Private Entry
January 19th, 2016
Zadion's Top 10 Anime of 2015
Anime Relations: Charlotte
Ah, 2015. It was a year unlike any other year. I mean, first of all, it was 2015, and there will never be another 2015 (unless you’re thinking of the number of things I needed to do this year but didn’t because I was too busy being a disgusting weeaboo), so let us reflect upon this year fondly. I became the only heterosexual male on this website with a girlfriend (“OMG HE HAS A GIRLFRIEND?!” don’t worry, it’s an LDR – I met her on here, in fact!). I watched many of what would become my favorite anime this year: Fate/Zero, Shinsekai Yori, Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion, and a handful of entries on this list. I discovered my ultimate anime waifu at the beginning of this year and spent all year cherishing her; don’t worry, her and my real life waifu have a mutually understanding relationship and my real life waifu is not #triggered by her at all. I got back into WWE pro-wrestling after a few years of negligence. Um… I still didn’t begin college or get a job this year, so yay for that (“OMG HE’S A NEET AND HE HAS A GIRLFRIEND?! WHAT THE FUCK!? WHAT THE FUCK!? WHAT THE FUCK!?”), and… I released a vocal cover of the original English Pokemon theme song, which you should check out because I guarantee you will be floored. And… um… I think that is it. Indeed, 2015 was truly a fortuitous and opulent year if I do say so myself!
#triggered
Regarding the anime field, I can’t consider this year a disappointment as a whole – after all, 2015 did, indeed, produce a number of my favorite anime – but have to concede disappointment that so many of these are actually just leftovers from the fall 2014 anime season (that was one hell of a season, BTW)… which leads me to my disclaimer: dual-cour anime of last year’s fall season are eligible for this list, while dual-cour anime of this year’s fall season are ineligible (barring a single exception). This is because one cannot accurately gauge a show’s worth when it is only half over, as two-cour fall anime will always be. In other words, only completed anime are eligible, and the fall 2014 anime, having completed this year, are for all intents and purposes considered anime of this year.
So yeah, expect a number of fall 2014 anime in this list because this year clearly SUCKED.
ONWARDS WITH THE LIST!!!
#10: Charlotte
Arguably the most maligned anime of 2015 comes in at #10 and still ends up being much lower than I wanted. I love Jun Maeda; his sappy, signature melodramatic approach is something that really appeals to me, and I considered the possibility of this being my AOTY… before it was released. Unfortunately, Charlotte is another reminder why Maeda needs either 24 episodes (minimum) or an entire VN to write stories with the scope he wants out of them, and a much more painful reminder than Angel Beats! was. That said, I truly enjoyed this. I confess it is largely because I’m a Maeda fanboy and appreciate his approach, but I truly enjoyed this. The characters are lovable, the comedy (despite being filled with too many Maedaisms™) was largely on point, the breadth of the story was impressive, and, well, episode 6 is still one of my favorite Jun Maeda-related anime episodes (and one of my favorite anime episodes in general). I truly wish he had two or three times the episode count to fully flesh out his many ideas, but this is certainly beyond serviceable as is. Now I just hope we get a Charlotte visual novel like we are with Angel Beats!
#9: Subete ga F ni Naru: The Perfect Insider
Subete ga F is not for everybody. Its characters are hilariously pretentious and the story handles itself with a borderline satirical sense of self-seriousness and grit, and maybe that’s a major reason I loved it. Subete ga F is the anime embodiment of nihilism, and it hammers the viewer over the head with its thematic content. The mystery is actually both complex and riveting, the story’s contentious themes and philosophies truly engaged me – I disagreed with them, but I was left asking myself why I disagreed with them – and Shiki Magata is undeniable a genius (and potentially the most interesting character I've seen all year). Why does “pretentious” have to be a pejorative, anyway?
#8: Akatsuki no Yona
Akatsuki no Yona is a sweet historical adventure and a wonderful example of how to make a shoujo that appealsl to a male demographic. It weaves many ideas and elements together to create a multi-faceted story with many moods, and it is competent at most things it attempts. The setting is immersive, the story, despite its simplicity, feels authentic, but the highlight of the series is its spectacular character cast: Yona is a darling lead, and every member of her considerably sized harem is very likable – even the sideliner Su-won, who is too often disregarded just because he is the primary obstruction between the fanbase’s precious Hak x Yona OTP. Akatsuki no Yona is a wide scope of things, but, put simply, it’s astoundingly cute.
#7: One Punch Man
POOOWAAAAH! GHETTO POWWWWWAAAAAAH! A joyous mix containing 10% American superhero comic, 35% Gintama, and 55% Dragon Ball Z, One Punch Man often combines the best of its ingredients to make a silly, jovial show that always kept me smiling. I have my problems with the show as a whole, not the least of which being its colossal character dump the "Hero Association" spurred, and yes, it was tremendously overhyped and resultantly was doomed to fail at meeting its monumental expectations, but One Punch Man is fun, and if you outright hate this, then you outright hate fun.
#6: Kekkai Sensen
If I could give out individual awards for anime, Kekkai Sensen would get an award for being the zaniest anime of the year – this is in a list that includes One Punch Man! Like many other anime in this list, Kekkai Sensen is not for everybody: its unbelievably fast paced, the plot makes little sense, and it is wacky beyond belief. But for me, Kekkai Sensen reminded me that well-structured episodic anime can easily supersede any story-driven anime when it handles itself as well as this does. Kekkai Sensen handles its wackiness with a sense of maturity, and that makes it one of the funnest anime anybody could watch.
#5: Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works
It’s hard to even feign an unbiased perspective when I am so deeply attached to this series. I am a shameless, unabashed Fatefag and I proudly admit it. I adore the VN and went into this expecting great things. Unfortunately, UBW ultimately became a controversial adaption that managed to spectacularly disappoint VN readers and non-VN readers alike. I find the immense hate this adaption received mind boggling and a result of the MAL Priest’s cringe-inducing nitpicking and mass brainwashing. The fact is this is an adaption, not the source, and it never stood a chance at matching the VN's route because it doesn't have to — shocking, I know.
Regardless of your opinion on how the story was adapted, Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works remains a rare gem in the world of fantasy anime. Its concept is unique, its world building staggering, and it executes the concept with finesse and flair. While the mistreatment of the characters when compared to its visual novel counterpart is worth complaint, the character cast nonetheless remains well developed and real. Most importantly, the core of what carried this route remains in tact: it is a richly philosophical story, and it presents its insightful, complex ideaology without sinking into the self-servicing void of infinite symbolism and surrealism where the story takes a backseat to its ideas the way so many elite MAL hipsters love (which actually isn’t even a compliment I can direct toward the visual novel). It will never be as good as the visual novel, but it doesn’t have to be. The Unlimited Blade Works route is tremendously overrated, anyway.
