Currently Watching (Fall 2012 Edition)

[Buckeye]

The calendar has just turned to October with the temps outside are dropping, the leaves falling off, and a brand new season full of new anime shows is about to begin. After a summer season that had lots of amazingly good shows to watch, we shall soon find out whether or not this season's slate full of shows will stack up to it or not.

The link to the Summer 2012 Edition
Fall 2012 Anime Chart

Note
- Change the title of your post to reflect the contents.
- Do not use the Post Reply button; instead, click quote on the post you wish to reply to, or on this post if you're starting a new subthread.
- Edit down the quoted section to the relevant bits, nobody needs to read someone's epic list of watched stuff twice.
- Be nice to one another.

Also, I'd like to add the following. The Currently Watching Thread is mainly meant for a general overview of how you're currently feeling about shows. It is not supposed to be a replacement for actual discussion threads. Try to keep heavier discussion (if possible) in the more specific discussion threads.

In addition, try to be careful of spoilers here. It's one thing if it's properly tagged and such. However, I don't want people to have to worry about someone randomly posting "Wow, X died in episode 17 of Y". Just a randomly made up example, but you get the idea.

[Nico87]

For what it's worth, I'm gonna watch..

* Little Busters!
* Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!
* Btooom!

Those are very likely imports for me already so I'll be watching them every week.

Will probably give Girls Und Panzer a watch too.

If this is irrelevant to this thread and/or not supposed to be posted here, just let me know and I'll delete it. It's the first time I'm gonna be keeping up with animes from a season so I have no experience of what should be posted where.

[something]

2012/09/03

Most one cour shows have completed their TV broadcasts - I've just got Horizon's final episode left. Also, I spent entirely too much time trying to figure out if Dog Days' or Yuru Yuri♪♪ was #1 of the season. I honestly can't decide, so screw it they're both #1! DD' is only first for alphabetical order and because it was in first in the previous update.


R2 imports
(01)　　Dog Days' - ◄0► - 13 eps / complete - Hero Crystal Nanami season three where!? Dog Days' is proof that plot is and should be completely optional sometimes. It's also proof that male protagonists can be awesome, and having multiple romantically interested girls doesn't require everyone to act like morons. Great fights too, a huge cast of lovable characters without exception, and definitely hints at a third season. Yes please. Dog Days' makes me happy in the best possible ways. There's something so soothing and satisfying about a show that is so singlemindedly dedicated to letting its audience have fun. [Import - Already ordered.]

(01)　　Yuru Yuri♪♪ - ▲1 - 12 eps / complete - That bow at the end. <3 So heartwarming. Sakurako and Himawari got some great focus this season (as Namori said they would) which makes sense considering they seem to be the most popular couple. And hell yeah increased screen time for the sisters, including Akane. Chinatsu had some fantastic episodes, and her growing relationship with Akari is a dream come true. My favorite part of this season has to be all the focus Akari got, both with Chinatsu and on her own. My love for her knows no bounds, seriously. Normal girl power! No-presence power! As much as everyone loves to make Akari~n! jokes at her expense, it's so obvious that they all care about her deeply, and that comes through in such heartwarming ways (even when there's still a punchline at the end). What do I have to do to get a third season of this? Because import it, which of course I am. [Import - Already ordered.]

(03)　　Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita - ▲1 - 12 eps / complete - Watashi is totally one of the top 10 heroines of 2012. Witty, surreal, sarcastic and adorable to the end, Jintai. Possibly a top 10 show of 2012 too, and definitely the most clever and unique title of the season. I usually find "uniqueness" to be a red herring, in the sense that people often criticize its absence, when they're really quite missing the point by ignoring execution. Jitnai, though, is one of those titles that really does bring something unique to the table, and excels for it. But it only matters because it executes beautifully. So, sequel when? There's enough material. Now we just need enough sales. [Import - Already ordered.]

