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| # | Anime Title | Score | Type | Progress | Tags (reset filter) |
| 1 |
A-Channel
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7 | TV | 12 | 11, 11b, imported |
| 2 |
Acchi Kocchi
|
5 | TV | 12 | 12b, 12, imported |
| 3 |
Aiura
|
7 | TV | 12 | 13b, 13, imported |
| 4 |
Akuma no Riddle
|
8 | TV | 12 | 14b, 14, imported |
| 5 |
Alice to Zouroku
|
9 | TV | 12 | 17, 17b, imported |
| 6 |
Amaama to Inazuma
Anime has a solid track record with adult men taking taking care of young daughters/dependents. Usagi Drop (I’ve only seen the anime so it’s all I care about!), Barakamon (not a father, but similar dynamic), what I read of the Yotsubato! manga, hell even Papakiki handled this aspect really well at times, even if it didn’t entirely shake a (one-sided thankfully) romantic distraction. So I expected to enjoy Amaama to Inazuma, and enjoy it I did. When you have to question who is cuter between Kouhei and Tsumugi, I think the show is doing something right.
Because the show follows such a simple formula, I think the finale manages to wholly represent everything Amaama does best. In the last episode, Tsumugi is in a bad mood after fighting with her friend, and as usual the prescribed cure is “cook some yummy food at Kotori’s place!”. Along the way we hit all the show’s highlights: Tsumugi cheering up while watching everyone cook. Kouhei having meaningful and father-daughter heart-to-heart with Tsumugi. Kotori reveling in the opportunity to share her love of food with people she cares about. Yagi being a grumpy dude. Shinobu being her cute, silly, and deceptively perceptive self. Even Kotori’s absentee mom shows up this time. Amaama had two primary options for injecting drama into the story: Tsumugi having a serious breakdown over finally coming to terms with her mother’s death, or a scandal of some sort concerning Kouhei (an adult man) spending so much time around Kotori (a teenage girl, and his student) without Kotori’s mother around. Or as a variant on the second, Kotori falling in love with Kouhei and some manner of conflicted over that. I was prepared for one or both, though I didn’t really want either. Thankfully, we didn’t get either! Tsumugi does occasionally get upset and lonely when thinking about her mother, but this only serves to reinforce Kouhei’s determination to make up for lost time by being the best dad he can be. And Kotori does have a pretty clear (and understandable) crush on Kouhei, but Kouhei maintains an appropriate child/adult, student/teacher distance. His discussion with her about the feelings of parents towards their children puts a gentle yet firm kibosh on any movement in that direction. And thus the show concluded in exemplary slice of life/iyashikei fashion: it’s just another regular old day, and that’s why we love it. Gochisousama deshita! …Okawari? |
7 | TV | 12 | 16, 16c, imported |
| 7 |
Ange Vierge
A good show is more then the sum of its cliches. Ange Vierge is meant to advertise a card mobage, and the ED even depicts the characters as cards. The dialogue is stuffed with references to in-game mechanics, particularly the ranking system, something that became a constant source of amusement for those few of us watching it. There’s plenty of meaningless technobabble and questionable mathematics. A long explanation of the premise with riveting dialogue like this precedes the OP before every episode.
