Winter 2011 Season Preview

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)

Official Site
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.

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