Like Kabitzin, I’ve been pretty disappointed with most of the shows this season, save for a few choice morsels. I almost feel like this is a neverending cycle of high hopes and major letdowns – it’s certainly been quite awhile since I’ve felt a season was actually burgeoning with quality series. Such was the proverbial emptiness of the barrel this season that I actually marathoned one of my backlog series, Monster, to provide my dose of goodness (though it did drag in the middle and was a bit unfocused towards the end). Nevertheless, the moral lessons of a hundred anime series have taken root in my heart, telling me to “Never give up!” Or was it “No Retreat, No Surrender”? As such, I boldly approach the new season, with a tinge of reservation.
Kabitzin’s list is fairly comprehensive concerning Slug-worthy series, although I won’t be following Nanoha StrikerS (never really got hooked on Nanoha) or Shining Tears x Wind (the first game wasn’t even that good, except for the Tony Taka art…>_<). Concerning El Cazador de la Bruja, I’ll probably give it a quick skim to see if Bee Train has gotten their act together yet. The character designs seem a bit more cheerful and less emo, which contrasts greatly with the usual tortured loli/striking mature woman combo used in many other BT series. The two Gonzo-produced series will likely be ignored unless they finish their runs and still manage garner positive reviews.
A few of my own additions to the list are:
- Emma (Season Two): …which didn’t get listed in Omni’s summary since he’d never seen the first season. Emma was a great series, and I voraciously devoured the manga after the anime ended. I never thought that the rest of the story would also receive the anime treatment, so this is a positively delightful surprise!
- Toward the Terra: This looks like it might be a thoughtful and deliberately paced sci-fi series. Perhaps some old-school anime mojo will accompany those old-school character designs.
- Kishin Taisen Gigantic Formula: Could very well be my one guilty pleasure this season. Total mechxploitation, I know, but I can’t help myself. With such a large posse of designers, at least all the mechs won’t look the same (*cough*GSD*cough*).
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my crystal ball tells me that you will like enjoy Claymore…… assuming the anime manages to pull it off
I get a bad feeling from Claymore, though, that it will have bad production values. I can picture with my mind’s eye all the battles being clash-and-fall affairs. The trailer actually one-upped that by treating us to the super-craptastic bright flash of light against a dark background in place of a real battle sequence. Then again, Madhouse is handling the art, so I can still hope.
Now if they were able to have great action and emotion (like diet-Berserk), that would be something, but I’ve been jaded about such things lately.
Towards the Terra sounds like it should be the title for a bad horror series. Funny that Ender forgot to add Saint Beast to his list.
Just like you, I am not certain about the anime, but I can assure you that the Claymore manga is phenomenal
I like it better than Berserk actually
Better than Berserk? You’ve officially jinxed its chances by setting the bar very high! I’m looking forward to seeing how this pans out. And let’s face it; with a name like Claymore, this series had better be explosive.
Well, it’s not perfect. I thought the first two arcs were bleh. But then again, the first two arcs of Berserk weren’t that eye grabbing either.
But I will let you know what I particularly like better
There is a better sense of fellowship in Claymore IMO. In Berserk, Gutts is basically in his own little world. Sure he gets a tag along party later on, but NO ONE comes close to understanding what kind of hell he went through.
I would suggest you giving the manga a try.
Nobody is talking about Hayate no Gotoku? I think this one is gonna be a winner…
‘Mechxploitation’ is now pretty much my new favourite anime-related phrase. Good work!