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ローゼンメイデン 
Well, the avalanche of spring anime series will arrive in about 3 weeks. So I figure I better start deciding what I want to watch. I have to admit that the original list was kind of daunting but after going through every single link on Moonphase, I realise that there are only a few I intend to follow. And after seeing some of the trailers, some of the things that was on my top list such as Zegapain suddenly goes down in the list. Besides, I already have a long list as it is now: School Rumble S2, Nana, Himawari!, xxxHolic, and Gintama. And that's not even the final list since I'll try a few other series as they are released. Plus, there will be a few more coming around May. Because of this, I decided not to cover all 56 or so series here. But if there is something that I didn't mention, please feel free to mention it. Also, check out Bluwacky's site for a more complete list. Last but not least, I'd like to know which series you'll most likely follow this spring.
Source: Moon Phase
School Rumble S2
Starting Date: 2nd of April 2006
Station: TV Tokyo
Animation Studio: Studio Comet
Casts: Koshimizu Ami (Tsukamoto Tenma), Konishi Hiroki (Karasuma Ooji), Takahashi Hiroki (Harima Kenji), Noto Mamiko (Tsukamoto Yagumo), Horie Yui (Sawachika Eri), Nabatame Hitomi (Suou Mikoto), Shimizu Kaori (Takano Akira)
Opening Theme: 「せんちめんたる じぇねれ〜しょん」 - Sentimental Generation by Tokito Ami
Ending Theme: 「この涙があるから次の一歩となる」 - Kono Namida ga aru kara, tsugi no ippo to naru by Tokito Ami
Story/Impression: This is basically a continuation from the first season. There's not much to say about this apart from the fact that this is a show about a group of high school students. The main focus is on the love life of its characters which includes Tenma, Harima, Yakumo, and Karasuma. With any luck, hopefully this season will start the Yakumo vs. Eri arc where the two girls compete for the affection of Harima. I personally am a big fan of Riceball so it's Yakumo/Harima FTW!! I also hope that the second season will allow some development into other characters which were not used often in the first season such as Imadori and Mikoto.
Gintama
Starting Date: 4th of April 2006
Station: TV Tokyo
Animation Studio: Sunrise
Story/Impression: A curly-haired Samurai wants to uphold Samurai's code of honour/way of living againtst those 'aliens' who start to take over Japan. The first impression I got of Gintama was definitely not a positive one. I thought the series, for the lack of a better word, is rather xenophobic. I remember being a bit uncomfortable with the rather patriotic feel of the first chapter. It doesn't help that the 'aliens' are drawn in a mock foreigner kind of way and used mostly as antagonist in the series. Having said that, I thought it was funny so I kept on reading and thankfully the story starts to reveal that not everything is as black and white as it was originally painted in the first few chapters.
Nana
Starting Date: 5th of April 2006
Station: Nihon TV
Animation Studio: Madhouse
Casts: Paku Romi (Oosaki Nana), KAORI (Komatsu "Hachi" Nana), Kiuchi Hidenobu (Ren), Kawahara Yoshisa (Yasu), Morikawa Toshiyuki (Takumi), Seki Tomokazu (Nobu), Ishida Akira (Shin), Hirano Aya (Reira).
Opening Theme: Rose by ANNA inspi' NANA (BLACK STONES)
Ending Theme: A little Pain by OLIVIA inspi' REIRA (TRAPNEST)
Story/Impression: Based on the famous manga created by Yazawa Ai, this one will surely attract many shoujo fans. I've seen the live action adaptation and was quite happy with it. And that version actually cut a lot of the manga material. Because of this I have a high hope that the anime will actually be a lot better than the movie. And judging from the early character design, I think I will like this a lot better than Paradise Kiss. The story itself is about two girls who have similar first name, Nana. Their life cross one another when one meets the other inside a train. The two quickly forms a bond of friendship as they go through their love life and career in Tokyo.
xxxHOLiC
Starting Date: 6th of April 2006
Station: TBS
Animation Studio: Production I.G
Casts: Ohara Sayaka (Ichihara Yuuko), Fukuyama Jun (Watanuki Kimihiro), Nakai Kazuya (Doumeki Shizuka), Mochizuki Hisayo (Moro), Kojima Kazuko (Maru), Kikuchi Mika (Mokona)
Story/Impression: I highly doubt that many people actually need a summary when it comes to this story. But just in case, xxxHOLiC is basically a story about a witch called Yuuko and her unwilling 'assistant', Watanuki. As a witch, Yuuko occasionally gives help to someone who asks for one, provided that the person are willing to pay the price for it. xxxHOLiC often crossover with CLAMP's other series, Tsubasa Chronicle because Shaoran at one point in the story asks Yuuko to help Sakura. I personally am a bit ambivalent about this series but I will follow it as long as the animation doesn't end up looking as ghastly as Tsubasa Chronicle. And with Production I.G in charge, I feel that the chance of getting a good manga to anime adaptation is quite high.
