Forum - View topic2014 Top Anime.
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Spastic Minnow
 Bargain HunterExempt from Grammar Rules  Posts: 4609 Location: Gainesville, FL |
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I liked the "Awards" focus of that one, although it sort of overlapped with the Zac/Theron year in review discussion.
What I like most is the invitation to nominate superlatives of different and random things... Just think of the possibilities... Biggest tsunderes? ....Chitoge Kirisakifrom Nisekoi?... Biggest perverts?... If not the girls from Seitokai Yakuindomo *Bleep*, probably that guy from Daimidaler- he was so bad I couldn't get past 10 minutes, as he seems to be more of a molester/predator than a "pervert"... Blandest lead?... Takayama from Rail Wars?... or break lists into categories. Anyone else interested in listing their favorite sports anime of the year? It was a healthy group of contenders this year. The strongest class in years. Really, I'm not sure I've ever seen a year with so many strong sports shows. I'm not sure there was a single one I'd call "bad"... although I personally gave up on half of them out of personal preference. All listed as "sports anime" airing at least in part in 2014. My own top to bottom... Ping Pong (simply a high quality human story- sports or not) Baby Steps (loved the earnestness of the lead, liked that, unlike the majority of guys in these other shows, he and others actually recognized the appeal of the opposite sex.) Ace of Diamond (Started off really rough, but once the team actually started to actually train the MC and he made some progress, I liked it more. Currently on hold, so I can marathon the "deliberately-paced" game they're playing now, but I plan on finishing it.) Yowamushi Pedal ( i loved the training stuff, but the actual race is killing some of that enthusiasm- hate the "bad guys") Haikyu!! (If I watched more of it, maybe I'd rate it higher- but it felt a little too "done" to me. More bromance, more steady training, more formula, and it simply failed at getting me to care about volleyball) Free: Eternal Summer (I watched the first season, it wasn't bad, but I decided one season was good enough and told enough of a story, so I didn't watch the sequel) Kuroko's Basketball 2 (kinda like Free, except I only watched about half of the first season, not bad really, but I got a little tired of it.) Hajime no Ippo Rising (This was a sequel, right? part of a franchise?- didn't check it out. Could be great, but I passed because of my lack of knowledge, so it goes here at the bottom) Rowdy Sumo Wrestler Matsutaro (okay, from the small bits I saw of this, and what I heard from others- this mighht have qualified as "bad") |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16935 |
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I vaguely remember that heh. I wouldn't be able to participate this year as I am woefully behind new shows from summer and fall. Got a raise and promotion at my job but that has meant less free time and more exhaustion heh. Plus my favorites never win anyways. |
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A Mystery
 Posts: 1886 Location: Netherlands |
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Well then, I'm gonna give my awards if nobody else does
What a great anime year it was. The Summer and Fall season blew me away. Shows: Whole anime. Which did you like best? Which were underrated? Which surprised you? Best Overall TV Show of the Year: Barakamon No. Just no. How am I going to CHOOSE?! Between a masterpiece slice-of-life Barakamon, awesome comedy Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, the thrillingly dystopian world of Parasyte and the bombastic Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis? Personally I loved Blue Spring Ride as well. Now, I'm sorry for Nozaki, since I thought that not all episodes were as equally funny and since I think the lead is guy is just a little bit too stupid sometimes, I won't vote for that one. Blue Spring Ride is a good drama, but had some pitfalls in originality and Kou's behavior sometimes. It also feels unfinished (which it obviously is). Now I cannot really vote for Bahamut yet since it has yet to show how it will end (and those last episodes are pretty vital). Parasyte has still enough to show as well. So that leaves Barakamon for now, since I loved just about everything from that series. It had laugh out loud funny moments, slice of life and some drama hidden underneath. Naru is just like a real kid and a real delight to watch. Maybe I'll change my mind later, but I think this is a pretty good choice. Runner ups: Parasyte and Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis Best Overall Movie of the Year: ? Haven't watched any. Best Comedy: Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun No doubt, best comedy in years. Let me laugh out loud multiple times. Runner up: Barakamon Forgotten Gem of the Year: - Inari Konkon Koi Iroha Forgotten? Let's see, anyone remembering Inari Konkon Koi Iroha? Well, that one then. Nothing groundbreaking, but a really charming tale with supernatural elements about an initially shy girl. I particularly liked the drama elements surrounding the fox god, Uka. Blue Spring Ride hasn't gotten that much attention either, which must be because it's a shoujo drama that people aren't interested in anymore... or something. I loved it