As you know Bob, anime is broadcast in Japan according to season: winter, spring, summer & fall. Last season was the first time I made the effort to keep up with various series as they were broadcast, rather than watch them in batches afterwards. I liked it so much I’m doing the same this season. If you want to know what series are playing this season, the obligatory anichart for the season is the best way to get up to speed. I’ve watched the first episode of some tweny shows so far and of those, below are the series I’ll certainly will keep watching:
Dimension W was the series that looked the most interesting in the previews and The Gods Themselves know I like any setting that revolves around a proper science fiction concept and follows through, but the male lead came across as a jackass in the first episode so my interest has flagged a little. Will give it some time to see if it improves.
Koukaku no Pandora you could call this a lesbian magic girl cyborg show, especially with Nene’s outfit and transformation scene at the end. Cliche ridden, but an excellent example of how to do an introductionary show right and played tongue in cheek. From the guys behind Ghost in the Shell and Excel Saga.
Hai to Gensou no Grimgar: another “normal kids trapped in a fantasy game world”, but this time they a) suffer from memory loss about their life before they gotten trapped, b) they’re complete noobs who have trouble even engaging with the lowest class of monsters, let alone killing them and c) it’s absolutely gorgeous with its pastel backgrounds.
Haruchika: Haruta & Chika: P. A. Works version of Hibike Euphonium with a mild mystery sauce which I was skeptical about beforehand but turned out to be a lot better than expected. Main character being a genki girl trying to turn herself into a refined lady/cool beauty (already looking the part with the obligatory long purple hairdo) by way of switching from volleyball to playing the flute was nicely refreshing.
Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya o Mezasu: mostly character introduction leading up to the great revelation of what the series is going to be about: making erotic videogames. It’s mostly a collection of archetypes so far: there’s genki girl/friend of main character, side bro and of course mysterious slightly warped long black haired loner girl Kuroda driving the plot. Main character Bunta is not your average loser geek given a chance at redemption but seems well socialised and even somewhat popular in his class.
Dagashi Kashi: his father wants him to become the ninth head of the family, but he’d rather draw manga than take over the old man’s candy store. Then his dad gets an ally in the form of a crazed candy enthusiast girl (and heir to a huge candy conglomerate) who also wants him to make candy. Laugh out loud funny in places.
Boku Dake ga Inai Machi: failed mangaka has the involuntary power to leap backwards in time to right things that are going to go wrong, usually only a few minutes, but then something big happens. Excellently done so far and I liked the main character’s mother: how often do you actually see mothers in anime, especially mothers of grownup characters? The overall mystery is barely explained at this point but the way the first episode was build up was promising. Second best series start I’ve seen so far this season.
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: the best series so far this season, about a fresh faced ex-prisoner who begs a rakugo storyteller who he’d seen perform in jail to take him on as an apprentice. I had no idea what to expect from this, knowing nothing about rakugo before I started watching this, but it was oddly compelling. It’s hard to make what’s essentially a static artform look interesting in animation, not to mention getting the nuances right, but it succeeded for me and the show has to courage to feature full performance, not excerpts. The first episode was a double length one but never lost my attention.
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