[Winter 2015] Season of Battles

[KazeShiki]

Winter is too cold. Better to stay inside and watch anime.

「空母」/ 「ume」

Much like the threads before it, this is a thread I created stole from blkmage for the discussion of new anime that will be airing on TV in Japan in the Winter 2015 season. Anime typically gets released and runs for a number of seasons. The year is divided up into four seasons: January to March is winter, April to June is spring, July to September is summer, and October to December is fall. Each season is approximately 13 weeks.

Here, we can talk about what shows look interesting, what we plan to watch, and generally get giddy and excited for things that we've been anticipating for a while.

---
Absolute Duo
http://www.absoluteduo.com/
Light Novel

Guy goes to school for superpowers and surprisingly, lives with a beautiful girl.


Aldnoah.Zero 2
http://www.aldnoahzero.com/
Sequel

Sequel to the story of the still-not-dead martian princess.


Ansatsu Kyoushitsu
http://www.ansatsu-anime.com/
Manga

An alien octopus who threatens to destroy the world becomes a teacher while his students try to kill him, except he's actually their best teacher.


Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love!
http://boueibu.com/
Original

High school guys get recruited by mysterious creature to save the world.


Death Parade
http://www.ntv.co.jp/deathparade/
Original

Anime series of the 2013 Anime Mirai Death Billiards short.


Dog Days''
http://www.dogdays.tv/
Sequell

Season 3 of Nana Mizuki and Yui Horie collecting free money.


Durarara!!x2 Shou
http://www.durarara.com//
Sequel

Alternatively, Durararararara??


Isuca
http://isuca.net/
Manga

Supernatural creatures, beautiful girls, and one male. Never heard this before.


JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Stardust Crusaders 2
http://wwws.warnerbros.co.jp/jojo-animation/
Sequel

Just ask Goldy if you should watch it.


Junketsu no Maria
http://junketsu-maria.tv/
Manga

A powerful witch will lose her powers if she loses her virginity.


Juuou Mujin no Fafnir
http://cont.lanove.kodansha.co.jp/9906/21524.html
Light Novel

Only girls have supernatural dragon powers except our heroic male.


Kamisama Hajimemashita◎
http://mikagesha.com/
Sequel

Sequel to something probably no one watched.


Kantai Collection: Kan Colle
http://kancolle-anime.jp/
Game

Moeboats: the most popular otaku phenomenon in history now in anime form.


Ketsuekigata-kun! 2
http://ketsuekigatakun.com/
Sequel
*Note: this anime is a short

This...this got another season?


Koufuku Graffiti
http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/koufuku_g/
Manga

Girl makes food and people eat it and are happy. No really, it's actually just about cooking and eating.


Kuroko no Basket 3
http://www.kurobas.com/
Sequel

More Kuroke


Minna Atsumare! Falcom Gakuen SC
http://www.fal-gaku.com/
Sequel
*Note: this anime is a short

Another season of Falcom characters doing not Falcom things.


Miritari!
Manga
*Note: this anime is a short

Firearms aplenty.


Pankis! 2-jigen
http://www.pankis.net/
Manga
*Note: this anime is a short

Anime to help promote new voice actors.


Saenai Heroine no Sodate-kata
http://www.saenai.tv/
Light Novel

Beautiful girl, check. Childhood friend, check. Literary genius, check. Otaku male main, check check and check.


Seiken Tsukai no World Break
http://warubure-anime.com/
Light Novel

Another school for people with superpowers.


Sengoku Musou
http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/sengokumusou/
Game

A Sengoku period story that isn't about Oda Nobunaga for once.


Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha
http://anime-shinmaimaou.com/
Light Novel

A guy's beautiful new step-sisters are a demon and succubus.


Shounen Hollywood: Holly Stage for 50
Sequel

More male idols.


Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor - Exodus
http://fafner-exodus.jp/
Sequel

Sequel to the Fafner movie.


Tantei Opera Milky Holmes TD
http://milky-holmes-anime.com/td/
Sequel

Milky Holmes just keeps getting more anime.


THE iDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls
http://imas-cinderella.com/
Game

With Love Live ruling idol anime, im@s is looking to take back the title. It'll fail.


The Rolling Girls
http://rollinggirls.com/
Original

Rolling girls in a normal, peaceful world.


Tokyo Ghoul 2
http://marv.jp/special/tokyoghoul/
Sequel

Ghouls in Tokyo continue to do ghoul things, maybe.


Tsukimonogatari
http://www.monogatari-series.com/tsukimonogatari/
Sequel
**All 4 episodes will air New Year's Eve

Technically not winter season, but Monogatari is popular enough to warrant being listed for information's sake.


