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Hitlersaurus Christ posted:
Although I voted for it in the other thread, I'd say I don't regret watching it, especially because it put me in a mood to check out other mech anime. If you go in with the knowledge it falls apart and maybe bail after episode 15, I think it might be still be worth checking out if you were planning to watch it already. One of the things that made Franxx so frustrating is that, as I said in the other thread, there were times it really worked. Most of the time, a bad show just fucks up every which way it can, but Franxx had episodes with absolutely gorgeous directing, and even when it was actively on fire, there were moments that, in a better show, would have been highlights. It's an odd one.
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Jan 10, 2019 21:21
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The Franxx hate still seems super overblown to me tbh, and hard to take particularly seriously in a year we had significantly worse stuff like Gundam Build Divers.
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Jan 10, 2019 21:39
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Know Such Peace posted:I’ll keep it simple and just vote for one: Quite a sell, maybe I'll check it out.
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Jan 10, 2019 21:59
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Raxivace posted:The Franxx hate still seems super overblown to me tbh, and hard to take particularly seriously in a year we had significantly worse stuff like Gundam Build Divers. That's because people actually watched Franxx
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Jan 10, 2019 22:12
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Raxivace posted:The Franxx hate still seems super overblown to me tbh, and hard to take particularly seriously in a year we had significantly worse stuff like Gundam Build Divers. Anyone could notice pretty quick if a glass of milk has gone really sour, but it's way worse when it's not super apparently off at the start and you drink all or most of it before you notice. DitF just managed to pass a sniff test to most.
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Jan 10, 2019 22:14
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Ranzear posted:Anyone could notice pretty quick if a glass of milk has gone really sour, but it's way worse when it's not super apparently off at the start and you drink all or most of it before you notice. Like its fine if you just didn't like the show and/or thought it ended badly, but the hyperbolic posts about it I saw from people just seemed really silly to me. Raxivace fucked around with this message at 22:23 on Jan 10, 2019 |
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Jan 10, 2019 22:17
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It's only to point out that obviously bad things get avoided, but something that's only kinda bad can end up a way worse experience. Okay fine. Someone cooks you an omelette every week for two and a half months, but they use the same carton of eggs all the way through and just pile on more flashback cheese and shipping garnish to hide the heteronormative sulfur smell until you notice.
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Jan 10, 2019 22:25
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here's an analogy: what if there was an anime that had a kind of rocky star but eventually got pretty cool and had one of the best executed drama episodes of the year before immediately backpedaling on literally everything interesting it setup like it was terrified of internet reactions that didnt even exist when it was being made, giving all the most interesting characters no actual resolution to their arcs, having all the characters that do get arcs lose all their interesting personality traits, before having a two episodes of a giant infodump from a character that never had dialogue before or after this, followed by a complete nonstarter of an ending
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Jan 10, 2019 22:36
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Endorph posted:here's an analogy: what if there was an anime that had a kind of rocky star but eventually got pretty cool and had one of the best executed drama episodes of the year before immediately backpedaling on literally everything interesting it setup like it was terrified of internet reactions that didnt even exist when it was being made, giving all the most interesting characters no actual resolution to their arcs, having all the characters that do get arcs lose all their interesting personality traits, before having a two episodes of a giant infodump from a chaacter that never had dialogue before or after this, followed by a complete nonstarter of an ending
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Jan 10, 2019 22:54
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Show was awful op, sorry
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Jan 10, 2019 23:07
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Raxivace posted:Then its just like a thousand other anime out there, not particularly remarkable either way (Some good parts, some stupid parts) and certainly not equivalent to some elaborate scheme using omelettes to give people sulfuric poisoning. the difference is that most shows have the good parts and stupid parts mixed together, instead of a period of fairly good and a period of really bad i dont think franxx literally damaged society or anything and objectively there were way worse shows than it last year but the last third of franxx was some of the worst *writing* of the year and its understandable people would feel burned and disappointed by it
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Jan 10, 2019 23:15
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I was expecting Franxx to win Worst Anime because it's basically 2018's Re:creators where a show with high production values disappoints half the subforum.
