The Nitori’s have a family meeting where the parents initially try to put the blame on Maho for dressing Shuichi up when they were little, though their father seems a bit more understanding than their mother. Meanwhile, neither Shuichi or Maho go back to school the next day.  Yoshino tells Sasa about the incident, and is kind of in awe of Shuichi never flinching when he was confronted by his teacher over wearing the uniform. Not only that, but Yoshino and Chizuru start getting harassed for their previous dress up experiences as well.  Despite this, Shuichi’s class decides to do another genderbending play for the next cultural festival

It was kind of sad see Momoko not only being the least understanding of Shuichi’s friends, but she remained sour for the rest of the season whenever it came to Shuichi, or even Yoshino really for that matter.  Meanwhile, Doi, while still kind of his old self, such as by telling Shuichi he was an idiot for dressing up when he was the one who suggested it, seems to have turned over a new leaf to an extent, such as helping out with the play, and being genuinely upset when Shuichi told him off.

I’m glad we saw a bit more of Saori in the last episode since she had fallen off the face of the planet it seemed for a while, and while she still seems to have feelings for Shuichi, she seems to have accepted the fact that he doesn’t return them.  Meanwhile, I guess not unexpectedly Anna broke up with Shuichi, though in the last episode Shuichi still states his feelings for her.  The status of any of Shuichi’s romantic relationships seem up in the air, though.  I originally thought that him getting with Yoshino was a foregone conclusion, but there doesn’t seem to be anything going on there since he started going out with Anna.  I thought he would kind of strengthen his feelings for Yoshino and vice versa after that, but it seems like Shuichi is genuinely over Yoshino and Yoshino, while I think perhaps jealous at first, seemed fine with him going with Anna.

This series, in the end, was about Shuichi being unsure and shy about who he is, but ultimately coming to terms with it, and not being afraid of it, even if he decided not to go out of his way to show it after the school incident. I think the show has come under some criticism for being too unrealistic, especially when it comes to how understanding Shuichi’s friends are, but I’m not sure that’s the case. Most of Shuichi’s friends were either into cross-dressing or at least flirted with the idea beforehand – really Sasa is the only one who didn’t – and when they met Chizuru, Shuichi was drawn to her because she came to school in a boy’s uniform herself, and Momoko just kind of came along for the ride at that point.  Meanwhile, the reactions of Shuichi’s classmates when he came to the school as a girl are so negative that he basically has to spend a whole semester doing his classes in the nurse’s office.  I almost found it interesting that, due to who was in what class, Sasa really became Shuichi’s primary defender in the last couple of episodes, though there isn’t any hint that their relationship is anything but strictly platonic.

Unfortunately, the series has mostly caught up to where the manga is, though the start of the series started at volume 5, which seems to be unusual.  I think this series is definitely worthy enough of having a sequel, but it’s either going to have to go it’s own way, or wait several years for the manga to get far enough ahead again to do that. I think Wandering Son is a series for those with a particular taste; it certainly is drama-centered. However, for those who like drama series and thought-provoking series, I think that this turned out to be a pretty good little series.

So the bunch of 7 gets broken up into different classes starting the new school year. Maho doesn’t think Anna will like Shuichi dressing like a girl, but she doesn’t care and they actually go out on a date with him dressed as one. Meanwhile, a boy that used to make fun of Shuichi in elementary school, Doi, is in his class. despite warnings from Makoto and Yoshino, Shuichi tries to become friends with him, with Doi asking to see him dressed up as a girl, and eventually convincing him to come to school in a girl’s uniform.

The end of this episode really comes to the head of gender equality, especially when it comes to transsexuals.  Shuichi’s coming to school wearing a girl’s uniform was effectively him coming out that he was trans, since everyone would know about it at that point, and I think he pretty much was aware of it, saying that his parents would be surprised by it.  However, we’ve already seen him being treated differently than either Chizuru or Yoshino was by being taken to the nurses office and being sent home right away, which is where the issue of gender equality comes in.  We’re obviously going to get the full brunt of the reaction of what Shuichi did in the next episode.  While I think most of his friends will be OK with it, what about his school and what about his parents?

