Although the winter anime season has technically already started, not all the shows have aired yet so it’s not too late for my usual watch list. Besides I always love talking about things that excite me. Anyway for whatever reason I find myself planning to follow a couple more series than normal. Thankfully this is somewhat balanced by the fact that several of the shows are in the 3 minute or less per episode range so their total time commitments can almost be neglected. Anyway this time I’ve decided to divide things into five categories. Normally the first three would be lumped together but I figured it would be easier to follow this way. I swear it’s not because I wanted an idol series in multiple categories. Anyway onto the list!
New Series
Love Live!: School Idol Project [PV] [CM] [PV] [PV] #lovelive
Love Live is easily my most anticipated anime of 2013. I’ve been following it for the past couple of years since the multimedia project was first announced. I remember when they didn’t even have a real group name and when fans voted for the name μ’s (Muse)! I really love the main singles and the other songs are quite nice too. Each of the five music videos have made me want an actual TV anime more and more so I was ecstatic when it was finally announced. I’m really looking forward to seeing the girls in action beyond the music videos and drama CDs. Since people occasionally ask me, my favorite girls are Honoka, Eri and Maki in no particular order. Let’s see how the anime shakes up the list! By the way I was planning to have all the Love Live songs translated before the TV series started airing. Clearly that’s not happening but I hope it can motivate me to pick up the pace! I think I’ll prioritize songs that appear on the show first.
Sasami-san@Ganbaranai [PV] [CM] #sasamisan
I have such a soft spot for hikikomori characters that I just have to watch it. Something about a little sister electronically spying on her older brother and his antics with girls just sounds like it’ll be entertaining no matter what.
Dokidoki! Precure
I’m sure I’ve gushed enough about how much I love Precure so I really don’t have to describe my level of anticipation. Dokidoki‘s design aesthetic really reminds me of Fresh. The card motif and character designs come to mind. I mean Heart kinda reminds me of Peach for example. If people are getting the wrong impression I’m not complaining or anything since I really love Fresh. Even if they seem similar at first I’m sure it will differentiate itself just like how Smile set itself apart from Precure 5.
Tamako Market [CM1] [CM2] [PV] #たまこまーけっと
To be honest I’m not sure I would have this as high as it is if it weren’t for the KyoAni factor. Then again this is only like the second non-adaptation anime they have ever done and the Munto works are probably their least well received outings. However Tamako Market does look like the KyoAni stuff I like most so I’m quite hopeful. Also what is up with that chicken!?
Maoyuu Maou Yuusha [PV1] [PV2] #maoyu
It’s not like the premise is super unique in a general sense but it’s not something you see everyday in anime and that by itself is why it interests me.
Vividred Operation [PV1] [PV2] #vividred
I came for spats and I stayed for (techno) magical girls. It feels a bit like Strike Witches and Rinne no Lagrange which may or may not be a good thing.
Senran Kagura [PV1] [PV2] #kaguratv
There’s almost always that one show that that I’m oddly interested in watching despite knowing it’s something I don’t really need to be watching. This time it’s Senran Kagura and like always I can’t quite explain it’s appeal. Maybe it’s the game promos. Maybe it’s all the merchandise I see while browsing online. Maybe I just want to see girls with large assets fighting each other. I don’t know but I’ve been tempted to check it out for a long while now so I’m pretty much going to end up watching it no matter how conflicted different parts of my brain are.
Sequels
AKB0048 Next Stage [PV] #akb0048
When I first started watching AKB0048 I pretty much downplayed my enthusiasm and told friends that it was pretty decent. However by the end of the first part I was a raving fan. I had known about AKB48 since before they hit mainstream popularity but never got into them. I didn’t dislike them or anything but I wanted to avoid the hype. After finally giving in due to the show and exploring AKB48 culture I was delightfully surprised by how well the anime portrays it aside from the sci-fi parts. Something is oddly compelling about AKB48 culture in sci-fi form. Anyway I love seeing the idols striving for their dreams as well as the behind-the-scenes idol politics. I’m also a sucker for Kawamori’s general music can change the world thing. Beyond the confines of the actual show though I also like how the idols themselves auditioned for the roles and how many of them expressed interest in becoming voice actresses. In a way it sort of combos into the sentiments of the characters they play. As a side note I hope Linda will get a little more screentime. Nobody wants to cosplay her!
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Next [PV1] [CM] [PV2] [OP ED PV] #haganai
Haganai was one of my big obsessions of 2011 and I specifically recall a few times where I spent pretty much a whole day consuming related media. As far as the original light novel series is concerned I’ve read up to the very beginning of volume 4 which happens to exactly correspond with where the anime left off. As such I’m essentially going into NEXT blind aside from material from earlier chapters which may have been skipped. It’s pretty much the reason I couldn’t stop myself from yelling out in excitement when a certain thing registered in my mind while watching one of the PVs. Yozora was wearing a blonde wig to mimic Sena (which I do remember reading about) and then it cut to Sena’s room filled with photos of Yozora and Sena in her bed sniffing the wig! Even if I could catch up in time I’ve decided to hold off reading for now to see what surprises await.
Chihayafuru 2 #chihaya_anime
Considering how things ended it’s not surprising how I want to know what happens next. I’m looking forward to seeing Chihaya and the rest of the team grow even more and take on their rivals not to mention how the relationships develop.
Minami-ke Tadaima [PV]
I was a big fan of the first anime which happens to be one of my favorite comedy series. However the subsequent seasons didn’t quite match the level of hilarity of the original. That’s not to say they lacked any merit. I found the Mako-chan and Hosaka segments to be consistently entertaining to me. Even if it is just for that I’ll watch although I do hope it will be funny overall.
Short Series
Mangirl! [PV] #まんがーる
I’ll admit I’m one of those people initially interested solely based on the silly sounding name i.e. I thought it was going to be about traps. However I’m also always interested in anything that has to do with manga creation so that is why it still interests me.
Puchimasu!: Petit iDOLM@STER [PV] #ぷちます
Aside from my longtime iM@S fandom I’m mainly interested in this since this is one of the branches of the franchise I have never touched so it’ll be entertaining to see some wackiness.
Ai Mai Mi [PV] #aimaimi
I’m somewhat interested in this for the manga thing just like above but it seems like it’ll mainly be about goofing off which I am okay with. It also happens to have a couple of the fairly new seiyuu I like so that helps too.
Yama no Susume [PV] #ヤマノススメ
I was initially not going to watch this after hearing about it before but since it’s short I can give it a chance without worrying too much about the total time commitment.
OVA
Ebiten: Kouritsu Ebisugawa Koukou Tenmonbu OVA #ebiten
I’m not going to say Ebiten was great or anything but after getting used to its style it was okay enough. Not sure what to expect except the same sort of things from the show.
Corpse Party: Tortured Souls – Bougyakusareta Tamashii no Jukyou [PV]
I’ve been interested in the Corpse Party games since I first heard of them but unfortunately I have not had a chance to play them. Perhaps this will serve as a temporary crutch or it just may push me to actually play them.
Kagaku na Yatsura
Err…I’m watching this for science…This is the other guilty pleasure on the list orz
Movies (For Later)
Hanasaku Iroha: Home Sweet Home [PV] #hanairo
Hanasaku Iroha was one of my favorite anime of 2011. I got invested in all of the characters and their situations so I’m really looking forward to seeing all of them back.
Toaru Majutsu no Index: Endymion no Kiseki [PV1] [PV2] #index_movie
From the moment I started watching Index all I have wanted was to see science fighting magic. For that reason I am looking forward to the movie. Technically I’m mainly interested in Raildex to see Judement shenanigans but there’s always Railgun S for that later in the year. By the way I am way too amused by Kuroko teleporting in a wheelchair.
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I’m quite worried about Tamako Market considering that Kyoto Animation bombed on Munto. On the other hand, I might be wrong, but we’ll definitely see how it goes when it start airing.
Also, have been wanting to watch Boku wa Tomodachi for a while, but never got a chance to in 2011 since I was watching too many shows at that time… Maybe I’ll marathon the whole thing before watching the sequel.
Author
Haganai is fun although there are plenty of times you might end up raging at one character or another.
Interesting thoughts, I am watching almost the same as you, not sure what else is going to come right now.
I know for sure that I won’t watch Dokidoki Precure, AKB-Whatever, Chihayafuru (did not see Season 1, worth it?).
Not sure about those short series but the OVAs and Movies are or will also be on PTW 🙂
Author
Chihayafuru is a fantastic competitive club series. The characters are interesting and are pretty fleshed out. They also have human limitations so there’s a good sense of tension and drama all the time.
How about oreshura? It seems pretty decent to me.
Author
Perhaps it is nice but given time constraints I doubt I’ll watch it in the near future at the very least.
So what is your opinion on Love Live so far? For me, I loved it. The pace are nice and stuffs.
Author
I love Love Live so much. It’s my favorite show of the season. Of course I know I went into it with a positive bias but even still I think they did a lot of nice things that would earn my love even without the previous exposure. All the girls have their own distinct roles and personalities. The interaction between the Honoka, Umi and Kotori is quite entertaining not to mention Honoka with everyone. The new songs and choreography are fantastic. I also love the story so far. My highlight was the debut concert in episode 3. It had such a strong mix of emotions and a real sense of tension. It makes me really want to see what will happen with the girls next. Every week is a battle to endure until a new episode is out.
>Vividred
>It feels a bit like Strike Witches and Rinne no Lagrange
Oh man, this is pretty much exactly how I feel about it.
Author
I know right? Not that I care since I enjoy those shows.