Image SourceDisclaimer: The following is my personal (and 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), "kids" shows that I do not intend to watch, shows where there is little to no information available, re-releases, 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!
Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru (OreShura)
Genres: Comedy, Romance, School
Synopsis: Eita enters high school aiming for the National University School of Medicine. Because of his parents' divorce—and his goal—he shuns anything to do with romance or love. One day Masuzu, the school beauty with the silver hair, who has just returned to the country, enters his life in a most unexpected way. Chiwa, his childhood friend since elementary school, will not let this go without a fight.
Personal Hype Level: Moderate. I Will Be Really Happy When Light Novels Stop Using Such Long Names Because They're Impossible To Remember, the light novel. Anyway, I have to admit, I really enjoy love triangles, so I'll be giving this one a look. It doesn't seem like it's going for the pandering/ecchi route and is mainly a high school drama, which I'm okay with. I hope that assumption isn't wrong.
Sasami-san@Ganbaranai
Genres: Comedy, Romance
Synopsis: The story follows a hikikomori named Sasami who is unmotivated about even changing clothes or eating. Her brother takes care of her, even though she despises his slave-like nature. Sasami spends her days viewing the outside world via a "Brother Surveillance Tool" on her computer. In the outside world, the three beautiful Yagami sisters and Sasami's brother are in the middle of relationships worthy of a romantic comedy.
Personal Hype Level: High. It's a Shaft show, which grants it instant-watch status from me. At the very least, it'll be interesting visually.
Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo?
Genres: Fantasy, Supernatural
Synopsis: Izayoi Sakamaki, Asuka Kudou, and You Kasugabe have tremendous psychic powers and are bored with the regular world. An envelope arrives for each person, and when each opens their envelope, they are stunned to see the scenery around them change to a world they had never encountered before. They've been summoned by the Black Rabbit to help the community "No Name" to overthrow the Devil King.
Personal Hype Level: Low. The premise sounds interesting, but the fact that there's a character wearing a bunny/maid uniform who is prominently displayed in a lot of the promo material tells me all that I need to know. Pass.
Senran Kagura Genres: Action, Ecchi Synopsis: There was a time when there were ninja serving the powerful, hired for intelligence missions, destruction, or assassination. While the times have changed, the need for ninjas has not vanished. In a particular school, there are girls in training to become ninja. Asuka, Katsuragi, Hibari, Ikaruga, and Yagiyuu each have a secret technique scroll that they must protect at all times. Personal Hype Level: None. I would love to see an anime that has a plot centered around female ninjas that are not used as fanservice objects. This is not that anime. Pass.
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai (Haganai) Next
Genres: Comedy, Romance, School, Seinen
Synopsis: Second season.
Personal Hype Level: Moderate. I enjoyed parts of the first season, but it left a lot to be desired. You can read my review of it here. I'm giving it a shot, but if it ends up continuing the parts of the show I didn't like, I'll probably drop it.
Puchimas!: Petit iDOLM@STER
Genres: Comedy, Music, Slice of Life, Seinen
Synopsis: From the popular game "THE IDOLM@STER", comes a petit spinoff cute and soothing 4-koma! The setting is the same 765 Production from the games. One day, 765 Pro idols Ami and Mami bring in the mysterious Petit-dols "Afuu" and "Yukipo"!? More and more Petit-dols gather at the offices where everyone works. Leisurely enjoy their daily lives full of laughs and happenings.
Personal Hype Level: Low. The full Idolm@aster show a couple seasons back was a pleasant surprise, making the character's rise to stardom believable and endearing. As a series of shorts with the super-deformed character style? I'm not so sure. I'll give it a look, but I'm not expecting much.
Vividred Operation
Genres: Action, Sci-Fi
Synopsis: An original sci-fi action anime featuring a 14-year-old girl. The story takes place in a peaceful island filled with nature and technology.
Personal Hype Level: None. WHO WEARS SHORT SHORTS? Anyway, this is from the guy who made Strike Witches, so I'll just leave this one to those who enjoy it and say no more. Pass.
Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun
Genres: Action, Fantasy, Shoujo, Supernatural
Synopsis: Five years ago, almost every villager of Ootsuka died due to a tragic plague. But mysteriously enough, three survivors: a girl and two boys, emerged. Now living in a church, the three live in isolation, hidden from those who may seek to find them. Shino, one of the survivors, has control over the power of Murasame, the blade of life. But when the imperial church seeks to take the Murasame for themselves, their peaceful life becomes a thing of the past...
Personal Hype Level: Moderate trending towards low. So the question is this. Is Deen going to be on their game, presenting something that is fun to watch with slightly impressive visuals? Or will this be "lol money" Deen, with melting wax faces and leaps of logic that don't make any sense in the story, making a show that'll be a chore to sit through? It's always a coin toss with them, so I'm approaching this show very cautiously.
Amnesia
Genres: Romance, Shoujo
Synopsis: On the morning of August 1, the heroine wakes up and discovers she has absolutely no memories of the past. A boy appears before her, and introduces himself as a "spirit" named Orion. The heroine struggles to regain her memories under the guidance of Orion. She then gets a phone call, but she does not recognize the name on her mobile phone screen. She meets her apparent "boyfriend," despite not knowing his face.
Personal Hype Level: Moderate trending towards high. Why do I do this to myself? There's a part of me that still feels like it's a novelty to get otome game adaptations, but I haven't found one I've genuinely liked yet... Wait, this one isn't being adapted by Deen or J.C. Staff? Brain's Base has this one? Huh. Maybe this show will actually be decent! ...I can dream, right?
Mangirl!
Genres: Comedy, Slice of Life
Synopsis: Girls without any manga editing experience launch a new manga magazine.
Personal Hype Level: Moderate. And then hijinks ensue, amiright? Anyway, that's quite the title. Without the context, I wouldn't blame people if they thought this was a different kind of show. It does seem pretty cute though, so I'm willing to take a look.
Chihayafuru 2
Genres: Drama, Game, Sports, Josei
Synopsis: Second season.
Personal Hype Level: DO YOU EVEN HAVE TO ASK? I AM SO EXCITED. YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW. THIS SHOW IS AWESOME. IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN WATCHING THIS SHOW YOU NEED TO CHANGE THAT. IMMEDIATELY. THIS SHOW MAKES ME CAPSLOCK, THAT'S HOW MUCH I LOVE IT. I AM COUNTING THE DAYS. COME FASTER, JANUARY.
GJ-bu (Good Job Club)
Genres: Comedy, School, Slice of Life
Synopsis: TV anime adaptation of the GJ-bu moe light novel series, dubbed as the "first four-panel novel", where each story is only four pages long with illustrations.
Personal Hype Level: Low. Nothing about this is really grabbing me, plus it looks like it'll be another one of those three-minute shows. Those are some cute chibis though. Pass.
Yama no Susume
Genres: Slice of Life
Synopsis: The title tells the story of the childhood friends Aoi, a girl who prefers staying inside and who has acrophobia, and Hinata, a girl who loves mountains. The two decide to climb a mountain in order to once again see the morning sun from its peak as they did when they were young.
Personal Hype Level: Moderate trending towards high. Sounds like it could be an interesting friendship story. I'm in.
Cuticle Tantei Inaba
Genres: Action, Comedy, Mystery, Shounen
Synopsis: Private Detective Hiroshi Inaba is an artificially-created being, formed by splicing the genes of both a human and a wolf, who gains information by tasting and examining people's hair, and pretty much has a hair fetish. He can transform into a more wolf-like form, and also gain special powers and perform different attacks depending on the type or colour of hair he eats. Formerly employed by the police and partnered with an officer, he now runs his own private detective agency with the help of his sadistic, cross-dressing secretary Yuuta (often mistaken for a girl), and Kei (a *relatively* normal teenager working part-time at the office. Ogino, the officer formerly partnered with Hiroshi, also often helps out with cases. His arch-enemy is Don Valentino, an evil mastermind goat with a taste (literally) for money, and a variety of messed up but extremely devoted henchman, including gentleman samurai Laurence, who always wears a bag over his head. Most chapters are individual stories revolving around Hiroshi and his friends trying to arrest the Don, always failing miserably.
