Tag Archives: seasonal ranking

Mid-Winter 2015 Anime Ranking

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Let’s start the year off by highlighting some theme songs – just like last year. The best current OP/ED songs according to me are as follows:

1. Last Theater, by NoisyCell (Death Parade ED)
2. Akatsuki no Hana, by Cyntia (YONA OF THE DAWN OP2)
3. FOCUS, by Showtaro Morikubo (GARO ED2)

We’re watching less than usual this season, only 15 series, attributable to a shortage of free time and a shortage of patience. Nearly half of those 15 are continuing shows, so you’ll notice some repeat from the mid-autumn ranking. Five are sequels (more déjà vu); and we’ve picked up only 3 completely new series.

Unlike last winter, though, there’s actually a lot of good stuff this time around.


01. GARO THE ANIMATION (GARO: Honoo no Kokuin) (ep. 13-21) – After a moving season opener, GARO proceeded to give us 3 episodes of filler. Well, the stories were still relevant to the theme of the show, but there just wasn’t enough of our 3 main characters in them. Fortunately, things are getting back on track now.

Twenty episodes in, we finally got the spotlight on Mendoza’s right-hand woman Octavia. Seeing what she’s been through and what she’s capable of, I can’t help but feel some respect for her. Of course, that doesn’t stop me from hating her too. Her cleverness and deceitfulness make her a dangerous adversary for our high-minded heroes. Regarding the whole Mendoza deal, though, I can’t say I understand at all why Watchdog Center would ever cooperate with him; it doesn’t seem to make any sense.

GARO is still the series that I look forward to the most each week. That’s why it’s here at the top, even though it could easily be argued that some of the anime below have been displaying even better plot progression of late. I continue to admire the mature writing in GARO and I genuinely care about what happens to Leon, Alfonso, and German.
(streaming at FUNimation)


02. Parasyte –the maxim- (Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu) (ep. 13-20) – The conflict is heating up as the humans begin to mount an offensive against the parasites. Innocent lives are lost with little consideration during the assault. The message seems overly simplistic maybe; but it resonates with me anyway. How do you defeat a monster without becoming one yourself? If there were easy answers to that, real-life monsters such as Islamic State militants would not still be terrorizing the world…
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


03. ALDNOAH.ZERO (ep. 13-20) – This second part of ALDNOAH.ZERO is shaping up to be even better than the first. The narrative turns have been riveting and unpredictable. Whereas season one focused on the Earth side, the current attention to the Vers forces and Slaine’s development is a welcome change.

It’s hard not to see this heading toward a tragedy, though.
(streaming at DAISUKI and Crunchyroll)


04. ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM (Ansatsu Kyoushitsu) (ep. 1-8) – The E Class of a prestigious school is given the task of killing their teacher, the tentacled and super-fast Koro Sensei, who has threatened to destroy the Earth at the end of the school year, should they fail to murder him first. Not only is he really hard to kill, though, he also happens to be a damn good teacher.

The episodes tend to be stand-alone stories, so there hasn’t been a lot of progress overall. Regardless, AssClass is very amusing in its absurdity and it consistently gives off a feel-good vibe.
(streaming at FUNimation)

05. Yowamushi Pedal GRANDE ROAD (ep. 13-19) – Still riding the Inter-high, though we’re on the last climb to the finish line now. Can’t wait to see what Onoda can pull off at this point. And I’m rooting for Imaizumi’s success even though it’s obvious that his early lead in and of itself is a flag that everything is not about to go so smoothly for him or Team Sohoku.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


06. Akatsuki no Yona (YONA OF THE DAWN) (ep. 13-20) – Some viewers may have considered ep. 16 to be filler, but I really enjoyed the brief focus on Soo-won. I think he’s way more interesting than our heroine. Fortunately, Yona’s side of things is picking up with the introduction of the Green Dragon, Jae-ha. All the other Dragons are transfixed by Yona. It’s nice to see Hak getting some attention for a change!
(streaming at Crunchyroll and FUNimation)

07. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: STARDUST CRUSADERS Egypt Arc (ep. 25-32) – Our heroes have made it to Egypt, but there are still a bunch of baddies standing between them and Dio. The series continues to be crazy and dumb and funny, maybe funnier than it’s ever been, actually.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


08. Death Parade (ep. 1-9) – Upon dying, people show up in pairs at Decim’s bar to play a game that will determine their fate in the afterlife. The stories are often rather unpleasant, and the fairness of the judging system is suspect. Where Death Parade succeeds is in how thought-provoking the scenarios can be. Long after the episode is over, you might still be thinking about the characters and wondering whether or not Decim and co. made the right decisions.
(streaming at FUNimation)

09. SHIROBAKO (ep. 12-20) – Even though I’m not that invested in the characters individually, this show has been really effective at portraying the process and challenges involved in delivering weekly episodes of an anime series. Not only that, but it manages to be entertaining and easy to follow too.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

10. Ace of Diamond (Diamond no Ace) (ep. 64-71) – I was glad to learn there’s to be a second season for this. Because right now, things are going so badly for Sawamura that it’s actually been kind of painful to watch the show; and it’s not likely his problems will be completely resolved in just the few episodes we have left.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


11. Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! (Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu LOVE!) (ep. 1-8) – We’re all familiar with magical girl anime; how about a magical boy anime? Evil aliens are trying to take over the world and it’s up to 5 guys in a school club, along with their own alien mascot, to counter the menace – with love. Add to that a dash of Weekend at Bernie’s humour too.

Like JoJo’s, the material is pretty stupid, but the result is often funnier than it has any right to be.
(streaming at FUNimation and Crunchyroll)

12. Kamisama Kiss (Kamisama Hajimemashita) S2 (ep. 14-21) – I wasn’t that crazy about season one, but I didn’t not like it enough to avoid the sequel, so here I am. When all is said and done, I’m not that into the romance plotline. Otherwise, Kamisama Kiss is decent enough as a light distraction to enjoy after a hard day at work.
(streaming at FUNimation)


13. Kuroko’s Basketball S3 (ep. 51-59) – The special powers of the elite players are getting more and more ridiculous. I actually took issue with godlike Akashi, who caused opposing players to lose their footing and fall down in his presence. It wouldn’t be fun for any of them to play like that! And who would even want to watch such a game?

KuroBas can still be a fun show to watch, mind you, but you can’t take it seriously, at all.
(streaming at DAISUKI and Crunchyroll)

14. Your lie in April (Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso) (ep. 12-19) – I’m still having trouble buying that these kids are middle-schoolers and younger with the way they talk and act! Lots of suffering in this show.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

15. Tokyo Ghoul √A (ep. 13-21) – Another sequel that I ultimately couldn’t not watch, although I did hesitate. As expected, this pretty much continues the ham-fisted storytelling of the first season. I will say that Root A has gradually been getting better recently, for whatever that’s worth.
(streaming at FUNimation)

Also planning to watch: DURARARA!! X2 Shou. But we’ve decided that it’s been too long and we really need to re-watch S1 first.

Jacquie’s 2014 Year in Review – Top 10 Anime

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When I started thinking about the anime that I enjoyed the most this past year, I realized it would be challenging to make a realistic year-end best list. A vast majority of my favourite shows remain officially unfinished, either being ongoing, or with a continuation announced around the airing time of the season finale episode.

Usually, I only consider series which finish airing in the given year, without the immediate promise of a sequel. This time, any shows I watched in entirety that came to a clear season end in 2014, will be eligible. (Ongoing and designated split-cour series will be considered for next year.)

Below are my top picks of 2014, chosen from about 55 eligible titles. The top five were easy to decide; those were the series that received an 8 or 9 rating from me at MyAnimeList. The next five had to be selected from the nearly 20 shows which scored a 7, and it was no simple task.


#1. KNIGHTS OF SIDONIA (Sidonia no Kishi) (Season 1, 12 episodes)
There’s not much I can add that I haven’t already said in the mid-spring writeup.

I’m not much of a fan of computer-generated animation normally, but this show really made the most of it. With its engrossing sci-fi story and great world-building, KNIGHTS OF SIDONIA was smartly written and very exciting to watch.

Definitely looking forward to season 2 come springtime!
(NETFLIX)


#2. Free! Eternal Summer (Season 2, 13 episodes, complete)
In season one, the boys grew together as a swim team and as friends, while coming to terms with their past experiences. Eternal Summer, on the other hand, focused more on their personal development, especially as Haru, Makoto, and Rin needed to start thinking about their futures.

I had high expectations of Free! from the very beginning, and also confidence that the creators knew what they were doing and where they were going with the series. I felt that my faith was rewarded throughout, but particularly in this second season, including the satisfying finale.

The ending was conclusive enough that it seems fairly certain there will not ever be a season 3, never mind a season 10. Which is too bad, because I will miss having this series to look forward to. The animation was gorgeous, the music was evocative, and I came to care about the characters as if they were real people.
(Crunchyroll, FUNimation)


#3. YowaPeda (Yowamushi Pedal) (Season 1, 38 episodes)
This entertaining cycling anime was in my top 3 practically every week that it aired. Even though the storyline was quite simple and focused entirely on bike racing and training, it was always fun to watch. I liked how we gradually got to know each character in the huge cast as it came time for them to play their part for their team. It helped me empathize with their goals and it gave context to their successes and failures.

Well, season one officially ended in June and the sequel, GRANDE ROAD, started in September with a renewed numbering system, but there was really no ending to season one, as it stopped right smack dab in the midst of the gruelling Inter-high race.
(Crunchyroll)


#4. GUGURE! KOKKURI-SAN (12 episodes, complete)
When I first heard of this, I thought it was just yet another fox spirit anime; there seem to be so many of them! But one glimpse of the female protagonist and I was convinced it was not going to be just one of those shows.

I didn’t love everything about the series. Inugami and Tama, for instance, were not especially funny to me. But Kokkuri and Kohina, and even Shigaraki, were loveable enough to make up for it.

Overall, I enjoyed the absurd, irreverent humour a lot; and the balance of drama and comedy added some surprising depth to the material.
(Crunchyroll)


#5. ALDNOAH.ZERO (Season 1, 12 episodes)
The second of 3 mecha series on this list, ALDNOAH.ZERO had a strong start, featuring a war of worlds storyline, inventive plot developments, and an atypical lead character in soft-spoken, inexpressive Inaho.

The Martian Kataphrakt-of-the-week format of the middle section reduced the appeal of the show somewhat, however. It also didn’t help that Inaho always seemed to dispense with his enemies a little too effortlessly.

