Fall 08 Lineup (Recent Anime List) August 30, 2008

Ladies and gentlemen, here comes the 2nd assault of 2008. Now comes our new fall line-up, ready to start on September, just like school. Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann, Gundam 00 2nd Season, Bounen no Xam’d, Vampire Knight, Junjou Romantica 2, and Lucky Star (as you can see from the pic, from かにかま) are just some of the titles we’ll be seeing this season. Brace yourselves people. The Fall line-up in jam-packed full of titles for everyone.

My goodness, couple this with the fact Code Geass R2, Nabari no Ou, and Macross FRONTIER haven’t finished yet. I might not even have time to sleep =_=. Well atleast Amatsuki is done… except it shouldn’t be, ’cause it pure awesomeness.

This will either be my last post or atleast last big post in awhile seeing as school starts soon and I have real life to get back to as well as stupid Physics. Happy Back to School/End of Summer everyone.

Anyways clicky ‘more” for… well, MORE! MASSIVE post by the way (I nearly pulled out my hair typing this). If you have dial-up, for the love of all that is good, don’t open this is up.

Not yet fully done. Some release dates and plot summaries haven’t been released yet or aren’t readily available. This post will be updated once those come up or as soon as I’m able to.

EDIT: 09/03/08 new dates for some titles

EDIT: 09/05/08 new dates for some titles + skip beat site up

EDIT: 09/27/08 all official dates now up + one outs site up

 

SEPTEMBER

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Guren-hen OVA – 09/06/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki)

Story: “In their closed-off underground village, Kamina and Simon chafe at the limits imposed by the village elder. Yet all this will change, when Simon stumbles across a fantastic device – just as the village’s peace is broken by a violent intrusion. [...] a mecha bursts through the ceiling and with a beautiful young lady named Yoko comes in with and they start a journey to go above and beyond the heavens.” (ANN)

Extras + Opinion:Almost like refresher. This will probably be the first of two (and the 2nd has been announced) movies. This one will feature the main happenings of episodes one to fifteen of the series with some new footage.  But yea, nothing else to say here except to go see it when possible. Gurren Lagann was such an awesome series. Hooked me right in. It’s put a definite twist to mecha anime. Usually its all emo *coughgundamfranchisecough*, but this series definately delivered with its own style. Love it to bits.

Battle Spirits Shounen Toppa Bashin – 09/07/08 (Official Site) (ANN)

Story: to be written when available

Extras + Opinion: Looks like a Yu Gi Oh rip off to me. Oh gawd, I can see this being brought to the West A.S.A.P. and start corrupting the minds of little children just like Yu Gi Oh and Beyblade did (I laugh at Bakugan Battle Brawlers too). Anyways its done by Sunrise for the new Bandai trading card game. (like I said, next generation Yu Gi Oh).

Mach Girl – 09/13/08 (Official Site) (ANN)

Story: “About a girl named Lip who wanders the land to compete in high-stakes races with her Mach Pink three-wheeler.” (ANN News)

Extras + Opinion: Another kids show, targeting girls. Based on Speedracer, except the main character is female.

Bounen no Xam’d – 09/24/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki)

Story: “The story follows a boy named Akiyuki who is heading to school with two friends when an explosion occurs. In the mysterious light from the explosion, Akiyuki transforms into a creature called Xam’d. Xam’d goes on a rampage which is only stopped when a red-haired foreign girl appears.” (ANN)

Extras + Opinion: One of the most anticipated series for the Fall 08 Season. Gosh, I love BONES. This is available on the Playstation Network (you’ll have to pay though) in both HD and SD. Incredible, innovative series. It has the Eureka 7 feel to it, coupled by the great big budget feel that Miyazaki movies have. The music also rocks as well. I’m following this one more addictively than any other series (yes, even above Code Geass and Macross). Thank goodness for my father who is a game geek, I got access to practically most consoles.

