Fall Anime Lineup 2012

Back with a vengeance, or just a tease? Time will tell what this post means, but one thing is for certain: I do want to watch some of these titles, and there are a few that really interest me. Let’s get started as I review every single show on the list, and let you know what shows I want to watch provided I ever watch anime again. I’ve included PVs for most of these titles, but I couldn’t find PVs for all of them.

Magi

Aladdin, the primary protagonist, is traveling a desert land, with a magic flute that summons a djinn named Ugo. The djinn has a huge and muscular body, but cannot remove his head from the flute, giving him a headless appearance and frequently causing even people he is trying to rescue to mistake him for a monster. The two meet Alibaba, a seemingly greedy and aloof young man who is trying to get rich, and realizes that Ugo would be a powerful ally to explore a nearby treasure-filled dungeon. As they adventure together, they become true friends, along with Morgianna, a slave girl from a distant land that they free from her master. The three encounter other djinn and find hints that they may be destined to decide who will rule the world.

Who doesn’t like Arabian Nights? Answer: Idiots. I love the setting of the Middle East. Always have, always will. Add some really good character designs, and now I’m very interested in this anime.

Watch? Yes

Robotics;Notes

019, Divergence Ratio 1.048596. The near future, where a device popularly called the PokeCom, packaged with PhoneDroid OS, spreads, bringing the Augmented Reality world close to existence.

Chuuoutanegashima High School’s Robot Research Club is in danger of losing its club status. Kaito Yashio, one of only two members, is only obsessed with robot fighting games, showing no interest in the Robo Club even in this situation. The reckless, useless club head, Akiho Senomiya, aims to complete a giant robot, struggling hard to avoid losing the club’s status.

Then, one day, Kaito discovers the A.R. annotation that becomes the Kimishima Report. Written in that report is the indictment of someone named Kou Kimishima’s conspiracy involving the world.

Okay, I was one of the few who really liked Chaos;HEAD. I was one of the many who liked Steins;Gate. The odds that I like Robotics;Notes, an anime that shares the setting from Chaos;Head, are pretty good in my favor. And if the PV is any indication, I’d say that this anime looks to follow the last two semi-colon anime predecessors.

Watch? Yes

Psycho-Pass

The series takes place in the near future, when it is possible to instantaneously measure and quantify a person’s state of mind and personality. This information is recorded and processed, and the term “Psycho-Pass” refers to a standard used to measure an individual’s being. The story centers around the “enforcement officer” Shinya Kougami, who is tasked with managing crime in such a world.

I have no idea what this is really about. The art from the “PV” looks pretty cool though. I guess we’ll see what everyone says about it, but I am moderately interested.

Watch? Maybe

Hidamari Sketch X Honeycomb

Fourth Season of Hidamari Sketch, which I have not seen, and which looks too cutesy for me.

Watch? No.

Busou Shinki

The slice-of-life battle story is set in a future that has neither World War III nor an alien invasion — just an ordinary future set after our current age. In this world, robots are part of everyday life, and they contribute in various aspects of society. “Shinki” are 15-centimeter-tall (about 6-inch-tall) cute partners made to assist humans. Equipped with intelligence and emotions, they devote themselves to serving their “Masters.”

These Shinki can even be equipped with weapons and armor to fight each other. Such Shinki are named “Busou Shinki” (literally, “armed divine princesses”). In particular, the Shinki Ann (Arnval), Aines (Altines), and Rane (Altrane) serve a high school freshman named Masato. Things change when a new Shinki, the bellicose Staarf, joins them.

This is based off of dolls? Doesn’t mean it will be bad. That being said, I’m not too interested in “armed divine princesses.”

Watch? No.

Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter

Anime adaptation of a card game which depicts battles between cars that transform into robots.

Nothing about this anime excites me in anyway. In fact the whole thing looks stupid.

Watch? No.

