Preview of Summer 2012
NOTE: This post will remain sticky for quite some time.
I know it's still a little early but with my exams coming up figured I would post the Summer Preview in advance and then make adjustments to it as necessary. I'm saddened by the fact that the spring season is almost halfway through and looking ahead to the summer I can honestly say that I'm not going to enjoy it as much as I did the spring season.
With me having essay deadlines and exams approaching I'm going to stop writing series reviews and posts which are not episodic reviews that I'm currently reviewing; the episodic and Weekly Shonen Jump Issue reviews shall continue but all other reviews will stop until the end of June.
Before I go on with the preview please note that it's still not complete and will be done so as soon as more information, previews and confirmations have been made - you might notice that the list doesn't contain any original works, which might not be the case when the season starts - and also, I'm not sure whether the following anime will air this summer but if you do know (or about any others) please leave a comment:
Campione!Added to preview.CODE: BREAKERScheduled for Fall 2012KScheduled for Fall 2012
Also, since I have no idea what I want to blog next season (first time that's happened) please do vote on the poll, I do promise that 1st place will be blogged but as you can see the sequels which I have no chance of catching up with have been omitted.
UPDATE 11/06/2012: A few changes to the preview as we are just a few weeks from the Summer season officially starting. Arve Rezzle has been classified as a an OVA and it looks like Blood Lad might not be released this season!
So here's a look at the anime that have been confirmed to air for the Summer 2012 season:
Adaptations
Sword Art Online
Source: Light Novel Studio: A-1 Pictures, Aniplex, Genco
Story: A story about a boy named Kirito, who get's to participate in the beta testing of game called Sword Art Online. Unfortunately death in the game, is equal to death in real life, so Kirito must keep on fighting until he defeats the final boss to leave the game safely with his new crush Asuna.
Thoughts: I'm pretty sure this genre of anime has been exhausted by the .hack franchise. I'm not really a big fan of the whole "based in a virtual world scenario" in any anime, made evident by how I couldn't get into Accel World or the fact that I still find it hard to get past the first 10 minutes of any .hack series, so I'm very reluctant to pick this up even when the staff involved are all rather skilled and the fact that A-1 Pictures is involved.
Will I Watch : Unlikely
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Binbogami ga!
Source: Manga (Jump SQ) Studio: Sunrise
Story: Ichiko Sakura is blessed......actually she's too blessed and is explained to have too much "good luck energy," in a world where a person's luck is dependent on this energy. The gods see this as something disastrous and as such have called upon the Binbou-gami (poverty god) to resolve the problem, a task which proves to be harder than it looks and thus allowing the comedy to ensue.
Thoughts: Having ended their adaptation of Gin Tama earlier this year, Sunrise have decided to pick up Binbougami ga! as their next Shonen manga adaptation. Getting the director of Gin Tama on board as well as the person responsible for the series composition of Bleach and the person who did the character design for the 2nd Naruto Shippuden movie has made this anime get a VERY shounen start but the content itself is what makes me wonder if this anime will be any good. I only read a few chapters of the manga and what I gathered was that this was closer to a gag series than an actual story/comedy manga with each chapter feeling very episodic and I'm actually surprised that Sunrise have chosen a piece like this which has a rather small fan base compared to the other manga running in Jump SQ.
Will I Watch : I honestly don't know..... I'll probably give it a few episodes.
Kingdom
Source: Manga (Young Jump) Studio: Studio Pierrot
Story: Xin and Piao are both orphaned slaves with one dream; to become the greatest army generals in history, a dream that is sidelined for one of them due to a certain event thus forcing the other one to progress on his own. This historic battle manga is set in China, during the warring era.
Thoughts: Huh..... Studio Pierrot's choice to animate this manga is unexpected, seeing as they are best known for adapting quite a few shonen manga and even more specifically, manga running in Shonen Jump (Hikaru no Go, Bleach, Naruto, Tegami Bachi and most recently Beelzebub). I'm not so much worried about Studio Pierrot's involvement, since they tend to do pretty decent jobs with their adaptations but I'm wondering whether they will tone down the manga in terms of content much like TMS has done with Zetman - something I have yet to decide to be a good or bad decision. The story itself isn't amazingly original but based on the 10 chapters I've read of the manga it can show real promise and could hold interest to those looking for a battle anime that has more to do with strategy rather than full on fighting.
