Anime Weaboos, C'mere

Seeing as I'm done with this semester of college, I kindly request a rundown of the best anime of 2013.

I mean, besides Kill la Kill. Shit's just great for me.

Heard good things about Beyond the Boundary or however the title goes. Anything else?

 

Log Horizon is pretty enjoyable so far. It has the same "trapped in a game blah blah" premise SAO has, but it actually delves into building the politics/economy of the game world, as well as the adjustments from regular life to it. In general, there's also more exploration of the game elements and how the characters have to get used to them, and the characters, while kinda cliche, are very enjoyable so far.

PLUS AKATSUKI IS THE MOST ADORABLE THING and there is a lot of humor. I ended up marathoning like 5 episodes tonight and would definitely recommend checking it out.

I've also heard good things about Samurai Flamenco and Galleli Donna.

ALSO THIS BETTER AUTOMERGE but Log Horizon tends to repeat certain gags and it might be irksome to you, but so far I've smiled/chuckled at all of them so far probably because i laugh too easily at things But I find the gags help to show the friendships between the characters so idk, depends on how you ultimately feel on it.

 

I kind of find it funny that the only 2 anime I've been following this fall are the ones already mentioned.
I'd recommend the first 5 eps of Attack on Titan, but that would be it. Kind of stops being interesting after those eps due to the slow pacing of the show.

 

It didn't

#adminproblems

 

Corpse Party: Tortured Souls is pretty great, even if it is just a 4 episode OVA. Also Date A Live.

You're welcome, Weeb-san.

 

Naruto Shippenheim III is a pretty good series. And One Bleach too.

But yea, Log Horizon is good. Golden Time's aiight if you enjoy romance ****. Kyoukai no Kanata (Beyond the Boundary) is okay and cute.​

 

Wait, why am I here?

 

*knee caps* Don't listen to this naysayer. Attack on Titan is freaking great.

 

Attack on Titan anime isn't great but it is above average and enjoyable. I'd still recommend reading the mango though.

Samurai Flamenco is good fun if you like the idea of a supermodel-gone-superhero-that-doesn't-have-any-real-powers fighting crime alongside a real police officer.

 

I liked Attack on Titan for what it is, I just don't like its pacing.
Its manga being on a monthly schedule doesn't help either. X_X

 

GUILLOTINE GORILLA!

 

Shall have a list up in another post with explanations when I do not have an essay to work on i.e. tomorrow.

Alas, you blue bourgeoisie, forcing us worker peons to clean up your mistakes. This calls for a Red Revolution.

 

Just a note: I didn't like Sword Art Online on a creative level, like at all (besides art and music but WHOOP DE DOO TO THOSE I'M WATCHING STORIES). Does Log Horizon at least have interesting (read: not cardboard) characters, writing that surpasses grade school fan-fiction level, and a plot?

(also having not watched the show at all AKATSUKI IS GOD DAMN DESU)

Been meaning to start that since apparently the first season's done? My gf who tends to share my tastes is loving the manga, so hopefully that transfers semi-well to the anime.

Heard very minimal stuff of the first one, and seen some of the second. They're both "If I'm not watching anything else" candidates.

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Nope, not starting either of those.​

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Don't question your heart. Or cyborg implant. Whichever you got. No judgement.

lol. mango. i like that.

If Samurai Flamenco is anything like Kill la Kill, I'll look it up.

Aight, no worries.

 

redline .

 

Watched already, but that came out like...2011?

 

it was a joke

 

Just gonna say right now, the two series aren't really all that comparable in my opinion. Log Horizon is the first of the .hack/.hackclone genre to be written by a guy who actually played MMOs back before WoW started it's weird expansionism and understands the mentality. All of the characters and their actions are coming from that experience. I can't say that the characters are anything you'd call a masterpiece, but Log Horizon is very true to life in many aspects. But if you're not about that life much of it will be lost on you. My point is, it's not fair to ask, "Will it be like SAO?" because SAO was, quite honestly, straight garbage if you look past the first half and not even making it to good in the part that is watchable in my opinion and Log Horizon is a contender for top 10 of this year.

Anyhow, Log Horizon isn't for everyone. I can't assure that you'll like it but the author is a cool guy. A while ago he actually came to /a/ and started answering questions from the crowd through translators from the site who followed the thread and translated questions for him and translated back his answers. I just feel like that's indicative of the kind of person he is, Maoyuu, his other work that got an anime was apparently something that come out of a thread on 2chan.

To sum up, Log Horizon isn't as bad as Sexual Assault Online.

While I'm on a roll I might as well just go through what I think deserves mention this year.

Spoiler

Shingeki no Kyojin. Okay, I say it deserves mention because it pretty much defined the mayfly fanbase. It was madly popular while it was running and no one gives a **** anymore. But while it was popular, EVERYONE knew about it. This is a series that exploded in a way I've not seen for years. A lot of people who weren't really into that anime life suddenly were spamming up the tumblrs and youtubes and every other social media with this stuff like it was plague. It's crazy. Did you know that the first volume of the tankobon version was released in the US in June? Did you know that the 9th volume has been on shelves since November? The industry has NEVER caught onto something so fast. So even though the anime was, in my opinion, a hack job adaptation catering to the wrong crowd and suffering for it, it did what it was supposed to do really well. It got the name out there and people are apparently buying volumes.

Log Horizon. See above.

