Anime

[wander]

Anime used to be my crack a few years back, though due to RL stuff getting in the way, I've been cold turkey and free from the habit I used to love for some time. On occassion I'll catch an episode of Dragon Ball Super (which I've been finding ok as a drop in and out watch) or the odd movie/OVA, I recently watched the whole of the 4th OVA series of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Oh-Ki for example (don't get me started on it, disappointing doesn't really cover how I felt when it was done). I still at some point need to get the 3rd Rebirth of Evangelion movie, just for the completion value to add it with my other two discs, even though I've already seen the film and was 'awww...' over what they changed up, though also I'm still hopeful for Evangelion Final, which I hope Anno will work on now that he's done on Godzilla.

Anyways, every now and then when I do a catch up, I check out Gigguk's channel. Their snarky view combined with actual intelligent commentary on the tropes etc on anime are enjoyable to me.

Gigguk's Fall 2017 anime review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X78YhWxIJs

[Haruki]

I'll have to check that channel sometime.   Having now tapped into the world of streaming, I admit fully, I -WISHED- we could return to the early days of anime in the U.S. in at least one aspect; the American distributors had a bit more control over what they felt should get released here, so we often got some of the better titles, at least in terms of halfway-decent, generally well-received anime.  Ranma 1/2, The Slayers, Tenchi Muyo, Oh My Goddess, those are now considered legit classics on the American side of the hobby.

But now it seems Japan has most of the control, the distributors are now just mere 3rd parties who distribute this stuff for the likes of Universal Japan (the old Pioneer/Geneon), Warner Japan, Kadowawa, Kodansha and others.  As such, we're getting the good stuff....and EVERYTHING ELSE that may be just 'average' to outright 'boring'.  From just my cursory set of titles that I streamed, I wound up dropping 2-3 titles (I forgot the 3rd in my last post, A centaur's Life) because they all featured similar tired tropes that I've frankly outgrown as an older anime fan.

It's like Japan's trying to aim at two groups with those HS slice-of-life dramas; the teens who are in HS and too busy to watch this stuff anyways, and middle-aged businessmen who jerk off to the youthfully-drawn female characters.  It's rather disturbing if you ask me, but meh, what do I know.  Different cultures and all, plus the studios (many of them smaller...I don't see big names like Peirrot, Toei or Sunrise or Aniplex in the credits to a lot of these 'slice of life' shows) who sign on to make the late-night stuff, that's where they make the big bucks to offset the titles that only draws them pennies in change.

Whew.  Anyways, thanks for the heads up too on Tenchi Muyo Ryo-Ohki 4.  Definitely going to pass it up. As they say, if it isn't broke, don't fix it.  The first two OAV series from the 1990s and those 3 movies were plenty enough, and are considered classic Tenchi.

[wander]

There was a massive influx recently of highschool boy stuck in fantasy/rpg world anime last year, it seems the genre is still about though luckily not as prevalent as it once was. I've yet to see what's out this winter, though I'll probably comment on what I think looks interesting here when I do.

As for Tenchi Muyo 4, it was a delayed project and supposed to be out before War of Geminar, which starred Tenchi's younger half-brother that Rea from OVA 3 gave birth to... And this shows, as OVA 4 is basically only a prologue for and lead in to Geminar, as it explains about Rea's backstory as being sent to give birth to a chosen hero to be sent to that world, which would be Kenshi. There is no Big Bad for OVA 4 and out of the four episodes that make it up (making it shorter than all the other series), each episode basically boils down to the women of the Tenchi Universe sitting in a circle and gossiping like clucking hens, along with screentime on characters that only turn up in the GXP novels (where Kajashima is basically retelling the anime with loads more characters involved) and they have no intros as OVA 4 assumes you already know who these people are. It also seems to basically end the OVA altogether and we don't even get Tenchi ending up marrying or choosing any of the girls.  :-(

As Kajashima is already doing stories based on Seina's kids coupling up with Tenchi's kids in manga form, I hope in the future we can get what would basically be 'Tenchi: the next generation' though with a real good arc like the 1st OVA and hopefully some cool Big Bad to tail-end it. In the novels Clay has escaped GP custody and has a Light Hawk Wing nullifying weapon last I heard, seeing him make a return and being a Kagato level threat for Tenchi and Seina's kids would be pretty great.