Himawari!
Starting Date: 8th of April 2006
Station: Chiba TV
Animation Studio: ARMS
Character Design: Okama
Casts: Matsumoto Kana (Himawari), Toochika Kouichi (Hayato), Hirano Aya (Shikimi), Shiraishi Ryoko (Azami), Nakata Ayumi (Yusura), Yoshida Mayumi (Himeji), Ootake Yuuko (Tsukiyo Hime), Doi Mika (Yatsugashira), Kondo Takashi (Yonezawa-kun), Miyagawa Miho (Momota)
Story/Impression: 10 years ago an airplane crashed into mountains. As Himawari loses her consciousness, she saw herself being saved by a Ninja. Ever since then, Himawari decides that she wants to become a Ninja and perform all kinds of good deeds. Her grandma recommends that Himawari trains to become a Kunoichi at a private Ninja school called Shino Sonae. In this school, students usually are selected from elite matriculation. Himawari is an unusual case because she took an ordinary examination to enter the school. Because Himawari only knows about Ninja from Ninja-related movies and literatures, she often makes mistake when it comes down to real-life application. As a result, her classmate often think that she is stupid. Will Himawari be able to persevere through this school and achieves her goal to become a Kunoichi?
On a glance, the story does sound like it's Naruto meets Gakuen Alice. This could feel repetitive, especially if the storyline is kind of similar to Naruto. I am especially worried with the fact that just like Naruto, Himawari is also an outcast at first. On the other hand, I have to admit that the character design is irresistable. Illustrated by Okama, who was involved in Kamichu! as production designer and Wings of Rean as visual conceptualist, the series immediately looks a bit more stylish than the rest of the pack. I also wouldn't mind watching a comedy series since I haven't seen one for a long time now. So right now, I'm going to place this on my watching list and hope that it actually is not just a female version of Naruto. The series will be animated by ARMS animation studio, whose previous work includes Elfen Lied.
The Rest
Air Gear (4th of April, TV Tokyo)
This is essentially Tenjou Tenge on roller blade/roller skate. I am actually curious to see how they will handle the anime adaptation but since this is Toei Animation, I don't have a high hope.
Glass no Kantai (4th of April, Asahi TV)
Hmm, probably. I love Okama's character design but this one looks a bit heavy on the politic side. So I'll try to watch the first few episodes and see if it's actually something that I'll like.
Disgaea (4th of April, Asahi TV)
The trailer that I have made the series looks a bit childish. But that's probably because the character design leans towards the cute side. I'll give this a try and see if I actually like it enough.
Ouran Host Fan Club (4th of April, TV Tokyo)
I don't have any idea what this one is about but I supposed I'll give it a try since I've heard some good things about it.
.hack//Roots (5th of April, TV Tokyo)
Character design looks good as expected from Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. But if the storyline is boring, then count me out. I think even if I watch this, I'm just going to watch it subbed. I don't think I want to bother watching it raw and try to understand all of the tech talk.
Zegapain (6 April, TV Tokyo)
This was actually at the top of my list until I saw the trailer that was included in Animedia magazine. Bad CG effect is definitely a fast way to make a series goes to the bottom of my watching list. It's a shame though because I thought the character design is rather nice. It's just the CG is unbelievably fugly.
Yume Tsukai (8th of April, Chiba TV)
I think I will have to see the first episode first before deciding if I want to follow this or not. I just read the description on the web and as much as the idea of using dreams as metaphor for sexual fetish is kind of interesting, it starts becoming creepy when it involves minor. The cast looks impressive though and include the likes of Noto Mamiko and Seki Tomokazu.
