Another year, another top 10 post. This year, a lot of the anime I watched was stuff that didn’t actually air this year (whether it be catching up on semi-recent seasonal stuff or just backlog shows), so I wasn’t exactly spoiled for choice when writing this year’s list. It’s also why there’s a conspicuous absence of the second season of Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu after gushing over the first season last year, because I’ve simply not got around to watching it yet. Nevertheless, this list is still full of stuff I’d happily recommend. As always, a Japanese airing or home-media release is the only qualification required for The 2017 Top 10 Japanese Cartoons that were Pretty Okay.

Interviews with Monster Girls

Demi-chan wa Kataritai / 亜人ちゃんは語りたい

Starting out with a show-stopper. I don’t rank these lists, but this show might be my favourite of the year, for no other reason than I simply connected to it in a way I never have with any other show. Unlike with other shows about monster-girls, you know, the boobalicious ones with actual snake ladies and centaurs and spider girls and whathaveyou, the ones here are… mostly normal. Every “monster-girl” in the show is basically just a metaphor for various conditions, disabilities and social anxieties, and how they deal with them in their everyday lives. Being diabetic (that is to say, someone who is mostly “normal” but not quite), I related to the show in a very personal way, something that I’ve never done with any other show.

The show’s overall message of being comfortable with yourself, as well as accepting what makes people different, while not particularly deep nor heavy-handed, is nice nonetheless. Interviews with Monster Girls is ostensibly a cute-girl-slice-of-life show, so obviously won’t be in everybody’s wheelhouse, but certain people will be able to get something out of it they wouldn’t from most other shows, and for that, I absolutely commend it. For a show about “monsters”, it ends up being very human.

Miss Kobayashi’s Maid Dragon

Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon / 小林さんちのメイドラゴン

From Kyoto Animation, the masters of pretty TV anime, their latest is a little different from their more recent output: it’s an adaptation of an property they don’t own, and the visual style is more stylised and cutesy compared to the more realistic looking shows they’ve become known for in recent years. Our protagonist, Kobayashi, is a twenty-something office worker who, one night, got fucking wasted, strolled into the woods, discovered a dragon exiled from its own realm and offered for it to come live with her. The next morning, naturally remembering none of the previous night’s adventure, Kobayashi is greeted by a massive dragon outside her apartment, that promptly shape-shifts itself into a cute, busty girl in a maid outfit… with horns and a tail. The dragon, Tohru, took Kobayashi up on her offer from last night and decides she wants to be her maid.

What follows is a comfy, supernatural-laced slice-of-life show, which, when younger dragon Kanna joins the fray, is primarily focused on the strange but lovely little family unit that Kobayashi has found herself in. KyoAni‘s penchant for cute comedies is shown in full-force here, and is absolutely recommended if that’s the sort of anime you’re into. The opening and ending songs are also hella catchy.

Little Witch Academia

From those lovable bozos at Studio TRIGGER, Little Witch Academia is basically just Harry Potter: The Anime. Except, if Harry were a cute Japanese girl, and also a total idiot with no magical prowess whatsoever. Atsuko “Akko” Kagari decided she wanted to attend Luna Nova Magical Academy after seeing a magic show as a child. She struggles due to her non-magical background compared to her peers from prestigious magical families, but if nothing else, she has a bottomless well of determination and manages to make a bit of a name for herself regardless… though mostly because she’s a bit of a dimwit who keeps finding herself in ridiculous situations. The first half of the show is a mostly episodic affair, before the main plot kicks into gear proper during the second half.

A full TV show borne from the two short films TRIGGER had made previously, it retains all of the charm of those while offering a more meaty character and plot experience afforded by the increased runtime. Due to its setting and subject matter, LWA is probably the most un-anime anime on this list and also completely family-friendly, something you could show to almost anyone who enjoys a good, lighthearted adventure.

Made in Abyss

One of the more popular standout titles from this year, and with good reason. The setting is based in a city that surrounds a giant, gaping hole in the Earth, the titular abyss. The abyss extends a completely unknown length down into the ground below, though is roughly segmented into layers, each with their very own unique ecosystems and dangerous flora and fauna. More importantly however, is the curse of the abyss: ascending in the abyss has various psychological and physiological tolls on the body, worsening the deeper from which you ascend. It eventually reaches a depth where, escaping the abyss is impossible: the effects of ascending from the sixth layer are death or “loss of humanity”. The story centres on Riko, a young rookie cave-raider who, in the first layer, discovers a strange robot boy who she names Reg. The plot kicks into gear when news reaches the surface that Riko’s mother, a legendary cave-raider and White Whistle (raider ranks are based on the colour of whistles they possess) has made her “last dive”: she has descended to a layer from which return would be impossible. Riko and Reg set off on a one-way journey into the abyss to find her mother, dealing with the trials and horrors they encounter along the way.

