Of course, it's ridiculous to judge a season after one week. Especially for me, since I usually like almost everything at first. But here are some first impressions.
After the first episode, one show is clearly the best, for me:
Blue Drop. It has real characters and emotions and an intriguing story combining girls-school relationships with science fiction. A
yuri relationship is apparently to come. The animation and backgrounds are quite rich, the music is good, and the voice-acting is superb, featuring Yajima Akiko (Crayon Shin-chan), Sawashiro Miyuki (Shinku in
Rozen Maiden), and Yukino Satsuki (Ai in
Planetes). It's the only real drama this season, besides
shounen adventure shows like
Gundam00 and
Dragonauts.
Tthere are a number of
shows based on bishoujo games.
Clannad is the one that impressed me most, if only for its detailed KyoAni animation and the wonderful
seiyuus (Nakahara Mai, Kuwashima Houko and Okiayu Ryoutarou were the most impressive in episode one). The story and relationships are building, too.
ef-a tale of memories was also delightful. The music by TenMon, who does music for Shinkai Makoto (
Byousoku 5cm), is sublime. The Shinbou-inspired animation/backgrounds are very artistic. I love them, but some people find the complexity and whimsy distracting. The show is giving us a twist on the normal harem plot by following the stories of three couples rather than one. It may have a bit of
Kanon/DaCapo magic.
D.C. Da Capo II is the closest to a standard harem show, but seems to be maintaining the quality of its predecessor. The story takes an unusual turn right in the first episode, with a nicely orchestrated confession.
Kimi Kiss ~pure rouge~ is the least like a standard harem show, at least on the surface. Episode one was a little pale, but that stands to reason from the director of
Honey & Clover. Hopefully it just means this will be a mature and well-modulated version of the genre. The
seiyuu cast is incredible: Koshimizu Ami, Tanaka Rie, Mizuhashi Kaori, Kawasumi Ayako, Ikezawa Haruna, et al.
Myself;Yourself is another show with a standard harem feel: the protagonist comes back to the town he lived in five years before and meets the girls and boys he knew then, who have all grown up into senior high students like him. But there are interesting relationships in the offing, especially with the beautiful
tsundere miko and the lovable
dojikko meganekko.
Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun is pure sex farce, like a version of
Girls Bravo. But it is based on a novel that won a fantasy novel award, so I expect there will be more to it as we go on. It seemed to me quite well done, with a protagonist and leading lady it is possible to feel sympathy for -- even though he is indifferent to women and she is a succubus. The absurd comedy is funny. And there is lots of
moe and fanservice.
We also have three
slice of life-type shows.
Sketchbook ~full color's~ is from a comic strip centred on a shy girl who relates to the world by constantly sketching it. Her confusions, and her friends, make her a wonderful figure. And so does her VA, the superlatively
moe young actress Hanazawa Kana.
Mokke is from another manga, about two sisters living in the countryside. The younger one (Mizuki Nana) is adventurous and vulnerable to spirits. The elder (Kawasumi Ayako) is her responsible protector, who has the ability to ward off the spirits. I was less thrilled than I expected to be, but I will be back for ep2.
Minami-ke is the story of three sisters, each with their different character:
onee-san (Satou Rina), crazy middle one (Inoue Marina), clever and quiet younger one (Chihara Minori). I found it a bit disappointing, myself, a very pale imitation of
Ichigo Mashimaro. But it does have promise, especially with the good VAs. Inoue-san is especially good, but her character sounds too much like an attempt to copy Miu from
IchiMash for my taste.
There are a couple of
shounen SF adventure shows, but neither of them cured me of my indifference to the genre.
Gundam00 involves a secret force of especially powerful Gundams that intends to stop the wars plaguing the world by defeating all the combatants: to stop violence by violence. This interesting premise gives me some hope, but I still can't really get into the thrill of battle. The cast is good, featuring Miyano Mamoru, Miki Shinichirou, and Kamiya Hiroshi.
Dragonaut ~The Resonance~ features an all-star cast of
seiyuu most of whom have worked more in
bishoujo anime than in
shounen: Ono Daisuke, Chihara Minori, Suwabe Junichirou, Sawashiro Miyuki, Gotou Yuuko, Mizuki Nana, Sugita Tomokazu, Chiba Saeko, Kobayashi Yu, Hirano Aya. Aya totally floored me with a good performance as the evil, big-boobed antagonist. But my interest in this concerns only the
seiyuu and the potential romance. Even when there was something that should have packed an emotional wallop, the show seemed to suck the life out of any emotion, for me.
Shakugan no Shana II seems to have a slightly more mature character design than the original, but the stories look as if they will be just as boring. I do care about the romance aspects, but I can't wade through all the monster garbage to get to them. Nevertheless, people who liked the first series should like this one, too. Mine is a minority opinion.
One
shounen comedy show,
Bamboo Blade, is a school sports comedy that features a nice, clean drawing style and that I enjoyed far more than I expected to. Perhaps
You're Under Arrest: Full Throttle falls into this category, too. The story is extremely simple, even iconic, but it is executed well and I enjoyed this show far more than I expected to, as well. Settle in for a glimpse of the 80s.
Rental Magica is a comedy with a set-up something like
Ghost Hunt: a company that rents out sorcerers of various kinds. I enjoyed
it more than I expected to, as well. It seemed a simple show, but the characters and voice actors were good: Fukuyama Jun in soft mode, Ueda Kana, Takahashi Mikako, Itou Shizuka, Suwabe Junichirou.
Shugo Chara is pure
shoujo comedy/adventure aimed at early teens. The protagonist is a shy and needy girl who puts on a cool, tough front. One day she finds three eggs in her bed which hatch into guardian characters that help her transform into a magical girl. There are other good and bad young wizards whose world she now becomes part of. All that having been said, the characterization and the voice-acting are excellent. Based on one episode, this show could be a lot of fun.
And then there are a couple of shows that just
don't fit any category, except perhaps that they are hoping for a female audience.
Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro is a comic supernatural adventure featuring a normal girl and a demon detective who loves to eat mysteries and forces her to help him, so that she has become a famous detective simply by accompanying him. I enjoyed episode one, especially since Neuro is played by the great Koyasu Takehito, and the girl by Ueda Kana.
And
Kaiji follows a lazy thief and gambler who is caught by guaranteeing a friend's gambling debt and consigned to a ship on which other similar unfortunates have to compete in a gambling game to pay off their debts. A strange, hard-edged drawing style works well here. As long as we can sympathize with the unlikeable protagonist, this show could be a trip.
As usual, I enjoy a lot of the new shows. But the only one to really stand out for me is
Blue Drop: a
yuri school drama with a science fiction background, directed by a man whose other show was
Yukikaze, which was pure psychological science fiction, and featuring some
seiyuu that are real actors.
There are some shows I haven't seen yet: the interesting-looking
Hero Tales, and
Kawaii Jenny, which animates actual dolls. And the highly promising
Shion no Ou,
Genshiken and
Ghost Hound are yet to come, as is
Moyashimon, which has a very weird premise, involving bacteria with personalities, I believe.
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Buono! is made up of (l-r) Suzuki Airi 鈴木愛理 (13) from °C-ute and Natsuyaki Miyabi 夏焼雅 and Tsugunaga Momoko 嗣永桃子 (both from Berryz Koubou and both 15). From the PV, they seem to have been chosen for their singing rather than their dancing, but they are competent dancers, anyway. And their voices work extremely well together, in my opinion.
