Winter 2008 Preview
Again, I left this to the last minute…sigh. Thankfully, winter is never a big season, so there aren’t many premieres next month. There are some that already catch my attention though: Aria and Rosario to Vampire are the major ones thus far though. In terms of blogging, I’ll probably add two or three new series. I’m very tempted to blog Aria, but it’s not a show you can really write about. I’ve listed 20 new shows, with one being an OAV since I reckon it’s pretty important. Anyway, as always, please don’t flame me or anything if the info is wrong. Just point it out in the comments or something. =)
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Sisters of Wellber Zwei Japanese Title: ウエルベールの物語 ～Sisters of Wellber～ 第二幕 Probability of watching this: Very Low The sequel to the 13 episode Sisters of Wellber that aired during spring 2007—and one which I didn’t watch, so there’s no chance of me picking it up now. Obviously, if you liked the first season, you should check the second season out. Sisters of Wellber is about fancy royalties, kingdoms, recent-past gunmen and the like. The first season follows the travels of Rita and her gun-toting friend, Tina. Well, more specifically, their journey to some far off land to prevent war in their own countries. The second season will take off from where the first season leaves off—Rita is about to accept her duties as ruler, but Tina is still bent on finding the man who killed her family (thus the reason she travelled to Greedom). |
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Rosario to Vampire Japanese Title: ロザリオとバンパイア Probability of watching this: Very High Hmm, Gonzo again. That’s a worry. Not to mention the fact that the OP and ED are by the same artist. Oh well, what satisfies me is that the character design looks GOOD. I’ve read a bit of the manga, and I hate the character design. But thankfully, it seems the anime has solved that. Anyway, Tsukune Aono manages to fail every high school entrance exam he takes, so his parents send him to a private school after receiving a flyer from a bum/priest guy. The school turns out to be one for monsters, and no humans are allowed. While things look bad for Tsukune, he meets a vampire girl who becomes very fond of his blood. These two are the primary contenders for a love affair here, but as this is a harem, other characters come into play as well. The manga is ecchi, but I don’t know about the anime. Anyway, the manga is pretty fun to read, so I’m looking forward to seeing it animated. Moka, the vampire girl, is being voiced by Nana Mizuki, and you’ll most likely know of her from roles like Hinata of Naruto, Misaki of DtB, and Fate of the Nanoha series. |
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H2O: Footprints in the Sand Japanese Title: H2O: Footprints in the Sand Probability of watching this: Above Average Takuma Hirose, a high school student (male, obviously), who is also blind. Being the main character of a visual novel adaptation, it’s clear what kind of harem activities he will soon be engaging in shortly after the beginning of the show (unless there are less than two ‘choices’…that would be surprising). Oh and, apparently, his blindness is not incurable. Well, the artwork looks quite promising, and the blind lead adds an extra twist to things, so maybe this won’t just be another typical harem to watch and throw away afterwards. I’ll be looking forward to this…sort of. |
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Hatenkou Yuugi Japanese Title: 破天荒遊戯 Probability of watching this: High Wow, a shoujo anime that doesn’t utilise the typical shoujo drawing styles that I’ve grown used to…ah, that doesn’t matter. I’m particularly interested in this show because the character seem pretty normal (the last shoujo show I placed my hopes in failed due to my heavy dislike for a pairing of a midget guy and giant girl…) Hatenkou Yuugi roughly translates to ‘extraordinary journey’, and unsurprisingly, is about a girl called Rahzel who is instructed to travel the world by her father, and meets a bishounen called Alzeido. Unfortunately for the two, their personalities don’t seem to match very well. But we all know they’re bound to fall for each other sooner or later. Oh and apparently, they both have magical powers. I guess it adds to the medieval feel of things. |
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Major 4th Season Japanese Title: メジャー Probability of watching this: Very Low I definitely have no intention of seeing this anime, as I haven’t seen the first three seasons. I don’t think I need to explain it—if you’ve seen the first three, go for it. If you haven’t but you’re interested, go search up the first season on google. =) |
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Persona -trinity soul- Japanese Title: ペルソナ,トリニティソウル Probability of watching this: Above Average Based on the game, Persona 3, but set 10 years later, this show focuses on two brothers, beginning when people start appearing with their skin turned inside out. A key aspect of the game is the supernatural ability of certain high school students to be able to summon ‘Personas’ in order to combat ‘Shadows’. But I don’t know how much of that will be carried on to the anime. Regardless, this show seems interesting enough, so I’ll definitely be checking out the first episode. The only thing that bothers me is the cast—it follows a story of two brothers…sigh. |
