Winter 2007 Preview! December 30
Though there may not be much going on this and next week as we celebrate the new year, things will get busy again once the Winter 2007 season kicks off. Before we get started on all the upcoming shows, a few notes. I am once again not specifically saying what I am and am not going to watch. As usual, I’ll watch the first episode of almost every show within certain parameters (in other words, probably not the kiddie shows like Pokémon or Pretty Cure). What I will say is what the odds are of me blogging a show. However, even if chances are good that I’ll blog the first episode of a series, that doesn’t mean I’ll stick with it for more than that. Certain days of the week - Thursdays and Saturdays - have always had too many interesting shows, and I have to ultimately make a decision on what to follow and what not to. Because I have so many shows that are continuing from the fall, there can only be so many new series that I can afford the time to pick up.
By no means does this list reflect all of the anime that are going to be aired, though I did try to be as comprehensive as I could. Check out MOON PHASE for an entire listing, syoboi’s calendar for specific air-times, and AndrewLB’s Winter 2006/2007 Wiki for who’s tentatively subbing what.
Technical Note: All times are given in a 24-hour, relative-day format where times are extended to show which day they belong to. For instance, Friday morning at 1:30AM would become Thursday at 25:30 to show that the episode aired late Thursday night.
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Saint October http://www.konami.jp/visual/saintoctober/ Premieres January 4th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 25:55 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Thursdays at 11:55 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo I think it’s a bad sign that the commercial for this series started out with “White loli, black loli, red loli…” That just made me laugh, but not in a good way. I think I even saw a Tuxedo Mask in there. The website had me intrigued, but the commercial definitely made it clear that this 3-girl detective show wasn’t for me. And that’s not even considering that this is airing on Thursdays, meaning that it’d have to be an incredible series for me to add to the current GEASS and Kanon lineup. Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor |
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Kyoushirou to Towa no Sora http://www.kyoshiro-sora.net/ Premieres January 5th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Fridays at 13:30 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Thursdays at 23:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo You may remember me talking about it earlier this month and the Kannazuki no Miko connections that it has. That alone is enough to get me to watch it, but Megami magazine spreads like this or this don’t hurt either. The story is about a girl named Shiratori Ku who has a dream about a prince and then actually meets that prince in real life. Somewhere along the line they’ll likely work in plenty of fanservice/semi-yuri and mecha action. I’m honestly trying to keep my expectations low so that I don’t disappoint myself in case this doesn’t live up to KnM’s legacy. It’s just a shame that KOTOKO isn’t doing the OP or ED, which are apparently being handled by CooRie and Ceui, respectively. Odds I’ll Blog This: Guaranteed |
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Koi suru Tenshi Angelique ~ Kagayaki no Ashita ~ http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/neoromance/tv/ange/ Premieres January 5th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Fridays at 25:30 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Fridays at 11:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo I don’t know how many people watched the first Angelique series this past summer, but I wasn’t one of them. I’ve got nothing against this type of girl-surrounded-by-many-Bishounen series - it’s just not for me. Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor |
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Deltora Quest http://www.deltoraquest.jp/ Premieres January 6th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 8:00 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Fridays at 18:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo At first glance, I dismissed this series as Saturday morning kiddie fodder, but more research showed there’s actually some interesting background on it. This anime is based on a set of books by the same name written by award-winning Australian author Emily Rodda. TV Aichi’s website for the series offers a trio of videos (click the orange colored boxes in the middle and on the bottom of the page) about the show, including an interesting interview with Emily Rodda herself. Those videos showed some decent animation, some bad-looking CG, a story about looking for artifacts to defeat a greater evil that didn’t look very original, but one of the videos did have some rather epic/Final Fantasy-sounding music (the one on the bottom of the page). All this doesn’t mean that Deltora Quest won’t turn out to be a kiddie show anyway, but at least there appears to be a good basis for it. Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent |
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Himawari!! http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/himawari2/ Premieres January 6th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 24:30 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Saturdays at 10:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo Here’s another series that I didn’t watch the first season of (notice that the difference between this show’s title and the previous show is a single exclamation mark), though I did manage a couple of episodes before I stopped. The new website did raise my interest level a little since Himawari looked cooler and more mature, but then I saw the commercial for the show and everything seemed like the same as before. The show is still about ninjas, and I highly doubt I’ll watch it given that what I saw of the first season didn’t interest me enough. Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor |
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Les Misérables Shoujo Cosette http://www.nippon-animation.co.jp/lesmise/ Premieres January 7th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Sundays at 19:30 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Sundays at 5:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo After almost ten years off the air, World Masterpiece Theater is coming back with a 52-episode adaptation of Victor Hugo’s famous Les Misérables. The focus here seems to be more on Cosette than Jean Valjean, and I’m very curious to see how they’ll handle this type of story. At the same time, 52 episodes seems like a lot for them to do, even with all 1400+ pages of the novel (not all of which is usable for an anime of this nature). All things considered, odds are good that I won’t be watching this on Sundays and will instead be watching… Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent |
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SHUFFLE! MEMORIES http://www.shuffle-tv.com/ Premieres January 7th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Sundays at 24:00 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Sundays at 10:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo …SHUFFLE! MEMORIES. This is being billed as a director’s cut of the show with new OP and ED, and they’re promising to include a new original story. It’s not clear how much of it they’ll be reusing and what all is going to be new, but since I liked SHUFFLE!, this is definitely worth me watching at least a few episodes to see what direction they might be taking it. The entire cast is coming back too, so it’ll be good to hear everyone again, particularly Sugita Tomokazu as Rin and Gotou Yuuko as Kaede. Oh, and have you seen the huge magazine spread of Asa from this month’s Megami? Odds I’ll Blog This: Guaranteed |
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Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight! http://www.ufotable.com/manabi/ Premieres January 7th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Sundays at 25:30 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Sundays at 11:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo Of course if SHUFFLE! MEMORIES doesn’t work out, then there’s always Manabi Straight. The story takes place in the year 2035 when birthrates have dropped so much that high schools are being forced to close because of the decrease of students. Horie Yui’s main character Manami (aka. Manabi) arrives at one particular high school and starts stirring things up. There’s something about a moe seinen series that has me very intrigued and incredibly excited, especially after seeing all the amazing promotional videos that came with the character CDs these past few months. ufotable is handling the animation production and the cast consists of big names including Horie Yui, Nonoka Ai, and Hirano Aya. If any of this sounds interesting, be sure to check out all the promotional material that’s already on YouTube. Odds I’ll Blog This: Guaranteed |
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Master of Epic: The Animation Age http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/moetaa/ Premieres January 7th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Sundays at 26:00 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Sundays at 12:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo This is based off an an MMORPG of the same name. I haven’t had very good luck with similar series (Ragnarok and .hack), and from the commercial, it looks like a generic fantasy show that probably won’t interest me very much. With all the other stuff being shown on Sundays, I just can’t see myself watching Master of Epic. Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor |
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Nodame Cantabile http://www.nodame-anime.com/ Premieres January 11th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 24:45 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Thursdays at 10:45 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo Nodame Cantabile is the story of a guy who aspires to be a conductor and the free-spirited, piano-playing girl who attaches herself to him. If you’ve read the manga or seen the television drama, you probably already know how good of a series this is. As I mentioned before, the anime version is going to have Kawasumi Ayako voicing Nodame, Seki Tomokazu voicing Chiaki, and Noto Mamiko voicing Sakura. It’s being animated by J.C.STAFF and being directed by Kasai Kenichi (aka. the director of Honey and Clover) for FujiTV’s Noitamina block replacing Hataraki-Man. I’ve got high expectations for the quality of the music that goes into this show (the Nodame Orchestra CD reached #7 on the Oricon charts), and it’ll be interesting to see how close they stick with the still-ongoing manga. As much as I abhor picking up a third Thursday series, there’s just no way I can let this one go. Odds I’ll Blog This: Guaranteed |
