Posts Tagged ‘zexcs’

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Our Home’s Fox Deity Collection 2 Released By: NIS America Released: 2/22/11 Reviewed: 5/23/11 Related Reviews Rated: 13+

In the second half of Our Home’s Fox Deity, the brothers will continue to get into supernatural trouble thanks to Ku and Ko living with them. First, the second half starts with the brothers taking in a mysterious girl wrapped in enchanted cloth. It seems that she was actually to be delivered to the oni who are making a bigger ruckus than usual. After that, the brothers will get tied up with werewolves while Sakura gains a new rival for Noboru’s affections (not that he ever notices).

Good and the Bad

In the second half of OHFD, the audience gets pretty much exactly what was delivered in the first half with only a couple of new tricks added to the mix. Changing from the first half, in the second half the majority of the episodes belong to multi episode story arcs. Even if the stories are being stretched out over multiple episodes though, there are still no real changes to the flow of the series. These are still people living everyday lives and hopefully being entertaining in the process. This doesn’t end up being that true but we’ll get to that in a bit.

A couple of times in this half, the series tries it’s hand at multi episode story arcs. In these stories, the tone and pacing is the same with episodes often times feeling rushed throughout. The main issue that the series has is the way it lays its stories, and subsequently, its episodes out. Every story is laid out and written but ends up being broken up in all of the wrong places. A great example of this is the werewolf story which ends on an episode that begins with the fight and filled the last half of the episode with emotional wrap up. Had this episode ended with the fight and tightened the emotional wrap up, there could have been something really special here.

Tragically, this and every other story in this half just falls victim to a pacing that grows frustratingly worse. Perhaps it was just the increasingly draining feeling that I felt from these characters but looking back, it’s weird to think about just how quickly this series was finished and I’m not being complimentary. While the multi episode arcs had trouble with where the split the episodes up, the single episode stories have their own problems with simply rushing through each episode. Sometimes there is resolution, sometimes there isn’t but the pacing always felt like a race to get there.

What is fortunate for the series is that there is just enough ‘new’ here in order to keep the audience at least halfway awake. While Mubyo was the one who stole my heart in the first half, the second half features another character named Miyabe who is there as the rival for Sakura. Though to say that Sakura needed a rival is laughable in itself since it was already a foregone, predictable conclusion that her story was going to go absolutely nowhere.  Let’s face it, no matter how many times they might have hinted at a rivalry it wasn’t as though anyone ever thought that there was going to be any sort of romantic wrap up. It was just never going to happen and all of this time spent trying to play up that drama is a waste at best.

What’s nice about this series are the same things that kept it warm and fun in the first half. These are simple stories that anyone in the family could enjoy simply because they are cute and non threatening. At its most dramatic moments, this is a series that won’t have anyone on the edge of their seats wondering what is going to happen next. This isn’t the type of series where you ever have to worry about the good guys not finding a way to get through their latest situation. It’s just that kind of warm show that doesn’t need to challenge anyone’s intelligence. For what it is, it does it well enough.

Music

Beyond the new ending theme that starts with episode 19, there really wasn’t anything new or exciting about the soundtrack to this half. The music is a strong supporting full orchestra but there isn’t anything that ever stood out about it beyond select moments. Early in the half when Toru is watching his new friend being driven away, there is a nice violin theme and xylophone theme that accompanies the mountain scene in the final episode are both examples of momentary moments but for the most part this is a very average score for a very average series.

Extras

This collection contains all of the same extras that the first half did such as the ridiculously sized art box and hardcover character guide. Also included in this half however is a special bonus disc which contains multiple special events in Japan and original commercials.

Overall

If I really had to make a judgment call I’d say this is a series that really should’ve been kept at 13 episodes as there just isn’t enough story to keep it that interesting all the way through. However if you push past the whole inviting feeling being a little weaker and the terrible episode pacing, this is still a cute series. If you enjoyed the first half a lot, you won’t be disappointed by how things end. However if you were only on the fence about the first half, you can skip this without feeling like you’re missing out. This was an average second half that was nice to watch but won’t be revisited.

