Without further ado. . .
Top 20 Anime of 2012
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Tag Archives: anime
Summer’s MVPs: Humanity has Declined and Natsuyuki Rendezvous
I’ve never seen anything quite like these two.
I guess I have to break my silence a bit even though I’m on hiatus, because I really can’t keep quiet anymore about these two series. I’ve never really seen anything like these two.
Let’s start with Humanity has Declined. It’s fucking Adventure Time except wittier and with more social commentaries. I’m amazed by the cynical and satirical nature of this show. Also half the time it doesn’t fucking make sense and is so random that I’m laughing my head of almost every minute.
The humor in Humanity has Declined is very dark. In episode 1 there was a bread that split itself into half and blood started spurting out of nowhere. DA FUQ? In episode 2, there were roaming headless chickens sending out processed goods made out of god knows what? There are weird fairies that can’t frown even though they are sad and reproduce when someone tells them a joke and had fun. That is so fucking depressing and like, is that how we’re gonna be in the far future when humanity HAS declined? Also our MC’s hair moves on its own. And there were rampaging fujoshis creating some sort of manga renaissance. Yes a printer is totally something humanity has forgotten but there’s still trucks. DA FUQ DA FUQ.
Now let’s go to Natsuyuki Rendezvous.
This show is so DEPRESSING. The set-up of the story is some weird boy trying to pick up an older chick who just happens to be a widow. Her late husband then appears in front of the weird boy, haunting him while the boy is trying to make his move. This could’ve turned into some weird funny sitcom but this show strikes hard. And by that I mean this show really hits all the chords of D-E-P-R-E-S-S-I-N-G.
These three characters just sucks the life out of each other. The widow will obviously be sad forever but the depressant really begins with the boy liking her and telling her that “hey let’s have an affair even though your husband’s dead.” and she beats herself up realizing that she’s fucking old and sad and that her chance of happiness is to take a dip into more depressing, ditch her husband and be with this weird kid.
Don’t get me started with the weird kid who’s only goal is to get into the widow’s pants. What’s so depressing about him is that 1) he has no fucking life and buys plants from the widow almost everyday just so he can depress us by how depressing his useless life is and 2) whenever he’s not trying to be depressing, which is scheming to get into the widow’s pants, his dead husband cockblocks him from the widow. AGAIN THAT’S FUCKING DEPRESSING. He’s already dead. . . how the fuck can he still cockblock.
Last but not the least is the fucking dead husband. HE’S DEAD ALREADY yet he still manages to suck the life out of the characters in this show. He even sucks the life out of himself (oh wait he’s dead) by just being there, realizing how his existence is absolutely useless. All he can do is cockblock some weird kid who’ll probably win in the long run because at least the kid can talk to the widow.
MY GOD THIS SHOW IS DEPRESSING. Again I’ve never seen anything like it. Even Anohana was never this depressing, and that got me into buckets of tears. Not that this show is sad. JUST DEPRESSING.
Okay I managed my rants but seriously if these two keep up pace, Summer Season wouldn’t be so bad. Plus there are other good shows too this season like Moyashimon, Rinne S2, TARI TARI, Kokoro Connect and Sword Art Online. But Humanity has Declined and Natsuyuki are fucking MVPs.
Anime and haircutting
I’m too prim and proper and nice! I need to cut my hair and ruin my life!
I’ve seen quite a lot of this as of late and it’s really interesting how its used in anime (it’s not really limited to anime but whatever).
Our resident Oujo-sama from Sakamichi no Apollon proves her so called “rebelliousness” by cutting her hair. Why? The most probable answer is it symbolizes a sense of freedom but why exactly so?
When you go to a barber shop and cut your hair (especially if it’s really long already), you realize that there’s this tingling sensation in the back of your neck. It feels nice. It feels refreshing. In a sense, cutting your hair relaxes and relieves you. It sorta soothes you and tells you “hey I’ve changed”. Most anime characters that have done this must have felt that way. Let’s enumerate those characters shall we:
1. The bitchy new girl from Mysterious Girlfriend X who just broke up with her boyfriend
2. Senjougahara Hitagi from Nisemonogatari
3. Araragi Karen from Bakemonogatari
4. Emo angst Natsuki from Tsuritama who FINALLY lightened up a bit.
5. Mio from Ano Natsu de Matteru
All 5 of this characters have been keeping something heavy and wanted to have a new start. They wanted their napes to be tickled. They wanted to be slightly turned on after the recent events in their lives.
