Girls who are part robot confuse my boy parts.

The latest light novel to anime conversion is Infinite Stratos, a relatively new and unknown series by rising author Yumizuru Izuru. The science fiction series has sold 400,000 total copies over five books so far, which is a modest success but nothing to write home about – for comparison, the To Aru Majutsu no Index novels have sold 7.7 million over 20 books.

Infinite Stratos is about a world where a new type of powered suit can only be operated by women. This newtechnology, known as the Infinite Stratos (IS), leads to a revolution in society, changing the world into a matriarchy. But, since there are Rules about these things, a boy named Orimura Ichika accidentally activates an IS system and becomes instantly famous. “The only boy in the world who can use an IS” is immediately drafted into an elite IS pilot academy where, because there are Rules about these things, he runs into a lot of his childhood friends amidst the gaggle of cute girls who are all fascinated or threatened by his presence.

All of this is pretty much an excuse to have a high school romcom/robots hybrid, with a Strike Witches-style twist where the girls are hybridized with the mecha. There also seems to be a shortage of pants, judging from the book covers, but I am strangely okay with that.

The most interesting thing announced so far about this anime is that it’s going to have Kikuchi Yasuhito (Macross Frontier) at the helm, while Eight Bit (Macross Frontier: Itsuwari no Utahime) will handle the animation. I have a lot of faith in those two names, and that upped my assessment of this announcement from “another light novel to throw into the pile” to “This could explode in popularity like K-On!” Time will tell.

Yes, that’s right: Neptune must team up with Nippon Ichi-chan, Gust-chan, IF-chan, and Compa-chan to save the world. It’s the most self-referential and strange thing I’ve seen since Sega Gaga for the Dreamcast, and it is mind-boggling to think of the thought process that went into the concept of this game. Crossover specials like Street Fighter X Tekken or Capcom vs. SNK are one thing, but it takes a special kind of brain to say “Hey, let’s turn our companies themselves into cute young girls and have them summon our game characters as their attacks!”

I’m a little ashamed to say that I’m tempted to pre-order this.

Yus!

If the second season of the criminally undersold Arakawa Under the Bridge didn’t wow you, don’t worry – the prequel to Nisio Isin’s famed ghost story series Bakemonogatari is going to be animated by Shaft soon. With Kizumonogatari in the pipes, fans can now rest assured that the hit 2009 anime is going to get much, much more anime. Kizumonogatari takes place before Bakemonogatari, and covers the strange sequence of events that turned Koyomi into a vampire, then cured him. Also of interest, it shows how Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade became the quiet little Lolita she is in the main story. No date or format has been announced for the new series, which is probably for the best.

With this announcement, it becomes very safe to say that every -monogatari story in the series is going to get its turn getting animated by the overworked people at Shaft. Whether or not they’ll be completed in time for release is another question entirely, thanks to the now-infamous missing scenes scattered throughout the Bakemonogatari anime. That’s good, because the hard-working Nisio Isin is scheduled to bring out a new novel every three months until December of next year.

Not content with finishing up Nekomonogatari (“Tsubasa Tiger”) in October, he’s following them up with Keimonogatari (“Mayoi Jiang-Shi”) in December and Hanamonogatari (“Suruga Devil”), Otorimonogatari (“Nadeko Medusa”), Onimonogatari (“Shinobu Time”), and Koimonogatari (“Hitagi End”) in 2011. Shaft’s going to fall behind at this rate – but then again, no one really expects them to be on time anymore.

In other news, this is the most hyphens I have ever used in a single post. I felt like mentioning that.

Why wasn't it Vysaga? Boooooo...

Update: The Super Robot Wars official anime page is up, and gives the new anime a fall season start date!

What’s this I see on the Internet? A new Super Robot Wars OG series that takes place after the overly-political Divine Wars series? And it’s subtitled The Inspector, just like the first villains of OG2? And the promotional images include Lamia Loveless and Axel Alma, the stars of the Shadow Mirror arc of OG2 with their Angelg and Soulgain mechs?

