This post was written by Dark_Sage. He is Dark_Sage.
We all know I have the best taste in anime, so let my objective metrics guide you to the best animes of Winter 2013!
~Table of Contents~
Senran Kagura
Tamako Market
Sasami-san@Ganbaranai
GJ-Bu
Minami-ke Tadaima
Vividred Operation
Maoyuu Maoh Yuusha
Mondaiji Tachi Ga Isekai Kara Kuru Sou Desu Yo?
Courtesy of Zettai Karen Children – The Unlimited – Hyobu Kyosuke
Love Live! School Idol Project
Cuticle Detective Inaba
Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman
Oreshura
Hakkenden
Amnesia
Kotoura-san
D.C. III ~ Da Capo III~
Sequels to Recently Aired Shows
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT
Milky Holmes – Alt Whateves
Chihayafuru Second Season
Saki: Achiga-hen — Episode of Side-A
AKB0048: Next Stage
Chart
This is my modified Zeregate chart. Click it for a readable version.
Everything listed here is up for review. Also, those super-short anime aren’t listed, but they’re also up for review whenever I feel like it. (If you’re wondering why I didn’t link to any manga in this preview it’s because none of these shows had translated manga on Batoto or the like. Only Mayo Yuusha did.
Excellent
Senran Kagura
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShuWDdMPRS0
Artland (Mushishi, Legend of Galactic Heroes, Bokura ga Ita, Gunslinger Girl II)
This is everything that anime should be. The more you pander to me, Japan, the more money I’ll toss your way, and all will be right in the world.
Oh, and just so we’re all on the same page,
Hikage is mine.
Tamako Market
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0inhD_S3QSk
Kyoto Animation (They do KyoAni shows.)
Stupid moe shit with a dash of the feels. That’s how KyoAni operates and it’s served them well. Kawaii me the fuck up, KyoAni. I want your love.
If it’s simulcast, we’ll sub this. But since it likely won’t be, we won’t, unless some top-tier TL magically shows up (I haven’t exactly spent my free time making fansubber friends).
Sasami-san@Ganbaranai
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WkPdix_iLI
SHAFT (They do SHAFT shows.)
More autist-pandering? SHAFT? Why the hell not.
Good-ish
GJ-Bu
No PV Available.
Dogakobu (Koihimi Muso, YuruYuri, Natsuyuki Rendezvous, Hoshizora)
It may be generic slice-of-life from a mid-tier (at best) studio, but at least it has a cat girl. Also, Determination. …But is that really enough to call it good?
Yes.
Minami-ke Tadaima
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuUSoF7_WsU
feel (Papa Kiki, Dakara H, Mayo Chiki)
The first season of Minami-ke was good, but results were mixed for the other two. Will this studio be the one to bring Minami-ke into the top spot of comedy anime? Fumoffu, feel, and all other signs point to no. But we can at least hope for a decent attempt.
Okay (Maybe)
Vividred Operation
A-1 Pictures (AnoHana, Shinsekai, Magi, Gyrozetter, SAO, etc.)
Cute chicks in hot pants. I’ll fap to it, but I’m not expecting enough butt angles to make it truly worth my time.
Maoyuu Maoh Yuusha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0La4Ha8fpYA
ARMS (Queen’s Blade, Himawari, a bunch of shitty hentais)
God fucking dammit. I really, really, really like the manga, so seeing it handed over to fucking ARMS and Arakawa (Papa Kiki, Dakara H) pisses me the fuck off.
The trailer looks fine, but this studio-writer setup screams only one thing: Ecchi. And while I fucking love ecchi, THIS IS NOT A FUCKING ECCHI SERIES.
Good gods I’m seriously dreading what the fuck they do with this. Main protag becomes pathetic instead of just stupid, the entire female cast becomes a harem, and the ENTIRE FUCKING POINT OF THE SERIES (economics) plays second fiddle to girls fawning over an asexual, sappy, whiny, fucking cunt like all the fucking Japanese protagonists are. No fucking wonder that shitty country has negative population growth — two pussies fucking won’t result in children.
Could it be good like Sekirei? No, that’s not gonna happen because the studio is shit.