*Couldn’t think much on what to write this week so I wrote this garbage. hahahaha
Almost TOP 50 material
I have been working on my Top 50 anime recently. I realized just how hard this is, especially when you get to the 40s and 50s. You start to choose which ones to include and which ones to drop. To make it easier for myself, I’ll just make this post about these really great anime that just went short of making my Top 50.
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu
Hilarious stuff, especially on its first half. You have to be honest with yourselves, you’ve always wanted to see classes fight each other and which ones would come on top. Baka to Test makes use of this hilarious nonsense setting and play it to the max creating laughs that only a few anime ever managed to bring to me. The only reason it didn’t get into my Top 50 is because it dwindled a bit towards the end, but hey even those parts were still hilarious!
Blood +
I have to admit it to myself, Blood + had terrible parts. But the emotional investment I gave to this was more than enough to cover those holes. The series had A LOT of character development (Contrary to that crap Blood-C), something you rarely see with shows that have themes like this. When it comes to pure fanboying, this is a shoo-in for my Top 50 but the basic aspects really stop me from doing so.
Durarara!!
This is just damn fine amazing writing. The creativity in its execution is really something to behold. The way it shows a segment of the story, then slowly builds the bits and pieces of information turning that certain segment from great to amazing. The only reason this didn’t make it to my Top 50 is because it ended terribly and I really want my second season . . .
Evangelion
I love Evangelion and its unique take in robot piloting. Usually it’s just wish fulfilment but what Eva did which really redefined the mecha genre was to put realistic acting into the whole robot business and see how does it really feel to pilot one. Didn’t make it to the Top 50 because of that craptastic ending (and in no way did the movie help).
Hanasaku Iroha
Iroha had its ups and downs. When Hanasaku Iroha was good, it’s amazing TOP 20 material but when it’s bad, just lol. Mari Okada (script writer) went wild with this whole Inn business, giving us amazing scenes (Tokyo arc, the last few episodes) and rather bland ones (did we really have to use so much episodes on Takako and Enishing). Still the drama in Iroha is top notch and that’s why it almost got in my Top 50.
Kannagi
Yamakan should just stick to comedies. Kannagi’s a gold mine in comedy. Its jokes are well executed and well timed while at the same time develops each and every one of the characters. The only reason it isn’t in my Top 50 is that it hasn’t aged very well, especially with the whole BRS Fractal crap. I really want a second season of this.
Kara no Kyoukai
One of the most visually stunning anime movies I’ve seen. Kara no Kyoukai is dark, gritty and confusing (being Type Moon and all) but it really works well in such a way that I don’t really care that it’s confusing. Sure they just skip timelines here and there but it really does fit when you think about it. Shiki is one badass female and her story is really well developed through the time skip format (very reminiscent to Haruhi).
Kare Kano
If Kimi ni Todoke is the shoujo of 2010 then Kare Kano is the shoujo of 1990’s. Half the time its wish fulfilment with the whole “we’re all smart and popular couple” sort of thing but Kare Kano makes use of this cliché and turns a realistic twist to it. I still clearly remember that episode in which the principal asked the main leads to break up but then Yukino’s dad steps in and tells this awe inspiring speech. “One day in high school is like a month in adulthood” I still get goosebumps when I remember that scene. The only reason it isn’t in my Top 50 is because of those goddamn terrible last few episodes (mostly because of losing budget).
Moshidora
You know why Moshidora almost made it into the Top 50? Moshidora’s a good anime but it’s nothing special especially with only 10 episodes to work with (very restrained development, forced acting). But my god a certain scene in episode 9 just wow’d me. Minami sees the guys playing the finals (they’re about to go to Koshien at this point) and there she realized how much of a bitch she’s been the whole episode (understandable though). She finally opens her mouth and says “ganbatte!” and I must’ve let up a tear watching that scene.
Occult Academy
It’s messy but it did continuously keep up the whole mystery/comedy balance. The first few episodes were hilarious while the last few had some awesome crazy twists (slightly stupid but amazing nonetheless). My only complaint is that the series was so messy especially towards the end, that it almost broke off and cracked.
Ika-Musume
Genuinely light hearted fluff. Ika-Musume is one adorable squid human and that alone almost makes this series Top 50 material.