Personal Hype Level: IDK. Look at that synopsis. I really don't know what to make of that text dump. It's probably just the result of a MAL fan thinking that you have to explain every little thing to get people interested, but it's having the opposite effect on me. The concept of a log line is a beautiful thing; if you can't summarize the main plot in a few sentences, then there's usually too much going on with too little direction. I'll wait to see what other people's impressions are before I decide if I want to watch this.
Maoyuu Maou Yuusha
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance
Synopsis: After a long and treacherous journey, our Hero finally arrives at the Dark Lady's castle only to find himself being asked for help. The Hero explains how the war that the demons have brought upon the humans have killed thousands and put more in misery. The queen of demons however argues that this war has made the human society band together as one and showed empirical evidence how it has increased population, increased production, boosted economy and improved society overall. Furthermore, she explains to the Hero that ending this war will result in a civil war that will produce more bloodshed than there ever was. The Hero, convinced that the only way to bring peace, relatively speaking, is to join forces with the Dark Lady, agrees to help with her plans!
Personal Hype Level: High. A fantasy adventure from the same people who gave us Spice and Wolf. Yes and yes.
Senyuu.
Genres: Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Shounen
Synopsis: Satan Rchimedes returns to the earth after being sealed for one thousand years by a hero. The King tries to seal Satan once again by dispatching descendants of the hero. However, it's troublesome to find the genuine descendants, so the king chooses 75 hero-like people. This is an adventure of Alba, the hero No.45, and an his monitoring fighter Ross.
Personal Hype Level: None. Sounds like it could be funny, but Maoyuu Maou Yuusha is fulfilling my fantasy quota for the season. Sorry, Senyuu. No offense meant.
Kotoura-san
Genres: Comedy, Romance, School
Synopsis: A school love comedy. Kotoura Haruka is a 15-year-old girl who can read people's minds. She has been suffering from troubles caused by her mind-reading ability, and her parents got divorced as a result. She moves to a new high school but tries to keep away from her classmates. Manabe Yoshihisa, one of her classmates, accepts and appreciates her ability and she begins to interact with her friends with his help.
Personal Hype Level: Moderate. Sounds cute, but how much of a factor is the mind reading going to play into the premise? Is it just a gimmick? I'll give it the three episode test and see how it works out.
Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman
Genres: Fantasy, Historical
Synopsis: The story takes place in Kyoto in the late 19th century. Manjiro has two faces. During the day, he works as a helper for people in Kyoto, but he also acts in secret to get back people's properties from the men in power. As the get-backer "Roman", Manjiro is getting involved in a nationwide conspiracy.
Personal Hype Level: Moderate. ...Why does that guy look like Lupin only with crazy hair and a beard? Oh, the character designs were done by Monkey Punch. That's cool... Wait, this is based on a pachinko game? What kind of series can combine Monkey Punch with pachinko? I know that the story itself isn't about pachinko, but still. This is getting my attention just for the sheer weirdness around its existence.
Ai Mai Mi
Genres: Comedy, Slice of Life
Synopsis: The series follows girls in a manga club--Ai, Mai, Mi, and Ponoka-senpai--who might be fighting evil invaders threatening Earth, facing off against rivals in tournaments, and dealing with other absurd situations when they're not drawing manga.
Personal Hype Level: Moderate. What the heck is that girl carrying around? Anyway, I am interested, but I'm not sure if I'll have time to watch it while it's airing... I'll probably marathon it after the season is over and others have weighed in on it. I can also say the same about Mangirl above... It'll probably come down to what does or doesn't get a simulcast.
Ishida to Asakura
Genres: Comedy, School, Seinen
Synopsis: A gag series about two boys in high school. The co-lead Asakura wants to become a teacher at an all-girls school while Ishida wants to become a florist with Asakura.
Personal Hype Level: None. I can find very little about this show, and what I do find isn't interesting to me. I guess I'm ruined forever on this kind of comedy thanks to Daily Lives of High School Boys. Not much else can compare.
Series information from The Rewards of an Anime Fan and MAL. Images from MAL and Google Image Search. Top Image from Pixiv.
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