#4: Rokka no Yuusha
Rokka no Yuusha is an incredible mystery adventure which executes its themes with a mature intelligence void in most anime. The Mesoamerican setting permeates every detail of this show, adding to the show's appeal considerably with a unique setting choice that enhances its story and is implemented with the finesse of a master craftsman. This one reminds me a bit of Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, a series that aired in the same season as Rokka no Yuusha, in that they both attempt to find a convergence point between a wide array of themes and ideas. However, unlike Akagami which suffered from an identity crisis and ultimately fell flat due to its lack of focus, Rokka handles its variety of themes and ideas expertly, merging them all into a cohesive whole and fashioning a multi-dimensional story with a lot of depth. The only things constraining Rokka no Yuusha are its short run time and obvious "this will never get a sequel so you'd better go read the light novels" open ending.
#3: Osomatsu-san
Yes, yes, in any other instance, I decline to include currently airing anime in this kind of list, but due to the type of anime Osomatsu-san is and the fact we don’t know when it’ll be ending (hopefully never), it seems fair to include this one. Witty, engaging, well-written, creative, nostalgic – I could throw heaps of superlatives at this, but the bottom line is that it’s just straight up funny. Like, really funny. Like, potentially the funniest anime I’ve ever watched. Sure, there isn’t really anything to this anime but comedy, but so what? It’s a “gag anime” with little to no continuity and plays much more like an American cartoon than one imagines when they hear the word “anime” (and there are a number of cartoons I’d include in my favorites, too). And despite this clearly being a gag anime, Osomatsu-san perhaps excels most during the rare moments it drops its shtick to tell a sincere story that touches the heart. People going into the show expecting a pure parody were fortunately weeded out shortly after the first episode—don’t be one of those people.
Osomatsu is best boy, by the way.
#2: Parasyte: The Maxim
I was basically convinced when I saw Parasyte’s debut episode last year that it would end up on this year’s “best of 2015” list, and that says all that needs to be said. Honestly, though, now that it's actually here, I feel a bit embarrassed this ranks so highly. Parasyte is little more than a thriller-horror with a psychological touch;I mean, it certainly isn't as complex, smart, or even agreeable as a large number of what I ranked below this. But Parasyte is thrilling, among the most thrilling anime I have ever watched. Every episode, every week, I was completely invested into the show, sitting on the edge of my seat, and hyped as fuck. Sure, it has a touch of fairly agreeable environmentalist propaganda to give it a superficial layer of intelligence and so you look a little less dumb for liking to so much (a bit of a balance to offset how dumb you look for liking a show that can’t correctly spell “parasite” and doesn’t even give a good reason for incorrectly spelling it), but the bulk of the series is a psychological thriller/horror, and in that regard it excels at what it does.
#1: Death Parade
And the “Anime of the Year: 2015” award goes to Death Parade! Death Parade is a “thinking man’s anime.” Due to its episodic nature, thematic content, and the fact it is in many ways a glorified sports anime (kind of?), this, like multiple other anime in this list, targets a relatively limited niche. That said, Death Parade is a testament that the anime medium can be a philosophical art just as easily as any other medium. This anime is, at its core, little more than a conglomerate of abstract philosophies chained together by its loose story where its characters are tools to prove a point, and that’s what makes Death Parade so special. Its themes are mature, its character-focus makes it psychology driven, and, in a word, it’s simply powerful. Death Parade is a powerful anime. Death Parade opened up 2015 and in a sense was an indicator of 2015 as a whole for me. For the pretentious, grandiloquent individual such as myself who thinks no anime is worthy of a particularly generous score unless it has a layer of philosophy attached to it, Death Parade is damn near perfect.
#triggered
Regarding the anime field, I can’t consider this year a disappointment as a whole – after all, 2015 did, indeed, produce a number of my favorite anime – but have to concede disappointment that so many of these are actually just leftovers from the fall 2014 anime season (that was one hell of a season, BTW)… which leads me to my disclaimer: dual-cour anime of last year’s fall season are eligible for this list, while dual-cour anime of this year’s fall season are ineligible (barring a single exception). This is because one cannot accurately gauge a show’s worth when it is only half over, as two-cour fall anime will always be. In other words, only completed anime are eligible, and the fall 2014 anime, having completed this year, are for all intents and purposes considered anime of this year.
So yeah, expect a number of fall 2014 anime in this list because this year clearly SUCKED.
ONWARDS WITH THE LIST!!!
#10: Charlotte
Arguably the most maligned anime of 2015 comes in at #10 and still ends up being much lower than I wanted. I love Jun Maeda; his sappy, signature melodramatic approach is something that really appeals to me, and I considered the possibility of this being my AOTY… before it was released. Unfortunately, Charlotte is another reminder why Maeda needs either 24 episodes (minimum) or an entire VN to write stories with the scope he wants out of them, and a much more painful reminder than Angel Beats! was. That said, I truly enjoyed this. I confess it is largely because I’m a Maeda fanboy and appreciate his approach, but I truly enjoyed this. The characters are lovable, the comedy (despite being filled with too many Maedaisms™) was largely on point, the breadth of the story was impressive, and, well, episode 6 is still one of my favorite Jun Maeda-related anime episodes (and one of my favorite anime episodes in general). I truly wish he had two or three times the episode count to fully flesh out his many ideas, but this is certainly beyond serviceable as is. Now I just hope we get a Charlotte visual novel like we are with Angel Beats!
#9: Subete ga F ni Naru: The Perfect Insider
Subete ga F is not for everybody. Its characters are hilariously pretentious and the story handles itself with a borderline satirical sense of self-seriousness and grit, and maybe that’s a major reason I loved it. Subete ga F is the anime embodiment of nihilism, and it hammers the viewer over the head with its thematic content. The mystery is actually both complex and riveting, the story’s contentious themes and philosophies truly engaged me – I disagreed with them, but I was left asking myself why I disagreed with them – and Shiki Magata is undeniable a genius (and potentially the most interesting character I've seen all year). Why does “pretentious” have to be a pejorative, anyway?
#8: Akatsuki no Yona
Akatsuki no Yona is a sweet historical adventure and a wonderful example of how to make a shoujo that appealsl to a male demographic. It weaves many ideas and elements together to create a multi-faceted story with many moods, and it is competent at most things it attempts. The setting is immersive, the story, despite its simplicity, feels authentic, but the highlight of the series is its spectacular character cast: Yona is a darling lead, and every member of her considerably sized harem is very likable – even the sideliner Su-won, who is too often disregarded just because he is the primary obstruction between the fanbase’s precious Hak x Yona OTP. Akatsuki no Yona is a wide scope of things, but, put simply, it’s astoundingly cute.
#7: One Punch Man
POOOWAAAAH! GHETTO POWWWWWAAAAAAH! A joyous mix containing 10% American superhero comic, 35% Gintama, and 55% Dragon Ball Z, One Punch Man often combines the best of its ingredients to make a silly, jovial show that always kept me smiling. I have my problems with the show as a whole, not the least of which being its colossal character dump the "Hero Association" spurred, and yes, it was tremendously overhyped and resultantly was doomed to fail at meeting its monumental expectations, but One Punch Man is fun, and if you outright hate this, then you outright hate fun.
