Shin Sekai Yori: From the New World

This show takes place a thousand years into the future. Humanity has declined, and is now living in a post-apocalyptic world. So even though the show takes place in the future, to the eye it looks like the past. The main hook of the show is a bunch of schoolkids learning special powers and saving the world or something or other.

But holy crap. The opening sequence to this show was absolutely wicked. I didn’t really know what was going on at the time, but the show really grabbed my attention from the start. The show is really interesting but also pretty creepy and freaky. The show doesn’t really divulge where it plans on taking the story and the characters, so it really makes me curious about what’s going to unfold in the rest of the show.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J-Vw9WfQs4']

Who should watch this show: People who like shows about little kid mages with a creepy kind of atmosphere.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Pretty good. This show definitely intrigued me.

Code:Breaker

Code:Breaker is adapted from a story by the guy who made Samurai Deeper KYO. The story isn’t really revealed, but the main guy has some sort of otherworldly powers that he’s been using to set people on fire. The main girl gets mixed up in things somehow, and the episode ends with a bunch of other guys (who I assume have otherworldly powers as well) saying stuff about how things are starting up (so it’s begun, etc).

The opening song for the show is pretty cool, but other that that the show didn’t really grab me. The animation style is pretty bland in my opinion. The overall feel was kind of mysterious, but there was little humor or action to speak of, at least not until the very end. It gets kind of intriguing around the halfway point, but the first half was nothing special at all. The second half piqued my interest a bit, but I don’t think it was enough to save the show for me.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcqBr0ogREQ']

Who should watch this show: People who like a bit of supernatural mystery and strange powers.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Pretty bad. Probably won’t continue with this one unless people tell me it turns out super awesome.

BTOOOM!

BTOOOM! is the name of a videogame which the main character is really good at. The hook here is that he and a number of other players get trapped in some real-life survival challenge on an island and forced to play out a live version of the game. Seems kind of like a mix between Battle Royale and that Hollywood movie Gamer that I never saw.

This show was pretty cool. It had a pretty strong start and a nice opening as well. The animation is really pretty which is definitely a plus. There’s a lot of confusion right from the get go, like why they’re on this island and who put them there to kill each other, so it’s very intriguing. This anime seems pretty cool, I’m not exactly sure where it’s going, but I’m looking forward to finding out.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGEd0_bBnM4']

Who should watch this show: People who like real life video game type things and Battle Royale type motifs.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Good. This show really stuck with me even after watching a bunch of other shows so I’m excited for the next episode.

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun

The show sells itself as a romantic comedy with “a fresh new angle.” The two main characters are a high school girl and a high school boy who is one of the most ridiculous characters in any anime I’ve ever seen. Weird romance and lots of laughs ensue.

This show is so funny. I was laughing out loud a ton during it. The animation is really nice and I like the characters’ wacky personalities so far. This show is really awesome and I can’t wait to see more of it. It’s definitely a contender for funniest show of the season, mostly due to the main guy’s character.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c54vbtaPrnY']

Who should watch this show: People who like super off the wall characters stuck in a romantic comedy.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Oh yes. Definitely going to watch more of this one. No idea where the story is going, but it’s too funny not to watch.

Zetsuen no Tempest

This show has a dystopian setting full of fantasy and world-saving. It seems to be about modern day mages and one of the main characters is on a journey of revenge with his powers. The show is packed with action and emotion.

The animation in this one is really nice (is it just me, or does this season have some really good looking shows?). The action is pretty cool and the show seems like it could have a lot of potential. It’s hard to tell though, because I’m not really sure where the story is going, but it sure is intriguing.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooJ21b7UnnY']

Who should watch this show: People who like magic and revenge and stuff.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Pretty good. I’m really interested in seeing what happens next so I plan on checking out a few more episodes at the very least.

Psycho Pass

This show is kind of like a cop show with a bunch of ex-criminals bent on stopping crime in a futuristic world. People have different colored passes that correspond to how much of a threat to the world they are and the police force is out to capture and rehabilitate.