UPDATE (26/05/2012): I found out that Kingdom is going to be 38 episodes long, which has made me more interested and the PV revealed that they will be using 3D CGI (don't know about that one). The PV and extra info hasn't really added to my desire to watch this but it has made me a little more interested in this series.
Will I Watch : Probably
Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
Source: Light Novel Studio: AIC A.S.T.A.
Story: It's been several centuries since human beings declined due to the steep drop in birthrates. The most prosperous species on the Earth are "Fairies", 10 cm tall creatures with high intelligence. I became a UN arbitrator between the humans and the fairies and returned to my hometown to help my grandfather. I thought my job would not be a tough one and visited one of the fairies' habitats to say hello to them but...
[Source: MAL]
Thoughts: I'm not sure what to make of this one. On one hand this is meant to be a Senien piece but the preview makes this series seem closer to a children's novel adaptation. The story itself doesn't raise any red flags for me since I did read the Artemis Fowl series once upon a time, but I don't know how it will be an interesting anime. At this point I would judge this anime based on just the first episode but considering that the director is Seiji Kishi, the man responsible for Angel Beats, Kamisama Dolls and Persona 4 just in the last few years and he's teaming up with Makoto Uezu with whom he's worked before on various occasions and AIC is a studio that tends to bring out decent works, especially adaptations.
Will I Watch : At least the first 3 episodes
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Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate
Source: Visual Novel Studio: Aniplex, AIC Build
Story: Yuuki is a member of the food research club, along with seven others, including his childhood friend Chisato Sumiyoshi. The members leisurely spend their time in the club not participating in many activities. When the election of the next student council president comes up, the front-runner, Satsuki Shinonome, proposes that clubs with no merit should be separated and subsequently abolished. The food research club, in an act of desperation, seeks advice from the current student council president, Yakumo Mori, who suggests Yuuki run in the election as an opposing candidate. Yuuki learns about the issues facing the school and decides to run in the election.
[Source: AniDB]
Thoughts: I'm not so big on visual novel adaptations and even less so for erotic visual novel adaptations. The story and staff don't seem to be anything special and AIC Build hasn't done much work so they can't get me with their reputation.
Will I Watch : Not unless I read decent reviews from others.
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Natsuyuki Rendezvous
Source: Manga (Feel Young) Studio: Dogakobo
Story: A love triangle between a widow who owns a flower shop, her part-time worker and the ghost of her dead husband.
Thoughts: So it's about that time of the year that noitamina decides to switch things up and go for a pure romance for one of its slots, right after the spring season where both series had slice of life feels to them. I'm not very fond of straight up romances and have only really watched Kimi ni Todoke and Kaichou wa Maid-sama, both of which were less serious than this story, which looks to be as a pure josei anime. That said it does look aesthetically gorgeous from just the preview and the poster, so as a romance it's probably worth checking it out and this will be the first anime for Dogakobo to secure the noitamina slot; even with their lack of experience in carrying out productions, they do great animation work.
Will I Watch : Maybe - If I can handle the heaviness of the romance.
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Blood Lad
Source: Manga (Young Ace) Studio:
Story: A vampire and territory boss of hell called Staz falls in love with a human girl who has accidentally wondered into hell. Unlike his ancestors, Staz doesn't enjoy sucking blood or adhering to the stereotypes but is in fact an otaku who loves a lot of things about the human world, so when the human girl get's killed and turned into a spirit Staz vows to help her return back to normal.
Thoughts: No studio info on this yet, but based on the chapters of the manga I've read I'm feeling a little bit optimistic about this anime. The genre might seem typical but luckily the manga didn't focus so much on the romance aspect of the series but instead the comedy and adventure aspect which reminded me of Soul Eater.