Lucky☆Star OVA – 09/26/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki)

Story: “Lucky Star is about an Otaku girl named Konata Izumi. She has amazing athletic ability, but chooses to sit on her computer and play online games all day instead. She is not the brightest girl either, and always copies her friend, Kagami’s homework. The plot of this anime is for the viewer to watch and laugh at the not-so-average high-school life of an Otaku and her not-so-average friends. ” (ANN)

Extras + Opinion:Another title-from-the-near-past I’m sure the general otaku crowd will be looking forward to. The Moe genre isn’t exactly my type of thing but I have tried this one and its quite enjoyable. Love the character designs as well (has anyone seen those nendoroids?!). Well I’ll try to see it but not very avidly awaiting, but I’m sure my moe-fan friend will be excited.

Hakushaku to Yousei – 09/28/08 (Official Site) (ANN)

Story: “The story is set in 19th century England and centers on a “fairy doctor” named Lydia. Her life takes a 180-degrees turn when she meets a legendary blue knight count named Edgar and his crew. He hires her as an adviser during his quest to obtain a treasured sword that was supposed to be handed down to him by his family.”  (ANN)

Extras + Opinions:While the premise may sound like crap, as soon as I saw the fluffy cat, I knew that I’d watch this. The company behind this is Artland and while they haven’t exactly done anything big, they have assisted in some pretty big name series so I’ll give it a try… just for the cat (I know that it’s a stupid reason).

 

OCTOBER

Toradora! – 10/01/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki)

Story: “ A man with eyes that are so scary, so mean looking, that he’s been isolated by almost everyone he’s ever met. A girl who’s said to be as fierce as a tiger. There is one girl who isn’t afraid of him, the tiger’s best friend, and as a result he’s developed a crush on her. However, his only male friend is the idol of the tiger’s affection. Due to a misplaced love-letter, the two team up in this odd-pair romance to help the other succeed in their love-goals.” (ANN manga page)

Extras + Opinions: I pretty much joined the Toradora bandwagon months ago so when I heard it was being animated I said, “BRING IT ON.” While I usually don’t go watch shoujo, romance, girls with eyes taking up half their face, there’s also a reason I watched Ouran. Yes, the humour and story. If the story is good enough for a shoujo series I usually stick long enough for 4 episodes, however if the humour is pure genius then I finish it (and no I don’t mean crude humour inserts using atrocious chibis like Vampire Knight).

CASSHERN SINS – 10/01/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki)

Story: “Azuma Tetsuya, also known as Casshern, is a cybernetic neoroider ([...]“neo-human”) who turned himself into a cyborg for the purpose of hunting down and destroying robots that have taken over the world. His late biological father, Dr. Azuma, was the inventor of the robots that were originally intended to serve humankind, but mutinied en masse when their cold logic concluded that the good of the Earth Ecosystem required the destruction of the human race. Casshern and his robotic dog, Friender, join forces with a beautiful girl named Luna to battle the robots led by their brutal boss known as the Black King.”  (Wikipedia)

Extras + Opinions: So basically “robots” and “superhero”. Normally when you think those words along with the fact its Japanese, you think Astro Boy. So I went to watch the trailer with that feeling and was completely mistaken. Astro’s cuteness and childlike aura were nowhere to be seen. A dark, dreary place with monsters is the setting instead. Casshern, has the feel of old meets new to it. The art style tried to stay true to the original story, however, this is the 21st century we’re talking about and art has evolved. You could say its been modernized but kept its old skool flavour. I shall see if I can watch this, probably just for the action and mindless butt-kicking. 

Rosario to Vampire CAPU2 – 10/01/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki)

Story: “Due to poor grades, Tsukune Aono, an average high school student, has been unable to get accepted into any private academy of his choice. By exceptional accident, the only school to accept him turns out to be anything but ordinary; the school is attended by youkai disguised as humans. Fearing for his life, he attempts to escape only to meet Moka Akashiya, a beautiful girl who just happens to be a vampire. Despite this, Tsukune decides to stay at the academy, hiding his human nature from students and teachers. Tsukune also discovers that when the rosary around Moka’s neck is removed, her true nature emerges. ” (ANN, Rosario to Vamprie)

Extras + Opinions: Well this series was pretty popular based on numbers when the first season was out (adapted from a manga which was known by most) so if you watched the first season and liked it, here’s the sequel.

