THERE ARE QUITE A NUMBER OF ORIGINAL SHOWS THIS SEASON, WHICH IS VERY EXCITING. MOST OF MY FAVOURITE SHOWS HAVE COME FROM IN-STUDIO ORIGINALS. IT'S THE ANTICIPATION AND THE HYPE THAT DOES IT FOR ME; NOT KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT AND IN SOME CASES, THERE ARE 8 ORIGINAL SHOWS AIRING THIS SEASON (AS FAR AS I KNOW) AND ALONG WITH THESE, HERE ARE SOME THOUGHTS ON THE SHOWS AIRING THIS WINTER SEASON.
IMOCHO: Erm... That sure was an interesting start to the season... It certainly attracted a lot of attention the day it aired. The question is, will this show continue on like this? I know virtually nothing of the source material here so I'm not quite sure what to expect down the line. For its own sake, I hope they wont be pussy footing around its own themes like other shows of this kind. If you're going to go incest then fucking go all the way with it...
SPACE DANDY: I am not touching the dub here, from what I've heard it has totally missed the point of some of the earlier scenes and that was enough for me to drop it before it was even picked up. So from here on out I wont be commenting on the dub side of things. The show itself has a very nostalgic feel to it, which I was expecting since it was announced that Watanabe would be directing another space themed show. But overall it just didn't blow me away as I predicted, I'll definitely be sticking around for this though. If it falls nicely into an episodic format I would be pretty satisfied; it's been a long time since we've got a Watanabe show like this and even if the chances of it living up to the likes of Bebop and Champloo are slim, I think Space Dandy has a lot of potential.
NORAGAMI: The 2nd Bones show that is airing this season... I can't remember the last time Bones had 2 shows on the go in a single season but I'm not convinced they have the man power for it. This should become apparent quite shortly but I do hope they prove me wrong here. Bones were once upon a time my favourite studio, but the constant let downs from 2010 onwards really damaged their reputation for me. I think it's safe to add Noragami's first episode to the list of let downs/fuck ups now. They took the rather hefty prologue from the manga and reduced it to mere seconds before the OP... Way to ruin a great setup, Bones...
WITCH CRAFT WORKS: After Little Witch Academia I have been desperate for a school set witch anime, it was a given this wouldn't be anything like LWA in terms of production quality, but overall this is not the show I am looking for and it's quite frankly monotonous to watch. But I have heard this may take a few episodes to get going.so I'll at least keep it up until then... But as it stands; not a great start...
NOBUNAGA THE FOOL: I only looked up the productions crew for this at the last minute, have fucking caution here... This is being worked on by most of the same crew from Sousei no Aquarion and more recently, Aquarion EVOL. The setup of Nobunaga the Fool all seems so familiar... It's covering the same themes and seems to be going down the same road minus these historical figures. This could be both good and bad for itself but I hope they don't try and follow the likes of Aquarion too closely. The last thing we need is another mech show like that...
NOBUNAGUN: The defining word here is FUN, pure unadulterated fun. It may not be the most original of concepts but I really loved how this episode panned out. And if you didn't find yourself laughing along with Nobunaga like a maniac by the end then you clearly do not like fun things... I cannot wait to see what other types of historical figures show up and what kind of weapons they're reincarnated as. The possibilities are endless really. Question is,
SONIANI: SUPER SONICO THE ANIMATION: I'm quite surprised that this Nitroplus mascot got an anime beforeand no, Black Rock Shooter doesn't count here. This was quite entertaining as far as first episodes go. Sonico is pretty cute and it's quite fun to laugh at her expense but I'm hoping they wont be pushing the air head comedic moments too much. Then again it seems so this could be interesting unless that moment earlier was just a fluke...
TOARU HIKUUSHI E NO KOIUTA: I'm not 100% sold on this show yet, I was switching between incredibly bored and generally uninterested through this first episode. I can tell a show like this may take a while to get going and it has come to my attention that this is a spin-off to a set in the same universe. So maybe it's worth a look if it teaches me anything I don't already know about the world. I'll give it until episode 3, and if I like it enough I'll check out the movie.
D-FRAG!: After everyone hyping this up, I must say it was a bit of a letdown. For the amount of gags and funny moments it was supposed to have it didn't get a peep out of me. To be completely honest I found the method of comedy delivery obnoxious and the gags themselves were just so worn out in terms of anime. I can see myself dropping D-Frag! if it continue like this though I will at least check out a few chapters of the manga seeing as people wont shut the fuck up about it...
BUDDY COMPLEX: When it comes to Sunrise and anime originals I never have any idea what to expect, it can go either way with them... With Buddy Complex, I think they're on the right track. Aside from the mech designs being quite bland, I really enjoyed this first episode. I'm itching to find out more about Aoba's Terminator-esque future. There is a nice amount of mystery built up here and I'm interested to see where Sunrise are taking this.
HAMATORA THE ANIMATION: The studio animating this, NAZ, seems to be relatively new and Hamatora is the first full blown series they will be tackling. I can't say this show impressed me very much, the animation was average at best and the setup was fairly text book. But what really caught my attention here were the powers; they're not your bog standard ones you'd generally see which could prove to be quite refreshing if it continues like this. Other than that, this show doesn't have much going for it...
