First Look at the New Titles for the Summer of 2014

July bring an end to the short Spring titles and the start of the new hold over titles until the Fall season kicks in.  Here are my initial impressions on the first batch of the shows I have decided to check out.

Glasslip (グラスリップ): This typically drawn slice of life romance deals with a small group of friends in their final year of high school in a sea-side village.  When a serious transfer student shows up their carefree world gets disturbed.

    This seems like it will be a comfortable and familiar romantic drama.  It will be interesting through the course of the series to see the character developments and what things from their past affect their present and future.  Of course, the central plot will be with the mysterious transfer student (why is it always the mysterious transfer student...why can't it be the normal/boring transfer student!) and the rifts he causes with his intrusion into the group.  Right away one character already foreshadowed the pending trouble by chiding,  what very well might be the main female character, for thinking everyone's relationships will remain the same after high school.

Shirogane no Ishi Agrevollen (白銀の意思 アルジェヴォルン):  In a ficticious world two nations are fighting each other for control of territory.  A rookie mech pilot in a small scout group ends up risking his squad members lives to save a civilian convoy from being attacked.  The convoy however is hiding a new mech design that could change the fate of the war.

    This is eagerly welcomed!  It looks like a down and dirty military mech series.  The character design is nothing to write home about, its actually a bit dated, but the potential for wide scale Mechwarrior style combat is more than enough to keep me interested. I actually don't like this new 'super' mech as it looks too much like some power suit mech that has been the typical style for years.  I would like to see ALL of them be classic clunky machines of awesome.  But yeah, looking forward to watching more of this.

Tokyo Ghoul (東京喰種): In an alternate version of Tokyo, ghouls hide among normal people, feeding on them from time to time.  In what might be considered a lucky break our protagonist is mysteriously rescued from being a ghoul’s meal.  But due to the severity of his injuries a radical surgeon decides to substitute some of his body parts with those of the ghoul that tried to eat him.  Now he has to come to terms with no longer being human but not completely one of those that eat humans.

    Slick and stylish, this dark horror series may be good.  It all depends on how the main character integrates his self in the new world he has been thrust into.  The end of the episode started to drop hints at the hierarchical structure of the world of the ghouls so this could be a good political intrigue story too. Obviously the main point, at least in the beginning, will be the protagonist having to deal with quenching his ghoul urges while retaining his humanity.  I do fear this may turn into some dark shonen fight series given the foot print I noticed online relating to this show.  I don't want to dig too deep into it, I want to see what the anime it's self does.
 

Barakamon (ばらかもん): After punching a man at a showing, a professional calligrapher moves to a remote island village to cool off.  When he gets there he finds a population of likable elders and a rambunctious girl who carries wisdom beyond his comprehension.

    I have been looking forward to this series since last fall.  The animation is nice and the atmosphere is light and humorous.  The little girl who gloms onto the main character is like a cross between Yotsuba and Dennis the Menace.

 
Aldnoah.Zero (アルドノア・ゼロ):  Set in an alternate universe where a dimensional gate was discovered by the Apollo moon mission.  The gate led to the surface of Mars which allowed human expansion on that planet.  The people who emigrated to the red planet created their own society and claimed divine right to the alien technology, causing a rift between Earth and Mars.  Fifteen years after an 'accident' that destroyed the moon, a princess from Mars has embarked on a goodwill mission to Earth to calm tensions.  Little does she know forces are moving to derail her efforts in order to instigate open warfare.

    Another military mech series which seems less militarily inclined than Agrevollen but still looks promising.  The annoying thing to me is the Victorian tendencies of the Vars Empire.  The series, esthetically, looks like a cross between Code Geass and Gundam 00.  This does seem like it will be fun though, so I look forward to watching more of it.

 

DRAMAtical Murder (ドラマティカルマーダー): Set in an alternate/future world where street gangs fight each other in full immersion video games.  One man does his best to avoid the gang life and their virtual warfare, but when a trap is sprung he finds himself unwillingly thrust into a battle,

    I really am not sure what the hell us going on in this anime and could care less.  It’s like a shonen-ai cosplay wet dream set in the bubblegum word if Jet Set Radio.  I’m sure this is nothing like Sword Art Online where everyone will get sucked into the video game world but this concept was old hat in the 90s...let’s move on to something original.

 

Monthly Girl's Nozaki-kun (月刊少女野崎くん): A high school girl confesses to a classmate she likes only to discover that he is a popular shojo manga artist.  Due to a misunderstanding she becomes his new assistant instead of his girlfriend.

    This is pretty well done when it comes to the dry comedy.  The execution reminds me a bit of School Rumble.  The character designs are old and uninspiring, but I think this is going to be an enjoyable light hearted romantic comedy.

Shonen Hollywood (少年ハリウッド): I knew this one could have been a stretch when I saw it on the new anime list...but I figured I would check it out anyways, I dig slice of life anime usually.  This one however appears to be a yaoi dance troupe series, a la AKB48.  So, it will be stricken from the list.  Sadly though, as the artwork (aside from the character designs) is pretty good.

Re: Hamatora: The series starts months after the end of last series and the members of Hamatora are picking up the pieces.  They are trying their best to move on and continue work as normal, but the new public awareness of Minimum Holders is having a negative impact on their business.