Yoru no Yatterman
http://yatterman.jp/
Original

A new Yatterman anime in celebration of its 40th anniversary.


Yuri Kuma Arashi
http://www.yurikuma.jp/
Original

Lesbian bears, from Ikuhara, the writer of Utena and Penguindrum.

[PLCDreamcatcher14]

Hmm...Well, definitely Aldnoah.Zero 2, Durarara!!2x, and Kuroko no Basuke 3! Um...Ansatsu Kyoushitsu looks interesting. Might give it and Death Parade a try. Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love!...uh...I might have to try the first episode at least just to see how crazy this is. lol. X) Winter really doesn't look all that interesting. Probably a good thing though. I've got waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much to watch anyway.

[Vii]

Well excuse you I watched Kamisama Hajimemashita

I'm interested in...
- DURARARARARARARARARARA!! (Very hype. Very very hype.)
- Kamisama Hajimemashita S2 (Why not. First season was p decent iirc.)
- Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love! (It looks like a pretty terrible attempt at a magical boy anime and I'm dying of secondhand embarrassment from the trailer.)
- Yuri Kuma Arashi (Because Ikuhara. I've yet to see Utena but I liked Penguindrum.)

I would be interested in Kurobas III and Tokyo Ghoul 2 but alas I'm not caught up on the former and have yet to watch the latter.

[skreyola]

Winter is too cold. Better to stay inside and watch anime.

Quite so.

Durarara!!x2 Shou

Well, I guess it's either this or watch more shows that came out earlier. I guess I could do worse than DRRR.

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Stardust Crusaders 2
Just ask Goldy if you should watch it.

Not going to watch this, but love the description.

Junketsu no Maria
A powerful witch will lose her powers if she loses her virginity.

I can't decide if I want to believe this'll be horrible and disgusting, or an interesting premise if executed well. Looking at it from a point of view of how stories are written and what is likely to be threatened, I am veeeeeeeery leery, but a tiny corner of my mind thinks there's a chance, however slim, that I wouldn't be forced to run screaming into the night after only one episode. I'll keep an eye on the reviews before wading into this show.

Kamisama Hajimemashita◎
Sequel to something probably no one watched.

I watched it. I'm not sure if that makes me interested in its sequel, but it wasn't terrible, as I recall.

Koufuku Graffiti
Girl makes food and people eat it and are happy. No really, it's actually just about cooking and eating.

I will probably watch this.
I will probably continue in my initial reaction: sadness that the title was not Mixed Vegetables.

Pankis! 2-jigen
Anime to help promote new voice actors.

But what is it? And will it all be done chibi?

Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor - Exodus

I know this has nothing to do with it, but I immediately thought of the show the people in Shirobako were drawing.

The Rolling Girls
Rolling girls in a normal, peaceful world.

The characters look interesting, but what's it about? Just girls on (motor)bikes?

So, yeah. I may be catching up on old anime instead of watching new stuff next season.

[MomentOfInertia]

Hmmmmm...

Definitely watching Durarara!!x2 Shou

Probably:
Ansatsu Kyoushitsu -- I heard some good stuff about this, trying to remember where...

Death Parade -- the one-off this is from was .... unique.

Miritari!/Military! -- moetanks, I'll give it a shot.

Isuca -- Looks like an entertaining action/comedy. sounds like it's liable to end up a harem show though. We'll see which way it leans.


Maybe:
Seiken Tsukai no World Break -- could be good

Absolute Duo -- same as Isuca but less funny.

[KazeShiki]

I can't decide if I want to believe this'll be horrible and disgusting, or an interesting premise if executed well. Looking at it from a point of view of how stories are written and what is likely to be threatened, I am veeeeeeeery leery, but a tiny corner of my mind thinks there's a chance, however slim, that I wouldn't be forced to run screaming into the night after only one episode. I'll keep an eye on the reviews before wading into this show.

Your guess is as good as mine...It shouldn't have ONLY that stuff, but it'll surely be there in some form or another.

I will probably watch this.
I will probably continue in my initial reaction: sadness that the title was not Mixed Vegetables.

To be fair, the title is a pun on a happy stomach. No clue how one would translate it.

But what is it? And will it all be done chibi?

The anime's story takes place at the school for the "spirits of sound," St. Muse Academy. The students at the academy train to one day control and tune the sounds of the world so that humans can live comfortably with sound. Five students at the school who are failing are given a special mission.

Yes, all chibi if we haven't been lied to.

I know this has nothing to do with it, but I immediately thought of the show the people in Shirobako were drawing.

Considering almost every proper noun in Shirobako is a reference in some form or another, it might very well be referring to this.

The characters look interesting, but what's it about? Just girls on (motor)bikes?

