The Japanese fall anime season turned out to be quite a haul. This season, the new crop of titles have a lot of fictionalized Japan settings, some futuristic storylines, plenty of suspense themes and a handful of violent scenes. There's only about one straight up slice of life title and a couple of transfer student scenarios thrown in the mix.
The biggest draw for me are the familiar titles. Hunter X Hunter is back this year in the form of a reboot, which is looking much better than its 90's predecessor. Then, there's also the new seasons of Bakuman and Tamayura: Hitotose.
Here is my list of selections from the Japan anime fall season.
Boku Wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai
Hasegawa Kodaka has transferred schools, and he's having a hard time
making friends. It doesn't help that his blond hair tends to make people
think he's a delinquent. One day, he runs into his bad-tempered
solitary classmate Yozora while she's talking animatedly to her
imaginary friend Tomo. Realizing that neither of them have any actual
friends, they decide that the best way to alter this situation is to
form a club and start recruiting. That is how "Rinjinbu", The Neighbours' Club, was formed, a club
specifically designed for people who don't have very many friends. As
other lonely classmates slowly join their little club, they'll try to
learn how to build friendships through cooking together, playing games,
and other group activities. But will this group of
relationship-challenged misfits really be able to get along?
Fate/Zero
Fate/Zero takes place 10 years prior to the events of Fate/stay night,
detailing the events of the 4th Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City. The War
of the Holy Grail is a contest in which seven magi summon seven Heroic
Spirits to compete to obtain the power of the "Holy Grail," which grants
a miracle. After three inconclusive wars for the elusive Holy Grail,
the Fourth War commences.
Bakuman Season 2
Mashiro and Takagi start working with a new editor, Gorou Miura,
as Hattori is assigned to another author. They must adapt quickly to his
approach as well as drawing together with assistants since they must
perform well on the Shonen Jack polls in order to not be discarded by
the publication. Now that their work is being serialized, they must work
even harder as they must satisfy an extremely demanding audience while
competing with other talented authors.
Hunter X Hunter (2011)
(This is a reboot) A Hunter is one who travels the world doing all sorts of dangerous
tasks. From capturing criminals to searching deep within uncharted lands
for any lost treasures. Gon is a young boy whose father disappeared
long ago, being a Hunter. He believes if he could also follow his
father's path, he could one day reunite with him. After becoming 12, Gon leaves his home and takes on the task of entering
the Hunter exam, notorious for its low success rate and high
probability of death to become an official Hunter. He befriends the
revenge-driven Kurapica, the doctor-to-be Leorio and the rebellious
ex-assassin Killua in the exam, with their friendship prevailing
throughout the many trials and threats they come upon taking on the
dangerous career of a Hunter.
C³ (Cube×Cursed×Curious)
From the light novel series written by Minase Hazuki, comes a story of
love, action, and comedy. Yachi Haruaki is a high school boy who is
naturally resistant to curses. After his father sends him a mysterious
black cube, Haruaki awakes to find a nude girl named Fear standing in
his kitchen. She’s the human form of the cursed black cube – and an
instrument of torture! Utilizing her special abilities, Fear fights
alongside Haruaki to defeat other cursed instruments and their owners.
Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle
Kaito Daimon would be a completely average high school student except
for one thing: he's a 'demon' at solving puzzles. Kaito is so brilliant,
in fact, that when he's asked to take some 'special' tests of his
unique ability, he immediately suspects that the test itself is a test.
Kaito suddenly finds himself caught up in a lethal Philosopher's Puzzle
made by the sinister group POG, a murderous maze of trap upon trap,
where failing to solve the secret correctly will result in death!
Fortunately, Kaito's skills prove up to the first test, both for himself
and his childhood friend Nanoha, who is also caught up in the deadly
scheme. But now that he has been designated as a Solver, he is pulled
into a new life where he must travel the world with other Solvers,
attempting to solve the latest deadly riddles left by POG. There's a new
conundrum around every corner and each deception could lead to death,
but once a riddle has been posed, you can count on Kaito to unfold,
unravel and unlock it!
Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon
Set in a distant land, Japan is divided into feudal territories,
yet conquered by outside countries, the city Musashi that will ignite
the flame of battle is being targeted and has no choice but to keep its
people safe by entering this war, with the fate of the world resting on
its hands, the students of Musashi may hold the key to victory.
Kimi to Boku
The story revolves around four teens — the good-looking twins Yuuta and
Yuuki Asaba, the effeminate Shun Matsuoka, and the class head Kaname
Tsukahara — who have known each other since early childhood. While they
are not necessarily good or bad friends, they continue to hang out well
into high school. The half-Japanese transfer student Chizuru Tachibana
joins the circle of friends in this comedy about the everyday life of
adolescence.
