2018 Anime Summary

by SuperWooper, posted in Yearly Summaries

Aidan: Judging things as a collective is always a flawed process. Yet for simplistic presentation we stick anything we can into top tens, best of year or greatest hits. To stick a label on so much diverse content is always a matter of point in time favoritism that likely won’t be true in five years or even five minutes from now. But here we are bundling all the anime of the year into a post for easy digestion and judgement which I must insist is highly opinionated. For a general impression of the year I admit to it being a year where there were not many shows that I felt strongly about. There were shows that certainly are good but if asked which was the best of the year I would find that I wouldn’t be all to enthusiastic regardless of my pick. However this could be very much due to this year being a rather busy and tiring year for me which come with the pains of turning thirty and finally admitting that I am no longer young anymore.

Before you scroll down and prepare to scream at us for neglecting the absolute masterpiece of animation that you consider was best of the year allow me to fully concede that this post is far from an ironclad perfection. Our method of choosing this particular winners isn’t foolproof and is dependent on each writer’s knowledge of the anime of that year. I myself prove to be the worst liability in this regard considering that I just didn’t watch much anime this year and started many a series only to forget to finish them. As such you may notice some glaring omissions like the new seasons of Attack on Titan or Boku No Hero Academia which I can assure you are mainly missing due to none of our writers having a particular interest in continuing them. (Though Hero Academia fans you do have an ally on the team with Lenlo. Sadly he’s outnumbered by the rest of us.) Even I find the final list below to be missing some standouts so I at least recommend that you do not use this post as your single source on what to watch from this year.

Each writer has taken up writing a blurb for each show with a tally on what we all voted as the best of the year down below. Once again we do not expect you to agree and if anything maybe we might get you to check out a show you may have overlooked this year. Wakanda forever, let’s jam.

Worst of the Worst

Worst Show: Itou Junji Collection

Aidan: While an argument can be made over there being worse shows than Junji Itou Collection, it can be said that at least those shows have more of an excuse. Junji Itou is a horror mangaka of legendary status that to consider him the HP Lovecraft of manga is not such a far fetched statement. His work has inspired plenty yet failed to gain an adaptation be it live action or otherwise which truly gave his work justice. This anime was a chance to take that work and transform it to a new plane, adding a potential great anime to the rather underexplored anime horror genre. However due to shoestring animation, a general lack of passion or care and oddly chosen stories this anime took these stories and killed the soul out of them. Making what was considered terrifying, unnerving and otherworldly into something aggressively mediocre.

Runner-up: CONCEPTION, for being the first show to put up a link to a website when asked for worldbuilding.

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Boogiepop wa Warawanai (2019) – 04 [VS The Imaginator 1]

by SuperMario, posted in Boogiepop wa Warawanai (2019), Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense

It starts with a girl jumping off the building.
I’m always a sucker for this sort of opener (clue in to Lain and Satoshi Kon even though Kon never technically did that for opener), and it feels like a decent start for the next arc to come. It basically repeats the same formula as the first three episodes, albeit more to my likings. The biggest distribution to that is that this episode more coherent than the first arc, while at the same time remains ambiguous. So far, Boogiepop introduces 2 new characters, both of them prove to be significant to this arc.

It starts with a girl jumping off the building, yet she isn’t literally dead. As we soon learn, she is another non-human villain whom Boogiepop is here to destroy her, and whom Boogiepop refers as “The Imaginator”. Who or what exactly she might be is up to the air right now, and the moment she falls down from the building she disappears to thin air. It’s worth noticing that the Imaginator (in the body of Minahoshi Suiko) is voiced by the recognisable Hanazawa Kana, which for me is a strange choice. She is later referred herself as “a future that’s taken form in the present, or a hypothetical possibility given substance”, which basically just pretentiously BS for me. What I do understand is that unlike Manticore in last arc where he eats human to survive, this supernatural being’s motive is unclear and it mighj not be necessary a bad cause. At the moment she seems to progress human’s strength by giving them a push, both mentally and supernaturally.

