1. Monthly Girl's Nozaki-kun. Like there was any doubt that this was going to be my anime of 2014. While nowhere near as visually out-there as Ping-Pong nor as WILD as Space Dandy, it basically had me laughing like an idiot week after week. High School comedy done right, from the likes that I hadn't seen since Nichibros.
   
2. Samurai Flamenco. I basically watched this one near the end of the year, instead of when it was airing, but holy poo poo does this show deliver. Tomokazu Sugita is, in my humble opinion, the best male voice actor out there and his portrayal of Hidenori Gotou made me, at times, invest more on him than in Masayoshi or Mari, despite both Toshiki Masuda and Haruka Tomatsu putting both really compelling performances. Also, despite the aforementioned scheduling nightmare that this show had going on, it was just so... earnest that I found myself liking in a lot more than my original choices for 2nd and 3rd place.
   
3. Mushi-shi This show kinda pisses me off because there's not more of it and that, sometimes, it's just too chill, like that pretty and aloof hipster chick that actually knows how to dress and has an interesting bunch of topics of conversation, she just pretends otherwise. Those are my only complaints. An incredible show otherwise and nearly flawless in its execution of both visual elements and narrative.
   
4. Ping-Pong. A really weird sports show. And all the better for it. I thought this was going to be a disorienting experience not unlike the adaptation for Flowers of Evil, but it ended working on its favor.
   
5. SPACE DANDY. Nothing Shaft ever does is going to look as good as this did, no matter how hard Shinbo tries to do so. This show was just so dang pretty and I think that, for all its inconsistencies (which were a given taking into account just how the show was produced), it was fun. Not funny (that happened every once in a while), but fun.
   

• Space Bros! Between Mutta and Wild Tiger, Hiroaki Hirata has cornered the market when it comes to goofy thirty-something characters. He must be stopped!
  
• Hunter x Hunter It had some problems early on, but it's indeed one of the best Shounen adaptations I've seen.
  
• Barakamon. A "healing" show. It was basically my fifth place up until Samurai Flamenco decided to walk into my life. It was a very simple show from start to finish, but it always made me feel all warm and fuzzy after each episode ended.
  
• Yowamushi Pedals I promised myself I wouldn't get invested in this show because it's as JUMP FORMULA as they come, but there's something oddly charming about it. Not to mention that it has a dorky glasses boy and a burly, handsome piece of a manly man singing an anime song in unison. As a power-up, even! An anime song that is sung in-show by a character voiced by Yukari Tamura in her most sickeningly sweet, saccharine voice. Hot-Blooded show #1.
  
• JOJO. One of my favorite comics got an adaptation for its most popular part. Surprising absolutely loving nobody, it ruled. Since it's not really over, it doesn't go on the Top 5. This is basically the perfect storm of respect for the original source and just knowing where to venture when doing an adaptation. Am I eagerly awaiting for January to come? Like you don't know the answer already. Hot-Blooded Show #2.
  
• D-Frag! Fun show. Superb cast and very funny when it wanted to be. Surprising amount of baldies, too.
  
• Truthism Not an anime, but basically my manga discovery of 2014. This, Gintama and Nozaki are basically the only two comedy mangas I follow with any consistency.
  

• Male: Tomokazu Sugita.
  
• Female: Tie between Kana Asumi and Saori Hayami.
  

Wark Say fucked around with this message at 02:20 on Dec 21, 2014