Could it turn out like Spice and Wolf? No, that’s not gonna happen because the studio is shit. I don’t give a fuck who the director is; they don’t matter.
But I want it to be good, so we’re gonna pretend the release will be “Okay”. I’ll queue up my disappointment faces, though.
Mondaiji Tachi Ga Isekai Kara Kuru Sou Desu Yo?
Diomedea (Campione, Astarotte’s Toy, Squid Girl)
There’s, like, fighting and stuff. And tits. I think. I don’t know much about it and Diomedea’s not exactly the greatest, so we’re gonna put this in the Okay pool for now. I hope it’s good.
Courtesy of Zettai Karen Children – The Unlimited – Hyobu Kyosuke
Manglobe (Hayate, Deadman Wonderland, Mashiroiro, The World God Only Knows)
I watched Zettai Karen Children back when groups were subbing it and then they got stalled for some stupid reason (probably because translating a children’s anime got too difficult for them). I don’t know if it ever got worse after the first 11 eps, but I thought it was a pretty sugoi show while I was watching it.
The shit animation in the PV combined with Manglobe QUALITY worries me though, so I’m not holding my breath for anything exciting. Who knows, maybe we’ll have something to celebrate though.
Shit
Love Live! School Idol Project
Sunrise (Aikatsu, Binbougami, Horizon)
Will there finally be an idol show that’s good? Probably not.
Cuticle Detective Inaba
ZEXCS (Sukitte, Onii-chan no Koto)
This could be decent! Could be, but won’t. Looks like a pretty shitty comedy along the lines of Binbougami-ga.
Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman
TMS Entertainment (Bakugan, Cardfight, Kamisama Kiss)
The video above has nothing to do with this show. Well, the titles are similar I guess.
And the show itself? It’s like the shitty, old Lupin style combined with… the shitty, old Lupin style. Pass, pass, pass.
Oreshura
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdgT9WcaoQ4
A-1 Pictures (AnoHana, Shinsekai, Magi, Gyrozetter, SAO, etc.)
Oh wow, another slice-of-life high school girl comedy. How original, Japan! I guess the schtick here is that they’re trying to copy Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai by having the characters in a club where they strive to become popular.
Might be worth watching just to see how badly they fail at ripping it off.
Hakkenden
Studio DEEN (Hakuouki, Hatsukoi, Sankarea)
Clambait. Sorry ladies, but I was fooled once by thinking La Storia could be good. I won’t be tricked a second time.
Amnesia
<Put IMG Here>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfNe7csiMZ4
Brains Base (Ixion Saga, Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, Sengoku Collection)
Nice try at expanding this show’s audience base, Brains… Base. I mean, a hot girl? Yeah, dudes will line up for that even if the primary audience is women.
But not me, Brains Base! After La Storia, I realized that for shows like this you merely trick men using the Pico to Chico Principle, whereby including only one girl in a cast of men invariably makes her super attractive.
Call me when you make good clit flick, Japan.
Kotoura-san
AIC Classic (Ebiten)
>About reading people’s minds
>Slice-of-life school comedy
>Not a fucking battle royale/shounen show
>Those fucking faces
Yeah, no.
D.C. III ~ Da Capo III~
Kazami Gakuen Koshiki Doga-bu (Not one damn thing)
I haven’t watched the original Da Capo because I’m not 30 years old. From what best I can tell, it’s your generic big-eyes slice-of-life harem rom”com” with a shitty male protagonist.
I fucking hate you, Japan. I fucking hate you.
Sequels to Recently Aired Shows
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT
Milky Holmes – Alt Whateves
Chihayafuru Second Season
Saki: Achiga-hen — Episode of Side-A
AKB0048: Next Stage
If you haven’t watched the prior seasons, there’s no point in watching these. If you have, you already know what to expect.
This will be a shit season unfortunately.
The winter and summer cours are usually the weakest.
Excellent:
Sasami-san@Ganbaranai
Agree.
Others: saa~
So… why is that Minami-ke show rated and the other sequels not?
