Well, it looks like I’m the only one doing the preview so it’s probably really biased, but oh well! Enjoy.

So, we’ve been a bit quiet…maybe more than a bit quiet BUT to make up for it, we have a fantastic spring preview for you all. Especially dedicated to our adoring fans (we know you’re there)!

Credits go to Fansubwiki, Animeph and anidb’s calendar. If we’ve left anything out it’s because a). we’re too lazy to comment on it b). it sucks balls or a).+b).

No apologies about the negativity, bias, stereotyping and so on.

Nijuu-Mensou no Musume (Daughter of 20 Faces)

Alex: Something to do with detectives, puns and Edgar Allan Poe. The Poe part is interesting…knowing nothing about the background, I hope it’s not a Ghost Hunt esque thing with different story arcs based on Poe’s short stories about ravens, people buried in the wall, beating hearts, etc. Eh. I may be picking bones, but the skirt endowed girl just doesn’t look likable.

Toshokan Sensou (Library Wars)

Alex: Looks a bit Pumpkin Scissors or something. But it’s librarians fighting censorship of information…in the future. Production I.G. is a trustworthy producer, not always with the best series, but consistent. Like an old dog as Simon Cowell would say. Eh.

Real Drive

Alex: Another Shirow/Production I.G. thing in the stream of Ghost in the Shell, set presumably in the same world with the main character being a cyber diver. It’s listed as a TV series, but the length is yet to be listed. Now, I mentioned I was going to watch Ghost Hound, but I didn’t…however, I’ll be watching this one…maybe. Like, in a year. Yeah.

To Love-Ru

Alex: My attention span crashed and wouldn’t restart while I was attempting to read the synopsis. Yes, I have a bias against anything not science fiction, action or incredibly fucking weird (without ecchi, Haruhi, RANDOM GIRLFRIEND). So what? As a friend of mine would say “anyone who disagrees can go suck giant donkey balls”. Wait, I say that.

Vampire Knight

Alex: Ay carumba. I can’t remember if in a previous life, I read the same story, whether I read a similar one 5 years ago or maybe it was a bad case of food poisoning. In any case, this seems like it’d be one of those semi erotic fanfic fangirl storylines that they live out. Girl gets saved by vampire, a forbidden romance, the jealous lover who can’t quite compare to the vampire. Somebody dies. *yawn*. No wait, in RPG format. ::yawn:: (Of course I’ll be secretly watching it) Also, one of our staff reviewed the manga so click on to the correct section to find it.

Kure-nai

Alex: … some rich little girl who forces some guy to be her bodyguard and thinks he’s engaged to her. I’m pretty sure this has been the subplot of every aloof jerk with a heart of gold anime.

Allison to Lillia (Allison and Lillia)

Alex: Some story about two people looking for treasure that will stop war in a kingdom. Something like that. Reminds me a bit of Last Exile, which was interesting…yes, no, maybe.

Kamen no Maid Guy

Alex: Madhouse again? It has the same look as Neuro. I have a feeling it’s going to be mildly amusing, retarded and probably fail at being quirky in a good sense. Eh. The maid guy part had me almost excited at first. Some girl inheritor who needs protection.

Druaga no To: the Aegis of Uruk

Alex: I swear this is GONZO’s synopsis: In the days of yore, when ice and clouds ruled the Earth, possibly scantily dressed females with impossibly large boobs and giant swords fight for mysterious organizations. The story is pilfered from a couple of recent anime, or is it? More importantly, our animators have perfected the art of giant boobs but with our mysterious promotional poster, the audience will be none the wiser.

Special-A

Alex: If I’ve learned anything from anime tropes, it’s that I dislike student council shows and their oh-so-crazy student council antics and their student council … ness. The only student council that was cool was in Utena because I say so.

xxxHOLIC 2nd Season

Alex: Well, I know nothing about this series (though I should, being a fan of CLAMP, apparently) but the pictures I’ve seen of the first season show incredibly deformed animation skills. I mean, I’ve watched poorly animated YouTube things for 3s, maybe 11 at the most but if it’s oh….produced by Production I.G., I expect a lot better. I’ll pass for sure…can’t get over the grasshoppers.

