2013-14 Winter Series Initial Impression and Reaction

[Feng Lengshun]

Watched a few others now...

D-Frag: Surprisingly good humor and drama. I like the main characters; actually, I like all of the characters. I usually hate or dislike characters pretty easily so this is certainly a surprise. Though the one I like most President Takao, I'm on a split between the two 'main' girls Takao and Roka. The MC was pretty good too, I don't dislike him at all (maybe because of the Kyon-like Sane Man status and Oga-voice) This is a show that I could gush about, just hoping they won't mess this up (like they did with NouCome's ending).

Hamatora: Good Action Scenes, but not much more. That Hajime chick needs to show more character to warrant the MCs' protection for her. And for a story about PIs, it surprisingly don't have much actual detective investigation as opposed to plot predictability and rule of cool. Not very good writing, but I'm only here for the action scene and no more.

Houzuki no Reitetsu: Only watched up to the end of Momotaro's tale's end. I don't really know what it's about, it seems to want to be a comedy but failed at it. I didn't laugh at all when I watched it. The last straw was finding out that it's an episodic story. I like serial story much more, and episodic tends to bore me.

Inari KonKon Koi Iroha: A bit confused at first with the MC's wish, I thought it gave her Sumizome's body but it turns out to be transformation. Other than that, I'm pretty interested in the humor and drama, even if they're not very thick. Oh, for some reason I really like the MC's voice. Also, gotta love Uka-sama and Amaterasu (lol).

Mahou Sensou: *yawn* well, I'll just stick to see how bad could this get.

Mikakunin de Shinkoukei: Pretty okay, good humor and a nice hinting of a 'deeper' plot even if I don't feel it will be that deep, but that's okay since it shines in the character interactions and dynamics (which is my favorite department in evaluating a work). I wish they could show more of the MC's characterization soon, other than how he's pretty absentminded and silent--though I could totally empathize with him in that regards.

Nobunagun: Decent... seems to be fueled by rule of cool but I could see a touch of realism in the second episode's latter half. Not bad in that regards. Character designs was pretty ridiculous and, quite frankly, stupid, though (especially Gandhi, though Newton's was pretty "Urgh," too). My friends compared it to Kill la Kill, though I don't find it as cool as that.

Noragami: Still on first episode impression, but it seems to be pretty okay. Good animation, art, music, character design, seiyuu... seems to be the most 'stable' or 'fine' or 'smooth' this season (as in, no glaring problem at all).

No-Rin: Too much of a wish fulfillment and convenient premise for me to love, but I'll just wait and see.

Sakura Trick: I love yuri. First episode already kissing? Yep, guilty pleasure this season.

Wake Up, Girls: A suckier version of Idolm@ster, from first impression. Also, first episode's ending seems like a scenario taken from a hentai doujin/manga. Dropping.

Quality-wise, there doesn't seem to be anything stellar this season, most sitting right on the fence of good-and-bad. Quantity-wise though, there's a lot of them this season.

[monir]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

Winter seasons tend to be really bad though so I'm not too concerned yet..

You are probably thinking about the summer season. For me Fall season tend to have more anime for all kind of audience. Winter season comes to a comfortable second or at least that has been the trend for the last 5-6 years. Then Spring and lastly the Summer season. Interestingly enough the last few year, Winter season have been very prolific as far as I am concerned. In fact, 2010 and 2011 the quality of show that aired during the Winter season easily stood out for me as the best of the year in terms of amount of quality show aired. Here in the following are a few example of the series I liked and really liked in the last 4 winter season:

2013: Osaka Okan, Da Capo III, Maoyuu Maou Yuusha, GJ-bu, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Next, Vividred Operation, Chihayafuru 2, Mondaiji-tachi, Nekomonogatari Kuro.

2012: Rinne no Lagrange, Natsume Yuujinchou Shi, Amagami SS Plus, High School DxD, Brave 10, Nisemonogatari, Another, Ano Natsu de Matteru, Daily Lives of High School Boys

2011: Dragon Crisis, Gosick, Infinte Stratos, Yumekui Merry, Belzebub, Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka, Level E, Fractale, Hourou Musoko, Magica Madoka.