And her first prey is Asukai, a school counselor who can see what missing in people’s heart in the form of flowers. That makes it two series this season that a character can see the insight of people that naked eyes can’t (the other one is Dororo), and while it’s certainly an interesting concept, visualize people’s heart is a flower is a bit simplifiable for me. Isn’t it a bit too convenient that “this girl’s flower has no root” or “she’s nice but she has no bud” where there’s no deeper attempt is made for how they are the way they are? What I do enjoy though, narratively speaking, is that it becomes clear as we witness Asukai going through his routine that he’s nearly his breaking point. He can see people’s heart but he has no resolve to it. He’s over the edge of his psychological breakdown and all Imaginator does is push him down the rabbit hole. She appears before him in multiple forms, first as a floating being, and then as she possesses girls around him. The deal-breaker event comes when she possesses a drug-addicted ex-student of Asukai, in which her argument is basically “it’s more justifiable to kill them right away rather than let them suffer” before gives him the power. I expect next week we’d see more of him going berserk and how it pulls other main characters into this whole mess. I’d say this episode is much better and leaner than the premiere in terms of setting up the plot and introduces new characters more methodically, and thoroughly.

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai – 02

by SuperWooper, posted in Finished Series: Romance, Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai

WARNING: This review of Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai has been authored by a non-manga reader. His ignorance of future characters and plot points may limit his perspective on the series as it unfolds. Proceed with caution!

Boy, is this show a treat. I know we’re only two weeks into the winter season, but Kaguya-sama is my favorite new anime so far by a landslide. Even this episode’s repetition of last week’s establishing narration (before and after the OP) didn’t bring me down. The show leans into its “Geniuses’ War of Love and Brains” premise so heavily, after all, that reminders of their financial and academic superiority only heighten the comedy of their social ineptitude. Despite using bits of recycled animation during these introductions, this episode did move the opening venue from one of Shuchiin Academy’s many hallways to its auditorium, so I hope these changes in setting continue from week to week. It might be nice to omit these scenes altogether once we have a better sense of the characters and setting, but right now they’re important for establishing just how revered (and how gossiped about) Kaguya and Shirogane are by the student body they govern.

Speaking of the student body, this episode introduced several of its less glamorous members, marking a departure from the premiere’s tight focus on its three main characters. The third and final segment of this episode brings a nameless advice-seeker into the council room in search of romantic wisdom from the class president. The only problem? Shirogane is hardly the Casanova everyone envisions him to be, never having been on a date in his life. This chapter is great for a bunch of reasons, chief among them being Aoi Koga’s performance as an eavesdropping Kaguya. Her exasperated and disbelieving reactions to both boys’ stupidity are so good that I’m sure even the staunchest manga purists were pleased. What interested me even more than this segment’s technical merits, though, was the potential it created for the series to further populate its cast of characters. Thanks to our nameless inquirer, we now know that his crush is a girl named Kashiwagi, that they’ve begun dating (despite Shirogane’s spectacularly bad advice), and that her three friends are likely to recur. One of them is singled out in a pre-ED card as “the next person seeking advice,” and given her distraught expression, it’s likely that she had a thing for her friend’s new man. If I had to guess, she’ll probably ask Kaguya for help in next week’s episode, where her romantic ignorance will be measured against the president’s.

This kind of situational repetition is working in Kaguya-sama’s favor so far (the show, not the character), creating a pattern that’s fun to confirm, rather than tiresome to watch. Take this episode’s first chapter, for example, where Shirogane purchases a new smartphone in the hopes that Kaguya will ask for his contact info. He’s quite self-satisfied with his decision, but a flashback reveals that Kaguya had planted a number of her family’s employees on the street to subconsciously entice him to upgrade his phone. This echoes her manipulations from last week, where she secretly delivered movie tickets to Fujiwara as a prize in a fake contest, all in the hopes that she’d give them to Shirogane so he could ask her out. Seeing it confirmed once again that Kaguya’s approach to love involves espionage and deceit charms me to no end, but the president’s tactic of gaining her interest with a profile photo of himself as a child is just as brilliant. These two are a perfect match for one another, given their shared pride and intelligence, which makes it fun to watch them butt heads, even while a part of you is pulling for them to be together. I’m still in the earliest stage of my Kaguya-sama fandom, but whatever route the series ultimately takes, I can’t imagine being unhappy with the outcome.

