Winter 2013/14 Preview

Better late than never! I'm still super busy with school, but I wanted to get out a preview post anyway. The year is almost over (holy crap, where did all the time go?) and the Fall season will start wrapping up soon as well, so it's time to get excited--and then be disappointed several weeks later. Such is the life of seasonal anime watching.

Like last time, my schedule won't allow for me to pick up more than a few shows--thesis quarter, here I come!--so I'm stricter with my "to watch" list than I would be otherwise.

Disclaimer: The following is my personal (and sometimes embellished) opinion based on the information available and is subject to change throughout the upcoming season. None of the opinions expressed are directed at any individual. You are welcome to express your opinion in the comments section, but anything overwhelming negative (name calling, abusive trolling, etc.) will be deleted.

This preview does not include: upcoming movies, OVAs, special episodes, sequels to shows that I have not seen the first season of (when seeing the first season is necessary to understand the plot), spinoffs that I have not seen the original material for, "kids" shows that I do not intend to watch, shows where there is little to no information available, re-releases, adaptations of games that I have not played, and shows intended to be shown on mobile platforms in Japan (such as cell phones).

Overall, please respect others' opinions and feel free to share what you're excited about in the comments below!

Buddy Complex
Genres: Sci-fi, Mecha, Drama, Shounen, Action
Synopsis: Aoba Watase, a high school boy living in a city called Maihama, leads a normal life of school, romance, and the swim club. Watase’s life changes when he sees a beautiful girl, Hina Yumihara, at the pool one day and discovers he is initially the only person who can see her. In order to keep his high school’s swimming club open by recruiting more members, Watase hopes to enlist Hinao to appear in a promo video shot by Watase’s close friend, Gengo. Hina agrees, but on the condition that he does something for her in exchange – pilot a mecha for an organization known as Celebrum. Agreeing to her request, Watase is drawn into a world of fighting giant robots in a game-like world that he must save from Deutera Areas formed by aliens known as Gards-orm that threaten to destroy the earth. However, Watase soon comes to realize that the world that he is living in might not even be real at all and begins to find that everything he is doing is strangely familiar. As he questions the nature of the reality he lives in, Hina must continue to fight in order to protect the lives of those important to him.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Low. I find it kind of funny that Sunrise has the latest announcement of the season, like, "LOOK HERE WE ARE HERE IS MECHA YOU WANT MECHA WE GOT MECHA!" Anyway, I've recently realized that I like my mecha with a high dose of ridiculous plotlines, so this doesn't do much for me. Pass.


Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! 2
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, School, Slice of Life
Synopsis: Second season.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: High. I really enjoyed the first season, but I'm still not sure where they're going to take this one plot-wise. Hopefully it doesn't jump the shark.


D-Frag!
Genres: Comedy, School, Seinen
Synopsis: Kazama Kenji likes to believe he is something of a delinquent. Moreover, others seem to like to agree that he is. Of course, Kenji's gang finds their way to a group of four not-so-normal girls—Chitose, Sakura, Minami and Roka—and all at once, whatever reputation he may have is nothing compared to the outrageous behavior of the girls. Shanghaied into joining their club, what will happen to his everyday life from that point on?
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Low. Nothing here is really grabbing me. And they've announced voice actors but not staff? Weird.


Silver Spoon 2
Genres: Comedy, School, Shounen, Slice of Life
Synopsis: Second season.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: High. This isn't so much of a second season as it is a continuation, with the whole "split-cour" thing. In any case, the first half was solid, and I'm excited to see what the characters do next.


Go! Go! 575
Genres: Music, Slice of Life
Synopsis: Go! Go! 575 adapts the Project 575 games for PlayStation Vita and iOS, which allow anyone to create songs using the traditional Japanese 5-7-5-syllable meter found in haiku and tanka poems.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Low. At first glance I thought that this was the Idolm@ster clone (must be the numbers), but nope! It's a...karuta Idolm@ster clone. Huh. Call me if it's anything like Chihayafuru. (But I won't hold my breath.)


Hamatora The Animation
Genres: Game, Shounen, Super Power
Synopsis: This story unfolds on the stage of Yokohama in 2014, and centers around the special abilities referred to as "Minimum" or "Minor miracles."
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Low. This is one of those mixed media things, which means that there will also be a game and a book among some other stuff covering other aspects of the storyline that us westerners will probably never get to see. In any case, even though this is not technically a game adaptation, seeing Seiji Kishi as director killed the little interest I had in the show. I don't think he understands the difference between games and TV shows, so I'm passing on this.


