Spring 2012 Anime Releases
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Last Updated: May 20, 2012 - 11:09am EDT
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Accel World - 12+ eps
Groups: Unlimited Translation Works, Hadena-Subs,Commie
Summary: In 2046, people can access a virtual network known as the Neurolinker via their cellphone terminals. A perpetual victim of bullying, middle school student Haruyuki spends his time absorbed in games in a corner of his local network. One day he is approached by the most famous girl in his school, Kuroyukihime (Black Snow Princess). She gives him a strange program called Brain Burst that has the power to "accelerate the world." [from ANN]
My First Impressions: Art is decent. The characters seem very 2D at first, but well, the 3rd ep makes things a bit more interesting. We'll see how it goes, but at least this has potential to get good. The pace is a little slow, but I'm willing to overlook that for another ep or two.
Link: anidb , ANN
Acchi Kocchi - 12+ eps
Groups: Hatsuyuki Fansub, Hadena-Subs & ShinBunBu
Summary: The serious-minded Tsumiki and the pure-hearted Io feel they never want to be parted, and yet they haven't fallen in love yet. More than friends but not lovers, they develop an awkward quasi-romance. [from ANN]
My First Impressions: Watched ep1. I like the art and it's funny, but also weird and not funny enough to watch more than one episode. The scene transitions were the most interesting part of the anime. <not continuing unless recommended>
Link: anidb , ANN
Ginga e Kickoff! - 13+ eps
Groups: Doremi-Fansubs & Oyatsu
Summary: The story follows a boy who was in a soccer team, but it was disbanded due to not enough players. However, after the boy meets a female professional soccer player, he aims to bring his soccer team back. [from anidb]
My First Impressions: <not watching unless recommended>
Link: anidb , ANN
Hayore! Nyaruko-san - 12+ eps
Groups: Hatsuyuki Fansub, Commie
Summary: "I'm Nyarlathotep, the creeping chaos always smiling beside you." But you can call her Nyaruko for short. One by one, the Great Ones from the Cthulhu mythos are coming to earth to target Nyaruko and her human friend Mahiro. He's utterly clueless about the true nature of his cosmic conflict and just wants to live in peace. [from ANN]
My First Impressions: <not watching unless recommended>
Link: anidb , ANN
Hiiro no Kakera - 12+ eps
Groups: Hatsuyuki Fansub, Commie
Summary: Tamaki Kasuga has supposedly gone to live with her grandmother after her parents are transferred overseas. But the real reason for her arrival is that she must continue the role, handed down from her ancestor Princess Tamayori, to seal the sword Onikirimaru. Five young men serve as her guardians against the mysterious Logos. [from ANN]
My First Impressions: This seems like your fairly standard slice of life mixed of some action priestess girl needs to save the world but no one is telling her anything so she mostly gets herself in danger and bishie guys have to come save the day. An enemy is of course introduced after a couple of eps and it's the usual predictable stuff. I suspect after a couple of more eps, I may just tire of it.
Link: anidb , ANN
Hyouka - 12+ eps
Groups: gg Fansubs, Mazui
Summary: The story follows a boy named Houtarou who is not assertive about getting involved, but was ordered by his older sister to join the classic literature club. In the club, he gets close to the truth about an incident, involving a female member's uncle, which happened 33 years ago. The energy-saving boy is joined by an inquisitive girl in this adolescent mystery. [from anidb]
My First Impressions: <not watching unless recommended>
Link: anidb , ANN
Jormungand- 13+ eps
Groups: gg Fansubs
Summary: The series follows Koko Hekmatyar, a young arms dealer who sells weapons under HCLI, an international shipping corporation that secretly deals in the arms trade. As one of the company's unofficial weapon dealers, she secretly sells weapons in many countries while avoiding the local authorities and law enforcements as most of her work is actually illegal under international law. Traveling with her is her team of bodyguards who are mostly composed of ex-military veterans. Her latest addition to her crew is Jonah, a seemingly emotionless child soldier who is skilled in combat yet ironically hates arms dealers. Jonah joins Koko as he wishes to find the arms dealer responsible for his family's death. What follows is Koko and her crews escapades around the world. [from ANN]
