:anime: HardDoor's Seasonal Anime Preview 2016 Special:: noitaminA (Spring, Summer)

Finally!

After so long, finally Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress (Koutetsujou no Kabaneri) sees the light of day on noitaminA!! First announced late 2014, the series appeared poised to air with the other titles it was announced with, only to have next to nothing said for months on end. Instead, ERASED/BokuMachi was announced out of the blue and slated for the winter.  It was only until December that anything was revealed about Kabaneri, and what the news yielded since then were beautiful visuals, character designs by a returning legend, a potentially faint-inducing ED duet from Aimer and EGOIST's chelly, and yes, more comparisons to Tetsuro Araki and WIT STUDIO's much-much-lesser-known work, Attack on Titan…

:anime: Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month Friendly Reminder:: ERASED (Boku dake ga Inai Machi / BokuMachi), Garakowa Premiere

Though I kicked January off with the reveal of the month's bonus Free/Low Cost Anime Pick, I actually neglected to formally announce its primary Pick, ERASED (Boku dake ga Inai Machi / BokuMachi), which was designated so last month (although I kinda did with links on the blog itself and its social network outlets). Most of you are likely already acquainted with the noitaminA drama from Sword Art Online's Tomohiko Ito, which has made waves straight from its first episode, but not only is it this month's Pick, there is also a review of its first two episodes back at its preview (towards the end of it) in the given link above!

Also, I would like to reminder everyone that said Bonus Pick, Garakowa, will be debuting tomorrow on Crunchyroll worldwide outside of Asia (of which you can find more info of in the first link of this post)!! Also an A-1 Pictures production, there is the added layer of irony in its director, Masashi Ishihama (From the New World), also doing the ending for ERASED (first used in the second episode)! That style is unmistakable, indeed…

While I may not be too warm towards ERASED (yet…?) and remain unsure about Garakowa, hopefully you, and maybe I, will be able to enjoy them in the end.

Happy Viewings (well, as "happy" as you can get with ERASED…)


—HD

:anime: HardDoor's Seasonal Anime Re-/Preview 2015-16 Special:: noitaminA (Summer-Winter)

Suffice to say—right off the bat—this will be a very different seasonal preview for noitaminA…

:anime: —Emergency Interjection Protocol Implementation, Article 1, Section 1.1, Sub-Section 1a:: Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month - July 2015 Announcement—

A recent look at noitaminA's upcoming schedule has yield a few…interesting developments. "Interesting" enough that I, after much thought, have decided to do something a little drastic with what I had planned. This entails what I was originally going to do for July's Pick, but rather than have all of you wait in the meantime for a delayed post, I will come out and say that it is Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace, Seiji Kishi & Makoto Uezu's debut noitaminA entry, based on the mystery works of the titular author. There will be more on it in the write-up ahead, but you can watch for free right now at FUNimation.com and Hulu (though subscribers at the former can catch it as it airs, as opposed to the two-week delay for free viewers there and at Hulu).

Enjoy for now and stay tuned for later…

—HD

:anime: HardDoor's Seasonal Anime Preview 2015 Special:: noitaminA (Spring)

It's the beginning of the spring anime season and with it comes another slate of noitaminA programming—but it comes with a catch this time around…

:anime: Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month Friendly Reminder:: Saenai heroine no sodate-kata. (Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend.)

As you may know, HardDoor is commemorating noitaminA's 10th anniversary by showcasing its debuting anime as the "Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick(s)" of their respective months. Similar to what was done with Terror in Resonance's start, this is a friendly public service reminder that this month's Pick will be Saenai heroine no sodate-kata., or "Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend.", its official English title (in case you are wondering, "Saekano" is the series' nickname—born either organically or from its producers—and should not be confused with the now-obscure classic, SaiKano (which is returning stateside!)).

With a light splash of Pygmalion, this tale of a motley crew of high-school talents working to create a game worthy of Comiket is debuting today—and for free—at Aniplex Channel, Crunchyroll, and Hulu, in Japanese with English subtitles.

