So something tells me the season is about to get underway. I think that means there needs to be some sort of guide or compendium of said season.
So, on New Year’s Day, a compendium! Chock full of you all knowing how biased I am when it comes to ranking shows, some cursory information on the staff working on the show, etc. This year’s compendium is different. For starters, it’s not gonna be as shortchanged as the last one was. I’ll be ranking all the new shows that air this season. Also, no more summary or other information. That’ll be placed in the Winter 2015 streaming post that’ll be up next week.
Other than that, same old, same old….I think! So, without more delay: anime I’m looking forward to, from least to most:
15. Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha
Well, at least the only thing it’s got going for it is the music. I think I like the OP. And uh, at least the plot description gives away that yeah, this is going to be another male lead surrounded by a harem and fighting and all that stuff that will probably be boring. Admittedly though I was not going to rank this last, since this at least had a trailer.
But then I looked at the staff. It’s not half bad. Takao Yoshioka directed Bamboo Blade and also directed Fantasista Doll (which, I’m sure you’ve all forgotten about by now, all 3 of you), and the script is worked on by the dude who did a bunch of seasons of Major and also High School DxD, which is the ecchi fanservice battle show that is actually awesome, so says some people. (They’re lying.) But they’re adapting a Tetsuto Uesu’s LN series and OH DEAR YOU DON’T KNOW WHO HE IS? THEN GOOGLE HIM.
Or find out just how bad a man he is by having a scene like this in a work that’s not even full blown porn.
14. Juuou Mujin no Fafnir
Anyways, my bias aside, this will probably be the worst anime that airs this season. There’s no trailer. The director’s doing Dog Days 3, and he hasn’t done any shows I’d consider worth watching. Diomedea’s animating it, and they’re very busy with their fanservice shows this season, so one of them’s definitely gonna get shortchanged. Basically, from the plot description (I assume the “D” is very important with this show, and so are the supernatural girls), to how it looks, I have no hope.
13. Seiken Tsukai no World Break
Oh man does this look really crappy but ok, aside from that, it sounds like something not worth wasting my time on. Add to that and the fact that the man who directed Rosario + Vampire and the visual novel turned into an anime that shall not be named because VN people don’t acknowledge it’s existence (starts with Muv, ends with Luv) is on this project, you should know what to expect: boobs, butts, and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
12. Absolute Duo
If seeing a girl that’s in high school half naked is your thing, Absolute Duo is for you! If not, stay far far away, and I mean very very far away. This basically will revolve around a boring male lead who apparently can shield but can’t really fight, and really pretty girls who’ll have the hots for him. Somewhere along the way I can only expect one of the girls will turn their back on him and — wait, not really? Hey, I was hoping something different would happen!
11. Isuca
No trailer for this is out at this time of writing, but otherwise, looks like your general male lead meets really tsundere girl, they team up after much gnashing at each other, and something silly happens because the actual material is still going. Arms is directing it, and they don’t have the best history. The series composer has worked on Oda Nobuna and Rail Wars!. I watched one of them. I’ve heard about the other. The conclusion: they suck. So…I expect something of that equivalent with this work here.
10. Saekano – How To Raise a Boring Girlfriend
So let me tell you a quick story about how the anime industry can really destroy a person’s reputation in a flash. When I finally got serious about watching anime and started blogging it weekly in 2011, I watched a show called Bunny Drop. It was special. It’s one of my favorite series of all time. Simply put, it’s a show you need to watch. The director was Kanta Kamei. Since his work on that show, he’s done:
OreShura (GAG)
NANANA’s Buried Treasure (whyyyyyy)
And thus what once seemed like a promising director has now turned into a joke of a person. And that joke continues as he continues to get assigned to another mediocre looking project that’s once again on NoitaminA. Yes, this show is really on that block. Hey, they gotta pay the bills somehow right?
To be fair, A-1 Pictures is on the case, and the series composition guy for White Album 2 (which I heard was good) is backing it. The premise is definitely typical LN stuff and deserves more scorn. But maybe Kanta can somehow make a mountain out of a molehill and make this series work.
I’ll let you know about it since I’m going to be watching another Kanta Kamei directed show, and continue to hope he’ll stop being forced to accept mediocre projects.
9. Kancolle
This anime was slated to air last summer, but of course, with no information on what it was gonna be, when it was airing, etc, it never aired. But finally, it’s gonna air! And uh, I have no idea how it’s gonna be?
To be fair, the trailer actually looks ok. It also reminds me of Girls und Panzer. That can be a good thing or a bad thing. It’s always a good thing to try and execute a project with something that already succeeded. It’s a bad thing because that will be the expectation, and it’s not an easy thing to live up to. This will probably not be Girls und Panzer, but it’ll borrow enough elements and maybe, just maybe be good.
*looks at staff, cringes* This just can’t end very well can it?