(04)　　Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon II - ▲3 - 12 eps - And I went ahead and ordered it anyway... I couldn't not, with how good this season has been. It's been good enough to move up to #4 even, thanks to the relentless stream of great action and relationship scenes. Highlights lately have been Tenzou's adorable storyline, Gacchan, Kimi, and that Futayo fight goddamn. If the first season is any indication, I will absolutely love the last episode. The only thing this season doesn't improve on from season one is the Aoi/Horizon relationship, which is a little farther in the background this time - but there have still been awesome scenes regarding that too so it absolutely isn't handled poorly or anything. [Import - Already ordered.]

(05)　　Kokoro Connect - ▼2 - 13 eps / complete - Just Michi Random remains and it appears we won't be seeing that for half a year as we wait for the last two volumes to come out. This show has dropped lately, mostly because other shows are so damn good, but also because Kokoroko is in that awkward position of being so close to true greatness, but not executing well enough to reach it. All the raw materials are there, but that's not enough. Something intangible is missing. It's only because I have such high hopes for it that I feel the need to focus on its shortcomings. But I don't want to overstate it and bury the fact that I still really enjoy this. [Import - Already ordered.]

(06)　　Rinne no Lagrange S2 - ▼1 - 12 eps / complete - Not as emotional as the first season's ending, but I'm really pleased with how it all turned out. Everything concluded in, well, a very Lagrange-like way, and somehow they avoided ending with an orgy of Kamogawa PR. At least no more than the usual. A satisfied wankashikomarimaru to you, Jersey-bu. Now damnit, Madoka and Lan, get married. [Import - Already ordered.]

(07)　　Sword Art Online - ▼1 - 13 eps - Absolutely loved episode 13, and the two prior episodes were great as well. But damnit this show is hard to get a read on. What I see as a positive sign is that my biggest problems with it are turning into plot points the characters are explicitly working to overcome, so I have real hope that the issues I have will fade over time (and please, no strong hints either way from novel readers as to whether you think I'll change my mind or not). Kirito especially has gotten some very good development in this latest episode, and Asuna is asserting herself in ways that really make her his equal and save the show for me. It was all handled very well, and very promisingly. But I know it could all fall apart so easily. It feels like my enjoyment of SAO is, say, fine china on an exposed pedestal during a hurricane. I don't know if I can truly trust this show or its author. But what's good right now is good right now, and I can only find out what the future will bring by continuing to watch and see. [Import - Provisionally ordered. It made a very good impression at just the right time and got onto my October order, but it's still on probation, and there's nearly a month before it ships out. Plenty of time to mess up and get cancelled - or solidify its position and win me over for good!]


Non-imports
(08)　　Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete - Personally, I thought it ended really well. Yeah it totally glossed over some major point points, but it covered what it could in a reasonably good fashion. Visual novel adaptations tend to live or die by how well their quirkier traits fare, and pretty much everything in KoiChoco worked at least decently well for me. I personally think we've had a number of competent romance visual novel adaptations in recent years (KoiChoco, HoshiKaka, Fortune Arterial, Mashiro-iro, etc) even if none of them particularly blew me away. Post-KeyAni/ef, the genre hasn't provided me any 10/10 or even any 9/10 adaptations. But a solid 8 is still well worth watching. And there's Little Busters! soon...

(09)　　Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru! - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete - Really quite competent handling of the plot. There were a lot of very impressive things in the last episode (even from the protagonist, who handled things well), and I'm at leas as satisfied about what they didn't do as what they did. Can't say much else without spoiling, but I very much enjoyed how it played out and I think they did justice to the most important plot point.

(10)　　Hakuouki: Reimeiroku - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete - Damn, this season really stepped up the game, and became my favorite of the three in the process. Oddly, it had the least action of the three, but in some ways that helped. This season never felt rushed like Hekketsuroku did, and Ryuunosuke played a smaller role than Chizuru, but that kinda helped. Serizawa also proved to be one of the most interesting male characters of the season. I'd be up for another season of Hakuouki, although it seems like we've exhausted most of the Shinsengumi history now. This season ends roughly where the first season begins. I wonder if there will just be character-specific OVAs now, like Sekkaroku. That, I'd be less interested in.