as it was, even if Kou did have 2 or 3 less good moments where he became a bit of a stereotype. Other than that, I thought it was a good show. I thought I should be watching Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha de Aru as well, but since I haven't done that yet it will stay forgotten to me as well. Runner up: Blue Spring Ride Most Unexpected Surprise: Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis I don't think any of us thought that Nozaki-kun would be this funny (not by far), but I had absolutely NO expectations about Bahamut. None. I saw 'based on card game', no buzz, nothing that lured me in and so I moved on. Boy that was a mistake. That Hollywood feel, the action, the fun leads, the music, all the different kinds of monsters, I just loved it. Runner up: Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun Characters: Putting aside the overall quality of the shows they're in, who were your favorite characters this year? Best Individual Character: Yona - Yona of the Dawn Both the winner and runner up are girls who started as people who obviously had to learn a few lessons in life. Though Yona has had a bigger 'event' to wake her up from her sheltered life in the castle, it's a real wonder how she's handling everything that's happening to her so far. She's becoming a really strong character. Futaba is a good second choice, since she started as a doormat, willing to be friends with anyone. Soon she starts making choices for herself and realizing what real friendship is. Runner up: Futaba - Blue Spring Ride Best Couple or Pair (Doesn't have to be romantic): Seishu Handa & Naru Kotoishi - Barakamon Yup, I like these two best. Handa really needed someone like Naru in his life and these two make for delightful comedy as well as life lessons. The second one isn't the romantic pairing either, I thought the honest and true friendship in Ao Haru Ride was better done than the romantic pairing. Runner up: Yoshioka Futaba & Makita Yuuri - Ao Haru Ride Best Villain or Antagonist: Suu-won - Yona of the Dawn Did we have any thrilling villains this year? Gaz from Chaika the Coffin Princess didn't get enough screen time, but he was a big dude with all the magic powers. It did not really come to fruition, all that potential. Five of Terror in Resonance was also pretty 'meh' to me, there hasn't been a real individual standing out in Bahamut to be given the 'best villain' role yet... Kousei's mother from Your Lie in April then? I haven't seen enough action shows clearly. Parasyte... well as a group they're pretty terrifying, so I'll give them a runner up position. Suu-won as an individual is pretty interesting though. He's clearly not 100% evil, as his past with Yona shows. He also seems to have multiple reasons for spoiler[killing the king and choosing to reign himself]. He's a smart character, who has some fierce criminal acts on his name, but how it will go from now on is unclear to me. Runner up: Parasites in Parasyte Moments: Putting aside the overall quality of the shows they're in, which specific scenes did you like best? Best Individual Scene (Could overlap with one of the below or be something entirely different): Family Dinner Scene spoiler[with Kou, his father and brother] - Blue Spring Ride The most powerful scenes were the family dinner scene in Blue Spring Ride and more than one scene in Barakamon stood out to me. I'd have to watch it again to choose one scene, so I'll just go with Blue Spring Ride for now. It was really touching to see spoiler[the family dining together after everything that happened, with the misunderstandings, their characters getting in the way of good communications and feelings of guilt]. Runner up: Festival / Graveyard scenes from Barakamon Best Plot Twist: The ones mentioned below from Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis Er... don't have a good one. That Amira from Bahamut spoiler[ is really a 5-year old girl]? That spoiler[necromancer Rita] joined the main cast? I guess those were the biggest ones to me. Best Fight: Chaika, the Coffin Princess Parasyte has more intelligent fights, which I love, not to mention with creepy parasite 'tentacles' and swords. Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis has some really well done fights too. I liked the teamwork scenes from Tooru, Chaika and Akari best though. Runner up: Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis Best Death: spoiler[Kou's mother] - Blue Spring Ride Another hard one! Unlike last year with plenty of options (especially from Attack on Titan  ), I had a hard time now. I'll go with the tragic death from Blue Spring Ride, especially the influence it had on the family. It's quite ironic how this is a bit too close to real life now.
Art & Sound: Noises! Pictures! This one is pretty self-explanatory. Best Visual Design: Rage of Bahamut Genesis I'm sorry for everyone who liked Ping Pong and who want to slap me by now since I haven't mentioned it even once. I liked the story and characters, but the visuals weren't my thing... so I had to struggle through the animation to enjoy the show. I'll go with the colorful designs from Bahamut. The only flaw was the lipstick. Maybe they're born with it... maybe it's...? Runner up: Parasyte (for its parasites) Best Music: Terror in Resonance I don't have to hesitate about this one. It was just too perfect in music (if only the rest of the show was ). Bahamut was pretty good too.
