天下制覇

The Wolf and Her Seven Friends
http://www.otogi-bank.com/
Studio: JC Staff
Genre: Comedy
Staff Information: ANN Entry
Premieres June 30th (Late night)

Summary: 
Ookami Ryouko and Akai Ringo are part of a club at school that gets paid to solve the problems that arise. Ryoshi Morino wants to join the club, and is desperate for Ryouko’s affection.

Personal Outlook:
Yet another one of these myth based detective shows in the same vein as xxxHoLic, Bakemonogatari, Ghost Hunt, etc etc etc, only with western myths this time and character designs that are even less original. The director’s a longtime JC Staff guy, so I’m hoping it’ll turn out decent on that front, even if the head writer is a graduate from Queen’s Blade. Yuck.

Preseason Swing Rating: 
   
These puns are unbearable.

Amagami SS
http://www.amagami-ouen.com/
Studio: AIC
Genre: Romance
Staff Information: ANN Entry
Premieres July 1st 

Summary: 
Junichi always gets depressed around Christmas and ends up spending the romantic holiday alone. However, it’s his last year of high school and this year, he’s not satisfied to spend it alone.

Personal Outlook: 
Somewhat bizarrely, this and Working share a significant number of key staffers. They’ve also stated that each heroine is going to have their own story animated in turn, which could really shoot them in the foot. If that’s their bizarre way of saying it’s going to be set up like Kimikiss with a new male character or two, that’s one thing. If it’s going to be five different two to three episode arcs, I’m really not sure that two or three episodes are enough enough to actually make the five compelling stories they’re aiming for. Continuous world resets are only fun when things end in a bloody massacre for all involved.

Preseason Swing Rating: 
    
Let’s get love for you!

Black Butler 2
http://www.kuroshitsuji.tv/
Studio: A-1
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Staff Information: ANN Entry
Premieres July 1st

Summary: 
Sequel series with a new cast and mostly new staff. Another demonic butler ably serves and protects his master in exchange for the human’s soul.

Personal Outlook: 
I didn’t make it very far through the first series since it took a long time to get going and had some annoying issues with the side characters doing slapstick in the background, but it did have potential and ended very well from what I’ve gathered. It’s still up against some stiff competition and it may or may not be particulaly accessible to me since I haven’t watched the first season to completeion, but we’ll see.

Preseason Swing Rating: 

Welcome to my devilish stage. Nyahahahahaha……

The Legend of the Legendary Heroes
http://www.denyuden.jp/
Studio: ZEXCS
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Staff Information: ANN Entry
Premieres July 1st

Summary: 
After a terrible war ends, Lyner Lute is sent out to gather the artifacts of a legendary hero. Instead, he finds a deadly curse that has begun sweeping across the continent, as well as hints that his own past may be the gravest danger of them all.

Personal Outlook: 
I’m a big ZEXCS fan, love light hearted fantasy, and this director knows his action (Regios, Basara, Rental Magica) so I’m crossing my fingers that this’ll be good. The only real question mark is the head writer, whose ‘best’ work (to use the term lightly) is Linebarrels. Outside of that though, this looks like a Zexcs production by the books, right down to their curiously proficient, but still completely wrong use of English. Antiheroic Fantasy? Sure, whatever you say, ZEXCS. Whatever you say.

Preseason Swing Rating: 
   
Flying Squirrel x4 Appeared!

Campanella’s Blessing
http://www.mmv.co.jp/special/campanella/
Studio: AIC
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Staff Information: ANN Entry
Premieres July 2nd

Summary: 
Once every seven years, the city of Ert’Aria is blessed by an abudance of Ale, a magical crystal. Leicester and his friends visit Ert’Aria during this time and see a shooting star, that leads them to a mysterious girl who calls him her father.

Personal Outlook: 
You know, I may end up watching this just for how much fun it’ll be to make fun of half the cast for being named after food. The staff are all relatively nobodies and AIC’s a bit of a crapshoot these days on both the high and low ends of the spectrum, so who knows really. The chibi scenes in the PV look like they’re trying to copy Koihime too. Nothing else airs on Fridays this season, and it can’t be worse than… say… Polyphonica, can it?