[Haruki]

There was a massive influx recently of highschool boy stuck in fantasy/rpg world anime last year, it seems the genre is still about though luckily not as prevalent as it once was. I've yet to see what's out this winter, though I'll probably comment on what I think looks interesting here when I do.

Please do.  Even if it's just me who reads it, I always like hearing others' thoughts and recommendations.  It's what I tried doing in my post on the last page in updating on what I've been watching this year.

Highschool kid stuck in fantasy/rpg world.  Already been done long before Sword Art Online, and that show is an abomination among many in the anime community.

I think for that trope, I'd take a look at .hack//SIGN.

I even failed to mention a couple other big titles as I didn't watch them:  Food Wars (in its 3rd season now) and My Hero Academia (will get its 3rd season, along with Attack on Titan next year).  There's also a few others.  Then again, I admit, I have my own preferences, and most of those big titles get big buzz online because it is mostly teens/early 20-somethings watching this stuff and passing it along via tweets, Tumblr & Instagram posts.  I'm getting older, not younger, and as such, my tastes have changed significantly, unless it's something I'm already familiar with.  For example, I will commit to Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Cards when it gets underway next January since for me, that's a franchise that bears high nostalgia factor personally.  You could say I'm more picky than ever about what anime I choose to commit my limited time to.

As for Tenchi Muyo 4, it was a delayed project and supposed to be out before War of Geminar, which starred Tenchi's younger half-brother that Rea from OVA 3 gave birth to... And this shows, as OVA 4 is basically only a prologue for and lead in to Geminar, as it explains about Rea's backstory as being sent to give birth to a chosen hero to be sent to that world, which would be Kenshi. There is no Big Bad for OVA 4 and out of the four episodes that make it up (making it shorter than all the other series), each episode basically boils down to the women of the Tenchi Universe sitting in a circle and gossiping like clucking hens, along with screentime on characters that only turn up in the GXP novels (where Kajashima is basically retelling the anime with loads more characters involved) and they have no intros as OVA 4 assumes you already know who these people are. It also seems to basically end the OVA altogether and we don't even get Tenchi ending up marrying or choosing any of the girls.  :-(

Sounds pretty drab and 'still' bears no closure.  Go figure.  :-( Give me the 1990s OAVs and movies any day.  They didn't have much sense of closure either, but at least they are a more enjoyable watch.

As Kajashima is already doing stories based on Seina's kids coupling up with Tenchi's kids in manga form, I hope in the future we can get what would basically be 'Tenchi: the next generation' though with a real good arc like the 1st OVA and hopefully some cool Big Bad to tail-end it. In the novels Clay has escaped GP custody and has a Light Hawk Wing nullifying weapon last I heard, seeing him make a return and being a Kagato level threat for Tenchi and Seina's kids would be pretty great.

That would actually make for an interesting story; passing the torch down to the next generation.  Kind of like what the Naruto franchise is doing with Boruto.  Not the best example, but the one that came to mind first.  That franchise is basically just a 'to sell merch' anime series, one of the few left that still airs, along with Conan, One Piece, and Pokemon, on Japanese prime-time TV slots weekly.

[Caeli]

I still watch anime but I am SUPER picky about what I spend my time on.

I haven't watched anything super recently (I think my last 'new' series was Yuri on Ice, and last non-series was the Card Captor Sakura and The Two Bears / New OVA; I also just watched Howl's Moving Castle on the big screen earlier this week, but not counting that because it's a re-watch), but here's what's on my shortlist:

* Ballroom e Youkoso (Welcome to the Ballroom)
* The Ancient Magus' Bride
* Sailor Moon Crystal - Dead Moon Arc movies (January 2017)
* Card Captor Sakura - Clear Card Arc
* Digimon Adventure Tri - Loss
* Chihayafuru
* Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju

[yugi006]

Welcome to the Ballroom, Chihayafuru and Showa Genroku Rakuvo Shinju are too choices.

