Season Previews:
- Winter 2009 Anime- Spring 2009 Anime
- Summer 2009 Anime
- Fall 2009 Anime
- Winter 2010 Anime
- Spring 2010 Anime
Welcome to the 2010 spring season anime preview! I've been working long and hard on this bad boy, so I hope you'll enjoy it-- it's a pretty good look at all of the upcoming hits for the spring anime season (i.e. anime starting in March/April).
And as usual, you can look forward to a lot of commentary from John and myself about what series we're interested in, as well as a couple of follow-up posts from me, including my analysis-- where I talk about some of the trends, highs, and lows of the season! But for now, without further ado...the shows! As per usual, trailers, air dates, directors, voice actors, and all other pertinent information is under the spoiler tag. This time I decided to include an image above each spoiler tag, just to make things a bit more exciting. Hope you like it! <3
2010 Anime Spring Season Preview
Angel Beats!
Genre: Shounen/AdventureStudio: P.A. Works
Director: Seiji Kishi (Seto no Hanayome, Galaxy Angel Rune)
Airs: CBC, Saturdays at 2am, starting 4/03
URL: http://www.angelbeats.jp
Summary:
It turns out that after you die, you basically get to live another life...as a Japanese teacher. You can choose to join the student council and fight on the side of God, or you can rebel against the cruel deity and join the Shinda Sekai Sensen, the Death World Army. Guess which one our hapless hero gets dragged into?
Notable:
- Hiroshi Kamiya, best known as Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei's Itoshiki-sensei, will play the aforementioned hapless hero.
- Joining Kamiya is relative newcomer Harumi Sakurai as Yuri, the gorgeous (and Haruhi look-a-like?) leader of the SSS.
- The anime is based on the visual novel by Key, makers of fine games like Clannad, Kanon, and WHY WON'T THEY MAKE A LITTLE BUSTERS ANIME?
Arakawa Under the Bridge
JP Name: 荒川アンダー ザ ブリッジGenre: Comedy
Studio: Shaft
Director: Akiyuki Shinbo
Airs: TV Tokyo, Mondays at 1:35am, starting 4/05
URL: http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/arakawa_ub
Summary:
A young man tries to live his life without being in debt to anyone. When a young woman who lives under a bridge saves his life, he decides to move down there with her to figure out how to pay his debt.
Notable:
- Based on the manga by Hikaru Nakamura, better known for her gag comedy Saint Oniisan, about Jesus and Buddha living together as roomies in modern Japan.
- I'm sure I need hardly point out that this is another production helmed by Akiyuki Shinbo and animated by Staff-- the same team behind Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, MariaHolic, Natsu no Arashi, and others. Also rejoining them is seiyuu Hiroshi Kamiya, who played Zetsubou's Itoshiki-sensei; he voices the lead here.
- One of my favorite seiyuu, Maaya Sakamoto, plays the girl, Nino. She's best known as Ouran High School Host Club's Haruhi and Mari Makinami Illustrious in Evangelion 2.0
Axis Powers Hetalia Third Season
JP Name: ヘタリアAXIS POWERS第三Genre: Comedy (Shoujo)
Studio: Studio Deen
Director: Bob Shirohata
Airs: Animate Mobile, Fridays at 1pm, starting 3/26
URL: http://hetalia.com/index.htm
Summary:
Anthropromorphized World War II nations have wacky interactions that more closely resemble Saved by the Bell on crack than, say, Band of Brothers.
Notable:
- Hey, any anime in which Kamina (Katsuyuki Konishi) plays the personification of America is good with me.
- Oh hey, don't forget there's a Hetalia movie coming out this summer! The above video is actually a PV for the film, but I figure it'll give you a sense of the anime, too.