Hyakko – 10/01/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki) 

Story: “The story follows the antics of four high school freshman girls, after they enroll into a huge private academy that teaches every grade from elementary school to high school.” (ANN News)

Extras + Opinions: I know nothing so far. Seems to be adapted from a manga of the same name as well and you can pretty much guess what its about based on the picture.

Shikabane-Hime Aka – 10/02/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki) 

Story: She is an immortal. Shikabane Hime has has made a deal with Buddhist monk, Keisei. In order to finally reach Heaven, she must “kill” 108 corpses.” (ANN manga page)

Extras + Opinions: Sounds like the girl version of Manji of the Blade of the Immortal to me. Pass. (lolz short summary, short opinion)

Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) – 10/02/08 (Official Site) (ANN)

Story: To what extent must a housekeeper do things to be acceptable. One of the noble families of England, Phantomhives butler Sebastian Michaels has got unquestionably perfect knowledge, manners, talent with materials, martial arts, et cetera: but is also able to serve a 12 year old master. Wearing a grey tailcoat, gracefully brewing the worlds strongest red tea, please read on to see how such a perfect butler copes with such a master…”  (ANN)

Extras + Opinions: Another series I’m extremely looking foward to. I’ve been following the manga, and its pretty good. It’s so adorkably English with its suits and tea. Quite funny too. Art is amazing, as expected from a series published by Square Enix ([switch] is also published by Squeenix by the way). Hopefully it will look amazing on screen as well. Beware though? I haven’t gotten a look at the more recent chapters but something about about light BL or hints of it or something. Which I’m sure the little girl who likes the little master won’t stand for (creating humourous scenes).

Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka – 10/02/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki) 

Story: “The story centers around a boy named Jun-ichi Nagase at a prestigious academy, and a female transfer student named Yuuhi Katagiri — who just happens to be Jun-ichi’s fiancée, as arranged by his family.” (ANN News)

Extras + Opinions: Adapted from an adult video game… looks to be harem as well… uh pass.

Yozakura Shijuusou ~Yozakura Quartet~ – 10/02/08 (Official Site) (ANN)

 

Story: “Akina, Hime, Kotoha, and Ao are four members of the Hiizumi Seikatsu Soudan Jimusho (Hiizumi’s Everyday-life Consultation Office), which, in addition to helping kindergarteners deal with tough times, strives to preserve the peace of their little town, Sakurashin, by hunting down the troublemakers who dare threaten it.” (MangaUpdates)

“Hime is a superheroine. Ao can read minds. Kotoha can conjure up anything with the right word. And Akina…well, he’s just a regular guy, surrounded by three supergirls! Together, they protect the town of Sakurashin. But that’s not easy, as the town faces demon dogs and other supernatural threats!” (DelRey)

Extras + Opinions: The advertisement image pretty much won me over so I didn’t even think about this much. Looks like this will be my series for the humour genre. It sounds pretty simples, some weird people have weird super powers and they try to save  their city. It would seem like one of the intros for comics way back then when computers only play ping pong on big gigantic screens (lolz well atleast that’s what my father tells me). Anyways, this comes from the company that brought us Rozen Maiden and sola.

CLANNAD-After Story OVA- – 10/02/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki)

Story: (Season1) “Tomoya Okazaki is a third year high school student resentful of his life. His mother passed away from a car accident when he was younger, causing his father to resort to alcohol and gambling. This results in fights between the two until Tomoya’s shoulder is injured in a fight. Since then, Tomoya has had distant relationships with his father, causing him to become a delinquent over time. While on a walk to school, he meets a strange girl named Nagisa Furukawa who is a year older, but is repeating due to illness. Due to this, she is often alone as most of her friends have moved on. The two begin hanging out and slowly, as time goes by, Tomoya finds his life shifting in a new direction.”

