Hello degenerates,
heathens, weirdos, and deviants. I am the Rock Otaku, and I’m here to
show you worlds such as hard rock, metal, punk, alternative rock, movies, TV,
anime, video games, and anything that makes us scream, shout, and let it all
out.
As some of you may
have noticed, I tend to have that opening slogan in my blogs when I do
something big or based on a series, but I seem to only discuss the first two
(and three after that when the opportunity arises) in my blog overall. As for the others, they end up serving as
times to make references or jokes in my main series. And this is the main reason why I am now
going to try to fit in more anime reviews, news, and countdowns into my blog.
You know what, I’ll
use the extra week I’ve added to my time to make my LET THEM EAT METAL series
bi-weekly to create a series of countdowns.
And they don’t have to be just about anime. I can use this to mention movies, TV shows,
episodes of shows, news, games, and even other musical artists I want to talk
about but aren’t able to usually thanks to my current load. But I’ve set my mind to anime, so we’re
starting there.
Specifically the
series that are premiering this season and may (or may not) have a simple 12-13
episode run, with some going for 24-26 episodes or longer.
If you’re wondering
what I’m talking about, TV seasons in Japan work differently then they do here
in America. In America, a season could
be considered a block of episodes that occur during the year or a part of it,
specifically during the time between September and May, with certain shows
having their run between those months.
In Japan, seasons work more like the actual seasons of the year; certain
shows are run on a weekly basis during a 3-month timeframe, like the Winter season,
which runs from January to March, in this case, and then end. If the show is popular enough or has enough
material, which is where anime comes into the equation, the run will extend
into the next season, which is the Spring season, which runs from April to
June. Same with the Summer season (July
to September) and the Fall season (October to December). As a result, you get a steady stream of
entertainment that comes out throughout the season, but tends to start at the
very beginning of it, and ultimately one or two become massive hits. There are surefire hits that have been
planned to run during multiple seasons, but usually it for one season, and that’s
all the time a show can tell its story or show the lives of its characters.
And that’s where I
come in to decide which series I myself would stream weekly or seriously need
to catch up on, as in right now. With
how online streaming has revolutionized how anime is viewed, it’s possible to
go on a site like Crunchyroll (my main source), Funimation, Daisuki, Hulu, Anime
Network, Amazon, or even Netflix and watch the show as it runs on Japanese
television (not sure about the last one), usually premiering new episodes a
certain time after it came out in Japan (which can lead to wonky subtitles at
the beginning). As a result, American
(and most western) viewers can get to be able to watch a majority of what airs
in Japan every season. This may lead to
oversaturation, but at the same time, it allows for content that might have not
been able to air on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block to have a chance to be
viewed. And with the deal between
Crunchyroll and Funimation, both services can provide the same shows to their
install bases while the former handles most of the subtitle work and the latter
dubs the show as it airs in Japan (or simuldub, as they call it). You noticed that despite me saying how
Funimation is a streaming service, I can verify that they are the same
Funimation that releases anime, a lot of it with good and serviceable dubs, on
disk as well and gets to air it on Toonami.
As a result, I have many options.
The rules for the
first list are as follows:
1. The shows must have premiered this
season.
2. Both Crunchyroll and Funimation are
streaming it (I’ll add Hulu and Amazon in the future).
3. If they are a sequel to an ongoing
series, how far I’m at in the ongoing series might have a factor, and the new
run had to premier this season.
4. I’m going by premise, as there’s a
guarantee that I haven’t started watching it.
It’s in my queue, and it might be bumped up based on this list.
5. I will not discuss huge spoilers that
are not in the show premise.
6. This is based around speculation and
fresh eyes, and I’ve only done basic research from news and previews, not the
actual Wikipedia pages.
As for the second list,
it’s an anything-goes kind of deal with series that I feel that I’ve been
skipping on for reasons that are either reasonable (like time and interest) and
bull (such as if it’s something that’s talked about, and I somehow have access
to it but don’t notice, because I am an imbecile sometimes). Plus, this can be done for shows that are
older but have intriguing premises anyway.