2010: Sora no Oto, Baka to test, Dance in the Vampire Bund, Durarara, Ookami Kakushi, Nodami Cantabile: Finale, Katanagatari.

Going back even earlier than that:

2009: Maria Holic, Akikan, Natsume Yujinchou, Asu no Yoichi, Druaga no Tou, Kemono no Souja Erin, Koukaku no Regios, Ride Back, White Album (by self-imposed choice and determination. )

2008: Rosario to Vampire, Shigofumi, True Tears, Sayonara Zetsoubou Sensei, Aria, Ookami to Koushinryou,

2007: Hidamri Sketch, Nodame Cantabile, Manabi Straight

2006: Magikano, Amaenaideyo Katsu, Fate/Stay Night, Tactical Roar

2005: Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu, Mahoraba, Air

2004: GitS: 2nd GIG, Yumeria, Gravion Zwei, Gokusen, Chrono Crusade

2003: Wolf's Rain, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Quiet Country Cafe, Green Green, Macross Zero

2002: Full Metal Panic, Onegai Sensei, Hunter x Hunter, RahXephon, Kanon

Other popular series judging from the amount of discussion that went on into the corresponding threads/forums: Mouretsu Pirates, Maria-sama Ga Miteru, and etc.

Winter season generally has been very prolific for me. In fact, I found one or two show that I thought was the best of the year from the winter season. I guess I've been spoiled, so obviously I'm concerned how lacking this winter season has been.

[Westlo]

^....

Summer 07 da gawd of Minor seasons.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Mononoke
Shigurui
Baccano!

And you can add the last two episodes of the first season of Code Geass and School Days to that season for major talking points.

Originally Posted by Reckoner

People must have short memories because there were MANY seasons during the 2008-2010 stretch (2009 is the worst year of anime I've seen since I started following anime regularly every season) that were truly awful. Plus, winter seasons are historically pretty freaking terrible. Last winter we were lucky to even have Chihayafuru S2.

Yep, winter and Summer are generally pretty weak because of the lack of new shows due to carryovers from the major seasons of Spring and Fall. I mean you do get some stellar shows airing in those seasons but they are outliers and the amount of new shows is far less in general.

Also from Fall 13 to Winter 14 probably has the largest amount of carry over shows in a long time.... Fall 13 had a heap of two cour shows, easily the highest amount in recent memory, when you have 8+ shows still ongoing that's 8 shows that aren't going to start in Winter.

[Dawnstorm]

Originally Posted by Westlo

Also from Fall 13 to Winter 14 probably has the largest amount of carry over shows in a long time.... Fall 13 had a heap of two cour shows, easily the highest amount in recent memory, when you have 8+ shows still ongoing that's 8 shows that aren't going to start in Winter.

I can easily come up with 8 carryover shows for last year:

Shin Sekai Yori
Robotics;Notes
Psycho Pass
Ixion Saga DT
Magi
Zetsuen no Tempest
Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo
Little Busters
Bakuman 3
Shirokuma Café
Space Brothers
Hunter X Hunter

I was thinking, this year, whether this was going to be a trend.

[monir]

Originally Posted by Westlo

Also from Fall 13 to Winter 14 probably has the largest amount of carry over shows in a long time.... Fall 13 had a heap of two cour shows, easily the highest amount in recent memory, when you have 8+ shows still ongoing that's 8 shows that aren't going to start in Winter.

This is probably the main reason why I think Winter season hasn't lived up to my usual expectation. The carryover shows aren't leaving much slot for anything new and exciting. This phenomenon may also affect other season and not just be limited to the Winter season.

[Flower]

Originally Posted by monir

This is probably the main reason why I think Winter season hasn't lived up to my usual expectation. The carryover shows aren't leaving much slot for anything new and exciting. This phenomenon may also affect other season and not just be limited to the Winter season.

So carryovers include:

Log Horizon
Kill la Kill
Uchuu Kyodai
Hunter x Hunter
Nagi Asukara
Golden Time
Diamond no Ace
Yowamushi Pedal
Gundam Build Fighters
Tokyo Ravens
Strike the Blood
Kuroku no Basket
Samurai Flamenco
Magi - Kingdom of Magic
Phi Brain
Saint Seiya Omega
Aikatsu
Cardfight Vanguard
Folktales of Japan
Toriko
Kingdom S2
Doki! Doki! Precure

So... Uhh... Yeah. Thats quite a few carryovers, isn't it?