Extras + Opinion: Well, I didn’t even watch the first season so I’m not gonna watch this one. However, this series has a lot of fans and seems to be quite popular. If you like the romance type of story then here’s your portion from the fall 08 lineup.

Hokuto no Ken Rao Gaiden Ten no Hao (Hokuto no Ken Rao’s Story Heavenly King) – 10/03/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki) <– Wiki page on Fist of the North Star series

 

Story: to be written when available

Extras + Opinions:It seems to be the Fist of the North Star story told from Rao’s perspective. The story’s a classic so its getting attention. The past shows of the franchise hadn’t appealed to me (lolz old art), but the site looked promising since its trying to make it more modernized while trying to keep that old school feel. But uhhh, big buff dudes plummeling each other? That’s the reason I’m turned off by Western superheroes. I prefer toned men to bulging muscles any day thank you very much.

Tales of the Abyss – 10/03/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki) <– wiki page on Tales of the Abyss game

Story: to be written when available

Extras + Opinions: The lastest anime from the “Tales of” franchise. I Have never played the game but a friend has, and she’s hooked to the point she wouldn’t stop babbling about it for a month. However, I’ve had bad experiences with game-turned-anime series. .hack was saved by its music and mystery, persona -trinity soul- by its hot character style, and I’m hanging on to World Destruction purely for hearing Kylie’s voice (done by Momoru Miyano), so I’m probably not gonna watch this one unless I have some rather shameless reason, completely unrelated to the story.

Kurogane no Linebarrel – 10/03/08 (Official Site) (ANN)

Story: “Fourteen-year-old Kouichi Hayase’s life has always been a mediocre one, if not dismal. However, those days of being bullied by classmates and escaping to a fantasy of being a hero are put to an end when a certain “accident” bestows on him a girl and a gigantic humanoid robot called “LINEBARREL”. The extraordinary power that Kouichi obtains puts him and everything around him on a sudden rollercoaster ride of battles, intrigues and friendship! During the course of his adventure, the boy starts to learn what life has to offer; he meets new friends, bids farewell to the old ones, but most of all he now has considerable responsibilities and is forced to confront the world around him.” (Official Site)

Extras + Opinions: GONZO’s been upping its ways to get to its audiences in the West before licensors holders get its titles. First it was its decision to cooperate with crunchyroll and have its new anime series on the site, now we have an English page? Funny, funny. From reading the plot overview, I had a weird comment pop up in my head, “Sounds like a mild version of Death Note” Bored student gets thing which grants him incredible power, meets new people and overcomes hurdles. HA!

Jigoku Shoujou Mitsuganae – 10/04/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki) <– wiki page on Hell Girl series

Story: “Somewhere in the vast sea of the Internet, there’s a website that can only be accessed at the stroke of midnight. Known as the Jigoku Tsushin, rumor has it that if you post a grudge there, the Jigoku Shoujo will appear and drag whoever torments you into the inferno. Very little is known about the girl – all we know for sure is that she lives with her equally enigmatic grandmother, that three magical straw dolls accompany and serve her, and that whenever a posting on the Jigoku Tsushin moves her, she becomes the Jigoku Shoujo.” (ANN) 

Extras + Opinions: Okay… What? After what happened in the end of season two, I was not expecting another sequel. Basing from my experience on watching this series, its probably gonna stay episodic, which is infuriating at times but I’ve always got an enjoyment out of seeing Enma Ai saying her catch phrase, “Ippen, shinde miru?” Going to watch this, just because I want to know why this 3rd season exists.