And roughly two-thirds of the first episode is the entire cast naked (in surprisingly casual and un-lewd ways, I’d like to add) in and around the baths, with the other third being practice battles, and tons of exposition/game jargon interspersed. I think this episode does a better job setting up the premise and character interactions than it got credit for but it’s easy to see why so many viewers dismissed the show out of hand at this point. The comical levels of censorship (while so off-the-charts I actually find it charming) also contributed to the snap judgment that Ange Vierge was a cheap throw-away advertisement show with nothing going on beneath. But give it a second chance and you’ll find a show that handles itself pretty deftly. I won’t try to sell it as the most sophisticated of stories, but it presents its ideas in a consistent, effective way. Its characters’ interactions and growth are all directed with focus towards that end. There’s a formula to Ange Vierge’s arcs: One of their recently-turned-evil EXR senpai begins to threaten the world crystal on their homeworld, and the lower-ranked UC kouhai speed off to stop them. After an initial skirmish the episode ends in a cliffhanger and the next episode opens with how the focus girl of the arc befriended Amane. The episode concludes with the Dark Progress EXR being subdued and rescued. The next episode begins with a reconciliation scene between the EXR and her respective UC and the formula repeats. Generally there’s a non-sequitur scene involving the military sisters Ageha and Mayuka, either during the episode, post-credits, or both. Formula isn’t bad if what it loses due to predictability is made up in focus. Arcs effectively established what Amane means to each of the girls: a little sister, a mother, a best friend, a commander, a “special” person. It’s easy to understand why they’re passionate about saving her. The same applies to their determination to save the Dark Progress EXRs. It’s not just because doing so prevents the destruction of five worlds, it’s because of the tight bonds they share: Saya and Miumi, Almaria and Sofina, Elel and Ramiel, Stella and Xenia/Carene, Nya and Ein. Ange Vierge is successful at not wasting the limited time it’s got. Although the EXRs each spend most of the show possessed by darkness, it’s made very clear that they’re still fundamentally themselves. Their hangups are just exaggerated, twisted versions of their real feelings, so even when they’re trying to beat the crap out of their beloved kouhai, we’re learning more about who they are and how they see each other. Elel’s and Almaria’s arcs do this best, but I’ll just talk about the latter. Elel idolizes Ramiel, but the handicapped (she’s a one-winged angel) Ramiel harbors suppressed mistrust about whether the happy-go-lucky Elel really likes her, or just pities her. It’s not hatred – Elel is genuinely precious to her – but there are dark feelings amplified by becoming a Dark Progress. The psychological attacks dark Ramiel launches on Elel (aided by Yuuki Aoi’s virtuoso performance), and Elel’s response, help define both characters and their relationship better. It’s also enhanced by strong visual direction, depicting the distance between Elel and Ramiel via elevation: far apart at the start, coming closer in their second encounter, and then, literally, seeing eye to eye when they reconcile. Fine, it’s not revolutionary stuff. But it’s really effective within the context of the story! Regardless, it’s not big themes that really sold me on Ange Vierge. The themes just provide a solid framework for a continuous stream of endearing and sometimes moving character interactions. There are some dramatic moments but also a ton of funny scenes, fantastic pairings (some quite unambiguously romantic or even sexual), a killer OP (best of the season!), frequent examples of really charming character and effects animation, top notch character designs, a really strong sense for color to set moods, and probably the cutest example of in-universe social media use ever in the final scene of the show. Ange Vierge is fun. Unashamedly, unadulteratedly, unreservedly fun. That should be cherished. |
8 | TV | 12 | 16, 16c, imported |
| 8 |
Angel Beats!
|
8 | TV | 13 | 10, 10b, imported |
| 9 |
Anima Yell!
|
8 | TV | 12 | 18, 18d, imported |
| 10 |
Anne Happy♪
Four shows on my season roster fall under the “slice of life” umbrella, but they’re not very similar to each other, are they?