Yakusoku no Neverland – 02[131045]

by AidanAK47, posted in Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense, Yakusoku no Neverland

Thus the story of the Promised Neverland starts in earnest now that the first episode has revealed it’s book and the nature of the orphanage is revealed. As someone aptly put it, this is like Chicken Run, the anime. It’s quite interesting seeing things from a new perspective now that the curtain has risen as this episode does have a scene which would be heartwarming in other circumstances but turns malevolent once put in context of the new narrative. Such as when a child becomes lost in the woods and Mama goes to search for her, returning with her safely in tow to all the kids welcoming her back. If nothing was revealed last episode this would be a sweet moment but as Norman points out, the action showed deliberate to everyone who knows the truth that Mama can track any of the kids down thanks to tracking devices on them. Though it’s a wonder that even after learning this Emma and Norman don’t seem too concerned over traveling to the wall of the garden often where Mama could look at her watch and figure out what they are up to any moment. But this is under the impression that Mama doesn’t already know which by all accounts doesn’t seem to be the case.

I truly must appreciate just how magnificent an antagonist Mama is for this series and how her particular brand of villainy is a rarity. Mama does not rule through physical force, nor through fear or other typical methods. The endgoal for her is keeping these kids happy in the playpen till it’s time for the slaughter and with that she doesn’t need bars or chains in order to do so. For this woman knows these kids, she is their mother after all for better or worse. That’s what makes her so terrifying. It is a safe bet that the minute she held that bunny at the gate that she knew exactly who left it there. And now her moves all seem calculated to ensure that whatever Emma and Norman plan is sure to fail. That one scene of Mother staring directly at Emma during her one moment of mourning for Connie felt like the first peak past the fake smile to the woman who manipulated and controlled these kids till the moment she lead them to their deaths with them none the wiser. Even the small movement of placing her hand on her neck which could be interpreted as a caring motion or Mama measuring her pulse for signs. Her last move of the episode almost seemed to be generated to crush the kids newfound determination to save all the children as Mama introduces a infant to make matters harder along with a brand new caretaker. If we have an award for best anime antagonist of the year then Mama is going to be a strong contender.

The direction of this series remains excellent as I particularly like the nightmare sequence of the beginning along with the show of Emma afterwards being watched from a swinging pendulum. Though there were these odd shots where the screen would blur and a characters face would be superimposed on screen. I get this was to somewhat emphasize their emotions and facial expression at that moment but the change I find somewhat disconcerting. This episode also has our three main characters truly get together in the mission and I rather like the aspect of freudian theming here with Emma being ID, Ray being Ego and Norman acting as Superego. Otherwise meaning that Emma is the emotional center, Ray is the rational thinker and Norman is the negotiator who generally guides or decides. It makes their approaches to the situation different from each other and how they see things. The mind games are now beginning and it’s looking hopeful that Promised Neverland can keep up the presentation to make this a tense claustrophobic experience. I am just hoping that new black character with the design similar to racist stereotypes doesn’t generate some stupid controversy which will probably make the show more popular but gives me a headache to deal with.

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 13 [And Then Start Running]

by Lenlo, posted in Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

Kaze Fui returns, contending with and maybe even beating Mob Psycho for best episode of the week! We have introspection, backstory, and the team coming together to protect their emotionally stunted friend! Lets charge in!

