Will I find love? A question often asked of fortune tellers . A question also asked by anime fans as the old season draws to a close and a new one appears on the horizon.
The chance of finding something wonderful keeps people looking… At least an AOTS, maybe even an AOTY. (Though the competition is strong for the latter this year.) Hope springs eternal and all that.
So, let’s hit the jump and see what series makes my heart beat faster in anticipation this season!
I normally try not too excited about seasonal shows until I see if they’re going to get a legal stream in the US. It’s not that I object to seeing them via ‘alternate’ means, but many of those can’t be played on my TV (which makes it difficult for both of us to watch) and it’s a massive PITA when they’re not neatly lined up in my queue. (Life is busy enough without adding another task to my weekly to-do list.) But that doesn’t mean I don’t look forward to some shows and hope they get a legal stream…
Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Yuusha no Sho (YuuYuuYuu)
Yuuki Yuuna is a Hero: Hero Chapter
I’m not going to “save the best for last” or do any kind of countdown… I’m just going to jump right to it: This is flat-out my most anticipated show this season. The race is so lopsided the other shows might as well stay home.
I’ve been a huge fan of the series since about the middle of the premiere (Yuuki’s first transformation sequence), and a series review spurred by the announcement of a sequel was one of the first real posts on this blog. I’m intrigued by the structure too… six episodes of prequel (essentially Togo’s back story) followed by six episodes of sequel about the new Hero System. I just can’t wait.
Speaking of sequels, this season is full to the brim with them. It seems half my anticipation list is a sequel… (I’m guessing as I type this as the entry above on YuuYuuYuu is all I’ve actually written.)
The Ancient Magus’ Bride
But first, a non-sequel… and a show that wasn’t even really on my radar until a couple of days ago. Since it looked supernatural, I pointed my wife at the OVA a couple of months back and mostly forgot about it. But I couldn’t avoid the buzz, and my wife started reading the manga and told me it was good… so when the third ep of the OVA dropped over the weekend I decided to check it out.
As I’ve said before, found family almost always gets a look in from me. The hints dropped about the relationship between Chise and Elias piqued my interest. So Magus Bride goes onto the list.
3-gatsu no Lion 2nd Season 2
March Comes in like a Lion
As I wrote in my series review for the first season, I have a complicated relationship with Lion. I enjoyed the h*ll out of the series even though individual episodes often left me a little baffled. (I’m not going to lie, sometimes I don’t completely grasp episodes of some shows until I read episode reviews or forum threads.) When we last saw Kiriyama, it was part of a brutal flashback episode that illustrated just how far he’d come across the span of the first season. Now I presume we’ll see how things progress now that he’s opening up and becoming part of the world.
Well, so long as we’re dealing with sequels, let’s dive into this season’s bumper crop of idol anime sequels. I’m looking forward to all of them, but there’s also reason to be apprehensive about each of them.
Wake Up, Girls! Shin Shou
Wake Up, Girls! New Chapter
I’m a huge fan of the original Wake Up Girls… and not just because of the nostalgia factor of being one of the first streaming anime I watched and my inexperience at the time. I honestly think the story, a gritty look at the darker side of becoming an idol, still holds up. The real question is, can they recapture the magic nearly four years on? Especially since essentially the entire production staff has been replaced. And what’s up with the ‘new’ idol group being introduced in this series?
The Idolm@ster SideM
The latest entry in the venerable IM@S franchise… Only this time male idols. I have a weak spot for idol anime, and I loved the original. The problem is, they seem to have lost their touch between the original and Cinderella Girls. The original was practically a textbook example on how to handle large ensemble casts. Cinderella Girls, with its even larger cast, was an example of the opposite extreme. With an announced cast of nineteen(!), SideM appears poised to travel down that same self-destructive path. It also doesn’t help that I’ve bounced hard off of every other male idol series I’ve tried to watch.
Love Live! Sunshine!!
I kind of feel duty bound to watch LLS because it’s going to be the Big Show this season… But I’m only looking forward to it half-heartedly to be honest.
When the first season let the characters cut loose and interact naturally, it produced some darn fine episodes. But it rarely did so. Instead, they spent a great deal of time reminding the viewer of the power and majesty that was μ’s and that Sunshine was its Chosen Heir. In the same vein, and unlike the original, almost all the music performances felt like music videos – air dropped into the series to sell singles. They didn’t feel like natural performances in-world.
My greatest hope, now that all the characters are in place and their roles established… is that they can concentrate on the characters and their interaction, which is the one thing that made the original series as good as it was and brought light to the first season.
Wow! Five sequels, I don’t think I’ve ever seen as many in a single season before. (With the caveat that this season represents the final season of the four years I’ve been watching streaming anime so far) It’s going to be hard to remember to let them stand on their own merits and not hold them too strongly to the standard of golden memory.
All that being said, let’s quickly run down the balance… None of them are shows I can say in all honesty that I’m looking forward to, though all are shows I’m interested in checking out. At least to me there’s a distinct difference though it’s hard to articulate.
Anime Gataris
Anime, otaku culture, school club, might as well check it out. I think it’s going to be a comedy or at least comedic.