Will I Watch : Probably but I'd like to know what studio and staff are involved first.
(Set to air in 2013)
Oda Nobuna no Yabou
Source: Light Novel Studio: Madhouse, Studio Gokumi
Story: The story follows high schooler Sagara Yoshiaharu when he is transported to the Sengoku Period and where all the major shoguns are girls! He encounters Oda Nobuna, who he begins to serve as a substitute of Kinoshita Tokichiro.
[Source: Mangahelpers]
Thoughts: Just like any other anime which had the scenario of women replacing historical Sengoku warlords, Oda Nobuna no Yabou will probably offer the same things with not very much originality. Since this anime is an adaptation of a light novel, I might be proven wrong but this anime doesn't drum up much hype being staffed by a rather inexperienced director. The best part about the staff for me was Yasuharu Takanashi, who's in charge of the music and has been in charge of the music for Fairy Tail and Naruto Shippuden.
Will I Watch : Unlikely
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La storia della Arcana Famiglia
Source: Visual Novel Studio: J.C. Staff
Story: The story takes place on the small island of Regalo in the Mediterranean Sea. The island has been protected by a vigilante committee called "Arcana Famiglia". The members of the family have psychic powers gained by a secret ritual. Felicita is a 16-year-old girl who was raised by her strict mother. She visits Regalo to see her father who is the head of Arcana Famiglia. He tells her to become the leader of "Serie of Sword", the arbitrator section of the family. As one of the members of Arcana Famiglia, Felicita interacts with other handsome but eccentric members.
[Source: MAL]
Thoughts: Reverse harem,check. Vampire's due to the trend Twilight set, check. Yet another peculiar choice from J.C. Staff, check. Prior to watching a few episode of Hiiro no Kakera, I would have avoided the genre completely and thus would not have taken the time to watch the first episode of this series. Even so, the otome game adaptations have never appealed to me since the plot's end up being the same and even with an experience Romance/Boy's Love director like Chiaki Kono (Nodame Cantible Finale), I don't have the highest hopes for this series.
Will I Watch : Unlikely
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Hagure Yuusha no Estetica
Source: Light Novel Studio: ARMS
Story: In normal RPGs, a hero defeats the Satan king and the story ends. But what does the hero do after that Ohtorizawa Akatsuki defeats the Satan king in the fantasy world of Alleyzard and returns to the real world. He is sheltered by the international organization BABEL, which protects and controls people transferred from the outer worlds. BABEL is astonished to know Akatsuki has really defeated Satan and brings Satan's daughter Miu from Alleyzard. In the academy of BABEL, Akatsuki confronts other "returners", who have psychic powers.
[Source: MAL]
Thoughts: Based on the general description this series will probably directly compete with Sword Art Online. I'm not so impressed with what I've read so far and don't think that the staff announcement could change my mind.
Will I Watch : Unlikely
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Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse
Source: Visual Novel Studio: Satelight, Ixtl
Story: Since 1973 mankind has been fighting against a group of aliens known as BETA using Tactical Surface Fighters which they have developed. Unfortunately this is not enough and has only served to slow down their defeat, forcing humans to leave a large part of the Eurasian continent. Almost 30 years later, the Imperial Japanese face difficulties in the development of a next-generation main Tactical Surface Fighters (TSF) as it defends the front lines of the Far East. To resolve these problems the UN has proposed a joint development program between Imperial Japan and the United States as a part of its international mutual development project of TSF, the Prominence Project. Yui Takamura, a surface pilot of the Imperial Royal Guards of Japan, is given responsibility for the project and sets off to Alaska. Meanwhile, Yuya Bridges, also a surface pilot of the US Army, was heading to the same destination; an encounter which supposedly changes everything
Thoughts: I'm not really familiar with the director Takayumi Inagaki's work, not having seen Rosario + Vampire, so I can't really say much in terms of the staff looking good or not or much about the studio's involved; Satelight is not the best studio, but they have produced some decent anime whilst this will be the debut of the studio Ixtl. Even with lack of info on my end, I do like the sound of this story so I might give it a shot.