#6: Kekkai Sensen
If I could give out individual awards for anime, Kekkai Sensen would get an award for being the zaniest anime of the year – this is in a list that includes One Punch Man! Like many other anime in this list, Kekkai Sensen is not for everybody: its unbelievably fast paced, the plot makes little sense, and it is wacky beyond belief. But for me, Kekkai Sensen reminded me that well-structured episodic anime can easily supersede any story-driven anime when it handles itself as well as this does. Kekkai Sensen handles its wackiness with a sense of maturity, and that makes it one of the funnest anime anybody could watch.
#5: Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works
It’s hard to even feign an unbiased perspective when I am so deeply attached to this series. I am a shameless, unabashed Fatefag and I proudly admit it. I adore the VN and went into this expecting great things. Unfortunately, UBW ultimately became a controversial adaption that managed to spectacularly disappoint VN readers and non-VN readers alike. I find the immense hate this adaption received mind boggling and a result of the MAL Priest’s cringe-inducing nitpicking and mass brainwashing. The fact is this is an adaption, not the source, and it never stood a chance at matching the VN's route because it doesn't have to — shocking, I know.
Regardless of your opinion on how the story was adapted, Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works remains a rare gem in the world of fantasy anime. Its concept is unique, its world building staggering, and it executes the concept with finesse and flair. While the mistreatment of the characters when compared to its visual novel counterpart is worth complaint, the character cast nonetheless remains well developed and real. Most importantly, the core of what carried this route remains in tact: it is a richly philosophical story, and it presents its insightful, complex ideaology without sinking into the self-servicing void of infinite symbolism and surrealism where the story takes a backseat to its ideas the way so many elite MAL hipsters love (which actually isn’t even a compliment I can direct toward the visual novel). It will never be as good as the visual novel, but it doesn’t have to be. The Unlimited Blade Works route is tremendously overrated, anyway.
#4: Rokka no Yuusha
Rokka no Yuusha is an incredible mystery adventure which executes its themes with a mature intelligence void in most anime. The Mesoamerican setting permeates every detail of this show, adding to the show's appeal considerably with a unique setting choice that enhances its story and is implemented with the finesse of a master craftsman. This one reminds me a bit of Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, a series that aired in the same season as Rokka no Yuusha, in that they both attempt to find a convergence point between a wide array of themes and ideas. However, unlike Akagami which suffered from an identity crisis and ultimately fell flat due to its lack of focus, Rokka handles its variety of themes and ideas expertly, merging them all into a cohesive whole and fashioning a multi-dimensional story with a lot of depth. The only things constraining Rokka no Yuusha are its short run time and obvious "this will never get a sequel so you'd better go read the light novels" open ending.
#3: Osomatsu-san
Yes, yes, in any other instance, I decline to include currently airing anime in this kind of list, but due to the type of anime Osomatsu-san is and the fact we don’t know when it’ll be ending (hopefully never), it seems fair to include this one. Witty, engaging, well-written, creative, nostalgic – I could throw heaps of superlatives at this, but the bottom line is that it’s just straight up funny. Like, really funny. Like, potentially the funniest anime I’ve ever watched. Sure, there isn’t really anything to this anime but comedy, but so what? It’s a “gag anime” with little to no continuity and plays much more like an American cartoon than one imagines when they hear the word “anime” (and there are a number of cartoons I’d include in my favorites, too). And despite this clearly being a gag anime, Osomatsu-san perhaps excels most during the rare moments it drops its shtick to tell a sincere story that touches the heart. People going into the show expecting a pure parody were fortunately weeded out shortly after the first episode—don’t be one of those people.
Osomatsu is best boy, by the way.
#2: Parasyte: The Maxim
I was basically convinced when I saw Parasyte’s debut episode last year that it would end up on this year’s “best of 2015” list, and that says all that needs to be said. Honestly, though, now that it's actually here, I feel a bit embarrassed this ranks so highly. Parasyte is little more than a thriller-horror with a psychological touch;I mean, it certainly isn't as complex, smart, or even agreeable as a large number of what I ranked below this. But Parasyte is thrilling, among the most thrilling anime I have ever watched. Every episode, every week, I was completely invested into the show, sitting on the edge of my seat, and hyped as fuck. Sure, it has a touch of fairly agreeable environmentalist propaganda to give it a superficial layer of intelligence and so you look a little less dumb for liking to so much (a bit of a balance to offset how dumb you look for liking a show that can’t correctly spell “parasite” and doesn’t even give a good reason for incorrectly spelling it), but the bulk of the series is a psychological thriller/horror, and in that regard it excels at what it does.
#1: Death Parade
And the “Anime of the Year: 2015” award goes to Death Parade! Death Parade is a “thinking man’s anime.” Due to its episodic nature, thematic content, and the fact it is in many ways a glorified sports anime (kind of?), this, like multiple other anime in this list, targets a relatively limited niche. That said, Death Parade is a testament that the anime medium can be a philosophical art just as easily as any other medium. This anime is, at its core, little more than a conglomerate of abstract philosophies chained together by its loose story where its characters are tools to prove a point, and that’s what makes Death Parade so special. Its themes are mature, its character-focus makes it psychology driven, and, in a word, it’s simply powerful. Death Parade is a powerful anime. Death Parade opened up 2015 and in a sense was an indicator of 2015 as a whole for me. For the pretentious, grandiloquent individual such as myself who thinks no anime is worthy of a particularly generous score unless it has a layer of philosophy attached to it, Death Parade is damn near perfect.
- Cross Ange: Rondo of Angels and Dragons — In my autumn 2014 recap, I called Cross Ange Code Geass' mentally ill little sister, and actually, I still think that. But what I didn't get at that point was that Cross Ange is brilliantly satirical. Maybe it would be more accurate to call it Code Geass' perfectly capable little sister pretending to be mentally ill. In any case, by overlooking how fundamental the satire element of the series is, I undervalued it, and really the only reason it's stuck here as an honorable mention instead of being in the top 10 is because it failed to captivate me the way Code Geass did. Put simply, Cross Ange is the Pulp Fiction of mecha anime. Is it ridiculous? Hell yeah, but it's supposed to be.
- Assassination Classroom — The shounen demographic is deeply rooted to its objective of instilling proper values to Japan's youth; it is no exaggeration to say many shounen exist just as much to expatiate lessons about friendship, loyalty, and determination as anything else. Assassination Classroom sets itself apart from its contemporaries by directly embracing the educational aspect of the demographic and executing it in a unique way by teaching lessons foreign to most shounen that I, as an adult, even found importance in. Assassination Classroom brought me for its genuine and evolving comedy but hooked me with its unique lessons, and in the end I felt like I was taught by Koro-sensei too.Assassination Classroom is a series very easy to overlook either due to its silly premise or fairly dull initial episodes, but I strongly urge those who looked it over to give it a second glance.
