for A-1 Pictures I wondered if he had left J.C. Staff for good and what that would mean for J.C. Staff’s future but with AnoNatsu I can stop worrying about J.C. Staff. at least partly. On paper, even though AnoNatsu is an original anime production, it doesn’t appear to be that ambitious of a project – as opposed to other recent anime originals like Penguindrum or Madoka – however, what it lacks in ambition has been more than made up with impeccable execution. J.C. Staff is in the odd position this season of fielding two of the top series of this season.

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(4) – Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou

Rating for episodes 1 to 6 – 11/12  A+

Extremely hilarious somehow still low-balls the comedic genius of Daily Lives of High School Boys. There are so many parts to this anime that are worthy of praise. There’s the comedy – it’s actually funny and there’s the characters – they capture high school boys and girls so realistically and the voice acting – they make the characters pop and then there’s the parts were NichiBros lightly lambastes common anime tropes to name but a few areas.

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(3) – Nisemonogatari

Rating for episodes 1 to 6 – 11.5/12  Near Perfect

Watching Nisemonogatari provides a yard stick to measure how much Shaft/Shinbou has improved in the last 2.5 years since Bakemonogatari and it’s almost scary to see the level of improvement that they’ve accomplished. Everything from the scripting to the visuals have been fine-tuned to be tighter, sharper, and better able to deliver the goods with less effort exerted. The only question left at this point is will Nisemonogatari outsell Bakemonogatari or not?

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(2) – Chihayafuru

Rating for episodes 1 to 19 – 12/12  Perfect

Residual respect for the animators, Madhouse, and my new-found respect for the voice actor Mamoru Miyano lead me to try Chihayafuru which is about a group of teens that play Karuta – a game where players compete over collecting cards featuring verses from 100 different poems. I’m glad I did because Chihayafuru started off excellently and has steadily gotten even better. Normally, I’m not a fan of “sports” anime but I love the characters and how they’ve grown over the course of the series and the creators have somehow even made a game like Karuta interesting to watch. The only potential fly-in-the-ointment is that the source material is a continuing manga and the animators have to give the anime some sense of conclusion while leaving the door open for a second season (fingers crossed for that).

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(1) – Natsume Yuujinchou Shi

Rating for episodes 1 to 6 – 12/12  Perfect

How does this series continue to find the room to get better? The creators should have already hit the asymptote of possible quality by the fourth season but they continue to push ever upwards. At this point, future seasons are probably a given and, though, I’m tempted to want countless more, I’ve started wanting to see an ending. I’ve even been thinking about how I’d love to see it end – an adult Natsume, happily married, sitting on the edge of one those short open porches that Japanese houses have and explaining to his young son/daughter not be afraid of the strange creatures he/she has started noticing and he then pulls out the now empty Book of Friends and starts into the story of his grandmother, Reiko, and the camera would pan up over a lovely bucolic scene, we’d hear Nyanko-sensei call out for some food item and the screen would fade out.

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Filed under: anime, first impressions

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

With the timing of Al Gore and the intelligence of Joe Biden, the recent rant by Bang Zoom’s President about the impending death of anime is so sad, it’s hilarious. If it was a well-written piece I might feel like I needed to write a rebuttal but it wasn’t, not by a long shot, which leads one to ask – “Why are you bringing up Mr. Sherman’s rambling rant?” Well, I’d answer, there are some things I wanted to mention related to issue at hand and this is as good of a time as any.

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Where I Blame Mr. Sherman and Bang Zoom For Being 35% of the Problem Facing Anime In America

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I bought an anime DVD the other day.

Not a big surprise; I, like many people can be enticed to buy something even if we have access to it for free. That goes for my copy of the latest Dresden Files book and it goes for this DVD. What is this mysterious anime DVD that I, as a member of the dark underbelly of the internet bought? The complete box set of Baccano.

The big surprise to this purchase is that I bought the complete box set of Baccano for it’s dub. That’s right, I bought an anime DVD for it’s dub. Crazy, I know. Even more crazy when you start listing all the awesome Japanese voice work done for this series but here I am, giddy in anticipation over watching an anime dub.

Someone well acquainted with the past dub quality in anime might ask what makes this dub different from the years and years of mediocre dubs that American fans have had to put up with? Simply put, Funimation used voice actors that sounded right for their role, had genuine talent, and the drive to give a performance on par with their Japanese counterparts. I wouldn’t think it was possible but Funimation did it and if you don’t believe me, you can go to their website to watch the dub episodes for free.