What I am watching now are:

Welcome to the Ballroom
Boruto
Shokugeki no Soma
Juuni Taisen
King's Game
Shoukoku no Altair
One Piece
Kekkai Sensen and Beyond
Inuyashiki
Taro Vanishing Line
Black Clover

[Caeli]

Oh actually, I did forget one -

I watched Kimi no Na Wa in the spring when it had a limited release in North American theaters, and was

blown.

AWAY.

I liked it so much I went back twice to watch it at the theater; fully enjoyed it and made new discoveries on the small details each screening.  I have the BluRay+DVD on my wishlist but will likely purchase it myself if nobody gets it for me. :-)

[Lustful Bride]

There was a massive influx recently of highschool boy stuck in fantasy/rpg world anime last year, it seems the genre is still about though luckily not as prevalent as it once was. I've yet to see what's out this winter, though I'll probably comment on what I think looks interesting here when I do.

As for Tenchi Muyo 4, it was a delayed project and supposed to be out before War of Geminar, which starred Tenchi's younger half-brother that Rea from OVA 3 gave birth to... And this shows, as OVA 4 is basically only a prologue for and lead in to Geminar, as it explains about Rea's backstory as being sent to give birth to a chosen hero to be sent to that world, which would be Kenshi. There is no Big Bad for OVA 4 and out of the four episodes that make it up (making it shorter than all the other series), each episode basically boils down to the women of the Tenchi Universe sitting in a circle and gossiping like clucking hens, along with screentime on characters that only turn up in the GXP novels (where Kajashima is basically retelling the anime with loads more characters involved) and they have no intros as OVA 4 assumes you already know who these people are. It also seems to basically end the OVA altogether and we don't even get Tenchi ending up marrying or choosing any of the girls.  :-(

As Kajashima is already doing stories based on Seina's kids coupling up with Tenchi's kids in manga form, I hope in the future we can get what would basically be 'Tenchi: the next generation' though with a real good arc like the 1st OVA and hopefully some cool Big Bad to tail-end it. In the novels Clay has escaped GP custody and has a Light Hawk Wing nullifying weapon last I heard, seeing him make a return and being a Kagato level threat for Tenchi and Seina's kids would be pretty great.

Wow TM changed a lot since I last saw it. I didn't even know that the series was continuing. :/

Is Tenchi more of a character now or a blank slate for self insert as he was back in the day?

[Haruki]

Seems I awakened the sleeping Anime discussion thread.  Yay me!  ^_^

Nice to see lists of what others are keeping up with.  Some titles mentioned that I am also following in these.  Naruto-clone be damned; I'm keeping up with Black Clover.  It's a premise I've wanted to see in a (what may become a long-running) shonen franchise so I want to give it a fair shake, especially now that it's slated for a year-long run.  Need to keep on with Magus Bride as well.  I'm already excited for Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Cards, so I'll follow that without hesitation.

I do also plan to get that big mega-hit movie from last year at some point, Your Name.  I've not seen any of that director's other works since his debut, Voices of a Distant Star....a blind buy I picked up back in 2004.  His stuff generally is more downbeat from what I recall, so I asked in a Facebook thread when this movie came up. "Why's it such a big hit?"  The answer, "It's got a more positive vibe and a happy end to it."

[Caeli]

Once you watch it it makes more sense, but Kimi no Na Wa. was a beautiful exploration and examination of recent events in Japan's contemporary history, dialed down into what seemed at first to be a simplistic, light-hearted body-swap movie.  Any more details would give it away, but I will say that the entire movie was filled with incredible storytelling and incredible visuals - not just the overall landscape and scenery, but even small details are spot-on and very nuanced. While I won't say that everything was fully explained, there was enough of it to lend to credible suspension of disbelief. Music was gorgeous. Loved the glimpses into traditional Japanese culture.