Kanokon

Alex: What’s that I see? Fox deity, some love polygon I don’t give a fuck about, obnoxious overplayed harem tropes and antics. I just cringe at the day when some alien race or our future descendants unearth our culture and treat this work as the finest relic of our age.

Code Geass Hangyaku no Lelouch Season 2 (Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion 2)

Alex: Hello there, king of crack monkeys. I see your pussy whipped gay boyfriend hasn’t killed you. Will he and that C.C. fight for your affections? More importantly, will this series be accepted into a class on ABSOLUTE NONSENSE AND POINTLESSNESS in 22 minutes or less? I think the answer, my friends, is most likely yes. Error is 1%. Uncertainty is 0.

Nabari no Ou

Alex: Can be rounded down as: boy who has supreme powers, being split between two factions. Conflict, internal and external. Must be a love angle somewhere. Depending on the boy’s personality, it could either be intolerable or attempt to watch the first ep. We’ll see! Excitement bar: 3/100.

Crystal Blaze

Alex: I actually bothered to get the details. It’s a “sexy action” futuristic anime set in New York. Director is the guy who did Saikano. Has potential, but the style would really affect it for me. Well, if it disappoints, now I know, I can just listen to a Finnish band.

I’m not sure if the following are for the spring season but I thought I’d add them anyway as a bonus.

Wagaya no Oinari-sama

Alex: Kitsune/miko girl, fantasy, supernatural…eh, eh, eh.

Himitsu - Top Secret

Alex: Quote from ANN: “The story takes place five decades from now, when brain scanners have been perfected to the point that the government can retrieve up to five years’ worth of memories from people’s minds — even if they are dead. The investigators of the National Research Institute of Police Science’s 9th Forensics Laboratory must weigh the ethical choices in the ultimate invasion of privacy as they delve into people’s minds to solve crimes.”. Interesting, I do enjoy sci-fi. This season’s sci-fi quota is filling up slowly.

Monochrome Factor

Alex: Quote from TOKYOPOP: “Akira Nikaido is a typical slacker high school student who thinks he has a normal life–until a mysterious man called Shirogane appears and tells him to meet him at the school that night. He is skeptical but goes anyway…and gets attacked by a shadow monster! Shirogane convinces him that the balance between the human world and the shadow world has been distorted, and that Akira must become a shin–a creature of the shadow world–in order to help restore the balance.” Isn’t this kind of like that Nabari no Ou? Not that both are really pieces exhibiting original plot.

And now for very brief mentions because I don’t care too much.

Soul Eater: I foresee a semi successful Nintendo DS RPG.
Da Capo II Second Season: This must be one of those never-ending “series” that come up every few seasons or so.
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D`s: What the hell happened to Yugi’s hair? Is that even him? Do I care? No?
Ikuze Gen-san: Based on a psp game.
Kyou Kara Maou! 3rd Season: Self explanatory.
Itazura na Kiss: Yikes! I loved the Taiwanese drama and the story is cute, honestly. So hopefully this will turn out to be great…and not overly serious like the Hana Kimi Japanese drama.
Junjou Romantica: About yaoi couples, something like that.
Amatsuki: Boy who may or may not be trapped in a virtual game.
Kyouran Kazoku Nikki: Quote from ANN: “The novels depict the not-so-normal life of a “family” that includes a catgirl “mother,” a lion “son,” a living land-combat android weapon “son,” a jellyfish-like otherworldly “daughter,” and a hapless 27-year-old military officer as their “father.” This motley “family” was assembled as part of the Imperial Japanese Anti-Paranormal Phenomena Section’s Special Operations Forces to save Earth in 2063.”
Kaiba: Some sci-fi, love story with goofy looking characters (and possibly animation).
Blassreiter: Looks like I missed this somehow, but it’s a GONZO collab. with nitroplus. Another demon fighting anime basically…I watch those but it’s no longer exciting. Claymore was an exception though since it had an interesting setting but this one…if it’s anything like Dragonaut…

Well, that’s a wrap!

Tags: preview, spring 2008 anime

Category: Previews

A. Papillon is not amused.