[I kinda like Boney M and there was an Idolm@ster anime (three of them!) so it counts.]
Welcome to the capsule preview of fall anime, Duders and Dudettes! I attempt to break each of these upcoming shows down to their essentials, or at least what I think are the essentials. Even I can only care about so many shows in so little time these days. We've got some really awesome stuff and some really horrible stuff that will make you question your faith in humanity, kinda like last season with Dog & Scissors (Anime of the Year, All Years).
Before we begin, please note that the following is a completely subjective list of previews and may or may not contain serious information. If you want more detailed previews check other sites like Random Curiosity or The Cart Driver or the part of Anime Vice that's still alive. Also, dates are subject to change depending on the whims of Japanese broadcasters.
Still here? Good! Here we go!
9/05 Tamagotchi! Miracle Friends
Wait a minute, are Tamagotchi still popular? I thought they died out in the 90s with VHS and that hairdo Will Smith had during his Fresh Prince days?
9/13 Super Seisyun Brothers
Chill slice of life short series about two girls and their respective brothers, one pair's a little bit country, the other's a little bit rock-and-roll. Aimed at the ladies. Don't know much else about this one.
09/16 DIABOLIK LOVERS
A family of sadistic vampire brothers who trap a girl in their house and abuse her and treat her as their living blood bank. What the actual fuck Japan?
09/22 Ultimate Zero Battle Spirits (Saikyuu Ginga Kyuukyoku (Ultimate) Zero ~Battle Spirits)
The newest season of anime based on that TCG that you probably didn't play. Or maybe you did. Fuck if I know.
09/30 Butt-Biting Insects 2 (Oshiri Kajiri Mushi 2)
Someone fetch me a can of Raid.
10/01 Miss Monochrome
Wait a minute is this the gender-swapped version of Rainbow Bright's archnemesis who wanted to turn the world grey just to fuck with everyone? Apparently it's a fake alter-ego for VA Yui Horie, so maybe the Vocaloid fans will like it.
10/02 Gaist Crusher
Studio Pierrot and Bandai team up to sell you their newest video game with toys sold seperately. Also it's an anime or something.
10/02 Coppellion
Originally scheduled to premiere 2 years ago, until the plot suddenly came a little too close to home for Japan: In a world where an earthquake caused a power plant to meltdown, turning Tokyo into an irradiated wasteland, 3 Japanese schoolgirls who are immune to radiation (because NANOMACHINES) look to rescue survivors and/or fight some fools. Might be worth watching, stupid premise aside, but I can also see why it's been delayed.
10/02 Pokemon: The Origin
One-off special about the OG Pokemon hero. Not Ash "hasn't aged in 16 years" Ketchum, we're talking RED Muthafucka!
10/02 Beyond the Boundary (Kyoukai no Kanata)
Dark fantasy featuring a half-monster boy with regenerative powers and a some kind of blood mage type girl. They fight crime. Sounds like a less amusing and/or pretentious -monogatari show. Kyoto Animation (Free!, Chuunibyou) is behind it, so it will be well-animated either way.
10/02 Kyousogiga
A longer version of a one-shot special that's kind of Alice in Wonderland but with a few more people involved.
10/03 Kill la Kill
Studio TRIGGER's first TV anime ever since the split with Gainax. Hiroyuki Imaishi (Dead Leaves, FLCL, Gurren-Lagann, Panty and Stocking, Inferno Cop) is directing. The story is about two badass school girls with swords on a campus ruled by the blade. The campus? Also a sword. Between the staff and their track record and the previews that have come out, you will watch it and fucking like it. Or else.
10/03 Outbreak Company
Here's a sample of dialogue from the show [citation needed]:
"SIR! WE JUST FOUND OUT THAT THERE'S A PARALLEL FANTASY WORLD WITH MAGIC AND SHIT! WHAT WILL WE DO?"
"Send in the most pathetic otaku author you can find and make him our Moe~ Ambassador."
"MAY I ASK WHY SIR?"
"Best case scenario, they buy our worthless moe~ shit and stimulate the economy. Worst case, they get rid of him while I concentrate on laundering my bribe money."
