Summer Anime 2011

[Shirai]

http://neregate.com/blog/wp-content/upl ... ime-v2.jpg

[Sugami]

BAKA TO TEST!!! Can not wait for that one! Thought Working! had a new series coming soon, hmm, maybe it'll be in the Autumn line-up.

Ah so Blade is the 4th and final Marvel anime by Madhouse. I wonder if he'll have a cameo near the end of X-men.

[Alya Mizar (Tsybil)]

I love that little line: (Note: Actual plot may differ from this one)

[Shirai]

Oh god... an Idolm@ster anime... (I actually own all 3 PSP games)

I didn't go through the list myself before posting it.
(And where's Berserk!! )

[Sugami]

Berserk? That's ancient, have they remade it?

I did a bit of research and Natsume Yuujin-Chou San is the sequel of a sequel, Zoku is the second season and this is going to be the third so unless you've seen the first two either download them (like me) or don't bother with this series I'm also in the process of downloading the first season of Nurarihyon no Mago.

Just read the description for Manyuu Hikenchou, "In this current era, breasts mean everything. If you have breasts, you are guaranteed wealth and popularity..."

Ha! R-15 looks more like it's rated 18

Haven't seen these things yet but Appleseed, Blood-C and Blade are all jumping out at me, expect good things from those

[Shirai]

Berserk? That's ancient, have they remade it?

The old Berserk anime ended at the eclipse (with one of the biggest cliffhangers ever shown) and only covered the Golden age arc of the story.
Now more than a decade later the manga is still ongoing and popular as hell, both in and outside of Japan, so they are making a new anime out of it in the form of theatrical movies like they are doing with Evangelion.
And probably with the same timespan between movies.
These movies will cover the manga more precisely and they are planning on covering the whole story, which can indicate that either the Fantasia Arc which started in volume #34 might be the last
(One story arc usually lasts about ~10 volumes though.) or they are going to release them slower than Geneon releases Hellsing.
Then again it's still unsure how many volumes one movie will cover.
As for the Manga, I'm waiting for Dark Horse to release volume #35. (Which right now is about as far as Japan is excluding the new chapters released in Young Animal Seinen magazine which will be in volume #36.)

I Haven't seen these things yet but Appleseed, Blood-C and Blade are all jumping out at me, expect good things from those

Appleseed is a typical Shirow story, I'm biased in a positive way as I like Shirow's stuff.
Blood-C, yea definitally.
Blade, let's see what Mad House made of that.

[Sugami]

I thought Berserk ending with everyone dying. Oh well, I've only seen the "abridgment"

Double awesome, Sengoku Basara and Pokemon movies

[Shirai]

I thought Berserk ending with everyone dying.

Does he look dead to you?
Nope, the old anime was just the "prologue" to the bigger part of the story.

[Sugami]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu2QhRxXs6o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmaT8wZM0dA



"Everyone gets raped, eaten or killed. F- you, the end."

[Shirai]

"Everyone gets raped, eaten or killed. F- you, the end."

My Berserk collection would like to have a word with you:


Though I am going quite what the flying fart at your linksh though.

[Sugami]

That's referring to the anime ending. And if you hadn't heard of "abridging" you should look it up The Berserk abridged series starts off a bit poor but gets really good, I like that guy's humour. He's also abridged Gantz and Escaflowne

[Shirai]

That's referring to the anime ending.

Well even in the anime ending 3 people don't die, 2 of them are Guts and Griffith (now Femto), the third I leave you to guess.
I DO recommend you read Berserk (or at least part of it).

[Sugami]

Berserk isn't my kind of anime and I rarely read manga, find them a bit dull in general. My manga collection is a tiny fraction of my anime collection

[Shirai]

It's the other way around with me, I usually have more fun with Manga than I have with anime.
Collection wise it's about the same size for both.

And not liking Berserk... ah well we aren't all perfect~

[Sugami]

Seen 7 episodes of the first series of Natsume Yuujinchou and to expand a little on what's written: Natsume can see spirits and so could his now deceased grandmother only she was a bit wild in her youth and fought the spirits, once defeating them she had them write their names in her "Book of Friends" meaning that she was now their master. Present time all these spirits are after Natsume because they want their names back to be free, some want the Book of Friends for power, enter Nyanko-sensei (cat demon!) AKA Madara. Natsume stumbles across Nyanko-sensei in the first episode, their relationship is basically that Nyanko-sensei will help Natsume give spirits back their names in return for having the book once Natsume dies. It's a pretty strange relationship considering Nyanko-sensei is actually a really powerful demon yet he lets Natsume be somewhat disrespectful to him at times and by helping Natsume he's allowing the book to get thinner and thinner and therefore lose its "power".
Kinda hard for me to describe this anime, it's not a straight up comedy though there are some comedic moments in it, can't really be called a "slice of life" considering it's a fantasy but it does concentrate on feelings and emotions of characters a fair bit. Best way to describe it is it's just a nice story.

