Mike’s Fall 2008 Preview Post

Time to jump on the bandwagon a little late. As I said the last time I wrote a preview post, I will realistically only end up covering 2 shows max. Still, I want to list all the shows that actually look interesting to my tastes, though that doesn’t mean I will blog it. (Some have already been, ahem, claimed by others.) We’ll see how it shakes down in the end.

ef – a tale of melodies

How could I resist? Yes, I’ve already poked fun at my own tendencies to rhapsodize about this sort of arty, melodramatic show. However, I voted this best show of 2007 for a reason, and the two most annoying aspects of the first season (Chihiro and Renji’s voices) promise to be less prominent here, as it focuses more on the angelic-like nun and Chihiro’s guardian. Can they revive the magic of season 1, with the music and artistic flair intact? I must find out.

Prediction: just like memories were a big theme in season 1, music is going to be THE motif of the season. They don’t telegraph these things with a lot of subtlety. Possible slogan: “do you have a song that you just can’t get out of your head?”


Clannad: After Story

I became a bit lazy in updating Clannad all those seasons ago when the first season was still running. However, I got a glimpse of the Clannad movie some time ago (though I don’t think I wrote a review here), and I remember being fairly impressed with how the story continued after the point where the TV show ended–namely, after the characters have all become adults and have children. That is, presumably, what this season of the TV show will cover. It’s a measure of how narrow a lot of anime is that this kind of topic is so rarely covered in anime, and given my surprise at how much Key was able to restrain themselves in this show I look forward to seeing how they handle actual adult characters for a change. I’m not expecting Honey and Clover level of insight, of course. But can we expect, at least, a bit more emotional honesty?


Nodame Cantabile Paris-hen

I need to finish watching the first season of Nodame first. Actually, the impending arrival of this show gives me an incentive to finish watching it, as I still remember writing about it a long, long time ago (when this place was still called Scattered Cels) and liking it a lot. I don’t know what it is about me dropping shows I actually have no reason to drop. I’m not sure I’ll be blogging about it, but I usually have shows I don’t write about that I still watch anyway. Zero no Tsukaima 3 is that show for me this season.


Yozakura Quartet

I admit it. I’m picking this one because while the premise given in THAT’s series preview was vague, I was drawn to it because the character design and art style in the screenshot reminded me vaguely of Kure-nai, which was the second best show of the previous season after Kaiba. (I never got around to writing my series review of the former, did I? Let’s just say I found the ending way out of character and that I liked the show a lot more when it was slice of life rather than overly complex action.) Quirky comedy is the best kind, in my opinion. Plus, I’m more likely to watch it because for some reason I never actually get around to watching most of the heavier shows I say I will watch in these preview posts anyway…shows like


CHAOS; HEAD, Kurogane no Linebarrel

These look like the serious sci-fi entries this coming season. The former’s title makes me think of Night Head Genesis for some reason, though it looks like something more along the lines of Higurashi (complete with cute girls) but with SF elements. Count me in if it gets as complex and intense as Higurashi did at its best. The latter is Gonzo’s big mecha anime, and while their record on mecha anime has been mixed to say the least–hello, Dragonaut–one always keeps hoping they will pull out a Bokurano instead. Which is what the premise of Linebarrel sounds like. Especially with taglines like “A gigantic robot and the girl of your dreams…AT THE COST OF YOUR LIFE.”

That seems pretty comprehensive. Hopefully, at least a few of these will stick–probably ef, just like last time.

Tomorrow: a look at more volumes of the Welcome to the NHK manga.

Author: gendomike

Michael lives in the Los Angeles area, and has been into anime since he saw Neon Genesis Evangelion in 1999. Some of his favorite shows include Full Metal Alchemist, Honey and Clover, and Welcome to the NHK!. Since 2003 he has gone to at least one anime convention every year. A public radio junkie, which naturally led to podcasting, he now holds a seminary degree and is looking to become Dr. Rev. Otaku Bible Man any day now. Michael can be reached at mike.huang@animediet.net. You can also find his Twitter account at @gendomike.

4 thoughts on “Mike’s Fall 2008 Preview Post

  1. Some interesting titles there. I’ll be watching the Clannad after-story because the main series wasn’t bad and the Tomoyo After episode was actually quite good. Since I’ll probably never bother with a Key adaptation again I might as well see this through to the end.

    ef-a Tale of Melodies: absolutely. The first series was a pleasant surprise, especially considering my initial interest was in Tenmon’s music alone. Emphasis on the musical side is an exciting prospect indeed then.

    Yozakura Quartet: like you, I think the character designs are great. That pic has a gothic look to it too so I’ll definitely keep my eye on that one.

    Tytania might be worth a look, and I think you need to consider the Gainax contender: Shikabane Hime. It might turn out to be very un-Gainax shallow and ultra-violent garbage but because it’s Gainax I feel compelled to watch it and find out for myself.

  2. I’ll just write a bunch of my thoughts on the season.

    I’ll watch ef, because the previous ef was a diamond in the rough.

    Nodame, because I really liked the first season, but have never finished it. I notice we have many parallels in our anime stuff.

    Clannad After Story. Why not? I finished the first season. I do need to watch the Tomoyo one and the movie, though.

    Yozakura Quartet. Same thing. I have no idea what it is about, but I like the character designs.

    I’m hoping Kyou No Go No Ni TV turns out well. I don’t want another Okawari.

    Hyakko. Need my dose of Slice-Of-Life comedy. Plus, I read a few chapters of the manga, and read another manga by the same guy. They both weren’t bad.

    Ride Back. It isn’t on THAT Animeblog, and I have no idea what it is about, but the art piques my interest yet again.

    Hell’s Angels for exact same thing as Ride Back.

    I will watch Tytania after I watch Legend of Galactic Heroes. LoGH is just so scary long…

    Zettai Yareru Girisha Shinwa. Not on THAT yet again. I just have no idea. Weird crap.

    One Outs too, since I have heard such good things about Kaiji and Akagi.

    The main character of Kurogane no Linebarrel (as far as I got in the manga) was what you would call a douche. Not interested.

    I am however very curious about Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka. The VA cast is just unreasonable.

    Mach Girl: lolwut?

    And another thing: WHAT THE SHIT IS UP WITH THE STITCH ANIME!?

  3. @Somewhatnifty: interesting, I didn’t know THAT had left out a few titles. In the past I always relied on Hashihime’s summaries, which usually are complete, but THAT beat Hashihime to the punch by several weeks.

    Seeing that I entered anime through Evangelion, the news that the protagonist of Linebarrel is a “douche” is not necessarily an obstacle for me. 😉

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