Winter 2009 Preview: I Think I’ll Catch Up On Fall Series
Posted on December 11th, 2008 by calaggie in Anime, Previews
Twenty-three anime will premiere next month as part of the winter 2009 season (eight of which are new seasons/continuations) and though a few seriously interest me, I may focus more on the series from this fall that I have been lax on keeping up with as well as series I wanted to check out but have not yet begun to, e.g. Ga-Rei Zero. I will provide short previews for each show to demonstrate why I am not very excited about the new season in the immediate future but may pick up some series down the line.
Akikan!
Really? Empty cans becoming girls? Not expecting much but willing to be surprised.
Zoku Natsume Yuujin-chou
Haven’t seen the first season, which was on my “maybe” list for fall since it involves spirits.
Viper’s Creed
Tensions between PMC and regular military could be interesting. Concept art reminds me that I should check out Real Drive.
Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger
I’m guessing this is a continuation of the 2000-2002 anime series, which I will get around to seeing – or the manga, to reading – one of these days.
Kemono no Souja Erin
So the female lead is like a pied piper who can control dragons and other animals. Might give a shot.
Genji Monogatari Sennenki
Read segments of The Tale of Genji in a Japanese literature course so might peek at this one as well.
Konnichiwa Anne
Never read Anne of Green Gables so an adaptation of its prequel, Before Green Gables, isn’t piquing my interest.
Minami-ke Okaeri
Need to finish the first season and dip into the second season before reaching for the third.
Kurokami the Animation
Have wanted to start reading the manga Black God and may begin to do so concurrently with watching this adapation.
Asu no Yoichi!
Martial arts training with four pretty girls in a romantic comedy? Doesn’t strike my fancy.
Major Fifth Season
Continuing a theme, I have yet to watch the prior four seasons of Major. I need to catch up on One Outs, see/read Ookiku Furikabutte (aka Big Windup! – six months later, I’m less miffed about the name), and somehow track down Princess Nine so Major is on the back burner for me in terms of baseball anime.
White Album
I don’t know how long until I can read that title and not think of a certain 1968 album. The premise of the eroge seems interesting – trying to preserve your current relationship with your girlfriend – so I might keep an eye on this one.
Maria†Holic
An androphobic girl transfers to an all-girls school so she can find her ideal female partner, who turns out to be a cross-dressing boy. It’s being produced by SHAFT so the opening should look nice, but I’ll need to see it in action to really grasp its comedic tone.
Shikabane-hime Kuro
Left off first season Aka at episode 3 – will attempt to catch up through Hulu and subs.
Maria-sama ga Miteru 4th Season
I plan to rent the first season through Netflix within the next month so going this far will depend on how that affects me.
Slayers EVOLUTION-R
Hella need to resume watching the first three series through a Hulu/YouTube combination. Yes, I wrote ‘hella’ because I’m from Northern California. Perhaps if I were from New England, I might have used ‘wicked’. Who knows.
Birdy the Mighty DECODE:02
The 1996 OVA shall be watched prior to seeing the new adaptation that aired this summer.
Hetalia Axis Powers
A comedy set during the Western interbellum period starring bishonen personifications of countries? I’ll give it a shot.
Ride Back
Saw a chapter of the manga (ch. 55, to be exact) in an issue of IKKI I picked up during a March visit to Japantown and was kind of interested by what was there. Will definitely look into this one.
The Tower of Druaga ~the Sword of Uruk~
Wasn’t bowled over by the 2 1/2 episodes of the prior season (~the Aegis of Uruk~) so I’ll pass on this one until I decide to catch up. (Note: It appears that Gonzo’s streaming of Aegis of Uruk and Blassreiter on YouTube will end on Dec. 25, the last day of a “special campaign”. Better hurry up then!)
Chrome Shelled Regios
Premise involving Pollutant Beings, regular people gaining powers, and alchemists seems interesting. Could be good or could be crap. ZEXCS produced Rental Magica and I was indifferent about that one after two episodes. (Sidenote: reading the title makes me think of cereal.)
Sora o Kakeru Shoujo
Space colonies, an AI, a intergalactic police officer, a young girl, and a robot named Imo-chan. Will see the first episode but not sold on it so far.
So there are a number that I have a passing interest in seeing (e.g. Ride Back, White Album, Kurokami) but nothing that stirs up noticeable anticipation. This ain’t a bad thing, for it will let me gauge reactions from others and figure out what I’m missing or, conversely, smartly avoiding. I should be able to make headway during the holiday break on the fall 2008 series I have neglected before winter quarter begins.
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Oh my. Well, I have learnt from my mistakes about the summer season, for which my preview was composed of 4 series. But that season ended up with 3 absolutely brilliant shows (Hidamari Sketch, Natsume Yuujinchou and Bounen no Xamdou), and I actually expect winter season to be similar for me. I really look forward to
- Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou (Of course. Although I call it Mushishi lite, it’s actually a very nice slice-of-life, supernatural series.)
- Ride Back (The IKKI franchise is always a reason for anticipation for me.)
- Minami-ke Okaeri (I have even started on the second season though, but I want to continue watching it.)
- Hetalia Axis Powers (I started to read the webcomic and find it very delightful.)
Perhaps you will feel similarly after the season has started? :)
Perhaps. I’m always willing to give series a chance and be surprised as was the case initially with Hyakko this fall and with Zombie-Loan last year.
The definite catch for me will be Maria-sama ga Miteru S4. Maria+Holic is a \maybe\ because I read the manga and the plot looks interesting but who knows how the anime will turn out. IMO, S1 of Shikabane Hime was boring so I’d strike S2 (and even S1) off the watch list. The same goes for Birdy the Mighty Decode S1 and S2.