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[madp]

Uchouten Kazoku 1

Promising. It's clear that a lot of the backgrounds in this show are simply photographs run through a filter, but there's some really great lighting, perspective, and framing to make up for it. So far, (and granted I haven't watched Rozen Maiden) it has on average the most arresting visuals of the season:

Spoiler

btw, that's a dude (ﺧ益&#65192

There's not much in the way of narrative as this episode primarily functioned to introduce a few characters and establish their relationships with each other, but the characters are relatively likable and grounded given their fantastical natures. It's all very pleasant, surprisingly thoughtful, with an unmistakable spark of wit in the dialogue and how the characters play off of each other. Magical realism is typically underutilized or used in the confines of shitty LN tropes in anime and this is an incredible breath of fresh air relative to a lot of other stuff, even after one episode.

 

[ZachDeKoromaru]

Uchouten Kazoku 1

Promising. It's clear that a lot of the backgrounds in this show are simply photographs run through a filter, but there's some really great lighting, perspective, and framing to make up for it. So far, (and granted I haven't watched Rozen Maiden) it has on average the most arresting visuals of the season:

Spoiler

btw, that's a dude (ﺧ益&#65192

There's not much in the way of narrative as this episode primarily functioned to introduce a few characters and establish their relationships with each other, but the characters are relatively likable and grounded given their fantastical natures. This is definitely the most restrained Kumeta work that I've seen; the dialogue is still perhaps on the wordy side, but there's an absence of shouting, other extreme behaviors, grotesquery, and social commentary. It's all very pleasant, surprisingly thoughtful. I want more.

I think Kumeta only did the character design.

 

[madp]

I think Kumeta only did the character design.

edited, but now my shame is immortalized forever.

 

[7Th]

It's by the writer of the Tatami Galaxy novel, not by Kumeta.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya episode 1
What the heck am I watching?
Though I guess it isn't near the weirdest Fate thing I have seen.
Shirouko....

 

[/XX/]

Who is responsible for the backgrounds on this anime. Some of them look very nice.

Haven't seen the episode yet, but most probably the bulk of them are made by bamboo Co.Ltd., because both art directors are staffers and one of them, Yusuke Takeda, is precisely the company's founder (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=49049163&postcount=8912).

Checking now the images posted here and yep, that's their style.

 

[Shard]

Right then, my top picks of Anime Summer Season 2013 thus far are Genei wo Kakeru Taiyou, Servent X Service and Love Lab and the bottom three thus far stand at Rozen Maiden 2013, Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya and Brother Conflict.

 

[sn00zer]

Haibane Renmei
Kinos Journey
Last Exile
Gunsmith Cats
Riding Bean
Iria: Zeiram the animation
Allison and Lillia
Fate Zero
Steins Gate
Shangri La
ROD TV/OVA
Eden of the East

I'm going to guess by the types of shows you've said you enjoyed that you're not looking for comedy.

Definitely seek out Tatami Galaxy as soon as you can. It's also made by the director of Mindgame, and my understanding is that they're pretty similar thematically. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Steins;Gate is another story starring college-age protagonists, a kind of modern-day sci-fi thriller set in Akihabara, where a self-styled "mad scientist" accidentally creates a phone that can send emails back in time, entangling him in a conspiracy much larger than himself. It starts slowly, but I found myself really attached to the cast by the end. It involves turn-of-the-millenium internet oddity John Titor, so you know it's something special.

If you like some fuck-yeah, you can probably appreciate the recent Jojo's Bizarre Adventure series. It's a great story of good guys, mustache-twirling villainy, and brilliant fighting reversals of fortune. The voice cast is excellent all around. I had a lot of fun with it.

There's other good stuff out there, but that's a decent place to start. For stuff from the last 5 years that fits, I think Gargantia, Shin Sekai Yori, Trapeze, and Usagi Drop would also be good. For older shows, I'd also recommend Gunslinger Girl, Haibane Renmei, and Mobile Suit Gundam: 08th MS Team.

On top of the other recs

Night Raid 1931
Le Chevalier D'Eon
The Count of Monte Cristo
Voices of a Distant Star
Gunsmith Cats
Coyote Ragtime Show

Can't go wrong with Polar Bear Café and Space Brothers.

