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Your Best of 2013 Awards.


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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 8:59 pm Reply with quote
rheiders wrote:
Forgotten Gem of the Year: Senyuu
People forget about it because it’s a mini-series, but this was a fantastic little comedy series that had me in stitches for its entire 3-minute duration every week.

I also wanted to mention this somewhere, it looked like every episode had something incredibly funny happen, and I was actually surprised by the plot twist, including that there actually was a plot. It turned out to be very entertaining.

rheiders wrote:
Best Death: spoiler[Levi’s entire squad], Attack on Titan
This episode was definitely the death(s) that hit me the hardest. I didn’t expect it at all and the deaths themselves were just so brutal. Levi’s reaction to it and spoiler[Petra]’s father asking him about spoiler[her] was heart-breaking.

This was something else I considered, probably by that I had become so attached and thought they were invincible, especially with spoiler[Petra]. The effect it had on spoiler[Levi] was something.
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getchman
Space Cowboy



Joined: 07 Apr 2012
Posts: 9117
Location: Bedford, NH
PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 9:08 pm Reply with quote
then why not add them as runner ups or honorable mentions?
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SereneChaos



Joined: 14 Oct 2011
Posts: 384
Location: Middle of Nowhere, USA
PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 11:43 pm Reply with quote
Best Overall TV Show of the Year: Gatchaman Crowds
I loved every minute of Gatchaman Crowds. It has all of the traits that made me love anime. An explosion of color, a quirky art style, fun but full characters, unique music, just enough action, and even a positive theme. The unsatisfying ending is the only real flaw, but with a second season coming even that will (hopefully) be rectified.

Runner ups are The Eccentric Family and The Devil is a Part Timer


Forgotten Gem of the Year: Yami Shibai
I normally dismiss shorts, but the format worked wonderfully for telling these horror stories. Some of them really creeped me out, which is more than some full length horror anime can say. The unique (if limited) animation technique works well with the stories and helps them feel like the kind of classic stories you would tell around a campfire.

Most Unexpected Surprise: Gatchaman Crowds
I'm not familiar with the original Gatchaman, so I initially ignored it. Then I actually watched Crowds, realized I wasn't missing anything by not knowing Gatchaman, and loved it.

Best Individual Character: Hajime from Gatchaman Crowds
Quirky, creative, fun, optimistic, accepting and intelligent, Hajime is made up of all of my favorite character traits. She was a joy to watch, especially as we learned that there's more to her than what you see at first glance.

Runner up: Frau from Robotics;Notes
Frau is the most entertaining part of Robotics;Notes, but only half aired this year so I decided not to pick her.

Best Couple or Pair (Doesn't have to be romantic): Satan and Alciel (and later spoiler[Lucifer])
The demons are definitely what made The Devil is a Part Timer so funny to me. Alciel in particular was the center of most of my favorite jokes.

Best Villain or Antagonist: Makishima from Psycho-Pass
Only half of it aired this year, but there weren't many true antagonists in the shows I watched, and none that were as interesting as Makishima.

Best Individual Scene: The Eccentric Family
Yajirou's spoiler[confession] is beautifully done. I almost cried multiple times throughout that episode, and the ultimate resolution just makes it even better.

Best Plot Twist: Samurai Flamenco
spoiler[It's been a few weeks since the twist, and I still can't fully believe it happened. Its tone is swinging around wildly, going from happy-go-lucky to murderous to cartoony to violent to cheesy. I have no idea what it will do next. I have no idea what to expect. I absolutely love it.]

Best Fight: Any and every scene with Maneuver Gear in it in Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan gets a lot of criticism for it's wildly inconsistent animation, but I like how they decided to do it. Skimping on the more mundane scenes that I wouldn't have remembered anyway and splurging on the action heavy scene allowed the action, and the show overall, to really stand out.

Best Death: Aika Fuwa from Blast of Tempest
The mystery of her death drives most of the show. Finally learning why and how it happened is one of the best parts of the latter part of the anime.