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Jan 11, 2019 03:27
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Honorable Mention: Phantom in the Twilight. Although the paranormal romance genre isn't normally my thing, and I have low expectations for Chinese co-productions, this turned out to be actually decent. It's not super deep, but I'll give it points for touching on some of the same technology-related anxieties as Lupin III Part 5, but without L3P5's occasionally excessive self-consciousness about it. It also has some fun characters and cool fights. I didn’t have a strong enough feeling toward the show to rank it in my top 5, however; there were parts I found somewhat boring. Honorable Mention: Jingai-san no Yome: The weirdest show of the year. I’m not quite sure what to make of it, and I suspect that’s the intended reaction. Honorable Mention: Cells at Work!: A bit repetitive, but it’s cute and I learned some things from it. 5. Lupin III Part 5: In addition to the usual Lupin fun, Part 5 introduces some interesting new characters that I hope to see again in Part 6: The hacker girl Ami and Lupin’s… Brother? Cousin? Ex-boyfriend? Cousin and ex-boyfriend? Albert. As for the established characters, Part 5 doesn’t quite seem to know what to do with Fujiko much of the time, but it does a great job with Goemon, and even Fujiko plays off of Ami well. Much of L3P5 is about the anxieties of 2018 (at least superficially) to a degree that occasionally seems excessively self-conscious, but this is also the source of many of the show’s best ideas (e.g., Lupin having to deal with essentially everyone in the world trying to track him down). There’s also many callbacks to past Lupin adventures, which are fun to spot, although you still definitely shouldn’t think too hard about the Lupin franchise’s continuity, and a Red Jacket (Part 2) throwback episode (“Get Pablo’s Collection”) contains many of my least favorite aspects of Red Jacket. L3P5 does also occasionally fall into the Lupin’s franchise’s common issue of bizarre and occasionally tasteless tonal inconsistency, such as when a character briefly mentions being sexually exploited as a child in the middle of a wacky action-oriented episode in which an anachronistic samurai fights a guy who dual-wields fishing rods. Strong storylines include the second arc’s multi-sided conflict involving Lupin and elements of the French government, including Albert; Goemon coming into conflict with Lupin to protect a B&B in “The Extravagance of Goemon Ishikawa XIII”; and a final arc that actually sticks the landing, unlike Part 4’s. 4. My Hero Academia season 3: This season competently adapts some of the stronger parts of the manga: the training camp fight, the battle between All Might and All for One, the rescue portion of the provisional license exam, Mirio vs. everybody, and even the comedic scenes following the students moving into dorms. Added material does a good job of giving everybody a chance to shine. On the other hand, the first part of the provisional license exam is not so strong, and the filler and general pacing issues for that arc don’t help; the protagonists come across as dawdling for no particular reason, and the filler antagonists aren’t particularly interesting. 3. Full Metal Panic: Invisible Victory: While it’s the first new Full Metal Panic in over a decade, I watched the first previous FMP seasons for the first time shortly before watching it, and this might be the strongest one yet. The Second Raid is also a candidate with its intense portrayal of Sosuke’s growing despair and Chidori’s growing paranoia, but Invisible Victory deserves credit for fixing several of the franchise’s previous problems. The most obvious of these problems is the villains. Gauron was a crazy loose cannon despite filling the narrative niche of a mastermind-type villain, and Gates was even more crazy and violent. IV’s main villain, Mr. Silver (first appearing briefly in TSR), has his own strange if more subdued emotional motivations, but he comes across as genuinely intelligent and even seems to possess some sympathetic qualities. Another fundamental problem with past FMPs was the Lambda Drive, an irregularly-functioning powerup for Sosuke’s mech that was essentially an instant win when it worked. IV prefers to have Sosuke fight in inferior mechs without the Lambda Drive and even on foot. Sosuke’s infantry gunfight against Mr. Kurama is perhaps the most genuinely tense and intense battle of the franchise, although the fridging of an interesting character that led to it was regrettable. 2. Golden Kamuy: If only the first season had come out this year, I would have ranked this lower on the list, but it would still have made the top 5. Golden Kamui’s genre veers wildly between cooking manga, Man vs. Nature, pulp Western, serial-killer thriller, and others, but it does almost all of these things well. Perhaps the weakest parts are the serial-killer thriller bits; the episode with the cannibal trans hotel owner stands out as in particularly bad taste. My favorite storyline is probably the chaotic, multi-sided struggle and trickery at Abashiri Prison at the end of the second season. My favorite character is Asirpa, because her character has so much depth to it: the contrast between her super-serious exterior and her goofy side, the connection between her father’s ambitions for her and her ambivalent view of Ainu religious beliefs, and (perhaps uniquely among active characters in this show) her strong core sense of morality. I should also add that I found the distinctive animation style used for the bears pretty neat. 1. Planet With: In tribute to this show’s fast pacing, I’ll give it a faster review than the others. Interesting ethical issues driving the characters and plot, interesting mysteries at the beginning to draw the viewer in, funny but with some great serious emotional moments.