Evangelion
Kaiba
Serial Experiments Lain
Cowboy Bebop
Legend of Galactic Heroes (ok, this is crazy long, but worth it)
Tatami Galaxy
Mononoke
Dennu Coil
Ghost in the Shell SAC
Planetes
Mushishi
Paranoia Agent
Monster
Haibane Renmei
Kemonozume
Gunslinger Girl
Gankutsou
Eve no Jikan

Kaiji Season 1 and 2

Gauche the Cellist
Kenya Boy
Fate/Zero
Angel's Egg

Since you liked the first half of Sword Art Online, I feel like I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't recommend Accel World, which is another series by the author of SAO which feels similar in some ways but is generally much better. You may have to get over your hatred of school settings somewhat, since there's a fair amount of that in here, but the in-game environments are pretty stylish, so that might make up for it. (Actually, since you specified "highschool" settings, this show obviously gets a free pass, since it's set in a middle school! =p)

Other random shows that may be up your alley listed below. It sounds kind of like you're more interested in serious stuff, but you didn't explicitly write off comedy/slice-of-life shows in your list of requirements, so I've included a few good ones in here that are totally worth your time.

BTOOOM! - I can't decide whether this violates the "nothing crazy violent" specification, but I think you'd probably be okay with the violence in this one, it's not really depraved-for-the-sake-of-depravity like Psycho-Pass.
Tiger & Bunny - a superhero story starring mostly grown-up characters, no "power levels" here.
Usagi Drop - a heartwarming story about raising a child.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure - this may or may not violate your dislike for shonen action shows, but I think it's worth checking out, since it doesn't really have "power levels" and is so much more manly and fuckyeah-tastic than any of those.
Shirokuma Cafe - a really laid-back comedy show featuring realistic-looking talking animals who basically act like adult humans. Much better than it sounds. I guess with 50 episodes, it could violate your "nothing crazy long" stipulation, but since it's not like it has a story arc that needs to be seen through to the end or anything, you could just watch half of it if that really bothers you =p
Hataraku Maou-sama! - a comedy show from last season about a "demon lord" from a fantasy realm who winds up in the real world and has to get a part-time job and struggle to get by. It's just really fun.
Katanagatari - WATCH IT, WATCH IT NOW. (Okay, I guess there's some fanservice in here, but it's not tasteless like Highschool of the Dead, and it's not the focus. The focus is awesome battles with swords and shit. That and really sharp dialogue, since it's based on novels by Nisio Isin. It's a really stylish series.)
Koi Kaze - ahahahahaha I'm not sure if I should feel bad recommending this to you or not. It's definitely a mature, thoughtful, well-executed story which isn't fanservicey and ticks all of your boxes...but the subject matter may put you off. It's about

Spoiler

incest, with a large age gap into the bargain

. If you think you can handle that, then check it out and you won't be disappointed.
Aku no Hana - I know you said no high school series, but...this isn't like any other series in that setting you've ever seen. (Again, this one is actually a middle school, but that's just a technicality =p) It's hugely atmospheric, and really dark and creepy. I think you'd probably like it if you give it a chance. Just a heads-up: it uses a really unusual animation style that can be offputting at first. Also, if you want to check it out, I'd watch the first two episodes before making any judgements on whether you like it or not, because a) the first episode is really uneventful and probably the least-engaging episode of the series, and b) it would probably take you that long to get past the initial knee-jerk reaction about how weird the series looks.
Shin Sekai Yori - an engaging sci-fi/fantasy tale about psychics in a sort of post-apocalyptic far future where humanity has regressed to a more rural lifestyle. It has its ups and downs in terms of quality, but overall it's worth it for the really unique setting and storyline, and some hugely atmospheric sequences dotted throughout.

Oh god where do I start?
forgot to mention I have seen Paranoia Agent (which I liked) and Monoke (which was incedible...artstyle anyway)

 

[Theonik]

GEN'EI WO KAKERU TAIYO il sole penetra le illusioni
Well this was a thing. Some rather nice Sakuga on it too. Will keep an eye for how it goes.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

Oh god where do I start?
forgot to mention I have seen Paranoia Agent (which I liked) and Monoke (which was incedible...artstyle anyway)

Steins;Gate

 

[Articalys]

Happy birthday, Senjougahara.

There was even celebratory cake from the official site.

----------------------

Gatchaman Crowds stuff looks pretty crazy. Will wait to see the first episode in motion before fully judging.

 

[Tenumi]

All of this comes down to obnoxious subbers trying to create some pathetic identity for themselves and draw attention to their work. The line is "exotic" even to English speakers by inherently differentiating itself from the rest of the work.

I can't believe I'm agreeing with you on something, dimb. Somebody check the temperature of Hell, please.

Well if you don't like it watch another release/learn Japanese. It really is nothing to get worked over.

That's what I did. I search until I find the one I'm most comfortable with.

 

[survivor]

Haven't seen the episode yet, but most probably the bulk of them are made by bamboo Co.Ltd., because both art directors are staffers and one of them, Yusuke Takeda, is precisely the company's founder (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=49049163&postcount=8912).

Checking now the images posted here an yep, that's their style.

Thanks for the info. Checking out the gallery on their website and their work is really nice.

