Joshiraku is a satirical comedy anime that follows the everyday life of a group of girls.

Kenn's Comment: I went into this one cautiously. I didn't know what to expect from a manga that takes place almost entirely in the dressing room of a theatre. Let's just say I was pleasantly surprised.


For those who don't know about it, the らく (raku) part of じょしらく (joshiraku) stands for 落語 (らくご, rakugo), which is a Japanese theatrical practice. Basically, it's what you get when you cross stand up comedy with storytelling. The stories are comical, usually have more than one character and is done by a single person. They pretty much sit (in seiza) and tell their story, differentiating characters by body position or  voice. The storyteller (落語家, らくごか, rakugoka, 家 (ka) indicating something like 'profession') has a small cloth and a paper fan (like a folding fan, not a harisen) at their disposal on stage.

Anywho, back on track, J.C. Staff has done a wonderful job at this. Kumeta Koji works have predominantly been animated by SHAFT, mainly 絶望先生 (zetsubou sensei), and another whose title slips my mind, so I was a bit curious to see how J.C. Staff would handle the dialogue heavy series. And they did it in quite the J.C. Staff way. It's certainly not the way SHAFT might have done it (with the various Shinbo cuts and camera angles), but it's a charming series with a rather sharp tongue. Like Zetsubou Sensei, this one is a satire of society behind it's cute facade. Also in Kumeta fashion, the names all have meanings behind them,

Lots of 4th wall breaking in this one. An early sequence in the first episode involves the transition from manga to anime, and then takes a jab at those who watch the episode without paying for it.

A later scene discusses the meaning of 'casual wear' and how 'casual' has many different meanings. Does it mean what we usually wear? What we're most comfortable in?

Have to say I was pleased to see that come up in anime, because casual wear is something that I've never understood. When I was first told what 'casual wear' is my response was 'how is that any different from formal'. Flash foward 300,000 years, and I've more or less gotten what the differences are, but it still irks me.

The very last scene of the first episode was by far one of the sharpest jabs in anime I've ever seen. It takes shots at the countries around Japan, as well as the politicians in the Japanese parliament.

Give us back our land/people/technology/submarines/money!

One has to be pretty well versed in Japanese current events to know what countries Kumeta is referring to, though the internet is certainly your friend in this situation.

All in all, it's a surprisingly fun series. While dialogue heavy, it's very enjoyable, even more so if you manage to get some of the references and jokes (which is quite difficult unless you're very well versed in Japanese culture and current affairs).


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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.  

Kenn's Comment: Since I started with SAO using this format, I'll continue it. Feels a bit redundant, but it'll have to do.

The animation for this one is great. The colours work well with the characters, though I'm not sure why Ichiko has gray hair now, instead of the pink she sports in the manga (I think). Ichiko's quoted to have silver hair in the manga, so her hair in the anime isn't that far off the mark. If it were a bit brighter like Nyaruko's, I'd think it'd be a tad bit more vibrant looking.  The jabs and references to other series is great, coming off of the super-reference heavy Nyaruko and reminiscent of Gintama, it's certainly something that I enjoy.

I'd say the best part of the series is the relationship between Momiji and Ichiko. I've read a volume or two of the manga, and I'd have to say that they share an interesting relationship. While they're constantly at each other's throats, they've always got each other's backs which creates an interesting dynamic between the two.

One worry I have about this one is the pace that the series is going at. An episode typically contains 1-3 chapters of the manga. The real meat of the story doesn't really start until later, with some of the more eventful story arcs will either not make it into the anime, or take place towards the tail end of the season (Momiji takes a jab, saying that it'd be a one cour series). The first of these arcs should be episode 4. Looking foward to that one, and the rest.

I'm hoping this one will be a returning series. Probably not going to be a long running one like Gintama or Naruto, but I'm hoping it'll return constantly like Hidamari Sketch (which returns for it's 4th season).

So, should you watch it? Yes. I believe it's a Funimation licensed series too, so you'll be able to pick up the Blurays (seriously, who still uses DVDs?).

Title: ソードアート・オンライン, Sword Art Online, S.A.O
Animation Studio: A-1 Pictures
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Airs: 07/07 24:00 Tokyo MX / Crunchyroll
Website: http://www.swordart-online.net/

Series Summary from ANN:

Trapped and fighting for their very lives in a Virtual Reality MMORPG, Aincrad Online, the story explores the mishaps and adventures of the greatest one handed swordsman of the VR world, Kirito. Together with his friends, the solo swordsman strives to finish the game, which in turn will release all the minds trapped into Aincrad.