Will I Watch : Maybe
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Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru!
Source: Light Novel Studio: Studio Gokumi
Story: The story centers around Mikadono Shougo, the son of an industrial magnate named Mikadono Kumagorou who passed away. As a final wish, Kumagorou gave Shougo a condition before Shougo can inherit the family legacy find a female mate at school. Shougo transfers into a school to fulfill that condition. However, he learns that he has a younger sister who was separated at birth. He does not know what his long-lost sister looks like, but she happens to be one of the students at his new school.
[Manga Updates]
Thoughts: It's one of THOSE slice of life light novel adaptations with obvious harem, romance and unintended incest (maybe/hopefully not). With a staff that doesn't excite me at all, I figure the series would have to make it on the merit of the story something that can't really judged until the anime starts airing.
Will I Watch: Maybe
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Aruvu Rezuru: Kikai Jikake no Yousei-tachi (Arve Rezzle)
Source: Novel Studio: Zexcs
Story: A cyber battle sci-fi. In 2022, the technology of quantum computing has greatly advanced and many people have transfered their mind into the cyber space. Remu's sister-in-law, Shiki, skipped grades and entered a high school in the academic city "Okinotori-island Mega Float City (OMFC)" when she was 14. One day, Shiki confessed to her brother via Skype that she was talking to him directly from the cyber space and her real body had been kept in a water tank filled with a culture medium. It's called "Body pool" and Shiki connected to the network by nanomachines implanted in her brain. Remu was surprised but he accepted her decision until an accident called "Early Rupture" happened. The network server got overloaded and users' minds were lost in cyber space leaving soulless living bodies in the Body Pools. In order to bring Shiki's mind back, Remu visits her apartment in OMFC and there meets Shiki escaped from the hospital. But the girl tells him that she is not Shiki and she happens to haven taken over Shiki's body. When Remu tries to figure out the situation, a violent attack strikes the apartment.
Thoughts: Quite the complex story for Zexs to adapt and something I'd expect BONES to pick up instead. Novel adaptations do allow for more artistic freedom for the studio so that can be seen as a positive for them and this will be the directing debut of Tatsuya Yoshihara. Also a treat for all Lelouch Lamperouge fans, seasoned voice actor Jun Fukuyama will voice the lead.
Will I Watch : Maybe/Probably
Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi
Source: Manga Studio: TYO Animations
Story: Essentially a re-imagining of the history behind the forming of the 100 poets who wrote the Hyakunin Isshu anthology between the 7th and 13th century.
Thoughts: Not much is known about the actual plot but if you've been watching Chihayafuru and paying attention to Kana, you should muster an educated guess as to the background of this anime (Kana-chan would so watch this). TYO is releatively unknown since they don't tend to bring out many anime, but they've teamed up with director Kenichi Kasai (Nodame Cantabile, Honey & Clover) and Tomoko Koparu (Kimi ni Todoke, NANA) who will handle the script and series composition as well handing over production to NAS. A rather impressive staff for this project, one that I wouldn't have expected. The manga has proven to be popular in Japan, but will the anime prove to be popular with us
Will I Watch : Maybe - The staff is very impressive and the story could be better than what I'm expecting.
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Kokoro Connect
Source: Light Novel Studio: Silver Link
Story: The love and teen pentagonal comedy follows the strange phenomena at the Yamahoshi Academy's Culture Club, starting with the five male and female club members switching bodies with each other.
[Source: ANN]
Thoughts: Ahh the body switch, the double-edged sword of comedy techniques: do it well and it's funny, do it poorly and I stop watching. Clearly everyone's using this plot device, even Oda-sensei in One Piece (manga only so far). The story seems like a typical romantic comedy/pure comedy setting and the anime itself is being undertaken by quite a capable production staff, the only thing left to see is if this anime will remain funny.