Visually, Made in Abyss is a strong contender this year, with a somewhat cutesy art-style that belies its generally much darker nature and tone. Also accompanied by an absolutely stellar soundtrack, it’s no surprise that this show was one of many people’s highlights for the year.

Blame!

Apparently not the first adaptation of Tsutomu Nihei’s stunning manga, this one is produced by Polygon Pictures, fairly well known at this point for producing full 3D CGI anime that doesn’t look like total ass, such as Knights of Sidonia (another of Nihei’s works) and Ajin, previously. The film does a pretty decent job of portraying the atmosphere and architecture of Nihei’s original work and while it isn’t the full story (there is apparently a sequel in the works), the movie ends at a pretty natural stopping point. The plot and world of Blame!, a massive, continuously expanding city is super interesting, though important details are tantalisingly sparse, leaving me looking forward to the next instalment. Maybe not one for you if you’re not into broody, mostly silent, badass protagonists though.

Also, Biomega adaptation when??

The Ancient Magus’ Bride

Mahoutsukai no Yome / 魔法使いの嫁

Chise Hatori hasn’t had a particularly good life. As a Sleigh Beggy, she naturally attracts all sorts of spirits to her, not all of them good. After her father leaving, and her mother killing herself, Chise eventually also tried to commit suicide, but was stopped by someone who convinced her to sell herself into slavery, in the hopes of finding someone who would care for her, a choice she readily accepted in her deep depression. Eventually, she is bought for the princely sum of £5 million (this is another show this year set in Britain) by one Elias Ainsworth, the titular ancient magus. Rather than buying her for any reasons particularly untoward, he seemingly bought Chise for the intention to make her his apprentice; Chise’s natural spiritual affinity give her great magical potential. Thus far, the story has Chise learn magic and deal with encounters with the various spirits and faeries that inhabit the nearby, sleepy locales of the UK, whilst also learning to come to terms with and repair her damaged self.

Brought to us by WIT Studio, the folks that also made smash hits like Attack on Titan, the still ongoing Ancient Magus’ Bride is an absolutely stunning show, with some really enjoyable world-building and plenty of nuanced, enjoyable characters.

Your Name

Kimi no Na wa. / 君の名は。

The latest film from Makoto Shinkai, if you’re at all into anime and aren’t aware of Your Name, that must be a pretty large rock you’ve been living under for the past year or so. Making its way to the 4th spot of Japan’s highest-grossing films ever, it’s been a massive success both in as well as out of Japan. The film tells the story of Mitsuha, a schoolgirl living in a small, rural town in the mountains, and Taki, a schoolboy living in the heart of Tokyo, who suddenly find themselves swapping bodies for the duration of random days. Initially each thinking of their experiences as very realistic dreams, the two eventually realise what’s happening and begin to leave notes for each other. The films starts out with the comedic hijinks you’d expect from a couple of teenagers randomly swapping bodies, it eventually a shifts into a more serious and gripping tale.

As expected of Shinkai’s works, Your Name is absolutely fucking gorgeous, with both the rural and urban locations shown in exquisite detail, though I will admit that his previous work, The Garden of Words is still his best looking in my opinion, though that’s somewhat to be expected due to being well under half the length of this latest offering. Short of anything by Studio Ghibli, Your Name is probably the most notable anime film for a good while, so you probably owe it to yourself to give it a watch.

A Silent Voice

Koe no Katachi / 聲の形

The second production from Kyoto Animation on this list, this time a feature film and while not quite on the same level of hype and success as Your Name, A Silent Voice is definitely one of the standouts from this year. Directed by the young Naoko Yamada (K-on!, Tamako Market), who is quickly becoming considered one of the greats in her industry, the film deals with the type of heavy topic seldom dealt with seriously in anime: bullying. The film centres on Shoko, a deaf girl, and Shoya, the boy who used to bully her in primary school. The early scenes of the film, set during their early childhood at school are fairly powerful, incredibly hard to watch without getting very angry at the characters making Shoko’s school life a living hell. It’s equally impressive that the film manages to make the audience accept Shoya’s sincere attempts to redeem himself as a young adult, who had become crushed under the guilt to the point of suicide.