Tsubasa Tokyo Revelations
I hate the first two seasons with a passion. It did no justice to the manga besides create a rather amazing soundtrack. Tokyo Revelations though, decided to scrap that TV series shit and stick to the manga. Result? So much badassery win!
Usagi Drop
Parenting is hard and the Usagi Drop really emphasized this by showing what Daikichi had to give up and sacrifice just to raise Rin. This in turn showed how many rewards parenting gives and the sweetness it can create. Rin is one helluvan adorable kid.
//whew! I’m almost done with my Top 50 anime (not really) and when I’m finished, expect some tweaks in the site. Also I have a special big announcement coming up (and unfortunately it’s not about going on hiatus).
I’m a Kyoanifag
I just realized this now.
Analyzing my top anime, I just realized that most of the stuff Kyoto Animation did are in there (and quite deep at that). Besides being produced with top notch visuals, Kyoani has the knack of trying to make everything perfect. While it works at times and fails at times, apparently on whatever they do. . . I like it.
Clannad After Story – Best sequel ever. It still holds the record as the anime that made me cry the most. Bringing out emotion on me is hard and only a few shows have ever done that, so to be able to do that and even more, Clannad is just amazing.
Suzumiya Haruhi – The first season was just amazing. A totally refreshing take on execution and storytelling by skipping around the chronological order. The characters get develop in totally unique ways.
Full Metal Panic Fumoffu – I love FMP but I have to say, I enjoyed the comedy first and foremost. Imagine that! They made 12 episodes of just pure comedy between Sosuke and Chidori. Oh god I still get the chuckles remembering this show.
Nichijou – It’s one of the strangest comedies I’ve ever seen. It’s random, it’s absurd and it totally hits the right buttons on making me laugh. It especially has scenes that really bust your guts out (even moreso than Fumoffu) like the Mio wrestling episode.
Lucky Star – You could say Lucky Star made a new wave of comedy. It’s just girls doing cute things yet it’s so fucking entertaining. Nothing happens but at the same time, so much stuff just appears and makes you crack up.
I also liked Kanon, K-ON! and now Hyouka.
With Hyouka, Kyoani just took a leap in Slice of Life. From girls doing cute things, to girls doing nothing, Kyoani now makes people that talk about doing nothing. Hyouka has a lot of drawn out dialogue and exposition and you realize, WHY? Episode 6 is imminent of this. Chitanda got mad and asked Houtaro why she got mad. THAT’S IT. THAT’S THE WHOLE FUCKING EPISODE. And guess what? I loved it. I fucking loved it.
This is embarrassing, I never realized it until now but I really am a Kyoanifag.
Otaking shares thoughts on illegal copying
First of all Otaking, fuck you.
Secondly, not everybody actually has it easy when it comes to buying anime products. I live in a place where the only anime merchandise you’ll find are fake ones, so am I considered a rank lower if I didn’t fucking buy Bluray Boxsets worth I don’t even want to know because I would have to go all the way and order and if I did I wouldn’t be able to understand shit since there’s no subs? Is it bad that I’m poor?
So if I apparently don’t buy copies of your wonderful anime then I would be compared to a train groper? Yes I know your from Gainax and I fucking love Gainax, but I wouldn’t even know what Gainax is or what their shows are if I wasn’t that person you’d compare to a train groper. Oh but who cares since you don’t get profit! But then I don’t have money so that must mean I’m just some poor train groper who don’t deserve those Japan cartoons. Poor people who don’t have resources to buy unsubbed $500 Bluray Boxes like me should never even be considered as anime fans!
Oh yeah I’m sorry my region isn’t allowed to watch those streams. I guess my whole country should be compared to train gropers.
No Otaking, fans aren’t limited to Nippon and Americaw. Anime is more popularthan that.
(I do realize that if I was in his position, I’d be furious too that I’m stealing what they make but hey. . . I’m not a fucking train groper.)
Uncurrency Anime – Monster, Moyashimon, Inu X Boku SS
Stupid internet connection made my 9GB Fate/Zero BD edition download for days. . .
Monster
I’m speechless to how good this was. Monster is an anime adaptation based on the manga by the germanophile Naoki Urusawa. Generally all of Urusawa’s works are held in high regard, but it seems that Monster is her best work so I handily downloaded all 74 episodes and see how awesome it actually is.
The murder mystery starts when Dr. Tenma revives a 10 year old patient named Johan. That was a terrible idea because it came to bite him a few years later when he is accused of a series of murder events. Tenma becomes a runaway, exploring Germany and finding Johan to kill him.