Supposedly so. It has no source, there's no real info, and the only description is mostly about what won't happen (i.e. anything out of the ordinary).

Ansatsu Kyoushitsu -- I heard some good stuff about this, trying to remember where...

Death Parade -- the one-off this is from was .... unique.

Ansatsu Kyoushitsu/Assassination Classroom is GTO-esque though not nearly as good. It ends up being mostly about the octopus giving the kids life lessons between assassination attempts.

Death Parade's one-off being unique is my biggest concern. Whether the anime can maintain that uniqueness is questionable.

[skreyola]

Miritari!/Military! -- moetanks, I'll give it a shot.

Wait, tanks? I could be interested in this...

Your guess is as good as mine...It shouldn't have ONLY that stuff, but it'll surely be there in some form or another.

Thank you for this and all the info you provided.

I will probably watch this.
I will probably continue in my initial reaction: sadness that the title was not Mixed Vegetables.

To be fair, the title is a pun on a happy stomach. No clue how one would translate it.

I said that actually because I'm a fan of the manga by that name.

Considering almost every proper noun in Shirobako is a reference in some form or another, it might very well be referring to this.

Hehehe... good point.
I think my favorite has been "My Robot is Going Through Puberty, and It's Been Rough"

[GeneD]

Without looking at the titles I'm not familiar with:

Watching:
Ansatsu Kyoushitsu - The manga is quite fun, not the best, but fun.

Death Parade - The other Anime Miria short. I liked it and am interested to see how they expand on the idea.

Durarara!!x2 Shou - I wanted to rewatch the first season again before this comes out but I doubt I'm gonna get to it. I have mixed feelings about S1, because I never liked it as much as everyone else seemed to and it was the last thing I slogged through before my anime drought of 2011/12 so that skewed my view of it negatively. I still need to watch the specials, so I'll do that at least. I'll also have to go read up on S1 because I can't remember much of what happened.

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Stardust Crusaders 2 - ALL OF MY YES.

Yuri Kuma Arashi - Because Ikuhara. Gonna try to finish Utena before this starts.

Maybe:
Aldnoah.Zero 2 - First season was dumb as anything, so I'll see if I have the time/patience.

Tokyo Ghoul 2 - I mentioned my reservations about S1, so idk yet. I'm still intrigued by the set-up/setting.

[MangaRocks!]

Winter is too cold. Better to stay inside and watch anime.

^ THIS.

Well excuse you I watched Kamisama Hajimemashita

^ Also this (so did I ), although I do have to say that they kinda butchered one originally-pretty-good arc in particular near the end of the anime adaptation, so IDK if I'll bother to watch the second season or not. I am really enjoying the manga, though (the arcs of which just keep getting better as it goes). <3



Starting off with this season's 'maybes':

Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love! - This *looks* like it could be a hilarious parody of the magical-girl genre using boys instead (oh my gosh that trailer ), so if that assumption holds true I'll gladly laugh my way through this. If not, though, then nope.

Yuri Kuma Arashi - I'm sorely tempted to just put this on the 'watch-for-sure' list regardless simply because it's Ikuhara and Mawaru Penguindrum was genuinely one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. But the fact that 'yuri' is in the forefront of not only the title but the official synopsis, as well, is a bit of a turn-off. If the balance/focus turns out to be less on the yuri and more on the craziness/bears, though, it's more than likely that I'll end up watching it.

Death Parade - I've heard some good things about that Death Billiards short (although I haven't watched it myself), so I'll keep a watch on how the series is received before I decide.


And now for the two shows I'm watching no matter what:

Durarara!!x2 Shou

^ THE HYPE IS REAL!! (Unashamed mega-fan of Narita-sensei talking here. Seriously, I cannot wait for this and then parts 2 and 3 of the sequel, which will air in July 2015 and January 2016, respectively! )

...Oh, and Tsukimonogatari too, of course, because Monogatari.

[goldenspines]

Ah winter, my favorite season. And finally time for the trip to Egypt with five gentlemen and a dog (spoilers). JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOJO!

Ansatsu Kyoushitsu
http://www.ansatsu-anime.com/
Manga

An alien octopus who threatens to destroy the world becomes a teacher while his students try to kill him, except he's actually their best teacher.

Oh my gosh! It's getting its own anime! I still need to watch the OVA to see if the voice acting it how I imagined! I recently got into this manga and it's pretty great so far.

Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love!
http://boueibu.com/
Original

High school guys get recruited by mysterious creature to save the world.

Here it is. Our magical boy anime.
Repent, for the end is nigh.


(The PV almost killed me. Which means I will probably watch this.)

Death Parade
http://www.ntv.co.jp/deathparade/
Original

Anime series of the 2013 Anime Mirai Death Billiards short.