Again, the animation here is pretty impressive. I was really expecting it to be kind of cool, but the episode just wasn’t all that exciting. There’s lots of neon signs and cool lighting and colors to look at, but I just couldn’t get excited about the show or the characters in it. I feel like it’s wasted potential and watching it was actually a bit frustrating.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0UAjpJuKcs']

Who should watch this show: People who like futuristic cop shows with pretty colors.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Bad. I just didn’t really care for this one.

Kamisama Hajimemashita

This show is about a girl who was just abandoned by her debt-dodging dad and finds herself homeless. That is until she takes up a strange man’s offer to live in his house. It turns out that his house is a shrine, and living in it involves taking over his job as the local earth deity.

Kamisama Hajimemashita was done by the same people who worked on Fruits Basket and the animation style similarities are very apparent. The character faces and varied expressions are great. The show seems pretty interesting with deities and spirits and demons and all that, but I don’t really feel as though it’s the kind of show I’d want to follow. It’s not necessarily a bad show, I just don’t feel like it’s something I’d really be interested in seeing to the end.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiHkqyObm0M']

Who should watch this show: People who like female leads and bad-boy fox demon love interests.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Not good. This show just isn’t my style.

K

This show is kind of vague about its premise, but it has something to do with characters who have some sort of otherworldly powers and there seems to be a side trying to keep order and one side tearing things up and making some trouble. There’s something about the reincarnation of colored kings and some other stuff I can’t really remember, but that’s not really important.

The important part is that this show looks absolutely amazing. I really cannot remember the last time I saw a show this pretty. It also has a really nice selection of music which really adds a lot to the atmosphere of the show. The special effects for the characters’ powers are pretty cool and the action is really nice. It’s a very pretty show and an absolute joy to behold.

You can really tell that this show has some high production values. It’s easily the best looking show this season. This show has tons of style and looks very very promising. I’m not really sure exactly what’s going on yet or where the show is going to go, but the first episode definitely hooked me enough to see what happens next.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYpSgzFjsjQ']

Who should watch this show: People who like pretty colors great music and awesome shows.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Definitely going to. This show is just oozing potential.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!

The story in this one involves chuunibyou (middle-school syndrome), which is basically when kids are still immature and play out fantasies rather than act like young adults. The show centers around a guy (trying to conquer his chuunibyou) and a girl (still very much in her chuunibyou) and their lives at school. I’m not really sure what else there is to the story yet, but that’s the basic premise.

I really like the feel of the show. It’s very happy and lighthearted. If Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is the funniest show of the season, Chuunibyou is a close second. The animation uses brown lines to outline everything instead of black which gives all the characters a really interesting look. The show’s pretty great so far and I really enjoyed this first episode. I’m not exactly sure where the story will be going, but it’s definitely good enough so far for me to watch some more episodes.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDCvY6ZqQIg']

Who should watch this show: People who like great humor and goofy comedy.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Great. I really like this show and plan on following it for a while.

Shows That Could Have Been Much Better

Busou Shinki: Seems kind of dumb right from the get go. Show is about miniature customizable female robots that people fight against one another. Seems like a really strange one here. I don’t like it. I lasted just over 5 minutes before I couldn’t take anymore. I’ll pass on this one.

Girls und Panzer: This show seems to center around school girls and military tanks. The first couple of minutes were not very impressive at all and I found myself not really interested in watching any more of it. I watched it for about 7 minutes before I had to stop. It just doesn’t really seem like my thing. Not very funny or interesting or anything.

Little Busters!: Starts off pretty generic and not really exciting. Has something to do with school kids fighting stuff. I got pretty bored after about 7 minutes so I shut it off.

Robotics;Notes: The show starts out pretty average. It doesn’t really ramp up in excitement from there. The animation is solid and the robots are kind of cool, but overall it’s not too impressive. I highly doubt I’ll be watching any more of this one.

And as usual, there were also a handful of shows that I just didn’t check out and a handful of sequels that I never watched the original for (sorry!).

Bottom Line: This season of anime is like, super fantastic. I can’t even say what my favorite show was. So many great new shows. But if I had to pick a top 3, they would be Chuunibyou, Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, and K.

So tell me, which show is your favorite from the season? Any shows I missed that you think deserve some recognition? Let me know down in the comments!