B-Gata H-Kei
JP Name: B型H系Genre: Romantic Comedy (Shoujo)
Studio: HAL Film Maker
Director: Yusuke Yamamoto (Welcome to the NHK, Night Wizard)
Airs: KBS, Fridays at 1am, starting 4/02
URL: http://www.bgata-hkei.com
Summary:
A twist on the usual setup: a girl whose brain is constantly filled with fantasies of the most perverted variety. You'd think she'd do great in animeland, filled with men who bleed more from their noses than anywhere else-- but no, she winds up finding a totally normal guy and falling for him. Hijinks ensue!
Notable:
- Yukari Tamura (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha's Nanoha, Naruto's Tenten) will voice our lead female, Yamada. She'll also voice the theme.
- Our normal dude, Takashi, will be voiced by Atsushi Abe. You probably know him best as Shugo Chara!'s Kuukai or A Certain Magical Index's Touma.
- There's reportedly a character named Erogamisama, or Ero-God, who looks like a girl with a fake mustache flying in the clouds. He (she?) will be voiced by Rumi Shishido (Time Stranger Kyouko's Chocola, White Album's Menou Matsuyama).
Giant Killing
Genre: Sports (Shounen)Studio: Studio Deen
Director: Yuu Kou (Monochrome Factor, Loveless)
Airs: BS hi, Saturdays at 9:25am, staring 4/03
URL: http://www9.nhk.or.jp/anime/giantkilling
Summary:
East Tokyo United is an underdog of the soccer league, with their losses racking up fast and their fans-- and financial support –dwindling fast. Fortunately, the team already had pretty low morale. Can their coach work them up to a few wins?
Notable:
- You may or may not recognize the names attached to the original Giant Killing manga-- writer Masaya Tsunamoto and artist Tsujitomo –but you should recognize the magazine it's serialized in: Kodansha's Morning, alongside Naoki Urasawa's Billy Bat, Chi's Sweet Home, Vagabond, and other high-profile seinen titles.
- Did you like the music in Ranma 1/2? (Are you an old enough fan to have WATCHED Ranma 1/2?) Then you may dig Giant Killing's as well, since they share a composer: Hideharu Mori.
- Veteran seiyuu Tomokazu Seki, not to be confused with Tomokazu “Kyon” Sugita, will voice leading man Takeshi. Seki is best known as Touji in Evangelion and Chiaki in Nodame Cantabile.
Hakuouki
JP Name: 薄桜鬼Genre: Romantic Drama (Shoujo)
Studio: Studio Deen
Director: Osamu Yamazaki (Gestalt, Itazura na Kiss)
Airs: TV Kanagawa, Sundays at 12:30am, starting 4/04
URL: http://www.otomate.jp/hakuoki
Summary:
Chizuru is the daughter of a doctor in the Edo era. At least until her dad went to Kyoto and the two lost contact. Chizuru decides to pack up and try to find her pop, but on the way she's attacked by some bandits. Fortunately, the Shinsengumi-- the Edo-era equivalent of a specialty police task force –happen to be on hand and rescue her, and decide to tag along and give her a hand on her search.
Notable:
- Oh, I'm looking forward to the soundtrack for this one: Kou Ootani, composer for Gundam Wing and Shakugan no Shana, is composing this piece.
- Chizuru will be voiced by Houko Kuwashima, who Azumanga fans will recognize as Kagura, and the rest of you will probably know best as Fullmetal Alchemist's Rose Thomas.
Heroman
Genre: Action (Shounen)Studio: BONES
Director: Hitoshi Nanba (Series Director: Baki the Grappler)
Airs: TV Tokyo, Thursdays at 6pm, starting 4/01
URL: http://wdshe.jp/heroman
Summary:
Joey Jones is a young man with an optimistic outlook, in spite of his less than carefree life. He's also rather good with tech, so when the school's rich jock throws away the latest robot toy, Joey snatches it up and fixes it. And it turns into a giant robot bearing an American flag. Woohoo!
