This and last week marked the end of Fall 2013 season as well as 2013's line up of anime. In fact, it was the first full year from Jan-Dec that I actually watched anime as they were airing at 1 episode per week per series. But boy oh boy, this year was amazing and pumped out many good titles. I counted a total of 44 full series watched, some shorts, many OVAs, several extras, and 7 on-going from Fall into Winter 2014. For this wrap-up post, I decided to go with the "best ____" and "most ____" approach etc.
Amateras Records - Selfish Trick (わがままトリック)
Best Slice of Life
No blood shed, no crazy characters, no drama, no feels-moment, no sword slinging action, no plot twist, no climax. Non Non Biyori is a heartwarming series of everyday life unfolding with cuteness and hilarity that can be enjoyed again and again. Every episode kept me smiling the entire way through.
Best Storyline
Shingeki no Kyojinhas it in the basket despite only being partially complete. The execution was good and got me craving for more after the end of each episode. There's just an insatiable element as there are so many mysteries still remaining such as origin of the Titans and what's inside the basement of Eren's crumbled house. The hype and craze over SnK is rather over the top though, like really really... over the top.
Another title worthy of this "best" is Suisei no Gargantia that takes place on a revitalized earth after all the glaciers have melted. The story unfolds in a serene environment while touching on humanity issues with plot twists thrown in. Extremely satisfied with this one as it ended conclusively as well.
Best Comedy
Comedy... my favorite genre. NouComeis one of those gems in a pile of rough with overdone cliche characters and jokes that manages to be endlessly entertaining as heck. Even with a touch of harem element, the male MC is actually likable and not some brain-dead-dense-stupid-cunt-fish that will leave you feeling like time well wasted *cough Infinite Stratos 2 cough*
Best Action
Yokuraza Quartet: Hana no Umi took me by surprise. I was initially put off due to the original series but upon seeing this gif. (that gave me the hhhnggggg!! of the century) and realizing HnU is set in an alternative world, I gave it a try and was sucked in. This show seriously got the best action sequences ever and the animation is top notch. The ecchi is not forced, silly moments are abundant, and characters are absolutely adorable and unique.
Top Guilty Pleasure
This goes to Ro-Kyu-Bu! SS. I don't think elaboration is necessary. Story is nice too, of course.
Biggest Let Down
THEY RUINED ONE OF MY FAVORITE RETARDED SERIES. The first and second series was so stupid it was funny, which was the redeeming merit that made it good. BUT(!) here we have Futari wa Milky Holmes, where everyone is serious as a brick without an ounce of stupidity.
PS. gif. is from the good series, of course we don't get this cuteness in the new version
Honorable Mentions
Highly enjoyable, would re-watch 10/10
Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio: Ars Nova - Tsundere. Heavy. Cruiser Chihayafuru 2- This is love. Aiura - dem legs Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo? OP-ass MC Yuyushiki- puppet theory!! Love Live! Idol Project - sugoi sugoi sugoi! White Album 2- This is real love.
Looking forward to a wonderful 2014 of anime.
Merry New Years to everyone.
Here's a little story of my overlooking'ness that lead to a surprise in the end.
>Bus and train rides to school are boring
>Not a manga person
>Decides to check local library for manga anyway
>This one looks interesting
>Borrows Bokurano
>Check reviews later at home
>8 or 9 outta 10, not bad
>Completely overlook that there is an anime adaptation
>Convinced to the core there isn't one
>Begins reading
>Gets into it, pretty damn good
>Sad "knowing" there is no anime
>On volume 8 of 12 now
>Watching this smexy anime Yokuraza Quartet HnU
>Checks out other anime directed by same guy
>Sees Bokurano on the list
>wtf
>looks harder
>WTF
>*click click*
>looks even harder
>OSHITOSHITOSHIT
>Immediately starts watching
>Opening song plays
>HOLY MEATBALLS OF DRAGON WHALES
>Already know and like song
>No idea where it was from
>Uninstall
12.27.13 update:
Just finished anime adaptation, and manga day before. Both are amazing pieces of work but will go with manga being better especially the last battle.
I've been listening to the Fairy Tail OSTs and woke up one morning with this song in my head. It's really nice, nice song for easy listening too.
Fairy Tail Ending Theme - Tsuioku Merry-Go-Round
Today I'm gonna talk about Mitsudomoe!