[Haruki]

Once you watch it it makes more sense, but Kimi no Na Wa. was a beautiful exploration and examination of recent events in Japan's contemporary history, dialed down into what seemed at first to be a simplistic, light-hearted body-swap movie.  Any more details would give it away, but I will say that the entire movie was filled with incredible storytelling and incredible visuals - not just the overall landscape and scenery, but even small details are spot-on and very nuanced. While I won't say that everything was fully explained, there was enough of it to lend to credible suspension of disbelief. Music was gorgeous. Loved the glimpses into traditional Japanese culture.

Oops.  For the unkowing, I called it by its English title.  Kimi no Na Wa is Your Name.
I sometimes have to read both titles together to make the connection.  Eheh.

But yes, I plan on getting this.  The hype for that film was justified.

[Caeli]

Bad habit of mine. I use the Japanese names unless it's too long and unwieldy. ;D

Glad that imports aren't as expensive as they used to be.  You can get the subbed Blu-Ray/DVD for $20 on Amazon right now.

[Galactic Druid]

Hey there, anime fans of E, I've got a question for you guys.

I'm a big fan or VR and MMO settings in writing, games, and whatnot. I've had a handful of people recommend Sword Art Online to me for that exact reason, but I've also had plenty of people tell me to avoid it, or that it gets horrible the second season. I've never really researched why because I don't want to accidentally stumble on any major spoilers.

I was hoping someone might be able to tell me why without spoiling any major plot points why people seem so divided on this, especially when it comes to the quality between seasons. I'm the kind of person who likes to see something all the way through, so the advice to just watch season doesn't really appeal to me.

On the same note, I I don't really follow the anime scene all too closely, so I'm sure I've missed all kinds of great stuff. The last thing I saw and really enjoyed was Summer Wars. Any other suggestions on things worth checking out?

[Aiden]

My Hero Academia, great anime and they dont prolong fights. Closure!

I am a big fan of One Piece also, but that one will take some time as there is over 1000 episodes now?

[yugi006]

Hey there, anime fans of E, I've got a question for you guys.

I'm a big fan or VR and MMO settings in writing, games, and whatnot. I've had a handful of people recommend Sword Art Online to me for that exact reason, but I've also had plenty of people tell me to avoid it, or that it gets horrible the second season. I've never really researched why because I don't want to accidentally stumble on any major spoilers.

I was hoping someone might be able to tell me why without spoiling any major plot points why people seem so divided on this, especially when it comes to the quality between seasons. I'm the kind of person who likes to see something all the way through, so the advice to just watch season doesn't really appeal to me.

On the same note, I I don't really follow the anime scene all too closely, so I'm sure I've missed all kinds of great stuff. The last thing I saw and really enjoyed was Summer Wars. Any other suggestions on things worth checking out?

If you are a big fan of MMO and VR type strings I'd recommend Log Horizon. A lot of people say it's better then Sword Art Online but I can't really comment on that as I haven't watched SAO and don't plan to. Log Horizon focus a lot on the actual MMO aspects like classes, skills and for in parties and such which I like.

I am a big fan of One Piece also, but that one will take some time as there is over 1000 episodes now?

700+

[Haruki]

Thanks, though I generally preference English over Japanese in the audio department (not a quick reader and with my sight not being the best, that text gets hard to read on brighter backgrounds).  Often the discs include both Japanese and English voice tracks.  And especially with a movie like this one, I'm going to want to enjoy the animation without obstruction.