 

[Articalys]

LQ, blurry, shakycam footage of the Gatchaman Crowds OP from Japan Expo:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzepAHaVUE4
Wiped out by NTV's copyright cops, unfortunately. Dunno if it got mirrored by someone, but if not you'll have to wait until the show starts to see it again, sorry.

 

[Chronoexe]

LTTP Love Lab - 01

Why is this sooooooooooo good?

HNNNNNNNNNNNG and more HNNNNNNNNNNNNG all the episode.

just one episode and I already love Maki

 

[survivor]

LQ, blurry, shakycam footage of the Gatchaman Crowds OP(?) from Japan Expo:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzepAHaVUE4

Looks good.

 

[Hellsing321]

Love Lab 1

This was great. The sakuga was lovely and the energy and humor was enjoyable too.

 

[7Th]

LQ, blurry, shakycam footage of the Gatchaman Crowds OP from Japan Expo:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzepAHaVUE4

Pretty cool.

 

[Blusby]

LQ, blurry, shakycam footage of the Gatchaman Crowds OP from Japan Expo:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzepAHaVUE4

It's beautiful, Utsu-Tsu <3

 

[Lafiel]

More Gatchaman Crowds screens:




HD Gatchaman Crowds OP screens:




High Resolution Suit designs:

Okay, between these screenshots and the look of the OP. I'm officially fucking hyped now. Go NAKAMURA!

Yeah, hopefully it's not going to be like [C]. I think Nakamura's shows are best when they deal with the characters and their personality defects and how it relates to society. He does it really well even when the story is fantastical and crazy. I really hope there isn't that much actual action in the show, because that's his weakest point.

Mononoke had awesome action though!

 

[Theonik]

LQ, blurry, shakycam footage of the Gatchaman Crowds OP from Japan Expo:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzepAHaVUE4

NIce OP still not too hot on the suits.

 

[firehawk12]

Blood Lad

Nerd jokes.

I assume this will turn out like Maoudonalds but with a thousand times more nerd references. Yeesh. lol

 

[ZachDeKoromaru]

Blood Lad
http://i.imgur.com/fBkD6oSl.jpg[/IG]
Nerd jokes.

I assume this will turn out like Maoudonalds but with a thousand times more nerd references. Yeesh. lol[/QUOTE]

He even has the same seiyuu.

 

[Theonik]

Blood Lad
http://i.imgur.com/fBkD6oSl.jpg
Nerd jokes.

I assume this will turn out like Maoudonalds but with a thousand times more nerd references. Yeesh. lol

So is he meant to be a zombie/vampire that works at DFC or something?

 

[Articalys]

Sentai licensing a show from this season? Sentai licensing a show from this season.

Add Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi to their collection.

 

[Gintoki313]

Blood Lad

Nerd jokes.

I assume this will turn out like Maoudonalds but with a thousand times more nerd references. Yeesh. lol

I like some of the changes they made to popular licenses. PrayStration (which is actually in the background of that pic), Suny, and I forgot what they called the Dragonball manga he was reading. It's gonna be so good.

 

[firehawk12]

I like some of the changes they made to popular licenses. PrayStration (which is actually in the background of that pic), Suny, and I forgot what they called the Dragonball manga he was reading. It's gonna be so good.

I think it was Dra-gunball. lol

He even has the same seiyuu.

No kidding? Haha, gotta love how the people who cast these shows don't even try.

So is he meant to be a zombie/vampire that works at DFC or something?

I have no idea. This was a premise episode, so he only

Spoiler

talks about going to the human world but hasn't gone yet.

--

Also, I guess this is fetish fuel for Mad Pierrot?

 

[madp]

Also, I guess this is fetish fuel for Mad Pierrot?
http://i.imgur.com/dJz5qVQl.jpg

fuck it.

starting Genshiken S1 tomorrow.

 

[Theonik]

No kidding? Haha, gotta love how the people who cast these shows don't even try.

Not like there is much choice.

I have no idea. This was a premise episode, so he only

Spoiler

talks about going to the human world but hasn't gone yet.

Oh I see.

 

[Dennis]

So some of the new shows have started, anything must-see?

 

[OceanBlue]

I'm too lazy to go back through the thread and quote the posts! Gachaman Crowds looks great and the Highschool DxD ending is way more animated than most EDs usually are.

 

[Theonik]

So some of the new shows have started, anything must-see?

I'd only say Love Lab in terms of some nice character animation.
Nothing too exciting thus far other than that.

 

[SDBurton]

So some of the new shows have started, anything must-see?

Love Lab.

 

[nintendoman58]

So some of the new shows have started, anything must-see?

Well if your into the dark magical girl genre, Day Break Illusion has a really good start.

 

[madp]

So some of the new shows have started, anything must-see?