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Jan 11, 2019 05:36
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Honorable Mentions: - Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight - I went in expecting Love Live plus some stage fighting, and I got Revolutionary Girl Utena with a side order of Endless Eight. It's unexpectedly awesome is what I'm saying. Come for the very well-animated musical fight scenes, stay for the bananas. - Asobi Asobase - A mean-spirited absurd comedy about a handful of lovely people. I laughed a lot. Over-the-top VA work and faces did some heavy lifting here. Also a contender for best ED of the year. - Skeleton Bookseller Honda-san - A golden nugget of short-format comedy! - My Hero Academia S3 - It was the best running shonen action this past year, and I enjoy it but don't have a lot to say about it. - Megalobox - This came close to making my top 5. Stylish as hell, amazing soundtrack, gripping high-stakes story of an underdog boxer. I really liked the supporting cast as well as the MC, and the ending was a pleasant surprise compared to what I was expecting. - Pop Team Epic - They made it. The glorious bastards actually made an anime out of it, and it was better than it had any right to be. Amazing VA cameos. Kickass music video parodies. Hellshake Yano forever. My Top 5: 5.) Yuru Camp - Yuru Camp was an absolute joy to watch every week. I've gone camping at least once every year for the last 22 years straight, frequently in October or November in western PA or WV, so this show was super relatable (although being able to walk somewhere less than a mile from your tent that has an indoor bathroom and sells firewood is some luxurious bullshit!), and super comfy. Slice of Life comedy is one of my favorite genres, but only when it's well put together. Yuru Camp nailed it, and I love the fall camping setting and funny fluffy characters. 4.) Violet Evergarden - The PV for this show had me really hyped, but I let the dust settle and just finally watched it last month after clearing my mind of expectations. I love this show. Sure, it manufactures ways to turn on the waterworks every episode, but the execution of it all is just so drat good. Violet's character progression was very satisfying as she kinda grew up, got acclimated to normal human interaction, and overcame loss and grief all at the same time. I can't fail to mention Kyoto Animation's incredibly gorgeous, cinematic visuals that give everything a real sense of mass, inertia, and realistic motion. The show is mesmerizingly beautiful, causing me to rewind and watch certain cuts over again with my jaw on the floor. The lovely soundtrack was fitting, and similarly felt like it belonged in a 2-hour feature film. https://i.imgur.com/bQrJfhQ.gifv 3.) Hinamatsuri - I think a lot of fans are wary when they hear their favorite comedy manga is getting an anime adaptation, because all too often the shows end up being sloppy messes that suck the life out of well-written jokes. I was overjoyed to see the opposite happen with Hinamatsuri. Studio feel. and director Kei Oikawa (SNAFU 2, Uma Musume) did an amazing job bringing the characters to life and making this my favorite comedy of the year. All of the fantastic jokes from the manga were paced perfectly, and the emotional story around Anzu's character and the others in her situation came out really well and probably surprised a lot of viewers who suddenly needed to wipe their eyes. My only complaint is that they had to fit so much into 12 episodes that some chapters from the manga inevitably didn't make it into the show, and there are no bad chapters of Hinamatsuri that deserved to be skipped. Here's desperately hoping for season 2! https://i.imgur.com/bD4k3aD.gifv 2.) A Place Further Than the Universe - The first episode hooked me in just enough with the premise and characters, and the second episode with the chase scene grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me, saying "hey, this is a good show!" Sora Yorimo starts on the tried-and-true foundation of some endearing and relatable characters teaming up to go on a crazy adventure like we all (secretly or not) want to, and then it hits every comedy and drama beat perfectly. This show shines a spotlight on what good writing and directing looks like, and the VA cast's performance was excellent too. 1.) March Comes in like a Lion season 2 - 3-gatsu no Lion continues to be an incredibly emotionally powerful show, and also possibly the most visually creative of the past year at the same time. I can't compliment studio SHAFT enough for the superb job they have been doing with this adaptation of one of my favorite manga. As others have said, one of the arcs in this season is possibly the strongest from the entire manga in terms of storytelling and also punching the audience in the proverbial gut. Everything about the delivery of Hina's arc in the show, from Kana Hanazawa's incredible voice acting to the framing and lighting of quiet little character shots like Akari washing vegetables and talking while Rei peels onions, was perfect. Frequently funny, cute, and hunger-inducing. Sometimes utterly heart-crushing. March Comes in like a Lion is a once-in-a-decade masterpiece, and every fan of animated storytelling as a medium should watch it. https://i.imgur.com/nn4n2Ak.gifv https://i.imgur.com/2YEKSWY.gifv https://i.imgur.com/T5AsuGK.gifv https://i.imgur.com/Ogtp0A1.gifv Shows that I still want to check out because I'll almost certainly like them, but where do I find the time ahhh: - SSSS.Gridman (I watched one episode and it felt like a real return to form for Trigger! Awesome and cheesy at the same time, in a good way, and excellent voice acting. I was trying to watch this before I made this post but didn't make the deadline. Will watch the rest soon!) - Bloom Into You - Irozuku - Planet With - Hisone to Maso-tan - Hakumei to Mikochi (Watched 2 episodes, love it, it's near the top of my backlog) - Grancrest Senki