Kokoro Connect

This show has been described as, “boys and girls getting together to magically swap genders and experience life on the other side,” and likened to a mixture of Haruhi and K-ON!. I dunno if I’d compare it to those two shows, but it definitely does involve gender swapping. One day, the members of this high school club just start swapping souls with each other, at random, for no apparent reason. It only lasts about a half hour or so, but it’s really freaking them out.

The animation is pretty standard and it has an interesting enough premise with boys and girls switching bodies for no real reason. I am definitely curious as to why it’s happening to them, and if as the show moves on, they’ll be stuck in each other’s bodies for longer than thirty minutes at a time. It’s pretty funny but I’m not sure where I expect the series to go with the story line. I wonder how long it can keep on being interesting.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfmunTxdQ4Y']

Who should watch this show: People who like high school comedies with a gender bending twist.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Not that great. I might watch one or two more to see where things go, but probably not.

Sword Art Online

I feel like this show is kind of like a combination of Accel World from last season and the .hack series. The story is about people who end up getting trapped in a virtual reality online game. If they die in the game, they die in real life as well. The only means of escape is to complete the game by advancing up levels in the world. Of course, there are one hundred of these levels for the players to slog through. The game creator has trapped them there himself, and he seems like a fairly demented fellow.

The show seems pretty interesting so far but I dunno how they plan to make watching someone play through a VR MMORPG interesting all the way through the series. We’ll see. I imagine I’ll be all about this show in the beginning, but I fear my interests may begin to taper off if the show starts to get a bit repetitive (as MMORPGs themselves tend to do).

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv8u5bY8Now']

Who should watch this show: People who like shows like Accel World, .hack, action, or just MMORPGs in general.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: I’m pretty sure I’ll be watching another one or two just to see how things develop. There might be some potential here.

Tari Tari

This show has been described as, “the daily lives of three high school girls who are too young to be adults, but don’t regard themselves as children anymore.” It kind of makes sense, I suppose. The main girl is frustrated with her choir club at school because the faculty won’t allow her to sing, and is determined to get others together to create a new club with her where she can sing to her heart’s content.

One of the first things I noticed about this show is the nice music they have playing almost all the time. It gives the show a light and happy feeling which I like. Although it seems pretty generic, it feels kind of refreshing – like a nice summer anime. It’s pretty funny too. I also really like the character designs. I don’t expect that this is the sort of series where I’ll be getting excited for each subsequent episode, but I think it’ll be nice every once in a while. It has a sort of charm to it.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei4clsa91RY']

Who should watch this show: People who like high school comedy anime centering around music and singing and all that stuff.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: I’ll probably watch it lazily if I still want to watch more anime after watching my other picks from the season.

Kono Naka ni Hitori Imouto ga Iru

The premise of this show is kind of weird. A young man is forced to transfer to a prestigious all-girls’ school as a condition of his late father’s will, so that he can find a wife. However, he also receives a creepy phone call revealing that one of the young women trying to seduce him is his younger half-sister. The show seems to be just one big messed up harem.

As wacky as this premise sounds, the show is actually pretty boring. It seems pretty silly and a bit stupid. There were a lot of times during the show where I was just like, “Oh, come on! Really?” out of disbelief and frustration. This show is definitely out there. And the whole little sister stalker thing is pretty creepy. Especially with her voice sounding like a possessed children’s toy. It makes me uneasy.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_WWbYU6ukk']

Who should watch this show: People who like goofy hard-to-believe harem type anime.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: This kind of anime is not my cup of tea, so I definitely won’t be watching any more of it.

Binbou-gami Ga!

This show is about a girl blessed with good looks, fortune, talent, and gigantic boobs. Apparently she was born with too much good fortune, and now leaches fortune from all those around her. Therefore, she excels at everything while those around her are held back for lack of fortune. And this is where a goddess of poverty and misfortune comes in. It’s her job to bring some misfortune into this lucky girl’s life and redistribute that fortune to those around her.

I was honestly expecting this show to be super dumb. I was very surprised when the opening scene had me cracking up and the opening song and animation was awesome. This show is weird in the greatest of ways. I love it. I really like the animation from this show as well. It’s also absolutely hilarious. This show is definitely the funniest of the season, hands down.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVSLbVQGfx8']

Who should watch this show: People who like totally awesome off the wall goofy anime humor.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Absolutely. I’m definitely going to watch more, especially if subsequent episodes are as great as the first one.

Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita

This show takes place in a world where humanity seems to slowly be going extinct, and the world’s last public school graduate has been appointed as UN liaison with a bunch of weird little fairy creatures who seem to be taking over humans as the dominant race in the world. It’s weird. Where is the story going? I don’t know.

I don’t really like the animation in this show and the colors are really bright and unnatural, even for an anime. The show definitely has a lot of lolwtf moments. And those fairies I mentioned earlier? They are both hilarious and creepy as hell all at the same time. This show is weird. Like really, REALLY weird.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agm-_culDz8']

Who should watch this show: People who like moderately mind blowing out there anime that is strange and jaw dropping.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: I wouldn’t say I want to watch any more of this show, but the weirdness factor does intrigue me. So, maybe.

Natsuyuki Rendevous

This one started off pretty generic then really surprised me. Probably because I didn’t read any of the summaries for it, so I’ll do my best to give you the courtesy of not spoiling them for you as well. **SPOILERS** The main character can see his love interest’s dead husband’s ghost. I definitely wasn’t expecting it, but it seems like a pretty cool twist on the traditional love triangle set up **END SPOILERS**

The show largely takes place in the flower and plant shop where everyone works. Since they’re around plant life all the time, there are a lot of pretty colors going on in the show so it’s nice to look at. It’s not bad, but not great either. Seems decent.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeHLuPyRFwQ']

Who should watch this show: People who like romantic anime with a twist.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Not too great. While it is a bit more interesting than the run of the mill romance shows, its lack of comedy makes it not stand out to me because the romance itself just isn’t quite interesting enough.

Oda Nobuna no Yabou

This show is an alternate history anime taking place in the time of Oda Nobunaga, except most all of the main players from that history are now women (i.e. Oda Nobuna). It’s actually pretty cool and a lot more interesting than I was expecting it to be. What’s more is that the main character is a student from the future who absolutely loves Japan’s civil war history and happened to get teleported into the past. He helps along with the progression of the story by occasionally making predictions and intervening making for an interesting mix of genres.

I was actually very surprised by how much I liked this one. It definitely has one of the best styles and animation out of the season in my opinion. I really like how it looks. It’s a good mash-up of history, action, comedy, and time travel. It’s pretty cool.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8te_7g9D-sA']

Who should watch this show: People who like time traveling, comedic, action anime with historical influences.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: I’ll definitely watch a few more episodes. It seems pretty cool so far and with Japan’s civil war as a backdrop for story, the show has potential to stay very interesting until the end.

La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia

This one is about a group of people making up a mafia type family who take care of a small coastal town as vigilantes. They all have unique arcana powers that they use to fight villains. The premise for the season is set when it’s announced that they will all be competing in a competition to determine who will become the new head of the family once the current leader retires.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this show, but it turned out to be pretty average. It was interesting enough to watch all the way through, but I’m not really excited about seeing another episode or anything. You don’t really get to see many of the powers in action in the first episode, so who knows how cool this competition will be. Guess we’ll find out.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUuvpp76gcM']

Who should watch this show: People who like mafia family anime with arcana powers and a tournament mixed in.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: I doubt I’ll be watching another episode of this one, it just didn’t really grab me.

Shows That Just Weren’t That Great

Muv-Luv: Average animation. Doesn’t really grab you. Nothing special. Slow moving. Watch if you like generic mecha anime with female pilots in skin tight suits. I’m not interested enough to watch any more.

Joshiraku: I don’t really like these kinds of rakugo shows. It’s just five girls talking about random stuff. I just found it to be pretty boring and not all that interesting. It’s not funny enough to hold my interest. I actually didn’t find it funny at all, so I turned it off halfway through the show.

Campione!: This one seemed kinda silly right from the get go and didn’t really grab my attention. Even though there’s a lot of crazy stuff going on in the first five minutes, it just seems pretty generic and not very interesting. Maybe my initial impression is wrong, but I just didn’t feel like watching this one.