Blend S
Taking place in a maid cafe with “stereotypical” characters, I suspect this one is a comedy too… But it goes on the list because looks it’s the closest thing to a CGDCT this season, and there’s been a drought of those recently.
Girls Last Tour
This one gives a strong “found family” vibe even though I’m not normally a fan of the post apocalypse genre. I guess I read too many of them back in the 70’s and 80’s and got burned out. So few of them rise above the confines of the genre and reach the heights of Alas Babylon or The Postman.
Just Because
I honestly can’t tell you why this one keeps tempting me… So I’m going to watch it and see what happens. I’ve found some wonderful shows (Tsuki ga Kirei) on that basis. I’ve also dropped some incredibly bad garbage…
Konohana Kitan
Another CGDCT candidate.
I could go on in this vein for a bit, but you’d just get tired of reading it… So I’ve hit the high spots and I’m going to call it good right here.
Though I only list eleven, looking at the season charts there are about twenty shows I have at least some interest in checking out. (Presuming they get a legal real-time stream on a service I subscribe to – basically Crunchy, Strike, Netflix (which doesn’t do real time streams), and Hulu.) All those, plus Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Inhumans, and the second cour of Ultraman Geed… It could be a heavy schedule. Balancing all that, there’s no big time-consuming events on the calendar either. I hope to start and write-up a campaign game of KSP soon, but that can be done whenever and fitted in among other things.
But if history is any guide I’ll end up dumping quite a few of those “meh, just interested” shows after the first ep if not under the three week rule. On the other hand, it seems that most seasons commenters here browbeat me into watching at least one show that I had no intention of watching. Which sounds kind of backwards from what I mean – those commenters lead me to Re:Creators and Abyss, both excellent shows.
So, there you have it – my hopes and dreams for next season. Drop a comment and let me know what you are looking forward to!
Apprentice Mages Lounge. 
YuYuYu for sure. I didn’t realize that Lion was getting more but cool, now I’m going to have a LOT of catching up to do when I swing around to that one lol. The Ancient Magus’ Bride is one I’ll probably go into now that it’ll actually be more than just a few episodes (which I hear are amazing and wanted to check out but not have a hellish wait afterwards). Lastly Girls Last Tour looks interesting. I like the art so will probably check out at some point.
Now going to go read your YuYuYu review.
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(again :p)
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I hope you swing around soon.. :) March is a good show but it’s a tough slog in parts because some eps are a little opaque. Yeah, I can’t understand anyone who doesn’t have YuuYuuYuu at least in their top ten. If it’s as good as the original, the AOTY competition is going to be a lot harder.
(I didn’t get the ‘again’ until I realized you’d read and commented way back when.)
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Originally I was holding off on Lion for Blu-ray and dub but since I’m not makin’ much money (like ~$60) I figure there isn’t much point in waiting. Especially not now with a second season.
I haven’t watched a ton of anime this year but I’d say that choosing one would be tough even from the small pool that I watched. Guess my top ten is stupid… I don’t have YuYuYu in it T.T Going to just go ahead and revoke my “cool anime guy” membership card now… lol XD
Yeah, I forgot that I had read it until I actually started reading it again and then was like, “I totally read this.” Did actually read it again though.
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Fortunately, the shredder is out for maintenance, so you get to keep your card for now. :)
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Phew what a relief!
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YuuYuuYuu in my top 10? Not even close. In fact, I’m actually conflicted whether to watch it at all. By that time, it’s probably no longer a surprise that I have a fairly severe problem with hero shows, sometimes, and that show was one of the worst offenders: the sense of hero porn is strong with that one. A lot of suffering that doesn’t come from the nature of the threat, because the threat is vague; all it does is heighten the heroism-feeling through sacrifice. I liked the art, the music, the characters, the direction. It’s a good show, and that’s why I’m even considering watching it, but the foregrounded heroism was a massive turn-off, here, and I’m not sure I can get over it. I can understand everyone who loves the show, though.
It’s true that there are a lot of sequels, though. Among the ones you mention, 3-gatsu gets me the most excited, but my top pic for sequels is Housuki no Reitetsu, the first season of which is one of favourite anime comedies ever. There’s a new director, but that should work out well enough. I’m also looking forward to the criminally underappreciated Classicaloid: Dvorak as a pigmy hippo, I’m told. That show!
As for new shows, the only one that caught my eye is Girls Last Tour, because it looks really good. Konoha no Kitan might be up my alleay, but to be honest Blend S doesn’t look like much (though I’ve been surprised before). The other shows? We’ll see. I have really nothing of my own to add. Urahara maybe? Shrug
What I’m curious about is the new Kino no Tabi. I haven’t seen the original series yet (apart from the first episode, which I loved), and I’m not going to get around to it before next season starts. What I wonder is if it’s a sequel or a remake, and – either way – if it’s better to skip it until I’ve seen the first season. I’m going to keep my ears open.
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You’re practically the only person that I can clearly understand why YuuYuuYuu wouldn’t be in their top ten.
Kino no Tabi is also on my ‘to check out list’, there was a lot of good things said about the original in the ANN discussion thread about the announcement. Nobody knows how it connects to the original, though it appears the protagonist of the current is female, when the original was male.
