Fall 2009 Anime Watch List

Since there’s about a week or two until the fall season starts, its time for the usual roundup of shows I’ll be looking forward to. I tried to keep the number of new shows low so I can finish the stuff I’m already watching but things don’t always work out for me that way. Anyway onto the list:

Definitely Watch

• Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu: Purezza – The first season of Nogizaka did such a wonderful job of pandering to basically everything I like in a female character (Noto Mamiko+Shyness+Smarts+Otaku+, etc.) that it wouldn’t make sense for me not to watch the continuation.
• Sasameki Koto – When the anime adaptation of this manga was announced I went and read all the translated chapters at the time and fell in love with the story. I still need to get around to catching up on the newly translated chapters but I doubt my anticipation for this show will depreciate any time soon.
• To Aru Kagaku no Railgun – Index had an interesting premise combining magic and science to form something that wasn’t quite techno-magic. I anxiously watched it every week and Railgun will probably be the same way.
• White Album Final – I doubt there are many people looking forward to this after the mostly negative reception the first half of the series received. Although it did start off slow the show did a good job introducing the drama in the latter half of the first season. By the end Touya’s life was in a chaotic downward spiral so I have to know how everything will get resolved. Besides I’m still waiting for Nana/Rina to win out in the end (I hope).
• Yumeiro Pâtissière – Honestly I don’t expect anyone to even try to sub this show so I’ll have to watch it raw but I feel compelled to watch it. There’s something about its simple premise of a little girl fulfilling her dream to become a pastry chef that I find attractive. This will probably be something I watch when I want to relax and relieve stress.
• Kämpfer – I really don’t expect much from this series but it has a guy who turns into a girl and fights other girls. From what I can tell it’s not terribly original or anything but it should be entertaining at least.

Definitely Watch (OVA/Movie)

• Hidamari Sketch x365 Special – Being an artist myself I always have an attraction towards shows involving art and Hidamari is probably my favorite such series. I love all the characters and I could keep watching it forever.
• Negima! Mou Hitotsu no Sekai – I like Negima and it has my all-time favorite character.
• Shakugan no Shana S – I’ve been following Shana since the first anime aired so of course I’m going to watch this. This will probably be Yuuji and Shana goofing around but whatever; I was fine with Shana II.
• Today in Class 5-2 – I like the original manga-ka’s work so I’ll be looking forward to this. I wonder what this OVA will be about though since I thought they animated everything already.
• Kanokon ~Manatsu no Daishanikusai~ – Mainly interested in this for completion’s sake.
• Tales of Vesperia ~The First Strike~ – Some friends and I are currently playing our way through Vesperia and having a blast so obviously I want to watch the prequel movie.

May Watch

• Letter Bee – Thematically this reminds me a lot of Shigofumi which I highly regard. The main reason I put it here instead of in the definite category is that I have yet to watch the special episode from last year. After I watch it I’ll make my final decision.
• Kiddy GiRL-AND – I don’t know if it’s actually good but I’ve always wanted to watch Kiddy Grade. Luckily Kiddy GiRL takes place two centuries after Kiddy Grade so hopefully it won’t require me to have knowledge of the prequel. If that’s the case I’ll jump in.
• Asura Cryin’ 2 – I’m extremely behind on the first season so watching the sequel is completely dependent on finishing the original. I remember Asura Cryin’ having some interesting concepts but I also remember being confused out of my mind.

Looking back it seems like I could be watching 6-9 new series. However I expect that number to fall by quite a bit for various reasons. During summer season I basically temporarily lost interest in most anime so I didn’t end up watching most of what I said I would. I tend to watch less anime when school is not in session so maybe that was it. We’ll see what happens this season and hopefully I can catch up on last.