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I was positive that there was a thread for this a while back, but I couldn't find it/it was really far back. But anyways, it's summer and I've spent some of my time watching anime.

I just wanted this thread to be a discussion for first impressions of the new batch of anime series that are coming out. I haven't seen anything other than Soul Eater (which, btw, it a pretty good anime for any shounen-lovers), but for now I plan on watching the first episodes of Birdy the Mighty and Antique Bakery.

I'm very intrigued by Slayers Revolution, but I haven't seen Slayers, Slayers Next, etc. so I don't know if I'll get into that.

So what has everyone else seen/plan to watch?

Originally Posted by Lunox

So what has everyone else seen/plan to watch?

Not a thing. Actually, I'm not aware of the new stuff. I've mainly been watching what's already been on tv or not watching anything at all.

I did read about Funimation acquiring distributing rights (or something like that) for Black Lagoon, Hellsing Ultimate and Devil May Cry, so maybe/hopefully I can get my hands on those titles.

Until then, I have to adapt to Code Geass a little more.

I was planning on making this thread after watching some more of the new series airing this season but you beat me to it.

The list below will be updated as my opinions form for each show.

Favorites

Slayers Revolution
Any Slayers fan should be going crazy over this. (And if you're not a Slayers fan, WTF is wrong with you?) It's got better art, animation, and music while still retaining the character designs, atmosphere, and seiyuu from the first three TV series. Newcomers to Slayers might be a little lost at first but, if Revolution is like the past three series, it will probably stand alone decently; they did subtly re-introduce the main cast in the first episode for those not familiar with them.

Zero no Tsukaima ~Princess no Rondo~
This is the third season of Zero no Tsukaima and it picks up right where the second left off. Ep1 was more of the usual hijinks along with the introduction of a new plot device. I find the series pretty hilarious (and Louise is second only to Hiiragi Kagami for my favorite tsundere girl) but there's not much point in watching this unless you've seen the first two seasons.

Hidamari Sketch × 365
I can't figure out if this is going to be a sequel or a prequel to the first Hidamari Sketch. Ep1 showed Yuno (the main character) moving into the Hidamari Apartments, which happened before the beginning of the first season. But with Hidamari Sketch and its love for skipping around in time that might not mean much.

At any rate, ep1 was funny and the animation looked smoother than the first season. Anyone who likes Pani Poni Dash! or Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (they're all directed by Shinbo Akiyuki) needs to check out this under-appreciated series.

Good

Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto ~Natsu no Sora~
First off, let me say that this show is absolutely beautiful. This is the sort of detail I'd expect to see in a feature-length movie. I hope it continues through the entire series.

Anyway, the series is being produced by Hal Film Maker, which brought us Aria and Sketchbook ~full color'S~, and Natsu no Sora looks like another slow and relaxing show. It's even got the same seiyuu voicing the main character as in Sketchbook—both of whom happen to be named Sora, funnily enough. I liked the first episode and I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu
I don't care if it's horribly clichéd, I still enjoy watching smart, rich, lady-like, yet clumsy and easily frightened anime girls be their moe selves. And this show adds yet another moe point: She's secretly an otaku! This would totally be a guilty pleasure if I had any shame left.

Also: Dancing maids in the ED.

Koihime Musou
Apparently this is an adaption of an eroge, which was loosely based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Though, for such a series, the fan service levels were relatively low. The first episode was funny and cute and featured girls fighting with large spears so what's not to like? And OMG was that a Marimite reference?!

Mediocre

Antique Bakery
The first episode was somewhat amusing but didn't grab my attention. But I can see the possibility of it picking up and getting good so I'll give it a few more episodes at least.

Ep2 improved my opinion of this series; throwing more characters into the mix made things a lot more interesting. It looks like it should at least be worth watching.

World Destruction ~Sekai Bokumetsu no Rokunin~
I might rate this one higher if it weren't having to compete with both Slayers and Zero no Tsukaima for my fantasy/comedy love this season. It's based on a game, it's weird and funky, it has what looks like a teddy bear mercenary, and it's about destroying the world. That's awesome. Or at least I hope it will be; the first episode was so-so.

Lame

Strike Witches
Okay, so I get that the Strike Witches wear bloomers so that they can wear the propeller things on their legs. But why are the normal middle school uniforms the same way?! It's got the sailor uniform shirt as usual and simply omits the skirt. Seriously, WTF?

Anyway, if you don't enjoy watching lolis flying through the sky with large guns, blasting the **** out of aliens, and/or the upskirt noskirt fan service that goes along with it then there's no reason to watch this. I found the first two episodes slightly amusing (because of the first reason >_>) but we'll see how long it takes to get stale.

Chocolate Underground [dropped]
This is an ONA (original net animation) with episodes that are only a few minutes long. It's about the black market trading of chocolate in a country that's banned everything but health food, apparently. I picked it up based on the sheer absurdity of that premise but the first three episodes have been pretty lame and I'm going to drop it if it doesn't get better.

I'm halfway through the first episode of Antique Bakery, and I have no idea what the hell just hit me. The basics from the manga are still there, but the animated version makes so many off-pitch choices, it's actually kind of stunning. In the manga, the humor was low-key and flowed naturally; now we get peculiar timing and the most inappropriately dramatic!classical BGM since Princess Princess (which, come to think of it, suffered a very similar fate).

I'm going to keep watching because I know how good the manga is, and I can still see some of that in the anime, even though it's coming through a really weird filter. I do have to cringe a little when I think about how it might seem to someone unfamiliar with the series, though. That said, a fair number of people who I didn't expect to like a good adaptation of Antique Bakery, much less an odd one like this, said they enjoyed the first episode. So who knows, maybe I'm in the minority here.