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Jan 11, 2019 10:29
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Shows that might have been a candidate if I'd had time to finish them: Märchen Mädchen - well, if it also hadn't had the unfortunate production problems, and the final episodes had also been released during 2018, then maybe High Score Girl - good sense of nostalgia and decent writing, good 3DCG animation, but had to leave it out of my schedule for a while and never picked back up SSSS.Gridman - for whatever reason didn't check it during the season and haven't had time to finish it after new year's yet Good shows but not the best: Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card - Started out really strong, but got samey along the way and started dragging. No real resolution and felt like it didn't promise more any time soon. Yama no Susume: Third Season - Not quite as good as I remember S2 being, spent maybe a bit too much time on a character arc that didn't feel good (although was necessary.) Harukana Receive - Fun, cute, and touching, but just not quite there. Irozuku - Beautiful, cute, but feels like it skipped a bit too much explanation and jumped over some parts Penguin Highway - A movie I hadn't heard about but looked fun, and well, drat it was fun. Great ride, just barely lost out to another movie, see below. Bunny Girl Senpai - It's a very good romcom with an unusually good male MC, but it's still just a romcom at its core. Slow Start - very fluffy SAO Alternative: Gun Gale Online - ridiculous, fun, and cute Zombieland Saga - cool characters BanG Dream GBP Pico -  everyone, hilarious funShows I might have voted for if they didn't continue into the new year: Aikatsu Friends HUGtto! PreCure Actual top five: I feel bad ranking these, all are great in each their own ways that don't really compare. 5. Non Non Biyori ~Vacation~ - This was just a great summer vacation movie, a group of friends having fun and discovering new things. Everything you could want from NNB. While it isn't a deep or teaching story, it was very delightful and just well crafted. 4. Yuru Camp - comfy 3. March Comes In Like a Lion 2nd Season - i cry 2. Bloom Into You - Strong characters all around, a very well written story, nice animation and designs, and amazing direction. When's next season? 1. A Place Further Than The Universe - Amazing sense of adventure. Characters pulling you in and making you care about them. Spot-on comedy whenever needed. And writing that dares.
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Jan 11, 2019 21:14
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1. A Place Further Than The Universe 2. Yuru Camp 3. Zombieland Saga 4. Hisone to Maso-tan 5. SSSS.Gridman
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Jan 12, 2019 02:43
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2018 was a rough year for me personally, so I didn't have much time to watch many anime. 4. Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card -- this one is cheating a bit because I still haven't finished watching it, but I've really enjoyed what I've seen so far. The mood is just like the original show but with updated animation, which is a delight for me. Cardcaptor Sakura was probably the first anime I watched subbed all those years ago, and its cheery atmosphere always manages to cheer me up. Recently rewatched the original (which delayed me from finishing Clear Card lol) and it still holds up pretty well IMO. The nostalgia hit when that instrumental version of Platinum played in the first episode was extremely powerful  3. Cells at Work -- I enjoy edutainment. I also enjoy biology. Biological edutainment in anime form with fun characters was a pleasant surprise! The only con about this was that I picked up the manga and stopped watching the show half-way... 2. Hinamatsuri -- unlike other shows (Grand Blue), the studio nailed the comedic timing with this adaptation. Hinamatsuri is a manga I turn to and reread random chapters from whenever I need a laugh, so I'm glad the anime was good. It's a shame the show's only 12 episodes because it's a hilarious watch. 1. Rascal doesn't dream of Bunny-Girl Senpai -- this came completely out of left field for me, and I'm surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did; it was the only show this year that I followed weekly until its completion instead of dropping it half-way and marathoning it once the season ended. Though I started around when episode 4 or so aired... would have completely ignored the show due to its terrible title if I hadn't seen the thread for it. I think the largest draw for me here was the chemistry between the male and female leads: Sakuta and Mai had snappy dialogue together, and their relationship was depicted in a surprisingly mature and healthy way. Reminded me of a couple irl friends actually, stardom excepted. Other elements of the show were hit or miss for me (usually more on the good side than not; things like cast members not disappearing once their arcs were over was nice), but I definitely wouldn't have finished the show if I didn't enjoy the main leads' relationship so much. Still just a romcom overall, but I liked it  Was comfy enough for me to watch because I didn't have the mental energy at the time to engage with more drama-heavy shows (stuff like March Lion etc.).Gonna save the top recommendations in the thread to watch sometime in 2019 or 2020 though!