- Plastic Memories — By far the single most disappointing anime of 2015. Endearing, beautiful, and painful—the first episode was absolutely stunning. The following episodes weren't much worse, if at all. Then around half way through, just after teasing the viewers with a dramatic, conspiracy-fueled twist that resulted in Psycho-Pass becoming the #2 most recommended series for Plastic Memories, the anime decided to go the bullshit slice-of-life route and carry all of its roaring potential down the stinker with it. It's truly tragic, because this could've been amazing if it was an episodic melodrama steeped in the tears of fallen Giftas and their heartbroken owners or capitalized on its potential as a dark mystery thriller, but for some reason the staff decided it'd be a lot better to waste half the show's runtime on boring SoL revolving around boring characters and forgo both of those ideas entirely. The ending was still beautiful though, I'll give it that. Even though the path there sucked, the destination was beautiful.
- Gangsta — Great premise, great characters, great chemistry, great backstories - the ingredients were here for something special, but they were wasted on a crumbling story and nothing even resembling cohesion. I expected a lot out of this, and it delivered at first but, like so many anime, fell apart somewhere in the middle. This should've been an episodic, gritty, gangster slice-of-life. Too bad.
- Your Lie in April — This is the lone exception where an anime that made me cry three times still ends up being trash just because of its flaws, and oh goodness does it have flaws. This is a powerful anime with a powerful ending, but about half way through it just spun apart and every episode became a testament of my patience. I love parts of this to pieces, but most the rest is absolute shit.
- Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches — This is a tough one. The first few episodes were so grand they got me into the manga, but the last half was such a trainwreck I spent the majority of every episode complaining "WHY DO THEY KEEP FUCKING THIS UP?!" Still, this did get me into the manga, so I can't complain much.
Posted by Zadion | Jan 19, 2016 7:05 PM | 3 comments
October 25th, 2015
The Rewatched List
Anime Relations: Clannad: Mou Hitotsu no Sekai, Tomoyo-hen
MAL's means of keeping track of rewatched anime is difficult and time consuming to navigate; thus this list is birthed for the sole purpose of convenience. Praise.
Only including anime I've completed rewatching.
[*]Cowboy Bebop x1
~ 11/25/2021 - 02/24/2022
Only including anime I've completed rewatching.
- Clannad [x1]
~ 07/16/2015 - 09/06/2015
- Clannad: Another World, Tomoyo Chapter [x3]
~ 11/06/2013
~ 09/06/2015
~ 10/26/2020
- Elfen Lied [x1]
~ 09/28/2014 - 10/01/2014 (dub rewatch)
- Gokukoku no Brynhildr [x1]
~ 10/17/2015 - 10/25/2015 (dub rewatch)
- Parasyte: The Maxim [x1]
~ 11/18/2015 - 04/12/2016 (dub rewatch)
- Tsumiki no Ie [x2]
~ 04/24/2014
~ 02/08/2015
- Kanon x1
~ 02/23/2020 - ongoing
- Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica [x1]
~ 11/06/2020 - 11/19/2020, a rewatch immediately after the movie trilogy
[*]Cowboy Bebop x1
~ 11/25/2021 - 02/24/2022
Posted by Zadion | Oct 25, 2015 2:54 AM | 0 comments
Private Entry
January 9th, 2015
2014: Autumn Anime Season (01/09/15)
Anime Relations: Boku no Pico
Key: [First Impression] [Predicted Score] [Final Score]
Autumn 2014
[9] [9] [9] Mushishi Zoku Shou (second cour) – It's difficult to call this "Anime of the Season" when it was just the second cour to the second season of Fall 2005's "Anime of the Season," yet here it is, sitting at #1. I'll miss Mushishi; deeply philosophical, enchanting, serene, and downright majestic, it has been one of the most endearing experiences of my lifetime.
[9] [9] [9] Parasyte - The Maxim- – The real "Anime of the Season," and it's only half over. Shifting from disturbing to exciting to psychological to emotional and back to disturbing, this has been one of the most thrilling weekly watches I've been blessed with. Believe the hype with this series.
[8] [8] [8] Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works – The "Fate" series has worked its way into one of my all time favorite franchises and one of my life's greatest pleasures. This isn't a flawless adaption of the VN (thanks to all the monologues being cut, Shirou is likely going to be a very bland character for anime-only viewers), but it's pretty dang close. The added anime-exclusive scenes add a TON to the series, making it a great, exciting watch even for someone who knows exactly what will happen. Fate is a perfect mix of action, plot, and comedy, and this does a pretty good job at showing why. Shame about so many of the slice of life scenes from the VN being cut as well... oh well. As long as the second half is adapted as well as this half was, then it will be utterly phenomenal. The first half of UBW wasn't super special in the VN, yet watching it animated still filled me with more excitement than the VN did--even if, at times, making me slightly crusty at not being adapted properly.
[8] [8] [7] Psycho-Pass 2 (dubbed) – Can't comment on this until it's finished, but so far I can't understand all the hate it's getting. With Urobutcher no longer on board and with PP1's best characters either being killed or going MIA, this was bound to be worst, yet it still ends up being pretty dang thrilling and really entertaining. I'll see how I feel once the dub is finished.
[5] [7] [7] Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis – There's a lot to criticize about this anime - the plot is mostly generic, the soundtrack mostly boring, the artstyle is either "love it or hate it," but I can't bring myself to care. This is a series very much focused on execution rather than foundation, and I hadn't experienced such raw enjoyment for a series as I had this one in a long time. In sheer enjoyment factor, this is one of my favorites of the year. FAVAROOOOOOO!
[7] [9] [7] The Legend of Korra — Book 4: Balance – Underwhelming conclusion to a great series. I still thoroughly enjoyed it, but this is the worst book easily. Worst villain, worst plot advancement, and tacky, forced ship-ending. That said, Korra is still head and shoulders above most of its Japan-based competition when it comes to comedy and characters, and this season is no different.
[6] [7] [7] Donten ni Warau – This was a beautiful series that got better with each passing episode. The pacing was perfect, there was plenty of surprise plot twists, and the character cast was very solid. Pretty much the most underrated anime of the year.
[7] [7] [7] The Seven Deadly Sins – Generic shounen done right. It's still generic shounen, but hey, another example of execution sometimes superseding foundation.
[6] [8] [7] Akatsuki no Yona – Still in the gray about how this will unfold, but it's also looking to be one of the most underrated anime of the year. When it's good, its great, but the pacing in the early-middle dragged it down a good bit. As of episode 12, it's really picked up and hit a peak with the beautiful blue dragon backstory, so I'm very interested to see how it'll develop from here.
[5] [7] [6.5] Your Lie in April – "Beautiful" is the best way to describe this anime... when it's not being blatantly offensive. This show shamelessly glamorizes bullying and abuse through its two female leads that are a constant spear in Kousei's side, and, worse yet, portrays it as something admirable and effective through placing blame on Kousei when he doesn't want to give into Kaori's or Tsubaki's consistent abuse tactics. Still, when it shrugs all this aside and focuses on what it truly is--a beautiful, music-focused coming-of-age story--it's so mesmerizing I can't help but fall in love with every episode. It's difficult to say where this show will end up; at this point, it seems just as likely for its beauty to ultimately emerge triumphant to such a degree I can ignore its criminal and, frankly, abominable war crimes like a country who turns its collective head towards a leader's evils as it is for it to fall into the pits of its evils and destroy itself in the process. Will it be glamorized like Alexander or demonized like Hitler? Perhaps that question is what keeps me most invested in the series.