Runner up: Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis Best Voice Performance: Aya Hirano as "Migi" in Parasyte I'll go with Aya Hirano, in her role as Migi in Parasyte. She pulled of the cold and rationally thinking parasite pretty well. I also thought that it was a pretty wise choice to have actual kids play roles in Barakamon. Runner up: Suzuko Hara as "Naru Kotoishi" in Barakamon Best Opening Sequence: "Goya no Machiawase" - Noragami No real winner here. Sakura Trick's song stayed in my head ALL day. But it feels more like a guilty pleasure like Barbie Girl from Aqua once was. So, what else is there? Chaika - the Coffin Princess had a good action opening in its first season. Noragami's OP had more 'coolness' to it though. Runner up: "Won（*3*）Chu KissMe!" - Sakura Trick (I'm embarassed just looking at that title )
Best Ending Sequence: "Dare ka, Umi wo" - Terror in Resonance The ending of Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis is so charming. It feels kind of oldschool/fairytale like, with the older artstyle. So loving it. However, I think Terror in Resonances' ED is just a little bit better than Bahamut. Just a little bit. It's also very atmospheric, dramatic, unusual and gives me uneasy chills down my spine. Another one I liked was the ED of Barakamon. When the guy hits that high note in particular I get the feels
Runner up: "Promised Land" - Risa Shimizu, Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis Other good shows: I liked Noragami as well, but that show really needed more time to fully shine. Ping Pong was a wonderful show too, with its friendship, original animation. It was well paced with a satisfying ending. Your Lie in April needs to stop letting its main girls using violence and Wolf Girl and Black Prince is my guilty pleasure. Best shows that I didn't watch: Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha de Aru and apparently Space Dandy and Log Horizon from what I've seen in the viewer chart. Tokyo Ghoul and No Game No Life didn't grab me after the first few episodes. |
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shukujo
Posts: 41 |
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Amen, brother, Amen. |
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CrowLia
 Posts: 5505 Location: Mexico |
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Now that I've gotten around to finishing Bahamut and FSN/UBW, I'm ready to put out my best of the year list. I'm stealing A Mystery's categories.
Shows Best Overall TV Show of the Year: So bleeping hard to choose, this was such an outstandingly good year for anime overall, but if I take out series that aren't finished (sorry Parasyte, GARO), series that started in 2013 (sorry Kill la Kill) or sequels (sorry Book of Circus, Mushi-shi), I think I'll have to second Barakamon. It was sweet and unambitious, yet extremely fulfilling, had an excellent balance of comedy and drama, perfect comedic timing and emotional punches, a wide range of characters that were never unidimensional and all felt essential to the story. It was a beautiful experience, full of heart and love. Honorable mentions: Noragami, Shingeki no Bahamut, Haikyuu! Best Overall Movie of the Year: I only watched two movies that came out this year so this one wasn't so hard. I'm giving it to Saint Seiya Legend of Sanctuary because it was so much dumb fun and actually managed to tell the story competently in spite of its limited runtime. I also watched Tamako Love Story, and although it was cute, I felt it dragged for too long and the payoff didn't feel worth it Best Comedy: Once again I'll agree with A Mystery, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun was by miles the best comedy of the year. It was fresh and upbeat, the characters were charming and not clichéd, and the jokes never felt repetitive. Honorable mention: Gugure Kokkuri-san, Hozuki no Reitetsu Forgotten Gem of the Year: - Noragami This was my favorite show of the winter season, it had a unique and beautiful look, great characters and an interesting story. It had the right amount of fun, without losing the good pace and excellent dynamics among the characters. The main trio and their hurdles and conflicts with one another carry the show beautifully. Unfortunately, many dismissed the series due to the anime taking an original direction, but but unlike many other anime-original endings, this one didn't feel out of tone and actually progressed the importance of the bonds between Hiyori, Yato and Yukine. Honorable mentions: Nobunagun, Nobunaga Concerto (people dismiss series too easily when they see the name Nobunaga attached to them) Most Unexpected Surprise: Another one that I'll agree with A Mystery: Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis This show is the living proof that card-game anime doesn't necessarily need to be a shameless toy commercial for twelve-year-olds. I had no idea of what to expect from it, and it managed to wow me week after week. It fell just a little bit flat on some character development (Jeanne, I'm looking at you), but it more than compensated with the amazing execution, great pacing and unique characters. I'm hoping with all my heart it gets a second season. Runner up: Tokyo Ghoul, GARO: Honoo no Kokuin Characters: Best Individual Character: Ken Kaneki - Tokyo Ghoul Kaneki went