Spring 2011 Anime

by MadHatChemist Mon 3 Jan 2011 - 23:28

The only series that seem interesting are:

30-sai no Koken Taiiku -- Reminds me of Futari H (Manga Sutra/Step up love story)
Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko -- Since Arikawa 2 is over, I need to fill my cute girl who says she's an alien quota
Appleseed XIII -- I'm a sucker of anything Shirow Masamune
Nichijou -- The potential for the juxtaposition of insanity and normalcy is great...I hope it live up to its promise
A Channel -- Looks cute, so I'll see if it rises above the din or not
Hen Zemi -- the OVA showed potential but was haplessly muddled. If it is drawn out to a full series, this will hopefully be avoided.
Maria Holic Alive -- SHAFT + "Lesbianics" = big win

A big TY! to 0utf0xZer0 for pointing me to the updated correct version!

Spring 2011 Anime Neregate.com-Spring-2011-Animes-v2.1

Spring 2011 Anime Neregate.com-Spring-2011-Animes-v2.1

by **Triela** Tue 4 Jan 2011 - 1:23

Can we get a bigger picture of this? I can't see any of the writing. I see something that looks like Junjou Romantica on the top. If it's a yaoi I'm gonna be soo happy! ^_^

by 0utf0xZer0 Tue 4 Jan 2011 - 5:07

That's the V1 from early december. V2.1 of the chart is here:
http://neregate.com/blog/2010/12/05/spring-2011-animes/

Really looking forward to Hanasaku Iroha, which is by the writer Mari Okada/studio PA Works team that brough us True Tears, and Nachijou, which I've heard described as "the most Azumanga like thing Kyoto has yet adapted". Kind of wish that I could see a decent looking action fix or at least something along the lines of Zakuro though. Steins;Gate sounds interesting but the shared setting with Chaos;Head makes me a bit leery of expecting too much.

Also, the chart is missing A-1 Pictures' Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai, also written by Mari Okada, probably due to lack of info. I imagine that there might still be a show or two to come too, its still a few months off.

by Totoum Tue 4 Jan 2011 - 5:25

0utf0xZer0 wrote:Really looking forward to Hanasaku Iroha, which is by the writer Mari Okada/studio PA Works team that brough us True Tears...

Well even if there's some true tears staff and I get those vibes from it,the director did canaan so even if the trailer looks great I'm still not 100% sold

Not that I thought canaan was bad,just not as good as I wanted it to be Laughing

by **Kiskaloo** Tue 4 Jan 2011 - 11:55

So after overdosing the past few seasons, I am playing it safe and sticking with three:

A Channel
Appleseed XIII
X-Men

Plus some OAVs and the GitS movie.

by **Triela** Tue 4 Jan 2011 - 13:22

DEFIANTLY Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi! It's by the person who created Junjou Romantica so it HAS to be amazing! :3

by MadHatChemist Wed 5 Jan 2011 - 0:44

That's the V1 from early december. V2.1 of the chart is here:
http://neregate.com/blog/2010/12/05/spring-2011-animes/

Many thanks 0utf0xZer0!

My origional post has been updated accordingly

by 0utf0xZer0 Wed 5 Jan 2011 - 4:41

Totoum wrote:
0utf0xZer0 wrote:Really looking forward to Hanasaku Iroha, which is by the writer Mari Okada/studio PA Works team that brough us True Tears...

Well even if there's some true tears staff and I get those vibes from it,the director did canaan so even if the trailer looks great I'm still not 100% sold

Not that I thought canaan was bad,just not as good as I wanted it to be

It's apparently PA Works' 10th anniversary project, so I doubt they'll skimp on the animation. Script wise... Mari Okada actually wrote both True Tears and Canaan, but I think True Tears played more to her strength as a writer. Her weakness seems to be climactic action scenes - Canaan's wasn't great, and Zakuro's anime original ending was surprisingly weak given that I actually consider her modifications to the three chapters of the manga I've read to generally be improvements. I doubt that weakness will play a role in this project.

