Hyouka 13-18: The games of a Genius are the bane of the Ordinary

No I’m not gone… Just had to concentrate on my final VFX project for my 3rd semester. Then again I won’t be doing a weekly post from now on. I’d only be posting either every other week or when an arc ends or just when I feel like it. Also, I’ll be making shorter posts now since things are still getting busy.  ヾ(￣0￣； )ノ

Anyway, I pretty sure we all already know how awesome the recent arc is. How they started off with multiple events then slowly and flawlessly tied them all together. We also got to know more about Fukube and Ibara. Who are the main focus of this arc.

With Ibara, we found the not so friendly relationship she is having with her fellow manga club members. I find it admiring that she is capable of coping up and resisting the harassment from them. But this shows her strong will and love for manga, which I found very attractive.

Now this time, Fukubes part in the arc is more “Important”. Since he is the stories detective maniac, he tries to solve the Juumoji mystery. But then he finds a rival, Koureyuki Tani, and his purpose for fighting Fukube is one mystery that has yet to be solved. However the rival Fukube finds is of course Oreki. And throughout the arc he desperately tries to solve the mystery to prove to that he too can be a detective.

Chitandas role in this arc has been brought down to a support character and she didn’t really do much so we’ll skip her. So Oreki on the other hand has had a peculiar role in this arc. On one hand the arc shows little of him making it seem like he is a support character like Chitanda, but then in those little scenes he tends get the key pieces to the mystery.

So while the arc tries to focus on Fukube and Ibaras story they bring in this odd feeling by making Oreki take all the big pieces. Which actually works because with this arc they were clearly trying to show “the difference between talent and skill”. Which is pretty much the meaning and idea to the whole arc. This idea is also apparent from Ayako Kouchi and Jiro Tanabe’s jealousy over Haruna Anjo and Muneyoshi Kugayamas work “A Corpse by Evening”. In the end, the way the writer fuses everything together throughout the arc is just so seamless and perfect. *Applause*  *Applause* *Applause*

However it is NOT safe to say that what they’ve shown here is the difference between talent and skill. Talent and skill are not so far apart, in the end it is the one who develops that particular ability throughout the days who will be the one to come on top. Now look at Oreki, he wasn’t even developing his talent until recently but then he was able to figure out such a complex mystery through some “I never thought I’d find a clue there” ways? Lets face it Oreki is a genius and genius is something high above both talent and skill. So rather than saying “the difference between talent and skill”, the right term here is “Genius vs Ordinary”.

As for the recent episode, meh. Good filler but the only thing we could get out of it the more development from Oreki and Chitanda, especially in the end part.

OkamiSan~

Horizon S2 1: Giant Robots? Giant Bewbs? Seems Legit!~

Finally! The rain of steel and melons has arrived!

So if you’re new en you wanna know what the general story then go here: http://www.clanrain.com/2011/11/kyoukai-senjou-no-horizon-01-04-story.html. Mind you the 1st season was burned because of the lack of attention to proper storytelling. However!! Once you get the gist of the story, you can sit back and enjoy the massive fanservices and hilarious main character (Aoi Toori voiced by the famous Jun Fukuyama!) who starts off naked non the less.

So now the city of Musashi embarks on a quest to take back all the emotions of Horizon which are in the form of the Deadly Sin Armaments. However, unlike the first season we begin the second with a lot of action all the way till the end of the episode. Hopefully, this season they do a good balance between action a better interpretation on the story.

Ones of things that gets me really amazed about the series is the fact that the creator is capable of balancing out the unusually large number of character and character types. Seriously, take a look at all the characters, they each have their own personalities and unique design, and from a writer's standpoint, it’s very hard to balance out and give each character their own screen time. As there are many amazing characters on all sides, it make me want some of those from the other teams to switch over to Musashi simply because their character types are either really hawt, adorable or just plain awesome.

Fortunately, this story does not directly focus on the main character and his world, his life, his past and what not. This helps the other characters attain a higher standing than normal by focusing on giving each character an equal an amount time. Unlike any other series I’ve come across, the main character in this series acts more like the support than the those who should be supporting him.
In this series Aoi Toori is a character that chooses not to stand above others, instead he is the one that keeps the morale and fire within the other characters who are the actual fighters or Heroes. And under the pretext that Aoi is the King of Musashi, it is his job to make sure the other characters (his people) are in a good mood. So as the king keeps the heroes up, those heroes pave the way to their goals.

Quite a twist in rolls don’t you think?

The magic system in the series is another thing that amazes me. Especially the magics of Toussaint Neshinbara (tactician looking guy) who types in his spells in the form of a literature than it becomes a magic spell of sorts. The concept they created from mixing machine and magics is simply genius.

The events of this episode is really just amazing. We got Aoi Toori disrupting the opponent using his crotch of all things, btw this clearly shows his ability and roll as one to support his team. And Azuma mistaking sex as something a couple casually does then invites his room mate, Miriam Poqou to get some (⌐■_■). Really this episode, does well to entertain whilst keep everything under control.

On a few notes: Notice the scar that goes around Aoi Toori, hopefully they explain this later on. Also notice that Naomasa (one ridding the giant robot of Musashi) has large melons while her machine is flat(-ish) chested. But on the other team (Tres Espania), their giant machine has giant...no, humongous bewbs while the pilot, Fusahide Era, is flat...Lulz really.