I enjoyed Death Billiards a lot, so I will give this a watch.

Durarara!!x2 Shou
http://www.durarara.com//
Sequel

Alternatively, Durararararara??

It's baaaaaaaack. I will join in with everyone else's hyping! \o.o/
Roar out louder!

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Stardust Crusaders 2
http://wwws.warnerbros.co.jp/jojo-animation/
Sequel

Just ask Goldy if you should watch it.

YES
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS

*high fives GeneD and Kaze and pretty much everyone else who has hopped on the Jojo train. I don't know who you all are, but I love you*

But really, Jojo is an excellent anime that everyone should at least try to watch and the next arc I hope will prove to be one of the best so far.



Actually, nothing really matters after Jojo, but I'll continue on for the heck of it.

Saenai Heroine no Sodate-kata
http://www.saenai.tv/
Light Novel

Beautiful girl, check. Childhood friend, check. Literary genius, check. Otaku male main, check check and check.

This looks okay. I'll probably at least give it a first episode watch.

The Rolling Girls
http://rollinggirls.com/
Original

Rolling girls in a normal, peaceful world.

After watching the PV, this actually looks pretty cool.

Tsukimonogatari
http://www.monogatari-series.com/tsukimonogatari/
Sequel
**All 4 episodes will air New Year's Eve

Technically not winter season, but Monogatari is popular enough to warrant being listed for information's sake.

This is probably the one arc I'm not as thrilled about in Monogatari, but it's bound to be good all the same.

Yuri Kuma Arashi
http://www.yurikuma.jp/
Original

Lesbian bears, from Ikuhara, the writer of Utena and Penguindrum.

Shoot, I am obligated to check this out because it's from the same writers as Utena and Penguindrum. But I will not enjoy it. Even if I do enjoy it, I won't.
The main characters have nice hats, though.


This season will be great, I think.

[EventualDay]

Winter really doesn't look all that interesting. Probably a good thing though. I've got waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much to watch anyway.

Yeah none of these titles jump out at me right off the bat. But there are also a lot of sequels to things I haven't watched.

:Maybe:
Ansatsu Kyoushitsu - the manga is popular, but I'll wait to watch this until I hear reviews. I also could see this becoming one of those infinite shounen anime if it gets popular enough; not saying it will, but I know the manga is getting long and I'm not going to commit to 10 seasons yet haha.
Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-Bu Love - because it could be a parody. I don't know what the chances are for that yet... but it could be a parody.
Death Parade - not sure what to expect from this yet, I'll wait for reviews of this one too.
Pankis 2-jigen- I usually like to watch a lighter show to balance out the drama of the other ones, and this has short episodes, so if it's not terrible I'll try it.
Rolling Girls - because motorcycles?

[KazeShiki]

I listened to a special event about Rolling Girls. With the amount of emphasis on "normal," I almost want to believe this is an elaborate troll, and it's going to be full of supernatural elements. Either way, I'm watching because I'm quite interested in hearing Ozawa Ari's performance aka everyone's beloved Chiyo-chan from Nozaki-kun.

[ClaecElric4God]

Agaaaaaaaaaaaain, anime world? This is the third season in a row that I'm highly uninterested in. But of course there's Durararax2!!, which makes everything better. And I would be excited about JoJo, but I haven't managed to watch the first yet, so that'll have to wait. BUT I WILL JOIN YOU SOON, GOLDY.

[goldenspines]

I listened to a special event about Rolling Girls. With the amount of emphasis on "normal," I almost want to believe this is an elaborate troll, and it's going to be full of supernatural elements. Either way, I'm watching because I'm quite interested in hearing Ozawa Ari's performance aka everyone's beloved Chiyo-chan from Nozaki-kun.

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ
The PV had me convinced, really. I hope it will be good because it looks fantastic.

And I would be excited about JoJo, but I haven't managed to watch the first yet, so that'll have to wait. BUT I WILL JOIN YOU SOON, GOLDY.

SOON.
待っている～

[MightiMidget]

I am looking very forward to the second season of Durarara!!...I hadn't heard of it until last night. O_o

As for Aldnoah.Zero 2.... SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Season 2? Didn't almost everyone die completely unnecessarily and soul-crushingly at the end of the first season? Not that I'm completely and thoroughly irritated and bitter or anything.

[GeneD]

As for Aldnoah.Zero 2.... SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Season 2? Didn't almost everyone die completely unnecessarily and soul-crushingly at the end of the first season? Not that I'm completely and thoroughly irritated and bitter or anything.

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: From the promo-art, Hime is definitely still alive and probably Eggs-kun too.

I had a look at the titles I skipped over the last time I posted, was surprised at how few of them really stood out to me.

