Spring 2008 Preview
April means that another new season is upon us, and like the past fall season, it’s chock full of premieres, including some big names like CODE GEASS and Macross. With the exception of a few shows, I was relatively disappointed with the past winter season, so hopefully this one will be better. As usual, I’ll watch the first episode of most shows within certain parameters (in other words, not the kiddie shows), and what I list here are the chances of me actually blogging something based on my initial impressions from promotional material. However, even if I list the chances for a show as good or guaranteed, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll stick with it for more than a few episodes.
By no means does this list reflect every single anime series that is going to be aired, though I did try to be as comprehensive as I could. Check out MOON PHASE for an entire listing, syoboi’s calendar for specific air-times, and Fansub Wiki’s Spring 2008 page for who’s tentatively subbing what.
Technical Note: All times are given in a 24-hour, relative-day format where times are extended to show which day they belong to. For instance, Friday morning at 1:30AM would become Thursday at 25:30 to show that the episode aired late Thursday night.
Premieres April 3rd, 2008
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 23:32
Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Thursdays at 10:32
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi
Based on the novels by the author of Kino no Tabi, Allison & Lillia is a series that will take place in two halves. The first half is set in a 1940s era world where a war has been raging for a long time, and the main character Allison is an air force pilot. She and her childhood friend set out to find some treasure that can end the war, and apparently they succeed because the second half of the series features their daughter Lillia and her boyfriend in a post-war environment. This is a Madhouse series being broadcast on NHK, so it’s hard not to be reminded of Dennou Coil, but this has a different production crew working on it and has a completely different feel. The characters here look interesting enough, but this is airing on a Thursday, so it’s in competition with a lot of other series, and I wasn’t particularly impressed by the promo video. Mizuki Nana fans might also want to take note because she plays Allison here.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent
Premieres April 3rd, 2008
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 25:25
Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Thursdays at 12:25
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi
There are two shows in this upcoming season that I’m absolutely positive I’m going to blog, and Macross F is one of them. I couldn’t say enough good things about the first episode when it premiered at the end of last year due to its incredible production quality, and if the rest of the series is anywhere near that good, I’ll be a very happy camper. If you haven’t yet seen the first episode, I highly, highly recommend you go find it and watch it.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Guaranteed
Premieres April 3rd, 2008
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 25:25
Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Thursdays at 12:25
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi
xxxHOLiC continues the supernatural story of the high school boy Watanuki and the dimensional witch Yuuko, and like the first series, it’ll probably be without any Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle crossover references. I’m actually rather conflicted about this series because though I’ve enjoyed the manga, I lost interest in the first anime series partway through, and while I really liked the work Production I.G did on the Tsubasa OVAs, it’s unlikely that kind of quality will carry over to this television series. I may end up watching the first episode just to hear the OP by Suga Shikao and the ED by SEAMO.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Good Premieres April 3rd, 2008
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 25:25
Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Thursdays at 12:25
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi
To LOVE-Ru is a series that’s about a boy who one day meets an alien princess that falls in love with him. And then fanservice ensues. And then some more fanservice. And if you’re reading the tankoubon instead of the weekly chapters, there’s explicit nudity. What I’ve read of the manga makes me think that there’ll be little to no substance to this series and that it’ll just be one fanservice episode after another. There’s technically nothing wrong with that, but it isn’t really the kind of show I want to be following week after week. In fact, if I were really looking to follow a pure fanservice show, then I’d probably choose Kanokon (see below) instead. Still, at least the animation quality in the promo videos doesn’t look too bad.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor
Premieres April 3rd, 2008
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 26:00
Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Thursdays at 13:00
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi
This series involves a boy (his last name is the title of this series) whose job it is to handle cases of trouble, and one day he meets a very young girl from a rich background who needs protecting. It is a somewhat dark looking show coming from the same cast and crew that did Red Garden, but to be honest, nothing about it really stands out for me. And given my predisposition against potentially bratty kid characters, I’m not sure how much I’d like this.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent
Premieres April 4th, 2008
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Fridays at 25:15
Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Fridays at 12:15
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi
Gonzo’s big series for the spring is a joint MMORPG and anime project that continues the fantasy Tower of Druaga franchise. The fact that there’s an MMORPG being produced along with this anime is a big enough red flag in my book, but seeing that Gonzo is behind it makes me want to just completely ignore it given all the subpar series they’ve put out lately. However, the saving grace here is that the staff working on this show isn’t the typical Gonzo group. In fact, Gatou Shouji, the author of the Full Metal Panic! novels, is writing the screenplay for this, and he’ll be reunited with Chigura Kouichi who directed both the first FMP! anime and the acclaimed Last Exile series. The description of the story on the official site (ANN has a translation) sounds like typical fantasy fare, and the various promotional videos don’t do much to change that notion, though they did have some rather powerful RPG-sounding music courtesy of Final Fantasy XII composer Sakimoto Hitoshi. Druaga is also interesting because Gonzo is trying something different by offering free streaming video and official subtitles, available on the same day as the Japanese broadcast, via YouTube, Crunchyroll, and BOST TV. For me, that in itself might be worth checking out just to see what their translations are like.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Good
Premieres April 4th, 2008
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Fridays at 26:25
Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Fridays at 13:25
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi
Mizuki Nana’s other leading role this season is as the protagonist of Itazura na Kiss, a popular shoujo manga that ran during the 1990s until the mangaka suddenly died in an accident. The story is about a normal girl who has an unrequited love for a popular and handsome guy, and after her house collapses, she moves in with him because their fathers are old friends. Given the relatively poor luck I’ve had with anime adaptations of shoujo manga (with the exception of Ouran), there’s a pretty good chance I’ll skip this entirely, especially after I tried reading the first volume and got kind of bored of it.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor
Premieres April 4th, 2008
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Fridays at 26:30
Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Fridays at 13:30
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi
Based on a manga, Amatsuki is about a boy who is visiting a high-tech museum of Edo during the Bakumatsu when he gets attacked by a monster and is sent to the actual time period. By coincidence, he meets a classmate who had also been sent there but had arrived two years earlier, and the story follows their adventures. I thought one of the manga’s strongest points was its artwork, and so the character designs for this anime adaptation aren’t that appealing to me, but the story here (which doesn’t take place entirely in the Edo period world) is interesting enough for me to want to watch this. Plus there’s some strong voice talent featured here (Paku Romi, Abuses will lead to banuyama Jun), and I liked the music that was in the promo video.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Good
Premieres April 5th, 2008
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 10:30
Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Fridays at 21:30
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi
One of the two series this spring season featuring fox girls, Kanokon is about a weak-looking boy who transfers into a city high school from the countryside and, on his first day, he’s approached by a beautiful, big-breasted girl who’s fallen in love with him and is actually a fox demon. I put emphasis on big-breasted because every single description of her I’ve read includes some variation of that, and I think it should give you a good idea of what this series is really about. If you’re still unsure, just check out what the artwork on the official website changes into if you wait long enough, or see these magazine scans. The rest of the cast is made up of various other types of youkai, including a female wolf one who also falls in love with the main character. I don’t really have high hopes for this show because I see it as simply an outlet for fanservice, but there are enough big name voice actors working on this series (including Noto Mamiko and one of my favorites, Kawasumi Ayako) that I may have to watch the first episode.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent
Premieres April 5th, 2008
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 24:30
Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Saturdays at 11:30
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi
Having aired one season already last fall, Da Capo II is back with another one this spring. And whereas the first was focused on Koko and Minatsu, this continuation looks to be about Otome and Yume, and the official website hints at some ultimate miracle. However, after the disappointment that was the first DC II series, I’m not really sure if I want to sit through another one - the series has lost a lot of its appeal. For that reason and because there are some other potentially interesting Saturday shows airing, I’m not going to immediately commit to following this series like I might have in the past.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent
Premieres April 5th, 2008
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 25:35
Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Saturdays at 12:35
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi
Kamen no Maid Guy may be the single title I’ve been waiting the longest to see animated (nearly three years now). The story involves a normal girl who’s half a year away from turning 18 and thus getting the right to inherit her grandfather’s massive fortune. To protect her, her grandfather assigns her a shark-toothed warrior maid (to quote Dom, “a superpowered weirdo in a maid suit who doesn’t know the meaning of restraint”), and hilarity ensues. It’s a very fun manga to read with the scenario being similar to the funnier parts of Full Metal Panic!, and I’m hoping the anime adaptation can capture the style of humor that makes it so great.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Good
Premieres April 5th, 2008
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 26:00
Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Saturdays at 13:00
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi
Blassreiter is about a German city where corpses are being resurrected and turned into grotesque figures that attack people. In this same city, however, some living people appear who also have the ability to turn into these grotesque figures, and these people have to fight in a battle royale of sorts, all while their power eats away at their minds. This is another Gonzo series, but unlike the Tower of Drauga anime, I have a hard time finding something redeeming about Blassreiter. The CG in all of the promotional videos reminds me too much of Dragonaut, and there’s really nothing about it that makes me want to watch it. It should be noted though, that BLASSREITER is getting the same streaming and subtitle treatment that I mentioned above for Druaga.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor
Premieres April 6th, 2008
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Sundays at 10:00
Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Saturdays at 21:00
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi
Hayate no Gotoku! may be ending for the time being, but animation studio SynergySP and director Kawaguchi Keiichirou are continuing in the same Sunday morning timeslot with their next series, Zettai Karen Children. It takes place in the not-so-distant future where tons of people have ESP abilities, and it focuses on a trio of powerful 10-year old girls who have attitude problems and work for the government to stop criminals. Hirano Aya fans should take note that she’s on the cast and voices the spunkiest of the three girls. What I’ve read of the manga didn’t make the story seem all that special though, so it’s likely that this will go ignored in the sea of new shows.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor
Premieres April 6th, 2008
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Sundays at 17:00
Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Sundays at 4:00
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi
Given how much I talk about this show (you can find a primer for the second series here) and how popular it is, CODE GEASS’s sequel really needs no introduction. The first episode of this has already been shown in special premiere screenings in Osaka and Tokyo, but I’ve made an effort not to be completely spoiled by the reports from those. Here’s to hoping the second series lives up to expectations…
Odds I’ll Blog This: Guaranteed
Premieres April 6th, 2008
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Sundays at 24:00
Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Sundays at 11:00
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi
This is the other anime this season featuring fox girls, and here, it’s a Tenko (a kitsune that’s lived at least 1000 years) voiced by the talented Yukana. The catch is that this Tenko has been alive so long that it doesn’t remember whether it’s male or female, so it can be either gender when it changes into its human form (its male form is voiced by Nakamura Yuuichi). It’s an interesting concept (Ranma-esque even), but it remains to be seen if the actual story, which involves the Tenko being unsealed and called on to protect a young boy who’s being targeted by evil spirits, is any good since I haven’t gotten a chance to read the novels this is based on. This will be taking Rental Magica’s timeslot and is animated by the same studio, ZEXCS, so if you liked the style of that, you might like this. As for me, I might give this a watch, but a couple of other Sunday shows have priority.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent
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