After the younger one is attacked by a demon in his dreams, brothers Toru and Noboru are summoned to their family estate by their grandmother. There they break the seal on their family’s guardian spirit Kugen to defeat the demon. Unwilling to seal it back up, the brothers agree to take on the fox spirit as their personal guardian deity and take it home to live with them along with another guardian shrine maiden named Ko. Now with two unexpected house guests, the family learns to adjust and has adventures including meeting and doing battle with local gods getting jobs and going on vacation together. All while the older brother, Noboru, is left to deal with mounting expenses tied to housing a guardian deity and being completely oblivious to the obligatory best friend character named Sakura. Good and the Bad It’s easy to look at this series and just take a pass. It’s another fantasy slice of life and really, who among us haven’t seen enough of those to last a lifetime? Just for that reason alone I could see many people passing on this and never even thinking twice about it but then those people are the unlucky ones missing out on something sweet, charming and unexpected. This isn’t a series that designed to blow anyone away with its amazingness. Produced in 2008 by ZEXCS, this is an episodic romp through a fantastic world that is now the Takagami household. As the members adjust to their new additions, wrinkles will pop up that need to be smoothed out from episode to episode. Sometimes the wrinkles are large such as with Toru constantly being attacked by demons or local gods Mubyo and Eibyo start causing a ruckus. Other times, the wrinkles are much smaller such as when shrine maiden Ko proves herself to be a complete klutz and has to get a job in order to pay for damages made to the house along the way. In spite of this and the lack of any real overarching story, Our Home’s Fox Deity works mostly thanks to its fun characters. Led by the fox deity Kugen, with it the audience gets the best of both worlds with a character that can change gender at will. This eliminates any need for the character to have to act in a particular way for any given situation and creates the perfect moe for any given instance. While most of its time is spent in its female form, sometimes a guy needs to make a good impression and that’s where it’s handy to be able to become a bishounen (certainly a skill that I wish I had). As mentioned though, sometimes you need to ask for a favor directly and sometimes that’s just so much easier to do as a female. While every character had their own unique quirks (I loved Ko’s very animated explanations and Kugen’s throaty laugh), the god Mubyo stands for being one of the most unique god characters from recent memory. Clad in an overcoat, Mubyo spends much of her time communicating to others through the hand puppets that are always covering her hands. While a larger secret lies behind her, Mubyo provided some of the strongest laughs and even tears in this half keeping her a welcome addition to the second half of the set. Where the series really fails to capture the imagination of the audience are in the brothers that the entire series is centered on. While Toru is vaguely more interesting because of how often he gets attacked, Noboru proves to be one of the least interesting characters of the series. For a series completely filled with spirits, gods and demons this creates nothing but opportunities for the audience to realize just how boring these brothers are by comparison. Always stuck in their roles, there is nothing to indicate in these episodes that they are even headed towards something greater. Being only 3 years old, the animation quality within this series isn’t something that deserves any sort of trashing. Going with the general feeling of the series, the animation in this series is made up of mostly light colors and muted backgrounds. It’s much rarer for Our Home’s Fox Deity to do anything particularly flashy but on the few occasions that it does (such as when a god needs to unleash an attack), it always manages to appear as a nice accent to animation rather than an unneeded burden. Unfortunately not everything is perfect as NIS America has once again put out a product with errors. While some fans were already aware of the packaging recall that already occurred with this series, while watching the discs I found some noticeable errors with encoding leading to blurry or completely unwatchable picture. Luckily these instances were few and far between but just their mere presence is an annoyance that I’m sure many fans will be grumbling about upon receiving their sets. Music Matching the pace of the episodes, the music here rarely grows into anything that I would call intense. Almost always using soft flutes or strings to get its point across, the music is a sweet and sentimental pairing to the picture and story. In particular, music fans will want to pay attention to the themes accompanying Mubyo due to the wonderfully simple string themes that follow her everywhere she goes. Extras As with other NIS America releases, I have to complain about the size of the packaging. Measuring 11 inches long, these releases always have to be turned one way or another in order to fit into my shelves and I wish they would shrink them down. That said, this is still another release filled with wonderful extras for fans. Beyond the art box to keep it all in, this set includes a special full color hardcover collector’s book with nice notes on the episodes and characters. You’ll want to wait until after you’ve finished the set to look at it to avoid the spoilers within it but another package of great extras are here for fans. Overall I enjoyed this set so much more than I thought I would. Charming and easy going, this was never a series that I had any issue with popping into my player so that I could enjoy another couple of episodes. The episodic nature flowed well from episode to episode making it easy to just take in episodes at whatever leisurely pace you’ve decided on. While it’s not a series of the year contender or something that is going to blow you out of the water, there’s more than enough here to make this worth watching. This is a solid first half that doesn’t rely on moe tropes to get by and instead goes the old fashioned route of using decent storytelling to bring the audience in. This is worth checking out!

First Impression: Alright, I think I have a pretty good idea of where this is headed.

Nao and Shuusuke are siblings who both want to do naughty, perverted things to each other but are both afraid of making the first move because they’re related. Nao has continually played into this though in hopes of pushing her brother over the edge but has had no such luck. One night while cleaning (read: searching) his room, she comes across an old family photo album that has no pictures of her in it. When she confronts her parents about it she learns that she is actually adopted which means that she’s free to pursue whatever kind of relationship with her brother she wants.

Good and the Bad

A lot of people are going to look at this series and pass on it before even giving it a chance but is that the right choice? Well, as someone who has enjoyed sibling complex series in the past (and probably will in the future), I can tell you that while this might not be the best example of the genre, with a little adjustment, this can provide a little bit of humor… but not a lot.

The first thing for anyone to get used to when watching this series is the incredibly odd art style being used. Every character in the series is made up of large features placed on top of thin, lanky bodies. The style isn’t really that new (Clamp has made a fortune drawing characters like this) but the extremes that character designer Madoka Hirayama (Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka) takes them is distractingly bad. Every character looks like they have necks as thin as pencils but as long as their arms.

After that, getting into the writing and humor of Oniichan no Koto (how I’ve chosen to shorten that ridiculously long title) will be the next challenge facing the audience. With the premise of the series being so simple, you could hope that getting into this series will involve laughing at something remotely clever but you’d be disappointed pretty quickly. Going along with the cut and paste plot synopsis, the episode is centered almost entirely on Nao and her quest to be bedded by her brother. To accomplish this, Nao is written in two extremes that are constantly shifted back and forth for the entire 25 minute episode run.

