Forum - View topicThe Best Anime of 2015
|
Goto page Previous Next Note: this is the discussion thread for this article |
| Author | Message | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Jayhosh
 Posts: 972 Location: Millmont, Pennsylvania |
|
||
|
I haven't really seen enough 2015 anime to be able to form a top 5 list that has much value, but I really enjoyed Death Parade, My Love Story, Parasyte (that counts, right?), and, above all else, One Punch Man. That show is just pure, unadulterated fun whenever I watch the latest episode. The similarities to Space Dandy definitely show. You see, I'm a man of simple tastes. I see a bald man wearing a cape nonchalantly beating the crap out of shonen bad guy rejects, I laugh.
I still want to check out Sound Euphonium and Noragami (seasons 1 and 2) when I get the time, but the fact that I enjoyed as much as 4 anime this year in the first place tells me it was a good year for anime. Because for the last two years or so, it has seemed to me like there's always one or two really good ones, and the rest usually range from "meh" to "oh my god, put me out of my misery" levels of quality. |
|||
|
|||
Thatguy3331
 Posts: 1790 |
|
||
|
Well I sure as hell got a lot more out of death parade than I did anything else this year, which for me frankly sucked balls. Part of that may have been a bunch of irl stuff making me stricter on what I watch at the beginning of each season but even then it was either a bunch of things that either annoyed me as they went on week after week (Fate stay night, Classroom crisis until I finally dropped it) or I just wasn't feeling the show like they wanted me too (Blood Blockade Battlefront, Yahari *which doesn't surprise me given how I never liked that show as much of damn near everyone else*) I think also the show that was actually the most exciting for me was One Punch Man but that was fairly diluted because I already read the manga and...while I love the animation, I think I just prefer reading the jokes in it's manga form than I do in the anime. Not that the timing was God awful but I dunno, call me spoiled.
In a way the most entertaining show for me was Charlotte, not because it was good, but because it's one of the first times I think I had fun watching a train wreck get worse and worse in the latter half. I did watch Jojo but it's formula wore on me a lot and even though I liked the final battles the stuff in between still grated on me. I guess I like Snow white and the Red hair better than My love story on the count that I actually finished that season, but I didn't stop watching love story because I hated it, no it was literally too friggin' sweet. I could feel myself contract diabetes I had to stop, seeing too much niceness and positivity for that long just bothered me for some reason. And Finally Death Parade even though it did have a pointless subplot is the only show I could think of this year that got an honest to God Emotional reaction out of me to the point where I even nearly teared up, and that never really happens with me anymore. I'll be interested in seeing the rest of the staff's choices but I'm ready to kick anime 2015 to the curb, and hopefully there will be something other than the stuff that Bones is doing (Mob, My hero academia and Snow white) will give me a better viewing experience. Oh yeah I finally stopped being stubborn and began watching Sound Euphonium. It's pleasantly a lot more tolerable than I thought it would be 3 episodes in. |
|||
|
|||
|
Araki
Posts: 382 |
|
||
A bit? Ha! I remember many viewers having the same impression from the first episode, which sounds funny in hindsight, as spoiler[in the end, the message of the show was pretty much the opposite of that: how humans can't be painted as neither black or white that easily, and how flawed the judgement system was]. That's why we should never judge a book by its cover. But even among people who watched the whole thing, it's a show so nuanced that many didn't get it. |
|||
|
|||
Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
|
||
|
As far as I can tell, any 2-cour show that starts in the fall of one year and continues through winter of the next year is ineligible for the Best of lists of either year on ANN, which is complete BS. Some of the best anime of 2015 happened to start in fall 2014. They weren't eligible in last year's best of poll, and they're not in this year's, either, I think they should be part of the discussion anyway. If I had to make a list
