Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru

Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru is a long name for a show. Anyway, it’s about a kid studying to get into a public medical school. He seems to be living with his aunt and he has a little girl sidekick who follows him around. She’s his childhood friend. He’s very serious about his studies and not looking for romance at all but he ends up having his classroom seat reassigned right next to the most beautiful and popular girl in school.

As far as production values and style, everything is pretty solid, but nothing really stands out either. It’s good, but nothing really unique or different. The turning point in the first episode is pretty hilarious and after that point the show becomes a lot more interesting. It seems like this one could be good for at least a few more episodes, but past that we’ll just have to see. Pretty solid, this one.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNN8FaC1UDM']

Who should watch this show: People who like shows about atypical romances with funny surprises.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Really good. I might not finish this series, but it deserves a few more episodes at least.

Cuticle Detective Inaba

This show is off to a pretty strange start. It’s about a pseudo-werewolf detective who takes down criminals and solves crimes by using strands of hair. I was expecting a different sort of show based on the first scene, but the show is surprisingly weird. The main characters all have some sort of goofy fetish. For example, the main dude the Cuticle Detective has a hair fetish.

I think the show is funny, but it’s more like a way over the top this is too ridiculous to believe kind of funny. It’s just lolwtf all over the place here. For me, this is not really a good thing. I don’t think I would be able to handle any more episodes of this show, but I can understand how some people would enjoy it.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB_l2qYBwy8']

Who should watch this show: People who like shows about weird fetishes, unexpected characters, and hair.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: No thanks. One episode was enough for me.

Maoyuu Maou Yuusha

I saw a captioned picture of this anime and that was what reminded me that it was about that time of year again. Anime roundup time! However, the scene they used was a bit questionable, but I try to go into these shows without too many preconceived notions. Anyway, I like the animation and colors in this one. It’s one of the better looking shows this season from a purely artistic standpoint I think.

I was expecting more action from the show, but the first part of the first episode was pretty much all about the benefits of war, in this case between demons and humans. It’s actually more interesting than you’d think, so I was pleasantly surprised. The negotiations that take place are pretty funny. There’s definitely a lot of wiggly boobs to be seen here though, so be prepared.

This show seems like it might actually be pretty cool. The whole first episode was all talking between the two main characters, but it was still really interesting. I’m actually pretty excited to see what happens once they get out into the world and start adventuring and stuff. This show might be one to follow.

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

Who should watch this show: People who like shows about the economics of war, or demon/human romance? I’m actually not sure what direction this show is going in.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Most certainly. I don’t know what to expect from the next episode, but I really like the feel of the show so far.

Senran Kagura

Haha, boobs. No, but seriously, fanservice all over the place right from the get go. There are plenty of “OH COME ON” sort of sexual innuendos to be found in Senran Kagura. Anyway, the show is about five busty modern day ninjas and their day to day lives.

This show has lots of female on female boob grabbing. There’s actually so much fanservice in this show that it made me a little uncomfortable. Definitely do not watch this show if there is any chance of someone walking in on you. The animation is fine and the characters are pretty. The story is vaguely interesting, but the over the top fanservice is actually a bit distracting. I don’t plan on following this one, but if ecchi is your thing, this anime is for you.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShuWDdMPRS0']

Who should watch this show: People who like ecchi.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Bad. Pros can’t outweigh the cons for this one.

Tamako Market

This is a really pretty looking anime. I really like the colors and the character designs. I think it’s by the same people that did K-ON. It’s just a nice show to look at. The show looks like it’s going to be centering around a girl and a strange talking bird. Past that, I dunno what to expect.

I was hoping that this show would be a bit more interesting since it has such a nice look to it, but it seems to be moving along kind of slowly. I found myself getting a bit bored while watching it, just waiting for something redeeming to happen. Some parts are pretty funny, but overall it was a ho-hum sort of viewing experience. This show was unfortunately pretty disappointing. It’s not necessarily bad, it’s just not so good.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqmYAXijlJ4']

Who should watch this show: People who like pretty looking shows with colors and talking birds.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Not good. This show was too slow and not interesting enough for me.

Amnesia

The show gets off to a sort of confusing start with not much being explained right away. The main girl seems to have some sort of amnesia, hence the title. Other than her having a sort of spirit guide only she can see and that she needs to remember who she is again, there’s not much story to go off of so far here.