As usual, there were also a handful of shows that I just didn’t check out and a handful of sequels that I never watched the original for (sorry!).

Bottom Line: Binbou-gami ga!, Oda Nobuna no Yabou, and (maybe) Sword Art Online all had great starts and are definitely worth watching this season. I heartily encourage you to check all three out.

So tell me, what are your favorite anime shows this season? Think I should check out a show I didn’t review above? Have you seen Binbou-gami ga! or Oda Nobuna no Yabou? How do you like them so far? Let me know in the comments!

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Sankarea

Sankarea is a zombie moe adolescent romantic comedy based on a manga. You with me so far? Good. So a boy who is obsessed with zombies and the occult happens upon getting involved with a girl who ends up becoming the living dead. What will happen?!!?

I think this anime would seem pretty average if not for the whole undead romantic interest thing. There’s nothing bad about the show, it just doesn’t seem as interesting as some of the other shows this season. If it sounds appealing to you though, it might be worth a shot. Who knows, it might turn out to be pretty good eventually.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H2jEpeTNyg']

Who should watch this show: People who like romantic comedy shows centering around moe zombies.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Not bad, but not good either. Maybe if the shows I like better so far end up not panning out so well I’ll come back to this one.

Sakamichi no Apollon

This anime has some real promise just by looking at the team behind it. Sakamichi no Apollon is set in the 1960s and tells the tale of a high school jazz band. It’s directed by the same guy who did Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, has its music done by Yoko Kanno, and is based on a Shogakukan Award-winning manga. What could go wrong?

Initially, this show (along with Space Bros) was the one I was looking forward to the most this season. I just recently started teaching myself piano as well as getting myself into jazz music, so this show really spoke to my interests right from the get go. The music is wonderful and the animation is no slouch either. Even though the story doesn’t seem that complicated just yet, the characters and everything are all presented very well. I’m excited to see how things develop.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzY6Y-AHEaw']

Who should watch this show: People who like jazz music and slice of life type animes about high school bands.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Pretty good, I’d say. I can definitely see myself watching another episode but I’m not sure if I’ll watch it until the end. The story will have to stay pretty strong throughout.

Nazo no Kanojo X

Nazo no Kanojo is directed by the same guy doing Space Brothers this season, but boy are these shows different. This show is about a sexually frustrated teenage boy and the weird obsession he develops with a new student in his class. He ends up becoming addicted to her saliva, and convenient for him – her mouth overflows with it whenever she gets really happy so she is more than willing to spit on her finger and let him suck it off. Weird, right? I know.

Normally I wouldn’t watch a show like this all the way to the end but this show was just too weird to shut off. There were way too many wtf moments that just kept me glued to the screen. Not because I was enjoying it, but because I was overcome with appalled horror. I’m kind of terrified where this show will go with its odd sexual themes, but I’m pretty sure I don’t want to find out. Maybe somebody could just tell me what happens so I don’t actually have to watch any more of it.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot26N18bBHk']

Who should watch this show: People who like sexually weird and more than slightly off romantic comedy anime.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Nope, this is just too out there for me. I don’t want anymore.

Space Brothers

At last, the show we’ve all been waiting for. The show about a pug in a space suit. Space Bros takes place in the year 2025 with NASA and JAXA going to the moon on a type of practice run for the eventual colonization of Mars. It tells the tale of two brothers and their ambition to live out their dreams of going into space.

The show is definitely one of the funniest this season. I found myself laughing out loud quite a bit. But it’s like a feel-good kind of laughter and everything seems very natural. You can definitely tell it’s adapted from a highly successful manga series. I like it a lot and it makes me happy to watch. Space Bros seems very professional compared to the other animes this season, kind of like movie quality production I feel. I really like it a lot. This one definitely lives up to expectations in my opinion.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDrlh6VtglU']

Who should watch this show: People who like high quality anime involving space, ambition, dreams, and humor.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Oh, yeah – for sure. This show is fantastic. I can’t wait to watch more.

Zetman

Zetman is the token full on action anime of the season. It seems kind of like a superhero-ish anime with the main character being a 10 year old orphan with strange superpowers. It’s bloody, violent, fast paced, and serious with lots of crazy happenings around every corner.