As expected of a KyoAni production, particularly one with a theatrical budget, A Silent Voice is a looker (though, some of the post-processing effects could stand to have been toned down a little). I eagerly await to see what’s next from the aspiring young director.

Girls’ Last Tour

Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou / 少女終末旅行

Girls’ Last Tour is the story of Chito and Yuuri, as they explore the post-apocalyptic ruins of a civilisation that was ended because of… who knows what? That doesn’t really matter. Society is long gone, but our two protagonists aren’t. Super atmospheric and fairly slow-paced: a combination I’ve come to enjoy a lot as of late. Armed with just some basic supplies and their trusty Kettenkrad (a WWII era tractor-truck-motorbike-vehicle thing), they continuously push forward on their journey through a massive city built on multiple layers. The show shares many similarities with simple, cute, slice-of-life shows, but also likes to get a little introspective and philosophical, with the girls often having conversations on such topics as: what is a god to someone who has little to no experience with societal concepts like religion? A particular favourite of mine is episode 9, where the girls meet a cool little robot bro and a cute little fish, which prompts musings on what it means to be alive and the meaning of “empathy”.

The show is brought to us from White Fox, know for shows such as Steins;Gate, Katanagatari and last year’s Re:zero, the former two of which are big favourites of mine. Girls’ Last Tour is a show with a lot of nice, lighthearted moments, a lot of amazingly poignant ones, and plenty of others that are a combination both. A little shout-out to the ending animation as well, which is entirely animated by the author of the manga the show is based on, and in the same style. It’s great. This show is great. It’s a shame a lot of people will discount it due to the inclusion of roughly 0.2 seconds of dabbing featured in the opening…

Recovery of an MMO Junkie

Netojuu no Susume / ネト充のススメ

I don’t have a whole lot to say about this one. Visually, it’s average at best. MMO-anime are also dime-a-dozen at this point. However, MMO Junkie is good because it’s a sweet romance show that not only has some real progress, but also starring characters that aren’t high-school students! That’s a novelty in and of itself. You’d be hard-pressed to find many (or any) contemporary shows whose protagonist is a thirty-something woman.

MMO Junkie is the first production I’ve even heard of from its studio, so I’d be iterested in seeing whatever it is they so happen to tackle next. Anime could certainly do with a few more comfy romance shows that are a little bit removed from can’t-spit-it-out highschool kids.

And so, those were the best animes what I watched this year. Nothing too surprising or out of the ordinary. Like I said, I didn’t watch a whole lot of stuff from this year: in fact, if I remember right, I only watched a single other thing that wasn’t on this list. My on-disc backlog is also starting to reach frankly ridiculous levels of large, so there’s a very real chance that this list next might be clipped down from ten entries. It might not even be the same format, it could very well end up being simply “best anime I watched this year”, regardless of when they were produced.

See you in 2018!

Another year, another top 10 list. Another year of (almost) nothing else being posted on this blog. Curse you, crippling lack of motivation! Anyway, this is now the second of these posts I’ve done for anime, and the format remains unchanged from last year. These are the 10 Top Animes That I Think Are Completely Acceptable or Something and require only an airing or Japanese home-media release date in calendar year 2016 to be eligible for this list and they are in no particular order. 行きましょう！

Flying Witch

I love me some comfy, slice-of-life shows and Flying Witch is one of the comfiest shows I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. Makoto Kowata, our protagonist, is a professional witch in training, and has come, along with her black cat Chito, to Aomori to live with her cousins and study up on whatever it is witches do. A show where every single character is a joy to watch, with standouts being Makoto’s adorable young cousin Chinatsu, Makoto’s older sister Akane, and Inukai, who got really really drunk and ate some sweets which turn her into a dog during daytime. As well as the great, relaxed moments you’d expect from the slice-of-life genre, the show’s comedy is also top-notch, with an impeccable sense of timing, and the way the show subtly marries it’s supernatural elements with the more mundane, everyday life stuff works really well.

