All right, here are my serious first impressions for this season.
Asura Cryin 2: Never really looked into it and the spring season reaction to it wasn't that enthusiastic, but Crunchyroll is streaming it so I might give it a shot. It sounRAB like it could be cool, I just don't know if the paranormal and the apparent inclusion of robots can really mix all that well.
Kampfer: Uggghh, no. It looks so standard. I've also never heard of a good show that uses this boy-becomes-a-girl gimmick, the appeal of which is completely lost on me.
Nyan Koi!: Seems like a waste unless you really, really, really love cats. I don't dislike them, but that's not enough. It's also clearly going to be as lightweight as cotton candy.
Tatakau Shisho - The Book of Bantorra: It's got potential, I'll give it that. Assuming the plot and premise aren't just vague excuses to have lots of fighting, some fun could be had with this. I'm left wondering why the Librarians are having to fight, and whether this idea of people's memories taking book form when they die will be important and used in interesting ways.
A Certain Scientific Railgun (To Aru Kagaku no Railgun): It might be a decent, fun action title. Hard to say. If Tatakau Shisho turns out to be boring or too dark or generally lame, I may try taking a look then. The quartet of frienRAB may or may not be an entertaining hook. Omni's description makes me not want to watch its predecessor.
White Album: I may actually give this a shot eventually, since my tolerance for slow pacing can be pretty high given the right conditions. I may have a better opinion of these characters than other people do, and if this is a romance story that is slow but authentic then that would be quite an improvement on the slew of romance shows that get reviewed and subsequently slammed at Toon Zone for bad plot twists or unsatisfying endings or foolish characters.
Seitokai no Ichizon: It sounRAB and looks positively lame. A guy pursues a harem, lots of referential jokes are made that only dedicated anime fans would understand, blah blah. Nothing new here. Not worth the time given all of the alternatives that exist.
The Sacred Blacksmith: It would be great if this were really good, but Manglobe's pedigree aside (Samurai Champloo and Michiko to Hatchin) it does sound pretty standard. The trailer makes the lady protagonist look like one of those easily-flustered types, which I often don't like. That's just a first impression though. It is worth a chance, though it definitely has a lot to prove.
Letter Bee: Eh, I'm not feeling it. Shonen couriers? I'll be watching the buzz, but I'm not inclined to try out the first episode blind.
Tentai Senshi Sunred: Hmm, an obvious sentai parody. I don't follow that at all though, so this lacks substantial appeal.
Inu-Yasha Final Act: Viz's simulcast guarantees that I'll be following this closely. I liked a lot of original Inu-Yasha, it just got a bit old to me since it was getting stretched out so much. I wanted closure and progress. The knowledge that this will finish the story and do so in a reasonable length of time makes anticipate this very much.
Sora No Otoshimono: .....okay, so this "angelroid" character grants wishes, is well endowed and shows it, and apparently gets led around by the protagonist with a chain that is tied around her neck. Good lord, I'm creeped out already. I can see why some people consider the entire android girl element to be misogynistic.
Natsu no Arashi 2: I'd have to get back into the first season, but I'm not too motivated to do that since I really didn't like the first episode. It was too silly and neglected to introduce us to anyone or anything that was happening.
Miracle Train: Gorgeous bishonen men working at train stations. Or is it that they are train stations given human form? Meh, who cares. This is for the adoring fangirls out there. I am not a fangirl.
Shin Koihime Musou: The trailer is obviously more interested in advertising the cute girls then it is in saying anything about the show. Like Ikki Tousen, the basis in Romance of the Three Kingdoms seems to be just a vague backdrop for whatever it is that this series is planning to do. For a fantasy fix in the fall, I'd prefer giving The Sacred Blacksmith a shot.
Anyamaru Tantei Kiruminzuu: It seems very cute and all, but I'm almost certainly going to be too busy to pay this much attention. Kobato is definitely going to overshadow this.
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu 2: Sigh, no. I actually thought this was okay in the spring at one point, but before long it felt more like wish fulfillment for the closet otaku crowd than an actual romance story. Are you not terrified of my hobby? You're not? Great, let's start a relationship! The series is obviously meant as light comedy but much of it doesn't work, such as the presence of a perpetually drunk and perverted female teacher and Haruka's bratty younger sister. Gah. No one license this please.