I'll end this little rant with a comment from one of my fellow MALers that explains more thoroughly and in better words than I could hope to exactly what is wrong with this series:
[5] [8] [5] Cross Ange: Rondo of Angels and Dragons (On-hold - episode 7) – Code Geass' mentally ill little sister; so disabled she can't even dress herself (or her characters), much less form a coherent story! With writing so bad it's good and writing so shoddy it seems written by a six year old copying off her brother's high school literature assignment while fusing in her own touch of "creativity" (because it probably was), it's quite clear that Sunrise has fathered quite a dysfunctional family.
[3] [3] [5] Sora no Method – Anohana rip off with cringe-worthy melodrama that saved itself through sheer entertainment value and being ridiculously cute. In other words, if Cross Ange is a grown adult rendered tragically stuck with the mind of a six year old, then Sora no Method is just a straight up six year old. They have equally terribly writing, but where Cross Ange garners your pity for the poor mentally ill girl, Sora no Method garners your affection for being young and stupid. And cute, I guess. Six year old girls are pretty cute.
[4] [5] [5] Lord Marksman and Vanadis – This series was a real shame, because it had so damn much potential and blew it all through stupidly rushed pacing that stole almost all semblance of plot. I expect the source material is great, but as is, this remains passable, watchable and entertaining only for what was left of its story when it was all compacted into a 13 inch cube. Damn those ruffians!
[6] [6] [4] Grisaia no Kajitsu (On-hold - episode 4) – I'm just finishing up the common route of the visual novel right now and, having only gotten to episode 4, I can already tell you this is one of the worst anime adaptions I've ever seen. All charm of the VN was completely stripped, along with almost all of its funniest moments. Why even bother with these kind of crap adaptions?
[6] [6] [4] Trinity Seven – Generic plot ruins a good series with a super fun cast of characters, leaving this one barely passable and only slightly entertaining. Probably would've enjoyed this more dubbed.
[6] [6] [4] I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying – It's not bad, but the massive quality drop really hurt it. The first half of the series was genuinely hilarious and kept a smile on my face almost constantly, but the second half had a massive quality plummet that left me straight faced and bored through most of it. I'll still probably check out the second season, just because I know it has the potential.
All in all, it was a pretty dang satisfying season. Around half of what I watched sits at a solid 7--very good--and even everything worse than that was at least watchable. Combine that with Fate/stay night finally getting a great adaption, along with Mushishi and Parasyte, and I'd say I was damn happy. Only real disappointment was Korra, and even it was lots of fun. Grisaia might count as well, considering the VN is leagues ahead of its mediocre anime adaption, but the anime adaption is the entire reason I even checked out the VN, so it's hard to complain. Furthermore, several anime are still ongoing, and I expect each one will only get better! Good thing, too, because the Winter 2015 season looks abysmal.
Favorite Characters
1. Ginko Archer
2. Favaro Leone
3. Yuuji Kazami
4. Yona
5. Shinichi Izumi
Favorite Themes
Openings:
1. "Let Me Hear" by Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas (Parasyte)
2. "Hikaru nara" by Goose House (Your Lie in April)
Endings:
1. "Fallen" by Egoist (Psycho-Pass 2)
2. "Attitude to Life" by Galneryus (Donten ni Warau)
Autumn 2014
[9] [9] [9] Mushishi Zoku Shou (second cour) – It's difficult to call this "Anime of the Season" when it was just the second cour to the second season of Fall 2005's "Anime of the Season," yet here it is, sitting at #1. I'll miss Mushishi; deeply philosophical, enchanting, serene, and downright majestic, it has been one of the most endearing experiences of my lifetime.
[9] [9] [9] Parasyte - The Maxim- – The real "Anime of the Season," and it's only half over. Shifting from disturbing to exciting to psychological to emotional and back to disturbing, this has been one of the most thrilling weekly watches I've been blessed with. Believe the hype with this series.
[8] [8] [8] Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works – The "Fate" series has worked its way into one of my all time favorite franchises and one of my life's greatest pleasures. This isn't a flawless adaption of the VN (thanks to all the monologues being cut, Shirou is likely going to be a very bland character for anime-only viewers), but it's pretty dang close. The added anime-exclusive scenes add a TON to the series, making it a great, exciting watch even for someone who knows exactly what will happen. Fate is a perfect mix of action, plot, and comedy, and this does a pretty good job at showing why. Shame about so many of the slice of life scenes from the VN being cut as well... oh well. As long as the second half is adapted as well as this half was, then it will be utterly phenomenal. The first half of UBW wasn't super special in the VN, yet watching it animated still filled me with more excitement than the VN did--even if, at times, making me slightly crusty at not being adapted properly.
[8] [8] [7] Psycho-Pass 2 (dubbed) – Can't comment on this until it's finished, but so far I can't understand all the hate it's getting. With Urobutcher no longer on board and with PP1's best characters either being killed or going MIA, this was bound to be worst, yet it still ends up being pretty dang thrilling and really entertaining. I'll see how I feel once the dub is finished.
[5] [7] [7] Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis – There's a lot to criticize about this anime - the plot is mostly generic, the soundtrack mostly boring, the artstyle is either "love it or hate it," but I can't bring myself to care. This is a series very much focused on execution rather than foundation, and I hadn't experienced such raw enjoyment for a series as I had this one in a long time. In sheer enjoyment factor, this is one of my favorites of the year. FAVAROOOOOOO!
[7] [9] [7] The Legend of Korra — Book 4: Balance – Underwhelming conclusion to a great series. I still thoroughly enjoyed it, but this is the worst book easily. Worst villain, worst plot advancement, and tacky, forced ship-ending. That said, Korra is still head and shoulders above most of its Japan-based competition when it comes to comedy and characters, and this season is no different.
[6] [7] [7] Donten ni Warau – This was a beautiful series that got better with each passing episode. The pacing was perfect, there was plenty of surprise plot twists, and the character cast was very solid. Pretty much the most underrated anime of the year.
[7] [7] [7] The Seven Deadly Sins – Generic shounen done right. It's still generic shounen, but hey, another example of execution sometimes superseding foundation.
[6] [8] [7] Akatsuki no Yona – Still in the gray about how this will unfold, but it's also looking to be one of the most underrated anime of the year. When it's good, its great, but the pacing in the early-middle dragged it down a good bit. As of episode 12, it's really picked up and hit a peak with the beautiful blue dragon backstory, so I'm very interested to see how it'll develop from here.
