This post reviews: Himouto! Umaru-chan, Gakkou Gurashi!, and God Eater.

Alright, this post is light, and Himouto and Gakkou Gurashi are already on their second episodes, but you can blame that on God Eater waiting until the third week to debut (and me not watching it until several days after its premire). Anyway, my final first impressions for Summer 2015 are below.

Watching:

Gakkou Gurashi!

What a delightful and memorable introductory episode, one that beautifully mixed subtle elements of distress in a sugary-sweet package of cutesy, moe girls living at their school. I especially enjoyed how the clever hints of horror were implanted in amusing scenes with easygoing jokes and chibi caricatures, but these hints are evidence that this anime will steadily become darker, especially as they escalated from a Stephen King novel to the hidden words on the blackboard to the broken glass and finally to the cross on the rooftop farm. Although the episode was shown entirely from Yuki’s delusions, I expect the anime to move forward through a realistic interpretation of the world as we saw from the ending to this episode: a ghastly, horrific setting with death lurking behind every dark corner. I am thrilled with the execution and directing in this first episode and this promises for a pleasant series, one that is able to successfully blend the contrasting elements of lighthearted, 4-girl, slice-of-life with a zombie apocalypse. Yuki will be an fascinating character to watch as the protagonists, due to her rejection of reality, and I’m sensing some annoyance from Miki who wants her to see the world for what it is. I don’t really have much to say about the other characters at this point, though, but the chemistry and writing work well. Really, this was probably the most impressive first episode of the season, and I’m hoping Gakkou Gurashi continues to be this strong from start to finish.

Undecided:

Nothing undecided in this post, meaning…

Dropped:

Himouto! Umaru-chan

So this is an anime about the most beautiful/athletic/smartest/blah blah blah girl in the school who *gasp* has an otaku personality! Wow, so original! And then there’s her onii-chan who possesses no personality whatsoever and tries to establish some discipline but gives in, almost immediately, to her wacky and silly demands. What a disaster.

God Eater

I’d be inclined to call God Eater the most visually impressive anime of the season based solely on its cinematography, directing style, and stellar art and animation. I can’t, though, because of on consistent and unnerving error throughout various scenes of the episode. I’m not sure whether the 3D camera, the encoding or what is to blame but there were many shots where the camera was shaking or jittery. These uncanny movements were especially notable when looking at the edge of the screen, at the floor, which would move up and down. This ataxia didn’t ruin the episode for me, but it caught my attention multiple times, distracting me from what were the wearisome and uneventful monologs of this introductory episode. Oh that’s right, beyond the visuals, God Eater is another generic “boy-must-save-humanity” anime that we’ve seen a dozen times before. But the main issue with God Eater isn’t with this overused story, but that its protagonist is flat with about as much personality as a ham sandwich without the ham. The writing and dialogues were less than motivating too. Though I was engaged and pulled in by the visuals, God Eater is honestly nothing special.

This week: deliberating about the setting and what we’ve seen about the city of Ergastulum in Gangsta., curiosities about continuing delusions in Gakkou Gurashi!, noticing and appreciating the music in Rokka no Yuusha, and a statement about disposing drugs down the toilet with Durarara!!x2 Ten.

Best episode of the week: Working!!!

Anime trending up this week: Rokka no Yuusha

Anime trending down this week: Classroom Crisis

Charlotte (Episode 3)

Why are scientists never ethical in anime? Why are they always able to get away with capturing people, conducting experiments against their will and being able to get away with it? You know, if a hundred or so people go missing in a city, I think there might be a couple investigations going on, and probably a few sting operations, too. What’s so hard about having scientists design experiments, be approved through an ethics board, recruit willing participants, and gather information that way? I’ll never understand why scientists are always portrayed as unethical in anime, especially the ones in Charlotte.

Classroom Crisis (Episode 3)

So the ATEC program has recruited some of the best and brightest students from all over Mars(?) to study and develop under the roof of Kirishina Aerospace Heavy Industries, one of the most respected space flight companies in the universe, and the response to this is to crash the program, and disband it? Yeah, sure, the program is costing an unreasonable amount of money, but there are other ways of handling the program rather than screwing them over and driving the future of your company to your competitors (these are the best and brightest, after all). Why not do what many student researchers do and have each one join a specific lab for them to develop their skills, or intern with a leader in their field within Kirishina? Hell, you could still keep the program but have the students focus on their own individual projects within these labs, or, if they wanted to build a new racing engine like we see in the anime, why not have it under the direct supervision of a number of relevant engineers? Like, I know we’re supposed to believe these people are the best businessmen in the world because the anime has told us that in every episode, but there are probably a thousand better ways to handle this situation than what they’re doing in the anime.

Durarara!!x2 Ten (Episode 3)

In Durarara!!x2 Ten, we saw Akabayashi flush some illicit drugs down the toilet to dispose of them. However, flushing drugs down the toilet is not a proper method of disposal. Putting drugs in the toilet is a key method of introducing them to the water supply and this has even been linked to traceable amounts of antibiotics, hormones, hypertension medications, narcotics, and others in the ocean and in our water supplies. Additionally, water treatment plants aren’t able to completely remove these small amounts of pharmaceuticals, meaning they’re able to make it into our drinking water. Instead, there are other harmless methods of disposing medications that do not cause potentially adverse effects. That being said, there are indeed some medications that are safe to flush down the toilet, but these are controlled medications that can be harmful, or potentially fatal, if children or pets ingest them. If you have questions about the disposal of medications, contact your local pharmacy for more information.

Gakkou Gurashi! (Episode 2)

Since we are now fully aware of Yuki’s delusions, now we can play the game of what’s real and what’s not. Specifically, we can play the game of whether the dog (Taroumaru) and the teacher (Megumi-sensei) are real or not. At this point, I’m inclined to believe the dog is real but the teacher is not. The evidence I’ve gathered thus far that supports these conclusions is that the other characters, especially Miki, react to the dog. The fact that Miki looks disappointed after Taroumaru turns away from her and that Yuuri holds Taroumaru help convince me the dog is real. As for Megumi-sensei, no one has actively reacted to her presence besides Yuki. At the most, they’ve acknowledged her presence, but they could be doing that because it’s Yuki’s delusion. You also wonder if she’s real or not because she was on the other side of the barricade in the school, ahead of the girls, meaning she would’ve been wandering around with the zombies alone at night. And when the girls found Yuki hiding from the zombie, they were only immediately concerned about her safety and not Megumi-sensei, thus leading me to question if she was really there or not. However, there was a plate of curry in front of her at the beginning, so I’m not sure if that was part of her delusion as well or not. Either way, I’ll be curious to see what happens to these two auxiliary characters, to find out whether they’re real or not.

Gangsta. (Episode 3)

“If you stay in this city too long, you’ll end up not being able to go anywhere.” –Worick

The city of Ergastulum and the setting of Gangsta already fascinated me by the first episode, but it was Worick’s line about the city at the end of the third episode that captivated my interest to understand how it’s depicted and what he really means. To date, all we’ve seen from the setting of Gangsta seems to be a nondescript Sicilian city of Ergastulum. We have yet to see where the city is located though, and what environment it’s in. We have no information about the biome, the climate, the plants and animals, whether the city is by the ocean, in the plains, surrounded by forest, or settled in the mountains. To date, we’ve seen nothing but Ergastulum, a city where all the buildings and alleyways are homogenous with no sense of location or direction… and this might be by design. Worick’s line means that once you stay too long in this city, you’re unable to leave it. And because Gangsta is told through the eyes of Worick and Nicolas, the two “Handymen”, the anime is only able to show us Ergastulum because they have stayed too long and are not able to leave it. To them, Ergastulum is the only world they have. And as a result, the anime has only shown us the city of Ergastulum because that’s all that’s there for them. It isn’t much, but details like this about the setting facilitate hope for me with Gangsta. I’m not completely convinced that this is the reason we’ve only seen Ergastulum, but Worick’s line and how the city and setting have been shown to us has enchanted me.

Joukamachi no Dandelion (Episode 2)

For an anime with essentially nine primary characters, splitting the episodes into multiple acts is probably the most ingenious way of properly distributing air-time for the characters and allowing each to have proper time to develop and contribute to the anime. In fact, I wish more anime took this approach since it helps break up the episodes into shorter, more concise, more focused narratives that are character driven. And hey, if it’s a story about characters you don’t like or don’t care about or is boring, at least it’ll only last 6 more minutes before it changes. I really, really like that about Dandelion, and am thrilled that the anime is presented this way.

Ore Monogatari!! (Episode 15)

Probably my least favorite part about Ore Monogatari!! are the size inconsistencies with Takeo. Although the inconsistencies weren’t as egregious as previous episodes (or as hilarious), it bothers me that Takeo is constantly shown to be different sizes in almost every shot. For example, in scenes where he’s walking with Rinko, their waists are shown to be the same height… meaning Takeo’s legs are as long as Rinko’s. Or their knees are at the same height… meaning their shins are the same length. Other times, Takeo’s waist is up to Rinko’s shoulders. There are also times where Takeo’s arms change from skinny to ultra-muscular. And yeah, I get that this is an anime, and there is bound to be variation in how the characters are drawn in each shot, but for an anime where a number of jokes and storylines are dependent on his physical appearance, it seems haphazard for there to be so much variability in how he actually appears. And because of that, the constant changing of Takeo’s appearance is the most bothersome aspect of Ore Monogatari!!

Rokka no Yuusha (Episode 3)

I am terrible at appreciating the music in an anime, so if I notice the music in an anime, that means it’s either really good or really bad. For Rokka no Yuusha, that’s a good thing since I find the music to be one of the best this season, if not this year. Not only does the music do an outstanding job helping to establish the mood and atmosphere in it scenes, but the music swells with emotion and personality. And who doesn’t love orchestrated tracks, especially for a fantasy anime? Michiru Oshima is the composer for Rokka no Yuusha and has composed the music for a number of memorable and remarkable anime, such as Full Metal Alchemist, The Tatami Galaxy, Zetsuen no Tempest, Sakasama no Patema, and many more. I need to keep an eye out for his name in the future since he is probably one of my favorite anime composers and I don’t give her enough attention and respect.  Just go back and rewatch the final scene of the third episode and focus on the track playing during Adlet’s reunion with Nashetanya. Not only is it a beautiful song, but it is perfect for the passion, the excitement, and the drama of the scene. Really, if I’m taking the time to write about the music in an anime, you know that it’s left a positive impression with me.

Sore ga Seiyuu! (Episode 2)

For an anime that heavily depends on its cuteness as its main appeal, Sore ga Seiyuu! does a number of things right. And when talking about the cuteness of an anime, chibi and comical faces are of the utmost importance. And for that, look no further than Ichigo, who undoubtedly leads Sore ga Seiyuu! in this department. Ichigo’s character seems to demonstrate the widest degree of emotions, which makes it easier for her to have a higher number of cute facial expressions, especially compared to Rin who is rather quite calm. Notable examples of Ichigo’s expressions in the second episode are when she learns of her audition at the food prep factory and when eating strawberry shortcake at the diner with Futaba and Rin. Those scenes are noteworthy because they don’t provide much substance or depth to the anime or characters – in fact, they’re actually quite dull – but they’re charming because of how Ichigo is depicted, with cute, chibi expressions. The cuteness of Sore ga Seiyuu! helps support these slower scenes with some entertainment value, helping to keep the anime watchable throughout, and Ichigo does an excellent job for this considering that she seems to be the least serious of the three primary cast members.

Working!!! (Episode 3)

What? It’s not even the final episode of the season and Maya already has an appearance? And LINES? And she’s not the punchline of a joke, too? Wha… what’s going on?

Maya is my favorite character in Working!!, so to see her do something outside the final episode is an encouraging sign, especially since she now has had two episodes that have developed her character. Although it’s routine to see her in the background being “normal” and never associate with the staff, she does seem to have a pretty decent relationship with a number of the other female employees, like Yachiyo, Popura, and Mahiru, so hopefully she can continue to make appearances and have decent comedy this season. And though Maya doesn’t want to associate with the staff at Wagnaria, as we saw, she’s willing to make an appearance and joke for the advancement of being normal and normalness. Someday, I wish it’ll be normal for Maya to be included in normal episodes of Working!!.

Whenever Week 5 was: zombie behavior and possible social criticisms in Gakkou Gurashi, disappointment with the setting for Classroom Crisis, thoughts on the barrier in Rokka no Yuusha, and questions about the potential invasion of privacy with the cameras in Joukamachi no Dandelion.

Best episode of the week: Rokka no Yuusha

Anime trending up this week: Gakkou Gurashi

Anime trending down this week: Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace

Charlotte (Episode 5)

Given the premise of Charlotte, how is it that Nao and her ragtag band of four high school students are the only ones actively seeking out and rescuing nascent espers from being kidnapped by evil scientists? Rather, who exactly is supporting them and why aren’t they sending out more people (and better qualified people) to save these kids? I mean, if these kids are discovered by evil scientists while out saving others, wouldn’t that jeopardize their safety and the safety of every other esper in their school? And why aren’t they trying to expose the truth about the evil scientists that are kidnapping teenagers and conducting experiments against their will? Is this really the most effective method for resolving the conflict at hand? Then again, maybe we’re not supposed to take this premise as seriously as these questions probe considering the amount of comedy and cartoon violence to date. Still, it seems rather silly that only 5 students are out to save these kids.

Classroom Crisis (Episode 5)

Of all the anime I’ve watched, I have yet to see a show with such an underwhelming use of its setting than Classroom Crisis. Remember that Classroom Crisis has an extraordinary setting, one takes place on Martian colonies, and is set in an era when space flight is a seemingly commonplace and ordinary occurrence. It’s a physical location that’s ripe with potential and possibilities, where technology and intergalactic travel can be utilized to enhance the narrative, themes, and characters. And despite the bait-and-switch of the first episode, which promised action and piloting experimental spacecraft, Classroom Crisis feels the need to park itself in yet another generic high school setting that seems devoid of all the aspects that this sci-fi setting would promise. For example, in this episode, we were treated to a vacation where all the students visited a beach, ryokan, and hot springs… you know, the stuff you’ll never find in Japan or anywhere else on Earth. If Classroom Crisis wanted to focus on the internal politics of multinational corporations, project timelines, balancing a budget, and union labor laws, why not have it on Earth? Why does this anime have to take place on Mars if it’s not going to use it in its story at all? Why not have the anime take place on Earth and be about experimental car or plane designs? Classroom Crisis has failed to capitalize on anything about its futuristic setting and seems to be content with wasting this potential. This is probably the worst space setting of any anime that I can remember.

Durarara!!x2 Ten (Episode 5)

Since the first episode of Durarara!!x2 Ten, we’ve seen hints and seen glimpses of Celty’s and Shinra’s day off. Through the first five episodes, we’ve seeing the daily lives of various subsets of characters, seeing them go about their afternoon with the usual amount of action and excitement that the residents of Ikebukuro are familiar with. And though these episodes have been about other characters, every episode has featured little snippets of Celty’s and Shinra’s day with their excursion out to see various occult oddities. Of course, we haven’t seen much since Shinra has been on his cellphone in every scene, but as we’ve come to expect, it’s sure to be a humorous episode that connects all these individual stories together through Shinra’s character. I’m not sure if it’ll be my favorite new Durarara!! episode, but right now, it’s the one I’m looking forward to the most.