through such an amazing and tragic journey through just 12 episodes. Whether he grew as a character is debatable, but he underwent so many changes, both physical and emotional, and they were so heart-wrenching, it's hard not to empathyze with all the terrible things that happened to him. The horrifying 12th episode was just the bloody cherry to top the cake for one of the darkest character journeys I've seen. Honorable mention: Yona - Akatsuki no Yona, Shinichi Izumi - Parasyte. Since neither show has ended, I can't judge the entirety of the characters' journeys, but they are promising enough to go neck by neck with my top pick. Best Couple or Pair (Doesn't have to be romantic): Seishu Handa & Naru Kotoishi - Barakamon We also had many strong pairs (and trios) this year, but the way these two unintentionally complete each other; Naru helps Handa find himself, teaches him the joys of life and Handa becomes the paternal figure that Naru is obviously lacking, and how naturally attached they grow to each other is so sweet and beautiful in a way that reminds me of Usagi Drop (anime only!). Their relationship is incredibly cute and is definitely the heart of such an outstanding series Honorable Mentions: Hinata Shoyo & Kageyama Tobio - Haikyuu, Favaro Leone & Kaisar Lidfard - Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis, Yato & Iki Hiyori - Noragami, Shinichi & Migi - Parasyte Best Villain or Antagonist: Ragyo Kiryuuin - Kill la Kill I didn't see many outstanding individual villains this year, the Parasites' agenda is still a little bit unclear, but Ragyo is the craziest, most fabulous villain to grace the screens in quite a while. Seriously, she's such a boss. She's a fabulous pile of pure evil Honorable mention: Joker - Kuroshitsuji Book of Circus, Jason - Tokyo Ghoul Moments: Best Individual Scene : Barakamon: Naru coaxing Handa into climbing the stone wall to watch the sunset This single moment was what elevated Barakamon from a cute and fun comedy to Masterpiece level for me. This initial clash of Naru's rural innocence with Handa's cinicism, followed by Handa initiating his journey to find his own calligraphy was quiet and extremely powerful, and made me completely commit to a show that hadn't even been in my radar before airing. Honorable mention: Haikyuu: Asahi getting his confidence back as Karasuno's Ace, Shingeki no Bahamut: Amira first revealing her demon form, Noragami: Yukine's purification ceremony Best Plot Twist: Nobunaga Concerto: spoiler[The real Oda Nobunaga becomes Akechi Mitsuhide to counsel Saburou] Honorable mentions: Shingeki no Bahamut: spoiler[The truth about Amira's origins], Seven Deadly Sins: spoiler[The truth about Ban's sin] Best Fight: Fate/Stay Night, Unlimited Blade Works I was unable to pick just one, given that both the Berserker fight and the first fight agains Caster were so flash, dynamic and cool, so I'll just give it to the series overall, even if the one in the last episode was a little bit underwhelming in comparison. Honorable mentions: Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis, Nobunagun Best Death: spoiler[Parasyte]: spoiler[Shinichi's mom] because of all the things it triggered on spoiler[Shinichi]. The death in itself wasn't flashy or dramatic, on the contrary, it was quick and coldhearted, and that just accentuated the horrors that have taken over. Honorable mention: spoiler[Kuroshitsuji Book of Circus]: spoiler[Joker and the rest of the circus group] Art & Sound: Best Visual Design: Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis It was just so amazing. I loved the character designs, the outfits, the powers, the architecture, the magic and the monsters, it all looked so epic and fit the setting and characters perfectly. My only problem was the sometimes excessive light flares. Honorable Mentions: Nobunaga Concerto, GARO Best Music: I always struggle with this categoy, since I rarely pay attention to background music, so I'll give it to Parasyte because its bgm is extremely memorable and sets a perfect mood, especially in its darkest moments Best Voice Performance: This is extremely difficult since there are several outstanding voices, but I'll give it to Suzuko Hara as Naru in Barakamon, because being so young and inexperienced he landed a perfect and very natural performance. Her voice and her deivery fit Naru's cheerful and spunky personality like a glove. I was amazed to learn she was an actual child. Honorable mentions: Aya Hirano - Migi - Parasyte, Mamoru Miyano - Saburou - Nobunaga Concerto Best Opening Sequence: Dang, another difficult one. Shingeki no Bahamut has a brilliant en ergetic and 100% cool opening, great music, great rhythm and great visuals. Based on songs alone, I'm very inclined for "Imagination" from Haikyuu and "Rashisa" from Barakamon. Visually, GARO's opening is very unique and interesting. The passion in "Enamel" from Kuroshitsuji is so amazing. May'n's voice in "Kyou no Koiiro" from Inari Konkon is beautiful. And the beat of "Respect for the Dead man" (Nobunagun), "Gogo no Machiawase" (Noragami), and "Thunderclap" (Sengoku Basara3) always gets me excited. I think I'll go with Bahamut because it has a very great balance of everything I like from an opening sequence andit always got me so pumped for every new episode, but there are so many I want to bring up for