During one moment, the audience might see Nao in her horny mode which leaves the jokes to rely on fan service, panty shots and a manipulative sister getting frustrated that her older brother is not pouncing on her. But then moments later, she will do an incredible about face that I’m surprised doesn’t give her whiplash! Suddenly instead of horny sister, she’s super pissed off normal sister who calls her brother a pervert and admonishes him for every little thing. And this switch occurs at least a half dozen times in this one episode alone. For the gods sake tell me that this series learns how to tell a different joke sometime in the very near future.

Music

While the comedy in this premiere was rather simple, I was quite surprised to find the background music composed by Tomoki Kikuya (Asobi ni Iku yo, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) to be so entertaining. Despite the writing feeling like a phoned in kind of job, the music used throughout always carries a very lighthearted feeling that never allowed the series to gain any sort of real dramatic tension. No matter what was happening, the string and piano melodies always made sure to leave the series with a sense of whimsy that I really didn’t expect to hear.

Overall

The perverted series of the season that will be hard to find any middle ground opinions on. I admit that I chuckled a few times while watching this episode but even for a sibling complex series it was just too frantic and hyper. The jokes were all pretty predictable and Nao constantly switching between perverted and normal was more of a headache than amusing. If you hate sibling complex series, this series is only going to reinforce that opinion. Even if you like sibling complex plots, this isn’t a particularly great example of it. I’m hoping that the introduction of some new characters will help things improve but right now it seems like this is a series that will be forgotten sooner rather than later.

January is a really important month for me because there is just so much going on! Oh right, yeah there’s the new year I guess but if you have your priorities in order, you’d actually be referring to the first new anime season of the year! It’s a really small season this year though. I only have 21 new series (down from 29 last year) on this year’s preview, not including the OVAs/OADs that will be listed in part 2. This is just not a season for studios to be multitasking it seems. A quarter ago, JC Staff were the busy ones but this season they’re quietly working on one (Yumekui Merry). Instead, Studio Deen are the busy ones this season with three different series premiering (Starry Sky, Kore wa Zombie desu ka and Dragon Crisis). Studio Pierrot is right behind them with two (Beelzebub and Level E) though that’s only technically since they’re only co-producing one of them.

So there’s a lot to cover to let’s get into it already. Part 1 of this season’s review covers everything up until 1/8, which is roughly half the season. Don’t forget that I’ll be spending the entire month getting my early impressions up as I am able to view the new episodes. Feel free to chime in with your own opinions along the way.

Haiyoru! Nyaruani: Remember My Mr. Lovecraft
Studio: DLE Inc.
Premiere Date: 12/10
Genre: Comedy
Adapted From: ONA/Light Novel

What It’s About

A Cthulhu deity has taken the form of a seemingly harmless silver haired girl. While wandering around, she comes across a high school boy, Mahiro Yasaka, being attacked by aliens and saves him. For those unaware, that’s never just the end of it when it comes to Cthulhu.

Why You Should Care

I haven’t looked at this one yet but I already know it’s going to make for interesting viewing. The most experienced people on the cast are the voice cast and character designer, Koin (Kanokon). But come on… it’s anime and Cthulhu! Are you really going to tell me that you’re not the least bit curious?

Starry Sky
Studio: Studio DEEN
Premiere Date: 12/23
Genre: Shoujo Romance
Adapted From: PSP Games

What It’s About

Yahisa Tsukiko is the first female to enroll in what was formerly an all boys school. While making her way through the school and meeting her classmates, she bumps into 12 different boys. Not so coincidentally, they all have personalities that match the 12 signs of the zodiac.

Why You Should Care

Studio DEEN is producing three series this season so if you don’t like this one, there are still two more chances down the road.

Cast and crew for this series include fan favorites Jun Fukuyama  and Daisuke Ono playing Azusa (Mr. Sagittarius) and Suzuya (Mr. Cancer) respectively; music is being composed by Tomoki Kikuya (Squid Girl, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki, Hidamari Sketch, Asu no Yoichi, Da Capo II) and the bishies are safe in the hands of Maki Fujii (07-Ghost).

Rio – Rainbow Gate!
Studio: XEBEC
Premiere Date: 1/4
Genre: Ecchi Comedy
Adapted From: Slot Machine
Available via Crunchyroll

What It’s About

Originally a popular slot machine character (don’t laugh, anyone remember pachinko based series Umi Monogatari?), Rio Rollins Tachibana makes her debut working in a casino where she is known as the ‘Goddess of Victory’. What she really wants is to get closer to her mother who was also known as one of the best card dealers ever and to do this she must collect 13 special cards called ‘gates’.

Why You Should Care

I’m not saying that this is absolutely going to be an ecchi series but it does have the same studio (Xebec) and director (Takao Kato) as To Love Ru. It’s also premiering on acid nipple satellite network AT-X. Draw your conclusions here.

Kimi ni Todoke Season 2
Studio: Production I.G
Premiere Date: 1/4
Genre: Romance
Sequel

What It’s About

The continuing stories of shy girl Sawako making friends in her class. In the first season, she was able to strike up a relationship with the most popular boy in class among others.