Gakkou Gurashi! (Episode 4)

It amazes me that the zombies in Gakkou Gurashi behave like they were still human, in that the zombies follow set routines or schedules, like going from home to work or school and back home at night. To me, I always think of zombies as monsters that roam aimlessly looking for their next meal, fixated on nothing but brains. But here, in Gakkou Gurashi, the zombies are seemingly humanized and go about their day like they used to before being turned into zombies. Without any idea what caused this zombie apocalypse, I’m curious if there will be social commentary on Japanese citizens with Gakkou Gurashi and how it relates to their daily lives. Perhaps that’s something characteristic of Japanese zombies or the Japanese interpretation of zombies, using this setting and story to explore and critique Japanese social norms or social behavior with zombies as a negative stereotype. Then again, I guess the same thing could be said about American zombies or the American interpretation of zombie, with their sole purpose and obsession of eating.

Gatchaman Crowds Insight (Episode 5)

How many Gatchaman are necessary for the protection of Earth? At the start of the series, there were only 5 Gatchaman. Things seemed to be pretty okay with MESS. When Berg Katze appeared, I can see the need for a sixth, especially since the other 5 were no match for the chaotic and destructive alien. But with his threat neutralized and Earth in seemingly no danger, they’ve added two new Gatchaman for a total of 8. How many Gatcahman are needed? How many Gatchaman are too many Gatchaman?

Joukamachi no Dandelion (Episode 4)

One of the central aspects to Dandelion is the thousands of cameras placed throughout the country that monitor the daily lives of the nine candidates for the next election. But considering that these cameras are everywhere, always on, and monitoring the streets, shouldn’t there be some public backlash over the invasion of privacy present? I mean, these cameras are not only filming the King’s children but also everyone else in the country, too. I’m curious how the country was able to implement those thousands of security cameras without any opposition to their placement. Aren’t these people concerned about the government filming their daily lives too, especially considering the number of cameras in residential zones that could be pointed at windows at any given time? Then again, Dandelion is a rather silly comedy, so maybe I shouldn’t be putting too much thought into the social aspects of this imaginary country.

Rokka no Yuusha (Episode 5)

So how does one exactly survive living within a barrier? Considering that the barrier was constructed in such a dense jungle, far removed from civilization, there is likely to be little to no food storage or food sources in the area for the hero who activates the barrier. And considering that it was intended for only one person to be in the area, and not the seven that we currently see, how do they expect to feed themselves during the duration of the barrier’s activity? It doesn’t seem like anyone brought rations or supplies with them either, and I’m concerned about the lack of fresh water to drink, too. The scenario actually reminds me of an old TV show, possibly an episode of the Twilight Zone, where a group of men are sealed within a nuclear bunker deep under the Earth’s crust. In the episode, the men realize that they’re over capacity and calculate that there isn’t enough oxygen to keep them alive until help arrives. They decide that they must draw lots in order to see who must be sacrificed in order to save everyone else. Of course, I don’t think Rokka no Yuusha will go down such a path with its story, but the situation reminds me of that old episode of some resemblance. I’d love for such a scenario to occur, but I doubt it’ll happen considering the focus is trying to solve the mystery of the 7^th member.

This week: why Adlet, the strongest man on Earth, is the weakest brave in Rokka no Yuusha, questioning the origin of Yuki’s psychosis in Gakkou Gurashi, defending Haruka’s egregious probability errors in Joukamachi no Dandelion, and complaints about Ayumi’s lack of character development in Charlotte.

Best episode of the week: Rokka no Yuusha

Anime trending up this week: Ninja Slayer from Animation

Anime trending down this week: Durarara!!x2 Ten

Charlotte (Episode 6)

Although Ayumi has been present throughout Charlotte, playing a lighthearted, comedic sidekick to Yuu’s character at home, the sixth episode was really the first to focus on her as a genuine character. Here, we were finally able to see what her life was like at the new school, who her friends were, and that one crazy bitch wants her dead. That’s fine and all, but given the ending of the episode, with the stairwell collapsing and seemingly killing Ayumi, I can’t help but wonder if the impact was reduced due to the storytelling, pacing, and/or writing. To me, I would’ve preferred some development of Ayumi’s character prior to this episode, one that helped to establish her character beyond a side character. I feel that this episode would’ve had a greater impact had we seen some independence of Ayumi’s character, especially at school, and known who these characters were. It felt rushed to have all of this development in one episode, especially with the conclusion that points toward Ayumi’s death, and I feel some character development for Ayumi prior to this episode would’ve made this episode much more impactful.

Classroom Crisis (Episode 6)

Why does Nagisa continue to go to school despite the fact that he already has a job? And why does he insist on continuing in the A-TEC program despite the curriculum being outside his interest and career path? Is this part of his new job? Is he being paid to be a student? I’m not sure I really understand what’s going on, but if Nagisa already has a job and was brought in to fix the deficiencies in the A-TEC program, why even bother with school?

Gakkou Gurashi! (Episode 5)

It’s quite clear that Yuki suffers from a severe case of psychosis based on her delusions and hallucinations. Although her psychosis is presented as a coping mechanism for all the horror and fear around her, you can’t help but wonder if she has always had psychosis, even before the zombie apocalypse. It’s hard to say since, prior to the zombie invasion, Yuki was portrayed as a stereotypical genki girl; she was always energetic, ecstatic, and dumb as bricks. There, she seemed normal, but the flashbacks enough material to see if she did suffer from delusions or hallucinations in her normal, everyday life. Then again, there were no hints of delusions or hallucinations before the zombie event, and Yuki definitely does not suffer from negative symptoms, like with schizophrenia, or from changes in baseline mood, like with bipolar disorder. Really, it’s difficult to say without seeing more of Yuki’s past, but her personality and behavior really haven’t changed besides her delusions and hallucinations… and it’s really hard to say if the trauma of the zombie apocalypse caused her to develop psychosis or only exacerbated her preexisting condition. I’m not sure we’ll ever know, but I am curious whether Yuki has always had psychosis, and that her classmates know about this and take it into account, or whether this is new and her friends are trying to help her by playing along with her delusions and hallucinations.

Gatchaman Crowds Insight (Episode 6)

What, exactly, are those thought bubbles made out of? When Gel summons the manifestations of people’s moods and emotions, the result is a tangible and visible colorful cloud with a mouth that floats above people’s heads. And after several episodes with this phenomenon, it’s quite clear that people can see these bubbles and can see them change when people change. So my question is, what exactly are these things made out of? Can people touch them? What happens if they get wet or damaged or too hot or too cold? How do they change and response so quickly when someone’s emotions change? I am really curious about his alien technology, especially since it feels like the equivalent to Crowds in this new season. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll ever receive answers to these questions or the other ones that I didn’t write about, such as how they taste.

Joukamachi no Dandelion (Episode 5)

That’s not how probability works… but then again, Haruka is only 13 and maybe doesn’t fully understand probabilities or how his superpower, Lots of Next, works. When using his ability to calculate the probabilities, he arrived at 8%, 1%, 5%, 1%, 2%, 10%, 50%, and 80%… or a 1.57 chance that someone will win. Haruka, of course, is still in middle school and may not fully understand how to properly report probabilities, especially in a game like this. In Haruka’s defense, these could merely be conditional probabilities for the first round, in that if the first character misses, then the follow probability calculated is the probability that they’d win. To visualize this, you could draw out a decision tree where each branch is either the success of failure of each character breaking the watermelon with each of Haruka’s predicted probabilities at each branch. If that’s the case, then there is a 0.38 probability that everyone before Shiori fails to break the watermelon and a 0.31 probability that she will win from the very beginning. That is to say, perhaps she had a 0.80 probability when it became her turn after calculating the probability that everyone else fails. Hopefully one of these days Haruka learns more about probabilities and can report his calculations in a more appropriate fashion. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’ll be any time soon since Kanade, in her comments to Haruka, obvious doesn’t understand probabilities either… and maybe the authors of Dandelion should take some classes in probabilities, too.

Ninja Slayer from Animation (Episode 17)

Although the main story of Ninja Slayer is about Kenji’s story of revenge, I find Koki’s story to be the most inspirational and engaging. Koki’s episodes usually focus on her growth and development, not only as a ninja learning new techniques, but also as a person in how she connects with others and fights alongside them. Koki’s episodes are also more entertaining in terms of action and fighting, too, primarily because Koki is one of the weakest ninjas in Ninja Slayer and needs to fight with her friend in order to overcome her opponents. I actually feel that Koki’s character has gone through much more and progressed much more than Kenji at this point. Really, Koki has the best story in Ninja Slayer, and it’s a shame the anime isn’t about her.

Non Non Biyori Repeat (Episode 5)

I always thought the education system in Non Non Biyori was strange, but didn’t think much of it since there are few children in the rural setting and the structure is the best they could do. It wasn’t until this episode when it dawned on me that the system that we see is similar to how home schooling works, where a parent teaches the children, whom are all in different grades except in the case of adoption, twins, or other situations. This perspective doesn’t really revolutionize the anime, but it gives me an understanding of Kazuho’s job and how she probably prepares different lesson plans for each student and how she is able to provide one-on-one time for each character. I don’t think it’ll change how much I enjoy Non Non Biyori, but allow me to appreciate the school system, Kazuho’s character, and how each character is preparing for high school.

Rokka no Yuusha (Episode 6)

Rather than attempt to determine who the seventh brave is, I’m more interested in who the strongest and weakest fighters are. Although we have limited material on the three new characters, there seems to be a general consensus that Chamo is the strongest fighter, and that if she is the seventh brave, that the fight against her might be a struggle. Thanks to the discourse and discussions, finding the strongest was easy, but what about for who of these warriors is the weakest? It’s difficult to say at this point without seeing each of them fight, but I’d wager that Adlet is the weakest, despite his claims that he is the strongest man on Earth. To me, Adlet’s fighting style is reliant on a number of expendable resources, such as bombs and poison-tipped needles and other temporary and situational weapons. Although we’ve seen him use his sword, and he is quite skilled with it, he does rely on a number of tricks to win fights. With that said, I do wonder how limited his resources are and how he’ll fare once he uses them all up. That is to say, I don’t think Adlet is going to be able to resupply his items and that he’ll eventually become weaker as a result of fighting these monsters and that his strategy during fights will need to change as a result. Just through normal fights, Adlet becomes a weaker fighter because he has one less bomb, one less poison needle, and one less trick available for him to use, and that’s why I think he’s the weakest brave despite his self-appointed title of the strongest man on Earth. And if that’s the case, he might struggle in fighting the demons ahead once the veil of fog is removed… that is, if he can survive what’s going on now.

This week: reading between the lines of Miki’s decision and her subsequent character development in Gakkou Gurashi, criticisms over the number of disrupting flashbacks in Gangsta., complaints over the expansion of Hajime’s breasts in Gatchaman Crowds Insight, and chuckling at how Charlotte handles Ayumi’s “death”.

Best episode of the week: Gakkou Gurashi

Anime trending up this week: Joukamachi no Dandelion

Anime trending down this week: Gangsta.

Charlotte (Episode 7)

Oh no, Ayumi is dead!

…

…

…or not. Whenever a death happens in an anime, I always need to see a body. You can sum it up as, “No body? No death.” And when a death occurs offscreen, like what happened with Ayumi, there’s a pretty good chance she isn’t dead, especially since the series is just barely halfway over. As for Ayumi’s fate? Pretty simple actually: she was captured by the evil scientists to be experimented on. And how they captured her? With other espers, of course, other kids they’ve captured that work for them. Sorry to burst your bubble, Charlotte, but your sappy episode about Ayumi’s death and Yuu’s spiral into darkness did nothing for me. In fact, when acknowledging the fact that Ayumi probably isn’t dead, this episode was actually pretty hysterical and not in a good way like some of the other comedy in Charlotte thus far.

Classroom Crisis (Episode 7)

These middle episodes of Classroom Crisis have strayed off-course and abandoned the fundamental narrative of the anime for a school-setting slice-of-life one. Really, since episode 5 to now, Classroom Crisis has really failed to expand or progress on its story, with these last few episodes failing to connect the dots or provide substantial progress on the story. I’m not sure where Classroom Crisis is going with this, but these last three episodes probably could’ve been cut without affecting the main story. Of course, there are tidbits of information scattered throughout, but nothing to save the anime from making questionable decisions like the beach episode (complete with spying on the girls in the hot springs), Nagisa sucking at school, and Iris and Hanako Angelina saving some dude. If any of the aspects presented here were, in fact, related to the story of Classroom Crisis, then these bits of content could’ve been salvaged and be used to fill up an episode. There really is no reason for this change in style for Classroom Crisis, unless they realized they couldn’t fill a full season with its story elected to have beach and school episodes to pad the series out.

Durarara!!x2 Ten (Episode 7)

Although I am thoroughly impressed at how convoluted and elaborate Durarara!! is with its intertwining stories and character relationships, I am happy to see the series return to its origins with this episode and touch base on Mikado’s, Masaomi’s and Anri’s characters, as those three are really at the heart that Durarara!! has to offer. That being said, it does seem like their issues won’t be resolved any time soon, and maybe not even before the end of the Winter 2016 season (Durarara!!x2 Ketsu), but I am happy to see the anime develop their story after these three main characters drifted into the background in this sequel. Then again, given the size of the cast and the stories they share, it shouldn’t be too surprising that it’s taken a while to return to their relationships and how everything deteriorated at the end of the first season. That said, I am hoping we learn more of their story soon since it is easily the strongest and most stimulating in the Durarara!! franchise to date.

Gakkou Gurashi! (Episode 6)

If I were in Miki’s shoes, there is no question that I would join up with Yuki, Kurumi and Yuuri after surviving for weeks alone in the mall. However, for Miki, the decision to join the girls more than just teaming up with survivors in this zombie apocalypse. What made Miki’s choice challenging is that she had to weigh what her independence, what her freedom meant to her when she asked to join with the three girls. That is to say, she had to give up her way of thinking and her understanding of reality in order to live with Yuki. As we saw in this episode, Miki doesn’t care for Yuki’s delusions and would rather live without them. But in order for her to assert her own way of thinking, she’d have to leave the group because Yuuri and Kurumi know that Miki’s reality would shatter Yuki’s fragile character, breaking her down, and killing the amusing and exultant flame that keeps these girls going. At this point, I don’t think Miki understand what Yuki means to these girls and her counterculture of accepting the grim and depressing situation for what it is something she needs to part with in order to be accepted by the others. So really, this episode showed up a significant step in Miki’s character, for her to sacrifice her own independence and her reality and to join a group that plays make-believe with students and teachers in a normal Japanese high school. And given that Miki made this decision, it makes me wonder how long she’ll last, and whether it’ll be her or Yuki to be the first to crack.

Gangsta. (Episode 7)

Nothing ruins an anime’s pacing and storytelling quite like having flashbacks every two minutes. At this point, given the frequency and duration of the flashbacks, why not have an episode devoted to this story rather than overlaying it here in this slightly related story arc? The two different narratives would’ve been stronger had they received their discrete focus and attention in their own episodes, rather than splitting time between the past and present ten different times in one episode. But no, Gangsta opted for a more disjointed and haphazard method of storytelling, one in which a half dozen standalone flashbacks, which on their own don’t stand alone in their own scenes, are spliced in with the aftermath of the first major fight of the series as a means of explaining and exploring Nicolas’ and Worick’s backstory. To me, the last two episodes felt messy, jumping between the present and past so much that it felt like a physical workout and not just a mental one. Instead, I would’ve preferred the two stories to be split into separate episodes, with one documenting the fight with Doug and one entirely on the flashback that relates to this story. Unfortunately, that was not the case with episodes 6 and 7. At this point, all I can hope for in future episodes is that Gangsta significantly reduces the number of these quick and fragmented flashbacks.

Gatchaman Crowds Insight (Episode 7)

Hey, Gatchaman Crowds, here’s a helpful bit of advice: when Katze is talking, you don’t need to zoom up on Hajime’s breasts. Alright? We get it; Katze is inside Hajime. And we know that it’s Katze speaking based on Mamoru Miyano’s silky and sexy voice. We aren’t confusing his voice for Hajime. Never have, never will. So please, cut out the shots where it’s just Hajime’s boobs with another character talking over them.

