The Anime Alley

Fall 2011 TV series
Fall 2011 Movies and OAVs

Here's what I'm planning on:

Working'!! - Loved the first season, can't wait for the second. Easily one of my most anticipated titles of the season.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukinai - Could be good, has some potential. Probably end up being another MM! (which was OK, but never reached its potential), but we'll see.

Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon - There's a ton of potential in the story, hope it doesn't get lost in the tons of fanservice potential.

Busou Shinki Moon Angel - Think Angelic Layer with an actual toy tie-in. Only issue I have with this is that the toys are really expensive and sell fast. I don't need another figure line to collect!

Kimi to Boku - Could be good, looks like a fairly easy going comedy and surprisingly not a BL title.

Ben-To - Strange, yet very original premise, could be a lot of fun.

Hunter X Hunter - I honestly know next to nothing about Hunter X Hunter, but it's a very popular shonen title so I feel like I need to see this version. I think I read the first chapter of the manga in US Shonen Jump, but I don't remember any of it. I imagine Viz will pick this up for streaming.

Bakuman Second Season - Took me a while to warm up to the first season until they added rivals and their unusual friendship, really enjoyed it after that. Looking forward to the next season.

Shinryaku!? Ika-Musume - Hell yes! Squid Girl is almost as funny as Nichijou!

Guilty Crown - It'll be kinda hard to watch a show about a teen with a mysterious power in his right hand and not draw comparisons to Magical Index. Still, seems like it could be good.

Tamayura Hitotose - The season is a bit lacking in good slice of life titles so this is a welcome show. Some Japanese culture and photography thrown in and we've got a good thing going.

Mirai Nikki - Been meaning to watch the OAV, I feel like I probably should before I watch this. The story sounds good enough.

Persona 4 The Animation - Absolute must watch title.

Last Exile - Ginkyou no Fam - Hoping this can make up for the disappointing ending of the first series.

Fate/Zero - This one is also very high on my watch list.

Infinite Stratos - Koi ni Kogareru Sextet - The series was OK, may as well catch the OAV, too.

The World God Only Knows - Four People and an Idol - I loved both seasons so this OAV is a must watch.

Deadman Wonderland OAV - Really just a bonus episode, but more is a good thing.

Seitokai Yakuindomo OAV - Not the type of show I normally go for, but I found the original series very enjoyable so I'm looking forward to this sequel.

Carnival Phantasm Second Season - Yes please!

Yozakura Quartet OAV 3 - Enjoyed the TV series and loved the first two OAVs, looking forward to another episode!

Eiyuu Densetsu: Sora no Kiseki - Sounds interesting. The first game that this is based on just got released this year on the PSP in the US (under the title The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky) so if this is any good I might buy the game.

To Aru Hikuushi e no Tsuioku movie - There's been talk about this one for a few years now and its had my interest almost as long. Just hope it's worth the wait.

Horutabi no Mori e movie - I love Natsume Yujinchou so this is a no brainer!

Might try:

Chihayafuru - It sounds interesting enough. I wonder if a show about a card game can keep my attention longer than Saki did.

Mobile Suit Gundam Age - I'm a little lukewarm about this one. Gundam is already a commercial success and has been for some 30 years. I don't get why they feel like they need to seemingly skew younger with this one. Hope I'm wrong and we get the same intense Gundam action we're used to, but I'm not so sure.

C3 - I don't know a whole lot about it, just that a lot of people seem to be looking forward to it. Kinda sounds like Dragon Crisis to me.

Maken-Ki - Sounds like another Infinite Stratos. Could be fun even if it is kinda mindless.

Un-Go - The trailer didn't do much for me and I'm not sure what to think of the girl in the panda suit. I'll give it a shot, not expecting as much as others seem to be though.

Phi Brain - Eh, might be fun, nothing about it has really blown me away yet.

Scryed Alteration Movie - Not sure if condensing an already condensed story is a bright idea.

Long list this season... I'm pretty flexible, though, and a lot depends on streaming and fansub groups.