Kannagi – 10/04/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki) 

Story: The story revolves around an art student named Jin Mikuriya who carves a statue from the wood of the Kannagi tree — only to have the statue come to life. The original tree happened to be possessed by a goddess, who has now taken over the statue. Jin finds himself being dragged around as “Nagi” goes around taking care of the duties of a goddess.” (ANN News)

Extras + Opinions: Don’t know much this and not really interested. I’ll rethink my opinion once I see the promo.

To Aru Majutsu Index – 10/04/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki)

Story: “In a world where science clarifies supernatural powers. In a huge college that has power development in its curriculum. To a resident high school student, Kamijou Touma, a pure white sister appears. She calls herself “Index” and says that sorcerers are chasing her. Thus, Kamijou Touma enters the world of the occult.”

Extras + Opinions: This is going to be handled by J.C. Staff which is currently handling Nabari no Ou, so I’m sure the production quality will be good. Judging from the plot, its not very WOW and seems typical, thus far not really pulling me in. Index’s outfit is reminding me of Chrono Crusade though.

Gundam 00 2nd Season – 10/05/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki) (Trailer) <– don’t watch the trailer if you haven’t watched Season 1… this is mostly for the lulz (sorry I couldn’t resist)

Story: “2312 A.D. Four years have passed since the final battle between Celestial Being and the UN Forces. Humanity, after having established the Earth Sphere Federation, forms an independent security force, Arrows, separate from the formal Federation army to further unify nations and the will of mankind. But the reality is the inhumane oppression of anti-government powers, doctrines, and ideologies in the name of unity. Setsuna F. Seiei, after surviving the battle four years ago, has decided to once again fight with his Gundam.”  (ANN)

Extras + Opinions:OH HELL YES! I’m sure that all fans who watched the last 5 episodes of the first season seriously need this as soon as possible. The little after story at the end of the last episode was full of “WTFs” and the official website has had people questioning, “Okay, who’s THAT?!” So yeah, looking forward to it. Not only that, but Saji finally has bigger role (and a new haircut). I’d been questioning his meaning in the story, but looks like he’ll be useful this time if the commercials have given any indication. Let’s hope despite the massacre that happened in the last few episodes, this season shall be awesome as well (and to the pace of the last half of the 1st season, cause the first half bored me to death with Lockon being my only motivation to keep going… *cries*). Oh yea, and UVERworld’s doing the opening

ga-rei -zero- – 10/05/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki)

Story:“While many of us will probably scream at even the thought of a ghost being near us, Freshman Nimura Kensuke just thinks of it as a common everyday thing, seeing as how he has the uncanny ability to see so many of them on a daily basis. Things soon heat up for him when he meets a girl who changes his life from then on. Her name’s Kagura, and she has the power to summon a mighty “spirit devourer”–otherwise known as a “Ga-rei”–called Byakuei. So, what’s Nimura to do? Chase down the evil spirits and and have Kagura summon the Ga-rei to devour them, of course! Now, come feast on their adventures like some ravenous Ga-rei!” (Entropy)

Extras + Opinions: Despite the lame ad pictures and uncaptivating website, this is actually one of my most favourite adventure/fantasy manga. It’s story’s quite interesting and basing on the manga, the art is too. Hopefully, despite the disappointing website and promo pictures, the anime will look great. I’m not sure why there’s a “zero” in the title though. Will watch unless its lame like the website =_=. PLEASE DON’T DESTROY IT. I actually like this series T_T.

Kyou no 5 no 2 (Today in Class 5-2) – 10/05/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki)

 

Story: “An ecchi, school-life comedy show about Ryota Satou and his hilarious events and, often perverted, situations that he goes through and ends up in.” (ANN)

Extras + Opinions: Not to be confused with the OVA. Same story but this one will be a series. Umm, well if this is your type of thing… go ahead? Again, like extremely big-eyed character type animes, I stay away from excessive fanservice (Code Geass, is an exception, CLAMP and Lelouch’s weirdness saved it).