Might want to watch it for the cat demon

[Sugami]

Got hold of Tantei Opera Milky Holmes in anticipation of the special this summer. It might be about detectives but there isn't really any "detecting", it's closer to a super hero anime as the description says people have these "toys" that basically gives them super powers. Can also see the art style is rather cute though it does have its quirks, there isn't much in the way of fan service either except for the main villain and the ending credits (swim suits), as such I don't really know who this anime is aimed at. I'd describe it as a somewhat mix of mystery, action, adventure and comedy.

Also the four main characters are named after famous detectives, not only that but they're their grandchildren though no idea why they have adopted their first name rather than their family name. At the end of the series a new character is introduced called Mori Arty... hmm...

I found it fun and enjoyable, not a Shirai-anime though

[Sugami]

Been watching Nurarihyon no Mago in anticipation of the second season. There's 26 episodes in the first season, if I had to categorize it I'd say it's a fantasy, action and comedy. Saying that the series just hasn't really grabbed my attention, it's not bad but I'm not finding myself eager to find out what happens next or whatever. I'll probably watch the second season if only for something to watch in bed.

[Sugami]

Summer season is here! I'm just going to keep things brief, won't bother with talking about the plot or whatever since there's a small break down in that picture.

Kamisama no Memo-chou - Translates to "God's notebook" I believe. I'd say it's closest to a mystery/detective anime, kinda like a cross between Gosick, Spiral and the A-Team. The artwork and animation is really good with good use of CG, in fact it's very similar Hanasaku Iroha, I wouldn't be surprised if it's from the same studio or something. The first episode was a double so it's a good introduction to the characters and what the anime is about. I found it interesting and amusing with great characters, have high hopes for this one, think Shirai might like it

[Sugami]

Blade - 4th and final instalment in Madhouse's partnership with Marvel. I don't really need to describe it, I'm sure everyone knows what Blade is. Artwork and animation are up to their usual standard, good start to the series so yeah, watch it Of course they've gone and transplanted it to Japan and made up a couple of their own characters as usual.

Ikoku Meiro no Croisée - It's set in France ergo sucks Just kidding, it's a slice of life anime with some comedic moments thrown in. Artwork and animation is rather beautiful and cute. The story is interesting, can't really think of another anime to compare it to, closest would probably be Hanasaku Iroha so if that sort of thing appeals to you and you want to watch something a bit different you might enjoy this anime.

Sacred Seven - Supernatural action adventure with a tiny helping of comedy thrown in. Guess could compare it to the likes of Guyver and D Gray-man, not like I've seen those anime though Artwork and animation is very typical of the genre, not saying it's bad as it's pretty good but nothing that stands out all that much. Might seem a bit clichéd to start with but I liked it, it may or may not be one for Shirai

Rou Kyuu Bu - Sports comedy anime with fan-service thrown in, the disturbing thing is the girls are in elementary/grade school so... The artwork and animation is very cutesy, think Milky Holmes and Dog Days. To be honest it's not all that interesting, it's not like it's a straight out comedy either so it's not especially funny and as mentioned the fan-service is somewhat disturbing. I honestly wouldn't recommend this to anyone unless they have a lolita complex.

[Sugami]

YuraYuri - This one doesn't seem to be mentioned on the posted. In brief it's a school comedy set in what appears to be an all girls middle school that centres around 4 girls of the "amusement club". One girl is strongly hinted at being a lesbian, honestly didn't know kids come to terms with their sexuality that young but at least it isn't as bad as Rou Kyuu Bu making a grade schooler have like E-cup breasts. Anyways the art and animation is pretty cutesy, the jokes are moderately funny and the story is just random silliness it seems. It's not up to snuff with the likes of Lucky Star, Azumanga Daioh, etc. but it is better than Rou Kyuu Bu We'll see where these ones go.

Kamisama Dolls - Action, adventure, supernatural/mecha and a bit of comedy thrown in. Art and animation is pretty cool, especially for the "gods". Story seems pretty interesting to me, I'm sure it'll expand to be a good story driven anime. Shirai, you might complain about the "fan-service" due to one character having huge breasts but that'd be the extent of it, might be worth a watch

[Sugami]

Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angels - Not listed in that poster but seems like there was a reason for its exclusion. Ugh, an anime based on pachinko machines you can't really expect much and this just seems like a really poor rip-off of Sailor Moon. That's all I need to say really, I can only imagine young children would enjoy this series.