[Guardian Enzo]

Summer of 2007 also had the very underrated Potemayo...

This talk of carryovers is all well and good, but it isn't simply a matter of quantity. Flower listed them - how many of those shows are really good? That's a much, much shorter list. Summer 2007 was referenced as an example of a weak season, but it was coming on the heels of arguably the best anime season ever. Among the carryovers from Spring were Seirei no Moribito, TTGL, Oh! Edo Rocket, Darker Than Black, Dennou Coil, Seto no Hanayome and Oofuri. I don't think the current situation is especially analogous.

[FlareKnight]

I'm sure it's not the worst season ever, but damn this season has been pretty weak in my opinion. There's a handful of decent shows, but next to nothing I expect to include in a personal top 10 list for the year.

I mean there are some solid shows. I've enjoyed Buddy Complex as a whole, Sakura Trick is pretty enjoyable and good yuri fun, more Gin no Saji isn't a bad thing, Engaged to the Unidentified has some cute moments...and umm yeah.

Not devoid of good shows, but no great shows.

[Feng Lengshun]

^ And there's D-Frag too, but otherwise, nothing makes a big impression, other than, ironically, the failure of Mahou Sensou. But even that, there are worse things out there.

[Flower]

Yes, there are indeed quite a few carryovers, but many of them are not very interesting to me. Asakura, Hunter x Hunter, maybe Tokyo Ravens later on, but that is kinda it for me.

One of these days I am gonna attempt to try and immerse myself in the PreCure franchise (that venerable mahou shoujo franchise), but... well, s'about it.

Of course as others have mentioned last season was a pretty strong one for me as well in terms of numbers of series I felt were really good, so coming off of that recent reference point can certainly color how one might view things this season.

In other news, though, three series "leveled up" for me over the past few days to enter into the committed to watch brackets: Noragami (if only they would leave out Yato's delusions of grandeur, which are "double unfunny" to me); Witch Craft Works (finally the male lead begins to do SOMEthing and to show some spunk); and Wizard Barristers (which is kinda a guilty pleasure series for me at this point - an interesting overall story background but messy, jagged and dissheveled story telling... as others have pointed out the court room scenes are the most , which is kind of a pity in my opinion).

[KholdStare]

I just want to say

Sakura Trick - A

I haven't enjoyed a yuri proper shoujo-ai (not just yuri hints) show ever. This one is just so clever and hilarious. If you are not uncomfortable with yuri but don't necessarily like it either, the comedy will carry this show for you. I am loving it.

[Guardian Enzo]

Noragami definitely leveled up for me with this episode, though I still don't see it in the elite category. Darn good, though.

[0utf0xZer0]

I was pretty disappointed in the first week of the new season. I find that for me to really enjoy a season, there need to be some "anchor" shows for me - stuff don't merely enjoy, but enjoy a lot. Because I burn out too easily on merely enjoyable shows. That first week, only Nagi no Asukara and Tokyo Ravens were good enough to act as "anchor" shows, and I could feel burn out starting to set in from the sheer amount of merely enjoyable shows I was subjecting myself to.

My impressions have since improved. It's still a weak season, but two things have made it more enjoyable. One, having sampled everything, I pared the list of merely enjoyable shows I was going to watch down to a much more managable level. Two, I've grown to like a few shows enough to that I now consider them anchors for the season - Engaged to the Unidentified, Inari Konkon, Seitokai Yakuindomo S2 (I've been a SYD fan for a long time but didn't like S2's opener much... episodes two and three were better) and maybe Sakura Trick. That's not a particularly strong anchor team, but it's enough to get me excited about watching anime again.

Also, I have to say I'm not completely sold on the idea of Winter always being a crap season. Winter 2012 had Another, Nisemonogatari, Aquarion Evol, Daily Lives of High School Boys, Inu x Boku SS and Ano Natsu de Matteru. For all the criticism a few of them get, I'd have to say that for me that group was one of the strongest anchor teams I can recall a season having.