In the end this episode is just well directed en extremely entertaining. Though we have yet to see how well they would convey the story to us, for now it’s all just nice and fun.

OkamiSan~

Hyouka 11.5-12: Fanservice and Romance?

Don’t expect any good episode 11.5 screenshots on this, I can’t find any high quality copies of the episode. Which is extremely sad since it’s got Chitanda fan services!

Okay, so obviously episode 11.5 is meant to cover up Orekis dilemma on who he is. But in my opinion, they didn’t need to make this episode for such a reason. I mean, the closure done in episode 11 was already well done even if it was short. What I do want to see from the last arc is a better closure of Irisu and who exactly is that sempai she was chatting with. But oh well, perhaps they will reveal it in another arc or something.

High quality PLEASE?!

On to episode 12 and you should have notice an insane amount of detail that was put into the cultural festival, not to mention the work they put into designing and drawing Idara and Fukubes rooms! I’m pretty sure we all have a general idea of how cultural festival works and how it looks but no where else have I seen an series gone this far into putting life into the festival. This was the first time I’ve truly felt liveliness and splendour of such a festival; it really did make me feel like I too was in the festival.

But not only that, the animation! Not only did they give great animations for the characters in focus but also the character behind the scenes (like the ones in the shot above). I mean this is quality you only get to see in high budget movies!

Fanservice!! We finally get to see more hawt sauce from the ever so sexy and adorable Chitanda in both 11.5 and 12 (I’m talking about the photoshoot she had). Granted 12 can’t exactly be called fanservice as 11.5 was, it was still great. I’ll leave Chitandas body in 11.5 to do the talking and go onto 12 where the fanservice was brought on more from her adorable nature ontop of the amount of detail they put into drawing her.

Early into the 12th episode we see Idara feeling awkward when Fukube openly talks about her hobbies. Then later on we see that she has some sort of disagreement with her fellow club mates, who unfortunately were cosplaying Vocaloid, which by the way is a fantastic add-on to the episode.

From this, we will probably see Ibaras story arc up next. It’ill be very interesting to see how the producers would handle her arc if it was decided to run along the cultural festival since it would hurt the producers pockets if they kept the high quality production along multiple episodes.

If you guys may have noticed from episode 1 all the way till 12, we see Oreki checking out Chitanda in one way or another. However I feel these shots suggest something more than just meets the eye. In episode 11.5 Chitanda tells Oreki that he is someone special to her right before calling Ibara and Fukube the same. But we all know how it really works right? Right?! Now jump to the ending song of episode 12, we have detective Chitanda and Ibara chasing Oreki and Fukube. Notice that when they have them handcuffed, both Chitanda and Ibara blush and flutter. Romance in Hyouka? Personally, I feel it would a fabulous idea to add light romance to an already fantastic series. And really, who wouldn’t want OrekiXChitanda or FukubeXibara?

Oreki 'Holding the fort'

In the end, though the episode didn’t officially bring in a new mystery and was more like a filler plus a prologue into the new arc. Also it was a kind of sweet candy or like an appetizer of sorts for us viewers to keep your eyes stuck on the screen. So overall (づ￣ ³￣)づ

OkamiSan~

Hyouka 11: Puppets of the empress

So Orekis first mistake and we got his friends trying to get him on the right track. Though I like how Chitanda, Fukube and Ibara secretly tried to tell Oreki about his wrong, the way they treated him on his first mistake was in my opinion… over the top. I mean, it’s his first mistake, you can’t expect him to be perfect even if he did do well in the past mysteries. Yeah I guess you can scold him a bit on his mistake but their reactions were as if he did a bigger taboo. I guess the producers were trying to exemplify the smaller, more subtle emotions since the series isn’t exactly big on the epic stuff? This was really something that stood out in the episode that isn’t exactly good in my opinion.

I got “sad faced” when I found out the true scheme of the empress, Irisu. I really liked those striking eyes, white skin and black(-ish) hair, but in the end problem was brought to its level because of her. With all that said the last scene of her chatting left much to be desired. Who was the senpai she was chatting with (I’ll go more into that in the last paragraph)? They didn’t really put a close to the part where Oreki and the team find out about the empress’ true objective. Hopefully this is actually a bridge to another story arc later on.

I still like her looks though (づ￣ ³￣)づ. Also kudos to her genius in manipulating the people around her.

Taking a look at the mystery itself, it really wasn’t anything. I’d say it’s not even at the level of those generic mystery cases. But there’s this saying, “it’s not the destination but the journey” and this saying can be placed well with the mystery. When you take a look at the way they got to the conclusion, all the twists and turns and mistakes our characters went through, it comes together as a very entertaining ride. Not to mention the way story was plotted out is something a lot of other stories are missing. The writer did a good job in controlling what you know, kind of like this episodes “narrative tricks”, to create a more exciting twist when a surprise comes up (Now I’m talking about the entire series, not just this arc).

