Jacquie’s 2018 Year in Review – Anime

Looking back, I didn’t have incredibly strong feelings about any series I watched in this past year. So I considered the titles that I rated most highly at MyAnimeList, that is, the ones that scored an 8 or high-7, as I did not give any 9s or 10s last year. However, there were 2 notable series that did not get ratings at all because they were not anime: an American cartoon that was based on a Japanese video game, and a Japanese-Taiwanese co-production puppet show, both on their second seasons. And honestly, I think those were more flawless than the other titles on my short-list!

Things are certainly continuing to be weird here at Jacquieandbini. You may recall I selected a 3D CG short (Ikemen Sengoku: Bromances Across Time) as my Anime of the Year for 2017. For 2018, two non-anime series are dominating my year-end “anime” chart. I don’t think you’re likely see a Top 10 like this anywhere else!

I’m keeping it simple this time. Please follow the links if you wish to view the previous write-ups.

☆ Top 10 Anime or Anime-like Series:

#1. CASTLEVANIA Season 2 (8 episodes)

Aired Autumn 2018
(streaming: NETFLIX)

#2. Thunderbolt Fantasy: Sword Seekers (Touri-ken Yuuki) (season 2) (13 episodes)

Aired Autumn 2018
(streaming: Crunchyroll)

#3. The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These (Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These – Kaikou) (12 episodes)

Aired Spring 2018
(streaming: Crunchyroll)

#4. SCHOOL BABYSITTERS (Gakuen Babysitters) (12 episodes)

Aired Winter 2018
(streaming: Crunchyroll)

#5. DOUBLE DECKER! Doug & Kirill (13 episodes)

Aired Autumn 2018
(streaming: Crunchyroll)

#6. MEGALO BOX (13 episodes)

Aired Spring 2018
(streaming: Crunchyroll)

#7. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. 2 (Saiki Kusuo no Psi Nan 2) (24 episodes)

Aired Winter 2018 to Spring 2018

#8. How to keep a mummy (Miira no Kaikata) (12 episodes)

Aired Winter 2018
(streaming: Crunchyroll)

#9. Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san (Gaikotsu Shoten’in Honda-san) (12 episodes)

Aired Autumn 2018
(streaming: Crunchyroll)

#10. BANANA FISH (24 episodes)

Aired Summer 2018 to Autumn 2018

☆ The Biggest Slogs:
There were a few shows that seemed very promising in the beginning but ultimately felt like a chore to get through, with no real payoff at the end. The dubious honours in this category go to:

01. Angels of Death (aired Summer 2018, Crunchyroll)
02. SANRIO BOYS (aired Winter 2018, Crunchyroll)
03. Phantom in the Twilight (aired Summer 2018, Crunchyroll)

☆ Anime Songs TOP 10 COUNTDOWN:

10. INKYA IMPULSE, by Honda Hanako(cv:Kino Hina), Olivia(cv:Nagae Rika), Nomura Kasumi(cv:Kohara Konomi) feat. Ikepy & KSKN (ASOBI ASOBASE ED)

09. Heavenly Visitor, by TRIGGER (IDOLiSH7 ED3)

08. KISS OF DEATH, by Nakashima Mika (Produced by HYDE) (DARLING in the FRANXX OP)

07. Growth Arrow, by OLDCODEX (Butlers X Battlers OP)

06. One Side, by OLDCODEX (SERVAMP: Alice in the Garden Main Theme)

05. Treasure, by Narek (cv: Ishikawa Kaito) & Vino (cv: Umehara Yuuichirou) (Dame x Prince ANIME CARAVAN ED3)

04. The Perfect World, by Marty Friedman feat. Jean-Ken Johnny & KenKen (B: The Beginning ED)

03. His/Story, by Nishikawa Takanori (Thunderbolt Fantasy: Sword Seekers OP)

02. narrative, by SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]:LiSA (MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM NARRATIVE Main Theme)

01. Roll the Dice, by Nishikawa Takanori (Thunderbolt Fantasy: Sword Seekers ED)

Jacquie’s 2018 Year in Review – Music

2018’s Jacquie Awards go to:

☆ BEST SONG

THE MORTAL” by the GazettE, from the album “NINTH

☆ BEST SINGLE (A-side & B-sides)

His/Story / Roll the Dice” by Nishikawa Takanori (OP & ED for Thunderbolt Fantasy: Sword Seekers, composed by Sawano Hiroyuki)
(Available on iTunes Canada)


Honourable mention: “Heading to Over” by OLDCODEX – I loved all the B-sides (Bang, Another Point, and also Clean Out) but never warmed up to the title track, which served as the Free! -Dive to the Future- OP.

☆ BEST FULL-LENGTH ALBUM

XIII” by lynch.
Favourite tracks: SENSE OF EMPTINESS, AMBLE
(Available on iTunes Canada)


Runner up: “NINTH” by the GazettE
Favourite tracks: THE MORTAL, Falling, Sonokoe wa Moroku
(Available on iTunes Canada)

Jacquie’s 2018 Year in Review – Gaming

I have continued to play Ikemen Sengoku: Romances Across Time daily in 2018, marking more than one full year of play. I typically have a short attention span for games, so I’m pretty certain this is the longest time that I have stuck with any electronic game in all of my life!

2018 saw the release of Main Routes for 3 more warlords: Shingen (the flirt) in March, Kenshin (the yandere) in June, and finally Mitsunari (the angel) in October. Shingen, of course, is my best guy and I had been anticipating his route since before I even downloaded the app. His story was a little bumpy in the beginning, but ultimately did not disappoint – Shingen is sweet, forward-thinking, has a great self-deprecating sense of humour – I just love him! The Dramatic Route was more unique than the Romantic Route, but both were excellent.

Kenshin failed to win me over as the damaged, controlling boyfriend who needed to be saved. Sure, it’s a common story; girl falls in love, only to learn too late that her new guy has issues, so she ends up sacrificing her own time/freedom/money, gladly, for the sake of love. It could even happen to me in real life. But that’s so not how I want my fantasy romance to go! I completed Kenshin’s Dramatic Route only (to be fair, the epilogue was A+), but so far I have not felt like going back for the other ending.

Mitsunari’s route impressed me. I did not expect to like him as much as I did, especially after the way his story started. I guess I do tend to find the highly intelligent do-gooder types appealing (as opposed to the bad boys, which seem to be the preference for many girls). His Romantic Route was by far the better version; it was really fun.


Happy New Year, everyone!