Ask John: What’s John Looking Forward to This Year?

Question:
What have been John’s best and worst anime picks for 2011, and what is he most looking forward to watching in 2012?

Answer:
Having previously answered the first half of this question, now I’ll address the second half. Regarding anime itself, after a slight decline in anime production, 2011 saw an upswing in Japan again, with nearly 150 different TV anime series and 18 premiering in the January season alone. 2012 may even surpass last year with an initial 26 new TV anime premiering in the first of four TV seasons. So far, the first episode of Natsume Yujincho Shi maintains the quality and style of the excellent thrid season, and the premiere episode of Rinne no Lagrange is promising, delivering nice production values and a lot of fun energy. This season is likely to be dominated by SHAFT’s highly anticipated Nisemonogatari, and the show will probably justify its acclaim. Senhime Zessho Symphogear may also become a surprise success, given its seeming hybrid nature of Pretty Cure and Macross Frontier.

Looking farther into the future, four upcoming TV anime have my attention already. Upotte!! promises to be a bishoujo Hetalia revolving around assault rifles rather than nations. There mere concept sounds highly amusing. The Japanese exclusive preview trailer for Tasogare Otome x Amnesia was stunning, so although the story concept doesn’t sound especially unique, exceptional production and details may make the show stand out. I was disappointed by the 2008 Hakushaku to Yosei anime, so I’m hopeful that this year’s show about a girl and fairies, Jinrui wa Suitaishimashita, will be the pleasant, cute show in the vein of Tongari Boshi no Memoru that I’m hopeful for. And having watched all of the Queen’s Blade anime released so far, I look forward to seeing the continuation of the story and an assortment of new characters in Queen’s Blade Rebellion.

On the movie and OVA front, I’m very eagerly anticipating the three “Anime Bunko” OVAs. I enjoyed the original short Yuri Seijin Naoko-san OAD immensely. The early 2010 teaser trailer for Minori Scramble! was breathtaking. And having read Junji Ito’s Gyo manga a decade ago, I’m eager to see its anime adaptation next month. I anticipate the first Berserk movie with some trepidation. While I, as much as anyone, want to see new Berserk anime, the clunky CG in the trailers has me worried about an ambitious film marred by underfunded and lazy production. Creator/director Hiroyuki Okiura’s Momo e no Tegami and Yasuhiro Yoshiura’s Sakasama no Patema should both be excellent. Mamoru Nagano’s Hana no Utame Gothicmade looks truly fascinating. Like countless fans, I hope that Studio Khara’s third Evangelion rebuild movie shocks and awes me. And I’m hopeful that with a theatrical budget, SHAFT will be able to produce a spectacular Kizumonogatari movie.

Domestically, anime fans have speculated for the past three years that the American anime industry is increasingly reverting to the characteristics of the earliest days of American anime fandom. I’m not sure that fans realized exactly how accurate their presience was. Bandai Entertainment’s departure from domestic distribution makes relatively little impact on the contemporary domestic anime industry since Bandai hasn’t been one of America’s most prominently active distributors in years. But the withdrawl shifts the American market one step closer to an environment that’s genuinely supplemental and superfluous to the Japanese market rather than separate. The earliest days of American anime fandom were characterized by limited availablitiy to anime and fans desiring physical copies forced to import expensive Japanese releases. While an abundance of contemporary anime is available online, much of it is only available to Americans online while releases like the Gundam Unicorn Blu-rays, Madoka Magica, Fate/zero, and the Rurouni Kenshin OVA, Baccano, and R.O.D. blu-ray releases are either literal imports or domestic releases at near import prices. As American fans continue to perceive anime as a disposable commodity comparable to American broadcast television, instead of considering it imported art film, domestic distributors are likely to have even more difficultly marketing DVD & Blu-ray in America this year while Japanese distributors will likely increasingly recognize hardcore America collectors with deep pockets as a supplemental market and the majority of America not a viable market for physical disc release at all.