Winter 2013 Anime Round-up
With a new year comes a new season and a new batch of anime. After viewing all of the new anime this season, I have compiled all of my initial thoughts into this post. As with all of my round-ups, I take into consideration every new series and continuations of series that I have seen. Sequels of anime that I haven’t seen are excluded because I would just be completely lost.
Ai Mai Mi
At a few minutes per episode, I don’t think this series will amount to much.
Status: not watching
Amnesia
I like the premise for Amnesia, but there are two things that really bug me about it: Orion and the huge pretty-boy to girl ratio. I would’ve preferred Orion to not take on a physical shape in the main character’s eyes or at least one that doesn’t look like a kid. It would’ve shrouded her condition in a bit more mystery. The reverse-harem situation is just awkward for a male viewer because no guy actually acts like the guys in the series.
Status: not watching
Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman
While I have not seen Lupin III, this is what I imagine it was like. Probably worth a go for Lupin fans, but not something I’m very interested in.
Status: not watching
Boku no Imouto wa Osaka Okan
An anime about the cultural/linguistic differences between Osaka and Tokyo? No thanks.
Status: not watching
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT
I loved the first season, and it’s great to see that they decided to bring Yozora, Sena, and the rest of the cast back for more. There also seems to be new characters like Sister Kate and some of the side characters are getting more screen time. The animation seems to have improved from last season and I hope it stays that way.
Status: watching
Cuticle Detective Inaba
This was so pointless, I don’t know how I got through the first episode. It’s basically about a half-wolf detective that’s chasing a goat. There’s also a cross-dresser and some other weird characters. It tries to be funny by making everything outrageous and crazy, but I was just left thinking “huh?” must of the time.
Status: not watching
Da Capo III
After the first episode, I was on the fence about this one. I have not seen Da Capo or Da Capo II, but this one seems to be based on different characters. Even so, I still felt a bit lost. The girls were cute, but the constant boob-bounces and hair flips got really annoying after a while. The second episode showed some signs of the tear-jerker emotional drama that I enjoy in harem anime so I’m giving it a chance.
Status: watching
GJ-bu
GJ-bu shares a similar concept with Seitokai no Ichizon, which I really enjoyed. They are both limited to a room with several characters and a lot of conversation meant to be funny. The problem with GJ-bu is that I didn’t find it entertaining. The similarity between the characters with those of Dog Days also had me mixing up their names.
Status: not watching
Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun
A good concept, except that it’s so old that I’m pretty sure there’s even hentai out there with the same plot summary. Not to mention that a lot of the characters look like carbon copies of characters from other anime.
Status: not watching
Ishida to Asakura
Weird and gay (literally).
Status: not watching
Kotoura-san
I absolutely loved the opener showing Kotoura’s troubled past. The sudden shift to pervy comedy was unexpected and awkward. It seems like the series is based around contrasting dark emotional drama with slapstick comedy. Personally, I think they clash too much and makes the series seem like it doesn’t know what it wants to be.
Status: not watching
Love Live! School Idol Project
Good music and pretty characters, but there really isn’t anything special about the story. I think I’ll stick to watching the girls’ performances on YouTube.
Status: not watching
Mangirl!
This is just a short anime about some hyper girls.
Status: not watching
Maoyuu Maou Yuusha
The beginning of the first episode made the series look like some good vs evil story for kids. That is until the hero met the demon king. A focus on economics has a lot of people saying Maoyuu Maou Yuusha is Spice and Wolf 3; it even uses the same voice actors. While the demon king is no wolfess, I’m sure she has her own charms.
Status: watching
Minami-ke Tadaima
Ah, how I’ve missed this show. Sensei and Ninomiya-kun still seem to be absent, but at least the series continues to entertain.
Status: watching
Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo?
Honestly, from reading the plot summary, I didn’t think Mondaiji-tashi Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo (that’s a mouthful) was going to amount to much, but I enjoyed the first couple of episodes. The three children might seem like bullies at first, especially Izayoi, but they’re oddly likeable. They’re no match for Kurousagi though, who is my favourite character so far.
Status: watching
Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru
The series has given us a hint of the scars that the characters carry, hidden under a veil of terrible skits and comedy. I’m interested in seeing how they resolve their issues, but I’m also looking forward to seeing the evil plans that Masuzu comes up with.
Status: watching
Puchimas!
I’m not a big fan of Idolmaster and shrinking them down doesn’t draw me any closer to them.
Status: not watching
Sasami-san@Ganbaranai
The first episode left me wondering what exactly just happened, but then the second episode explained everything in the first few minutes. It looks like an interesting anime, if not for the story, then at least for the wackiness.
Status: watching
Senran Kagura
Ninja girls showing off their assets to an invisible camera while fighting each other in secret might interest some people, but not me.
Status: not watching
Senyuu
Senyuu looks like something I would’ve watched when I was 4.
Status: not watching
Tamako Market
Kyoto Animation’s second attempt at making their own anime seems like it’s based on their success with the slice-of-life genre. It certainly looks cute, but I’ve always enjoyed their work with romance anime more than with slice-of-life anime.
Status: not watching
Vividred Operation
Vividred Operation had some potential, but the battle scenes weren’t exciting enough for me and the talk of the power of friendship just killed it.
Status: not watching
Yama no Susume
This anime was so unimpressionable that after a week I’ve forgotten what it was even about.