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Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Japanese Title: 俗 さよなら絶望先生 Probability of watching this: Very High Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (Farewell, Despaired Teacher) is about, yup, a teacher in despair. This is an artistically animated comedy by SHAFT, starring the teacher who wants to die (but actually doesn’t really), and his highly abnormal high school class. I guess this sequel will simply be more Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei fun, as being a comedy, there’s no continuous plot. I find the first season hilarious, so I’m definitely going to watch the second. |
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True Tears Japanese Title: true tears Probability of watching this: High I watched the trailer…and fell in love with it. Ok, I admit it’s most likely the music (which is also the OP for the series) that I like so much, but the general feel of the trailer is so incredibly nice and soothing. Even if it is a harem, it looks like a serious romance, right from the beginning. I’m also quite fond of the character designs, so that’s a big plus for me. I seriously hope this will good—I need a nice, short series to blog next season. I have no idea what kind of plot this show will entail, but being a romance, it doesn’t really need a flowing story. |
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Shigofumi Japanese Title: シゴフミ ~Stories of Last Letter~ Probability of watching this: High Shigofumi, apparently, refers to ‘after death letters’, or something of the like. Essentially, they are messages sent by the dead to their loved ones as a final goodbye. The show is supposedly about a miracle that happens to girl called Fumika, who wears the uniform of a mail carrier (as you can see, for some reason she has wings in the picture >_>). I wonder if she’s the postgirl for these shigofumi…Anyway, no problems with art (JC Staff here), character design looks pretty good as well, while I like the seiyuu for Fumika as well (Kana Ueda, did Rin from F/SN, Hayate from Nanoha series, Kinon from Gurren Lagann etc). I’m still not sure what genre this show will fall into though. It looks like a drama, but a comedy would be nice as well. |
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Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de Japanese Title: 君が主で執事が俺で Probability of watching this: Average To be honest, this looks gay. Gay as in, quite possibly another harem-ecchi fanservice run with a weak story that doesn’t get anywhere in the end. Well, the relatively large cast of (female) characters who look extremely stereotypical already put me off from wanting to watch this. Ok, so I’m just guessing all of this, but the story actually has the male lead become the butler of a wealthy family (which conveniently consists of three sisters). I am pretty interested in the middle sister, who’s voiced by Yuko Goto (ahhh, seiyuu of Shuffle’s Kaede-chan). And the oldest sister, she’s voiced by Shizuka Itou, who also does Hinagiku from Hayate xD. Speaking of which, I need to catch up on that show… |
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Porfy no Nagai Tabi Japanese Title: ポルフィの長い旅 Probability of watching this: Very Low Another anime adaptation of some old western story. Les Miserables of this past year didn’t go too well I assume, and I have no intention of placing any hopes in this show (especially since there’s going to be 52 episodes). And if you’re interested, the western piece that this series is based on is the French title, The Orphans of Simitra (1955). In the original story, the brother and sister (seen in the image) become orphans after a devastating earthquake. The ‘long journey’ refers to their intention to cross all of Europe, instead of staying in a foster home. Even as a novel though, I wouldn’t really want to read it. Sounds like Shakespeare but much more tedious… |
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Minami-ke Okawari Japanese Title: みなみけ～おかわり～ Probability of watching this: Very High I’m not sure what this is in relation to the first Minami-ke. The Okawari part in the title means ’seconds’, but is usually used to refer to a second helping during meals (and sounds like something Kana would come up with for a title). Anyway, this would suggest a sequel, but the two shows have different animation studios and directors. Essentially, you can take the two as separate adaptations of the manga, but hopefully, they won’t be covering the same material. If you don’t know what the show is about, Minami-ke follows the everyday lives of three sisters, but presents them as comedic situations. Personally, I don’t find the first Minami-ke that funny, but the overall feel of the show makes it pretty enjoyable nonetheless. I’ll be sure to check out this second series as well. (Btw, the cast remains the same…or at least for the three sisters). |