Monster is Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood set in Germany. The awesome part of Monster is that different plot points are set and culminated to create grand plots (I really loved the whole Vampire Millionaire arc) and different characters Tenma met would eventually meet each other and make other plot points. It’s like there’s a plot here, then there’s another plot in which you don’t know what the relevance is and then it builds up and you go “OH SHIT THAT’S FUCKING AWESOME”.
The best character is the show is undeniably Johan. Like how the story suggests it, you have no fucking idea what he’s thinking. One moment he kills middle-aged couples then the next moment he’s this tinker bell everyone is mesmerized with. Kinda like Edward Cullen except its fake. There was even a part where he became a TRAP.
Actually Tenma might just be the Traveler on Revenge (or Johan or Nina).
Monster continues the streak of awesome Uncurrency Anime titles.
Execution: 39/40
Engagement: 29/30
Characters: 18/20
Production Values: 8/10
Overall: 94/100
Moyashimon
Oh my god those Microbes are fucking cute!
Moyashimon is about a guy named Tadayasu who enters Farming College to learn more about these cute microbes he always sees. It must feel weird being friends with him, because he randomly talks in the air, going “OH MY GOD YOU’RE SO DISGUSTING” and gives you that “ugh stop being so stupid/gross/echii” anime expression just because there’s dangerous kawaii bacteria in your room that you can’t even see.
Moyashimon is educational . . . though you can’t use this in school. When your teacher asks you “Hey what bacteria is this and what does it do”, then you go draw a blob with two small eyes and a smile and you say “he does kawaii stuff”, your teacher might fucking slap you!
There are good characters in these series and there are heavily bland ones (that blondie who I don’t know what the hell is her use in the plot) but really, the main attraction is the cute bacteria. And it’s funny at times. Plus it’s a college animu, so we have to like it!
No really, Moyashimon is good. Cute, funny, entertaining . . . you can’t go wrong with this one.
Execution: 36/40
Engagement: 26/30
Characters: 17/20
Production Values: 8/10
Overall: 87/100
Inu X Boku SS
It started off rather terribly. One dimensional characters, grand setting only to never be used, plot with no focus (or rather don’t know what to focus with) and awkward dual service . . . The dual service stayed but it did improved quite a bit towards its run.
Ririchiyo’s insecurities started off as an awkward cop out of what a tsundere is but once the series really started tackling that part of herself, Ririchiyo became a bit more of an actual character. I’d say the same thing to the butler, though that’s mostly because of that one episode towards the end which was really good.
In the end I really just misinterpreted its premise. It never really planned to use its grand horror setting, it just wanted to focus on a select few characters and develop them bit by bit. The plot became internal conflicts which is a good thing. The last few episodes were amazing in retrospect to the entire series.
I got a good vibe walking off this series even with the major problem it has so I’m prepared to give it quite a good score.
Execution: 34/40
Engagement: 26/30
Characters: 17/20
Production Values: 8/10
Overall: 85/100
March Roundup
Dropped: Symphogear, Area no Kishi, Guilty Crown
Hold: InuXBoku SS, Mouretsu Pirates, Mirai Nikki
I’ll just do a fast swing at this since I’ve explained a lot in my reviews
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LAND OF THE TERRIBAD:
none
FAULTY BUT WATCHABLE:
none
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GOOD:
Rinne no Lagrange: 8.0
I felt a bit iffy with the whole Madoka angst but overall, Rinne’s last month felt like a build up to the next season. Everyone’s separated ways after the whole “pretty flowers falling into the sky” act. I never really got the significance of that but whatever. ONWARDS TO SEASON 2 THIS SUMMER!
Nichibros. : 8.3
The comedy started to go slightly dry but the anime insults haven’t. In particular the whole last scene in the last episode where everything was played straight feels like a facepalm now seeing how stupid these clichés actually are. I salute you for this Nichibros., I really do.
GREAT:
Another: 8.6
The last two episodes were sort of downers, especially since the rest of the series spent time building up the mystery. The BIG REVEAL is mindfuck amazing though, but overall, this isn’t Another’s best month.
Ano Natsu de Matteru: 8.6
Mixed bag for this month. Episodes 9 and 10 were pretty amazing, Top tier quality romance. Episodes 11 and 12 is shit. Seriously, the Sci-fi element cheapens the whole thing! Though Lemon-senpai turning out to be MBI was pretty damn cool.