:anime: Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month:: Tales of Gen

Given yesterday's semi-review of ALDNOAH.ZERO's first half, the debut of its second half in a few days, Expelled from Paradise pulling over $1M in just 13 Japanese theaters, and the PSYCHO-PASS movie coming out next Friday, I figured now would be a good time for anyone new to his work to get better acquainted with some of the previous work in his repertoire. And by "his," I mean Gen Urobuchi, the hottest and most in-demand name in the anime industry today.

First rising to notoriety with his writing work at game company Nitroplus (most notably on Saya no Uta), he rapidly rose to super-stardom after penning Puella Magi Madoka Magica in 2011. He's been having a very busy, but very successful, time since then, including this past year, and does not seem to be letting up anytime soon. While you await for his next slate of work, or are looking for something to marathon through New Year's Eve/Day and this holiday weekend, you can take a look at some of his anime contributions, nearly all of it online and streaming for free!

:anime: Ani-Journal - For December 30, 2014

Everyone's favorite scrapped princess…

For whatever reason, I keep thinking that I have done a bunch of these, but in reality, this is only the sixth entry in "Ani-Journal" (or is that "of"? "In" makes more sense because it's like a journal and stuff, but "of" is more grammatically-correct…). So, without further ado, here is an all-new entry in/of Ani-Journal!

—In spite of the allure of Fate/Zero's Ei Aoki collaborating with that novel's author, Gen Urobuchi, for the then-new ALDNOAH.ZERO, I was not exactly enthralled with what was yielded in its first couple of episodes. Its premise was interesting, for sure, with its tale of haughty human Mars-dwellers raining down upon the Earth with their almighty space castles to subjugate it under a cloud of political upheaval on their end and the Earthers having to find a way to stop them with their inadequate mecha (this being a mecha show and all). The way it played out early on, though, also proved interesting, but not altogether exciting or that interesting. If anything, there was more of an air of familiarity and routine to it than any real whiff of originality (and this is not taking into consideration the strange vibe of a more modern, reworked Martian Successor Nadesico). For all of the hype, it was "good" but nothing "great", and if you are pimping out a show (or anything, for that matter), it better be "great".

:anime: Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month's Fifth Anniversary!!

HD's "Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month": Sinking its teeth into legally-free and -low-cost anime since 2009!

A little over five years to the day, "Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month" first began on October 28, 2009 with manglobe's dark comedy short, TRIP TREK. Since then, somewhere between 70 to 100+ titles have been spotlighted (depending on how you count the batch entries), with the most recent being this month's selections of PSYCHO-PASS 2 and Your lie in April (which is a really fine show, thus far), part of HardDoor's commemoration of noitaminA's 10th anniversary.

Since choosing a title like TRIP TREK, I normally like to pick a work that is befitting of the Halloween season for each anniversary. Since neither noitaminA series falls under that category, I would like to point you towards one that not only works quite well with the holiday, but also ties in to both noted anniversaries.

:anime: HardDoor's Seasonal Anime Preview 2014-15 Special:: noitaminA (Autumn, Winter)

The autumn season is upon us and so is the second leg of noitaminA's 10th anniversary celebration! For the fall season, the much-pushed and -anticipated Your lie in April (Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso) and PSYCHO-PASS 2 will debut, with the former stretching into the winter season and Saenai heroine no sodate-kata. taking latter's slot then. With the number of returning favorites both on- and behind-the-screen, in addition to the amount of heavy-hitting new contributors and elevated profiles of these other anniversary projects to come, perhaps the best fit theme here would be "great expectations"…

Let's not waste any more time, here's noitaminA's upcoming slate for the autumn and winter 2014-15 seasons!!

(…But before we make haste,here's a friendly remember that all noitaminA series debuting throughout the duration of the block's anniversary will automatically be the "Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick" for their respective months (given that it a distro is available)!!)