I have the movie in my 'wish list' at the moment that includes some other titles, a mix of BluRay upgrades to older shows I liked over the years, and some new older shows I missed when I was into other things in the 1990s/2000s.  My list so far is this:

• Cardcaptor Sakura
  The original series from 1998-2000, a BluRay upgrade from my old Pioneer DVDs that take up 1/2 of a shelf.  Time to clean house.  Not a cheap box though, $100, but it 'is' all 70 eps remastered in 4:3 1080p SD.  My old Pioneer discs have inferior hard-to-read subtitles (got to love those early experimental years of DVD -smh-) and things just look fuzzy on my HD setup.


• Martian Successor Nadesico
  Older title I often saw in previews on my old Evangelion TV DVDs.  I'm not really a big sci-fi/outer space setting fanatic, but this one has a comedy twist to it which sounds fun.


• Marmalade Boy
  I heard about this one in passing back in my old Yahoo Chat days, as I remember asking about good rom-coms (I was heavily into those in th early 2000s).  Someone suggested this, and Discotek brought this one back in print after a lengthy OOP status.


• Lodoss War
  BluRay update for the OAVs, though the set also throws in the TV series as well.  I'm buying it for the former; the TV series was forgettable from what I recall others saying.


• Your Name (Kimi no Na Wa)
  No explanation needed, we've been discussing it.  :)


• The Devil is a Part-Timer
  Just to slip some more comedy into my collection.


• Snow White W/ The Red Hair
  I actually may hold off getting this for a bit, but it's in my list anyways.  Got to have spending money for family gifts.

One I had in this list, but removed as I put in my wish list as a gift idea, the BluRay reissue of Fruits Basket.  Love the show, HATE those early FUNimation DVDs.  Cramming all those eps onto 4 DVDs amounted to wonky authoring and a washed-out, blurry image, which looks worse on my HDTV.

I do need to flesh out the rest of my backlog.  Gundam Wing & Utena just got HD reissues, Attack on Titan S2, maybe Yuri on Ice.

I need more shelves.  :P  I guess I'm a packrat.  Haha.

[wander]

Wow TM changed a lot since I last saw it. I didn't even know that the series was continuing. :/

Is Tenchi more of a character now or a blank slate for self insert as he was back in the day?

He actually seems to get less screentime than the Juraian characters from the GXP anime get, I feel sorry for anyone who didn't watch GXP before coming into the 4th OVA, though OVA 3 introduced many of those characters; Airi, Tennyo, Mihoshi's aunt and grandma, Minaho etc. The series started with some promise of being Tenchi-centric as Minaho comes to visit due to Nobuyuki and Rea's wedding, she was previously accused of being a bit of a bachelorette despite her age, instantly falls for Tenchi like everyone does and pretty much made it clear to Ryoko and Ayeka she was gonna snatch him up and take him back to Jurai as her husband... Sadly this gets dropped by episode 3 when the Kenshi Misaki and Geminar stuff comes in and it's essentially completely forgotten and glossed over. Then it just becomes more of the ladies sat in circles talking about Rea and Kenshi. I'd probably have been more hype if this came before War on Geminar like it was supposed to and had some kind of big bad come in, or at least not cancel the Minaho x Tenchi plot completely and see that resolved.

[yugi006]

Black Clover is something I enjoy watching but it offers nothing new to the shounen genre. It takes a bunch of hints from other Shounen anime and mashes together into Black Clover.

[Haruki]

Black Clover is something I enjoy watching but it offers nothing new to the shounen genre. It takes a bunch of hints from other Shounen anime and mashes together into Black Clover.

Nothing wrong with a guilty pleasure.  That's sort of how I look at it.  Folks' looking down upon it isn't because it's not an 'okay' title....cliched as it may be.  The problem is the Western licensors' constant shoving it into the faces of those like me on social media apps like it's the most exciting greatest thing since DBZ or something.  Crunchyroll & FUNimation are hyping this show like nothing I've seen in my 21+ years in this hobby.  It's a bit overkill for what, to me, is just a guilty pleasure show that's going to sell merch in Japan and have a sizable, but still cult following here Stateside and in other Western NA and EU countries.  Kind of like what shows like One Piece and Fairy Tail have.  Nothing to sniff at, but also nowhere near the mega-hype -or- die-hard fanbases DBZ and (later) Naruto had in their early days in the Western anime fan circles.

