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| © 2005 FUJI CREATIVE CORPORATION (Source: From noitaminA English Site (top image - older version)) |
As this April marks the first anniversary of HardDoor's noitaminA previews, I thought it was only appropriate to dedicate this month's Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick to the noitaminA titles currently available online! You just might be surprised by which titles have been a part of the block, so let's cut to the chase and get right to it! [All of the series are available for free, BTW…]
Honey & Clover [I: Apr. 2005, II: June 2006]
Links: Official Site (Japanese, English), ANN Entry (I, II), MAL Entry (I, II)
Video: Hulu VizAnime [I, II] ANN
About: The evolving lives and loves of a close-knit group of college art students.
The very first series to appear on noitaminA is also one of its most highly-praised, giving the block the right kind of kick-off in establishing its atypical, high-quality programming.
Jyu-Oh-Sei (Planet of the Beast King) [Apr. 2006]
Links: Official Site (Japanese, English), ANN Entry, MAL Entry
Video: FUNimation.com, Hulu, YouTube
About: Privileged, sheltered twin boys who find themselves on an intimidating planet following their parents' murder, where the only way to escape is to win out in the survival-of-the-fittest and become the ruler of the planet--"The Beast King".
The first of numerous contributions by BONES, Jyu-Oh-Sei was one of the earliest noitaminA series to be released in North America.
Nodame Cantabile [Jan. 2007]
Links: Official Site, ANN Entry, MAL Entry, HD Free/Low Cost Anime Pick of the Month (Apr. 2010)
Video: Crackle
About: A brilliant, though arrogant, musician who must contend with being demoted to the lower ranks of his class and with a grating classmate/next-door neighbor enamored with him.
Only topped by Hakaba Kitarou and its own two sequels in television ratings, Nodame Cantabile is in the upper echelon of the highest-rated and most successful of all noitaminA shows (not to mention the decade). It was a huge hit when it debuted, with all three seasons regularly appearing in the top ten TV anime ratings and breaking record viewership for late-night anime along the way. Only its English-dubbed version is currently available (and, coincidentally, it was two years to this day that I recommended the series as a "Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick" for April 2010).
Antique Bakery [July 2007]
Links: Official Site (Japanese, English), noitaminA English Site, ANN Entry, MAL Entry, HD Free/Low Cost Anime Pick of the Month (Mar. 2012)
Video: YouTube
About: A quartet of gentlemen of differing backgrounds and lives maintaining a small bakery.
Antique Bakery was the first of a few series to have aired on noitaminA that cast a focus on homosexuality/LGBT…
Eden of the East [Apr. 2009]
Links: Official Site (Japanese, English), noitaminA English Site, ANN Entry, MAL Entry, HD Preview
Video: FUNimation.com, Hulu, YouTube
About: A young woman who gets caught up in the intrigue surrounding a naked, amnesic man who comes to her aid, a cell phone with a large sum of money attached to it, and a contest involving the future of Japan…
An original story by wunderkind Kenji Kamiyama (a first for the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Moribito director), EotE became not only one of the biggest and most well-received hits in the block's history, but also of the decade, as well.
House of Five Leaves (Sarai-ya Goyou) [Apr. 2010]
Links: Official Site (Japanese, English), noitaminA English Site, ANN Entry, MAL Entry, HD Review
Video: FUNimation.com, Hulu, YouTube
About: A timid and introverted samurai befriended by the charismatic and mysterious leader of a small circle of extortionists in need of his services…
Relative newcomer manglobe may have been better known for the rambunctious Samurai Champloo and other bold series, but the studio took a different route with the more grounded (but still, in many ways, eclectic) samurai drama House of Five Leaves.
The Tatami Galaxy [Apr. 2010]
Links: Official Site, noitaminA English Site, ANN Entry, MAL Entry
Video: FUNimation.com, Hulu, YouTube
About: The escapades of an idealistic college sophomore, whose lofty dreams and aspirations come crashing down when he meets a most unpleasant fellow student…
One of the very top anime of its year, the very out-there Tatami Galaxy was the product of director Maasaki Yuusa and Madhouse, who were two years removed from the similarly-praised (and abstract) Kaiba.
Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture Drama (Live-Action) [July 2010]
Links: Official Site, noitaminA English Site
Video: FUNimation.com, Hulu, YouTube
About: An agriculture college attendee with the unique ability to see and talk to microbes (cute, cartoony avatars versions of them, that is…).
The only live-action series to have appeared on noitaminA, it is a retelling of the 2007 hit of the same name (which, unfortunately, is currently not being streamed).
Shiki [July 2010]
Links: Official Site (Japanese, English), ANN Entry, MAL Entry
Video: FUNimation.com, Hulu
About: The dark events surrounding a number of strange deaths in an secluded Japanese village and the stranger new family that has recently moved in to the area…
Shiki may not have been on many a radar when it first debuted, but at the end of its 22-eps. run, it would be competing with fellow stablemate The Tatami Galaxy as the best anime of 2010 (if not perhaps edging it out…).
Princess Jellyfish (Kuragehime) [Oct. 2010]
Links: Official Site (Japanese, English), noitaminA English Site, ANN Entry, MAL Entry
Video: FUNimation.com, Hulu, YouTube
About: A group of otaku in an girls-only apartment complex and the new denizen--who is not all she appears to be--that shakes them up.