Skip Beat! - 10/05/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki)

Story:“Kyoko has devoted her life to Shotaro. When Shotaro came to Tokyo to debut as a singer, she followed him and worked to provide for him. But one day, Kyoko overhears Shota telling his manager that Kyoko means nothing to him. She’s just convenient, a housekeeper. This makes Kyoko furious, and she vows revenge on Shotaro. But Shotaro just laughs at her, saying she won’t be able to touch him because he’s now a popular singer and she’s a nobody. So Kyoko decides to get into showbiz and become even more popular than Shotaro to humiliate him. Unfortunately, Shotaro has destroyed Kyoko’s ability to love, and she discovers that it is a prerequisite for her to debut from her chosen company, LME. The president of LME puts her into a new section made for those who caught his eye but have something missing. It’s name… Section Love Me.” (ANN manga page)

Extras + Opinions: Seems like this is going to be this season’s shoujo anime to look out for. This is being adapted from the popular manga of the same name. Haven’t read the manga so I don’t know much about this series (me=cannot stand super romantic scenes being played out infront of her). I’ve heard many great things about it though so if you liked the genre Special A and Itazura na Kiss fall into, then here’s another one for ya’.

Vampire Knight Guilty – 10/06/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki)

Story: “Yuki’s earliest memory is of a stormy night in winter, wherein she was attacked by a vampire… And then rescued by another. Now 10 years later, Yuki Cross, the adopted daughter of the headmaster of Cross Academy, has grown up and become a guardian of the vampire race, protecting her savior, Kaname, from discovery as he leads a group of vampires at the elite boarding school. But also at her side is Zero Kiryu, a childhood friend who’s hatred for the creatures that destroyed everything he held dear, is now determined never to trust them. This coexisting arrangement seems all well and good, but have the vampires truly renounced their murderous ways, or is there a darker truth behind their actions. Is Kaname’s infatuation with Yuki the beginning of a forbidden romance, or is it something in her forgotten past that draws him to her. Because in this world of secrets, nothing is as it seems. And the price of misplaced trust may even be worse than death.”  (ANN Vampire Knight TV page)

Extras + Opinions: For the fangirls (and fanboys?) of the Vampire Knight series, here’s the sequel to the first season. I am a fan of the manga, just not the anime. It can’t be helped, I judge the art before watching and unless I either haven’t read the manga or it has an awesome storyline behind it, I don’t watch unpretty series. The manga just happens to look prettier than the anime XD. Except for the eyes. I found that the eyes always looked awesome but the character style and chibis in the anime were tasteless and seemed low budget (like the Naruto fillers, the animation quality was jumping all over the place). So I didn’t last that long with the first season and I won’t be watching the 2nd season either. What’s with the title anyways? Vampire Knight Guilty? Sounds like one of those Resident Evil games. I like the ED of the 1st season though. I’ll check out the 1st episode of the second season for the music. While not very excited, I might start watching once it gets to THAT part, because some of us know all hell will break loose at “Kyaaa-ing” and so on. I watched the trailer and the people who did the OP and ED will be coming back to do those again. The OP is pretty much standard shoujo music while the ED is more haunting and dark… thought the first season’s ED was far better in my opinion.

ef – a tale of melodies – 10/06/08

Story: to be written when available

Extras + Opinions:  I haven’t tried out the first season: ef – a tale of memories, due to my natural inclination to not watch anything involving girls with unnecessarily huge eyes that take up half their face, but after reading the plot of the first season, I’m actually interested now (and that’s saying something). Sounds like a real tear jerker, dramatic, and beautiful story. Will check out once I see the first season.