And yes, the trailer looks fantastic.

by Totoum Wed 5 Jan 2011 - 5:07

Yep,I know Mari Okada wrote both,you're talking to a huge Mari Okada fanboy Wink

I just wonder how much of her script actually gets used, according to this the series composer doesn't know until the show airs , so I'm just wondering if directors would handle her script differently.

Odds are very likely that both directors didn't change her script much,so really when I say I'm not 100% sold,it's because i'm 99% sold Laughing

, it'd be 100% if it was the same director

by Piero Wed 5 Jan 2011 - 21:36

Outfox, the issue with Canaan was more that the writer didn't follow through on what they were developing very well, not its action scenes. The action scenes in that show were spectacular.

Anyhow, as usual I'm not that sure what I'm going to end up watching at this point. As I've noted previously, there's quite often shows that I think look terrible on these previews that I actually end up finding to be good when I actually watch them.

Anyhow, shows that look interesting:

30-sai no Hoken Taiiku: An anime based on a guidebook for guys over thirty who haven't dated? I don't know if it'll be any good but I can definitely say I'm curious!
Appleseed XIII: I wasn't a huge fan of the Appleseed movie I saw, but it was at least decent. I expect this will provide some decent action scenes at the very least.
Kampfer Season 2: I would hardly call Kampfer quality entertainment, but it did entertain. Bring on the madness!

Also several of the OVAs look like they could be worthwhile.

by **Kiskaloo** Mon 28 Feb 2011 - 0:32

They showed the first X-Men trailer during Wolverine #7 - looks awesome!

by 0utf0xZer0 Tue 8 Mar 2011 - 4:15

New chart is out:
http://thecartdriver.com/charts/

@Totoum:
You mentioned on Animesuki that Hana-Saku Iroha is slated to be 26 episodes. Do you know what the original Japanese source for this is and whether they're usually accurate? Very happy to hear about this unexpected development if true.

by **Kiskaloo** Tue 8 Mar 2011 - 4:21

Looks to be another quiet season for me.

I'll be watching X-Men for sure, along with Appleseed XIII and I'll give Everyday Life and Under the Innocent Sky a shot.

by **Kiskaloo** Sun 3 Apr 2011 - 0:51

X-Men - Episode 01

With two series under Superhero Anime Partner's belt already, I expected this one to be excellent and I was not disappointed. Should be an awesome series based on the premiere episode.

by Five_X Sun 3 Apr 2011 - 13:50

I'm still waiting for Blade.

by Entropy Sun 3 Apr 2011 - 15:51

I will be watching Maria Holic: Alive, the second season to Maria Holic, a pretty crazy story animated by SHAFT that partially lampoons the yuri genre and partially goes all out on a sadistic silly-spree.

Nichijou, listed as "My Ordinary Life" on the green chart, an episode 0 ova is already out and it looked promising as a pretty crazy school-life story a la Pani Poni Dash.

A Channel also looks like an interesting mix of school life and supernatural(?), but it doesn't seem like it takes itself very seriously so I'll check it out.

Hen Zemi looks interesting as well, and the artwork also looks somewhat unique. I'm not usually into anime that are overly sexual, but this one might be a bit different in that regard.

Hanasaku Iroha might be a bit interesting, it's supposed to be a big "anniversary anime" so I'll check that out as well.

by **Kiskaloo** Sun 3 Apr 2011 - 17:29

Nichijou - 01

It's cute and silly, which means I automatically love it. Reminds me of a high-school version of Ichihgo Mashimaro and GA - Geijutsuka Art Design Class.

Hanasaku Iroha - 01

Love Hina it isn't. Wink

Kind of reminds me of a Japanese TV drama from a number of decades back I really enjoyed, though in that case it was a career woman in her 20's who went to a sake distillery as opposed to a 16-year old high school girl going to her grandmother's hot springs ryokan.

by Totoum Sun 3 Apr 2011 - 21:01

Hanasaku Iroha

This does it,if Madhouse refuse to do another season of gunslinger girl,just have PA works do it,this kind of episode shows they'd have it look great.