Sweetness & Lightning

Kouhei Inuzuka is a high-school teacher, who, after the death of his wife, now lives alone with his preschool-aged daughter, Tsumugi. Her mother was the cook of the house, so lately, the Inuzuka family have been living mostly off of ready meals. After deciding he wants to give his daughter a good meal for once, the two find themselves at a small family restaurant owned by the mother of Kotori Iida, one of Inuzuka’s high-school students. What follows is a show about the three of them (and occasionally a couple of other friends) learning to cook a good meal and eat it together. Though I feel the show falls into the trap of getting a little formulaic at times, there’s a lot to like here. Tsumugi is adorable (helped in no small part by being voiced by an actual child), and the show throws in some melancholic moments that I admit caught me off guard. Sweetness & Lightning is up there with Bunny Drop as shows that might make you want to consider become a father (you know, if I had someone to do that with…).

Mob Psycho 100

Last year brought us One Punch Man, an adaptation of the manga written by an artist who goes by the pseudonym ONE. This year brings us Mob Psycho 100, ONE’s serialised manga, adapted by the prolific studio Bones. If you enjoyed OPM, you’ll likely enjoy MP100, as I feel it does a better job at creating an interesting story and characters, while still maintaining a good sense of comedy. One Punch Man is the manga that ONE writes as a hobby… a mangaka for fun, much like the titular character. Mob Psycho 100, however, is ONE’s actual job… and it shows. Bones also does an incredible job at adapting ONE’s eh… unique artstyle into something that just looks sublime when in motion.

Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-

Re:ZERO is the story of Subaru Natsuki, who finds himself suddenly transported into an alternative, game-like, fantasy world, because of reasons. Soon after entering this world, he meets a half-elf girl named Emilia, whom he immediately takes a liking to and decides to help her recover something that was recently stolen from her. At the end of this small quest, the two of them are brutally murdered.

And then Subaru wakes up, back where he originally started. He discovers he has a unique ability to essentially travel back to a pre-determined point in time, memories/knowledge intact, but can only invoke this power by dying. The show does some interesting things, delving into the effect that constantly dying and reviving can have on that person’s mind, as well as doing interesting things with the tropes often found in these “isekai” (alternate-world) shows. Subaru, our main character, isn’t particularly likeable, but they do some great stuff with his character later on in the show that helps justify it, and there are plenty of other, immediately likeable characters in his place. Re:ZERO also contains what might be my favourite single episode of an anime from this year. It isn’t quite the faultless, 10/10, anime-of-the-year-all-years that some of the fanbase were hyping it up as during its airing, but it’s definitely an interesting show, and I look forward to watching more if future seasons are greenlit.

ERASED

ERASED or, in my opinion, the much more interesting Japanese title Boku dake ga Inai Machi (The Town Where Only I am Missing) introduces us to 29-year-old Satoru Fujinuma, who will inexplicably find himself time leaping back a few minutes whenever a fatal accident is about to occur, a strange power he’s used to save multiple people’s lives. However, someone close to him gets murdered, and being suspected of doing it himself, Satoru funds himself sent back 18 years, to 1998. It’s here that he realises the murder in the present may be connected to the abduction and killing of his classmate Kayo Hinazuki. And so unfolds the story of Satoru trying to discover what really happened all those years ago, as well as prevent the death of his classmate. ERASED is probably one of the shows this year that would probably work well among western audiences that aren’t familiar with anime. It isn’t laden with cliche anime tropes, and tells a plot that honestly wouldn’t be out of place in a western TV show or Hollywood movie. The conclusion feels a tad rushed in my opinion, but overall, ERASED is a pretty fantastic show that is well worth watching.

Tanaka-kun is Always Listless

Tanaka is, as the title would suggest, an incredibly listless young man. He enjoys nothing more than lying about doing nothing. His hobbies are sleeping. The show follows Tanaka, his best bro, Ohta, as well as a few other friends and characters that are steadily introduced in their relatively uneventful daily lives at school and beyond. For a show whose protagonist is a guy who would gladly do nothing more than sit around all day doing nothing, it does a good job of staying pretty engaging throughout, thanks in no small part to it’s wonderful cast of characters. There’s the tiny, adorable and incredibly energetic Miyano, who for some reason greatly admires Tanaka’s listlessness and wants him to make her his apprentice. There’s Echizen, the abrasive tomboy who really likes cute things. There’s the incredibly popular and attractive Shiraishi who goes through great effort to hide the fact she’s a normally plain and boring looking girl. It’s also a nice looking show, with a focus on a softer, pastel colour palette, obviously tying in with the whole relaxed nature of the show.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Yotarou, a former yakuza has just gotten out of prison. He isn’t interested in returning to that life though: he wants to become a rakugo performer. Rakugo is a traditional form of Japanese comedic entertainment, where a performer sits on a stage and, using nothing more than their voice and a couple of generic props, tells a funny story, often long, and featuring multiple characters. Whilst in prison, Yotarou was inspired by the performances of Yakumo Yuurakutei, and begs him to make Yotarou his apprentice. Yakumo eventually gives in. Under Yakumo’s care is a young woman named Konatsu, whose deceased father, Sukeroku Yuurakutei, was another performer, and Yakumo’s best friend and rival. The rest of the series takes place in the past, telling the story of how Yakumo and Sukeroku met, and became rakugo stars. A truly fantastic period drama, the show is probably my favourite of the entire year. Fantastically developed characters, incredible performances by the voice actors, and just an overall well-told story. It ends with us returning to the present, with the second half airing in early 2017, which I await with bated breath.

