Time to get on to the second part of the anime release preview.

Before we move forward though, today is also Valentine’s Day – so I’ll be wishing all the love-birds out there a Happy Valentine’s Day. For those of you unfortunate enough to still be single – well, no worries, you’re not alone, and there is always next year ;) Keep those spirits up ^_^

Danny Choo has a few interesting things to say on Culture Japan – so you can go take a read there – I’ve made a post about this in the past, but in Japan, they celebrate Valentine’s Day a little differently.

And now, back the the previews.

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We’re getting a slightly earlier start this time around with the previews for the next anime release cycle, and this may be a good thing, since there are a huge number of releases coming up. While some of the series are barely worth a mention in my book, I’ll basically be doing just that – mentioning them.

Especially where the release concerns a franchise that should have been done and dusted a long time ago. But more on that later.

The current list I have includes about 29 new titles – and because I’m starting earlier this time, I’m only going to be doing, on average, two titles per post, rather than my usual three or even four. I’m hunting down promo videos and trailers for each of them as well, so you can at least get a taste of what’s coming. And, our first two releases for the new season are:

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Oribe Mafuyu and Yamanobe Tomo are students at the prestigious St Mihailov Academy, and as a pair they are ostracized and persecuted by the other students, partially due to the disappearance of Tomo’s father, the former dean (he was also Mafuyu’s foster father). One of the ringleaders in this persecution is Tsudijou Miyuri, the daughter of the current dean. One afternoon while returning home, they come across an injured, silver haired boy, who they take home and nurse back to health. His name is Alecsander Nicolaevich (Sasha) Hell and he is a Qwaser, one of a group of beings with the ability to manipulate certain elements, his being iron.

He gets to repay them for the favour almost immediately and protects the two by fighting and vanquishing the Qwaser of Magnesium. Sasha is a member of Athos, and organisation tasked with protecting the holy icon – the Theotokos of Tsarytin, which if misused can alter the balance of power in the world. The icon is hidden somewhere on the Academy grounds, and a shadowy organisation known as the Twelve Adepts is looking for it. For some reason that Mafuyu cannot fathom, they’re particularly interested in Yamanobe’s daughter, Tomo.
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And so, finally, we get to the final part of the Winter 2011 Release preview series. However, I wouldn’t hold my breath in hopes of a possible gem popping up – this final part happens to be something of an anti-climax. I went through the next three series rather quickly – none of them seemed to be very deep on plot, seemingly existing for the sake of existing.

So I’m not going to say anything here particularly piqued my interest. Read the rest of this entry »

Moving on to Part 3.

Part 2 of our Preview hasn’t really given me much to be excited about – here in this third part I look  at another four titles starting this month: Kimi no Todoke, Freezing, Dragon Crisis and Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. The only one I can actually say for certain that I want to see here is Kimi no Todoke, although I’m somewhat intrigued by Madoka Magica, given that I know very little about it – so it may be worth a look.

It could pan out to be a similar gem along the lines of Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, which has quite a following, and which, despite the rather deceptively disarming name was a rather serious venture. I’ll have to go see for myself, I guess.

In any case, moving on to the actual previews: Read the rest of this entry »

First, let me start at the beginning and wish you a Happy New Year (明けましておめでとうございます）. 2011 has finally arrived – 2010 has been for me, personally, a rough year, and with the passing of Bill 156 in the Tokyo Assembly, it hasn’t been all bright and shiny either.

Kadokawa and the other publishing giants, having earlier announced their intentions of boycotting the 2011 Tokyo Anime Fair – essentially dooming that event – have now announced that they would be having their own anime fair in a neighbouring prefecture. Coincidentally, it will be held on the same days. My feeling is that the 2011 TAF is going to be a sorry spectre of the previous years’ events.

Anyways, moving on – we’re covering the next 5 new series that will start airing in Japan this month, and we are starting with: Read the rest of this entry »

We’re approaching the end of 2010, with both Christmas and New Year’s celebrations staring us in the face. The jury is out with regards to the overall quality of shows that were released this year, and the internet is relatively abuzz with regards to Tokyo’s Non-existent Youth Bill – which I haven’t blogged about – I’m still busy thinking about the possible implications of the bill.

There were a couple of good shows (Shiki, Angel Beats, Dance in the Vampire Bund, K-On!!), and there were also a couple of shockers (KissXSis, Seikon no Qwaser) that probably didn’t help the cause when time came for the votes to be counted. While various publishers are busy protesting the implementation of the bill, we’re hoping over here that it will be enough to prompt a little more development in the quality and storyline department.

I’m forcing myself to sit through Seikon no Qwaser – I’ll be reviewing it in due course, but don’t expect a kind review. I was somewhat aghast at the announcement that a second season is forthcoming – the series doesn’t deserve it, and whether it will pass muster come April 1 next year is anyone’s guess.

Looking at the first four series due for release in January, there is a light of hope; two of the series are almost definitely worth a watch. In order to get the salivating started – here are the first four Winter 2011 releases. Read the rest of this entry »

A little more than two years ago (August 2008, to be exact) I decided to compile a list of my top 10 favourite anime series. It was kind of a big ask. I have, at the time, seen a laundry basket’s worth of anime, many of which I wanted to include in the list – sadly, as suggested by the title, I only had space for ten.

Now, I’ve decided to revisit the topic. There are quite a few reasons for this and a number of them should be fairly obvious, but for posterity’s sake I’ll list them here:

Firstly, a great number of series are released in the space of two years. Some of them good, some of them great, some of them probably not that great but I enjoyed them anyway. Those I’ve watched.

Secondly, a great number of series have been watched by me in the space of the last two years. And every time a new series is experienced, there is a chance of a new series rocking my world. Read the rest of this entry »

Saved by a mermaid ...

Seto no Hanayome (瀬戸の花嫁) follows the misadventures of one Michishio Nagasumi, who, while on holiday with his parents at Seto Bay, is saved from drowning by a young mermaid, Seto San. However, according to mermaid law, either the mermaid who revealed her identity, or the person to whom her identity was revealed, needs to be executed. In an attempt to save the lives of both children, their parents agree to have the young couple become engaged. How fortunate that they happen to be the same age, ‘ey?

Thus Nagasumi gains himself a beautiful bride-to-be and San’s life is saved, although we need to make you aware of the fact that her father (being the typical doting dad), is less than happy about the method employed to save his daugher, and is very much in favour of seeing Nagasumi dead and his little girl back where she belongs.

Summer holidays do come to an end, however, and Nagasumi gets to head back home to normality – or so he believes. San, being his fiancé, decides to tag along, and as such, Nagasumi’s troubles are just beginning …

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The term, harem, tends to crop up a lot when various anime series are discussed. Now, in the unlikely event that this is your first foray into anime, and visions of Arabic princes with forty-odd wives fill your head, I need to explain one or two things. Well, maybe one.

The word harem (like many other words) was simply adapted to describe situations in anime where the main character is male, and the majority of the remaining protagonists are female, are various ages within one or two years of the main character, and they all have various levels of feelings towards the main character. These feelings tend to vary in type and intensity.

Surrounded by beautiful girls - what more could a guy want? (Shuffle! and Seto no Hanayome)

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