Simply put, Mitsudomoe is an anime that will make your insides hurt, and you're gonna crave this hurt after the dosage of one episode! Yep, one episode is all it takes to understand what this anime is about and trust me, you're gonna want more. So it's a random comedy centered on three sisters. And why is this anime worth watching over other comedies? Here's why...
It's got inappropriate humor, adorable characters, not-so-adorable characters, pitiful characters, randomness, funny reaction faces, blood, violence, hamster, roaches, cats, non-stop el-oh-el moments, d'awwwwwww moments, and Hitoha. Who the eff is Hitoha? This here is Hitoha, or commonly referred to as Sanjo-San ("youngest").
Hitoha often gives of an evil aura but in actuality, she means no harm is very gentle inside most the time, which often results in hilarious results. She's also the maturest of the three sisters and a free thinker. Her cheeks are also soft like boobs =T. The middle sister, Futuba is martial art fanatic/strong/competitive in nature and completely oblivious to embarrassment. That gives it infinite potential for funny already. The oldest is a bitch, that's all I'll say. I can't even remember her name hahah. I thoroughly enjoyed it having not seen a comedy like this one in a while. I did put it off for like 7-8 months after finding it too.
In the end, Mitsudomoe gets my Commy Meddy star of approval. A recommended watch for anyone who wants a good laugh.
To pick up from the previous post, I managed to marathon Fairy Tail just in time to wait along with fans from around the world for the release of the last episode. So did it live up to my expectations? For the most part, YES! There was an arc that just felt like a drag but this doesn't ruin the entire series. On the whole, most arcs played out as anticipated for a shounen genre series where the main character for no reason just wins the fight even though he's badly wounded and ran out of mana. However(!), that does not take away from the epicness and engaging action, not to mention emotional and el-oh-el moments.
One of the merits of Fairy Tail is that all the main characters have a
strong background - and not just something shallow. After much thought, I decided to give it a 10/10. The "bonus points" it scored from the small things, overall enjoyment, and funny moments completely made up for any shortcomings and predictable results. And the comedy scenes absolutely fits my taste.
In other news, I just completed the Amagami SS series today. I haven't really been a fan of omnibus anime where the anime is broken into multiple arcs depicting different timelines - or parallel universes if you will - of the main character having a happily ever after with different girls.
The premise of the anime is high school romance where boy meets girl followed by a stream of touchy lovey-dovey development. I actually have a soft spot for stuff like this because many of the scenes reminded me of the feelings I've long forgotten about when I was dating - during my high school and college days. Amagami SS resonated very well with me and reminded me of what love feels like. For instance, holding hands for the first time, special kisses, close face-to-face contact, and anticipation of who knows what will happen next. Each arc was different enough to keep the story fresh and romance elements to keep me grinning through and through. The characters made me wish I was back in high school again with the chance to date in that setting. Amagami SS was a good watch, I recommend it for anyone wanting something in the romance genre.
P.S. Ayatsugi Tsukasa - the girl in the foreground is my favorite out of the six =)
Mina-san konnichiwa! I finally decided to start a separate blog to write all my anime related adventures.
A little about this blog: it'll be whatever that comes to mind, excited news, updates on my new watches, maybe some reviewing, and just to keep track of my anime related activities worth sharing. For the most part, everything will be spoiler free unless it contains a huge warning "SPOILER" sign because I know how killer they are. Every post, I will link a track from something I love and can melt my heart in or something from ages past that I am nostalg-ing over. Without further ado:
Fairy Tail Theme - Slow Version on Harp
One of those long running anime I recently picked up was Fairy Tail. Why Fairy Tail among the other ones? Most of the time, my selection is based on a desire for some type of setting and genre and Fairy Tail fit the bill. As soon as I started, I was thinking "no way this can be so good." A few episodes in and I'm dying from laughter. Another few more episodes and I'm full of feels; then repeat as another arc starts and ends. I've been taken on an emotional roller coaster ride I did not expect. Fairy Tail did a really good job so far tugging at my heart strings. I started around Tuesday and watched up to episode 98 of 200(?), it's currently airing still but is due to end on March 30th!
When I started, I immediately noticed the similarities to Dragon Quest games in terms of setting and how the plot plays out. As the emotional stuff kicked in, it made me think of Final Fantasy as well. I guess that is why I like it so much since those 2 are some of my favorite RPG series. I'll go more into how it plays out as a whole when I'm done.
Many people have said Fairy Tail goes downhill from a point on. I'll pass my own judgement when I finish it, sure hope it doesn't though.