:anime: Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month:: PSYCHO-PASS: Extended Edition

PSYCHO-PASS: Extended Edition

Official Sites: Japanese, English
Additional Links: HD noitaminA Preview Entry (original series)
Video [Free]: FUNimation.com (New eps.: subscribers-only first week, everyone else one week later), Hulu (new eps. one week later)

File this under "surprise", but in my wait for Terror of Resonance to be posted onto Hulu, I happened upon the special extended edition of the PSYCHO-PASS, instead! Titled, of course, as PSYCHO-PASS: Extended Edition, this version of the hit anime series consolidates the original 22, half-hour-long episodes to 11, hour-long episodes with all-new additional footage. It focuses on the  efforts of a law-enforcement group that uses weapons capable of ascertaining a person's true nature and the troublesome relationship between "Inspectors" and their "Enforcer" partners--individuals marked as "potential criminals" by the devices.

I never heard about FUNimation intending to stream this series, nor did I bother giving it an entry in the spring/summer noitaminA preview, given its format. Despite all of this, I am adding this to this month's already-hefty list of Free/Low-Cost Anime Picks because of noitaminA's 10th anniversary and each of the block's anime automatically counting as Picks when they debut for the year. Not to mention, a lot of people like the series, as well, so here is something for them to look forward to. New episodes of the series are available first at FUNimation.com (under the "Special [#]" subheaders) and a week later at Hulu, in Japanese with English subtitles.

:anime: Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month Friendly Reminder:: Terror in Resonance

While both Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon Crystal have been selected as July's "Free/Low-Cost Anime Picks", Shinichiro Watanabe's Terror in Resonance (Zankyou no Terror) was actually already slated-in as this month's Pick, as well! As part of HD's commemoration of noitaminA's 10th anniversary, all TV anime from the block will become their respective month's Pick(s) when they debut during the year. And so, the terrorism anime is technically the first Pick of the month, despite being the third mentioned and debuting after SMC did…

…But I digress. You can read the show preview here and check out the series at FUNimation.com, which debuted just yesterday, but is currently available to the site's subscribers only. As is typical with other FUNi simulcasts, it is likely to appear on Hulu and possibly YouTube, at no cost, next week. And lastly, it is in Japanese with English subtitles.


[UPDATE (07.17.14)]: Now updated with Hulu link.

:anime: Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month:: Poulette no Isu (Poulette's Chair)

Poulette no Isu (Poulette's Chair)

Additional Links: MAL Entry
Video: YouTube

For HD's eighth anniversary, I had wanted to do a special series of four Free/Low-Cost Anime Picks--a "particular" one for each week. Unfortunately, things did not pan out time-wise this month and I already had two titles planned for July, leaving the whole celebration special in limbo. At the very least, I want to showcase a little one that fits snugly with noitaminA's own 10th anniversary (which the blog is also honoring).

:anime: HardDoor's Seasonal Anime Preview 2014 Special:: noitaminA (Spring, Summer)

Nine years and three days ago, on April 14, 2005, Fuji TV launched their "noitaminA" anime block with the series, Honey & Clover. With the aim of breaking the trend of and expanding the demographic of anime programing beyond young and teen boys, noitaminA would become the birthplace of antithetical works of the likes of Paradise Kiss, Hataraki Man, and Ayakashi/Mononoke.

The great success of the Nodame Cantabile franchise (still its biggest to date), Moyashimon, Library War, and Eden of the East, as well as the notoriety of the block's quality and content helped fuel noitaminA's expansion to a one-hour format for its fifth anniversary. Since then, it has experienced its share of sleepers (Shiki, Black Rock Shooter (TV)), diamonds-in-the-rough (read: critically-praised, but poor-selling) (Hourou Musoko/Wandering Son, Princess Jellyfish/Kuragehime), high-profile flops (Fractale, GUILTY CROWN (sold decently, but not up the lofty expectations of its hype or as well-received), Samurai Flamenco), big hits (AnoHana, Bunny/Usagi Drop, PSYCHO-PASS), and even a live-action series (an second adaptation of the Moyashimon manga).