(11)　　Moyashimon Returns - ◄0► - 11 eps / complete - It didn't really have what the first season had, but I don't even remember what that was. And it's not like the fist season was a favorite of mine either. They were both decent though. And this season has Marie. <3

(12)　　Natsuyuki Rendezvous - ◄0► - 11 eps / compleye - Urgh. It feels somewhat unfair for me to rate this show so low (gave it a 5/10, something I almost never do...) but the final arc went on too long and really, really, really rubbed me the wrong way. Eh... This really wasn't a great noitaminA season for me.


2-cour shows from previous seasons:
　Hyouka - 22 eps / complete - My second 10/10 show of 2012 after Mouretsu Pirates. KyoAni did it again, and for sheer visual quality this has to be their most stunning TV work yet. It feels like a very incomplete work, but only because the Kotenbu series is, not because KyoAni failed to cover important details. This is a series with loads of potential for growth. Just too bad we'll probably never see more animated. What we've gotten is just top class anime in every respect though, and that's what matters most.
　Sengoku Collection - 26 eps / complete - This here is the poster child for shows that are better than they will ever get credit for. Yes, the technical production values are every bit as garbage as everyone says, but there was a lot of variety and creativity and even some moving storylines for those willing to stick with it. Not everything was a hit, but it's impressive how often the super-eclectic approach paid off.
　Uchuu Kyoudai - 26 eps - It's such a shame there aren't more people watching this. It's been on such an incredible roll lately and is definitely one of the best shows on the air at the moment. But I guess I just have a strong emotional reaction to space exploration. Since this is going past two cour, I guess I'll move it down to "other oddities" when I start doing Fall.
　Accel World - 19 eps / complete


OVAs, Specials, other oddities:
　Fairy Tail - 146 eps
　Hunter x Hunter (2011) - 49 eps - We're now officially only ~3 episodes away from where the original TV series ended. After that, it was all OVAs before it died.
　Smile Precure - 27 eps - Exceptionally behind! I'll need to catch up before Fall starts in earnest.
　Yurumates - 26 eps / complete - Gonna go ahead and say I ended up liking this more than even Morita-san somehow. Well, it was funnier, but Morita-san was cuter. I need a new 5 minute show to fill the void now.


Dropped:
　Tari Tari - 6 eps
　Oda Nobuna no Yabou - 5 eps
　Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu Uta Koi - 3 eps
　Dakara Boku wa H ga Dekinai - 2 eps
　Arcana Famiglia - 2 eps
　Chitose Get You! - 2 eps
　Muv-Luv Total Eclipse - 2 eps
　Campione - 1 ep


Still need/plan to try (may not have aired):
none


(Blah blah disclaimer, the number on a tier is not at all indicative of a show's absolute quality, merely its quality relative to the other shows on the list).

My import list being longer than my non-import list is terrifying. But not unprecedented: I imported 7 of 9 completed shows this Winter. Only 3 of 15 from Spring though, which I'm using as a flimsy justification for tackling so many this season.

Only one two-cour show continues into Fall, that being SAO.


Through 3 of 4 seasons, I have to say the biggest standouts of the year are:
Winter: Mouretsu Pirates (10), Ano Natsu de Matteru (9)
Spring: Hyouka (10), Saki Achiga-hen (9)
Summer: Dog Days' (9), Yuru Yuri♪♪ (9), Jintai (9)

And those would have to be 7 of my top 10 so far. Chuu2koi and HidaSketch will take two more of the top 10. Little Busters will be on the 2013 ranking because it's two cour. The Fall'1 two cour shows were Shana III and Mirai Nikki but I don't think either of them is quite top 10. If nothing else one cour from Fall '12 makes it in, I guess it goes to Nisemonogatari? Most likely.

[MelancholicMariya]

Originally Posted by something

(04)　　Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon II - ▲3 - 12 eps - And I went ahead and ordered it anyway... I couldn't not, with how good this season has been. It's been good enough to move up to #4 even, thanks to the relentless stream of great action and relationship scenes. Highlights lately have been Tenzou's adorable storyline, Gacchan, Kimi, and that Futayo fight goddamn. If the first season is any indication, I will absolutely love the last episode. The only thing this season doesn't improve on from season one is the Aoi/Horizon relationship, which is a little farther in the background this time - but there have still been awesome scenes regarding that too so it absolutely isn't handled poorly or anything. [Import - Already ordered.]