Preseason Swing Rating: 

Collect mithril, undress women.

Mitsudomoe
http://www.mitsudomoe-anime.com/
Studio: Bridge
Genre: Comedy
Staff Information: ANN Entry
Premieres July 2nd

Summary: 
Out of control perverted triplets run wild and rule the classroom and aren’t afraid to use all kinds of words or sexual harassment against their hapless teacher.

Personal Outlook: 
Another show with a somewhat strange lineage. The last major work for both the director and writer was the original season of Minami-ke. That’s a little promising, although Bridge is a complete newcomer. New studios have traditionally had a number of issues on their first time out of the games. Plus, any time you’ve got a bunch of tiny children making penis jokes, you’re treading a very fine line. I don’t think they can pull this off, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they did a good job with it.

Preseason Swing Rating: 
     
COOKIES

Student Council Officers
http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/seitokai/
Studio: GoHands
Genre: Comedy
Further Information: ANN Entry
Premieres July 3rd

Summary: 
Sakurasai Academy recently began accepting both sexes, but with only 28 men and over 500 women, the balance is skewed and the rules are strict. Takatoshi, one of the few males, ends up getting assigned to the student council by its president, despite his attempts to escape.

Personal Outlook: 
Oh boy! The entire staff and studio that brought us Princess Lover are back! Since that turned out amazing, I can only imagine how awesome this is going to be! To be fair though, Princess Lover did have a couple moments early on where it was impressive and then quickly became entertainingly terrible without even needing to pass through much of a boring interim stage. Still, when your pedigree is that, expectations range from low to worse. The promo did look okay, but again… so did PL’s.

Preseason Swing Rating: 

Don’t worry, Ma’am. I’m here to help.

Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~
http://www.sekirei-tv.com/
Studio: Seven Arcs
Genre: Action
Staff Information: ANN Entry
Premieres July 4th (Early premiere a few weeks back)

Summary: 
Sequel series. Minato’s continuing quest to capture all the alien pokegirls… and the occasional pokehermaphrodite.

Personal Outlook: 
Exact same cast and staff as before so… there’s not a whole lot to say. Like everything Seven Arcs has made for the past five years, I expect an extreme pacing problems and uneven production, but an overall solid action show. They’ve been somewhat predictable lately.

Preseason Swing Rating: 

Out of the harem pot, into the harem fire.

Highschool of the Dead
http://www.geneonuniversal.jp/rondorobe/anime/hotd/
Studio: Madhouse
Genre: Action
Further Information: ANN Entry
Premieres July 4th (Late night)

Summary: 
A zombie outbreak devastates the world. Students are forced to band together to survive, even if it means killing their former friends.

Personal Outlook: 
I doubt this needs much introduction. The head writer’s one of the most prolific (both good and bad, I guess) and sucessful in the business, and the director’s no stranger to it either, though could often use a shot of ritalin to ease off the overacting. We’ll see if Madhouse plays up the action or the T&A though. Early promos are promising, but that’s the whole point of promos. I’m tentatively hopeful though. Plus, it airs off in its own little sub-timezone anyway.

Preseason Swing Rating: 
     
This must be the work of Japanese Solomon Grundy…

Nurarihyon’s Grandson
http://www.nuramago.jp/
Studio: Studio DEEN
Genre: Adventure
Further Information: ANN Entry
Premieres July 5th

Summary: 
Rikuo is a quarter demon and tries to do good whenever he can in order to stop himself from transforming into a demon. However, he’s also the successor to his grandfather’s demon clan, so is targeted by both enemies as well as allies who want to see him ascend to his full power.

Personal Outlook: 
Oh boy! A show that comes from Jump! You know how I love Jump! What’s more, Studio Deen! And the shrieking banshee of Japan! Actually, the most impressive part is how many homoerotic things the head writer has done. Both male and female though! Maybe she just hates the idea of people breedng. *ahem* If it looks like a disaster, smells like a disaster, and sounds like a disaster, it probably will be one.

Preseason Swing Rating: 
              
Four horrific monsters beyond imagination.