The way the characters’ eyes are colored in this show is really interesting. They’re simple, but different enough from the usual run of the mill anime eyes that they seem really cool. It’s a nice touch.

Unfortunately the show has kind of a strange feel to it and wasn’t as exciting as I was expecting it to be from the opening scene. I kept waiting for something cool to happen because I felt like the show contained promise somewhere, but nothing really cool happened at all. This show was a pretty big letdown.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcSY4zkQgY0']

Who should watch this show: People who like characters with pretty eyes and girls with amnesia.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Not so great. This show was slow and pretty boring.

Vividred Operation

Within the first minute there were two very gratuitous female butt shots. Anyway, the show is taking place in the future focusing on an inventor’s family. An unidentified weaponized machine is approaching the island they’re on, and the military is having trouble dealing with it. The grandfather makes a hilarious mistake, and the show really gets going from there.

The colors and animation style are very pleasing to the eyes, however Vividred Operation does like to show female butt shots for no good reason every once in a while (but really, what anime doesn’t?). Besides that, the show gets off to a pretty cool start. I was kind of surprised, for whatever reason I wasn’t expecting much from this one but it actually seems like it might be worth watching. I’m interested in seeing what happens next.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI83MmQUSBY']

Who should watch this show: People who like ermines, technology, and butts.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Very good. This show seems pretty interesting and I like the feel of it so far.

Mondaijitachi ga Isekai Kara Kuru Sou Desu yo?

Here’s another show with a name I think is too long. The show on the other hand gets off to a pretty interesting start. I like that. The show is about a few individuals with extraordinary powers that get transported to another world. The three main characters are invited to participate in something known as the Gift Games where people with such powers compete for fabulous prizes.

This show is pretty funny. From the stills I was expecting something a little less impressive, but the show actually seems pretty neat. The animation is nice as well and the pretty colors are always appreciated. The characters are interesting and the show has a very light and enjoyable feel to it. This could be another good one.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0L3XXJ4JeI']

Who should watch this show: People who like otherworldly powers and bunny girls.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Good. The show grabs you right from the start and stays interesting throughout. I want to see where this one goes.

Shows that Made me Vomit and Bleed

Yes, this is an actual still from Ai Mai Mi.

Every season there are a few shows that just don’t sit right with me and I abandon them before they’re done. Some are unhappy to see that I treat some shows this way, but these are just my first impressions. If a show doesn’t grab me and get me engaged within the first 10 minutes or so, I’m moving on. Sorry.

Also either I found a type of show that didn’t exist before or I somehow missed these in earlier seasons, but some shows are only like 3 minutes long. Each episode is only 3 minutes long! All of the “shows” like this that I saw were bad. Why would they do this to me?

Sasami-san@Ganbaranai: The way this show is colored is very interesting. I’m not sure how much I like the style, but it’s definitely different. The main character seems to have a strange relationship with her brother. He feeds her, bathes her, and dresses her. Also, the brother never shows his face, he always has something in front of it or something on his head covering it.

This show doesn’t really feel like my thing. I got about 10 minutes in before I decided to just shut it off. Sorry guys, I just didn’t feel like seeing this one through, but this was the only full length episode I abandoned this season. That’s better than usual.

Ai Mai Mi: Anime about 3 aspiring mangaka girls. Pretty generic anime fare, but kinda funny. If it was a full episode I don’t think I’d be able to handle it.

Mangirl!: Magazine club with 4 girls. This was even less interesting than Ai Mai Mi, so – pretty bad.

Yama no Susume: I felt kind of interested in this one, but I don’t understand why it’s so short. I might have liked it if it had been a normal sized episode, but with it being this short I just don’t care for it much.

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 is pretty so-so. Unless I managed to miss all the other good ones, Maoyuu Maou Yuusha and Mondaijitachi ga Isekai Kara Kuru Sou Desu yo? seem like they might be the only ones worth seeing all the way through. Maybe. Vividred Operation and Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru showed some potential, but only time will tell if those will be worth it or not. Did I miss all the other good ones? Please, if I missed any other good shows let me know!

So tell me, how do you think this season compares to the last one? Any new shows look good to you? What’s your favorite one so far? Share your thoughts down in the comments!

