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Honorable Mentions Ride Your Wave -- I typically don't put movies on my final AOTY list, because I find finishing a lengthy, satisfying TV Series much more memorable than a couple-hour movie. Still, this was a very cute, genuinely funny, romance that also looked incredible at times. I couldn't believe that it had been made in Flash of all things. Flash! But the crew at Science Saru have heavily custom-modded that software to do amazing stuff. Kudos! Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul -- It feels a little bit unfair to put this here, considering it was an adaptation of the Made in Abyss arc that sold me on the series. I can say a lot of good things about this movie, and my chief criticism of it is the same I had with the series: the studio excels at the breath-taking scenes of wonder, but has trouble capturing the isolated atmosphere of horror that the manga excels at. In the anime that point didn't stick out as much simply because it was a fairly small part (Ozen's arc), and they did a great job with Riko's scene, but this Bondrewd arc is all about that signature horror so the slight deficiencies of the anime mattered more to me. Still good though, and I encourage everyone who loved the 2017 TV Series to watch it, as it has a genuinely fantastic send-off. Still, I hope this franchise gets another season, and it looks like it will, but, y'know, don't count your chickens yadda yadda yadda. Kakushigoto -- Absolutely hilarious, for the first few episodes. The remainder of the series was still good, I got some chuckles out of it every episode, but it did kind of leave me feeling underwhelmed when the initial impression was so great. Weathering With You -- Genuinely fantastic visuals, there was one scene in particular where the light of the fresh sun made the city look like gold that had my jaw on the floor. Plot was OK, took some weird turns here and there but was still enjoyable. Akudama Drive -- This was probably the best-looking anime to come out this year. Yes, even going against absolutely beautiful stuff like Weathering With You, it tops it. Also, the final episode is fantastic. It's rare to see an anime-original with a competent ending, never mind a great one, so why isn't this on my AOTY list? Simply, a lot of the characters just Weren't My Thing™. Gleipnir -- Far more entertaining that a yandere(?)-centered Death Game anime had any right to be. Sadly, the ending is a very much Go Read The Manga™ ending, and it will probably not get a season 2. Pet -- Not gonna lie, this thing is ugly. Looks ugly, sounds ugly. And no one watched it -- it's trapped on Amazon Prime Video of all things (remember when they tried getting into the anime game? *Audience Laughter*). But I actually ended up liking the story quite a bit, it had smatterings of Hunter X Hunter vibes which I appreciated. Re: Zero -- I loved the first season of Re:Zero, and this continuation was really good too! But it is VERY much the first half of a two-part puzzle, so I can't really consider it having "ended" this year, so on the honorable-mentions list it goes. And now the Rankings you've been waiting for! 5: Talentless Nana Both this and Gleipnir have Go Read The Manga™ endings, so why is this here? Simply because I love stories that involve a "powerless" protagonist going up against foes who have all sorts of fearsome advantages, where it's clear the author put in the creativity required to make it work, mostly. (No, "prep time" and "money" still count, Batman...) Personal bias is what got Talentless Nana on my short list of AOTY candidates, but it is a great show in its own right, and each episode will have you dying to know what happens next. If you hate unfinished adaptations, then I can understand why you wouldn't want to end with this, but given how it feels tailor-made for me I'll include it. I had a lot of fun with this one, and it was the show I most looked forward to in the Fall season. 4: Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2 I watched the first season of this and thought it was good. This season was better than the first. As someone who struggles to maintain interest in both comedy anime (humor is hard to cross cultures) and romance anime ("Will-they-won't-they? Puh-lease..."), this season did the impossible and made me excited to watch a rom-com. I'm impressed. Today's victor: Kaguya-sama. 3: Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken ----- I like anime. A lot, even! But I couldn't really put into words why. This anime gets it, and it puts those feelings into words and so much more. An endeavor where even the creative struggles against the corporate bottom-line are as much a part of its identity as anything else. While the subject matter can be on the dry-er side of things, and at times its Flash roots show up a teeny bit (it was made by Science Saru), I was impressed that you can see the animation/storytelling quirks and desires that the characters discover for themselves parallels the actual work that brought the show to life. This one was great. 2: ID: Invaded This show was the dark horse highlight of the year for me. Nothing else had me as glued to my seat as this one did. It put a fresh twist on the classic locked-room murder mystery, and offered a take on the human subconscious that felt right. Every other anime season, there seems to be a police procedural that sounds interesting in theory but chokes on execution. This is how you do a procedural thriller! While I could come at its ending with criticisms, they don't really matter for me. I loved this one. 1: Chihayafuru 3 I hadn't watched any of Chihayafuru up till now, so I took the time this year to remedy that. I was skeptical, at first. It seemed like another Sports Anime where the characters put on display more passion for everyday activities than I would for my own future wedding. When it comes to shows like this, a big part is understanding the unique quirks that make each character tick. But, for me, that's never the interesting part. What I find interesting is the strategy behind each move (and more importantly, that there is a coherent strategy at all!) A show where you could envision yourself in the characters' Warning, though -- this anime NEEDS another season. It ending where it does would be like Star Wars ending at Empire Strikes Back. For those who really don't like Go Read The Manga™ endings, you've been warned. Malsangoroth fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Dec 29, 2020 |
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Dec 28, 2020 05:15
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Buzzsaw Roomba posted:Trivia: Chihayafuru 3 is the highest ranked anime (8th) to receive no votes for #1. Eh!? That doesn't seem quite right, since it was my #1. Did I screw up ranking in the poll?
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Jan 12, 2021 20:21
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Buzzsaw Roomba posted:FRAUD AT THE POLLS! You're listed as ranking ID:Invaded #1 and Chihayafuru #2. Hmm, I'm thinking it was an error on my part then. To be fair, both Chihayafuru and ID: Invaded were neck-and-neck for my #1 spot.
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Jan 13, 2021 22:47
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