~Dagger~

Most of the stuff I'm interested in that's coming up are OVAs of series I already like, though if I get a recommendation, I'll watch a few episodes to give it a shot.

So far I'm interested in a One Piece OVA based off of one of Oda's early One Shots, plus a Dragon Ball one with a plot Akira Toriyama came up with himself. I think I also heard something about a new Lupin III OVA, but that might have just been one that was being subbed at the moment. There's also a Bleach one I may look into.

As for actual shows coming out, I may catch the Slayers one if I can without either spoiling the other series or confusing myself too much. Any word on that?

EDIT: Oh, looks like that Lupin one came out in April. I gotta go... track down... subs and stuff.

Originally Posted by Aceburner

As for actual shows coming out, I may catch the Slayers one if I can without either spoiling the other series or confusing myself too much. Any word on that?

As of ep2, you won't have anything spoiled but you may end up slightly confused. In setting up a continuation of the story from the first three series they kind of have to reference them in Revolution, but people unfamiliar with the series obviously won't know what they're talking about. In particular, you will probably be left wondering why Gourry doesn't have a decent sword anymore—though that looks like it might be explained in the next episode.

However, Lina is still Lina and she hasn't changed much from the very first episode. And, judging by the first two episodes, Revolution will still be entertaining even if you don't know the back story.

I'm filling in some old recommendations or rewatching a few classics.

I picked up the full series of Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gunslinger Girl on DVD, and I'm enjoying both quite a bit. My good friend also let me borrow his Elfen Lied box set recently. I've only seen the first half of the first episode, but it seemed brutal... I mean, cool enough, so yeah.

I still get kicks from where Lucy telepathically punched man's heart out of his chest. That was prett kickin'. I hope there's more of that.

I second the 'rewatch the classics' idea. I'm currently burning through Rurouni Kenshin for the first time in a while on a wim. I've also got it in mind to rewatch my FMA dvds as well.

However, the only 'release' hope I see is the future prospect of D.Gray-man and Ouran Dubs via Funimation. Outside of that, I'm stuck with Naruto Shippuden and D.Gray-man Subs for exciting 'new episodes!'. Seeing as DB hasn't put out jack for Dennou Coil.

I also - randomly - picked up the first 2-3 volumes of Death Note's manga form.. as I saw them at a used book store for like $2.50. Haven't broken into them yet, but it'll be interesting to see the same story from the same exact perspective yet feel much nerdier doing so.

I have a list of random stuff that i want to watch-
Gurren Lagann
Honey and Clover
The Third: The Girl With The Blue Eye
Full Metal Panic
Azumanga Daioh
anyone know if these are any good?

Guys, the thread is about new shows airing in Japan, not upcoming releases or asking if a show is any good. So lets not turn this into a general discussion or asking for advice on shows or about revisiting "classics" as it were.

Anyway, I really want to see Zero no Tsukaima ~Princess no Rondo~, but I need to burn through the second season first so I know just what the heck is going on. Heh.

Originally Posted by mangamaniack21

I have a list of random stuff that i want to watch-
Gurren Lagann
Honey and Clover
The Third: The Girl With The Blue Eye
Full Metal Panic
Azumanga Daioh
anyone know if these are any good?

Gurren Lagann is all you need in that situation.

Yes, Soul Eater is good, but Geneon and Square-Enix released another anime at the same time. It is called Nabari No Ou, its a ninja show that puts narutos gayness to shame and at the same time visually and emotionally stunning. This is one of the best new releases out in my opinion.

First Episode here:

[link removed]

Linking to copyright infringing materials is against the rules, please refrain from doing so. - Desbreko

I'm really looking forward to Slayers Revolution (though I'll probably end up watching it subbed when it comes out- a new voice case seems almost inevitable and the dub just wouldn't be the same without Lisa Ortiz and co.), and I can't wait to buy the Slayers Try box. I'm also hoping Viz hurries the heck up and releases the Pokemon Johto Journeys boxes soon (but given how long they take on Pokemon sets, we'll probably be lucky to see them in September given they released Orange Islands back in May and there seems to be a mandatory 4 month wait between boxes.) Hopefully, I'll find a Galaxy Angel set cheap somewhere (does anyone know if such a thing exists? I found the first DVD at Dollar General and fell in love with it. It's like Azumanga Daioh in space!). I'm also waiting for the Tales of Symphonia anime to come out here, and hoping those rumors about Powerpuff Girls Z are true. ^_^

What rumors?

I removed the quote TheKrempist, there's no need to quote the entire post if your reply is the very next one. Also, try to put more into your posts than just two words. If that's all you want to know, just pm the person instead. ~Aaryanna

Originally Posted by TheKrempist

What rumors?

On another forum, someone linked me to a thread on ToonZone about the possibility of PPGZ being dubbed because of an alleged dub from the Philippines or something. I can only hope (I mean, it's only a matter of time)

I'm disappointed that Chocolate Underground turned out to be mediocre, I really liked the idea of the series.

In other news, Birdy the Mighty had a disappointing first episode. I don't even know if I'll continue, because I think the animation just really bugged me. There were a lot of obvious QUALITY shots, and the jerkiness of the animation turned me off. And otherwise, the anime didn't really seem to offer much. But I'll stay with it for a couple of more episodes.

And to anyone thinking about watching Soul Eater, I'd recommend it over Nabari No Ou if you're looking for a shounen series. I watched the first episode of that and I was sort of unimpressed.