"YES SIR!"
10/03 Infinite Stratos 2
Sequel to the series about several girls who want to jump one boy's dick, except that they can all pilot mobile suit-type things against each other.
10/03 GOLDEN TIME
Adaptation by J.C. Staff of a light novel by the author of Toradora. This one's about a love triangle between an amnesiac law school student, his friend/classmate, and the creepy childhood friend who has been stalking the friend/classmate. Chiaki Kon (Higurashi, Umineko, Otome Yokai Zakuro) is directing. Maybe you Toradora fans will like it, but I could care less.
10/03 After the Calm Tomorrow (Nagi no Asu Kara)
Manga adaptation by P.A. Works, directed by Toshiya Shinohara (Kuroshitsuji, Red Data Girl, Book of Bantorra). Two friends from under the sea now go to school on land, and drama ensues. So basically The Little Mermaid, but without the singing crab.
10/04 Freezing Vibration
This is a sequel of a terrible show based on a terrible manga where girls beat and cut each other up because I guess the original manga-ka really had a bad breakup or something. Also aliens. I hope the writer gets smacked in the balls with a full ice cube tray.
10/04 STRIKE THE BLOOD
He's the world's strongest vampire, she's got a large anti-vampire spear. They fight crime with some guy calling himself The Lion King (seriously). If there's no musical number featuring a black-furred lion and some hyenas I am going to be disappointed.
10/04 I, Who Didn't Become a Hero, Reluctantly Decided to Find a Job (Yuusha ni Narenakatta Ore wa Shibushibu Shuushoku o Ketsui Shimashita.)
Boy trains to become a licensed hero, ends up running an item shop when some other Hero officially defeats the Demon Lord before his exam and the Hero market crashes. Then the Demon Lord's daughter shows up to apply for work at the not-hero's shop. I could swear we already had this show.
10/05 Log Horizon
Essentially .hack or Sword Art Online, except this time it's from the original author of Maoyu and the anime's directed by the guy behind the Fairy Tail anime. Might be good?
10/05 Little Busters! ~Refrain~
The "true/ending" route of the Little Busters visual novel. Turns out that one of the girls accidentally stumbles upon Mega Man's Mega Buster and destroys half of Japan before Mighty No. 9 comes along to defeat the evil queen and show the MC the error of...wait what were we talking about? Oh yeah, Little Busters is a harem VN thing.
10/05 Fighting Spirit: Rising (Hajime no Ippo: Rising)
Angry dudes boxing each other. Kind of a legacy series, not my favorite fictional boxer from Japan but might be worth a look.
10/05 Kuroko's Basketball (Kuroko no Basuke (Season 2))
Basketball show with high school boys designed for the ladies doing basketball things.
10/05 White Album 2
Another visual novel to anime adaptation about a college light music club, but not exactly K-On!
10/06 Ace of the Diamond (Dia no Ace)
Production I.G. and MADHOUSE team up to do an adaptation of a manga about baseball. Might be good if you're into that sort of thing.
10/06 Magi, Season 2
Another season of A-1 Pictures' shounen manga to anime adaptation about 1001-Nights inspired shounen antics. Aladdin and Alibaba going around not-Arabia freeing genies and saving people and shit (I still need to finish the first season).
10/06 Phi-Brain ~God of Puzzles (Season 3)
Another season of that show about a kid who solves puzzles with DRAMA. Can he defeat the evil NY Times crossword puzzle and discover the truth behind his robot henchman S.U.D.O.K.U.?
10/06 Want to be the Strongest on the World! (Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai!)
Hey Wrestling Thread, wanna prove how very not-gay you guys are? This is the anime to watch, full of scantily-clad anime idols wrestling each other for reasons!
10/06 Teekyu Season 3
LOLSORANDUM show about girls in a tennis club who rarely play tennis. The lowest budget anime of all time that I can think of, next to maybe Inferno Cop (which you should watch right fucking now, unlike this show).
10/06 Yozakura Quarter ~Song of Flowers~ (Yozakura Quartet ~Hana no Uta~)
Something about four Japanese schoolkids who act as monster police? All I know about this show is that it's being directed by the same guy behind the Baccano! anime. Someone else fill me in on the plot.
