Tag Archives: lists

My Favorite Anime v. 2

Discussion, ,

It’s been nearly three years since I updated my list of favorite anime. I figure it’s about time. A few notes:

  • This list is only for TV anime, not movies or OVAs. In case I never get around to writing posts on those (a highly likely scenario) my favorite movies are Whisper of the Heart followed by A Place Promised in Our Early Days followed by a bunch of Miyazaki movies and the Haruhi movie. My favorite OVA is Detroit Metal City, followed by Diebuster.
  • My tastes are pretty varied, I feel, although sci-fi, fantasy, and horror are each heavily represented. The two things that draw most of these shows together are strong characterizations and creative settings.
  • If you want to compare the changes, here is the original list.
  • Take the rankings with a grain of salt. The difference between #31 and #32 is approximately nothing.
  • If anyone’s wondering why Bokurano isn’t on my list, it’s because I haven’t watched it yet.  Once I watch Bokurano I will have no good anime to look forward to and will have no need to ever watch anime again.
  • If anyone’s wondering why Narutaru isn’t on my list, it’s because it sucked. Except the OP. That was pretty darn good.
  • This list is objectively accurate, and anyone who disagrees is WRONG. It’s not like the order would have been completely different if I wrote it yesterday instead.

Without further ado, here it is: the list of my favorite 50 anime.

gankutsuou_peppo gankutsuou_1

50. Gankutsuou
The Count of Monte Cristo, anime version. Everything that made the original Count of Monte Cristo so great, except it also looks pretty. Oh, and with mecha and traps. Of course. It is anime, after all. Continue reading My Favorite Anime v. 2 →

2011: A Year in Review

Year in Review, ,

It’s nice to look back occasionally and look at the previous year. How was 2011 in terms of anime?

Most Pleasant Surprise

Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai
After the first episode’s panty flash from a little girl, I dropped the show and didn’t finish the episode. A few weeks later, I decided to give it another shot, and was pleasantly surprised. It’s setup with the “three” main characters gives a unique and much needed twist to the harem genre. Its jokes can be fairly witty, and the characters are not your straight-up harem tropes. And it’s pretty fun trying to figure out what’s going on. Continue reading 2011: A Year in Review →

A Seasonal Review: Fall 2011

Seasonal Review, ,

Same drill as last time.

I’ve loosely ranked the season’s shows from worst to best (rough guide: A=awesome, B+=great, B-=good, C=decent, D=bad, F=fail). The numbers in parentheses are how I ranked that series’ first episode at the start of the season. Let’s see how much things have changed.

I’ve tried to keep this post concise. Let’s begin!

Dropped: Maken-ki! (22), Tamayura ~hitotose~ (21), Kimi to Boku (20), Mashiroiro Symphony (19), ϕ Brain (18)

Fallen Behind: The iDOLM@STER, Gintama’

19.  Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon — F (17)
WTF, Japan. Continue reading A Seasonal Review: Fall 2011 →

Fall 2011 — First Impressions

Seasonal Impressions, ,

I’ve loosely ranked this season’s new offerings from worst to best. I did the same thing this summer as well, since I was away and couldn’t make individual first impression posts. I found the last list useful, both for reference and to compare with how things turned out at the end in my post-season post. This time the list will be more concise since I’ve already written at length on every first episode.

Overall, this seems to be a step back from the last two seasons, but last season especially was an outlier. So I’m not going to read much into it. Anyway, Penguindrum is still airing, so I have no complaints.

22. Maken-ki!
Pointless fighting and fanservice show of the season. This has to have the most worthless protagonist I’ve ever seen in an anime. And I’ve seen a lot. Dropped.

21. Tamayura ~hitotose~
I already said everything that needs to be said in my post. Dropped

20. Kimi to Boku
Tamayura, but with cynical whiny men. Dropped.

19. Mashiroiro Symphony
Makes Hoshizora e Kakaru Hoshi look inspired. Dropped.

18. ϕ Brain
Starting to bore me. What’s the point of a show about puzzles, if you can’t solve the puzzles? Soon to be dropped.

17. Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon
As the show progresses, it’s less and less clear what it’s supposed to be about. It’s terrible, but in such a way you can’t tear your eyes from the unfolding disaster.

16. Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!
The first episode was pretty good. But then they dropped the fighting, lost all sense of focus, and turned it into your typical harem.