Best Visual Design: Flowers of Evil
No, seriously. Art styles and character designs where every character's face looks the exact same are starting to drive me crazy. When you can only tell characters apart by their hair (because heaven forbid a high schooler ever wear something other than their school uniform!), you know you need more creativity with your designs. Flowers of Evil's characters are the antithesis of that. They're flawed, realistic, and diverse. It's such a breath of fresh air. It's like sitting in a hot tube for too long then jumping into an ice cold pool. It's uncomfortable, but so worth it.

Best Music: Gatchaman Crowds
I absolutely adore Taku Iwasaki's music. It's quirky, unique, and varied. The radically different traits he blends together shouldn't sound as awesome, fun, cute, or creepy as they do.

Best Voice Performance: Mariya Ise as Nakamura in Flowers of Evil's opening.
I usually don't notice seiyuu unless they're screaming at me to notice them, and that's exactly what this version of the opening does. There's something raw and strangely charming in her singing that makes it so much fun to listen to.

Best Opening Sequence: Samurai Flamenco
This may be premature as I'm basing it on the fact that I believe there's more to the opening than meets the eye, and that it works on multiple levels. For the first set of episodes, it works exactly as it's presented. Masayoshi dreams of being an awesome superhero, but it's just a (rather unrealistic) dream. With the second batch of episodes, spoiler[his suit is progressively, piece by piece, becoming more like the one he wears in the opening, and his dream is becoming more of a reality. By the end of the show, I predict we'll see something very similar to the opening actually happen in the show.] If my prediction doesn't come true, then my runner up is...

Gatchaman Crowds
It's full of color, quirky animation, and ridiculous Engrlish, all of which I love. It also helps that I love evolving openings.

Best Ending Sequence: Free
It's just so ridiculous and weird and out of nowhere and so, so much fun.
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ikillchicken



Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7272
Location: Vancouver
PostPosted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 3:30 am Reply with quote
Best Overall TV Show of the Year:
Flowers of Evil
I'm not gonna harp on about this one. People have already elaborated on its appeal and I'll touch on its visuals later. I'll just say that it is absolutely gripping. There's such an impending sense of dread to this series. It makes even the most mundane things fascinating to watch. And the characters are great too. Nakamura is fascinating and terrifying. And Kasuga is a complex and layered character that achieves some great twists in his development. It's also darkly hilarious. I'd actually pick this as comedy of the year too if we were doing genre awards.

Best Overall Movie of the Year:
Kick-Heart
Admittedly, this is more than a little by default. I haven't really seen many movies this year. But this was definitely something I enjoyed. It's a fun little story with a good sense of humor. Definitely had me laughing out loud a few times. And it looks great. Lots of nice, dynamic motion and a great art style. Fairly reminiscent of Yuasa's usual style in all its avant garde exaggeration. But while I usually find his execution a bit too sketchy and rough, it seems just a little more in control here. The line work tends to be thicker and more pronounced and a little more deliberate. It's a nice balance. It also gives the film's very vibrant and blocky colors more room to shine. Good stuff.

Forgotten Gem of the Year & Most Unexpected Surprise:
Beyond the Boundary.
It's funny. I had no real expectations for this show. I don't really put much stock in KyoAni even though many people do. As it turned out though, I love it. But even more peculiar, the vast majority seems to hate it. Go figure. Anyway, this show is a classic case of stellar execution overcoming generic ideas and elevating the result to something tremendously enjoyable. Of course, it's not devoid of problems. There's some poor world building and a few jokes that (sometimes) overstay their welcome. But the good completely outweighs the bad. Top notch animation, a great eye for composition, dynamic fights, and even the non-action scenes have a real nice visual flair and attention to detail. The music is really quite strong too and is often used to nice subtle effect. And I loved the characters. Mirai is really endearing.The quality of the animation brings out a lot of nice little subtle mannerisms and stuff and makes her feel more like a person and less like a caricature. It's quite endearing to see her open up a bit as the series progresses. And she's actually very willful and turns into quite a badass by the end. I generally like Akihiko too. He has great chemistry with Mirai. The two have a really nice, subtle connection and it's that relationship that drives the show. It works too because the show manages to regularly reinvigorate that relationship by making us radically re-evaluate it in light of new information.

