Mission Statement: Autumn 07
I’m not going to do a full preview because I don’t have my finger as on the pulse as so many others have. There’s not a great deal of new stuff that’s caught my eye anyway, but here’s the shortlist (i.e. it’s a list that’s very short) of what you can expect me to start blogging fansub-wise over the coming weeks as and when they’re available subbed in the usual places.
ef-A Tale of Memories
The premise doesn’t tell one hell of a lot apart from the fact that it is going to be at the very least a romance - in between the bits of hiragana on its official site I could make out ‘a fairy tale of the two’, which makes me hopeful it won’t be a harem show or something, since it’s supposed to be inspired by a game of some sort *shudders at the thought of an eroge adaptation*. It certainly has a ‘wistful’ kind of look to it, but might just turn into a regular high school romantic drama. It does look pretty though.
All things considered there’s nothing that really demands I watch it, apart from the music. It’s Tenmon’s first project that isn’t attached to Makoto Shinkai but since his movies are enhanced so much by the soundtracks, I’ll be giving this a look on that reason alone. Early impressions are those of piano and violin melodies that feel comforting and familiar: pure Tenmon, pure gorgeousness. Even if the show isn’t up to much I’ll just get the OST instead.
Ghost Hound
For some reason, it sounds like the title of an episode of Scoby Doo. No idea of the premise beyond what other blogs are telling me but the staff list made me sit up right away: it’s directed by Ryutaro Nakamura, the screenplay’s by Chiaki J Konaka and the original manga was by a certain Masamune Shirow. That suggests to me that it’s going to resemble the likes of Lain, GitS and Kino’s Journey, which to me is an almost impossibly exciting prospect. Just so you know why my hopes are high for this one. In addition, the promo pic here looks pretty stylish and unusual, which is promising. With any luck it’ll be Konaka’s apology for that pretentious borderline-hentai mess that was Malice@Doll.
Instead of online worlds and the like that make the likes of Lain and GitS, it’s more concerned with parallel universes that are more in the fantasy genre than the sci-fi one, which could prove to be a refreshing change. This could be the season’s token headscratcher with some nice plot twists and whatnot, possibly with some angst from the ‘tragic pasts’ bit concerning the characters. I can see it being a fave among other members of the blogosphere too if all goes well. Who the heck cares about a naff name now?
Mokke
This is done by Madhouse so I can’t not look into it! According to other bloggers it’s reminiscent of Mushishi and Dennou Coil; while I wouldn’t dare expect it to match either, I still can’t help but be optimistic. It’s supposed to be some sort of supernatural drama but also the OST is by the same songwriter as Ergo Proxy and the character designs look nice (I’ve only chosen a background pic this time around though).
It is (or was) serialised in Afternoon, which makes me hopeful it’s some more mature seinen fare; at the same time the setup of two sisters should make for good drama that’s a departure from the more usual romance-based variety. More pretty artwork too!
Later stuffs
Things that are in the pipeline but not immediately up-and-coming.
Eve No Jikan
A.K.A. The Time of Eve, this is the next movie from Studio Rikka and the talent behind Pale Cocoon - anyone who can read the text is welcome to visit the official site and find out about the release date. Whoever this Yasuhiro Yoshiura guy is, he seems to be one of the new crop of indie animators who’ve followed Shinkai’s climb into the industry. I’m looking forward to how it turns out.
Macross Frontier
“Hmm…one of my favourite OST composers is working on this…I’ll look into it.” Yeah, there seems to be something of a recurring theme here, doesn’t there? Still, Yoko Kanno’s stuff never disappoints. Plus there’s the undeniably awesome prospect of MOAR MACROSS. Somehow the idea of the music of Plus and the CG shininess of Zero sounds too good to be true, but who knows? It’s allegedly the 25th Anniversary work, which is soonish. I hope.
Genshiken 2
At the time of writing the first season box set is sitting on my ‘to watch’ shelf. If I enjoy it I’ll check this out too since it’s likely to be good for a laugh. There seems to be a lot of interest from other bloggers on this too.
Gunslinger Girl Season 2
Unless I get eaten by a bear or the world explodes, I’ll be watching this. That is all.
Posted on October 5th, 2007 @ 8:12 pm
You’re weak. Even the universe coming to its end would not stop me from watching the 2nd season of Gunslinger Girl.
Posted on October 5th, 2007 @ 9:08 pm
This is the first new anime season for a long time where I’m not feeling particularly excited about anything, it’s mostly just “meh”. I’m tentatively interested in Ghost Hound, but feel cautious because it’s looking a bit too much like the duller than dull Hell Girl.
Based on your write-up, Mokke looks like it could be a winner. Compared with Mushishi and Dennou Coil, animated by Madhouse and adapted from a seinen manga serialized in a highly rated anthology like Afternoon; all the signs point to win! Lets just hope the fansubbers feel the same way!
Posted on October 6th, 2007 @ 5:05 pm
@Skh: it’s good to see I’m not the only one looking forward to Gunslinger Girl season 2!
There’s no definite date yet though.
@Bateazi: Yeah, there’s not much to get excitied about this season - so much so that one of my choices was based purely off the soundtrack! Mokke is the one I’m pinning most of my hopes on so far, mind.