天下制覇

Summary:
Based on a manga where a manga artist accompanies her boss and a travel writer/train otaku on various train trips around Japan. Furthermore, the manga itself is relatively non-fiction since the writer did actually end up making all of the trips that she then proceeds to write about.

Personal Outlook:
Minimal. Slice of life stuff really isn’t my boat. If you really really love trains though, I’m sure this show will put you in seventh heaven.

Summary:
In the not so distant future, aliens have pretty much taken over the sport of basketball. It falls to New York bball hustler Hideyoshi to lead a team of all humans and bring back the intergalactic basketball championship to Earth. This is a remake of a 2005 series by the same name.

Personal Outlook:
You’re kidding, right?

Summary:
Ebihara Chinami uncontrollably emits a electronic pulse whenever she gets excited, which makes her life in normal society a living hell. When she transfers to her newest school, she soon meets someone who wants to study her, along with others that have a similar power and a conspiracy targetting their powers.

Personal Outlook:
The writer of the novel that this story is based on also penned Scrapped Princess, which I have kind of a love-hate relationship with. Plus we’ve got Studio DEEN here, so this one is kind of a crapshoot. We’ll see how the first couple episodes pan out.

Summary:
A peak at the ins and outs of the doujinshi writing industry of Japan through the eyes of our adorable little doujin artist.

Personal Outlook:
There’s an outside chance. I loved Comic Party Revolution, but wasn’t a huge fan of the original Comic Party or Genshiken and this is another in that line of offbeat looks at the doujin business. On the other hand, the writer of the manga is the same guy who wrote the infamous “A Cat Is Fine Too” Tsukihime doujin, so it could be extremely hilarious. Back on the first hand… a healthy chunk of it is going to be live action looks at the doujin industry, and nothing sours a show like education. So… we’ll see.

Summary:
Kaname Okimura can’t swim… so like all right thinking individuals, he joins a swimming club. It turns out that it’s full of weirdos who don’t help him learn how to swim at all… until a new girl with an unorthodox style, incredible speed, and a penchant for swimming in the nude transfers in.

Personal Outlook:
Well… it’s Artland. It remains to be seen whether we’re going to get another Happiness out of them, or another Mushishi. I’m sort of assuming the former.

Summary:
Makoto rides the train to school everyday with Kotonoha, a girl he has a crush on, but is totally unaware that he even exists. Noticing this, Makoto’s friend Sekai works to hook the two of them up while confronting her own feelings for him. Based on a fully animated hentai game of the same name.

Personal Outlook:
I remember when some group got it into their heads to start subtitling the game as if it was an actual show. From this, I’m slightly confused as to what this show is even going to be… are they just going to take the scenes straight from the game and dump them onto TV? Anyway, straight up maudlin school girl dramas aren’t my bag, daddy-o.

Summary:
When a person is about to die, they develop a gray ring around their necks that darkens as their death approaches. Kita Michiru has the ability to see these rings, and notices that two boys in her class have rings that show that they should have died in an accident months ago. They tell her that the Zombie Loan office gave them a second chance at life if they help hunt down malicious zombies and recruit her into helping them as well.

Personal Outlook:
Minimal. Sounds like a relatively decent premise, but Xebec’s at the helm which is… well… usually a relatively worrisome prospect.

Summary:
10 years ago, the Mushi started to appear. They would attach to people and give them powers and abilities while feeding off their dreams. Once their dreams were devoured, the Mushi would be fully grown and the host would die. If the Mushi is killed once they’re attached to a host, then the host’s mind is shattered. To keep this under control, the government has created a special agency to study, control and combat the Mushi so they don’t run amok.

Personal Outlook:
The promo material and the premise is certainly nice enough. Depending on the ability of my Japanese to keep up this one could be a shoe-in.

Summary:
Worm-like aliens have invaded the Earth and left the population of the world completely decimated. I guess that’s as good a reason as any to turn to the loli brigade to combat these space menaces. Alternate retelling of an OVA by the same name.

Personal Outlook:
I love JCStaff and all, but I think there’s a line somewhere that needs to be drawn and skintight exo-suit wearing lolis is probably very close to it. Hell, I don’t even like mecha.

Summary:
Based on a series of 4-koma comics mostly about a pair of magical… uh… witch things and the people that they inflict themselves upon. It’s best to think of it like a more nonsensical Pita-Ten.

Personal Outlook:
JCStaff is apparently eager to jump on the moe craze. Ah well, I’m sure I’ll bite for at least an episode or two. Plus, the last time JCStaff adapted a 4-koma into a show, we got Azumanga Daioh.

