Another year and another anime season is on the way. A new anime season has pros and cons to it. New shows mean new adventures to enjoy and stories to experience. However it also means I’m saying goodbye to shows and risking that the next season won’t be as enjoyable as the one that has passed.

The Fall season was an interesting creature. There was some really strong series that I will miss when they are gone. The show I’ll easily miss the most is the consistently great Natsume Yuujinchou Go. I will certainly miss the drama that is Hibike! Euphonium 2. And if nothing else Vivid Strike! was an interesting ride. I may have some mixed feelings for that show, but I still enjoyed talking about it. The list could go on and on including shows like Brave Witches and Flip Flappers.

Although there was also a fair amount of shows that didn’t keep my interest, maybe a bit more than the average season. And that result somewhat lead to a lot of highs and lows without a ton of in-between. I’m hoping winter can at least be a solid season even if it might not be able to live up to what we got last year. So with that, let us see what the winter season has in store and if there are some potential surprises waiting for us. Most of the information for this season is coming from sites like Live Chart, MAL (My Anime List), and AniChart. Very useful sites for finding out what is coming in the next season.

Series of High Interest

The only place to start is with the shows I’ve got the highest expectations of. These are the shows that I’m either very confident in or very hopeful of. No one should be surprised by one of the choices put in this section, though there may be some surprises for others.

Well it is definitely a strange feeling being able to say that Konosuba is now one of my more highly anticipated shows of this winter season. I didn’t expect a lot from this show last year, though it was in the moderate category. It really did end up being the surprise of the season in terms of just how good it was.

This series will never have great animation or visuals (save for explosions). But that actually works in its favor in terms of comedic expressions. No telling how things will play out but this is a show I have a lot of faith in. There will be laughs, ridiculous situations, and probably a few villains that don’t know what to make of our main cast.

In terms of the new shows for the season I think this one has some nice potential. If nothing else I respect the effort and gall of the main character. This guy was teased and bullied because of his weight and decided to get even. He didn’t change himself just to make the bullying stop around him, but because it was a necessary part of getting payback. I suppose there’s a negative message in there, but credit to him for putting in the work. This does create an interesting dynamic between the male and female leads. I’m curious to see this one play out.

Honestly, I didn’t expect a lot from the Tales of Zestiria adaptation. And that is mostly because I didn’t really get into the game at all. So I mostly didn’t bother with the first season until it was 2/3s of the way over. This is a series that is a visual spectacle. In some ways it is worth watching just to enjoy watching it. But, they have also done a good job in making the series appealing to those that might not have enjoyed the game.

Whether that is a good thing or not…I’m not sure. I think adaptations should try to appeal to their core audience and not push them away. But at the same time if you feel there is things a source material could have done better shouldn’t some changes be made? I don’t know. In the end I am looking forward to seeing how the second half of the series will play out. Hopefully they keep the focus on Zestiria since I don’t think they can afford another preview episode for the next Tales game here.

I don’t often toss movies into this kind of preview. However this is something I’m definitely going to be covering so it is probably fair. The first three chapters of the Digimon Tri movies have been good. There are questions still hanging in the air and a few criticisms, but it has overall been very strong. I’m just curious to see how this story is going to play out. We’re getting into the second half of it and they’ll probably need to start giving some answers. This is bound to have some nice action, music, and emotional scenes. I can’t wait to see it.

Series of Moderate Interest

Now we get into the shows that could really go in different directions. There have been times when some of my favorite shows in a season come from this group. These are shows I’m just not as confident about, but I’m still fairly interested in. They are the shows I either don’t know anything about or those I didn’t have a ton of interest in the source material. If surprises are going to come from this winter season then it is likely to be from this group.

Ao no Exorcist is an interesting creature. I both liked the original series, but wasn’t in love with it. It does have some interesting concepts and the action in the original series was enjoyable. Plus it is kind of interesting seeing an organization focused on fighting the demons of Satan himself. That the MC is biologically the son of Satan is kind of interesting. Hopefully this continuation is both enjoyable and exciting. The PV does give the impression that this should be good.