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Jan 12, 2019 03:34
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1:Sora Yori mo Tooi Basho : Nothing really new to say here, it sticks the landing perfectly on every single thing it intended to do, a masterpiece of Directing, Acting and Writing. By my count, it's on exactly 0 Honorable Mentions, and deservingly so; The main way it ends up not in someones top 5 is by just not being their thing from the outset. 2:Yuru Camp : Comfy, cute and mildly interesting without feeling generic A-La Anima Yell from this season. (Anima Yell is still decent, though) 3:Hinamatsuri : A strong adaptation of one of my favourite comedy manga of all time 4:Rascal does not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai : Took some concepts that have all been done before individually, but executed them more or less well and almost every character was interesting. 5:Bloom into You : Bloom into You is both topically extremely my poo poo and really well written, definitely reading the hell out of the source material. Honorable Mentions: Citrus: Cute, interesting, and a tad hosed up at times (but intentionally so) Megalobox: Started strong, ended kinda weak. If we were only looking at the first half or so, I'd probably have it top 3. Anima Yell: Cute, funny, but extremely generic. Good enough to keep me watching, not good enough to make the list. SAO Gun Gale: I didn't expect to even watch this, but it was in my top 5 until Bloom into You dropped.
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Jan 12, 2019 03:43
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Going into the last day, your top 10 are, in order: A Place Further Than The Universe SSSS.Gridman Yuru Camp Hinamatsuri Devilman Crybaby Zombieland Saga Pop Team Epic Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai March Comes In Like a Lion 2nd Season Cells at Work!
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Jan 12, 2019 05:54
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Oh yeah top 5 1. Place Further than the Universe 2. Bloom into You 3. Gridman 4. Yuru Camp 5. MHA They were good
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Jan 12, 2019 06:06
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i'm tired so this will be shorter than i'd like 5. Devilman Crybaby - At this point it's been like a full year since the series dropped, so I honestly don't have the clearest memories or strongest emotions about this, granted the discussion thread for the show did its own share of beating down my feelings. It was great to see more tv out of Yuasa, especially with his recent focus on films. Not being familiar with the source material beyond Sirene, I didn't have any real expectations and really enjoyed this modernized take both in terms of music and the inclusion of a wild lgbt love n-gon. Miko's struggles with her homo/bisexuality in particular really resonated with me, and that's not something I ever really expected going in. 4. B: The Beginning - I'm always a sucker for a pretty piece of animation, and B delivered on that front incredibly consistently. The clumsy mish-mash of BBC Sherlock and shonen revenge that make up its plot and characters took some getting used to, but made for a mostly enjoyable light watch. While this show didn't have the lofty philosophical ambitions of such shows, it reminded me a lot of the early and mid 00's dark sci-fi fantasy anime you'd see on like adultswim. The english alt-rocky ED definitely helps that feeling. 3. Kokkoku - This is another one where my clearer thoughts on it have kind of drifted away, but it was a family sci-fi story with an interesting mythology and good cast dynamics. A somewhat suffering production didn't really diminish my enjoyment of the show, though the villain and story's resolution are a bit messy. Great OP and ED as well, nice to see Umetsu doing designs of legal age and with a balanced level of thirst. 2. Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens - My 180 show of the year. It wasn't really talked about and initially seemed like a lazy "darker" take on a story style like Durarara. What it actually turned out to be was a dramedy following a gaggle of assassins, torturers, and information brokers, a significant portion of who are gay/bi/somewhere else on that spectrum. The show is carried by the crossdressing, tsundere Lin and baseball-loving PI Banba, who gradually brings everyone around him into his little found family/amateur baseball team. Various mini-arcs focusing on different characters' ties to Banba's "family" round out the roster until it finally culminates in Lin having to confront relationships from his past. Despite hoping for more Lin/Banba misadventures, it was a satisfying cap to the series which started with the same two totally at odds with each other. Great OP and ED! 1. Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues - I'm a fan of Kaiji, sort of? It feels like the further I get from those original two seasons, the more my affection for the show and characters is based in things like Yuzo Sato's directorial quirks or memes/fanart that exaggerates and juxtaposes Kaiji's dueling badass determination and sobbing moe helplessness far beyond his actual characterization. That said, a show like this that kinda fanfics the entire universe of Kaiji for the sake of comedy is extremely my bag. With topical gags, gratuitious english catchphrases, an amazing new narrator, a rotating guest cast of ZAWA ZAWAs, great moments of Kaiji fanservice, and another dually badass/helpless protagonist in Tonegawa...this show delivered on every level. As a standalone comedy I can't know how well it goes over, but backed by an original source material it has the proper amount of irreverence for, it's amazing.