Probably watching:
The Rolling Girls: This looks kinda like Summer Wars crossed with Kill la Kill and bits of Kyousougiga, i.e. silly as anything but probably at least fun, if not good.

Maybe:
Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love!: might have to watch for the Tomokazu Sugita (side?) character, I guess whether I keep watching depends on how good the parody is.

Isuca: wins points for archery but not for much else.

Koufuku Graffiti: idk because food.

[skreyola]

Has any of this started, yet?
Is any of it licensed for streaming in the US?

[MangaRocks!]

Has any of this started, yet?
Is any of it licensed for streaming in the US?

Yes and yes-- here's a current list.

[skreyola]

Has any of this started, yet?
Is any of it licensed for streaming in the US?

Yes and yes-- here's a current list.

Thanks for the info.

[MangaRocks!]

Well, as for Yuri Kuma Arashi:

...The fact that 'yuri' is in the forefront of not only the title but the official synopsis, as well, is a bit of a turn-off. If the balance/focus turns out to be less on the yuri and more on the craziness/bears, though...

^ Unfortunately, what I've heard about the first episode so far is not encouraging on that front , so ATM I won't be planning to watch it; but I'll keep a watch on the discussions about it to see if that changes.


Now, as for the series I actually have started watching:



Tsukimonogatari:

Comments on that here.



Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! episode 1:

YES, YES, YES. This is indeed precisely what I hoped it'd be-- a magical-girl-parody-with-boys-instead-- and I (pun intended) loved every ridiculous minute of it. The entire sequence where they're increasingly-desperately trying to SPOILER: Highlight text to read: get away from the wombat-controlled-(and-most-likely-dead!-)teacher was hilarious ; the whole thing with SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the poses and lines they're forced to make and say and their transformations and costumes and everything was as silly (and as amusing) as expected; the girly short one actually SPOILER: Highlight text to read: being the apparent leader (?) was a bit amusing, too; and then, of course, there was all of the pointedly self-aware dialogue, which was constantly running through pretty much the entire episode. (This was funniest when they were poking fun at themselves and the ridiculousness of the whole situation; however, one running joke I have to note in particular was the one where just about everyone in the episode was described as-- SPOILER: Highlight text to read: and, in the case of the 'enemy,' literally turned into! -- food; when it got to the "Oden is the Earth" line, I lost it. ) Oh man.



Death Parade:

I also decided to watch this (and the original Death Billiards short it came from first); however, thanks to Funi, I'll be watching it on a one-week delay (so no comments on it this week).



And last but most certainly not least, Durarara!!x2 Shou episode 1:

Thoughts in the dedicated DRRR!! watch thread.

[KazeShiki]

Aldnoah S2, yeah well I said this after the last season, and my opinion hasn't changed:

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I also have absolute confidence in the writers to bring supposedly dead characters back to life, so I find the ending incredibly lackluster and overly dramatic, although to be fair, I guess it was still better than the rest of the season which wasn't very good either.

KanColle was actually better than I expected. I really hope they don't try to add any drama or plot. Just give me my references and cute girls doing cute things.

im@s unfortunately won't be able to beat Love Live, but it's amusing so far.

Death Parade wasn't as good as the OVA, but still good.

Rolling Girls was about 100x better than I expected. Reminds me of Kyousougiga.

[goldenspines]

Well, as for Yuri Kuma Arashi:

...The fact that 'yuri' is in the forefront of not only the title but the official synopsis, as well, is a bit of a turn-off. If the balance/focus turns out to be less on the yuri and more on the craziness/bears, though...

^ Unfortunately, what I've heard about the first episode so far is not encouraging on that front , so ATM I won't be planning to watch it; but I'll keep a watch on the discussions about it to see if that changes.

I watched the first episode and was cautious to comment about it here for exactly those reasons. Sadly, the yuri element is fairly prevalent; enough to make me drop it for the time being. (I may just keep updated on its progress through beneaththetangles.com if they continue to follow and blog on it, though. Maybe the yuri stuff will die down? Who knows.)

Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! episode 1:

YES, YES, YES. This is indeed precisely what I hoped it'd be-- a magical-girl-parody-with-boys-instead-- and I (pun intended) loved every ridiculous minute of it. The entire sequence where they're increasingly-desperately trying to SPOILER: Highlight text to read: get away from the wombat-controlled-(and-most-likely-dead!-)teacher was hilarious ; the whole thing with SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the poses and lines they're forced to make and say and their transformations and costumes and everything was as silly (and as amusing) as expected; the girly short one actually SPOILER: Highlight text to read: being the apparent leader (?) was a bit amusing, too; and then, of course, there was all of the pointedly self-aware dialogue, which was constantly running through pretty much the entire episode. (This was funniest when they were poking fun at themselves and the ridiculousness of the whole situation; however, one running joke I have to note in particular was the one where just about everyone in the episode was described as-- SPOILER: Highlight text to read: and, in the case of the 'enemy,' literally turned into! -- food; when it got to the "Oden is the Earth" line, I lost it. ) Oh man.