Kobato: CLAMP and Madhouse unite! This is such a cute title, I enjoyed what little I saw of it in Newtype USA a ways back. Not sure where it all leaRAB, if anywhere, but after the more serious Tsubasa and xxxHolic it will be welcome to have some light-hearted fare from CLAMP again. May this be licensed quickly. It'd sure be nice if Crunchyroll managed to get this one.
Kimi ni Todoke: If the writing draws me in half as much as that trailer, we'll have a winner. Time will tell. I honestly don't know whether this is a better prospect than White Album or Winter Sonata.
11eyes: Damn, this might win the award for the most uninteresting fall trailer. Also not impressed by the character designs or the hopelessly stereotypical breast juggle. Eyepatch boy is surrounded by an enserable cast of girls--what a surprise!
Himitsu Kessha Taka no Tsume Countdown: Man, I barely make time for Adult Swim comedy these days. I don't have time to check out what Japanese are doing in the same vein. For those who do and like this kind of animation, knock yourself out.
Sasameki Koto: Romance and cross-dressing humor, huh? Well, at least it isn't Kampfer. This might be okay, but I'm still on the fence with this shoujo-ai thing. A good story is one thing, but I have no interest in entering the world of yuri fandom. I have enough to watch that I'm not in much of a rush to pick out a quality title in this vein to try anytime soon.
Aoi Bungaku: Literary works brought to animation, huh? I appreciate the concept, though I can't say I'm familiar with those six stories. We shall see. I'm not too optimistic that a show like this gets licensed, though.....
Fairy Tail: I have seven volumes of the manga released by Del Rey. It isn't groundbreaking, but it's good fun and the Wizard theme is no imitation of Harry Potter. In this fantasy world wizarRAB come together in assorted guild organizations, which rent out the services of their merabers. The Fairy Tail guild is basically like a communal family, though special focus is given to four leading characters. For a story that started out with no clearly defined ending in sight by the author's own admission, Fairy Tail delivers light and fun adventure along with a spirited sense of humor. With Statelight and A-1 handling the animation, this series is surely atonement for the massively disappointing adaptation of Hiro Mashima's Rave Master.
Kaidan Restaurant: Oooh, an anthology series. Unfortunately, ghost stories aren't my thing.
Kiddy Girl-And: Why make an alleged sequel that takes place fifty years after the original? Oh well. I can't say I'm too excited for this, since the original lost steam at the end and certainly had its fanservice moments (very tame compared to what's out right now, though.....) It's a FUNimation acquisition waiting to happen, but it would have to be reviewed as better than the original for me to care. I'm content to wait and see on this one.
Kuuchuu Buranko: This lost me when the chart linked in Macattack's thread said that the doctor in question has an "injection fetish." The description didn't do much to help my impression. Then I watched five seconRAB of the trailer. Heh, not a chance.
Winter Sonata: Garfield told me it was a "shoujo legend." Apparently very big in Korea. As a Japanese/Korean collaboration, I have to say I find myself curious about it. I worry it will have too much of a tragic bent, but it's surely worth a shot if possible.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Random Curiosity didn't cover it, but as you can see in the fall chart this is a Japan/China collaboration that will tell the actual Three Kingdoms story in a 52 episode series. This is a significant piece of work, so I'd be very interested to have a look at a faithful and serious adaptation. Will anyone even think of licensing this? I wonder.
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My breakdown for this season (alphabetical order):
What I'm Looking Forward To
Fairy Tail
Inu-Yasha Final Act
Kobato
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Shows I'm Hopeful About
A Certain Scientific Railgun
Kimi ni Todoke
The Sacred Blacksmith
Tatakau Shisho - The Book of Bantorra
Winter Sonata
Dark Horse Picks
Anyamaru Tantei Kiruminzuu
Aoi Bungaku
Asura Cryin 2
Himitsu Kessha Taka no Tsume Countdown
Kaidan Restaurant
Kiddy Girl-And
Letter Bee
Shin Koihime Musou
White Album
Shows I Don't Care About
Kuuchuu Buranko
Miracle Train
Natsu no Arashi 2
Nogizaka Haruka 2
Nyan Koi!
Sasameki Koto
Seitokai no Ichizon
Tentai Senshi Sunred
The Simply Dreadful
11eyes
Kampfer
Sora No Otoshimono