Hoozuki no Reitetsu
Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Slice of Life, Supernatural
Synopsis: Hoozuki is the aide to the great king of Hell, King Enma. Calm and super-sadistic, Hoozuki tries to resolve the various problems in Hell, including a rampaging Momotarou and his companions. However, he also likes spending his free time on his hobbies, such as fawning over cute animals and raising "Goldfish Flowers."
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: High. They had me at supernatural slice-of-life. The premise sounds really interesting, and the director was also responsible for Kimi ni Todoke, so I'm expecting something slow and visually interesting. I can hardly wait!


Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha.
Genres: Comedy, Supernatural, School, Romance
Synopsis: Fushimi Inari is a shy, not-so-bright middle school girl living in Kyoto's Fushimi ward. She has a crush on her classmate Tanbabashi, but cannot express her feelings. One day, as thanks for helping a fox pup, the deity Ukanomitamanokami grants her the ability to change her form.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Low. It seems like a perfectly nice show (the director worked on Utena, which is always a good thing to see on someone's credit list) but Hoozuki no Reitetsu is filling my supernatural quota for the season. I might watch it later if the buzz is good.


Mahou Sensou
Genres: Action, Fantasy, Magic
Synopsis: In this modern magic action story, Takeshi Nanase is an ordinary high school boy who has a somewhat dark past. Due to certain circumstances, he formed a "fake" couple with his childhood friend Kurumi Isoshima, but otherwise, he lives a normal life. However, one day, he comes across a girl named Mui Aiba, in a uniform he has never seen before, collapsed on the school campus. This encounters changes Takeshi's destiny completely. Mui tells Takeshi that she is a magician, and she apologizes, for she turned Takeshi into a magician, too. What Takeshi once knew as one world is actually two — the world where magicians live and the world where humans live.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: None. In today's news, a light novel adaptation promises an epic storyline involving magic and a dark past, but will probably end up as yet another thinly veiled excuse for harem antics. And now, the weather.


Mikakunin de Shinkoukei
Genres: Seinen
Synopsis: The comedy revolves around Kobeni Yonomori, who on her 16th birthday suddenly has a young man with little presence named Hakuya Mitsumine and his younger sister Mashiro appear in front of her. It turns out that Hakuya is her fiancee, and Mashiro is her future sister-in-law. The three (and Konbeni’s older sister Benio) start living together underneath the same roof, and hilarious happenings occur.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: None. The genre says seinen, but my anime cliche radar says harem.


Nisekoi
Genres: Comedy, Romance, Shounen
Synopsis: As a child, Raku Ichijo made a secret promise with his childhood sweetheart, keeping a pendant as a memento while his love took the key. He dreams of one day meeting his past love, but years later, reality smashes his hopes when Chitoge Kirisaki accidentally knees him in the face... Though Raku's a normal high schooler, his family heads the notorious yakuza gang the Shuei-Gumi faction! And he's dragged into family affairs when he's forced into a relationship with Chitoge, the daughter of a rival gang's boss!
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Moderate. I've heard a lot of buzz about the manga, yet (you might be noticing a trend here) it sounds like a harem setup. I guess the gang war thing makes it kinda unique, but I'm honestly not really understanding the excitement on this one. I'm going to wait to see what others say about the adaptation before deciding if I'll watch it or not.


Robot Girls Z Genres: Comedy
Synopsis: The story revolves around a new team of "Toei robot girls" named "Team Z" that is made up of three girls based on Toei's Mazinger Z franchise: Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger, and UFO Robot Grendizer. Usually they perform in activities around Nerima ward in Tokyo to raise the awareness of the promising future energy source "Photon Power" (koushiryoku). However, there are times when "Mechanical Beast" team of girls emerge from the "Subterranean Empire" and attempt to steal the energy. Thus "Team Z" has to battle them to prevent this, though sometimes they just go and beat up the "bad girls" to relieve stress.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Low. It looks like this will be short, reference-based nostalgia humor, so you'll know right away whether this will appeal to you or not. As I've said before and will say again, mecha is not really my cup of tea, so I'm gonna leave this one to the fans.


Nobunaga the Fool
Genres: Sci-fi, Mecha
Synopsis: The Western Planet and the Eastern Planet. Once upon a time, the two sides were bound by the "Dragon Pulse" spanning the heavens. The civilization that once had prospered has now turned to a tale of dreams, as the inextinguishable flames of war tear the realm asunder. The two planets remain engulfed in endless battles. The return of the super technology known as "sacred treasures" could revolutionize the world order, but no one knows of them but one person — a "heretical girl." A girl from the Western Panet, Jeanne Kaguya d'Arc, saw heavenly visions of the birth of a "Star Messiah" who will save the world. She embarks on a journey to the Eastern Planet with Leonardo da Vinci, "the one who observes the world." They come across the heretic of the Eastern Planet and "the greatest fool of the day," Oda Nobunaga.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: None. Woooow. This is the most anime synopsis I've read in my life. Part of me even wants to believe that it's a parody, like one of those over-the-top series in otaku humor shows. But it's real! It does get points for not having the Oda Nobunaga character as a high school girl though.


