pudgetronSo… I’m back now, I guess. I know a lot of you were worried, but I assure you that the rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated, and the real reason for me disappearing for this long can mostly be chalked up to a combination of my job search and laziness. And I know this is going to be late, and I’m sure you’ve missed my insightful commentary into anime and/or manga, and this isn’t really the best compensation for the shit job I’ve been doing of late, but it just so happens that the timing is just about right for the next season preview so SUPER SPECIAL DOUBLE FALL SEASON PREVIEW!
In an alternate universe, during the early 20th century, scientists were able to develop a kind of magic. This magic was called Makinot, and when combined with otherwise dead objects through the use of circuits of spells, the objects could come to life and even develop a personality. These objects could then be controlled by people to do their bidding. Naturally, the usage started with the military, inventing unmanned warfare long before it would come about via technology, but the use of these automatons is now widespread. Raishin Akabane and his puppet, Yaya, arrive at the prestigious Royal Academy in their quest to become the best Makinot user in the world, the Wiseman. Step one is to gain admittance into the Evening Party, a no holds barred free-for-all between the 100 best students at the Academy to determine who will be the next Wiseman, and to get a single wish granted. The only problem is, despite his impressive combat score, Raishin fell a little short on the written exam and is ranked 1235th, second last.
Unbreakable Machine Doll is probably one of my most fortuitous discoveries lately, and I cannot wait to see it animated. Originally a light novel, now with an ongoing manga adaptation, this series can only benefit from being animated. Admittedly, they had better do a damn good job on the fight scenes, but I’m sure the team will pull it off nicely.
Airing from October 7
Tokyo Ravens tells the story of Tsuchimikado Harutora, a member of a prestigious onmyoji family, living a normal high school life as he can’t see spirit energy. Then, his childhood friend from the main branch of the family, Tsuchimikado Natsume, shows up and he is soon shipped off to attend the high-end onmyoji high school as her familiar.
Despite the somewhat lackluster description above, I encourage everyone to watch this show closely. The small summary is pretty much all I can say without getting into some spoiler territory and/or going off on rants explaining the details of history in this series to explain why that stuff is happening. Long story short: watch it if you’re into the whole onmyoji/high school/romance genre, still watch it if you’re not.
Airing from October 8
Kill la Kill is a bit of a mystery at this point, but what we know of the plot so far is this: Satsuki Kiryuuin, a new transfer student, is determined to take over the school via brute force and strategic application of her sword shaped like giant scissors. Ryuuko Matoi seems to be determined to make sure this doesn’t happen. This naturally puts them at odds with each other. Swordfights ensue.
Despite the somewhat lacking plot that has been revealed so far, this new show is rumoured to have a pretty heavy character focus. That’s not to say there won’t be a lot of awesome swordfights, of course. I’ve put this in here because it’s a) Studio Trigger’s first television anime and b) Studio Trigger happens to be made up of former members of Studio Gainax (Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gurren Lagann) and Studio 4°C (Catherine (cutscenes), Detroit Metal City) so it will at the very least be a fun, surreal, acid trip of a show.
Airing from October 3
Humanity is at the brink. Land is disappearing under the rising waters caused by global warming, and the ever increasing ocean is owned by the mysterious Fleet of Fog, seemingly archaic WWII era ships but possessing extremely advanced armour and weapons systems. Any ocean transit has come to a near standstill, as any human vessel daring to set sail is hunted down and destroyed by the Fog without fail. All except for the submarine Blue Steel, Japan’s only ray of hope to get resources smuggled in; captained by Gunzou Chihaya and crewed by a team of misfits. Blue Steel, formerly kown as Fog submarine I-401, was mysteriously aquired by Chihaya some time ago, and he has since made more enemies than just the Fog, as the Japanese government, as well as various other organizations, want to take a look inside to see how she works and for other, more nefarious reasons.
Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio, or Blue Steel of the Arpeggio, is a manga by Ark Performance that I stumbled upon a year or so ago. It immediately caught my interest and, like I do more often than I probably should, I read the entire thing in pretty much one sitting. Unfortunately, my memory isn’t the best and I only returned to it periodically, but I have always enjoyed every page when I do. It’s a little difficult to classify this series, but when I heard the show was being directed by the same person who brought us the Angel Beats and Persona 4 anime, I was sold. Certainly looking forward to this one.
Airing from October 7
Yuusha Ni Narenakatta Ore Wa Shibushibu Shuushoku O Ketsui Shimashita, a.k.a. ShibuYuu, is a new-ish slice of life manga that evidently impressed someone enough for it to become a show. The show follows Raul, a boy who had been training to take his hero exams, as he works in a convenience store. I use the word “had” there because the Demon Lord he was training to become a hero to defeat got defeated before he could take his hero exam. Not qualified for anything else at this point, he finds an entry level position at a convenience store. All is normal until a new jobseeker turns up looking for a job, and also happens to be the child of the Demon Lord who was defeated.
I admit I haven’t read too much about this one, partially because there isn’t a whole lot to read, but what I have read, I have enjoyed very much. It’s a slice-of-life-with-a-twist series tied into a quaint little story of acceptance and possibly more… (hint: it’s probably love).
Airing from October 11
Yozakura Quartet ~Hana no Uta~ takes place in Sakura-Shinmachi, Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, Japan. What’s so special about that one place, you ask? Well it’s the only place on the planet where youkai and humans can coexist. The town serves as a conduit between our world and the Otherworld, the dimension where the youkai originate from. To keep control of the delicate situation, the town is protected by Hime, the town’s superpowered highschool girl mayor, and Akina, a “normal” human besides the fact that he has the power to send the youkai back to Otherworld, and who operates the Hizumi Life Counselling Office in order to help them adapt to this one. Along with them are the employees of Hizumi, all humans with abilities or youkai themselves, and the assistant to the mayor and his younger sister, also youkai. Together, they protect the town from external threats, as well as those closer to home.
Now, this particular iteration of the series is a reboot of the manga, and there is already an animated version out there in the ether, but it was made during the manga’s second volume, and goes in a different direction than the manga. Think of this show as a bit like what Fullmetal Alchemist did when they remade the show into Brotherhood. A reboot staying more true to the source material. Except instead of Hiromu Arakawa, it’s Yasuda Suzuhito (creator of Durarara!!).
Airing from October 6
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