Winter 2010: A thread containing discussions about shows from the near future

[Fish and Chips]

Durarara!! OP and ED are out, for people who know where to look. It's basically just the Baccano! OP with crazy Japanese people instead of crazy Americans, but I don't remember anyone saying that was ever going to be a problem.

Apparently the first episode is deliberately on the slower side, sort of setting the stage before kicking up the pacing. I wouldn't expect too much crazy action like Shizuo Heiwajima using vending machines as projectile weapons until at least episode 2 or 3.

Though I could have sworn this was written down for a 26 episode run. Where did you hear it was going to be shorter, Blkmage?

[blkmage]

I like the OP. I noticed they were doing the whole Baccano! name thing in this one too.

Anyway, you're right, Fish, I don't know where I got 12-13 from. I must've assumed it was like Baccano! and every other series that Brain Base has done. Of course, that doesn't mean we still can't watch it together. ヽ( ﾟ∀ﾟ)ノ

[Falx]

Looks like gg is subbing almost everything worth watching, apart from Sora no Woto.

I'm gonna be real busy editing episodes this season lol.

[blkmage]

So I snuck in a watch of Durarara!! so I'd have an idea of what to write in my post. I'll confess: I like Baccano! but I don't seem to like it as much as everyone else. That said, my experience of the first episode was a lot like that of Bakemonogatari: I went in knowing that it was pretty good, but left incredibly impressed and excited for the rest of the show.

Bobtheduck gets a special mention for pretty much calling Ookamikakushi. It's not When They Cry, but the setup was very evocative of Higurashi. You've got your transfer student, crazy girls, small town with some festival, creepy stuff going on, etc. Also, their school's uniforms for the guys are probably the worst I've seen. So yeah, it's the sort of first episode I've seen before, but I am highly interested in seeing what Ryukishi07 will do without Deen ruining his works.

The last one for today is Hidamari Sketch ×☆☆☆, in which we return with glorious HD. I just sat through the entire episode with a big fat smile. What a great show.

[Falx]

I watched it two and a half hours before you did.

neener neener neener

[Fish and Chips]

Caught it yesterday. And read the corresponding chapters months back.

Good times.

So I snuck in a watch of Durarara!! so I'd have an idea of what to write in my post. I'll confess: I like Baccano! but I don't seem to like it as much as everyone else.

I'll admit, some of the additional flavor to Baccano! was the novelty of having American culture (specifically the mythology of the American gangster boom) filtered through a Japanese Lens and spat back out at us. Sort of how one-shot stereotypically overbearingly American side characters tend to get popular like brush fire in the very country they were included to parody. Assuming you've been holed up in Canada all your life, that's an additional angle that might not be played up as prominently.

[blkmage]

So yeah, I recently watched the Baccano OVAs and found that I really did like it more than I remember. I did get all the American gangster stuff and I am pretty familiar with it. The thing with Canada is that we pretty much get every piece of entertainment you guys have, so what's popular and is common knowledge in the States will almost always be popular and be common knowledge here as well.

So I watched Hanamaru Kindergarten and Dance in the Vampire Bund. The former wasn't bad. The latter was pretty awful, even worse and more stupid than the manga. I'm probably going to keep going for another episode or two before I drop it like Natsu no Arashi because, well, it's SHAFT.

And this is always fun:

"Expectation" Ranking for Winter Titles in 2010
*1, Hidamari Sketch x ☆☆☆
*2, Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu
*3, Durarara!!
*4, Nodame Cantabile Finale
*5, Ookami Kakushi
*6, Ladies versus Butlers!
*7, Katanagatari
*8, So・Ra・No・Wo・To
*9, Gyagu Manga Biyori +
10, Cobra the Animation

Pretty accurate, I'd say. For me, Hidamari Sketch and Durarara!! are at about the same level of anticipation. Bakatest is probably higher than we'd expect because I hear the light novel is actually pretty popular. Also, I am amused that people are expecting Nodame to deliver, given the awful, awful manga ending.

[Falx]

IMO, Sora no Woto and Ladies vs. Butlers should swap places... I'm not watching the latter myself but I've heard nothing but complaints from people looking for actual entertainment.

[EricTheFred]

Okay, this is really weird to say, considering it's about five girl soldiers posted in an out-of-the-way station, but after two episodes of Soranowoto, I'm finding that I'm picking up something almost like a Haibane Renmei vibe from this. Of course, if it turns out to be just slice-of-life and lacks a really moving, underlying message, that won't mean anything, but it's enjoyable so far anyhow.

BTW, Crunchyroll is showing this an hour after it airs in Tokyo to premium subscribers. I believe each ep is available for free a week later.

[blkmage]

IMO, Sora no Woto and Ladies vs. Butlers should swap places... I'm not watching the latter myself but I've heard nothing but complaints from people looking for actual entertainment.

I forgot to mention that this is from a Japanese magazine, so Ladies vs. Butlers is probably high because of the light novel, whereas Sora no Woto is still relatively unknown.

Okay, this is really weird to say, considering it's about five girl soldiers posted in an out-of-the-way station, but after two episodes of Soranowoto, I'm finding that I'm picking up something almost like a Haibane Renmei vibe from this. Of course, if it turns out to be just slice-of-life and lacks a really moving, underlying message, that won't mean anything, but it's enjoyable so far anyhow.

You're not the first person I've seen who's made the exact same comparison. Thinking about it some more, I think I'm going to go ahead and say that it's likely that there's more to it than the slice of life stuff people have been expecting (and deriding it for). This is based on the fact that the entire point of this new timeslot (Anime no Chikara) is to drive original anime productions.

I've also seen a surprising amount of speculation as to what's going on, particularly with the ghosts and the mecha-tank.

[MasterDias]

I am rather intrigued by Soranowoto, although I don't know what direction it's going to go in. The giant skeleton in the water was pretty eerie...
I do happen to enjoy post-apocalyptic stories in general though.

There's not very much anime-original stuff being produced at the moment, so I wish A1 Pictures success.