Summary:
In the pleasant little villa of Hinamizawa sleeps the ancient curse of Lord Oyashiro. Murders keep taking place, but is it madness, or some ulterior plot driving the killers?

Personal Outlook:
I wasn’t a huge fan of the first series, so unlikely at best. Although one homeless blogger has offered to cover it here, so somebody will probably be writing something at any rate.

Summary:
Moetan is a serious of comics and audio tapes for learning English, typically filled to the brim with otaku jokes and Full Metal Jacket quotes. From this comes a magical girl series.

Personal Outlook:
Wow, they’re really hitting the ol’ moe series pretty hard this season. I could barely stomach the Engrish in Beck and Black Lagoon, I’m not certain my mind could handle a show centered around it.

Summary:
The adventures of a suicidal teacher who just can’t seem to finish the job and his class full of strange and wacky girls.

Personal Outlook:
I’m a whore for SHAFT so this is definitely getting a healthy dose of my attention for at least a few episodes. This is pretty much the exact same staff as showed up for Negima!?, so if you enjoyed the comedy aspects of that, it’s probably a good bet that you’ll have fun here as well. SHAFT really needs to break out of its “wacky teacher and classroom full of wacky schoolgirls” archetype though. I for one wouldn’t mind some more nekomimi vampires.

Summary:
The continuing adventures of a boy accidently summoned to a fantasy kingdom and bound to a failure of a mage… only now we know that he’s a legendary warrior, and she’s a legendary magician.

Personal Outlook:
The first season didn’t exactly blow me away, but I have a weakness for fantasy, so this is almost a definite. The novels are mostly just softcore porn, but if they get into some of the later stuff… it should be a fun ride. Hell, if they even just get to the busty elf, it should at least be worth watching.

Summary:
Spiritual successor to Ayakashi, and given the similar titles, it will probably be more or less the same thing. In other words, a few short 3-4 episode classic Japanese supernatural stories.

Personal Outlook:
My Japanese is nowhere near good enough to keep up with random supernatural events, let alone understand the cultural meanings and implications of historical stories, so… don’t bet on it.

Summary:
During an ancient martial arts tournament, the lord becomes bored with it and orders the next two participants to fight to the death. A man with one arm, and a man who cannot see step into the ring, and the history of the two is shown as they begin to fight to a vicious end.

Personal Outlook:
The manga is rather explicit and violent and gory, and while I highly doubt that they’ll go to quite the same level in the show, just the propensity for organ spilling and general bloodshed both attracts and repulses me. We’ll see whether they play up the gore or the action.

Summary:
“Baccano” roughly translates as “irritating noise” in Italian, and takes place in a 1930s American setting where alchemists, demons, vampires, thieves and other pulp fiction cliches and stories all begin to come together.

Personal Outlook:
The screener from awhile ago is slick, so this could be a pretty interesting show, although it’s coming from a relatively unknown studio. Still, if the show lives up to the preview, then I’ve got no complaints.

Summary:
The continuing adventures of Hiyuu and crowd in fighting the evil zombies and monsters who are turning their city into a slaughterhouse.

Personal Outlook:
Despite the ups and downs of the first season, especially the incomprehensibly bad last episode, I did enjoy it for the most part, so it’ll be good to see Hiyuu and Aoi back. Almost definite.

Summary:
Tsuwabuki Masaharu was a normal kid in school… until he drank a magical potion that turns him into a stuffed sheep at night. Now he needs to collect magical droplets to restore his normal form with the help of a magical girl classmate.

Personal Outlook:
This was a hentai game? Are you shitting me? Thank you… next!

Summary:
The long running, never ending VOTOMS (Vertical One-man Tank for Offense & ManeuverS) saga’s latest addition. The series is generally known for being relatively low-tech science fiction and a lot grittier than most other mecha series. As for this particular incarnation, the century long war is finally over, but the secrets that Chirico learned still remain and could throw the galaxy back into conflict.

Personal Outlook:
Serious mecha? Sunrise? No chance in hell.

Summary:
In the future, a man named Sakura creates the fountain of youth, but because he’s a lolicon, he freezes all women at the age of 12. God is angry with this, so he sends angels back in time to kill Sakura, except one of them decides to try to cure Sakura of his lolita fetish which he has yet to develop… but she still can’t help herself from occasionally viciously clubbing his brains out.

Personal Outlook:
The OVA series was a ton of fun, though a lot of the humor was very low brow. It made for some killer screencaps though, so that’s certainly in its favor.