[Shirai]

an anime based on pachinko machines

I don't expect this to be a children's anime, Pachinko is not really a children's game.
(I also have traumatic experiences with Pachink parlors. )

[Sugami]

Well yeah what I meant was I didn't have high expectations for the anime but the anime itself seems like it's more aimed at children (ignoring the big breasted character) from the art-style and characters. Heck there's even a Tuxedo Mask rip-off, hence me thinking it's a Sailor Moon rip-off.

Rainbow Rio Gate (or whatever) is another anime based off a Pachinko machine and that's definitely aimed at adults due to the copious amounts of fan service

Nyanpire 5 minute anime about a vampire cat, worth watching just for the ending credits

[Sugami]

Usagi Drop - No bunnies involved First thing that sticks out is the artwork and animation at the start, it's very stylistic and unique, looks like it was painted with pastels and watercolour. Sadly that doesn't keep up and is only for the introduction or whatever but the artwork and animation is still good, backgrounds especially are very detailed and look beautiful. This is what I can only really describe as a slice of life anime with a pretty interesting and original story, some people might find it slow but it should end up as one of those stories that warms the heart.

Mayo Chiki - Primarily a comedy with some sprinkles of action (protagonist gets the crap beaten out of him) and probably some romance to come. The artwork and animation is very reminiscent of Ore no Imouto. I didn't really want to talk about the story now but someone pretending to be another gender in school for whatever reason, it's been done (Ouran High School Host Club, Maria Holic), the characters all seem somewhat clichéd as well (nose bleed when touched by opposite sex isn't all that different to breaking out in hives á la Maria Holic) but here's the thing, it really works. Yeah the plot isn't original but it's a different take on the thing, the characters may seem clichéd and archetypes but they're all very fun and the jokes are very funny. Recommend to fans of high school comedy anime.

No. 6 - "Futuristic" adventure anime best I could describe it. Artwork and animation is pretty good. Story is a little slow to start, characters have only just got established but it seems pretty interesting. It may turn into something that Shirai will like

Uta no Prince-sama - Slapstick romantic comedy adapted from a PSP game sums it up pretty well Shoujo-anime so the art-style is very befitting of one, girls are all pretty with big eyes but not large breasts (although the heroine isn't flat as you'd expect) and all the boys are "bishie". Something that kinda bugs me is the heroine's eyes, yellow with green pupils, WTF? It is pretty funny but not quite laugh out loud funny as say Fruits Basket or Ouran High School Host Club. Another thing to notice is there's a lot of famous/recognisable seiyuu in this anime and I was surprised at how good Kira/Yagami Light is at singing If you like titles such as Fruits Basket, Ouran, Kaichou wa Maid-sama, etc. you'll probably enjoy this one.

Mawaru Penguin Drum - This one doesn't seem to be mentioned on that poster. I'm not really sure how to classify this, my guess would be at a cross between fantasy and sci-fi with a dash of comedy. The art-style reminds me of Honey & Clover a bit but the backgrounds are really well done with a lot of detail, it's also quite stylistic with certain elements and some good use of CG. The poop really hits the fan at the end of the first episode with some psychedelic animation. It might not be for you but I strongly advise checking it out anyways, it's totally unique there isn't another anime quite like it.

Blood C - It's been a while since I saw Blood The Last Vampire but I can't remember it being anything like this. The art-style is very shoujo-manga, as in all the characters are tall and thin, though there is a fair amount of boobage. It also starts off much the same way as a shoujo-manga would, the heroine is a bit of a ditz, she has a group of friends etc. introduced and there's some sprinkles of comedy thrown in to lighten the mood. Have to wait until the end of the episode to watch a fight with some weird thing that looks nothing like a vampire but then again I don't remember what the "vampires" looked like originally. Still it doesn't put me off the anime though there are probably others that would be disappointed hoping for it to be darker and more gritty. Give it a shot, I'm sure the story will get more interesting and darker.

[Sugami]

The Idolm@aster - Slice of life with a hint of comedy anime. Based on a game but not a dating sim (as you might expect considering you'd play the male lead surrounded by females). The art style looks a lot like Battle Girls so it's pretty cute. I like the way this anime started, pretty unique as was like a documentary where the cameraman (the protagonist) follows the idols around asking questions. However it's not all that funny and I'm not sure the story will be all that interesting but we'll see.

