Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta

Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta? or And you thought there is never a girl online? is new anime series based on a light novel with the same title written by Shibai Kineko. The light novel was published by ASCII Media Works and they have released 10 volumes so far since 2013.

As someone who played MMORPGs and spent countless hours on games such as Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV, this anime series is something that I can relate it. For anyone who I met online, I always assume they were males / guys / men until proven otherwise . The notion of there are no girls online has become a well-known internet joke/meme for last few years. As social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) rises its popularity, people tend to be more open about who they are on the Internet including their gender in comparison to 10 or so years ago.

This anime series made an attempt to tell a story about an MMORPG player who meet another player whom he believed was a girl online. Did it succeed ?

Haifuri

High School Fleet (ハイスクール・フリート Haisukūru Furīto?) or Haifuri (はいふり) is a new anime series airing this Spring Anime 2016 season; it’s produced by Production IMS which are well known to produce anime series such as Active Raid, The Testament of Sister New Devil, Hundred. Haifuri is based on an original story with manga adaptation serialising on Media Factory’s seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Alive’s December 2015 issue released on October 27, 2015.

Macross Δ

Macross Δ (マクロスΔ) is a sequel to Macross Frontier series which was released back on 2008. Macross Δ is being produced by the same studio as Macross Frontier, Satelight. While it’s not a requirement to watch previous Macross series, I found few references to previous Macross series and glad that I just finished original Macross series so I could relate to some of the references.

Will it live up to the success of previous series franchise?

Active Raid

Active Raid is based on original story and is directed by a well-known director named Goro Taniguchi. He’s a director for all Code Geass series. Interestingly, character design in Active Raid is done by Saeki Shun who was also responsible for art and character design  in Shokugeki no Souma manga and anime series. You may see the resemblance between characters in Active Raid and Shokugeki no Souma.

Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation

Yet, it’s another MMORPG theme anime series. This MMORPG genre is getting more and more saturated each year. With another similar series, Hai to Gensou no Grimgar, on this same season, how much viewers can Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation attract? Not to mention, it’s a general rule of thumb that any anime series based on games tend to not-so-great i.e. it sucks. After watching few episodes, will it change my opinion on anime series based on games?

Hai to Gensou no Grimgar

Hai to Gensou no Grimgar, also known as Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash or Grimgar le Monde des cendres et de fantaisie, was based on a Japanese light novel series written by Ao Jumonji and illustrated by Eiri Shirai. There’s also the manga adaptation that started back in 2015. The light novel started on June 2013 and is still ongoing. It currently has 7 volumes so far.

Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi

Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi (僕だけがいない街) is also known as Erased and is based on a manga with the same title serialized on Young Ace by Kei Sanbe (story and art). It’s been running since 2012 and it appears that the series ending this March 2016. It makes sense for the anime series to start running on this winter 2016.

Akame ga Kill!

Background

In a fantasy world, everyone’s dream is to go to imperial capital, be well-known, work their way up in the ranks and make a lots of money. From the outside, imperial capital looks like a peaceful place, however, darkness is hidden within the city where corruption by government officials running rampant. Prime minister, who indirectly rules the capital  behind a king who’s just a little kid, lead and is the source of all bad things happening in imperial capital.

Rail Wars!

Background

Rail wars takes place in modern Japan where all rail ways are managed by a government body called Japan National Railway or it’s more well-known as JNR instead of being privatized.