So here’s list Number
1, the Top 5 Winter 2017 Anime I’m interested in checking out:
5. Saga of Tanya the Evil (Crunchyroll and
Funimation have this):
Yes, the
basic premise has been spoiled to me, specifically which the 10-year-old girl
who headlines the series is actually a Japanese middle-aged man. Specifically an office worker. One who suddenly dies, then God decides to
resurrect him as a girl in a war-torn country.
And as a likely result of the experience from her past life, Tanya
becomes Second Lieutenant and uses her abilities to cause mass destruction. And she’s an evil little bitch to boot. Yep, this is definitely something I’d check
out due to the premise and some of the reviews telling me that the war in this
series is based on World War I. So my
interest in history and combination of fantasy and warfare (which got me
through GATE) may definitely lead me into giving this series a shot.
4. Gabriel DropOut (Crunchyroll has this):
The story
sounds hilarious. Essentially, it’s
about an angel who’s the embodiment of holy goodness, to the point where she’s
the top of her class, getting sucked into geeky hobbies and becoming a mess
when she’s sent to our realm. Also, the
demons sent here are actually decent folks.
This flip on the stereotypes of Christian figures of good and evil when
applied to the real world is not just an entertaining pitch, but one that may
reflect on both our best and worst qualities as a species. Plus, the titular angel causing the
apocalypse may be icing to a pretty tasty cake.
3. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid (Crunchyroll has
this):
So what
you’re telling me is that this is a series about a dragon that is in love with
a princess (who really isn’t one) and is willing to be her maid. That is a very absurd premise, but I’ll give
this a shot due to the fact that we’re dealing with a dragon maid. That’s already absurd as it is. You know what, I’ll see this series to check
for if it has anything in common humorwise with Monty Python or Mel Brooks (or
maybe Edgar Wright or the Zuckers).
2. Interviews with Monster Girls (Crunchyroll and
Funimation have this):
Before
you ask, I have seen the Monster Musume
anime. Every. Single.
Episode. Of that series. As a
result, you can fancy me as a monster girl fan (even funnier if I revealed that
I’ve seen Rosario+Vampire, and it got
me more interested in watching more anime).
Now that I embarrassed myself in front of sane people, this series has
an interesting premise. Essentially,
it’s about a teacher who’s interested in demi-humans more for how they function
in modern society as well as their biology (Not that kind of biology, you
perverts!). As a result, after hearing
of a succubus becoming a teacher, he gets the opportunity to not just teach but
interview a vampire, a dullahan (think Sleepy Hallow), and a snow woman (like
Mizore from the aforementioned Rosario+Vampire). What catches my eyes about this series is not
the monster girls but the tone. It’s
meant to be more of a slice-of-life series with a monster twist, and it’s more
about learning how demi-humans function in society. As someone who’s familiar with dealing with
the fact that he’s different from most people, I have definitely some strong
interest for this one.
HM1: Fuuka (Crunchyroll and Funimation have this):
So the
premise is about a shy teenager who lives with his sisters, having to move in
with them due to his parents working overseas, and he meets a random girl that
may change his life. Is that a generic
premise? Yes, yes it is. But if there’s one thing that may get me to
watch this, it’s the fact that the protagonist is a Twitter addict, and having
some experience getting sucked in with using it (and dealing with what others
say on it), I kind of relate to the initial premise already. Plus, it has a nice art style that has some
elements of Angel Beats!, Clannad, and other similar slice-of-life shows, so it
has that going for it. As a result, like
how Doug Walker tends to find such stories interesting, the basic life of a
person and getting into their head, I might definitely check this show out.
HM2: BanG Dream! (Crunchyroll has this):
So this
is also part of a mixed-media series, but unlike the other one, this is more
interesting to me in concept. The idea
that a young girl finds that her path may lead down the wild and fancy road of
rock ‘n’ roll, she decides to form a band.
Where I’m optimistic is that the band members are voiced by the actual
band Poppin’ Party, a band of voice actresses that apparently can play their
instruments, so the voice work and music should be good at least. Where I’m cautious is that this might be more
of a commercial to their music than an actual story being told. So call me cautiously optimistic with this.
HM3: Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju
(Crunchyroll has this):
I missed
out on Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju due to time constraints, but this being a sequel
might convince me to check the overall series out. Hopefully, its premise dealing with a
Japanese drama style and the people who perform it strikes my fancy. Overall, this is to say that I have interest
in the series.