Oh, and another thing, what the hell did you do to Hajime’s breasts? Back in the first season, Hajime had pretty average, reasonably-sized breasts. What possessed the crew of Gatchaman Crowds to suddenly expand her boobs to be four times their size just for the compensation that Katze is now inside Hajime? You realize, you didn’t need to change the size of her boobs for that purpose, right? You could’ve put Katze inside Hajime without *gasp* changing her appearance. Or was this just an example of the show needing an excuse to include more fanservice as a means to attract more fans? I don’t know, but grossly inflating Hajime’s breasts and magnifying them in several shots in every episode is an unwelcome change to Gatchaman Crowds.

Joukamachi no Dandelion (Episode 6)

You know, you could really make an entire comedy anime about Misaki and her clones without any other persons or concepts from Dandelion. What I mean to say is that Misaki, alone, could star in her own anime with just her and her 7 clones doing whatever. There’s more than enough potential given the personalities, characterization, interactions and humor in just this set-up that I think you could make a pretty decent comedy anime out of it alone. And that though leads me to believe that maybe something like that was the original idea for an anime before it evolved into the Dandelion anime that we see before us today. I would love to see the original concepts and designs for the story of the original manga and see how things changed into the anime we have today.

Rokka no Yuusha (Episode 7)

Fremy Speedraw was born and raised by Kyouma, leading me to the question, do the monsters have a society where the Kyouma have family names and each has their own given names? Think about it for a second and you soon realize that Fremy is from the Speeddraw family of Kyouma (or maybe her human father was Speeddraw, can’t really say at this point). It’s not like she came up with that name on her own… it was likely given to her by her mother. So if Fremy has a last name, does every other monster we’ve seen have one, too? And that question raises even more questions, such as the structure and shape of this monster society. If they have a similar naming system to humans, what’s not to say they don’t have cities, agriculture, and governments? As we saw from Tgurneu, the Kyouma leader who approached Adlet in the past, they understand human language and even wear clothes. I’m curious what we’ll see and learn of the Kyouma’s world once the heroes advance into their realm.

This week: why combining business with school has failed for Classroom Crisis, highlighting a major weakness for Chamo in Rokka no Yuusha, similarities between the Orihara family with the Araragi family for Durarara!!x2 Ten, and major changes (again) in the OP for Gakkou Gurashi.

Best episode of the week: Rokka no Yuusha

Anime trending up this week: Durarara!!x2 Ten

Anime trending down this week: Charlotte

Rokka no Yuusha (Episode 8)

Finally, in the eighth episode of Rokka no Yuusha, we’re able to witness the tremendous and terrifying power of Chamo, the Saint of the Swamp. Chamo is capable of summoning monsters, the bodies of the kyouma she’s consumed, by forcing herself to vomit the contents of her stomach, the ‘swamp’ where these monsters dwell. Of course, after seeing the strength, ability and numbers of these monsters, it’s no wonder that Chamo is considered the strongest of the Six Braves… but, that’s only if she’s able to summon her minions by vomiting them and allowing them to form. I question how Fremy lost to Chamo in their match since Chamo takes a good 20 seconds to prepare for her fight, in which case she is completely defenseless. The fact that Fremy couldn’t get a shot off between the time Chamo started summoning her monsters to the time they were out leaves me dumbfounded. Of course, Chamo may have previously summoned her monsters before facing Fremy, but we haven’t seen Chamo wander with her monsters out at any other time in the series. Additionally, Chamo relies on her foxtail, the green plant she uses to induce emesis, to summon her monsters, so any compromise to her tool would greatly hinder her fighting ability. If it gets cut or bent or broke or limp, then Chamo is out of options. It would be akin to Fremy losing her gun or Goldof losing his sword except it takes a lot more to break a rifle or greatsword than a tall piece of grass. So, given these realities, it appears as though Chamo might not be as invincible as previously portrayed. In reality, she’s the strongest fighter once she’s successfully summoned the monsters from her swamp… but that’s only if she can survive the 20 seconds it takes to summon her monsters.

Joukamachi no Dandelion (Episode 7)

Okay, so, all of Dandelion has been about the election, right? About how the family members are doing their best to win the election? Okay, so, how exactly does the family work after the election? Like, what’s going to happen to the family structure and the relationships between the siblings? I’m actually kinda curious to see what life is like after the election since the whole dynamic of the series will change, especially if it’s someone like Hikari or Misaki or Shiori winning the election. Will everyone still treat them the same way and, likewise, will they treat everyone else the same way? Like if Akane wins, will everyone still cater to her social anxiety and other issues the same way, especially if she’s on official business and whatnot? And if it’s someone like Hikari, will they tell her it’s not a game and that she’ll have to draft laws regarding healthcare, national defense, economic policies… wait, how exactly does their country work anyway? Maybe I’m going too far on a tangent here, but I am curious to see how the series changes for the family after the election is settled and their country has a new monarch.

Gangsta. (Episode 8)

In acknowledgment of Nicolas’ character, I watched the first half of this episode without sound. The reason I did that is because I wanted to focus more on how his character is depicted and how communication is portrayed when Nicolas is around. Unfortunately, the episode did not focus on Nicolas as much as I had hoped, but it still provided a few examples of how people communicate with him. For example, people always face Nicolas when they’re talking to him, so that he is able to hear any sounds and see their lips. Of course, Nicolas hears with his eyes, so this made sense. There weren’t really any noticeable mistakes either, such as Nicolas responding to a character without him being able to see and read the lips of another character. If I were to make a critique, it would be when scenes were unreasonably dark, which would make it difficult for Nicolas to read lips or even sign language. What really stood out to me were the side conversations. Since I could see that Nicolas wasn’t looking at them, I could better understand that he was missing everything that was said despite him being adjacent to the scene. I won’t say I learned much about Nicolas or pretending to be deaf with this experiment, but the one lasting impression from this experience is that Nicolas is really cut off from most of the communication and story in this anime. There is very little and limited communication with him.

Gakkou Gurashi! (Episode 7)

The subtle changes in the OP are one of my favorite things about Gakkou Gurashi. The first major change was between the first and second episodes… and rightfully so. But between episodes 6 and 7, the OP faced another dramatic shift, thus becoming the fourth different opening for Gakkou Gurashi in only seven episodes. The notable changes were that the outside shot of the school was changed to dusk and more zombies were present (although this should go against one of the themes of the anime with the zombies having memories and living their daily lives meaning more zombies would be away from school at sunset); Megune’s face was erased from the dryboard in the club room; Megune was replaced in the montage of the side characters; the photos of the daily lives of the girls have been replaced by their nightmares; and the final scene where Yuki is running in space has become a darker shade of purple. Of course, many of these changes are subtle, so it may have been missed by many viewers, especially by those who skip the OP, but it does show the progression and evolution of the series as it becomes more of a horror anime. I always appreciate details like this in an anime since it really highlights the creativity and ability of the team, and it does well to encompass the changes we’ve seen in Gakkou Gurashi thus far.

Durarara!!x2 Ten (Episode 8)

To me, the Orihara family will always mirror the Araragi family from Monogatari Series. It doesn’t help that both families have similar structures and representations, with the older brother being the prominent character and the two, younger sisters being somewhat less. It doesn’t help that both Izaya and Koyomi are voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya and Mairu and Karen are voiced by Eri Kitamura. It doesn’t help that the sisters are always together, too, for both franchises, and that they like to solve problems together. It doesn’t help that both franchises deal with many different oddities in urban Japan, and that each centers on the lives of high school students with these abnormalities. And it doesn’t help that when Mairu tries to kick Izaya from behind in a surprise attack that I immediately thought back to a similar scene between Karen attacking Koyomi with an almost identical kick. Now, I’m not saying that these characters are the same, but given the sheer number of similarities, I think I’ll always pair them up like this in my mind.

Classroom Crisis (Episode 8)

I am conflicted with Classroom Crisis. On one hand, I welcome an anime attempting to do something distinct and original with its hybrid “real world business” blended with “typical Japanese high school”. On the other, the execution and directing is sloppy, with the two sides integrating like oil and water. Classroom Crisis wants to be taken seriously with its political drama and intricate character relationships in a business setting, but it fails spectacularly given that almost all of the time, story, and characters aren’t even relevant to Nagisa or his story. You can’t devote 10% of the anime to the main story with the rest being beach episodes and school festivals. You just can’t. In reality, the main story of Classroom Crisis should be about the experimental rocket since a dozen characters are directly related to it and it has taken up over half the anime to this point. Unfortunately for me and Classroom Crisis, it can’t be the main story, primarily because there has been no progress on the rocket, the only conflict is the lack of budget, and that would just make too much sense. Instead, an unnecessary amount of time is spent with these executives and politicians and union leaders related to Nagisa and only Nagisa. Why even have the A-TEC around if they contribute nothing to Nagisa and his story? It’s as if two completely different anime were combined because they knew the business anime would never sale and the school-setting anime was too boring. Like I said, oil and water. Classroom Crisis doesn’t know what it wants to be, and the anime is suffering greatly as a result.

Hello again. For Week 12: my ideas on where I wanted Rokka no Yuusha to go following the mystery, thoughts on the erased timelines in Charlotte, issues with the classroom in Classroom Crisis, and appreciating Hotaru’s character more in Non Non Biyori Repeat.

Best episode of the week: Gakkou Gurashi

Anime trending up this week: Non Non Biyori Repeat

Anime trending down this week: Classroom Crisis

Working!!! (Episode 12)

I’ve always enjoyed Working!! as a franchise, but my biggest complaint with the series is that nothing ever progressed or was resolved. All the storylines and character quirks were never addressed and everything felt unfinished. The third season of Working!! has done an outstanding job at tackling this issue, and I’ve actually felt very satisfied with how the series is progressing. The only issue now is that I don’t want the series to end!

Rokka no Yuusha (Episode 12 [Finale])

I think Rokka no Yuusha is the first mystery anime where I correctly solved the mystery at the very beginning. But rather than gloat about my awesome detective skills, I’d rather discuss where I think the anime should’ve gone instead of the ending we received. During the series, I was always pondering where the anime would go once the Seventh was revealed and they either were killed or escaped. The obvious answer would be that they continue on their way and go fight the demon king, but that would be too easy for a series of this caliber. If it were up to me, the focus of the series would be on the characters rebuilding their trust with each other. The whole ordeal with the Seventh essentially fragmented each character with everyone questioning who was the villain, so it seemed logical to me that once the mystery was over, that they’d need to repair or rebuild their relationships. In fact, I think it’d be a greater mystery for Adlet to forge new relationships with each of the characters and for him to reconnect all the characters, too. Remember how Fremy and Chamo almost tried to kill each other… several times already? Why not focus on making those two friends? Or Hans and Mora, how those two are opposites? Why not try helping Goldof open up to the other Braves, too? Of course, the series didn’t end exactly the way I wanted, but if the series continues with this in mind, I’ll be content.

Non Non Biyori Repeat (Episode 11)

Hotaru never really felt like a fifth grader until this episode. Her character always felt much older given her maturity, her humble mannerisms, and her height. More often than not, it felt like she was the oldest character in the main quartet rather than the second youngest. I was thrilled to see the skit where she acted her age at home with her mom, but it also really shook up how I view her character. The skit was intended to be humorous because we never see her acting like this, but it also speaks volumes about her self-control in public and how she behaves around others. In fact, I think of Hotaru as more mature now after seeing how she usually acts at home and thinking that she corrects herself to act polite and modest in public. That, and I’m also happy to see Hotaru have fun and excitement for once in the anime.

Gatchaman Crowds Insight (Episode 11)

So, why exactly was Hajime disguised as Gel and attacked? I mean, I understand what they’re doing in terms of the story, but why did they put Hajime in such danger? Couldn’t they have faked the whole thing with their Gatchaman technology and shown a battle against a fake Gel? Was this really the only way they could’ve shown them battling Gel was to have Hajime disguise herself as him? I don’t get it, but there’s probably a thousand better ways to do this than to put Hajime in a near-death situation and in a coma for most of the episode.

Gakkou Gurashi! (Episode 11)

Although Gakkou Gurashi is one of my favorite anime of the year, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have flaws. And the one flaw I want to focus on for this episode is that I don’t like where the story is progressing. The whole development with the girls learning about the zombie outbreak and the survival resources at the school aren’t things I’m too keen on. To me, I’d rather have the whole zombie apocalypse be unknown to them and something out of their mind. Instead, I’d rather see the anime keep the reason why the zombies are around a complete mystery rather than finding documents in the school and a potential vaccine within the building. Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t say I’ve been too excited to see the girls finding these secret documents and an anti-zombie vaccine scattered throughout their school.

Classroom Crisis (Episode 12)

For an anime named Classroom Crisis, you’d think they’d focus more on the classroom and the students in the class. Outside of Nagisa, Mizuki and Iris, I’m not sure you needed any of the characters. Really, none of the other students added anything to the series. None of them changed, were relevant to the story, or added anything of value. It didn’t matter if the classroom had a size of 3 students or 30 students… the classroom essentially did nothing for all of Classroom Crisis.

Charlotte (Episode 12)

One thing that irks me about jumping timelines in Charlotte is that all the development between Yuu and Nao after Ayumi’s death in the original timeline is essentially lost. Those events are long gone, almost as if those episodes never occurred. And while Yuu still retains memories of his past self with Nao, the same can’t be said for the girl he fell in love with during this time; Nao has no recollection and no way to experience what it was like pulling Yuu out of depression or going to the ZHIEND concert with Yuu. You can’t help but feel bad for the old Nao, who put in all that effort and who was so happy, to lose it all. Looking at this timeline’s Nao feels different, especially after all that Yuu has gone through. Then again, they were able to save Ayumi’s life as a result, so I’m sure Nao would happily part with her memories with Yuu in order to save his little sister.

Last week: two things I wish they did more of in Gakkou Gurashi, celebrating the rural setting of Non Non Biyori Repeat, deliberating the lack of anime voice acting roles in Sore ga Seiyuu!, and the lack of Maya Matsumoto in the finale of Working!!!.

Best episode of the week: Gakkou Gurashi!

Anime trending up this week: Working!!!

Anime trending down this week: Charlotte

Working!!! (Episode 13 [Finale])

Isn’t the finale of Working!! supposed to always be an episode devoted to Maya? The last episode of the first two seasons were delightful tributes to my favorite character in Working!!, the incredibly normal and oft forgotten Maya Matsumoto. But this one was like every other episode of this season’s Working!!!, and focused on resolving every last storyline. But still… what about Maya? I know the series still has a ways to go with the romance between Takanashi and Inami, but couldn’t they spend half the episode on Maya? Or even a couple of skits, especially with all the new stuff going on? I suppose I should be thankful that there’s an hour-long special airing after this season, so there’s a chance that Maya will get her chance in the spotlight, but it’s hard to say at this point. I don’t know if I’ll ever really be content with a conclusion to this franchise if there’s no tribute to Maya Matsumoto at the end, like there was in the first two seasons.

Sore ga Seiyuu! (Episode 12)

What amuses me the most about Sore ga Seiyuu! is, after 12 episodes and with one to go, Futaba still has yet to land a normal role in an anime. You’d think that after so many auditions and after so much work that she’d have a decent role in a decent anime, but no, it’s far from the truth. In fact, she has yet to voice a character with a real name and regular appearances in an anime. Then again, maybe that’s the whole point of this anime… rather than focusing on the idol side-job that’s keeping her above her bills, the whole point of Sore ga Seiyuu! is that there’s almost no work for a beginner in the industry and that it takes years before you break through. A similar message was conveyed in Shirobako, so maybe the common theme that voice actresses want to convey about the industry is that it’s bleak, difficult, and depressing… but worthwhile if you love what you’re doing and willing to live your life as a voice actress.