Best Individual Character:
Tomoko from Watamote
She's really a fascinating character. Externally introverted to the point of almost complete silence. But underneath, she is filled with turmoil. She loathes all her peers and automatically assumes the worst about all of them. But at the same time she desperately craves their approval and attention. Without ever feeling out of character she manages to be both painfully oblivious to her own childish and socially inappropriate behavior at times and also painfully self-aware at others and yet totally unable to change because of her crippling anxiety. All in all, she's equal parts tragic, endearing, and darkly darkly funny.

Runner Up: Mako from Kill la Kill
It's no secret that I have a lot of problems with this show. But one thing about it I unabashedly love is Mako. Her crazy antics, delusional, unflappable positivity and energy make her hilarious to watch.

Best Couple or Pair:
Akihiko and Mirai from Beyond the Boundary.
Because they have fantastic chemistry and are adorable together. And they're both exactly the same even if they're both too clueless to see it right away. If I may parrot something rheiders said above, I like how their similarities drew them closer to each other.

Runner Up: Tomoko & Tomoki from Watamote
These two have some really great interactions. Tomoki plays the straight man perfectly as he deals with the bizarre, inscrutable actions of his weird sister. His internal monologue as he tries to deal with her and basically, tries to get her to buzz off, is priceless.

Best Villain or Antagonist:
Female Titan from Attack on Titan
What could possibly be scarier than the ravenous, man eating, building sized, humanoid monsters that populate the AoT universe? Well...what about one that's also able to hide in plain sight as a human, and is extremely intelligent, trained in martial arts, capable of advanced tactics, and able to protect her one weak point (aka, the one thing that gave humans a fighting chance against titans up to that point).

Best Individual Scene:
The classroom scene from Flowers of Evil.
danilo07 scooped me on this one. But yeah, this is one of the greatest single sequences I've seen in anime. Beautiful to look at and backed up by such a powerful release of all the tension that the series built up until that point.

Best Plot Twist:
Mirai was spoiler[sent to kill Akihiko initially] from Beyond the Boundary.
This is the best kind of twist. Because it doesn't just serve to surprise you with an unexpected plot revelation. It makes you completely re-contextualize everything that's happened up until that point. It totally adds to why Mirai is spoiler[so unwilling to get close to Aki in addition to her own reasons. Their meeting, where she tried to kill him, is so cool now too. I mean, it seemed fairly goofy initially so it isn't the perfect setup but it at least made enough sense at the time with him being half Youmu and her a Youmu hunter that I more or less just bought it and thought nothing much of it. But now it makes the whole "I was actually trying to kill you all along" twist work so damn well because in retrospect it actually seems so obvious since she was literally was trying to kill him initially.]

Runner Up: Kasuga spoiler[admits that he's full of crap and basically just likes to think of himself as a deviant because it makes him feel special] from Flowers of Evil.
I mean, I think we knew that already. But seeing him finally come to terms with it was great.

Runner Also Up: There are spoiler[Titans in the walls] from Attack on Titan.
What... I don't even know...what to make of that. But it is awesome. And I desperately want to know more.

Best Fight:
spoiler[Titan Eren] vs Female Titan from Attack on Titan.
Simply some of the best animated and choreographed straight up action I've seen in a long time. And its all the more awesome because the participants are giant monster people.

Runner Up: Mirai vs spoiler[Akihiko] from Beyond the Boundary.
A sort of atypical choice here. The fight itself is fairly brief and unremarkable in terms of action, hence the reason it didn't actually win. But it's still a really wonderful scene because of the emotion behind it. So sad. I especially like where Mirai spoiler[takes off her glasses to symbolically distance herself from Akihiko as she is forced to fight him.]

Best Visual Design:
Flowers of Evil
Rotoscoping is a fantastic choice here. It makes the movements way more detailed and realistic which lets a lot be communicated through body language and/or detailed facial expressions which is something you normally lose with traditional TV animation. I really don't think the level of nuance that makes this show work could have been done otherwise. Great eye for composition too. So many wonderful shots here.

Runner Up: kick-Heart
Kinda said my piece about this above already. But...er, yeah. It looks very nice.

Best Voice Performance:
Tomoko from Watamote
Totally sells this character. Gets her social awkwardness and inability to communicate just right.

Best Opening Sequence:
Galilei Donna.
Very nice tune. I especially love how the music builds and builds, and then it dives into this sweet solo but then instead of ending there it cuts back to this really mellow beat for a little bit before ending.