Why You Should Care

All of the cast and crew remain the same; Production I.G is still handling the animation and Hiro Kaburaki remains in the directors chair. The only change is the addition of Mamoru Miyano playing Kento.

This is one the series from this year that I would love to sit down and give another chance someday. It didn’t grab me the first time but there is still something special to this series.

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica
Magical Girl Madoka Magica
Studio: Shaft
Premiere Date: 1/6
Genre: Magical Girl
Trailers

What It’s About

After days of research and watching all 10 trailers here’s what I’ve put together about this series: there are magical girls and they grant wishes.

Why You Should Care

This is the first series of the season that I’ve given up all hope of being able to resist based solely on the crew: animation from Shaft (Bakemonogatari, Maria Holic, Hidamari Sketch), director Akiyuki Shinbo (Bakemonogatari, Hidamari Sketch), music composed by Yuki Kajiura (Madlax, Noir, Aquarian Age, Pandora Hearts, Mai Hime), theme songs from ClariS (OreImo) and Kalafina (Sora no Woto) and character designs from Umi Aoki (Hidamari Sketch).

So psyched to see this it’s not even funny. Alright, maybe a little.

IS: Infinite Stratos
Studio: 8-Bit
Premiere Date: 1/6
Genre: Sci-Fi School Comedy
Adapted From: Light Novels
Trailers

What It’s About

In the future, wars are fought with exoskeletons called Infinite Stratos and are almost exclusively piloted by females. When 15 year old Ichika discovers that he is one of the few exceptions, he is given a full scholarship to an all female school that trains IS pilots.

Why You Should Care

There are a couple of reasons to get optimistic about this one. Director Yasuhito Kikichi has done giant mechs (Macross Frontier) and one of the writers, Fumihiko Shimo, has done school romance (Clannad, Full Metal Panic, Kanon [2006]). Additionally music is being composed by Hikaru Nanase (Chrno Crusade, Canaan, Da Capo, Scrapped Princess, Super Gals).

However, it’s still a school comedy with giant mechs and this is the first time studio 8-Bit has been credited for animation production. Keep your expectations reasonable.

Yumekui Merry
Studio: J.C. Staff
Premiere Date: 1/6
Genre: Action Comedy
Adapted From: Manga
Trailers

What It’s About

Fujiwara is a completely normal boy beyond the fact that earlier in his life he discovered a power to see the auras surrounding people while additionally having constant dreams about cats fighting a war. Not surprisingly, while walking around one day an odd cat girl falls on top of him and drags him into the middle of a war being fought by cats.

Why You Should Care

Early looks at the animation from JC Staff make me want to care about this release but it’s already becoming a struggle.

Director Shigeyasu Yamauchi has the most impressive resume out the cast and crew with having worked on 5 different Saint Seiya releases.

Wolverine
Studio: Madhouse
Premiere Date: 1/7
Genre: Action
Adapted From: Marvel Comic
Trailer

What It’s About

Wolverine, the tough mutant with superhuman healing, senses and retractable claws travels to Japan to investigate Advanced Idea Mechanics. While there he’ll run into familiar figures from his past.

Why You Should Care

Iron Man wasn’t really received that well so it’ll be curious to see how the second of four Marvel anime adaptations (Blade and X-Men are still to come) sits with fans.

Just like with Iron Man, the pilot will be directed by a veteran, in this case famed director Rintaro (a whole host of Leiji Matsumoto titles). Starting with episode 2, the series will be directed by Hiroshi Aoyama (Rocket Girls). As a side note, how lame is that? “Alright guy, Rintaro has done his thing. Now make the rest of the series just as good.”

Wolverine will be played by Rikiya Koyama who has done other tough guys like Emonzaemon in Katanagatari, Jubei in Ninja Scroll and Reiji in Witchblade.

Gosick
Studio: Bones
Premiere Date: 1/7
Genre: Mystery
Adapted From: Light Novels
Trailer
Available via Crunchyroll

What It’s About

Taking place at the St. Marguerite Academy in the fictional European country Sauville during 1924, a boy named Kazuya Kujo transfers into the school. Eventually he meets and befriends a girl named Victorique who is only interested in solving mysteries (including some that even the local detectives can’t figure out). Throughout the series, Kazuya and Victorique will make their way around solving cases and forming bonds with those who need help.

Why You Should Care

Beyond animation from Studio Bones (Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Ouran High School Host Club, Fullmetal Alchemist) it’s hard to come up with reasons to be genuinely excited about this one. Director Hitoshi Nanba worked on Heroman and Kotaro Nakagawa composed the music for Code Geass and Hayate the Combat Butler but other than that… eh.

Cardfight!! Vanguard
Studio: TMS Entertainment
Premiere Date: 1/8
Genre: Card Fighting
Trailer
Available via Crunchyroll

What It’s About

Again, after careful research this is what I’ve come up with: the main character is a third year middle schooler and becomes really good with a new card game. But someone else comes along who says they are better and so the two must duel. Probably repeatedly.

Why You Should Care

Yet another series about dueling cards but this one was put together by YuGiOh mangaka Akira Ito, Duelmasters technical advisor Satoshi Nakamura and Bushiroad president Takaaki Kidani and they really want you to like this series. So much so that JAM Project has been acquired to sing the OP.