:anime: Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month:: Tokyo Magnitude 8.0

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0

Official Site: Japanese
Additional Links: ANN Entry, MAL Entry
Video: Hulu

With noitaminA celebrating their 10th anniversary, along with HardDoor's coverage of the block since 2011, I thought it was only natural to help commemorate the milestone by showcasing a 2009 title of theirs that has not only until last year been released in North America (nearly a year to the day, actually (Apr. 2, 2013)), but also has an uncanny hue to it due to events that would occur not long after. That series is Tokyo Magnitude 8.0.

:anime: Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits ::03.29.14:: noitaminA 10th Anniversary, Gundam 35th Anniversary, and Macross 32nd Anniversary(?)!!

*rubs hands together* Lots of great anime goodness ahead, so put on a party hat and let's jump right in!

:Fri.03.21.14:

noitaminA Celebrates The Big 1-0!!

2015 marks the 10th anniversary of Fuji TV's lauded noitaminA block, and on Mar. 21st, the producers announced the slate of new works not just for summer, but for the whole year leading into it. Along with the previously-announced spring titles and the PSYCHO-PASS sequel, the list includes a mix of returning favorites, big names and studios, and big surprises…:

:anime: HardDoor's Seasonal Anime Preview 2013-14 Special:: noitaminA (Autumn, Winter)

After an abnormal spring/summer session, Fuji TV's noitaminA block returns with a vengeance-and-a-half, opening the fall season with one series by the helmsman of one of their recent darlings and the other by the most unexpected--but certainly among the most welcome--of talents.

:anime: HardDoor's Seasonal Anime Preview 2013 Special:: noitaminA (Spring, Summer)

Normally, each season of noitaminA either has an original series or one based on preexisting material, with the occasional sequel or the even rarer short (Thermae Romae being the sole example). However, this stint of Fuji TV's venerable block is quite different from the past, as for the first time ever, a previously-broadcasted anime will be reran in it. . This show, now "retroactively" a noitaminA series, will be Katanagatari, an adaptation of NisiOisin's novel series (unrelated to his mega-hit Monogatari Series) that first aired in 2010 on Fuji TV. Even more unusual is that due to the hour-long runtime of each of its twelve episodes (one for each of the 12 volumes in the series), it will take up the allotted hour-long timeslot of the block for spring, meaning it will be the only title shown for the season.

So what will be of the summer session? It looks to be a return to normalcy (from the outset, at least) with an adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa's runaway smash Silver Spoon.

:anime: Ani-Journal - For January 02, 2013

Last year, we kicked off 2012 with an Ani-Journal entry and concluded it with one (which was, um, a day ago). So, I figured, hey, why not kick off 2013 (and a new year again) with yet another installment of Ani-Journal, now out of its beta phase! I mean, when you've barely had the chance to post anything the past year, you've got a lot of things left to say!

--In early June, I finally was able to purchase a PlayStation 3 (320 GB Slim w/ Move bundle). While, yes, you can play video games on it, I primarily bought it for its Blu-ray functionality, as well as its streaming video services. The latter was rather slim at first for anime (Hulu Plus, Amazon, and Netflix), but the timing couldn't have been more apropos, as the options exploded soon after with Crunchyroll, Neon Alley, Crackle, and YouTube.

:anime: HardDoor's Seasonal Anime Preview 2012-13 Special:: noitaminA (Autumn, Winter)

Back once again is HardDoor's coverage of noitaminA's offerings for the season--but this one is a bit different than previous installments. For one, information on both series has been rather slow and vague until recently (Robotics;Notes had some since its PS3 game counterpart was announced, but it wasn't terribly clear what it was all about, whereas PSYCHO-PASS wasn't detailed until the last month or so). Two, with the latter taking up two cours and the former, thus far, looking like the standard 11 eps., no other series has been announced yet to fill Winter's of slot 11 eps.. And three, Production I.G is handling both series, returning to the block after the ill-fated GUILTY CROWN.

There tends to always be an unintentional theme each season, but instead of the "all-star staff/casts" of the past two, this one feels more like a case of "If that anime was popular for x reason, why not this one for x reason?!" It remains to be seen if that mindset will pay off (spoiler: most often than not, no), but fortunately, both series have been acquired by FUNimation for streaming, set for, well, today, so let's get on with the preview!