Nobunagun
Genres: Action, Shounen, Supernatural
Synopsis: Shio Ogura is a Japanese high school student, who is visiting Taiwan on a school trip when she is suddenly attacked by monsters. Agents known as "E-Gene Holders" from the government agency DOGOO also arrive, who wield weapons infused with the spirits of historical figures. Shio is revealed to also be an E-Gene Holder when the soul of Oda Nobunaga awakens after she tries to rescue a friend.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: None. ...I spoke too soon. It honestly sounds like an okay premise, but "Oda Nobunaga as a high school girl" is getting old.


Noragami
Genres: Action, Adventure, Shounen
Synopsis: At the boundary between this realm and another, there live eight million gods, dead spirits who serve the gods, and other assorted spirits who help and meddle in the affairs of humans. A sweet middle school girl named Hiyori Iki has been enduring bullying from her classmates, and she goes to the restroom by herself to cry. Scrawled on the bathroom wall is a phone number and the message, "I solve your troubles."
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Low. Another series where my reaction is "eh." Nothing's grabbing me, so it's a pass.


Nourin
Genres: Comedy, Romance, School
Synopsis: When the national idol Kusakabe Yuka suddenly retired from the entertainment business, it shocked the world and it devastated teenager Hata Kosaku. Kosaku was Yuka's biggest fan and her departure left him depressed. His classmates at the Tamo Agriculture School finally are able to get him to leave his room and attend his class, but to everyone's amazement, Kusakabe Yuka (her stage name) comes into the class under the name Kinoshita Ringo as a transfer student. Kosaku realizes he has the once in a lifetime opportunity to get to personally know his dream girl and, together with his group of friends, try to find out why she is here and become closer than just classmates.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Low. So... Silver Spoon but with idols...? What? I admit that I'm curious to see how that works out, but as I mentioned at the top of this post, I don't have a lot of time. Pass.


Oneechan ga Kita
Genres: Sienen, Comedy, WTF
Synopsis: The story revolves around Tomoya Mizuhara, a 13-year-old boy who suddenly gains a big sister when his father remarries. 17-year-old Ichika is a little strange, and her affection for Tomoya is rather overwhelming, if not scary. On top of things, Ichika's friend Ruri is the ultimate sadist. Then there is Ichika's big-breasted quarter-Japanese friend Marina.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level:



Saki: Zenkoku-hen
Genres: Game, School, Slice of Life
Synopsis: Sequel to the Saki series covering the Inter High School Mahjong Championships.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Moderate. All right, back to the side of Saki that I actually care abou--wait. Why is Nodoka not wearing any underwear?


Sakura Trick
Genres: Romance, School, Yuri, Slice of Life
Synopsis: The story revolves around Haruka and Yuu, two girls who go to a high school that is slated to be shut down in three years. To share something special between them, they share a kiss, and their relationship deepens from that moment onward.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Moderate. Yuri series are rare enough that I'm willing to give this one a go. Also, it looks adorable, which is more than enough of a reason to watch a romance series in my book.


Sekai Seifuku: Bouryaku no Zvezda
Genres: Action, Fantasy
Synopsis: The story follows Zvezda, a secret society bent on glorious world conquest—and led by a little girl.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Low. The fact that their leader is wearing a skimpy outfit puts me off the entire thing. Pass.


Super Sonico The Animation
Genres: N/A
Synopsis: Super Sonico is the mascot girl of the "Nitro Super Sonic" events held by Nitroplus. In her back story, she is already a photoshoot model, game character, and a musician, even as she studies as a college student.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Low. This is kind of a strange one. Sonico is a weirdly popular character with tons of figures, many NSFW. When I first got into the figure collecting scene I thought she was some kind of famous hentai character or something, since it seems like no figure exhibition can go by without an announcement of a new figure of her in another compromising position. But nope, she's literally just a mascot character with no other backstory whatsoever. To that end, I have no idea what this anime will be like. My current guess is comedy fanservice. Anything serious would likely make even less sense.


Z/X IGNITION
Genres: Game
Synopsis: The story is set in the not-so-distant future. Five "Black Points" suddenly appeared around the world as portals to parallel worlds. Immediately after, strange creatures began their invasion from these portals. These creatures are the inhabitants of five worlds — the same worlds in different timeframes. In order to ensure their own future timeframe survives, each of the five invasion forces battle to wipe the other future timeframes out. The key is one card-shaped device.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Low. I'm not sure if this one has a tie-in card game or not, but it certainly sounds like it does. Aside from that, this sounds really generic. Pass.


