Anime

So, whilst we’re all stuck indoors due to the snowpocalypse, it’s a good time to take a look at what’s been released and what’s going to be released in Japan over the coming few months. Things are somewhat thin on the ground, there’s a lot of the usual loli and h-game based stuff but a few things jump out as worth watching.

Durarara!:

From the makers of the excellent Baccano! (they must have a thing for !’s in the title). There’s a guy stamping on some ko-gal’s phone in the trailer, whilst laughing hysterically… I like this:

Dance in the Vampire Bund:

Oh, something about vampires. The premise looks interesting however, an extremely rich vampire from the Tepes family (as in, Vlad Tepes, Vlad the Impaler) pays off the national debt of Japan (!!) in order to get her own island which can be used as a safe haven for the blood drinkers of this world. She proceeds to make preparations for revealing the existence of vampires to the public at large, before some terrorists decide to attack and wreck their buzz:

Katanagatari:

A very nice period piece with some swordplay, interesting artwork and music. The director worked on Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Crest of the Stars, amongst other things:

Uchuu Senkan Yamato Fukkatsu-hen (Movie):

Power up the wave motion gun! After nearly 26 years of false starts there’s finally a new Yamato movie:

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (Movie):

It goes without saying that this will be enormous.

Gundam Unicorn (OVA):

I’m saving the best till last. A new Yamato movie and now the first UC Gundam show since 1993. Mabye this season isn’t so bad after all. Neo Zeon are back and there is a Char-like character called …wait for it…Full Frontal. This is going to rock.

So April has rolled around again and it’s time for some new series – here’s some of the highlights, in no particular order:

First off the bat we have Code Geass R2 (April 7th?). This is probably the most anticipated show of the new season, I hope it delivers.

Then of course there’s, Golgo 13 (April 11th). Oh yeah. I believe this is the first TV outing for Duke Togo, he’s a good counterbalance to the glut of moe and dating sim shows this season I’ve been reading a lot of the Golgo 13 manga recently so I’m really looking forward to this one.

Macross Frontier (April 3rd) – We already had a sneak preview of the first episode back in December, the storyline appears to be direct remake of Macross 7. Episode 1 was pretty impressive and of course, it’s more Macross

Real Drive (RD Sennou Chousashitsu) (April 8th) : The latest Production IG/Masamune Shirow offering with some of the staff from the GITS TV series. Must watch:

“In 2061, 50 years after humanity developed the “Net society” that depended on information networks despite their security issues. To improve security, a new network called Meta Real Network — or “Metal” for short — was developed. People’s personal memories are reduced to information and placed within “protected virtual stand-alone organic cyber enclaves” called bubble shells online. The result was a virtual “explosion” of creative freedom as people felt safe enough to explore instincts and desires on Metal that they would not otherwise explore in real life. This “friction” between the Metal’s alluring lack of restrictions and rules-bound reality led to trouble and incidents that investigators known as “cyber divers” must handle. Masamichi Haru is one such cyber diver.”

Himitsu: Top Secret (April 8th).

“The story takes place five decades from now, when brain scanners have been perfected to the point that the government can retrieve up to five years’ worth of memories from people’s minds — even if they are dead. The investigators of the National Research Institute of Police Science’s 9th Forensics Laboratory must weigh the ethical choices in the ultimate invasion of privacy as they delve into people’s minds to solve crimes.”

Allison and Lillia (April 3rd): A World War II-type conflict has been going on for about a hundred years, two people set out to find a treasure (??) that can end the war. This looks quite impressive.

Toshokan Senseou (Library War) (April 10th): This is a quirky one, sounds like a cross between Fahrenheit 451 and Read or Die.

“Based on a light novel series by Arikawa Hiro, illustrated by Adabana Sukumo.

In the year 2019, the explosion of information and misinformation became a direct threat to society. In a daring decision, it was decided to create a new government agency dedicated solely to information management. Now some thirty years later, the government still monitors and controls information, suppressing anything they find undesirable, but standing against their abuses of power are the libraries, with their special agents called ‘the book soldiers.’”

Kaiba (April 10th): From the director of Mind Game and Cat Soup, produced by studio Madhouse (rock!).

“A sci-fi love story set in a world where digitization of memory made physical death obsolete. A world where memories can be stolen and altered, and replaced in a new human body. Kaiba wakes up in a room wthout knowing who he is. He has a pendant with the photograph of a woman he does not remember. After being attacked all of a sudden, he has to flee to space, meet various people, and rediscover the world.”

Kamen no Maid Guy (April 6th). Fist of the North Star meets He is My Master? This has the potential to be completely wretched or hilarious, or both:

“Fujiwara Naeka is a typical 17 year-old high school student. Or so we thought. She’s really one of two surviving heirs of a tycoon who has the right to inherit his mass fortune when she turns 18 in half a year. Fubuki, a young and beautiful maid, and Kogarashi, a big burly maid guy with a mask, have been assigned to keep Naeka and her brother Kousuke safe from those who would plot their demise, and to steal the fortune she would inherit.”

I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the above series’, a more complete roundup can be found here (which the above is mostly based on).