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Aria the Origination Japanese Title: アリア ジ・オリジネーション Probability of watching this: Very High This is easily the show I am looking forward to the most. WARNING: This show is about nothing. Ok, that’s not quite true, but the nature of a feel good show is to flow slowly and focus on stuff that doesn’t do anything, nor result in any kind of plot. Well, some do, but the intention of such series is not to present an exciting or meaningful plot, or anything of the like. It is purely to…make you feel good xD. The Aria series is about a young apprentice gondolier, training to become an Undine (or full-time gondolier) with her two friends. It’s set on Mars, which has been terra-formed to become a fully submerged planet (which, I might add, gives an excellent tranquil feel to the show). I have to say, I fell in love with the first series after watching the first episode. The second series doesn’t live up to the first in my opinion, but is still just as watch-able. If you haven’t seen the first two seasons, there’s no real need to watch them. In other news, the manga is set to end next year to coincide with the ending of this third and final series of Aria. |
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Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino- Japanese Title: ガンスリンガー・ガール IL TEATRINO Probability of watching this: Very Low A sequel to Gunslinger Girl, which original is about a parentless girl called Henrietta, who is trained to be a professional killer after nearly dying along with the murder of her mother and father (which also resulted in the implanting of cybernetic parts in her to save her life). The sequel takes the plot of some path that I wouldn’t understand, as I only watched the first episode of the original series (I couldn’t hack it after witnessing the character designs, which I thought were terrible). But regardless, this sequel focuses on a confrontation between the Social Welfare Agency and their rival, a group called the Five Republics. I have to say though, the character designs look a lot better this time ’round. |
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Ookami to Koushinryou Japanese Title: 狼と香辛料 Probability of watching this: High The title would translate to ‘Wolf and Spice’, but the official site has it as ‘Spicy Wolf’. In any case, this show follows the story of a merchant called Lawrence, after discovering the wolf-girl (in the picture) in his wagon on a certain night. Her name’s Horo by the way. Luckily for him, her wisdom brought from her being some kind of deity helps Lawrence increase his profits. However, it seems the church is chasing after Horo for her apparent ‘true’ nature. I wonder if this will be a romance (though the merchant looks to be in his thirties or fourties, while the girl could be anywhere from five to over a century, due to trends in anime in respects to supernatural creatures). Character design seems okay, and we have an excellent seiyuu for Horo (Ami Koshimizu, also responsible for roles such as Nina from Mai Otome, Tenma from School Rumble, and my favourite, Karen from Code Geass). Who knows, this could go either way. I’ll watch the first episode. |
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Noramimi Japanese Title: のらみみ Probability of watching this: Low Frankly, with that kind of character design, this seriously doesn’t seem like my kind of show. And I don’t really have enough bandwidth to go and try every new show that’s airing, so unless people start saying this show is really good, chances are, I won’t be watching it. The show is a comedy involving family ‘mascots’ and mascot agencies, with a main character called Noramimi, who’s an ogre mascot that’s not too popular with people. I guess this will be about him finding some family to accept him for what he is, but being a comedy, plots and background info don’t really matter (and I suspect that this show is a pure comedy). |
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Hakaba Kitarou Japanese Title: 墓場鬼太郎 Probability of watching this: Very Low Premise, character design, and the fact that this show is based on a very old manga, does NOT make me want to watch it. If you’ve seen Gegege no Kitarou, and liked it, you’ll probably want to check this out as well, as it’s based on the same manga. Although I doubt it, once again, I’ll only watch this if a lot of people say it’s good. |
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Yatterman (2008) Japanese Title: ヤッターマン Probability of watching this: Very Low A remake of a show of the same title thirty years ago, and once again, not my kind of show. With the premise of something close to Marvel comics (superhero duo battles evil villains that threaten the world etc, you get what I mean), and a target audience of what would seem to be pretty young kids, I can only say ‘no thanks’ to this show. It’s also a very lengthy series, which adds to my distaste. |