Regardless, the detailed animation, powerful soundtrack, and strong early episodes were enough to get me hooked and looking forward to the new season, which has just started.
(DAISUKI, Crunchyroll)


#6. NOBUNAGUN (13 episodes, complete)
For most of its run, this was a middling series for me. I really liked awkward, tomboyish Sio as the lead protagonist, and I enjoyed the episodes where her group, the Second Platoon, was featured in the plot. But it was considerably less fun whenever the focus was on other characters.

What raised my opinion of NOBUNAGUN was the final story arc, in which Sio got to display her character development and a truly inspired twist regarding the identity of one of the E-Gene Holders was revealed.

I’ve said before that it’s fairly uncommon for an anime to have a great ending, so I really appreciate it when it happens. NOBUNAGUN resolved not only its battle storyline, but its romantic subplot as well, even though the love triangle was mostly imaginary and played for laughs up till that point. This is more than can be said for most shows with romance as the theme!

There is still room for a sequel, but the series ended in a satisfying way.
(Crunchyroll)


#7. Space Brothers (Uchuu Kyoudai) (99 episodes, complete)
An all-ages-appropriate, realistic portrayal of what it’s like to apply for the space program and the process for becoming an astronaut.

Self-deprecating Mutta made for a sympathetic hero; and the underlying story of brothers with a shared passion was touching.

The first half of the series definitely had the better material, climaxing with Hibito’s moon mission arc. The remaining episodes were more slow-paced and less riveting. But overall, I still give the show a strong recommendation. It’s well-informed and well-written, and it’s entertaining too.
(Crunchyroll)


#8. Shirogane no Ishi ARGEVOLLEN (24 episodes, complete)
This mecha/war anime suffered a weak start full of tropes: predictably hotheaded protagonist and grossly out-of-place fanservice, just to name a couple of the problems.

But along the way, the characters, including the lead, grew and became fleshed out and believable. Fanservice fell by the wayside. It was a joy to see the military strategy play out, as well as the interactions between the cast. All in all, it was not a predictable show at all; and it’s a shame that many viewers probably dropped it, for understandable reasons, before it got good.
(Crunchyroll)


#9. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: STARDUST CRUSADERS (Season 2, 24 episodes)
The third part in the JoJo timeline, once again featuring a huge time skip from the previous arc. Happily, Joseph is still around, and although he’s a grandfather now, he’s still as much of a redneck a-hole as ever. This time, it’s all about special powers called stands and it’s a race against time to reach Dio and stop him from destroying the Joestar family.

Basically, Jotaro and company are trying to make it from Japan to Egypt in one piece, but at every step, Dio’s followers are there to thwart their progress. This results in a stand-of-the-week horror story format most of the time. But that’s okay, because it’s so much fun just watching these lovably flawed characters interacting with each other. You can’t help but laugh at the crazy situations they find themselves in.
(Crunchyroll)


#10. Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji): Book of Circus (Season 3, 10 episodes, complete)
I never actually finished season one, and I didn’t watch any of the second season, but I checked out this third installment of Kuroshitsuji anyway. And I liked it!

Who is a victim and who is a villain in a world that isn’t black and white? Book of Circus was pretty dark and explored some of the same themes as Tokyo Ghoul (which also aired in the summer) clumsily attempted to, but executed on them so much better, in my opinion.
(FUNimation, DAISUKI)

Mid-Autumn 2014 Anime Ranking

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It’s more like a late-season review again. I took a break from work and anime for a couple of weeks early on, and it’s taken a while to get caught up, more or less. There are still a few shows on my watch list that I will not be covering here, since I have not seen enough of them to rank them.

It has been an exceptionally strong season, in my opinion. I’m really happy with just about everything in the top 10.


01. GARO THE ANIMATION (GARO: Honoo no Kokuin) (ep. 1-10) – I’m new to the GARO franchise, so I didn’t really know what to expect going in. I started watching because it seemed like it was an adult-oriented, medieval-setting anime, which is right up my alley. Fortunately, they seem to be presenting a stand-alone story which doesn’t demand much prior knowledge of previous works.

The interactions between sullen Leon and his libido-charged dad, German, have been amusing to watch. It’s a believable relationship. I can see how teenaged Leon would constantly feel annoyed at his father’s behaviour, and also how German would be frustrated at his withdrawn and uptight son.

Even though he hasn’t had much screen time until recently, I’ve been impressed with how Prince Alfonso is depicted as being a lot more capable and worldly than your average runaway royal. It’s obvious the King’s money bought him a good education, as one would expect, and it’s clear he paid attention in class, too. Of course he’s going to be a bit uncomfortable as he attempts to navigate his new surroundings, and he is physically weak compared to all the other guys in the show, but he is never useless or completely defenceless, either. I’ll bet Princess Yona (from currently airing Akatsuki no Yona) wishes her overprotective father had had as much foresight as Alfonso’s parents did!

This show proves that it’s possible to have mature content, including sex and violence, without being cheap and exploitative.

My one real complaint is that the super-shiny CG battle suits are a bit jarring compared to the restrained colour scheme of the 2D animation. I definitely prefer the fight scenes when they are not suited up. The only plus is that the CG suits are easier to see in the dark.
(streaming at FUNimation)


02. Parasyte –the maxim- (Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu) (ep. 1-10) – A thriller in which alien beings take over human bodies and turn them into shape-shifting cannibals. Our hero, Shinichi, fortuitously prevents his parasite from reaching his brain when it attacks him in the middle of the night. However, it permanently ends up in his right arm and they are forced to work together in order to survive.

I almost gave Parasyte the number one spot, as it has been the most consistent in effective storytelling, but the musical score is sometimes incongruous to the events on-screen, and GARO is just closer to my heart at the moment.

The narrative unfolds at a well-measured pace. It kind of reminds me of Death Note, with how it starts with the focus on the personal dynamic between Shinichi and Migi, then gradually expands the view to more and more of the outside world as the story progresses.

Even though it’s understated, we get a good sense of Shinichi’s feelings of discomfort at what is happening to his body. It’s fascinating to see Migi’s development too.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


03. Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] (ep. 0-9) – Easily the best-looking series of the season, Fate/stay night offers top-notch action animation and detailed characterization.

Because this is being re-made as a direct sequel to Fate/Zero, it comes with a layer of context that elevates the material possibly above what it actually is. As such, I was invested in many of these characters before the show even began. Really subtle things, such as the way Saber stared at Illya, when they first encountered her, just for a moment, before casting down her gaze, can make me wonder at their meaning. Was Saber remembering the young child Illya used to be? Did seeing her standing there remind her of Illya’s mother Irisveil? Did she possibly feel regret that Illya was now to be her enemy?

I’m hoping they will eventually delve into the past events which many of the current Grail War participants have limited knowledge of. Rin seems to remember Sakura. But it’s hard to read her actions. Sakura doesn’t seem to be aware of their previous relationship at all. I also think it’s interesting that Illya, Shirou, and Saber each seem to have vastly different impressions about the kind of person that Kiritsugu was.

Rin is a great character. I love her interactions with her Servant Archer and with Shirou.

This version of Fate/stay night has done an extraordinary job of making Shirou out to be a likeable guy. He’s naïve and idealistic, but it’s clear he has a lot of potential for becoming a stronger Master. So far, he has not displayed any of the chauvinistic behaviour toward Saber that really irked me in the original Fate/stay night. Fingers crossed that there will be no mid-war “date” episode this time around.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


04. LAUGHING UNDER THE CLOUDS (Donten ni Warau) (ep. 1-10) – This one got off to a rocky start; it didn’t bode well for things when the main characters were running around in drag for no reason in the very first episode. Fortunately, the show took a more serious direction fairly quickly.

Tenka, the eldest Kumoh brother, reminds me of Headmaster Cross (from Vampire Knight) with the way he constantly puts on a goofball façade, while keeping his burdens to himself. I thought he took the act too far with his little brother, though, especially as it seemed obvious that Sora was mature enough to handle some reality. Gotta say, I was surprised and impressed by the gutsy yet logical conclusion to episode 6.

And then, the shocking twists in episode 9 left me reeling! I’m really enjoying Shirasu’s very nuanced portrayal. There’s a difficult scene between Soramaru and Shirasu in the latest episode, and I was blown away by the heartbreaking and compelling way in which it was handled.
(streaming at FUNimation)


05. Shirogane no Ishi: ARGEVOLLEN (ep. 13-22) – The story’s gotten really good. It’s now less a question of who is winning this war between Arandas and Ingelmia, and more about the disagreement within Arandas ranks on whether or not to stop fighting. The characters have become fleshed out and believable. The animation has been impressive as well, including the mecha fights. I’ll choose to forget the mostly off-model season opener episode 13; if anything positive came out of that, it’s that it made me appreciate how good the show usually looks!

And they really did stop with the random fanservice which marred the first half. Fanservice is now limited to the ED credits, and I, for one, am grateful the creators were able to use that to get it out of their systems so they can treat the actual show seriously.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

06. Ace of Diamond (Diamond no Ace) (ep. 51-59) – It’s the final game leading to Nationals and our main character Sawamura finally gets the spotlight as he takes the mound for Seido in the last few innings.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


07. Gugure! Kokkuri-san (ep. 1-10) – Emotionally-stunted Kohina inadvertently gets herself haunted by 3 spirits. It’s not as if she can easily get rid of them, so they sort of become her family. Long-suffering, vain fox spirit Kokkuri is remarkably endearing. And our cup-noodle-obsessed lead girl Kohina is no angel, but she is totally adorable.

I like how the show doesn’t feel obligated to produce a gag every minute. Some of the best episodes are the ones where the comedy takes a back seat for a while and allows the show to explore a more thoughtful storyline. The music used in these segments tends to be really pretty, too. Of course, the jokes and punchlines are never far behind.

Gugure! Kokkuri-san is silly and absurd and charming. It also has no qualms about making light of potentially touchy subjects such as suicide, stalking, or pedophilia, so sensitive viewers may wish to steer clear; but also know that you’ll be missing out if you do, because this is funny stuff.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

08. Yowamushi Pedal: GRANDE ROAD (ep. 1-10) – Continues right where we left off before the break, in the middle of the Inter-high race. Yes, it is more of the same of what we’ve come to expect from YowaPeda, and it’s just as fun and exciting as ever.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


09. Akatsuki no Yona (YONA OF THE DAWN) (ep. 1-10) – This was one of the series I was most looking forward to before the season began. For the most part, I’m pretty satisfied with the way it’s turned out. Many of the characters exhibit some depth, including the antagonists, and that’s a big draw for me. In fact, I’m eager to know more about traitor and pretender to the throne Soo-won; he’s a conflicted villain if I ever saw one.