Other interesting names attached to the crew include director Tsuji Hatsuki (Rurouni Kenshin, Samurai X, YuGiOh Duel Monster GX) and Tsubasa Yonaga (Ren in Big Windup!) as the lead card dueler.

Freezing
Studio: A.C.G.T.
Premiere Date: 1/8
Genre: Sci-Fi Action
Adapted From: Manga
Trailer

What It’s About

In an alternate future where Earth has been invaded by aliens, Aoi Kazuya enrolls to fight in the resistance. Entering a school that’s training genetically modified women called Pandoras to fight and men to be their partners, Aoi ends up meeting the most powerful and popular girl named Bridgette. Despite being warned of her unique personality, Aoi teams up with her to fight together.

Why You Should Care

At first I thought this was going to just like Infinite Stratos. Now I see that the primary difference is that this series will be darker, bloodier and more ecchi.

This is another series premiering on AT-X and features not only the director of IkkiTousen (Season 1), Takashi Watanabe, but also two writers who have worked on the franchise.

Animation is being produced by A.C.G.T who you might remember from Koi Kaze, Seven of Seven (I’m trying not to hold that one against them) and Human Crossing.

Onii-chan no Koto nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne!!
Because For Some Reason My Big Brother Doesn’t Like Me At All
Studio: ZEXCS
Premiere Date: 1/8
Genre: Sibling Complex Comedy
Adapted From: Manga
Trailer

What It’s About

Nao is in love with her brother Shusuke but contains her feelings because those types of relationships are still illegal. However, once she finds out that she isn’t actually a blood relative but rather adopted after her real parents died all bets are off! With no laws to stand in her way, Nao begins her quest for a real relationship with her brother despite his ex constantly standing in her way.

Why You Should Care

Tired of sibling complex series yet? Seems like this is a trend that’s going to be around for awhile longer.

This one will be broadcasting on normal television so keep your ecchi expectations a bit lower.

The cast and crew behind this series is impressive at least: ZEXCS (Da Capo, Chu Bra, Canvas2, H20 Footprints in the Sand) is handling animation, Keitaro Motonaga (Akane Iro Somaru Saka, Katanagatari, School Days, Princess Princess) is directing and Tomoki Kikuya is composing his second score of the season (Starry Sky being the other).  The cast includes Eri Kitamura (Yui in Angel Beats, Saya in High School of the Dead) as Nao, Toshiyuki Toyonaga (Tayura in Kanokon) as Shusuke and Marina Inoue (Kiryuu in Akane Iro Somaru Saka, Natsuru in Kampfer) as Iroha.

Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu!
Studio: Bridge
Premiere Date: 1/8
Genre: Comedy
Sequel
Available via Crunchyroll

What It’s About

The continued adventures of the Marui triplets making life miserable for their teacher as he tries to hook up with the bumbling school nurse.

Why You Should Care

No crew announcements but the animation studio is staying the same so I’m assuming this means all or most of the cast and crew will be returning.

Whew, that’s it for now. Later this week I’ll be posting the second half which covers the rest of January, February and all of the OVAs and OADs that are starting to be released this season. So, got any picks on what looks good this season?

I really have to say, this whole partnership with Kadokawa thing that Crunchyroll has… it’s working for them.

In a press release sent out today, Crunchyroll announced the addition of three harem comedies to the site today, one of which is getting resurrected from the old ADV graveyard. Joining the other comedies that fans are already enjoying are Good Luck Ninomiya kun, H20 Footprints in the Sand and Maburaho (this one is the zombie) . The first three episodes of the first two series are already available for all access users while four episodes are available of Maburaho. Additional episodes will be added weekly while premium members have access to the series in their entirety.

For regions, Good Luck Ninomiya-kun and H2O Footprints in the Sand will be available in: North America, South America, United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Middle East and Africa. Maburaho has almost the same coverage being available in: North America, South America, United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Netherlands, Portugal, Middle East and Africa.

Now, ready for the rundown?

I’m starting with Maburaho simply because this is the only one out of the three I am glad to see brought back (not only do I own this entire series but I own it in singles). The JC Staff produced borderline ecchi comedy premiered in 2003 takes place in a world where everyone uses magic. High school student, Kazuki, is one of the worst and weakest magicians but thanks to his lineage is destined to father one of the most powerful magic users ever. When this gets out, every girl in school is literally trying for the chance to birth that kid. Yes, the series is as ridiculous as I just made it sound but for a harem series, this is one of the bright spots of the epic 2005 DVD peak.

Second up is ZEXCS produced eroge adaptation, H20 Footprints in the Sand. Originally premiering in 2008, this is the first of the two getting North American debuts. In this series the lead is the mysteriously blind and emotionally scarred Takuma. After moving to a more rural area with his uncle, he enrolls in a new junior high and gets to know various girls. Oddly, as he gets the know them his vision gradually starts to heal.

Finally, produced by AIC Spirits and premiering in 2007, Good Luck Ninomiya kun is based off the light novel series featuring Shungo, a high school student who is usually home alone due to his sister being on mercenary missions. One day Shungo finds out that his sister has sent two siblings, Mayu and her older brother Mikihiro, to live with him to cure Mayu of her fear of men. And just for giggles she’s also blackmailed the student council president into being their maid.