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Mnemosyune -Mnemosyune no Musume-tachi- Japanese Title: Mnemosyune －ムネモシュネの娘たち－ Probability of watching this: Above Average Six episodes and an hour per episode—taking into account time for ad breaks, this series would seem more like a two-part movie series, which would actually be pretty good. There will be no pacing problems, and the quality seems to be pretty high anyway, so it comes down to execution and story. It appears to be a pretty mature production, so don’t expect any light heartedness or comedy in the usual anime you watch. I may blog this if it turns out well. |
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Mai Otome 0~S.ifr Japanese Title: 舞-乙HiME ０～S.ifr～ Probability of watching this: Very High The name ‘Mai Otome’ is enough to get me watching. This is the prequel OAV series that was announced at the end of Mai Otome Zwei’s last episode, which will focus on the Azure Sky Sapphire (or whatever it was called), or namely, Arika’s mother (wait, I can’t remember, she WAS her mother right?) Oh and what’s this—a Nao lookalike? The red-head is Sifuru, or S.ifr as spelt in the title. It seems like she’s the master of Rena, the Sapphire wielder. There’s no point going into any details about it, as it would be common sense to watch it only if you’ve seen Mai Otome (and liked it enough). The seiyuu for Sifr also did Nina from the same series line (Ami Koshimizu), while Rena’s VA, Aya Endo, did Miyuki from Lucky Star, and Crossroad from Gundam 00 etc. Not my favourites in particular, but some fairly good talent anyway. |
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Ehm… unfortunally, nothing really got me interested! Thats a shame, actually T_T! But I guess i can use this winter season to download Darker than black, ef, and shana II (shows that i couldnt download until now x_x), if none of these series turn out good… ^^U
sorry for my english, again!
Sunohara!: lol, please, i’ve been telling you you’re english is good so you can stop apologizing for it xD
Hmmm, I pretty much agree with Sunohara. Mnemosyune’s possibly the only show I’ll be looking forward to this winter season
Also, I thought Code Geass’ 2nd season was to be released for sure? Or will it be out later next year maybe? Hope so and wouldn’t mind getting a 2nd season of Darker than Black and Claymore as well
While I’m at it, thanks a million Danny for all the hard work and extremely interesting blog. Keep it up in 2008, man!
Sunohara!: Hey, my English is pretty bad too. Please don’t feel bad.
Danny: It seems like there are anything that interesting to you that much. I felt the same way. Well, hopefully some of this series will surprise us and turn out to be really good series.
Mrbounty: I couldn’t agree with you more about Code Geass season 2. We were waiting episode 24-25 for 4-5 months and now with have to wait even longer for the season 2. Man, this is painful. lol
Well, I doubt that they gonna do sequel for Claymore. I mean, there are a lot of series that kinda like that, but never get the sequel. Like Berserk, the ending was f*ck up and they also have plenty of manga material to do more than just season 2, but they never do it. And Claymore’s ending is already been ruin compare to the manga. I think it gonna be hard to revert back the the story-line again.
Only show I’m checking out is Minami-ke Okawari. I hope it is as good as the first series.
Thanks for the good and quick resumes of all the shows airing this winter, was looking around for it
hahahaha!!
Danny: 8D! thanks man! i always apologize for my english, even though i check it out several times before i actually post it! hehehe!
Kenshin514: I`ll try to feel better about it! hehehehe, some people think im not that bad at it, apparentely! o___oU!
Not an interesting season it seems. I have only like 4-6 shows that I think I would want to watch. maybe not watching too many shows will also be good, becuase I will have more time to do other things I wanted to do (like watching good shows I haven’t watched yet).
I like lowering expectations, becuase that why, I might be surprised by an unexpected awesome show(like how I was blown away by ef).
I guess the big shows will come out in April. it a shame my last anime season for a while will not be great(I’m enlisting to the army in April. not watching anime regularly for 3 years would be though), but I guess you don’t chose when will a great anime air
not many interesting seasons xP
minami-ke okawari definately, though some other titles interest me as well. h20’s ad made me laugh and might check it out
btw, when does Mai Otome 0~S.ifr air? =D
Zetsubou Sensei!! I love this series, it was my personal best for 2007. It seems like 2008 is already going for a good start XD Persona seems very interesting.
Btw why don’t you blog Zetsubou Sensei?
Mrbounty: code geass season 2 begins airing in april, if I’m not mistaken
kenshin514: it’s not that bad for me, since i watch (and enjoy) most shows anyway
Brian: hmm, i never thought the first season was that good…
Nagash: no problem, and sorry for being late with it ^^;;
Sunohara!: that’s good, it helps improve your english a lot. I stopped doing that ages ago because I’m lazy as, so there are often typos and other mistakes as well.
arcanes: winter is probably the least active season in the year…and yeah, the big shows (mainly the 24-26 episode shows) come out in april and october.