Non Non Biyori Repeat (Episode 12 [Finale])

To me, the greatest strength of Non Non Biyori is its rural setting. Although I’ve always enjoyed the comedy and am pleased by its cast of characters, it’s the setting that captivates me with Non Non Biyori. I’ve been preaching rural settings in anime on my blog since the very beginning and I want to highlight Non Non Biyori as one of my absolute favorites in this category. Perhaps the most notable of the setting are the stunning and picturesque shots of the surrounding scenery, of farmlands, mountains, forests, shrines, flowers, and homes. Not only do these shots help break up the skits or scenes by giving us pause, but they are gorgeous and elegant landscapes that starkly contrast the urban Japan that we often see in anime… and that anime fans probably often see when they look out their windows. The other aspect that I dearly love about the setting in Non Non Biyori is how it impacts the characters and their comedy. Most of the jokes in Non Non Biyori are exclusive to rural environments, such as digging up bamboo shoots, difficulties with cell phone reception, catching a fish for a koi pond, or everything related to their one-room sized school or tight-knit community of various ages. The success of the comedy and the characters in Non Non Biyori is a testament to the setting, and I wanted to take a moment to celebrate the rural setting of Non Non Biyori with this season finale review.

Joukamachi no Dandelion (Episode 12 [Finale])

In the end, does it really matter who became the king? I mean, it probably makes more sense for one of the older children to be crowned the king at the end of the election, but in terms of their platforms and promises, does it really matter? I mean, why couldn’t Shuu or any of the other children fulfilled Akane’s promise and eliminated the security cameras everywhere? Were people planning on voting for Akane solely because of that reason? What about all the other candidates focusing on medical research which Kanade promised? Why couldn’t they have made that their platform, too? Then again, maybe the election wasn’t so much about the promises the candidates made and was more about the candidates themselves. That would explain why Aoi was always the top in the pre-election polls, but it really doesn’t explain Shuu’s rise and eventual win. Then again, this is a comedy, so why am I thinking so hard about this?

Gatchaman Crowds Insight (Episode 12 [Finale])

Yay, they fixed the issue with the Kuus and now everything’s back to normal, right? Wait, what’s normal for Gatchaman? Let’s see, we’re back to having the unpopular Prime Minister running the country… the same one at the beginning of the series that indirectly caused this entire mess. Uh, that’s not good. Oh, and Rizumu has been released from jail, the leader of VAPE who opposes CROWDS and Gel. So, it’s only a matter of time he begins his war with Rui again and uses the red CROWDS to destroy CROWDS itself. So… yeah, it’s like we’re right back at the very beginning of the season with society on the brink of another catastrophe. Oh, and this time, we still have some of those murderous Kuus around… so all-in-all, aren’t things worse off now than at the beginning of the series? Shouldn’t there be one more episode where the Gatchaman squad go out and prevent Rizumu from starting a new war and stopping the Prime Minister from screwing up again? I get that the message at the end was for people to think for themselves… but how is that going to stop Rizumu and how is that going to help the PM?

Gangsta. (Episode 12 [Finale])

Every episode of Gangsta is way too dark. Just way too dark. The anime doesn’t need to be this dark, especially since one of the selling points of this anime is its fight scenes and battle sequences… you know, scenes where you want to show the viewers the action and whatnot going on. But for Gangsta, it’s gotten to the point where I can hardly tell what’s going on anymore in some scenes because everything, including the characters, is covered in darkness. The anime doesn’t need to be this dark, and it could learn from some other shows with how it uses colors and balance. For example, Gakkou Gurashi and Durarara!! both had a number of dark scenes, but uses a lighter tone on the characters, helping them stand out from the background. Gangsta is nowhere near as colorful or moe as those anime, but it’d definitely help with the final battle between Worick and Striker. I have no idea why these last few episodes have been as dark as they’ve been or why the series made this change recently, but I absolutely hate not being able to see what’s going on in an anime.

Gakkou Gurashi! (Episode 12 [Finale])

Although I am very happy with Gakkou Gurashi overall, there are two things I wish we saw more of in the anime: more horror and another episode from Yuki’s perspective. To me, the horror and psychological aspects of Gakkou Gurashi were my favorite, and I wanted the anime to show more, especially as the anime progressed. I wish that some of the slice-of-life episodes were pared down in order to deal with more confrontations with zombies or other psychological stressors. The other thing I wanted to see from the series is an episode like the first one. I absolutely loved the bait-and-switch at the very beginning, especially with how it established the mood and helped expose the nature of Yuki’s character… and I wanted more of that. I was hoping there’d be an episode in the middle where everything was shown from Yuki’s perspective. I mean, take any of the episodes in the middle and just show it entirely from Yuki’s perspective with the school all normal and with other students around. That’s just me, but those are two things I wish I saw from Gakkou Gurashi during the middle.

Durarara!!x2 Ten (Episode 12 [Finale])

While I am disappointed that the Celty and Shinra episode was not included in this season of Durarara!!x2 Ten, I am thrilled to see that this wonderful side-story is getting its own OVA, which will air in January 2016. This special OVA will cover the adventures and excursions that were hinted throughout the beginning of this season of Durarara!! between Celty and Shinra. Early on, I even documented my excitement for such an episode, so it should be no surprise that I am waiting with anticipation for this OVA to air. And I certainly hope everyone who has enjoyed Durarara!! thus far is excited for this OVA as well!

Classroom Crisis (Episode 13 [Finale])

Uh… so…. how and when did they build this new rocket engine? And how much better is this new rocket engine than the old rocket engine? Like… how did they do it? And what issues did they have besides that one issue with the budget? What did each student contribute to this final product? I mean, for an anime about a classroom of brilliant engineers and other students, it baffles me as how little attention and focus the series was on them and their work. I mean, how many scenes did we have of the students working on their own that didn’t involve Nagisa, Mizuki or Iris? And did we really need all that other bullshit in Classroom Crisis, too? To have the final rocket engine magically appear out of the blue like this is a disservice to the anime – that it would claim to be about keeping the A-TEC program around but have nothing to do with showing how the program worked or what the students were doing. To skip all their efforts and trials like this is just bizarre. I really don’t get it.

Charlotte (Episode 13 [Finale])

One of the better aspects of Charlotte were the incompleteness or disadvantages associated with each superpower. For example, Yuu could only take over the bodies of people for a few seconds, Nao could turn invisible, but for only one person, Shunsuke has the ability to go back in time but loses his eyesight after each use, and Medoki has the ability to make someone fall asleep but it makes her fall asleep, too. So why, exactly, do none of the abilities that Yuu steals at the end have any of these downsides? Like, every single ability that he stole and used in this final episode did not have a disadvantage like every other power that we’ve seen throughout the series. What gives? Everything worked too well when every other attempt to foil the evil scientists and secret organizations were inhibited by these defects. I don’t understand why now, all of a sudden, Yuu is able to stop bullets in his sleep and map out every single special person in the world without any adverse effects. I don’t get it but it seems like this is a bit of an inconsistency with how the superpowers were described in Charlotte.

The way most people realize that it’s the beginning of autumn is that the days begin to grow shorter, the air begins to feel cooler, and the trees transition into a palette of warm yellows, oranges and reds. But for me, the only way I realize that it’s the beginning of autumn is when the autumn anime season begins! And yes, with the start of the Autumn 2015 anime season this week, it’s time again to look ahead to this new season of anime and project, speculate, and guesstimate which anime we should watch.

As always, the order of anime listed below is neither chronological nor alphabetic but are categorized into sequels and new shows, and then ranked in order of my personal anticipation and how likely I believe I will watch that anime this season. Every anime is evaluated and placed into one of five tiers ordered: Will watch, Likely watch, Maybe watch, Doubtful but it gets a shot, and No dice. Within each tier, the anime are listed alphabetically. Dates are not included because who knows when and where these shows will be subbed and available to watch.

As always, every season marks the return of a number of beloved franchises, in the forms of sequels, reboots, spinoffs, and other continuations. For me, Autumn 2015 looks particularly enticing with over a half dozen of my favorite anime franchises returning. In fact, this is easily the best season for me in terms of sequels as one of my all-time favorites returns after a 9 year hiatus.

Returning in Autumn 2015 are: Ame-iro Cocoa S2, Diabolik Lovers More,Blood, Garo: Guren no Tsuki, Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu Ka??, Haikyuu S2, Hidan no Aria AA, Hokuto no Ken: Ichigo Aji, Itoshi no Muco 3, K: Return of Kings, Ketsuekigata-kun 3, Kindachi Shounen no Jikenbo Returns 2nd Season, Miss Monochrome: The Animation 3, Noragami Aragoto, Owarimonogatari, Owari no Seraph S2, Pokemon XY&Z, Shingeki! Kyojin Chuugakkou, Shinmai Maou no Testament Burst, Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor – Exodus 2nd Season, Teekyuu S6, Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen, Young Black Jack, and Yuru Yuri San Hai.

Seeing as I haven’t watched most of the originals to these anime, I will obviously skip them and recommend you check out the originals if you’re interested in any of these franchises. Instead, this section is reserved for the anime that I will be continuing this autumn, with PVs, thoughts, and assessments for each.

Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu Ka?? (S2)

Opinion: One of my favorite anime from Spring 2014 returns with the second season of Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu Ka??. One the surface, the anime appears to be nothing more than an ultra-moe slice-of-life comedy about cute girls working in various cafes in a quintessential European backdrop. However, the anime has charisma and chemistry, and kept me laughing and smiling throughout. If the anime can keep the same pace as it did last year, then this is an easy decision for me to continue this autumn.

Plans for this show: Will watch

K: Return of Kings

Opinion: The one fatal flaw with the original season of K was its lackluster story, but the anime made up for that with style, flare, and an uncomfortable amount of blue tint over everything. I absolutely loved K for its visuals, with its kaleidoscope of colors, its seamless fighting sequences, and wholly unique art direction. Combine that with an intriguing setting and fun characters, and it’s no wonder why K was one of my favorite anime of 2012. If the movie from 2014 was any indication, this second season should address my issues with the story, which might be enough for it to be one of my favorite of 2015, too.

Plans for this show: Will watch

Noragami Aragoto

Opinion: Noragami was one of my favorite anime of 2014 (do you see a pattern yet with the sequels this season?) and Hiyori one of my favorite characters of the year, too, so I gladly welcome the return of Noragami. Although I felt slighted at the ending of the first season, I found the story, character, comedy, and setting to be promising, and am excited to see where the series goes from here. I can’t wait for it to start again and reclaim its enchantment.

Plans for this show: Will watch

Owarimonogatari

Opinion: The Monogatari Series has been one of my all-time favorites, and I am still enchanted with the story arcs and character development from the last TV season. It’s a truly magnificent franchise, thanks in large part due to the elegant writing, the spellbinding visuals, and the exceptional cast of characters. I’m eager to what happens to all the characters. No doubt, this is one to watch this season.

Plans for this show: Will watch

Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor – Exodus 2nd Season

Opinion: Again, another sequel that I am highly anticipating based on the astonishingly great first season last Winter. Fafner might be the biggest surprise of the year, chiefly because I almost never start new anime franchises in the middle, and I almost immediately fell in love with everything about the anime. I am hoping to see the anime challenge its cast of characters again with escalating difficulty as the mecha battles were, by far, the highlight of the series for me.

Plans for this show: Will watch

Teekyuu S6

Opinion: Teekyuu is my favorite short anime, so I am always happy to see another season of this outstanding and insane comedy.

Plans for this show: Will watch

Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen

Opinion: Utawarerumono was one of the first anime I watched when I began watching anime again in early 2006. It easily became my first new favorite anime and helped generate my interest in currently airing anime in Japan as well as other shows that I have missed. Utawarerumono played an integral part in helping me ease back into watching anime, and I’ve always had a fond memory of this franchise ever since. And in addition to that, Utawarerumono is one of my all-time favorite anime thanks to its captivating and intricate fantasy setting, its mesmerizing story, its phenomenal cast of characters, and its truly impressive battle sequences. I am thrilled that Utawarerumono is returning as a TV anime for the first time in 9 years. I will say I am a bit cautious that new season is an alternative setting to the original, but it appears to retain all the elements that made me fall in love with Utawarerumono the first time around. This anime will be magical.

Plans for this show: Will watch

Yuru Yuri San Hai

Opinion: How many times to I have to say that an anime is one of my favorite this season? No, of course, that isn’t a bad thing as Yuru Yuri is one of my favorite comedy anime, and I am delighted to see it return after 3 years off. The vibrant and hilarious comedy is certain to keep me entertained as I’ve dearly enjoyed the OVAs that aired this summer. This is definitely an anime I am excited for this autumn.

Plans for this show: Will watch

Miss Monochrome: The Animation 3

Opinion: While the first season of Miss Monochrome was charming with its silly comedy spanning 3 minute episodes, the second season disappointed with its generic non-stories that dragged out 8 minutes each time. I’m not too fond of the series stretching out its content like this, especially since it tries to fill the space with an actual story and not a silly wannabe-idol robot failing at everything she does. I wish the series had more of the style and comedy from the first season and not the second season, but it isn’t a deal-breaker for me.

Plans for this show: Maybe watch

The following two sections of the preview contains a list of all the new, original anime that will debut during the Autumn 2015 anime season, with the first section on the anime I am planning on screening and the latter section the anime I have already rejected.  Autumn 2015 has quite a number of new anime, but I can’t say I’m terribly impressed with them, with hope that a small handful will be worthwhile in the end. Then again, I think this season will be carried by the sequels, so maybe it won’t matter too much how these anime perform. Still, I expect a couple to be good, and maybe a few others to be decent at best after that. As you might guess, I’m not terribly excited with most of the new anime this season, but hopefully the season can prove me wrong. My plans to start this season are as follows:

Lupin III (2015)

Opinion: I’ve only watched a dozen or so episodes of the original Lupin III anime, so I’m far from a fan of the franchise, but whenever I watched anything Lupin, I’ve enjoyed it. This reboot of the Lupin III anime, featuring a smooth and eye-catching animation style, certainly has appeal in terms of its visuals and presentation. I’m not sure whether the format will be episodic or follow a central storyline at this point, but it looks to be one of the better new anime this season regardless.

Plans for this show: Maybe watch

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (Kidou Senshi Gundam: Tekketsu no Orphans)

Opinion: Beginning a new Gundam universe (Post Disaster), Iron-Blooded Orphans sets itself in a conflict between Earth and Mars. Often a fan of mecha anime, especially from the Gundam franchise, I’m curious to see how this universe uses its mobile suits, how warfare is portrayed, and how everything looks. The PV doesn’t really answer these questions, but I’ve typically been pleased with the newer Gundam anime that I’ve watched. At this point, I really can’t say too much more, but it looks to be worth a few episodes to start.

Plans for this show: Maybe watch

Shingeki! Kyojin Chuugakkou (Attack on Titan: Junior High)

Opinion: This is a chibi, comedy spin-off of the poplar Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) franchise. I always welcome chibi, comedy spin-offs of popular franchises and find this promising after the lovely Shingeki no Kyoujin Picture Drama that was featured on the Blurays of the TV anime. If this is anything like that series, then this is definitely a keeper. If not, then we’ll see how it stands on its own and whether the comedy matches my taste or not.