[5] [7] [6.5] Your Lie in April – "Beautiful" is the best way to describe this anime... when it's not being blatantly offensive. This show shamelessly glamorizes bullying and abuse through its two female leads that are a constant spear in Kousei's side, and, worse yet, portrays it as something admirable and effective through placing blame on Kousei when he doesn't want to give into Kaori's or Tsubaki's consistent abuse tactics. Still, when it shrugs all this aside and focuses on what it truly is--a beautiful, music-focused coming-of-age story--it's so mesmerizing I can't help but fall in love with every episode. It's difficult to say where this show will end up; at this point, it seems just as likely for its beauty to ultimately emerge triumphant to such a degree I can ignore its criminal and, frankly, abominable war crimes like a country who turns its collective head towards a leader's evils as it is for it to fall into the pits of its evils and destroy itself in the process. Will it be glamorized like Alexander or demonized like Hitler? Perhaps that question is what keeps me most invested in the series.
I'll end this little rant with a comment from one of my fellow MALers that explains more thoroughly and in better words than I could hope to exactly what is wrong with this series:
[5] [8] [5] Cross Ange: Rondo of Angels and Dragons (On-hold - episode 7) – Code Geass' mentally ill little sister; so disabled she can't even dress herself (or her characters), much less form a coherent story! With writing so bad it's good and writing so shoddy it seems written by a six year old copying off her brother's high school literature assignment while fusing in her own touch of "creativity" (because it probably was), it's quite clear that Sunrise has fathered quite a dysfunctional family.
[3] [3] [5] Sora no Method – Anohana rip off with cringe-worthy melodrama that saved itself through sheer entertainment value and being ridiculously cute. In other words, if Cross Ange is a grown adult rendered tragically stuck with the mind of a six year old, then Sora no Method is just a straight up six year old. They have equally terribly writing, but where Cross Ange garners your pity for the poor mentally ill girl, Sora no Method garners your affection for being young and stupid. And cute, I guess. Six year old girls are pretty cute.
[4] [5] [5] Lord Marksman and Vanadis – This series was a real shame, because it had so damn much potential and blew it all through stupidly rushed pacing that stole almost all semblance of plot. I expect the source material is great, but as is, this remains passable, watchable and entertaining only for what was left of its story when it was all compacted into a 13 inch cube. Damn those ruffians!
[6] [6] [4] Grisaia no Kajitsu (On-hold - episode 4) – I'm just finishing up the common route of the visual novel right now and, having only gotten to episode 4, I can already tell you this is one of the worst anime adaptions I've ever seen. All charm of the VN was completely stripped, along with almost all of its funniest moments. Why even bother with these kind of crap adaptions?
[6] [6] [4] Trinity Seven – Generic plot ruins a good series with a super fun cast of characters, leaving this one barely passable and only slightly entertaining. Probably would've enjoyed this more dubbed.
[6] [6] [4] I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying – It's not bad, but the massive quality drop really hurt it. The first half of the series was genuinely hilarious and kept a smile on my face almost constantly, but the second half had a massive quality plummet that left me straight faced and bored through most of it. I'll still probably check out the second season, just because I know it has the potential.
All in all, it was a pretty dang satisfying season. Around half of what I watched sits at a solid 7--very good--and even everything worse than that was at least watchable. Combine that with Fate/stay night finally getting a great adaption, along with Mushishi and Parasyte, and I'd say I was damn happy. Only real disappointment was Korra, and even it was lots of fun. Grisaia might count as well, considering the VN is leagues ahead of its mediocre anime adaption, but the anime adaption is the entire reason I even checked out the VN, so it's hard to complain. Furthermore, several anime are still ongoing, and I expect each one will only get better! Good thing, too, because the Winter 2015 season looks abysmal.
Favorite Characters
1. Ginko Archer
2. Favaro Leone
3. Yuuji Kazami
4. Yona
5. Shinichi Izumi
Favorite Themes
Openings:
1. "Let Me Hear" by Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas (Parasyte)
2. "Hikaru nara" by Goose House (Your Lie in April)
Endings:
1. "Fallen" by Egoist (Psycho-Pass 2)
2. "Attitude to Life" by Galneryus (Donten ni Warau)
Posted by Zadion | Jan 9, 2015 3:24 PM | 1 comments
September 28th, 2014
2014: Summer Anime Season
Anime Relations: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Crystal, Ao Haru Ride, Akame ga Kill!, Tokyo Ghoul, Aldnoah.Zero, Barakamon, Zankyou no Terror, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
This is the first season I've begun truly keeping track of currently airing anime; I made a conscious effort to avoid watching anything that looked pretty lame this season, so I won't have too much here. Still, despite not having watched too much, I honestly think it was a great season. There was some great stuff and I liked everything.
/begin list
#1: Barakamon (8/10)
It's hard to put into words what it is about this series I loved so much. Simply put, I've never watched another slice of life that is as charming and innocent as Barakamon. It's not that the quality of this series is so far above other comedies, such as Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun; it's that there's a certain, unexplainable charm and atmosphere to the series that just made it a really fun, relaxing watch. Every week since the first episode, my weekly Barakamon was one of the things I was most excited for, and there was no other anime I loved enjoying as much as this one right before sleep. I'm gonna miss this series, and I really hope there'll be a second season.
#2: Zankyou no Terror (8/10)
I had no idea what to expect from this series, and even after it's over, I still have no idea what I should've expected. ZnT was a series just as much about atmosphere as it was storytelling; it's for this reason I dubbed it the "atmospheric black metal" of anime. As great as it got at times, it got a little too plodding for me to really sink into. I especially blame Five for this, whose very presence reduced the quality of the anime by eliminating much of the moral ambiguity surrounding Sphinx and their actions. Combine this with the fact that the drama between her and Sphinx was vaguely interesting at best and completely boring at worst and the fact that she was a stereotypical villain (though I concede she had an amazing exit), and the mid-late episodes suffered considerably as a result. That said, this series had one of the greatest first episodes I've seen, a lot of great episodes and thrilling moments throughout the series, and an amazing ending I'll never forget. Seriously, the ending was so beautiful, touching, and overall amazing that it's earned a spot in my top 3 all time favorite endings. By the time the credits rolled, I realized there was no way I could give the series anything under an 8. If you dropped this series because of the waning quality 2/3 - 3/4 through the series, I highly recommend pushing through to the end.
#3: Akame ga Kill! (7/10)
This series isn't only half over at the moment, of course, so this is premature. That said, this series, so far, contains everything that makes shounen one of my favorite genres. Everything is setup for AgK to be a great series, from the fantasy setting to the cool characters it's not remotely afraid to kill off. The first episode was so amazing I had huge hopes for the series. Unfortunately, over the most recent episodes, it's begun to feel a little more like a stereotypical, generic shounen without anything to make it stand out. It's a good thing I happen to enjoy shounen enough that doesn't bother me too much, but I'm interested in seeing what AgK does to set itself apart. Hopefully it'll be by killing more main characters!