My First Impressions: Boring. The art is below average, there's no real story, and there isn't even build up of tension or anything like that. <not continuing unless recommended>
Link: anidb , ANN
Kuroko's Basketball - 13+ eps
Groups: Hadena-Subs & ShinBunBu
Summary: In the story, Kagami Taiga has just enrolled into Seirin High School when he meets Kuroko Tetsuya of the school's basketball team. Kuroko happens to be the shadowy sixth member of the legendary Generation of Miracles basketball team. Together, Kagami and Kuroko aim to take their team to the inter-high school championship — against Kuroko's former teammates. [from anidb]
My First Impressions: <not watching unless recommended>
Link: anidb , ANN
Medaka Box - 12+ eps
Groups: WhyNot?, Darksoul-Fansubs, SubDESU, FFFpeeps
Summary: Medaka Kurokami is an exceptional first year student at Hanokiwa Academy who got elected as president of the student council with a smashing 98% of the votes. Extremely intelligent, strong, and rich; she wants to help anyone in need. To do that, she introduces a suggestion box that allows any student to contact her. Later known as the "Medaka Box", it will bring forth incredible challenges to Kurokami and her friends of the student council. [from ANN]
My First Impressions: This series is very GAINAX ridiculum. It's somewhat amusing, but not funny enough to continue watching. Art is okay, but characters are a little over the top and somehow don't seem to fit together. <not continuing unless recommended>
Link: anidb , ANN
Natsuiro Kiseki - 12+ eps
Groups: Rori Subs
Summary: Natsumi, Saki, Yuka, and Ringo are best friends. They've grown up in an old agricultural town, experiencing everything together, both happy and sad. But one summer, they are visited by a miracle. [from ANN]
My First Impressions: <not watching unless recommended>
Link: anidb , ANN
Nazo no Kanojo X - 12+ eps
Groups: SubDESU
Summary: Akira is a normal high school boy, but he nevertheless impulsively licks some drool left by the mysterious transfer student Mikoto. The next day he falls asleep with an inexplicable fever. After five days Mikoto suddenly comes to visit, and makes him consume her drool. The fever instantly vanishes, and Mikoto explains that he's suffering from "love sickness." She can transmit emotions through her drool, and the two of them are now bound together. [from ANN]
My First Impressions: <skimmed ep1 - Art was mediocre, and they try to make it look like H without the H parts. - not watching unless recommended>
Link: anidb , ANN
Ozma - 6 eps
Groups: Darksoul-Fansubs, Tsuki Fansubs, Underwater, SubsFuckingWhere
Summary: In an endless desert without a speck of greenery, Sam Coyne rides a motor bike, looking for something, when he sees a girl being chased by seemingly-hostile ships. Sam saves the girl, who's name is Maya, who might actually not be a criminal on the run, but royalty... Before returning to the safety of his group's base, he sees a giant monster rise out of the sand. It's the monster who is his brother's enemy... The sand whale Ozma. [from ANN]
My First Impressions: <not watching unless recommended>
Link: anidb , ANN
Sakamichi no Apollon - 12+eps
Groups: WhyNot?, Commie, ColorMedSubbed
Summary: Summer 1966: Kaoru Nishimi has moved to live with relatives in Kyūshū. He's been an aloof honor student his whole life, but that starts changing when he meets Sentarō Kawabuchi, the school's notorious bad boy. Through him, he learns the appeal of jazz and forms his first real friendships. [from ANN]
My First Impressions: <not watching unless recommended>
Link: anidb , ANN
Saki Achiga-hen - Episode of Side-A - 12+eps
Groups: Underwater & Mahjong
Summary: The Achiga Girls' Academy in Nara once defeated regional mahjong powerhouse Bansei High School. It advanced into the national team semifinals but lost to the eventual champion, and the mahjong club was later disbanded. Six years later, elementary school student Takakamo Shizuno befriends transfer student Haramura Nodoka. The two eventually enter Achiga Girls', but Nodoka transfers out of the school in the second year. When Shizuno sees Nodoka on television the following year as the national middle school individual mahjong champion, she decides to revive Achiga's mahjong club. [from anidb]
My First Impressions: No surprise here. Considering it's a spin-off of Saki, it's very much like it. The characters will probably be fairly static, but it should be amusing enough to watch with all its ridiculousness of powers to manipulate the mahjong tiles.
