[New][January 2013] Kotoura-san

Japanese title: 琴浦さん
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/15379/Kotoura-san
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/kotoura-san
Genres: Comedy / Drama
I've watched: 4 episode

Summary: Kotoura is a girl who can read other people's thoughts. Everybody around her is afraid of her and her ability, until one day he ran into Manabe and the ESP club.
  
First impression score: 92 - Very Intriguing

Personal comments: First half of episode one is actually rather sad. Then it took a 180 turn to become a comedy. Then it has been constantly shifting in and out of funny and sad stories ever since. The anime I once thought is the king of sudden mood shift, Clannad, actually pales in comparison to this. It just keeps amazes me how quickly it can go in and out of a comedy or tragedy mode so quickly.

Since this is the last new anime from this season I'm reviewing, I can safely say, Kotoura-san is currently occupying the top spot among all new animes from this season. Yes, it is that good. If I can only recommend you one anime from this seaon to watch based on early impression, Kotoura-san would be it.

[New (Well, not quite)][January 2013] Seitokai no Ichizon Lv.2

Japanese title: 生徒会の一存 Lv.2
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/10464/Seitokai_no_Ichizon_Lv.2
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/seitokai-no-ichizon-student-councils-discretion
Genres: Comedy / Drama
I've watched: 0+2 episode

Summary: The second season of the do nothing student council.
  
First impression score: 83 - Funny, to certain extend

Personal comments: It's been so long since season one, I hardly remember any of it. From this season, though, it still looks like a series of...nothingness and fourth wall breaking. Technically, this series was released online during October 2012 season. But it didn't actually get real TV time until this season. So I'm just count it as this season's new anime.

[New][January 2013] Cuticle Tantei Inaba

Japanese title: キューティクル探偵因幡
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/15109/Cuticle_Tantei_Inaba
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/cuticle-detective-inaba
Genres: Action / Comedy
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: A story about a private detective who can gain superpower from hair, and a Italian mob who is a sheep...
  
First impression score: 72 - It's rather...dumb

Personal comments: It looks really dumb. Unlike some of other similar comedy animes, something in this seems a bit off.

[New][January 2013] Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman

Japanese title: 幕末義人伝 浪漫
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/16211/Bakumatsu_Gijinden_Roman
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/bakumatsu-gijinden-roman
Genres: Action / Drama / Hisory?
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Lupin III in ancient Japan...(Not quite literally, but it's more or less what it is)
  
First impression score: 75 - Same O' Stuff

Personal comments: Both the art and plot are pretty much identical to Lupin III, which I never thought it was good to begin with...

[New][January 2013] Tamako Market

Japanese title: たまこまーけっと
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/16417/Tamako_Market
Download available through: http://nyaa.eu/
Genres: Comedy?
I've watched: 4 episode

Summary: Tamako is the daughter of a rice cake shop. One day, she ran into a talking bird. Now she's stuck with it...
  
First impression score: 81 - Wut?

Personal comments: First, I'd like to apologize for disappearing for so long. I've been rather busy with some real life matters. Now things start to settle down a bit, I can get back into watching some animes and writing some reviews. First thing first, I'm going to wrap up with new series reviews real quick and get back into more of a scheduled rant (lol).

Anyway, about Tamako Market, right off the bat, you'd notice the characters looks very much like K-ON! Well, that's no coincidence because they're are done by the same director. Having said that, even though they look alike, this one is not nearly as moe as K-ON!, mostly due to the story and character that just isn't the moe type. 4 episodes in, I still don't have a clue what this stories is about. At the end of episode 1, however, there are some foreshadow that in my opinion hinting this could potentially become a light tragedy in the end. We'll see...

[New][January 2013] Vividred Operation

Japanese title: ビビッドレッド・オペレーション
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/14283/Vividred_Operation
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/vividred-operation
Genres: Action / Drama
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: In the future, when the world peace is achieved through free energy. But now the generator island, Blue Island is under attack from an unknown enemy.
  
First impression score: 82 - Exciting

Personal comments: It was rather exciting episode early on, then, the transformation scene occurred. Suddenly, the cruel reality sets in and I realized this is merely another futuristic magical girl show. For a moment, it was exciting enough that I actually had some expectation for it, *sigh*. With what I have seen in the first episode, let me try to guess really quick what's going on: I bet that the free energy generator is not really generating free energy, it's actually pulling energy from another dimension, where those aliens are from, and they probably simply want human to stop stealing energy from their world. There, that's my prediction what's really going on in the back story. We shall re-visit it by the end of the season to see whether I'm correct ^_^

[New][January 2013] Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo?

Japanese title: 問題児たちが異世界から来るそうですよ?
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/15315/Mondaiji-tachi_ga_Isekai_kara_Kuru_Sou_Desu_yo
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/problem-children-are-coming-from-another-world-arent-they
Genres: Action / Drama
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Three children, all with super natural powers, received a strange letter and are transferred to another dimension to...play games?
 
First impression score: 83 - Um...WTF?

Personal comments: While the story seems to start in somewhat of a normal environment, it went down the route of WTF in a hurry. But there are good WTFs and bad WTFs. In this case, my gut feeling is that this is one of the better WTFs, if you ask me, a WTF vibe feels much like Horizon series, which I was quite fond of. I'm actually looking forward to see more of this...

[New][January 2013] Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT

Japanese title: 僕は友達が少ない NEXT
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/14967/Boku_wa_Tomodachi_ga_Sukunai_NEXT
Download available through: http://nyaa.eu/
Genres: Comedy
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Life in the Neighbor's Club continues...
  