Plans for this show: Maybe watch

Comet Lucifer

Opinion: The primary appeal of Comet Lucifer is its use of color and light from the PV. The synopsis doesn’t really hook me in, and the PV seems decent though not very informative. Still, it did enough to catch my attention to give it an episode or two. After seeing what the anime is really like, then I’ll have a decision of whether I want to keep it or not.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Concrete Revolutio: Choujin Gensou (Concrete Revolutio: A Superhuman Fantasy)

Opinion: Concrete Revolutio certainly looks like it’ll be fun to watch with this festival of colors, styles, motifs and visual details. And it certainly has a unique style given its superhuman characters, mecha battles, and giant, happy, suicidal clouds. The anime certainly has personality, but I’m curious if everything will come together and whether the anime is full of energy (like the PV) or whether it comes out flat. An episode or two should be sufficient to decide whether to keep this or not.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Fushigi na Somera-chan (Magical Somera-chan)

Opinion: From the director of Ai Mai Mi comes another absolutely crazy anime, this time about a magical girl who uses kenpo. I can’t say I was terribly happy with the second season of Ai Mai Mi, but this new anime appears to be a calmer and more focused anime, which should mean it’s an improvement. Still, this animation style is best when it’s absolutely crazy, so I’m curious to see if this is going to be in the same comical style as Ai Mai Mi or if it’ll attempt to tell a story with jokes scattered throughout. I’m curious to see how this performs, and will be giving it an episode to start.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Hacka Doll The Animation

Opinion: I’m not expecting much in the way of substance with this anime, but it looks bright, colorful, and full of energy (well, except the narcoleptic blue haired girl). I typically enjoy comedy anime with this style, but I’ll need to see if I can sit through an episode first before I can decide whether I want to keep it or not.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Heavy Object

Opinion: There’s not much to get excited about Heavy Object, given its generic synopsis and characters, but I am intrigued by its setting with snowy landscapes and sci-fi military weaponry. I don’t think the anime will get more than one episode, but I’m curious to see what an anime about the Technodrome is like.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

JK Meshi!

Opinion: Uh… JK-Meshi! doesn’t look terribly impressive, but it’s an anime about girls cooking simple meals. I’m hoping it’s a short anime, because this style and focus could work well if it’s only a few minutes each week. If it’s a long anime, I don’t know how well it’ll hold-up, especially if it’s just girls cooking the whole time or other ordinary slice-of-life activities. It’ll really depend on the length of the episodes whether this is a keeper or not.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Kagewani

Opinion: A mystery anime about a scientist who hunts down supernatural monsters. I’d be lying if I said the synopsis doesn’t sound somewhat interesting, but I am a bit concerned considering that the staff behind this anime were also behind Yami Shibai, a short horror anime from a few years ago that was really disappointing and forgettable. I’m willing to give this anime a try, but I don’t’ find myself too confident based on the lack of information about it and the staff working on it.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Komori-san wa Kotowarenai! (Komori-san Can’t Decline!)

Opinion: From the creator of Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken comes a new comedy anime about a junior high girl who is polite to everyone and can never decline a request. It… it really depends on the comedy, but I already like the visual style and find promise consider the creator’s other work. Also, if it’s a short anime, it’ll be easy to watch, even if it’s not very good. Still, it sounds like it’ll be fun.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Onsen Yousei Hakone-chan

Opinion: It’s really hard to get an idea for this anime without a PV, but it appears to be a moe slife comedy where an ancient fairy spirit is suddenly placed in urban Japan and must adapt to the drastic change in culture. Also, considering that the main character is a hot-springs fairy, I’m guessing there’ll be plenty of fanservice, so we’ll see how it goes. The one strong positive I’ve discovered about this anime is that the manga is short and it has concluded, so there’s a chance that this anime will have a real ending… but that’ll only matter if I’m actually keeping it.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

One Punch Man

Opinion: Probably the most hyped new anime of the season, One Punch Man certainly impresses with its visual style. And for good reason. Everything I’ve heard about the manga has been about the outrageous artwork and stunning perspectives, at times, giving the manga a flow of still images that mimic animation. I’m really curious to see how this translates as a TV anime. However, despite all the hype and celebration over this popular shounen manga, I’ve never really heard much about the characters or story – everything has been on the fights and a bit here and there on the humor. I’m definitely interested in this anime, but I don’t want to get myself too excited, especially if the series isn’t my style. I typically don’t fare too well with shounen anime, so I’ll be cautious heading into this one, but I certainly hope it blows away my expectations.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru (A Corpse is Buried Under Sakurako’s Feet)

Opinion: I feel really conflicted about Sakurako-san. On one hand, I am always curious about mystery anime, and this one seems to have a decent set-up given the bone-crazy ojou-sama at the center of the anime. On the other hand, it feels pretty generic and boring… and the PV doesn’t help with its visual style seeming as lackluster as I imagine it to be. I’ve heard second-hand that the series is popular, so maybe it’s worth a few episodes, but everything I’ve seen and read about it thus far fails to inspire much confidence.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Subete ga F ni Naru: The Perfect Insider

Opinion: Again, another mystery anime that may or may not be worth watching. It really depends on the presentation of the mystery and the characters present… and at this point, that’s impossible to decide until after watching the first episode or two.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai (Anti-Magic Academy 35th Test Platoon)

Opinion: I usually immediately dismiss these magical academy anime… but this is something entirely different: it’s an anti-magical academy! Erm, no, the reason why I’m curious if this light novel-adaptation of an ecchi, harem in a fantasy-military-school setting is worthwhile is because I kinda like the art and animation of the PV. I’ll admit that the characters caught my attention when watching the PV and I’m curious if this anime might have some value to it. I’ll probably end up hating myself by the end of the first episode because these types of anime are banal and derivative, but I’d like to give this an episode to see if it’s watchable.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

The first two sections confirm the lists of anime that I am planning on watching based on my knowledge and understanding of the shows. All that remains in this season preview are the anime that I have already decided against. The reason why these anime are slotted here is because they either appear to already be flawed, boring, or simply outside my demographic. While these anime may in fact be watchable to some, they do not appear watchable for me. I doubt I’ll examine these anime any more than the PV linked in their sections. However, there’s always a chance for me to pick one or two up every season, so not all hope is lost for these shows if you see one of your favorites down here. However, for most of them, there’s already zero chance I’ll even think about them after writing my opinions for each.

Dance with Devils

Opinion: I always like a PV where each guy they introduce is worse than the last.

Plans for this show: No dice

Gakusen Toshi Asterisk

Opinion: Congratulations! You’re the 1 millionth anime adaptation of a light novel about students in a magical academy this year!

Plans for this show: No dice

Kamisama Minarai: Himitsu no Cocotama

Opinion: This anime is too cute for me. I can only handle so much cuteness in a season.

Plans for this show: No dice

Koukou Hoshi Kageki (High School Star Musical)

Opinion: If I were to watch this anime, I’d play a game where I try to make sure I never see a single guy the whole time by looking at the background the whole time.

Plans for this show: No dice

Kowabon

Opinion: Real humans? In my anime? No, thank you.

Plans for this show: No dice

Lance N’ Masques

Opinion: I’m not going to watch an anime where there’s a romantic relationship between a 16-year old boy and a 6-year old girl.

Plans for this show: No dice

Monster Strike

Opinion: It’s based off a mobile card game and, yeah… already lost interest in it.

Plans for this show: No dice

Ore ga Ojousama Gakkou ni “Shomin Sample” Toshite Gets Sareta Ken (Story in Which I was Kidnapped by a Young Lady’s School to be a “Sample of the Common People”)

Opinion: I’ll admit, I am kinda curious to see how bad the story of this anime is.

Plans for this show: No dice

Osomatsu-san (Mr. Osomatsu)

Opinion: These types of shows really aren’t my style.

Plans for this show: No dice

Peeping Life Season 1??

Opinion: They’ve made a few of these, but this is the first to focus on peeping in on the lives of anime characters from various franchises. Doesn’t seem to be particularly interesting.

Plans for this show: No dice

Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry

Opinion: It’s hard to turn down an anime directed by Shin Oonuma, but everything about this anime seems awful. I might sneak a peek, but I haven’t been too happy with anything he’s directed lately.

Plans for this show: No dice

Tantei Team KZ: Jiken Note

Opinion: This anime is based on a series of children’s detective novels. I don’t want to embarrass myself by getting mysteries wrong when they’re intended for elementary school kids.

Plans for this show: No dice

Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid

Opinion: I already miss Bikini Warriors.

Plans for this show: No dice

And with that said, there is nothing left to preview for the Autumn 2015 anime season. The next step will be to watch and assess each of the new anime coming out, which should be happening shortly. I’ll be providing my reviews and opinions for most of these anime in my First Impressions posts once each these shows debut. Until that time, I hope everyone enjoys the start of a new anime season!

This post reviews: Hacka Doll The Animation, Kagewani, Heavy Object, and Shingeki! Kyojin Chuugakkou.

So far, most of the anime that has aired this season are sequels that I am planning on watching, including Noragami Aragoto, Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor – Exodus 2nd Season, K: Return of Kings, Owarimonogatari, and Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen. I probably should put the new Utawarerumono in one of these posts since it is not a direct sequel to the original series, but I’ll have more to say on that later. For now, here are my thoughts and decisions for the first batch of new anime this season.

Watching:

Hacka Doll The Animation

Thankfully, Hacka Doll is a short anime, meaning it should be easy to sit through given the hit-or-miss nature of the show. The focus of the show is on its three reckless and dimwitted Hacka Dolls, who will be sent to harass some poor human once an episode. The humor will really depend on the human they interact with, which will ultimately dictate the focus and comedy of that episode. The characters themselves are just a grab-bag of standard character archetypes, a cookie-cutter selection that mirrors Robot Girls Z just a bit too much. Still, there’s quite a bit of energy, personality, and flair that makes this anime enjoyable and easy to watch. I’m not going to expect much of Hacka Doll, but it should be worth a few laughs or smiles each week, and that’s why I’m planning on keeping it this season.

Shingeki! Kyojin Chuugakkou (Attack on Titan: Junior High)

This chibi, comedy spinoff is exactly what I want from a parody anime. Shingeki! Kyojin Chuugakkou certainly pays tribute to the original Shingeki no Kyojin anime by retaining much of the character personalities and context that made the series so enjoyable. Furthermore, it understand the humor and absurdity of the situation and exaggerates the setting just enough that it has the right balance of hilarity without going too far. Additionally, the anime appears to have a story, which is something I wasn’t expecting, though I shouldn’t be too surprised since this is based off a manga that began in 2012 and is still being published. There’s quite a bit of care and attention that was put into this anime, and I’m confident it’ll be a decent product at worst. The first episode of Shingeki! Kyojin Chuugakkou exceeded my expectations, and I’m looking forward to seeing where this parody goes.

Undecided:

Nothing here, which means…

Dropped:

Kagewani

If you’ve seen Yami Shibai, then you’ve seen all Kagewani has to offer. Not only do both anime feature the same production team, but also the same style of animation, storytelling, and unsatisfying horror themes. What’s worse is that Kagewani is twice the length of Yami Shibai, meaning there’s a longer build-up each episode, meaning more time to sit around being bored with this anime. The only difference between this and Yami Shibai is that there appears to be a story and recurring characters now, but the first episode pretty much forgot about that until the final 30 seconds. I don’t see any value in keeping this around.

Heavy Object

Heavy Object? More like… heavy objectification of women!

Yeah, Heavy Object was all kinds of terrible. You could tell the anime was going to be abysmal when the episode begins with four and a half minutes of monotonous exposition over a lifeless battle. Then, Heavy Object cuts to the present for more exposition between two male characters. Look, two minutes of describing the setting will bore almost everyone, so who’s bright idea was it to start the anime with over 8 minutes of exposition? Well, I think the creators of Heavy Object knew it was a bad idea because during the conversation we had several spliced in shots of a naked girl showering. That’ll keep the audience around for more, right? No, throwing in unnecessary and random ecchi scenes to spice up a dull conversation is never a smart move, especially since the character was never introduced up to that point. And what’s worse is the fanservice continued through, from the guys gawking over breasts (I know, breasts in an anime! What the hell?) to potentially killing a girl because the guy couldn’t hand the thought of his hand near a girl’s bosoms. Oh, and about that scene, everyone should go back and look at her breasts to start and during the suffocation sequence. They grow about 40 inches. Heavy Object is absolutely atrocious.

This post reviews: Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, Concrete Revolutio, Comet Lucifer, and One Punch Man.

Uh… yeah… I’m already very, very behind on everything this season. At least there aren’t too many new anime for me to watch and review after this post. And yes, I’ve only watched the first episode for all of these anime, so I’ll get around to the more recent episodes once I recover from the last three weeks.

Watching:

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans

Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans is probably the best example of a ‘solid’ anime this season. Everything about the anime is good to great to outstanding, from its story to its setting to its characters to the art to the animation to the sounds to the directing and to every bit and detail in-between. I can go on and on about the positives with this anime because there are really no negatives with Gundam: Iron-Blooded Oprhans… well, no real negatives that aren’t just me nitpicking about the elements. I will admit that I don’t love it as much as some of the other anime this season, given with all the sequels airing this month, but this is my favorite of the new anime that has aired so far. This is a keeper, for sure.

Concrete Revolutio

While I’m not too fond of the haphazard storytelling, constantly shifting through time and space to unknown characters in unfamiliar locations doing undetermined things, Concrete Revolutio really caught my attention and interest with its splash of stunning colors, its impressive artistic motifs, its outrageous setting, and its ridiculous characters. The first episode of Concrete Revolutio was incredibly inspired, screaming in your face, and it captured my imagination with its world and its superpowers. After the first episode, I felt unsatisfied – in a good way. I wanted to learn more about the characters, their organizations, who was who, and what was what. It’s uncommonly that I’m this involved after just one episode, but Concrete Revolutio really hooked me with this first episode. That said, there are some negatives, especially with the storytelling jumping around, but that is a minor detail compared to everything else this anime had to offer. I’m excited to continue watching this anime, especially if every episode can pack an extraordinary visual punch with those colors, motifs, and exclamations.

One Punch Man

Oh… …now I think I understand why everyone is so positive about One Punch Man. After hearing so much about it the last few years and viewing its artwork numerous times, I often wondered how well I’d enjoy an anime of this variety given my history with popular shounen franchises. Well, it actually fits quite nicely, given its over-the-top style, its reckless abandon, its flair for personality that’s skillfully embedded within the storytelling. The first episode was a wild ride, and I’m excited to see where it goes, but I am curious to see where it goes from here and how it’ll integrate its characters into the story. Nevertheless, I am curious to see where this goes and will be keeping this for sure.

Undecided:

Comet Lucifer

It’s difficult to say whether I’ll enjoy Comet Lucifer or not given that the lead female appeared at the end of the first episode, but it has enough qualities to be a keeper. Comet Lucifer certainly has an appealing art style, with its character designs and mecha designs. The animation was solid throughout, and quite phenomenal during the mecha battle at the end. The anime certainly has robust visuals, but it feels somewhat weak in terms of its characters and the story. While it usually takes me a few episodes to warm up to the cast, before I really start liking them, I feel nothing from the cast of Comet Lucifer. Every character thus far, especially Sougo, Kaon, and Roman feel shallow and uninspired. The whole triangle between those three is such a tired and awful storyline that I almost just stopped right then and there during the car chase scene. Comet Lucifer never recovered and the rest of the episode felt lackluster and unoriginal. I’ll give it another episode to see if the new girl can add some spice and variety to this anime, but it’s starting to seem doubtful given how the characters and story failed to deliver in the first episode.

Dropped:

We’ll see how Comet Lucifer does with its second episode, but everything in this cohort was good, if not great.

This post reviews: Osomatsu-san, Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru, Subete ga F ni Naru, and Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai.

I realize that this post is being published three weeks or so after these anime debuted, but I’ll have time this week to begin catching up on everything with the plan to be current by Halloween. Of course, that’s always the plan, to be current, so we’ll see how well I catch up on anime now that things are calming down.