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For those of you who didn’t understand what whole conclusion and how the mystery came to be, read the following:
Hongou actually tried to create a mild mystery where no one died, because she preferred happy endings instead of tricks. And apparently it was the tricks that Oreki concentrated on in order to find the true end instead of figuring out the kind of person Hongou was.
So while making the story, Hongou made a poll asking people whether they prefer death in the story or not. Although the poll told her that people wanted at least 2 deaths, she ignored that fact and went for no deaths. But since she wasn’t in the set at the time of the shooting, the crew also ignored her script and went for the blood.
After Hongou saw what they filmed and she felt guilty for ignoring the poll results but she isn’t the type to fight back. This is where Irisu comes in and from the start she too didn’t like the story and thought of the situation as an opportunity to reject in the script in a way that wouldn’t hurt Hongou. So Irisu somehow managed to make Hongou feign illness and leave the script undone.
Now Irisu brought in not the mystery solvers but the new script writers. She made the Oreki and the rest think that the film was Hongous original idea and asked them to solve it. But in reality Irisu just wanted someone to continue writing the script.
Awesome story isn’t it?
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Looking back at the first episode of this arc, I now know that the person typing on the phone was Irisu who was exchanging text messages with Hongou. Now the person Irisu was chatting with on the computer, the person who used orange text was her senpai. Next using the pink text was Chitanda, this was when Irisu invited her and company to come in. Going back to Irisus senpai, they never told us who he/she is… however!! Her senpai did say this “but you shouldn’t lie to me either since I’m on the other side of the world”. Those words, “on the other side of the world”, makes me think that her senpai is somewhere else. Also it was this senpai that introduced our protagonists to Irisu. So how would someone somewhere else know about the detective team? Only one person fits that bill, Orekis sister. Now you may ask why then did Irisu not go directly to Oreki and instead had Chitanda introduce everyone. Well it’s to simply hide her plan more thoroughly. Of course this is all just theory, a theory that has a lot of holes so in the end it could still be anyone. I’m just solving things based to the circle of knowledge I have right now. Though it would be awesome if it was Orekis sister eh?

OkamiSan~

Hyouka 10: What about the Rope?

If Chitanda is the catalyst, then Irisu is the invoker. In the first scene we get to see Irisu put her “empress” name to reality and slowly make Oreki realize his unique ability. It’s nice to know that the producers not only tell the personality of a character but show it. This scene really made me like this Irisu character a lot more. Also unlike most “S” or empress-like characters, I like the subtlety they added to her personality, it’s neither over-bearing nor too little, they showed just enough for us to know how she gets what she wants.

Fukube was actually jealous of Oreki, or at least that’s how it looked like in the second scenes. This could a foreshadowing to Fukubes arc just like the “colourful school life” was in episode four. Also judging from the way they made that shot of Fukube being jealous, I’d say it quite a serious matter. This is surprising coming from a character of Fukubes type, oh well we shall soon see.

Now for the conclusion that Oreki made, I found it really intriguing and unique that they made the cameraman the culprit. I mean seriously, who would’ve thought? So that’s why the shots were so bad! We yet again see how unique the series can go.

Of course in the end it was all for not as Oreki missed a crucial clue, the rope! Personally I forgot about the rope as well, though I did feel as though there was something wrong. Well, something wrong with Oreki and not his theory. I felt as though his development was a little too fast, I don’t really know how to explain properly how it felt then. Either way this was Orekis first fault.

So the arc is still on and I expect quite a lot to how Oreki would clear his mess. However I do feel like they added Orekis fail at the right time, it added a new and refreshing feel to the cases that the series have undergone, though I would’ve like it either way.

OkamiSan~

Hyouka 09: Instead of 3 suspects, 3 theories

From the last episode, we were introduced to three new characters and given the situation and the feel that they gave; I was expecting some sort of debate and rivalry. I thought it’d be interesting to see how a verbal fight is handled by the producers of Hyouka. But then again, I forgot how Hyouka is known to take generic tropes and twist them into something unique.

So besides an all-out fight between the three and Oreki, we have them giving out their own theories on the mystery whilst Oreki’s team decide to go with it or not. Along the way we see Haba Tomohiro (the glasses guy) obviously trying to pick on Oreki to be the better guy, the same can be said about Nakajou Junya (the other, bigger guy) but I feel he is more into his whole “Capture the viewer” thing. Never the less the producers still manage to throw in a nice amount or rivalry into the episode. Now I’d love to see their faces as Oreki blows them out with his conclusion.

This episode has become quite elaborate as multiple theories, clues and evidences are being thrown here and there. I’m guessing the producers what us to come up with our own theories on the matter and have those theories changed as the evidences are given. I on the other hand wasn’t able to come up with one simply because the pacing of the explanations was just too much for my head to process fast enough. Though I did understand it in general, I had to watch it again to soak in all the info. But that’s just me. I found it surprising that they didn’t provided adequate visual explanations to Haba Tomohiros theory. His was the most confusing as words were just flying everywhere. I guess that’s a small one where they failed at, meh~

On the other hand, we see Chitanda getting drunk over whisky chocolates. Whisky Chocos… how’d she manage to get them? Aren’t they under aged? Whatev’s, if you guys know the answer to why then post it below. Anyway, seeing her getting drunk was a very nice addition to the scenes as it added a different feel as the main plot passed by. Not to mention she was extremely adorable.

Try to pay attention to the scene composition; you will notice that they do well to try to tell the viewers that something is up with those short half blurred shots. They signify either a foreshadowing or the character in that shot found out something. I noticed that the producers put quite a lot of those throughout the series.