I admit to this much… a small part of me wants to push everything aside and watch all three of these series. Not a big enough part that I’m actually going to do that but the temptation is there.

Full press release below the cut

Read the rest of this entry »

First Impression: Another fun 25 minutes with a high quality visual novel, shame I was watching anime.

After spending most of his childhood moving around due to his father’s job, Kohei has decided to transfer to a high school on Tamatsu Island where he lived for a short time as a child. Upon arriving, he immediately meets the student council vice president Erika but finds the reception he gets a little off putting when she runs away. Moving into the dorms, Kohei will meet other students as he explores the campus including two friends he had as a child and the other members of the student council. As he tries to get closer to Erika, he stumbles upon a dark secret within the school that will force him to put that on hold for awhile.

Good and the Bad

Based off an eroge, the series opens with a long exposition speech that lets you know right away that this series is keeping to its roots. After his first meeting with Erika, the introduction of other female classmates comes at a quick pace and will always include the soft music and close ups. After opening animation that does almost that same thing, it’s hard to ignore just how much this premiere feels like a high quality visual novel.

It takes a little while but eventually Fortune Arterial manages to break away from this thanks to the animation created by Feel and ZEXCS. Bright and filled with visually pleasing character designs, the style for most of the episode remains very moe with a lot of standard personality types thrown in along the way. At this point you might think that this series is just another rehash with no original legs to stand on.

Once you dig past the glossy surface however, Fortune Arterial impresses with the slow build. Beyond a very short introduction, there’s very little in this premiere to lead anyone to believe that things are going to twist that much. The characters are standard and the relationships are proving to be fairly cut and past. Once the audience is trapped in this sense of security is when things change and the mood becomes something entirely new.

Music

Much like the writing and story, the background music in this episode has a gentle visual novel feeling. Always light, the background music is comprised of mostly string themes or general synthesizer tunes that rarely calls attention to itself. Most scenes continue onward with only the softest of melodies to fill in the occasional gaps in dialogue. Where things do stand out are during the constant character introductions. Every female that enters the series in this episode have to have their slow time on screen but every girl has their own soft tune which stands out against the designs to create something just slightly more memorable.

Overall

I was pleasantly surprised by this first episode. While the look and feel doesn’t do much to make it stand out, there is still a fun time to be had here. I do suggest that anyone who picks this one up should be prepared to give it a couple of episodes to warm up. While not a lot happens here, things are coming down the road that may make it all worth it in the end.  A dark romance that is going to be that much more twisted in the long run, I’m giving this one an early green light to check out. It’s not amazing but it sure kept me entertained for its time.

First Impression: It’s like Parn and Deedlit all over again… only this time Deedlit isn’t a hot elf.

Coming from the Roland Kingdom, Ryner Lute and Feris Eris (yeah, don’t get me started on that rhyme) are on a mission to find legendary heroic relics on the orders of their king, Shion Astral. Armed with Ryner’s magic and the sword skills of Feris, the two find their way into a dungeon along the border rumored to house the next relic on their list. What they don’t realize is that other kingdoms are becoming aware of their mission and on their tail is the leader of the Roland Empire Taboo-Breaker Pursuit Squad, Lt. Milk.

Good and the Bad

At some point, I might break out into a rant. Of all the series to premiere this summer, LoLH has been the one to give me the most trouble. Not because it’s particularly bad… it just leaves absolutely zero lasting impressions. It’s an average premiere for a fantasy series, I just preferred it when it was called Record of Lodoss War. And it’s not that the characters look like other previous fantasy heroes with slight twists and it’s not that LoLH is entirely lacking in its own unique quirks. Alright, it sort of is.

In the first episode, LoLH sets the pacing and tone for the series right away. With a full  26 episode run to work with, the staff behind the series or the characters within show no signs of being in a rush to accomplish their objectives. So beyond a few history lessons to get you caught up on the setting and character introductions, most of this episode is spent on the characters exploring. The purpose of this quest and exploration isn’t entirely clear but some seemingly key points will be introduced… and it takes 25 minutes to do it.

Just like the story and characters, the writing is sluggish and slow. Occasionally things are broken up with a sharp verbal jab from Eris but for the most part this is just the start to a slow build towards something that is difficult to care about right now.

If you want to put a positive spin on this however, one could say that this isn’t a terribly written episode since all the information is given at a very relaxed pace. There’s no mad scramble to shove as much information as possible into the minds of viewers. With plenty of time to spare, the staff sprinkles just a bit of information in along the way to accompany the nice looking animation produced by ZEXCS. Unfortunately only about a third of this episode actually delivers on valuable information while the rest is developing the personalities of the heroes.

Overall

Another series I was looking forward to this season has left me annoyed that I had more fun watching the trailers than I did the first episode. Dragged down by poor pacing, LoLH shot itself in the foot early by leaving viewers with memories of too many fantasy series they’ve already seen instead of something vaguely fresh. While there’s always hope that things will pick up once they get past the general introduction that’s still 3-4 episodes away and I will be shocked if there are that many people willing to stick around that long. Hardcore fantasy fans could have something new to watch but everyone else has 25 minutes of their week that probably doesn’t need to be dedicated to this.

