Spring season begins in earnest next week, so it’s about time I got started figuring out what I want to watch. Or maybe I was just waiting for someone else to do the work. Spring season is looking fantastic so far. Far better than the abysmal winter season, but shows can go bad in an instant so you have to keep an eye out for everything. Here’s a preliminary guide for all the shows I’ll at least check out the first episode of, complete with their trailers if they have one.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - April 1

Gainax, while not my favorite studio, makes some undeniably good stuff. Diebuster was great, so I can at least check out their newest series. The plot is somewhat appealing, but I hate the FLCL designs and animation. It was cool the first time around, but for the love of god use a different style already!

Hayate the Combat Butler - April 1

Definitely looking forward to this awesome comedy series. Kugimiya Rie as another tsundere is great, but to me the real appeal of Hayate is, simply, Hayate. He is only the male protagonist to be both a trap and gar. In the manga Hayate just oozes manliness, like being run over by a car multiple times and not feeling anything, or taking on an entire group of armed yakuza and winning. Of course, part of this is for comedic effect, but it’s still pretty damn awesome. The animation is also looking good, so I’m sure this will be a winner for the season.

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS - April 1

No way in hell am I missing this. Everybody’s favorite yuri couple comes back with an entirely new cast of loli’s. Based on my enjoyment from the previous two seasons I have high expectations for this. The new trailer was also just released today, and so far StrikerS seems to have the perfect balance of gar,moe, and destruction. Here’s to more Feito-chan~.

Claymore - April 3

I quite enjoy the manga for this, so I’m hoping the anime will be good also. From the trailer the show is looking very atmospheric with a mix of tension and horror. If they can animate the fight scenes well then this could be a good show to watch. The repetitiveness of the story might annoy some, though.

Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica - April 3

Seeing as how I can’t find a trailer for the anime, here’s the game’s OP instead. I guess Polyphonica is my visual novel anime of the season. I practically fell in love with the game when I played the demo, so I’m really curious as to what the rest of the story might be like. Hopefully the anime will give me a good glimpse of that. Though, so far, the designs aren’t as appealing as the games, which leaves me worried. Hopefully this one will be at least entertaining.

Romeo X Juliet - April 4

I am very excited about Gonzo’s reimagining of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, as I’m getting some strong Gankutsuou vibes from it. And seeing as how Gankutsuou is one of the greatest anime ever made, I can’t help but be highly anticipated for this. Of course, the story is a little bit different in this one, what with Juliet being more of a cross-dressing caped crusader, but the basic plotline is still the same. And Romeo and Juliet wasn’t that exciting to begin with. Hopefully Gonzo can hit gold again with this classic adaption. And, so far, no mecha in sight. A real Gonzo record. Though, it did take till episode 18 for mecha to appear in Gankutsuou.

Darker than BLACK - April 5

I really don’t know much about this series, aside that it’s being animated by Bones with music by Yoko Kanno, but it looks to be a very stylish supernatural/detective story. And the masked vigilante character really looks cool. Anyone who uses wire to fight has to be badass. I only hope this won’t be an episodic series and will have a strong central plot to it.

Lucky Star - April 8

I can’t believe Kyoani released a trailer for Clannad instead of making one for this.

Kyoani light? This is kyoani’s first comedy series in a while and a reprieve after all the depression of the Key series I guess. Since it’s from Kyoani I won’t doubt that it will be great. The source material is interesting, a 4koma series about a girl otaku who plays eroge and her crazy friends. Similiar to Hidamari Sketch and Azumanga Daioh, just more otaku. Can’t wait for Kyoani to wow us again with this light-hearted series.

Bokurano - April 8

I was going to watch this anyways, but after seeing the trailer this immediately became a “Must watch as soon as the raw is out,” show. I’ve already raved before on how I love Bokurano, and the trailer is really showing how awesome the story is. I don’t even have a complaint about the CG mecha. I love the OP song used in the trailer. It’s so haunting, foreboding, and exciting that it fits Bokurano perfectly. I just hope Gonzo won’t shy away from showing the darker aspects of the story, as that is what really makes Bokurano great.

Victorian Romance Emme Second Act - April 16

Emma was a great romance story that ended on a terrible cliff-hanger, so I’m glad it’s finally getting a second season. To me the second half of the manga was better, so the same should apply to the second season. I’m also glad they haven’t changed the music, because that OP really was a catchy song.

The Skull Man - April 28

Based on my recent interest in masked heroes/vigilantes kind of shows like Kamen Rider and Garo, I figure I should give Skull Man a try since it is based off a classic of the genre. It’s also animated by Bones and gives off the same stylish feel as Darker than Black. I’m actually really looking forward to this, just to see how Bones will handle this kind of story. I know it will be episodic, but I hope there’s a darker plot underneath everything.

So that’s about it. I’ll also probably check out IdolM@ster Xenoglassia because everyone seems to be talking about it, but I’m not that interested right now. Now here’s the real question: who’s going to sub all this in a timely manner?