Ready for part two of our fall 2007 anime preview? Excellent, because here it is: Kidou Senshi Gundam 00 through Myself;Yourself. In case you missed it, here's part one. And don't forget to check back in tomorrow for the rousing finale!
Title: Kidou Senshi Gundam 00 (機動戦士ガンダムOO) Studio: Sunrise Genre: Mech Airs: TBS, Saturdays at 6pm, starting October 6th.
Summary: Set in the not-too-distant future (the year A.D. 2307, to be precise), three major factions-- the Union of Solar Energy and Free Nations (a.k.a. the U.S.), the Human Reform League (Russia, China, and India), and the Advanced European Union (the European Union, of course) are constantly fighting over fuel and energy, leading to the formation of a private organization called Celestial Beings, which hopes to use giant weapons (a.k.a. Gundams) in order to eradicate war. Uh…well, okay. Naturally, four remarkably attractive youths are used as pilots of these weapons of mass…peace. Notable:
Character design are being provided by Yun Kouga, who is best recognized for her manga Loveless. And yes, that DOES mean you can expect at least as much yaoi and slash to come out of Gundam 00 as in Gundam Wing.
This series is not Gundam Oh Oh. It's said Gundam Double-Zero. For some reason, Sunrise made quite a point of including the pronunciation information.
Director Seiji Mizushima has a pretty impressive resume: he worked on the original Evangelion and also directed the much-lauded anime of Fullmetal Alchemist, among others.
Title: Kimi Kiss Pure Rouge (キミキス pure rouge) Studio: JC Staff Genre: Romance Airs: MBS, Saturdays at 3am, starting October 6th. Website:http://www.kimikiss-pure-rouge.jp
Summary: This uber-popular renai game has been adapted into several different manga as well as a light novel series, so it was only a matter of time before it got an anime. In the game, the player is a strapping young lad entering his final year in high school who is pining away for a first kiss. Fortunately, he has six babes to try and get a smooch from: cheerful Yuumi, chef-to-be Narumi, girly-girl Mao, athlete Asuka, loner Eriko, and elegant Mitsuki. Judging from the art, Yuumi will be the female lead of the anime, but only time will tell. Notable:
Don't dismiss this as a mere dating sim rip: director Kenichi Kasai also helmed fan favorites Nodame Cantabile and Honey and Clover.
Talk about an all-star cast: Yuumi is being voiced by Ami Koshimizu, who you may know as School Rumble's Tenma or Code Geass's Kallen. Mai will be played by Kaori Mizuhashi, who also has roles in Genshiken 2 and Hidamari Sketch this season. And Rie Tanaka, with a resume a mile long (including Chobits' Chii, Gundam Seed's Lacus, Rozen Maiden's Suigintou, and Azumanga Daioh's Yomi), will play Eriko.
Title: Kodomo no Jikan (こどものじかん) Studio: Studio Barcelona Genre: Comedy Airs: TeleTama, Tuesdays at 2am, starting October 10th. Website:http://www.kojika-anime.com
Summary: Daisuke Aoki expected plenty of trouble from his rambunctious students when he started teaching at an elementary school, but one thing he didn't expect: that one of his young charges would try to seduce him. Rin Kokonoe is a mischievous orphan with a somewhat troubled home life, not to mention two best friends who happily team up with her to make trouble for Daisuke. Be forewarned: this series pulls no punches when it comes to the young heroines' budding sexualities.
Notable:
Do I even need to tell the story? Seven Seas licensed Kaworu Watashiya's manga for release in the U.S., but after word got out about the series-- which Watashiya insisted be given the unfortunate name Nymphet --bookstores pulled their orders and Seven Seas cancelled the project. (The name, for what it's worth, means "A Child's Time."
A short OVA of the series was released as a bonus extra with a manga tankobon shortly before the anime was due to air. The mere trailer for the OVA was so racy that it couldn't be shown on TV.
This risky anime is being directed by Eiji Suganuma, whose only other credit as main director is the 1996 OVA Ninja Cadets. Gulp.
Title: Koharu Biyori (こはるびより) Studio: Deen Genre: Romantic Comedy Airs: AT-X, Sunday at Midnight, October 14th (first episode) Website:http://www.koharubiyori.net
Summary: Ah, another anime in which robots are common and look like cute girls…in this comedy, Takaya Murase has just bought his first maidbot from a company called MaidWorks. But he has more in mind than simple cleaning: he plans to make her cosplay to suit his fantasies. Well, I dunno about you, but that's what I'D do.
Notable:
"Koharu Biyori" is generally translated as "Indian summer" (a.k.a. that early part of fall when it's still warm out).
Based on the manga by Takehito Mizuki, the OVA features Eri Kitamura, who is also playing the young vixen Rin Kokonoe in Kodomo no Jikan and the quiet heroine of Blood+, Saya Otonashi. Talk about range.
Expect some nice graphics: Nariyuki Ogi, who has worked on such visually stunning shows as Ergo Proxy and Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori is the art director for this series.
Title: Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro (魔人探偵脳噛ネウロ) Studio: Madhouse Genre: Mystery Airs: NTV, Tuesdays at 1:30am, starting October 2nd. Website:http://www.ntv.co.jp/neuro
Summary: What do you do when you're a demon who feeds on mysteries? Why, you attach yourself to a detective, of course! Demon Neuro Nougami is a detective from hell himself, and he "adopts" Yako to be his assistant, seeking out more mysteries to solve and feed himself. Don't expect too much whodunit, though: creator Yuusei Matsui has reportedly called the series "a straight forward entertainment book wearing the skin of a mystery."