It’s that time of year again! The summer season has started and things are a little tame this time around. With earlier season previews always turning into short novels I decided to split things up this season. In the first part, I’ll be taking a look at all the series premiering in the first week of July (which is most of the season). Part 2 will focus on the rest of the month and part 3 will lay out the OVAs and OADs hitting shelves in the next couple of months.

Around two dozen series are premiering this season with AIC being the busiest (4 series from them this season if you count AIC+ and AIC together). Behind them are Madhouse (High School of the Dead, Stitch!) and A-1 Pictures (Kuroshitsuji II, Sekimatsu Occult Gakuin) with 2 series each. There’s an interesting mix this season with the most high profile series falling mostly in the moe (ok, that part isn’t surprising anymore) or horror categories. This season my hopes for entertainment are falling on High School of the Dead and Shiki but just like every other season, I suspect a couple of series are going to surprise me.

For coverage this year this season things will be slightly different once again. I still intend to view/review as many new series as I can but only series that create a particularly strong opinion are going to get its own write up (no more struggling to describe mediocre series!). Otherwise, be sure to look out for the end of the month wrap up to see which premieres filled with win and which ones are filled with nothing.

Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi
Mr. Wolf and the Seven Friends
Studio: JC Staff
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Premiere Date: 7/1
Trailer

First Impression: Sweeet!

A girl named Ookami Ryouko is a girl who has taken it upon herself to fix her school’s problems one at a time with her partner, Ringo Akai. Throughout the 13 episode series, the girls will solve one problem after another as famous fairy tails from throughout history are parodied.

Why You Should Care:

- Fairy tale parody anime? I am so there!

- The cast and crew sound great! Yoshiaki Iwasaki (Love Hina, El Hazard – The Magnificent World, Hayate the Combat Butler) is directing and the cast includes Kanae Ito (Ruiko in To aru Majutsu no Index, Airi in Queen’s Blade) and Shizuka Itou (Haruka in Amagami SS also airing this season, Hinagaku in Hayate the Combat Butler) as Ryouko and Ringo respectively.

- In the supporting cast more familiar names include Aki Toyosaki (Yui in K-ON) as Ryugu, Rie “Tsundere Queen” Kugimiya as Mimi and Yui Horie (Tsubasa in Bakemonogatari, Eri in School Rumble) as Alice.

- Besides the second half of Kaichou wa Maid sama, this is the only series produced by J.C. Staff this season.

Amagami SS
Studio: AIC
Genre: Romance
Adapted From: Playstation 2 game
Premiere Date: 7/1
Trailer

First Impression: And they’re going to avoid making this repetitive, how exactly?

Following a visual novel format, the story centers on second year high school student who finally gets his big chance to ask out a graduating senior girl on Christmas. Which heroine he ends up with will change multiple times throughout the series to show each girls ending.

Why You Should Care:

- One reason I dislike harem series is that the hero never ends up with the one I want him to. This series aims to fix that problem by making everyone happy.

- Between the director and writers for this series the closest things I can find to actual experience with romance is an incest OVA from 2005 written by Touko Machida. I fear for what this means we’re going to see here.

- On the plus side Hiroaki Gohda did the character designs for Please Teacher and Please Twins.

Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu
The Legend of Legendary Heroes
Studio: ZEXCS
Genre: Fantasy
Adapted From: RPG
Premiere Date: 7/1
Trailer

First Impression: Eh, I’m really iffy about this.

A lazy student enrolled at the Roland Empire Magician School has his life change when his kingdom goes to war against another country. After losing all of his friends to the battle, Lute launches on a quest to find legendary artifacts and stop a curse before it can kill everyone else.

Why You Should Care:

- ZEXCS may not have much experience with fantasy series but director Itsuro Kawasaki does having already directed Chrome Shelled Regios, Chrono Trigger OVA and Rental Magica.

- Providing the lead voices will be Jun Fukuyama (Lelouch in Code Geass, Lawrence in Spice and Wolf) as Lute, Ayahi Takagaki (Nina in Chrome Shelled Regios) and Daisuke  Ono (Sebastian in Kuroshitsuji) as Shion.

- One of the first series to be announced for simulcast by Funimation this summer!

Kuroshitsuji II
Black Butler II
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Genre: Horror, Drama
Adapted From: Manga
Premiere Date: 7/1
Trailer

First Impression: Maybe I’ll stick with it this season.

The horror series returns with a new master, Alois Tracy, and a new butler, Claude Faustus.

Why You Should Care:

- In this case the new season means a new cast and a new director Hirofumi Ogura.

- A-1 Pictures (Moribito, Sora no Woto) returns to do the animation which is never a bad thing.

- Also will be streamed by Funimation in very near future.

Shukufuku no Campanella
Blessed of Campanella
Studio: AIC
Genre: Harem Romance
Adapted From: Eroge
Premiere Date: 7/2
Trailer

First Impression: I’ve been so tired of harem adaptations lately but fine, what’s one more?

Taking place in the fantasy trading city of Ent’Aria a young man sees a shooting star while at a party. Tracking the star to its landing point, he finds a young girl who is now calling him father.

Why You Should Care:

- Ecchi fan service and wacky adventures? Well, the DVDs have already been promoted as coming with 3D bath scene extras so yeah, most likely.

