Last minute Winter 2007/8 preview

Yes, the time has come to complete my first year of previews, although unfortunately I left it so late that I’ll just ignore most of the movies, OVAs and specials to come out in December and get cracking on the series that are intended to sustain us through the cold and depressing weeks of January.

• Ayakashi: Hmm, another series named Ayakashi- when will they ever learn that this name brings nothing about bad fortune? Apparently this time around, the Ayakashi in question give special powers to their hosts in exchange for draining their life force- sounds a lot like Mushi-Uta. The series has already started, so it shouldn’t be too much effort to try episode one…eventually.
• Kimi ga Nozomu Eien- Next Season: The Haruka route for KgNE- I’m slightly scared to watch this in case I find that my feelings towards the franchise as a whole are soured.
• Sisters of Wellber 2: I still haven’t finished season one, but even though Wellber is more mildly entertaining than good, I’ll probably stick with it throughout season two- if nothing else, it should be good for some unintentional humour.
• Rosario+Vampire: A series about a human boy who ends up attending a school full of demons (including a pretty vampire girl), this one puts me in mind of a cross between Karin and Magical Pokan, and based on that, it will probably provide light entertainment and nice character designs without being anything too special. I’m wary of Gonzo’s ability to animate anything these days, but it may be worth a look.
• H₂O ~Footprints in the Sand~: It’s another eroge adaptation, and what have we learned about eroge adaptations over the last two years, children? Yes, that’s right- they’re often disappointing, and so I shall probably steer well clear of this one.
• Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de ~They Are My Noble Masters~: In a world where harem series are ten a penny, and butlers ever increasing in their numbers, a series about a young man who ends up as the butler to a wealthy heiress and various other women hardly seems to break the bounds of originality. Another one to pass over, although the designs are rather pleasant.
• Major season 4: This is still going on? I guess tj han will be pleased, at least.
• Hatenkou Yuugi: Rather cruelly, a girl gets kicked out by her father and told to see the world, although happily she gets a male companion to journey with her- and as a bonus, both have magical powers which they use to help people along the way. I’m getting vibes of Kino’s Journey, Someday’s Dreamers and Hibiki’s Magic, so this one must be tried.
• Persona- trinity soul: A sequel to the Persona 3 game, this supernatural story is said to have input from a Chevalier writer, but even though it looks a cut above the average RPG adaptation, the general lack of quality in that genre makes me cautious at best. And since I haven’t even played the game yet, there’s no real reason for me to jump straight in and watch it.
• Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Dainiki: Need I say anything about this? I enjoyed the first season, and since the manga goes on forever there must be plenty of good material for another thirteen episodes. Another anticipated series.
• True Tears: Another game-based series with a potential for harem- I’ll be leaving this one alone unless early reports from other viewers are positive.
• Porfy no Nagai Tabi: At 52 episodes, they weren’t kidding when they called this “Porfy’s Long Journey”. Apparently this one’s a family show about a Greek boy travelling around Europe to find his sister- I suppose it might have some nice locations but if locations are all I want to see, I may as well watch live action footage of it.
• Shigofumi: A series about a girl who delivers the last letters of the dying (the titular Shigofumi), this light novel-based series sounds like it could be this year’s Shinigami no Ballad. I’ll be giving it a look.
• Minami-ke Okawari: I enjoyed Minami-ke, but it does seem slightly odd to be getting not a sequel, but an alternative version just one season after the original aired. The character designs appear to be closer to the original manga, but hopefully the content is on a par with season one.
• Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino-: Even though I already know what will happen from the manga, I was really looking forward to this one, but the fact that the voice cast and director have been changed makes me a little wary that it won’t live up to the reputation of the first season. Well, I guess it shouldn’t be possible to make something bad out of Gunslinger Girl, so I’ll stay optimistic.
• Aria the Origination: Yes, yay, hooray- what more can I say to the prospect of more Aria? The manga is finishing soon, and that means that this will probably be the last season of the anime- with that in mind, I’m going to savour every minute of it. And I may as well watch it both raw and subbed this time, for no one ever died of a surfeit of Aria. Bring it on, punyu!
• Wolf and Spice: Since I’m playing Okami at the moment, the idea of a series about a travelling wolf goddess seems perfectly timed, and the title is beautifully evocative of all kinds of quality (although the official website “spicy-wolf.com” sounds like some kind of dubious takeaway operation). I hope it can live up to expectations.
• Noramimi: To me, this looks like the Japanese equivalent of “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends”, a show which I suffered through when my brother and sister had access to Cartoon Network. With no desire to revisit such days in any way, shape or form, I must steer well clear of this one.
• Hakaba Kitarou: This seems to be related to GeGeGe no Kitarou (which itself is still airing), but even though it has scored a place in the hallowed noitaminA block, it doesn’t stir any interest for me.
• Yatterman: A remake of the original seventies Yatterman, this series seems less likely to drag the concept kicking and screaming into the twentieth-first century than it does to flood us with seventy episodes of retro cheese. One to avoid.