LEGENDARY:
Nisemonogatari: 9.0
Step down from Bake, as I’ve mentioned already. Still, that toothbrush scene will always be etched in my mind forever.
Aquarion EVOL: 9.0
I’m including Episode 14 in this because that’s the reason why EVOL is rated so high this month. The level of surrealism in that episode just raised the weirdness bar on this series, which was pretty high already.
Fudo ordered the students to bury themselves on the graveyard to feel death. Mikono was opposed to this so she didn’t follow orders and after a few minutes, the original Aquarion OP starts playing and Mikono’s power was revealed (something about connecting green lines or whatever). Then everyone popped up of the ground and Mikono shouts “Happy Birthday!” to all of them.
Weird but awesome.
Chihayafuru: 9.4
I WANT A SEQUEL NOW!
ALL TIME FAVORITE:
nada
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Average month I guess. . . not much to say that I haven’t already. I don’t wanna be repetitive. Toodles!
Reviews – Chihayafuru, Nisemonogatari, Rinne no Lagrange, Nichibros, Ano Natsu de Matteru, Another
HAHAHA sorry for the delay, I may not be keeping up with my blogging but I definitely am when it comes to watching.
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Chihayafuru
Starting from episode 1, I knew this series was going to be a winner. I’m a big fan of sports series (or at least I have a high regard to the ones that I did watch) and the way that Chihayafuru presented Competitive Karuta, something very niche, is awesome. And what would Chihayafuru be without its awesome set of characters. Whether it was Chihaya and her one-sided mind played wonderfully or Taichi’s complexity or even the other members of the Karuta club, it was played really well. It also has a knack on developing players Chihaya faces really well. Complete with excellent production values, Chihayafuru is definitely the best anime that aired this past two seasons.
Execution: 37/40 (The way such a niche sport was presented in such an outstanding way puts Chihayafuru above a lot of sports series)
Engagement: 28/30 (It filled the void Steins;Gate left behind on my Tuesdays perfectly)
Characters: 19/20 (The fact that you even have attachments to one-episode characters makes Chihayafuru’s development above any other this season)
Production Values: 9/10 (Great soundtrack, great animation, colorful palette; courtesy of Madhouse)
Overall: 93/100
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Nisemonogatari
Nisemonogatari is amazing on its own right but it is a step down from its predecessor. Bakemonogatari is my all-time favorite anime hands down so Nisemonogatari had a lot to live up to. Well of course Nisemonogatari is more of the same. The extensive dialogues that go nowhere, the plot that’s built up using words, the crazy animation and wonderful choke of development. What Nisemonogatari lacks is structure. Bakemonogatari has arcs that feel complete afterwards. It even has a sort of epilogue in each arc in which Araragi would have a scene with his sisters and how each story has added something to his character. Nisemonogatari decided on making the sisters actual characters, and the two arcs feel a bit flimsy compared to any of Bakemonogatari’s. Its plot advances but there’s no real end to anything. I didn’t feel the gathering of different clues to achieve the answer (it actually felt a bit “made up along the way”) something that Bakemonogatari always had. With that Nisemonogatari is a bit of a step down to Bakemonogatari.
That’s all the complaints though. Again Nisemonogatari holds up pretty well when it comes to dialogues, plot development, characters and animation and with the monogatari franchise, these are the important parts. In fact SHAFT made sure this looks even more amazing than what they’ve ever done before (tooth brush scene anyone?). Being a step down from my All-time favorite series just means it stepped down from An Almighty God, to a demigod or something like that.
Actually ignore anything I said above. I’m just putting this lower because there wasn’t as much Senjougahara and the only replacement they have with Bakemonogatari’s amazing episode 12 is the toothbrush scene. Plus no Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari.
Execution: 36/40 (Great but lacks the polish Bake- had)
Engagement: 29/30 (Well duh its the sequel of my favorite series ever, so I was eagerly anticipating this week per week)
Characters: 18/20 (Great characters as always. They really keep developing and changing through out the span of both seasons.)
Production: 10/10 (Best set of visuals I have ever seen.)