Also, there is the question of Doi. Has he really turned a new leaf or was he, as both Yoshino and Makoto warned, just leading him on and trying to embarrass Shuichi in front of everyone? I have a feeling we’ll find out in the next episode as well.

I’m still kind of surprised that the Shuichi/Anna relationship is still going on, though we hardly saw any of it in episode 9.  I suppose this could impact that as well.  Anna may not be bothered with dating someone who dresses up in private or when no one can tell, but may have a problem dating someone known to everyone as a cross-dresser.  But we’ll see  I guess.

So they have the play, which is a blast, and gives Makoto confidence.  Meanwhile, Shuichi is growing through more growing pains as he starts getting pimples, and asks Anna for advice for controlling them (as his sister won’t help him with it).  The pair start hanging out more until eventually Shuichi gets a crush on  Anna and asks her out.  This causes Yoshino to start backing away from Shuichi and causes Saori to withdraw from her friends completely.

It looks like several things may happen due to this thing with Anna.  First, it looks like since the main reason why Saori has been stubbornly hating on Yoshino is no longer valid, the two seem like they may start making up now.  Also, I think Yoshino may be becoming aware herself just what her feelings for Shuichi are. Kind of ironically, I think she could ignore them as long as she was the focus of his attention, but now that he’s dating someone else, her real feelings will start to come out.

As for the relationship with Anna, I have a feeling it’s going to only be temporary.  I kind of feel that Anna’s feeling for Shuichi may extend merely skin deep because he’s cute, and Shuichi may only have a crush on her due to how much time they’ve spent together, but that’s it.  But I guess we’ll find out anyway.  I think she’s seen him crossdress before, so that shouldn’t be a problem I wouldn’t think.  It’s just a matter of how much they actually like each other and how far away Shuichi is willing Yoshino and Saori to get for Anna’s sake.  I”m betting not very far.

Shuichi and Saori are continuing to combine their two scripts together for the class play, but aren’t getting very far, so the teacher asks for volunteers to help them, resulting on the whole group of 7 (Shuichi, Saori, Yoshino, Sasa, Makoto, Chizuru, and Momoko) working on the play. Unfortunately, Saori’s “friend” Ninomiya swings by and ends up spilling the beans on Shuichi to everyone. They finally finish writing it (with it being little more than Romeo and Juliet) and end up drawing for roles, with Romeo going to Saori and Juliet going to…Makoto.

Shuichi and Yoshino have continued anxieties about growing up.  Yoshino is still trying to find away to make herself look flat, and got depressed when Momoko told her she had a womanly figure. Meanwhile, Shuichi is worried about when his voice deepens and he starts growing facial hair.  To pour water on him even more, Saori asks what he plans to do, such as have an operation when he’s old enough, but he just says he hasn’t thought that far ahead.

One kind of has to feel sorry for Saori in a way.  You know she’s going to be the one left out in the love triangle, and I”m pretty sure she knows it too, which is one reason why she is always in such a bad mood, especially when around Shuichi or Yoshino. The scene where Yoshino gets angry so Shuichi doesn’t have to I think just shows that, while even though Yoshino denies it, she and Suhichi will eventually get together. Though she may have another rival soon in Anna, who seems to have a thing for Shuishi.

H0wever, while Shuichi says that Yoshino is the one who knows him best, I think that’s true in some respects, but in others, I think Saori has him nailed down too, such as nailing the fact that Shuichi wants to be loved as a girl by a boy Yoshino.  Saori may very well know him best, but I just don’t think she’s the one for Shuichi.

Spring is around the corner and most Winter anime season have come to an end. Here are a few words on these anime that have ended. Dragon Crisis! For the most part, Dragon Crisis was okay to watch. Wasn’t a fan of Ryuuji. But I dealt with it, I was looking forward to seeing that [...]

You can tell that either 1) Japanese schools are different from American schools and/or 2) this show is unrealistic in that, if an American 6th grade teacher ever allowed their class to do a “gender-bender play”, conservative parents would be rioting in the streets and the teacher would probably be fired before the school day was over.  Anyway, that was a nice idea by Saorin, probably in part to allow Yoshino and Shuichi to cross-dress without being embarrassed with their classmates.