Fine, someone might now say, why does a sublime dub convince me to buy the DVD? Another simple question , Baccano’s dub gives the DVD a much higher value in my eyes then a sub-only DVD or a lousy dub DVD would. For instance, I can now watch Baccano even when it’s not possible to read subs all the time like while I’m cooking or cleaning or eating or, in the case of my sister, when she wants to do a bit of knitting. Also, most Americans don’t like to read subs so having a quality dub of Baccano means I have an anime to show those people when I want to convince them that anime can be awesome (without having to worry about the voice acting souring my chances with these potential converts).

I can hear the question coming at this point – what does Baccano’s dub have to do with Bang Zoom and the problems facing anime in America. At the time of reading Mr. Sherman’s rant I knew Bang Zoom was a dubbing studio but I didn’t know of what shows so I went to the ever informative Anime News Network. And according to ANN, Bang Zoom had nothing to do with the Baccano dub but they did do the Haruhi (my #1 top anime of 2006), Lucky Star (my #2 top anime of 2007), and Gurren Lagann (my #1 top anime of 2007) dubs.  A light bulb clicks on at this point. I have the limited edition Haruhi DVDs and found the dub just slightly better then mediocre; Haruhi’s English voice actor totally failed to make Haruhi as awesome as Aya Hirano was able too and the whole show comes off as a much lower quality show because of it. I saw the trailer to Lucky Star and was so turned off by the dub that I refused to even consider paying money for such an inferior product. In the case of Gurren Lagann, I watched it dubbed on the Sci-fi channel and was so infuriated when a poorly picked English voice for Kamina was able to completely change his character for the worse.

In all three shows I sensed a common theme – Bang Zoom pumping out a mediocre dub which might have saved a couple bucks but hurt the show in the long run. Consider what an anime DVD is worth if the dub track will never be listened to and watching it subbed means putting up with that ugly yellow font and poor handling of signs and watching it as a DVD means having to settle for the resolution a DVD offers? Even Mr. Sherman must know, in his heart-of-hearts, that an anime DVD like that isn’t worth very much. If, however, that same DVD offered a great dub then it’s worth would be much higher and as a result, more DVDs would be sold because the consumers would be able to get something they like in return for spending money that could have gone to a dozen different diversions and hobbies.

As I looked at it more the more I became convinced that Bang Zoom and Mr. Sherman have been more detrimental to anime in America then fansubs have ever been. Consider the anime companies Mr. Sherman mentions in his rant as having closed or suffered massive trouble. Two of those four companies (Bandai and Geneon/Pioneer) use/used Bang Zoom extensively to do their dubs – coincidence? Could it be, those market forces of capitalism that work in so many other industries to keep prices down and quality up have shown up here as well? Could it be, American consumers aren’t quiet the dumb sheep that people like Mr. Sherman think they are?

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Where I Show Mr. Sherman’s Statement That Japan Is “struggling to bring out quality titles” As Another Symptom of The Problem Facing Anime In America

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Assuming, of course, Mr. Sherman wasn’t lying through his teeth and he knows that Japan isn’t struggling to bring out quality titles. Which is a possibility but if one looks at what types of shows that generally get licensed and brought over then his statement fits into an idea I have.

I was looking at the those wonderful charts that chartfag has been putting together and I noticed something when I compared the 2008 chart with the 2001 chart. Here’s the charts, can you see it too?

If you look at the 2001 chart, it looks like the TV stations and animators where targeting young boys with the overwhelming majority shows being action shounen shows and the secondary market seemed to be young girls with the cute shoujo shows. Now look at the 2008 chart and something strange has happened. There’s still those action shounen shows and cute shoujo shows but there’s all these new types of shows: Aria, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Spice and Wolf, Natsume Yuujinchou, Hidemari Sketch, Clannad, Natsu no Sora, and Kaiba to name just a few.

It’s almost like the audience watching anime in Japan is diversifying and getting older; shocking, I know. A look at the American anime market shows that, for the most part, it’s still a 2001 mindset. It’s very slowly getting better (thanks in part to fans refusing to accept business as usual from the DVD companies) but there’s still a wide gulf between how shows like Bleach and Naruto are treated in America as opposed to how Natsume Yuujinchou, Clannad, or Aria are. What must American anime company people like Mr. Sherman think when they see shows like Bakemonogatari as being top DVD/Blu-Ray sellers in Japan? Their years and years of relying and pushing action shounen titles must make it so they can’t comprehend how a show that’s hyper-stylized and spends all it’s time showing characters talking could ever possibly sell in America.

