Summer 2011 Anime Watch List: NEET Mode Activate

After much inactivity on the blog I finally present my assorted musings on the shows I will be following next season. I may be picking up a life-threatening number of new anime to watch as I did last season. I originally started writing this post (alongside numerous other posts) while I was out of the country for several weeks without access to high-speed internet so I had to wait until getting back to watch all of the PVs before completing my impressions. Also because of the time crunch after coming back I was unable to check out the original source material like normal so some of these expectations may wander off from what they really should be so please forgive me. As normal I have omitted things that I have already started watching to save space. Now onwards to (roughly sorted) insanity!

Definitely Watching

THE iDOLM@STER [PV2]
Even though this anime wasn’t actually announced until the beginning of this year, I’ve essentially been waiting for a television version to be announced since watching the original PVs for the first XBox 360 game so really I’ve been anticipating this for about 4.5 years as far as I’m concerned. As you can imagine I was quite thrilled when I was finally able to knock it off my “I wish this was an anime” list. I don’t expect this to be a replacement for the games but I do expect that the anime will have it’s own strengths. In the games you only get to see the interactions of a small subset of the cast at any given time while all the really huge character gatherings are reserved for the supplementary materials such as the audio drama segments that come with the CDs. The anime should be a nice hybrid allowing viewers to see all the girls participating in idols shenanigans together. I wonder what new songs will appear?

Natsume Yuujinchou San
I only just watched the first two series within the past year after a friend showed our anime club an episode but I breezed through the rest in no time. I don’t think I have to talk about this too much considering that I must like it enough to warrant going on to its third entry. I expect San to deliver much of the same so it is probably the safest bet on my definites list though I am curious as to how big of a role the supernatural organizations introduced at the end of Zoku will have now. Everything is more or less fresh in my mind still so I’m looking forward to seeing how the new series will pick up.

Yuru Yuri [PV]
Four girl slice of life comedy series are like one of my favorite genres ever apparently and combining it with yuri must make it even better, right? Aside from that I really don’t have anything else I know for sure but regardless I’m quite looking forward to this. Even if it isn’t amazing I’ll most likely still find it enjoyable.

Usagi Drop [PV]
These types of stories focusing on newfound parenthood click with me especially since one of my biggest life goals is to have a cute daughter. In particular with this one, the fact that the protagonist is the only one in his family willing to look after the illegitimate girl has potential drama written on it. Regardless of whether drama will be a heavy focus or not, I’m sure that it will be a wonderful story of family bonding between Daikichi and Rin. Also Rin’s voice is so cute.

Kamisama no Memochou [PV][TV Spot]
In some crazy alternate universe this would basically be me since I love mysterious and am very accustomed to the hikikomori/NEET lifestyle so I’m really looking forward to how this combination plays out. It’s also exciting to see more modern approaches to solving mysteries like online community sourced information gathering. I will laugh hysterically if 2chan or its equivalent is crucial to solving a case in the show. Considering the huge cache of Dr Pepper Alice seems to have, her intellectual prowess should be plenty enough to take on any job except maybe going outside.

Ikoku Meiro no Croisée [PV1][PV2]
Possible slice of life gold detected here. I highly doubt that I was the only one to get massive ARIA vibes from the two PVs. If you keep the basic atmosphere of ARIA but switch out Neo Venezia for 19th century Paris you basically get Ikoku Meiro no Croisée as far as everything leads me to believe. It’ll surely be fun to watch Yune meet new people and explore a new culture.

Ro-Kyu-Bu! [TV Spot][PV]
I need my girl sports anime fix and this is the show to provide it. The concept sounds really promising and possibly endearing. Getting a second chance at basketball by coaching an elementary school girl’s team may not be as glamorous as being the ace of the high school team but it has its own charms. The main character looks depressed for basically the entire PV, probably because of the situation and the initial frustration of coaching kids of various skill levels, but by helping them grow just maybe the kids will do the same for him and bring back his happiness. If the show can deliver some heartwarming comedy like this I will love it forever.