Monsuno

The series revolves around “re-awakened Monster DNA that finds its way into the unsuspecting hands of adventure-seeking teenagers”. An agency called “S.T.O.R.M.” (Strategic Tactical Operatives for Recovery of Monsuno) will be involved.

I started off this list with 2 watches and 0 no’s. I should’ve known that it wouldn’t last. This anime looks as shitty as the last one. Ugh.

Watch? No.

Haitai Nanafa

Nanafa Kyan lives in Okinawa with her grandmother who runs the “Kame Soba” soba shop, her beautiful older sister Nao who is in high school, and her younger sister Kokona, who is in elementary school and has a strong ability to sense the supernatural.

One day, Nanafa witnesses a seal fall off of a Chinese banyan tree, and three spirits who live in that tree are unleashed. These spirits include Niina and Raana, who are “jimunaa” spirits. The third spirit is Iina, who is an incarnation of an Okinawan lion statue. As spirits start appearing one after another, the peaceful life of Nanafa and her family begins to change.

Oh God I’d rather not.

Watch? No.

Jormungand 2

Continuation of the first season.

Clearly that wasn’t a PV, but I couldn’t find one, plus Valmet is the only good thing about this subpar show. I god very bored very fast in the first season.

Watch? No.

CODE: BREAKER

Riding the bus one day, Sakurakouji Sakura looks out the window to see people being burned alive with a blue fire and a boy her age who’s unharmed and standing over the people.

She comes back to the site the next day and there are no corpses or evidence of any kind of murder, just a small fire. She then goes to class to find there’s a new transfer student, Oogami Rei, who looks exactly like the boy she saw before and wears a black glove only on his left hand.

Oogami is a Code Breaker, one who “does not exist”. He is a seemingly cold-blooded killer who follows the principle of “an eye for an eye”, to “use evil against evil”. Convinced that killing is not right, Sakurakouji sets out to stop him and penetrate his icy heart.

Blue Fire’s been done.

Watch? No.

Hiiro no Kakera S2

Every girl dreams of being an enchanted princess, but how many stop to think about all the grim and horrible things that happen in fairy tales? That’s a lesson Tamaki learns all too graphically when she’s attacked by creatures she thought only existed in myths! Fortunately, she’s rescued by an extraordinary young man: one who’s not only part demon; but her future classmate as well, and one of the group of protectors that Tamaki will need if she’s going to fulfill her destiny as a Tamayori princess. A destiny that no one’s bothered to tell her she’s inherited until just now! And if it wasn’t bad enough to learn that every plan she’d had for the future has to change, to top it all off, Tamaki still has to start attending a new high school as well! Season 2.

Anime is stupid.

Watch? No.

To LOVE-Ru Darkness

Sequel to To-Love-Ru, all of our main characters make an appearance along with some new additions. Rito continues to be caught in over the top uncensored ecchi scenarios.

The alien Deviluke sisters still use their unique abilities to grab Rito’s love confession. Nana and Momo have transferred into the school and meet Mea, who seems to be a worry free and joyful girl.

Momo in particular wants to share Rito and create a harem for him. While scheming her plan, she confronts Golden Darkness also know as Yami.

They are interrupted by possessed students who begin to fight with abnormal strength. Now the new plot line appears as a mysterious person who’s in control of the students tests Yami’s assassination skills.

You know, I thought the first season was generally funny because of it’s stupidity. I actually enjoyed it. The second season was a completely confusing piece of shit, as a bunch of characters were suddenly introduced out of nowhere. I have very little clue as to what is going on anymore in this shitty fanservice bullshit, but I’ll probably end up watching it, and then I’ll regret my decision halfway through, realizing that the anime is shitty and that I should have used my better judgement and stayed away, kind of like what I did with that Rie Kugimiya anime with the sperm.

Watch? Yes.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: The Animation

This is the story of the Joestar family, and their battles against bizarre enemies. Jonathan Joestar’s battle against the vampire Dio Brando starts it all, and it continues into roughly each second generation of Joestars through all parts of the story.

