Here's the first round of shows that I watched so far.
Majin Bone: This show is pretty bad. I mean, it's not insultingly bad or anything, but it's a pretty ho-hum kids show. Main kid gets super armor through plot device and has to figure out how to use it while protecting his love interest. You know the shtick. And he's part of a team too (or he will be when they inevitably recruit him, probably in the second episode). Very uninspired, and not all that strong on execution either. Visually, the show is ugly. The character models are too simple. There's barely any lines on them. They don't even use the simplicity to animate them well. You're lucky to get one decent clip of animation for half a second every minute or so. It's always in the weirdest places too. If you're going to spend effort animating something, how about it go into your lazy CGI superhero animation instead of the oddly detailed head toss.
Marvel Disk Wars: Adding to the list of not so good shows is this one, which I will call Digivengers. Because it reminds me of Digimon. And a little of Power Rangers, but that already kinda fits into the name as it is. Anyway, it's another kids show, so not something to expect greatness from, I suppose. Still, the show comes across as fanservice to the Marvel fans in Japan. To be fair, the cast of characters is mostly well-represented (except for Captain America, who now looks more like Robot America), but its delivery and visuals are just so lazy that its hard to get into. The opening theme is kinda fun, being performed by T.M. Revolution. Because that's who you would expect to do the opening for this show... apparently.
Blade and Soul: Oh god, three in a row. Look, I think we all know by now that Gonzo can't pull off a good TV series to save their lives. The studio took the MMORPG and made the most generic fantasy story they could think of. Rogue warrior fights against a tyrannical empire. On top of it, the characters are one note and dreadful to watch because of it. They're intolerable. Some of the backgrounds look nice, I guess, but every fight scene is sloppy. There's little back and forth action. Instead, it almost feels more like someone animated a turn-based JRPG. There's really not much I can say about this, except that you should
Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou: Here's the first of Brain's Base's two romance series airing this season. Honestly, even if only on a visual level, the studio feels like they've regained a bit of their touch. The character designs are really expressive while retaining their realism. I really get a "Shinkai" vibe when I look at them. The environments are immaculately detailed as well. The tentative problem comes with the narrative. What we've got here is a RomCom. Now, I don't have a problem with the genre; but based on this episode, I fear we're going to get a little too much Com and not enough Rom. It's like Mikakunin de Shinkoukei last season. There was so much comedy that the romance felt like an afterthought. I'm worried that the balance won't be struck here. Still, there's a little promise tucked away in the premiere.
Akuma no Riddle: This is like Mirai Nikki, but with a less interesting gimmick. And by that I mean there is no gimmick, unless you count he lesbian undertones. You've got an assassin told to take out a target for mysterious reasons, so she's sent to infiltrate the target's classroom under the guise of a transfer student. The catch? Literally every other student in the target's class is an assassin who also wants to kill her. Thus begins the fight to kill the girl and the lead assassin's struggle with her fledgling emotions. The art direction is kinda cool. Again, it's a lot like Mirai Nikki, and I imagine it'll have the same type of entertainment value. So, if you liked the one, check this show out. If not, it probably isn't for you.
Selector Infected WIXOSS: And it already looks like we have the surprise of the season. Well, I guess it's not that much of a surprise considering that it has Satou (Steins;Gate) directing the series composed by Okada (who will hopefully reign in her love of melodrama this time). But still, it's a TCG anime. And lord knows the track record that those shows have, and the trailer was a bit heavy-handed as well. Having watched the episode, though, I was really impressed. It has moments of horrific imagery, but even when it's not explicitly trying to look creepy, it still conveys that underlying subversive tone throughout the episode. On top of that, it treats a particular trope in anime lately seriously, instead of propping it up for laughs (you'll know what I'm talking about if you watch the episode). There's this somber mood that underlies what would otherwise be a fairly standard TCG anime. The direction and writing of this episode was excellent and blew my expectations out of the water. The worst part about it is the voice actor they got for the main card avatar, but that's hardly a deal-breaker. Oh, and the background art and animation are gorgeous. I really think people should give this one a try. The most relevant thing I could compare it to at the moment would be Puella Magi Madoka Magica. So yeah, go check it out.
