premieres

Panning the Stream: Fall 2016 Premieres, Round 2

Lions and udon and Motes, oh my!

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The deluge is more-or-less over and it’s left me swimming in a massive watch list. I’m excited for what looks to be a strong fall season, but also a bit overwhelmed. In order to keep myself from drowning in titles, there’s no “On the Fence” category this time–if I’m not actively excited for the next episode, then it’s almost certainly not getting a second look.

The wild part is this isn’t even everything! Girlish Number won’t air in the U.S. until Wednesday, and The Great Passage (Fune wo Amu) premieres Thursday. I didn’t want to sit on this post for that long, though, so we won’t worry about them for now. If either is worth mentioning (and I suspect at least The Great Passage will be), I’ll roll them into my “Rule of Three” digest. For now, hit the jump for a group of new series that I can’t wait to see more of.

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Panning the Stream: Fall 2016 Premieres, Round 1

Hey ho and away we go!

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We’re roughly halfway through the Fall premieres, so now’s as good a time as any to compile a shortlist and talk about ’em. As usual, I’m watching all licensed new shows and any relevant sequels and giving you at least a few thoughts on each of them. The Josei Next Door: Sitting through everything, so you don’t have to!

I’ve divided them into three categories: “Guaranteed Three Episodes,” “On the Fence,” and “Slush Pile.” Actually, make that four categories–I’m rolling some sequels/spin-offs into this one, too. There’s a fair amount in that fence-sitting group because, while there haven’t been a ton of out-and-out awful shows, outside of Yuri on Ice there wasn’t anything that really “wowed” me, either. Some solid foundations and a fair amount of variety, though, so hopefully it’ll build well on itself, and you’ll all be able to find something that catches your eye, too.

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Panning the Stream: Summer 2016 Premieres, Round 2

One final explosion of titles before we settle into the new season.

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I somehow managed to stop hunting Pokemon long enough to write my second and final batch of premiere reviews. With one exception (baseball anime BATTERY, which I’ll cover in my Rule of Three if it makes it that far), the summer rush has swept on by, leaving me to sort through the silt and see if I can find some gold. I wouldn’t call it a deep season, but there’s variety and potential, and one show that has me positively giddy.

Hit the jump to say hi (and goodbye) to the rest of the summer premieres.

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Panning the Stream: Summer 2016 Premieres, Round 1

Let the taste-testing begin!

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I’ve been up to my ears in family gatherings, travel, and spotty WiFi this week, but I finally managed to watch enough premieres to compile them into the season’s first Panning post. We’re sticking with the new format I adopted for Spring: I’ll watch every new, licensed full-length show and talk about ’em, then roll them up into “digest” posts divided into three basic categories: “Guaranteed three episodes,” “On the fence,” and “Probably dropped.”

If a title catches your eye, you can find out where the show is streaming by using this handy search engine. Now hit the jump to ding the bell for Round 1—FIGHT!

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orange – Episode 1 (Meet ‘n’ Greet)

Prepare your heart for a summer full of feelings!

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Now that my schedule has settled down somewhat, I’m back to blogging weekly for the good folks at Anime Evo again! While I’m still not 100% certain if I’ll be covering orange or something else, this lovely, vibrant, pensive premiere bodes very well for the show’s chances. Either way, it definitely deserved a few extra words.

Click here for the full meet ‘n’ greet on Anime Evo!

Panning the Stream: Spring 2016 Premieres, Round 2

Be careful what you wish for?

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On Monday, shortly after watching four lackluster premieres in a row, I shot out a grumpy tweet hoping that the spring season had gotten all the boring anime out of the way in one go. The anime gods heard my prayer, cackled madly, and then proceeded to drop nine shows in my lap, eight of which were, at the very least, pretty good, even if they weren’t all my thing.

Some of the stuff in my “on the fence” pile is there simply because I had to draw a line somewhere or the season was going to crush me under titles. Granted, it could all fall apart pretty quickly, but staring at a potential watch list of 12+ shows for the first time since last summer is–well, daunting, but pretty exciting, too. Maybe this anime thing ain’t so bad after all.

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Panning the Stream: Spring 2016 Premieres, Round 1

So many shows, so little time!

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It’s a little late out the gate, but here’s the first batch of panning posts. I’m doing my premieres a little differently this season: I still watch every new, licensed full-length show and talk about ’em, but I’m rolling them up into just 2-3 “digest” posts and forgoing my usual extended meet ‘n’ greets for shorter blurbs divided into three basic categories: “Guaranteed three episodes,” “On the fence,” and “Probably dropped.” Not sure if I’ll stick with this in future seasons or not, but it’s how I needed to do it this time around.

If a title catches your eye, you can find out where the show is streaming by using this handy search engine. Now hit the jump to ding the bell for Round 1—FIGHT!

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Panning the Stream: Sequels and Carryovers Edition (Winter 2016)

There are precious few familiar faces, but some are rather precious.

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This may be the briefest sequel/carryover post I’ve ever written thanks to a shortage of sequels, some odd licensing issues, and personal viewing preferences. Still, the few there are have a lot of fond memories attached to them, so that should be a good sign going forward. Hit the jump for fairy tales, thieves, and urban legends.

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Panning the Stream: Dagashi Kashi, Aokana, Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle, Konosuba

Don’t change that dial! Or maybe do…?

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I held off posting this ’cause I was waiting on stragglers, but Reikenzan still isn’t licensed and the rest of this batch has been sitting in my queue for too long, so I figured we’d go with what we have. If Reikenzan gets licensed and makes the watch list, I’ll talk about it in a Rule of Three Review. I’ll also toss out the world’s shortest Sequels & Carryovers post tomorrow, as is custom, but consider this the last Panning post for new series.

We’ve got comedy and fantasy, with varying success. Hit the jump to knock ’em out. Continue reading →