Other than that we have the ending scene of Oreki meeting Irisu. All I can come up with is that she will provide new and compelling evidence or some sort of surprise that Oreki will somehow uses to solve the mystery.

Oh~ on a side note, it’s funny that as most murder mystery series go with three suspects, Hyouka opts for theories by three different people instead.

OkamiSan~

Summer Anime Season 2012 Preview

It's that time of year again; credits on their respective charts.

      

This season's post was much more manageable than the last solely because of the sheer number of shows during Spring. With that being said, there isn't anything that I'm super-excited about, but there are several shows that look quite promising. As per usual, second seasons of shows won't get descriptions and some shows don't have any trailers or promotional videos yet. Information compiled from the following sources: ANN, myanimelist, anidb, and mangaupdates.

Kingdom - Manga adaption [trailer]
Genre: Action, Drama, Historical, Seinen
Description: In the Warring States Period of ancient China (475-221 BCE), Shin and Hyou are war-orphans in the kingdom of Qin. They dream of one day proving themselves on the battlefield. One day, however, Hyou is taken to the palace by a minister. Winding up on the losing side of a power-struggle, Hyou manages to return to the village, barely alive. Shin then meets a boy who closely resembles Hyou, Ei Sei. For now he is the king of Qin; later he will become the emperor Shi Huangdi.

Bern's Thoughts: This has already started airing. I'm not particularly interested in sengoku-like period settings. Also, I heard that the CGI was pretty bad. I won't be watching this.
Djr7's Thoughts: Basically what Bern said.
Pearz' Thoughts: 1 look and I can already tell I will hate this art style and won’t even give them a chance.

Muv-Luv Alerternative: Total Eclipse - Manga adaption [trailer]
Genre: Action, Mecha
Description: In the year 1973, alien species known as BETA (Beings of Extra Terrestrial origin which is Adversary of human race) came to invade earth. During the next 30 years, they have conquered most of the Eurasian continent, effectively decreasing the world population by billions. In response to their unique behavior, a new type of mobile mechanical humanoid weapon was developed, known as Tactical Surface Fighter (TSF).
In the year 2001, elite pilots from around the world start to gather at a UN base in Alaska named Yukon to participate in the Prominence Project. This project is a joint effort between Russia and America on research and development of next generation of TSF. The job of the pilots is to test the prototypes, which occasionally involves pitting them one against another...
Bern's Thoughts: I think this is a sequel of a spinoff or something of the like. Not a follower of the series so I won't be watching this.

Djr7's Thoughts: Reminds me of Gundam, I do like the character art and will watch this to question who designed the flight suits for the chicks and why the chose to show of so much ass and tits. If it's just action and Mecha then there's a good chance I wont watch it unless it has some sort of humour/decent plot. 

Pearz' Thoughts: You got mecha and a more sci-fi background. Definitely worth giving it a shot, though I will probably be disappointed.
OkamiSan’s Thoughts: Dunno anything about this but seeing as it has action and mecha I’ll see what this has in store. Won’t be expecting much though.

Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi. - Manga adaption [trailer]
Genre: Historical, Josei
Description: Uta Koi tells the "super-liberal interpretation" of the Hyakuninisshu anthology compiled during Japan's Heinan period of 100 romantic poems from different poets such as Genji's Murasaki Shikibu.
Bern's Thoughts: This doesn't look like my cup of tea, so I won't be watching this.
Djr7's Thoughts: Is this a history lesson? I don't think i'll watch it.

Pearz' Thoughts: Umm... no. I watch anime not for the culture, I like my flashy battles D:

Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate - Visual novel adaption [trailer]
Genre: Drama, Romance
Description: Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate follows the protagonist Yuuki Oojima, who attends Private Takafuji Academy, a large school with over 6,000 students. Yuuki is a member of the food research club, along with seven others, including his childhood friend Chisato Sumiyoshi. The members leisurely spend their time in the club not doing much activities. When the election of the next student council president comes up, the front runner Satsuki Shinonome proposes that clubs that have no merit should be sorted out and abolished. The food research club seeks advice from the current student council president Yakumo Mori, who suggests Yuuki run in the election as an opposing candidate. Yuuki learns about the issues facing the school and decides to run in the election.
Bern's Thoughts: This shapes up to be your typical school life romance anime. I think it'll all hinge on the protagonist to see if this will be decent or not. I'll give it a shot.
Djr7's Thoughts: Michuru's hair is awesome, and I think that is "dark" chocolate, which is my favorite. I will pick it up and see how well the characters are constructed. 

Pearz' Thoughts: The first of the VN adaptations. I am obligated to watch one episode to decide on the best girl and to see how terrible to main character is.

OkamiSan’s Thoughts: Bern has it right, I too will be watching this depending on the protagonist.

Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouta ga Iru - Light novel adaption [trailer]
Genre: Comedy, Harem, Romance
Description: Abiding by his father's will, Shougo was transferred into an academy where many young girls attend. It appears as though his younger sister (separated from him at birth) also attends this academy, and that she is trying to get closer to him without letting know him who she actually is. Problem is, Shougo seems to be popular with the other girls as well! Can Shougo "properly" reunite with his little sister and while making a girlfriend at the same time?!
Bern's Thoughts: Transfer to a girls' academy? A younger sister separated from him at birth? This already spells standard harem hijinks. You really can't go two seasons without some imouto love, can you?
Djr7's Thoughts: Not a fan of the bright art, nor do I find any reason to watch this.