• Flying Witch is very much on the “pure iyashikei” end of the spectrum. See also: Aria, Non Non Biyori. • Sansha Sanyou sticks very close to the “school friends just hanging out being goofy” approach, where (this is what separates them from the first category) the atmosphere is secondary to whatever gags are going on. See also: Yuyushiki, Hidamari Sketch, Azumanga Daiou, Sakura Trick, Kinmosa, etc – this may be the biggest category. • Bakuon leans heavily into the “club” (sometimes a hobby, sometimes even an occupation) sub-genre which has characters coming together though some common interest. See also: K-ON!, Hanayamata, Yama no Susume, Manabi Straight. I’d exclude shows explicitly about competition – Garupan and Saki are more properly sports shows, really. • Anne Happy’s main distinction is the “Happiness Class”. It doesn’t really function like a club in the sense that it’s not a “shared interest”, it’s something they’re unwillingly thrust into. And there’s too much focus on the consequences of what it means to be in that class for it to pass as a pure “goofing off” show like Sansan. I can’t say it’s more “plot-based” than the other types because the school machinations as narrative device doesn’t really constitute a coherent story, it just generates weird scenarios to which the characters have to react. But there’s something noticeably different about how most Anne Happy episodes play out because of it. That’s an overly long preface all to say that Anne Happy might send people running if they wanted a type 1-3 slice of life show. I guess the weirdo school portion of it just needs to click with you, at least enough not to be an annoyance. I can’t tell if I’m disappointed or not that there wasn’t some overarching story behind the school’s weird happiness curriculum, at least in the anime. It would have been easy to mess that up so it might be for the best, although early on I was intrigued to know what exactly was going on at the school. But in the end, it all worked out. While I didn’t really dig Timothy and their teacher was hit or miss, I really enjoyed the situations the girls were put in and how it ended up drawing them together. Episode 4 (searching for the flower of happiness) was the first episode to signal that this show was capable of delivering big emotionally affecting scenes. All the character chemistry snapped into place, and the episode built into a really solid climax. Hibiki was irreversibly attached to the group at that point, whether she’d admit it or not. Then just when I thought the show would have trouble topping episode 4, the very next episode was a major Hibiki/Ren episode. Unsurprisingly they were my favorite aspect of the show. While the show never “went anywhere” with them in the sense of canonically recognizing a relationship, I felt like it let Hibiki own her feelings for Ren a bit more honestly than most slice of life shows with ambiguous yuri couples. There was something matter-of-fact about Hibiki’s love for Ren, and something about the way Ren comported herself around Hibiki avoided the “hilarious” misunderstandings and denseness of characters like Rize in Gochiusa or Youko in Kinmosa towards their own Hibikis (Sharo and Ayaya respectively). Everything about Ren conveys the feeling that she knows how Hibiki feels. She’s not ready to openly respond, but she’s not dense either. It’s a subtle thing, but it stripped away a lot of the frustrations I tend to have with the not-quite-recognized relationships in these shows. Pulling Hibiki into the main group’s orbit using Hibari was also an excellent choice. From early on I found Hibari the weak link in the group, but every scene she had with Hibiki was gold. It’s good writing when you pull characters out of their niches and throw them together and greatly improve both characters in the process. After these two episodes, the show was set. It had established humor I liked, characters I found interesting, and enough chemistry between them to make any situation thrown their way into something enjoyable. It capitalized on that throughout the remaining episodes, through to a really solid ending. |
7 | TV | 12 | 16, 16b, imported |
| 11 |
Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai.
imported
|
8 | TV | 11 | 11, 11b, imported |
| 12 |
Ano Natsu de Matteru
imported
|
7 | TV | 12 | 12a, 12, imported |
| 13 |
Aria the Avvenire
|
9 | Special | 3 | 15, imported |
| 14 |
Bakemonogatari
imported
|
9 | TV | 15 | 09, 09c, imported |
| 15 |
Bakuon!!
Bakuon is good for all the reasons any competent slice of life show is, so there isn’t anything too exceptional going on here. I’m not interested in motorcycles or the whole culture around bikes, so what I got out of Bakuon was nice character designs and quirky character interactions. No less enjoyable for it, but pretty standard stuff...