In any case, this episode started dealing with Yoshino and Shuichi’s anxiety about going through puberty, with Yoshino anxious about her boobs getting bigger and not wanting to wear a bra, and Shuichi anxious about when his voice will start to change.

Saorin having to work with Shuichi on the play, though, seems to be making Saorin more anxious since the obvious person to play Romeo in their play is Yoshino, but that just reminds Saorin of the fact that Shuichi is interested in Yoshino instead of her.  I did have to laugh at the scene where Maho’s boyfriend comes in only to see Maho stripping Shuichi.  Probably the only reason Maho didn’t let Shuichi have it (again) was because she was sick.

More teen angst in this episode, though none of it really about the transexualism, directly.  Basically, Saorin is mad (and has been mad) at Yoshino for being the object of Shuichi’s affections even though Saorin likes him.  After Saorin is still pissy, Saorin and Yoshino’s shared friend Sasa says that she won’t talk to either of them.  This ultimately leads to Yoshino and Saorin making up in the end.

So we still have the Saorin-Yoshino-Shuichi love triangle going, though at least a bit more stable now after two episodes.  However, we also have some other minor things such as Makoto wondering if he’s gay, and Shuichi’s sister Maho seems to be conflicted or even jealous over her brother’s crossdressing (becoming rather agitated when her classmates remark that he looks cute).  However, this has a payoff later when a boy in Maho’s class uses the incident to complement her.

We also have Chizuru and her friend Momoko who have now joined the Saorin-Yoshino-Shuichi-Makoto-Sasa friend circle, with Sasa becoming friends with Chi and Yoshino still admiring her for wearing the boys uniform on the first day.

I guess there isn’t really very much to dwell on as far as the future goes as of yet, just observations of what’s going on.  Probably the only thing that is for sure is that the teen angst will continue.

Time for my second new show of the Winter season, and it happens to be the 2nd half of noitamina’a block (following Fractale), Hourou Musuko, or Wandering Son.  This is an 11 episode series about a pair of transsexual friends – one a boy who wants to be a girl, and a girl who wants to be a boy.  I thought it sounded interesting enough to give it a shot.

This show started off excellently, I thought.  It’s nice that the pair, Shu and Yoshino have some friends who understand, empathize, and even support them with their gender identity, but it’s clear they still have to deal with those that don’t understand, such as Shu’s sister, who finds his liking to dress up as a girl sick (though it seems that even at some level she understands too).

I think the fact that these characters are just starting junior high school makes this story more interesting as it’s teens trying to figure out who they are and not a high schooler or adult, which might be more seen as a fetish than a real internal conflict.  Also, it seems like Yoshino gets a little bit of a break since it’s easier (and more acceptable) for a girl to dress as a guy than vice versa, though she still seems hesitant to try to wear a boy’s uniform to school.  Of course, wearing a girl’s uniform to school is out of the question, though Shu obviously went out in public dressed as a girl, where people wouldn’t realize who he was.

Also, not only are the pair trying to get through their gender identity issues, but Shu confessed to Yoshino (before the start of the series) and, while they made up at the end of this episode, that’s gotta be an awkward thing hanging over them as well.  It’s hard to know exactly what their sexual orientation might be with gender identity issues too.  Shu still seems to be attracted to girls, or at least he is to Yoshino.  However, we get no clue about how Yoshino feels in that regard.  It could be that Shu likes her just because she’s masculine too, who knows.  I figure that might be some of the issues the show ends up covering before it’s over.

Also, I thought Saori was cool.  She seems like she could be sort of a brat, but she understands both Shu and Yoshino and gave the boy trying to bully Shu what he deserved.

So the final TV anime season of 2010 is beginning to come to a close, which means we’re all looking forward to what’s ahead next year. Have a look at what we here at Borderline Hikikomori are (and aren’t) looking forward to for the coming winter season.

