We Don’t Need Another Spring Preview Post

I’ve always tried to make my preview posts a little different. Whether that is through projecting my own ending based on the title name, or just writing crap all over a chart, I’ve tried to make them all different from each other. To be honest, you shouldn’t really go to me for season previews since I hardly know what I’m talking about, and there are better options available. I’ll try to do my best to make this interesting since there are a small number of you out there that subscribe. Fortunately, the anime getting the most buzz is

I had to try that once. There’s no way in hell this is getting 13 comments let alone 130.

The order of this came from when I was putting together my heroic last place finish in the MAL Fantasy Anime League. My entry last spring finished with an historic result by the way. So I’m really going to preview 27(+1) shows in this preview.

Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live

This is the 3rd iteration of this franchise which as far as I can tell has never done much of note. That’s a little unfair, though. A series which sticks entirely to appealing to young girls without any sort of hook for men in their 30s won’t ever get the sort of recognition it deserves. I can’t express much of an opinion, but it’s probably done well enough as a niche genre show to get this third edition.

Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge

Do you ever wonder what happened to the director of such hits as Angel Links and Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito? No, you haven’t. I know you don’t care about such trifling matters. Upon reading the synopsis of this, I couldn’t tell if this was supposed to be a meta-comedy mocking horribly contrived plots, or just a parody series. Unfortunately, I think this is being played entirely seriously. The title of the series is the name of a pair of scissors for cutting hair. That should tell you more than anything I can tell you.

Hayate no Gotoku! Cuties

Now I know this has to be a parody. The fact that this is being done in omnibus style will be mocked endlessly within the series itself. This would have been better a couple years ago as Amagami and Yosuga no Sora were airing, now it’s too late. The fans of the manga will be furious at the studio making this, and also for the fact that it exists. I’m willing to give it a chance. I did like a couple of the comedic set pieces from the fall edition of this franchise. The plot was absolute pants though.

Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince

Nothing quite like a mecha series being directed by the same guy who actually went with the incest route in a harem anime. I’m actually struggling to think of a good mecha series that I’ve watched since I’ve started this blog. It can’t be that hard, can it? I used to love that stuff, now it all seems painfully derivative, but I digress. I’ll admit I don’t know much about this series. That synopsis leaves absolutely nothing to judge it by.

Date A Live

And we have our first harem entry of the preview. Basically this is a story about a Yuji Everylead who has to go on dates with a girl who happened to wipe out most of humanity. Then there are other girls who try to stop him then fall in love with him or help him only to fall in love with him. I don’t know about that last sentence, but I’m 70% sure that’s how it will all turn out. It’s harem anime, a genre we all go to because of how predictable it all is. The director from Majestic Prince is directing this as well, so this will turn out well.

Zettai Bouei Leviathan

The corpse of Gonzo has escaped from its unmarked mass grave (next to Bandai Visual USA) and is bringing bad memories back. I read the synopsis of this and was quickly reminded of Snow Fairy Sugar based on the names of these characters. Well, just Syrup, but Sugar is pure evil. Don’t watch that shit, trust me. Anyway, I’d gather this is an attempt to recapture the Strike Witches formula again with scantly clad cute girls doing magic stuff, only with more of a medieval feel. I think Gonzo will probably not be long for this world again based on this.

Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride

The sequel to a show I dropped after 1 episode. I guess they had extra ink they needed to splatter over the screen for another season of this. The thing I never understood about the premise of this show was how technology never seemed to move on if the Tokugawa shogunate stayed in power. It’s not like there wouldn’t have been an invasion of the country in the late 19th century if they tried to stay closed. The simple fact I’m worrying about this detail shows how little I care about the plot of this show.

Uta no☆Prince-sama♪ Maji Love 2000%

I didn’t even give this a single episode the first go around. I’m sure it’s good as I have it as one of the more popular shows for the coming season. Utapri just isn’t my type of show, and I’m not so willing to throw my life away that I would trash this without seeing it. So I’m going to withhold my opinion until I end up seeing it never.

Kakumeiki Valvrave

Finally, an anime that gets to the heart of the eternal battle between good and neutral. Screw this nation trying to claim neutrality while holding on to something that’s probably as powerful as the Ideon. Just watch out for any unborn children in the area of this mecha for fear of wiping out all life in the universe. Honestly, I’m expecting this to be another Sunrise mecha series that will sell plenty of action figures with a political story that makes as much sense as the policy positions in House of Cards.

Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W

The thing that I think is forgotten in looking at this series was how badly it limped toward the end. The material was running dry. It was only relying on the chemistry between Nyaruko and Mahiro. What I’m really saying is that it wasn’t as good as you remember it being. That first episode was fantastic. The 10th episode was not fantastic. Keep that in mind as you start watching this second season only to find that it isn’t really satisfying your taste for comedy.

Aiura

This is a show about girls who don’t do anything in a world where nothing happens. Who the hell thought this was a good idea conceptually. I will admit the girls are better looking than I expected for a show with this sort of plot, but come on. There is still hope for this show if this trio does genuinely do funny things and it doesn’t come off as acting. But I can’t see that happening here.

Yuyushiki

At least these girls are in a club. These two shows are scheduled against each other. It’s like when they had to 2 movies out about Truman Capote at the same time. No one is going to watch both. There’s only so large a segment of the population who want to watch shows involving 3 girls doing nothing at any one time.

Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-san

A young boy catches an alcoholic mermaid who speaks with a strange accent. Now you’re talking. This looks like a show that would be straight in my wheel house. If I want a slice of life show, I want it to be ridiculous. It can contain fishing, but can’t be as boring as actually fishing. I think this could be one of the surprises of the season. You can let me know when July comes and this is sitting at a 5.98 with 10000 drops on MAL.

Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru.

See that period at the end, it’s evil. It’s there to distract from the fact that punctuation in the title is an attempt to make this stand out. This story isn’t really that unique. It’s a boy with a terrible personality who ends up in a love triangle with 2 cute girls he really doesn’t deserve. He just wanted to be by himself, but he’s coaxed into joining this club. I guess there wouldn’t be much of a show if he wasn’t thrown into this contrived situation. It can only hope to work as well as Oreshura.

Photo Kano

They make this yet there’s no LovePlus adaptation to speak of. I can already see the plot of this show. Generic male lead goes around with his fancy new DSLR and takes skeevy pictures of girls. They fall in love with him because he’s unusually attractive for someone holding a DSLR. Then the man moves on to the next girl as though nothing happened. Sign me up for this shit.

Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko.

There’s that full stop again. I’m telling you, it’s pretty much a warning that the show you are watching will not be any good. As for this one, I read a bunch of the manga on the free wi-fi they had at the airport in Baltimore last year. I didn’t particularly think it was anything special. Once it hit a certain point in the story, it then just seemed to meander into a boring love story type of deal without much of a purpose anymore. I expect much the same from this adaptation, decent out of the blocks and losing momentum fast at the end.

Suisei no Gargantia

This is one of those guy wakes up in a strange world where things are radically different and he has to survive. The danger with shows of this type is exposition. I’m talking Garupan levels of exposition where the story has to be explained to other characters in the series like they are 4. Actually reading the plot, I hope this ends up like that hopeless Kevin Costner vehicle Waterworld. Can you believe at some point in time he was a guaranteed box office star? Then he made that and The Postman.

Karneval

This is one of those series where I think the people writing the synopsis have unintentionally made the series look like a mess. I don’t think the plot is going to be so complicated that it has to be explained in 2 confusingly written paragraphs. I’m sure this series will just be okay. After all, you can trust the director behind the critically acclaimed Kodomo no Jikan. As for me, it’s probably not going to be my cup of soup.

Mushibugyou

This period piece is undoubtedly filled with realism. A portrayal of Edo-era Tokyo where citizens could submit ideas about how to keep the peace was probably real. As were the realistic battles against giant alien crabs spiders to give this series about a young shonen warrior a realistic portrayal. Yes, this has single episode drop written all over it, and I don’t think I’m alone.

Yondemasu yo Azazel-san. Z

There’s that blasted period again. Just stop it. Now. I’ll be perfectly honest about this show. It’s popular in terms of fanbase and good enough there to get a second season. At the same time, I have no clue what this show is about or what makes it special. I really have no idea as I haven’t watched any of it. That hasn’t stopped me from trying to exploit it for personal gain in a fantasy team. Maybe I should give the first season a watch some time.

Devil Survivor 2 The Animation

There is a manga of this. Devil Survivor 2 The Animation The Manga it isn’t called, but it would be hilarious if it were the case. A group of kids get granted powers after making a pact in an attempt to save Japan from aliens or something. Why is Japan so important anyway? Other than the fact that it is the country the source material is made, or the studio making it, or the primary country where people will pay money to buy this series, I don’t see it. Hell, it’s not even a good country to go after if I wanted to break the world. Now Russia, if that country went to hell then most of the world would be screwed. Why don’t you choose them you stupid aliens?

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S

Ah Railgun, how I have absolutely no positive feelings toward you despite being in the same universe as Index. I had a thought about it earlier as far as my preference between the two. Railgun just makes me feel like I’m a fan of the dominant team; always expecting to be good and bitterly disappointed when ever something doesn’t go my way. Index on the other hand makes me feel like I’m cheering for the underdog; the guy who always goes on prolonged speeches and has no power of his own with just one great equalizer. I was watching these shows the wrong way, wasn’t I?

Anata Kangatari

This has a pretty interesting premise. A world where no women are born to succeed a princess so one of the men has to try to pretend to be a successor only it goes horribly wrong. That doesn’t sound familiar to me actually. That’s genuine, believe me. That would actually make a good plot if it focused on the only men portion of this country, but I think instead it will focus itself as an action/chase sort of series. I’ll give this a legitimate shot, honest.

Danchi Tomoo

This is by the director who is also mailing in this latest arc of Space Brothers, so I can’t say this will be any good. This is entirely potential. It could be sensationally good, or it can drag on like the Nazokano adaptation. I’m willing to give this a shot in the sense that I’m willing to also give the shows about girls doing nothing a shot. Something about misadventures piling on each other appeals to me. Maybe Tomoo begins by playing an innocent practical joke and by the end of the story he is discussing with his friends where to dump the body of the hooker that overdosed last night.

Shingeki no Kyojin

Am I the only one who thinks that this series just oozes pretentiousness? I read the first chapter of the manga and it felt like it was already well aware of its own greatness. Regardless, this will probably be the popular series that I drop after 1 episode that proves to be the topic of the blogosphere. In the meantime, I will just write on another series being watched by 4 people. Because it works like that.

Hataraku Maou-sama!

I’m caught in a bad place on this one. First of all, the director did Shuffle! On the other hand, he also did Mirai Nikki, which was evidently good despite the fact I dropped it like it was hot early on. Shuffle! though, I was completely on board with that show (ED: writer’s taste is catastrophic). I think the success of this show really depends on the characters being not annoying. How many times have you seen a show with silly characters in a romantic comedy fail because there’s a gluttonous annoying character who distracts from everything else?

Aku no Hana

This is my pick for best show of the season. Zexcs proved that they could make a romantic drama that was excellent with Sukitte, and I don’t see why this flowery descent-into-hell love story can’t succeed as well.

And that’s about it for the new season. For those who think all that was too long to read, I’ll sum it up in a nice handy table.