...Except when it decides to go off the deep end. There’s a couple really bizarre aspects to this show and when it leaned into those it delivered its best gags. Hane’s meeting with Bike Jesus, all of Rin’s ridiculous dad stories, Onsa’s shady bike dealership, Rin’s contagious Suzuki disease, Raimu’s… whatever is going on with her. I’m still convinced she’s a ghost. This stuff was great, it was the zest an otherwise vanilla premise needed to stand out. Not that it always hit its mark. Episode five stumbled badly, with a fairly gross drunken groping incident courtesy of one of their female teachers, and then a questionable scene of the girls soaping up their bikes with their bodies. Everything involving Baita’s dialogue was pretty cringe-worthy too. Bakuon is more fanservicey than your average slice of life show and doesn’t always use it well. Although, given the mangaka’s questionable background, maybe we got off easy. But the most important part of Bakuon is, of course, Rin. She (like Hibiki in Anne Happy) is the bulls-eye in my character archetype strike zone. Cute, hard-working girls who are passionate about what they love but have trouble being honest with their feelings around others are just. the. best. Not because their inability to express themselves is in and of itself “adorable” (that way lies Kuma Miko, from what I understand), but because that struggle is accompanied by moments in which he characters score little victories or open up more to others which make it all that much more rewarding. Rin also works in the archetype of the character eternally bullied by her own show. Even the goddamn shopping district Santa shits on Rin. But the bullying doesn’t feel fundamentally malicious to me. It’s very much comedic, and she does it to herself as much as others do it to her. The message of the show isn’t “Rin is bad and deserves to be mocked” by any stretch. Bakuon isn’t trying to hurt Rin, and if it were we wouldn’t get endearing scenes like her working hard delivering pizzas on Christmas Eve, or her victory in the culture festival race. The latter was the culmination of a lot of silly gags but I legitimately teared up when she realized she won the race. Ahhhhh, Rin, you’re the best. Without her this would be a very different and less enjoyable show. |
7 | TV | 12 | 16, 16b, imported |
| 16 |
Black★Rock Shooter (OVA)
imported
|
10 | OVA | 1 | imported |
| 17 |
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai
imported
|
6 | TV | 12 | 11, 11d, imported |
| 18 |
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Next
|
7 | TV | 12 | 13a, 13, imported |
| 19 |
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Relay Shousetsu wa Ketsumatsu ga Hanpanai
|
- | OVA | 1 | imported |
| 20 |
Choujigen Game Neptune The Animation
|
7 | TV | 12 | 13c, 13, imported |
| 21 |
Citrus
|
8 | TV | 12 | 18, 18a, imported |
| 22 |
Comic Girls
|
7 | TV | 12 | 18, 18b, imported |
| 23 |
Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko
imported
|
7 | TV | 12 | 11, 11b, imported |
| 24 |
Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko: Mayonaka no Taiyou
imported
|
- | Special | 1 | imported |
| 25 |
Dog Days
imported
|
8 | TV | 13 | 11, 11b, imported |
| 26 |
Dog Days'
imported
|
8 | TV | 13 | 12c, 12, imported |
| 27 |
Dog Days''
I think this season was a little weaker than the others, besides episodes 1-3 and 8. Still very fun, still great action animation, still an import for me. But not as consistently solid as the others. It may be time to stop expanding the cast. I like Sharl a lot, but I didn’t care nearly so much about the characters in the last arc, nor about the villain’s backstory, and while he delivered an awesomely animated fight, shota bunny really needs to go away.
The fanservice also got a bit more in your face and lazier, as if they had some “tentacle and/or slime” quota to fill in a few episodes. I’m okay with fanservice in a silly show like this (or I never would have gotten through the first two seasons!) but it’s getting stale now. I’m also slightly irked at how Gaul has started pushing Nanami and Rebecca out of their spots as Cinque’s equals, but the series has done a lot of other things right both in terms of female agency (fanservice aside) and making a Cinque genuinely likable MC that I can’t complain too much. Though it could easily be taken too far if the girls are sidelined any further. I’d love to see at least one more season, though! Hell just give me a massive 12 episode war game tournament with nothing going on except cool animation and the characters being adorable and I’d be more than happy. That’s Dog Days at its best. Well, except for episode 8. *That* is the best episode of Dog Days yet, and one of the best episodes of this year. |
7 | TV | 12 | 15a, 15, imported |
| 28 |
Durarara!!
imported
|
8 | TV | 24 | 10, 10a, imported |
| 29 |
Durarara!! Specials
imported
|
- | Special | 2 | imported |
| 30 |
Endro~!