their amazingness I couldn't even pick just 5 for honorable mentions Best Ending Sequence: Hands down "Fugakyaku Replace" from Nobunaga Concerto. All the passion in those lyrics and how perfectly they fit the visuals and the story was amazing. Every "Kill my weakness" makes my skin curl. Honorable mention: "Walk like an Egyptian" - Jojo Stardust Crusaders, "Future Fish" - Free! Eternal Summer Other good shows: Hitsugi no Chaika was pretty great, there's just something about it that didn't make it Masterpiece material for me, but I can't really point out what it was. Hanayamata was cute, too cute at times, and the last dramatical twist in the final two episodes felt really fabricated. Best shows that I didn't watch: From what I heard, Log Horizon, Space Dandy, No game no life, Knights of Sidonia and Ping Pong. Funnily enough, I picked up three of them when they first aired, but they all premiered on extremely busy seasons and I ended having to put them on hold. I'll try to fix that soon. Overall it was a great year. In previous years Summer and Winter were relatively lousy seasons, but this year I had to up my weekly schedule from 10-12 to 16-18 series per season, with every season being insanely busy. It was also a year of huge disappointments (I think I'll write about that in the Personal Awards thread), but it left a great aftertaste, I really think most of the new stuff I watched ended with a Good to Masterpiece rating, with very few massive slip-ups. Here's hoping for an equally fantastic 2015 Dang, that took like 2 hours to write |
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A Mystery
Posts: 1886 Location: Netherlands |
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Indeed, it took me longer than I expected...
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ChibiKangaroo
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There's been so many great reviews of Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis that I am going to have to check it out now
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rheiders
 Posts: 1137 Location: Colorful Colorado :) |
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I borrowed A Mystery’s categories, though I added/expanded some as I felt I needed to. The big addition is “Best Episode”—with several fantastic anthology series having aired this year, I felt the need to highlight the best parts of these series.
Shows: Whole anime. Which did you like best? Which were underrated? Which surprised you? Best Overall TV Show of the Year: Mushishi Zoku Shou Not even a question for me. Mushishi was my second favorite anime of all time before the second season aired, and the second season has only improved on its original. I consider the first season a masterpiece already, so Zoku Shou blew my mind by somehow being better than a masterpiece. I don’t even know what to call a show this good. Runner ups: Ping Pong the Animation, Hunter x Hunter Best Overall Movie of the Year: I watched The Wind Rises this year; does that count? That was pretty good. Wish it had had the ending it was apparently supposed to have. Best Comedy: Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun Hands down the hardest I laughed all year was when I was watching this show. It has a strong core cast of characters and its particular style of affectionate parody based on defying stereotypes is whip-smart and a ton of fun. It’s been a big hit with my roommates as well. Runner up: Hoozuki no Reitetsu, Space Dandy Forgotten Gem of the Year: The World is Still Beautiful Charming, funny and well-written, but perhaps a bit too quaint to be memorable. In any other year I think more people would remember and look back fondly on this sweet little show, but there were so many good shows this year it kind of got swept by the wayside. Runner up: Engaged to the Unidentified, Hoozuki no Reitetsu Most Unexpected Surprise: Tokyo Ghoul There’s an awful lot of this show on this list for a show I didn’t think would be good at all. I was just going to watch it for some gory schlock and vampire action, but it ended up being one of my top series of the year. It rises above the rest of its genre with some really solid character writing (especially for Kaneki and Touka) and truly cinematic direction. If only Tsukiyama didn’t exist… Runner up: Engaged to the Unidentified, Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun Characters: Putting aside the overall quality of the shows they're in, who were your favorite characters this year? Best Male Character: Ken Kaneki (Tokyo Ghoul) Say it with me, kids: Character development doesn’t have to be positive to be good! Kaneki is a surprisingly well-written tragic hero who is nearly impossible not to root for, even though you know he’s not ending up anywhere good. Episode 12 is just a spoiler[twenty-minute torture scene that never leaves Kaneki’s head for a minute], and the experience, though deeply unpleasant, is also visceral, deeply personal, and memorable. I can’t wait to see where the second season (and the manga, when it’s released in the US) takes him. Runner up: Ginko (Mushishi Zoku Shou), Kong Wenge (Ping Pong), Hachiken (Silver Spoon s2) Best Female Character: Yona (Yona of the Dawn) Yona reminds me in a very positive way of some of my favorite anime heroines—Shuurei, Youko, Takiko, etc. I