No.6 [PV1][PV2]
Though I’m not anticipating this as much as the other noitaminA series it does look to be an intriguing sci-fi thriller. There is a lot of stuff in the PVs to digest but it looks like there will be some tension between the two main characters over the true nature of the city. What that means exactly isn’t clear yet but in particular I wonder if there is a deeper connection between the devastating storm and the city beyond just a normal natural disaster and that strange mark on the back of one of the characters. There’s probability plenty more than that but that should probably wait until after it airs.

Kamisama Dolls [CM][PV][PV – story side][PV – girls side]
On it’s surface it seems superficially cute but behind that exterior lies a pretty dark perhaps even creepy underbelly. In that respect it reminds me of Alien Nine and Narutaru which are both a strange mixture of cute and horrific. Can’t wait to experience the possible nightmare.

Dantalian no Shoka [PV]
The same author as Asura Cryin’ you say? People, myself included, like to joke about how Asura Cryin’ is literally every genre ever. Honestly though I found it highly entertaining and exciting in a strange sort of way because basically anything could happen. Oh and the ending sorta kinda made sense (it makes sense to me but I’d have to rewatch everything to explain it since it’s kinda complicated). I don’t expect Dantalian to be an example of high art but I’ll be satisfied either way if it can provide me with some entertainment.

Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angel: Kyun Kyun Tokimeki Paradise!! [PV]
If you didn’t already know one of my other favorite genres is mahou shoujo. I watched the original two episode OVA when I stumbled upon it randomly on MAL and found out the two lead girls were voiced by Noto Mamiko and Tamura Yukarin. I wouldn’t say the OVA was spectacular or anything but it was entertaining enough for me as a mahou shoujo fan. I guess just go try out the OVA to get a general idea of what to expect from the television version while keeping in mind that the production has been handed off to J.C. Staff from Nomad. It’s also kinda funny to call it Twin Angel when there is a new third Angel joining the fight this time around.

Morita-san wa Mukuchi [OVA PV]
This isn’t my personal brand of silent moe since normally have a very narrow field of things that make me feel like talking in excess but I think I can empathize enough with Morita. I have times where I want to try speaking to someone but can’t because of my inability to get beyond thinking excessively of what the other person will think of me so I suppose I can relate. I really should watch the OVA so that I have a better idea but yeah going to watch it regardless because of dandere-ness.

Nekogami Yaoyorozu [PV1][PV2][PV3]
Random fooling around by a bunch of cute gods. You can tell the Touhou doujin pedigree that FLIPFLOP brings to the table which is a good thing in my book. I can’t really say much more other than yes please to silly shenanigans.

Maybe Watching

Nyanpire The Animation [PV]
Although the concept and art look cute and hilarious, truthfully the main reason I am sort of thinking about watching this is as a show of support for GONZO. GONZO did a lot of underwhelming works in the last couple of years before their financial crisis but there were still gems in there (I’m looking at you Saki). If we look even further back GONZO gave us many classics like Gankutsuou and Last Exile just to name a few. Back in the day I predicted GONZO to fail catastrophically due to its fanservice business strategy but by no means was I glad when they did. Do I want to give GONZO a second chance? Sure I do and though this may not be masterpiece material I think it’s a step in the right direction so I might just give in to vampire kitties.

Uta no☆Prince-sama♪ Maji Love 1000% [PSP PV]
It’s not that I hate bishounen series but I don’t go out of my way to watch them either. When I do watch them it is usually by accident like they just suddenly appear in the series or someone I know recommends it to me. This show might be the exception however because the heroine is an aspiring songwriter. I tend to take to heart stories revolving around striving for musical goals so depending on how much of a factor this plays in the story I may dive in and watch this.