Runner Up: Attack on Titan.
Is this the best OP of the year? Maybe. Maybe not. But it is definitely the most dynamic, forceful and immediately addictive one since Rock the Dragon. Laughing

Best Ending Sequence:
Beyond the Boundary
A solid song. Complimented nicely by some very slick animation and some extremely pretty visuals that are quite nicely choreographed and edited. Used to wonderful effect (especially in episode 9 and 11 when used essentially to "play off" the last little bit of the episode).

Runner Up: Flowers of Evil
For very similar reasons actually. The way this music interacts with the episodes make it more than the sum of its parts. Always reinforces that sense of impending dread the series evoked so well. Ultimately though, minimalist visuals here gave Beyond the leg up.

Best Show That I Didn't Watch:
Eccentric Family apparently. People really seem to love this show. I must admit, I don't think I was even aware of it when it aired. Will have to catch up on it.
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4070
PostPosted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 6:27 am Reply with quote
Plot related junk. Apparently.


Best Individual Scene
Best Plot Twist
The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat. Yeah, turns out the pairing had a forgotten first meeting and Youto's forgetting that meeting is what upset Tsukiko the most about any potential relationship, even simple friendship. That's in the middle of the series. It turns out, this gets complicated, she spoiler[forgot about meeting him when they were kids, that he was a substitute child for her lonely mother Tsukasa, that her mother was a substitute parent for the lonely Youto, that the actual "childhood friendship" romance she thought she had was actually for Youto and her older sister Tsukushi, that Youto didn't remember any of this because her gave his memory to Tsukushi and that finally, Tsukushi is the one who remembers everything and who loves Youo Yokodera the Younger. Which was a meaningless joke until the story had a younger and older Youto sharing scenes.]

And to top all of that, here's the stuff that's inferred {a very busy two episodes}: From the markings on the wall, Tsukasa spoiler[died three months after the reunion and reconciliation. But those markings were for Youto's growth and not Tsukushi. So the four of them were there for the ending but giving how his Youto's memory works, he'd grieve and then instantly forget how much her loved her, probably just wandering off and never returning to the Tsutsukakushi household one day and forgetting everyone in the process. But Tsukushu never fully let him out of her sight, her mind and her memory.] Which was his. Kind of explains why she's a little weird.

That's the twist, one that you will never see coming {and watching Tsukiko's reaction to it is entertaining in its own right}. The best moment is when Youto realizes how he must have felt and his happy demeanor, only possible from spoiler[from having no bad memories of the past] breaks under the realization that he lost the good ones too, and that if he were to leave, he'd do the same to Tsukiko and Tsukushi, spoiler[killing them in his heart. Again.]

Or "Did you know? This house has a cat god." or "You're on this side too, right?" and especially "The four of us are a family, after all." Oh, oh, and "You have been on our side for quite a while" Forget it, the last two episodes.

Best Fight Wow, this is boring in comparison. An action scene that requires nothing from the audience except time, those are always fun to talk about. Majestic Prince, I suppose I'm supposed to say Izuru versus Jiart but no, what I love is the fight between Lutiel versus ... quite a few people, starting with the scream from Tamaki of all people.
Best Death
Hey, Lutiel, what did you do to warrant that reaction again?
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A Mystery



Joined: 10 Oct 2010
Posts: 1886
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 7:55 am Reply with quote
I didn't really see it in the opening post, but... what about the 2 cour shows that began in 2012 but ended in 2013? I don't know if people already put those shows in their lists last year, but I think it's hard to judge a show when you've only seen half of it. I included them in my analysis.

Shows
Best Overall TV Show of the Year: Attack on Titan
It was hard to choose. Attack on Titan is not without faults, but it was way too entertaining, addictive and had a real impact on anime fandom. Normally I'd give a show the highest points because it manages to do right on most if not all departments, but this time I'll just go with the one that made me thrilled, cry, amused and anxious for what's to come, all in high doses.
The Runner-ups would be the Eccentric Family and The Devil is a Part-timer. The first one was an awesome quirky comedy/drama about a loving family of tanukis, the second was just plain hilarious, but had interesting characters and a nice balance with other elements too (a little bit of drama and action).