Pearz' Thoughts: Oh god, more harems. This one seems more comical then the other one so a larger likelyhood of me sticking through. I always wonder how these ecchi light novels work, kinda seems lack luster if it was just words.
OkamiSan’s Thoughts: At least bring out something new from this generic genre. Just as Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica brought something new to the mahou shoujo theme.

Moyashimon Returns (Season 2) - Manga adaption [trailer1][trailer2][trailer3][trailer4]
Genre: Comedy, Seinen, Supernatural
Description: Season 2 of Moyashimon.
Bern's Thoughts: Yes, please. This makes one-half of the noitaminA block this coming season. I remember watching this a long while ago and loving it. I don't remember whether it was the college setting, or the educational stuff about microbes, but I'm looking forward to this one. Edit: Just re-watched the first season, my body is ready.
Djr7's Thoughts: I have no idea what to think, never saw the first and I don't think I'll be picking this up.

Pearz' Thoughts: having no idea what this is, I can’t say I will even give it a chance. Maybe Bern will fill me in on the awesomeness later on. 

OkamiSan’s Thoughts: Watched the first series, and it was quite entertaining. This one should one to look forward to.

Natsuyuki Rendezvous - Manga adaption [trailer]
Genre: Drama, Josei, Romance, Supernatural
Description: Hazuki falls in love at first sight with a flower shop owner named Rokka and decides to get closer to her by applying as a part-time employee. A going-away party soon brings him to her doorstep, and Hazuki is elated. But what happens when he discovers that residing in her apartment is the spirit of the man she can never forget?
Bern's Thoughts: The other half of the noitaminA time slot. I think I'll be passing on this one. I tried both Apollon and Tsuritama this past season and ended up dropping them. I guess noitaminA shows aren't must tries for me anymore.

Djr7's Thoughts: Why do the eyes look so messed up? There doesn't seem to be anything here worthy of my short atten... BICYCLE!!

Pearz' Thoughts: This is clearly not for me, I just hate this art style let alone the terrible plot.

Campione! - Light novel adaption - [trailer]
Genre: Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Harem
Description: A harem love comedy plus magic battles. Kusanagi Godo is a 16-year-old high school boy, who once killed the god "Verethragna" and acquired the title of "Campione (god killer)" when he was 15. Erica Brandelli is a 16-year-old Italian girl, who is a "Great Knight" of the magic society "Bronze Black Cross" and had fought together with Godo to defeat Verethragna. Godo doesn't like fighting but his title of "Campione" makes him get involved in battles against other Campiones and uncontrollable gods.
Bern's Thoughts: Looks like your standard fantasy harem show; I don't see anything that really stands out to me. Maybe I'll check it out to see if they have cool sword fights.

Djr7's Thoughts: The characters look fun and this show should give some much needed harem/action that I seem to crave at the moment for some strange reason.

Pearz' Thoughts: A main character that hates fighting in a harem setting, seems awfully generic but I am still suckered in to watch 1 episode... I am part of the problem...
OkamiSan’s Thoughts: Uhh... Okay? I’ll give this one a shot. Don’t really know what to make of it though...

Hagure Yuusha no Estetica - Light novel adaption [trailer1][trailer2]
Genre: Action, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem,
Description: In normal RPGs, a hero defeats the Satan king and the story ends. But what does the hero do after that? Ohtorizawa Akatsuki defeats the Satan king in the fantasy world of Alleyzard and returns to the real world. He is sheltered by the international organization BABEL, which protects and controls people transferred from the outer worlds. BABEL is astonished to know Akatsuki has really defeated Satan and brings Satan's daughter Miu from Alleyzard. In the academy of BABEL, Akatsuki confronts other "returners", who have psychic powers.
Bern's Thoughts: Again, another very standard looking fantasy harem. Not a big fan of the character designs I see from the trailers either. I doubt I'll be watching this.
Djr7's Thoughts: I think I will be watching Campione! over this, plus I agree with Bern on characters looking pretty lame.
Pearz' Thoughts: Interesting setting, thought the PVs turned me off staring at crazy light beams across the screen. I'll see if the stars align perfectly I will give this a shot.
OkamiSan’s Thoughts: Hmm... We seem to be having a number of harems this summer. Thankfully this one doesn't have the comedy part, also the fact that its action makes me hope for something....more

Rinne no Lagrange Season 2 - Anime original [trailer]
Genre: Action, Mecha
Description: Season 2 of Rinne no Lagrange.
Bern's Thoughts: One of the few must sees for me. I used to never watch mecha shows, or shows with the main cast consisting of girls only. I really enjoyed the first season, so I hope the second will give this show a satisfactory ending.
Djr7's Thoughts: Not sure about this one, the quality and battle art seems pretty weak, doubt I will get around to watching this anytime soon.
Pearz' Thoughts: I can't say I particularly enjoyed season 1, but it also wasn't bad either. The PV caught my eye at least, maybe I'll follow this show through if the first few episodes keep my captivated.
OkamiSan’s Thoughts: Yes please! The First season was surprisingly good considering the fact that I’m not into all female heroines. And I mean that like literally, not to mention as all “good guys” are girls, all “bad guys” are boys...weird really. Still one worth watching...