Also,epic slap was epic.

by **Kiskaloo** Sun 3 Apr 2011 - 21:26

Totoum wrote:Hanasaku Iroha

This does it,if Madhouse refuse to do another season of gunslinger girl,just have PA works do it,this kind of episode shows they'd have it look great.

The rumor is that Madhouse wanted to animate -IL TEATRINO-, but they didn't want to give Yu Aida the control he demanded, so they passed.

Totoum wrote:Also,epic slap was epic.

I felt that all the way across the Pacific. Guh?

Dog Days - 01

Take Asobi ni Iku Yo! (in that you have anthropomorphised dogs and cats - at least I think the other folks are cats - they're the Galette Lion Army, which seems an odd name for dogs to take) fighting each other) and put it in the Middle Ages (so you have armored knights and castles instead of space ships). Then mix with the same plot as that show from a number of years back with the girl who when the moon was full could travel to another world with dragons and such (it was on FOX Kids for a time).

Likely not one I will follow. Not because there is anything inherently wrong with it, but so far I've found three pretty solid anime series and I don't want to have too many shows to add on top of my American television load. Solid OP and ED, though, so I'll be picking them up.

The Takeshi's Castle / MXC-style battle is fun, though. Wink

by Totoum Mon 4 Apr 2011 - 3:31

Kiskaloo wrote:The rumor is that Madhouse wanted to animate -IL TEATRINO-, but they didn't want to give Yu Aida the control he demanded, so they passed.

Fine give it to him Very Happy

, the script in il teatrino was fine and PA works will find a way to make the owl eyes look good,you could already be sure the city landscapes of like Rome and Florence would be great eyecandy.

by Entropy Mon 4 Apr 2011 - 13:18

Nichijou was about what I expected, someone else described it as a good cross between Azumanga Daioh and Pani Poni Dash!, I think that's about right. Though I think it's closer to Pani Poni since it has a wide range of characters and stories it follows. But it's not quite as insanely random.

Hanasaku Iroha surprised me quite a bit with its substance, though I feel I can dissect the character archtypes from a mile away. We'll see how closely they align with my predictions as the series goes on.

by **Kiskaloo** Mon 4 Apr 2011 - 16:40

Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai [—under the innocent sky] - 01

Normally I'm a sucker for visual novel dramas, but this appears to be a visual novel silly comedy, but in the silly way I'm not a fan of (ala - Oniichan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne).

The animation is pretty good and the girls are all the requisite very cute, but the dialog could scare me off, regardless.

Fireball Charming - 01

A follow-up to a CG Youtube ONA created by Disney. The episode was under two minutes in length, but didn't make much sense... I have not seen the original, but they are all on YT.

by Piero Mon 4 Apr 2011 - 23:18

Watched a few episodes of stuff on my own and a few with some anime fans I know. Here are the results:

Dog Daze: I had high hopes for this one after finding out that the director had previously worked on Nanoha A’s and Inukami, both of which are freaking awesome. However unlike those two shows this show is lame.
Hana-Saku Iroha: Has some issues with balancing its realistic and ridiculous elements, but overall probably the best show I’ve seen so far this season. Definitely not Love Hina despite the setting, though I actually see some similarities between the two leads in that in both cases the world seems to have it out for them. Laughing

Hen Zemi: I don’t necessarily think risqué comedy is a bad thing (I loved B Gata H Kei) but the OVA episode of this that I got shown can be summed up by three words: disgusting and vulgar. On the plus side there may be some amusing rants on ANN because of this show. How much righteous indignation and bemoaning the state of the industry do you think their review team can cram into one set of reviews?
Nichijou: I’m not much of a fan of moe blob comedies. Probably because I have a tendency to find them more grating than funny. Though I guess this one at least had a few comedic moments that actually worked.
Under the Innocent Sky: What… the… bloody... hell…?