Forgotten Gem of the Year - Blast of Tempest
Hm, I think the Eccentric Family and From the New World didn't really get much attention at first, but they seem to have gained some popularity. It's hard to tell which anime has really been underexposed, but I don't see many still talk about Blast of Tempest. I wouldn't say it's a masterpiece, but it was a highly entertaining show. It's a bit overdramatic but never afraid to poke fun at itself and had entertaining characters (Aika!). It did start to lose steam in the second half and the pacing wasn't always top notch. Not to mention, I didn't really like the climax+ending. It started its run in 2012, but finished in March.

Most Unexpected Surprise - The Devil is a Part-Timer!
This show wasn't on my radar at first, but I'm glad I decided to watch it. It's hard to do comedy right, the premise also sounded like a hit-or-miss situation that would get old fast. Now, I'm wishing for a second season.

Characters
Best Individual Character: Tomoko Kuroki - WATAMOTE
It's her character that made the series worthwile to watch, with her delusions, problems and humor. It's hard not to root and feel for her, even though she can be very unlikable.
Runner-up: Hikari Sakishima - Nagi no Asukara. It might be unfair to include him, since the series hasn't finished yet, but he's shown real character development and maturity throughout the first half.

Best Couple or Pair: Satan (Maou) and Alsiel (Ashiya) - The Devil is a Part-timer!
There weren't any romantic pairs that stood out for me, so I'll go for this non-romantic hilarious pair (though they do act as husband and wife Wink ).

Best Villain or Antagonist: Squealer - From the New World (Shinsekai Yori)
Good at plotting things and a real politician. It's a debate whether he's evil or had the right arguments for his deeds, but that's what makes him a good antagonist.
Runner-up: Female Titan - Attack on Titan: Intelligent with awesome combat skills, she was a joy to watch.

Moments
Best Individual Scene: Episode 8 with spoiler[Yajiro's confession] - The Eccentric Family
Other people have explained it at length already, I too was moved by this scene.

Best Plot Twists: Attack on Titan
Many hearts stopped when spoiler[Eren was eaten by a Titan in episode 5. Of course he didn't die, but it would've been an even better twist if he did]. Also: spoiler[Titans in the walls?] Tell me more!

Best Fight: spoiler[Female] Titan vs spoiler[Titan Eren] - Attack on Titan
No doubt, the fights in Attack on Titan were all fantastic. I liked seeing the movements during 3D maneuver gear use, but the big Titan fights were even more awesome to see. Roarrr Twisted Evil.

Best Deaths: spoiler[Petra] - Attack on Titan
I was sad when spoiler[Levi's squad] died in Attack on Titan, especially spoiler[Petra]. Who's idea was it to make spoiler[her such a sweet character]?
Runner-up: Aika - Blast of Tempest. I think it's more fair to say that she's the best and most interesting dead character, her death itself wasn't memorable enough to win this category.

Art & Sound
Best Visual Design: Chihayafuru 2
I love the animation and backgrounds of Nagi no Asukura, but the faces are a bit too childish for me with those huge eyes. Attack on Titan really stands out in its use of sharp lines. The color scheme and characters are attractive. The animation is outstanding when it needs to be, but skips corners in the scenes when there's nothing going on in terms of action. The Eccentric Family was also a joy to watch, but sorry - those ears were hideous. Kyousougiga was very pretty too, but I'll go with Chihayafuru, as I always tend to drown in Taichi's eyes.
Runner-ups: Too many, but let's say Kyousougiga, with its gorgeous animation.

Best Music: Attack on Titan
Pompous, entertaining and always there to make the scenes even more dramatic, with awesome opening and ending sequences.

Best Voice Performance: Izumi Kitta as Tomoko - WATAMOTE
Yay, an easy question! As others have said, since Tomoko is the lead that has to say 90% (or at least close to) of the lines, it really is important what she sounds like. Izumi Kitta was perfect in her performance of this socially awkward character.
Runner up: Mamoru Miyano as Taichi Mashima - Chihayafuru 2. I may have an anime crush on the character and the voice of Mamoru is certainly a plus.