love the way the show is handling her development from spoiled princess to brave warrior, giving her a fiercely independent spirit while also acknowledging that she won’t be able to move mountains right away. Her flaws make her more interesting, and I can’t wait to see where her adventure takes her (and watch her harem fill out >w> ). Runner up: Nike (The World is Still Beautiful), Satsuki Kiryuuin (Kill la Kill), Mikorin (Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun) Best Couple or Pair (Doesn't have to be romantic): Killua and Gon (Hunter x Hunter) I’ve been following these kids for so long that it feels wrong not to choose them here in the year their show ends. Their complex and inspiring friendship has formed the core of Hunter x Hunter since it began back in 2011. I love the moral ambiguity of their relationship (always Togashi’s strength)—as important as the relationship has been in helping the two to grow and heal, their friendship only becomes more codependent as time goes on, and the show doesn’t shy away from the unhealthy aspects of that. Hopefully it will develop in more positive ways as they get older (assuming Togashi ever feels like drawing manga again). Runner up: Masayoshi and Goto (Samurai Flamenco), Livius and Nike (The World is Still Beautiful) Best Villain or Antagonist: Meruem (Hunter x Hunter) I don’t think I’ve watched a whole lot of shows with strong villains this year. Soo-won would be my current pick, but I’d like to wait and see how he develops since I feel I don’t know the whole story about him yet. I decided to instead go with the villain of Hunter x Hunter’s sweeping Chimera Ant arc, who has a pretty incredible arc of his own while always remaining cool and terrifying. Runner up: Ragyo Kiryuuin (Kill la Kill), Soo-won (Yona of the Dawn) Moments: Putting aside the overall quality of the shows they're in, which specific scenes did you like best? Best Individual Episode: “Cushion of Grass” (Mushishi Zoku Shou) I tear up just thinking about this work of art. Watching it was like a religious experience. When the older mushishi said “spoiler[There is nowhere in this world where you do not belong],” it felt like he was talking to me. Runner up: “A World With No Sadness, Baby” (Space Dandy), “Ghoul” (Tokyo Ghoul) Best Individual Scene (Could overlap with one of the below or be something entirely different): Wenge’s Christmas song (Ping Pong the Animation, episode 5) Such a strange little scene, but this montage was the exact moment where I fell in love with both this show (which I had been a bit ambivalent toward until that point) and the character of Kong Wenge. It was great to see Wenge start to figure out how to make the most of his exile, making connections with his team that help him feel a bit less alone. The way his song was interwoven with the other characters’ narratives (IIRC—it’s been a while since I watched this one!) made it even more poignant. Runner up: Nozaki and Mikorin play a dating sim (Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, episode 4), Twelve and Lisa’s motorcycle ride (Terror in Resonance) Best Plot Twist: Tokyo Ghoul episode 12 I already explained this one, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a complete and convincing shift in character pulled off that well, and it made me really excited for the potential direction of the second season. I don’t really think about “plot twists” very much (I think the weirdest ones are generally just cheap and poorly-written ploys to grab viewer attention, like dangling keys) so that’s the only one I can come up with. Best Fight: Chaika the Coffin Princess Fight choreography was Chaika’s biggest strength through its entire run. Some of the fights in the latter half of the second season were really exhilarating. I especially liked it whenever White Chaika’s group clashed with Red Chaika’s group. Runner up: Karasuno vs. Nekoma (Haikyuu!!—my favorite sports anime match of the year) Best Death: spoiler[Pretty Much Everyone] (Black Butler: Book of Circus) I didn’t see a lot of good death scenes this year. I think the finale of Book of Circus is the best part of its franchise (for whatever that’s worth), a well-executed tragedy that provides some nice insight into its protagonist while respecting the deceased characters and even giving some surprisingly poignant commentary on class struggles in Victorian England. I would have gone with spoiler[Shinichi’s mom] in Parasyte but…the strength of that death scene has nothing to do with spoiler[her] at all. It’s all about Shinichi’s response—spoiler[classic (and classically sexist) example of a fridged mother motivating the male protagonist. And the show did it again this past week. Man, I love that show to pieces, but it has some really crappy ‘80s boys’-club writing when it comes to its female characters.] Art & Sound: Noises! Pictures! This one is pretty self-explanatory. Best Visual Design: Ping Pong The perfect marriage of two masters’ styles (Masaaki Yuasa and Taiyo Matsumoto) that are always divisive, but I for one loved loved loved how this show looked. Matsumoto is one of my favorite mangaka and one of the most incredibly talented comic artists I’ve had the pleasure of reading, and I don’t think there’s anyone in the world who could adapt Matsumoto’s style as well as Yuasa. He was perfect for the