I didn’t know what to expect when I first came across the Little Witch Academia animated short. It seemed like a fun concept and I definitely enjoyed it. You could tell Trigger had fun making that thing and they managed to go over the top in a fun way. I was more than happy to find out they were making a second episode and just sought extra funds via Kickstarter to make it a bit longer. Just seems smile worthy that they were seeking only $150k to add 15 minutes to an originally 20 minute episode and ended up with over $600k. People really did love the original short and were happy to see more.

That it ended up with two shorts and now a full blown sequel is great to see. I’m curious where Trigger might go with the chance to tell a much bigger story with this setting and these characters. I’m definitely going to check it out and hope it is good.

A sequel to Amagami SS in all but name, I’m actually pretty excited to see how this turns out. From the school uniforms they are going to the same school, but just without any of the original cast still in that school to take part in this. Amagami SS did a great job making use of the omnibus format. I think that format can work pretty well in this kind of series that otherwise would have to just become another harem. Instead of trying to give everyone a little bit of development, but never settling anything you can simply give each girl a small arc.

What makes this kind of curious is that they have 6 girls, but will only be able to cover three of them. I’m guessing they are intending to go split cour, or else they are somewhat hedging their bets. They can make a 12 episode series that covers three girls and see how the series sells. If it does well enough then season 2 can cover the other three. Hopefully this turns out to be a good show.

Series of Mild Interest

And so we’ve arrived at the shows that I’m just interested enough in to talk about XD. Although this is hardly a show of the damned since I did actually pick Vivid Strike to blog last season and it was in this section. All this means is that I don’t have many expectations for these shows and they will have to surprise me. That can happen, but I’m not going to know at this point. So let us see what we’re getting into here and what shows might just catch me offguard.

This one is here partially because of personal history. One of the first shows I ever blogged anywhere was Chaos;Head. It was just “ok” of a show, but one of the first ones I stuck with for the whole ride. Now we have this sequel to that series. For that reason alone I’m just a bit curious. It could and probably will be another crazy and weird psychological ride. Probably not something I’d blog though.

The concept for this series seems somewhat interesting. It could be a nice little comedy about a teacher who is dealing with teaching some demi-humans. This appears to be another show that focuses on human and non-human interactions like Monster Musume. Though clearly there are some noticeable differences…like this not appearing to be a harem show XD. Bring on the school setting.

At this point the premise and the PV has been enough to get me mildly curious about this one. It could be interesting. An orphan kid finds out he is more special than he imagined and gains an opportunity to be something more than he ever imagined. I think for a lot of kids the chance to be a kind of space cop would be appealing. Of course for this one it is as much to prove someone wrong and find some things out about himself. I will probably watch a couple episodes at least.

That this series is part of a multimedia brand launch doesn’t mean it won’t be good. It just means there is obviously a lot riding on this anime and the other sides of this project. I’m up for giving a band focused anime a shot. It might not be anything special, but it could be a really enjoyable ride. If nothing else the PVs have me curious to see a few episodes.

There is really little to base this on outside of franchise history. With a new year comes another new Precure series to watch. This isn’t a franchise that I’ve watched a lot of, only a few here and there. However, some have been enjoyable to watch. Thus I will watch a few episodes to see if this is a series I want to watch or one I’d be better of skipping.

Closing Thoughts

This certainly doesn’t have the same feel of the last winter season. That season had a fair number of shows I was really confident would be strong ones and a lot of possibilities. This season seems a bit more leaning towards possibilities with fewer hits. Now part of that may simply be tastes in series and the kind I enjoy aren’t as popular. What it does mean is that I’m not as sure about what I might end up picking up this time around. There are good odds with Konosuba 2, but will see.

One interesting thing is that there seems to be a fair amount of mobile game adaptations in movie or full anime series form. You have GRANBLUE FANTASY The Animation and Chain Chronicle standing out on that front. Who knows if they will be any good, but I suppose mobile games might have a less strict story to stick to. That might allow for more creative writing that would fit within the episode or time limits that they have to work with. The hard thing for game adaptations is some games are just too long to easily condense into 12 or 24 episodes.

This season doesn’t have me that excited, but I’m hoping for surprises. Winter last year completely blew me away so it isn’t like winter has to be one of the weaker anime seasons. I always enjoy having shows to talk about. If winter can deliver then that just means more fun to be had talking about things.