Best Opening Sequence: Guren no Yumiya - Attack on Titan
Easy question number 2. I never skipped the opening, it made you like the show even more. I don't think I've ever seen as much parodies on an opening sequence as this one. I can't think of a better compliment for an intro.

Best Ending Sequence: Gekka/Moon Flower - Devil is a Part-timer!
I don't believe many endings stood out in a special good or bad way, but I really liked this one. Others I liked were the ending sequences of Nagi no Asukara and Chihayafuru 2. All pretty low key and stirring some strange nostalgia feelings in me. Attack on Titan's Utsukushiki Zankoku no Sekai is also a good one, but more on the dramatic side with some rock.

Best Show That I Didn't Watch:
Silver Spoon. I think I will watch it sometime in the future, but now I'm busy watching Psycho-Pass, currently airing shows and keeping some room for the new season.

Edit: some lay-out and spell checking.


Last edited by A Mystery on Mon Dec 30, 2013 10:43 am; edited 2 times in total
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ChibiKangaroo



Joined: 01 Feb 2010
Posts: 2941
PostPosted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 10:26 am Reply with quote
It's a good question about the 2 cour shows that started in 2012 and ended in 2013. If those are included, then there is no question for me that From the New World is best show of the year (I also think From the New World is certainly in the running for best show of the decade at this point, though we still have a long way to go Smile). If those are not included, then it is probably Attack on Titan. As was stated above, Attack on Titan has its faults - primarily, the pacing. The pacing of that show was awful at several points. However, the tension is visceral, the characters are well written, and the plot is riveting. It is an action powerhouse of a show and keeps you tuning in.
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Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18137
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 11:30 am Reply with quote
A Mystery wrote:
Best Villain or Antagonist: Squealer - From the New World (Shinsekai Yori)
Good at plotting things and a real politician. It's a debate whether he's evil or had the right arguments for his deeds, but that's what makes him a good antagonist.

Interesting choice. Normally people tend to go for the nastiest individuals in cases like this, but I like the logic here. I am not doing Best Villain for my own awards but would have to seriously consider Squealer if I was.

As for the 2 cour series that overlap a year issue, I don't see any problem in judging it as a 2013 series. Since you guys are doing this casually, you can interpret that however you want.
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A Mystery



Joined: 10 Oct 2010
Posts: 1886
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 12:14 pm Reply with quote
@ChibiKangaroo: I agree that 'From the New World' is a gem. I probably would've placed it fourth or fifth, with the abundance of good shows this year. Like Attack on Titan, it had some pacing difficulties. The creators also should've tried to make us care more about characters spoiler[not after they died/vanished, but before they do. It lessens the impact, for example with Maria - I didn't notice how important she was to Saki until it was spelled out to me with the letter and special episode dedicated to it.]

I think you used the right words to describe Attack on Titan. I also understand the sentiments of people who believe the show to be overdramatic at times - but I just devoured this show like sweet apple pie and I'm longing for more.

@Key: I like the nasty ones, but if they're complicated characters and show human emotions and thoughts, they're even better.
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ikillchicken



Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7272
Location: Vancouver
PostPosted: Tue Dec 31, 2013 1:58 am Reply with quote
A Mystery wrote:
I didn't really see it in the opening post, but... what about the 2 cour shows that began in 2012 but ended in 2013? I don't know if people already put those shows in their lists last year, but I think it's hard to judge a show when you've only seen half of it. I included them in my analysis.


Yeah, I figure I'll leave that up to you guys to decide. I mean, just speaking instinctively, I'm inclined to view a show that began in 2012 as a 2012 show. Hence, why I didn't include any in my picks. But you're right, it is very difficult to talk about shows that haven't actually finished yet. So if you want to talk about shows that began in 2012 by all means do so.
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bleachj0j



Joined: 22 Nov 2008
Posts: 923
PostPosted: Tue Dec 31, 2013 11:14 pm Reply with quote
Shows:
Best Overall TV Show of the Year :
Hunter x Hunter

Yeah this show just did it all for me. The chimera ant arc is one of the most tightly written and paced arcs I've watched all year. The characters are always well written. The show also has this magnificent ability to take any side character and turned them into interesting players in the plot. Not only that but makes them totally three dimensional. The tension also comes off better for it's subtiely and direction. It's also rare that I see a anime so consistently good with over 100 episodes.