[Caeli]

I would avoid Sword Art Online.  I know people who enjoy it but the story and character development are incomprehensible to me. And the game doesn't make sense - just from a gaming perspective, if I had to click SEVEN TIMES to get to a menu where I could equip/unequip items I would murder the game.  Whoever designed the MMORPG in SAO clearly had never played an RPG before in their life.

Snow White With The Red Hair was one of my unexpected favorites when I watched it last year.  I had already read the manga prior (I actually read it back when it was being scanlated by online groups, before official translated releases!) but I was QUITE impressed with the quality of the animation and musical/storyline choices.  Exceeded my expectations, and a great anime I wouldn't be afraid to recommend to little girls or younger fans to show them that there's more to being a girl than being pretty or being a princess.

[Haruki]

I would avoid Sword Art Online.  I know people who enjoy it but the story and character development are incomprehensible to me. And the game doesn't make sense - just from a gaming perspective, if I had to click SEVEN TIMES to get to a menu where I could equip/unequip items I would murder the game.  Whoever designed the MMORPG in SAO clearly had never played an RPG before in their life.

There are far better shows that explore these themes anyways.  I too have avoided SAO like the plauge that it has become known for in the anime fan community.  It seems to only be real big with teen males, and for what reason, I do not know.  -shrug-

Snow White With The Red Hair was one of my unexpected favorites when I watched it last year.  I had already read the manga prior (I actually read it back when it was being scanlated by online groups, before official translated releases!) but I was QUITE impressed with the quality of the animation and musical/storyline choices.  Exceeded my expectations, and a great anime I wouldn't be afraid to recommend to little girls or younger fans to show them that there's more to being a girl than being pretty or being a princess.

Another fan!  -high fives-.  These sort of stories in manga/anime are so damn rare, and a character like Shirayuki is one I can comfortably 'fanboy' over.  (Yeah I still 'ship', but only those few characters who deserve it.).  If I had a daughter or someone interested in shoujo drama/romance stories asked me what titles to suggest, I would show no hesitation throwing this one in the pile.

[Caeli]

Another fan!  -high fives-.  These sort of stories in manga/anime are so damn rare, and a character like Shirayuki is one I can comfortably 'fanboy' over.  (Yeah I still 'ship', but only those few characters who deserve it.).  If I had a daughter or someone interested in shoujo drama/romance stories asked me what titles to suggest, I would show no hesitation throwing this one in the pile.

*high fives* ;D

[Avalon29]

Big anime fan here and I tend to watch quite a bit of anime each season as I subscribe to crunchyroll and watching anime gives me something to do during my long breaks between classes. I'll go ahead and give my opinion on the SAO question and then my list of stuff that's stuck out to me this year and what I've been keeping up with.

As for Sword Art Online I'm one of the people who fall in the middle of hating it and loving it. The series is rather average at best opinion. The good points of it are the action scenes, character designs, and has both some really high moments and some really bad moments. The main failing with it in my opinion is that at it's core its a harem power fantasy. I found the protagonist Kirito to be rather boring and while I thought some of the side characters were more interesting but they all get shoved to the side for the sake of showing off how cool and awesome the protagonist is with the girls all falling for the protagonist after he helps them. I will give them credit for Kirito actually choosing one of the girls and developing a relationship them though instead of doing the whole indecisive protagonist bit.

The things you may have heard about the second season are generally more focused on the second half of the first season. The main reason being people disliked one particular  relationship, the villain for it does some rather creepy things, and the fact that the main heroine is basically stripped of her agency and status of being one of the best and has to rely on the protagonist to come rescue her. Things pick back up again after the second half of the first season and one of my favorite arcs of the series actually happens to be the last one of the season when they focus on a different set of characters other than the protagonist.