HM4: Yowamushi Pedal New Generation (Crunchyroll has
this):
So we get
to the other cycling series this season, and it’s the more notable one. While I have interest in checking this one
out, I have not seen enough of this franchise to go in with the experience, but
this might be a way to get into the franchise as a whole. I mean, there are times when I watched one
episode or a sliver of a series and went back to the very beginning. That has happened enough times that I
completely lost count. However, with the
acclaim this series gets, it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to watch this
series first.
HM5: KONOSUBA season 2 (Crunchyroll has this):
I have
not seen the previous series, but from what I’ve heard, I missed out. This might be on my overall radar once I
catch up on the previous series.
1. Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga (Crunchyroll has
this):
Thankfully
I’ve seen the first run of Blue Exorcist,
so I’m familiar with the characters and the premise. It also helps that I’ve seen the first
episode, so I know what we’re going for this time. Specifically that there will be some demon
hunting in Kyoto, and that Rin will have to master his powers and prevent the
will of Satan (who’s his and his brother Yukio’s father, for those who haven’t
heard of this series). As a result, this
is definitely going to be a pulse-pounding shonen action series, with the fun
characters to boot. Thankfully, if
you’re wondering if this show is for you, or if you’ll be able to get this, the
first season is on Crunchyroll with this new season, plus the earlier season
has the English dub to boot, so no reading is required, and you get to hear
Bryce Papenbrook and Johnny Yong Bosch bicker at each other.
And here the other
list, the 5 anime series I need to catch up on:
5. Dragon Ball Super:
The fact that I am a
Dragon Ball fan (with nostalgia for DBZ, knowledge of the characters, and
affection for DBZA), and the fact that I haven’t even started watching this is
a massive screw up in my eyes. Hopefully
soon I’ll remedy that. But while I have
heard that there are good arcs, what probably caused me to skip it was the
criticism of earlier episodes. But now
that the growing pains are over, I’ll give this a shot.
4. Fist Of The North Star:
I have gotten five
episodes in. I like those five episodes. I am fond of the setting. One of my favorite movies of the last few
years was Mad Max: Fury Road. I need to
keep watching this 80s classic.
3. One Piece:
Of the series here,
this is the one I’m the farthest in, but I feel that I could go farther in (and
with at least 700 episodes, it will take a while). The amount of material I need to see is enough
that it’s daunting, and why this is at number three.
2. Gintama:
This comedy series is
one that I just got into, but I haven’t gotten far enough in to enjoy the story
behind the series’ best jokes. Hopefully
I can remedy that, and with a new season, I hope to.
HM1: Re:Zero:
Interesting concept,
though I feel that KONOSUBA may have done it better.
HM2: Drifters:
I am currently giving
this series and the next one a shot, and I feel it deserves it. And now for a way to check out Hellsing
Ultimate without relying on the abridged version.
HM3: Bungo Stray Dogs:
Like Drifters, I
decided to give this series a shot. It
may be due to the literary allusions.
HM4: Keijo!:
A fun, raunchy action
comedy that knows it’s a fun, raunchy action comedy? WHY DID I MISS THIS?!
HM5: One Punch Man:
I may have access to
Hulu for this one, so me being in the dark of this modern classic will
hopefully be over.
1. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood:
I haven’t finished
this modern anime classic, but I’ve seen the original, inferior version, in its
Japanese track. But from what I’ve seen
of this series, both in Japanese and English, this is a great series to watch,
with its themes, characters, humor, setting, and so on, all wrapped around a
story dealing with discovery, adventure, and, yes, brotherhood. This is a show that I’m in desperate need of
finishing, and there are more than enough ways for me to do so. Unlike the other series I need to catch up
on, there is a definitive end, and I’m closer in reach than the others. As a result, I plan on giving this my
attention in the coming weeks (as long as other things don’t get too much in
the way).
So those were my two
countdowns for Anime I’m interested in checking out this season, and series I
need to hurry up on. If you have any
suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments below. If you like any of these series, also feel
free to leave your opinions and praises in the comments below.
Until next time, this
is The Rock Otaku. Love Loud and Play
Hard.
All used references
are done under the rules of fair use and are owned by their original
creators.
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