Saiunkoku Monogatari (8th of April, NHK)
A poor girl ends up becoming a teacher for a spoilt young King. However, the job comes with its occupational hazzard: she has to live in the King's harem house and becomes his wife. The design looks a bit like Fushigi Yuugi so maybe I'll see the first few episodes.
Ju-oh-sei (13th of April, Fuji TV).
I'm not too sure about this. I think the nose is kind of Escaflowne-ish and I can't stand that kind of character design. I know I shouldn't judge a series based on its character design but since it's still animation, I think the aesthetic part of the series do count a lot in determining whether or not the series is interesting or not.
The Third (13th of April, WOWOW Unscramble).
The character design looks kind of nice but this will depend on what other series I have picked/ditched at this point in time.
So many things I want to see here! I'm at the mercy at the subbers though. I guess some "must watches" are .hack//ROOTS (being a fan of the games), Disgaea because the promo amused me and that Yume Tsukai thing seems cool. You know, with minors and all >_>. I'll also be watching most of the shows you wrote about at the top of the post.
I heard 50 new anime series
start in April, It's hard to hear about them
and pick with one you want to see.
Finally School Rumble S2. If they follow through on the weapons were gonna see a lot of hot loaded weapons since most of them looked French.
DIsgea looks interesting after watching the promo.
lol "A curly-haired Samurai wants to uphold Samurai's code of honour/way of living against those 'aliens' who start to take over Japan." sure isn't an accurate description of Ginama's plot. For one, Gintoki is retired from being a samurai. And he's more interested in consuming sugar and reading Shounen Jump than fighting.
School Rumble, Nana, Ju-ou-sai, xxxholic, Tsubasa, .hack, The Third...the usual lot for me. It seems this colossal season is heavy on the fantasy and sparse when it comes to more relationship based titles. I think I'll be trying out all the shows you've mentioned in your post, and more besides. The task of keeping track of many of these series will be daunting - in a way, I wish there were less titles.
Gintama seems like a parody of Shounen Jump in general to me, but I know little about it.
What do you think of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni?
I thought it was one of the killers of the season!
School Rumble 2nd season !!!
Oh so happy...
Hiya! As for your more detailed series, I think I'd be interested in seeing Gintama and xxxHolic, and maybe some Nana. Storywise, for Nana and Gintama, since I never read either, and animation-wise for xxxHolic. I was a little put off by Tsubasa-animated for some reason, but one day I'll pick it up again.
Ouran Host Fan Club's based on a manga about a poor student in a rich private school who accidentally breaks an expensive vase owned by the school's popular host club. Now he has to work in the club to earn a certain number of requests in order to pay back the vase. I didn't know the series was getting turned into an anime; I may watch the first episode just to see how it goes.
Also want to see Air Gear, because the art in the manga was neat, and I'm trying to be optimistic about the anime.
But I guess it all depends on which series get subbed or released raw.
Erm.. are u watching Utawarerumono too? April 6th release if I'm not wrong.. =x
So far that I know i want to give a spin:
xxxHolic
2nd season of Tsubasa
.Hack//Roots
Not sure about anything else yet. I'm already behind from playing too much RF Online.. Reasoning for above choices, I'm a CLAMP and .Hack junky. =P
Wow! thanks for sharing such great comments about upcoming anime- I definitely love your site and feel that your reviews are spot on. I'll be watching:
Nana- i found the first half of the manga really good and definitely am interested to see whether the show gets the characters right and if it preserves Yazawa's quirky humor.
Xxxholic- I didn't see Tsubasa RC because I found the story rather boring but i definitely want to watch the first few episodes of this-not sure if i will keep it up.
Ouran Host Club- i don't really like the manga because its spazzy and sort of stupid. I've only read up to V4 so it might get better- it is animated by Bones first though so i will try this out too- maybe the humor is better animated.
Ju-oh-sei- I'm looking forward to this one because the original mangaka is Natsumi Itsuki - who is known for her really bizarre fantasy/sci-fi stories with lots of surprises and turns.
And...Ergo Proxy- it looks very cool with great animation and lots of mystery. so i'm going to watch this and finish up Mushishi first! Did you know Mushishi ends at ep 20? It makes me so sad to see a great series end.
