[SIZE="5"]
Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle[/SIZE]
OriginalStudio: Sunrise,
Director: Sato Junichi (Aria, Kaleido Star, Tamayura),
Cast: Fukuyama Jun, Asanuma Shintaro
A high school student who loves solving puzzles gets drafted by a mysterious organization to do puzzle solving battles. Nothing about this looks like anything I usually associate Junichi Sato with.
[SIZE="5"]
Persona 4 the Animation[/SIZE]
JRPG by AtlusStudio: AIC ASTA,
Director: Kishi Seiji (Angel Beats!, Kamisama Dolls, Seto no Hanayome),
Cast: Koshimizu Ami, Namikawa Daisuke, Morkubo Shotaro, Horie Yui
A real adaptation of a Persona game (unlike that ~Trinity Soul~ thing). I hear people like this. Also, the voice cast will be the same as the game's.
[SIZE="5"]
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai[/SIZE]
Light novel by Hirasaka YomiStudio: AIC Build,
Director: Saito Hisashi (Bamboo Blade, Sora no Otoshimono),
Cast: Hanazawa Kana, Itou Kanae, Inoue Marina, Fukuen Misato, Yamamoto Nozomi, Iguchi Yuka, Kimura Ryohei
A guy who looks like a delinquent meets a smart, beautiful, and unsociable girl. They form a club for making friends and get recruits and shenanigans happen. It looks like generic bad light novel, but the staff has had its hand in some decent comedies, so it could work out.
[SIZE="5"]
Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!![/SIZE]
Visual novel by MinatoSoftStudio: Lerche,
Director: Motonoga Keitaro (School Days, Akane-Iro ni Somaru Saka, Tayutama),
Cast: Kamiya Hiroshi, Asakawa Yuu, Hyousei, Tomonaga Akane
Colloquially known as Majikoi, it's one of the few visual novels that has enough traction to get translated by someone. Apparently, the story is basically childhood friends, school life, and battling. Of course, whether it survives adaptation is another question.
[SIZE="5"]
Mirai Nikki[/SIZE]
Manga by Esuno SakaeStudio: asread,
Director: Hosoda Naoto (Shuffle!, Minami-ke Okawari),
Cast: Togashi Misuzu, Murata Tomosa
A boy gets thrown into a deadly game where each participant is given a special diary that tells some aspect of the future. He is also joined by the class idol, who is obsessed with him. Honestly, the yandere pretty much carries this entire manga, which falls off a cliff near the end. To make matters worse, it is being produced by an abysmal studio.
[SIZE="5"]
Cube X Cursed X Curious[/SIZE]
Light novel by Minase HazukiStudio: Silver Link,
Director: Oonuma Shin (ef, Baka to Test to Shoukanju),
Cast: Tamura Yukari, Kaji Yuuki, Iguchi Yuka, Chihara Minori, Kitamura Eri
A guy gets a mysterious box sent to him by his father who's overseas. It turns out there's a naked girl inside. It also goes by the mathematical notation form of the statement "C to the power of 3", but that is impossible to write on a forum.
[SIZE="5"]
Ben-To[/SIZE]
Light novel by AsauraStudio: David Production,
Director: Itagaki Shin (Basquash!, Devil May Cry)
The premise involves destitute high school student embroiled in a brawl for a half price bento.
[SIZE="5"]
Coppelion[/SIZE]
Manga by Inoue TomonoriA nuclear disaster happens near Tokyo and many years later, it's a ghost town. The JSDF sends in three high school girls who are genetically modified to be immune to radiation to search for survivors.
[SIZE="5"]
Tamayura ~Hitotose~[/SIZE]
SequelStudio: HAL Film Maker,
Director: Sato Junichi (Aria, Kaleido Star, Tamayura),
Cast: Taketatsu Ayana, Asumi Kana, Iguchi Yuka, Gibu Yuko
An original iyashikei show about a girl who's into photography by the director behind Aria. This started out as a four episode OVA and strong sales have rewarded fans with this TV animation.
[SIZE="5"]
Working'!![/SIZE]
SequelStudio: A-1 Pictures,
Director: Ootsuki Atsushi (Kanokon, Ladies versus Butlers, Motto To Love-Ru),
Cast: Fukuyama Jun, Asumi Kana, Fujita Saki, Hiroshi Kamiya, Ono Daisuke, Kitamura Eri, Nakamura Yuuichi
The second season of that restaurant comedy show with the catchy song. Yes, the there is an apostrophe in the title because the production committee apparently did not have the foresight to anticipate a second season and they foolishly used two exclamation marks when one would have sufficed. Yamada is still hungry for chaos. Unfortunately, the director change does not bode well.
[SIZE="5"]
Shinryaku!? Ika Musume[/SIZE]
SequelStudio: Diomedea,
Director: Yamamoto Yasutaka (Valkyria Chronicles),
Cast: Fujimura Ayumi, Kanemoto Hisako, Tanaka Rie
The second season of that comedy show with the squid puns. The addition of a question mark to the title could be a portent of some kind of existential crisis that will befall Ika Musume.
[SIZE="5"]
Bakuman Second Season[/SIZE]
SequelStudio: J.C. Staff
The second season of that anime adaptation of a Shounen Jump manga about trying to get an anime adaptation of a Shounen Jump manga.
[SIZE="5"]
Shakugan no Shana III[/SIZE]
SequelStudio: J.C. Staff,
Director: Watanabe Takashi (Ikkitousen, Freezing, Slayers),
Cast: Kugimiya Rie, Satoshi Hino
Our long national nightmare is almost over.