Sword Art Online - Light novel adaption [trailer]
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Game, Romance,
Description:
 The only way to escape is to 'clear' the game. Game over means actual 'death' ---- The ten thousand who have logged onto the as of yet mysterious game 'Sword Art Online' have been forced into this perilous death game. Protagonist Kirito, one of the many gamers, has greeted this 'truth'.
He plays as a solo player in the giant castle that is the stage for this game ---- 'Aincrad'. To meet the conditions of clearing the game --- getting through all 100 floors, Kirito fights his way through this quest alone.
Bern's Thoughts: The novel is extremely popular, so I think this is one of the more hyped shows of the season. Judging by the trailer, it seems that A-1 Pictures will be doing a decent job art-wise. I hope this doesn't disappoint.
Djr7's Thoughts: I've always loved the idea of anime where everything happens inside a video game, I was very disappointed with ".Hack/" but this looks rather intriguing. 
Pearz' Thoughts: This was one of the super aticipated shows this season, hopefully it lives up to it's hype. Maybe I'll even write about it!

OkamiSan’s Thoughts: I’ve been excited about this one. It has a new(ish) idea, is action packed and hopefully has just the right amount of romance. This is a must see and should be this summer's most anticipated.

Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon Season 2 - Light novel adaption [trailer]
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Description: Season 2 of Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon.
Bern's Thoughts: I didn't watch the first season so I probably won't be watching this. I know OkamiSan will be happy though!
Djr7's Thoughts: Got halfway through the first before stopping, but I think I might finish it up to check this out. The one thing I liked about the first season was its crazy amount of weird characters, even though some of them had balloon boobs. 
Pearz' Thoughts: As interesting as it looks, I could not get through the first season. They were clearly not aiming this show to attract people new to the universe.
OkamiSan’s Thoughts: MINE! nuff said...

Dog Days Season 2 - Anime original [trailer1][trailer2]
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Shounen
Description: Season 2 of Dog Days.
Bern's Thoughts: I enjoyed the first season of this enough to see this one. It'll probably be a different feel though, since two girls will accompany Cinque in this next trip to the world of Flonyard.

Djr7's Thoughts: Never saw the first one but I'm sure i'll get around to it eventually. I won't be watching this until some time in the future.
Pearz' Thoughts: This was one of the "kick back and just enjoy" shows. It was not particularly good, but it had it's moments. I'll see how this goes with season 2. Sometimes mindless fun is okay too.
OkamiSan’s Thoughts: This should be entertaining to watch though I know I won’t anything above average about this.

Ebiten: Kouritsu Ebisugawa Koukou Tenmon-bu - Manga adaption [trailer]
Genre: School, Shounen
Description: Noya Itsuki just started his school year at the Ebisugawa High School and since he has always had a fascination with space, he decides to join the astronomy club. However, he mistakenly walks into the all girls Otaku Club. He notices that the members are really weird, but Itsuki has yet to realize that he isn’t in the astronomy club. His life is about to get complicated by being surrounded by so many girls.
Bern's Thoughts: I think this has the same character designer as Seitokai no Ichizon. Being a web animation, I doubt this will even get subs.
Djr7's Thoughts: Looks like it might be a good laugh and fun to watch. 
Pearz' Thoughts: Sometimes it just cracks me up the crazy settings they come up with. I'll give it an episode to see what it has got.
OkamiSan’s Thoughts:....eh?

Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita - Light novel adaption [trailer1][trailer2][trailer3]
Genre: Fantasy, Seinen
Description: The story is set several centuries into the slow decline of mankind. Earth has now become the realm of "fairies" — 10-centimeter-tall creatures with remarkable intelligence and an appetite for sweets. The human protagonist of the story serves an important duty as the international arbitrator between the fairies and humans, and she returns to her former hometown of Kusunoki. She chose this job because she thought it was an easy job she can do, even when she is as old as her grandfather. However, she learns that her job is anything but simple when she meets the fairies.
Bern's Thoughts: If not for the description, I probably wouldn't be able to tell what was going in the trailers. Overall, it looks to be a rather odd show; the colors sort of remind me of Tsuritama.
Djr7's Thoughts: What the heck were those naked headless chickens? I don't think I'll be watching this.
Pearz' Thoughts: Odd art style combined with odd setting just doesn't look like it is for me.
OkamiSan’s Thoughts: I see a weird concept especially from seeing the PV... so im all for it. New ideas are always good. Just hope they don’t destroy it with a bad story or whatever.

La Storia Dellla Arcana Famiglia - Otome game adaption [trailer]
Genre: Action, Comedy, Romance
Description: The story follows Arcana Famiglia, a self-appointed organization with mysterious powers that has protected a small Mediterranean island from pirates, foreign countries, and other threats. The only daughter of the family's "Papa," Felicitá, will be married to the next head of the family in two months — and the successor will be decided in a competition that Felicitá herself will take part in.
Bern's Thoughts: Otome game adaption, huh. I wonder if this'll also fade into invisibility like Hiiro no Kakera. I'll pass.