Emerje

This season looks like it's gonna be pretty good! I'm looking forward the most to Working'!!, Ben-to, Ika Musume se2, Eiyuu Densetsu:Sora no Kiseki (I love the game it's based on,) and the josei show about card battles. Mirai Nikki sounds interesting too.

I never got to read the ending to Future Diary because of...well Tokyopop (2 frickin' volumes! Someone rescue this damn series!) so sure, most of it won't be a surprise to me at least until the end. But I'm also curious to see how it'll look animated and how violent it gets. I don't think you need to see the OVA before the series btw, I hear it's just a teaser anyway.

Persona 4-still debating, I mean, I kinda already played the game and I honestly preferred P3's story better. I'll still check out the OST at the very least.

Phi Brain-Now this is what I want to see! I hardly know anything about it, but contrary to the ANNCast of assuming it will be boring, I am going to assume that it will be awesome because Junichi Sato is awesome and that's all I really need. The guy directed Princess Tutu, a magical girl series about ballerinas, and made it quite possibly the most awesome anime in existence if you ask me. I tend to look at the directors or creators more than the premise, a good director or creator can make anything interesting, just look at Fumi Yoshinaga who made Flower of Life, without a doubt the best high school dramedy manga I have ever read. And what's on Junichi Sato's directors resume? Princess-effin'-Tutu, Aria, Kaleido Star, and Junkers, Come Here! (for stuff I haven't seen, there's Magic User's Club, Pretear, Sgt. Frog, and a little show called Sailor-freakin-Moon). Oh and he did storyboards for the Cowboy Bebop ep "Speak Like a Child", only my favorite Bebop ep even before I knew he did work on it. I have no reason to not jump right on this.

Tamayura Hitotose-a twofer this season on Junichi Sato! Ditto for above

P4's soundtrack sounds pretty damn sexy so that'll be something. I wasn't a fan of the gameplay or plot though. Persona felt a little too empty for me to enjoy it.

Chihayafuru is the only show I'm really looking forward to. There are a few others I'm interested in.

If Shion no Ou can make it work so can Chihayafuru, especially since it's josei.

Only decided to watch a few series this season

Squid girl 2

Working 2

Horizon on the middle of Nowhere (Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon)- I suspect I have the highest chance of dropping.

Hunter x Hunter- going to give it a try as it's one of the more famous (but not top tier level famous) shows out there.

Ben-to- the premise sounds sound odd/stupid so I had to try it.

Mirai Nikki


I haven't seen the first seasons of Last Exile or fate stay yet, so I may watch them at a later point.

Well a remake HxH may or may not do the original true justice.

I was planning to not respond, but only because it's tl;dw (too long; didn't write), though I have a little lack of laziness right now.

Fall 2011

Good-looking season. I've already started watching Working'!! Also finally found out why the English title is "Wagnaria!!" – the name of the restaurant. (Never noticed before.)

Guess which one's obvious? Last Exile. That's all, yo.

Un-Go – Hells to the of course. Director of the original Fullmetal Alchemist, plus noitaminA. And it looks great, too.

Guilty Crown – Definite yes. The Web site's fantastic, as well as the art, and I'm a fan of the director.

Fate/Zero – Never saw the original, but since this looks so rad I might as well start here. It's a prequel, after all.

Kimi to Boku – Total definite. Looks like K-ON! or whatever for chicks. I already like two (and a half) of the guys simply 'cause of their designs. <3

Tamayura Hitotose – Aria director, check; liked the OAV, yes.


Still on the Maybe list are:

Chihayafuru – Appealing new josei series. Love the art.

Mirai Nikki – Need to watch the pilot first.


Other:

Possibly Shimanchu MiRiKa. And Squid Girl season two, but only if I can finish season one (which I probably won't).

Hunter X Hunter is up in the air for now.

I'm not sure just yet how I feel about Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere. Could go either way, really.

Somewhat interested in a little preview of Mashiro-iro Symphony since manglobe is producing... weird. Probably doesn't mean anything.

Yeah, Fate/Zero being a prequel means you can watch this without having seen Fate/Stay Night first. You might miss out on some of the OMG moments when things are revealed about some of the F/SN characters' childhoods, but it shouldn't detract from your enjoyment of the series.

