Because springs store elastic potential energy, get it,
get it?
So a chart showed up in my feed reader the other day, so I'm sure you know what time it is.
PROLOGUEMuch like the threads before it, this is a thread I created for the discussion of new anime that will be airing on TV in Japan in the
Spring 2010 season. Anime typically gets released and runs for a number of seasons. The year is divided up into four seasons: January to March is winter, April to June is spring, July to September is summer, and October to December is fall. Each season is approximately 13 weeks.
Here, we can talk about what shows look interesting, what we plan to watch, and generally get giddy and excited for things that we've been anticipating for a while. There's a handy chart of all the shows that are coming up, with a short blurb about the premise of the show and what studio will be handling it. As we get closer to the season, more information shows up, like the first airing date. Other information like staff and cast obviously won't fit, but it's not too hard to use the Google to find out.
MAIN CONTENTSo it's looking like it'll have a pretty good infusion of new and weird stuff. I don't think there are
that many obvious heavy-hitters like there usually are during a spring season. Some notes of interest:
2. A bunch of sequels that you likely won't care about unless you've already seen the first ones: Ookiku Furikabatte, Hetalia Axis Powers, MAJOR, Da Capo, K-ON!, Ikkitousen, Koihime Musou.
You got some American cartoons in my Japanese cartoons. Both Madhouse and BONES have projects that are collaborations with Americans. Madhouse is working with Marvel for a year and this season they're doing
Iron Man. BONES is working with Stan Lee on an original project called
Heroman, which, based on my opinion of that tiny image, looks kind of like Xam'd.
The Power of Anime. TV Tokyo's Anime no Chikara timeslot is intended to push original anime (as in not adaptations). The show that's currently occupying that timeslot is So Ra No Wo To and is fairly enjoyable. The show that will replace it is
Senko no Night Raid, which looks to be much more palatable to people who thought the character designs of So Ra No Wo To were a bit too K-ON!.
Animation. noitaminA is the Fuji TV timeslot for pushing anime for a wider audience (read: not otaku). Since starting in 2005 with Honey and Clover, the shows in this timeslot have usually been pretty good (Nodame Cantabile, Moyashimon, Eden of the East, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0). Starting in the spring, the timeslot has been extended to an hour, which means we'll be getting two shows:
Yojo-han Shinwa Taikei (adventures in college life) and
House of Five Leaves (Edo Japan!).
Scheduling problems. After a few seasons of doing two shows and under-delivering, it looks like SHAFT is back to only one show this season with
Arakawa Under the Bridge. It sounds like the sort of weird thing they'd do.
Sad girls not necessarily in snow. While I'm sure Key is hard at work with their next game, Rewrite, they are also doing an original (not Little Busters!) anime project joint with PA Works (not Kyoto Animation!) called
Angel Beats. From the trailer, it looks pretty good, but the visual style is a bit like Haruhi with guns. I'm expecting big things from the writers of Air, Kanon, Clannad, and Planetarian.
★.
BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER is based on a popular VOCALOID song composed by ryo/supercell which itself is based on a drawing by huke. It's being directed by Yutaka Yamamoto of Haruhi and Lucky Star fame and produced by his new studio. Also, it's an OVA, not a TV series, which makes sense.
Theatrical release. It's not listed here and we probably won't get to see it for months, but the
Bungaku Shoujo movie will be in theatres May 1. It's being produced by Production IG and is based on a series of light novels. Apparently, it's the light novel that's gotten the most similar kind of hype to Haruhi since Haruhi. It's about a high school kid who used to secretly be a popular teen writer and is now writing for an older student who's actually a youkai who eats stories. I've read the first volume and basically wish the others were translated.
EPILOGUELooks like it'll be an interesting season, especially for those of us who are more flexible and adventurous in our tastes. Plenty of wacky and weird stuff to look forward to.