Everything about Kaze Fui this week was fantastic. From the narrative to the VA’s. But one I want to hit on before we get into spoilers that is often overlooked is the sound design. Yuki Hayashi did an amazing job this week. Some of the music played during this episode fit perfectly with what was happening on screen. Hiromi Kikuta also did a great job this week. The buzzing static noise during the flashbacks confused me at first. I thought maybe my audio was breaking down. But once we cut back to present time and it went away, once I realized it was a purposeful effect, I loved it. I loved how it got louder and louder the closer Kurahara got to his breaking point. The visuals getting more static filled as we went through. Kaze Fui really nailed the emotions this week. But now, onto details!

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Kemurikusa – 02 [Episode 02]

by SuperMario, posted in Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction, Kemurikusa

I’m glad that the girls (FYI, their names are: Rin our main girl, Ritsu the oldest cat-ears girl, and Rina the quadruplet) decide to explore to other islands because the world building of Kemurikusa is easily its biggest strength right now. I also appreciate the fact that the show doesn’t toss around exposition or explanation to its settings, instead we pick up pieces as we go along. This whole post-apocalyptic world revolves around the “kemurikusha” energy, which so far we see how they are color coded with different purpose. The “green roots tree” Midori serves as a energy source and produces leaves as food for our girls. It can also extend its roots to serve as a pipeline or communication line, and can maybe heal human’s injury (“maybe” because I’m not so sure if anyone from the cast is human or not). Then we have the yellow Kiiro which can be used as light and the blue water-detecting source called Aoi. Finally, the evil bugs have their red mist and their red kemurikusa and apparently Rina has that red kemurikusa on her as well. I don’t know what to make of it but maybe, just maybe these girls are born from the red kemurikusa source themselves?

While the story goes into some interesting territory, it’s Wakaba who serves as an self-insert protagonist annoys the hell out of me. His antic is grating, and he usually breaks the mysterious tone the show is trying to accomplish. A better comparison would be it feels as it he comes from another series altogether. It doesn’t help that Kemurikusa’s overall dialogues aren’t that great. They’re generic, cliche (chief among them is big sister Rin and her nyan speech), doesn’t have any flair and Wakaba’s constant babbling remains its biggest offender. The huge chunk of this episode is spent around Rina dragging him around the island. While Rina still doesn’t fully trust the boy, she does acknowledge her physical attraction to him which she thinks as a toxic. While their interaction is far from what I consider solid, we do learn one new thing from each of them. From Rina, it’s her total devotion to protect her sisters to the point she put their well-being above her desire. For Wakaba, the fact that he heals quickly when he’s injured might mean that he isn’t human after all. Another interesting note to take is that through Wakaba the old aqua kemurikusa starts to glow, albeit only momentarily, again. My theory right now is that he might be born from Midori’s source himself.

I can point out one single sequence in this episode that really sold its rich and mysterious world building. It happens right at the end where Rina decides to visit other island (which I believe is a strong premise), and we see the Midori energy carries the bus to the railway. Somehow that single scene reminds me to Ghibli’s world, which further strengthen my hope that this settings is gonna be more awesome as Kemurikusa goes on. Some might argue that this show’s aesthetic looks cheap and amateurish. For me though, I’m going to borrow the great Pedro Almodovar quotes regarding his debut failure: “When a film has only one or two [defects], it is considered an imperfect film, while when there is a profusion of technical flaws, it is called style.” Kemurikusa, for all its unpolishments, does have its own charms (along with GoHands’ W’z this season). After the first two episodes, Kemurikusa remains a flawed but intriguing watch.

Planetes Anime Review – 84/100

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews, Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction, Planetes, Reviews by Lenlo, Throwback Thursday

If there is one thing I have lost watching seasonal anime, it is patience. Every week I expect something to happen, some kind of payoff, to make watching that week worth it. Luckily, Planetes as brought that back to me. Its depth of writing, characters, and general structure belay an anime of a different age. Before Moe and Sis-con took over the seasons. Back when a series was allowed to take things at its own pace, and actually finish its story rather than languishing in sequel hell. Of course, what else can you expect from the first work of Makoto Yukimura, the author of currently published Vinland Saga.