Does anyone know when Tsubasa Chronicle Series 2 is going to air? =x
can't wait to see xxxholic! i'm having a tough time dl the movie ><
Plum, while I agree with that, there are times when Gintoki launches into a typical shounen jump hero and starts to throw spiel about how as a Samurai, a man does not need to be concerned with finding the right excuse to help someone, etc. That is why I decribed the series as such because Gintama is an upsend of one of those jump series.
Miguel, I don't actually know much about it apart from the fact that it's a detective-like murder story based on a doujin. But I supposed I'll download the first episode and take a look at it.
Dw, I'll probably take a look at the first episode and proceed from there.
Believe second season of TRC starts 4/29 if I saw the date correctly on moon phase
I'm curious about xxxHolic but I'm might or might not follow it. As of now I only hope the characters won't look as outragous as they did in the Midsummer Night's Dream movie (the excedingly disproportionate arms scared me).
The only shows I’m really interested in are the second season of School Rumble and ARIA the Natural. I will check out a couple of other shows out of curiosity. These include Yoshimune, Ray the Animation, Good Witch of the West, Joshikousei GIRLS HIGH, Yoshinaga-san'chi no Gargoyle and Shoujo Changguem no Yume. Shoujo Changguem no Yume is meant to be Korean animation so I’m curious about how it will air in Japan (Japanese subtitles?!!)
This is the first season I come across where there isn’t a single serious show that caught my attention from the start which is rather disappointing but I still have a huge backlog of shows from previous seasons so it shouldn’t be much of a problem.
I fully support a Harima / Yakumo pairing and I hope the story starts focusing on this angle instead of the hopeless and pitiful Harima / Tenma angle. Then again, Eri isn’t such a bad choice either but I still prefer Yakumo since she is more compatible with Harima. The bottom line is: anyone will do as long as it’s not Tenma!!
is xxxHolic produced by CLAMP this time? Tsubasa Chroncile was a little on the dissapointing side with BeeTrain
How is it that I've only been in the fansub game about a year and am already grasping at straws to pick out stuff each new season?
I'll try Gintama, Nana and Himawari! Maybe Yume Tsukai. Oh fine, maybe three or four shows isn't a very small sampling. I'll have to get on top of everything else, first, and hope that the sub groups keep semi up to date this season.
XXXHolic is produced this time by the Big Mommas aka Production IG, not their daughter studio Bee Train. Production IG generally tends to make muuuuuuch better stuff than Bee Train if you ask me. It also won't have Koichi Mashimo touching it! Ha. Furthermore, Ageha Ohkawa, one of the CLAMP people, will be directly involved in the anime, so I think they'll make sure it has good quality. The director can be really good too, have you seen the movie? I thought it was excellent - and I loooved Hare Nochi Guu...
Hopefully they'll put in as much effort in the animation as they did with IGPX - get their old-timers to do some work and leave the young ones with the (shitty) Blood+.
I've decided I'll watch
-XXXHolic (Even though I don't like CLAMP, I'm interested in this show)
-Glass no Kantai (Hate Gonzo, but I want to see what Satelight'll do. Premise and characters seems fine to me. Oh, and Ishida Akira :3)
Although all of these are subject to dropping.
-Juuousei (I like fantasy settings more so... just another aspect of Bones' shoujo venture. Should be interesting. Interesting they got one of the Kinki Kids people to voice the main character. Commercial decision.)
Stuff I'll check at least one ep out of
-Black Lagoon (looks fanservicey, but they delayed it a year so I hope they get better quality - more than that, the director's done some good stuff before and I'd like to see his work here)
-Kiba (Yada yada typical magical travelling series, but hey I like it, and Teikoku Shounen's art settings are not to be missed)
-Nana (Also just for fun... ok, and the hype)
-Zegapain (Bad CG aside - I haven't seen the trailer and I can't access the one on the official site - Akino Arai! I don't care, I will definitely watch at least one episode. The thing that'd turn me off is the raaather cliche story outline...)
-Nishi no Yoki Majo (Just made it into this list because honestly I don't like the character designs. But the art looks gobsmackingly gorgeous, and the original novel is reportedly quite good, so..)
-Ouran High School Host Club (What is with me watching shoujo these days? I'm watching this based entirely on my faith on the scriptwriter (who's done Utena), and Bones.)
Stuff I'm not too interested in but may check out:
-Gintama (Just for fun)
-Higurashi no na(red)ku koro ni (Silly fanboys insisting the na to be red... I want to see what hte hype is all about.)