Notable:
- Most of you probably already know that this collaboration between BONES and Stan Lee, the godfather of Marvel Comics, is the first of its kind...but not the last. It was originally scheduled to coincide (intentionally or otherwise) with the Marvel/Madhouse collaboration IRON MAN, but that appears to have been delayed (Moon Phase suggests until October).
- Seiyuu newbie Mikako Komatsu will voice Joey.
- Heroman has also already acquired itself a manga, drawn by Tamon Outa.
House of Five Leaves
JP Name: さらい屋五葉Genre: Drama (Seinen)
Studio: Manglobe
Director: Tomomi Mochizuki (Princess Nine, Twin Spica)
Airs: FujiTV, Fridays at 1:15am, starting 4/16
URL: http://www.goyou-anime.jp
Summary:
Swordsman Masanosuke Akitsu is a ronin, a masterless samurai, until he takes a job as a bodyguard for the charming leader of a gang called “Five Leaves.” Akitsu gets swept up into the outlaw life, both fascinated and disturbed by the gang's illegal activities.
Notable:
- Who you gonna call to direct a prestige piece like House of Five Leaves? Tomomi Mochizuki, whose understated style led him to titles like Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou's OVA, Twin Spica, Shinigami no Ballad, and Porfy no Nagai Tabi.
- House of Five Leaves is based on the manga by Natsume Ono, which you can read on VIZ's Sig Ikki site. Other works of Ono's currently available in English include Not Simple and Ristorante Paradiso.
- Daisuke Namikawa (Black Lagoon's Rock, Bleach's Ulqiorra) will voice Akitsu, while Five leaves leader Yaichi will be voiced by Takahiro Sakurai (Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children's Cloud Strife, Code Geass's Suzaku).
Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou
JP Name: いちばんうしろの大魔王Genre: Fantasy (Shounen)
Studio: Artland
Director: Takashi Watanabe (Boogiepop Phantom, Shakugan no Shana)
Airs: Tokyo MX TV, Saturdays at 1:30am, starting 4/03
URL: http://www.mmv.co.jp/special/daimao
Summary:
Imagine taking a career aptitude test and instead of getting “teacher” or “actor” or “doctor,” you got “King of Demons.” Such is the case for Akuto Sai, although perhaps this would be less surprising since he goes to a magical academy...nah, I'm kidding, it's pretty weird there, too.
Notable:
- Director Watanabe is also known for the Slayers, Kino no Tabi, and the hentai OVA Ogenki Clinic Adventures. Talk about a career I'd emulate, were I an anime director.
- Akuto will be voiced by Takashi Kondo, also known as Black Cat's Train Heartnett and Spider Riders' "Shadow." Whatever that means.
- The anime is based on a series of light novels written by Shoutarou Mizuki and drawn by Souichi Itou.
Ikki Tousen XTREME XECUTOR
JP Name: 一騎当千 XTREME XECUTORGenre: Action (Shounen)
Studio: TNK
Director: Koichi Ohata (Ikkitousen: Dragon Destiny, Ikkitousen: Great Guardians)
Airs: AT-X, Fridays at 10am, starting 3/26
URL: http://www.ikkitousen.com
Summary:
Blah blah blah, Romance of the Three Kingdoms figures are reincarnated as hot Japanese teenage girls, all of whom are amazing martial artists and who fight each other. Imagine Street Fighter, if Street Fighter was all-female and had loose historical ties.
Notable:
- And another director I want to comment further on: Ohata has had an extremely varied career. In addition to directing anime, he also designs mechs for titles like Gunbuster and Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counter-Attack, and he also created the manga M.D. Geist.
- No significant shakeups in cast or staff here.
K-On!! (No Trailer Released)
Genre: Slice-of-Life Comedy (Shounen)Studio: Kyoto Animation
Director: Naoko Yamada (K-On!, Assistant Director for The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya)
Airs: TBS, Wednesdays at 1:25am, starting 4/07
URL: http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/k-on
Summary:
A second season of the girl band comedy, which means another season of debating whether it's amazingly awesome or a sign of the coming Otakulypse(TM). If you're not already familiar: a group of high school girls attempt to establish a Light Music club, which would be the Japanese schoolgirl equivalent of a garage band.