As a whole my verdict of the series is think of it as a typical Hollywood summer blockbuster. You can shut your brain off and enjoy the action scenes and visual effects but there's nothing really special about the series and there are far better series. If you're looking for a better MMO anime I would recommend .hack first or for something a little more recent I found Log Horizon to be better and more MMO like then Sword Art Online.

Now for the fun part recommendations for anime that have come out this year.

Winter 2017

Acca 13 was a n interesting series. It follows Jean Otis who works for governent inspection agency which is basically an internal affairs agency. The main character travels to each of the 13 states in the kingdom to check on how they're functioning and making sure that there's no abuse of power or breaking of laws within the government agencies of each states. There's also plenty of political stuff happening in the background of all of this as well concluding in a satisfying ending and not a cliff hanger thankfully.

Tanya the Evil/ Youjo Senki This anime is WWI with magic air forces following the point of view of a witch in pseudo-Germany. It has an interesting plot but what differentiates it for me is the main character displaying the traits more belonging to a Machiavellian villain rather than a big hero who is constantly scheming to get a comfy position as an officer in the back lines and who's excellence ends up only getting her more work and more dangerous assignments.

Spring 2017

Alice to Zouroku: One of the three slice of life anime that's stood out to me this year. A girl with special powers named Alilce escapes from a lab where she was experimented on and ends up moving in with and living with a kind if stern and grouchy old man named Zouroku. I liked this one because in addition to having some fantasy battle scenes, it focuses on a relationship between the young Alice and Zouroku with her being taught how to live and adjust in a normal world. The grandparent/grand daughter like dynamic is one that 's not often shown in anime and it made for a nice change of pace from the typical highschool/harem  slice of life shows that are so prevelent.

Sakura Quest: Another of the slice of life shows I've liked this year. This one is another that is a bit different htan the usual. It follows Yoshino who's just out of college and living on her own in the city after moving from her small town home. Having a difficulty finding a job that's unique enough she gets a call from one of the talent agency she had worked with in the path and accepts a job as Queen of Kingdom of Chupakabura only to discover it's a tourist attraction in a small farming town and that her new job is to help revitalize the dying town. The setting is quite different than the usual slice of life and I enjoy seeing a story following people out of high school.

Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul/Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul: The sequel to Rage of Bahamut Genesis, it's a solid fantasy anime that does a nice mix of more serious darker topics with light heartedness as well. There were some scenes particularly in the first season that gave me some Pirates of the Caribbean like vibes.

Grimoire of Zero/Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho: One of my absolute favorites of the year it follows a witch and her mercenary bodyguard as they try to recover her lost Grimoire where she invented magic. I adore the relationship between the main characters and the way the two play off of each other. The pair are just so fun to watch and it has a solid ending instead of being a if you want to know the rest go read the source material type ending.

Boku no Hero Academia 2: Definately one of the better shounen anime that's come out in recent years. Good characters, character develop, and a fun plot and action scenes. All and All a very solid show.

Summer
Restaurant in another World/Isekai Shokudou: The third slice of life show that I really liked this year. It's about a restaurant with a door that connects to a fantasy world with each episode focusing on a new customer and dish. It was a good show to help relax and the reactions of the fatnasy characters to food from our world was amusing. It made me hungry too.

Made in Abyss: I was skeptical at first because of the design and age of the main characters but am happy to say my initial impressions of the poster of the anime was very wrong. It was a fantastic series, quite dark in some parts but absolutely gorgeous to look at too. I have got to recommend this one. It follows a pair of explorers who dive down into an ancient abyss that has its own ecosystem and creatures as well as ancient relics however the abyss is filled with dangerous creatures and the further down you go the greater the consequences when you return upwards. Go down far enough and it's a one way trip.

Princess Principal: This was a fun one. It takes place in a world where pseudo Britain never gave up its empire and is still the most powerful nation in the world with a cold war going on between two halves of pseudo Britain. It follows a group of spies who have disguised themselves as students at a school for nobles and perform various duties, like stealing prototype technology, undermining the leaders of the country, and conducting operations against the opposing side's secret service. It's got a nice steampunk like aesthetic, the plot and characters are fun. It's also nice to have a setting that's a bit different then the usual.

