Another year, another fresh new batch of anime, and another damn first impressions blog entry. This one promises to be absolutely nothing special! But I do feel a tiny urge to share my thoughts anyway, and so let's have the thought sharing begin~ No big splash titles standing out from the pack save for a few sequels of previously outstanding shows, but there has definitely been some interesting ones; but of course every new season will have its share of surprises. 01. Spice and Wolf (Okami to Koshinryou / 狼と香辛料)Based on an award-winning novel. Lead by a very solid core of seiyuu; Koshimizu Ami plays a wolf and harvest-goddess with a bold and straight-forward tongue and Fukuyama Jun plays her male travel companion. Add in Kaori Nazuka and you have a bit of a Code Geass reunion. I've always been intrigued by stories of the wolf and this is surely one of them.02. true tearsComing in a very, very close second was the most pleasant surprise of all the shows. I'm even more surprised at the abundance of positive reviews out there. It'd be very easy to dismiss this as a "boring" show; on paper it sounds like typical harem fare with generic characters. Truly not the case here because, see, if you hand the script to the likes of Nishimura Junji and Okada Mari (director and scrip-writer for Simoun respectively) they will turn mutton into lamb, water into wine. Indeed their magic has spread here. Show establishes a nice mood and feel and an intriguing premise, which is further accentuated with sharp performances from its seiyuu cast of Nazuka Kaori, Iguchi Yuka, and Takagaki Ayahi. This could very well be the "Blue Drop" of this season being it such an under-the-radar title with near impeccable voice acting. OP theme is quite possibly eufonius' best one yet.03. Minami-ke ~Okawari~ (みなみけ～おかわり～)The Minami sisters return for a second helping! Entire cast from the first season reprises their respective roles, but the look and feel is interpreted differently by a different studio and production staff. The chara-designs do take some getting used to, the humour is very much still there.04. Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (俗・さよなら絶望先生)No second helping of this SHAFT classic would have left me in despair.05. ARIA The ORIGINATION (アリア ジ・オリジネーション)Another season of this fantastic slice-of-life show that always puts a smile on my face and calms the heart. Junichi Sato really has a knack for these types of shows; a brilliant director, he is. An Akino Arai sighting, too! She performs the ED theme, and what a tune it is~06. H2O ~FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND~Koshimizu Ami performing the lead male role (rather convincingly, I might add) has rocked my soul~07. Rosario+Vampire (ロザリオとバンパイア) This is a show I really want to get into, but the last few minutes have left me questioning it. Mizuki Nana rarely gets a protagonist role, and what a sexy role it is. The rest of the female cast is totally fap-worthy, too. Quite a bit ecchi (that's a good thing) and quite a bit cheese (not a good thing). Manga was pretty insane, especially in later chapters. We will see how the anime will fare~08. Hatenkou Yuugi (破天荒遊戯)One of the most interesting sounding premises of all of the new season's shows. It opens up the possibilities for some twists and turns and possibly (romantic?) conflict amongst friends as the series progresses. Show is lead by the likes of Kobayashi Sanae, Miki Shinichirou, and Sakurai Takahiro. The former two have somewhat fallen off the radar in recent years, but nonetheless they bring solid performances to the table as always. I'm afraid however this will probably be one of those shows that the fansubbers will walk past and ignore. I'm hoping not, though~09. Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino-I wasn't much of a fan of its predecessor and it appears that it'll be the same deal with this one. A production that feels two steps behind from its previous work doesn't help matters. But damn does it has a pair of excellent OP and ED themes. The ED especially, performed by Lia, with writing and composition by none other than Maeda Jun! That's one hell of a recipe~10. Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de (君が主で執事が俺で)I'm usually fine with these sort of shows, but it didn't grip me all that tightly. It's a damn shame because it has such a sexy female seiyuu cast for a show consisting of a lot of ojou-sama/tsundere types. I'll keep an eye out for a couple more eps and we'll see~3 Favourite OP Themes: "Reflectia (リフレクティア)" by eufonius (true tears) [CDJapan | HMV ]"Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi (たった1つの想い)" by KOKIA (Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino-) [CDJapan | HMV ]"Tabi no Tochuu (旅の途中)" by Natsumi Kiyoura (Spice and Wolf) [CDJapan | HMV ]3 Favourite ED Themes:"Kin no Nami Sen no Nami (金の波 千の波)" by Akino Arai (ARIA The ORIGINATION) [CDJapan | HMV ]"Kazahane (カザハネ)" by Haruka Shimotsuki (H2O ~FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND~) [CDJapan | HMV ]"doll" by Lia & Aoi Tada (Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino-) [CDJapan | HMV ]
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