Djr7's Thoughts: The art looks awesome, wonder what it'l look like for the actual animated characters though, this is worth looking into. 
Pearz' Thoughts: Nothing like Otome game adaptations to raking in the real money. The trailer had interesting art style that has peeked my interest, I'll give it a chance.

Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai - Light novel adaption [trailer]
Genre: Comedy, Ecchi, Romance, Supernatural
Description: Kaga Ryosuke, a helplessly romantic teenager, was walking in the rain when he sees a beautiful girl with red eyes drenched in the rain. Everyone was avoiding her, but Ryosuke was taught to treasure women so he offered his help by letting her dry off at his home. Ryosuke can't imagine that this mysterious girl would stab him in the chest and leave him to die… Or did she? Who is this pretty girl and what does she want with him?
Bern's Thoughts: I remember reading the first couple chapters of the manga but I didn't continue it. That probably doesn't bode well. The mild nudity from the trailer and a red-haired main girl really draws comparisons with High School DxD. I ended up enjoying DxD, so maybe I should give this one a shot as well.

Djr7's Thoughts: High School DxD was awesome and carried this charm to it. This show looks very similar so I will definitely check it out.
Pearz' Thoughts: I guess we have to have a show with outright ecchi in it every season too. I'll give it a firm maybe (probably not, I rather watch random harem crap)

OkamiSan’s Thoughts: This screams Highschool DxD. Sigh, I just hope they don't overload the series with nonsensical ecchi and mild nudity.

Joshiraku - Manga adaption [trailer]
Genre: Comedy, Slice of life
Description: A group of girls discusses random things and usually reaches an unusual or humorous conclusion that's far from the initial discussion topic.
Bern's Thoughts: Honestly, this looks rather boring.
Djr7's Thoughts: This is the worst description for a show in the history of doughnuts. Seems like its Hyouka except they talk about funny stuff and come to a funny conclusion about something funny. I don't think I will have any fun watching this.  
Pearz' Thoughts: I'll give it a shot just because it is same author as Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei which I always regret not finishing. I wouldn't otherwise based on the trailer and description.

Oda Nobuna no Yabou - Light novel adaption [trailer1][trailer2][trailer3]
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Shounen
Description: The historical romantic comedy follows 17-year-old high schooler Sagara Yoshiharu who one day time-travels to the Sengoku period, where all the major Samurai lords are cute girls. Yoshiharu meets Oda Nobuna, the girl counterpart of Oda Nobunaga, and begins to serve her as a substitute of Kinoshita Tokichiro, who has been dead in the world.
Bern's Thoughts: Japan's twist on things always making someone or something a girl. Again, I'm not too keen sengoku period, so I don't think I'll be watching this.
Djr7's Thoughts: I'll pass.
Pearz' Thoughts: Can we really not go 1 season without a gender bent Oda? Is this a secret trick to teach people about their history in a media form they like? I guess it would work... Too bad nothing happens in Canadian history...
OkamiSan’s Thoughts: Interesting, first they turn Arthur into a girl in the Fate series, now they do the same with Oda Nobunaga. Meh, I’ll give this one a shot, just more action, better direction, less harem comed...

Hakuouki Reimeiroku - Game adaption [trailer]
Genre: Action, Drama, Historical, Shoujo, Supernatural
Description: A third TV series, it is the prequel of Hakuouki and tells the story of the dawning of the Shinsengumi.
Bern's Thoughts: I don't know anything about the previous series, so I won't be watching this.
Djr7's Thoughts: Basically what Bern said.
Pearz' Thoughts: Third season, guess it sold well, I wouldn't know.

Tari Tari - Anime original [trailer1][trailer2]
Genre: School
Description: The story centers around five Japanese high school students who are too young to be called adults, but who no longer think of themselves as children.
Wakana Sakai once took music lessons, but she withdrew from music after losing her mother. Konatsu Miyamoto is a positive-thinking girl who loves singing and spends time after school at the vocal music club. Sawa Okita is a spirited archery club member who dreams of becoming a horse rider. Daichi Tanaka is a chronically late badminton team member who lives with his college student sister. "Wiin" just transfered into Wakana's class after 12 years abroad in Australia.
Music brings Wakana, Konatsu, Sawa and the others together into an ensemble during their last summer in high school.
Bern's Thoughts: This is another show that looks promising, especially being an anime original. P.A. works continues to amaze me with their high quality art, most recently with Hanasaku Iroha, and Another. I'll definitely check this one out.

Djr7's Thoughts: I hope the plot doesn't take a nosedive like "Another". Worth the watch just for the visuals.

Pearz Thoughts: As I watched the trailer, I was like "this art style looks quite familiar". It looks identical to Hanasaku in every way. I definitely love PA works, hopefully it won't be as boring as Hanasaku.

Binbou-gami ga! - Manga adaption [trailer]
Genre: Action, Comedy, Shounen, Supernatural
Description: Sakura Ichiko is a 16-year-old girl who leads a charmed life and is blessed with beauty, brains, and health. She has an abundance of “Happiness Energy”, which can make people happy, but at the cost of absorbing all the “Happiness Energy” from her surroundings. She has caused the energy balance of the world to become unbalanced and because of this, she becomes the target of a Poverty God named Momiji. Momiji's goal is to remove Ichiko’s power of absorbing other people’s Happiness Energy and to return all the energy she has taken to its rightful place.
Bern's Thoughts: I remember I tried to read the first chapter of this manga a long time ago, but I just couldn't get into it. I doubt I'll be watching this.
Djr7's Thoughts: I think this will be a show where I watch the first episode then drop it forever. 
Pearz' Thoughts: I flipped through the first chapter and it looked okay but the art style turned me off.

Kokoro Connect - Light novel adaption [trailer1][trailer2]
Genre: Comedy, Gender Bender, Romance, Slice of Life
Description: The "love and teen pentagonal comedy" follows the strange phenomena at the Yamahoshi Academy's Culture Club, starting with the five male and female club members switching bodies with each other.
Bern's Thoughts: I'm usually not a big fan of gender bender/ body swapping in general, but I really love the character designs. I also like Silver Link as a studio so I'll be checking this out.

Djr7's Thoughts: Wasn't sure what to think, but then I saw the chick try to commit suicide (I think), I will take a look and see what this show has to offer. 

Pearz' Thoughts: What is this switching body bit? Didn't get that feel from the PVs at all. Interesting enough setting to give it a shot though.

Chitose Get You!! - 4-koma adaption [trailer]
Genre: Comedy, School, Romance, Slice of Life, Seinen
Description: Chitose is an 11 year old girl who is madly in love with an older guy named Hiroshi. He works at the town hall right next to the school and Chitose spends every day relentlessly pursuing him. Can Chitose ever convince Hiroshi to go out with her?
Bern's Thoughts: Generally not a big fan of 4-koma adaptions, but there are exceptions like Nichibros and Seitokai Yakuindomo. Will this be an exception?
Djr7's Thoughts: No thanks, not interested at all.
Pearz' Thoughts: Flipped through a bit of the first chapter, couldn't even finish that...

Yuru Yuri Season 2 - Manga adaption [trailer]
Genre: Comedy, School Life, Shoujo, Slice of Life
Description: The second season of Yuru Yuri.
Bern's Thoughts: I didn't watch the first season, so I won't be watching this either.
Djr7's Thoughts: Ditto Bern.
Pearz' Thoughts: I heard good things about season 1, alas I will not be watching this.

Blood Lad - Manga adaption [trailer]
Genre: Comedy, Supernatural, Slice of Life
Description: Staz is the vampire boss of a section of the demon world, but he has little interest in human blood. He's more infatuated with Japanese culture. When he learns that Yanagi Fuyumi, a Japanese teenage girl, accidentally wanders into the demon city, he jumps to the occasion. However, while Staz deals with an intruder on his turf, the oblivious Fuyumi is killed by a monster and becomes a wandering ghost. The disappointed Staz vows to her that he will find a way to bring Fuyumi back to life.
Bern's Thoughts: I'm usually skeptical about anything that has vampires in it, but after reading through the first chapter of the manga, the main character gave me a good impression. I'll check this out.
Djr7's Thoughts: Funny how this is similar to Disgaea 4 (PS3), I will definitely take a look at this. 
Pearz Thoughts: I am with Bern with this. I was pretty skeptical from the description but the first chapter turned out pretty good. I can't say I like the art style though...

Arve Rezzle - Light novel adaption [trailer]
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Sci-fi, Thriller,
Description: In 2022, the technology of quantum computing has greatly advanced and many people have transfered their mind into the cyber space. Remu's sister-in-law, Shiki, skipped grades and entered a high school in the academic city "Okinotori-island Mega Float City (OMFC)" when she was 14. One day, Shiki confessed to her brother via Skype that she was talking to him directly from the cyber space and her real body had been kept in a water tank filled with a culture medium. It's called "Body pool" and Shiki connected to the network by nanomachines implanted in her brain. Remu was surprised but he accepted her decision until an accident called "Early Rupture" happened. The network server got overloaded and users' minds were lost in cyber space leaving soulless living bodies in the Body Pools. In order to bring Shiki's mind back, Remu visits her apartment in OMFC and there meets Shiki escaped from the hospital. But the girl tells him that she is not Shiki and she happens to haven taken over Shiki's body. When Remu tries to figure out the situation, a violent attack strikes the apartment.

Bern's Thoughts: Looking at the synopsis alone, this looks very interesting. However, I believe this will be an OVA instead of a TV series, so there probably won't be many episodes. Sadface.
Djr7's Thoughts: I see "Thriller" so I will watch it for sure. The real reason I want to watch this is the picture of the girl holding a scythe to a guys neck with creepy red eyes. 
Pearz' Thoughts: I life sci-fi-ish stories like these. Definite will be giving this a watch, hopefully it is a series and not an OVA like Bern says!

In sum, my tentative to watch list will be:

Shows I'm looking forward to:
Moyashimon Returns
Rinne no Lagrange Season 2
Dog Days Season 2

Shows I have hope in:
Sword Art Online
Tari Tari
Kokoro Connect
Blood Lad

Interestingly enough, the shows that I'm looking forward to are all second seasons. In addition those listed above, I'll probably test the waters with a few of the many harem shows to see if any of them are to my liking. That aside, this season looks much thinner compared to the previous one. Maybe there's a hidden gem somewhere that I'm overlooking.

-Bern