Saiyuuki Reload Blast: The sequel to the older anime Saiyuuki that's based roughly on the Journey to the West. It was so much fun to see the Sanzo party in action once again after a 10+ year absence.

Fall

Gintama: My big guilty pleasure.. It always ends with me laughing and is quite good at mixing in more serious arcs too.

The Magus' Bride/Mahoutsukai no Yome: A girl convinced nobody wants her sells herself into slavery in the hope of being useful to somebody is purchased by an ancient mage who takes her in as his apprentice. The art is great and the design of all the magical creatures is fasicnating. What I really love though is the relationship between the characters and it's nice to see such a posit and loving relationship on screen.

Kino's Journey The beautiful World/ Kino no Tabi -the Beautiful World: A remake/sequel of Kino's Journey, it follows a traveler and her talking as she travels t different city sized states, staying for three days then moving on. The different cities are all quite unique and very different than one another. It's got everything from a city where murder is legal to a futuristic moving city. Seeing all the different cultures and how an outsider reacts to them is very enjoyable.

Girls' Last tour/Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou: This is another fun more lighthearted series with some darker undertones. In a post apocalyptic setting where civilization is mostly dead it follows a pair of girls traveling around in the world, gathering food, water and fuel, just trying to survive while managing to find beauty and good things despite how grim their world is.

Yuuki Yuuna is a Hero S2: The sequel to Yuuki Yuuna is a Hero with the first half being a prequel and the second half being a sequel. It's about a  group defending the city from these invaders from outside their world. What I like about though is the strong aspect of being a hero and having power comes with a price and sacrifice. It does a good job of being able to hit you in the feelings from time to time.

Also really been enjoying the  Digimon Tri movies which follows the cast from the first season of Digimon and Food Wars, a fun cooking series with some serious food porn.

And that ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated. XD

[Haruki]

Sakura Quest: Another of the slice of life shows I've liked this year. This one is another that is a bit different htan the usual. It follows Yoshino who's just out of college and living on her own in the city after moving from her small town home. Having a difficulty finding a job that's unique enough she gets a call from one of the talent agency she had worked with in the path and accepts a job as Queen of Kingdom of Chupakabura only to discover it's a tourist attraction in a small farming town and that her new job is to help revitalize the dying town. The setting is quite different than the usual slice of life and I enjoy seeing a story following people out of high school.

O_O!  So they actually attempted a slice-of-life that ISN'T in a highschool with a bumbling male idiot protagonist having a bunch of girls falling over themselves for his (unreturned) affections?  WITH an adult lead character to boot?

You've really piqued my interest in a lot of these.with your thoughts and a basic idea of the story it tells (without spoiling).

I'm sold!  Going to check this one out.  Thanks man.

I'm also already following The Magus' Bride.  I must say, these shows with shorter seasons (12-13 eps usually per season), thanks to all the advances in animation using digital 2-D....finally nailing some of that 'warmth' oldschool cel animation used to have, with increased use of life-like 3-d & CG for 'panning' shots ...when done right, we're seeing some truly eye-popping works of art in recent years.

[Avalon29]

Glad you like the recommendations. I tried to keep them spoiler free because I really hate spoilers and wouldn't want to ruin things with spoilers for anybody else. I watch quite a bit thanks to my crunchyroll account. There's a lot of average stuff out there that's fun to watch but I tried to keep the recommendations to my personal favorites of each season or that stood out in some way.

I agree on the art. There's been some shows that have been really pretty recently. Although some studios need to start getting more or better animators Studio Deen.

I like slice of life genre a lot but I really want more of them focused on adults or at least college students instead of highschoolers. I feel like there's a lot of stories that could be told there but with the main target audience for anime being teens I guess those are always going to be more scares than the high school harem slice of life.