#4: Aldnoah.Zero (7/10)
Flashy, fancy, albeit somewhat generic, mecha action! As a fan of mecha, there wasn't really anything to dislike about the series... aside from it's complete refusal to treat war like a serious manner where whoa, people actually die in a war?! Indeed, people actually die in war, but you'd barely know it until the "oh holy shit what just happened" finale. The plot was cool, the setting was cooler, and the soundtrack was cooler yet. The soundtrack, in fact, made this series so dang good. I got really absorbed into a lot of moments in this series purely because the soundtrack was so great and made the atmosphere so intense it'd be impossible not to get absorbed into them. All in all, this ended up being a very good series with some great plot twists, despite my complaints that the series teased us too much with faux-deaths and not enough real ones.
#5: Tokyo Ghoul (6/10)
I've actually left this one on hold as of episode 10 because I wanted to finish the manga before the anime could ruin the manga events for me; what does that tell you? This was a plenty good series as it is that I enjoyed a lot, but even as someone who hadn't read the manga, I could tell the pacing was incredibly rushed, and this left a lot of things confusing. It's interesting that Deadman Wonderland is one of the top recommendations; both are anime greatly damaged by the fact that they tried to shove far too many manga chapters into a 12 episode series. Seriously, developers, you need to cut that shit out. If you plan on adapting more than ~40-50 chapters, just make it two cours, so we can a legitimately faithful adaption that doesn't feel like a long ass trailer for the manga. Then again, if the purpose of a shitty, rushed adaption is to get people to buy the manga so they can get a more fleshed out and thorough version of the series, perhaps this strategy is genius. But fuck you for it.
That said, I hadn't read the manga, so I legitimately enjoyed the series a lot. It's got a great setting and all that, and I love how it's impossible to tell which side is right and which is wrong: the ghouls or the ghoul investigators. Many scenes in the anime depicted well the struggle between the two opposing groups and the pain inflicted on one by the other, and I loved that. But I can't give this higher than a 6/10 when it's seemed to have been such a half-assed adaption.
#6: Ao Haru Ride (6/10)
Ahhh yes, yet another anime this season with a promising first couple episodes that made me super excited for how it was to develop. The problem is that Ao Haru Ride dropped the ball hard. I was expecting a series that displayed the troubles of a blossoming relationship between two people reuniting after years of separation. That would've made for a unique and fascinating series. Instead, each episode further deviated away from my initial expectations and turned, instead, progressively more into a generic shoujo with a generic shoujo anime ending. Fortunately for it, it's a good thing I enjoy this saccharine sentimental shoujo garbage; I caught the feels A LOT in this series, the character interaction was really fun, and this was just what I needed when I was craving a romance. But damn, there's a reason Clannad: After Story is so highly rated; it's the only romance anime which actually tries to be really unique and show the struggles of a blossoming relationship, instead of a dorky one that never develops ever and takes 12 episodes just for the two people who obviously wan 2 fug to acknowledge that they're even friends, AKA every single other romance anime ever in the history of ever. smh
#7: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun (6/10)
Oh heavens, this series was just... I can't even put words to it. If you want a mindless but often hilarious comedy with almost nothing else to it, this is your bag. I was contemplating a 5/10 for awhile, as the first half of the series is really hit or miss with its jokes, but I was dying of laughter so many times episodes 6 and onwards I can't give it anything less. As I said, it's hilarious comedy and pretty much nothing else, so I can't give it a higher rating - compared to Barakamon, which is equally hilarious but far more charming. But damn, this is a fun series. Oh, and check it out, the romance never develops here, either.
I feel the same. I love fireworks.
#8: Sailor Moon: Crystal (4/10)
The problem going on with this series right now is that it's an ONA and taking forever to release new episodes. I was a fan of Sailor Moon when I was a kid and was hoping to feel some of the charm I felt back then, but so far it's mostly been absent because it's just not developing at a rate I can get into. It's not really bad, but sorely, sorely lacking. I mean, I don't expect to watch Sailor Moon for something innovative or something that isn't cheesy as fuck, anyway, but still. Go watch Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica for a mahou shoujo instead.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obligatory side mention: The Legend of Korra Book 3 (9/10) - Not an anime, but close enough and definitely the best thing to come out of the season. I loved every minute of it, and the creators of Avatar prove time and time again they can do "anime" better than most of Japan.
Favorite Characters of Summer 2014
1. Kenjirou Shibazaki (Zankyou no Terror)
Yeah, so... oh my gosh, if I didn't love him before (which I did), it'd be impossible not to after that ending. He's earned his spot as one of my favorite male characters. ;_;
2. Slaine Troyard (Aldnoah.Zero)
Apparently Slaine's been getting some shit since the A.Z finale, but why? Slaine was easily the best developed and most respectable character in the series. His love for Seylum was genuine, and he had every reason to kill Inaho considering Inaho left him to be caught and tortured by Cruhteo. C'mon, folks.
3. Hinami Fueguchi (Tokyo Ghoul)
4. Kouichirou Marito (Aldnoah.Zero)
5. Naru Kotoishi (Barakamon)
YAATTAAAAAAA!
Favorite Openings and Endings of Summer 2014
Openings:
1. Yuuki Ozaki - "Trigger" (Zankyou no Terror)
2. Kalafina - "Heavenly Blue" (Aldnoah.Zero)
Endings:
1. SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]:mizuki - "aLIEz" (Aldnoah.Zero)
2. Aimer - "Dare ka, Umi wo." (Zankyou no Terror)
Yup, both of my favorite openings and endings are from the same series; each of these openings and endings did a fantastic job at capturing the essence and emotions of the anime. In the case of ZnT, "Trigger" made me feel the weight of the series, made all the more clear in the ending. With Aldnoah.Zero, "aLIEz" simply made me hyped as fuck. But hell, even if none of these captured the essence of their respective anime, they'd still be my favorite just 'cause they sound awesome.
smh can't even embed youtube vids because the A.Z themes keep being taken down for copyright. fukkin' scust
/begin list
#1: Barakamon (8/10)
It's hard to put into words what it is about this series I loved so much. Simply put, I've never watched another slice of life that is as charming and innocent as Barakamon. It's not that the quality of this series is so far above other comedies, such as Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun; it's that there's a certain, unexplainable charm and atmosphere to the series that just made it a really fun, relaxing watch. Every week since the first episode, my weekly Barakamon was one of the things I was most excited for, and there was no other anime I loved enjoying as much as this one right before sleep. I'm gonna miss this series, and I really hope there'll be a second season.
#2: Zankyou no Terror (8/10)
I had no idea what to expect from this series, and even after it's over, I still have no idea what I should've expected. ZnT was a series just as much about atmosphere as it was storytelling; it's for this reason I dubbed it the "atmospheric black metal" of anime. As great as it got at times, it got a little too plodding for me to really sink into. I especially blame Five for this, whose very presence reduced the quality of the anime by eliminating much of the moral ambiguity surrounding Sphinx and their actions. Combine this with the fact that the drama between her and Sphinx was vaguely interesting at best and completely boring at worst and the fact that she was a stereotypical villain (though I concede she had an amazing exit), and the mid-late episodes suffered considerably as a result. That said, this series had one of the greatest first episodes I've seen, a lot of great episodes and thrilling moments throughout the series, and an amazing ending I'll never forget. Seriously, the ending was so beautiful, touching, and overall amazing that it's earned a spot in my top 3 all time favorite endings. By the time the credits rolled, I realized there was no way I could give the series anything under an 8. If you dropped this series because of the waning quality 2/3 - 3/4 through the series, I highly recommend pushing through to the end.