Kenn's Comment: The visuals are spectacular - especially landscapes. They're really a sight to behold. I can only imagine what it'd be like on bluray on a big screen. It'd be a thing of beauty.

The premise is similar to a series most of us are familiar with, .//Hack, with the VR and the headsets, and getting trapped in the world. SAO takes it one step further: you're trapped and if you die in game, you actually die. The first episode was a good and strong introduction, brining us into Aincrad, using Kirito putting Klein through the ropes of the game.

The music is something that's another strong point in this one. Yuki Kajiura nails the music, providing both the grand, epic chorus pieces, like at the beginning of the episode, to the more electronic ones, reminiscent of the stuff you'd find in video games. The music in the PV is quite something too.

tl;dr Easily one of the strongest first episode this season. Great visuals, voice acting is on spot, music s superb. If I could get Zelos' input on this one it'd be even better.

If you haven't realized it yet, this and Accel World come from the same author

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Airs: 07/06 10:30 AT-X
Website: http://kichiku.tv/

Series Summary from MangaHelpers:

Summoned into an alternate world of Alayzard, Ousawa Akatsuki helps defeat the demon lord, brings harmony back into the world and, under the demon lord’s last request, takes the demon’s only daughter back into Akatsuki’s own world. It turns out that being teleported into a different world is somewhat of a common occurrence. Those who find themselves back home often come back with the power to use magic and the world organization fearing people like Akatsuki created Babel, a school to teach and keep tabs on the magic users. Akatsuki is able to pull the demon lord’s only daughter into Babel as his sister, Ousawa Miu. A new chapter for Akatsuki is about to begin in his own universe. [vyc]

Kenn's Comment: There's something about the girls in this that's throwing me off. I can't tell what it is, but they're all looking very chunky. I feel that it's something about how the shoulders are drawn...or maybe it's just how they're drawn in general. I had the same problem with うぽって！, though to a lesser degree.

Anywho, from the look and sound of it, the main character is one helluva bad ass. Things to note in this: エッチ content. The PV has whited out scenes and magic steam for crying out loud. They know what they're selling. Anywho, once I get past the art, I'm hoping that the story can push it through, and not fall flat like so many other light novel adaptations of this genre have.

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Airs: 07/01 24:56 AT-X
Website: http://www.takeshobo.co.jp/sp/tv_chitose/

Series Summary from MangaUpdates:

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?

Kenn's Comment: If you ever need a series to explain to someone what moe is, please, don't use this one.

Anywho, for those who are about to call the local church to get them to ban this, this one's pretty darn clean. Stars Chitose, an overly energetic 11 year old with a huge crush on a young man who works at the town hall. It's a one sided crush to crush all one sided crushes. Think of it like Infinite Stratos. Any of the girls liking Ichika pretty much experience what Chitose is doing, though they're probably infinitely (see what I did there?) more frustrated with that guy.

Anywho, it'll be up on Crunchyroll for those of you interested. I flipped through a bit of the manga, and it's not really my cup of tea.

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Airs: 07/05 25:15 Fuji TV
Website: http://natsuyuki.tv/

Series Summary from Stiletto Heels:

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?

Kenn's Comment:  A Josei series with actual adults! The last few Josei series that've aired haven't always had truly adult characters. You've got Chihayafuru, high-schoolers I believer. Kuragehime, Tsukimi technically is an adult, but she don't really fit the description. Sakamichi no Apollon? High school. Usagi Drop is probably one of the few recently aired Josei series with an adult main (Daikichi).

Anywho, the manga ended recently at 4 volumes which means the anime will probably cover it in it's entirety.  Aside from that, I know nothing about the story. Might check it out, but I've never really been a fan of drama. Might make myself watch this one.

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Airs: 07/01 22:00 TOKYO MX/ Bandai Channel
Website: http://lag-rin.com/

Series Summary from ANN (season 1):

Madoka is the lone member of her school's Jersey Club. She is one day recruited by a mysterious girl named Lan to pilot the robot "Vox" and protect her city from space invaders. They are joined by a third girl, Muginami, who has a different goal than Ran. Meanwhile, they still don't know their enemies' true goal, or what "Rinne" might be.

Kenn's Comment: And it's back, the series that was part highschool comedy, and part mecha battler. The first season was actually pretty good so I'll be watching this one. The art still has that odd tinge. Go open the site and stare at Madoka (in the middle). Something about the placement of her eyes is throwing off her face...and giving it a bit of 'derp'.