job, and was clearly passionate about it too. Runner up: Space Dandy (favorite visuals: Eunyoung Choi’s plant episode, Yasuhiro Nakura’s “A World With No Sadness, Baby”, Sayo Yamamoto’s rock band episode), Mushishi Zoku Shou (favorite visuals: “Cushion of Grass”, “At the Foot of Lightning”, “The Depths of Winter”) Best Music: Terror in Resonance I didn’t end up caring much for the show overall, but this is Yoko Kanno’s best soundtrack in years. This OST deserved a much better show. Favorite tracks (or at least the ones I keep coming back to) are “Is” and “Von”. Runner up: Mushishi Zoku Shou, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders Best Male Performance: Natsuki Hanae (Ken Kaneki, Tokyo Ghoul) I got chills at “Please don’t make me a killer.” Natchan’s kind of new but he seems to be getting more roles lately. I really hope he continues to get more complex roles like Kaneki and Hikari and doesn’t get pigeonholed as boring teenagers and harem leads like many seiyuu with his voice type. Runner up: Nobunaga Shimazaki (Shinichi Izumi, Parasyte), Ayumu Murase (Shouyou Hinata, Haikyuu!!) Best Female Performance: Aya Hirano (Migi, Parasyte) I’m so happy to hear this incredibly talented voice actress again after that dumb sexist scandal. I don’t know if Migi is the type of character that will get her more roles like she used to have, but one can only hope. In any event, as good as Zakki has been as Shinichi, Hirano steals the spotlight in every scene she’s in. The voice she gives Migi is perfect—weirdly cute but with a razor sharp edge, and she manages to give him a lot of emotion while still maintaining his inherent inhumanity. Runner up: Chiwa Saito (Yona, Yona of the Dawn), Mariya Ise (Killua Zoldyck, Hunter x Hunter) Best Opening Sequence: “Unravel” (Tokyo Ghoul) This one’s just okay on its own, but whether it’s cheating or not, the way this song was used in episode 12 is brilliant enough that it elevated the opening sequence a huge amount in hindsight, so I feel justified in choosing it as number one. It helps that the lyrics are really meaningful for Kaneki’s character, and I happen to like TK’s voice. Runner up: “Trigger” (Terror in Resonance), “Tadahitori” (Ping Pong the Animation) Best Ending Sequence: “Walk Like An Egyptian” (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders) Not really a contest for me. I laughed for about ten minutes straight when I first heard this ending theme—what song could be more perfect for the Scooby gang’s road trip to Egypt? The animation is pretty cool too. Runner up: “Dareka Umiwo” (Terror in Resonance), “Future Fish” (Free! Eternal Summer) Best shows that I didn't watch: Barakamon and Shirobako are the ones I’m most interested in watching based on what I’ve heard. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15462 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Well I already did something earlier, but I will take this format
Shows: Whole anime. Which did you like best? Which were underrated? Which surprised you? Best Overall TV Show of the Year: Barakamon It had some great comedy, but also some great slice of life, and drama of one finding their place. Each episode had me burst out in laughter about something, and there were some touching moments in the episode. Best Overall Movie of the Year: I did not really watch any anime movies this year. Best Comedy: Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun Comic genius, first episode's bike scene would be a series highlight, but every episode had gems as the series messed with the formulae. Forgotten Gem of the Year: Locodol High School girl turned idol, sounds super pandering with wish fulfilment, but it turned out to be rather charming, something that is probably largely already forgotten. Most Unexpected Surprise: Kamigami no Asobi I have had rock bottom expectations for adaptions of adaptions of visual novels aimed at girls, and the very beginning felt ridiculous. But turned out to be quite fun and I was quite eager to watch episodes. It was funny, the heroine was not too big of a pushover, and the boys were fun. Characters: Putting aside the overall quality of the shows they're in, who were your favorite characters this year? Best Individual Character: Yurika - Invaders of the Rokujouma Strangely in another thread I agreed that Sinon may be the best female character of the year, yet under the title of "individual character" I find myself drawn to Yurika. Magical Girl Rainbow Yurika, Princess of Love and Courage, really none of those things as she is insecure, always apologising and being pushed around. She might do nothing for her gender, but as a character she is always trying her hardest even while no one believes her and she gets no recognition in saving the day. But through events she becomes a friend of the leading character outside of any romantic interest, and how hard she tries pays off once she realises what is actually important. Best Couple or Pair (Doesn't have to be romantic): Sora & Shiro - No Game No Life The brother and sister duo of Blank, maybe look a little too close. The chemistry of their voice actors was shown Sakurasou, and together they fight, play, and eat, together they can beat anyone, apart they fall apart. Them fawning over animal girl is one particular standout. Best Villain or Antagonist: Nui Harime - Kill