Based on these early looks, it looks like we have high expectations for the Noitamina shows – Fractale and Wandering Son. They are following up some amazing shows from this year in that time slot, after all, including my personal pick of 2010, The Tatami Galaxy. We’ve also caught on to the hype for Shaft’s original work Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, as well as Gosick and Freezing which were adapted from a light novel series and a manga series respectively. For those who liked the first series, there are also sequels Kimi ni Todoke and Mitsudomoe to look forward to.

Fractale

Preview
So new I can’t find anything on it beyond the synopsis. Anyway, it looks like it’ll be an interesting adventure style series. It’s also in the Noitamina block, which means it at least warrants a look. I’ll be checking it out when it airs.
As Rakuen said, a mystery, but after this year’s The Tatami Galaxy and Jellyfish Princess, I’m paying more attention to Noitamina shows. That Ordet, the same studio behind the horrible Black Rock Shooter certainly doesn’t breed confidence.
Obviously this show’s animation looks awesome, and the concept isn’t that bad either. I am a bit worried that the whole rescue a girl storyline isn’t going to come off too well, and that the possibility for a whole lot of Meta posts exists for this show, but those are really minor concerns at this point. Plus, the Noitamina slots rarely let me down.
I have extremely high hopes for this. The staff are all top-notch, the concept sounds both fresh and interesting, the character designs are great, and the art in what little footage was shown in the preview was stunning. I’m heavily anticipating this, and I’m sure many others are as well.

Gosick

Preview
I’d say this is the series I’m looking forward to the most. Milky Holmes really didn’t do it for me as far as detective mysteries go. So now we’ve got the mysterious gothic lolita girl… who has a Holmes pipe? It’s got a nice setting too, taking place in 1920’s Europe. It looks like a take on Holmes and Watson, and I’m hoping this one goes places.
The setting is what draws me most to this show. I like that classical, rosy colored vision of rural 20s Europe. The plot sounds like pretty standard fare, but execution is always the key, of course. I’ll probably check out the first couple episodes, at least.
Nothing about this show really seems that bad. The animation looks nice, and it seems like there could be a good story ever week. But, they made that really bad pun, joke, or whatever you call it with the title, so for that reason alone, I’ve decided not to watch this. Plus, I’ll need the extra time next semester to study for my professional license.
I was extremely excited when I heard the news earlier this year that this was being animated. I then heard Bones was going to be animating, and I was practically jumping for joy. I’m a big fan of mystery series, and I’ve enjoyed what bits I’ve read of both the light novel of Gosick and the manga spun off from it. The cases involved are pretty classic whodunits, and the characters are interesting and have good potential for development. I know a few were disappointed with the trailer – the main criticism levied at it was that it felt “boring” – but I was anything but let down. The character designs have translated very well, I feel, to animation, and things look quite beautiful. The staff, too, is good. The director hasn’t done much aside from Heroman, which had a mixed reception, but the series composition, art director and animation director are strong. I’m really looking forward to this.

Hourou Musuko (Wandering Son)

Preview
Wow, the art style is quite something. It gives everything a very innocent, nostalgic feel. I’m drawn to this show based on the looks alone, but the promise of a mature take on the controversial subject matter of 5th grade transsexuals and that it’s in a Noitamina show makes this pretty much a must watch for me.
I really like the whole questioning your gender concept of this show and the preview made it seem like things were going to get pretty real. The only thing that really worries me is that having 5th graders dealing with these types of issues is going to seem a bit unrealistic. I watch this for sure, but there is no way I would try to blog this.
I’ve heard wonderful things about the manga, and I think Noitamina is the perfect time slot for this to air in. Even better, the very well-regarded Mari Okada is doing both series comp and the scripts. The director, Ei Aoki, is more of a mixed bag, helming Ga-Rei: Zero and the first Kara no Kyoukai movie, but also Girls Bravo. All three have very different feels to Hourou Musuko, too. In any case, I’m cautiously optimistic and very much looking forward to this. It will be wonderful to see gender identity presented as a main theme in an anime series, especially in one created by a manga-ka noted for her sensitivity and intelligence. As a side note, this is definitely a departure for AIC – the only series they produced this year that didn’t rely heavily on fanservice or moe was Ookami Kakushi.