: 1. Parasyte A solid action/horror show through and through. Over the course of the show, we watch the main character become a badass fighter riddled with PTSD as he learns to coexist with his alien hand. The animation didn't disappoint in either the horrific transmutations of the aliens or the fight scenes, and there were no shortage of edge of your seat cliffhangers to leave the viewers chomping at the bit for the next episode. It's getting widespread, mainstream recognition through Toonami now, and rewatching the show while seeing the reactions of new viewers on the 'net is almost as fun as watching it the first time around (which was almost as good as reading the manga!) I have quibbles with some of the adaptation's quirks (was Murano as one note in the manga as she is in the anime?) But I'd give it at least an 8/10 overall. 2. Shirobako Is there a fan of the anime business who didn't love this engrossing back stage pass to an animation studio, complete with eccentric characters and details on most every aspect of the anime making process? I'm sure everything was, well, anime-fied, but that just kept it entertaining! 3. Yona of the Dawn: Watch the slow, steady evolution of the protagonist from spoiled princess to warrior as she builds a lovable harem of bishies! This show had everything--action, adventure, romance (um, romantic teasing for the audience), some decent comedy, but most of all, it excelled in building a heroine you could root for and left you wanting more. Thank goodness the manga was finally licensed in English! 4. Garo: Another show with action, adventure, romance, and the growth of a decent main character from emo boy to heroic young man. Also, the comic exploits of Sex Dad and (separately) a badass lady voiced by Romi Paku! It had flaws, but it was fun to watch. The above mentioned shows aren't my Top 4 of 2015, but I would put Shirobako and Parasyte on my list if I could, and I suspect a lot of other people would, too. Last edited by Agent355 on Tue Dec 15, 2015 1:39 am; edited 1 time in total |
|||
|
|||
Kikaioh
 Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
|
||
Maybe it's a fact for you, Mike Toole, but for me, this year was pretty much a dud. Lots of okay shows and even a couple I found enjoyable, but there wasn't a single new show I could say that I loved, or could at least say was "very good". I personally wouldn't put any of the shows in your list into the category of greatness (and One Punch Man is amongst my top 5 anime of the year, basically warranting an "it's alright" sentiment from me). |
|||
|
|||
AnimeLordLuis
 Posts: 1626 Location: The Borderlands of Pandora |
|
||
|
My top 5 Favorite Anime shows this year
{Please list reasons -- thank you. ~nobahn} What can I say I love Yuri shows that and I just can't stop saying Yeeart! 
|
|||
|
|||
|
Korogoro
Posts: 83 |
|
||
|
We all know what's Hope's favorite anime of the year... Chaos Dragon
 Kekkai Sensen? I'm pretty sure Hope hated it.
|
|||
|
|||
Xator
 Posts: 3 Location: Berlin, Germany |
|
||
|
Shirobako counts as a 2014 anime, right?
Also, if movies don't count either, then my list would probably look like this: #1. Yuri Kuma Arashi {Please list reasons -- thank you. ~nobahn} yeah, too mainstream list, xD I can't help it with Yuri Kuma. That thing made me reflect a lot. I've had the opportunity to watch it with a gay friend and... it was interesting, to say the least. |
|||
|
|||
|
Animegomaniac
Posts: 4074 |
|
||
|
[quote="Key"]
Really? The second half? I couldn't get through the 110 minutes that started it. That tried to start it; "Magic seals, magic circles, Grail War, summoned heroes... and fight!" I don't know why they tried to make it so self-important, complexity comes in best at the end of a work, not the beginning. Speaking of such... One of my top series, Cross Ange doesn't because ... because shows from the fall season currently airing shouldn't count. Wait, that one's my logic and that show would be Chivalry of a Failed Knight. Cross Ange doesn't count because it's non Gundam Sunrise. Wait, the reason was on the poll, I know this... It's a split season show so the first half wouldn't make it for 2014 list and the 2015 part makes it... incomplete shows are ok but completed shows are... No, I don't why. Anyway, wonderful series and I loved the Heroine. We could use more of those and less of... Anyway, my next top five. Maybe I should have wrote them down... Probably these ones? My Love Story How do you do shoujo well? Take out the shoujo melodrama I guess... Maria the Virgin Witch ... and put all that over here. And then concentrate it. School Live Love zombies, like four girl ensembles so this enzomble show really worked for me. Gate Great. OK, it's not a great anagram but I never claimed to be good at those. Rolling Girls The title I'll doubt I'll see on any other list. It's the punk aesthetic, I love it. Because we roll, for ourselves, for others. Even if we're destined to be one of the mob. Err, crowd. They should have fixed that; It's technically right but it has other connotations now. These are the series that got me 1) To watch the show in the first place and 2) Get me back episode after episode. |
|||
|
|||
Ali07
 Posts: 3333 Location: Victoria, Australia |
|
||
|
Happy to see that Prison School made one of the top 5s. Loved that show (and I'm even watching the live action adaption on AnimeLab).