|
8 | TV | 12 | 19, 19a, imported |
| 31 |
Evangelion Movie 1: Jo
imported
|
6 | Movie | 1 | imported |
| 32 |
Evangelion Movie 2: Ha
imported
|
9 | Movie | 1 | imported |
| 33 |
Flip Flappers
|
10 | TV | 13 | 16, 16d, imported, x10 |
| 34 |
Flying Witch
Humor, atmosphere, and character interaction are the ingredients that drive any slice of life story. Flying Witch excels in humor, effortlessly delivers delightful character interactions, and manages a pretty solid atmosphere too. It may not quite have the character interactions of K-ON!, the atmosphere of Aria, or the humor of Yuyushiki – but it gets exemplary marks in all three categories regardless. They combine into without question the strongest show of the first half of the year.
Honestly, I had to reach pretty far to provide a better example of humor, and I’d *still* confidently put Flying Witch alongside the funniest slice of life shows. A mixture of impeccable timing and intentionally muted reactions form the core of Flying Witch’s comedic identity, and time after time those jokes landed with the intended effect. Whether it’s the mom’s easygoing reaction to everything, Inukai’s hamster’s traumatic relationship with Chito, or the desperately funny attempt to cure Inukai, jokes in this show just don’t miss their mark. It’s as if I’m under one of Akane’s spells that makes everything feel inexplicably hilarious. Flying Witch shows that timing and reactions can deliver effortlessly organic laughs. “Rural supernatural” is my description of Flying Witch’s mood, something of a cross between Non Non Biyori’s relaxed meandering and Natsume Yuujin-chou’s parade of fantastical youkai. It’s shot through with the supernatural and the strange in ways that Non Non is not, but entirely located within the gentler, calmer side of life in ways the sometimes dramatic Natsume is not. The balance leans towards relaxed meandering but the menagerie of other-worldly beings is noteworthy: the imposing Harbinger of Spring, the ghostly waitress, the flying whale, the one who brings the night, the mysterious postman of the witchy realm, and so on. Flying Witch presents them to us largely though Chinatsu’s eyes, and as she grows more accustomed to them, so do we. Eventually they’re as (delightfully!) mundane as the show makes being a witch look. But these strange visitors leave their mark anyway, and Flying Witch would be a very different show without them. The background music really pulls its weight in conveying this mood. Most of the tracks tease a mysterious undercurrent while largely giving way to a playful beat. The titular “Flying Witch” is one good example, as is “Chito-san”. But a handful of tracks like “Haru no Hakobiya”, “Hen na Ikimono”, “Uranaishi”, “Majo no Yume”, and “Kokucho no Mai” lean the other way. It’s an effective mix of emotions conveyed through music as much as through visuals. None of this means much if the characters aren’t endearing and possessing great chemistry, but the Flying Witch cast is both of those things. It works in plenty of ways: Nao and Makoto have a really great casual friendship. Kei is a delightfully easy-going dude who the show never shoehorns into romantic nonsense. Akane and Inukai are painfully shippable. Anzu’s and Inukai’s integration into the core group is something I’d love to see developed further. Akane alternates between uncontrollable tornado and responsible older sister (when she has to be). But Chinatsu is the emotional heart of the series. Her eyes are ours, and through her we’re introduced to the world’s hidden side. Her excitement about witchery and ambition to become a witch drives the story. Chinatsu’s journey from shy kid to excitable apprentice witch who has no inhibitions about bugging this thing with questions is something I came back to over and over again when discussing this show during the season. Compare the Chinatsu who met the Harbinger to the Chinatsu interacting with the cake shop’s patrons and begging Akane to train her as a witch. It’s endlessly satisfying. This growing comfort with the supernatural is mirrored in her relationship with Makoto. They grow closer together every episode, and I feel like Chinatsu’s interest in witchcraft motivates Makoto to work harder on her own training. Whether it’s planting a garden or sewing up a new witch robe or practicing simple spells, Makoto and Chinatsu end up doing everything together. I’m not sure who or what we need to sacrifice to the witchy dark arts to get a sequel, but one is sorely needed. There’s such a clear sequel premise too – Chinatsu’s journey to become a witch, and Makoto’s to become a full-fledged one. Just keep on the flight path that’s already been established! Flying Witch surely has a ton of stories left to share with us. |
9 | TV | 12 | 16, 16b, imported |
| 35 |
Fragtime
|
9 | Movie | 1 | 20, imported |
| 36 |
Futsuu no Joshikousei ga [Locodol] Yattemita.
