2014 is over and 2015 is rushing in.
The new anime season has just started with the latest entry in the Monogatari series and the third season of the odd moe anime Milky Holmes. So before the new anime season really gets going I'd like to talk about some of The Good, The Bad and The Oddball animes of 2014.
And remember that these are my personal picks so feel free to disagree. We all have a different sense of humor and get annoyed by different things.
Winter
I can't get enough of this. Hoozuki is just a delightfully sadistic Oni that works in Japanese hell. He will see to it that you get the most befitting punishment, be it by the Lake of Blood or by bunnies with wooden oars.
Instant hit! Well written story and characters, cool action scenes, good comedy, the freakiest goldfish you'll ever see and an excellent opening by Hello Sleepwalkers.
Surprisingly entertaining and well made
Youkai Watch (only seen a little so far)
Now if you can't stand shows made for a younger audience you probably shouldn't watch this one. This was funny and higher quality than I though it would be and if we do get to see the original game in Europe I might actually buy it. This is sort of the new Pokémon in Japan and they are planning on bringing the franchise overseas.
Disturbing
Pupa
Pupa
Monster sister sustains herself by eating the flesh of her immortal brother, complete with erotic moaning. Watch at own sanity risk.
Spring
Well worth a watch
Captain Earth (Not quite finished with it yet)
For me this one feels like a combination of Gundam SeeD and Evangelion but with a really really positive main character. I think of Evangelion mainly because of the man with the Ikari-papa hair cut, I keep thinking of him as douche for that reason alone. But anyway, nice mechas with an interesting story and likable main characters. The self pronounced magical hacker girl is a favorite.
I found this interesting, charming and also a bit heart breaking at points. I just have to remind myself that the king is supposed to be older than he looks or else this gets weird and creepy.
Watch: http://www.crunchyroll.com/chaika-the-coffin-princess- season one and two
My expectations were really high since the Scrapped Princess team had come back together for this anime, a little too high I guess. It didn't quite live up to the hype but the story did start to get interesting and it's really well animated so in the end it became one of my favorites of the spring season. I haven't seen season two yet so I'm looking forward to that!
You're gonna have to put up with Chaika's way of speaking because she doesn't change.
Bad
Just plain dull. I've only played through one Atelier game and I liked that one. At the same time I could imagine what an anime of an Atelier game would be like and it lived up to my expectations. It was utterly boring and flat.
Reverse harem and a spectacularly bad one at that. The only "good" thing about this anime is the ridiculous transformation scene in the first episode. Aaaand the next time they show it the "special" part has been cut out - read: censored.
Well it's harem and there's not anything special about it. If you're looking for harem with a little bit of death and censored gore you can get that here.
Guilty Pleasure
Well what can I say? I'm a sucker for music themed anime. I highly recommend AKB0048 if you like anime like Love Live!
Summer
Must sees
Fan of Fate/Zero, Madoka Magica, Phantom - The Animation or Psycho-Pass? Well Urobuchi Gen has had a big hand in these and Aldnoah.Zero is his latest with a second season starting January 10th and a new anime, Gunslinger Stratos, coming in April.
Pure delight, heart worming and funny. A bit of slice of life, the search for yourself and inspiration with a good portion of comedy. It has the best Dragon Ball Z reference since Binbougami ga! (go watch it if you haven't already!)
I could not care less
Sorry, I just really can't. Tatsumi is probably the most harem main character I've ever seen without it officially being a harem-series, complete with twin tailed tsundere and an assortment of big boobs. And the animation only holds up for a few seconds of every action scene. Pretty good theme songs though.
Biggest disappointment
Watch the latest episode here: http://ch.nicovideo.jp/sailormoon_English
Not because of the art style or the bad quality of the animation. I don't mind the style, it has grown on me and they fix the animation for the BD release. What I can't stand is the bad pacing, unimaginative camera angles, unnecessary changes from the manga (which they were supposed to follow) and over all lack of animation. It's cheap, clumsy and awkward. It all just makes for bad storytelling. Sure it has its moments but they don't nearly make up for everything they're doing wrong.
Not because of the art style or the bad quality of the animation. I don't mind the style, it has grown on me and they fix the animation for the BD release. What I can't stand is the bad pacing, unimaginative camera angles, unnecessary changes from the manga (which they were supposed to follow) and over all lack of animation. It's cheap, clumsy and awkward. It all just makes for bad storytelling. Sure it has its moments but they don't nearly make up for everything they're doing wrong.
Fall
Must sees
Give this one a few episodes. It's a bit messy at first with a lot of forward and back flashes so you need to get past the introduction faze. The banter between the characters is wonderfully hilarious and I just love it. Well written characters, good story and well placed bits of comedy. Can't wait for next weeks episode!
Watch: http://www.crunchyroll.com/parasyte-the-maxim-
To be honest I was a bit unsure of this one at first. But not because I thought it was bad but simply because I didn't see it as my cup of tea. However, as I continued watching I got really into it. The only thing I find strange is the ending. It seems so ill-fitting that it creeps me out. However, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas does an excellent job of setting the mood with the opening.
To be honest I was a bit unsure of this one at first. But not because I thought it was bad but simply because I didn't see it as my cup of tea. However, as I continued watching I got really into it. The only thing I find strange is the ending. It seems so ill-fitting that it creeps me out. However, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas does an excellent job of setting the mood with the opening.
Watch: http://www.crunchyroll.com/yuki-yuna-is-a-hero
Magical Girl, a little bit of slice a life and bit of Madoka Magica. And the cation scenes look really good! Giant swords ftw!
Magical Girl, a little bit of slice a life and bit of Madoka Magica. And the cation scenes look really good! Giant swords ftw!
Kyoto Animation does it again! I've come to trust KyoAni to only animate good stories and this one is no exception. Well told, well animated and a lot of fun. I really hope that they'll get to do a second season or I will have to go read the light novels.
Bad
This one had potential to be funny, maybe even hilarious but it really wasn't. It was just awful and insulting. I guess it was supposed to be a parody but it still wasn't funny. I'm usually all for gender-bender but preferably not in combination with moe and ecchi.
Special mention
If nothing else, watch the first episode. The whole series is funny even if the Inugami character is rather off-putting. But go watch the first episode, it is Inugami free! That and you have to see the opening.
Then there is still a lot of anime from 2014 I'd like to try out:
Buddy Complex, Gin no Saji Dai-2-ki, Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha., Wizard BarristersRyuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin, Mushishi: Zoku-Shou, Sidonia no Kishi, No Game No Life
Survival Game Club!, Black Butler: Book of Circus, Zankyou no Terror
Shingeki no Bahamut, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, Magic Kaito 1412, Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works