I think that my top 5 would be (in no order): Maria the Virgin Witch - loved the character interactions in this, and how they went about "questioning" the teachings of the church. Prison School - Wasn't sure what to expect going in, and it turned out to be what I thought it would be. Not a bad thing, because there were things I did not see coming, and the execution for the jokes/situations really landed well with me. Really hope more gets made, but I may just end up getting the manga. SNAFU Too! - Love Hachiman, so it was great to see more of him and Yui. Yukino is okay too, I guess. Gate - Surprised by how much I enjoyed this series. I ended up watching it after it had already aired, so I binged it. Think that I enjoyed it more this way, unsure how I would've been week-to-week. Rory <3 Assassination Classroom - For a series I wasn't expecting much from, I'm surprised by how this got me to like a yellow octopus alien thing...and the kids in his class. I'm sure that my top 5 could change. As I'm on holidays now, I'm going to be looking at some anime that came out earlier this year, as I wasn't able to watch all the shows that interested me. But, from what I have seen, those are the best 5. And, I could see something like Shomin Sample or Chivalry of the Failed Knight creep into my top 5. Not sure what they'd displace. Shomin Sample isn't anything special, and it wouldn't be a show I'd recommend if someone came and asked me for a list of stuff to watch. But I just enjoy seeing the things they do, that are mundane, but totally new to the girls. Though, there is one plot point that is bothering me...and I'm unsure if they will end up touching on it before the season is done. And that being that spoiler[Aika stops one of the other girls from dispelling the rumor that she (being Aika) and Kimito are dating]. It's a scene near the end of one of the episodes (I forget which, but it might've been 8?), and it's not been touched on for a couple of episodes. Failed Knight does have tropes littered throughout, but it has also kind of thrown out some tropes (felt it did so in episode 11 with Ikki's dad). The other thing I love is that spoiler[before a harem really has a chance to form, Ikki has already started dating one girl. Having the MC actually chose one person wins massive points with me.] There are other series I'd like to give honorable mentions to, but my post is long enough as it is without having to give reasons for a few others shows to be mentioned here. And, if I were to just list them, they'd be cut out...oh well. Last edited by Ali07 on Tue Dec 15, 2015 5:04 am; edited 1 time in total |
|||
|
|||
|
Responder
Posts: 45 |
|
||
|
I'm personally not agreeing with what's been shown so far, but they do a good job with their reasoning. The staff at ANN are all very competent. One Punch Man, Death Parade and Hibike all missed the mark with me, to varying extents. My Top 5 are:
5: Snow White with Red Hair- It manages to capture the essence of classic Disney in a way that Frozen did not. Shirayuki is a ver sympathetic character who works hard to earn her keep, but also plants her feet firmly in the ground when she needs to. With a beautiful and calming soundtrack reminiscent of Dragon Quest VII and fluid characters backed up with stunning scenery, Snow White was easily my favourite from this year on a superficial level. Would it be a sin to say that Shirayuki may be my favourite Disney princess. 4: Owarimonogatari: Would be higher if Shinobu Mail matched Sodachi Lost, but nonetheless one of the best anime franchises of the decade continues at full emotional steam. The first episode was one of the best of the year, and Ougi's sinister presence alongside Araragi's visible maturation from Bake was great to see. My faves, Kanbaru and Hanekawa, returned in full force, and the trippy directing was more behaved this time. Add that to one of the best EDs of the year and Shaft's usual great visuals, and Owari deserves that Monogatari label. 3: Maria the Virgin Witch: It feels like everyone else overlooked/hates this one, but me? I loved Maria's development as she learnt not to force her beliefs on others. How Ezekiel grew to love Maria, and how Joseph himself grew as a character. Galpha was a very well developed villain, and the Dub was great. The detailed and historically accurate representation of the church and war during the 100 year made this one of the most well-researched series I've seen in ages. Animation wasn't outstanding, but the art, characters and great pacing more than made up for it. 2: SNAFU TOO!: Taking everything good with the first season and improving upon it, this dramatic follow-up to the good first season. It focusses more on the development of its cast, in particular Hachiman and Yui. Yui is finally able to stand alongside Yukinoshita and Hachiman as a strong emotional and intellectual presence, rather than a token air head. Iroha was a great addition, and the subtle character building really payed off handsomely. 1: Noragami Aragato- With a sophisticated exploration of family, well developed leads and antagonists and grounds within Shintoism both in themes and imagery, Noragami is one of m favourite shounen series ever created, and may be Bones best action series since FMAB. Every episode brings with it substantial development, often for multiple characters, Bishamon and Ebisu are both great antagonists and the emotional intensity exceeds that of many seinens. Bones great production, most notably in the OP and ED, also holds up. |
|||
|
|||
killjoy_the
 Posts: 2459 |
|
||
Parasyte won last year's, what are you on about? |
|||
|
|||
nobahn
 Subscriber Posts: 5120 |
|
||
Please, just remember that unannotated lists are actively discouraged. Thank you. |
|||
|
|||
Midaro
 Posts: 147 |
|
||
|
Gintama all the way!!!!