|
9 | TV | 12 | 14c, 14, imported |
| 37 |
Futsuu no Joshikousei ga [Locodol] Yattemita. OVA
|
9 | OVA | 2 | 15, 16, imported |
| 38 |
Gabriel DropOut
Eschewing emotional sincerity in favor of maximizing punchline density is a trap I prefer my comedies avoid. It’s precisely those moments without a punchline that get me invested in a show, regardless of how good the humor is. A huge part of why Gabdro works is that it gives itself permission to pause the gags from time to time.
The coffee shop skits are an excellent case in point. Their humor was spot on, but the two most memorable moments in the coffee shop are Vigne sincerely complimenting the coffee, and the shop owner revealing that Gab pleaded with him to allow Satania to keep a pet familiar. Neither of these scenes pull their emotional punches, and they achieve it by pulling their punchlines out. The point of Vigne’s scene is that she’s a genuinely nice demon and she genuinely enjoys the guy’s coffee and he’s genuinely moved by this. When the jokes are a dime a dozen, a change of pace turns a scene from a throwaway gag to one that’s stuck with me all season. We’re given a moment to appreciate that the characters are more than their gag archetypes. Not to make this sound deep or anything – its still a totally goofy show and it embraces that from head to toe. Audience laughter is the end goal of every episode. I just want to stress how little is really needed to make your comedy multi-dimensional. All you have to do is give your characters a moment to stop delivering jokes and take a breath. Comedy also avoids becoming stale by letting its characters break out of their established joke archetypes. Gab is the worthless NEET, Vigne is the responsible and long-suffering friend, Raphi is the problematic stalker, and Satania is the damedame chuuni wannabe villain, sort of like an even more ineffectual Ikamusume. Raphi and Gab are angels but terrible people, Vigne is a demon but is the nicest person you’ll ever meet. Only Satania actually plays the role she was supposedly born to play, although the show’s theology has a pretty chill relationship between heaven and hell so her efforts are rarely rewarded. This is an amusing and smartly executed premise, even if it’s built on simplistic “betrayal of expectations” gags. Gabdro sticks to this script more often than not. Not always though, and it’s those exceptions that keep things spicy and fun. It’s Satania finding out Raphi’s weakness for frogs. It’s Gab putting her shitty attitude (mostly) aside to play with her little sister. It’s Vigne really losing her patience at the Christmas party. It’s Raphi’s undergarment troubles putting her at a disadvantage, for once unable to execute her schemes against Satania. Satania embodies the best of both points. She’s the character the show loves to dunk on, but it does it out of love. And to be fair, she sets herself up for it all the time. Because the show loves her it makes sure that she occasionally gets the upper hand. The truly great damedame characters are like this: Natsume in Hidamari Sketch, Rin in Bakuon, Hibiki in Anne Happy, Steph in No Game No Life, Akari/Ayano in Yuru Yuri. Gabdro could have turned every Satania scene into “Raphi ruins Satania’s day for her own perverse satisfaction” and I’m sure I would have still enjoyed it. And while that’s how it usually went, every time Satania arrived at the end credits relatively intact I smiled harder than I did at any of the jokes. The show played on these expectations really well, putting Satania in a situation where she fears the worst and then turning it around at the end. We see Satania come out on top, we see Raphi actually has a weakness, and and we get a break from the normal joke structure. Even when Satania isn’t getting quite the unqualified win she thinks she is, I still can’t help but feel legitimately happy for her. Sure her epic struggle with Tapris was little more than fetish material for Raphi, but Satania was proud of her victory. And it’s debatable who the pet really is in her relationship with the melonpan-stealing mutt, but the twist of fate that brought them together was still strangely moving. In the end, Satania felt good about herself, and y’know what, that’s what matters. Gabriel Dropout is an incredibly smart comedy that balances its moods as well as it times its jokes. I’d love for more slice of life comedies to knock it out of the park like this one did, week after week. |
8 | TV | 12 | 17, 17a, imported |
| 39 |
Gakkougurashi!