15. Shakugan no Shana III
Off to a good start. But it’s Shana.

14. Persona 4
Too faithful to the game. The second episode slowed down and was a vast improvement.

13. Working’!!
Still funny (esp. Yamada) but the jokes are getting stale.

12. Ben-to
Ridiculous, humorous premise.

11. Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai
Second episode was better, it’s been pretty funny.

10. Chihayafuru
I’m usually not fond of this kind of thing, but Chihayafuru is quite solid.

9.   C³ : Cubed X Cursed X Curious
What can I say, I like crazy people.

8.   Hunter x Hunter
Off to a great start, especially for the notoriously slow shounen fighting genre.

7.   Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing
I still have no idea how this will turn out. Could go either way.

6.   UN-GO
Same thing: no clue where this will go.

5.   Mobile Suit Gundam AGE
Childish, but solid and enjoyable.

4.   Shinryaku!? Ika Musume
Still going strong, they aren’t out of jokes yet.

3.   Fate / zero
Starting off slowly, but I’m confident it will get better once it gets going.

2.   Guilty Crown
It sure looks pretty. So far the characters are lacking, but hopefully the first episode was just a tease.

1.  Mirai Nikki
It’s intense and thrilling, but wouldn’t have made my top five last season.

What did you think of this season’s shows? I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments!

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A Seasonal Review: Summer 2011

Seasonal Review, ,

Summer was a great season.

I’ve loosely ranked the season’s shows from worst to best (rough guide to my rankings: A=awesome, B+=great, B-=good, C=decent, D=bad, F=fail). The numbers in parentheses are how I ranked that series’ first episode at the start of the season. Let’s see how much things have changed. Note that the numbers don’t exactly correspond, since the two-season shows were not included in the ranking at the start of the season.

I’ve tried to keep this post concise since I’ve already written full reviews for most of the shows. So let’s start!

Not Included: Hyouge Mono (only two eps. translated), Natsume Yuujinchou San (8) (haven’t watched second season)

Dropped After one Episode: Manyuu Hikenchou (24), Double-J (23), Morita-san wa Makuchi (22), Nyanpire (21), Twin Angel – Twinkle Paradise (20), Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi (16)

23. Blood-C — Dropped (13)
I watched another episode or two, and they were the same as the first episode.

22. Nekogami Yaoyorozu — Dropped (19)
I just don’t find this funny. It’s more inclined to give me a headache than make me laugh.

21. Mayo Chiki — F (15)
Our standard harem of the season, with cross-dressing butlers.

20. Kamisama no Memochou — D- (10)
Generic and dull. I can’t stand any of the characters.

19. Ro-Kyu-Bu! — Not Finished (18)
Surprisingly decent for a lolicon show. But it’s still a lolicon show.

18. The iDOLM@STER — Still Airing (12)
There isn’t anything I can point to with this show and say “this is bad.” It’s actually very well made. It’s just that I have no interest whatsoever in idols.

17. Kamisama Dolls — D (4)
A cool setting, but utterly aimless.

16. Sacred Seven — D+ (11)
Fun and dumb.

15. Baka Test to Shoukanjuu Ni! — C- (14)
The jokes are getting old.

14. No. 6 — C- (2)
Had potential, but forgot about the main plot until the end, which was disastrous.

13. R-15 — C (17)
A solid and unique fanservice comedy.

12. Ao no Exorcist — C+
Standard shounen fare, but well made.

11. Gintama’
A good season, especially the prison arc.

10. Ikoku Meiro no Croisée — B- (7)
Undeniably adorable.

9.  Nurarihyon no Mago Sennen Makyou (6)
A vast improvement over the last season.

8.  Dantalian no Shoka — B- (3)
Very creative, but it got stale.

7.  Hanasaku Iroha — B
Great when it sticks to the drama.

6.  YuruYuri — B (9)
Hilarious yuri hijinks.

5.  Tiger and Bunny — B+
Great characters (especially Kotetsu) but a somewhat weak ending.

4.  Usagi Drop — B+ (5)
Lovable characters in roles we don’t often see, beautifully animated.

3.  Steins; Gate — B+
Great fun with time travel and speculation (and a badass lead character).

 

2.  Nichijou — A-
One of the best comedies in recent years. It’s left me laughing every week.

1.  Mawaru Penguin Drum (1)
By far my favorite series of the season. This show has a pacing and intensity that none can match, is always full of surprises, and gives plenty of food for thought every week.

What did you think of this season’s shows? Feel free to share in the comments!

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