Notable:
Neuro may sound a little familiar-- seiyuu Takehito Koyasu is well known in the anime world, having played DNA²'s Ryuji, Fushigi Yuugi's Hotohori, Initial D's Ryosuke, Evangelion's Shigeru, Weiss Kreuz's Aya…you get the picture.
Meanwhile, Yako will be played by Kana Ueda, another veteran: Fate/Stay Night's Rin Tohsaka, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha's Hayate, and this season's Rental Magika's Honami.
Title: Maple Story (メイプルストーリー) Studio: Madhouse Genre: Action Airs: TV Tokyo, Sundays at 8:30am, starting October 7th. Website:http://maplestory.jp
Summary: Based on the internationally popular Korean MMORPG, Maple Story is…uh…well, honestly, nothing has been released about the anime's story to date. We do know that there are at least two characters: Nina and Al. Beyond that, it's a mystery…I called it an action series only because I'm guessing there will be battles of some kind.
Notable:
Lucky Star fans unite! Nina will be played by Aya Endou, also known as Miyuki in L*S. Meanwhile, Houko Kuwashima-- Azumanga Daioh's Kagura, InuYasha's Sango, and Chobits' Minoru --will play Al.
Director Takaaki Ishiyama also helmed the TV adaptation of Viewtiful Joe.
Summary: Haruka, Kana, and Chiaki are a trio of sisters living alone together and taking care of each other. Since they have no parents to deal with, the three get into some very odd situations in this slice-of-life (and probably somewhat perverted) series.
Notable:
Minami-ke is based on the manga by Coharu Sakuraba, who also created the gleefully perverted manga Kyou no Go no Ni, a slice-of-life revolving around a group of middle schoolers.
Minori Chihara returns! In addition to her role as Toa in Dragonaut, the seiyuu who played Yuki in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya will now also play Chiaki.
Title: Mokke (もっけ) ;Studio: Madhouse Genre: Slice of Life Airs: Nagoya TV, Tuesdays at 2:45am, starting October 2nd. Website:http://www.avexmovie.jp/lineup/mokke
Summary: The names are similar, and both follow the lives of siblings, but Minami-ke and Mokke are pretty different. Mokke follows a pair of sisters-- Shizuru and Mizuki --who live in a quirky family of shamans. The two must deal with supernatural occurrences as well as the rest of life's daily difficulties.
Notable:
Ayako Kawasumi, who is also playing Ohno in Genshiken 2 this season and who is also well-known for roles like Azumanga Daioh's infamous Osaka and Nodame Cantabile's titular Nodame, will be playing older sister Shizuru.
Mizuki will be played, interestingly, by Nana Mizuki. Amusing name matches aside, Mizuki is probably best known for Fullmetal Alchemist's Wrath, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha's Fate Testarossa, and Naruto's Hinata.
Title: Moyashimon (もやしもん) Studio: Shirogumi Genre: Comedy Airs: Fuji TV, Thursdays at 12:45am, starting October 11th. Website:http://www.kamosuzo.tv
Summary: What would you do if you had the ability to see, hear, and talk to microscopic organisms? That's the question this wacky anime is set to answer, starring a schoolboy named Tadayasu Sawaki as the Dr. Doolittle of the microscopic set. His sidekick is an Aspergillus Oryzae, a fungus used in the fermenting of soybeans (and therefore used in such helpful inventions as soy sauce and sake). Tadayasu's ability gets him in trouble in this agricultural-themed show, which promises to be an interesting time, if the little army of microorganisms on the official website is any indication…
Notable:
The Polysics are set to perform the ending theme for Moyashimon, and new artist Sarasa Ifu will debut with the show's opening theme, "Curriculum."
Tadayasu will be played by Daisuke Sakaguchi, who has spent much of his career doing bit parts in shows like Sailor Moon, but who fans will recognize as Gintama's Shimura Shinpachi and Paprika's villain Himuro.
Title: Myself;Yourself Studio: Dogakobo Genre: Romance Airs: TV Kanagawa, Tuesdays at 2:15am, starting October 2nd. Website:http://www.anime-myyour.com
Summary: Because of his parents' work, Sana Hidaka has been living in Tokyo for five years. Returning to his hometown for the first time, he encounters many of his old friends, all of whom have changed over the years-- especially Nanaka Yashiro, his closest childhood friend, who presents a smiling face but has been closing herself off to people. This anime follows Sana and company as they grow from children to adults.
Notable:
This anime features seiyuu Shinnosuke Tachibana as Sana, his first lead role in an anime. He has previously played Benvolio in Romeo x Juliet and other small roles.
Ami Koshimizu will play Nanaka-- her second romantic heroine this season (the first being KimiKiss' Yuumi).
i really hope the Maplestory anime doesnt look like the little characters they use for the page. i think they're ugly while the in game characters are really cute
kaboose: Kyo-Ani doesn't generally do multiple projects at a time, so expect Haruhi 2 to come after Clannad. If Clannad is only a 12-14 episode series that means Haruhi could come as soon as January '08, but I would actually bet on the much-awaited season two to come in spring of 2008 (march-april)-- it's the "big" season; the first Haruhi series was spring of '06.
There WERE rumors that Geass season 2 was going to start in October but they didn't pan out. I don't have any good theories on when it'll appear.
Melancholy
of Suzumiya Haruhi