8. Koufuku Graffiti
So…I probably have this up here because of pedigree. Akiyuki Shinbo AND Mari Okada on one show? If you said this to me last year, this would have been at least #2, #1 on this list. But last year Shinbo directed Nisekoi and no amount of head tilts and reaction shots was saving it, and Okada worked on M3. Don’t know what M3 is? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. So to say they’re in a slump might be an understatement. And this trailer is not all that impressive. Neither is the plot. I will watch, only to see if last year was just a terrible year for the two of them and they’ll actually be a combination to be reckoned with.
7. Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love
Just when I thought Shinji Takamatsu had retired from anime directing after being stuck on a video game anime adaptation by Capcom called Ixion Saga DT (which was very inconsistent) and being stuck on a video game anime adaptation that’s somehow suitable for kids (and yet sometimes not) with Gyrozetter, here he comes back with one of the strangest anime airing this season. It’s a bunch of hot guys in a mashup of UtaPri and Madoka Magica, with the comedy of a NichiBros and a hint of Kimi to Boku sprinkled in moments.
Damn you Takamatsu. What is going on in your head? Why do you continue to interest me so???
6. Sengoku Musou
I probably have this up so high because the competition is really weak this year, but it does at least look interesting. This is an anime based off a video game franchise, so there’s at least a 90% chance it’s gonna suck. Just by video game turned to anime history you will know that this stands a meager chance of being worthwhile. But I like the trailer and the premise is ok. The staff is kinda worrisome, and look, more boys, but this time in a feudal setting! And more legendary Japanese warriors taking center stage in this day and age!…but if we’re all lucky, this will at least be average.
That’s if we’re lucky.
5. Junketsu no Maria
I’m pretty sure I have it this high because this was done by the creator of Moyashimon. And it’s actually a finished series. But uh, this trailer has fanservice! It’s plot is pretty meh! The guy who conceived Code Geass…and ALSO conceived Fantasista Doll is directing this work! The series composer worked on Oreimo! (He DID also do Kannagi and TWGOK ok shut up) Is this really going to be as good as people think it is? I guess I’ll find out, but it seems to be exactly like everything else I covered that I ranked low, except the animation definitely looks impressive and not the same. Maybe that’ll give it an edge against everything else.
4. Assassination Classroom
I should probably admit I have some hope this series will actually be entertaining. That’s right some. All of it points out to being pretty mediocre. Kanta Kamei continues to baffle me as he continues to take on projects with the goal of destroying them (not intentionally I hope), the same guy who teamed up with him to do the forgotten Devil Survivor 2 anime is teaming up with him again to do the series composition, some parts of the animation style remind me of Danganronpa, which I dropped in 3 episodes, and…I have read the manga. It is really mediocre…until you get to like, the 14, 15th chapter. Then it finally manages to click.
But needless to say, first impressions are important, and unless the translation actually is good, I have no doubt this anime will be forgotten about in the first couple of weeks as everyone has already dropped it. Maybe Koro-sensei will stick out enough to let people stay on until it gets crazy enough. The staff does not inspire me.
3. Rolling Girls
…And now, onto the new anime you should actually watch this season! Rolling Girls admittedly doesn’t have much of a staff around it, though Wit Studio has worked on some cool stuff (Attack on Titan, Hozuki, HAL). The premise seems bonkers. The trailer made me smile. Generally, when a trailer does that, it’s on the right path for me. Whether it actually gets executed, who knows. But it has my attention. That’s all I need.
2. Yuri Bear Storm
Pardon my French, but fuck Ikuhara!
…Was what I said after I watched the Yuri Bear Storm trailer for like, the 11th time as once again, Ikuhara’s gonna take us into some strange drug trip that I’m gonna love and then also hate too. But honestly, that’s not the real reason I said that. The premise is definitely out there, but is this really gonna work out in an entertaining manner? And then he’s working with Silver Link. Really, Silver Link? Isn’t it a bad thing that he’s working with a studio that’s consistently put out horrible anime series? Did no other studio want to take the project? I mean, Ikuhara’s done Utena and Penguindrum! Surely that’s a sign that he’s ace right? He can be trusted to get something good out, right?
…No? Well then goddamnit, that worries me. But no matter the worry, I have to watch it. This can only end well for my brain.
1. Death Parade
Death Parade is probably my safest bet to actually be really really good. This was an Anime Mirai project (called Death Billiards) that involved two people — a 30 year old and an aging old guy — who had to play pool in order to determine if they will live or die. Well, that’s the surface plot. It’s way more involved than that, as questions involving the human mentality, the set of rules, the atmosphere, and the choices one makes created one of the best episodes you’ll see in a while. Most importantly, with that type of story there’s potential to do more stories. And we will get that this year, and I couldn’t be happier. If everything works out — I mean the same guy who created it is directing it, and it’s the same studio — this should be a contender for best anime of 2015.