I’m actually less excited about the current Dragon quest that Yona and Hak are on, but at least Yona is learning to be stronger and more independent in the process.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


10. ORENCHI NO FURO JIJO (ep. 1-10) – A four-minute comedy short in which blond merman Wakasa takes up residence in the bathtub of a young man named Tatsumi. Wakasa’s friends get involved and hijinks ensue. Frequently, the characters appear in chibi form and it’s super-cute!

The ridiculously dark and angsty OP sequence featuring Matenrou Opera music serves as a perfect counterpoint to the lightweight content of the rest of the show.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

11. PSYCHO-PASS 2 (ep. 1-9) – Maybe I had too-high expectations, but this sequel has proven to be a considerable disappointment to me thus far.

By the end of season one, we knew that Sibyl was flawed. I don’t recall Sibyl ever being so wilfully stupid or blatantly treacherous, though. Prisoners automatically get released the moment their crime coefficient goes down, no matter what they did to cause their incarceration? Is that even possible? A missing inspector, who is known to be acting suspiciously, is entitled to all her privileges as long as her psycho-pass is clear? I’m not saying they should fire her, but common sense says the MWPSB should have a way to prevent her from accessing police weapons until they can ascertain that she is safe and actually still on their side!

I’m not going to go so far as to call season 2 a train wreck, since they do seem to have a clear story in mind and they are telling it; and on its own, it’s probably fine. However, it’s difficult to ignore how the rules of the Sibyl System as established in the original series sometimes seem to be contradicted or changed to fit with the current production.
(streaming at FUNimation)

12. SHIROBAKO (ep. 1-9) – The overall story revolves around a group of friends beginning their careers in the animation industry. Most of the action (if you can call it that) is centered on Aoi’s experiences and the challenges she repeatedly faces in her role as production assistant for a company putting out a currently airing anime. Setbacks and deadlines abound and the fear of failure is sometimes palpable.

There is quite a bit of humour as well. I’m actually enjoying SHIROBAKO a lot; however, it’s just not the kind of show I find myself clamouring to watch each week.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


13. Rage of Bahamut: GENESIS (Shingeki no Bahamut GENESIS) (ep. 1-9) – This had a really promising start: nice-looking animation, medieval fantasy adventure setting. The men are likeable if rather needlessly unattractive; and single-minded Amira is an interesting heroine. Okay, to be fair, she’s interested in 2 things: food, and getting to Helheim some way somehow.

Anyway, I wanted to like this show more than I do. I kind of wish it remained more grounded in the human world, as I find the parts about the angels’ and demons’ realms to be somehow overwhelming and boring at the same time.

The best part of the show remains the kick-ass opening credits, featuring “EXiSTENCE” by SiM. In case anyone’s wondering, there is no need to watch episode 6.5; it is 100% recap and doesn’t shed any new light on the proceedings.
(streaming at FUNimation)

14. Wolf Girl and Black Prince (Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji) (ep. 1-10) – Erika gets caught in her lie about dating random hot guy Kyouya when he turns out to be a student at her school. To her surprise, he agrees to play her boyfriend; but only if she will be his dog. Yeah.

None of this is meant to be taken seriously, and honestly, the series is pretty fun and easy to watch. Still, I can’t help but have some reservations about the frankly abusive relationship at the core of this romance.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


15. Lord Marksman and Vanadis (Madan no Ou to Vanadis) (ep. 1-10) – For something that bills itself as a fanservice show, the gratuitous content is actually pretty mild. Sure, the way all the girls’ bodies are covered in canker sores is a turnoff, and the gigantic breasts on some can get ridiculous at times, but importantly, characters of both sexes get to retain their self-respect here.

The initial arc started things off well, but as the series continued, the execution has taken a tumble. After the fourth episode or so, things started happening at breakneck speed: characters were introduced and killed off before we learned their significance, Tigre wandered off and made a pact with some mysterious being, battles were fought and won with little regard for the human side of the story. It just seems a lot less focused now and I’m losing interest because of that.

tl;dr: Way better than expected; still not that good.
(streaming at FUNimation)

16. Your lie in April (Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso) (ep. 1-9) – Former piano prodigy finds inspiration to take up his instrument again, and possibly romance, when a pretty and gifted violinist joins his group of friends. I find this stuff a tad melodramatic and, well, boring, but that’s just me. I would heartily recommend this anime to fans of Nodame Cantabile.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

Notable Drop:

TERRA FORMARS (ep. 1-3) – The basic premise, with humanity possibly engineering its own demise when it attempts to terraform Mars by using cockroaches, sounds like a fascinating idea.

Problem is, the show is too obsessed with sensationalist violence. It’s just so hellbent on graphically depicting every beheading or dismemberment. Except you can’t show that stuff on TV, so at times up to 50% of the screen might be covered in black censor bars, making the show quite literally unwatchable.

It could have been so much better if they chose to suggest the gore artfully and if at least some clues as to what is going on on Mars were revealed earlier. If you’re looking for art or competent storytelling in a horror-thriller, best look elsewhere. Parasyte would be a good place to start.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

Mid-Summer 2014 Anime Ranking

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The trend this season seems to be… restrooms! Just kidding. But there have been a surprising number of shows that have had scenes set in a washroom or had one featured prominently in the background, which is weird, and funny.


01. Free! Eternal Summer (ep. 1-8) – If you didn’t enjoy the first season, there’s probably no reason to watch this sequel. However, if you connected with the characters as I did, Eternal Summer does not disappoint. So far it has delivered in spades to its established audience in terms of humour, character development, and thrilling swimming races.

Sousuke and Momotarou are welcome additions to the Samezuka swim team. Even though in some ways I can’t stand the guy, there’s no denying that Momotarou has been a great source of laughs for the show. Also, I love seeing how Makoto and Rin are developing as captains of their respective teams despite both of them having been reluctant to take on the leadership role initially.

It seems to me this season has been a bit more suggestive of BL compared to its predecessor. It’s never overt, though. More like the creators are aware of the fujoshi segment of the audience and are having fun with the material, but it’s all in line with the overall plot.

Maybe we’re a bit crazy, but we typically watch every episode two or three times in order to appreciate all the little details that make the series so much fun.
(streaming at Crunchyroll and FUNimation)


02. TERROR IN RESONANCE (Zankyou no Terror) (ep. 1-6) – Deliberate and intellectual. It’s like watching a chess match unfold between the terrorists and the disillusioned police detective.
(streaming at FUNimation)


03. ALDNOAH.ZERO (ep. 1-8) – Stunning start to this series about Martian humans waging war on Earth humans. Since the 5th episode, it’s tapered off a bit, but I’m still enjoying it a great deal.

My heart wasn’t really ready for the brutal interrogation scene in ep. 8, though. Poor Slaine must be the most hard-luck hero of the season. Despite his best efforts, the guy just can’t catch a break!

ALDNOAH.ZERO boasts another powerful soundtrack by the venerable Hiroyuki Sawano.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


04. Ace of Diamond (ep. 38-45) – Great ensemble cast for this baseball anime. It’s often not obvious that Sawamura is the main character. But it’s all good.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


05. NOBUNAGA CONCERTO (ep. 1-6) – The latest rendition of the modern-day kid finds himself time-slipped into the middle of the Warring States period storyline. Saburo encounters Oda Nobunaga upon arrival and when they realize that they are dead ringers for each other, Nobunaga asks him to take his place. Considering the premise, the show takes things a lot more seriously than I expected. Obviously, there’s going to be some culture shock humour. But mostly Saburo does his best to fulfill Nobunaga’s role in unifying Japan, while trying to preserve history, which proves to be a bit challenging since he sucked at History class. And wow, that plot twist in episode 6!

Biggest challenge for the viewer is the CGI. It is definitely not at the level of Sidonia no Kishi. The character movements and facial expressions are stiff and video-gamey. On the plus side, some of the background art is absolutely gorgeous, though.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

06. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (ep. 14-21) – Squalid toilets, a recurring source of torment for poor Polnareff as the Joestar group treks through Southeast Asia on their way to Egypt.

This show is a terrible offender when it comes to cruelty to animals – to the point where it’s pretty safe to fear for the life of any animal that has the misfortune to show up. They seem to draw the line at killing babies at least…

That aside, the characters continue to be amusing and the situations they end up in are frequently laugh-out-loud funny.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


07. Tokyo Ghoul (ep. 1-7) – In the conflict between humans and ghouls, it’s sometimes hard to tell which side is more inhuman. The most fascinating characters so far have been mild-mannered but scary-looking mask-maker Uta and flamboyantly creepy gourmet Tsukiyama.

Love the great atmospheric ED theme: “Seijatachi” by People In The Box.
(streaming at FUNimation)

08. Baby Steps (ep. 14-20) – Ei-chan’s hard work is starting to pay off as he racks up some wins on the tennis court. He considers taking things to the next level. Solidly entertaining, as always.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

09. Haikyuu!! (ep. 14-20) – Still enjoying the volleyball anime. At times the sport melodrama is laid on pretty thick…
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

10. LOVE STAGE!! (ep. 1-7) – Usually I can’t tolerate yaoi anime because I can’t stand the non-consensual sexual stuff. LOVE STAGE!! does have some non-con content, but it helps that the offender is aware of how his actions are inappropriate and shameful. I also like that Izumi is warming up to Ryouma because he appreciates how thoughtful the other boy can be, and not because he’s secretly turned on by the unwanted advances.