Mouretsu Pirates

In Mouretsu Pirates the story centers around a spirited high school girl named Marika. She keeps herself busy with space yacht club and her part-time job at a high-class maid cafe. One day, two men suddenly appear and claim to be subordinates of her dead father. They demand that she assume command of the space pirate ship Benten Maru and Marika soon finds herself embarking on her new life as a space pirate.

I have mixed feelings about this anime. I wanted to like it, and I think the premise is cool, but the show itself didn’t do much for me. The animation was good though, I really enjoyed that. There was little to no fanservice or nonsense like that (which is surprising given that the English translation of the title is Bodacious Space Pirates). This one might turn out okay but there was not enough interest in the first episode for me to continue. I don’t think I’ll continue watching it unless it becomes really popular and people start telling me to check it out.

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

Who should watch this show: People who like space pirates and pretty anime gals.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Not too high. It didn’t really grab me from the first episode. Perhaps I will watch more if it starts getting rave reviews.

Aquarion EVOL

In Aquarion EVOL the story takes place 12,000 years after the first Aquarion television series (I actually didn’t know this was a sequel until I looked up the synopsis online. Apparently it’s not too important to have seen the first season). A new cast of characters pilots a new Aquarion mech, and fights off enemies from another dimension in this action packed mecha anime.

There’s definitely a lot of stuff going on in this anime. Having so many unanswered questions makes it interesting in the fact that it makes me want to watch more to see where things are going. All these unanswered questions might have something to do with me not seeing the first season, but who knows. I might watch one or two more episodes just to see what happens. The show has promise but I can’t say for sure if I’ll be watching this one until the end.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1onzPrdTac']

Who should watch this show: People who like mecha anime and crazy super powers.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Pretty good. I’m definitely interested in it enough to check out another episode or two.

Senki Zesshou Symphogear

In Senki Zesshou Symphogear, humans are menaced by mysterious monsters called “Designated Aberrant Disaster: Noise”. Yes, that is actually what they are called. Tsubasa and Kanade are a popular vocal group known as Zwei Wing and they wear a weapon known as Symphogear to fight the Noise and save Earth. I’m not making this up. Basically the show is about J-Pop stars battling computer generated monsters from the 80s with catchy tunes. It’s pretty weird. And no, this anime has nothing to do with Vocaloids.

Half of the time this show seems serious and the other half it just seems outright ridiculous. I didn’t really like it because it didn’t grab my attention and I didn’t really care for the characters. About halfway through I was just waiting for it to be over so I could start something else. I didn’t plan on watching any more of this one – or at least that’s what I was thinking until I got to the very end of the episode where I witnessed the most wtf moment of this anime season. Looks like I’ve been roped into watching another episode of this one whether I like it or not.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsgdVwp0HTk']

Who should watch this show: People who like generic J-Pop tunes and wacky premises for their anime.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: I’d like to say zero, but unfortunately I will probably watch another episode just to figure out what the heck was going on at the end of the previous episode. Damn you, Symphogear. Damn youuuuu.

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou

In Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou (The Daily Lives of High School Boys) the story follows the humorous everyday life of Tadakuni, Hidenori, Yoshitake, and other students at an all boys’ high school. Each episode tells a handful of humorous shorts meant to entertain and amuse. It’s very much a slice-of-life anime.

Okay, so the show is definitely funny and I was laughing throughout the episode. The only thing that I don’t like is how the episodes are broken down into about five 5 minute stand alone shorts. While each of them were pretty funny on their own, I just wish that the show had more of a cohesive storyline. Because of this, I would gladly watch the show as I think it is quite humorous, but there are no cliffhangers or any unresolved questions that would really get me excited for the next episode. It’s humorous fluff – enjoyable, but nothing deep.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds6r3IUnHjk']

Who should watch this show: People who like anime about high school boys getting into shenanigans and silly situations.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: I’ll probably lazily watch some more if I have time to kill and I’m looking for a laugh.

Lagrange – The Flower of Rin-ne -

In Lagrange, Madoka Kyouno, an energetic and passionate girl, is the proud and only member of the Kamogawa Girls’ High School Jersey Club. Her duties are to go around town and help out people in need. However, Madoka’s life is turned upside down when she is suddenly asked by a mysterious girl named Lan to pilot a giant robot and save the world. Motivated by her desire to protect the people of Kamogawa, Madoka agrees to pilot the resurrected Vox robot and fight some aliens.