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Hidamari Sketch http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/hidamari/ Premieres January 11th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 25:25 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Thursdays at 11:25 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo Hidamari Sketch is about a girl named Yuno who enters the art department of a private high school and the friends she makes as she pursues her dream. Fans of Pani Poni Dash! and Negima!? should take note that this show is being animated by SHAFT and directed by Akiyuki Shinbo. Given the director and given the fact that Hidamari Sketch started out as a 4-koma, I expect this to have a lot of comedy. Unfortunately, I doubt that I’ll have the time to blog this series, particularly if I end up picking up Nodame Cantabile. Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent |
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Venus Versus Virus http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/vvv/ Premieres January 11th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 25:55 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Thursdays at 11:55 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo This show is about two girls who fight demons called Viruses. The girl with the eyepatch Lucia runs an antique shop called Venus Vanguard, hence the show is named Venus Versus Virus. The commercial for it - the one from the end of Rozen Maiden Overture - shows some pretty good looking animation courtesy of Studio Hibari, and it gave me Karin and Black Cat vibes for whatever reason. For what it’s worth though, VVV has some of the same staff as Tsuyokiss - director Kimura Shinichiro, character designer Agata Yoshimi, and Yamada Yasutomo in charge of series composition. Under different circumstances (ie. Thursdays without CODE GEASS, Kanon, and potentially Nodame Cantabile), this would get pretty high odds at getting blogged, but since this is airing on Thursdays, I can only say it’s got a decent chance. Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent |
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Getsumen To Heiki Mina http://www.mi-na.jp/ Premieres January 13th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 25:45 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Saturdays at 11:45 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo If nothing else, Mina has a pretty colorful history. Way back in the early 80s, Gainax (then Daicon Film) created a short called Daicon IV which featured a bunny girl doing battle. This became somewhat of a legendary film and was paid homage to some 20-odd years later in the opening sequence of the super-popular Densha Otoko drama, created by GONZO. The bunny girl that GONZO used was named Mina and was featured quite prominently throughout the Densha Otoko series. The character of and the merchandise around Mina became so popular and the demand was so high that GONZO decided to create an actual anime about her. As for the actual plot, Mina is a high school sports announcer who accidentally gets involved with space aliens. Somewhere along the line, she gets powers and transformed into a bunny girl who has carrot weapons. I can’t say much for the story, but since I’m well-acquainted with the Densha Otoko series, I’m very interested in seeing how this turns out. Odds I’ll Blog This: Good |
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GR -GIANT ROBO- http://gr-anime.com/ Premieres January 18th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 24:00 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Thursdays at 10:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo This is the 13 episode series being made in commemoration of the forty year anniversary of the beginning of Giant Robo. The story has Giant Robos appearing all over the world and destroying cities. Everything is in the hands of one boy who finds his own Giant Robo in some ancient ruins to save the world. The GR1 that the main character Daisaku pilots looks like a cross between an Egyption pharaoh and Optimus Prime (because of the coloring in this promo shot). The other robots in this show don’t look all that great either, but I guess it’s the style. Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor |
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Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpucho Tou http://www.majin.tv/ Premieres January 19th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Fridays at 23:00 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Fridays at 9:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo Originating from a series of Playstation and Playstation 2 games, this show is about a group of teenagers with various fighting skills (kendo, wrestling, archery) going up against Oni. But regardless whether or not this turns out to be Tenjou Tenge or Tokko or something similar, it likely won’t be my type of show. Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor |
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Juusou Kikou Dancouga Nova http://dancouganova.com/ Premieres February 15th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 22:30 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Thursdays at 8:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo Based on an 80s series with the same Dancouga name, this series is about a huge robot called the Dancouga Nova in the 22nd century that sides with the weak in times of war. This robot has four parts - body, head, left foot, right foot - and four pilots who apparently don’t know the true meaning to the Dancouga Nova’s existence. I like this robot design a bit better than the aforementioned Giant Robo, but you still probably shouldn’t count on me watching this since it airs on Thursdays (though not until February). Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor |
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Rocket Girls http://www.rocket-girl.jp/ Premieres February 21st, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Wednesdays at 24:00 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Wednesdays at 10:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo Rocket Girls replacing Soukou no Strain in the Wednesday night slot on WOWOW. Originally published as a light novel, the plot involves a Solomon Space Agency working to launch the first Japanese manned rocket, but because their current rocket lacks power, they need an astronaut who doesn’t weigh much. Thus, they end up recruiting a high school girl named Yukari who weighs only 38kg (she’s 154 centimeters tall). I think this has one of the more interesting premises of the upcoming season, and since I’m already blogging Soukou no Strain, I might find a way to make room for this once that’s over. Odds I’ll Blog This: Good |
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Ikkitousen Dragon Destiny http://www.ikkitousen.com/ Premieres February 26th, 2007 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Mondays at ? Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Mondays at ? Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo The first season of Ikkitousen was well known for its level of fanservice as well as fighting. I don’t expect much different from this sequel Dragon Destiny, but it should be noted that the seiyuu for some of the characters have changed, including Saji, Sousou, Kakouton, Kaku, and Kan-u. The staff has changed too, and it’s interesting that the new character designer is Rin Shin who is well known for his hentai work. I may give this a look when the time comes, but that’s still two months away and doesn’t even have an announced airtime yet. For fans of the series, here’s a nice magazine scan to tide you over. Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent |
This covers the 18 series that are premiering in January or February of 2007, which is significantly less than the 37 series I had to go through in the Fall 2006 preview, so I ended up writing slightly more about each show here. Aside from the obvious kiddie shows (like Kyouryuu King and PreCure 5), I also decided not to include REIDEEN or MOONLIGHT MILE because March is still quite a ways away. Anyway, I suspect I’ll have time to pick up around three new shows, and the ones I have marked Guaranteed are looking pretty good to me right now, but we’ll see how things turn out when the time comes.
Note: For a limited time, I have torrented the promos and commercials for Himawari!!, Manabi Straight, Les Miserables Shoujo Cosette, Master of Epic, Saint October, Venus Versus Virus, and Kyoushirou to Towa no Sora. You can find it on Tokyo Tosho or Point-Blank.
The important question is of course, what are you going to be watching?
As always, Comments, Questions, and Suggestions are welcome.
浪ちゃん~ at 4:26 pm on December 30th, 2006
Sadly, I think I’m going to be inmmune to any sort of fanservice for quite a while after seeing Curse of the Golden Flower…
mutio at 4:33 pm on December 30th, 2006
Shuffle Memories and Dragon Destiny (btw, read Three Kingdoms, fantastic book!) are sure for me.
On my maybe list are Kyoushirou to Towa no Sora and Himawari.
Nobunaga at 4:39 pm on December 30th, 2006
The series i am going to definitely watch:
Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny - fanservice at it´s best ^^
Kyoushirou to Towa no Sora - Somewhere is the yuri hidden!
Venus Versus Virus - Has yuri so that´s make it onto the list.
SHUFFLE! MEMORIES - More of Psycho-Kaede!
And i could proably watch the first episode of:
Getsumen To Heiki Mina (Densha Otoko made this possibly)
Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight!(Azumanga Daioh?)
Anima015 at 4:40 pm on December 30th, 2006
hehe the second season of ikkitousen was a surprise but i’m realy looking forward to seeing
how shuffle turns out this time.
kerem at 4:40 pm on December 30th, 2006
holly crap. alot of loli fetish girls :(.
AznSoulBoy at 4:42 pm on December 30th, 2006
I’ll watch SHUFFLE! MEMORIES that’s for sure…hmm,
I’ll try:
Kyoushirou to Towa no Sora
Deltora Quest
Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight!