First impression score: 85 - Still Light, Still Random

Personal comments: While the first season was interesting, the only episode left much of an expression for me was the last episode. Rest of the series were just a big blur...

[New][January 2013] Sasami-san@Ganbaranai

Japanese title: ささみさん@がんばらない
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/14515/Sasami-san@Ganbaranai
Download available through: http://nyaa.eu/
Genres: Action / Comedy?
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: A story about a pair of sister-con and brother-con?!!
 
First impression score: 89 - I was like "the fu..?", then I proceeded to laugh my ass off

Personal comments: One minutes into the first episode, I was lik "WTF"? Two minutes into the first episode, I thought, "man, this feels so much like Arakawa Under the Bridge and Maria Holic". Then I looked it up, it is indeed directed by the same director! So, after finding out about that, the rest of the episode doesn't seem to be too weird any more

[New][January 2013] Love Live! School Idol Project

Japanese title: ラブライブ! School idol project
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/15051/Love_Live!_School_Idol_Project
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/love-live-school-idol-project
Genres: Drama / Music
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Honoka's school is being shut down due to low enrollment, so she is trying to start a school idol group to increase the school's popularity to save the school from shutting down (really?).
 
First impression score: 80 - Reminds me of Tari Tari

Personal comments: While the concept seems a bit...um...lame, but, it actually reminds me of Tari Tari and Idolmaster (more Tari Tari than Idolmaster actually), both were series I was actually rather fond of. So despite how...um...stupid it looks, I actually hope it turns out well.

[New][January 2013] Da Capo III

Japanese title: D.C.III ～ダ・カーポIII～
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/14827/Da_Capo_III
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/da-capo-iii
Genres: Drama / Comedy
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: The third series of Circus' game, Da Capo, a story about the island and a magical cherry blossom tree which blooms all year long.
  
First impression score: 80 - Just like before

Personal comments: Because the original Da Capo is among the first several animes I followed when I started serious anime watching (lol), it always has a special place in my heart. People who haven't seen the first two series may not have the same experience and insight about the story as those who do. I think that may make a different on whether you are able to appreciate the series.

[New][January 2013] Amnesia

Japanese title: アムネシア
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/15085/Amnesia
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/amnesia
Genres: Drama / Supernatural?
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: A girl waking up in a restaurant not remembering anything. She keeps seeing a flying person dressed like a jester which only she can see, claiming she's the reason she's having amnesia.
 
First impression score: 84 - Mysterious

Personal comments: So...is this supposed to a reverse harem? I mean, right off the bat, there are five "reverse harem" looking figure showed up to around only female character. At the moment, as I see it, one major selling point of the series is this amnesia, which nobody, including the character in the story knows what's going on.

[New][January 2013] Senran Kagura

Japanese title: 閃乱カグラ
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/15119/Senran_Kagura
Download available through: http://nyaa.eu/
Genres: Action / Comedy?
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Something about girl ninjas...
 
First impression score: 72 - Can you say "fan service"?

Personal comments: Video game adapted anime, for some reason, always relies on fan service. I think this would last me no more than, um, this episode...

[New][January 2013] Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun

Japanese title: 八犬伝 -東方八犬異聞-
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/15613/Hakkenden:_Touhou_Hakken_Ibun
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/hakkenden-eight-dogs-of-the-east
Genres: Action / Drama / Supernatural
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Something weird stuff happening in a rural village in Japan...
 
First impression score: 82 - Reverse Harem?

Personal comments: Strictly speaking, I don't think this is reverse harem, but it smells like one, feels like one, it might as well be one, especially when the ratio of male to female character is about...10:1. At the moment, it's giving me a similar vibe as I was getting from Zetsuen no Tempest, which in my opinion is a good thing since Tempest turned out to be quite good.

[New][January 2013] Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru

Japanese title: 俺の彼女と幼なじみが修羅場すぎる
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/14749/Ore_no_Kanojo_to_Osananajimi_ga_Shuraba_Sugiru
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/oreshura
Genres: Drama / Comedy
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: Some dude who is planning to go to the medical school is trying hard to study well for exams, while trying to avoid all distractions, including relationships. But it just so happens that the hottest girl in his class is onto him...
 
First impression score: 85 - Um...Chuunibyou Again?

Personal comments: Another anime that makes use of chuunibyou, I wonder whether chuunibyou is currently in trend in Japan...

[New][January 2013] Maoyuu Maou Yuusha

Japanese title: まおゆう魔王勇者
Info: http://myanimelist.net/anime/14833/Maoyuu_Maou_Yuusha
Watch online: http://www.crunchyroll.com/maoyu
Genres: Drama / Comedy?
I've watched: 1 episode

Summary: During the war between humans and demons, a hero fought his way to the demon king's castle by himself. He thought he would once and for all defeat the demon king. However, what awaits him at the castle is something he was not expecting...
 
First impression score: 80 - Um...huh?

Personal comments: Supposedly, as my friend told me (who also have been recommending me to read the manga), this is the next Spice and Wolf, in terms of how the story focus on economies. Well, so far, I'm not quite seeing it just yet. However, you really couldn't tell that Spice and Wolf is about economies from its first episode either. So, we'll just have to see about that. Aside from that, the boob physics seemed a bit surreal, makes you wonder how much fan service it'll have down the road. Even though the main casts are the exact same as Spice and Wolf (Lawarance and Horo), Maou somehow lacks the striking attractiveness of the wise wolf Horo in terms of personality, despite the usage of extra boob physics to compensate the lack of nudity in the first episode. Could it be that horns in place of wolf ears just aren't nearly as attractive? So far all I see is the hype without anything to back it up just yet. But hopefully, it is really as good as people say it is.