Tamayura: Hitotose
For her first year of high school, Fu Sawatari moves to Takehara, a
scenic old town near Hiroshima, on the Inland Sea. Her father, who has
passed away, grew up in Takehara. She loves taking photographs with her
father's old film camera, a Rollei 35S. The story follows her and the
friends who gather around her as she comes to love her new home.
Chihayafuru
Chihaya is a lighthearted tomboy, who's not especially good at anything
in particular. Her dream has always been for her sister (an aspiring
model) to become the number one beauty of Japan, or perhaps of the
world. But then one day she meets someone who tells her that a dream is
something that should concern only herself - and something she has to
work hard for as well. At the same time, Chihaya discovers a passion for the old Japanese game hyakunin isshu, also called "karuta".
Mashiro-Iro Symphony
The traditional girls-only Yuihime Private Academy is considering
the possibility of starting to accept both genders and has thus made an
agreement with a neighboring school to receive some of its students as
an experiment to see the reaction to this adaptation. Shingo Iryu is one
of the many students transferred for a ten month experimental phase at
Yuihime Academy. He, his sister, and his fellow relocated colleagues are
impressed by the sophisticated campus, but even more by the resistance
of many students who don't want the boys over there.
Persona 4
Persona 4 takes place in a rural town named Inaba. There have been
mysterious murders occurring whenever there was fog after heavy rain.
There were also rumors about a channel on television airing only at
midnight called Mayonaka TV, during which it is said that one can see
his/her "other half" when staring at the TV screen. After hearing about a recent unsolved murder which occurred during the
fog, the characters—Narukami, Chie, and Yosuke—discuss how each of them
had attempted to watch the mysterious TV channel and witnessed the
murder victim. The protagonist later realizes that during midnight when
the channel is on, his body can phase into his television set as a
gateway to enter another world infested with shadows. After discovering this, they all decide to explore. When first
completely entering the world, dazed and confused, Narukami meets
Teddie. Mayonaka TV and the town murders seem to have a connection. The
murder victims may be merely victims of Mayonaka TV. Everyone decides
that they will together try to solve the mysterious murders by exploring
the hidden world of Mayonaka TV.
Maken-Ki!
Based on the manga series by Hiromitsu Takeda, this romantic comedy is
about Takeru Ohyama, a typical perverted teenage boy. His new school
doesn’t require entrance exams, and it just turned co-ed! Unfortunately,
his dreams of a happy high school life are dashed when he finds out the
school is much more than it seems. All of the students wield a special
item – a Maken – to unleash their magical abilities in duels! Can Takeru
find a Maken that works for him? Even while trying to fit in at a new
school and dealing with all kinds of girl problems?
Ben-To
Sato Yo is a high school boy who likes SEGA games. One day, he enters a
grocery store to buy some food for dinner. When he tries to take a bento
box, he loses consciousness. He comes around to find all the bento sold
out. He notices there is a war game going on at grocery stores and
players called "Wolves" compete for the half-priced bento. Yarizui Sen,
the leader of the Half-Pricer Club, forces Yo to join the club and he
enters the bento war.
Mirai Nikki
This psychological thriller, based on the manga written and illustrated
by Sakae Esuno, is about Yuki, a loner who's not very good with people.
He prefers to write a diary on his cell phone and talk to his imaginary
friend, Deus Ex Machina – The God of Time and Space. However, Yuki soon
learns that Deus is more than a figment of his imagination when he makes
Yuki participate in a battle royale with eleven others. The contestants
are given special diaries that can predict the future, each diary
possessing unique features that give it both advantages and
disadvantages. Within the next 90 days, the contestants must try to
survive until there is only one left standing. The winner will become
the new God of Time and Space.
UN-GO
With the help of his strange assistant Inga, "failed detective"
Shinjūrō Yūki solves crimes in a near future Japan still suffering from
the ravages of war. Problem is, the credit always ends up going to super
detective Rinroku Kaishō.
Guilty Crown
The story takes place in Tokyo in 2039. After the outbreak of the
unidentified virus "Lost Christmas" in 2029, Japan has been under the
control of a multinational organization called GHQ. Ouma Shu is a
17-year-old boy who has a psychic power in his right hand. He can use
the power "Ability of King" to extract tools or weapons from his
friends. He has been avoiding making trouble for others but his life
changes when he meets a girl named Yuzuriha Inori, a member of a
resistance guerrilla group called "Funeral Parlor" (a.k.a.
"Undertaker"), whose members pilot mecha weapons to fight against the
government.
All summaries and images from My Anime List,
except for the summaries of Bakuman, Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon, Tamayura:
Hitotose, Mashiro-Iro Symphony, and UN-GO, which are from Anime News Network.
P.S. I still have backlog from my summer anime picks. Once I'm done, I should be able to blog about my thoughts on them.
Happy viewing!!Labels: Anime, Fall, Must-Watch, TV