Apparently people are really looking forward to this. Surprising, because it looks fucking retarded.

Watch? No.

Bakuman 3

Continuation of Bakuman.

Still haven’t/don’t plan on watching the first two seasons.

Watch? No.

Oshiri Kajiri Mushi

A funny video about a magical bug that likes to bite the people’s derriere. The song was intended to encourage people who live in big cities to spontaneously interact with each other.

Fucking Japan.

Watch? No.

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!

Yuuta Togashi suffered from chuunibyou while he was in middle school. When he graduated, he put that dark history behind him and forgot about it… or he was supposed to. High school was smooth sailing and full of enjoyment – until the unavoidable, sad event occurs. The event that locks Yuuta into a contract with Rikka Takanashi and disrupts his desperately ordinary life.

I watched 0:39 seconds of the PV, and I had to stop because I because quite excited. Girl with an eye-patch? Girl with an eye-patch with awesome powers? Girl with an eye-patch with awesome powers who kicks ass? Fuck yes. This anime looks fucking awesome. So far, I’m most excited for this.

Watch? Yes.

Girls und Panzer

In the world, the manipulation of tanks (Sensha-do) is one of the traditional martial arts especially for girls. Miho doesn’t like Sensha-do and moves to Oarai Girl’s High School. But the chairperson of the student council orders Miho to participate in the national Sensha-do championship.

They really need to stop making these types of shows.

Watch? No.

Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne

Himenokouji twins Akito and Akiko have finally reunited with each other after separation due to the death of their parents. After six years of living apart they suddenly began to live under the same roof due to Akito’s desire to live as a family unit once more. Things were fine at first until Akiko began to express her incestuous love for her older brother, who only sees her as a little sister.

Japan…again, what the fuck. “incestuous love.” Fucking no. The only way this could be good is if everyone else in the anime makes fun of the girl and her incest. Call her names and bully her until she cries. Then I’ll watch it. And shorten the name for Christ’s sake.

Watch? No… although the girl has an eye patch…

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

The school romantic comedy revolves around a second-year high school student named Sorata Kanda who lives in Sakurasou, the dormitory for problem children at Sorata’s school. One day, Mashiro Shiina —a cute girl who happens to be also a cosmopolitan, brilliant artist— moves into Sakurasou.

Sorata thinks to himself that he should protect Mashiro from the weirdos at Sakurasou, but Mashiro has a surprising secret: she has no idea how to take care of herself. She gets lost if she goes out, and her room is a complete mess. Sorata’s dorm mates designate him as the “master” of Mashiro, and thus, an ordinary boy and a brilliant girl must live like “a master and his pet.”

Okay, this may surprise you… but this looks like a show that I’ll find very enjoyable. I like J.C. Staff, and I like romantic comedies. I also like characters who never smile (like the girl in this show). Mashiro looks especially clueless. I’m going to like this show.

Watch? Yes.

Sukitte Iinayo.

Mei Tachibana has spent her 16 years without a boyfriend or friends. One day, she injures the most popular boy in school, Yamato Kurosawa, due to a misunderstanding. For some reason though, it seems that he takes a liking to her and one-sidedly claims that they’re friends. Furthermore, he not only protects Mei from a stalker, but does so with a kiss…?!!

Looks like your typical shoujo bullshit.

Watch? No.

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun

Mizutani Shizuku is the type of person who only cares for her own grades. But when she accidentally delivers lesson notes to Yoshida Haru, he becomes convinced they are friends.

Haru turns out to have a very innocent personality, but who would’ve thought that Haru would actually confess to Shizuku?

A cold-hearted girl and super-troublemaker romance with a fresh new perspective.

Not sure on this one. It could be interesting because of the female protagonist. She seems like a real bitch. Plus there’s chains in the picture and they look cool. Still…

Watch? No.

K

No idea what this is about.