Space☆Dandy
Genres: Comedy, Sci-Fi, Space
Synopsis: The lead character Dandy is an alien hunter and the "dandiest man in space." The anime is set far in the future where people have gone to the far reaches of the universe. Dandy is searching for aliens that no one has found before with his robot partner QT.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: High. I try not to let myself get hyped for anything because of past burns, but I'm really hyped for this. It has an amazing staff (Shinichiro Watanabe is directing), the previews look great, and it'll be close-to-simulcast on Toonami. That last part alone is huge news for anime on TV. Watanabe also described the show as "25 episodes of Mushroom Samba," which you should all remember as that episode of Cowboy Bebop where they got high. If that doesn't sell you on this show, then I don't know what will.


Strange+
Genres: Comedy, Shoujo, Slice of Life
Synopsis: The story begins with a teenaged boy named Kou who came to the slums to search for Takumi, his missing big brother who ran away years ago. The brothers reunite, and it turns out that Takumi now heads the Mikuni Detective Agency. Kou wants to bring Takumi back, but he doesn't want go back home himself. So, he starts working at the agency, doing odds and ends.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: None. Nothing is standing out to me about this series either, but I would like to take a moment to mention that according to MAL, the director of this show apparently made his own hentai. He's credited as director, scriptwriter, storyboarder, and animation director as well as for the key animation and the character design on a single NTR hentai. I don't know why I find this so funny, but I thought I would share.


Tonari no Seki-kun
Genres: Comedy, School, Seinen
Synopsis: The original manga revolves around a girl named Yokoi who sits next to a boy only known as Seki-kun. During class, Seki-kun continues to not pay attention and instead creates amazing little distractions, such as a detailed golf course with the course's hole being a dent in his desk, or an entire dramatic war being played out by paper shogi pieces. Yokoi often finds herself getting reluctantly interested in his games, even though they always seem to end up getting HER in trouble with the teacher!
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Moderate. I was initially going to pass on this one, but since it has a shorter running time and gives off a kind of Nichijou vibe, I'm giving it a shot.


Wake Up, Girls!
Genres: Music, Slice of Life
Synopsis: Green Leaves Entertainment is a tiny production company on the verge of going out of business in Sendai, the biggest city in Japan's northeastern Tohoku region. The agency once managed the careers of magicians, photo idols, fortune-tellers, and other entertainers, but its last remaining client finally quit. In danger of having zero talent (literally), the president Tange hatches an idea of producing an idol group. On the brash president's orders, the dissatisfied manager Matsuda heads out to scout raw talent. Matsuda makes a fateful encounter with a certain girl…
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Low. Yamakan saves anime with an Idolm@ster clone. Pass.


Witch Craft Works
Genres: Action, Fantasy, Supernatural, Seinen
Synopsis: Takamiya Honoka is a regular student whose only problem seems to be that he sits next to Kagari Ayaka, the school's #1 beauty. They have never spoken to each other before and any small interaction between them immediately results in her fanclub beating him. Yet when a falling part of the school's building is about to send him to the afterlife, it's Kagari that comes to his rescue. Only... she's dressed as a witch, carrying him in her arms and floating on a broom?! Kagari tells him it is her mission to protect him and that now she can finally protect him openly rather than undercover.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Low. Another bland-sounding magical girlfriend series. Pass.


Wizard Barristers
Genres: Magic
Synopsis: The story takes place in Tokyo in 2018, where normal humans and those who can use magic coexist. As a result, there are laws against using magic, and a "magic courtroom" exists to preside over lawsuits regarding magic use. In these cases, "Benmashi" or wizard barristers defend those who use magic. The anime follows Cecil, the youngest Benmashi in history, and her associates as they defend clients in these cases.
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level: Low. The premise sounds good, but it's being animated by Arms, which means an unnecessary amount of attention to boob physics. Also, it's being directed by the same guy who's working on Galelei Donna this season, which has been underwhelming at best. Pass.


Lately, My Little Sister’s Been Acting A Bit Strange
Genres: Comedy, Romance, Shounen, WTF
Synopsis: In the romance comedy, a girl named Mitsuki Kanzaki lives with her step-brother Yuya after her mother remarries. One day, Mitsuki is possessed by the self-proclaimed spirit of a young girl, Hiyori Kotobuki. Hiyori (in Mitsuki's body) must fall in love with Yuya to move towards the "Gates of Heaven." Also known as the "little sister chastity belt anime."
Thoughts/Personal Hype Level:

Japan. You really need to stop. Please stop.

Series information from AniChart and Stargazed Charts. Pictures from MyAnimeList and Google. Top Image is an official image from the Snow Miku 2013 campaign.