Most importantly, the show is actually very funny.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


11. Sengoku BASARA Judge End (ep. 1-7) – I have seen the previous releases in this franchise and this installment provides more of the same goodness. It’s a nicely balanced mix of serious historical material and ridiculous stuff.
(streaming at FUNimation)

12. SPACE DANDY 2 (ep. 14-19) – The continuing charismatic adventures of Dandy and his crew. Much of the content this season has been so random, and yet somehow smart at the same time. I actually suspect many of the references go right over my head. But it’s funny anyway, for the most part. There have been some duds; the Ghibli-influenced fishing episode #18, for example; but maybe that’s just a problem with me and my lack of interest in fishing stories.
(streaming at FUNimation)

13. Shirogane no Ishi ARGEVOLLEN (ep. 1-8) – This show is best when it’s focused on the war story plot. And I am interested in the characters, what their motives are, and how they might be connected in the past. Otherwise, the pacing is a bit slow, but the major strike against ARGEVOLLEN is the sexual fanservice. Fortunately, it is only sporadic, but it’s really out of place when it occurs and serves only to cheapen the show. They should really stick to the military/mecha stuff.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


14. Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun (GEKKAN SHOJO NOZAKI KUN) (ep. 1-7) – Somehow, I don’t feel I connect with the characters in this comedy series as much as I should. Episodes 1 and 6 were lots of fun; the rest I found just mildly amusing.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

15. Captain Earth (ep. 14-21) – I’m grateful that the designer-child of the week episodes are over and that we don’t have to sit through that damn expansion sequence every time Daichi and/or Teppei deploy anymore. However, after 20-odd episodes of this, I still don’t feel I truly understand what each of the three main factions is trying to achieve. Planetary Gears’ attacks are increasing in frequency and the Midsummer’s Knights always manage to hold them off, but what is everyone’s endgame and what does it really mean if they fail? Lots of people will die, I suppose. I don’t know. The show just doesn’t make me feel the gravity of the possible outcomes.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

16. Samurai Jam – Bakumatsu Rock (ep. 1-8) – Nonsensical, but fun to watch as something that won’t tax your brain cells. Strangely, the government-sanctioned Heaven’s Songs are almost indistinguishable stylistically from the rebels’ rock music. At least they all had the right reaction to that girl group’s autotuned atrocity in ep. 8!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

17. AO HARU RIDE (Blue Spring Ride) (ep. 1-7) – Well, I don’t dislike male lead Ko as much as I hated Yamato from Say “I Love You”, but that’s not saying much. Ko isn’t all bad; he’s nice to people sometimes. When it suits him. The way he treats his brother is what ticks me off the most. I don’t think I can be satisfied with this show if he doesn’t eventually get his comeuppance or at least a good whack to the head. Yeah, he’s supposed to have his issues, but seriously, any guy who would show so little respect to such a thoughtful and patient brother cannot be a good catch romantically.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

18. The irregular at magic high school (Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei) (ep. 14-20) – The boring-ass Nine Schools Competition is over at long last. Now Tatsuya is enlisted to help with the Thesis Competition. Fortunately, the topic is something he’s really interested in: the technical feasibility of a Gravity Control-type Magic thermonuclear fusion reactor. This show.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


19. GLASSLIP (ep. 1-8) – Pretty much nothing happens in this. The visions of the future conceit is barely touched upon and poorly explained. The animation looks very sharp mostly; however, every episode includes random still scenes which are ostensibly for artistic effect but come off looking like cost-cutting. The characters often engage in inane dialogue. Why am I watching this?
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

Also watching, as part of our Grimdark Funimation Thursdays lineup (along with TERROR IN RESONANCE and Tokyo Ghoul): PSYCHO-PASS new edit, a re-broadcast of last year’s series, cut into double-length episodes with a bit of new footage incorporated. Honestly, I wasn’t that keen on re-experiencing PSYCHO-PASS, as I really did find some of the material to be disturbing and even traumatizing. If perhaps I don’t feel as shocked the second time around, that’s balanced out by the dread I now feel at knowing what’s going to happen.

The new scenes do add a bit to the story, I think. Or maybe I just have a better grasp of what’s going on now. Regardless, the series really is well-written and this new edit is good preparation for PSYCHO-PASS season 2 this fall, especially for those who missed the original broadcast.
(streaming at FUNimation)

I’ll just leave you with this:

ALDNOAH.ZERO’s main character, Inaho, planning some strategy in his “office”.

Mid-Spring 2014 Anime Ranking

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01. KNIGHTS OF SIDONIA (Sidonia no Kishi) (ep. 1-8) – Really loving this show! Far and away my favourite of the season so far. This frequently brutal and thrilling space opera, about humanity’s struggle for survival thousands of years after aliens, called Gauna, destroyed the Earth, had me hooked by the 3rd episode.

One of the biggest initial challenges was that everyone kind of looks the same. I’m sure it’s completely intentional given the amount of genetic engineering that has occurred, but man, did it ever make it hard to keep track of who’s who, especially in the beginning. The monochromatic colour palette was no help either.

I’m normally not a fan of computer animation, but I have to say it actually works pretty well here. The movements do look a bit stiff occasionally, but really, the narrative is so immersive that none of that bothers me; there’s just no opportunity to dwell on it. I’m really glad I didn’t dismiss this one just because of the CGI.

Anime storylines featuring a boy who shows up and mysteriously has the ability to operate a special mecha are a dime a dozen (eg. Captain Earth, DAIMIDALER, and Dai-Shogun from just this season alone). This show had maybe the most plausible explanation I’ve ever seen – Nagate was raised apart from the population but he practised extensively on a VR simulator all his life. It’s looking like there might be more to it than that, too.

At the close of ep. 8, a Gauna sample has been brought onto Sidonia. I would have done the same thing. Not just because of its familiar appearance, but also because it’s important to study the enemy if you ever hope to understand or defeat them. On the other hand, after all their efforts to keep the Gauna from making physical contact with Sidonia ever again, they now have one on board…

Incidentally, SIDONIA also gets my vote for best OP/ED of the season with its closer “掌 -show-” by Kitamura Eri.
Edit: (streaming on Netflix starting in July)


02. YowaPeda (Yowamushi Pedal) (ep. 26-33) – Onoda has spent the series training and learning about cycling from his peers and his sempai. It’s finally come full circle in ep. 33, as Onoda gets a chance to help Tadokoro by showing him his own special riding technique – and we finally get to hear the Hime Hime song in its entirety!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


03. Ace of Diamond (ep. 26-34) – In the current arc, Seido is facing off against Yakushi, a formidable opponent, and it’s coming down to a battle of wits between Miyuki and Yakushi’s coach. Furuya, too, is called upon to rise to the challenge. Episode 34 had no shortage of awesome plays. We actually went back and watched several of the scenes over again so we could appreciate them fully!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


04. Blade & Soul (ep. 1-9) – This show seems to be under the radar for most viewers. Is anyone else watching this?

All the powerful characters in this action-fantasy, be they gang leaders, village chiefs, bosses, good guys or bad, are all female. And why not? Sure, they are all busty and barely dressed, but that doesn’t matter to me, because they are shown to be genuinely strong.

I have nothing against shows with predominantly male characters – check out all the sausagefests in the rest of the top 6 right here – that’s just the way fiction comes. But there’s no denying how refreshing it is to see something with this many strong females in it. Ironically, this program was not made by women, for women. If anything, I think it might be the opposite. Regardless, the creators’ respect for women is very evident in the production.

Maybe that’s part of the reason why this show struggles to find an audience, though. Female viewers see the revealing outfits and assume it’s a show for guys. Meanwhile, many guys have little interest in a show full of warrior women with not even one male for them to fawn over.

Blade & Soul is perhaps also not well-suited for viewers who expect major characters to be overtly expressive. Alka, the lead, is like a killing machine and shows no emotion. As someone who has previously sympathized with strong, silent types in anime, I can personally tolerate Alka just fine; and I’m enjoying the series so far.

Actually, if there’s one thing I could really do without, that would be Karen’s dancing, in the show and in the appalling ED sequence. Now that is some really horrid-looking CGI.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

05. Haikyuu!! (ep. 1-9) – I seem to be enjoying quite a few sports anime recently. This one’s about volleyball. It took a while for me to warm up to the 2 main guys. Good thing their sempai were so likeable from the start. Especially Tanaka; he’s the best.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


06. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (ep. 1-9) – Between the elder and the younger JoJo, it’s hard to tell who is the bigger asshole. One is kind of a racist, the other is quite the misogynist, and yet, incredibly, they both manage to come across as funny and endearing!

I never had much interest in the fight sequences (that’s just the way I’m hardwired), so the best part for me is how these creatively over-the–top characters interact with each other. And that’s enough to keep me looking forward to JoJo’s week after week.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

07. Chaika – The Coffin Princess (Hitsugi no Chaika) (ep. 1-8) – I was really impressed with the first 2 episodes. It seemed like a lot of thought went into the action and the fights. Plus, there was that exploding unicorn, which is definitely not something you see every day, even in anime!

After that, the show has settled into more of a routine action fantasy thing. The execution is still above average, but I find the characters, especially Toru, to be a bit wanting in the personality department.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


08. The World is Still Beautiful (Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii) (ep. 1-8) – Princess Nike of the Principality of Rain moves to the Sun Kingdom for an arranged marriage to young King Livius. Naturally the two butt heads in the beginning, but soon find a common understanding.

I thought the recent episodes involving romantic rivals were a bit tiresome; fortunately they moved on from that fairly quickly.

The series has been a generally pleasant experience, with a couple of notable exceptions. I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks Nike’s rain-summoning song is horrendously cringe-worthy. And I don’t even remember what the ED sounds like because we skip the sequence every time. It’s too awkward to ogle images of the boy king sleeping in the buff. That just feels wrong.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

09. Baby Steps (ep 1-9) – The tennis anime. Eiichirou is new to the sport and he approaches it in a highly technical and mathematical manner. It’s rewarding to see his gradual progress.

The drawback: the character designs are ugly. The way Ei-chan’s hair sticks out like a mohawk in the middle of his bangs is really weird. And “pretty girl” Natsu’s super wide eyes sometimes look empty and crazed. It’s kind of scary.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


10. NO GAME NO LIFE (ep. 1-8) – Legendary brother and sister gamers Sora and Shiro try to take over an alternate world in order to save humanity. This wildly colourful show has its share of pandering and overpowered protagonists, but it frequently succeeds at being imaginative and fun.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

11. Captain Earth (ep. 1-9) – Insofar as being another anime about a young man and giant mecha, this one is fairly competently made, though far from engaging.

I’d say it’s not in the same league as Star Driver or Eureka Seven, although it is definitely a cut above last season’s Buddy Complex.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


12. The irregular at magic high school (Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei) (ep. 1-9) – I enjoy reading other people’s (disparaging) post-episode commentaries of this terrible anime so much that there’s no way I’m going to drop it.

It was recently put to me that I followed GUILTY CROWN to the end for the same reason; and that’s a pretty apt comparison, actually. In both cases, the art, character designs, and other superficial aspects are attractive. However, both have unappealing protagonists who expound questionable, rather off-putting social messages. And both series can be entertaining if you’re watching for the unintentional laughs, but otherwise, are quite painful if taken seriously.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

13. riddle story of devil (Akuma no Riddle) (ep. 1-8) – Unlike last season, in which many series took a while to hit their stride, several shows this time around hit the ground running. Riddle story is one example of a show that started out much better than expected.

However, it has since devolved into a fight of the week scenario. The ending is always the same, too, with the loser just conveniently disappearing. And unfortunately, that seems to be the trend this season, where series might start out strong but then utterly fail to keep up the momentum.