#3: Akame ga Kill! (7/10)
This series isn't only half over at the moment, of course, so this is premature. That said, this series, so far, contains everything that makes shounen one of my favorite genres. Everything is setup for AgK to be a great series, from the fantasy setting to the cool characters it's not remotely afraid to kill off. The first episode was so amazing I had huge hopes for the series. Unfortunately, over the most recent episodes, it's begun to feel a little more like a stereotypical, generic shounen without anything to make it stand out. It's a good thing I happen to enjoy shounen enough that doesn't bother me too much, but I'm interested in seeing what AgK does to set itself apart. Hopefully it'll be by killing more main characters!
#4: Aldnoah.Zero (7/10)
Flashy, fancy, albeit somewhat generic, mecha action! As a fan of mecha, there wasn't really anything to dislike about the series... aside from it's complete refusal to treat war like a serious manner where whoa, people actually die in a war?! Indeed, people actually die in war, but you'd barely know it until the "oh holy shit what just happened" finale. The plot was cool, the setting was cooler, and the soundtrack was cooler yet. The soundtrack, in fact, made this series so dang good. I got really absorbed into a lot of moments in this series purely because the soundtrack was so great and made the atmosphere so intense it'd be impossible not to get absorbed into them. All in all, this ended up being a very good series with some great plot twists, despite my complaints that the series teased us too much with faux-deaths and not enough real ones.
#5: Tokyo Ghoul (6/10)
I've actually left this one on hold as of episode 10 because I wanted to finish the manga before the anime could ruin the manga events for me; what does that tell you? This was a plenty good series as it is that I enjoyed a lot, but even as someone who hadn't read the manga, I could tell the pacing was incredibly rushed, and this left a lot of things confusing. It's interesting that Deadman Wonderland is one of the top recommendations; both are anime greatly damaged by the fact that they tried to shove far too many manga chapters into a 12 episode series. Seriously, developers, you need to cut that shit out. If you plan on adapting more than ~40-50 chapters, just make it two cours, so we can a legitimately faithful adaption that doesn't feel like a long ass trailer for the manga. Then again, if the purpose of a shitty, rushed adaption is to get people to buy the manga so they can get a more fleshed out and thorough version of the series, perhaps this strategy is genius. But fuck you for it.
That said, I hadn't read the manga, so I legitimately enjoyed the series a lot. It's got a great setting and all that, and I love how it's impossible to tell which side is right and which is wrong: the ghouls or the ghoul investigators. Many scenes in the anime depicted well the struggle between the two opposing groups and the pain inflicted on one by the other, and I loved that. But I can't give this higher than a 6/10 when it's seemed to have been such a half-assed adaption.
#6: Ao Haru Ride (6/10)
Ahhh yes, yet another anime this season with a promising first couple episodes that made me super excited for how it was to develop. The problem is that Ao Haru Ride dropped the ball hard. I was expecting a series that displayed the troubles of a blossoming relationship between two people reuniting after years of separation. That would've made for a unique and fascinating series. Instead, each episode further deviated away from my initial expectations and turned, instead, progressively more into a generic shoujo with a generic shoujo anime ending. Fortunately for it, it's a good thing I enjoy this saccharine sentimental shoujo garbage; I caught the feels A LOT in this series, the character interaction was really fun, and this was just what I needed when I was craving a romance. But damn, there's a reason Clannad: After Story is so highly rated; it's the only romance anime which actually tries to be really unique and show the struggles of a blossoming relationship, instead of a dorky one that never develops ever and takes 12 episodes just for the two people who obviously wan 2 fug to acknowledge that they're even friends, AKA every single other romance anime ever in the history of ever. smh
#7: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun (6/10)
Oh heavens, this series was just... I can't even put words to it. If you want a mindless but often hilarious comedy with almost nothing else to it, this is your bag. I was contemplating a 5/10 for awhile, as the first half of the series is really hit or miss with its jokes, but I was dying of laughter so many times episodes 6 and onwards I can't give it anything less. As I said, it's hilarious comedy and pretty much nothing else, so I can't give it a higher rating - compared to Barakamon, which is equally hilarious but far more charming. But damn, this is a fun series. Oh, and check it out, the romance never develops here, either.
I feel the same. I love fireworks.
#8: Sailor Moon: Crystal (4/10)
The problem going on with this series right now is that it's an ONA and taking forever to release new episodes. I was a fan of Sailor Moon when I was a kid and was hoping to feel some of the charm I felt back then, but so far it's mostly been absent because it's just not developing at a rate I can get into. It's not really bad, but sorely, sorely lacking. I mean, I don't expect to watch Sailor Moon for something innovative or something that isn't cheesy as fuck, anyway, but still. Go watch Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica for a mahou shoujo instead.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obligatory side mention: The Legend of Korra Book 3 (9/10) - Not an anime, but close enough and definitely the best thing to come out of the season. I loved every minute of it, and the creators of Avatar prove time and time again they can do "anime" better than most of Japan.
Favorite Characters of Summer 2014
1. Kenjirou Shibazaki (Zankyou no Terror)
Yeah, so... oh my gosh, if I didn't love him before (which I did), it'd be impossible not to after that ending. He's earned his spot as one of my favorite male characters. ;_;
2. Slaine Troyard (Aldnoah.Zero)
Apparently Slaine's been getting some shit since the A.Z finale, but why? Slaine was easily the best developed and most respectable character in the series. His love for Seylum was genuine, and he had every reason to kill Inaho considering Inaho left him to be caught and tortured by Cruhteo. C'mon, folks.
3. Hinami Fueguchi (Tokyo Ghoul)
4. Kouichirou Marito (Aldnoah.Zero)
5. Naru Kotoishi (Barakamon)
YAATTAAAAAAA!
Favorite Openings and Endings of Summer 2014
Openings:
1. Yuuki Ozaki - "Trigger" (Zankyou no Terror)
2. Kalafina - "Heavenly Blue" (Aldnoah.Zero)
Endings:
1. SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]:mizuki - "aLIEz" (Aldnoah.Zero)
2. Aimer - "Dare ka, Umi wo." (Zankyou no Terror)
Yup, both of my favorite openings and endings are from the same series; each of these openings and endings did a fantastic job at capturing the essence and emotions of the anime. In the case of ZnT, "Trigger" made me feel the weight of the series, made all the more clear in the ending. With Aldnoah.Zero, "aLIEz" simply made me hyped as fuck. But hell, even if none of these captured the essence of their respective anime, they'd still be my favorite just 'cause they sound awesome.
smh can't even embed youtube vids because the A.Z themes keep being taken down for copyright. fukkin' scust
Posted by Zadion | Sep 28, 2014 1:54 PM | 3 comments