Spring 2012 is coming, attempting to wrap up Winter 2011.
Aquarion EVOL
This is not the Age of Aquarius. The first series of Aquarion was mediocre at best - surprising really given Yoko Kanno's duties on the soundtrack and the birth of what should have been a decent pop-star in the form of AKINO. EVOL comes after an ill-advised OVA and reboots the premise by retaining the giant robot consisting of separately piloted craft - think Getter Robo except with squeals of orgasmic delight from the female aviators - but amps up the ridiculous factor to eleven. The opening episodes are pleasing in how seriously the show doesn't take itself with a a male protagonist who floats on wings growing from his ankles when he has any naughty thoughts.
The drab grey environments from the first series are dispensed with, replaced by a colourful canal town that's part Aria's Aqua and part Gunslinger Girl's Italy. Otherwise this is business as usual: the reluctant pariah hero is an unexpectedly competent giant robot pilot but breaks the rules through naivete and succeeds due to determination. There's an undercurrent of teenage naughtiness and a raging torrent of creative abandon that will only be undone if it strays too far either way: Code Geass lunacy or Kiddy Grade seriousness?
Yoko Kanno is reprising her musical role which only deepens the question of whether such high production values and an auspicious start will lead to a more fulfilling conclusion than Aquarion managed.
Senki Zesshou Symphogear (Swan song of the Valkyries: Symphogear)
Singing and fighting have a long heritage, perhaps best known in Macross with the divisive Minmay. Here it is a little harder to believe that any of the lead females can hold a tune while performing acrobatics rather than standing about on a space platform (regardless of what the energetic performances of Sheryl Nome has to say about this). Sharing none of the staff but a lot of the ethos of Kannazuki no Miko, this is a scrappily drawn and histrionic take on the weathered story of a spunky girl thrown into traumatic circumstances.
Here though the protagonist has none of the charm of say Sailor Moon and her counterpart fares little better by taking the bushido paradigm a little too seriously. All of the character archetypes have been seen before, whether its the busty and whimsical lead scientist or the gruff and fatherly commander; that the opening episode is so charged and potent doesn't make up for the slideshow-esque animation of the third or the increasing apathy for any of the cast.
It would be charitable to say that Symphogear had potential but frankly there is little to like and a lot to disparage.
Rinne no Lagrange
Finishing off the mecha triumvirate is another unlikely heroine, robots, aliens, etc. Unlike Symphogear, the machinery here is a petulant robot rather than JPop-activated armour and while the protagonist Madoka has just as much chutzpah as Hibiki, she manages to be twice as likeable. Intrigue and mystery abound with a race of invading aliens performing antagonist duty while very similar looking aliens aid the human cause. The likelihood of them being one and the same race seems high.
Thankfully the dynamic between Madoka and her cousin is as fresh as the cousin's relationship with her underling is. The introduction of ditzy, top-heavy blonde pilot is disappointing and hints at more inappropriate flashes of skin to come, but with such a worn plot that this is the only burning issue is heartening. The scraps between the fetish-sleek robots are more humorous than awe-inspiring which makes a change from the dull repetition of the tired set-ups one expects. Delivering the coup de gras in the first fight with a wrestling move was certainly unanticipated.
With studios Production I.G. and Xebec behind this there is the possibility of Lagrange being an underrated hit as it progresses, though it would be just as enjoyable if it were to remain as entertaining as the first three.
Another
Reconstructing the original novel not withstanding, Another is an interesting entry in the relatively sparse arena of horror series. The first three episodes capture that unsettling feeling of small town, conspiracies and deviancies hiding beneath the surface. The addition of an old-fashioned ghost story means it certainly has the set-up for greatness. Unfortunately it ruins this with a fixation on dolls that, while thematically relevant, the cuts to images of them during an episode serve more as humorous non-sequiturs than the intended atmosphere building.
Similarly the protagonist's infuriating lack of common sense and refusal to ask basic questions of the odd happenings around him isn't helped by the obtuse and protracted dialogue. The third episode unceremoniously kills off one of the cast and by all accounts the deaths pile up as the series continues - unlike say the glacially paced Shiki, here the death is shown in excruciating detail and brings to mind the annual torture-porn of the Saw films. Common schlock horror then rather than slow-burning psychological torment.
The test of Another will be whether the various characters remain as inscrutable and abjectly annoying as they come across in the opening episodes or whether the mystery and body-count are enough to carry it through the projected twelve episodes.