Venus Versus Virus
Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpucho Tou
Ikkitousen Dragon Destiny
Maybe Hidamari!! but if I have the time.
Fall season animes + around 7 new animes…T_T soo much.
Anima015 at 4:49 pm on December 30th, 2006
anyone think TYPE MOON will do the same with FSN
with a new original story?
Oskar Anly at 4:56 pm on December 30th, 2006
let me see…
Saint Ocotober
Kyoushirou to Towa no Sora
Venus Versus Virus
I’ll start with these shows.
anim3guy at 5:17 pm on December 30th, 2006
dude i didn’t c naruto on the list is it bcuz ur not gonna put it. cus i heard theres a new series of naruto coming first week of febreuary 2007, where it looks like it’s based on the manga
ikkitousen and shuffle! r probably the one’s i’m totally interested it looks like the shuflle is gonna b more funnier than the last.
darkchibi07 at 5:20 pm on December 30th, 2006
I heard Venus Versus Virus has yuri (or just a ridiculous amount of yuri undertones) so I’m checking that out! Hmmm, Shuffle! Memories….will Asa be the victor once again?!!
Victor at 5:22 pm on December 30th, 2006
I’ll try watching all the shows but then it gets boring I’m gotta drop it.
Ambient Escape at 5:23 pm on December 30th, 2006
Thanks for the previews!!!! =)
Rasmiel at 5:26 pm on December 30th, 2006
anyone think TYPE MOON will do the same with FSN
with a new original story?
They are actually working on the movie of their first novel, named “Kara no Kyoukai”. I don’t think they have the time to do another batch of FSN episodes. Besides, if any of their releases needs a remake or any of that sort, it would be Tsukihime.
Aishiteru at 5:28 pm on December 30th, 2006
From the list you put, I guess I’ll wait for the Shuffle! Memories and Kyoushirou to Towa no Sora. I think these two for now
Oh! and that Asa pic is definitely FTW!
Inuhanyou at 5:29 pm on December 30th, 2006
I was really hoping for sousei no aquarion 2 this time
Mabye hopefully it’ll show in the summertime?
Sonhex at 5:37 pm on December 30th, 2006
Gah, I so wish Getsumen To Heiki Mina was being done by Gainax instead of Gonzo. I swear I saw Nono in that trailer though:P Must be because Okama is directing (hence the fanservicey costumes). I’m quite looking forward to Deltora Quest, Giant Robo and keeping my fingers crossed that Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpucho Tou turns out be to something decent.
Random Person at 5:48 pm on December 30th, 2006
Nodame!!!! Yay! I figure out that its going to be an anime right after I start reading the manga! Lucky!
Rasmiel at 5:52 pm on December 30th, 2006
And my list:
Kyoushirou to Towa no Sora - I was sold at the first glance.
Venus Versus Virus - Also sold at the first glance at the commercial.
Sky Girls - A Mech anime? Count me in…
Dancouger Nova - FINALLY, a new Dancouger anime. I was wondering when this was going to happen. The only complaint from me is how the characters don’t look so badass anymore.
Giant Robo - Mech anime = automatic chance…Although if animation isn’t so good, I probably wouldn’t follow it…
Gakuen Utopia - My two favorite seiyuu’s (Yui-chan and Aya-chan ^^) in the same anime? What is the reason NOT to watch?
Shuffle Memories! - I’ll probably give it a chance or two…Though I’m not expecting much from it.
Tokyo Majin Gakuen - Two words: Horie Yui.
Reideen - Seemingly a sequel of yet another retro mech anime…Sold.
Maiku at 5:55 pm on December 30th, 2006
So Ikkitousen Dragon Destiny is a sequel and not a remake as Moetron reported courtesy of Moonphase Diary then?
Cyrusbunny at 5:56 pm on December 30th, 2006
Saint October and Venus Versus Virus both look awsome!please blog both of them my brother is interested in a few of these animes too.So i can safely say your site rox!