[leokiko]

This season has been great for a winter season so far. There have been shows that disappointed me a lot (Nobunaga the Fool) and surprised me at how good it was (Noragami), like every season, but most of them were watchable.

Looking foward to it every week:
Noragami - I didn't read the manga, and came in expecting it to be just a watchable show with only good animation, but got great characters and humor as well. My favorite of the season so far.
Buddy Complex - I know it's cliched as hell, but I can't help but love this. I absolutely love Gundam premises and time travel, so both of them together is a awesome mix for me,
The Pilot's Love Song - It's first episode pissed me off as hell, it was one of the worst premieres this season, especially that 'romantic' scene. But its second and third episode got a LOT better story and character-wise. Plus, the setting is great, gives me LE vibes.
Golden Time (carryover) - Though Ghost Banri annoys the crap outta me, all the other characters are still great.

Very entertaining to watch, but not my favorites:
Hoozuki no Reitetsu - Got in expecting great animation but not being able to understand any of the jokes. While the second thing still holds true somewhat, I still find this show pretty enjoyable for some reason. Maybe it's the main character's personality plus a very fun setting.
Nisekoi - SHAFT made the manga, which is pretty fun to read, way better than it actually is.
Tonari no Seki-kun - a few skits doesn't make me laugh as much as others, but it's still a fun watch every week.
Witch Craft Works - animation and fight scenes are amazing, plus the story is developing right now, which makes it more fun.
Sakura Trick - damn, this is cute...and boner-inducing
Mikakunin de Shinkoukei - characters are charming, though a few jokes are already getting old by episode 3, like the imouto-obsessed Benio.

Hanging by a thread
Nobunaga the Fool - it's exaggerated manner of doing this is not working really well for me so far even though I loved Aquarion, from the same director.
Space Dandy - hit or miss for me, could easily rise up the list though.
Sekai Seifuku - this is just too freaking weird.
Wizard Barristers - The jury's still set on this one

Dropped, almost no chance that I will try it out again
Hamatora - no reason, just bored the hell outta me.
Nobunagun - it's just too generic.
D-Frag - The humor doesn't work for me.
Mahou Sensou - This is too fucking stupid in every level.
Sonico - it's not a bad show, it's just pointless.

Still gonna watch
No-rin, Inari, Wake Up, Girls!, Chuunibyou S2, Gin no Saji S2

[Triple_R]

Winter 2014 has been a weak season in that it has no new shows that are great or A List for me, except maybe Sakura Trick and Saki Zenkoku-hen. However, the Fall 2013 carryovers are in fact carrying this portion of the anime year, so that means that on the whole, my satisfaction with anime is pretty high right now (Kill La Kill, Nagi no Asukara, and Samurai Flamenco are three shows I'm loving right now).

Plus, while Winter 2014 has almost no new very high-end shows for me, I do think it has a fair number of decently entertaining new shows. Some of these shows could become better mid-season, and lift the overall quality for Winter 2014.

Thinking back to Fall 2013, Arpeggio of Blue Steel was a show like this for me - It seemed just Ok at first, but after a few episodes had fleshed out the characters and their world, it became a real "anchor show" for me, to borrow 0utf0xZer0's fitting term. I could see The Pilot's Love Song or Buddy Complex raising to that level for me if they pick it up just a notch or two, which hopefully one or both of them will.

[Marcus H.]

After the record-breaking pick ups for a single anime season for Autumn 2013, Winter returns to my usual cherrypicking. I got Sakura Trick as my only non-sequel choice for Winter, and Chuunibyou Lite was an instant pick up after enjoying the first season. There's also Little Busters! EX, which would be a slow drag release-wise. Carryovers from autumn are Strike the Blood, Tokyo Ravens and Log Horizon.

I can't say about how good the season is based on the few series I picked up, so instead I'll talk about some shows that I didn't pick up and my reasons.