Will I Watch : Maybe
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Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai
Source: Light Novel Studio: Feel
Story: Kaga Ryosuke, a helplessly romantic teenager, was walking in the rain when he sees a beautiful girl with red eyes drenched in the rain. Everyone was avoiding her, but Ryosuke was taught to treasure women so he offered his help by letting her dry off at his home. Ryosuke can't imagine that this mysterious girl would stab him in the chest and leave him to die... Or did she Who is this pretty girl and what does she want with him
[Source: Manga Updates]
Thoughts: Just from the description and a quick look at the image I was instantly reminded of the description of High School DxD which I couldn't watch from the first episode. Feel hasn't brought out a wide array of anime, the most recent being Papakiki which I wasn't fond of but I did enjoy Mayo Chiki which was also an adaptation of a romantic comedy light novel. The production staff for this anime is good: Takeo Takashi (Spice and Wolf) as the director reunited with Naruhisa Arakawa who did the series composition for Spice and Wolf. So far the project looks decent and could be a nice romantic comedy.
Will I Watch : Maybe- Not a bad start but I might be wrong.
Chitose Get You!!
Source: 4-koma manga Studio: Silver Link
Story: The story follows an elementary school girl named Chitose who wildly pursues the love of Hiroshi, an older young man who works at the town hall next to her school.
[Source: ANN]
Thoughts: Another 4-koma adaptation and presumably a comedy one. Not really for me.
Will I Watch : No
Campione!
Source: Light Novel Studio: Diomedea, Barnum Studio
Story: A harem love comedy plus magic battles. Kusanagi Godo is a 16-year-old high school boy, who once killed the god "Verethragna" and acquired the title of "Campione (god killer)" when he was 15. Erica Brandelli is a 16-year-old Italian girl, who is a "Great Knight" of the magic society "Bronze Black Cross" and had fought together with Godo to defeat Verethragna. Godo doesn't like fighting but his title of "Campione" makes him get involved in battles against other Campiones and uncontrollable gods.
[Source: MAL]
Thoughts: This ones yet another anime which I can't predict how it will turn out. On one hand, the Diomedea and Barnum team up can be promising, with Diomeda's minor involvements in an array of projects and their rather successful adaptation of Shinryaku! Ika Musume (done with some assistance from Barnum) and Barnum was the studio which brought us Samurai Champloo, even if they brought out only one other anime since.
The staff is what may put some people off, in particular Dog Days director Keizo Kusakawa's return to directing. I find it a little funny and sad that he's not handling the second season of Dog Days, mostly because it's running in the same season as Campione! and I wouldn't blame viewers if they saw this as an indication of the quality of his last work but the man's expertise does lie with adaptations of fantasy romances/harems such as Sekirei, Asura Cryin' and Inukami all of which were adapted from manga or light novel which does give me a ray of hope that Dog Days was a mistake for him because it was an original anime. Furthermore, not having seen Dog Days my impression of him is still not tainted. The good news is that series composition will be in the hands of Jukki Hanada, a veteran who has been involved in a range of screenwriting activities from works such as composition Chobits and Nichijou but most notably heading composition and the majority of script for Steins; Gate.
I don't know if the story is something for me but it would be worth checking out and I think the Harem elements could add to an otherwise generic-looking story.
Will I Watch : Maybe - was Dog Days a one-off bad experience for the director
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Joshiraku
Source: Manga (Bessatsu Shonen Magazine) Studio: J.C. Staff
Story: A group of girls discusses random things and usually reaches an unusual or humorous conclusion that's far from the initial discussion topic.
Thoughts: Unlike Tari Tari or Natsuiro Kiseki from the Spring Season, this anime is/should be shonen and what's more the author of the manga is Kouji Kumeta (Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei). The plot does look like another slice-of-life focused on a group of school friends, a current trend in anime if I may say so but the director Tsutomu Mizushima (Another, xxxHolic, Shinryaku! Ika Musume) has been rather impressive as of late, especially with Squid Girl which was a nice comedy, and the he'll be reunited with fellow xxxHolic staff member Michiko Yokote who will handle series composition. Having read a few chapters of the manga, I found it amusing but way too random and episodic (a little like Daily Lives of High School Boys), so I can't say I can see this being a favourite of mine but I do want to see if the adaptation can get me interested.