CHUUNIBYOU DEMO KOI GA SHITAI! REN: I wasn't exactly the biggest fan of the first cour, I didn't really get why this show was such a big deal. It is quite amusing but at the same time I find the characters really annoying... That aside I figured I should at least give the sequel a chance which has gotten off to a rather slow start. Surprisingly they didn't introduce the new character in this first episode, instead it mainly focused on filling the gaps between the first and 2nd cour, which was quite disappointing considering the amount of hype out there for this new girl. Hopefully episode 2 will introduce her.
GIN NO SAJI 2ND SEASON: This was just as expected; more of the same. Which is nothing to complain about really. Gin no Saji grew on me during its first season and I'm ready for it to win me over yet again. It's the first Arakawa work I've genuinely liked despite her art style.
HOOZUKI NO REITETSU: This was by far the most boring show that has aired to this point. I'm quite certain this is made for kids, or rather for people who grew up learning about these mythological characters and stories. Nearly every joke went over my head and if I did get the jokes, I probably wouldn't find them remotely funny. However, it does have potential so I'll be applying the 3 episode rule here.
STRANGE+: I was quite disappointed when I heard this would be a series of shorts rather than a full show and even more upset at that fact after theBaring in mind that this may not even work as a 20 min-per-ep show I still enjoyed the fuck out of it. I don't usually do wrap ups for shorts, but in Strange+'s case I think it might be worth revisiting at the end of the season for some final words.
PUPA: This was quite a long time coming but ultimately a let down. It was a given that there would be censorship, but the first episode alone was What's the point? Aside from over priced BDs of course... But at the end of the day are they really expecting people to pay a 50-70 euro price tag for a bunch of 4 minutes episodes?
Z/X IGNITION: I am completely and utterly lost with this show, it really throws you into the thick of things from the get-go. I'm guessing this is for fans of the card game but they could of provided a bit more back-story or setup to make things a little more accessible for a new audience. Despite this, Z/X IGNITION has quite the star-studded voice cast and may even attract seiyuu fans for that alone. I'll stick around for a bit.
MAHOU SENSOU: Another dreadfully generic show, oh how the mighty have fallen. Though as long as Madhouse keep pumping out OVAs and movies with the best of their staff on hand then I don't mind them throwing out shitty adaptations now and again. Mahou Sensou is not very original nor does it have a main attraction of any kind. It's just sort-of there, not trying anything new or straying away from a set path that these kind of action shows follow.
WAKE UP, GIRLS!: Yamakan tries his hand at an idol anime, and what can I say? It was pretty enjoyable. First off; the character designs were quite appealing, it seems they're going for realism here more than anything. Second; the animation, especially during the concert scenes which are very fluid and well animated.It's a breath of fresh air considering most idol shows will use CG in these types of scenes. I think Yamakan has a good chance of redeeming himself here after the massive failure of the Irish based Fractale. So far so good!
SAKURA TRICK: A Yuri show that is not afraid to give you the whole hog from the get go. I was pretty impressed here. This is VERY tasteful Yuri with a good balance of comedy. On the art side, Studio Deen is doing a surprisingly good job; they've never been a studio I would think about in terms of good animation but I like what they did here, especially with the iris designs. I hope they can keep this standard throughout the season.
NISEKOI: A majority of the "comedy" shows this season are just not funny at all, and Nisekoi just made this list. But I can't deny Shaft's talent here. With its art alone I think Nisekoi is worth checking out, along with thoseShaft are very good at adding their own flavour to adaptations, so maybe they can spice up this stale concept to some degree.
SEKAI SEIFUKU: BOURYAKU NO ZVEZDA: This was one of the most anticipated shows of the season for me and it did not let me down in the slightest. It has by far the best character designs of the season and overall it has a great sense of style and design. It's all very appealing to look at. If they can back this up with a well written story then this could be one of the best original shows of the season. There's nothing worse than good design being wasted on a sub par script.
WIZARD BARRISTERS: BENMASHI CECIL: I'm a bit on the fence about the animation in this show. The action scenes are well animated but some of the character designs, especially on the main cast of females, is strange. I think they're a bit too detailed for the style Arms is going for here. It's probably something I will get used to in time. Aside from my animation gripes, I have no other issues here. It has an interesting concept and our lord and savior, , has a rather pervacious supporting role. What's not to love?
INARI, KONKON, KOI IROHA: Hnnnng, how cute was this show? Adorable characters in adorable situations without being too juvenile. I can see the cuteness factor wearing off on me after a while but assuming it doesn't go down the same route as Gingitsune I could really get into this.
SO THIS SEASON ALONE, I'M PICKING UP 24 NEW SHOWS. WHETHER THIS NUMBER WILL STAY; I DON'T KNOW. I ALREADY HAVE A FEW SHOWS IN MIND THAT CAN BE TRIMMED AWAY HERE. I'M HOPING THAT SOME OF THE LONG RUNNING SHOWS I FOLLOW (SPACE BROTHERS, SAINT SEIYA OMEGA & HUNTER X HUNTER) WILL COME TO A CLOSE SOON, OR IN HXH'S CASE MAYBE A HIATUS FOR A FEW SEASONS WHICH WOULD LIGHTEN MY LOAD. UP NEXT IS THE FIRST VIDEO GAME LOG OF 2014.
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