• Nobunaga the Fool - After being double trolled by the outcomes of Sousei no Aquarion and Aquarion EVOL, I have developed a slight allergy towards Shoji Kawamori's works. I also cringed at how history became a gimmick for the series—change the names and settings and you have a similar story without any connections to key people of the past. I do admit that Stereo Dive Foundation's "AXIS" is a great ED, as opposed to Minori Chihara's OP, which was a swing and a miss.
• Space Dandy - I've known about Japan targeting the West a long time now, and it has always been a commercial flop. Not a fan of the humor too, which is as (im)mature as Adventure Time at some points.
• Sekai Seifuku - First reason to not pick this up is because watching an anime series about the world (sekai) wearing school uniforms (seifuku) is not interesting or is downright absurd. While I misread the title (), the second reason came when I saw the character design. "Hype Machine" instantly came into my mind.
• Wizard Barristers - I don't care who Umetsu is or the fact that he did hentai before.
• Mahou Sensou - Basically, someone doing a rather shitty take on contemporary urban fantasy. Tokyo Ravens and even Strike the Blood did this much better than Mahou Sensou. The biggest disappointment came when I heard that it's Madhouse, of all studios, who produced this series. (The lack of dynamics on the OP credits was reminiscent of 90s anime when budgets aren't that big. And that's a bad thing since we're past the 10s already.)

And of course,
• Wake Up, Girls! - What's supposed to be the moe-hating Yamakan's magnum opus becomes a "realistic" take on the idol industry, which is actually something totally uninteresting for an anime fan like me. (The real deal behind idols is kept behind the curtain for a reason, you know.)

Noragami seems interesting after looking at some screenshots.

[Feng Lengshun]

My, we certainly has many kind of opinions and tastes here, but all seems to be in agreement of this season being mediocre.

Edit: Sekai Seifuku is world conquering dude...

[Triple_R]

@Marcus H.

On what basis do you call Yamakan "moe-hating"? I mean, did he just flatout say that he hates moe in an interview somewhere?

I find this perplexing because Wake Up, Girls! is, so far, one of the most moe shows of the Winter 2014 season, imo.

[RoboMambo]

It's good this thread reminded me to watch Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha, because I had somehow completely forgotten about it, even though I liked the first episode.

I'm at least liking this season more than last winter's, where the only stuff I cared about was Chihayafuru, Inferno Cop and Straight Tittle Robot Anime, so it can't be that bad. On the carryovers, Samurai Flamenco and Ace of Diamond aren't JoJo and SSY, but I like them more than anything this season.

[Haak]

Buddy Complex - Massive Gundam Seed vibes, but despite some generic-ness I've actually been able to enjoy it. The first episode was a bit disappointing thanks to the emotionless MC and few questionable moments (a military trained adult in a giant robot incapable of killing a single highschooler on a bicycle) but the time travel twist has made it more interesting. And you just gotta love all that wonderful Engrish. Status - 7/10

D-Frag – It’s just so full of energy that I totally get caught in the flow, and the characters are all so quirky and likeable. I think this has been my favourite comedy of the Winter season because it’s definitely getting the most laughs out of me. Status – 7/10

Hamatora - The main cast isn't terribly interesting apart from Art but I do find the cases that they're involved in to be interesting and the style kinda works for me, even though it does feel like it's trying a bit too hard. There is an intriguing twist here. Usually when it comes to shows about "mutants" I often see grand scale conflict in the form of discrimination against them and repression. But here the villain [SPOILER ALERT] attempts to address the inequality by trying to give everyone ability. Maybe it's not that big of a deal but I couldn't help but appreciate that difference. I kinda wish he wasn't a psycho serial killer though. It would have given his motives a bit more weight. Status - 7/10

Hozuki no Reitetsu - This is kind of an annoying one for me in that it's a funny comedy but only when I understand the jokes. The Japanese culture references almost always completely fly by me. Thankfully there are enough jokes that don't require me to know Japanese folklore in order to get. The last episode was hilarious. Status - 7/10

Inari KonKon Koi Iroha - I wasn't terribly impressed with the première mainly because I didn't really care for the female MC and her troubles and the broader implications of what she wished for weren't really addressed when I thought they should have been. The second episode was a fair bit better but it's a pretty pedestrian show (one of those shows where everyone's a nice guy) so I'm not sure if it'll be able to engage me. Gigitsune managed to so I might as well give this one a chance. In terms of feel and tone I'd place this somewhere in the middle of Gingitsune and Kamisama Hajimemashita. Status 6/10