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Jan 12, 2019 06:39
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With the deadline approaching I'm going to say Devilman Crybaby because it's violent and stupid and is poignant not despite but because of it, which I think describes what I and others have loved about anime since coming home from school to catch the end of Toonami before your parents get back and tell you to turn off those perverse Chinese cartoons
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Jan 12, 2019 09:50
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In case I forget but I probably won’t but since I’m doing this I probably won’t change it Bloom into you Place further than the universe Adopted mob psychic homeless orphan school kid bartender thing I’m sorry I tried to change this to the real name but I just can’t hinamatsuri? Himote house March comes in like a lion Last year I’d say March is the best anime since honey clover and was so good it might as well be in a different classification of thing. This year March is better than it was last year to spectacularly painful degree and also there might have been a good dozen shows as good. Bloom has the best main character since March comes in like a lion. Antarctica was dope and deserves to be most loved. Hinawhatever was a horrifying vision of the resilience of humanity Himote house was the perfect blend of madcap and grounded humor without being zany bullshit. Okay it was kind of zany bullshit but I prefer the weird 3D non-animation to scribbly bash face meme stuff one or two other shows might have done. It was very charming and funny and the opposite of mean and people should watch it I guess. I meant to type the third season of attack on titan anyway. That show was ridiculous and I can’t believe how much it’s improved since that garbage rear end first season. Literally gagging Erin for 9 or so episodes might have helped. Also best intro.
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Jan 12, 2019 10:38
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Hakata was incredibly good yeah i forgot about it... how loving long was 2018
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Jan 12, 2019 10:45
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I didn't watch a ton of stuff this year since I burned out on weekly anime towards October, so unfortunately I haven't yet been able to watch Gridman, Slow Start or After the Rain. Here's the list based on stuff I did watch: 1. March Comes In Like A Lion s02 An even stronger season than s01, the show remains a great character study of a depressed teenaged professional shogi player, with a very strong supporting cast. I can't wait for the (hopefully) inevitable season 3. There's a lot mood whiplash in both seasons (between Rei's introspective, depressed narration and the supporting cast goofing off and showing him that life is worth living), which might seem offputting to some, but it's worth sticking with it even if that bothers people initially. 2. A Place Further Than The Universe The stand out original anime of these last couple of years at least, this is a heartfelt comedy-drama about four dysfunctional kids travelling to Antarctica for a variety of personal reasons. Great character/dialogue writing, very funny comedy beats and the drama is believable, relatable and hits hard. 3. Yuru Camp A fun, laid-back iyashikei show about a highschool camping club, with great music, great visuals, and a lovely cast. There's honestly not much more I can say about this. It's super chill and good and people who like iyashikei/SoL will love it. 4. Castlevania s02 I'm glad this was declared anime because now I can put it in my top 5. The Warren Ellis dialogue is make-it-or-break-it for a lot of people, but I personally like it. The show manages to give a good deal of personality to characters that otherwise had two lines of descriptive text in a NES game manual as their only characterisation. The lead characters bounce off each other well, to the point where the main trio spend most of the season studying in a library and it still works, and the villains are given interesting depth and likeable personalities. Also, you can really tell the staff on this are big Castlevania fans. 5. Hisone to Maso-tan It's a shame this ended up being buried by a Netflix-exclusive six-month-late all-at-once release, because it's a fun comedy about a bunch of socially-awkward JSDF losers bonding together over a shared activity and bumming around their base. That shared activity just so happens to be getting swallowed by dragons (that can transform into fighter jets for camouflage reasons) and then learning to pilot them, which only makes the whole thing goofier. Honourable mentions Thunderbolt Fantasy s02: not as amazing as s01, but it remains very good and the only thing airing in its very specific genres (wuxia, and incidentally traditional Taiwanese hand-puppetry). Revue Starlight: not on the list because I haven't finished it, but I've seen the first five episodes and each one has been better than the last, with extremely strong moments of character-driven comedy. Megalobox: great character designs and music in a cool seting, let down by the fact that it was a somewhat rote due to its short length. I wish they hadn't gone overboard on the upscaling - it resulted in a show that looked way worse than it could have had if they'd just used the same effect at half the strength. Harukana Receive: really solid beach volleyball show with a good bunch of goofs as the main cast, great character designs and fantastic music.
