Saturday, August 22, 2009

:anime: HardDoor's Summer Anime Preview - '09 Edition

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To Autumn 2009 Anime Preview-->

It was roughly a year ago that I first started posting seasonal anime previews on HardDoor. It has never been my intention for HD to be an anime review site/blog like so many others and it still isn't, but I really wanted to comment on each of the season's newest shows and movies (or at least the ones that were either major or interested me). It was also because of how the seasonal boxing preview turned out--itself done on part of a whim, part of a want--that led me to try my hand at an anime edition. Over the previous three installments, the format as largely remained the same with a few more details, though creating a template has definitely made compiling such things easier and far less time-consuming. Ironically, like the first, this one comes much later than I hoped for, due to the lack of computer access for the last year, which has made the template all the more valuable in getting this completed in the time that I was able to.

With every season, there appears to be a reoccurring theme or pattern among the new shows--however unintentional or not. This summer has the distinction of featuring a number of things "new": be they a first-ever CGI feature from a particular major studio, a new "solo act" talent, a rare topic matter being covered, and the possible emergence of a great new power in the anime industry. It is also a season of "returns": from old partnerships and series being renewed, to the reemergence of certain individuals back in familiar genres and of certain themes. The strength of this summer's lineup seemed to have caught many by surprise, but it appeared likely from the beginning given how good titles were shaping up to be based on their staff credits and/or premise.