Tantei Opera Milky Holmes Special
Though the TV series was entertaining in a very dumb kind of way, I’m not sure if my head can sustain any more brain damage. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t regret watching the show but compared to the potential of all the other series on this list and the possible time crunch it will take to keep up with it all in a weekly fashion, Milky Holmes is one of the first to be ignored. I suppose this is all dependent on what form these specials take but the only real guarantee I’ll watch them is if it’s only a few episodes or something.

Double-J
When I hear about new anime being announced I usually jot them down onto my plan to watch list immediately or ignore them if they don’t seem interesting. Double-J was among the latter category. The reason I decided to put it onto the maybe list is because I found out that it was one of those silly flash anime shorts which are usually fairly entertaining and very bite-sized keeping them from being a massive time sink or getting stale.

Mayo Chiki! [PV]
At this point it’s become a little tiresome to watch shows that I know will be full of fanservice just because I think the premise is otherwise somewhat intriguing only to be wondering why I even started in the first place. I like trap and reverse trap stories but I’m wary of the fairly high doses of fanservice in the PV. Maybe my initial impressions of this series are wrong and maybe the core story is actually better than expected but I don’t have my hopes up.

OVA

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira [PV1][PV2]
An OVA to one of my favorite series ever!? You better believe I’ll be watching it! It’ll be fun to see Casey and friends screwing around again. It’s looks like basically fan depictions and memes in animated form and I am perfectly okay with this. Sure there are some extra chapters that could be animated but really that would take a television series to do properly. Also Rika, Satoko and Hanyuu in mahou shoujo form and Satoshi x Keiichi comedy.

Carnival Phantasm [OP PV][Character Introduction PV]
Type Moon crossover mayhem I can approve of. My Tsukihime knowledge is lacking compared to what I know of the other Type Moon properties but I’m well versed enough to enjoy it I’m sure. If not this would be a good excuse to dust off that old copy of Tsukihime I have lying around and actually play it. I guess what I said in the above entry applies here as well.

Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream Specials
I like my early morning girly shows so I’ll be watching the accompanying specials as well.

Nichijou: Tanken Nichijou no Machi
In my quest to maintain my perfect track record for watching Kyoto Animation shows, I’ll inevitably end up watching this. I guess I’m not the biggest fan of Nichijou compared to most of the internet but maybe I just need to watch more.

Baby Princess 3D Paradise 0 [Love] [PV (Long ver.)]
I listed this in the previous watch list but I’ll say it again. I happen to like anime-style 3D graphics and supporting its development so I’ll be watching this just for that though it looks a little off in places.

Movies

Pokemon Best Wishes! Victini to Kuroki Eiyuu Zekrom/Shiroki Eiyuu Reshiram
Currently I have a complete track record as far as watching all the Pokemon movies is concerned and that won’t be changing anytime soon. Besides I do actually enjoy them.

Mahou Sensei Negima! Anime Final [PV]
Before this sees a home release, I really should catch up on the manga as I am currently over 100 chapters behind and this actually takes place after where I stopped unlike the Negima episodes up until now. Anyway I’m really looking forward to this movie and the finale of Negima in general.

Hayate no Gotoku! HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH [PV]
This is airing back-to-back with the Negima film and I’m looking forward to this as well. I’m not really sure what this will be about considering the more-or-less random nature of the series but I expect that whatever we get, it’ll be full of laughs.

Heart no Kuni no Alice: Wonderful Wonder World [PV]
I don’t have any particular interest in bishounen series in general but I need my Alice in Wonderland fix. Besides I heard this series was supposed to be good so maybe this will turn out to be a good introduction to the property. Also it’s sometimes hard to get used to Kugimiya Rie’s non-typecast roles again.

Summary

Counting everything up there are up to 18 new television series for me to chew on in addition to the 5 or so continuing on from past seasons. Realistically though I’ll probably stick to the 13 in the definite category this time through to avoid dying of of anime overload. I just can’t help pushing my limits though when so many new anime seem to have a lot of potential. So exciting!