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Jan 12, 2019 12:48
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For me the anime of the year was slow start. It’s not on many lists but it resonated with me
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Jan 12, 2019 14:02
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dogsicle posted:Going into the last day, your top 10 are, in order: Makes me sad that Violet Evergarden and Bloom Into You won't make the list.
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Jan 12, 2019 15:56
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Okay I give up, there's no way I'm finishing Steins;Gate 0 in time and it probably wouldn't rank even if I did. 5. FLCL Alternative I don't see it on the list but it quacks like a duck so whatever. After the shitshow that was Progressive I was willing to throw in the towel and admit that the new seasons were a mistake, but Alternative quickly changed my mind. By focusing on capturing the more subdued atmosphere of FLCL and using its wackiness as a spice like the original did, it made a much better and more coherent show than I expected to be possible. It's far and away the weakest part of the Fraternity Saga (i don't feel good about even counting Progressive) but I feel like it does belong there. It at least passed that bar and that's commendable to me. I genuinely had a great time with this anime. 4. Megalobox I have not seen Ashita no Joe and frankly I'm not sure I ever will. It's just too long and too dated to keep my interest. Megalobox managed to bring me the same feelings I'd likely have had from watching Joe in a much shorter format and with some modern touches. I'm not saying it's a replacement, but it did make something older more accessible and I really appreciate that. The downscaling-upscaling genuinely didn't bother me as much as it seems to have bothered some people, and I actually kinda liked the 90s graininess that it gave the show, although that could just be my 90s nostalgia showing since I am pretty bad about that. I really liked the idea of taking such a clear and simple story and just telling it really well and looking really good doing it. That's all I could ask. 3. Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online I never would have expected I'd actually watch a Sword Art series all the way through, much less put it on my top 5 of the year, but here we are. Gun Gals was just really loving fun, and I loved the way it dunked on original SAO at times. The whole plot seemed to be "hey death games are stupid, stop doing them" and that was nice. Also LLENN is just really good and fun to watch. Hell yea, bite her throat out! 2. A Place Further Than The Universe It's really hard to talk about this at this point in the year, having been like 8 or 9 months since I watched the show at all. I just remember a few extremely strong moments and the feeling of never being bored with the show in the time between those moments. It was a really good show that I think is the most representative of quality anime that 2018 had. It's the one I feel most strongly about recommending to others. 1. Devilman Crybaby I've had a year to chew on this, and I've come to the opinion that Crybaby is not only my AOTY but my favorite anime ever. I recognize this sounds hyperbolic, but it appealed to me on a very personal level and helped me deal with a lot of identity issues through its allegorical queerness. I've seen some people complain about the ending, and yes it was pretty dark and depressing, but I read into it a degree of hopefulness for the future that I guess not everyone agrees was there. In this way I think the show is actually pretty appropriate to the zeitgeist: Good and kind people may not always win out over evil and cruel people, but resisting was never a waste and hope survives on. This is the one anime this year I just keep thinking about. It's not something I can recommend to just anyone, but it was the most important thing I saw this year.
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Jan 12, 2019 16:02
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1. Devilman Crybaby- I had heard about Devilman before and always thought it was something more like Ultraman or Power Rangers with a monster of the week but wow I could not have been wrong. It was amazing to see how this had actually inspired tons of my favorite anime and see it all over in the show. Honestly I feel like it is a must watch for any anime fan. 2. High Score Girl - Just finished watching this and probably would have never watched it period if it was not on Netflix. I remember hearing about it and being interested in the setting but hated the art style and character looks. I'm glad I gave it a chance though because this was the biggest shot of memeber berries I have had this entire year. I feel like this this is a show that does better as an anime than a manga because hearing all those classic video game sounds and the Playstation start up really had me going. The main girl being completely silent and only really seeing her feelings through her face and video game playing was an interesting concept. Also loved spirit guide Guile. The ending was also such a cliff hanger it me want to go straight into the manga, something few anime do. 3. ssss.Gridman - I just watched this because of how high it was showing in everyone's ranking and it did not disappoint. In a similar way to Devilman Crybaby I was thinking that it was going to be a silly monster of the week show but again I was wrong. Fun show and interesting storyline. 4. FMP Invisable Victory - I've always loved FMP and was happy to finally get more animated. Liked FMP from a decade ago? You will continue to enjoy it here. 5. Aggretsuko- Another one I only watched because it was on Netflix and I am too lazy to watch most things that are not on there. I've never liked Hello Kitty and cutesy anime but the art style simply works for the show. I feel like this can hit close to home for lots of mid 20s-30s working drones.