Unfortunately the story doesn’t really appeal to me. The action is fine, but there are just a lot of unanswered questions so far that I don’t really feel like investing the time into finding out. The action is fine, but the great lack of comedy here kind of kills it for me. Zetman just isn’t my kind of anime. I feel like it could be cool eventually, but the first episode just didn’t grab me.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9P4UPbLHu4']

Who should watch this show: People who like serious action shows with violent kid heroes.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: I’m not going to watch anymore of this. It’s just not my bag.

Tsuritama

What’s that you say? A show about fishing? Yup. That’s Tsuritama. This show revolves around the leisurely sport, but also highlights an alien and a goose as main characters. Sound intriguing to you?

Tsuritama is definitely one of the goofier shows this season, but it kind of works. The colors are brilliant and very pretty, making the show a joy to behold. The show is funny, kind of weird, and I have absolutely no idea where they are going with it. Fishing and saving the world? I can’t think of a better combination for an anime.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDc7GFWzHtM']

Who should watch this show: People who like fishing, weird alien characters, or saving the world.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Probably. If I still want more anime after watching the shows I like better, I’ll probably come back around to this one eventually.

Jormungand

As the other action oriented anime this season, Jormungand is about guns, arms dealers, ladies with guns, action, guns, violence, and children with guns. Oh, and guns. The show has a heavy focus on gun-play and soldier type stuff but the story does not get developed very much in the first episode. The main character is a battle hardened child who ends up getting involved with a team of mercenaries and their arms dealing leader. What’s up with all the violent children this season?

As far as I’m concerned, Jormungand is a better action anime than Zetman is. I don’t really know where the story is headed, but the characters are pretty interesting and if you really like action anime, this show will probably suit you just fine. The action, animation, sound effects, and music are all great, but the lack of a gripping story lets me down here.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5FD2a9ddS4']

Who should watch this show: People who like guns, guns, and more guns.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Doubtful. If I’m craving more action this anime season, I’ll turn to this show first though.

Accel World

Accel World does something you will very rarely see in an anime. And that is making the main character a bit of a fatty. The main character in Accel World is chubby and depressed, but soon he finds himself involved in some crazy stuff beyond his wildest dreams. The story is set way in the future and there are a lot of cool futuristic gadgets and tech to be seen here. It’s pretty cool.

But, holy crap – this show really surprised me. It’s awesome. I wasn’t expecting much from this show, but it really blew me away. The colors and animation are gorgeous, and I really enjoyed the soundtrack as well. It has a really interesting concept behind it and all the future tech is really, really cool. The end of the first episode was a crazy cliffhanger and I’m really excited to see where this show is going.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHOiqv3Xw1o']

Who should watch this show: People who like futuristic animes that are funny, exciting, and awesome.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: No doubt I’ll be watching more of this one – I might even watch them all! It’s great!

Shows That Are Really Bad And You Shouldn’t Watch

Upotte!!: This show (pictured above) is wretched. I didn’t like it right from the start. It seems very stupid and it tries to be funny, but it most definitely far from funny at all. It’s kind of inappropriate at times and no one should watch this. It’s bad. Shut if off before the 10 minute mark.

Saint Seiya Omega: I never got into the original Saint Seiya, so I didn’t have high hopes here. There were animation errors within the first 5 minutes and I shut it off within the first 10. It is dumb and boring.

Natsuiro Kiseki: It’s a really dumb slice of life girls type anime. It’s not funny and at the end of the episode they all wish they can fly and then they can fly. It’s silly. Skip it.

Ozma: I guess this show isn’t terrible, I just didn’t like it. The animation and visual style seems really dated and it just seems really boring. I couldn’t bring myself to care about it.

I also didn’t check out a handful of other anime shows this season because they didn’t really seem interesting to me and there were also a handful of sequels that I didn’t check out either.

But the bottom line this season is: Accel World and Space Brothers are awesome. Watch them. Oh and Sakamichi no Apollon might end up being pretty cool too, only time will tell.

So tell me, what are your favorite anime shows this season? Think I should check out a show I didn’t review above? Have you seen Accel World or Space Bros? How do you like them? Let me know in the comments!