Link: anidb , ANN
Sankarea - 12+eps
Groups: SubsFuckingWhere, Hadena-Subs, Commie
Summary: Chihiro Furuya, who loves zombies above all else, meets the sweet girl Rea Sanka by chance, and he ropes her into "resurrecting" his dead cat. But then Rea claims she actually has become a zombie, and asks him to take responsibility for it. [from ANN]
My First Impressions: I tried watching this and it was sort of interesting, but then just got way too ridiculous and dumb. Also, the father is a bit too creepy for me. <not continuing unless recommended>
Link: anidb , ANN
Shining Hearts: Shiawase no Pan - 12+eps
Groups: WhyNot?, Hadena-Subs, Hiryuu Fansubs
Summary: Rick lives on the island of Windaria, inhabited by various races such as elves and beast-people. Amnesiac, he is rescued by three young ladies and taken to work in their bakery. But when a red moon rises and a deathly wind blows, they'll all be engulfed in strange events. [from ANN]
My First Impressions: Remember Kokoro Library? Remember how boring it was? Yes, you have cute girls, this time, throw in a guy and some elves, and it's a bakery instead of a library, but it's still just as boring. <not continuing>
Link: anidb , ANN
Tasogare Otome x Amnesia - 12+ eps
Groups: WhyNot?, Unlimited Translation Works & Underwater, Hadena-Subs, Commie
Summary: At the Private Seikyou Academy, there is a legend that all students have heard. 60 years ago, there was a girl who for some reason, was left behind in the old, abandoned school building to die. Teiichi Niiya one day meets a beautiful, mysterious girl named Yūko Kanoe at the old school building and gets a surprise- She's the ghost of the girl who died 60 years ago, but does not remember her past or how she died. Teiichi becomes determined to help her remember, and together, they seek the truth behind the gruesome legend. [from ANN]
My First Impressions: Watched a couple of eps and while it's not all bad, it's very repetitive. For some reason it feels like it has to tell you the same story two or three times, so it gets boring very quickly. <not continuing unless recommended>
Link: anidb , ANN
Tsuritama - 12+ eps
Groups: WhyNot?, Commie
Summary: In Enoshima, Yuki is a high school student who's never been good at making real friends thanks to his abnormally poor communication skills. Haru is the self-styled alien who decides to teach Yuki to fish. Natsuki is an irritable born-and-raised local. Akira is the mysterious Indian who watches them all from a distance. These four meet, fish, and find big adventures on their little island. [from ANN]
My First Impressions: <not watching unless recommended>
Link: anidb , ANN
Upotte! - 10 eps
Groups: Commie
Summary: For those of you out there that remember the OS-tan manga and anime mini-series, this is a bit along the same lines. In this case the characters are not representing computer operating systems, but firearms from around the world. The general storyline is quite funny, and a bit "ecchi" in nature but is well written and not overy silly. [from ANN]
My First Impressions: <not watching unless recommended>
Other Comments: <Aegis> Upotte: guns that manifest physical bodies that look like girls. From the first episode I seeing Kruncs as the teacher in this whole thing. I can't imagine why... (rating: 2.5/5)
Link: anidb , ANN
Uchuu Kyoudai - 12+ eps
Groups: Commie
Summary: When they were young, the brothers Mutta and Hibito promised each other they would become astronauts. Now, in 2025, Hibito has followed his dream to become the first Japanese on the moon, but Mutta has just been fired from his job. His brother reminds him of their childhood promise, and Mutta decides once again to aim for space. [from ANN]
My First Impressions: <not watching unless recommended>
Link: anidb , ANN
Zetman - 12+ eps
Groups: WhyNot?, Hatsuyuki-Fansub & Tsuki Fansubs, Doki Fansubs, Hadena-Subs, SubsFuckingWhere
Summary: There are two forces in the world: the Zet, who are entrusted with the survival of humanity, and the Alphas, who have chosen an extreme form of justice. In a certain city, Jin lives under a bridge with an old man, struggling to pay off debts. He carries the destiny of humanity's survival. Kouga lives on a hill and stands to inherit vast wealth. In his admiration for heroes, he seeks out the meaning of justice. They don't know it now, but they are destined to one day meet.. [from ANN]
My First Impressions: There's fighting and there's plot, but somehow it's just boring and the art is on the mediocre side. The characters seem too unrealistic and annoy me. <not continuing unless recommended>
Link: anidb , ANN
Useful Links:
Baka-Updates - list of all releases
(DVD and fansubs)
anidb - anime database, similar to animenfo
Anime News Network - news and
anime/manga encyclopedia
tokyotosho - BT for anime/manga including
raws
Anime Planet - anime recommendation
database (not the best for new series, but great in general for summaries, screenshots, and recommendations)
Baka-Updates Manga - list
of all new manga releases