    I am actually kind of happy to see the return of this series, the artwork even looks a little better too.  I'm still not sure if I will read the manga, which covers parts of the story not covered in the anime.  The comedy is back, following the serious way the original show ended, but it will be great when the action and drama kicks in again too.

Hanayamata (ハナヤマタ): A girl with an identity complex wanders through life dreaming of the day when a fairy godmother will take her away to a more fulfilling reality.  A chance encounter one evening with a kimono clad foreigner signals the change she has dreamed of, but she is reluctant to accept her fate.  When the odd girl shows up at school as a transfer student from America, with the unlikely name of Hana Fountainstand, her world becomes troublesome.  The American is 100% Japanophile and wants nothing more than to make as many Japanese friends as possible and tries to start up a traditional dance club in school, working desperately to recruit the awkward girl. 

    In the beginning I was unsure about this, it seemed annoying, the voice acting is pretty crappy and it seems like nothing but an innocuous moe show.  The introduction of the crazed foreigner added some needed comedic relief so it might not be that bad after all.  Time will tell, but I don't see this being one of the better shows this season.  For now it will stay on my watch list until it becomes bothersome.

Ao Haru Ride (アオハライド): In middle school miscommunications caused her to lose the live of her life.  He moved away before she could clear up the misunderstanding.  In high school she has changed her image to not attract boys, knowing how other girls can be vicious and petty towards popular girls.  She is always searching for her list love to return however.  When he reappears with a new identity she thinks she can make up for lost time.  Something is different with him though and his attitude towards her is cold and cruel.  Can she figure out what can be done to recapture his heart as well as be true to her?

    This is a relatively serious story with some well placed humor.  The artwork and atmosphere reminds me bit of Say 'I Love You'.  I think I will enjoy this but don’t expect or want it to be long and drawn out.

Sabagebu! (さばげぶっ!): Transferring to a new school can be rough, but getting tricked into joining the weirdest club in school is even harder.  The new girl at an all-girl’s high school is dragged into the Survival Game Club by the beautiful club president.  She grudgingly follows along and enters the world of air soft war gaming.

    This is both a war gaming fan service vehicle and an offbeat comedy.  I’m not that into the war-game aspect, but I’ll take machinegun fanservice over panty shots every 3 minutes.  The humor is goofy and even breaks the 3rd wall.  Plus, there’s a mysterious giant duck thing...
 

Maido! Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku (毎度！浦安鉄筋家族): A 2-minute per episode gag anime about a crazed family.  The first episode deals with them on their way to a vacation at a hot spring but they can't keep the body of the car together while on the freeway.

    This looks really fun!  The animation is fantastic for a cheep gag-manga anime.  The characters are classic 4koma gag style and are interpreted well in the anime form.  I look forward to more!!

 

Himegoto (ひめゴト): A high school student tries to evade debtors by dressing in drag.  He is rescued by the all female student council who recruits him due to his beauty.  When they find out his parents travel the world racking up debt in his name they decide to pay it off in exchange for him to be the student councils cross dressing dog for the rest of high school.

    This could be a rather entertaining series.  Its only 4 minutes per episode which makes it better, fast paced, straight to the point.  Even better...it appears all the fanservice will deal with the boy while dressed as a girl...nice change of pace and I will read into it as being a snub.
  

Shin Strange+(真ストレンジ・プラス ):  This is the continuation of the original Strange+ gag anime which aired in in the beginning of 2014.  The first episode of the 2nd season begins b actually explaining whats going on, and promptly breaking the 3rd wall to criticize taking so long to do so.

    This is a stupid and useless anime, but it's fun to watch.  At 3 minutes or so per episode you're not wasting any time really!!  Fun to have it back.

 Tokyo ESP(東京ESP):  Set in an alternate world were people with psychic powers exist.  A group of ESPers decide to forcibly take Tokyo hostage in order to realize their global ambitions.  The government must scramble anti-ESP forces to combat their terrifying powers.  At the same time average citizens are hoping for the return of a mysterious girl with powers to once again fight against ESPers who use their powers for their own ambitions..

    This doesn't look half bad.  As long as they keep it fresh and come up with interesting abilities it could be preyty good.  Something tells me its just going to be a run of the mill evil super power versus good super power while the normals look on powerless to do anything type of story though.  Its started off with the the played out, we are superior human beings storyline, so I actually have no hopes for this being new and exciting.

Zankyo no Terror(残響のテロル): Two resourceful and creative brothers decide to shake the world up by beginning a reign of terror in Tokyo.  Their motives are unknown and hints of a less then loving past seems to be driving them.

    The newest series by Shinichiro Watanabe breaks away from his general style.  This is a straight up serious drama that looks to be a quality detective versus bad guy story.  I'm pretty excited for this and can't wait for more.  The opening sequence alone, while highly unrealistic, was well done...like something out if a James Bond film.  Its also great to see a less kids glove approach to something closely resembling the fall of the World Trade Center towers.  Thank you for not letting that unfortunate event prevent you from exploring a similar event in fiction.

That should wrap it up for all of the new shows I remotely care about for the Summer season.  There is a fair amount of titles that seem promising and entertaining, for a change of pace!  There is one left of of this list because I have not been unable to track it down.  Nyanpuku Nyrauma.