I suppose there will be some big reveal at the end after all the fights are over, but getting there could be a bit tedious. At least the main character is likeable; she’s also of the strong, silent variety, which I apparently admire.
(streaming at FUNimation)


14. ONE WEEK FRIENDS (Isshuukan Friends.) (ep. 1-9) – Hase is determined to be friends with his classmate Fujimiya even though she suffers from a memory disorder. It’s sweet and touching and the kids are cute. I think this anime deserves the praise that it frequently gets; it’s just that I personally find it to be a tiny bit dull. It’s the kind of show that I might forget to watch if I didn’t have it written down on my list.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

15. NOBUNAGA THE FOOL (ep. 13-21) – Well, if you enjoyed the first half, this cour continues to deliver more of the same. Da Vinci is still playing with his Tarot cards, Mitsuhide still gets an opportunity to flick his hair in practically every episode, and Jeanne continues to be useless and needlessly sexualized.

The OP and ED themes are decidedly not as good this time around, though.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

16. La corda d’oro -Blue Sky- (Kiniro no Corda: Blue Sky) (ep. 1-9) – Not sure why I’m watching this show. I didn’t even watch the first series. All I can say is it’s harmless and inoffensive. I find it somewhat amusing that they are music students taking part in a musical competition, but they use terminology usually heard in sports anime or war stories. Oh yeah: the best part is the Yokohama scenery.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


17. BLACK BULLET (ep. 1-9) – This has been pretty consistently mediocre. The visuals are nice, but the pointless monologues and out-of-place boob jokes betray the show’s lack of substance.

The showdown between Rentaro and Tina in ep. 7 was actually thrilling and well-animated. Too bad the resolution was so hokey. Well, it was obvious that Tina would eventually switch allegiances, but still. At one point Rentaro even thanked her for “saving” Enju’s life. Um, she shot her full of bullets and stopped just short of killing her; “spared” her life, I could see, but “saved” is preposterously generous. So in the end, Rentaro, Kisara and Enju, all of them targets of Tina’s prior assassination attempts, welcomed her with open arms. Meanwhile, Tina acted like she was completely guiltless; not even a, “I’m sorry I tried to kill you. It seemed like a good idea at the time.” I guess this is what you can get away with if you’re cute enough. Oh, anime.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

18. BRYNHILDR IN THE DARKNESS (Gokukoku no Brynhildr) (ep. 1-9) – The initial premise sounded interesting, but when I realized that all the secondary characters were girls, I thought it might be bad. So going in, I expected this show to be haremy and fanservicey. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that the first 2 episodes were fairly restrained and respectably plot-driven.

However, it’s just gone down from there, to the point where it seemed like 50% of ep 5 was juvenile, unfunny sexual pandering. And that, regrettably, seems to be the pattern that the show has settled into since then.

On the plus side, the other 50% is still decent, which is why I haven’t dropped it yet. And the anime boasts a surprisingly classy intrumental OP. I can’t recommend this show to anyone, though. Some of those icky parts actually make me cringe.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


19. The Kawai Complex Guide to Manors and Hostel Behavior (Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou) (ep. 1-9) – I came close to dropping this head-scratchingly-titled anime several times. Pretty much nothing happens in it. There are a few funny moments here and there, but I could easily stop watching and not miss it at all, I think.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

Notable Drop:

MEKAKUCITY ACTORS (ep. 1-4) – Clearly I am not the target audience for this series. I have virtually no prior familiarity with the Kagerou Project’s Niconico music videos. On top of that, I frequently have a very negative visceral reaction to SHAFT aesthetics and animation style.

If I wasn’t watching with my sister, who has a passing interest in Kagerou Project, I would never have made it through 4 whole episodes! I just couldn’t take it anymore after that.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

Mid-Winter 2014 Anime Ranking

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Can I just make a list of my favourite theme songs this season? Because that would be so much easier:

1. AXIS, by STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION (NOBUNAGA The Fool ED)
2. Respect for the dead man, by Pay money To my Pain (NOBUNAGUN OP)
3. With You / With Me, by 9nine (MAGI: The Kingdom of Magic ED2)
4. Goya no Machiawase, by Hello Sleepwalkers (NORAGAMI OP)
5. FANTASTIC TUNE, by Ono Kensho (Kuroko’s Basketball 2 ED2)

Guess not, eh? The thing is, fully half the shows I’m following currently were middling carryovers from last season. The other half debuted in January; and it seems like practically every one of these new shows is taking forever to get moving plot-wise. So I find myself in a position where I’m not particularly enthusiastic about anything on my watch list. Anyway, here goes.


01. MAGI: The Kingdom of Magic (ep. 13-21) – After a seriously underwhelming first cour, MAGI has gotten back on track in a big way. We’re now familiar with the 3 main nations (the Kou Empire, the Leam Empire, Magnoshutatt) that have begun to clash. While the main focus has been on Aladdin’s experiences in Magnoshutatt, we’ve seen that all 3 of the factions have grand and worthy ideals. And true to MAGI fashion, we’ve also seen that each side can be criticized for transgressions they are willing to make in the name of those ideals. To top it off, there exists some discontent within each group as well. These kinds of complex and balanced portrayals are what impress me the most about this franchise.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


02. YowaPeda (Yowamushi Pedal) (ep. 13-21)
03. Ace of Diamond (ep. 14-22)
04. Kuroko’s Basketball 2 (ep. 38-47) – In a stronger season, these 3 sports anime probably wouldn’t rank so highly. None of these shows really explore the characters’ personal lives or their interests/relations outside of the sport, which is something I’d like to see. For what they are though, with the focus on training and competing/playing games, the stories are competently told and each episode is consistently enjoyable to watch.
(all 3 streaming at Crunchyroll)


05. NORAGAMI (ep. 1-9) – NORAGAMI is generally well put-together; the 3 leads are interesting characters, especially Yukine. However, I can’t help but feel the show is being excessively cryptic about Yato’s past. It’s hard to feel the intended impact of current events when we know so little of why they are significant relative to the character’s history and present situation.
(streaming at FUNimation)

06. TOKYO RAVENS (ep. 13-21) – This second cour has the story moving out from the core group to expand on the greater story. Unfortunately, it’s pretty convoluted. And it isn’t easy to keep track of the growing cast, especially as some of them are reincarnations of other characters.
(streaming at FUNimation)

07. SPACE DANDY (ep. 1-9) – Completely episodic. So far it doesn’t matter what order you watch the episodes in since the show doesn’t even pretend to have any continuity concerns. Of course, that allows for a lot of creativity and it is frequently pretty fun and amusing to watch. My favourite episode of what I’ve seen is the ingenious fourth one, with the zombies. They really went all out with that one; every time it seemed like it had to be all over, they found a way to take it further!
(streaming at FUNimation)


08. NOBUNAGUN (ep. 1-10) – I’m enjoying the primary characters, including lead girl Sio/Nobunagun, who is quirky in an appealing way. That makes the series fun to watch. However, the main Pacific Rim-like plot line is not very inspiring. The Evolutionary Invasion Objects seem so powerful that I don’t see how DOGOO has any reasonable chance of defeating them, even with their E-Gene Holder forces.

One of the giggle-inducing highlights for me was the random swimsuit dream sequence from ep. 8, in which Jack (Suzuki Tatsuhisa) threw his arm around Gandhi (Shimazaki Nobunaga) after declaring their relationship as lovers. Too funny! (edit: Sorry, it might not be obvious that I interpreted this as a MakotoXHaru Free! reference.)
(streaming at Crunchyroll and FUNimation)

09. KILL la KILL (ep. 13-21) – Thankfully the various battles and power-ups are done and we are finally into the meat of the story starting with episode 16. The revelations since then have been meaningful and the fights have felt consequential. I’m pretty impressed with the novel theory of evolution that KILL la KILL is adhering to – I’ve definitely never heard anything like that before. More and more, it’s becoming evident how smart the series is and how it’s been consistent with its internal logic from the start.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


10. Witch Craft Works (ep. 1-9) – The best thing about Witch Craft Works is how crazy funny it frequently is, right down to the irreverent ED sequence which moe-fies the historical persecution of witches for laughs. The atypical roles (the guy is the “princess”, while the girl is the strong protector) are also refreshing. Unfortunately, both the main characters are pretty bland otherwise, and that keeps me from really getting into the series. That, and they’re constantly throwing in too many new players, and I can’t keep them all straight.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

11. Space Brothers (Uchuu Kyoudai) (ep. 88-97) – I haven’t been all that interested in Mutta’s experiences with his grating new team members. The touching episode about Eddie Jay, hit the mark, though. Now, Hibito is finding himself being stigmatized for having suffered a psychological disorder; I give the show credit for how realistic that is.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

12. PHI BRAIN – Kami no Puzzle Season 3 (ep. 14-23) – After two and a half seasons of Kaito and company tackling killer puzzles and emerging largely unscathed, it came as a surprise that there has now been a fatality – a welcome surprise, because come on!

If Kaito’s friends end up dying one after another now, and he obtains the ultimate power and turns back time to bring everyone back to life, I’m going to be really, really disappointed. Dead people should stay dead or it’s cheap storytelling.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


13. NAGI NO ASUKARA (Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea) (ep. 14-22) – So the sea kids are waking from their slumber after 5 years. There is still a threat of global catastrophe somewhere in the future. And the mildly melodramatic polygonal romantic angst continues.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

14. The Pilot’s Love Song (ep. 1-10) – The darker, more serious flashback sequences are pretty good, but the lighter present story… leaves something to be desired. This is another show that’s not forthcoming enough with its basic setup. What is Isla’s goal? Where are they going exactly? Why are they even at war?
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

15. BUDDY COMPLEX (ep. 1-9) – I can understand that there’s going to be some mystery about how and why Aoba got transported to the future, but I would think that by now there’d be some explanation of the conflict that’s currently going on. Who are the Free Treaty Alliance and the Great Zogilia Republic and what are they fighting for? Never mind the audience, why doesn’t Aoba ask?
(streaming at FUNimation)


16. NOBUNAGA THE FOOL (ep. 1-9) – What I don’t like: Tarot cards. It’s fine if they’re just used for artistic effect. But when a character actually pulls out the cards and that’s what regularly passes for plot advancement, forgive me if I’m a little skeptical of the narrative integrity.

The two-worlds plot is so nonsensical, or at least so insufficiently explained, that even though da Vinci delivered that lengthy infodump in ep. 8, I still feel we didn’t learn anything!

It also bothers me that all the women are useless. Especially Nobunaga’s sister. She just stands there like a non-player character in a game, singing, until approached, at which point she’ll divulge a little information and then go back to singing.