Will I Watch : Maybe - depends on what type of adaptation it will be.
Sequels
Kyoukai Senju no Horizon 2
Prequel: Season 1 ran in the Fall 2011 season.
Thoughts: I started watching this series just a few days ago, but only a few episodes in and I still don't know what to think about it. The plot is way too complex and is hard to follow at times but I found the main character to be rather interesting and possibly a reason why I haven't given up on this anime despite its poor reception with the western world. Despite negative reviews, the first season did very well in sales proving to be popular in Japan but I have yet to see what my stance on the series is.
Will I Watch : Depends if I like the first season.
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Yuru Yuri 2
Prequel: Season 1 ran last year in the Summer season.
Thoughts: I hear good things about the first season although I haven't gotten round to watching it. There is an obvious yuri element to the series but I've read that as a comedy it does not disappoint and in fact is a good watch. I don't know if I have time to catch up and watch this but it may be worth it.
Will I Watch : Depends if I watch and like the first season.
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Rinne no Lagrange 2
Prequel: Season 1 ran in the Winter season of this year
Thoughts: I couldn't get into the first season and tend to steer clear of the genre but for all those who love the mecha genre, Rinne no Lagrange should be watched; don't take my word for it but almost EVERYONE's.
Will I Watch : No
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Moyashimon Returns
Prequel: Season 1 ran in the noitamina slot back in the Fall 2007 season.
Thoughts: Moyashimon is back after almost 5 years to reclaim its noitamina slot for a second season. Recently , having gotten into Gin no Saji, I've become intrigued as to whether this anime is something I should be watching. The premise as I understand is a supernatural slice-of-life type, something that's always nice to watch if done well.
Will I Watch : Depends
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Dog Days 2
Prequel: Season 1 ran in the Spring 2011 season.
Thoughts: I haven't heard many good things about this anime, so due to my time constraints I'm going to put it off my watch list for the foreseeable future. There is a new director attached, Junji Nishimura (True Tears) and the director of season one is involved with Campione! so viewers who were disappointed with season one, may get a better season of the series.
Will I Watch : No
Hakuouki Reimeiroku
Prequel: This anime seems to be the prequel to the 2 seasons of Hakuouki. 
Thoughts: Another rather well received series get's a prequel. I don't have much to say about this one since I haven't heard complaints or songs of praise but after reading a few reviews about this series, I'm guessing fans will be excited for this prequel.
Will I Watch : Probably not - too little time to catch up with 2 seasons.
Original Works
Tari Tari
Original Work by Evergreen Studio: P.A. Works
Story: The story centers around five Japanese high school students who are too young to be called adults, but who no longer think of themselves as children. Sakai Wakana once took music lessons, but she withdrew from music after losing her mother. Miyamoto Konatsu is a positive-thinking girl who loves singing and spends time after school at the vocal music club. Okita Sawa is a spirited archery club member who dreams of becoming a horse rider. Tanaka Daichi is a chronically late badminton team member who lives with his college student sister. Wiin just transfered into Wakana's class after 12 years abroad in Australia. Music brings Wakana, Konatsu, Sawa and the others together into an ensemble during their last summer in high school.
[Source: AniDB]
Thoughts: Unlike Natsuiro Kiseki this one feels more like a drama than a feel good anime. The story itself doesn't exactly excite me but P.A. Works is a studio with an impressive resume. The production staff isn't very notable but the voice actress lineup looks very impressive.
Will I Watch : Unlikely but still possible.
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OVA's & Movies
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Summary
SOOO many light novel adaptations for this season and unfortunately the Summer 2012 season looks to be weaker than the Spring. Even with that in mind there do seem to be a few good series and right now, and my picks would most likely be from the following:
- Blood Lad
- Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
- Kingdom
- Muv-Luv Alternative
- Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai
I'm also excited about Naruto: Road to Ninja, since the story is going to be done by Kishimoto-sensei himself and the Fairy Tail movie (unfortunately it'll take some time for those movies to get subbed). Let's also not forget the Code Geass OVA's.