Status: not watching
Zettai Karen Children: The Unlimited – Hyoubu Kyousuke
This looks like a series I would’ve enjoyed as a teenager: it has rebel espers fighting bad guys and saving little girls. There seems to be plenty of action and the main character isn’t a whiny weakling. The problem is that I’m not a teenager anymore and these action-filled anime with two sides fighting it out don’t impress me anymore.
Status: not watching
———–
Awards
Now it’s time for the best and worst of the season, as chosen by me.
Worst Series Award:
Ishida to Asakura
If you’ve seen it, I don’t think it needs an explanation.
Most Underrated Series Award:
Sasami-san@Ganbaranai
Perhaps this is a bit too early to call, but I don’t think Sasami-san@Ganbaranai deserved the scathing first impressions it got from most people. Time will tell if it turns out to be good or continues down a path of craziness that just leaves everyone puzzled.
Best Series Award:
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT
I feel a bit bad naming a sequel the best series, but I didn’t find any of the other series to be as entertaining as Haganai. Buriki’s character designs are also hard to resist.
———–
Final Comments:
I am very disappointed with the lineup of anime for this season; nothing stood out as an anime that I think people will remember 10 years down the road. With the way things are looking, 2011 will probably remain one of the better years for anime.
Good to see they brought Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai back for a second season. Is it just me or are the names of these new anime getting longer?
Regards Phoenix.
1Yes, the names are indeed getting longer. They even made a joke about it in the new season of Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai.
2Well…not sure why you’re disappointed. This season was expected to be bad; and well, it pretty much lived up to expectations.
Otherwise…I usually would have a bone or two to pick with on your choices, but I can see why you wouldn’t like them. We are somehow digging the same shows (Oreshura, Maoyu), so that’s good enough for me xD
3Justin recently posted..This Genius’s 25 Predictions for Anime in 2013
I’ve been out of the loop for a while so I never got a chance to see what was in the lineup before the season started. Usually there’s one or two gems in a season, but this one really didn’t have any.
4“The reverse-harem situation is just awkward for a male viewer because no guy actually acts like the guys in the series.”
Lol, this is the exact reason why a lot of girls don’t like harem anime. Not trying to start an argument or anything, but that’s really the reason why I (as a girl) don’t like a vast majority of harem anime. But then again I don’t really enjoy reverse harem anime either, probably because I don’t find the romance genre too interesting.
Although I’m loving Kotoura-san to bits right now, I can definitely see why you’re turned off by it. I’ve had a lot of exposure to “mood-whiplash” anime/manga so it’s pretty normal to me. I find that it makes a series a bit more realistic, because while people may have terrible lives and angst a lot, it’s not a continuous stream of terrible things happening to them constantly. I think Mawaru Penguindrum was kind of like “mood-whiplash-lite,” because there were quite a few comedic moments stuck into some very dark situations. But I definitely do think that Penguindrum handled the drama better.
You seem to be taking on a lot of series this season; I hope you end up enjoying at least one or two of them.
5Ari recently posted..Shin Sekai Yori Episode 16
Call me a hypocrite, but I love the girls in regular harems (at least the Key ones). While the girls in Key’s anime adaptations do gush over the main character, they’re not constantly over him and he has some legitimate reasons to be popular.
The large number of series is due to me having nothing to watch as opposed to them actually being good. The only series that carried over from last season are Uchuu Kyoudai, Little Busters, and Shin Sekai Yori.
6Let’s be positive Nopy, there are some series that actually look good in this current lineup (second episode of Kotoura was quite good IMHO) and it’s still fairly soon to give up on them. :D
7feal87 recently posted..Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo – You Kasukabe!
I like the emotional aspect of Kotoura-san, but the flipping back and forth between drama and comedy didn’t feel very smooth to me. It’s like eating something that tastes sweet in one bite, then sour the next.
8Wow, sounds like an awesome season. As always I’ll watch the series after they finish (besides Minami-ke YAY its back <3 Kana). About Maoyuu Maou Yuusha : In the screenshot, is the fake-horo actually hugging a stawsack with L on it? xD
9Lol, I guess it does look a bit like L. That’s actually a strawsack with the “hero” on it.
10I watched da Capo, I guess the first two seasons, but not the Da Capo II Second Season. maybe I can start at III again.
This time I also have that many not watchig titles in my list.
I haven’t started or took a look at everything though.
Hehe so far Senran Kagura is cute at least, I like the characterdesign
Yes Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT is the best series in this somehow weak season.
11Wieselhead recently posted..Nagisa from Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity by Volks
Did you like the previous Da Capos? The series seems as popular as To Heart, but for some reason I never got around to watching it.
12It isnot that bad, partially it was really good, but I think the first one was the best from my impression, the characters were likeable and there was some good drama. I also played the game a little bit, mainly because I liked Sakura so much. She was a character in all seasons, I guess
13Wieselhead recently posted..New Preorders part 17
Wow, I didn’t know Sakura was in all of the seasons, but I guess since she’s a time paladin it makes sense.
14I only have Haganai NEXT and GJ-bu on my list from Winter series. I’ll wait till Chihayafuru is complete before watching it. I feel that the series is better watch that way. The rest didn’t pique any of my interest. It’s a good thing though since I have a few series from Autumn still airing.
15hoshiko recently posted..Itazura Na Kiss: Anything Might Happen
I’m so tempted to go back and watch Chihayafuru season 1, but I don’t think I’ll have the time to do that. Maybe one day I’ll finally get around to seeing why everyone enjoys it so much.
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