What I like: Mitsuhide’s hair, which is almost a character on its own. It’s great the way the animators lovingly render every strand that falls across his eyes, and every lock that’s casually brushed away from his face. It’s so absurd, it’s awesome.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

17. Samurai Flamenco (ep. 12-19) – Episode 18 was surprisingly, hilariously crack and actually offered an explanation of the events so far. It may not have been the best episode to date (probably ep. 2 would take that honour), but it was certainly the funniest. That said, it still doesn’t make up for all the time-wasting, plot-twisting dreck I was suckered into watching for the preceding 11 episodes! Well, it’s not over yet; let’s see what they have in store for us in this final stretch.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

18. Wizard Barristers (ep. 1-7) – This show is about lawyers who try to protect the rights of magic users in a society where the use of magic is against the law. The unintended irony is that these lawyers can’t seem to get anything done without resorting to magic themselves! What are they trying to say exactly?

Also, I can’t relate to Cecil at all. Even her character design is annoying. It should be a really cool thing that an anime protagonist is Canadian, but instead, it’s disappointing at best, mortifying at worst. I was only following Wizard Barristers because my sister was still watching it; now that she’s sufficiently exasperated and also ready to drop, I doubt I will stick around see if this incompetent narrative actually goes anywhere.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

Also watching:

Tonari no Seki-kun: The Master of Killing Time (ep. 1-10) – A 6-minute (without credits) short about a schoolboy who continually goofs off in elaborate ways during class. The girl who sits beside him struggles with feelings of disapproval and fascination at witnessing his antics.

Every once in a while, they change things up a bit by involving another student, which is good.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


Pupa (ep.1-9) – Since it’s a 3-minute short, you’d expect things to move at a brisk pace. Not so with Pupa. It just takes its time unraveling its horror story as if it were a full-length show, only to end abruptly. One episode consists solely of the brother being slowly devoured by his sister; another is all him howling in pain off-screen as he is undergoing surgical evaluation.

We initially put Pupa on hold after 2 episodes, then returned to marathon up to ep. 9 all at once, which is definitely a better way to approach this. We will finish watching – it’s a very small time commitment after all – once it is complete.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

Jacquie’s 2013 Year in Review – Top 10 Anime

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Better late than never, here are my favourite anime shows of the past year, selected from the 45 or so titles I watched in entirety which finished airing in 2013:


#1. Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) – This was the anime that really did capture my imagination. I looked forward to it week after week and it rarely disappointed. I was inspired to think about the mystery of the titans and to understand the motivations of the characters long after watching each episode. It also provided an ideal vehicle to showcase soundtrack composer Hiroyuki Sawano’s epic score, which was a perfect complement to the show.

The downside was that there was no conclusive ending; all the big questions remained unanswered at series-end. Also, at times the pacing was rather slow as some plot segments dragged on a little longer than necessary.

No sequel has been confirmed yet, but Attack on Titan enjoyed enough popularity, even beyond the usual anime fanbase, that we’ll certainly see one someday.


#2. The DEVIL is a Part-timer! (Hataraku Maou-sama!) – The series that got my highest rating of the year over at MAL, for its sharp humour, well-paced storytelling and lovable characters. The premise was pretty simple: Satan (Maou) and his subordinate found themselves magically stranded in modern-day Tokyo. They had no resources left to get home, so they had to do their best to make a life for themselves in the big city, including getting a job at MgRonald’s. It was brilliantly funny stuff.

The comedy wasn’t based on crazy hijinks, either. Instead, it was found in the day-to-day details that anyone who’s had to get used to a new environment or who’s had to work hard to make ends meet could relate to, with the added absurd spin that our protagonist was the devil himself, of course.

The negatives: no conclusive ending here either; also, the humour might work better on an audience with some prior familiarity with modern working class Japanese culture, with its references to 100yen shops and UNIQLO, for instance.


#3. Free! – Iwatobi Swim Club – My choice for the most rewatchable anime of the year. My sisters are Free! fangirls, so I have seen each episode several times, and you know, it really does stand up to repeated viewings.

Free! didn’t have the epic storyline of Attack on Titan, or the clever humour of Maou-sama, but it was very nicely animated, it had extremely well-developed characters and great execution overall.

Season 2 has now been confirmed and I couldn’t be more pleased.


#4. Shin Sekai Yori (From the New World) – An intriguing story featuring a novel future setting, Shin Sekai Yori started strong in its first half. I felt it lost some focus during the second cour, but then the series came to a satisfying conclusion in its impressive final episode.

Along the way, the series’ faults were considerable: slow pacing in parts, inconsistent character art, weak main protagonist – I kept waiting for Saki to become the great, enlightened leader she was chosen to be, but it never happened.

Despite all that, the depiction of the darkness of human nature was a compelling theme. And this was a rare instance where an anime’s ending actually elevated my overall estimation of a show.


#5. PSYCHO-PASS – Some of the grotesquerie from the first cour was a bit of a turn-off for me. The show really picked up in the second half, though, offering interesting ideas and complex characters, including female lead Akane. All in all, the storytelling and pacing were good; and in spite of the dark theme, it was a fun series to watch.


#6. Chihayafuru 2 – I admit, I was not as enamored with this season as I was the first, but I found it solidly entertaining regardless. I loved the characters, and the series never bored me, even with the greater focus on Karuta gameplay.


#7. The Eccentric Family (uchouten-kazoku) – uchoten-kazoku featured a close-knit family of tanuki still coming to grips with things in the wake of losing the father, who died unceremoniously before the events of the series. Simultaneously magical, quirky, charming, and darkly humorous, the narrative was strongest and most heart-warming when the focus was on the very human characters (even though they weren’t human) of the main tanuki family.


#8. Valvrave the Liberator (Kakumeiki Valvrave) – Valvrave started out as an over-the-top action anime featuring a crazy mash up of mecha, high school, political intrigue, and vampire elements. It got away with a lot of ridiculousness by being clearly self-aware. But the story was never a joke. I think the show managed to achieve a good balance between the silliness and the seriousness.

In general, the large cast had impressively well-defined personalities. And L-elf was particularly entertaining, with his freakish smarts and unhesitating brutality, providing a good foil for main character Haruto’s earnest idealism.


#9. Kyousougiga – What made this series work were the great characters and their relationships with each other. Even though the setting and happenings were crazy and surreal, the show was grounded in the sympathetic members of the central family. The end result was a positive, life-affirming, feel-good experience.


#10. Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince – This anime had a fair amount of satire and goofiness, much of it at the expense of the main characters, the members of Team Rabbits, AKA Fail Five. In particular, lovably dorky leader Izuru and boy-crazy Tamaki led the way for much of the humour. The show also featured a very convincing portrayal of GERD, and I felt for Asagi whenever his stomach acted up.

Ultimately though, Majestic Prince functioned reasonably well as a serious story about the protecting of humanity from alien threat. And finally, I can’t not mention the frequently impressive mecha battle sequences this show had; even a mecha-ignorant viewer such as myself could appreciate how good they were.
____________________________________________________________________

Biggest Regrets: Series that, in retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have bothered watching from beginning to end. Listed in approximate broadcast order with brief comment.

  • MAOYU (groan)
  • Love Live! School idol project (yawn)
  • RDG Red Data Girl (incomprehensible)
  • DEVIL SURVIVOR 2 The Animation (groan)
  • Arata the Legend (Arata Kangatari) (yawn)
  • GATCHAMAN CROWDS (incomprehensible)
  • BEYOND THE BOUNDARY (Kyoukai no Kanata) (whatever)
  • Galilei Donna (groan)

Mid-Autumn 2013 Anime Ranking

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Ah, the season’s almost over! Anyway, here’s the ranking. Spoilers up to the episodes indicated.


01. Valvrave the Liberator (Kakumeiki Valvrave) 2nd Season (ep. 13-22) – When the first season aired during the spring, this was a middling show for me, fun to watch, but it was hard to get a grasp on the plot. Gradually, this installment has inched its way up in my ranks. It’s becoming apparent that there is a plan after all and that this crazy show knows what it’s doing.

It’s amusing how everyone, especially Haruto and Renbokouji, is so reliant on L-elf’s leadership and intelligence. (Every time Renbokouji stubbornly says he’s going to wait for L-elf, I think of Inigo Montoya’s “I am waiting for Vizzini”!) Although episode 21 offered a sudden, violent plot turn, I thought it also suffered from L-elf’s absence – both in terms of lack of resistance by JIOR to enemy attack, and in terms of lack of enjoyment by this viewer.

Poor Saki, though. It’s bad enough she had to suffer a sexual assault in season one. Then, separated from her team and at the mercy of her enemies, her situation was triggering traumatic memories for me of what happened to the doctor’s wife in “Shiki”. Horrifying.

In the latest episode, Haruto and L-elf found themselves stranded in space and running out of oxygen. Faced with a similar scenario earlier this year, the astronauts in “Space Brothers” tried to help each other survive and go out with dignity. But this is Valvrave. These guys decided to spend their final moments having a fight. Gotta say, I enjoyed seeing them get bounced around in their chubby CG spacesuits; it was pretty funny.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


02. Samurai Flamenco (ep. 1-10) – Well, I was really enjoying this series. For the first few weeks, before Valvrave became so awesome, this was sitting firmly at the top of my list. I love the two main characters as well as the realistic setting. And having previously been a victim in a stolen umbrella incident in Tokyo, episode 2 was of personal relevance to me.

My interest in Samumenco waned a bit when the cast expanded to include Kaname Joji as Masayoshi’s mentor, and Flamenco Girl. And now, our heroes are fighting actual monsters? What happened to my realism? They’d better be going somewhere good with this!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


03. YowaPeda (Yowamushi Pedal) (ep. 1-10) – Not much happens in this cycling anime outside of, well, bike races, but as far as sports shows go, this one does it right. The comic timing is good and it’s hard not to root for our hardcore otaku/novice cyclist main character Onoda.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


04. Tokyo Ravens (ep. 1-10) – The initial story arc impressed me the most. There were a couple of times when I questioned possible inconsistencies, such as characters seeming to know more that they should, but eventually, those things actually were explained! I also appreciated that Harutora was tempted to just let the villain die at the end.

The use of CG scenes in this show is pretty glaring most of the time. On the other hand, I’m really liking the characters, for some reason, especially brooding, trolling Touji and lovably idiotic lead guy Harutora.
(streaming at FUNimation)


05. Kyousougiga (ep. 0-9) – There’s a lot I still don’t understand about Kyousougiga, not the least of which is pretty basic stuff like “who are some of these people?” So, it took me a while to develop an appreciation for this perplexing show.

It was probably episode 6, with its revelations about how Myoue (Yakushimaru) came to be part of the family, that turned things around for me. On the surface, Inari and Koto saved a boy’s life and gave him a loving home. But Yakushimaru was despairing and wanted to die! By making him immortal, they forever took away his ability to die. They meant well, of course, but seen in that light, their actions were also terribly cruel and selfish.

For that matter, the very creation of the Looking Glass City could be seen as a pretty arrogant act. Again, Inari seemed to have meant well and just wanted a peaceful place for his children to live in forever, but to play god like that… So we cheer on the younger Koto when she takes a stand to protect the place and its inhabitants, but is it really correct? Is it really advisable to threaten the existence of the other dimensions in order to save this world?

Will everything be explained when this is over? Somehow I doubt it. It wouldn’t surprise me if Kyousougiga ends the way it started, like an abstract artwork or poem, full of lovely provocative imagery, that makes you think and ask questions but won’t provide any easy answers. If you’re hoping everything will make sense at the end, it’s probably best to get used to disappointment.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

06. KILL la KILL (ep. 1-11) – This series has plenty of style and confidence. Lately, though, it’s just been one battle after another, and it’s hard for me to feel much excitement about that. I still have faith that they’re going somewhere eventually, but for now…

Here’s hoping the new theme songs next season pack a bit more oomph. The current ones are too light and poppy and are the weakest part of the show, in my opinion.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


07. Kuroko’s Basketball 2 (ep. 26-36) – Still entertaining, but so far, this is not living up to the standard set by the first season. There’s a greater focus on the games this time around. That’s not necessarily a problem, though. The biggest drawback for me is that the new characters who are showing up in these games are nasty people with no redeeming qualities. Previously, Seirin’s opponents had likeable personalities, and it was believable that they would all eventually come to understand and respect each other. It’ll definitely be harder to buy this time around if they end up all friendly-like.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

08. Space Brothers (Uchuu Kyoudai) (ep. 76-86) – The current season has focused on Mutta’s astronaut training and Hibito’s private struggle with panic disorder, and it’s been pretty solid. I don’t like that Hibito hasn’t confided in Mutta yet, so I hope that changes soon. (Note: I did not bother to watch any of the Mr. Hibbit shorts at the end of the episodes.)
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

09. MAGI: The Kingdom of Magic (ep. 1-10) – MAGI proved once again that it’s not a kids’ show with the public beheading of a criminal in episode 6, with one of the protagonists as the executioner! It might be possible to convince me that the victim deserved it, but what I found most shocking was that the whole incident took place in front of the watchful eyes of a group of children. It bothered me that the show failed to address how horrific that was.

In general, this second season of MAGI has been largely underwhelming. Episode 7, in particular, was exceptionally tedious and unfunny and possibly the worst episode of any anime that I’ve seen in a long time. To be fair, though, even that episode had a brief flash of brilliance in the introduction of Ren Kouha; the way he was able to wield his, well, unwieldy sword was clever and cool.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


10. PHI BRAIN – Kami no Puzzle Season 3 (ep. 1-10) – By episode 4, I was already tired of the “Makata Jin loved puzzles, no, Makata Jin hated puzzles” conundrum. Isn’t it pretty obvious he despised puzzles that kill but liked the warm fuzzy ones? They’re still going on about it, so maybe there’s more to it than I think?

Anyway, PHI BRAIN’s always been good fun for when you just want to sit back and relax and not think too much. That continues to be true for this season.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

11. NAGI NO ASUKARA (Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea) (ep. 1-11) – Apparently Nagi-Asu will be continuing for a second cour. I hope there’s going to be a huge time skip and the kids grow into adults. Right now, this show about the relationship between people of the sea and people of the land is a bit too sentimental. It’s also annoying that everyone chooses to play games instead of stating their feelings directly.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


12. Galilei Donna (ep. 1-10) – This show seems to want to be a Da Vinci Code-like quest adventure. It’s good that the protagonists are all capable females. But the plot developments are worse than in a kids’ cartoon; the girls always happen to be in the right place at the right time, or clues fall into their laps out of nowhere. Also, all the important relics are right there with them on the ship, not, for instance, at the home they were forced to abandon without notice. It’s increasingly hard to suspend disbelief and muster the energy to watch each new episode.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

13. BEYOND THE BOUNDARY (Kyoukai no Kanata) (ep. 1-11) – Unpleasant main characters, with no chemistry between the leads. The story is starting to make a little more sense now, but it’s not enough to make me care about what will happen to Mirai or Akihito or anyone else.
Sigh. What a waste of pretty KyoAni animation.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


14. Diabolik Lovers (ep. 1-12 complete) – Totally trashy show that you can’t help but continue watching once you start. The only good thing I can say is that the heroine’s character design was really cute. Unfortunately, she was nothing more than a powerless, abused slave to a twisted family of vampires. Just about every episode included a “rape” scene… and not much else in the way of character development or plot. And it’s my opinion only, but I didn’t see anything appealing in any of the male characters; when they are this ugly on the inside, it totally obscures any attractiveness on the outside. What an absolute fail for a reverse harem title!

Ultimately, I found some enjoyment in a so-bad-it’s-good kind of way. I think you would have to be a total “M” to actually get off on this stuff.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

Mid-Summer 2013 Anime Ranking

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I’ve been working on this post for the past few weeks, in preparation of going on vacation. Unfortunately, I expect to fall behind on my watch list while I’m away.

Anyway, here’s the current ranking, including a more extended look at BROTHERS CONFLICT. In retrospect, I should have maybe made it into a separate entry. Oh well.


01. Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) (ep. 14-21) – There are only a few episodes remaining, so it is a bit worrisome that Shingeki seems to be taking its time with the storytelling. Regardless though, every episode has been satisfying nonetheless. There’s always some reveal or intrigue or character development, and I’m left amazed at how good the show is, even while wondering when we’ll actually get some answers to the questions at the heart of the story.

Just to add a word about the latest episode: It was so intense, I was on edge and filled with dread throughout the whole thing. Seriously, it’s important not to get too attached to these characters! On the plus side, Mikasa’s back. And she and Levi are finally on the same page!
(streaming at Crunchyroll and Funimation)


02. Free! – Iwatobi Swim Club (ep. 1-9) – Obviously a fanservice show for girls, but it’s also a school-setting sports anime. The comedy is right on target and it is just really fun to watch. The characters all have well-developed personalities, making their interactions amusing and convincing. The animation is beautiful. The OP and ED themes are catchy. Sure, the guys are easy on the eyes, but that’s just the icing on the cake here.

As an aside, I hope Samezuka captain Mikoshiba gets a chance with Kou. Normally, he’s authoritative and rather intimidating, but it’s so cute how he totally softens up when he’s with her. It’ll probably never happen though, since Kou hasn’t shown any interest and this show isn’t about him! But at the very least, it’s a testament to the amount of love and detail that went into the writing when even a minor character like Mikoshiba has multiple facets to his personality.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


03. The Eccentric Family (uchouten-kazoku) (ep. 1-9) – The only series I’m watching this season that has animation more stunning than Free!. In lesser shows, they just flash some fanservice during dialogue-heavy scenes and call it a day. In this one, the characters are constantly moving – and fluidly; even if it’s a dialogue scene, they’ll be eating something or tidying up the room while talking.

The anime is strongest when it focuses on Yasaburou, his brothers, and their mother. They have complex personalities and the family dynamic is engaging. Yasaburou and his youngest brother are also incredibly cute. Eccentric Family is full of dark humour, delivered deadpan. Not entirely sure where they’re going with this story-wise, but right now the journey is entertaining enough that I’m not concerned about the destination.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


04. Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince (ep. 13-21) – Another show that shines because of its really well-defined characters. Majestic Prince continues to deliver ironic truths along with gentle humour. We’re in the home stretch now and the battle against the Walguru is heating up. Meanwhile, revelations about the team’s origins are coming to light.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


05. Servant x Service (ep. 1-9) – Some episodes are really funny and creative, while others are less inspired and sometimes annoying. Charming slacker Hasebe is really great and steals every scene he’s in. His sister too – she’s the only person who can one-up him and I’d like to see more of her. Ichimiya’s sister Toko, on the other hand, is responsible for all the “annoying” and the show would be better without her, in my opinion.

Recent episodes have put the spotlight on Hasebe and his relationship with Lucy, and that’s definitely a step in the right direction.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

06. Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199) (ep. 13-22) – The Yamato crew continues on its quest to save the Earth. Meanwhile, we’re seeing more of the workings of the enemy Garmillians. It’s interesting that the Earthlings actually come off as a pretty homogenous bunch, while it’s the Garmillans who have more complex issues involving politics, race struggles, and discrimination.


07. BROTHERS CONFLICT (ep. 1-9) – A teenage girl moves in with 12 of her 13 new step-brothers after her father remarries. It’s a pseudo-incest/reverse-harem anime and just hearing the premise was enough to make me groan and roll my eyes. However, since I am such an open-minded person, and because reverse harem shows can be fun for whatever reason, I checked this out anyway.

The animation is minimal and low-budget, but the guys’ personalities and appearances are relatively fleshed out and distinguishable, and not quite as stereotypical as they could have been. The main girl, Ema, is the blandest character – though after AMNESIA, this heroine seems positively perky.

I think it’s certainly possible that these boys, getting to know their new “sister” and spending considerable time together, could start to feel affection for her, which could be confused for romantic attraction. Realistically though, even a teenager, never mind a 20-something, would know to tread carefully in such a situation, wouldn’t they? I mean, this is a girl who’s going to be part of the family. If things go wrong, there could be a lifetime of hard feelings and awkwardness in store.

Therefore, going in, I expected that the romance would mostly be a tease. Usually these shows tend to invite the audience to ship various characters together, often without overtly promoting a pairing or having characters seriously confess their love.

This show goes there! Several of the brothers have already made their intentions clear; one has (laughably) practically proposed marriage! There has started to be some nastiness between them. Ema has not shown any particular preference for the boys, but she has not clearly rebuffed them either. All I can think is that she’s going to tear this family apart. How can this possibly end well?
(streaming at Funimation)

08. Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East S2 (ep. 14-21) – This anime, about a bunch of guys named Inu-something, resumes after a 3-month break and it continues to be a consistent and nice looking show, but it’s still not clear to me what the point of it is. Regardless, when it tries to be funny, it is surprisingly effective, so it remains an entertaining watch most of the time.

I think the senseless mass murders in ep. 20 was a bit of a misstep, though. It did not fit with the usual lighter tone of the series. It’s true there have been dark turns in the past, but the violence here was particularly unnecessary and inconsequential.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


09. Blood Lad (ep. 1-9) – Blood Lad had a promising beginning, but quickly started to lose me in the following episodes. It’s been picking up again, and it certainly does have its funny moments, so I’m glad I didn’t give up on it.
The main girls are the weak point for me. Bell seems to be a popular character, but she doesn’t do anything for me at all. And Fuyumi is, by nature, nothing more than a fanservice blob.
The guys fare better: Otaku vampire lead Staz is frequently amusing, and I’m liking Wolf as well. I also hope to see more of Staz’s relationship with his brother.