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica

Official Site
We’ve got Shaft and we’ve got Yuki Kajiura working together on an original anime project about a magical girl. What could possibly go wrong? Well, we’ve got bows and swords in the character artwork, so I imagine there’ll be action involved. I’ve just never been into magical girl anime though. I’ll see what other people think.
This has been getting a lot of hype recently. Given who’s working on it, I can see why. As a fan of Shaft and Shinbo, and as someone who loves the Hidamari Sketch series, I’m also pretty excited, but I’ve also never seen a magical girl anime I’ve liked. Just because of my skepticism of it despite my liking most of the big names associated with this show, I think this would be a fun show to blog. Plus, I’ve blogged some Shaft show for every season possible since I’ve been writing for Borderline Hikikomori.
Shaft has really been letting me down lately. Since it’s Shaft, I’d imagine that there would be some sort of special twist to this show, and that it won’t end up being some trumped up magic version of Hidamari Sketch, but you never know. How long now until the Bakemonogatari prequel?
There’s been a lot of hype surrounding this, and understandably so: Akiyuki Shinbo is directing a Shaft-produced original magical girl anime. Yuki Kajiura is doing the music, Ume Aoki is behind the original character designs, and the cast – Aoi Yuuki, Chiwa Saito, Eri Kitamura and Kaori Mizuhashi are the leads, and the mascot character is being played by Emiri Kato – is positively star studded. Promo material has been released at a steady rate, but we’ve yet to see a trailer with any actual footage. And given that this is original (and that Shinbo is directing), this could go absolutely anywhere. I’m not a big fan of Shaft, but this has certainly piqued my interest and Shinbo can be fantastic. Mostly, though, I’m immensely curious as to what this will be like, so I’ll jump in and give the series a go.

Freezing

Preview (Official Site)
The bleedin’ promotional materials give you panty shots and wrecked clothing. Watching the trailer really didn’t dissuade me from this position. If you want to watch buxom women beat the tar out of each other, this is the series for you this season. At least Infinite Stratos has really cool mecha…
Seems like yet another fairly generic scifi/fantasy show. The fanservice in the previews certainly doesn’t impress. I’ll pass.
While this show seems really similar to Infinite Stratos in concept and the amount of fan service, I’m going to give this one a shot for two reasons. First, the concept reminds me of Simoun, minus the yuri-ness, in that it is using the two people must work together to be successful theme. But more importantly, I want to see the pink haired, pig tailed girl with almost no clothes on.
I’m kind of a fan of the source material, but I’ll be the first to admit this is not for everyone: the fanservice is heavy and a large part of the series is busty girls beating each other up. (I think it says a lot that the series’ website features a series of minigames in which the aim is to knock clothes off various heroines) Nonetheless, I am a fan, and I am awaiting this with glee.
A couple of points to note about this adaptation. Firstly, the director is Takashi Watanabe, of Boogiepop Phantom, Slayers, and Full Metal Panic! fame, and Shana, Ikki Tousen, and Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou infamy. The screen composition guy is behind Ikki Tousen and both seasons of Index, while the screenplay guy did Queen’s Blade, Daimaou and Sekirei. Make of this what you will. Secondly, a plot in the manga only eventuates about thirty chapters in, and this is when things become really enjoyable and the early character development stuff becomes important. Anyway, a certain character is important in the turns the plot takes; she is not listed in the cast or character lists. Further, there seem to be some anime original characters (either that or they’re background characters who’ve been given names). I don’t know if this means a) we won’t get to the meat of the story, b) that this’ll be two cours long (and that said character will appear then), or c) that it means things will go in a completely different direction to manga. I don’t know what any of this means for the series, but I’m hoping for the best.