Guess it's not really any of my business but what're you going to do about season 1? Are you skipping purchasing it because Horizon II improves upon Horizon I? Or do you just not feel it is necessary to purchase?

[something]

Originally Posted by MelancholicMariya

Guess it's not really any of my business but what're you going to do about season 1? Are you skipping purchasing it because Horizon II improves upon Horizon I? Or do you just not feel it is necessary to purchase?

I wouldn't go back and buy all the singles at normal price, but when it gets a boxset odds are very high I'll pick it up. I do like the second season better overall, but only because the first season lost a good 4-5 episodes with that difficult to follow opening arc (if I ever rewatch this series, I anticipate I'll like the opening episode better a second go-around). Once the first season got that out of the way, it was about as good as season two. I'm curious if season two can top season one's incredible ending.

Not having a preceding season can count against a show, but only to a point. I've used BD boxsets to catch up on earlier seasons before: Haruhi, Hidamari Sketch, Natsume Yuujin-chou, Shakugan no Shana, . Most recently, Saki. And coming up soon, Strike Witches. I also currently own only the third season of Koihime Musou but would consider a boxset for the first two in the unlikely event one is released.

[MelancholicMariya]

Originally Posted by something

I wouldn't go back and buy all the singles at normal price, but when it gets a boxset odds are very high I'll pick it up. I do like the second season better overall, but only because the first season lost a good 4-5 episodes with that difficult to follow opening arc (if I ever rewatch this series, I anticipate I'll like the opening episode better a second go-around). Once the first season got that out of the way, it was about as good as season two. I'm curious if season two can top season one's incredible ending.

Not having a preceding season can count against a show, but only to a point. I've used BD boxsets to catch up on earlier seasons before: Haruhi, Hidamari Sketch, Natsume Yuujin-chou, Shakugan no Shana, . Most recently, Saki. And coming up soon, Strike Witches. I also currently own only the third season of Koihime Musou but would consider a boxset for the first two in the unlikely event one is released.

I guess I'm in an ever so slightly similar position, too. I liked the first season a lot, but in my case by the time I liked it a lot (second watch) the LE BD's were going out of print so I couldn't really do anything about purchasing it (LE or bust). So now I'm wanting to get Horizon II but was wondering what I should do for Horizon I.

So I suppose, like you, I'll wait for the inevitable BD Box in a year or so for Horizon I and just purchase Horizon II now to support a third season. I guess it'll be similar to you having Strike Witches II and not Strike Witches I and catching up by getting the BD Box. I've never really imported in such a non-linear fashion before!

I guess I could buy Sentai's Horizon release to hold me over until a Japanese BD Box comes out if I wanted to. Ehhh.

[Damius]

Originally Posted by something

I wouldn't go back and buy all the singles at normal price, but when it gets a boxset odds are very high I'll pick it up. I do like the second season better overall, but only because the first season lost a good 4-5 episodes with that difficult to follow opening arc (if I ever rewatch this series, I anticipate I'll like the opening episode better a second go-around). Once the first season got that out of the way, it was about as good as season two. I'm curious if season two can top season one's incredible ending.

Not having a preceding season can count against a show, but only to a point. I've used BD boxsets to catch up on earlier seasons before: Haruhi, Hidamari Sketch, Natsume Yuujin-chou, Shakugan no Shana, . Most recently, Saki. And coming up soon, Strike Witches. I also currently own only the third season of Koihime Musou but would consider a boxset for the first two in the unlikely event one is released.

As for me, I think I'll do with Horizon, the same I'll do with Yuru Yuri. I'll get both seasons of each shows on boxsets. My #1 this season is DD' (even if I still have to watch the last 2 episodes of many shows, including DD', I know DD' will still my #1), so with Dog Days, I'll import the singles for both seasons (it's the series I want to help as much as possible to get a third season). So in the end, I'll import 4 shows from this seasons, now or in the future.