Persona 3 The Movie #4: Winter of Rebirth

The conclusion to the anime adaptation of one of my favourite video games of all time. Although I would need to probably marathon through them again to be 100% sure, I think this final movie my be my favourite of the four. There’s a section of the film where the cast have, for lack of a better term, lost their way, and it’s just dripping with atmosphere, dominated by oppressive colour palettes. I love me some atmosphere. Plus the fact it’s the conclusion to a pretty great story. Although the film series as a whole suffers from the same thing most video game adaptations do (that is, a lot of stuff not being included), since you’re compressing an almost 100 hour game into 4 90 minute films, it’s still an overall great experience.

 

KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!

As mentioned earlier, alternate-world (or isekai) anime are all the rage lately, and KonoSuba is another one of those. But the thing that sets it apart is that it’s a comedy, through and through. Our protagonist, Satou Kazuma, is a high-school-aged NEET, who on his way back from buying a new game, dies a pathetic and hilarious death. He then meets the (rather obnoxious) goddess Aqua, who gives him the choice of either continuing on to heaven, or reincarnating in an alternate-fantasy world, with the choice of any item to take with him. So he chooses the fantasy-world, and chooses to bring Aqua with him, dragging her off her throne. Turns out, Aqua isn’t very useful in this world, her only magic abilities limited to water-based party-tricks. Their party eventually grows to include Megumin, a young arch-wizard who loves explosions so much so knows only the most powerful explosion magic… which incapacitates her for the rest of the day when she casts it, and Darkness, a crusader and massive masochist, who dreams of being ravaged by men and monsters alike. It also turns out the fantasy-world isn’t quite as cushy as it might be in games, as Kazuma and Aqua find out, having to sleep in the stables and struggling to make living expenses. Comedy is obviously very subjective, but KonoSuba hits all the right marks for me, a show that gleefully plays around with the fantasy tropes so common in other shows and games.

New Game!

And we end my top 10 with a 100%, bona fide show abut cute girls doing cute things. Aoba Suzukaze is fresh out of high-school and is now working at Eaglejump, the company that made an RPG she loved when she was still in grade school. She quickly finds herself working as a character artist, making 3D models of NPCs for the studio’s newest RPG. Comparison might be initially made to last year’s Shirobako, however, those two shows have very little in common. You’re not going to learn anything meaningful or genuine about working in game development from New Game! Like I said, this is a show about cute girls and the cute things they do. And it has that in spades.

 

 

Honourable Mentions

There are a handful of other anime from this year that I watched and enjoyed, but just weren’t quite up to the task of making the top 10. Amanchu! is a wonderfully sweet show from the director and mangaka that brought you the fantastic Aria series, Space Patrol Luluco is more fantastically unbridled nonsense from those lovable goofs at Studio TRIGGER, Orange has a lot going for it, but was ultimately let down by the two main characters being (in my opinion) the least interesting of the main cast and Food Wars! The Second Plate is more Food Wars, which is great, but it’s only half the length of the first season and the pacing is kind of all over the place. Enjoyable, but doesn’t quite make the cut. The first Kizumonogatari movie is really, really good, but as a movie, it just doesn’t stand up on its own, since all it really does is set up the rest of the story.

There’s also a handful of anime from this year that have my interest, or I was planning on watching, but haven’t gotten around to, mostly from the Fall season: Sound! Euphonium 2 is the second season of my of favourites from last year, Drifters is a show from the same mangaka of Hellsing, and Gi(a)rlish Number seems to be a funny and incredibly cynical look at the anime industry.

