Ah, finally the new anime season is up and running. After a very dissappointing (Japanese) fall season, I had high hopes for this (Japanese) Spring season. And it definitely didn't disappoint, with some really exciting series. However, with 20-something series coming out it's virtually impossible to follow everything, and frankly, why would you want to? That being said, though, this is a huge change from last season where there are far more dissappointments than pleasant surprises.


THE INSTANT FAV

No surprises here, both CODE GEASS R2 and MACROSS FRONTIER immediately shot up to my must-watch list. Both are absolutely stunning, with a healthy mix of intrigue, spectacle, and pure old-fashioned ass-kicking. Macross F in particular, felt like watching Gankutsuou or Karas at times - the production value is very beautiful you're willing to forgive any other mistake they make. However, I do have one complaint, as they actually released a "special" first episode of Macross F last christmas to really wet my appetite, and since they have to shorten it for the TV series they took out the scene where they have the dogfight in sync with the concert, which was by far the most beautiful scene in that entire episode. Still, when you're looking at a drop dead gorgeous supermodel, her personality is the last thing on your mind - and these two series already have more personality and background than the entire Miss Universe pageant so you're guaranteed an awesome ride.



BIGGEST SURPRISE

KAMEN NO MAID GUY by far. Kogarashi is definitely the second most wtf Superhero type ever after Hentai Kamen (which probably will never be animated, sadly). A big, burly guy with shark teeth in a maid outfit - what more could you want? Oh, and there is also a more conventional, cute maid with him, too - and she has a spiked bat, which is a win.

The other surprises would be KYOURAN KAZOKU NIKKI and ZETTAI KAREN CHILDREN. The first one is one of those nonsensical, wacky gag-fest like EXCEL SAGA or PANI PONI DASH, whereas the other one looks like a kid's "magical girl" show, except the bad guy in the first episode is a hard gay lookalike that shoots laser beam from his crotch. Intriguing, at the very least.


AWWWW.... THAT'S SWEET

KURE-NAI is a tale of a highschooler "jack of all trades" with some-yet-unrevealed special power who became a bodyguard to a little girl. Normally I would've steered clear of this kind of shows, but this one somehow balances some mystery and intrigue with light-hearted smiles and some very sweet moments. I must say it's not my type of anime, and yet I actually liked it. Maybe they put a subliminal message somewhere in there, I don't know. It's rather far fetched, yet believable. The characters aren't the types I like, but I can't help sympathising with them, and the tidbits of mystery are like chocolate cookies - they leave you wanting more.

Another one is ALISON TO LILLIA which is unusual in that it looks.. well... family friendly. The first thing that came to my mind was NADIA: SECRETS OF BLUE WATER or PORCO ROSSO (well, mainly with the airplane thing). But still, it's a nice adventure series, with that lively, clean style reminiscent of GHIBLI and a plot that's interesting but not overcomplicated. An anime without maids, catgirls, giant robots, slapstick or blood and gore that is actually enjoyable - somewhat of a rarity these days.



TO WATCH, OR NOT TO WATCH....

I'm torn about SOUL EATER. It's by Studio BONES (FMA, RAHXEPHON) so I had expected a decent series, and initially it looked stunning. Crisp, vibrant animation (and by vibrant I meant I wonder what drugs the producers are taking, but it damn well works), with some excellently done fight scene starring a girl with a scythe - sounds like a perfect shonen heaven. And all is well, until Maka, the aforementioned girl with scythe, started speaking. Seriously, SHE HAS THE WORST, MOST HORRIBLE VOICE ACTING EVER (well, to be fair, it's at least slightly better than primary school plays.... just). Her voice itself is fine, but her deadpan, wooden delivery simply makes your ears bleed. It's so bad that even if they replace her with Al Gore, it will still be an improvement. Actually, if they mute her altogether it will be an improvement. Soul's voice also sounds odd since you don't usually see a boyish character with a deep, manly voice, but I can get used to that easily. Maka's voice, on the other hand, means that if I do watch the next episode, it will be with the mute button turned on.




STUDIOS I USED TO LIKE, BUT NOW....

GONZO used to be one of my favourite studio, because they did, in the past, made series such as GANKUTSUOU and LAST EXILE. However, they hit rock bottom last season with DRAGONAUT, and this seasons offering of BLASSREITER and TOWER OF DRUAGA failed to really interest me. Both series are mildly entertaining and well animated, but I kept being overcome with the dread that the series will be hijacked by preaching, whinging emos (BLASSREITER) or simply gets into a cliche-fest (DRUAGA).

On another note, I don't know what happened to XEBEC. They used to be pretty decent with sci-fi or fantasy anime (NADESICO, FAFNER, SHANA) and yet this season they release two animes with pretty much the same formula: 1%plot, 99% fanservice in both KANOKON (foxgirl) and TO-LOVE RU (alien princess). It's a worry when the boobies have more depth and airtime than the characters.




HAVEN'T SEEN, BUT LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING

BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL - been a fan of the manga for a long time, so I'm really looking forward to seeing this as an anime.

GOLGO 13 - A tough guy assassin in an anime that's definitely not for children.

LIBRARY WARS - Production IG doing a comedy? Well, the title itself is enough to get me curious

NIJUU MENSOU NO MUSUME - another series by BONES, hopefully it has the same quality in animation but with better voice actors.


SERIES I PROBABLY WON'T WATCH

CRYSTAL BLAZE - I'm rather wary of the way Gonzo's been raping their own works, so I'm not really holding much hope since there seems to be many better shows this season.

REAL DRIVE - as a Production IG/Masamune Shirow anime, it sounds too much like GITS (but without the awesome major Motoko Kusanagi). Net world? Cyber terrorist? Sounds like another been there, done that series.

SPECIAL A, ITAZURA NA KISS, VAMPIRE KNIGHT - looks like a Shoujo manga, which is generally not a good sign for me.

XXXHOLIC KEI - I'm not a fan of Clamp, and it definitely doesn't have the awesomeness of GEASS to make me bear the pain and watch it.

NABARI NO OU, AMATSUKI - sounds like a BL-oriented series - let me know if I'm wrong.

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Tutorials that I've made:
Drawing Wings: [link]
BG-painting: Stars [link]
BG-painting:Moon [link]
BG-painting: Clouds: [link]
Painting Scales: [link]
Painting Fire and Feathers: [link]
Lineart preparation for colouring (photoshop): [link]
Basic CG Colouring Part 1: [link]
Basic CG Colouring Part 2: [link]
Basic CG colouring Part 3: [link]
Basic CG colouring Part 4 (End): [link]
Painting grass and trees: [link]

My print store: [link]