Most Unexpected Surprise
Blood Lad

I was so surprised how much I loved this show. I thought it would be just a stupid comedy anime but ended having pretty defined characters, a great sense of humor and colorful world. It's a shame it only got 11 episodes.

Best Overall Movie of the Year
Gintama the Movie The Final Chapter: Be Forever Odd Jobs

If this was the last anime project for Gintama, it's very good. Seeing all of the favorites having it out and just an overall fun movie.

I'll edit more when I think of them
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Bango



Joined: 06 Jul 2013
Posts: 1122
PostPosted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 10:51 pm Reply with quote
Thanks to... nbahn (sorry if I mangled your name. I should've copy/pasted it) for mentioning this topic. They're a very useful resource for me later on down the road.

I'll be using japanese release dates since I'm like that and I count a show as STARTING in 2013 but give occasional mentions to shows that started in 2012 and ran into 2013.

Best Overall TV Show of the Year
What a brutally difficult question. But weighing every factor together Symphogear G takes home the gold. When you can count content enjoyed by the minute instead of by the episode it's a sign of a good show. It also had 0 wasted time, which is extremely difficult to pull off without feeling rushed.

Most Unexpected Surprise
AKB0048. I've watched a few shows about idol singers and even a few about idol singers fighting in a sci-fi setting. They're always horrible but this one really pulled me in and kept me loving it the entire way.

EDIT: Yeah, I realize I said "sci-fi animes about idol singers fighting always suck" right after giving Symphogear G my Best Of 2013 award. Hypocrite Bango is GO!

Best Individual Character
While I can never get enough of Neptune being Neptune, Shiroe from Log Horizon and Fino from Yuushibu were very enjoyable. Fino's hot, but Shiroe looks cool. It's so hard to decide. Oh, wait. What the hell am I thinking!? Tomoko from WataMote wins. Sorry, I had a memory lapse there.

Best Duo
People will either laugh or cry, but this award goes to Pork Bowl and Hachiken from Silver Spoon. The close runner up is Ai and Alis from Sunday without God, although I'm sure some will demand this go in the romantic category.
A 2012-2013 mention goes to Kogami and Tsunemori from Psycho-Pass. Likely my favourite Buddy Cop duo in ages.

Best Romantic Couple
Kyosuke and Kuroneko win this one for me, although Cutest Couple would go to the two leads of Kotura-san. I think that was 2013.

Best Antagonist
We'd be hard pressed to find anyone more completely batshit than Dr. Ver from Symphogear G. He's Albedo-meets-The-Joker levels crazy. Seriously, dude take your pills! A very close place goes to Cerebrum from Il Sole. That guy creeped me the heck out towards the end.

Best Plot Twist
Ya know? I'm gonna give this to the ending of the first ep of Valvrave. Because if you were like me and didn't know what the show was really going to involve then that surprised the heck out of you.

Best Fight
This is an extremely tough one. Though I suppose the Illya/Saber fight from Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya ultimately wins for me. Iona vs Kongo from Arpeggio of Blue Steel takes 2nd place.

Best Death


Best Character Design
While I did so love the character designs in Leviathan the ultimate winner for me is Date A Live. I just love the way everyone looks. By extension Neptune can also fit, since they share a character designer.

Best Music
I'm gonna give this one to Il Sole. AKB0048 would've won but I realize it's OST outside of the concert stuff is merely a bit above average.

Best Opening Sequence
It'd be pretty stupid of me to not say Attack on Titan here, but there's a lot of awesome contenders. Sunday Without God, Il Sole, Gatchaman, WataMote, Il Sole- 2013 ruled not just on opening songs but in the animations too. But despite all this I'd say Attack on Titan's first opening made me want to watch the show more than any of the others. WataMote is damn close though.
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ChibiKangaroo



Joined: 01 Feb 2010
Posts: 2941
PostPosted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 11:32 pm Reply with quote
Bango wrote:

Best Music
I'm gonna give this one to Il Sole. AKB0048 would've won but I realize it's OST outside of the concert stuff is merely a bit above average.



Absolutely agree with this one. The music from Il Sole was outstanding, from the OP to all of the mood music throughout the show.
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