“Sequels to Recently Aired Shows”. It’s been like 3 years for Minami-ke. The others have aired in the past 2.
what how dare you put unlimited at okay-ish zkc was amazing i don’t care if you didn’t keep up with the shit su….
wait, there’s a trailer out?
oh god what the fuck was that what are they doing to you hyoubu
No comment on Nekomonogatari (Black)?
“If you haven’t watched the prior seasons, there’s no point in watching these. If you have, you already know what to expect.”
How’s this?
I was just pointing out that it’s not included in his list.
Oh, I actually left that out because it’s a movie/OVA series, isn’t it?
I tend to avoid doing previews on those. I will *definitely* review it though. There is absolutely no way I’m letting that kind of fun get away from me.
it’s only 4 episodes, not really a winter show
I started to like the look of the Bakamatsu Gijinden Roman trailer… until I realised it was actually a clip from Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto. You sly old dog, Dark_Sage.
The only other one that looks vaguely worth the time is Maoyuu Maoh Yuusha, but like you, I’m wary of any studio that produced Himawari (a show that even fansubbers didn’t touch past episode 6!).
I swear I’ve seen those 3 girls from Tamako Market somewhere before…
Don’t chu fucking hate it when you KNOW you remember something, but can’t?
What’s Senran Kagura about anyways?
*sees cow tits*
Sold.
Probably when you watched K-On.
Maoyuu Maoh Yuusha actually looks like the most promising show by far this coming season. I’ll give Tamako Market, Sasami-san, and Oreshura a watch. Everything else looks shit.
Yeah, K-On season 3 looks really good.
every kyoani show is K-On season 3
Maoyuu for the win. But I also share the same worries as D_S about them fucking it up.The rest look meh to me.
Dark_Sage never learns.
^this.
This does indeed look like a really bad season. Only thing I’m slightly interested in is Beast Saga: http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=9405 (hoping it doesn’t become like another Digimon)
[Whine Subs] Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman
Tamako Market? Kyoani? Take my money.
I ran out of money.
You are the reason why KyoAni isn’t doing more seasons of Full Metal Panic. Die.
^ this
Bah. Winter always has a full list of shows not worth wasting bandwidth for, and this is no exception. Shame about Maoyuu, but… yeah.
God DAMMIT D_S put Tamako Market into the excellent category, now it’s going to suck. Thanks a lot, fucker!
>I watched Zettai Karen Children back when groups >were subbing it and then they got stalled for some >stupid reason (probably because translating a >children’s anime got too difficult for them).
There’s was always Chihiro – the *old* Chihiro.
And also gg when Chihiro skipped an episode for some reason.
(Actually, that show holds a special place in my heart because it forced me to learn Japanese instead of waiting for the lolsubs.)
By the standards of everyone here I don’t watch enough anime.. Maybe I should start this season.
Pretty bad season to start from.
Just catch up on some older anime.
I’ll probably go back and watch Robotics;Notes, most people say that it is/was pretty good.
lololololol
Kotoura-san and Hakkenden are going to be the best of the season.
B-But Oreshura has JoJo references, it can’t be much worse than haganai, can it?
Everything is worse than Haganai.
But Haganai is worse than everything…
I am pleased to inform you of your incorrectness:
Meat is the only good thing.
I still want my Monster Hunter anime
I bet Sasami-san@Ganbaranai is shitty.
i think Da Capo III and amnesia will be great in winter
Your thoughts are dumb.
Hm, nothing from P.A. Works.
Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru looks pretty good
You do know that there’s an updated zeregate chart, right?
http://i4.minus.com/iZFOCe6g39qCK.jpg
Huh, now I’m far more interested in a few of the OVAs & other specials.
So the person who judged the winter animes happens to be an ‘anime master’?
Opinions are now facts. Just what-
Sounds like a half-assed one person perspective to me. Either overrated or under. Like Senran Kagura being in the ‘Super great animes’ section of that picture link above.
One person perspective? Almost as if this article was penned by a single person!
Also, would you prefer the judge to be a proclaimed ‘anime amateur’?
I’m sorry I underrated Senran Kagura, but I didn’t want to make a new category for just one show. You’ll have to make do with it being listed before the others as the obvious show of the season.