Beelzebub

Preview
Okay, so this series is on my radar as well. I like the delinquent character archetype, because it leaves so much room for character development. That he’s a delinquent who has to raise a child just puts more icing on the cake. This screams action comedy, which is perfect for me.
Hmm, tough high school guy is forced to raise a kid. Haven’t I seen this before? To be fair, this is a very common trope in all media, not just anime. The promotional material makes it look like it’ll be a wacky comedy. Nothing too compelling as far as I can see.
Too many shows have focused on some sort of devil king recently. Too many shows have focused on delinquents recently. Too many shows have focused on maids recently. So no, I’m not watching this.
The latest Shounen Jump series to get a Pierrot anime adaptation. I’ve known about the manga for a while, but have never really felt the desire to get into it. It sounds vaguely interesting, so I may feel a yen to give it the anime a try, but a couple of things are stacked against it. Firstly, I have a pretty bad record with Shounen Jump series, in both manga and anime form. Secondly, the two previous works of director Nobuhiro Takamoto’s I’ve checked out in the past – Ookami Kakushi and 07-Ghost – completely and utterly failed to captivate me, much as I wanted to like them. A probable miss for me, I think.

Yumekui Merry (Merry Dream Eater)

Preview
I know the magical girl falls on top of the protagonist trope has been played to death. Shoot, I’ve complained about it in the past. This just looks fun though. Merry Nightmare looks like she’d be right at home in a Disgaea game. And really, how can I say no to a war with cats? I’ll give it a shot.
Another girl-falls-in-boy’s-lap fantasy show by JC Staff? You’ll have to excuse me if I’m skeptical. I feel like JC Staff has gotten very good at pumping out these types of shows over the years, but they’ve yet to produce a good one. And the massive success of the Index franchise has only encouraged them to keep going, methinks. I’ll stay away.
Bar the usual cliches, the premise is interesting and the director of Casshern Sins is at the helm of the project. I also thought the trailer was very impressive; the art and animation looked gorgeous. If there’s good action and characterization here, I’ll definitely be on board. Checking this out.

Level E

Preview
The synopsis… I have no idea where this is going. However, it looks like the people who have read the source material are pretty vocal about liking it. A comedy with an amusing asshole of a prince… maybe.
Preview and synopsis don’t capture me. Looks like a generic scifi thriller. I’ll pass.
The concept doesn’t sound like my thing at all, and the trailer was unimpressive. Not interested in this.

Infinite Stratos

Preview
In just the first few seconds of the trailer you can tell this is already going to become a harem anime. However, I really like the design of their mecha suits, and if they can offer me some entertaining battles, I’ll probably tune in just for that. I suppose the obligatory TnA is extra.
This just seems like a whole lot of fan service that won’t let its characters get into any sort of drama that can’t just be fixed by some sort of reset ending. I suppose I could be wrong, and in that case I would likely go back and watch this at some point in the future, but this show just doesn’t seem to be breaking any new ground.
The PVs showed off an interesting visual style – a mix of very flat, angular looking characters and polished, CG-heavy mechs/armour, which actually worked quite fantastically – and some sleek action scenes. The staff and studio here are really interesting, too. We have studio 8-Bit making their debut, the director who did Macross Frontier, and the series composer who worked on the Key/KyoAni trilogy of Kanon, Clannad and Air. The school life/mecha action combination can be really enjoyable when done well, too, so I’ll give this a go.

Haiyoru Nyaruani: Remember My Love(craft-Sensei)

Official Site
Holy long title Batman! So we have a Cthulu deity who happens to enjoy the form of a pretty girl who ends up with, you guessed it, an ordinary high school student. I wonder, is “Did You Just Kiss Cthulu” a trope?
Seems all the cool legendary or fantastical characters are getting little girl representations. There’s the obvious (and surprisingly excellent) Strike Witches series, this season’s Squid Girl, and wasn’t there a show about Lubu from the Three Kingdoms a few years back? I couldn’t get into Squid Girl, and I’ll pass on this.
I watched the first episode of this, even though I wasn’t planning to, because it was only four minutes long. Essentially, it’s entirely mediocre. There’s nothing particularly good here, but nothing terrible either. Anyway, this is a gag show. Nothing is going to change, the characters won’t develop, the plot will be non-existent, etc. The character dynamics are good enough, though, and I think that’s the single most important thing in a show like this. But I doubt I’ll follow along.