ONE OUTS – 10/07/08 (Official Site) (ANN)

Story: The story begins when Hiromichi Kojima, the star batter of the fictional Lycaons in Japan’s Pacific League, heads to the southern Japanese island of Okinawa to train and bring himself out of a slump. There, he meet Tōa Tokuchi, a 134-kmph (83 miles per hour) pitcher and the undisputed king of a gambling form of baseball called “One Out.” At Kojima’s urging, Tokuchi signs up with the Lycaons under an unusual contract: he gets 5,000,000 yen (about US$46,000) for every out he pitches, but loses 50,000,000 yen (US$460,000) for every point he gives up.” (ANN News)

Extras + Opinions: Since there’s no site up for it yet, I have no idea how it will look like. The plot is tempting me though; I like big gambles. Brought to us by Madhouse which also gave us Death Note, so depending on the art style of the manga (which I haven’t seen nor heard of before), it will either be passable or awesome. Guh, baseball though… WHERE’S MY OOFURI???!!!!

KUROZUKA – 10/07/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Baka-Updates) 

Story: “The manga itself adapts Baku Yumemakura’s supernatural romance novel about a 12th-century man named Minamoto no Yoshitsune (Kurō). Kurō flees into the mountains after losing to his brother Minamoto no Yoritomo — the first Shogun to rule all of Japan. History records that he committed suicide, but instead, Kurō meets a strange, beautiful woman named Kuromitsu in her mountain hermitage. Eventually, Kurō falls in love with Kuromitsu, but then realizes she conceals a dark secret. He learns that he is unable to die and continues to live for a thousand years as Japan evolves into a future society. “ (ANN News)

Extras + Opinions: Sounds like an awesome, classic tale. The premise sounds interesting enough. Now here’s a love story I’d actually be willing to watch, its just the overly muscley man that’s turning me off (pay heed to my words men, not all girl like big bulgy muscles, most are turned off by them actually).

Stitch! – 10/08/08 (Official Site) (Wiki)

Story: “The show is to feature a Japanese girl named Yuna in place of Lilo, and will be set on a fictional island off the shore of Okinawa instead of Hawaii. To date, few details have been released. The final appearance of Yuna has yet to be decided upon though press reports have quoted officials as saying that she will be “very Japanese”. It is to be animated and co-produced by the Japanese animation house Madhouse LTD.” (ANN News)

Extras + Opinion: OMG, Stitch… in Japan… Okinawa no less. Wow, the little dude’s going international. Well its an amusing idea. Okinawa’s almost Hawaii-like anyways. However, I think I’ve had enough of Stitch and his “cousins”. It would be funny if this is brought over to the West though. I watched the promo for this and it’s as they said, “very Japanese” (Yuna and the whole feel of it). Despite using the original character designs, I just get this feeling that it still looks so Japanese-anime-style. I found it funny that they try to integrate the “ohana” aspect of the originial Stitch series into it (yes, they do say ohana loads of times). For some reason the way they pronounce Stitch’s name annoys me… STITCHU

CHAOS;HEAD – 10/09/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki)

Story: “Takumi is a high school student. He is withdrawn and is not interested in 3D things. In his town, a mysterious serial murder case happens and people get panicked. One day, when he chats on the internet, a man suddenly contacts him and gives him an URL. He goes to the website and finds a blog image that suggests a next murder case…. On the next day, it really happens….” (ANN)

Extras + Opinions: While I’m not too excited about the art style of this series, the plot seems really interesting. I absolutely love mystery, suspense, and such. If this carries out the story well then I might just ignore the typical, big-eyed, boring art style, though my eyes will probably win and make me turn away from this.

Tytania – 10/09/08  (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki)

Story: Tytania is a Japanese novel series written by Yoshiki Tanaka, and an upcoming animated television series directed by Noboru Ishiguro. The series is a space opera based on a series of three books written by Tanaka between 1988 and 1991 about people who try to liberate the galaxy from the rule of the Tytania-clan and seeks refuge with a rebel force. The series is known in Japan as a novel series has not been concluded yet but the sequel is not published for a long time since 1991.” (Wikipedia)

Extras + Opinions: It’s shameless of me, but the (previous) advertisement image they had for it hooked me in. It’s being done by the company which is also producing Hakushaku to Yousei, so like that one, I’m gonna check it out. If it looks cool like its ad picture, then I’ll stay on board, but if its like one of those RPG ad which have cool characters but turn out to be reminiscent of pre-playstation videogames, then I’m out.

