A few more anime-related lists · 6:01pm Dec 19th, 2013
Guilty Pleasures
I'm glad to say that I'm not an elitist when it comes to enjoying things, and anime is no exception. I'll freely admit that the following anime aren't that objectively great (if objectivity in appreciating art is even possible), but I still like them.
#5: Kin'iro Mosaic
This show could have been excellent. The first episode is absolutely adorable in all the right ways, and it had a great theme of people being able to connect despite language barriers. But sadly that first episode was only the setup to what turned out to be a predictable slice-of-life show that did hardly anything new. The final episode actually kicked things up a notch by having a full-blown musical section, but it still never reached the same level of greatness as that golden first episode. I like this show, but I wish I could've liked it more.
#4: Yuru Yuri
The title translates into English as "easygoing yuri", which basically sums up the whole show. A bunch of schoolgirls live out their daily lives and they're all secretly gay for each other, which makes it kind of a perverted show when you consider that they must only be about 14 or 15. But there is still some interesting character interaction in there, even if they are rather flat characters. The one scene in the show I remember best and liked the most simply had the main character sitting on her own and waiting for a train (like Waiting for Godot, but with much less existentialism). Also the soundtrack to this show is surprisingly good, even if the opening and ending themes are rather dull.
#3: Ninja Scroll
The film, not the TV series. With a better handling of the plot then this could've been a lot more engaging, and it would've been easier to take it seriously, but the film basically has a standard video game plot (fight some enemies, do this task, fight the big boss at the end). But the action sequences in this film are very well-done indeed, and there are some occasional changes in the art style that give the film an incredibly dramatic look. It also gets bonus badass points for being super-duper violent and having some slightly-more-than-suggestive sex scenes in there.
#2: Dominion: Tank Police
This show has everything a cop show needs: the pretty-but-feisty leading lady, her bland male love interest, the stressed-out chief, the nerdy guy, and even the muscly black guy! So it's almost strange to think that the manga that this is based on was written by Shirow Masamune, the man behind Ghost in the Shell. But it does have his touch on it, since there's plenty of robots and some philosophy about humanity thrown in there. That mostly gets overshadowed by the hilarious action sequences, cheesy old-school dance music and bad English dubbing, though, which I don't really mind, since it's just so fun to watch.
#1: Boys Be...
Even though Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex is the first anime I ever watched, I actually finished this show before I finished that one (so it's arguable over which one I really watched first). Anyway, even though the animation, music and voice acting in this show leave a lot to be desired, I can still watch it and not be bothered about any of that. It's told almost entirely from a male perspective, but the female characters are far from just eye candy. This show takes the idea of high-school crushes and plays it totally straight, with any comedy in there being only added as an afterthought. The end result of this creates a feeling of nostalgia for me, because it reminds me of when I was about 14 and properly dealing with girls for the first time. Heck, I can like something for nostalgic reasons! This is my list, after all.
Ending themes
Most anime fans list their favourite opening themes, which I can understand since they're such a big part of a show, but it means more to me if I can find an ending theme I like. If I'm watching an anime series then I'll only sit through the ending theme if I actually like it, since the episode is already over, so I'll just skip it if I think it's boring (whereas I can put up with waiting through a boring opening theme). Here are some that are more than worth sitting through but an actual pleasure to sit through, with Youtube links.
#5: Lullaby of the Wind - Megazone 23
The first Megazone 23 OVA in particular embodies everything that seemed cool about the 80's, including the music. It's got a great sing along chorus, some really retro synths and drums, and some huge-sounding sampled strings in the outro. It's nothing too new if you've already heard and like 80's pop, but of course if you do then I'm sure you'll love it.
#4: If I've been Enveloped in Tenderness - Kiki's Delivery Service
Forget the opening and ending songs in the English dubbed version, the original Japanese ones are much better (in fact, don't bother with the English dub at all, they added a bunch of unnecessary extra lines). The happiest Studio Ghibli films I've seen have left me feeling incredibly uplifted after I've finished watching them, something that I like to call a "Ghibli high". And this song at the end of Kiki's Delivery Service reminds me of that great "Ghibli high" feeling, even if I actually prefer My Neighbour Totoro as a film.
One thing I sometimes forget about Kaiba is that it's a love story at heart. This song certainly emphasises that part of the plot, and I'm sure that it's meant to be told from Neiro's point of view towards Kaiba himself. It's also about the mystery and uncertainty of the future, something that can trouble any of us. The song itself makes a suitably quiet end to each episode, giving the viewer plenty of time to think over what's just happened.
#2: Natsumachi - Aria the Natural (ED1)
I've nearly finished Aria the Origination, but I preferred the Natural just for being the calming and soothing show that it is. The music definitely forms part of this mood (if not most of it!), so the ending theme was always going to have a lot to live up to; it passes this test with flying colours. Along with the lovely art in the ending sequence, this makes a damn near perfect ending for the show.
This does one thing in music that I almost always hate, and makes it good: the "pointless key change", when the key signature simply goes up by a semitone for the last third of a song. It sounds terrible and cheesy in most songs that use it, but SOMEHOW it genuinely sounds uplifting in this song. And that's not all, either. The whole thing is incredibly catchy and sweet, with some pretty meaningful lyrics (assuming that the translation I read was correct). There's three versions of this song, too, and I like this acapella mix best (even though it's not really acapella, it's just stripped down).
Best Anime series of 2013
What the title says, basically. I haven't seen every single anime show that aired this year, of course, but I'm still entitled to make a list of the ones I like best.