10/06 Silver Fox (Gingitsune)
Some chill anime about a girl who can talk with old-timey Japanese fox spirits. May or may not involve the use of a hash pipe.
10/07 Gundam Build Fighters
Someone's being a little more direct about selling Gundam model kits here.
10/07 Unbreakable Machine Doll (Machine-Doll wa Kizutsukanai)
Japanese dude joins academy with girl-doll-machine thing who wants to jump his bones in a world where about everyone has their own magitechnological machinedoll personanimal thing and there are evil doings afoot at the academy. Manga's okay I guess, don't know if I'm going to watch this one..
10/07 Weak Pedals (Yowamushi Pedal)
Hot blooded shounen anime about...cycling? Okay then. Throw in an ersatz-Lance Armstrong and then I'll watch it.
10/07 Non non biyori
City girl moves to the countryside. She interacts with other schoolgirls. Culture shock ensues.
10/07 Arpeggio of Blue Steel (Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio -Ars Nova-)
In a world where Japan and some US forces are cut off from the rest of the world by alien warships and a giant fog bank, their only hope lies in a sub piloted by a friendly alien AI. Also, all the alien AIs are represented as little girls, because Japan. Also, everything is in 3DCG, so that might turn off a few people.
10/08 Tokyo Ravens
Something something Harry Potter something something monster fighting something something Directed by the same shmuck behind Korean Zombie Desk car. Might be worth a watch?
10/09 My Mental Multiple-Choice Power Is Completely Ruining My School Romantic Comedy (Ore no Nounai Sentakushi ga, Gakuen Love Come o Zenryoku de Jama Shite Iru)
We're sure someone didn't slip in a fake romcom show in this list based off a Light Novel title generator? We are? Okay then.
10/10 Galilei Donna
noitaminA show starring three descendants of Galileo Galilei who are on international wanted lists. Some lady who is a Galileo historian/nerd wants to learn things from them. Without having seen anything about this series, I'm assuming they're running from the "Pope-po" who seeks to burn them at the cross for heresy like in the olden days. Those Catholics can carry a grudge like you wouldn't believe.
10/10 Samurai Flamenco
noitaminA series directed by Takahiro Omori (Baccano!, Durarara!!, Hell Girl among others). A young model for a male fashion magazine who has always longed to be a Power Rangers-style hero uses a device his grandfather invented to turn into the hero Samurai Flamenco. It's looking like a cheesy action-comedy thing, might be worth watching if there's a mariachi-themed samurai in there.
10/17 Pokemon XY
Another Pokemon anime adaptation! Somehow Ash is still going on his adventure and is still 12 despite this show having been going since 1997 with a bajillion episodes. This one is set in not-France.
10/?? Valvrave the Liberator, Season 2
Something involving Space Nazis in evil mechs vs. a kid who is also a vampire who pilots a mech of his own and he also goes to school. I really should have thought twice before I posted my Code Geass fanfiction on the internet where anyone could steal it.
10/?? Glasses Club the Animation (Megane-bu! The Animation)
Cute boys with glasses. That's about it really. I guess there's a certain type of woman who likes that in Japan.
10/?? pupa the animation
It's better if we forget this show's existence while we still can. Seriously. Just don't bother.
10/?? Walkure Romanze
Boy with vague anime disease goes to a high school where all the ladies want to jump his dick because why not. The twist is that these ladies are training to be knights of the jousting variety. Form-fitting breastplates included, but not recommended.
BlazBlue -Alter Memory-
The studio did a bunch of borderline-hentai series before so I'm kind of wary about this, but they do have the same VAs from the game. If you really want a story summary, read the GB wiki pages (who reads those amirite?) on BlazBlue that I contributed to or check other sources. There's way too much going on storywise for me to summarize here.
Lupin the Third: Princess of the Breeze - Hidden City in the Sky
The annual Lupin TV special that will probably be disappointing because at this rate they're pretty much just phoning it in.
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That's all I've got for now. Feel free to tell me how right I am in the comments. Or visit the Anime thread.
tl;dr, watch Kill la Kill.
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