So yeah… not the best showing so far. Laughing

Thankfully there are some other titles this season that offer hope.

by Ggultra2764 Tue 5 Apr 2011 - 23:43

Of what I've seen thus far:
-Nichijou- Never got past the first half of the first episode. Couldn't get drawn to the comedy.
-X-Men- Character designs looked for the most part like their comic part counterparts unlike the handling of Wolverine for the Winter season. But the developments are too campy for me to want to watch more beyond the first episode.
-Hana-Saku Iroha- Got hooked on the first episode. While things might be cruel for the cute-looking heroine of this story, I do suspect this series will be fleshing things out more as the series progresses. Looks like the show is set to run for two seasons.
-Steins;Gate- Haven't seen an anime focused on time theories of physics since seeing Noein back in college. There is a definite mystery element to the series that will be explored, though the first episode is mostly spent on exploring the everyday life of the "mad scientist" and his ditzy friend before realizing something big related to time travel is up. Has piqued my interest and I will continue to check it out.
-Tiger and Bunny- The concept of corporate-sponsored superheroes is a new one for anime, though it looks like its going for substance for the most part. I'll give it a few more episodes to see if this is worth committing to or not.

by Guest Wed 6 Apr 2011 - 7:19

I'd like to catch Black Lagoon Roberta's bood trail and High School of the Dead if possible.

by **Kiskaloo** Wed 6 Apr 2011 - 13:47

So is anybody going to have the courage to watch Lotte's Toy? It is evidently about a 10 year old succubus who has to drink human semen to stay young and beautiful (does that make her a suckubus?).

I'd rather not have a visit from the FBI and Chris Hansen, so I'll be skipping it. Razz

by theprodigalson Wed 6 Apr 2011 - 15:53

Pedobear: Approved.

by **emperor** Wed 6 Apr 2011 - 15:53

The member 'theprodigalson' has done the following action : Dices roll

'Roll a dice!' : 2

by theprodigalson Wed 6 Apr 2011 - 15:57

Found out what the dice option does...

by **Kiskaloo** Wed 6 Apr 2011 - 16:37

theprodigalson wrote: Pedobear: Approved.

by Awinnell Wed 6 Apr 2011 - 16:55

by **Kiskaloo** Wed 6 Apr 2011 - 17:39

steins;gate - 01

Lots of cute girls and physics is a plus, but the lead male seems to be delusional and the show has a semi-colon in the title, so if this turns into another chaos;head, I am going to rage. Smile

Awinnell wrote:

Ah yes, the 2010 SWA Cyborg Beauty Pageant...

by **rusty-spring** Wed 6 Apr 2011 - 18:26

Kiskaloo wrote:So is anybody going to have the courage to watch Lotte's Toy? It is evidently about a 10 year old succubus who has to drink human semen to stay young and beautiful (does that make her a suckubus?).

I'd rather not have a visit from the FBI and Chris Hansen, so I'll be skipping it.

Lol that sounds like the very definition of Schmuck Bait. Razz

Then again, it wouldn't be the first Puzzled

moment to come from anime.

by ChaosKin640 Wed 6 Apr 2011 - 22:09

I actually checked out the first few chapters of the manga out of curiosity after someone here mentioned it in relation to Japan's new anti-smut laws. While it may walk a rather dangerous line at times, I didn't find it too bad. Mostly just a lot of flagrant loli panty-shots and its hardly the first manga/anime to have that. (Strike Witches, anyone?) I think the worst thing that can be said about it, in terms of potential pedo-foder, is that the protagonist Naoya's 10yo daughter has a desturbingly frequeny tendency to "forget" to wear panties.

by 0utf0xZer0 Thu 7 Apr 2011 - 5:01

That pretty much mirrors what I heard about the series from manga readers... very "refuge in audacity" premise, but not a hell of a lot else. And panty shots aren't going to run afoul of the new law as far as we know.

Stuff like Yosuga no Sora is another matter. That one seems like it very well might run afoul, which would be inforunate since for all the breakneck pacing and cheesy sex, some of the arcs were genuinely good VN-style romance drama - certainly better than most such shows in the past year or so.