I've enjoyed Uchouten Kazoku, Love Lab, and Genei wo Kakeru Taiyou so far, but the last two require a certain strong tolerance for "cute" character designs and otaku-oriented content.

 

[Regulus Tera]

LQ, blurry, shakycam footage of the Gatchaman Crowds OP from Japan Expo:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzepAHaVUE4

All of my hype and I don't even like Nakamura!

 

[KirbYuuYuu]

So some of the new shows have started, anything must-see?

Love Lab

 

[Dennis]

So lot of people are mentioning Love Lab, what is it about?

 

[survivor]

So lot of people are mentioning Love Lab, what is it about?

Cute girls trying to find love. Funny comedy with good animations.

 

[dimb]

So lot of people are mentioning Love Lab, what is it about?

the highest quality 810p screenshots.

 

[SDBurton]

LQ, blurry, shakycam footage of the Gatchaman Crowds OP from Japan Expo:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzepAHaVUE4

Nice.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

LQ, blurry, shakycam footage of the Gatchaman Crowds OP from Japan Expo:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzepAHaVUE4

I'm in.

 

[firehawk12]

Uchouten Kazoku 1

Promising. It's clear that a lot of the backgrounds in this show are simply photographs run through a filter, but there's some really great lighting, perspective, and framing to make up for it. So far, (and granted I haven't watched Rozen Maiden) it has on average the most arresting visuals of the season:

Spoiler

btw, that's a dude (&#65191;&#30410;&#65192

There's not much in the way of narrative as this episode primarily functioned to introduce a few characters and establish their relationships with each other, but the characters are relatively likable and grounded given their fantastical natures. It's all very pleasant, surprisingly thoughtful, with an unmistakable spark of wit in the dialogue and how the characters play off of each other. Magical realism is typically underutilized or used in the confines of shitty LN tropes in anime and this is an incredible breath of fresh air relative to a lot of other stuff, even after one episode.

I forgot that this was the PA Works show. After Red Data Girl, I expected it to also have the bean-face look but it looks completely different.

I have no idea what the show is supposed to be about though (that is, whether it's supposed to be slice of lifey or turn out to be crazy actiony), but I suppose this was pretty much a character introduction episode.

Thinking about it though, it might actually end up being an interesting companion to the mythologyical/supernatural stuff in Red Data Girl. Maybe that's why they chose to do it?

 

[survivor]

I forgot that this was the PA Works show. After Red Data Girl, I expected it to also have the bean-face look but it looks completely different.

I have no idea what the show is supposed to be about though (that is, whether it's supposed to be slice of lifey or turn out to be crazy actiony), but I suppose this was pretty much a character introduction episode.

Thinking about it though, it might actually end up being an interesting companion to the mythologyical/supernatural stuff in Red Data Girl. Maybe that's why they chose to do it?

I really doubt it will turn into an action show. I think it's just a slice of life romance wacky comedy type of thing.

 

[Dresden]

LQ, blurry, shakycam footage of the Gatchaman Crowds OP from Japan Expo:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzepAHaVUE4

Man, it turned out to be pretty much what I expected when I heard the song. I'm in. Well, I always was, but now it's in-ner.

 

[Turin Turambar]

Man, it turned out to be pretty much what I expected when I heard the song. I'm in. Well, I always was, but now it's in-ner.

The song is pretty nice! good start.

 

[duckroll]

Mononoke had awesome action though!

Hmmm.... still need to watch that.

LQ, blurry, shakycam footage of the Gatchaman Crowds OP from Japan Expo:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzepAHaVUE4

Pretty nice OP, but since it's animated by the Jojo OP dudes (which is a CG studio) it might... not be indicative of how the actual show looks. Since all the screens were from the OP, this actually puts us back to square one - what does the actual show look like?! Nakamuraaaaaaaaaa. >_<

 

[madp]

DokiDoki 23:

Cure Ace's transformation is still amazing and the show is still terrible.

Spoiler

Regina's gone

but hey, now you get TWICE THE AI since Klondike apparently up and decided off screen that he's taken enough bullshit and he is done. It's your babby now, Mana.

Pretty much the only redeeming thing at this point is Ace treating Mana like she's a scrub Cure who doesn't know shit.

Also, lol Toei cannibalism:

ep. 1

ep. 23

 

[DarknessTear]

Blood Lad 01

Easily redeeming the season for me. Good stuff.

 

[7Th]

Pretty nice OP, but since it's animated by the Jojo OP dudes (which is a CG studio) it might... not be indicative of how the actual show looks. Since all the screens were from the OP, this actually puts us back to square one - what does the actual show look like?! Nakamuraaaaaaaaaa. >_<

If this is CG, the Jojo dudes should handle all CG in anime: