Spring 2011 Anime Guide
Spring season is well underway with an excellent line-up of new shows, continuing shows from Winter, and popular returners. Summaries, info and similcast links follow.
Back in full parfait and mayo force after a year hiatus is prime-time comedy/action anime Gintama, it re-starts at episode 202. Winter season’s Gosick, Beezelbub, and Cardfight Vangard continue their 24 (or longer) episode runs while this past Fall’s hit, The World God Only Knows, is back for another 12 episode run. CLAMP’s Maria Holic (2009) anime is back with a long awaited second 12 episode run with Maria Holic Alive. Among the 30 new shows many look quite promising, C – Control and Blue Exorcist come with hype and high expectations, while Tiger & Bunny and Hanasaku get the nod for this season’s sleeper hits.
Lots of similcast, thankfully, compared to last spring which had ridiculously few. Crunchyroll has 14 
of the new shows similcast (plus the 3 continuations from Winter), Hulu/Funimation will stream 4, and TAN winds up with 1. That an awesome 19 of the 30 new shows plus 6 ongoing shows similcast within 1hr to 1week of the Japanese broadcast.
All shows summarized after the jump.
Updated 04/25/2011 – more simulcast info
C – The Money of Soul and Possibility of Control (Official Japanese website)
C – Control (Office English website)
FujiTV , April 14th at (JST) 
Studio: Noitamina
Episodes: 11
Action, Shonen, Game, Money
Opening Theme: "Matoryoshika" by NICO Touches the Walls
Ending Theme: "RPG" by School Food Punishment
Similcast: Hulu starting April 14th
Summary: The Japanese government was near the brink of financial collapse when a mysterious group - the Sovereign Wealth Fund – bailed out the country. For ordinary citizens though life has not improved; unemployment, crime, suicide, and despair are rampant. Kimimaro, raised by his grandmother is an economics student whose only dream is to live a normal and stable life. But one day he meets a man who offers to lend him a large sum of money using his future abilities as collateral and with the only catch that he agrees to pay it back. This draws Kimimaro into the mysterious realm known as "The Financial District" and he must battle through trading and investing to stay afloat and avoid losing everything.
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Opening Theme: "Core Pride" by UVERworld Similcast: Crunchyroll starting April 20th (Wednesdays 10:00am PST) Summary: The world is divided into two realms, Assiah the realm of humans and Gehenna the realm of demons. The realms had co-existed somewhat peacefully but now the demon realm of Gehanna is intersecting with the human realm and the demons are beginning to intrude and manifest in the human world. Who do you call? You call the Exorcists. Rin Okumura is a boy who’s foster father sacrificed himself in order to save Rin from the demons. To avenge his foster father’s death as well as to prove himself, Rin decides to follow the path of an exorcist. Rin’s true father is Satan himself! |
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Opening Theme: "Tenshi no CLOVER" by Aimi Rie Kugimiya as Lotte Similcast: Crunchyroll starting April 12th (Sundays 9am PST) Summary: While out job hunting, Naoya is taken by a strange girl to a magical land where he is forced into a harem of the succubus Queen Lotte. From a traumatic childhood, Lotte hates men and surrounds herself with lots of other women, some a bit odd. In spite of this, when Naoya learns that Lotte is really quite lonely he agrees to stay in her world…if he can bring his daughter Asuha with him. |
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Notable Cast: Similcast: Crunchyroll starting April 16th (Saturdays 10:30am PST) Summary: The aftermath of a nearly completely earthquake destroyed Tokyo as the backdrop for Deadmans Wonderland and the main character, Ganta Igarashi, has been framed for the murder of one of his classmates. He is sentenced and sent to a new, privately owned and operated prison “Deadman Wonderland”. Which is part incarceration and part entertainment where the inmates are the main attraction in a modern day twist to the gladiatorial games of the coliseum. |
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Opening Theme: “Hana no Iro” by nano.RIPE Similcast: Crunchyroll starting April 3rd (Sundays 7:30am PST) Summary: |
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Beelzebub (Official website) Opening Theme: "Dadada" by Group Tamashii Similcast: Crunchyroll continuing April 16th (Saturdays 4:00pm PST) Summary: Oga Tatsumi is a first year student at “Ishiyama High”, the high school for delinquents. One day while sleeping next to a river he sees a man floating down it, he pulls him to shore and the man splits in half revealing a baby boy. The baby is the choose son of the demon king and Tatusmi has been chosen as the one to raise it with the baby’s demon maid Hilda. Definitely a new twist on the typical High School coming of age story. |
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Opening Theme: "Destine Histoire" by risa Similcast: Crunchyroll continuing April 15th (Fridays 10am PST) Summary: |
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Opening Theme: "Tougenkyou Alien" by serial tv drama Similcast: Crunchyroll re-starting April 4th (Mondays 2:30am PDT) Summary: |
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Opening Theme: "Orion wo nazoru" by UNISON SQUARE GARDEN Similcast: Hulu starting April 2nd (Saturdays 4hrs after Japanese broadcast) Summary: Sternbild City is home to people with special abilities which they use as superheroes to protect the people of the city. These heroes, called “Next”, solve cases and save lives so they can wear sponsor logos or acquire "hero points." Their activities are followed, "Hero TV," which picks the annual "King of Heroes" based on ranking and points. The veteran hero Wild Tiger has always preferred to work alone, but now he’s been assigned the rookie Barnaby Brooks Jr., who has a different perspective on being a superhero. |
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My Ordinary Life (nichijou) (Official website) Opening Theme: "Hyadain no Kakakata☆kataomoi-C" by Hyadain Similcast: Crunchyroll starting April 2nd (Saturdays 9pm PST) Summary: Not exactly normal or ordinary is the school where Hakase, Mio, Yūko, Mai, Nano attend. Everyday school life is the principal wrestle a deer or a robot’s arm hidden a rollcake. However there is still plenty of normal in their lives and quirky school. |
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Opening Theme: "Spread Wings" by Aki Misato Similcast: Crunchyroll starting April 8th (Firdays 10:30am PST) Summary: Winter in the big city of Yanagihara is the backdrop for this tail of young people and love. Stories unfold in their own unique way – romance and comedy – a diverse group of characters. Sufficient fan-service will keep your interest when the stories lag. |
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Opening Theme: "I Love You" by French Kiss Similcast: Crunchyroll starting April 7th (Thursdays 2:30am PST) Summary: At Kaimei High School, the Living Assistance Club (aka the Sket Brigade) was organized to help students with problems big or small. Most of the time, though, they hang out in their club room, bored, with only a few trivial problems floating in every once in a while. In spite of this, they still throw all their energy into solving these worries. |
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Opening Theme: "Hoshikaze Horoscope" by Nomiko Similcast: Crunchyroll starting April 14th (Thursday 10:30am PST) Summary: Kazuma Hoshino needs to move out of the city to the countryside to help his little brother, Ayumu, recuperate from illness. They plan to stay at an Inn belonging to their father but get lost on the way. As they wander, Kazuma gets into a bit of mischief and runs into a girl named Ui. The first of many encounters for these city boys and their new found friends of the Japanese countryside. |
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Opening Theme: "Whole New World God Only Knows" by Elisa aka Oratorio The World God Only Knows Similcast: Crunchyroll starting April 11th (Mondays 11am PST) Summary: Keima, a high school student, is always playing games, romantic simulation games. His skills to succeed in the “capture” of any 2D girl in these games has become legendary and is known on the Internet as the "Divine Capturer". But in his real school life, Keima is considered nothing but a game-addicted geek with thick glasses. One day Keima receives an e-mail offering him a contract to "capture" girls…taking this as a gaming challenge, he accepts. Instantly a demon from hell, a very kawaii demon, named Elsee shows up. She explains he has accepted to help her in hunting evil spirits who have hidden themselves inside the hearts of lonely girls’. If he refuses they’ll both lose their heads… Keima’s challenge now is to win the hearts of these 3D girls and upon doing so forcing out the evil spirits. Disinterested but wanting to keep his head he accepts – will capturing the hearts of 3D girls be any different that the 2D girls from his games…watch and see. |
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Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi – World’s Greatest First Love (Official website) Opening Theme: "Sekai de Ichiban Koishiteru" by Shuhei Kita Similcast: Crunchyroll starting April 8th (Fridays 10:30am PST) Summary: |
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Similcast: Crunchyroll starting April 4th (Mondays 11:30am PST) Summary: Modern-day middle school girl Hideyoshi is mysteriously hurled into a world resembling the warring states period of Japanese history, only this time it’s inhabited only by women. This world’s Oda Nobunaga is gathering the legendary Crimson Armor so she can rule the world, and for some reason needs Hideyoshi’s help to do it. |
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Kana Hanazawa as Mayuri Shiina Similcast: Crunchyroll starting April 5th (Tuesdays 11:30am PST) Summary: Steins; Gate follows an eclectic group of individuals who have the ability to send text messages to the past. However throughout their experimentation process, an organization named SERN who has been doing their own research on time travel tracks them down. Now it’s a careful game of cat and mouse to not get caught and moreover, try to survive. |
Aria the Scarlet Ammo (Hidan no Aria) (Official website) Similcast: Hulu starting April 26th (Tuesdays 11:00am PST) Summary: The Tokyo Butei High School for Armed Detectives trains "Butei" in the use of weapons and tactics. Kinji Tooyama is a second-year-student who has a special ability, but he keeps it a secret to maintain an ordinary, peaceful life. However, when he gets caught in a bombing on the way to school, he encounters H. Aria Kanzaki, the most powerful S-Rank Butei student in Assault Studies. |
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Romi Park as Komatsu Similcast: Hulu starting April 10th (Sundays 11:30am PST) Summary: The world is full of deliciously deadly ingredients that the wealthiest appetites around can’t wait to devour. Toriko, the legendary Gourmet Hunter, is ready and willing to track down the newest ingredients and rarest animals on the planet and put them on a plate! He is accompanied by Komatsu a new and timid chef who’s inspired by Toriko’s ambition and travels with him to improve his culinary skills. |
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Asami Sanada as Kanako Miyamae Similcast: Anime Network starting April 10th (Sundays 9:00pm PST) Summary: Kanako a highschool sophmore enrolls in an all-girls school because she has a phobia of boys and wants to find her destined partner – female partner. She meets a captivating freshman named Mariya who fits her criteria — except that her seemingly ideal mate happens to be a cross-dressing sadistic boy. |
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Daisuke Ono as Kagetsuna Katakura Similcast: Crunchyroll starting April 4th (Mondays 11:00am PST) Summary: Gag shorts anime that follows the humorous exploits of generals during Japan’s tumultuous sengoku (Era of the Warring States) period. Each episode is 1:30min and full of historical parody and word-play jokes. |
Shows not currently similcast follow on next page….