So these American anime companies pass on shows like Bakemonogatari and wait for the next Naruto and complain that fansubs are killing anime because their waiting for the next Naruto obviously means something is wrong with anime. The funny thing is they might be right about the difficulty in their ability to sell shows like Bakemonogatari to America but let’s remember that it’s these same company executive’s limited mindset that has stunted the ability for the mainstream anime fandom in America to grow with their Japanese counterparts, causing a near incompatibility between the two.

To further compound this problem, American anime companies sticking to a 2001 mindset also cause yet more problems. People, including anime fans, get bored of watching the same type of shows over-and-over again; look at the cyclical nature to American prime-time television as a great example of this. So what do these bored anime fans do when they get tired of watching anime that bores them? Either become former anime fans or head to the dark, dangerous underbelly of the internet and find all the titles they’ve been missing out on. And even if you can find anime fans that don’t tire of watching the same type of show over-and-over, by watching only those action shounen titles targeted towards the younger audience it’s very probable that these anime fans will decide one day that they’ve “outgrown” anime because it’s meant for kids and, unless someone steps in and shows them the wider possibilities found in anime, they will stop being anime fans.

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Where I Mention Another Market That Alarmists Have Said Will Die “If Something Isn’t Done!”

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Print science fiction. Except in the case of print SF, people have prognosticated it’s immanent death since at least the early 1980’s. Hasn’t happened yet and it probably never will, provided great SF books/stories are still being written. So, I put little stock in any statement about the immanent death of anime as long as great anime is still being made and a quick look shows that plenty of quality anime is still getting made.

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Where I Remind Mr. Sherman the Easiest Way To Get Rid Fansubs Is To Put Out a Superior Product

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I asked earlier how much is a DVD worth if the dub track will never be listened to and watching it subbed means putting up with that ugly yellow font and poor handling of signs and watching it as a DVD means having to settle for the resolution a DVD offers. The answer is not very much and it looks even sadder when compared to the standard fansub I can find in the dark recesses of the internet put out by unpaid amateurs.

If anime companies in America can come up with a better way to give anime fans their anime then fansubs would go the way of the horse & buggy, the record/8-track players, the canals, the walkie-talkies and the elevator operators. Until that happens though, the anime companies in America will be the ones in danger of disappearing and not fansubs.

And will anime die if every single American anime company shuts down? To answer, I’ll first have to assume this scenario is possible because if anime is anything like print SF then as companies close down, new people with new ideas start new companies and pick up where the old companies left off and there’s never a point when somebody isn’t producing anime/manga/ print SF. So, assuming this worst case scenario, would anime die if every single American anime company shuts down? I’d have to say no, I don’t think so.

For all the bluster that Mr. Sherman displays in his rant – America don’t actually make the anime, we’re only a secondary market to Japan. If we were truly important to them then we’d be able to leverage better treatment from them. Remember how in the case of Haruhi the overwhelming amount of fans in America wanted the DVDs released in TV order and the Japanese license holder would only allow the TV order as an “extra” for the limited edition DVDs and only as a subtitled release. Or the continued reluctance of the Japanese rights holders in allowing us Americans to release anime Blu-ray discs. They couldn’t let the remote possibility of reverse importation mess-up their true cash cow even if that makes fansubs all the more enticing to everyone else.

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Where I Write a Conclusion and Hope Someone Has Read This Entire 2300+ Word Blog Entry and Derived Something Positive From It

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Let’s Recap: Mr. Sherman, President and CEO of the dubbing studio Bang Zoom writes a rant about the impending death of anime and I find it funny for being so out-of-touch with reality. It didn’t rate a response until I realized this was a chance to talk about how unexpectantly awesome the Baccano dub was (thanks Funimation!) and to snub Bang Zoom for screwing up three recent great anime shows by providing poor to slightly better then mediocre dubs and to talk about how the worth of an anime DVD changes drastically depending on the quality of it’s dub. I also realize that I can take this opportunity to voice my displeasure about the history of licensing only certain types of shows for America and to point out how these studio executives are too short-sighted and/or dumb to realize the consequences of their licensing patterns. And I realized I can mention what I think about all these Chicken Littles who want to make us believe the sky is falling and also to remind Mr. Sherman (who probably won’t actually ever read this post) that the surest way to get rid of a product is to produce a superior product and watch capitalism work it’s magic and let the inferior product disappear.

So after realizing all this, I got to writing this blog entry and here we are, a dozen hours of writing from me and 2300+ words written. I hope at least one person out there enjoyed this post and got something from it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some anime to watch.

Filed under: anime, anime rants/views, general anime interst