It was also highly anticipated and its first episode received a viewership rating of 17%, the most successful first episode since Tsuki no Koibito (which was also really good) in the summer of 2010.

And we all know that Japanese dramas are great. Even the venerable Koichi himself once said, “One of the most addicting things in the world is Japanese drama. If I needed to quit cocaine or something like that, this is what I’d use to kick it.”

Finding and “Using” J-Dramas

A while back, Koichi wrote a great post entitled Studying With Japanese Drama: The Step-By-Step Guide. If you watch a lot of dramas, or plan to in the future, you should do yourself a favor and give the guide a look-see. It will be invaluable in making your Japanese studies all the more enjoyable.

And for those of you who have no idea how to treasure hunt for great dramas, DramaWiki is a great place to find them. One of their most useful tools is the Upcoming J-Drama page where they list the dramas from every television season and give plenty of details about them. DramaWiki is definitely your one-stop-shop when you’re hunting for J-dramas. It’s helped me find almost all of my favorite Japanese shows. But enough of that, let’s get on to what this new show is all about.

About Wataren

Left to right: Mako, Fujii, and Saki.

Well, Wataren highlights the lives of three women, Fujii Emi (Karina), Ogura Saki (Yoshitaka Yuriko), and Hanzawa Mako (Oshima Yuko of AKB48). They’re all looking for love but each one has something that is getting in the way of their romantical happiness.

Fujii works for a lighting company as a lighting technician, where she is surrounded by men due to the nature of the profession. This has shaped her into a very tom-boyish woman who is very much one of the guys. She has a straight-forward and generous personality, but is unconcerned about general feminine interests such as fashion.

You’ll rarely if ever see Fujii in anything more extravagant than jeans and a t-shirt, let alone a dress. She is often treated like one of the guys by her boss and colleagues, and feels that being in love is tiresome. However, she cannot forget about her ex-boyfriend and co-worker and hopes to someday fall truly in love.

Saki is prideful and determined, but fails in landing a desirable job. As a result, she starts to work at a bar as a hostess, keeping the fact a secret from her parents. Her love interest in the story is a little bit more involved than Fujii’s so I’m not going to spoil anything for you by detailing it here.

Mako is the youngest of all, having attended the same high school following Fujii and Saki. She is earnest and responsible, but on the other hand, rather clumsy and afraid of taking chances on a romantic relationship.

Mako gets into all sorts of dumb office romance situations and her part of the story easily frustrates me the most. She’s just really naive when it comes to love and relationships. (On a side note, I really prefer Oshima Yuko with long hair rather than the short style she’s sporting in this drama (although it kind of makes sense for her character). Long hair works a lot better for her I think.)

But anyway, the three main characters end up living together in the same house, and it is there that they share each other’s experiences, bitter or sweet, desperately struggling with their individual love lives. Drama ensues, laughs are had, and overall it’s a delightful show that I would heartily recommend to any fan of J-drama, especially those who like romantic comedies (or any of the actors from the show, they all do a good job).

Synopsis credit to DramaWiki.

I looked around for a trailer or something for the show but the best I could come up with was the first five minutes of the first episode which kind of sets up the feel of what the show will be about (pursuing love vs pursuing career success, etc) and briefly introduces us to the three main characters. No subs for the video (sorry) but I think after reading the synopsis, even without subs the video below is pretty easy to follow along with (if you have any questions on what anything means, feel free to ask in the comments).

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eC2m5MggZQ']

All in all it’s a very good show and it takes you along for an emotional but ultimately satisfying ride. I haven’t been this into a J-drama for about a year or so and I was really glad to find it. You should at least give the first episode a watch.

I know from the synopsis that the show doesn’t sound like anything special and I don’t really know how to explain what sets it apart, but it’s just really well done and really well acted. The cast really makes the show here I feel. It’s super emotional and really tugs your heartstrings in all sort of directions. I feel like a lot of people can relate to the show in one way or another because it seems so real and believable. I fully recommend this show. It’s really good.

And Just In Case…

If you totally hate J-dramas, here’s an awesome and totally unrelated Japanese music video for you. Enjoy.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzC4hFK5P3g']

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