Fall 2012 Anime -- Full Previews w/staff, cast, trailer, pic, story, etc.

Sukitte ii na yo

For me, this is the season of shoujo: three promising new shoujo anime are coming. But there is also plenty of shounen adventure, and enough moe to drown a city. Here are a few interesting titles:

• Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! -- KyoAni combines the moe of K-On with the comic madness and magic of Haruhi. The trailer looks great. Ka-ching!
• Code: Breaker -- Hikasa Youko, Okamoto Nobuhiko, Yukana, Nakata Jouji, Saiga Mitsuki, Miki Shinichirou, and Kaida Yuuko (whew!) star in this adaptation of a good shounen manga, directed by the director of FMA Brotherhood and Kurau Phantom Memory.
• Girls und Panzer -- More girls with weapons: this time, it's tanks. Stars Fuchigami Mai (excellent as Maekawa-san in Denpa Onna). Directed by Mizushima Tsutomu, the director of Genshiken, Squid Girl, and Joshiraku.
• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (2012) -- Can this new adaptation revivify an old franchise, as the Lupin III franchise was revivified earlier this year?
• Jormungand: Perfect Order -- I loved the first season of this dark adventure, which is somewhat in the style of Black Lagoon.
• K -- Bishounen urban combat with Sugita, Sawashiro, Miyano, Horie, Sakurai, OnoD, and rising young star Komatsu Mikako.
• Kami-sama Hajimemashita -- Daichi Akitaro (Fruits Basket) directs Mimori Suzuko in one of her four shows this season. She rescues a young man from dogs and goes to live in a shrine.
• Litchi De Hikari Club -- I'm not recommending this, I just wonder how they can make the queasy-making ero-guro of the manga into something acceptable on TV.
• Little Busters -- The visual novel from Key (Kanon, Clannad) is so popular that its fans may never accept the anime. But Horie Yui stars. Uguu.
• Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne! -- The director of Hayate and Yutori-chan and the writer of Maid Guy and Ben-tou animate a comic manga about a younger sister who wants into her brother's pants and won't take no for an answer. Could become a classic of its genre.
• Psycho-pass -- A dystopic future adventure written by Urobuchi Gen (Madoka Magica), animated by Production IG, and starring Hanazawa Kana, Seki Tomokazu, Itou Shizuka, Sawashiro Miyuki, Nojima Kenji….
• Robotics;Notes -- A high school boy and girl (Kimura Ryouhei and Nanjou Yoshino) build robots to save the world. Adapted by Hanada Jukki (Steins;Gate) from a visual novel.
• Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo -- Moerrific story of a high-school boy who has to look after a cute genius girl so devoted to art she can hardly dress and feed herself. Adapted by Okada Mari from a novel, and starring Kayano Ai, whose voice is beyond perfect in the trailer.
• Seitokai no Ichizon: New Anime (Provisional Title) -- Season one was one of the funniest anime I have ever seen. But a new studio, director, and writer have taken over for season two, so I await with both eagerness and concern.
• Shinsekai Yori -- Creative future world and good-looking design. From an award-winning science fiction horror novel.
• Suki-tte Ii na yo -- Good shoujo manga could become a good shoujo anime. You can't do any better than starring Sakurai Takahiro and Kayano Ai. Directed by Satou Takuya (Ichigo Mashimaro, Steins;Gate).
• Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun -- Another good shoujo manga, in which our heroine is befriended by a guy who is an innocent monster, always beating people up. Starring Tomatsu Haruka and Suzuki Tatsuhisa. Directed by the director of Kimi ni Todoke. Written by the writer of Durarara.
• Zetsuen no Tempest: The Civilization Blaster -- Ando Masahiro and Okada Mari, the director-writer team who made Hanasaku Iroha, adapt a manga involving magic and world-destroying evil for Bones.

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"Real Ability" Seiyuus by Year of Birth

Many seiyuus are popular, but only some are seen as having real ability as seiyuus. Those are known as  実力 jitsuryoku "real strength" or "real ability" seiyuus.

Other seiyuus can be popular for the sound of their voice or for their personality, beauty or singing and dancing.

Here is a list from 2channel of someone's idea of who the really capable seiyuus are, starting with those born in 1993 (now 18-19 years old) and going up to those born in 1982 (now 29-30 years old):

    1993　Ishihara Kaori, Seto Asami
    1991　Kotobuki Minako, Hayami Saori, Yuuki Aoi
    1990　Tomatsu Haruka
    1989　Uchida Maaya, Omigawa Chiaki, Hanazawa Kana
    1988　Komatsu Mikako, Ise Mariya, Akesaka Satomi
    1987　Kayano Ai, Takamori Natsumi, Tamura Mutsumi, Kitamura Eri
    1986　Toyosaki Aki, Koshimizu Ami, Sanpei Yuuko, Itou Kanae, Yahagi Sayuri, Satou Satomi
    1985　Takagaki Ayahi, Sawashiro Miiyuki, Nazuka Kaori, Inoue Marina, Hikasa Youko
    1983　Katou Emiri, Asumi Kana
    －－－－－－－30 years old－－－－－－－－－－
    1982　Fukuen Misato, Shiraisi Ryouko, Fujimura Ayumi, Watanabe Akeno, Kobayashi Yuu, Saitou Momoko

note: I say "born in," but I think these are actually arranged by school cohort, which goes from the beginning of April in one year to the end of March the next.

This doesn't seem to me like a perfect list, but it's pretty good. I'd now include Hidaka Rina (1994), and maybe exclude Kotobuki Minako (much as I like her). And I know plenty of people will go "whaat?" at seeing Omigawa Chiaki there, but I would still include her.