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni - Off the wall hilarious comedy, second season so if you like comedies get the first season (and specials) before but this isn't one to miss for comedy fans

[Sugami]

Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi - AKA A Dark Rabit Has Seven Lives, seems to be a supernatural/fantasy romantic comedy of sorts and not mentioned in the poster either. Firstly the artwork and animation is what I like to call date-sim art, girls have big eyes (though surprising no big breasted girls yet), everyone has big hair and in general it's very well done as you'd expect from a date-sim. In fact it looks a lot like the art style of Ore-tachi Ni Tsubasa wa Nai. I'll also point out that there is some fan-service and censorship, to be expected with that kind of art style really and the censorship is for blood & gore and the "forbidden panty-shot angles". The story seems to be pretty interesting but only time will tell. I'd compare it to a cross between Dance in the Vampire's Bund and Ore-tachi Ni Tsubasa wa Nai. Also think it's not one for Shirai

There seems to be a few anime that hasn't been picked up, yet to see Appleseed XIII, Nekogami Yaoyorozu, Dantalian no Shoka, Manyuu Hikenchou and the Tantei Opera Milky Holmes Special. I'll be able to give me first impressions on R-15 tomorrow, it's not something I can really watch during the day it seems

[Sugami]

R-15 - Maybe they should call this one R-18 instead, get it, because it's rated 18? Anyway, not 10 seconds in and there's censorship and a girl moaning, don't let the start fool you though it's not a porno or anything as that was just one of the stories the protagonist wrote since he's an erotic writer. There is still censorship due to his fantasies and such, think it could be handled better and a bit more subtly but oh well. So it seems to be a comedy mostly with heavy erotica and a good chance of romance thrown in later. The art style is very cute (think Dog Days) and thusly doesn't really suit the perverted nature of the show. The jokes are pretty funny and the story... well, it sounds interesting on paper but has yet to really kick into gear. Yet to decide whether I like it or not. Definitely not a Shirai anime

[Shirai]

The Idolm@aster - Slice of life with a hint of comedy anime. Based on a game but not a dating sim (as you might expect considering you'd play the male lead surrounded by females). The art style looks a lot like Battle Girls so it's pretty cute. I like the way this anime started, pretty unique as was like a documentary where the cameraman (the protagonist) follows the idols around asking questions. However it's not all that funny and I'm not sure the story will be all that interesting but we'll see.

First impressions:
Animation quality is not as good as it is in the game. (I own it.)
Then again the game has a lot of repetative animations.
Other then that, character wise it's quite like the game, except the producer has a face now.

[Sugami]

Wouldn't have thought it'd be an anime you'd like but since you have the game you might as well watch it Art is one of the main attractions of these games so you'd expect it to be better, anime need to be made pretty quickly though I don't think there's anything wrong with the animation of the anime.

Manyuu Hikenchou - SubDESU finally picked this one up and I can see why no one else wanted to do it. After reading the synopsis I was expecting a silly perverted anime, instead it's a stupid practically soft porn hentai, worse than Seikon no Qwaser, at least that had a story and taught you a little chemistry. Right from the start there's censorship and it's so bad that the whole screen is completely white at times, one character's boobs are so big they're often censored even though they're not exposed. I honestly don't see the point of making a TV series like this, make it an OAV or be more tasteful about it. Honestly the "story" doesn't need to be like a porno in places and they don't need to be showing any naked boobs. Speaking of the story it's so stupid, big breasts mean power and wealth so a group of samurai go around chopping big boobs but they don't actually chop their boobs off, it's not that grizzly, they just do a magical slice through them causing them to shrink. So you went from a GG to an A cup, what's the big deal besides having your lower back pain cured? Your parents got sick and your husband left you? This is the most shallow world ever! They even kinda have a Highlander thing going on with the "secret technique" stealing breast size, there will be only one!.. or two I suppose.
There's no point in watching the TV version, only point in watching it would be for the boobies.

Nekogami Yaoyorozu - Fantasy comedy anime. Art is pretty cute and story is well, silly and funny. It's mildly amusing, not laugh out loud funny but not bad. Speaking of the story, heroine gets stripped of her powers and sent to Earth for being naughty, gee where I have I heard that before *cough*Thor*cough hack*
Not something I'd especially recommend but it's not a bad watch if you have nothing else to do.

[Shirai]

Wouldn't have thought it'd be an anime you'd like but since you have the game you might as well watch it Art is one of the main attractions of these games so you'd expect it to be better, anime need to be made pretty quickly though I don't think there's anything wrong with the animation of the anime.

I'll probably drop it after another episode or 2 maybe 3.
It is indeed more of a title to cater the fans of series like K-On and the fans of the game itself.