And that’s it for this years look at the animes I thought were alright this year. See you again in 2017!

Wait… anime?

What, you thought I was only ever going to talk about video games here?

Anime is a relatively new hobby for me. Discounting the Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh I watched as a kid, I only started watching anime at all around two years or so ago. But I’ve watched a decent amount in that time, and the time spent watching it this year accounts for a lot of the time I didn’t spend playing games. So I figured I might as well do one of my annual best-of posts for anime as well. Maybe having a whole other medium to write about will hasten the updates of this blog.

Probably not.

Anyway, similar to the gaming best-of, an anime just needs to have had a release sometime in calendar year 2015 to be eligible for this list. In the context of anime, that generally means that an episode aired in Japan sometime this year. For movies, theatrical and home media releases both count. And like the gaming best-off, these are in no particular order.

Shokugeki no Sōma

An incredibly fun, intense, hype show about… cooking. Food Wars, as I believe is its official English title, is how I imagine a Dragonball-esque shounen show with all the crazy battles replaced with cooking. Our main character, Soma Yukihira, is an almost high-school age dude (about 14-15 in Japan) who runs a small diner with his dad. Both of them are hella fuckin’ baller at making food. One day, his dad decides he’s off to travel the world for a bit, so while he’s away he secured Soma a spot in Toutsuki Academy, a high-school for the absolute culinary elite, with a tiny graduation rate due to the insane standards. Soma is somewhat arrogant and wants to be the top-dog at the school, but to get there, he has to defeat anyone who stands in his way at shokugeki – the school’s traditional form of dual. The premise is kinda dumb, but the execution is superb, with a great cast of characters and great animation. There’s also a large amount of… foodgasms. The guy who draws the original manga is known for being a hentai artist… Overall, pretty great.

One Punch Man

I don’t ever rank the things I put on these lists, but hold a gun to my head and make me, One Punch Man might be my #1. I’d go so far as to say that if you have even the slightest passing interest in either anime or western-style superheroes, you ought to watch One Punch Man. Saitama is pretty much the epitome of the oblivious, uninterested dude, who’s a hero just “for fun”. But he is so powerful that any enemy he comes across is felled with just… one punch. To the point he’s become bored at the complete lack of challenge. Genuinely funny, as well as being able to remain exciting throughout with a protagonist who finishes every fight with almost literally no effort. It’s a shame that the anime industry generally isn’t conducive to sequels, so waiting for more will likely be a long wait. Fortunately, the manga is probably just as good.

 

Owarimonogatari

The latest instalment in the what is now fairly long-running Monogatari Series. Monogatari is really fucking weird. Like, definitely-would-not-recommend-to-people-who-don’t-watch-a-lot-of-anime-and-even-for-those-who-have-is-still-love-it-or-hate-it weird. Incredibly dialogue heavy. Large amounts of (somewhat untranslatable) Japanese humour. Crazy art-direction and cinematography. A little bit more fanservice than most people would probably be comfortable with. For fans of the show, Owarimonogatari is among the best its been, but describing it’s merits to someone unfamiliar can be difficult, especially in this particular short-form format. Perhaps I will one day do something on the series as a whole. Perhaps not. Those interested in the show should start with 2009’s Bakemonogatari, then proceed through the others in release order.

Charlotte

If I gave out different categories of awards, Charlotte would almost certainly win “Most Potential Squandered”. Similar to Angel Beats, creator Jun Maeda’s previous work, Charlotte is marred with pretty horrendous pacing issues. But like Angel Beats, the entire premise of the show is really interesting, with a set of characters that deserved more time for development. But like Angel Beats, Maeda tries to tell a story whose scope is not very well suited to a standard 13 episode anime. The result is a show that I was really enjoying for the first half, before the main plot kicked in without nearly enough episodes left to tell it, and I finished somewhat disappointed. Overall, I mostly enjoyed it, and it stuck with me, though mostly for negative reasons. While not a total trainwreck, and definitely worth watching for the earlier episodes, just be ready to leave thinking this should’ve had another 12 episodes.

 

Non Non Biyori Repeat

The second season of Non Non Biyori, a show that reminds me what it felt like going outside to play with my friends back when I was still in primary school. It invokes a strong feeling of nostalgia in me. A slice-of-life show about a group of friends ranging from ages 6-7 to around 15 living in a rural countryside Japanese town. Charming, funny, heartwarming and very relaxing to watch. Felt good coming in from work on a Monday night and just chilling, and watching Renge and co. get up to… well, nothing in particular; the kinds of things you did with your friends when you where little kids.