Watching:

Uh… let’s just say I was very indecisive with this batch of anime…

Undecided:

Osomatsu-san

I didn’t think much of Osomatsu-san when researching the Autumn anime season. To me, it seemed Osomatsu-san would be a modern adaptation of an old gag manga, Osomatsu-kun, that earned fame and acclaim in the 1960s. I’ve always enjoyed gag comedies, but thought that an anime in this older style wouldn’t entertain me as much as other comedies this season. And wow, could I have been more wrong about that?

Osomatsu-san easily had the most impressive and surprisingly introduction of any anime this season and possibly even this year. Not only does the anime feature outstanding writing, build-up, and timing, but it’s self-aware and was able to incorporate a number of modern parodies while still remaining true to its roots, the 6 misfits that are the Matsuno sextuplets. I was blown away by this first episode, thoroughly impressed with every aspect about it. The only reason why I’m undecided on it for now is because I’m sure the anime can’t sustain this type of content or humor throughout the whole season, because it’ll become stale after an episode or two… but I am confident that the anime will be able to deliver some meaningful entertainment value this season. I want to see another episode or two to see what the majority of this series is like before I decide on keeping it or not. However, after that first episode, I’m pretty sure this has the writing and style to keep me smiling and laughing this autumn.

Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru

I already know the twist that will occur at the end of Sakurako-san. After twelve heartwarming episodes between Shoutarou and Sakurako, we’ll find out that, after all their wacky and crazy adventures, that Shoutarou is actually a dog. How did I find out this astonishing surprise after only one episode? It’s actually quite obvious… the fact that Shoutarou is loyal to Sakurako for seemingly no reason, how Shoutarou gets excited over “treat” for being a “good boy”, the fact that he was digging up bones with his hands paws… eventually, we’ll find out that Shoutarou is a delusional puppy who sees himself as a human alongside Sakurako-san and that this is actually a sequel to Dog & Scissors (Inu to Hasami wa Tsukaiyou) but actually good.

Joking aside, I found Sakurako-san to be pretty alright, pretty average. The visuals are quite stunning, with a number of gorgeous scenery shots helping establish the setting and mood of each scene. I’m particularly keen on the spectacular use of colors during dramatic moments, especially with how they emphasize Sakurako’s character. Those parts are great. The rest? I’m really struggling at liking any of the characters, principally Sakurako and how she treats Shoutarou. I’ve never really enjoyed a blatantly obvious romance like this between two characters of this type: an ojou-sama who acts above her friends and orders them around like a guard dog and a protagonist who blindly follows everything the ojou-sama says because he wants to bone her. The two couldn’t be more disconnected, and yet they’re together because “romance”. I don’t think I’ll ever like either character and that’s what might doom this anime to being dropped. The way the mystery was presented and solved was almost too quick, considering that the first half of the episode was devoted to developing the two leads, so I’ll need another episode to determine whether I like this style of mystery or not. What I want from the second episode is there to be more emotion and connection between the two characters and for the mystery to more than just ‘I looked at the bodies and now know everything’. If it can do that, then maybe it’ll get a third and fourth episode from me.

Subete ga F ni Naru

Subete ga F ni Naru shows potential with its characters, its setting, and its story, but really failed to capitalize on any of them by dragging its feet with this first episode. To say it was underwhelming would be an understatement, what with all the dry and repetitive dialogue. I can’t say I care too much for the characters after just one episode, but I feel as though they’ll be good players for a mystery given their supposed intellect. However, the characters feel flat, devoid of behavior that would otherwise make me believe they’re human. The only character with a personality is Moe, but I don’t like her very much, so that doesn’t help. Really, the only thing that’s keeping this anime afloat with me is its potential… and I saw enough of it to give it another episode to see if anything materializes. The first episode was lethargic and boring, so the style and content need to change for me to even consider keeping this… and that’s exactly what I think will happen. Still, there were a number of issues with this first episode, for me, so I’ll be weary of future episodes if it continues at this pace or with this format of storytelling. However, that will be left for me to decide when I watch episode 2.

Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai

Oh, right, that’s why I usually don’t watch these anime… Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai isn’t a terrible anime, though I must admit that parts of it were terrible. No, the main issue with Taimadou Gakuen is that it is incredibly generic and feels like the combined elements of 100 mediocre anime I’ve watched previously. There’s little to no individuality with the anime and it feels like the byproduct of an anime fan wanting to write an anime about anime. There’s almost no style or substance to the anime, but I’d be lying if I said I hated it. Rather, I enjoyed bits and pieces, and am curious if the anime just needs some time to set its foundation before going forward. I’ll give it another episode to see if it can improve on its characters and develop into something worth watching, but it’ll need to do it quickly. Taimadou Gakuen doesn’t have a lot going for it now, but I’ll give it another shot to see if it is worth saving.

Dropped:

So yeah, nothing is dropped, but I doubt I’ll keep all four of these anime. I’ll need another episode to see what’s moving into the upper category and what’ll move down to this category.

Take a look at that walled, medieval town from Junketsu no Maria. Just take a look at its size. Now, take a look at the landscape around the town. You can see rivers, roads, farmland, and various green dots. See those green dots? Those are trees. Now, go outside, and look at a tree in real life. See how tall they are? Now, once you’re back, take a good, long look at those dots as trees. Finally, look at those walls and that town again in relationship to those “trees”.

Seriously, what the hell is up with that town? Where they expecting Titans to attack? No, the walls in Shingeki no Kyoujin were diminutive (50 meters) compared to these gargantuan walls. These walls are probably 500 meters tall, if not larger. And the buildings inside the town? Each would be the largest buildings in the world if compared to anything else.

Like, I understand when proportions are off in anime, but… how? How does this happen? Most of the time, when proportions are wonky in anime, it’s typically when the characters and backgrounds are drawn by different studios. But this? There is no excuse for something this blatantly wrong. And this is just one hilarious background in an anime that featured plenty of strange landscapes. But this hysterically oversized town… there’s no explaining it. There’s really no way you could defend an error this… big. And really, whenever I think about things that are misplaced in anime or other animation gaffs, I often fall back to this moment in Junketsu no Maria. And as a result of its lasting impression, it’s made it as Day 7 of my 12 Days of Anime for 2015.

Today, December 20th, marks the 5 Year Anniversary of Avvesione’s Anime Blog. As I’ve done with every anniversary post, I reflect upon the previous year and provide my input on the most valuable lesson I learned in terms of watching anime and writing for this blog. This year has been quite turbulent and chaotic, with countless new transitions, obstacles, responsibilities, and challenges – easily the busiest year of my entire life to date. As a result, I’ve had very little time to watch anime and even less dedicated to this blog. It pains me that I haven’t had as much time or energy this year to keep up with currently airing anime or write my weekly or seasonal posts, but it has helped me realize a valuable lesson, one that I may have overlooked since I started writing for this blog back in 2010. So, with that in mind, I’d like to share with you the most important lesson I learned in 2015 which is to make sure you’re having fun with anime.

For me, 2015 has been tremendous and rewarding, yet demanding and stressful. Almost every major aspect of my life has changed since the first sunrise on New Year’s Day, and consequently, I’ve had much less time for anime and this blog than in previous years. In order to make everything work, I’ve had to budget my time appropriately which meant sacrificing “anime time” for less fun but more important alternatives. However, anime and this blog have always been a source of enjoyment, entertainment, and intellectual experiments. One of the reasons why I started this blog 60 months ago is that I wanted to challenge myself as a writer, to see if I could defend my thoughts and opinions on anime in a public space. I felt that if I could develop arguments and critiques that I would better understand myself as an anime fan and my love for these shows. And once my blog took off, I began to explore other ways to improve my writing, to inform other fans about particular quirks or oddities in anime, or for me to just post pictures of cute girls a dozen times every week. Whatever the reason, this blog had always been a place for me to better understand myself and the anime I watch. But as I’ve had to scale back this year, I’ve felt that this aspect of me has faded.

However, as I’ve had to adjust, so too have I found a way to compensate for this aspect of me… and that is to enjoy the anime as I am watching it. Now, that’s not to say I wasn’t enjoying anime when I was watching it before, but I’ve lost the freedom to go back and review screenshots or scenes again as I’m writing posts. In a sense, it was like I always had the ability to go back and relive bits and pieces of an episode whenever I was writing about it… able to catch new things that I missed the first time around, or go back and really appreciate the animation or writing in a scene. However, I don’t really have that opportunity now, unless I want to fall even further behind on the anime I’m currently watching each season. To me, I’ve had to adapt and learn to better enjoy the anime in the moment. It isn’t to say that I can’t go back and enjoy these shows over again, but I can’t afford to go back and relive these other anime at the expense of not watching, and not enjoying, new anime. And if the situation is confusing to read about, that’s probably because it’s confusing to me to think about. It isn’t something that’s defined or scientific… rather, it’s quite the opposite, given that I don’t know how much I would enjoy an anime until I watch it versus going back and looking at screenshots and thinking about what I’d write about. In fact, you could say it’s very chaotic and uncertain… much like 2015 has been to me overall.

Nevertheless, I’ve learned a useful lesson in terms of watching anime and my blog in 2015. That is to say, when I have the time, it’s good to go back and enjoy reliving these anime as I look at screenshots and write about my impressions, opinions, and observations… and when I don’t have the time, to enjoy the anime as much as I can in the moment and try to watch as much anime as I can in order to maximize my enjoyment… but even that is hard. And that brings me to one other important lesson that’s always true for everyone no matter whom and no matter the situation… to have fun with anime. Because, after all, isn’t that why we watch and read about anime? So let’s sit back, relax, and enjoy another fulfilling and satisfying year of anime.

**Warning: spoilers below**

Plastic Memories is nowhere near my favorite anime of 2015, but it deserves recognition and praise for having one of the best anime endings of 2015… or rather, having an ending at all. Though, I never found myself genuinely invested in the characters, the story, or the setting (though I will make fun of the berserk zombie-bots at ultra-specific times whenever I have the chance), I want to highlight Plastic Memories in my 12 Days of Anime series because it had something I wish every anime had: a conclusion. Plastic Memories actually had an end to its story and its series… and not one of those bullshit anime endings where everything resets at the end. No, Plastic Memories had the courage to have a genuine finish, a final episode that left me feeling fulfilled and absolute, and above all, satisfied.

I know, I understand that not all anime are equal, and not all anime are expected to have endings. Probably 90% of anime these days are adaptations of manga, light novels, or video games, and many of these media don’t fit with the pattern of storytelling necessary for 12-13 TV episodes of 24 minutes each. I get that most anime are 300-minute long commercials for comic books, and leave with open-ended finales as a means for people to buy the manga, but I digress. Plastic Memories had a vision and direction for its story, and knew to have a beginning, middle, and an end. And while I wish Plastic Memories was just the beginning and the end, it know when to start and when to stop. More importantly, it’s an anime that did start and actually did stop.

That’s the other thing about Plastic Memories… it didn’t pull any bullshit at the end. There was no bullshit miracle that saved Isla at the end. There was no spirit or script that lived on. There was potential for Isla to come back after having her data and memory copied into a databank. No, Plastic Memories actually did what it set out to do with Isla as a character. And because of that, it blew me away. I know something as simple and mundane as Plastic Memories shouldn’t impress me like this, but that’s what I expect from anime now: some anime-original ending where everything is reset back to the beginning, where everything is nice and happy, and the groundwork is laid out for a sequel in a year or so. In fact, I’ve been conditioned so much to not expect a conclusion in anime that I make a mediocre anime from 2015 as one of my highlights of the year because it actually delivered a genuinely good finale.

That’s the state of the anime industry now. This post is equally as much praise for Plastic Memories is it is distain and disappointed with everything else I’m watching. I want these stories to have concrete and definite ends. I don’t want all these anime I watch and love to end up with open-ended finales that leave you empty, waiting, lingering, hoping for another season but only to fade away in my memories after several seasons with no response. It sucks, but that’s reality. Well, reality for virtually everything but Plastic Memories. So, for Day 5 of my 12 Days of Anime, I want to thank Plastic Memories for doing something that every anime should do: have an actual ending. And taking that lesson to heart, it’s about time this post had an ending, too.

It’s been 1 year, 3 months since Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?. It’s been 1 year, 6 months since Miss Monochrome, Non Non Biyori, and Noragami. It’s been 1 year, 9 months since Gatchaman Crowds and Monogatari Series Second Season. It’s been 2 years since Kamisama Kiss. It’s been 2 years, 3 months since Dog Days’ (S2).  It’s been 2 years, 9 months since K and Sidoni no Kishi. It’s been 3 years since Yuru Yuri ♪♪ (S2).  It’s been 3 years, 6 months since Working’!! (S2). It’s been 4 years, 6 months since Durarara!!. It’s been 5 years, 2 months since The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. It’s been 9 years since Utawarerumono, and it’s been 10 years since Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor. I think it’s safe to say, with all of these anime franchises returning with TV broadcasts, that 2015 will be remembered as Year of the Sequels.

Yes, every year, there is an excess of sequels. And yes, some of these shows have had OVAs or specials or movies between TV broadcasts. So what makes 2015 so special in terms of sequels when stuff like this happens every year? Take a look at that list again. Take a good, long look at those titles and those times. All of the shows listed there have waited over a year between TV broadcasts, with one waiting more than a decade. And look at the quality of that list. Of course, everyone has different tastes in anime, but that list of anime contains some of my all-time favorites. In fact, it’s time for a little statistics about the shows that returned in 2015 after lengthy holidays.

Okay, the first thing that stands out about that list is the quality of anime. Based off my scores of the last TV broadcasts (plus the Haruhi movie), the originals of shows that returned in 2015 had an aggregate score 8.5. Yeah, that’s a pretty damn good average, an 8.5 over 16 anime. Of course, my scale is different than your scale and different than everyone else, especially when my anchors are a 10 and 4, but another measure is overall rank. But in that list are 3 of my Top 30 Anime Franchises of All-Time… a list I have yet to write and publish. But still, consider that I’m nearing 600 total anime watched, that 3 franchises of my top 5% returned this year is remarkable. That’s how phenomenal this year is for me in terms of the returning anime.

The other noteworthy statistic from the list is the duration of time for these anime franchises. The aggregate waiting time for those 16 shows is approximately 3 years, 5 months. For me, one season (3 months) without an anime seems like an eternity. Whenever shows split two seasons across two cour, I always struggle with the ending to the first half and beginning to the second half. Splitting up an anime for 3 months is no good. But splitting up an anime across a year? Two years? Three years or four years? Hell, they’re lucky I even remember their names and faces. Thank goodness some of these anime don’t have stories either, or else I’d really struggle. But, the one nice thing about splitting up an anime, is that I can savor its return that much more. And that’s the point of the other statistic, is that I’ve been waiting for years and years for some of these anime to return. And, oh, has it been a joyful experience, reuniting with all these favorites from years past.

To me, 2015 will be remembered as Year of the Sequel thanks to all the anime franchises that returned and that I was able to experience again. Looking back on 2015, I don’t think I’ll ever be as fortunate as I was this year in terms of sequels given the impressive number of quality sequels that waited several years. I’m not sure if we’ll ever have another year like 2015 again, but it seems like we’re getting more and more sequels of popular franchises these years, either perhaps due to their proven success or the lack of desire to adapt new media into anime franchises. Whatever the reason, I am deeply thankful for all of the anime this year as this was one of the better years in recent memory. Now, if only they could get around to working on sequels to the other 27 of my Top 30 Anime Franchises of All-Time…

Every year, I recall my favorite anime openings and endings in my Final Review, selecting my very favorites from each of the four Season Reviews that settle at the end of each season. But, seeing as I haven’t published a Season Review since 2013 and given that there is no other time to document my favorite OPs/EDs of the year, I have reserved Day 3 of my 12 Days of Anime for 2015 for this lacking quality of mine. Of course, I won’t reveal my favorite OP and ED of the year just yet (that will be reserved for the Final Review of 2015), but here are some of my favorites that I would love to share with you. Now, please enjoy 8 of my Top 10 Openings and Endings for 2015.

