I went through a preliminary version of the new chart a few weeks ago, but now we're near and the chart is pretty much complete.

SO...

Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! -- an otaku from our world ends up in a fantasy realm, fighting a demon lord, accompanied by several gorgeous girls. We've seen this before, lots of times. It's otaku wish fulfilment and it's virtually certain to be crap.

Ajin -- a kid is (or rather, isn't) killed in a traffic accident, and is thus revealed as being an "Ajin", an immortal demi-human. A price is put on his head. He looks more sullen than the lead in Evangelion, and I fear this is going to be a major league angst fest. Oh, and nearly all the cast are guys.

Fairy Tail Zero -- is a prequel. The manga just revealed the Mavis back story, and this series is supposed to fill that in a bit more. The problem is that we already know the ending and... it ain't pretty. For one thing, of the five main characters, four are dead by the current point in the manga, and the fifth one is a loon. Yuri is Makarov's father and he died a long time ago, though we don't know how. Pureshito turned evil and attacked Fairy Tail, and was eventually killed by Zeref. Mavis ended up cursed and undead. Zera was the mother of Makarov and was killed by Mavis's curse. Warrod was on the Council and then retired; right now he lives alone and is completely nuts.

Musaigen no Phantom World -- A high school boy and his harem use extraordinary powers to fight against a mystical foe, and where have we heard THAT before.

Hai to Gensou no Grimgar -- or maybe "Sword Art Offline"? Sheesh.

Sushi Police -- well, at least it's original. WIth the popularity of Japanese cooking around the world, three men are tasked to make sure the world's sushi is up to standards. I think that's what it was about.

Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm -- Double-talk techno-magical boots get invented that permit people to fly. It becomes the basis for a sport. According to the series website the four main characters are all girls. #5 is a guy. Unfortunately, the girls do not wear flouncy skirts when they fly, which means this isn't going to be the mother of all panty-shot series. (Anyway, Najica Blitz Tactics retired that trophy a long time ago.)

Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri - Enryuu-hen -- Is the only show I'm really looking forward to. It's the continuation of the first Gate series, and the main plotline is going to be fighting the Fire Dragon. I expect it to tell the story in the manga up to chapter 46.

Mahou Shoujo Nante Mou Ii Desu Kara -- The description of it makes it sound like a comedy version of Madoka. A pervy alien recruits a human girl to become a magical girl, but when she transforms she's wearing a bikini. Not counting the aliens, all the main characters are lolis. As the sage said, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Oshiete! Galko-chan -- looks like a "cute girls doing cute things" series, except that the title character has exceptional jugs. (She makes Super Sonico look inadequate.) The summary says that it's all about girl-talk -- but if so, it's also going to be exceptionally dull.

Nijiiro Days -- is cute boys doing cute things. Include me out.

Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut -- is The Only Guy At The Girls' School Who Forms A Team For Combat. In this case the harem is five girls, three of whom are DFC's. This is not exactly an original concept, to put it mildly.

This isn't a complete list, of course; see the chart. But the others seemed even less enticing. As usual I lament finding something worth watching. But it isn't a total loss; the second season of GATE is certain to be good.

And there are several other shows which... give me "awful" vibes but I could be wrong. Active Raid, Red-haired Snow White, Divine Gate, Luck and Logic, Dagashi Kashi, Dimension W -- is there any hope that any of them are even slightly worthwhile? probably not.

There are a few of these I'll probably watch one episode of which (such as Magical Bikini Girl), just to witness the beginning of the trainwreck. But as usual, trainwrecks are going to badly outnumber worthwhile shows.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 12:22 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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