la Kill Ragyo was intimidating, but I think it was her minion, Nui, that was more interesting, just listen to her theme if you need help remembering what it was about her character that could totally steal the show. Nui had an innocent cutesy façade, and through that she totally tears apart everyone, and when it slipped she was scary. Moments: Putting aside the overall quality of the shows they're in, which specific scenes did you like best? Best Individual Scene (Could overlap with one of the below or be something entirely different): When Supernatural Battles Become Commonplace - I don't understand A scene that can take a pretty much light hearted series and relationship, and then punish anyone who has been a little guilty of the actions. Best Plot Twist: Kill la Kill The surprise twist that spoiler[Ryuko is Ragyo's daughter and thus Satsuki's sister], it made many a fan art instantly creepy. Best Fight: Akame ga Kill The number one fight going to spoiler[Akame vs Esdeath], several minutes of back and forth blows between the two of them with a surprise end. You could not always tell which way things could go in this series anyway. Best Death: spoiler[Yuuki Konno] - Sword Art Online 2 What is not to say about this, spoiler[hundreds of people bidding her farewell as she succumbs to her illness], simultaneously spoiler[incredibly sad yet beautiful]. Art & Sound: Noises! Pictures! This one is pretty self-explanatory. Best Visual Design: No Game No Life I expected to dislike the colour theme they put on with the series, it felt a little risky, but it ended up creating a really nice tone for the series. Best Music: Aldnoah Zero tied with Kill la Kill Aldnoah Zero kind of fell apart in places, but the music was stunning, and to figure out why it seems perhaps connection to Hiroyuki Sawano, who composed both as well as last year's Attack on Titan. Some awesome music that I really can't make a decision. If I had to choose one song it would be Before My Body is Dry, wait a minute that song actually refers to spoiler[taking Ryuko's blood], I did not realise that till now. Best Voice Performance: Chika Anzai as Chaika Trabant - Hitsugi no Chaika I probably don't know what I am talking about, but I found Chaika's broken language speaking pattern to be surprisingly appealing. Best Opening Sequence: Welcome!! DISCO Kemokemoke - Gogure Kokkuri-san Was a hard choice, but can't go wrong with disco and I absolutely adored this opening. Best Ending Sequence: Witch Activity - Witch Craft Works Girls in chibi form being tortured by various archaic devices as they sing the song, just a bit of the off centre comedy which includes the kind of sad group of villains randomly going into karaoke, and evolving credits as characters are introduced. A special mention of No Game No Life's alternate ending which was very creative. |
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Animegomaniac
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1 So Comedy is separate and disqualified from being best of the year? And action or horror or drama don't get their own categories?
2 Barakamon isn't a comedy? Ok, I can see that one. "Nozaki-kun would be best of the year so it has to get its own category." So the best comedy of the year is the best show of the year? Mine's No Game, No Life with Nozaki as second and best comedy so... Huh. Barakamon? Wait, that's the series that imploded under its own premise in the last two episodes with the inclusion of Handa's absurdly young mother. Somebody in this series has issues but I couldn't tell who it would be. Oh Japan, you and your thing for older men and younger girls... Oh. Uh. Ah. No, they wouldn't. Damn, this show's sick. Like Bunny Drop, it's just better to stick with the elementary years and stay away from... You know... The idea of those two middle school girls and their fascination with Handa was kicking me in the back of the head throughout the series but I ignored it and got to the ending... in time to see a greater age difference made legal. Best show of the year, yeah... |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15462 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Sure Barakamon can be comedy, just from a pure comic viewpoint Nozaki-kun was better, while Barakamon had other things.
See one is more of a plot, while the other is more of a laugh in the moment sort of thing.
Just because she looked young does not mean she was so, she likely looked after herself quite well. Some people just age differently, look at this for reference. (largely a joke, sorry if it comes across as racist)
So where did you get the idea of a skeevy relationships? It was pretty platonic, Handa seems to have no interest, he is a city boy which is interesting to young ladies who have spent their entire lives in a small village, so they tease him. He is pretty terrible at interacting with people, which in some people can make them act better with people outside of their age group. |
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leatherhead333
 Posts: 1187 Location: Kansas |
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I do remember an episode where they deliberately teased him while he was naked that kind of sent red signals but other than that I didn't see much wrong with it either.
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