|
|||
|
|||
residentgrigo
 Posts: 2417 Location: Germany |
|
||
|
One Punch(line)-Man is going to win the reader poll due to the beyond crazy piracy numbers and it also gets a lot of coverage from western sites. I consider it to be just another “decent” DBZ clone with better female characters and the OVA level production values are impressive so i can live with that.
Best OVA: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin 8,5/10 Newcomer won´t get a single word but this is the first good animated Gundam since the second season of 00 and Thunderbolt is destined to be another winner due to the quality of the manga. The Cg-mechs are further out of this world. Welcome back Sunrise. Best movie: Ghost In The Shell: The New Movie 9/10 is a true recovery for IG after the utterly idiotic Psycho-Pass: The Movie and the 2nd best GitS film overall for the same reasons i voted the Arise prequel as my No.1 anime. It´s also the best animated film of the year so far (sorry Batman vs. Robin). Honorable mention: Mr. Osomatsu 8/10 is how you reboot a dead franchise. Dayon! No.5 Ninja Slayer From Animation 8/10 may be controversial but it´s superior to the “novels” or the manga adaptations and finally proved that Trigger can do a good show from start to finish. The OST was amazing, the catchphrases never got old and the biting Ecchi tropes satire was brilliant. The out of nowhere Silver Karasu two parter was lastly the best anime episode of the year. Sayonara! No.4 Lupin the Third (2015) 8,5/10 My appreciation for the show is growing and the seasoned talent of this take on the now resurrected franchise can be felt at every turn. The female lead Rebecca isn´t the best character but not the Marry Sue i first dreaded and the producers held true to the premise to not stray form the Seinen roots. The occasional gore is well done, the rape subplots weren’t mishandled and the anime has great takes on Goemon/Zenigata who were slightly shafted in the separate and slightly superior 2012 continuity. Lupin is 100% back after a decade of nonsense so on to the 2016 special and the 2nd half. No.3 Durarara!!×2 Shō 8,5/10 is what it is and i only voted for the first sequel season which had the better executed story anyway. More Baccano! would have been better and the original 2 arcs won´t be reached but it´s still leagues better than 98% of LN adaptations so on to the last season. Can i have a Vamp! adaptation next Brain's Base? No.2 My Love Story!! 8,5/10 The manga is one of the best Shoujo´s on the market and the anime could have used a bigger animation budget which i can live with but my opinion of the adaptation slightly decreased toward the end as Madhouse again decided to rush through the last 1/3 like a madman. That move ended up damaging the show´s version of Gōda and the skipped content will be essential for the unenviable 2nd season due to the success. Madhouses you are best anime studio there is but the last minute sprints need to stop! No. 1 Ghost in the Shell: Arise – Alternative Architecture 9/10 It´s utter cheating that it counts as a TV show and IG also messed with the episode order a bit. The music could have been more memorable too but the sound design was top notch. Criticism over. GitS Arise is the best sci-fi show of 2015 in any medium and proves that the part of the anime industry i cared about for 2 daces still lives on. Can someone finally license the even better manga? 2015 was an utter write-off but not the worst anime year of the decade as i remember 2013 to be even blander. I never gave out a 1/10 to a TV show (2 OVAs managed that though) but the summer of Ecchi abortions won´t be forgotten that fast! Nothing got a 10/10 either and both scenarios were a reality last year which was leaps and bound better. Anime year 2015: I didn´t hate or love you so let´s try again next year. The toon year of 2015 on the other hand was again a winner with Bojack Horseman, Rick and Morty and Stephen Universe (the show 99% of current anime which they were) at the top. I certainly agree with the Nostalgia Critic that the present is the best time for western animation in the medium´s existence so just switches the country of origin you are as disillusioned with today´s anime as me. The manga market is lastly doing just fine and Berserk is even being published regularly again so the i have no deep gripes with the manga or comic market this year. |
|||
|
|||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group