This show seems like it could be pretty cool. It reminds me a bit of Xam’d for some reason and I really liked Xam’d. I’m not exactly sure why it reminds me of it though. The show is funny, action packed, and has enough mystery in it to really make me want to watch the next episode. This is one of the few series I’m actually a little bit excited about this season. Hopefully it doesn’t let me down.

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

Who should watch this show: People who like quality animation, cool action, and a neat story.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: I’m definitely watching the next episode. It just seems really cool so far and I really like the animation.

Brave 10

In Brave 10, a young ninja/samurai named Saizo is trying to find meaning and direction in his life when he encounters Isanami, who is fleeing from assassins. He manages to save her life and then gets roped into being her personal bodyguard. When they arrive in the protected territory of Sanada, they realize that Sanada has gathered bold and talented ninjas together in order to bring an end to Japan’s era of war. Meanwhile, Isanami’s mysterious hidden power becomes revealed. Sounds pretty generic to me!

The animation is fine here, but the story seems nothing but average. I can’t see the show getting much more exciting than it already is which isn’t very. I don’t plan on watching any more of this show. It’s just not my thing. There are much better options to check out this season so you won’t be doing any harm skipping this one.

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

Who should watch this show: People who like samurai era anime and pretty boys battling it out with swords.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Zero. Can’t see any reason to continue this one.

Ano Natsu de Matteru

Ano Natsu de Matteru: When a group of friends decide to make a movie over a long summer holiday, they end up learning a little about film making and a lot more about themselves. What begins as a simple way pass the summer holiday turns into something much more complex, intimate, and revealing. This show is going to be good. I’m calling it now.

I really, really like this show. I can definitely see myself watching the entire series here. The story seems like it could turn into something very interesting and I really like all of the characters. They’re all varied and interesting and well developed. This anime is just really well done. I’m excited just to see what happens with all of the characters and even more so to see what that story will develop into. Before I watched this show, Lagrange was my top pick for this season, but now – Ano Natsu de Matteru is definitely in the top position. This show is full of surprises and I love it. Very cool.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYnz_UN1Vnw']

Who should watch this show: People who like interesting character driven anime.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Definitely. I really like this show and can’t wait for the next episode.

Additional Shows

I tried watching Kill Me Baby which was adapted from a 4 panel manga (it definitely shows), like Lucky Star and whatever, but nowhere near as good as Azumanga Daioh- I got bored and stopped watching after about 5 minutes. There was at least one other show that I didn’t check out because it didn’t sound very interesting. (If there’s a show I didn’t cover that you were looking forward to, just let me know about it in the comments.) And also, Black Rock Shooter doesn’t come out until February so I couldn’t include it here.

Amagami SS+, The Familiar of Zero F, Natsume Yuujin-Cho 4, and Nisemonogatari all aired this season but they are sequels to shows I never got around to watching. Nisemonogatari was the sequel to Bakemonogatari which I think ended up becoming popular but I’m not positive. I watched the first episode of Bakemonogatari and it didn’t grip me enough to continue watching the show back when it was airing. Did I make a mistake? Have any of you watched Bakemonogatari? Was it any good?

So tell me – what’s your most anticipated new show this season? Ano Natsu de Matteru, or something else? What series are you most looking forward to?

P.S. Think this is the best season of anime yet? Let us know over on our Twitter page.
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Shinryaku! Ika Musume (Season 2)

Squid Girl invades once again in the second season of this hit gag comedy. Ika Musume is a powerful humanoid squid with squiddy hair who is determined to take over the entire planet by any means possible, but in reality does absolutely nothing about it. The family that took her in runs a noodle shop on the beach and puts up with her zany antics in exchange for her help around the restaurant de geso.

This show is awesome. I knew I was going to like it before the episode even started. The opening song is just so catchy! Squid Girl is a very unique character and the show is very funny. Story is not very important in this series and is mainly composed of self contained plots in each episode, but this is forgivable as it is a comedy. I’ve not seen season one, but after watching this episode, I’m looking forward to checking it out. Ika Musume is squidding awesome de geso.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMrKn2sjivQ']

Who should watch this show: People who like squid jokes and quality anime humor de geso.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: 100% de geso. I’ll be getting my hands on season one as soon as possible de geso.

Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon

In the distant future, humans have descended from the skies and down to Earth once again. In order to return to the skies, people have created a history book called Testament, and they follow its contents to reproduce events in history. However, the book only goes to the year 1648, which somehow means that the world will end then. People have mixed emotions as each nation of the world goes on reproducing history while exploring ways to open their future. But now the world has reached 1648 – the end of its fate.