Houkago no Pleiades

Official Site
My first reaction was to once again yell, “What the hell, Gainax?” My second reaction, upon seeing the staff list, could be summed up as “…huh.” We’ve got an episode director from FLCL, a concept artist from TTGL, and the designer of Hanamaru Kindergarten. Who knows, this might actually pull through somehow.
Gainax making a promotional anime for Subaru, the car company… well, Gainax certainly is a company that knows how to monetize its products. I haven’t been able to find any details on this show, but given Gainax’s history, unless it involves mechs in some form, it’s probably not gonna be very good.

Wolverine

Official Site
Last time I checked, Iron Man wasn’t doing too well, so I’ll pretty much pass on all of these Marvel shows.
I was hugely underwhelmed by Iron Man, so much so that I’ll proceed with much caution if end up trying any of the other Madhouse/Marvel collaborations. Anyway, I found that most of the community tended to share my views on that first project so, while I don’t intend to check out Wolverine, there’s a small chance I might be tempted to change my mind if reviews of it are glowing.

Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka? (Is this a Zombie?)

Preview
This looks like it’s trying to capitalize on the current zombie craze without actually using any of the things that makes zombies cool. Just another generic fantasy magical-girl-falls-into-boy’s-lap show from, as far as I can see. I’ll pass.
I can’t help but feel I’ve seen this “fight in my place against an evil organization” plot line before. Plus, do I want to watch something about zombies again? No?
The concept sounds like a lot of mindless fun to me, honestly. I mean, vampire ninjas, necromancers, zombies, magical girls and an “anti-magical girl system?” The art was displayed in the trailer was great, aside from the character art, which looked unpolished and strangely ugly. Staff-wise, the director has only previously helmed Macademi Wasshoi!, which I didn’t get into, while the series composition guy has done a truckload of ecchi series… but also Katanagatari, which was brilliant. Anyway, as I said before, this looks like it could be enjoyable, so I’ll check it out.

Rio -Rainbow Gate!-

Preview
This show really doesn’t have anything going for it, but I do like cards, so maybe?
Nothing in the promo material I’ve seen for this has really grabbed my attention, though series comp is good here. The tournament/quest-ish aspects that seem to be a part of the show could be interesting, but it looks as though this aspires to be more of a fanservice comedy. I doubt I’ll be watching.

Dragon Crisis

Official Site
The premise here is pretty cliche. The tweaks that have been made to the usual formula, however, were novel enough for me to consider checking this out. Then I heard Rie Kugimiya in the trailer, with her voice seemingly more irritating than ever before (I know! I didn’t think it was possible either!). I don’t know if there’s enough good here to counterbalance the cliches and Teh Rie, despite the fact that Hideyuki Kurata is doing series comp. I think he’s excellent, but, naturally, how good his adaptation work is depends on the source. I suppose he might be enough to get me to try to brave through a little of the series, though.

I Don’t Like You At All, Big Brother!

Official Site
Looks like it’s trying to cash in on the siscon fetish which, while very old, has seemingly exploded in popularity in mainstream anime in the past few years. Probably gonna be worthless.
The brocon trend continues. This really isn’t my thing. No thanks.

Starry Sky

Official Site
It seems as though all there is to this otome game adaptation is a reverse harem of bishies and a fantastic cast. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much beyond that. Perhaps with a good director I’d be more inclined to give the series a try, but Nobuhiro Takamoto is helming this (see Beelzebub). I don’t think I’ll be watching.

Kimi ni Todoke (Season 2)

Official Site
The first season started out as good, wholesome fun, but got frustrating toward the end as nothing kept happening. Maybe the 2nd season can provide more of that innocent entertainment while having the relationship actually advance. But the real question is, will Aya Hirano return to voice her character?
I loved the first season, except for five or six episodes that focused on Kurumi. Hopefully that doesn’t happen again. Aside from that, I am hoping for a little quicker pace this time around, but then again, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. A must watch for sure.

Mitsudomoe (Season 2)

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Despite the first season being really crude at some points and that it recycled a lot of jokes, I laughed harder at this show than anything I’ve watched recently. Since it’s only 8 episodes, I’ll probably wait until it’s finished and marathon it.