Occult Academy
http://www.occult-gakuin.jp/
Studio: A-1
Genre: Mystery
Staff Information: ANN Entry
Premieres July 5th

Summary: 
Because of all the mysterious incidents surrounding Waldstein Academy, it has become known as Occult Academy. The only daughter of the principal there hates the supernatural, but when he dies, she’s forced to take over and solve the mysteries of the school along with a psychic boy who claims to have travelled back in time from 2012. 

Personal Outlook:
Yet another one of A-1’s "Anime no Chikara" disasters in the making. The director’s a nobody, the writer is the genius that turned Railgun’s 5 episodes of content into 24 and A-1 is calling in Xebec to help out with the animation. Xebec. That’s like choosing Fat Wilbur first for kickball. The only point it serves is to drive expectations so low that anything will look good. Who knows. It may work.

Preseason Swing Rating: 
                                          
I almost have a clear shot……

Strike Witches 2
http://s-witch.cute.or.jp/
Studio: AIC
Genre: Action
Information Links: ANN Entry
Premieres July 7th

Summary: 
In a brave new world, girls fly through the sky with rockets on their legs in search of one thing, the one thing that could fill their lives and bring hope to the world… pants.

Personal Outlook: 
Despite moving from Gonzo to AIC, the key staff remains more or less unchanged, so there’s every reason to believe that any changes will be either cosmetic or purely production based. I bailed early on the first season and doubt I’ll give this one more than a cursory glance either since it’s a direct continuation. I still want to know why even the civilians don’t wear pants though. It’s… vexing.

Preseason Swing Rating: 

Pants!

Shiki
http://www.okiagari.net/
Studio: Daume
Genre: Thriller
Staff Information: ANN Entry
Premieres July 8th

Summary: 
In the late 20th century, mysterious deaths begin to occur in an isolated village. As the bodies begin to pile up, it becomes clear that the epidemic is actually supernatural forces preying on the villagers.

Personal Outlook: 
Very strange cast for this one. The director is a very long time veteran of kid’s movies dating back to the 80s while the writer is a complete unknown. Plus they have Gackt (Gackt!) voicing the lead. All that adds up to just one great big question mark. The art style in the promo was a little funky and uneven though, and featured entirely too many teenagers looking melodramatic than I would like to see in a show like this… at least providing they don’t all end up dead.

Preseason Swing Rating: 

Two creatures of the night.

Let’s Go Play!
http://www.asoiku.com/
Studio: AIC Plus
Genre: Comedy
Staff Information: ANN Entry
Premieres July 10th

Summary: 
A mysterious girl with cat ears appears one day claiming to be an alien and that secret organizations are out to get her and soon, the governments of Earth as well. Kio ends up taking her in and protecting her as the ambassador for Earth, but she’s only the first of many aliens to drop into his lap.

Personal Outlook: 
I have a lot of hope for this one actually, despite the insanely generic setup and promise of a worthless male lead. The director’s a nobody, but the head writer is extremely talented (BakaTest, Ga-rei Zero, ef, etc). The source is mostly parody anyway, so I don’t think the terrible premise will have too much of an effect. AIC Plus also made a very good showing in its debut as a new division of AIC in that exact category with GA Art Design Class. I do already fear the CG fish in the promo though.

Preseason Swing Rating: 

Wonder twin powers activate!!

Sengoku BASARA 2
http://www.sengokubasara.tv/
Studio: Production IG
Genre: Action
Staff Information: ANN Entry
Premieres July 11th (Very early morning)

Summary: 
The continuing adventures of ancient samurai warriors getting their guns on, riding horses with tailpipes, and exploding. Now that Nobunaga’s been defeated, there’s a power vacuum as everybody struggles to seize control and a new warlord ascends.

Personal Outlook: 
Brand new director, same writer. This is taking over FMA’s timeslot too instead of its previous late night (Japan time) one, so there may be stylistic changes as well to adapt for the different audience. Hopefully that’ll mean less focus on yammering on about dry politics and being a warrior, but who knows. I’m still looking forward to it, if for no other reason than to see Japanese soldiers do conga lines in the OP. Plus the action… I guess. This does air at around 3am my time though, so don’t count on my usual speedy coverage.

Preseason Swing Rating: 
    
Don’t worry Momo, your time will come.