#5: WataMote
This is pretty much a total reversal of the idea of "moe" in anime, while still making the viewer feel for the main character. Instead of a show where we watch sociable girls go out and become BFF's, we watch a stay-at-home loser of a girl stumble through her highschool years (while she calls the popular girls sluts). It's almost painful to watch in terms of cringe levels, but it's got a strange sense of humour running through it as well to keep things in check. The only downside is that Tomoko hardly develops as a character, she's always the same awkward girl, so it's like starting from square one each episode. But that does leave room open for a second season, so I don't mind that. There's still time for more.
#4: Tamako Market
I like this show because of: the music, Dera, the music, Kanna, the music, the love triangle that emerges and, yeah, the music! (Did I forget to mention that?) It's an unfocused show as a whole, but I don't really mind. It was just great fun to tune in each week and find out what lovely tune new development we'd get in the market. Some episodes are cute, some are romantic and some are hilarious. This show is getting a second season in 2014, which ought to be pretty swell, so I'm hoping there'll finally be some closure to the stuff that never got resolved.
#3: Attack on Titan
This show is actually a mixed bag. When it's good it's simply fantastic, but when it falls short of good it's absolutely frustrating. The plot is paced very strangely, with some key events being presented as nothing but infodumps, whereas fight sequences that take up less than a day in the storyline take several episodes. And sometimes it's agonisingly slow, when it focuses far too much on what the characters are thinking and/or feeling than actually advancing the story. But at its best the story is so involving and fascinating that it's incredible. And that hook at the end is an absolute killer. The story is in no way finished, so the show surely must continue. I'd be astonished if it didn't.
#2: Kill la Kill
Brain off, awesome on. Each episode Ryuko has some ridiculous enemy to fight and somehow defeats them with her living uniform. That's all that happens in the show, but it's such good fun that it makes a reliably good formula. I actually prefer Mako as a character, along with her family, for her completely unstoppable enthusiasm for everything Ryuko does, and for being hilarious. The animation ranges in quality from incredible to absolutely crappy, which I think is actually used pretty well (the incredible animation backs up the action sequences, whereas the crappy animation backs up the silly comedy scenes). I have no idea how this show will end, but it'll probably be with a big, spectacular bang.
#1: The Flowers of Evil
I'm only half way through watching this show and it's already good enough to make the top of this list. It seems that a lot of people were put off by the rotoscoped animation and art, but it doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I think it's an excellent combination, since it combines the expressive capabilities of live actors with the artistic possibilities of animation. But it's not just that, not at all. The story and characters are completely believable, and the combination of music with sound effects creates a completely engaging atmosphere. And, my god, the show itself is so unbelievably tense that it leaves me on tenterhooks each episode with a tension that just keeps on mounting as the show goes on. I wouldn't be surprised if, by the time I've finished it, this turns out to be one of the best anime series I've ever seen.
Haha I've heard of Yuruyuri...it actually sounds right up my alley (like I'm not sure if you know but I really like loli characters and I also really like lesbians haha...haaaa...damn). I wasn't aware of Kiniro Mosaic but it also sounds like something I could just sit down in watch (kind of sounds like a nice cool off kind off anime...something to watch in bed on a laptop after a bad day). Heard of Ninja Scroll but never actually watched it. Haven't heard Dominon: Tokyo Police but it does sound really awesome. Unfortunately if ever did watch Boys Be... I'd probably have to psyche myself up...I read a bit of the plot and it seems kinda depressing.
I really loved that Kiki's Delievery Service song...it was sort folk-sy and just...really nice. Of course I love all the music in Kaiba and Nichijou...in fact I've just now thought of finding a soundtrack or something so I can upload them to my google music. I also liked the Aria ending...which reminds me that I STILL need to watch that because it looks really good. Unfortunately I wasn't a huge fan of the Megazone one but it was like you said it was a lot like 80's pop which I'm not overly fond of beside a very few handful of artists (not bad, just not my thing). That reminds me that I wanted to share this ending with you. Not so much the music (it's pretty good music though...kinda standard jpop/rock) or even really the animation but the art. Man I just love that really simple but unique way of drawing the characters (not too different from Kaiba really). Sadly I can't say much of my favorite anime openings or endings because I've forgotten or at this point end up never listening to them.
KILL! LA! KILL! KILL! LA! KILL! Man I just can't get over how much I love that anime but you already know how much I love it so let's just leave it at that. I never watched Attack on Titan but I did start reading the manga when the anime came out and I really love it. Like...literally one the best cast of characters I've seen in a very long time. Also a really engaging story (or as I like to call it "what's in the fucking basement Eren?"). I can't really say anything about the pacing though because even though its the same story a chapter in the manga and an episode of the anime are...I guess you could say formatted differently. Like one chapter could cover two episodes or one episode could cover two chapters. Same with AOT I've been reading Watamote and I feel the same...I have no idea what the word is for the opposite of schadenfreude is but this anime is basically THAT the anime (like actually feeling really bad and embarassed by her misfortune). It is funny and ALMOST relatable. It's like oh yeah I'm pretty awkward sometimes myself but in Watamote's case, taken to the nth degree and...uuuugh. Still it IS pretty entertaining. Never saw Tamako Market but I do remember you telling me you liked it...ultimately it will end up in the queue of infinity (or...all the animes I want to see or have been recommended to me but ultimately don't have much time to watch). WOAH! Are you telling me there's an anime in rotoscope...man I actually really love that! Oh you know what I've actually seen some screenshots of this anime and they blew me away. I've been meaning to watch it but yeah...queue of infinity.