Wait, there’s only one episode left? How are they going to wrap things up so quickly?

10. WATAMOTE-No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! (Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaete mo Omaera ga Warui!) (ep. 1-8) – I think Tomoko is cute and she is depicted in a realistic, if rather brutal, way. I feel sorry for her as a social outcast at school. However, I can’t sympathize with the terrible way she treats her brother. There is some humour in this uncommon anime, and also a lot of painful, ugly truth. WATAMOTE is very well written, but it can be pretty uncomfortable to watch.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

11. Genshiken Second Generation (ep. 1-9) – Not having seen more than a couple of episodes from the earlier seasons of Genshiken, I do feel a bit lost sometimes when past characters show up or they reference some previous event. For some reason, I never got into Genshiken, even though it’s a popular series for otaku.

This season has more emphasis on fujoshi characters and BL, and that part’s been pretty enjoyable so far. Hato, who is shaping up to be the main character of the bunch, is certainly about as unlikely and original a lead as I have ever seen!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

12. Space Brothers (Uchuu Kyoudai) (ep. 65-71) – I wish there was a condensed version of these episodes. The plot has been rather predictable lately and sooo slow-moving. I still believe Space Brothers is a decent show, but the pacing! At the end of that episode where Mutta met his flying instructor, I remember being torn between thinking “It’s already over? Nothing happened!” and “I’m so glad it’s finally over because nothing happened!”
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

13. Sunday Without God (Kami-sama no Inai Nichiyoubi) (ep. 1-9) – While the rules of this (literally) god-forsaken fantasy world are not well established, I think Sunday Without God might be trying to say something about the meaning of life, existentialism, or some such. The show was never exactly riveting to begin with, but at least it was throwing out some potentially thought-provoking ideas. Therefore, I found the sudden shift to a school setting in ep. 7 and 8 to be both jarring and disappointing. The tedious new characters and their uninteresting conversations just bored me.

There are still a few episodes remaining, so I shouldn’t write it off just yet. However, I don’t have much hope at this point that it will come through with any meaningful message by the end.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


14. GATCHAMAN CROWDS (ep. 1-8) – This anime is colourful and inventive. The main character is spunky and I admire how she encourages looking at things from other people’s point of view. So why can’t this show hold my attention?

I guess the wishy-washy world-building is kind of tiresome for me at this point. What I want to see is more development of the characters, and meaningful interactions between them.

Despite her outward airhead appearance, we’re supposed to believe that Hajime knows exactly what she’s doing. But we never get to see the method behind her madness. So while things “happen”, I don’t feel any weight from the possible consequences.

When it comes to stylish, quirky, brightly-coloured anime featuring super-chill protagonists who take everything in stride, I’ll take uchouten-kazoku over CROWDS any day.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

15. Senyuu. S2 (ep. 14-22) – The novelty is rubbing off. And random stuff is just random. For a show with such a short run-time, there are an awful lot of characters; and when you only see them for seconds at a time with a whole week in between, it gets hard to keep them straight. The main character is hardly even in it anymore, though that’s part of the joke too, of course.

Well, it’s still a small commitment time-wise, so I’ll continue watching. But recently, I’ve been putting it off until several episodes are available so I can watch them all at once.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

Mid-Spring 2013 Anime Ranking

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“It hurts you don’t think of me as a friend.” The issue of trust is a common theme that has come up in several of the titles that I’m currently following. Without getting into too much detail, another frequent theme is: “I have seen the enemy, and he looks a lot like me.”

More than halfway through, this has been a season where a huge divide exists between the shows I’m keenly interested in (the top 5 or so) and most of the others, which I’m just watching anyway.


01. The DEVIL is a Part-timer! (Hataraku Maou-sama!) (ep. 1-9) – Yet another demon X human anime, this time the demon king is a guy and the human hero is a girl. Satan and his General Alsiel, as well as Heroine Emilia, must adapt to their new surroundings after being magically transported to modern-day Tokyo. It’s a simple premise, but the characters are immensely likeable, and it’s just been hugely funny in the small details.

Incidentally, I really like this hard-working demon lord, Maou, for the same reason that I conversely loathed lazy-ass Yamada from “Working!!.” Any employer would be lucky to have someone on staff with such excellent work ethic. Even I, myself, can only aspire to give as much to my company as he does to his!
(streaming at Funimation)


02. Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) (ep. 1-9) – Mikasa the Giant Slayer! Now this is more like what I wanted from “JACK THE GIANT SLAYER”: terrifying, super-strong, man-eating giants!

The first 2 episodes of this intense and graphic anime were completely grim. Then suddenly, ep. 3 introduced some humour as well, which was a surprising and welcome addition to an already outstanding show.

It’s likely Attack on Titan intentionally took its time developing the characters; that way, we would get a sense that anyone is expendable. I’m glad to see now that Armin is not just a useless sidekick and Jean is evolving beyond the jealous rival role.

And now that we’ve seen some of Mikasa’s background, motivations and vulnerability, I’m admiring her more and more. It’s not often that we get to see such truly strong female characters in anime, and she’s just one of several in this show!
(streaming at Crunchyroll and Funimation)


03. Gargantia on the Verderous Planet (Suisei no Gargantia) (ep. 1-9) – It’s the far future, and humans are embroiled in an endless war with space aliens known as Hideauze. After one battle, Ledo and his A.I./mecha, Chamber, find themselves marooned on the legendary planet Earth, long thought to have been destroyed. He encounters the people of Gargantia, a community made up of ships which have been joined together. They know nothing of the war in space, while Ledo knows nothing about non-military life.

The first 4 episodes handled narrative and character development exceptionally well. The themes presented were understated and thought-provoking. Unfortunately, the following 4 episodes were mostly disappointing and used up the good will that I initially felt for the series.

Similarly, I had been trying not to be annoyed by the canker-sore-like blushes on the bodies of Amy and her friends, but after a while, I could no longer ignore that they serve as a mark of cheap fanservice in a show which should really have more dignity than that.

That said, Gargantia still features probably the sharpest and brightest animation of the season, and things appear to be heating up finally, with the major revelation in the latest episode, so I’m eager to see where it goes from here.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


04. Chihayafuru 2 (ep. 14-21) – Continues to focus exclusively on the Karuta tournament rather than advancing the stories of the main cast. Remarkably continues to be riveting nonetheless.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


05. Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199) (ep. 1-10) – An updated remake of the 1970s anime, which I have not seen. The crew of the Yamato is tasked with the responsibility of finding a way to save humanity as Earth sits on the brink of destruction by alien forces. So far, the story has been compelling and the characters sympathetic.

06. Uta no Prince-sama: Maji LOVE 2000% (ep. 1-9) – UtaPri 2 is just a light confection, but it’s been pretty consistently over-the-top fun, more so than its predecessor. I like how most episodes manage to incorporate some action scenes even though this isn’t an action anime. Overall, it exceeds one’s expectations of an idol/reverse harem series. Well, the music could be better, but the awfulness can be funny too.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

07. Valvrave the Liberator (Kakumeiki Valvrave) (ep. 1-8) – With its huge cast of characters, the plot is sometimes hard to follow, and the motives of the various groups are unclear. Increasingly, it’s become fun to just enjoy the characters’ antics anyway. Valvrave is almost as convoluted and absurd as “GUILTY CROWN”, although this show is clearly more self-aware and intentionally ridiculous.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

08. Space Brothers (Uchuu Kyoudai) (ep. 52-60) – Mutta and his team are training in Houston, currently working on their entry for the Comeback Competition. The narrative continues to be solid, though still a bit slow-paced. This is a really good show, and I would have ranked it higher if it wasn’t for the tedious 3-episode recap at the start of the season.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


09. Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince (ep. 1-9) – About a team of promising mecha pilots (ridiculed by their peers as “Fail Five”) who are struggling to meet the demands of their new roles in the military during a conflict with, you guessed it, aliens. The show displays a curious blend of humour and irony and seriousness.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


10. Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san. Z (ep. 1-9) – As vulgar, violent, subversive, ugly as the first series. The first 2 episodes were awesome, partly because I “get” the Moloch fanservice. While I wouldn’t say that subsequent offerings have been terrible, I did think they were less inspired and also occasionally crossed the line between irreverently funny and genuinely offensive.
Also, there hasn’t been enough of Akutabe – or Beelzebub, for that matter. The two of them finally made their return in ep. 9, along with the introduction of a super-pervert villain. It was sooo vulgar, and yet so hilariously over-the-top that I had a huge grin on my face throughout… now I’m actually looking forward to the next episode!

11. My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabucome wa Machigatteiru) (ep. 1-8) – This anime about social misfits in a high school service club retreads some ground previously covered by shows such as Hyouka, Chuu2byo, Toradora, SKET Dance, Medaka Box…
It does manage to provide some amusement most of the time, even though it pretty much has no plot. I had trouble accepting the misfit gimmick initially, but the characters are getting more fleshed out and I find I’ve been enjoying them better recently. How is it the recurring, random gag about Hachiman’s strange attraction to effeminate Totsuka is funny every time?
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


12. Karneval (ep. 1-9) – If only Yogi were the main character of this series. He’s fabulous, quirky and endearing and the scenes with him are always the best. The actual leads, Gareki and Nai, pale by comparison. Gareki has very little outward personality, and Nai, who seems to get by on cuteness alone, isn’t even that cute (to my eyes, anyway).
So what are Circus and the other factions after and what does it have to do with the players involved? Couldn’t tell ya.
(streaming at Funimation)

13. DEVIL SURVIVOR 2 The Animation (ep. 1-9) – Frequently unintentionally funny. For instance, the way the characters have to hold their cell phones toward the battles, so they can use their apps to fight monsters, is laughable. It probably doesn’t help that I have no familiarity with the game this is based on, but I have only a vague idea of what’s going on. And I feel nothing for the characters, even when they die.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

14. Arata the Legend (Arata Kangatari) (ep. 1-8) – At first, I was cutting this show some slack since it’s based on a seemingly well-liked manga. I wonder if maybe this adaptation has pared down the original story significantly, thereby retaining the main plot, but losing much of its heart? Either way, the result has been mediocre, at best. Ah well, there’s not much on on Mondays, and the OLDCODEX ending song is pretty good.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

15. RDG Red Data Girl (ep. 1-9) – I just don’t get this. RDG takes itself very seriously, but it meanders all over the place and I don’t understand what it’s about most of the time. And, I can’t fathom why other viewers recommend it so much. I can acknowledge that it’s a nice looking series, though; that’s about it.
(streaming at Funimation)