Overall: 93/100
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Rinne no Lagrange
One of the three big sci-fi series of the season, Rinne was my early favorite. those first few episodes were downright amazing. The mix of an intriguing plot, characters, action and an EPIC BGM (i mean it the OST of this series is really good) made this series a winner. It was still good afterwards but it never really topped its first few episodes. The excitement on my heart that I found a series that can make me this well– excited tapered off a bit towards the end. Sure Madoka and the jersey club hold up pretty well towards the end but something was missing. Hopefully Season 2 fixes this.
Execution: 33/40(Amazing first few episodes but tapers off a bit as it finishes its first season)
Engagement: 25/30 (The excitement in my heart on those first few episodes will never be replaced.)
Characters: 17/20 (Madoka and co. are okay and they do have a fair share of development but there’s still something missing to it. 2nd season should polish on this aspect)
Production Values: 9/10(If anything, people should listen to the OST. Fucking amazing)
Overall: 84/100
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Nichibros
I love how this show insults many of the cliched aspects of Anime. In a way it sets as an awareness that creators should be more creative to what they make and stop using these cliches. Awareness aside, Nichibros. is a fucking goldmine in Anime Comedies. The way it presents girls as horrible people (again opposite of how Anime usually represents them), the Lit. Girl segments wherein the deep things people say just come out of their asses, and the different shit guys do in Highschool. The characters are no way developed but this series is just to funny and awesome for me to even care.
And yes, Season 2 please. This is how you do a comedy about High School boys (go to hell Kimi to Boku.)
PS. I can’t believe they did a segment where the girls went to London just to beat up other girls; Too much K-ON references?
Execution: 36/40 (The way it presented itself as an anime that anime fans need to watch is very unique.)
Engagement: 27/30 (Your attention sticks to how funny a segment is. Luckily almost all segments are funny.)
Characters: 15/20 (ZERO development but all of them are funny)
Production Values: 7/10 (Nothing special)
Overall: 85/100
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Ano Natsu de Matteru
Ano Natsu surprised me on how well done it is. For a melodrama High School romance, this sure holds up well to my favorites. In fact it reminds a lot of Toradora. I can’t compare it to the Onegai Series since i haven’t watched it, but this series really stands on its own. The whole setup with an alien girl falling into a normal guy’s hands feels all fanservice, harem rip-off, but to my surprise it turned out to be a love polygon between a group of friends. Characters are given a healthy dose of development (particularly Mio, Kanna and Tetsurou) and the drama between them just becomes better because of this. The directing is High Tier, with camera angles really depicting the love polygon well (See episode 9).
There are a few downsides to this. While the entire cast has development, the main couple, Kaito and Ichika, are a far cry when comparing them to leads of series with the same genre (notably Toradora, Anohana, Honey and Clover). The added sci-fi element kind of bogs the entire thing down since it didn’t need it on the first place. Minor complaints to what is essentially a great High School melodrama.
Execution: 36/40(My god the directing is so spot-on. The added sci-fi element bogs things down though)
Engagement: 26/30(Romances like these are always very engaging)
Characters: 18/20(Healthy dose of development)
Production Values: 8/10(Pretty good considering this is JC Staff and all)
Overall: 88/100
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Another
Horror series are rare to come by (since they don’t sell that well) so I was all excited when Another premiered. The premise is about a class where people die, Final Destination style, because of a curse that happened 26 years ago. The series spends its entire time figuring out who the “Another” is and the big reveal is really awesome. At the start, I thought the characters were a bit one-sided but Kou and Misaki (and their blossoming relationship) really developed after a few episodes of conspiracy building. Combined with an awesome set of visuals and sound, Another holds up well to great anime of the same genre (namely Shiki and Higurashi).
Execution: 36/40(Horror is as hard to execute as comedy and Another did it really well since I was scared shit in my pants watching this every week.)
Engagement:26/30(The overall mystery surrounding the Another was nicely done)
Characters:17/20(Kouichi and Mei are adorable together)
Production Values: 9/10 (It’s PA Works. Can’t go wrong with that.)
Overall: 88/100
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Oh god I’m fucking tired typing this and I still have a lot to review. Well good luck to me. Plus that monthly roundup is gonna be done soon. And my Recommended list. Hah! I’m totally not procrastinating.
Side Note: Apparently I’m in the Aniblog Tourney (that circle jerk fiesta where all pretentious bitches win –nah just kidding) so if you’d like to support me, please do.
January Roundup
Hah! I finally got around to do a monthly roundup!