I think the same can be said for Last Exile, too, I don't think you need to have seen the original to enjoy this one (or curse at it, whatever the case may be).

Emerje

OK, watched the Mirai Niki pilot and I'm really looking forward to the series now. Has sort of a Deadman Wonderland meets Death Note vibe to it, though it's unknown how graphic this one will be (the pilot features some crazy maid blowing up a school roof and hands can bee seen in the rubble). Lots of potential.

Oh, and Squid Girl season 2 starts today!

Emerje

Pastachan wrote:Guess which one's obvious? Last Exile. That's all, yo.

Un-Go – Hells to the of course. Director of the original Fullmetal Alchemist, plus noitaminA. And it looks great, too.

Guilty Crown – Definite yes. The Web site's fantastic, as well as the art, and I'm a fan of the director.

What she said.

I'm really excited in particular for Guilty Crown. It's the first original project for Araki, so I'm interested to see how he handles the material.

Took a look at Un-Go. I'm not sold on the plot, but I love the art and animation shown in the previews. The sharp style is right up my alley.

Oh, so I realized that Persona 4 is the "first" anime related to the series. Is that right? And this is excusing "trinity soul" or whatever that is. Anyway, I like the director and look of the show. I wonder if it'd be worth watching?

Is the Persona series good? I know it has a lot of fans, but so does Final Fantasy.

Also, definitely NOT going to watch Horizon now. The trailer was gross.

Persona has a lot of style going for it. It features some pretty kick ass dance music too lol. The characters are usually too "typical anime teens" for me to care about and the plots are too outrageous for their own good.

Despite my complaints I loved the 2nd game. The 3rd and 4th games are stylish and sexy with cool stories that don't have a strong enough impact due to the weak characters.

I'm in the middle of playing the first installment of Persona 2 and finding it to be a lot better than the first (which I didn't even finish). Persona 3 is my favorite, it's the only one that felt like it was a threat to the world where the others are fairly small in scope, usually just effecting the local area until the end. One of the biggest draws for Persona is that the characters are just normal teens who find themselves in very abnormal situations. Most of them don't even have very interesting back stories, but it's how they respond to those abnormal situations that make them interesting. I have a lot of fun playing them.

Yeah, this is the first Persona anime to be based entirely on one of the games, Trinity Soul is a sequel to Persona 3, though it's lacking most of the stuff that makes Persona cool.

Emerje

Persona is definitely a niche series that's becoming huge. Fora good reason, im still playing 4 and im glad this is the one that's getting the anime AND THE FIGHTING GAME, that's right Aksys who does Blazblue or Guilty Gear is doing a P4 fighting game that also has Aegis from 3.
Anyway ya the world is cool in most of these games, the characters are just normal anime teens but that makes it all the more cruel for the shit that happens. The music is also really good for all of them, and for anyone who's heard the Guilty Gear or Blazblue music you know that's good, so think of the crossover soundtrack
My brain is exploding./
It's also part dating/friendship sim because you have to grow relationships to create stronger monsters and have stronger team mates in battle.
And the FFXIII battle system is like an extremely advanced version of the Persona system for those who are interested, only you can choose to control the whole dang party lol

Fate/Zero- I was kinda amazed at how little animation this episode had for the amount of money they must have. Even the storyboarding didn't help much when it came to at least having the discussion being presented in an entertaining way. The one scene with the two dudes circling around one guy while they were talking was the most awkward thing I'd seen in a while. On top of that, a lot of dialogue right from the beginning involved the characters talking about stuff I had no idea about. Even once I understand what was going on, the conversations were still dull. Some character animation would have been welcome. >.<

I still made it to the end, but the next episode is make it or break it for me. The amount of hype this show has is pretty much the main reason I even stuck around for those 50 minutes.

Hunter x Hunter- never seen the original, but I enjoyed for what it was. Fans of the original are complaining that they cut out a lot of stuff and that the pacing seemed rushed, but seeing as how I have nothing to directly compare it to I didn't notice that. I'll keep on following this one since it's an easy watch on a Saturday night.