Kuroshitsuji
Episode Score: 8.3/10

The BGM… oh my gawd. Right away, I fell in love with the music. Absolutely brilliant music. Is it just me, or do ALL the anime of Fall 2008 have top notch animation? Or maybe I’m just picking the anime with nice animation to watch. Very nice backgrounds, I really love the production value. However, this episode was on the rather dull side in my opinion… I mean the animation and music was nice, but as an episode it was OK. So the butler’s name is Sebastian? I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure 80% of the people who watched this laughed XDD As for Ciel.. I dunno. This whole anime has a very "dark" side to it, so in a way, it felt dull. Or maybe I’m just really sleepy o_O;; Anyways, I’ll watch maybe 2 more episodes of this anime and see if I want to continue. I’m trying to be more wise with the series I watch, and so far this anime doesn’t appear to have a definate plot. Until I grab hold of the plot this anime delivers, I’ll feel the tendancy to drop this series.

Hyakko
Episode Score: 7.8/10
Again… either I’m really tired, or this episode was dull too. Great animation, I love the shadowing and the background… but the episode was just about some stereotypical shy girl getting lost in a big school. The first half of this episode was dull and boring… they were just walking around the school being lost and what not. Nothing happened. But when Torako appeared, the episode came on a more comedic side and became exactly what I was looking for in this anime. Sadly, the humor only lasted like the last 10 minutes of the episode. If the second episode can step up and avoid that boring slice of life crap, I’ll keep watching this series. But if you know me well, I’m not a big fan of slice of life. I hate it when anime goes nowhere. Unless it’s funny and crazy like Seto no Hanayome and School Rumble, this anime won’t make the cut for me.

Wow, I’m so freakin happy by how popular my Fall 2008 anime line up post became. So look at meee~ I’m making another post about Winter 2009 ~<3 A small amount of anime has been confirmed, but it’s enough to make a post about it. Usually, not that much anime comes out in Winter. All the good stuff come out in Spring and Fall :P But hey, anime is still anime and everyone wants to keep in update 8D

January 2009.

WILL DEFINITELY WATCH

Anime: Kemono no Souja Erin
Producers: Nippon Animation
Airing: January 10th, 2008
Links: Official Site
Thoughts: I’ve always wanted to try watching a World Master Piece anime since Psgels talks so highly of them o.o;; This looks like a series that’ll be subbed… unlike Les Miserables and Profy no Tabi *cries*

Anime: Sora o Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi Ni Utsuru Sekai [Munto]
Producers: Kyoani
Airing: January 18, 2009
Links: Myanimelist . Official Site
Synopsis: Akuto, the main source of energy is running low and the Heavens, a world of islands, hidden beyond time, floating above ours, has united against the Magical Kingdom whom uses the most energy. To save both the Magical Kingdom and the Heavens and restore the flow of akuto, the Magical King Munto must follow a vision and find the girl Yumemi in the lower world. Yumemi herself is just a normal girl except that she is the only one who can see the islands of the Heavens floating above. When Munto appears before her she starts thinking about hers and others responsibility to the world.

WILL CONSIDER

Anime: Ride Back
Links: Myanimelist . Official Site

Synopsis: Ride Back tells the story of a girl and her "iron horse" robot motorcycle in 2020, a tumultuous time of anti-government student protests.


Anime: Viper’s Creed
Producers: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Airing: January 06, 2009
Links: Myanimelist . Official Site
Synopsis:The story revolves around the members of a private military company (PMC), and the uneasy tension between them and the regular military after a war that caused massive environmental destruction.


Anime: Asakiyumemishi - The Tale of Genji
Airing: January 15, 2009
Links: Myanimelist . Anime News Network . Official Site

Wikipedia Synopsis: The work recounts the life of a son of a Japanese emperor, known to readers as Hikaru Genji, or "Shining Genji". Neither appellation is his actual name: Genji (源氏, Genji) is simply another way to read the Chinese characters for the real-life Minamoto clan (源の氏, Minamoto-no-Uji), to which Genji was made to belong. For political reasons, Genji is relegated to commoner status (by being given the surname Minamoto) and begins a career as an imperial officer.