Notable:
- “Don't Say Lazy” lovers will be thrilled to know that the same music team is back on, with Tom-H@ck working the OP and Shigeo Komori and Hiroyuki Maezawa working the ED.
- The cast of actresses is back as well: Aki Toyosaki (Shugo Chara!'s Suu) as Yui, Youko Hikasa as Mio, etc.
Kaichou wa Maid-sama!
JP Name: 会長はメイド様！Genre: Romantic Comedy (Shoujo)
Studio: J.C. Staff
Director: Hiroaki Sakurai (Cromartie High School, Les Miserables: Shoujo Cossette)
Airs: TBS, Fridays at 2am, starting 4/02
URL: http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/maidsama
Summary:
Misaki is the student council president at a high school that just became co-ed. A feminist at heart, Misaki makes it her personal mission to make the school more female friendly, especially when it means beating the boys into submission...which doesn't always make her popular. So when the most popular guy at school discovers Misaki's secret, will he reveal it? Will he tell everyone...that she works at a maid cafe?
Notable:
- Based on Hiro Fujiwara's manga series, which runs in the same manga anthology as Ouran High School Host Club, Vampire Knight, Natsume Yuujinchou...that should give you a sense of the quality of the original material, at least.
- Ayumi Fujimura (Letter Bee's Niche, Nabari no Ou's Raimei) will voice Misaki, joined by Nobuhiko Okamoto (Persona -trinity soul-'s Shin Kanzato, Ghost Hunt's John Brown) as Usui, Misaki's rival/love-interest. These two also worked together in The Sacred Blacksmith as Cecily and Luke.
kissxsis (No Trailer)
Genre: Comedy (Ecchi)Studio: feel.
Director: Munenori Nawa (Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, Kissxsis OVA)
Airs: AT-X, Mondays at 11:30pm, starting 4/05
URL: http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/kiss_sis
Summary:
POOR Keita. He has two hot sisters-who-aren't-really-sisters, and they both want to boink him silly. At first Keita tries to resist their wily charms, but once he starts attending school with them, his body's natural teenage hormones start to give in.
Notable:
- Kissxsis already had an OVA release. Now it's 100% more censored-for-TV-unedited-for-DVD!
- Kissxsis is based on a manga by Bow Ditama, who you may remember as the creator of comedies like Mahoromatic and Juuden-chan.
- Our three siblings are: Ako, voiced by Ayana Taketatsu (K-On!'s Azusa Nakano); Riko, voiced by newcomer Yuiko Tatsumi; and Keita, voiced by Ken Takeuchi (Green Green's Yuusuke Takazaki).
Magic Kaitou (No Trailer Available)
JP Name: まじっく快斗Genre: Mystery
Studio: TBA
Director: TBA
Airs: Animax, Saturdays at 8:30am, starting 4/16
Summary:
Kaito seems like a normal teenager with a missing dad, but when your dad is secretly a world-famous burglar known as the Phantom Thief, nothing's as it seems. After his father dies, Kaito discovers the double life and decides to duplicate it in order to uncover the mystery of his dad's death.
Notable:
- We don't now much about this special, which is listed on Animax's site but has never been formally announced. It's based on a manga by Gosho Aoyama, creator of Case Closed-- and fans of Conan will be familiar with Kaito, who appears in the manga occasionally.
Mayoi Neko Overrun!
JP Name: 迷い猫オーバーラン！Genre: Comedy
Studio: AIC
Director: TBA
Airs: Tokyo MX TV, Tuesdays at 11pm, starting 4/06
URL: http://www.patisserie-straycats.com
Summary:
Takumi lives with his sister, who is not his true sister, Otome. Otome makes confections for her shop, Stray Cats, and one day “adopts” a “stray cat”-- a girl named Nozomi.