The new season has a lot of good offerings. Nothing Madoka Magica-level of awesome is offered besides Nisemonogatari but everything WENT BETTER THAN EXPECTED. As of the carry-overs from last season, they are still looking good. Even Guilty Crown isn’t so terrible anymore now that I’ve accepted that it will never be good.
The noticeable trend though is “GOING BACK TO ANIME’S ROOTS”. Stuff like Lagrange or Ano Natsu could actually have aired years ago and you wouldn’t notice anything (especially Ano Natsu). Bodacious Pirates has plenty of homages and the fact that this was in production for such a long time, you can really see its classiness. Aquarion gets a sequel/reboot and nostalgia must be coming in. Another is an adaptation of a 20th century novel while Area no Kishi is an adaptation of a 27-volume ongoing manga. Heck, Dansei no Nichijou is mocking every single anime trope we’ve came to know and. . . get annoyed?
It does look like this won’t stop for this season. Next season has tons of award-winning mangas adapted, long-awaited franchises, digging in novels of a decade old. . . etc.
For some news: Bebop director and Yoko Kano are collaborating for a manga adaptation of a Jazz Band in Noitamina, animated at Tezuka Productions. Hold of your “Too much anticipation will turn it into a Guilty Crown” though. Seriously, hold it off. Though I doubt this will be terrible.
So HERE WE GO!
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LAND OF THE TERRIBAD
13. Nymphogear
Lol this shit is terrible! Who the hell wrote the script for this thing! Well at least it’s so bad it’s funny! The animation though is honky-ponky terribad.
Rating: 7.0
FAULTY BUT WATCHABLE
12. Guilty Crown
At this point, I’m just accepting this come and go. Pull plot twists out of nowhere- sure whatever! Start a cultural festival with all the characters you like back in school even though the whole town is in chaos and the supplies are slowly disappearing – sure whatever! Might as well turn Shoe into a badass (as the new OP suggested) since we need this shit to run a bit longer – SURE WAHTEVS! You could say I’m somewhat immune already to the shit this series pull off and I really just want to enjoy it since it has really nice visuals. Plus it’s not nearly as bad as the likes of Blood-C and Fractal for anime originals.
Rating: 7.6
GOOD
11. Knight in the Area
Well I didn’t get as teary-eyed as I probably would have (yes I get emotional with these onion animu), but rest assured Knight in the Area has something big in store of us. With Kakeru getting Suguru’s heart, things will definitely spic up as we will probably see glimpses of dark Suguru in our weak-willed MC.
Rating: 8.1
10. Inu X Boku SS
There’s a wild premise of youkai living in one place and you know where they focus on? Everyday life in living in that apartment of course! Much like Mouretsu Pirates, Marley and Me Supernatural Series focuses on “What is it like to be in this setting” rather than “We have an awesome setting; let’s make a great plot alongside it”. While something tells me that the latter would turn my interest in this series a bit higher, enjoying the everyday life of such setting isn’t so bad either. It also helps when your characters are really interesting. Especially the butler. THAT GODDAMN BUTLER! He probably even beats Hayate in his own game.
Rating: 8.2
9. Bodacious Pirates
Turn her into a pirate already! In all honesty Bodacious Pirates has the most solid execution this season. It’s not hurrying up to the plot (it has 26 episodes of leeway) and its universe is being slowly explored. I’m sure all this buildup will pay off heavily once the plot actually starts.
Rating: 8.3
SEASON’S MEAT
8. Mirai Nikki
The question was always, why doesn’t just Yuki give up and actually like Yuno for a change. She’s just a stalker and she probably wouldn’t hurt- OH SHIT. Yuno is mentally unstable and will delete memories in a flick. Yuno really is the anchor of this series. Heck they couldn’t even prolong her absence (a grand total of half an episode) since they probably realized that every character in this series is terrible except Yuki. And Yuki, as character, doesn’t work without Yuno.
Rating: 8.5
7. Everyday Life of High School Boys
Being really funny is one thing but consistently mocking every single thing about anime tropes is another thing. Dansei no Nichijou is heavy on mocking. Deep words scriptwriter pulls out of there asses – MOCKED. I have a peaceful everyday life and I will run outside with a toasted bread in my mouth – MOCKED. I will go to the beach, sing Karaoke, go to an Onsen, play in the cemetery in summer while having a cheesy song running through making the viewer feel nostalgic of what have you –MOCKED. I think the best one was in episode 3 near the end where the girls where mocking the everyday skit of Dansei no Nichijou. One of the girls spouted “We are funny in whatever we’re gonna do because we’re girls”. HAHAHAHA shit the comedy in this series is GOLD.