Girls und Panzer. Okay, okay, okay. No one likes GuP as much as I do. No one except for that neckbeard in Iowa with a basement full of history books and tank models and that hikki in Kansai with an apartment full of figmas. It's such a niche audience that I probably won't recommend it to anyone on here. But here's what I liked about it and why I think it's important. Girls und Panzer was a series with a good female protag. Some people don't like her and say she's weak or annoying, but I interpret her more as unassuming and somewhat traumatized by the fact that her mother basically disowned her for throwing a match in order to help out a teammate. While she's probably the least entertaining of the cast, I think it bears mentioning that she a) is a good anchor of all of the weird personalities, b) shows growth when she gets out onto the field again and learns to love the game for itself, and c) is kinda gar as ****, only character that hangs out the side of the tank under a hail of gunfire. Anyhow, it was a series about tanks and girls and that's what it was called. I give it a good enough.

Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigaitteru (or My Youth Love Comedy Went Poorly As Expected). Another series I liked but won't put in the top ten because of things like production values and a certain lack of specialness so to speak. But it's probably my favorite of the year and that is actually over series like Kill la Kill, mind you. The reason why I really like it is because the main character is a lot like me. It's not like WataMote which dredges up every time you messed up in life or couldn't like yourself and amplifies it tenfold, Yahari starts with a much bleaker viewpoint that isn't behind a rose tinted glass of self delusion, the main character starts by giving up on himself and society. But it gets better. The show is exclusively about friendship. The title makes sense in that aspect. They do not pair up the characters even a the very end in spite of all the flags. I really appreciate that. I also really appreciate that even though he was growing and acclimating to other people he was always right. His cynical attitude and faithless actions always solved the problem even if it wasn't pretty. But what makes me really like the anime itself is they changed the design of the main character from a cute kinda shota look from the LNs and manga to a narrow eyed, mean looking muther****er. It's much more fitting. Anyhow, I could actually go on about more things I liked but, there's no point.

Watashi ga Motenai no wa do Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!? (or WataMote (or It's Not My Fault I'm Not Popular (or No Matter How You Look At It, It's Your Fault I'm Not Popular). I mentioned that Yahari was a little more relatable and less simplistic, but that doesn't mean I count it out. It's a series that I had zero expactations for because I loved the manga. Why is that? Because the manga is self deprecating, cringe inducing, and depressing. I didn't think the stations would air that. I thought they'd rose tint it and make it more moe. I'm incredibly glad they didn't. The first OP actually was kinda a huge middle finger to that notion in fact. Though, it's a little too good an adaptation because I found myself pausing at the most embarrassing or familiar parts. I couldn't finish it because it hurts to watch sometimes. But it's an example of the industry not cocking something up royally that I expected them to and I find that refreshing.

Bakemonogatari. So they've been releasing new Bakemono episodes. I've heard good things, but oddly enough Shaft has been flying under the radar mostly. I totally forgot it was even airing for a while. So here's the rundown. Bakemono, in my opinion, can't be bad. Isin, the writer, admitted Nisemono was ****** fanservicy garbage and went back to the old fare. Problem is, it's nothing new really. It's just more of a good thing. If you liked Bakemono, you'll like more Bakemono so to speak.

Golden Time. The second greatest love story ever told. Except not really. Mentioned for being Tora Dora 2. Not actually too interested myself seeing as I disagreed with everything at the end of Tora Dora even though the title gave it away and I knew my dreams were to be shattered. Golden Time doesn't actually do that, fyi.

Kyousougiga. Looks sick. No further comments.

Kill la Kill. Saved the number one series, in my opinion, for last. Why is it number one though Jiku? Because Trigger has NO MONEY. Trigger is a small studio with one series left in the at any given time. If it wasn't for Kickstarter, they wouldn't be able to do their next lined up shows. Yes, if it wasn't for people giving them money on the internet, Kill la KIll could be their last series ever. Remember that. But the real reason I like Kill la Kill is that it's well written by far more cerebral than most of the other thigns not only running but on this list. Yeah, I never thought I'd say that about a series by Trigger. But let's examine why I'm saying that. Trigger puts in a lot of references, a lot of easter eggs, a lot of red herrings, and in general a lot of work and thought to every episode, even th ugly ones. Did you see Marsellus Wallace and Vincent Vega in the background? Did you notice that Ryuuko's memory of her father's murderer changed from the first episode to the 11th? Did you notice that reflected in Mako's glasses in that one episode is "310112" in a font that makes it look oddly like, "S1 I DIE"? Did you notice in the preview for the next episode they showed an open top car and bullets firing, oh yeah, that episode was slated to air on the anniversary of JFKs assassination? Did you notice that Honnouji Academy was named after the famous temple where Oda Nobunaga was betrayed and killed by one of his trusted lieutenants? The show is full of things that you'll miss if you blink, it's also full of misdirection and careful omission of information. Guess what, it also features a good female protag and has a rather powerful and necessary message. And remember, Trigger is not sticking to formula and not taking it easy even though this is a series that would have been much better serviced by a higher budget. Kill la Kill is easily the best series I've seen this year and more importantly, I think that while it's no Evangelion, it's still doing its part to save anime.

Final notes: If you made it through all that, congrats, you now know another useless opinion. But what I really want to say is, 2013 looked like it was going to be pretty bleak at the start of it after the last few years of really bad pandering series like SAO, K-On, Code Breaker, Guilty Crown, Raildex, etc. dominating the market and very few good things to truly balance them out. This year, while not a particularly great year in some aspects has produced more standouts than expected and more moving than expected. And with Space Dandy on the way, we might actually be seeing a point where Japanese companies are actively reaching out to a global audience on a regular basis. Anime isn't saved, but it looks like we might have a set of heroes.