Nodame Cantabile: Paris Hen (Nodame Cantabile: Paris Chapter) – 10/09/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki)

Story: to be written when available

Extras + Opinions: Another sequel from not so old series (Fall 08 is the season for sequels and after stories). It’s lovely romantic tale and the musical aspects just add to it (I’m such a music geek). I didn’t watch the first season of the anime but I’ve seen the live-action drama, so I can say with some assurance that this has a good story behind it.

Junjou Romantica 2 - 10/11/08 (Official Site) (ANN) (Wiki)

Story: Misaki is suddenly having some unexpected and odd problems. What started as a need for some college entrance exam tutoring has somehow led him to being romanced by a suave older man who also happens to be his big brother’s best friend. Confused by all of his brand new emotions, Misaki struggles to deal with his suddenly very odd life. And if that wasn’t enough, his suitor, Usami, has plenty of issues of his own. A man-child who decorates his room in giant teddy bears and toys, Usami is a famous novelist who also writes steamy boys’ love novels on the side. When Misaki cracks open one of these books and reads sentences like “Misaki licks every inch of Usami’s hot body”…well, let’s just say that all hell breaks loose.” (ANN Junjou Romantica page)

Extras + Opinions: This is what the BL fans have been waiting for: the sequel to the Junjou Romantica series. I’m sure I can hear a loud “WOOT WOOT!” coming from lots of people right now. Well, weird as I am (because I actually don’t mind such things; because I’m open to such things), I have looked up this story and yes, it has a good story and the OP song and OST of this anime is so wonderful, I still play it to this day. Not only that but yes, finally good quality BL for BL lovers. I took a peek at Antique Bakery and found it … bad.  Well there are quite a few loyal fans to it, but eh, I think even Junjou Romantica gets my vote in terms of art and story. Oh yea, and on an additional note: this will continue on the story line of Romantica, Egoist, and Terrorist. USAGI-NII and USAGI-PAPA maybe? o_o

Michiko to Hatchin – 10/15/08 (Official Site) (ANN) 

Story: “After escaping from a maximum-security prison, the sexy diva Michiko meets a Hatchin, a young girl who seeks freedom while fleeing her relative and legal guardian. We will follow them in their thundering journey to freedom.” (a geek by any other name)

Extras + Opinions: OKAY PURE LOVE. I saw the promo for this and I was practically gushing at the awesomeness. Artwise it reminded me of the Boondocks, which is an awesome series by the way and despite some opinions some episodes actually have good morals. Anyways its being brought to us by the company that did Samurai Champloo so that pretty much explain the weird/awesome animation style. It certainly has Western aspects and despite the Japanese names, it looked like the Wild West, modern version.

[switch] OVA – 10/24/08 (Official Site) (ANN)

Story: “Two newbies at the Narcotic Control Department in Japan, Hal and Kai, struggle against: drug dealers, gangs, murderers, psychopaths, mysterious organizations, and mad people in general. The gentle and caring one of the group, Kai, who has problems of his own, has the tendancy of turning into a lethal killing machine in certain scenarios. The way he acts changes like that of a “switch”. As the two do their job, answers of what is behind Kai’s strange behavior and who exactly he is, is revealed.”  (ANN)

Extras + Opinions: OMG YES!!! October, I love you. This will be the first of a two part OVA. The 2nd will show on December 26 (ARG WHY, I’m internet-less in Asia on winter holiday T_T). I’m sad that its only going to be an OVA. This would have turned out great as a series, more along the lines of Himitsu Top Secret. Anyways, I just went over to the website recently and saw the character designs up. Nearly cried since they looked nothing like their manga counterparts. Well it is a hard style to work with but guh, Hal doesn’t look as sexy anymore. Still going to watch this though, if just for the story.

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