I’d give it a few more episodes and if I find a skit that will make me laugh more than Nichijou’s wrestling scene, then I really might consider this as the best comedy Anime has ever seen. For now though-
Rating: 8.6
6. Rinne no Lagrange
Admittedly I wasn’t sold with the first episode since it felt a bit sloppy but the next two episodes changed that completely. We got a full-three episode continuity making me feel like this production is BIG. It’s fun, thrilling and exciting. The details of the battle are very spot on too. The series realizes that there’s actually people in town not like some other series (hi thar Aquarion) and it’s a nice little detail that Madoka actually worries where she will land. The things that got destroyed the episode before where still there and the human weapons have actually some use (to stall time) unlike some other series (hi thar Nymphogear). I also helps that your Yuri Goggles is at max limit. Also the Soundtrack is awesome.
Rating: 8.7
5. Aquarion EVOL
Not exactly the most consistent, but it definitely is the most exciting. Coming from someone who has never watched Sousei no Aquarion, I must say this is the very definition of what an anime is. It has a plot which can never be pulled off in other media, its characters have personalities and designs that again can never be pulled off in another media, and its glowing “Gattai Scenes” (the most unadulterated version of an orgasm) is also something that can never be pulled off in another media. Even with all the clichés it pulls, it never felt, “been there done that”.
A great example is Episode 5. The Berlin Wall of the school which separates boys and girls has finally been broken only for the rule of “Love is Forbidden” to be initiated. Then the heads of the school decided that these teenagers should go on dates in Kowloon and give them these armbands which electrocute you if you’re too in love. Except for Amata Sora of course, because we have to see him fly when sexually driven! And just when the heads start panicking that there’s no stopping Amata and Mikono’s relationship (complete with a “I think we are destined for each other” line), lo and behold. The villain comes in, sweeps of Mikono, tells her “You stink deliciously. Mikono then gets electrocuted, Zessica is now replaced by the Villain in the triangle, and some sort of new power is formed.
No, a plot like this can never be pulled off in any other media (even manga).
Rating: 8.7
4. Another
Horror, like comedy, is something that’s hard to pull off. Everyone has a different taste on what triggers their emotions so the best way for a Horror/Suspense/Mystery series to work is play all its cards for it to work. Another does this really well. From the very start, I was already shit-in-my-pants scared on what’s gonna happen. There’s so much intrigue, so much questions, so much mystery. If I do have a problem, it would be that the characters aren’t the most interesting out there. I guess concentrating on fear will really take out character development and most horror series are like this but there is ONE series that avoided this and that would be Higurashi. That would also be the reason why Higurashi is my number one Horror Anime ever. Another is still really good though and definitely one of the contenders for the best this season.
*Remember that crapalicious anime called BLOOD C? You can say both this and that have the same intrigue but WHY is it that this works so well and BLOOD C worked so terribly? I guess that’s the most mysterious thing about BLOOD C. IT had everything going for it, yet it didn’t work.
Rating: 8.7
3. Ano Natsu de Matteru
It surprisingly became the best new offering this season, for me. I’ve explained lengthily why Onegai Sempai is so good so I’m not gonna bother explaining again. I am quite excited in where this Love Polygon is gonna take us. Maybe another reason why I’m really loving Ano Natsu is because we barely had any romance anime last season.
Rating: 8.8
LEGENDARY
2. Chihayafuru
Omi Jingu Arc was surprisingly fast but as Chiahyafuru always is, it’s solid. I love how Chihaya didn’t beat the odds and loss to Queen but more importantly, Taichi’s really becoming a character to be recognized. His match in the end really encompasses his flaws as a character. “I guess second place is good enough”. Yup, definitely the Jack-of-all-Trades and Master-of-None.
Rating: 9.1
ALL TIME FAVORITE
1. Nisemonogatari
Oh my god this shit is still awesome after a two year break. I guess SHAFT made sure that this sequel won’t suck for a change. Episode 3 was particularly good with the introduction of a new character, the plot finally progressing and Senjougahara Fascination in 140% mode. Also, bath scenes with the new Shinobu (Mina Tepes finally found a show that doesn’t suck to jump on) isn’t bad either.
Rating: 9.6
Traveler on Revenge 