The greatest thing about this series is that it's pretty much exactly like any magical girl series (I'm thinking Precure influenced mainly, especially with the enemies turning into things, purifying hearts, TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCES YES, and unnaturally colored mascot character).
I was far too happy watching the first episode and look forward to the next one, so I agree with your thoughts entirely.
Personally, I totally lost it at the end with SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the student coucil and the hedgehog and its deep voice.


As far as everything else's first episodes. I've been feeling a bit bad being ahead of everyone (since both Funi and Crunchy release things a week later), but I will say that

1) Jojo is still the best.
2) Assassination Classroom is better than I expected so far.
3) Drrr x2 is greatness.
4) Death Parade is something I had high hopes for after the OVA, but I'm not sure what direction it's going to take. I liked this first episode, but it looks like the following episodes will take a different turn.

I will give more detailed stuff later. Happy watching, everyone!

[skreyola]

So far, looks like CR is going to have Koufuku Graffiti, and Hulu+ (I'm sad because I don't have the Plus) has the Rolling Girls.
I can't afford premium service, so it looks like Graffiti will be the only thing I watch this season as it comes out.

[MomentOfInertia]

So far, looks like CR is going to have Koufuku Graffiti, and Hulu+ (I'm sad because I don't have the Plus) has the Rolling Girls.
I can't afford premium service, so it looks like Graffiti will be the only thing I watch this season as it comes out.

huh-what?
*checks*

Hulu will add new subtitled episodes on a seven-day delay from their original Japanese air date. Episodes streaming sooner with a Plus subscription.

Or in other words: "come back next week you cheapskate"

Fairly standard pattern.
1-week to translate.
1-week exclusivity for paid members. CR does the same thing.

[skreyola]

Ah. Sorry. I missed that part of the page. In that case, I will be starting Rolling Girls, too.
Yeah. I'm used to it with CR, but when I've seen that H+ icon before, it's meant no show at all for me.
Thanks for pointing out my error.

[MomentOfInertia]

Watched the first ep of Military! Not sure what to think of it. Could be a decent wacky comedy, hints of going down a crasser path but I'll probably give a few more weeks. Pretty goofy so far.

Planning on watching Drrrrrr!! Saturday when it's free (hopefully they mean free at sometime early in the morning).

Watched the first few ep of KanColle. Cracked up at the premise, it's so weird. Getting out before I start thinking about it too much.

[ForeverInspired]

Well, I'm a little late to this party.

I just realized that what I am mostly watching are sequels/continuing shows - not much original content. Here's the rundown:

Continuing with these shows:
1) Yona of the Dawn - though it's getting even slower, it's still good for now.
2) Garo - just watched the first episode since the break between seasons, and I think this show is going to wash away every single one of my doubts. The show is doing exactly what it needed to do with Leon. I'm really impressed.
3) Parasyte - still unusual with lots of good drama.
4) Log Horizon - when can this show end or at least straighten out this story? The plot is all over the place.
5) Shirobako - glad I was able to catch up. Love watching an anime about anime.

Sequels:
6) Aldnoah.Zero - this beginning of the second season is bad in many ways. The viewers were left on a cliffhanger where certain main characters SPOILER: Highlight text to read: are supposed to be dead. However, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: we've confirmed that at least one is actually alive. I mean, seriously people, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Slaine better have left Inaho alive on purpose or this show doesn't follow logic. Slaine is a talented soldier who knows exactly how to kill people and has done so several times earlier. Now, if this is all a twisted plot where Slaine really wanted Inaho alive and the princess dead, then I'll stop complaining. Yet, until this is at least pretty certain, I'm going to be not too forgiving.
7) Durarara - it's a decent starting episode although the start to the first season is still better in my opinion. I need more crazy Izaya now.
8) Kamisama Hajimemashita - I feel like this show has one of the best transitions between seasons - I did not feel lost or bored at all. Yet, it probably is easier to do that for a romance than an action series.
9) Kuroko no Basket - I like to watch this with my siblings so I'm not going to be watching it weekly while in college. It will be more sporadic.
10) Tokyo Ghoul - will say more below.