Notable:
- I've never seen an anime whose director was listed as “negotiating” a week before the show airs. I assume they have one picked, and just haven't announced it.
- Nobuhiko Okamoto (Persona -trinity soul-'s Shin Kanzato, Ghost Hunt's John Brown) is voicing our lucky hero Takumi, and Ayana Taketatsu (K-On!'s Azusa Nakano) will play Nozomi.
- This anime is based on the light novel of the same name, written by Tomohiro Matsui and drawn by Peco.
Ookiki Furikabutte ~Natsu no Taikaihen~
Genre: Sports (Shoujo)Studio: A-1 Pictures
Director: Tsutomu Mizushima (xxxHOLiC, Big Windup)
Airs: TBS, Fridays at 1:30am, starting 4/02
URL: http://www.oofuri.com
Summary:
Ren Mihashi starts a new life in a high school far from his home town, where he was the ace pitcher-- but only because his grandfather was the headmaster. He makes his way onto the baseball team in his new school and learns that with the help of a particular catcher, he can be a legitimate ace pitcher.
Notable:
- I feel like I'm teasing you all with this, since FUNimation has suggested that the sales for season one of Big Windup!-- which I adored, and I am NOT into sports shows –weren't good enough for them to want to license season two. (GO BUY SEASON ONE. We could still change their minds!)
- Cast and staff appear to be unchanged from season one, including Tsubasa Yonaga (S.A's Jun Yamamoto) as Ren and Yuuichi Nakamura (CLANNAD's Tomoya) as his catcher, Abe.
Rainbow * Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin (No Trailer Available)
JP Name: RAINBOW 二舎六房の七人Genre: Drama
Studio: Madhouse
Director: Hiroshi Koujina (Kiba, Grenadier)
Airs: NTV, Wednesdays at 1am, starting 4/07
URL: http://www.ntv.co.jp/rainbow/
Summary:
Set in 1955, a group of six delinquent teenage boys are incarcerated in a particularly hellish version of juvie hall, where torment and humiliation are on the daily menu. Will a ray of light ever shine their way?
Notable:
- Fascinatingly, Megumi Hayashibara-- Slayers' Lina Inverse, Cowboy Bebop's Faye Valentine, Evangelion's Rei Ayanami, etc. –will be acting as narrator for this piece.
- Based on George Abe's seinen manga, drawn by Masasumi Kakizaki, which ran in two of Shogakukan's big-name mags: Big Comic Spirits and Young Sunday.
Ring ni Kakero 1: Shadow (No Trailer Available)
JP Name: リングにかけろ1 影道編Genre: Sports (Shounen)
Studio: Toei Animation
Director: Toshiaki Komura (Kinnikuman Nisei, Magical Twilight)
Airs: SukaChannel (Pay Per View) starting Friday 4/02
URL: http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/sp/rin-kake1_shadow
Summary:
Boxer Ryuuji Takane and his sister/coach Kiku are aiming to become as famous as a pair as their father, who was a world-class boxer once upon a time. Carry on with the classic, old-school shounen sports story! This is the third chunk of Ring of Kakero 1.
Notable:
- Masakazu Morita (Bleach's Ichigo, Saint Seiya's Pegasus Seiya) will be voicing Ryuuji, while his sister Kiku will be played by Rie Tanaka (Chobits' Chii, Gundam SEED's Lacus Clyne)
SD Gundam Sangokuden Brave Battle Warriors
JP Name: SDガンダム三国伝 Brave Battle Warriors Genre: Mech (Shounen)
Studio: Sunrise
Director: Kenichi Suzuki (Gundam Evolve), Kunihiro Mori (Shounen Onmyouji)
Airs: TV Tokyo, Saturdays at 10:15am, starting 4/03
URL: http://www.sdgundam3gd.net
Summary:
Mobile Suit Gundam meets Adventures of the Mini-Goddesses meets the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In other words: cute little chibi Gundams retell the tale of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Fear it. Fear it mightily.