Though lacking much attention or success in Japan, Princess Jellyfish managed to find it in North America, which greeted the series with near-universal accolades and fanfare. Featuring the same studio, director, and composer from Natsume's Book of Friends, Baccano!, and Durarara!!.
Fractale [Jan. 2011]
Links: Official Site (Japanese, English), noitaminA English Site, ANN Entry, MAL Entry
Video: FUNimation.com, Hulu, YouTube
About: The adventures of a boy who, alongside an enigmatic young lady on-the-run and a cheerful augmented-reality girl, finds out that his idyllic futuristic world isn't as ideal--or safe--as it purports itself to be…
In spite of its hype and anticipation, Fractale would endure a lukewarm reception and a number of public mishaps and falling-outs on its way to becoming one of the block's most infamous and least successful series.
Hourou Musuko/Wandering Son [Jan. 2011]
Links: Official Site, ANN Entry, MAL Entry
Video: Crunchyroll
About: The friendship and hardships of a young boy who yearns to be a girl and a young girl wishing to become a boy.
Though sharing in Fractale's notable commercial disappointment (enough so for noitaminA producer Kouji Yamamoto to apologize for their poor TV ratings), Hourou Musuko/Wandering Son managed to garner better and more positive critical grades than the former (its own lack of success may have been partially attributed to its transgender subject matter, an uneasy one in Japan). Notable for also featuring Ei Aoki, pre-Fate/Zero, as director and Mari Okada with the series composition and script. Not only did she do both this series and Fractale in the same season, but she would also go on to handle the following season's mega-hit AnoHana and Feb. 2012's Black Rock Shooter (TV).
[C] - CONTROL [Apr. 2011]
Links: Official Site: (Japanese, English), noitaminA English Site, ANN Entry, MAL Entry, HD Preview
Video: FUNimation.com, Hulu, YouTube
About: An unambitious student who becomes part of a sublime, high stakes game of finances, one putting his very future on the line.
NoitaminA mainstay Kenji Nakamura returned with this timely finance-based, otherworldly fighting anime (!). Pioneering studio Tatsunoko Pro.'s (Speed Racer, Gatchaman, Casshern, Karas, The SoulTaker) first foray onto the block.
Usagi Drop/Bunny Drop [July 2011]
Links: Official Site, noitaminA English Site, ANN Entry, MAL Entry, HD Preview
Video: Crunchyroll
About: A bachelor who takes custody of his family's black sheep, in the form of an six-year-old alleged progeny of his late grandfather's.
Based on the very popular, and much-lauded manga, its anime adaptation has garnered a similar level of praise.
NO.6 [July 2011]
Links: Official Site, ANN Entry, MAL Entry, HD Preview
Video: Crunchyroll, The Anime Network
About: A well-to-do teen in a futuristic society who finds consequences in saving a boy his age on the run from security…
Judging by the sheer number of hits the series image got in the preview (14500+ !) and by the amount of search results received concerning the show, I'd say NO.6 has its fair share of admirers…
UN-GO [Oct. 2011]
Links: Official Site, noitaminA English Site, ANN Entry, MAL Entry, HD Preview
Video: Crunchyroll, Hulu, The Anime Network
About: The crime-solving capers of "The Last Great Detective" and his young oddball partner.
For the first time since Fullmetal Alchemist (2003 series), director Seiji Mizushima, screenwriter Shou Aikawa and studio BONES came back together again for UN-GO. NoitaminA has a funny way of bringing back old partnerships…
GUILTY CROWN [Oct. 2011]
Links: Official Site (Japanese, English), ANN Entry, MAL Entry, HD Preview
Video: FUNimation.com, Niconico, Hulu
About: An distant teen boy who gains a mysterious power while saving a girl from oppressive government forces.
GUILTY CROWN had it all: the big-time staff, the budget, the ambition, the hype--but lacked one major component: good, solid writing. And it was that near-unanimous criticism that primarily led to it becoming one of the block's biggest disappointments.
Black Rock Shooter (TV) [Feb. 2012]
Links: Official Site, ANN Entry, MAL Entry, HD Preview
Video: Niconico
About: A young girl whose struggles in a new friendship are mirrored in a parallel world filled where girls engage in each other in constant battles-to-the-death.
A retelling of the 2009 OVA of the same name, its more-visceral and cerebral television incarnation proved to be one of the bigger sleepers of the past year.
tsuritama [Apr. 2012]
Links: Official Site, noitaminA English Site, ANN Entry, MAL Entry, HD Preview
Video: Crunchyroll, The Anime Network (a month later), Hulu (a month later)
About: A high-schooler perpetually on the move--and perpetually awkward in social matters--who is pulled into a fishing excursion by a very weird fellow transfer student claiming to be from outer space…
On his fifth noitaminA series--more than any other director--Kenji Nakamura once again teams up with a popular artist (Cencoroll's Atsuya Uki) and tackles another eclectic tale, this one involving teens, aliens, saving the world…and fishing…
Kids on the Slope (Sakamichi no Apollon) [Apr. 2012]
Links: Official Site, ANN Entry, MAL Entry, HD Preview
Video: Crunchyroll, The Anime Network, Hulu
About: A standoffish classical pianist whose life is turned on its head in 1960s Japan, when he befriends the unlikeliest of students and becomes enraptured by the unlikeliest of music in jazz in the new town he has moved in to.
Shinichiro Watanabe and Yoko Kanno team up again for the first time since Cowboy Bebop. Need I say more?
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