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Jan 12, 2019 16:20
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ToxicToast posted:biggest shot of memeber berries wut
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Jan 12, 2019 16:44
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ncps_RYHoAI
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Jan 12, 2019 16:55
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ViggyNash posted:Makes me sad that Violet Evergarden and Bloom Into You won't make the list. i think not enough people have seen bloom into you (it does belong on that list imo) but violet evergarden i think disappointed too many people. i was looking forward to violet evergarden a whole lot and it kinda just thudded for me. i've heard there are really good episodes in VE's back half but the early episodes were so boring i dropped it around 5 or 6. very pretty tho. basically everything wrong with the show can be traced to its protagonist who i get the impression a lot of fans of the show even didn't really care about.
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Jan 12, 2019 17:54
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the thing about that list is without vote numbers you don't see that everything from 7th place down is just a series of ties separated by very few votes so bloom and violet could still be doing fairly well but i'll have to check. violet is definitely hurt by being a Netflix show but also i feel like it's pretty uneven and competing in a crowded niche.
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Jan 12, 2019 18:02
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ViggyNash posted:Makes me sad that Violet Evergarden and Bloom Into You won't make the list. Like, from the list dog shared... dogsicle posted:Going into the last day, your top 10 are, in order: (the italicized shows are all from the Fall 2018 cour, btw)
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Jan 12, 2019 18:20
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hmmm......march lion should be higher and yeah i want try more bloom into you. i felt the first episode was weirdly and poorly directed and i was like, more confused than anything, but im glad to hear it's a good adaptation
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Jan 12, 2019 18:24
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Xinder posted:Okay I give up, there's no way I'm finishing Steins;Gate 0 in time and it probably wouldn't rank even if I did. It's a real disappointment. It wants to replicate all the style without any of the substance. Homura and Sickle posted:i think not enough people have seen bloom into you (it does belong on that list imo) but violet evergarden i think disappointed too many people. i was looking forward to violet evergarden a whole lot and it kinda just thudded for me. i've heard there are really good episodes in VE's back half but the early episodes were so boring i dropped it around 5 or 6. very pretty tho. basically everything wrong with the show can be traced to its protagonist who i get the impression a lot of fans of the show even didn't really care about. I don't see why that's the case. I found it impossible to stop binging the whole way through. And I really dont understand not caring about the mc because I don't think I've ever felt more emotionally invested in the growth of a character than Violet, not since Okabe in Steins;Gate.
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Jan 12, 2019 18:43
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Oh I thought it was some ridiculous autocorrect mishap, but it's just a reference to a terrible tv show
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Jan 12, 2019 18:49
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it's all well and good that VE put Violet on an arc but her starting point was a load of nothing for the near half of the show i watched. when you don't have much of a hook it's hard to keep people engaged for when the story does actually pay off. i'm glad i at least watched the yamada episode though
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Jan 12, 2019 19:01
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I kind of failed to finish enough anime to form a solid opinion of the year's top 5, but I guess I'll have to make do with what I've got. 1. A Place Further Than The Universe - Because it was six thousand miles better than anything else this year, pretty much. Wonderful story, characters, direction, music, performances, etc. Can't really fault a thing. 2. Hinamatsuri - Because it was the funniest thing all year, while also packing surprising emotional punches along the way. Still baffles me that it shares a director with Umamusume somehow. 3. March Comes In Like a Lion 2nd Season - Because the manga it's based on is exceptional, and this is a great adaptation. Unfortunately, having read the original already, it's impossible to maintain the excitement it deserves, so I've still only made it halfway through the season. 4. Zombieland Saga - Because it's such an absurd premise, yet executed with enough charm to make it work. Shame about the garbage CG dancing, though. Oh well. 5. Kokkoku - Because it's probably the thing I liked the most out of all the other shows I actually bothered to finish. To be honest, it's more of a temporary stand-in for everything good I've left on episodes 1-2, and don't have the energy to continue yet. Like Planet With and Revue Starlight and Violet Evergarden and Gridman and Megalobox and oh god help me.
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Jan 12, 2019 19:30
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| # ? May 19, 2024 16:22 |
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I thought Violet Evergarden looked kind of bad. KyoAni's strength has always been character animation and all the overexposed bloom hid the subtle character expressions and didn't look that good to me. Like objectively the art quality is always insanely high but i'm not a fan of the direction they took that art in at all.
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Jan 12, 2019 19:59
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