From the New World is easily my favorite. It's a bizarre post-apocalyptic science-fiction fantasy that transcends almost all genre expectations. There's the prerequisite school children, but the setting is 1000 years in the future, and everyone has psychokinetic power. Having superpowers isn't to be taken for granted, because 1000 years prior there were very few psi-powered people running around. From the New World has only recently revealed some of what transpires during those years and how it relates to the show's present-day society. The animation and music help establish a genuinely eerie mood, while the narrative's well-paced revelations manage to entertain week after week.
Blast of Tempest is a series I'd also heard was good, so I made sure to watch its first four episodes in one sitting! This is a work by studio BONES (Eureka Seven; Xam'd; Fullmetal Alchemist), so I expected the story to be thoroughly engaging but rather confusing and all over the place. Blast of Tempest introduces us to a boy who makes a deal with a mage: in exchange for helping the mage save the world from the machinations of her sinister relatives, she will help him find his younger sister's murderer using magical talismans. Or at least, I think that's what the story is about. Overall it has been damn good, and different from most of what BONES does. I'm glad to see them expanding their horizons.
BTOOOM! happens to be an unexpected favorite of mine. It it similar to the still airing Sword Art Online in that it addresses MMO players and places them in actual danger, albeit BTOOOM! takes cues from Battle Royale and Lord of the Flies as well. Our protagonist, a stereotypical asshole gamer who excels only at gaming and has no social skills, is thrust onto an island with several other random members of society. The objective: collect gems from the corpses of the other participants in order to escape the island. The rules of this high-stakes game are a lot like BTOOOM!, an MMO our protagonist has mastered in the real world. This show is violent, bleak, and always exciting.
Girls und Panzer is an odd one. As the title suggests, girls are taught the old art of Tankery, where they, uh, fight with tanks. It's supposed to be a right of passage for young women. The girls are adorable with distinct personalities, and the tank action is quite intriguing considering I've never seen a show even bother with the subject. I can't pretend that Girls und Panzer is for everyone, but anyone who's in the mood for cute girls engaging in absurd tank battle should take a peek.
PSYCHO-PASS, though I've only seen the first two episodes, promises to be another masterwork by Production I.G. We're thrust into a world where one's innermost thoughts and emotions carry enough weight to convict one of possible future crimes. Police officers pursue those with high Crime Coefficients (aka emotional and psychological instability), which they gauge using readings from a Psycho-Pass everyone possesses. Our protagonist has recently become chief inspector, in charge of a squad of Enforcers. The catch: the Enforcers also have high Crime Coefficients as determined by Psycho-Pass readings, and trusting her coworkers is proving to be more difficult than our protagonist imagined.
Also new this season are My Little Monster, Robotics;Notes, Little Busters, Chunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai, and Say "I Love You." Shows I watched last season, such as Sword Art Online and Total Eclipse, are still going strong. Anyone who isn't currently watching these shows should give them a try. Personally, I'm hoping From the New World steals some of the unwarranted spotlight Sword Art Online has been hogging up since summer.
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