Anywho, the story picks off where it left in the first season, and I'm tempted to tag it as 'Drama' due to all the stuff that'll go down in the first few episodes of the series. Daaaaaamn.

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Total Eclipse is set in the same world as MuvLuvAlternative, at Alaska's Yukon base, test site 18, where first-class staff from all over the world regardless of country gather to work on new Tactical Surface Fighters.
The main characters are engineers and pilots and it features many TSFs that failed to show up in Alternative.

Kenn's Comment: Mecha? Fanservice? Boobs!? Need I say more? And being broadcasted on TV Tokyo, need I mention that this will also be streamed on Crunchyroll?

I'm hoping Tarisa is awesome when animated. Dark skinned characters have been a bit of a rarity these days.

Anywho, I'm kind of looking forward to this one. I've got lots on my list, so I probably might just knock this one into a low priority slot. I don't know a heck of a lot about Muvluv anywho, so I might actually pass this up.

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 Joshiraku is a satirical comedy anime that follows the everyday life of a group of girls.

Kenn's Comment: Story is by Kumeta Koji, of Zetsubou Sensei fame, and art by Yasu, the illustrated of the ToraDora novels, among others. 

I took a look at the manga a few years ago, and from what I read...I didn't think it'd ever be made into an anime. To be fair, I didn't really look at too much of it, but it did seem very...episodic, and wasn't very...active so to speak. From the bit I read, the story...takes place almost entirely in that room. Things happen, and I can see some of their hijinks to be anime material...but I don't know. It'll be one of those series that'll never be licensed. Like Zetsubou Sensei, there's heavy reference to culture and language, which makes it really, really hard to translate in a way that keeps it's meaning while making it accessible to those not familiar with Japan and it's customs.

PV:

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. 

Kenn's Comment: The anime will probably take a few weeks to rev into top gear, just like how the manga takes a while before it really gets good. Hanazawa Kana stars as Ichiko, and Uchiyama Yumi as Momiji. I've got some high hopes for the series, being a fan of the manga and all. Concerns I've got are the standard shounen fare - fillers that are dreadfully boring, and just badly paced story telling. The staff kind of concerns me too. A lot of them, like the director, animation director and whatnots like that...don't seem to have any big titles under them. The PV...though it might be because of the medium, looks...a bit off. I'll wait until I see an episode before I really judge the art though.

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Meet Sawaki Tadayasu, the second son of yeast preparation suppliers, who is forced to go to an agricultural university and continue the family business. He has the unique ability to see microbes. He and his friend, Kei, are taken in as students by the fermentation-process obsessed Itsuki-sensei. This manga follows Sawaki as he tries to make his way through university as discreetly as possible…which is almost impossible if you’re as unique as he is.

Kenn's Comment: It's been 5 years since the first series was on air...and boy am I happy to have it back. Science, comedy and awesomeness! One of my favourite series comes back! Hail NoitaminA!! (It's the time slot the series airs in).

Anywho, this one's starting off where the first left off, so this is definitely a series you'll want to watch after getting through the first season. The situation with Kei will definitely need the first season to understand, and going through the first season and learning how the different bacteria look (and their names) will help you get through this one without racking your brain quite as much.　かもすぞ！

Also, in the beginning of the trailer. I don't remember Sawaki looking quite that feminine. Maybe it's the 5 year absence, but boy, he and Kei could swap places and I wouldn't notice. Along with the PV, there's also a short or 200 featuring the more popular of the bacteria.

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Title: 恋と選挙とチョコレート, Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate, Love and Elections and Chocolate
Animation Production: AIC Build
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Airs: 07/05 25:25 TBS
Website: http://www.koichoco.com/

Series Summary from ANN:

Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate follows the protagonist Yūki Ōjima, who attends Takafuji Private Academy a large school with over 6,000 students. Yūki 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 Mōri, who suggests Yūki run in the election as an opposing candidate. Yūki learns about the issues facing the school and decides to run in the election.

Kenn's Comment: An adaptation of the eroge by sprite and fairys.

I'm not sure how they'll be adapting it. Will they follow one route through to the end? Will they follow a 'true' ending if there's one in the game? How about combine several of the routes, but end with one route? There are so many ways to adapt a visual novel.

Took a quick peak at the manga adaptation, and I get the feeling that they'll be following the childhood friend's story. Just a feeling, but I feel that having the energetic character awaken feelings of sweet love over the course of the story is the way they'll be going. Just a thought.

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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? 

Kenn's Comment: I've read a very small amount of the manga (which is an adaptation of the light novel), and their relationship lies somewhere between the one that exists between Saito and Louise and Shana and Yuuji. On one hand, Lisara's the tsundere with too much tsun and not enough dere (more dere than Louise though). On the other, she depends on Ryosuke for support in combat (kind of like Yuuij and Shana).

I don't remember Feel ever doing an action series - much of their past work has been with fanservice-y series like Kiss x Sis and Mayo Chiki. While fanservice is a given for a series with a premise like this, I hope they don't go overboard with it...there's tastefully done, and then there's overdone.

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Title: TARI TARI, タリ・タリ
Animation Production: P.A. Works
Genre: Drama, Romance, Slice of Life
Airs: 07/01 22:30 TV KANAGAWA
Website: http://taritari.jp/

Series Summary from MangaUpdates:

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. Taichi Tanaka is a chronically late badminton team member who lives with his college student sister. Win 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. 

Kenn's Comment: Last summer in highschool makes them 17-18! ;D

Anywho, transferring into a 3rd Year highschool (12th grade) class is pretty unusual. Aside from that, I'm hoping that this whole 'music ensemble' thing doesn't get the better of people. From what I've read it's story themes will be similar to Hanasaku Iroha, coming of age kind of story, and it takes place in Enoshima...which I believe is where Tsuritama is set too. I'm really hoping the romance isn't as convoluted as it was in HSI, with it moving slower than a snail.

Anywho, I'll leave this for a bit and see how it plays out for the first few episodes before I make any decisions about it.

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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.  

Kenn's Comment: Based on the otoge (otome game) by HuneX, this one's a girl's series that'll likely be treated the same way Hakouki did - shift it's target market slightly closer to the middle of the spectrum (spectrum being boys on the right and girls on the left). It won't become a shounen by any means, but we'll probably be see more action to draw in more of a male audience. Of course, the pretty guys will stay, but I'm not quite sure how much of the romance they'll be adapting.

There's also a manga adaptation of the series floating around. Not sure how closely it follows the game because I haven't read the manga or played the game. The OP theme is sung by Harada Hitomi, if you're wondering.

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The Culture Research Club of Yamahoshi Academy. The strange events that befall the five boys and girls there, causing their bodies and souls to be swapped around at random. What can be seen from the viewpoint of the others? 

Kenn's Comment: The character designs put me off a bit, but if the story is good, I'll be able to look past it. They're reminiscent of K-ON's character design, which I'm not a huge fan of, but have something that makes them a little bit different. If I'm right...and I'll put the two PVs below, I think the art direction actually changed between the two PVs. I really liked the first PV's character designs and art. The second PV...looks and feels too much like K-ON, and yes. That is a bad thing.

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In the land of Flonyard, the Republic of Biscotti has been aggressively attacked by the Lion Kingdom of Galette. Facing potential defeat, Princess Millhiore summons a hero who can save the country. What she gets is Izumi Shinku, a middle-school boy from Japan. Awaiting him in Flonyard is the task of becoming hero enough to defeat his enemies while learning the peculiar rules of battle in this strange new world.

Kenn's Comment: The second season starts 3 months after the first left off, and drags Becky and Nanami into the fray. Specifically, Shinku is summoned again, and he takes Becky with him. Galette summons Nanami, putting master and pupil against each other in the 'wars'. Not sure what Becky will do, aside from serve as Millhi (and Eclair's) main rival for Shinku. It'll be intense as Becky's a childhood friend, while Millhi is a being of Flonyard, another world.

Anywho, a few new characters, but the entire cast from last season is coming back for wartime fun. Not sure what the story is this time though.

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Right after starting middle school, Akari Akaza joins the Amusement Club which is composed solely of her two childhood friends, Kyouko Toshinou and Yui Funami. Chinatsu Yoshikawa, Akaza's classmate, becomes a member after finding out about the dissolution of the Tea Club. The Amusement Club, situated at the tea room facility since the Tea Club disbanded, has no clear purpose, being free for the girls to do whatever they want.

Kenn's Comment: More Yuru Yuri! The first season was awesome and here's to hoping for another awesome run. I don't expect too much to change, but if Akari's sister showed up to torment our protagonist Akari, that'd be awesome. She's got a voice actor already apparently, so it's just a matter of time before she shows up. Expect for アッカリーン！ jokes, and more TOSHINO KYOUKO!

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