Well. It looks like after a complete failure to bring Super Robot Wars OGs to the US (my source says that this was due to the exorbitant cost of creating a dub track for the game, which Sony insisted on), we have another chance to bring the glory of Super Robot Wars to American audiences.

Seeing this makes me want to pull out my copy of SRW OGs again – though if you make me play all 50-some turns of Chapter 22 (the first Inspector map) again, complete with the dozens of saves and reloads that come from the bosses frequently one-shotting Gilliam, Viletta, and Ryuune, I may just hang myself.

Anyway, The Inspector will be a TV series, covering the events of OG2 much like Divine Wars covered the events of OG. It has a very experienced staff behind it, with Oobari Masami (Gravion) in the director’s seat and respected names like Katoki Hajime (Virtual On, G Gundam) and Kotobuki Tsukasa (Godannar) filling out the long, long roster of character and mecha designers.

Out of curiosity, how many of you have played Super Robot Wars and know what the hell I’ve been talking about with my name-dropping of mechs and miscellaneous levels of Japanese mecha strategy RPGs? Hit the jump for some awesome videos from the game series, which you’ll see in animated form soon enough.

All of Angelg’s attacks in order: Shadow Lancer, Mirage Sword, Illusion Arrow, Mirage Sign, Phantom Phoenix

All of Soulgain’s attacks in order: Seiryuu Rin, Genbu Goudan, Byakko Kou, Mai Suzaku, Kirin.

Rampage Ghost, ‘cuz it’s awesome:

Tatsumaki Zankantou, because real men ride each other:

And, finally, Royal Heart Breaker. Because I hate myself.

Dream stories are hot. Thanks, Inception!

Minor manga rag Manga Time Kirara Forward has announced on the cover that fantasy action title Yumekui Merry (Dream-eating Merry) is getting the anime treatment. If you haven’t heard of Manga Time Kirara in general, I don’t blame you – it’s mostly known for K-On! and Doujin Work, neither of which really made it big in manga form.

The story of Ushiki Yoshitaka’s manga starts with Fujiwara Yumeji, a boy who can walk in other people’s dreams and observe them. One day, he bumps into Merry Nightmare, a denizen of dreams who has managed to cross over into the real world. Like so many other manga protagonists, he gets sucked into a fight with other dream denizens, not nearly as benevolent (or cute) as the Dream Eater Merry.

No date is yet announced for this adaptation, but based on the timing of the announcement, I suspect that we’re going to see this coming to TBS and BS-TBS in late 2010/early 2011.

Go to DMC! Go to DMC!

Well, it’s about time. Viz Pictures has announced that a release plan for the 2008 Detroit Metal City movie. DMC is the live action adaptation of Wakasugi Kiminori’s comedy manga about a simple country boy named Negishi Soichi, who fronts a death metal band as the demonic Johannes Krauser II (pictured above). Their current schedule is not yet solid, but a DVD release is coming this fall, which will most likely be accompanied by a limited theater release, a la 20th Century Boys and Death Note.

I saw the movie while I was in Japan back in August 2008, and it was hilarious. I’ve fallen out of love with the manga in recent years because it got too crazy and aggressive over time, turning the main character into an unlikeable font of schizophrenic rage; as a 100-minute movie, it felt just right as a cheesy, funny look at a man struggling between what he likes and what he’s good at. Matsuyama Ken’ichi’s (L from Death Note) portrayal of Negishi mixes comedic buffoonery with just enough tragedy to keep you sympathetic. Plus, you can’t hate a movie that gives you the pleasure of hearing Gene Simmons say “Kill him, Metal Buffalo!” It’s just not possible.

Hit the jump for the official movie trailer and a bonus music video from the original promotional campaign.

The movie trailer:

SATSUGAI, Detroit Metal City’s anthem:

He’s a fat, sharpshooting otaku with a glasses fetish and a yen for military hardware.

Also presented for your consideration: Hirano Kouta, the author of Hellsing, as of his appearance at Anime Expo in 2005:

Back then, when they announced the Hellsing Ultimate OVA, he went on the record as saying he has a glasses fetish. Does he have a gun fetish, too? You be the judge:

According to the Japanese Wikipedia, Hirano Kouta himself is very much aware of his manga doppelganger. He put a note in one of his Hellsing afterwords that said “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go kill zombies at my high school.”