-  Brought to you by the man who directed Oomari Himari and the writers of Tayutama – Kiss on my Diety – and Karin.

Mitsudomoe
Studio: Bridge
Genre: Comedy
Adapted From: Manga
Premiere Date: 7/2
Trailer

First Impression: I’m willing to let this one surprise me.

A set of triplets, Mitsuba, Futaba and Hitoha, in the sixth grade have their daily adventures and events chronicled in this series.

Why You Should Care:

- This is the debut production for animation studio Bridge.

- This is series #2 this season for both Ayahi Takagaki who plays Mitsuba and Aki Toyosaki who plays Yuki.

Seitokai Yakuindomo
Studio: GoHands
Genre: School Comedy
Adapted From: Manga
Premiere Date: 7/3
Trailer

First Impression: I know you have guys in Japan, I’ve seen them!

A high school boy named Tsuda Takatoshi transfers into a recently gender integrated high school that is almost entirely populated by females. Almost right away,  he is asked to join the all female student council as the vice president.

Why You Should Care:

- Usually serving as back up, this is only the third title GoHands has produced as primary animators. Their first attempt was last year’s Princess Lover while their second production, Mardock Scramble, is still in production.

- Speaking of Princess Lover, this series has the same director, writer and art director.

Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~
Studio: Seven Arcs
Genre: Ecchi Action
Adapted From: Manga
Premiere Date: 7/4
Trailer

First Impression: Didn’t watch the first season, not going to watch this one.

Picking up where the first season left off, the second season continues to follow Minato Sahashi, Musubi and others paired up with a Sekirei.

Why You Should Care:

- Like other sequels, most of the crew and cast members remains the same.

- Funimation announced the license of the first season not too long ago so keep this one on your radar for a possible simulcast announcement.

- Yup, Funimation has this one ready for simulcast too.

Gakuen Mokushiroku: High School of the Dead
Studio: Madhouse
Genre: Horror
Adapted From: Manga
Premiere Date: 7/5
Trailer

First Impression: Zombies, blood, a bit of ecchi… perfect?

Told from the perspective of one of the heroes, Takashi Komuro, this is exactly what you’re expecting: an anime style zombie apocolypse. After a worldwide epidemic create legions of zombies, a group of high school students and their nurse attempt to survive long enough to find out what has created the monsters and how to stop them.

Why You Should Care:

- From the studio that brought fans dark series such as Chaos;Head, Claymore, Black Lagoon, Rainbow and many others comes this bit of mindless horror.

- High School of the Dead will be premiering on Japanese satellite network AT-X which generally indicates plenty of mature content.

- The crew put together for this series knows horror and drama; Tetsuro Araki (In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom arc of Aoi Bungaku, Death Note, Kurozuka) as director and industry veteran Yousuke Kuroda (Madlax, Demonbane, Trigun) is writing.

- Not only will it be simulcast by The Anime Network but Sentai Filmworks will be releasing it with a full English dub later on.

Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin
End of the Century Occult Academy
Studio: A-1 Pictures, Xebec
Genre: Horror
Premiere Date: 7/5
Trailer

First Impression: I’m honestly not sure what to make of this.

The story follows a girl named Maya, daughter of a former headmaster in charge of a school dedicated to the occult. Joining her in her adventures is a young psychic named Uchida who has traveled back in time from 2012. Wait… he traveled back in time 2 years?*

Why You Should Care:

- The OP is being sung by Shoko Nakagawa which actually isn’t that big of a deal. I just like her music so I thought I’d plug it.

- This is series #4 for Ayahi Takagaki this season playing the role of Ami. She’s also appearing in Asobi ni Iku yo, The Legend of the Legendary Heroes and Mitsudomoe.

- This is the third series in the Anime no Chikara project. The first two (Sora no Woto and Senkou no Night Raid) haven’t given this series a very high bar to climb over.

Nurarihyon no Mago
Grandchild of Nurarihyon
Studio: Studio DEEN
Genre: Supernatural Action
Adapted From: Manga
Premiere Date: 7/5
Trailer

First Impression: Ah, wacky supernatural split personality fun.

Rikuo Nura is a quarter demon and is set to be the next head of the Nura youkai clan. Finally forced to come to grips with his demon side, Rikuo decides to step up and accept his role despite challenges from those who don’t want to see him take over the role.

Why You Should Care:

- Aya Hirano takes on her only role this season playing the childhood friend character, Kana Ienaga.

- Director Junji Nishimura has been around for literally decades serving as director for Ranma 1/2, Violinist of Hamelin and Kyo Kara Maoh.

- This is the only series from Studio Deen this season which will make it of particular interest to a few of you out there.

That’s it for this time but be sure to check back soon for the rest of the month! But in the meantime, what are you looking forward to this week?

*Note: This was a mistake, I know now that he’s traveling back in time from the future and that makes so much more sense.

This is going to be a quick one but a new 30 second trailer has been posted to the official Denyuden YouTube channel for the upcoming Legend of the Legendary Heroes. The new trailer focuses mostly on action and animation presentation (a change from the longer trailers which focused on story and character introduction). I’ve made jokes about this series since it was first announced but everything that fans have been shown so far doesn’t make this look like such a bad fantasy title. Anyone planning on checking this one out when it premieres on July 1st?