Lets jump in!

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Dororo – 2 [The Story of Bandai]

by Lenlo, posted in Dororo

Hello and welcome to show number two for me of the new season! Dororo is an interesting one, based on a 1960’s manga, with this being its second adaptation. This week we meet another demon, learn our leads name and that not all spirits are bad. Let’s dive in!

Visually, Dororo is sort of a mixed bag for me. One on hand, I love the older style it has going for it, and much of the lack of detail allows the animators to have some fun. On the other hand though, the feet are blobs, and everything is a green/brown. I also noticed some rather static scenes that, compared to the first episode, left me wanting. Overall though I think Dororo is good. We know from the first episode that when it wants to, it can look gorgeous. It’s just that this week was rather subdued, as our first intro to what the day to day for the series will be. With that done, now I can get to the actual meat of the episode.

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Goblin Slayer Anime Review – 60/100

by AidanAK47, posted in Anime Reviews, Goblin Slayer, Reviews by AidanAK47

The controversial nature of this shows opening episode may have many turning away from it due to believing it’s nothing but shock value but that truly isn’t what Goblin Slayer is. I will say that the manga may hold some truth to that statement but thanks to some tasteful censoring(Yes, sometimes censoring can be a good thing) this story could at least be something more closer to a fantasy adventure series. In truth Goblin Slayer is more a love letter to low level Dungeons and Dragons so for those who happen to have a nostalgia for such a thing, this series could have a big appeal. However for the average anime watcher I can say this, this show is called Goblin Slayer and you can bet that’s exactly what you are gonna get.

Goblin Slayer slays goblins. It’s what he does in the first episode and you can bet it’s what he does in the last. This is essentially a series where you watch the equivalent of goblin slaying Batman go about his business of killing as many goblins as humanly possible. For some watching him do this is enough and I admit that his single minded obsession can be a source of some pretty good comedy. However if you find that isn’t enough and are looking for this series to maybe provide something deeper in regards to world building or characterisation then you will be sorely disappointed. The Goblin Slayers party of adventures are staple D&D archetypes with little in the way of interesting traits of backstory. The worldbuilding pretty much borrows a lot of it’s lore from other more notable works and not much is really expanded upon besides the small detail of goblins being the worst despite being regarded as a minor pest by adventurers. There is quite of number of light novel tropes such as Goblin Slayer having a whole harem of girls after him despite never taking off his helmet and never talking about anything other than killing goblins.

This is essentially a anime with a limited appeal and a simple objective which can be entertaining but not something you would hold in high regard. White Fox did an excellent job in adapting it for the most part in how they toned down the less unsavory aspects but there are times where the animation for action scenes is on the unimpressive side. The plot doesn’t really move beyond killing Goblins and Goblin Slayer slowly warming up to other people. Some moments have fanservice that is just ridiculously inappropriate and unnecessary. But get past that and the rather grimdark first episode and you have a show that makes for a decent watch for some.

Mob Psycho 100 S2 – 2 [Urban Legends ~Encountering Rumors~]

by Lenlo, posted in Mob Psycho 100 II

Hello and welcome to the first outright perfect episode of anime of 2019! Mob Psycho 100 knocked it out of the park this week in every respect, so let’s just jump right in!

Right off the bat, Bones is out in full force animation wise. Everything about this episode, visually, was fantastic. Even in drab, rain-slick scenes they found a way to introduce color to a drab landscape. And that isn’t even mentioning the wholly unique perspectives or styles for animation. Take for instance the straight up street fighter/fighting game reference. Done entirely in Mob Psycho’s style, it was a fantastic gag. Then there was one of my favorite styles, which only appears in Mob Psycho, the paint on glass effects. For depicting other worldly spirits, I think it does a fantastic job of showing that etherealness. Add on to all of this the sheer amount of sakuga throughout the episode, from Dimple jumping between trees, to the flowing sludge of the monster spirit, and you have a feast for the eyes. 2 weeks in and Bones has already won Animation. Wow.

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