New:
11) Assassination Classroom - as ridiculous and weird as this show is, I think the octopus/alien is one of the most intriguing and knowledgeable characters I have seen. I know it sounds weird, but just give it an episode and see for yourself. That octopus looks like he is one character with several layers.
12) Death Parade - this show must do something right because a normal game like that shouldn't last over twenty minutes with me being so interested in it.
13) Isuca - I'm on the fence with this one until I watch a few episodes. Some have likened it to Kaze no Stigma, which I loved. That is the only reason why I'm giving it a try.
14) Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata - like the one right above, this is on probation. Again, I have a reason to watch this one that has nothing to do with the series itself being interesting. I heard that it was by the same person who did Bunny Drop. That's all.

Now, back to Tokyo Ghoul. I wanted to write a little more than usual about this one. I had originally tried watching the first season because of what I had researched myself and the praise given by others for it. Some may recall me writing that I had a hard time getting through the first few minutes of the first episode. Thus, I put it down for a while. However, the praise kept coming for this show and a second season was around the corner. With that in mind, I decided to try watching it once more and just turning down the volume and scrolling down so that I could only see the subtitles if the scene got too violent for me. This worked really well, and I don't regret doing it because it was a pretty good series (I also still can't get over that opening song). I love when a show makes me think, and I think this show had me doing some of that. While I might not agree always with what is presented, the fact that the show prodded me to delve just a little more into thought is worthy of recognition by me. I'm also glad that I stuck with it because it looks like one of the most promising shows of this winter season amongst sequels and the rest. It had a very smooth transition between seasons because of how the director ended it the first season. However, what is most interesting is that SPOILER: Highlight text to read: this season is not going to follow the manga at all by having Kaneki join Aogiri. With such a plot twist, I can't wait to see what's next.

[GeneD]

First (and second for some) episode impressions. I'll unfortunately be a week behind on most things this season.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders - Battle in Egypt ep 1-2: Gonna miss "STAND PROUD" and "Walk like an Egyptian", but the new OP and ED will probably grow on me. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: This Stand user was really interesting, even though the stand was a bit similar to some we've seen before. Too bad he died, but I liked that Jotaro got to ask him about his loyalties. Also, it's a good thing Iggy is a confirmed main character (he is right?), considering the track record of violence against dogs on this show.

Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! ep 1-2: Echoing MangaRocks' sentiments. I'm having a lot of fun Google'ing food/ingredient names mentioned. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I'm a bit disappointed that they're not keeping the attack names the boys make up in ep 1. But ohmygosh everything else is hilarious and self aware and amazing. The dead teacher! The evil green hedgehog! The evil green hedgehog in a teacup! The OP suits the show perfectly and is dangerously catchy (Free! has given me a soft spot for cast group singing), and I loved the track that played when the student council was shown at the end of ep 1.

Tokyo Ghoul √A ep 1: After S1's amazing OP, this one is major meh but I like the ED. Not much else to say at the moment since it was just a wrap up of where the last season ended, though yeah it's interesting to hear that SPOILER: Highlight text to read: it's gonna deviate from the manga. I kinda hope Touka gets strong enough to kick both Kaneki and her brother's butt.

Death Parade ep 1: Seems like it's gonna go off in a new direction, which I think is a good thing, since I didn't really see how they were gonna continued the current format for very many more episodes without it getting tedious. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: This ep was fine though. I can't quite decide if the woman was telling the truth about having an affair or was lying to somehow protect her husband? Maybe so that he didn't feel guilty about being unfairly suspicious and killing their child and giving him someone to blame besides himself? She did go to "the Void" in the end though so... OP is cool, I wanna see an air-hockey death match and I can totally imagine the Queen Decim employees(???) having an epic dance party in between customer arrivals. And hooray NoisyCell ED.

Assassination Classroom ep 1: Oh thank goodness they have the names up in the OP, I've been reading the manga for almost a year now and still don't know most of the kids' names. Everyone dancing the in the OP is a bit weird though. I like the kid's drawing ED. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Having recently caught up with the manga, it's nice to look back and see just how far Class E has come.

Yuri Kuma Arashi ep 1: Welp they weren't kidding about the yuri. I'm gonna keep watching for now. Fully expect awful things to happen soon SPOILER: Highlight text to read: y'know, besides the awful things that are already happening.

Aldnoah Zero S2 ep 1: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: So everyone who was dead or suspected dead at the end of last season has made a recovery, in various degrees of miraculousness. Even that count guy made it. :/ I vote Fake!Hime-kun for best new terrible character. Where are PTSD guy and Doctor guy, I wanna see them. I'm never not gonna make up nicknames for this show, it's how I cope with sitting through it. I don't know why, but I'm gonna keep watching until it gets too stupid/I get too busy, whichever comes first.

The Rolling Girls ep 1: Glad my Kyousougiga/Kill la Kill senses weren't off. The beginning sequence reminded me a bit of Tsuritama and made me extremely happy. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I'm worried about Maccha Green, some death flags going up for her in this ep, I'm expecting the worst, but I can't tell yet if this is the kinda show that will go there. I really like the ED (OP?) visuals.