1. Dog Days and Dog Days'
2. Yuru Yuri and Yuru Yuri♪♪
3 or 4. Kokoro Connect
3 or 4. Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon I and Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon II


What a season it was (can't wait to watch the last 2 episodes of each (3 for Kokoro Connect), Yuru Yuri and Yuru Yuri♪♪ and Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon I and Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon II will probably take a long time to be released on boxsets, but I can wait (well, my wallet asks me and this time I have to listen) and anyway I have to get some awesome boxsets soon Saki (would have get it already if it was not for DHL incompetence), Strike Witches and Strike Witches II and Ore no Imōto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (whenever it is release).

And I was thinking about importing SAO? Really what I was thinking, this season is way too amazing for even thinking about it and even if I go by the way I was thinking just a couple of weeks ago, "I don't want to import a second season, if I don't have the first already", Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita wins easily over SAO.

[Glamrgrl104]

Well being October 1st so far I've seen:

Slayers S1 episodes 7-10- This series reminds me of Rune soldier mixed with Yu yu hakusho. Although the dub is a little bit annoying, it is an enjoyable series so far. The characters are likable and funny, the plot kind of cliche, but it is still a good series.

That is probably it for the week, I have lots of HW

[HitokiriShadow]

Originally Posted by something

　Sengoku Collection - 26 eps / complete - This here is the poster child for shows that are better than they will ever get credit for. Yes, the technical production values are every bit as garbage as everyone says, but there was a lot of variety and creativity and even some moving storylines for those willing to stick with it. Not everything was a hit, but it's impressive how often the super-eclectic approach paid off.

This show should be exhibit A anytime someone acts like a show being made to sell something has any bearing whatsoever on its ability to be good or do something interesting.

　Accel World - 19 eps / complete

Watch the OVA.

　Smile Precure - 27 eps - Exceptionally behind! I'll need to catch up before Fall starts in earnest.

I'm an episode farther behind than you. I'm hoping to rectify that this week.

[Nico87]

Originally Posted by MelancholicMariya

I guess I'm in an ever so slightly similar position, too. I liked the first season a lot, but in my case by the time I liked it a lot (second watch) the LE BD's were going out of print so I couldn't really do anything about purchasing it (LE or bust). So now I'm wanting to get Horizon II but was wondering what I should do for Horizon I.

So I suppose, like you, I'll wait for the inevitable BD Box in a year or so for Horizon I and just purchase Horizon II now to support a third season. I guess it'll be similar to you having Strike Witches II and not Strike Witches I and catching up by getting the BD Box. I've never really imported in such a non-linear fashion before!

I guess I could buy Sentai's Horizon release to hold me over until a Japanese BD Box comes out if I wanted to. Ehhh.

What I do is I scour YAJ for a first season if there is one. I know this goes against the whole supporting the producer theory and all that, but you can save a lot of money by doing this. You also don't have to wait for a box set that might actually never come out. The whole BD box of season one before season two airs/before BD releases or whatever varies from publisher to publisher and so is never a safe bet.

I mean, I got YuruYuri 1-6 LE for what, 17k Yen, so now I'm ready to start collecting YuruYuriY♪♪. Price for all 6 volumes on Amazon.jp is more than 30k.

The same is true for almost every anime which has completed its BD release run. If there's a show you like, but not enough to warrant spending 5k a volume on, you can probably find an entire set for half the price of what it costs at Amazon even with the -26% of whatever.

With that said, I'm all for supporting the creators and whatnot, but I was never going to go back and order up YY 1-6 from a retailer in order to prepare for ♪♪ when I can find it at half price on YAJ. I wasn't even planning on importing it, heck I wasn't even planning on watching any YY at all untill I saw something rank the second season so highly, so at least they'll get my money for ♪♪.

Obviously depends on how much money you want to spend on what, but for me, YAJ has been a great help. Haruhi BD Box for 17500Y? Hell yes. The box still had the plastic on it!

By the way, what has any of this got to do with "Currently Watching (Fall 2012 Edition)"? Aren't we supposed to talk about Fall animes or did we continue from Summer?