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No, Kino has always been biologically female in both the books and the original anime, although my understanding from things I’ve read (never having seen it myself) is that she’s more-or-less androgynous and doesn’t actually associate herself with either gender.
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I must have misunderstood what I read then, mea culpa.
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But I’m not even finished with spring…2013…
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There’s three weeks before the premiers for Winter 2017 – binge watch time? :) :)
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Ooh, you’re inching towards The Eccentric Family and Kyousogiga. Good times, good times…
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Didn’t realize till this morning that I forgot to welcome you to the Lounge! Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you back often!
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Haha, well you know perfectly well what’s at the top of my list.
1-Yuki Yuna (duh!) I’ll even hold my nose and buy a temporary Strike subscription to watch YuYu if I have to, and it looks like I’ll probably have to since it’s back on the Animeism block again, which Amazon snatched the streaming rights for earlier this year.
2-Food Wars season 3. Hopefully closer in adaptation quality to the first season than the second. I’ve already read this part of the manga, and it can be really good if they fix the second season’s pacing problems.
3-Love Live Sunshine 2. I share your concerns about this one. I really hope they let Aqours loose and trust them to carry the series on their own this time instead of feeling obligated to remind the audience of u’s existence every three minutes.
That’s about it. I never finished the first season of Lion – was enjoying it well enough, but got away from it and haven’t come back yet – and the only other show that really caught my eye was Two Car, although I don’t have very high expectations for that one. If I do end up getting a Strike subscription I’ll definitely be taking advantage of that to go back and watch some of the shows I missed, though (starting with Saekano and Vivid Strike, and probably Made in Abyss too, since I’ve seen so many positive reviews of it here and elsewhere).
Also can’t let Fall pass by without mentioning the other anime I’m looking forward to: I’m definitely planning to go see A Silent Voice when that hits American theaters next month, assuming it’s playing in my area. And I don’t know exactly when the Lyrical Nanoha Reflection movie is coming out over here, since Eleven Arts originally announced it for October and then postponed it, but I’ll be buying a ticket for that movie the first day they go on sale, whenever that is.
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Yup, I figured YuuYuuYuu and Food Wars would top your list! :) If you do subscribe to Strike, I’d also like to put in a good word for Re:Creators if you have the time for a two cour show. It’s got some pretty good moments, and they’re sticking the landing but good. (And the ‘recap’ episode in the middle of the second cour has to be seen to be believed – it’s awesome.)
Two Car is also among the unlisted “to be checked out list”, but like you I don’t hold out much hope.
I’d like to see A Silent Voice, but so far it’s not showing anywhere within a two days drive. Crunchy has the manga, but I haven’t started it yet.
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Re:Creators is one I’d definitely look at if I finished all the “priority one” shows on my list and still had time to get to it.
I borrowed the first volume of Silent Voice from my library, and it is good, but I didn’t have time to read more of it so I figured I’d just wait for the movie. I see the theater listings have gone up since I posted this, and I’ll be able to go see it in DC, so that’s good. Looks like the closest to you is Portland, but they only have a Monday night screening.
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They’ve added Portland since yesterday, but that’s still an overnighter even if it weren’t on a Monday night. I mean you can daytrip Portland (I’ve done it), but it’s 6-7 hours on the road there and back not counting stops and breaks. The trip is pretty exhausting all by itself.
It might pop up in Vancouver (WA), but that only saves you half an hour each way.
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So you are watching Just Because just because.
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I guess you could phrase it like that… :)
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Seriously, sooo many sequels! We’ve had past seasons like that before, but it still surprises me when we get hit with so many later on. I’m especially surprised at all the idol shows, particularly that they’re the big three franchises. Love Live and WUG are a must for me, but, like you, I’m a bit leery about the iDOLM@STER guys. I haven’t seen a single variation of male idol anime that I’ve loved; the closest would be Cheer Danshi, and they’re not even idols.
Thanks for the season preview, and the PVs! I’m always super lazy into looking up the videos, so this helps.
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It’s not just that there’s so many sequels, it’s that so many of shows I’m anticipating are sequels. There have been complaints about how weak the current season is (or there were before Abyss really hit it’s stride), but next season looks to be even weaker.
The only ‘male’ idols I’ve never bounced hard off would be Sekko Boys, and that’s just barely an idol show.
You’re welcome, and thanks for stopping by the Lounge! I hope to see you back soon!
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I can’t say I’m familiar with most of these shows (I tend to catch up on anime shows after they’re over rather than watching them week to week), but one fall release I’m looking forward to is the movie No Game No Life Zero. The trailer looks amazing, and Fathom Events is showing it in select theaters in October, so I’m just hoping it’s showing somewhere close to me.
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There’s a school of thought that post season binge watching is the way to go, especially since you can read the reviews and avoid the real stinkers…
I feel your pain. It’s cool that so many anime movies are coming over, but it’s so unpredictable where they’ll pop up. Even with a Big City within two hours drive, we don’t get ’em all. (But we got Your Name and Ordinal Scale this year, which was my big two.)
Thanks for stopping by, hope to see you around in the future!
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