Fall 2013 Anime Preview

[~s.o.s~]

Howdy folks,

Apologies for missing out on the previous season (Summer 2013). Summer wasn't really good enough so it completely slipped through the cracks. But now that Fall 2013 is here and the line-up seems to be pretty awesome (I would say one of the best so far, at least for me), I thought I would post my thoughts.

To start off, the Fall 2013 chart can be found at Neragate. For those who are into ticking/live charts, I have stumbled upon a cool site; here is the link for 2013 fall season. Everything I see on the chart sounds pretty cool so I would definitely be giving all of them a try. But the things which are my "must watch" list are as follows:

1. Kuroko no Basket 2 (the 2nd season of one of my rated 10 anime)
2. Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic 2 (2nd season of Magi; an action/fantasy anime. Recommended if you are into fantasy or super-power stuff)
3. Freezing Vibration (recommended if you like High School DXD, To Love Ru etc.)
4. IS: Infinite Stratos 2 (the 2nd season of IS; harem/comedy theme)
5. Strike the Blood (ecchi/action/school/fantasy? What more do I need? :))
6. Golden Time (Comedy and Romance. I'm in)

Other things which I'll keep my eye on:

1. Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle 3rd Season (3rd season; will watch because I have seen the first 2)
2. Yozakura Quartet: Hana no Uta (Alternative version; will watch since I watched the original. Plus it has a nice supernatural feel to it)
3. Kyoukai no Kanata (there seems to be a lot of hype around this one)
4. Kill La Kill (Again, hyped a lot. Some call it the anime of the year, let's see...)
5. Log Horizon (SAO knock-off or SAO done right? Let's bet...)
6. White Album 2 (Since I have seen the original)

All in all, I'm happy with the new season lineup and hoping that the adaptations work out fine.

Which titles are on your must watch list? Do you still think that this season leaves much to be desired? Rant away... ;)

[deceptikon]

I got my list from elsewhere but these are my fall likelies:

• Strike the Blood
• Yowamushi Pedal
• Super Seisyun Brothers
• Log Horizon
• Meganebu?
• Diabolik Lovers
• Yuusha ni Narenakatta

Log Horizon (SAO knock-off or SAO done right? Let's bet...)

Total knock-off, and everyone knows it. They're trying to cash in on a good prospect, so I don't blame them. But it still may be good, and I enjoy these full dive MMORPG plots.

Do you still think that this season leaves much to be desired?

Unless we get really lucky there don't seem to be any heavy hitters this season among the new stuff. That said, I doubt it'll be a total bomb given some promising second seasons and reboots.

But coming off of last season with Genshiken Nidaime (awesome), Watamote (awesome), and the surprisingly excellent Servant x Service, I suspect fall will seem less than stellar given no absolute must sees.

[~s.o.s~]

Diabolik Lovers

This one was insta-drop for me, not just my type of anime I guess.

Unless we get really lucky there don't seem to be any heavy hitters this season among the new stuff. That said, I doubt it'll be a total bomb given some promising second seasons and reboots.

For me, most of the heavy hitters this season are the sequels. Since I don't see any of them in your must-watch list, this season definitely won't sweep you off your feet. For me at least, this season is much better than the last one.

the surprisingly excellent Servant x Service,

This was one surprising indeed. When I looked at the anime synopsis, it seemed like a boring slice of life anime. But a couple of episodes in and I was completely hooked. Comedy done right I would say. Definitely would recommend it to a slice of life and comedy fan.

I'll keep this thread updated as I keep watching stuff, should be fun to measure up the actual viewing experience against expectations. :)

[deceptikon]

not just my type of anime I guess.

I think at this point it's safe to say that our preferences are somewhat different, especially when it comes to shoujo. ;)

Since I don't see any of them in your must-watch list, this season definitely won't sweep you off your feet.

I didn't include them since sequels of good series' obviously make the list. I only mentioned the new ones.

I'll keep this thread updated as I keep watching stuff, should be fun to measure up the actual viewing experience against expectations. :)

I was going to wait until more eps came out before giving impressions. Log Horizon looks promising after the first episode though, I'm feeling optimistic.

[deceptikon]

Update on the new series I'm still watching in reverse order of preference.

• Yuushibu is toeing the line of being dropped, but for some reason I just haven't been able to do it. Probably because I like Fino and want to see how she develops as a character.

• Walkure Romanze could tone town the ecchi two notches and it'd be a fine story. As it is it's good enough that I can look past the over the top fan service.

• Yowamushi Pedal is pretty darned good. I didn't know what to expect, and so far I'm very pleasantly surprised. The story is moving slowly though, so I'm still waiting to see if it turns into Prince of Tennis with bicycles. ;) If it does, I'll drop it with great sadness.

• Log Horizon looks to be this season's gem. Originally my thought was that it was just an SAO knockoff to cash in on SAO's popularity, but now I'm debating which of the two I like better. It's a good problem to have. ;)

[Ketsuekiame]

Based on reviews by friends and what you've said here, I think the only one that I'll be picking up is Log Horizon.

IS2 is...abysmal.

I might pick up SxS and/or Magi (Starting with S1), not sure yet...

[~s.o.s~]

IS2 is...abysmal.

IS2 was a disaster, I really didn't see that coming.

Given that this season is pretty much done, here are my thoughts:

1. Magi S2 -- The gem of this season; comedy/action/drama/great story all in a single anime. This season surpasses S1 and I am really happy with the way the story is unfolding.
2. Strike the Blood and Tokyo Ravens -- These two are pretty good mix of action/fantasy theme with a bit of romance sprinked in; just the way I like it the most (99% harem/ecchi and 1% story is a terrible idea; IS2 I'm looking at you)
3. Yozakura Quartet -- This was a pretty good retelling and clarified a lot of things for me given that I have seen the original series + the OVAs
4. Golden Time -- This anime is a pretty unique take on drama/comedy/romance theme.
5. White Album 2, Noukome, Walkure Romanze, Yuushibu, Kyoukai no Kanata, Freezing Vibration, Unbreakable Machine Doll, Nagi No Asakura -- These anime are "fine" for casual viewing but nothing special here.
6. Outbreak Company, Ace Of Diamond, Samurai Flamenco, Valvrave S2 -- These were the better anime of Fall 2013; not mind blowing but a good way to pass time.

Let's see how Winter 2014 turns out to be! :)

[Ketsuekiame]

(99% harem/ecchi and 1% story is a terrible idea; IS2 I'm looking at you)

There was story in IS2?? o.O

[~s.o.s~]

There was story in IS2?? o.O

Hah, you gotta cut those guys some slack. ;)