[MangaRocks!]

Aldnoah.Zero ... or this show doesn't follow logic.

...It never did.




Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! episode 2:

The greatest thing about this series is that it's pretty much exactly like any magical girl series (I'm thinking Precure influenced mainly, especially with the enemies turning into things, purifying hearts, TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCES YES, and unnaturally colored mascot character).
I was far too happy watching the first episode and look forward to the next one, so I agree with your thoughts entirely.
Personally, I totally lost it at the end with SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the student coucil and the hedgehog and its deep voice.

^ Yeah, that was really funny as well, haha. (And IMO it actually got even funnier in this episode, where-- SPOILER: Highlight text to read: in that indeed hilariously huge, deep voice-- it was speaking at length about world domination and being from Planet Evil (...literally! ) whilst reclining in a teacup! ) Also, the stuff with the teacher continued to be hilarious SPOILER: Highlight text to read: ("You need to take care with perishables," oh my gosh ), and the crowd reacting with embarrassment when they showed up to fight was perfect. (Although, I do have to say that the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: 'privacy' thing was actually quite clever.) And, of course, I continued to enjoy all the rest of the still-amusingly-self-aware dialogue, too. Oh, and... *ahem*... 'Scarlet' SPOILER: Highlight text to read: making up utter random nonsense from thin air again during his big, 'supposed-to-be'-inspiring/something-to-change-the-enemy's-mind 'speech' was just golden.



Death Parade episode 1:

Went and watched the original Death Billiards short film first before watching the first ep. of the TV series, so I'll be commenting on both here. First: The concept of the original short was quite interesting, and quite well-done, too. Although I would've preferred a slightly more 'closed' ending (where it would've explained what the old guy SPOILER: Highlight text to read: said to Decim and SPOILER: Highlight text to read: where each of them went {although after seeing the first ep. of the TV show I think I can pretty accurately guess the latter}), I do have to note that when Decim SPOILER: Highlight text to read: showed such sincere compassion to the younger guy despite not being able to fully understand, it was surprisingly touching (EDIT: And it was even more profound looking back on it after having watched the first ep. of the TV series, given the ever-so-slightly SPOILER: Highlight text to read: colder air about him that Decim has there {more on that below }).

As for the first ep. of the TV series:

OP is cool, I wanna see an air-hockey death match and I can totally imagine the Queen Decim employees(???) having an epic dance party in between customer arrivals.

Oh man, that OP was hilarious(ly awesome). Totally not what I was expecting at the time, LOL. (But now that you mention it... ) Anyway, OP aside , I think I liked the original short just a little bit better than this premiere, but that's only because this was basically a retread of it (despite this ep. apparently having happened *before* the short in terms of the 'bar'-characters' chronological order, with this being Onna's introduction to the team, so to speak). Judging by the OP and some of the conversations (as well as the slight difference in the characters' attitudes between the time frame of the short and here, which I referenced above), I'm thinking there's going to be a little bit of an ongoing story thread with Decim and Onna (and perhaps the other inhabitants of the 'bar,' too), which already interests me more than the sins of the contestants (especially since the 'judgments' have been rather... unfulfilling so far). (...EDIT: NVM, I just found this short thread that seems to explain SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the whole 'rebirth'/'void' and masks stuff, and those explanations make way more sense than what I had originally thought they meant at first glance. In fact, the more I've thought about these two episodes, the more I like them. Guess this is going to be the cerebral show of the bunch this season. )



Rolling Girls episode 1:

Decided to start watching this as well due to hearing good things. And the overall vibe I got from it (including from some of the visuals) was indeed of a less-extreme (and also a bit less amusing) Kill la Kill (though, granted, in compensation, it also doesn't have KLK's also-OTT fanservice {or any fanservice at all, yet}, so that's a plus ). And by the time it got to the cliffhanger, I was invested enough for it to work. (Partially because I was also sensing this:)

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I'm worried about Maccha Green, some death flags going up for her in this ep, I'm expecting the worst, but I can't tell yet if this is the kinda show that will go there.

Also, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed this/had this reaction:

The beginning sequence reminded me a bit of Tsuritama and made me extremely happy.

So yep, I'll keep on watching this for now.



And Durarara!!x2 Shou episode 2:

So good! (Proper comments on it in the dedicated DRRR!! watch thread. )

[skreyola]

Koufuku Graffiti Ep. 1: That was rather weird. Interesting insights on food and such, but the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: food fanservice and the static plaids and checks were a bit disconcerting (especially since the OP has good CG placement of patterns). Not sure how much I'm going to enjoy this show...