Does this sound confusing and stupid to you? Well it is. I wanted to stop watching this show after five minutes. I had the feeling that it wasn’t going anywhere. I was right. The whole first episode explains little to nothing about the story and all that happens is one long extended chase scene that has no relevance to the story. That’s it. At the end, the main character shows up and has himself a little monologue, but that’s all.

Then, while the credits are rolling, a narrator tries to garner further interest by telling a brief and garbled history of the world. This description was near unintelligible (as I’m sure you gathered from the summary above). I don’t care about this show at all. The soundtrack was pretty good, but other than that – this show bites.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxd_CVbu1pg']

Who should watch this show: People who like silliness and mild fan-service.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Zero.

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE

Faced with a mysterious “Unknown Enemy” that boasts overwhelming alien strength, a new Gundam arises, evolving itself through battle. Gundam AGE promises to be an epic Gundam saga spanning 100 years and three generations. Unusually for the franchise, it’s not just Sunrise that will be handling the show’s production, but the folks over at Level-5 will also be contributing a great deal.

Unfortunately, AGE seems to have prompted criticism from many fans for appearing “too kiddy” and lacking the gritty edginess that many regarded as critical to the series. As you can tell from the amount of dislikes on the video below, a lot (A LOT) of people are hating on this show. Hard.

While it may not be as “mature” as some of the other Gundams before it, I certainly wouldn’t describe it as “kiddy.” I was pleasantly surprised, actually. I had always wanted to get into Gundam before because the art style and the Gundams always looked so cool, but I couldn’t deal with all the thick dialogue and politics and government mumbo jumbo etc etc. I just couldn’t get into it.

AGE, however, doesn’t seem to be bogged down with all that thick story and seems like a much more digestible vision of the Gundam universe. The artistic direction may not be for everyone (I liked it), but the show definitely has promise and I think it deserves a chance. So forget any preconceived notions you have about this show and just give it a shot. It’s worth it.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11DecXqdN7o']

Who should watch this show: Anyone who liked other Gundams but didn’t like the heavy story.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: I plan to watch the next couple episodes for sure, but there’s a good chance I’ll get distracted by the other shows I like more.

Working!! (Season 2)

The colorful employees of the Wagnaria restaurant return for a second serving of comedy in season two of Working!! These characters include the ridiculously tiny and hard-working Poplar, the violently androphobic Mahiru, the fetish-for-tiny-things and main character Sota, and their lazy manager Kyoko.

This show is pretty average. It’s a pretty generic comedy, so there’s not much story to speak of. The two guys working the back of the restaurant (Sato and Soma) are consistently funny, but all the other characters are pretty hit or miss. It might have something to do with my not seeing a single episode of the first season, but oh well. The show’s definitely not a bad one, it’s just not really my style.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk-gI0k9sSI&feature=related']

Who should watch this show: People who like comedies involving tiny things and restaurants.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: I’d definitely watch it if a friend asked me to, but I’m not going to go out of my way to watch another episode.

Mirai Nikki

Social outcast Yukiteru Amano uses his cell phone to record a diary that he shares with his imaginary pal Deus Ex Machina. One day, Deus forces Yuki into a deadly game where each player’s phone shows their diary entries from the future, telling the future as they would have recorded it. And to top it all off, the only way to win the game is to murder the other contestants. Whoever wins gets to take over Deus Ex Machina’s post as the Lord of Time and Space. Pretty high stakes here, folks.

I feel like this show is going to end up being similar to shows like Liar Game and the like with all the deceit, cunning moves, and treachery. Plus it’s about a game that people got roped into and are now fighting for their lives. This is not necessarily a bad thing, I mean, I enjoyed Liar Game – I’m just not sure how long Mirai Nikki will be able to hold my interest when it’s up against much better shows this season. To be honest, my laptop ran out of juice about halfway through the episode and I didn’t really care (I finished it up a few days after).

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52P0DM-JDMg']

Who should watch this show: Anyone who thinks the premise sound interesting or likes thrilling, suspenseful anime.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: It’s kind of hard to tell exactly where the show is going just after the first episode. They throw a lot at you all at once. I’ll probably watch at least one more episode before I make up my mind.

Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai

In the city of Kawakami, second-year high school student Yamato has learned the value of a strong fighting spirit. He remains close to his friends, a solid group of four boys and three girls, but at the beginning of the new semester, two new girls join them, and things begin to change. Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai is a wonky action comedy that pulls no punches.

Okay, so this show is a lot better than I was expecting it to be. Keep in mind, however, I was expecting it to be terrible. It’s really funny, but the premise is absolutely ridiculous. I’m not really sure where to expect the story to go from here, but it’s definitely more than your average action comedy. I mean, the entire first episode is composed of two armies of high school kids beating the crap out of each other in the wilderness to resolve a class conflict. You don’t see that every day.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ka25zgGdWI']

Who should watch this show: People who like completely ridiculous ADHD anime comedy and action.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: I think I’ll watch another episode or two to see where things go with the story, but I’m not sure I can see myself sticking with this series until the end. Plus there are much better shows this season for me to occupy my time with.

Persona 4 The Animation

This show was better than I expected, but still pretty average. P4 is based on the Playstation 2 game, Persona 4. The story takes place in the fictional Japanese village of Inaba. Tha main character arrives in the village to live with his uncle because his parents are involved in a lot of work overseas. However he soon finds himself smack in the middle of a string of murders (not to mention climbing out of TVs and summoning otherworldly creatures) and must find the real culprit in order to clear his name.

I’m almost always wary of anime based on video games, but I really enjoyed Persona 3 (never got around to P4, sadly) so I figured I’d give this one a shot. I really liked the music in P3 and the tunes in P4 certainly do not disappoint. The animation itself is nothing special, however. And like I said before, the show was better than expected, but still pretty average. Nothing too amazing here.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym4dgw6cRTI']

Who should watch this show: Anyone who liked the Persona video games.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: I’ll watch one more episode I think. I can’t really see the series getting any better than average.

Ben-To

This show is goofy. Like really goofy. Saving money on a half-price bento box is serious business here. Ben-To is one of those shows with a premise so insane and “only in anime” that you’ve just got to watch it, even if just for a single episode. In Japanese programming it’s not unusual for the financially strapped protagonist to pinch pennies and take advantage of the half priced bento boxes to scrape by. Well, in Ben-To that theme is taken to a whole new level. Bento-battles. I’m not kidding. Supermarkets are now war-zones.

To me, this show is just about as wonky as Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai (but I’m pretty sure I like Ben-To more). It’s unexpectedly entertaining in spite of the ridiculous premise. The timing of some of the jokes is just so perfect and unexpected. I was laughing out loud a lot during this show. The action however was a little disappointing. This is unfortunate considering how the show’s main focus is fighting, even if it is over bentos.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSsDkFMKN2M']

Who should watch this show: People who like hilarious, ridiculous, easy-to-watch anime.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: I’ll probably watch at least one or two more episodes. The story obviously isn’t going to wow me, but the show is pretty hilarious (and I like it more than Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai).

Guilty Crown

Awesome. This show has so much potential. Guilty Crown is from the director of Death Note, the screenwriter of Code Geass, and the studio who brought us Ghost in the Shell. Talk about an all-star team.

In the year 2029, Japan is part of the GHQ multinational organization, which was formed after the outbreak of a terrifying disease. Everything changes for the high school student Shu when he inadvertently gets involved with a resistance group and obtains strange powers. It’s an alternate future, and Japan has been conquered and robbed of national identity by a monolithic, warlike organization. A disaffected youth encounters a mysterious girl, and later involves himself in freeing the country because he has “The Power of Kings.” Okay, so yeah, it sounds a lot like Code Geass, I know – but Code Geass was incredible, so, I’m not complaining.

The animation is fantastic, the action is brilliant, and the music is superb. This show definitely has what it takes to be my stand out favorite of the season. It’s been a while since I’ve been this hyped up about an anime (the last one was Code Geass and before that Death Note – so hopefully Guilty Crown’s team doesn’t let me down here) and I can’t wait for the next episode to air. I am very, very excited.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfspu4r9P3A']

Who should watch this show: Everyone. But mostly those who liked Death Note, Code Geass, and/or Ghost in the Shell.
Likelihood of me watching another episode: Most definitely. I’m really pumped about this series.

So what anime are you most looking forward to this season? Think I got it wrong with one of my reviews above? If you want my opinion on one of the shows I didn’t include in this post, feel free to inquire in the comments below!

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