We’ve officially cast off the metaphoric shackles we called two thousand nine. Herald the coming of oh-ten. I tend to demonize the previous year and lionize the new. I think this comes from the fact that old years have happened and can be judged, where as new years are brimming with potential. Sadly, if history has taught me anything (which it hasn’t), this year will probably end up much the same as the others. I’m unsure exactly what I’d like this year to be, and perhaps that’s the problem. This is quickly sounding more like a personal problem…uhh, so anime!

In accordance with my solemn duty – and my deep personal desire to talk about this shit – I present to you a few of the winter 2010 anime choices that I will more than likely be checking out. It turns out that this year the winter anime line-up is pretty thin, which ultimately is better for me so I don’t overindulge, like a pedophile at a playground; I can’t help myself. There are six shows I plan to take a peak at. Images belong to Random Curiosity’s Winter 2010 Preview.

Dance in the Vampire Bund

The story revolves around Mina Tepes, princess-ruler of all vampires, and her “protector,” Akira. Like other vampires, Mina has been in hiding with her people for many years. Seeking to end centuries of isolation, Mina gains permission to create a special district for vampires, “The Bund”, off the coast of Japan by paying off the national debt of the Japanese government. Mina then reveals to the world the existence of vampires and her desire for both races to live together. Tensions, however, run high as fearful humans and extremist vampire factions begin to interfere with Mina’s wish for peace with the human world.

Based on the previews and ignoring the nonsensical title, this series seems genuinely interesting. We’re probably suffering from vampire OD, but ultimately I like vampires so despite the Twilight’s trying to make me hate them, I’m going to watch this series and probably enjoy it.

Durarara!!

Ryūgamine Mikado is a young man who longs for the exciting life of the big city. At the invitation of his childhood friend Masaomi, he transfers to a school in Ikebukuro. Masaomi warns him about people he doesn’t want to cross in the city: a violent man dressed like a bartender, an information merchant, and a mysterious gang called “Dollars”. And to top it off, Mikado witnesses an urban legend on his first day in the city: the Headless Rider astride a black motorcycle.

This series really interests me, mostly because it was created by the same guy who gave us Baccano!. The plot doesn’t give away too much in terms of what the general storyline is going to be like, but I hear it has the same kind of ensemble cast as Baccano! did.

Ladies versus Butlers!

This school romantic comedy revolves around Hino Akiharu, an ordinary high school student who unfortunately looks like a juvenile delinquent. He enrolls into an academy that was once a school for upper-class ladies, and he is placed in the school’s newly established servant training department. The students there are raised to be either maids or butlers, and Akiharu finds himself in the middle of the bickering cliques.

This series will probably fall under either the “guilty pleasure” or “garbage” category – It’s a fine line. With a surprisingly straight forward title, Ladies versus Butlers has a very similar character style to Kanokon which was over the top when it came to fan service and high school sexual situations pushed almost into the pornographic. I don’t really expect a lot out of this one, but it sounds weird and dumb enough I may just like it.

Nodame Cantabile Finale

Apparently the third and finale chapter in the Nodame Cantabile saga. I enjoyed the original series and the Paris Chapters. If you haven’t seen the first two, watching this one probably doesn’t make much sense.

Seikon no Qwaser

The story takes place on the grounds of St. Mihailov Academy, a Japanese Eastern Orthodox school, and draws heavily on religious references from the aforementioned religion. Here it follows the trials and hardship of two of its students, Oribe Mafuyu and Tomo Yamanobe, until the encounter with a mysterious, silver-haired, Russian boy named Alexander, or Sasha for short. This puts them and the whole school in an all-out war between the Church itself and the so-called “Adepts”, a sect of individuals wielding powers linked to the elements of chemistry. Though based on the common magical girl concept shown in series such as Sailor Moon, the story diverges in depicting extreme acts of bloodshed, brutality and perversion, and also makes heavy use of fanservice.

Not entirely sure what to expect from this series either, but after watching the preview for it, it looks like it’ll contain a lot of violence and sexual content. Whether or not it’ll be uncensored like in the preview is still to be seen. As a nice stark contrast, I enjoy watching some fucked up animes to offset shows like Ladies Versus Butlers.

So-Ra-No-Wo-To

Set in the future on a land that, after being marred by long-lasting wars, has settled into a quiet cycle of decline. Kanata Kumika is a 15-year-old girl who fulfills her dream of enlisting in the army and joins a unit of five girls who protect a fortress that looms over a little village.

Finally (as if this post wasn’t long enough), we come to So-Ra-No-Wo-To. This series is the first of the Anime no Chikara (The Power of Anime) project which is aimed at creating original anime series, as opposed to those based on manga, games, or light novels. This series seems like it’ll be very light, without anything too substantial happening. It has a very K-ON! vibe to it which makes me want to watch it, despite the plot being less than compelling.

For a full listing of this winter’s new series, please visit Random Curiosity’s Winter 2010 Preview.

Peace