Below, the order will be reversed starting from my 5th favorite OP and ED and moving backward toward 2nd. And since we’re doing it backwards here, why not flip the order and do endings first and openings last?

ED 5: Dog Days’’ (S3) OP (Stay With Me by Yui Horie)

As you might remember from previous years, I love chibi EDs. Last year, I even wrote a post about my favorite ED of the year and it was for an anime I never even watched. This year, Dog Days’’ (S3) has a superb chibi ending, though you’ll notice all the girls are in their normal art style. Still, the creativity of the 3 chibi males running around “obstacle course”, accompanied by an upbeat song sung by Yui Horie, makes this ED hard to skip each week.

OP 5: Gakkou Gurashi OP (Friend Shitai [I Wanna Friend] by Gakuen Seikatsubu)

On its own, the song and animation aren’t too extraordinary, though I will admit, I enjoyed the song the first time I heard it. Why Gakkou Gurashi’s rather tame OP earns 5th is because of how well the OP matched the series and how it evolved as the series progressed. In fact, I wrote about how much I loved the subtle changes each week as the series and series got more captivating and thrilling. And for those reasons alone, I found myself watching the OP each episode to see what changed… or maybe, for what was going to change.

ED 4: Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor – Exodus ED1 (Anya Kouro [Course in the Dark Night] by angela)

angela is quickly becoming one of my favorite artists, especially after this somber and ominous piano track. The song and animation did an impressive job of deescalating the climax at the end of the episode, usually starting the beginning of the track at the end of a tense and decisive battle and then transitioning into the animation of Kazuki and Soushi meeting on an empty beach. Not the most impressive in terms of visuals, but the ED fit the mood of the series perfectly, all the while having one of the better songs this year with it.

OP 4: Rokka no Yuusha OP2 (Black Swallowtail by UROBOROS)

It was about episode 4 or 5 when Rokka no Yuusha really started… finally bringing all 7 characters together and realizing that one of them didn’t belong. At that time, the anime was using OP1, with all the heroes fighting generic monsters and looking like just another regular fantasy anime with heroes and villains. But, as we learned more about the characters, their uncertainties and bloodthirsty nature, the OP changed to reflect our growing understanding of the dire, deadly situation. You could see the dramatic shift in focus and style of Rokka no Yuusha with this OP, one fraught with doubt and mistrust. You could hear the change, too, thanks to the phenomenal track by UROBOROS helping enforce the transformation in atmosphere and attitude.

ED 3: Ninja Slayer from Animation ED23 (BODY by Lillies and Remains)

After another forgettable episode of Ninja Slayer, this song started. Now, it’s worth noting that every episode of Ninja Slayer had a different ED, so it was interesting to hear all the different tracks. However, this one piqued my interest. The rhythm, vocals, and sound all reminded me immediately of Depeche Mode, and it made me wonder if this was similar to using Duran Duran for Speed Grapher or Oasis for Eden of the East. But no, Lillies and Remains is a Japanese New Wave band with a very smooth and succulent sound. It was after listening to that ED once or twice did I go out and explore their other works. I don’t think that’s ever happened after listening to an ED before, and as I listen to it again and again, I think I might go back and listen to their other songs again, too.

OP 3: Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works OP2 (Brave Shine by Aimer)

Stunning directing, gorgeous animation, and a magnificent song come as one to make one of the most memorable and enjoyable OPs of the year. Not only that, but considering where we were in the story when FSN:UBW switched to OP2 was a perfect transition as the Holy Grail War was ramping up. It’s always a good quality in an OP when you can watch it again and again and never get tired of it. Everything about this OP is exceptional as it makes a breathtaking start at the beginning of every FSN:UBW episode.

ED 2: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders – Egypt Arc (S2) ED2  (Last Train Home by Pat Metheny Group)

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has always had some of the best songs and animations for its OPs and EDs, but this one is particularly noteworthy in how well it cooled you down after either an passionate or hilarious episode. The song is perfect for an ED theme, especially one that pays tribute to bands and musicians as much as JJBA does. Still, the relaxing vibe and calming melody of Last Train Home paired perfectly with the intensity and mood of JJBA. And let’s not forget the visuals either, a slow pan across the desert landscapes detailing all the various locales of the series until finally arriving in the sunbaked metropolis of Cairo. But what really gets me about this ED is having all the characters placed throughout the world in an equally relaxed mood, helping to complement Last Train Home. Oh, and did you notice they’re on a train at one point? Simply exceptional.

OP 2: Death Parade OP (Flyers by BRADIO)

Perhaps my favorite thing about Death Parade’s OP is how magnificently it contrasts the theme and style of the series while also hiding significant details on the story and characters throughout. But, there’s way more than just one thing that’s my favorite about this OP. The song itself, Flyers, is a fun, energetic song that helps catch your attention in a positive manner before the episode really begins. The visuals are incredible, too, showing off personality, imagination, and pleasure in a cast of characters that are supposed to be callous, emotionless, and devoid of anything that would make them human. So while my 2nd favorite ED was one that providing a cool-down to an intense and emotional anime, my 2nd favorite OP is one that injects adrenaline and excitement into an passionate drama over judging people in life-or-death games. I knew I was going to live this OP, and this anime, within the first few seconds of the OP with all the characters posing so senselessly. And, at the end of the year, I’m happy to say that I was right.

Hiromi Katou is a gifted and experienced talent, having a successful career in the anime industry through a variety of roles. Among his notable accomplishments, he was the character designs for Guilty Crown, Kobato., and Hakkenden, the animation directors for Beck, Gunslinger Stratos, and Fantasia Doll, and a key animator for Death Note, Azumanga Daioh, Shingeki no Kyojin, and many more. However, his most distinguished achievement, to me at least, is that he was the character design for Needless, which you might guess from previous posts is my favorite anime. I was extremely fortunate that Hiromi Katou was invited as a guest for Sakuracon this year and made sure to visit his Q&A panel, so that I could ask him some questions regarding Needless. So, for Day 2 of my 12 Days of Anime, I’ll recall my time with Hiromi Katou and the answers he provided about his experience with Needless.

First, some background before we get to the panel. The image above, taken from Imai Kami’s website, shows Hiromi Katou’s character designs for Kuchinashi, Setsuna, Mio, Eve, Cruz, and Disk side-by-side with Imai Kami’s sketches. As you can see, the character designs really do capture Imai Kami’s distinctive style, but also retain some of Hiromi Katou’s qualities that you can see from his original character designs, like Guilty Crown. I am very happy with the character designs for Needless since it retained the spirit and style of Kami’s designs but were adapted to fit in with the flow and movement and color of the anime. For example, if you go through the Needless manga, you’ll notice that the art style evolved over the years and that the colors change over time (especially eye color, hair color, and clothing accessories), so Katou provided consistency there. You’d also notice that some of the colors are different between the manga and the anime, such as Kuchinashi’s, Setsuna’s and Mio’s panties being changed to yellow, blue, and pink to match their hair color. So, with that in mind, I found Katou’s updates to Kami’s characters to be positives for the anime.

Anyway, with that in mind, I developed some questions for Katou based off my previous observations between the anime and manga. When the Q&A panel began, I stood up and asked Katou about his experiences adapting manga characters. Specifically, I asked him how he goes about selecting character designs for a manga when the art style changes, as it did for Needless from 2003 to 2009, when it was produced. Katou started off by saying it was an excellent question (which made me happy), and answered it by saying they typically take the most recent versions as so they can match the current manga. The example he brought up was his work as the character design and animation director for CLAMP in Wonderland 2, which featured CLAMP characters from manga between 1995 to 2006. Because CLAMP’s style had changed and many of the characters were in manga that finished in the 90s, he had to update a number of characters to match the more recent designs, such as those seen in xxxHOLiC and Kobato. With that in mind, it answered my question about the designs used in Needless, such as details about Blade’s and Setsuna’s hair, Cruz’s eye color, and other details that changed over time.

My last question was more general but more directed about Needless, asking him about his experiences working on that anime. His answer, quite frankly, surprised me. He said that he was originally working on another anime (at the time, he was working at Madhouse, so most likely Kobato.) but was pulled onto the project because the original character design was struggling. Katou never said who the other character design was, but said that he was stressed because he was working on two anime instead of one, which is what he was expecting. Still, he said he enjoyed it and later, during another question, expressed that he would like to go back and rework the designs, if he were able. To me, this shocked me because I found the character designs to be exceptional, especially in how he was able to retain Kami’s style in an anime form. I’ll admit I am even more impressed with his work here considering that he did all that in an emergency situation and while working on another anime.

At the end of the panel, I made my way up to the front to thank him for his time and for his work on Needless. Through a translator, I expressed my gratitude for his accomplishments and also told him that he designed my favorite anime character. Katou had a quick laugh and the news brought a warm smile to his face. I can’t tell for sure since I don’t know how much he cared for Needless, but I think hearing that made him thrilled. I certainly hope he was delighted to hear that fact, and was lucky enough to earn his signature on the back of my Sakuracon badge, which is sitting on my bookshelf by other anime products and souvenirs.

And that was it. That’s all I was able to obtain from Katou. Of course, many of the other attendees in the audience were asking questions about a host of other topics and subjects and anime, but hearing about his experience on Needless was truly special to me. I never really thought I’d get to meet someone who worked on Needless, let alone ask them questions about adapting the manga style or how they came about to work on this project, so this experience was truly tremendous and unforgettable. I am thankful that I was able to attend such an extraordinary panel and take away this invaluable information and an autograph to remember it by. I’ll never forget these memories, and thought it would be an outstanding experience to share as Day 2 of my 12 Days of Anime.

Imai Kami’s premier manga, Needless, concluded with Chapter 114 in June of 2013, following a cherished 10 year run. In December 2013, Imai Kami’s other long-running manga of 7 years, Shirasunamura, also concluded. At the time Needless concluded, Kami expressed interest in taking a well-deserved break before returning to draw the latter half of Needless with his planned continuation called Needless 2. However, since that summer, Kami has been quiet as a mangaka, only working on 4koma comics for Arcadia magazine and releasing an art book in 2014. It wasn’t until January 2015 when I discovered that Kami had been working on a new manga in Arcadia magazine, Shoukan! Kengou Gakuen, with the first volume being available in February. Unable to find any useful information online, I waited patiently for the manga to be imported from Japan. Imai Kami’s new manga, Shoukan! Kengou Gakuen will be the focus for Day 1 of my 12 Days of Anime for 2015.

It’s been quite a while I’ve read a chapter of any manga written by Imai Kami, so to get 7 at once is quite a special treat, akin to getting over half-a-year of monthly manga all in one day. Of course, I have yet to really dive into Shirasunamura, primarily because the one group scanlating it does not have a translator for the manga (you can find out more by checking out Psylocke Scans), and I’d like to start it knowing that it will be finished one of these days. Anyway, when Shoukan! Kengou Gakuen arrived, I immediately read through the manga and came away impressed.

The manga is very much the spiritual successor to Needless, at least until Needless 2 begins, in that its characters, style, humor, fanservice, and gore all mirror Needless’s style. In fact, many of the elements are similar to Needless, including a guest appearance by Mio in the background of one panel. The gags are very much in Kami’s standard Manzai style with the lead character, Hanyu Juubei, being the tsukkomi and everyone else playing the boke (though it does reverse at times), but I must admit that the jokes are particularly crazy near the beginning when Kami has more freedom with the characters and story. The action is particularly interesting, especially since it deviates from the style of Needless where everyone has superpowers related to elements. Here, there are more superpowered fighters, but the girls of Shoukan! Kengou Gakuen invoke the spirits of their samurai ancestors and use their skills and power to win swordfights or other one-one-one combat. The latter half of the volume does introduce an antagonist, though it was only a brief introduction. It should also be worth nothing that the manga is quite ecchi, with fanservice prevalent throughout. In fact, with its all-female cast, I would say it’s more ecchi than Needless, considering that the first half of the volume is all buruma and the latter half was all panties. However, it’s really in the style of fanservice that I enjoy, so while I may find it as a positive, others might find it as a negative.

Overall, I came away impressed with the manga, especially with its fresh feel while keeping the charm and style of Needless. Whereas Needless takes place in a post-WW3 setting, Shoukan! Kengou Gakuen takes place in a modern, Japanese high-school, so a very different setting and style for Kami to use. And while there are limitations with this setting compared to more of a science-fiction one, it certainly feels different to be in modern Japan instead of following nuclear attacks on Japan. And while I am eager for Needless 2 to restart, it’s a nice, short series to keep me content until Kami finally finishes writing his own story before starting his manga.

But, unfortunately, that’s all there is of Shoukan! Kengou Gakuen to date. Arcadia magazine went out of business in spring of this year as it was the magazine supporting and publishing Shoukan! Kengou Gakuen. With no information from Arcadia or Imai Kami’s website, I turned to the sources. After emailing Kadokawa, enterbrain, and ComicWalker this December, I received word that they had received numerous questions about the release of Volume 2, but are unsure when it will be available. So… I’m not sure what to make of it, but it seems like a third Kami manga that’s run into difficulties with its publishing process. Hopefully, we’ll hear some good news soon, but it’s difficult to say given the history of the situation. Still, I am very grateful for Shoukan! Kengou Gakuen and for Kami to be publishing a manga again. After waiting almost 2 years, it was wonderful to receive 7 new chapters and know that he is well on his way to completing a fresh, new manga. When that will occur is still to be determined. However, the whole experience and the unfortunate situation make Day 1 of my 12 Days of Anime. I hope you enjoyed reading about my unforgettable experiences this year and are looking forward to another wonderful year of anime with 2016!

Let’s start 2016 with a proper farewell to 2015. Before we look forward to another year of anime, we should look back on 2015 and reflect on what made it one of the best years of anime in recent memory. There were numerous anime and characters that were incredible, dazzling, brilliant sensational, influential, and monumental in 2015, and today, I want to take a moment to provide my thoughts and opinions on the 15 most significant anime and characters from this last year. Come, take a look and re-experience why the anime of 2015 are so remarkable and unforgettable.

One thing to keep in mind before viewing these lists are that they are geared specifically toward the TV anime of 2015 and not toward OVAs, movies, specials, or other formats. I may try to cover those later, but it’s more a question of time than anything at this point.

Top 15 Characters of 2015:

Honorable Mentions: Hitagi Senjougahara (Owarimonogatari)

Senjougahara has always been one of my favorite characters from the Monogatari series, but she was essentially a background character in Owarimonogatari. Had her role been similar to that in the other Monogatari anime, I would’ve felt comfortable to add her to this list, but she really wasn’t featured much, and played a much smaller role than she usually does. Still, she appeared in an anime this year, and I feel that she should be mentioned despite having the least amount of screentime of everyone on this list…

15. Maya Matsumoto (Working!!!)

Well… It’s hard to say whether Senjougahara or Maya Matsumoto had the least amount of screentime, but considering that Maya is a background character, it’s only appropriate to include her since she did have a presence in the regular episodes for the first time in 3 seasons. She probably has the highest success rate for jokes in the series for me, which is why I always find myself normal excited whenever she’s on screen.

14. Aoi Miyamori (Shirobako)

Aoi Miyamori is the heart and soul of Shirobako, being our guide as we go through the anime industry with our favorite production assistant, now production manager. What makes Aoi so remarkable is that she is relatable as a person and genuine as a character; you can associate with her challenges and accomplishments, whether it’s personal or professional. Not only that, but Aoi has a positive and cheerful personality that makes her enjoyable to be around, even in the face of yet another deadline.