For those watching Hana-Saku Iroha, what do you think of the head waitress? I find her very charming, but I'm not sure its a good idea to ask someone if their mother is "quite the callgirl". I imagine she's head waitress mainly because Minko has attitude issues and Nako is so demure she doesn't seem comfortable unless she's being told what to do.

Also, I have to say Ohana's uncle doesn't strike me as any more responsible than her mother. He doesn't seem to regret (accidentally?) groping his neice at all.

by MadHatChemist Thu 7 Apr 2011 - 22:27

Nichijou (Everyday life) -- It has random gun comedic gun violence, a Becky clone, and a goat. What's not to love?

Hanasaku Iroha -- I usually don't go for the mid-day drama types of show (I only got into two non-geek related J-dramas), but so for I've found myself interested. Who knows, I usually don't go for Victorian romance stuff but find Emma to be one of my favorite manga

Tiger and Bunny -- Reality TV in anime has been done before, and done well, and this show looks like it won't completely turn into farce to far. Not the most engaging show, but it has potential

Black Lagoon -- This OVA arc really shows who the most frightening character is in Roanapur: Rock

by **Kiskaloo** Fri 8 Apr 2011 - 22:12

A Channel - 01

The power of Moe compels you! The power of Moe compels you!

Honestly, I found the show and the characters dull. Compared to Azumanga Daioh, GA - Geijutsuka Art Design Class and Nichijou, I thought it lame. The OP is catchy and the insert song is full of win, so I'll be hitting the iTunes Japan store, but I don't think this will be a series I follow.

by Awinnell Sat 9 Apr 2011 - 8:13

SKET-dance after school club show,violent girl with hockey stick,one computer geek and a investigative smartarse guy in a silly hat

by **Nachtsider** Sat 9 Apr 2011 - 9:59

Kiskaloo wrote:So is anybody going to have the courage to watch Lotte's Toy? It is evidently about a 10 year old succubus who has to drink human semen to stay young and beautiful (does that make her a suckubus?).

I'd rather not have a visit from the FBI and Chris Hansen, so I'll be skipping it.

Stay classy, Japan.

I'm enjoying the latest installment of Gundam Unicorn. That new model Dom is dope.

by Awinnell Sat 9 Apr 2011 - 11:51

couldn't help myself

by **Nachtsider** Sat 9 Apr 2011 - 13:53

Considering the subject matter, that doesn't even look like it's being marketed as an adult title. It looks more like it's been made for general viewing.

Classier and classier.

by **Kiskaloo** Sat 9 Apr 2011 - 15:08

Nachtsider wrote:Considering the subject matter, that doesn't even look like it's being marketed as an adult title. It looks more like it's been made for general viewing.

Classier and classier.

If the show does have "adult content", I suppose there could be the censored version on the main channels and then the uncensored version on the subscription channels, as was done with Yasuga no Sora and I believe Freezing.

There is also Hen Zemi [Abnormal Physiology Seminar] - about "an innocent university girl participating in a sexual perversion seminar led by a deviant professor".

by SPARTAN 119 Sat 9 Apr 2011 - 16:06

I've been hearing a lot about 30-sai no Koken Taiiku on Sankaku Complex lately, so I took a look and, well.....
Tell me this is not seriously intended for teaching 30-year old virgins to get laid. Because the amount of useful advice in that show seems rather small, if it exists at all.

Kiskaloo wrote:

There is also Hen Zemi [Abnormal Physiology Seminar] - about "an innocent university girl participating in a sexual perversion seminar led by a deviant professor".

Great, now there's something else for my morbid curiosity to drag me in watching!

by Piero Sat 9 Apr 2011 - 16:22

Regarding some of the more out there titles, I'm often reluctant to judge shows too harshly based solely on summaries and such. I find the short English language summaries on these charts are often grossly deceptive (even when they're technically accurate they often fail miserably at giving an accurate representation of the big picture). That being said I do have to admit that I'm still inclined to stay the hell away from some of these titles. (And thanks to some people I know screening the second episode of the OVA at a screening, I can confirm that Kisk probably wants to stay the hell away from Hen Zemi. Definitely not on my to watch list.)