Sound! Euphonium

The latest from Kyoto Animation, who are at this point probably my favourite animation studio. Set in high-school, like most of their works, Euphonium focuses on the school’s concert band. The school at one time used to participate in national tournaments, but as of late haven’t even made it to the qualifying tournaments. This changes due to the arrive of the club’s new, friendly, but strict instructor, and the band itself decides to try for the nationals. The story focuses a lot on the commitment required to build up their strength as an orchestra, as well as the drama that can occur between members – a more talented, but less popular student being given a solo to play, for instance. I was never much of a musically-talented person, but discussion from other “band kids” on the Internet show just how faithful the representation of being in a highschool band can be. Being a KyoAni show, it’s not all drama of course, with plenty of lighthearted, more slice-of-life type moments, as well as just gorgeous animation. Seriously, Sound! Euphonium might be the best looking TV animation I’ve ever seen.

Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works

Fate/stay night is a visual novel, with three distinct story routes. The Fate route, the Unlimited Blade Works route, and the Heaven’s Feel route. This is an adaptation of the second, brought to us by animation studio Ufotable, a studio noted for being up there with KyoAni for producing gorgeous looking shows. The Fate franchise is pretty fucking convoluted, so I’m not going to go into too much detail. Basically, the Holy Grail (as in,  the omnipotent wish-granting device) exists. Occasionally a bunch of dudes duke it out to claim it, known as a Holy Grail War. Each “master” summons a “servent”, who is a physical manifestation of the lore and legend of a well-known person from any point in time. Every body tries to kill each other and the last person standing wins. This show is the story of one such of these Holy Grail Wars. It’s pretty decent. Gets a bit up its own arse sometimes, but has a ton of cool moments and fight sequences. You know, if you’re into that.

Shirobako

Shirobako (literally: white box) is an anime about… making anime. A group of five highschool girls are part of their school’s animation club and pledge that one day they’ll all work together on a professional anime title. And then before you can think “oh god, not another highschool slice-of-life show”, it timeskips ahead a few years to where two of the girls already have burgeoning careers at an animation studio. I’ll admit, I like slice-of-life and cute-girls-doing-cute-things more than I probably should, but it’s refreshing to see a similar type of show, but with characters older than highschool age. But not only that, Shirobako gives a genuinely fantastic insight into Japan’s animation industry and the sort of work that goes into producing a typical late-night anime episode. Everything from the drawing of keyframes and inbetweens, to the casting process for voice actors, to having to deal with the companies that own the source material of the anime you’re making, to having to deliver the show to the TV stations before it airs. A huge cast of characters, most of whom are very well fleshed out, many of which feel like… well, real people just trying to make a career in a very harsh industry. Fantastic show.

Persona 3 The Movie: #2 Midsummer Knight’s Dream

Persona 3 is one of my favourite video games of all time. A fantastic blend of social/life simulator and dungeon-crawling RPG, with an incredible story and memorable cast of characters. The follow-up, Persona 4 is arguably the better game, mechanically, but something about 3‘s world and bittersweet plot stuck with me. Like Persona 4, 3 is also getting its own anime adaptation, though in the form of 4 movies as opposed to Persona 4‘s 25 episode TV show. Midsummer Knight’s Dream starts pretty much where the first one left off and introduces Aigis, everyone’s favourite robot lady. I can’t really delve too deep without getting spoilery, which I don’t like to do here. Basically, in Persona 3, you summon your “persona” (which is a physical manifestation of your inner psyche) by pointing a gun-like object (an “evoker”) at your head and pulling the trigger. Then, rather than your skull splattering against the wall, a bunch of light shoots out and your persona appears. You do this for almost every attack in battle. It’s pretty fucking baller.

Your Lie in April

I don’t have much to say about this one, because I don’t want to say too much about this one.

If you want something on the more emotional side and you happen to like classical music… well, you’re in for a trip.

A feels trip. Hope you’ve got your permission slips.

 

 

So that’s that. Them’s are the top 10 animes what I watched this year that I think are completely alright or something. This is the first anime post I’ve written here, and you can probably expect to see more in the future, what with anime taking up a large amount of my free time (and income) as of late. My top 10 list of video games will drop fairly soon as well, likely before the new year, so look forward to that.

Also, if you happen to be into the animu, and have a MAL profile, mine is here if you’re so interested.