Notable:
Director: Kenichi Suzuki (Gundam Evolve), Kunihiro Mori (Shounen Onmyouji)
Airs: TV Tokyo, Saturdays at 10:15am, starting 4/03
URL: http://www.sdgundam3gd.net
Summary:
Mobile Suit Gundam meets Adventures of the Mini-Goddesses meets the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In other words: cute little chibi Gundams retell the tale of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Fear it. Fear it mightily.
Notable:
- Hiroki Yasumoto (Bleach's Chad/Sado) will play Guan Yu; Masayuki Katou as Zhang Fei and Yuuki Kaji (Bakugan Battle Brawler's Gus) as Liu Bei.
- An SD Gundam Sangokuden movie is also in the works. Woohoo!
Senkou no Night Raid
JP Name: 閃光のナイトレイドGenre: Action/Adventure
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Director: Jun Matsumoto (Persona -trinity soul-)
Airs: TV Tokyo, Tuesdays at 1:30am, starting 4/06
URL: http://www.1931.tv
Summary:
The year is 1931; the location, Shanghai. Japan has shipped agents to China as a follow-up to the Sino-Japanese War, Russo-Japanese War, and World War I. These agents are members of a spy organization called Sakurai Kikan.
Notable:
- This is the second anime in the Anime no Chikara project, which aims at bringing “spirited” series to TV. Their first series, So Ra No Wo To, was a bit of a mixed bag, but Senkou no Night Raid looks promising.
- Daisuke Namikawa (Tsubasa Chronicle's Fai, Gantz's Kei Kurono) leads once again, as spy Kazura Iha.
- The character design for Night Raid may look slightly familiar to some of you: it's by Akimine Kamijou, who created both the Code:Breaker and Samurai Deeper Kyo manga.
Shin Koihime Musou ~Otome Tairan~
JP Name: 真・恋姫†無双～乙女大乱～ Genre: Romance (Shounen)
Studio: Douga KoubouDirector: Presumably Nobuaki Nakanishi (Koihime Musou, Shin Koihime Musou)
Airs: AT-X, Thursdays at 9am, starting 4/01
URL: http://www.mmv.co.jp/special/shinkoihime
Summary:
Imagine Ikki Tousen, but set in the actual Romance of the Three Kingdoms era instead of in the future, and with more moe girls, and you'll have Koihime Musou. This is the third season of the romance drama.
Notable:
- Series composition for the Koihime series is done by Go Zappa, which I mention because I dig his name. (I don't think he's actually related to Frank Zappa, but given Frank's penchant for weird names for his kids, maybe!) Go Zappa also did series comp for Chocotto Sister and Myself;Yourself.
- No significant changes in cast or staff, as usual.
- The series is based on an adult visual novel (of course), but this one sticks out because it's one you can actually legally purchase in English at MangaGamer.
Shouka (No Trailer Available)
JP Name: 書家Genre: Drama
Studio: Production I.G
Director: Makoto Yamada's directorial debut! He's key animated on titles such as Blood+, Code Geass, and Gundam Seed.
Airs: Animax, Saturdays at 8pm, starting 3/27
URL: http://www.animax.co.jp/feature/index.php?code=NN10000946
Summary:
In Edo-era Japan, Shirou Sumiya is the scion of a clan devoted to capturing the chaos of the era in calligraphy, hence the title (Shouka, or Calligrapher). Sumiya and his followers, however, have a special ability-- one that gets them summoned to the capital of Edo to take part in the battles ahead.
Notable:
- This series was a long time in coming: nearly two years prior to its air date, Shouka creator Kenji Saitou won Animax's Grand Prix awards and now, finally, Production I.G has animated it.
- Kenji Kawai, of Ghost in the Shell and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni fame, will compose the series' music.
Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru
JP Name: 裏切りは僕の名前を知っているGenre: Drama (Shoujo)
Studio: J.C. Staff
Director: Katsushi Sakurabi (Asatte no Houkou, Lunar Legend Tsukihime)
Airs: Chiba TV, Mondays at 12am, starting 4/11
URL: http://www.uraboku.jp
Summary:
An orphaned boy with the ability to feel the emotions of anyone he touches grows up as an adopted boy who desires independence more than anything. One day the boy, Yuki, is suddenly faced with a mysterious brother. More importantly: they're both pretty.
Notable:
- UraBoku is based on a manga of the same name by Hotaru Odagiri. Odagiri is better known for her light BL works (like Only the Ring Finger Knows), but UraBoku is a shoujo work that runs in Kadokawa's Asuka anthology.
- Yuki's seiyuu, Souichiro Hoshi, is no stranger to BL-friendly roles: he played Sunao in Sukisho and Son Goku in Saiyuki.
- Joining Hoshi is Takahiro Sakurai, aka FFVII: Advent Children's Cloud Strife, as Luka Crosszeria, who also wins the award for weirdest surname of the season.
WORKING!!
Genre: Slice-of-Life Comedy (Shounen)Studio: A-1 Pictures
Director: Yoshimasa Hiraike (Kaleido Star, Sketchbook ~full color'S~
Airs: Tokyo MX TV, Sundays at 11pm, starting 4/04
URL: http://www.wagnaria.com
Summary:
A young man scores a new job at a local restaurant in Hokkaido, but his co-workers are...a little zany. I'm particularly looing forward to this slice-of-life anime thanks to the one girl who keeps insisting she's not short. (I can relate!)
Notable:
- One of few anime this season to be based on a 4koma comic strip, Working!! was originally created by Karina Takatsu.
- Jun Fukuyama, best known as Code Geass's Lelouch and Spice and Wolf's Lawrence, plays our hero, whose name is Souta.
- Fukuyama also sings the ending, along with fellow male seiyuu Daisuke Ono (Haruhi's Itsuki Koizumi) and Hiroshi Kamiya (Durarara!!'s Izaya). THAT should be fun. The girls sing the OP, natch.
Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei
JP Name: 四畳半神話大系Genre: Drama/Slice-of-Life(?)
Studio: Madhouse
Director: Masaaki Yuasa (Kaiba, Mind Game)
Airs: FujiTV, Fridays at 12:45am, starting 4/23
URL: http://noitamina.tv/yojouhan
Summary:
A college senior reflects back on his career as a student.
Notable:
- As is typical of director Yuasa, it's hard to have a sense of what form the series will take before we get to see it. He's prone to mindf!@#ing and a certain absurdism, so consider yourself prepared.
- Shintaro Asanuma (Minamike's Takeru, Nodame Cantabile's Frank) plays the lead here, known only as “Watashi” (“I”).
- Maaya Sakamoto, seiyuu and singer extraordinaire, plays love interest(?) Akashi.
Whew! And that's your 2010 anime season preview! Now it's time, as always, to share which shows you're interested in in the comments! <3
Filed under:
Wagnaria!!,
The Tatami Galaxy,
SD Gundam Sangokuden,
Ring ni Kakero,
K-On!!,
Ikki Tousen XTREME XECUTOR,
HEROMAN,
Hakuoki Shinsengumi Kitan,
Giant Killing,
Yamada's First Time,
Hetalia Axis Powers World Series,
Angel Beats!,
Arakawa Under the Bridge,
House of Five Leaves,
Demon King Daimao,
Kaichou wa Maid-sama!,
Kiss x Sis (TV),
Mayoi Neko Overrun!,
Magic Kaito,
Ookiku Furikabutte Summer Tournament Edition,
Rainbow,
Shin Koihime Musou ~Otome Tairan~,
Night Raid 1931,
Shoka,
Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru
I'm curious how Heroman is going to turn out. I hope the show has some success.
To watch:
MAYBE Arakawa Under the Bridge; not keen on the story, but I do like who is involved there, so I'll check it out.
Hakuouki maybe....
Didn't know House of Five Leaves was getting animated; definitely this one.
Night Raid looks the most interesting.
The rest looks pretty uninteresting, honestly. And I'm staying far away from K-ON. The first series was decent, but hardly worthy of all the attention it gets.
So...that's 2 for me, for sure. Which will give me plenty of time to catch up on the last two seasons which I've barely touched.
Angel Beats! - Something from Key so it should be interesting enough.
ARAKAWA UNDER THE BRIDGE - SHAFT and that is all you need to know.
Heroman - Bones+Stan lee = Something awesome (I hope).
K-on! season 2 - Because I liked the first one.
Kaichou wa Maid-sama! - Maids and comady.
Axis Powers Hetalia
Hakuouki
Kaichou wa Maid-sama!
Ookiki Furikabutte ~Natsu no Taikaihen~
Senkou no Night
Shouka
Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru
WORKING!!
I've been reading Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru and like the manga a lot, so I'm looking forward to that one. The rest look like fun. I'm not in the mood for the artsy ones this year, simply because they seem to be doing what made other series successful, only more extreme - ie they feel like they're trying too hard.
Thanks so much for this post! I really depend upon it to know what to watch for. I hope CrunchyRoll gets a lot of these. :)
Fun fact: the official English title for Yojou-han is "the Tatami Galaxy." Yeah....
It's interesting to see Kaito is getting his own anime. I like Kaito Kid. Many of his cases in Detective Conan are my favorite. The weird thing is. In his manga, the character is a tiny bit different. In Detective Conan it's far more reality based. Nothing far too fantastical without some kind of explanation. In Magical Kaito, it was a bit more fantasy. Sort of makes for a weird cross over.
I actually have seen the Kiss X Sis OVA. Rather surprising they are taking that further.
This is the same Detective Conan where a dude swallows some poison that turns him into a child, right?
That's really the most 'fantastic' event of the series. Even that is explained in a scientific manner. The poison, Apotoxin 4869, was intended to kill Shinichi, but due to a rare anomaly it causes the bodies cells to deteriorate to the point of childhood.
It's a matter of degrees really. In Kid's series, he has a classmate who is a real devil worshiping sorceress. She performs actual sorcery in that series. Something you never seen in Detective Conan.
In Detective Conan, all of Kaito Kid's tricks aren't actual magic, but more like illusions. The things real magicians do. The series often plays out the same way Sherlock Holmes novels go. Something may appear impossible or mystical at times, but have a scientific explanation that normally has a realistic basis.
Good job on the article gia, very well formatted and a nice presentation to boot.
EDIT: On a second look "Angel Beats!" and "Working!" look like they might be interesting. Funny how the ones i liked both have a "!" in there name... weird coincidence...
Angel Beats looks potentially interesting....
Otherwise, nothing is jumping out at me. I'll take another look at whatever Crunchyroll picks up, I guess.
Angel Beats - Look intresting but Im mainly going to take a look at this because the animation looks amazing
Arakawa: Under the Bridge - Seems like its going to be a intresting comedy but I dont really know what to expect here.
Giant Killing- Im not a sports anime guy but I think im going to give this a quick look.
Hakuouki - Looks very interesting but when I was that the genre was a Shoujo romantic drama I got a little worried. Hasn't scared me off though.
House of Five Leave - Look like its going to be a interesting slow paced show. The artwork is really interesting to me as its looks like it would have been animated during the Edo era.
K-On!! - Im glad there made a second season because I did like this show but the crazy k-on fans drive me nuts (Funny thing I watched Black Lagoon then K-On last year. That was bit of a jump in pace)
Rainbow- Very little kinda what this is about but from the picture and quick description im going to have to take a look.
Night Raid - Sound amazing and were going to leave it at that.
Shouka - Looks like a good historical show and I can't get enough of these.
Working - Seems like its going to be a nice fun show.