There are definitely worse ways to be paid homage.

Image from Media Factory.

When I started watching Asobi ni Ikuyo: Bombshells From the Sky early this week, I tried to go in without any prior expectations. The problem was that my sheer hatred for ToLoveRu (Trouble) tainted the “Cute alien descends to earth, hijinks ensue” formula for me. So imagine my surprise when it turned out that not only was the first episode of Asobi ni Ikuyo watchable, but I actually enjoyed it enough to fly right to the second episode.

More thoughts – and a recipe for creating your very own Urusei Yatsura clone - after the jump.

Datcha!

The recipe Asobi ni Ikuyo is as basic as you can get for a sci-fi romantic comedy:

Ingredients:

1 nondescript boy
1 childhood friend (neighbor) (cute)
1 teacher (hot)
1 mysterious transfer student (cute)
1 alien (hot)
Wacky friends and rivals to taste

Directions:

- Bake nondescript boy and childhood friend for 14-17 years.

- Remove from heat. Top with hot teacher and mysterious transfer student.

- Add cute alien, stir until boy is confused and girls are sexy.

- Garnish with wacky friends until comedy cools.

- Serve and enjoy!

Note: Results may not look like picture. They may look like UFO Princess Valkyrie or Tenchi Muyo! instead. Or Onegai Teacher, or DearS, or… the list goes on and on.

Where Asobi ni Ikuyo succeeds so far is in taking the basic formula and adding enough spice to make it taste new and interesting. It doesn’t feel like the same alien romance they’ve been feeding us since 1978. The childhood friend? She’s an intern for the CIA and has ties to the nearby Kadena Air Base. The hot teacher? She’s part of a secret society of UFO and conspiracy freaks who think that the catgirl Ellis is totally inappropriate for their idealized vision of first contact. The mysterious transfer student is an elite agent in a power suit.

It’s pretty silly and strains your suspension of disbelief when you see it all for the first time. Events conspire to make sure all of these people happen to be in the same place at the same time, plus they are all in love with Kio Kakazu, a perfectly ordinary high school boy. And yet it all comes together to more amusing than it has any right to be, thanks to a lead character who doesn’t seem like he’s over his head.

In the second episode, everything comes down on Kio, as several governments and terrorist organizations descend on his catgirl guest and fling him around like a rag doll in the process. Somehow, he manages to extract some sense out the confusing web of relationships and secrets in order to get things done by the end of the episode – he rescues the girl with some help from his badass friends, he gets them all to work together, and he’s all in one piece at the end, which is a pretty impressive feat. When it’s all over, you’re left with the crazy idea that this gun-slinging, panty-shotting, rom-comming mess just might turn into a watchable show.

I reserve the right to change my mind if this story turns into mush like Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou did toward the end, but right now? I’m waiting for ep 3 with interest. I totally did not expect that.

Good names, mostly...

Dragon Crisis, come on down, you’re the next contestant on “Let’s Make a Light Novel Into an Anime!” Kizaki Kaya’s fantasy novels are on the fast track to the anime world, and a lot of anime veterans are conducting the train.

The above image from Shueisha’s homepage highlights the three major announcements: Tachibana Hideki (Bleach: Memories of Nobody, a few episodes of To Aru Kagaku no Railgun) will be directing the project, Kurata Hideyuki (Kamichu! and R.O.D.) will be the lead writer, and Ishihama Masashi (Welcome to the Space Show, R.O.D.) will adapt the character designs to animation. Studio Deen (also known as Sunrise Jr.) will handle the animation.

As you might have guessed from the title, Dragon Crisis is the story of a treasure hunting boy, his second cousin, and the young dragon girl they find in a box. It’s very reminiscent of To Aru Majutsu no Index in setting and tone, with a modern fantasy vibe and the usual Japanese spice of romantic comedy. Will it be as watchable as Index? We’ll find out soon.