The tale concentrates on Genji’s romantic life and describes the customs of the aristocratic society of the time. Much is made of Genji’s good looks. His most important personality trait is the loyalty he shows to all the women in his life, as he never abandons any of his wives. When he finally becomes the most powerful man in the capital, he moves into a palace and provides for each of them.

Anime: KuroKami The Animation
Links: Official Site . Myanimelist
Synopsis: Wending his way home after a bender one evening, master moocher and game programmer Keita Ibuki decides to satisfy a craving for ramen at a noodle stand. Instead of slurping soup, though, he surrenders his meal to a manic girl who, unbeknownst to Keita, is a Mototsumitama, a guardian of the coexistence equilibrium. When his new acquaintance is attacked, Keita gets caught in the crossfire and loses an arm. Awakening from the shock of his injury, Keita finds himself back in his apartment… arm intact! But just whose arm is it?! Asking the strange girl raiding his refrigerator reveals only that Keita’s life has become a great deal more complicated.

Anime: Axis Powers Hetalia
Producers: Studio Deen
Airing: January 24, 2009
Links: Official Site . Myanimelist
Synopsis: Think of it like WWII, except every country is a pretty boy instead. A hilariously stereotypical pretty boy. America loves burgers, Russia is into the vodka, and China has pandas and a Wok. It is centered mostly around Italy, who has both a North and South character. The Hetaria portion of the name is probably mocking Italy, as Hetare means ‘Useless’

WILL NOT WATCH

Anime: Chrome Shelled Regios
Producers: ZEXCS
Airing: January 10, 2009
Links: Official Site . Myanimelist
Synopsis: In this school fantasy story set in the distant future, creatures contaminated by pollution have overtaken the land, forcing humanity to live in isolated mobile cities called Regios. One such city named Czerni is a self-contained school in which freshman Reifon Aruseifu has just enrolled. Reifon reluctantly joins the 17th Martial Arts Studies Unit led by the third-year student Nina Antōku and embarks on a series of adventures.

Anime: Minami-Ke Okaeri
Producers: asread
Airing: January 04, 2009
Links: Myanimelist. Official Site
Synopsis: There are three of the Minami sisters: Haruka, Kana and Chiaki, who have an average life. The girls only have each other to depend on and help each other get through everything from love confessions to cooking.
Thoughts: LOVED the first season, hated the second season. Apparently the third season is by the same producers as the second season, so that’s a big HELL NO.

Anime: Akikan!
Producers: Brains Base
Airing: January 03, 2009
Links: Official Site. Myanimelist
Synopsis: The story revolves around a typical high school boy named Kakeru Daichi and the can of melon juice soda that he bought from a vending machine. The can suddenly transforms into a beautiful but standoffish girl that Kakeru nicknames "Melon," and more "Akikan" ("empty can") girls appear. However, Akikan girls need to be infused with carbon dioxide from kissing to survive.


Anime: Uchuu o Kakeru Shoujo / Sora Kake Girl [The Girl Who Leapt Through Space]
Producers: Sunrise
Airing: January 05, 2009
Links: Official Site . Myanimelist
Synopsis: The veteran anime studio Sunrise has opened a teaser site for a new project called Sora o Kakeru Shōjo [Sora Kake Girl or "The Girl Who Leapt Through Space (the Heavens)"]. The site provides no other information besides a promise that more details will be given in October 10. On that day, the official homepage will open, and there will be coverage in Kadokawa Shoten’s Newtype, Tokuma Shoten’s Animage, and Gakken Kenkyūsha’s Animedia magazines. The project’s title is an apparent wordplay on Toki o Kakeru Shōjo or The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Yasutaka Tsutsui’s classic novel that was adapted into several live-action television series, live-action films, manga, and an acclaimed anime film. - ANN

Anime: Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GO GO!
Producers: Toei Animaton
Links: Official Site
ANN Synopsis: Yumehara Nozomi, a regular student, finds a magical book called the Dream Collet in the library and meets Coco and Nuts, two creatures from the Palmier Kingdom. They plead with Nozomi to restore their world, which has been destroyed by an organization called the Nightmares, by completing the Dream Collet and finding the 55 Pinkies to make any wish come true. Meanwhile, the Nightmares are moving into the real world. Once Nozomi agrees to help, Coco and Nuts transform her into the magical girl Cure Dream and turn four fellow students into her Pretty Cure team.

Thoughts: The subbers apparently fell behind on the subs… I would have seriously watched this season if I completed the first season but alas… *sigh* I love Pretty Cure tho q_q;

Slayers EVOLUTION - R
Links: Official Site . Myanimelist
Synopsis: Hajime Kanzaka, the author of the original Slayers light novels, had already indicated that the ongoing Slayers Revolution television anime series was conceived as the first part of a storyline that will last half a year (with a break in between).

Ashita no Yoichi!
Links: Official Site

Tower of Druaga - the Sword of Uruk
Links: Myanimelist . Official Site

Synopsis: It is said that every few years, there is what’s known as the "Summer of Anu." During that summer, thanks to the divine protection of the sky-god Anu, all of the demons in the tower lose their power. The country of Uruk has begun an invasion of the tower in order to suppress the demons. They’ve built up positions inside the tower, with their sights set on getting to the upper levels. The Uruk army knows that this is the third Summer of Anu-a perfect time to launch a mission to suppress the monster Druaga once and for all. The army soldiers aren’t the only ones in the tower, though. An enitre city called Meskia has formed inside the tower’s first floor. It plays host not just to soldiers, but also to adventurers who have heard rumors about a legendary treasure called the Blue Crystal Rod, which is said to rest at the very top of the tower. With all these different groups in the mix, each with its own agenda, one can only guess how things will play out during this unusual summer.


Anime: Maria†Holic
Producers: SHAFT, Genco
Links: Myanimelist . Anime News Network . Official Site

Ann Synopsis: The story centers on a sophomore named Kanako who enrolls in all-girls school because she has a phobia of men and wants to find her destined yuri partner. She meets a captivating freshman named Mariya who fits her criteria — except her seemingly ideal mate happens to be a cross-dressing sadistic boy.

Thoughts: This anime says fanservice all over it. A girl trying to find her destined yuri partner…? Crossdressing? Bleh :P Doesn’t sound like a series I really want to watch. I see that Shaft is producting… i like their animation, but i never liked any of the anime produced by Shaft. You can count me out for this anime :P

Anime: Shikabane Hime Kuro
Producers: Gainax
Airing: January 01, 2009
Links: Myanimelist . Official Site

MAL Synopsis: After being brutally murdered along with her family, Makina Hoshimura turns into a Shikabane Hime, a living corpse contracted to the Kougon Cult, in order to exert revenge on the mysterious undead organization responsible for her death. She is assisted in this task by Keisei Tagami, her contracted priest and former friend. This series follows the story of Keisei’s younger brother Ouri, a boy with an unusual attraction to death, who slowly discovers his brother’s secret and gets dragged into the world of the Shikabanes.

Anime: Major S5
Producers: Studio Hibari
Links: Myanimelist . Anime News Network . Official Site

ANN Synopsis of S1: Shigeharu Honda is a Major Leauge batter on the rise. His son Goro is a Little League pitcher who one day hopes to follow in his father’s footsteps. Momoko Hoshino is Goro’s schoolteacher, and the first woman Shigeharu has been interested in since the death of Goro’s mother. The destines of these three individuals will become intertwined as father and son experience both heartbreak and triumph on the baseball diamond. But when an unspeakable tragedy visits the family, it will take everything they have to pick up the pieces and reclaim their dreams.

Thoughts: Shit. I should watch this anime if it has 5 seasons. And they’re all highly rated @_@;;

Anime: Tetsuwan Birdy Decode 2nd Season
Producers: A-1 Pictures Inc.
Links: Myanimelist

AniDB Sypnopsis: Tsutomu Senkawa is an average high school kid who is busy studying for his senior entrance exams. Tsutomu goes out for some fresh air, after a hard day’s work studying for a big test, when he runs into a guy fleeing from a pretty young lady. The pursued man is actually an interplanetary criminal on the run from a Federation agent called Birdy Cephon Altera. Caught in the midst of this chase, Tsutomu gets thrown by the man at Birdy, which kills Tsutomu. Fortunately for Tsutomu, there is a way to keep him alive, although it comes at the price of discarding his body. He ends up merged into Birdy’s body

Anime: Hajime no Ippo Second Season
Links: Myanimelist . Official Site
Synopsis: Ippo, a timid highschooler, is one day saved from being beaten up by Takamura, a boxer. Enthralled by Takamura’s skills Ippo begins to learn boxing, soon finding love for the sport and a drive to challenge the boxing world.

Anime: Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou
Links: Myanimelist . Official Site

ANN Synopsis: The story revolves around Natsume, a boy who has been able to see ghosts since he was little. Unfortunately, humans shun him, and there is not much fondness between him and ghosts either. One day, he inherits a Yūjin-Chō ("Book of Friends") from his grandmother. The book is actually full of contracts that his grandmother made to trap ghosts. As one ghost after another shows up, Natsume tries to release or help them — even while many of them seek vengeance on him.

Anime: Maria-sama ga Miteru Season 4
Producers: Studio DEEN
Airing: January 03, 2009
Links: Myanimelist . Anime News Network . Official Site
ANN Synopsis: Yumi Fukuzawa, who is basically a nobody and a first year student at Lillian Academy, a Catholic exclusive school for girls with a tradition that older girls take a younger girl as their little sister or "soeur", suddenly finds herself interacting with the members of the Yamayurikai and their soeurs when an innocent encounter leads Sachiko to impulsively ask Yumi to be her soeur.

Anime: Afro Samurai: RESURRECTION
Links: Official Site [Funimation] Myanimelist

Synopsis:  Takashi Okazaki said in the new season Afro "loses his way, gets tired of all the killing" and he "wakes up to his destiny, which is to be the world’s number one warrior."

Anime: White Album
Producers: Seven Arcs
Airing: January 03, 2009
Links: Myanimelist . Official Site
Synopsis: The White Album game centers around Tōya Fujī, a college student dating a rising idol singer named Yuki Morikawa. The game deals with the challenges to the couple’s relationship from the other people at Fujī’s college, Morikawa’s work, and elsewhere. (ANN)

OVAs, ONAs, Specials.

OVA: Seto no Hanayome episode 2
Producers: AIC, Gonzo
Airing: January 04, 2009
Links: Official Site . Myanimelist
Synopsis: The May issue (on sale on March 26) of Square Enix’s Monthly Gangan Wing magazine has announced that Tahiko Kimura’s Seto no Hanayome romantic comedy manga will have a OVA project.


ONA: Eve no Jikan act 3
Producers: Studio Rikka
Airing: January 01, 2009
Links: Myanimelist . Official Site
Synopsis: The future, probably Japan. Robots have long been put into practical use, and androids have just come into use. Influenced by the Robot Ethics Committee, it’s become common sense for people to treat androids like household appliances. Their appearance - indistinguishable from humans except for the ring over each android’s head - has led some people to empathize unnecessarily with androids. Known as "android-holics", such people have become a social problem. Rikuo, a high school student, has been taught from childhood that androids are not to be viewed as humans, and has always used them as convenient tools. One day Rikuo discovers some strange data in the behavior records of his family’s household android, Sammy. Rikuo and his friend Masaki trace Sammy’s movements, only to discover a mysterious café that features a house rule that "humans and robots are to be treated the same"…

ONA: Candy Boy episode 5
Links: Myanimelist . Official Site
Synopsis: Twin sisters, Yukino and Kanade Sakurai, room together in the dorms at their high school, enjoying school life with their friends and one another. One day, Sakuya Kamiyama, an underclassman, seeks out Yukino, while Kanade learns from a friend that Sakuya has admired Yukino for a very long time. This innocent revelation sets into motion a chain of events that eventually lead to Yukino expressing her feelings for her sister.


OVA: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei
Links: Myanimelist . Anime News Network . Official Site
ANN Info: The first of five volumes, "Hajisarashi," will be a gag story set in the municipal swimming pool. The next three volumes, which will be the "Saikoroshi" arc, will be a serious drama involving one of the story’s heroines after the resolution of the two previous television series. This arc will be released between February and June of next year. The final volume, "Hirukowashi" on August of 2009, will be a slapstick romantic comedy based on a novel spinoff from the Higurashi Daybreak game, which is being ported to the PSP.

OVA: xxxHOLiC & Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle
Links: Myanimelist [xxxHOLIC] [Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle] . Official Project Site
Info: A 4 part OVA will be released with limited editions of the Tsubasa and xxxHOLiC volumes. There will be two OVAs for each series, with plots linked together.

OVA: Kiss x Sis
Links: Myanimelist . Official Site
Info: Keita has two step-sisters who love him in a lustful way and have no problems expressing it, they even are in competition about that. Much to the laughs of his friends, he endures it but when one day they come to his school to give him his lunch, he gets annoyed and explodes on them, then they confess their feelings for him in front of everyone and leave. Feeling sorry he chases after them and says that he’ll study hard in order to get in the same highschool as them.

OVA: Kamen no Maid Guy
Links: Myanimelist . Official Site
MAL Info: Fujimi Shobo (publisher for Kamen no Maid Guy) announced that the 9th volume of the manga will include a anime DVD. The DVD will have an unreleased animated episode; this episode contains scenes that could not be aired due to "ethical regulations."

The limted edition will also include a digest of the television series, a limited original cover, a picture label for the DVD, a reversible jacket, and other features.

Volume 9 will be released on 22nd December.

OVA: Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (Naka)
Links: Myanimelist
Otaku News Notes Info: Kodansha’s official website for Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei has announced a standalone DVD release titled Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (Naka). Release is set two months prior to the second Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei OAD.

OVA: Da Capo If Part I
Links: Myanimelist . Official Site
ANN Info: On December 25, the Japanese media distributor King Records will be shipping a DVD Box that will include the entire first D.C. ~Da Capo~ anime series (2003) and a new, tentatively titled D.C.I.F. Da Capo If Part I OVA episode. The new OVA will feature the popular character Kotori Shirakawa (Yui Horie) as the main character.

OVA: Initial D Extra Stage 2
Links: Myanimelist . Anime News Network
Info: Announced in chapter 530 of the Initial D manga, Extra Stage 2 will air on pay-per-view on October 3rd, 2008 and will be available on DVD on December 5th.

Movies.

These anime are confirmed for 2009. Please do NOT bug me to put Haruhi Suzumiya or Hayate no Gotoku or D.Gray Man or w/e on this list. For one thing, Haruhi has been delayed for over 2 years so who knows in hell when it’s gonna come out. And Hayate has confirmed second season, but NOT confirmed for 2009. For all we know, they might come out in 2015 x___x;;; So please don’t come asking me to put anime on this list unless you have proof that it’s confirmed >_>;

Appleseed: Genesis [Myanimelist]

Winter Sonata [Myanimelist] [Official Site]

Fullmetal Alchemist 2 [Myanimelist] [Official Site]

Queen’s Blade [Official Site]

COBRA THE ANIMATION  (Roku Nin no Yuushi) [Official Site]

Tears to Tiara [Official Site]

Bakemono Go [Official Site]

Super Party -arado senki- [Official Site]

Other anime of 2009.

• Z Majingaa (kari) 
• ROBO CROSSER
• Mainichi Kaasan 
• Guin Saga
• RAINBOW ni Sha Roku Bou no Nana Nin
  

 

Sources.

• Moonphase Anime
• My Anime List
• Anime News Network