-.hack//ROOTS (Never seen the previous .hack// series so I wouldn't mind seeing what one looks like)
-Yume Tsukai (See if it's really WTF...)
Thirteen series! But I've managed to narrow it down very greatly, and I'm quite sure I"ll drop at least ONE of them...
I'm always very impressed with your anime previews.
We're lucky to have someone like you who can read Japanese.
Thanks!
The crew of the xxxHOLiC movie did a great job. It was an original story, but it was able to get the overall "feel" of xxxHOLiC down pretty well. (The character designs were a bit off, but they all acted like they should.) The TV series has the same director (and a member of CLAMP working on series composition) so I think it'll turn out okay (or at least better than Tsubasa's adaptation.)
yeah, I admit, there are some chapters that underline the message of Gintoki's samurai ideal, but they are drowned out by various other "educational" messages about life, friendship, how to be a better person, etc. I've read the manga up to volume 7 and only a very small amount of chapters are dedicated to Gintoki's samurai ideal, hence I have a different opinion about the plot. =)
I am waiting for xxxHOLiC and KIBA the most I think. :)
hmm,
must watches:
airgear (loved the manga)
ouran host fan club (loved the manga)
Saiunkoku Monogatari
will watch a few eps, see how they go:
nana
gintama
thanks for your summaries!i probably wouldn't have considered watching alot of anime series without them!
First of all, I love your site so much Garten. Got most of the info on anime here. Your site helps me to choose the must watches. I would love to watch:
1. Ouran Host Fan Club - Just love the manga! Bit on the silly side but the comedy scenes are just hilarious. I could only wish it stays true to the manga.
2. Jyu-Oh-Sei - Don't know much about the manga/novel, but I'm a hardcore fan of sci-fi, so I'll watch this one.
Year 2005 was pretty bland, in not having many interesting animes to watch. Hope 2006 will bring us more stuff to make up for the loss the previous year.
I hope that the kind fan-subbers out there would bring these series to our computers! I rely very much on them and will always wish the best of luck to them! Thank you, you guys!
Hi.I accidentally found this blog and find this is amusing and informative.
Seems like most people on here don't really know
or read "Gintama" so I would like to explain a
little about it.
Gintama is a comic that is published serially on
Shounen Jump for quite a long time.People who
loves Samurai and the spirits,and also Japanese
jokes may fall in love with this manga.I myself
is a foreigner in Japan who can be considered
quite good at Nihon-go so I found myself understand
most of the jokes and laughed at most of it.
Gintama may be hard to be comprehend by most,perhaps.
Needs more than ability of undrestanding Nihon-go
becuse lots of nuances(as Japanese usually refers to) used.
What I want to say is,Gintama is worth reading as a manga,
so I was very sorry to find out it's broadcast begins
after I leave the land...would like to see the anime version.
XXXHOLiC
I luff you.
Ouran High Host Club is great I just hope the animation doesn't differs from the manga b/c it would end up like Gakuen Alice
Maybe its me but Glass no Kentai is giving me Last Exile style flashbacks..not only does the storyline have certain similarities even the costume design with the headgear seems reminicent of Range Murata's character design. I'll be watching this one for sure..hopefully it will meet up with the expectations since it sounds promising and I loved LE.
I'm also looking forward the TRC season 2 and Saiunkoku Monogatari. I already saw XXXHolic and although there were some physical distortions such as overly large hands I still really liked the movie..the ending left me a bit teary-eyed. I'm glad I found the movie and watched it. The movie was really worth seeing since I thought the storyline was interesting so I recommend it for CLAMP/anime fans alike. But that's just my opinion. Love this site btw..great stuff!!!
There are some images/article about the NANA anime on the last ANIMAGE? I'd be very grateful to you if you can say me that...! :)
Thanks!
I'm mostly interested in School Rumble, Gintama, Himawari and Disgaea. I'm not really that interested in shoujo stuff.
Arashi, unfortunately there isn't any kind of article on NANA on the last Animage. However, last month's issue of Animage has an article about it, IIRC.
Thank you very much! I hope there will be some in next issues! I'm waiting too for your review when the anime will be on air April 5th! :) Bye!
You don't seem to have found out yet... thought you'd be interested.
http://chorus.shueisha.co.jp/
HONEY & CLOVER II!
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