As for the show about advice for guys over thirty who haven't dated, I kind of want to see that just to see what it's like. Laughing

by **rusty-spring** Sat 9 Apr 2011 - 17:18

Kiskaloo wrote:

This picture is the best thing I've seen all day by far. Razz

by Awinnell Sat 9 Apr 2011 - 17:38

by Piero Sat 9 Apr 2011 - 19:13

30-sai no Koken Taiiku: Uggh. So much for this show being a guide to dating for guys over thirty who haven't dated before. A good description of it is that it's what B Gata H Kei would be like if the bullshit claims a bunch of sensationalistic reviewers made about it weren't blatantly false. Basically it's super crude, not all that funny, and contained so much censorship one wonders why they bothered airing it on TV.

by **Kiskaloo** Sat 9 Apr 2011 - 20:23

Piero wrote:Regarding some of the more out there titles, I'm often reluctant to judge shows too harshly based solely on summaries and such.

I generally use Wikipedia, ANN, Anime Suki forums and such to get a bit better feeling for the show before I decide to give it a shot, but there are some genres that just don't interest me (Zombies and Westerns, for example), so even if they do them exceptionally well, it's still not my cup of tea. So if the synopsis says the show is based in this genre, it's an automatic exclusion. Smile

I also look to see what others think. I had no intention of watching Wandering Son until Ggultra2764 said the first episode was epic (and it became my favorite show of the past couple of years) nor did I plan to watch Madoka until a number of forum members said it was their favorite of the season.

Piero wrote:30-sai no Koken Taiiku: Uggh. So much for this show being a guide to dating for guys over thirty who haven't dated before.

Well let us remember this show is aimed at Japanese otaku over the age of 30. So while I'm over 40, I'm not Japanese and I'm not an otaku, so I would expect I wouldn't get it. Wink

That being said, one of the fansub sites I frequent had a screencap of the censorship, and it is indeed LOLZ.

by Ggultra2764 Sat 9 Apr 2011 - 20:48

Have some more titles to provide my thoughts on so far:
-Sket Dance- Feels like I'm watching one of those old cheesy weekday afternoon specials teaching kids how to handle stuff like bullying and drug addiction. Only difference is the characters of the Sket-Dan are an eccentric bunch with hot-headed leader, a short-fused girl armed with a field hockey stick and the computer geek who knows enough on everyone in school and talks with a voice synthesizer. I'll press on with this series for now.
-Dororon Enma-kun Meeramera- The first episode of this was quite the watch mixing around manic and perverse humor without going too overboard thanks to the antics of Enma and his cohorts.
-A Channel- What do you know, a series with moe and based on a 4-koma that I think is a decent watch thus far? It's not going overboard with delivering the moe, there is a sense of linearity with how events flow in the episode instead of separating into separate blocks a la Minami-ke and Azumanga Daioh, there were moments where I had laughs and adored the characters and the scenery is surprisingly gorgeous for a slice-of-life title. Will stick with for now.

by SPARTAN 119 Sat 9 Apr 2011 - 20:56

A gallery of Kyube anthropomorphisms from Sankaku Complex. Most are bishoujo or loli versions, but here are some other versions I found amusing: Source here. Source for car and fridge

The Kyube ATM:
Spring 2011 Anime Qb-anthropomorphized-011

Spring 2011 Anime Qb-anthropomorphized-011

Kyube, Dragonball Z style:
Spring 2011 Anime 96217__468x_qb-anthropomorphized-022

The Kyube hoodie:
Spring 2011 Anime 96238__468x_qb-anthropomorphized-043

Mewtwo Kyube:
Spring 2011 Anime Qb-anthropomorphized-049

The Kyube-mobile:
Spring 2011 Anime 93448__468x_qb-itasha-1

The Kyube fridge:
Spring 2011 Anime 93449__438x_qb-itasha-2

Kyube Wants You! (spoilers):

Spoiler:

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