I am on the fence. The animation looks awesome, and it almost reminds me of Durarara, a comparison that bodes well for K. There’s a dude with a bat who looks awesome. That being said, there’s no women. You know what else had no women? 07 Ghost. This is a comparison that does NOT bode well for K. Please don’t have yaoi tendencies, or I may drop you. I’m just not into that stuff.

Watch? Yes.

Zetsuen no Tempest

The story revolves around Mahiro Fuwa, a teenager whose family was mysteriously murdered one year before and his friend Yoshino Takigawa. Mahiro is contacted by Hakase Kusaribe, the leader of the Kusaribe clan who was left stranded on an unknown desert island by her followers, and agrees to help Hakase in exchange of her help to find out the culprit for the death of his family. Upon learining of his friend’s intentions, Yoshino joins him on his quest to stand against the Kusaribe clan who intends to awake the “Tree of Zetsuen” whose power can bring ruin to the entire world.

Several dialogues and plot elements in Zetsuen no Tempest pay homage to the works of William Shakespeare.

I have nothing negative to say about this anime it looks genuinely interesting.

Watch? Yes.

Kyousougiga 2

(1st season PV)

Three kids are stuck in a strange city causing massive mayhem through the land. They are searching for an atypical rabbit in order to return home. Koto, the eldest of the three, seems to have some sort of connection to this weird place ruled by a monk, a demon, and a priest. Sequel to first season.

I’ve been dying to watch the first season. That is the first thing I’m going to do before I watch anything from this Fall. Why? Rie Kugimiya is one reason, but mainly this just looks awesome.

Update: Apparently the first season was 1 episode only. I guess half a year away from the anime world makes you a moron.

Watch? Eventually, Yes.

Little Busters!

Riki was a child when his parents died, leaving him hopeless and depressed. What saved him was a group of four kids calling themselves the Little Busters. They took Riki out and played with him during his time of need. He really enjoyed being together with them, and his grief gradually faded away. Now in his second year of high school they still hang out, fight and live together, and enjoy their school life.

Everyone’s falling over themselves to watch this show, and I don’t know why.

Watch? No.

Hayate no Gotoku!

A completely new Hayate no Gotoku series with nothing to do with the previous ones, nor the manga.

This is an insult to Hayate no Gotoku. I will watch this only if Rie Kugimiya returns, but it honestly looks stupid. Terrible character designs, and nothing to do with the manga? WHY? Okay okay, it was written by the mangaka who write Hayate no Gotoku, but Hayate without Rie Kugimiya and Rie Tanaka? No thanks, I’ll keep reading the manga instead. (I really hate the character designs a lot).

Update: I’m changing my stance. I’m going to watch this regardless. And now I’m getting excited… except ugh Manglobe.

Watch? Yes.

Ixion Saga DT

The game and anime follow Kon Hokaze, a boy who embarks on a journey from our world to an alternate world known as Mira, which is full a mysterious energy known as Alma. After saving Princess Ecarlate from attackers, he soon finds himself in the middle of a struggle around Alma.

I’m going to be honest, this show is going to SUCK.

Watch? No.

So there you have it. As usual you have your bullshit anime that suck, but overall this looks like a pretty decent season. Not quite as good as last year’s fall season, but good nevertheless. Now comes the 64 million dollar question: Will I actually watch any of it, or will I continue to ignore anime as I’ve been doing all summer? It’s a good question, and we may never know the answer… well, okay we’ll know the answer in fall, but still… God I need me some Rie Kugimiya. I can’t wait any longer, the watching of Kyousougiga will commence!

UPDATE:

I just found out that Kamisama Hajimemashita is also going to be airing this fall, and I must admit, I’ve read a fair portion of the manga. That being said, I have no ambition to watch this anime (the manga got dumb).

Essentially, it’s about a girl who makes a donation to a shrine where she meets a shrine God who’s kind of an asshole. I think that’s the plot I can’t really remember. I remember that the shrine God is a douche though.