13. Nosuri (Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen)

Although every character has had the opportunity to make me laugh in Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen, no one has been as outstanding as Nosuri. This noble bandit has been featured throughout the sequel as a lighthearted antagonist, with has produced some of the best jokes at the expense of this unlucky girl. What also helps is that she has some of the best faces and reactions in the series, making her easy to enjoy as a comic relief character.

12. Kumiko Oumae (Hibike! Euphonium)

Kumiko Oumae is a fascinating character who grows and matures throughout Hibike! Euphonium. At the start, she’s an ordinary girl who lacks direction and is never particularly emotional or invested in the things around her. But, after joining the Kitauji High School Music Club, Kumiko experiences a number of trials and challenges that test her resolve, and, as she goes through a rollercoaster of emotions, we see her grow into a fine, young lady. And let’s not forget that she probably has the best display of emotions of any anime character this year.

11. Kanon Memphis (Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor – Exodus)

Although I am missing half of Kanon’s character because I never watched the 2004 series, I find Kanon to be particularly gratifying as a character considering her selfless devotion to those around her. She’s both gentle and ruthless, with a calm and stoic exterior while possessing a fragile and aching interior. Her development throughout the sequel was a pleasure to watch and an instant favorite for me in a wonderful mecha franchise.

10. Hiyori Iki (Noragami Aragoto)

Hiyori is a character who exhibits an ideal combination of both sincerity and comedy. Her character is the central point of everything that happens in Noragami, whether it’s being the emotional link for Yato or Yukine or being the victim of another joke or prank. She’s selfless as a character, which is evident by the amount of time and attention she spends on the gods and their relics. Hiyori continues to impress me as a character and she has become an even greater character through this sequel to Noragami.

9. Saber (Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works)

What makes Saber satisfying as a character is her devotion and dedication to her master. Although her role is somewhat reduced in this route, Saber is stunning as a character considering her personality and resolve in the face of almost certain death. Then again, she’s intended to be the embodiment of loyalty and magnanimousness, two traits that I always enjoy in a character, so it makes sense why this gallant knight is ranked so highly on my list for 2015.

8. Suruga Kanbaru (Owarimonogatari)

A common theme on this list are characters that can be both humorous and humane, and we saw exactly that from Kanbaru in Owarimonogatari. Kanbaru is strong and resilient as a character, and was able to be the backbone for Araragi and others throughout this series and all the others. Although she’s not at the height of her character for me, a zenith which occurred in Hanamonogatari, I’ve always enjoyed this transformed character who always seems to make me laugh or smile.

7. Touka (Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen)

This might be cheating considering that her role is completely diminished and muted versus the original Utawarerumono series, but Touka was one of the few bright spots in Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen thanks to her personality and comedy in her one appearance thus far. Like most of the other girls on this list, Touka is both chivalrous and comical, and made the most of her brief appearance by displaying both those elements in a limited time. Again, it might be cheating because her placement on this list is due to her effort in previous anime, OVAs, and specials, but it’s the product of her growth that makes me enjoy her so much as a character.

6. Orihime Minashiro (Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor – Exodus)

Orihime is rather unique as a character as she is the reincarnation of the island’s core from the original Fafner series. Though she possesses the body of a child, Orihime behaves like a venerable veteran, demonstrating tremendous knowledge and understanding of both life and death. And while she’s deadpan and serious, almost lacking human emotions, she’s very considerate and caring as a person, as we saw by her actions throughout the series.

5. Kaede Kagayama (Non Non Biyori Repeat)

Kaede, affectionately known by the local children as “Dagashiya” or “Candy Store”, is a heartwarming character thanks to her generosity and benevolence. Although she doesn’t want to be known for it, she’s one of the best motherly characters of the year given how she readily takes care of Renge and the others at a moment’s notice. Kaede also had great humor throughout thanks to her personality and the circumstances she found herself in. Overall, one of the most rewarding characters of the year.

4. Dio Brando (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)

A series can only be as great as its antagonist is, and wow, what a character that Dio is. Although the middle of Stardust Crusaders dragged on and on, we knew the anime was building up to the final showdown with Dio, and it did not disappoint. Dio has been developing as a villain since the very first episode and it all culminated at the end of Stardust Crusaders. Dio is truly one of the greatest villains of our time thanks to his persistence, heartlessness, and sophisticated personality. A series can only go as far as its villain and Dio was able to take JJBA to the top.

3. Celty Sturluson (Durarara!!x2)

Celty has always been one of my favorites, and while she had a diminished role in this sequel to Durarara!!, her presence was always a bright spot. As the characters and Ikebukuro change, Celty remains wholesome and respectable, remaining as one of the only “good” characters in urban jungle. And though she remained on the sidelines for most of 2015, the series is starting to revolve back to her and her story, which is something to look forward to in 2016 when the series returns. Oh, and let’s not forget that OVA with Shinra, too, which will be out in January, too.

2. Tsubasa Hanekawa (Owarimonogatari)

What is simply remarkable about Hanekawa is that she was probably my least favorite character at the end of Bakemonogatari. She didn’t do much for me in Nisemonogatari, either, and when she started off as the protagonist in Monogatari Series Second Season, I thought I was going to hate it. But, at that time, Tsubasa transformed herself as a character, and I began to appreciate her more and more as a altruistic, sincere, and motherly character in the Monogatari franchise. Her role in Owarimonogatari elevates her even higher considering her role and effect in this series. I can’t think of another character who has shown such an astronomical climb in a series, but I’ve fallen in love with how Tsubasa influences the story and the characters around her. Her story arc and transformation were phenomenal and she continues to grow on my with each new apperance. She is truly remarkable as a character, and I can only hope to see more of her as the Monogatari franchise continues.

1. Joseph Joestar (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)

Like many of the other entries on this list, Joseph Joestar possesses many of my favorite character traits. However, what this JoJo excels in is how well he represents the duality of comedian and integrity. And while he isn’t the protagonist of Stardust Crusaders, Joseph steals the show thanks to his flamboyant personality, his resilient perseverance, and his ability to ruin heartwarming moments with the worst of jokes. I was rather fond of Joseph as a protagonist during Battle Tendency but he has become one of my favorites thanks to his role and effect in Stardust Crusaders.

Favorite OP and ED of 2015:

OP: Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor – Exodus OP1 (Exist by angela)

FOLLOW ME. FOLLOW YOU. With a powerful song by angela, astute directing, and gorgeous art and animation, Fafner is easily the best opening sequence of the year. I’ve always been fond of angela, but this song is perfect as an opening with such a strong beginning as soon as the opening starts. Not only that, but the song has elegant vocals and catchy lyrics, too. The directing is superb, with the pairing of the characters and their backgrounds to start, then progressing to battle with dynamic shots of pilots and their mechas to go with stoic support characters staring into nothingness. Easily the most enjoyable OP to watch all year and still enjoyable to this day.

ED: Sore ga Seiyuu ED (Anata no Omimi ni Plug In! [Plug In to Your Ears] by Earphones)

What could be better than chibi girls happily singing and bouncing around to their own ED song? What about clips that review the last episode and clips that preview episode? Great, what else can we do? How about the characters taking a break to talk about the last episode? Awesome, I don’t think that’s really been done before. But… what else can we do to take it over the top? How about having the characters sing a different OP song each week? That… that’s perfect. And all of those elements are why Sore ga Seiyuu has my favorite ED of the 2015… it has so many brilliant elements that made it a must-watch every week and a highlight to the end of every episode.

For a list of the other Top 5 OP and ED of 2015, check out Day 3 of my 12 Days of Anime post.

Top 15 Anime of 2015:

Honorable Mention: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin

I don’t include OVAs, movies, or specials in this list, but if I did, Gundam The Origin would probably be in the top 3. Gundam The Origin has been one of the most impressive anime of the year thanks to its distinctive art, its fluid battles, its robust narrative, and its powerful characterization. With only two episodes out, the series is still ongoing, but I strongly recommend this to anyone who enjoys watching anime (and especially if you avoid mecha or Gundam shows).

15. Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen

Although Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen is a huge disappointment when compared to the original Utawarerumono, the sequel performs well as a pleasant slice-of-life or comedy series with its relaxing setting and pleasant cast of characters. It also ranks highly for me considering the numerous references and parallels to the original, but falls flat for those wanting a bloody revolution with lots of kemonomimi fanservice and naked girls bathing. Hopefully the series will transform itself with the latter half in Winter 2016, because it is desperately missing elements of action and purpose. Still, it’s a cute anime with plenty of jokes and humor to keep me entertained.

14. Concrete Revolutio: Choujin Gensou

Concrete Revolutio is a bit confusing and messy with its abrupt and haphazard storytelling, but the elements and characters of the series keep me interested and intrigued as it reaches its halfway point. The characters are all quite strange and unique given their backgrounds and the ideologies and conflicts are rather interesting to watch in an anime given the subject of diversity and justice. There’s also the color palette and aesthetics which gives Concrete Revolutio a pleasant visual style. I’d enjoy the series more if it were a bit more direct with its story and writing, but hopefully this anime has a plan with where it’s going and what it’s doing.

13. Noragami Aragoto

Noragami has improved with Noragami Aragoto, expanding and developing the characters beyond what the original showed and further utilizing the chemistry of its main trio to better each character. The story arcs in this sequel felt more monumental and significant, really adding to the characters and causing them to change, which is something I always like to see with an anime.

12. Rokka no Yuusha

One of the biggest surprises of the year, Rokka no Yuusha featured outstanding chemistry and deception over one of the best mystery anime I’ve ever watched. What made Rokka no Yuusha so enjoyable were all the little, individual interactions between the characters and how they evolved throughout their fated encounter. The anime would’ve placed higher if not for its disagreeable ending, but it remains one of my favorite anime of the year regardless.

11. Yuru Yuri San Hai

To think, I passed up the original Yuru Yuri years ago because I felt it wouldn’t match my style. Well, since the original season, Yuru Yuri has grown on me as a comedy, and continues to do so with the OVAs and this third season in 2015. And while many weren’t happy with the change in art and color palette, I found the change to be positive as it gave the series a fresh, distinctive look. On top of that, the comedy improved, and I’ve grown to appreciate all the characters after all the previous entries in this franchise. Yuru Yuri is quickly becoming one of my favorite comedy franchises of all-time thanks to this third TV series.

10. Working!!!

Working!!!, another one of my favorite comedies, really impressed me with its third season by finally resolving a number of loose storylines and finally progressing toward its ending. Working!!! is a truly remarkable comedy, but the series was anchored down by its storylines that never seem to go anywhere. That issue was appropriately addressed in this third season with many outstanding issues finally resolved. I’ve always respected an anime that can make it to its ending, and while I am sad to see this franchise go, I am delighted with everything it has accomplished.

9. Gakkou Gurashi!!

Gakkou Gurashi!! is an marvelous blend of cute, cheerful moe comedy with depressing, dreadful elements straight out of a horror show. And while I wished the anime was less sugary-sweet, the anime was phenomenal in its unusual mix of styles, its characterization, and its story. And while I don’t agree with everything that happened in the story, it was still one of the most powerful and enjoyable anime of 2015.

8. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders

Another year, another JJBA, and another entry in my final review of the year. The Egypt Arc of Stardust Crusaders was far superior to the first half in regard to the characters, the fights, and the Stands, especially when facing off against Geb, the Oingo Boingo Brothers, D’Arby, Pet Shop, and, of course, Dio. Again, JJBA is one of the best anime of the year due to its exceptional characters, art, comedy, and dialogues. I’m eager and excited for when it’ll return with Part 4 in 2016.

7. Durarara!!x2

Finally, the sequel to one of my favorite anime of all-time, Durarara!!x2 continues to build off the personalities and relationships of Ikebukuro’s strangest. One thing that I’ve always loved about Durarara!! is its cast, and thankfully, it continues to grow with its second season. Although there were some issues with its quality, especially in Shou, the writing, storytelling, and directing are still premier and every episode is an adventure to experience. The end to this sequel begins this month, with Durarara!!x2 Ketsu, so keep an eye out for it this Winter 2016.

6. Hibike! Euphonium

Hibike! Euphonium was exhilarating and eye-opening, a smörgåsbord of events, experiences, and emotions that helped shape and form the teenagers of Kitauji High School. It was remarkable to watch the band go from a disorganized, chaotic rabble to a single, exceptional expression as a capable orchestra. Furthermore, Hibike! Euphonium had brilliant art, animation, and directing that brought the characters and their struggles to life. And as a bonus, I’ve always enjoyed classical music, too, so Hibike! Euphonium had all the right elements to make it one of the better anime this year. Executing all that, and then spicing in some surprises, made it one of the very best.

5. Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor – Exodus

As I sit here now, I look back and wonder what I would’ve missed had I passed up Fafner because I never watched the 2004 original. Immediately, I also think about all the details and references that I’m missing, too, and how I’d experience the anime differently. Nevertheless, picking up Fafner is one of the best decisions I’ve made all year as the anime was simply brilliant and sensational. Although I felt confused and conflicted at times, Fafner was one of the most emotional anime of the year with the lives, struggles, hopelessness, and redemption of a tiny, insignificant island and its optimistic pilots in the face of an alien war. Fafner left a lasting impression on me and I can only hope that others follow in my footsteps and give this series a chance. You don’t know what you’re missing out with one of the best anime of the year in Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor – Exodus.

4. Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works

Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works has all the hallmarks of a favorite anime given its exceptional visuals, its unparalleled characters, its unique setting, and its stunning story. I am very thankful to have finally finished one of the routes, and I couldn’t be more enthusiastic and learning how its other stories progress and conclude. I can finally understand and appreciate the fame and acclaim this series begets as this is truly one of the most impressive and special anime that I’ve watched.

3. Shirobako

Of all the anime on this list, Shirobako is the most human. Shirobako not only lives and breathes as the heartfelt stories and humorous experiences of the people in the anime industry, but it also documents and relives their lives through an educational, emotional, and eventful narrative. There is no greater ambassador to the anime industry than Shirobako as it provides an open-window into the lives, passions, and responsibilities of those in the anime industry. Shirobako is an anime, not to watch, but to experience, as it will offer you with an eternal and appreciating perspective on everything that goes into every anime that we watch and love.

2. Death Parade

Death Parade, the TV anime that evolved from my favorite OVA from 2013 – Death Billiards – is truly remarkable in its ideals, philosophies, and details. The series was elegant and sophisticated in its approach to its central theme on evaluating the lives of its characters. No other anime really dives deep into such complex and metaphysical questions of meaning and purpose as Death Parade does with its exclusive format and conflicting personalities. Additionally, the anime has an unforgettable setting, with stunning art and a cohort of astonishing characters to act out its debates. Death Parade is truly one of the most expressive and imaginative anime of all-time.

1. Owarimonogatari

Brimming with charisma, introspection, and performance, Owarimonogatari is the pinnacle of the Monogatari franchise, thanks to its synthesis of numerous thought-provoking storylines, inspiring characters, and brilliant themes. Owarimonogatari is fascinating and mesmerizing, littered with magnificent monologues and dialogues that demonstrates characters maturing while grappling with disturbing oddities and unnerving mysteries. Owari is an anime to behold with how it connects the elements and details of all the previous and future stories, finally answering questions we never thought to ask and bestowing a mirror for which to reflect upon and understand our protagonist and the setting he lives in. This is Nisio Isin’s greatest masterpiece, the culmination of several outstanding narratives, and all this with some of the best directing and storytelling in all of anime. There is little doubt in my mind that Owarimonogatari is the top anime of 2015 given its influence on me and the sensation I feel when I watch an episode, truly unparalleled for more than a year at the minimum. The Monogatari franchise continues to improve with each revival, which only bodes well as the series is nowhere near its end.