Furuba: ah sorry, forgot about the date. It’s up now: Mai Otome 0 is an OAV, so it doesnt air on tv, but the first release is on the 22nd of february.
Sputnik: i won’t blog it because it’s a comedy and thus, very hard to talk about. that’s also why im reluctant to blog aria, despite my love for it. you’ll see that i mainly try to blog more serious shows, shows that require thought (or is open to speculation), or otherwise, just shows with a plot.
hey i was waiting for the winter preview, thanks
Minami-ke’s first season had its moments…first episode was funny…things slowed down, and things kinda picked up again.
It’s not outright hilarious, but it’s a feel-good kinda comedy, and one you can just watch whenever.
It was far better than Lucky Star; I HATED Lucky Star with a passion after I finished watching all the episodes. It was too overhyped, had too many arcane references to other anime I never watched, and I really started to hate how after Episode 4 or 5, the show became a blatant promo vehicle for Haruhi.
Hmm, on contrast, I loved Lucky Star for their hilarious references. Among all these, I definitely will add Mai Otome 0 ~Shifuru~, Minami-ke: Okawari, ARIA the Origination, H2O: Footprints in the Sand, Vampire to Rosaria, Persona ~trinity soul~, Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Ookami to Koushinryou, Hatenkou Yuugi, True Tears, and Mnemosyune -Mnemosyune no Musume-tachi-.
Mnemosyune -Mnemosyune no Musume-tachi- drew my attention, probably of the horror theme (Who wouldn’t love the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni series? :x).
H2O: Footprints in the Sand in particular attracted me, maybe because of the weird setting (I don’t think I’ve ever seen a harem anime where the main protagonist is physically-disabled, at least, from the start.)
Mai Otome 0 ~Shifuru~ is a life-sized magnet on its own, just that Mai Otome title would get it some fans. While I must say, I feel that the Nao-lookalike you said looks more like Nina. And since they are voiced by the same seiyuu, I’m willing to bet (Well maybe a dime) that shes Windbloom’s queen.
Speaking of which, I’m looking forward to Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu second season, Code Geass second season, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni’s third installment in the anime department, and Zero no Tsukaima second season. Too bad all of the big shot anime series’ sequel are all TBA. A release of the final few episodes of KgnE Haruka’s route OAV would be nice as well.
[…] novastorm has written a nice Writeup upcoming anime from Winter 2007 - 2008. Not a very long list of new anime considertig the ongoing CLANNAD, Shakugan no Shana and other current anime. Here is my List that I might take a look at and blog the pics and info and links were seamlessly ripped from Nobastorm post. He did a really good job writing those up. A new poll will come shortly to let readers vote for their fav anime show for spring 2008. […]
You need to watch Rosario + Vampire. I’ve watched the first 2 episodes, and it’s absolutely fantastic. It’s probably the best anime i’ve seen in a while. Cute bats + fanservice = PURE WIN.
I also really like Ookami to Koushinryou. It’s cute.
crzymn, i DID watch it. i wrote something on it, you should be able to find that post…
There seem to be no interesting shows.. In autumn 2007 there were at least a few good shows but it seems there are none now.. damn..
[…] novastorm has written a nice Writeup upcoming anime from Winter 2007 - 2008. Not a very long list of new anime considertig the ongoing CLANNAD, Shakugan no Shana and other current anime. He did a really good job writing those up. A new poll will come shortly to let readers vote for their favorite anime show for spring 2008. […]
What?! There’s no Seto no hanayome second season?! Oh man. I TOTALLY loved it!! Seto san rocks! But there’s no sequel to it. This stinks…:’(
Whee, thanks for all of these Winter Previews~ I’m currently watching a few of them, and waiting for some to come out? Plus, I have animes from other seasons to watch as well, so it’s a gigantic mush. Thanks again!
i just watch mai otome and it was awesome but sifr is not the master of rena though she has her own master
I’ve only liked a few of them like True Tears, Rosario + Vampire, H20-Footprints in the Sand, Shigofumi, and I’m considering watching Aria.
hola yo se q ustedes aqblan ingle yy yo no entonses bye