Mikakunin de Shinkoukei - The comedy doesn't have quite the level of energy that I'd like it to but overall I really like the characters, especially the main female lead. It also has a pretty awesome opening theme. Status - 7/10

Nisekoi - The première was mind numbingly generic and I don't think the Shaft animation style suits the material here but the second episode showed some life. It's never a good sign when the show already has to resort to some pretty cheap tricks in order to keep the central premise of the show from falling apart but I can't say I dislike it overall so I might as well give this a chance as well. Status - 6/10

Nobunaga the Fool - Before this I've only ever watched a Kawamori show that didn't have Okada in his staff once: I watched the first episode of Genesis of Aquarion which I thought was abysmal and resolved never to watch ever again. So I came into this show with a certain prediction and unsurprisingly that prediction was met. Unlike Aquarion Evol which had a crappy plot and fairly likeable characters, Nobunaga The Fool boasts a crappy plot and crappy characters. I think 4 episodes are enough to give this show a shot and unfortunately it just hasn't worked for me. Status - Dropped.

Noragami - So far the plot hasn't gone anywhere past its premise much but I like the characters and the comedy works very well. And the soundtrack is simply awesome. Probably my favourite show from the Winter season. Status - 7/10

Nourin - Basically Silver Spoon written by a Light Novelist. There are unfortunately quite a fair few moments where I'm just thinking "Yep, this is definitely Light Novel material here", but there are also moments where the energy is enough to make the comedy work. It has brought quite a few laughs out of me and I think the voice actors have been noticeably impressive, especially the main male lead. Status - Guilty Pleasure

Space Dandy – I want to like this show a lot but right now I’m stuck liking it a little. The comedy never really gets past “chuckle-worthy” for me, even in the zombie episode which was my favourite by far. I guess it may be because the characters aren’t all that likable, especially the titular Dandy who is pretty much an arsehole. Plus i wish it wouldn’t focus so much on “boobies”. I just feel like they’re trying to artificially make the show look more edgy than it really is. The animation is fantastic though. Status – 7/10

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta – The characters have been likable enough and world setting is very nice but so far I haven’t been wowed by anything yet. Everything just seems to be going in predictable lines at the moment, but now that (almost) everyone’s identities have been established, hopefully the plot can finally start moving somewhere. Status – 7/10

Wake Up, Girls – It’s been okay so far but there have been a few bumps along the way. It certainly has a premise with enough potential to be genuinely good but whether or not it meets that potential is another thing. I don’t really care all that much about the idol industry to be entertained by pure criticism itself so hopefully the more realistic portrayal of the idol industry will be used in a way I can enjoy. Theoretically, the more realistic its portrayal of the idol industry is, the more down to earth and relatable the character drama will be, which is ultimately what matters the most for me. So far, I haven’t been amazed by anything yet though (well except for the eye cancerous animation in the most recent episode). Status – 7/10

Witch Craft Works - I wasn’t that engaged with this show from the start but I’m really starting to like it now. The last two episodes have been a treat and I’m finding all the characters to be likable (even the team rocket styled villains). The most recent episode was definitely my favourite. The sister was highly amusing and I loved the over the top battle between the gigantic stuffed toys. Even the CG was nothing to complain about, and I usually hate that stuff. Status - 7/10

Wizard Barristers – There is some real potential for this show to be good if only this show wasn’t so damn retarded with the courtroom drama. The last episode was particularly irritating: in just one episode it managed to introduce two highly complex and interesting characters as well as make two previously annoying characters a little bit more sympathetic, and in the same episode nearly makes me tear my hair out in frustration at the plot induced stupidity. I’m not even sure how to rate this one. Status – Don’t even know.

Carry Overs: Hunter x Hunter 2011 (8/10), Silver Spoon (8/10), Nagi no Asukara (8/10), Golden Time (7/10), Space Brothers (7/10), Kill la Kill (7/10), Magi (7/10), Samurai Flamenco (6/10)

Didn’t even bother with after the first episode: Nobunagun, Mahou Sensou