What is a “normal” life when everything has fallen apart? Does it matter what restrictions you’re subject to, as long as you’re still alive? Gakkou Gurashi!’s characters all encounter these questions, and the reactions are varied: loving sacrifice, angry impatience, painful regret, fragile stoicism, reckless bravery, unthinking loyalty, blissful denial.
Each one is individually compelling. Kei’s inability to cope with their de facto prison in the mall. Yuuri’s motherly leadership masking the most fragile of hearts. Miki’s guilt at being unable to follow Kei and at living on without her. Kurumi’s dangerous dedication to maintaining security no matter the risks to herself, both physically and emotionally. Taroumaru’s naive but unquestioning animal loyalty. For me, compelling beyond even were Yuki and Megu-nee, and the relationship between them. Yuki’s total denial of reality mirrors the series’ dichotomous nature. An idyllic school life and an undead-infested hellscape can co-exist as equally “real” story elements not simply because Yuki’s delusions show us a lively, bustling school environment, but because her warm smile and boundless enthusiasm create a genuine refuge for her, her friends, and us. This is why Yuuri and Kurumi are adamant about protecting her innocence after Miki arrives and challenges the status quo. They need Yuki to be smiling as badly as, if not moreso than, Yuki herself does. Miki’s disruptive entrance raises troubling questions about things the viewer would have taken at face value before: Is it really okay for Yuuri and Kurumi to leave Yuki to her delusions? Is it selfish to treat her like a good luck charm or soothing mascot character when her ignorance of the world around her brings her very close to physical harm (almost “going home”, for example) at times? Or would forcing a harsh reality on her be the selfish course of action? There isn’t an easy answer, because everyone both suffers and benefits from Yuki’s condition. Jealousy and pity and dependency and protectiveness all swirl together in the girls’ interactions with Yuki. Yuki’s condition is surprisingly resilient. It isn’t fragile like glass, irreversibly shattering when pushed past its breaking point, like during the mall rescue. It can bend, even break, but will mend itself after a good sleep and adequate distance from danger. It’s also not as all-encompassing as it first appears. Yuki repeatedly shows signs of comprehending her situation and possesses the competence to react appropriately. This climaxes in her actions in the final two episodes, when she quite literally steps through a door that has represented the boundary line of her happy fantasies. It’s a deeply moving moment. The reason Yuki is able to step through that door, the reason any of them are able to function at all, is thanks to Sakura Megumi, their teacher and club adviser. Megu-nee left a deep impression on the girls, and on me too. Her story is beautiful and tragic and overflowing with love, both in life and death. I struggle to come up with another character who so deeply affected their story despite not being alive for most of it. I’d probably have to go back to Gurren Lagann for the last comparable example. Like Yuki’s condition, Megu-nee’s fate also mirrors the iyashikei/horror split that defines Gakkou Gurashi. Her love for the girls is warm and reassuring and beautiful, but that same love nearly kills them all after her tragic fall. With the burden of having read the evacuation plans and the burden of knowing that her desire to stay near the girls after death could harm them, she’s wracked with guilt both in life and death. But all she ever wanted for them was happiness. On the balance, I think she gave that to them. She kept them together in the hours and days after the outbreak. She gave them a space where they could experience some semblance of a normal life. She gave her own life to protect theirs. She didn’t deserve to die the way she did, but that’s not how I choose to remember her. That’s certainly not how the girls choose to remember her. She’s changed their lives forever, and they will always be grateful. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t still an aching hole in our hearts where she used to be. Megu-nee, we love you. Gakkou Gurashi! may have ended, but it refuses to die. It’s occupied much of my mental bandwidth since the final episode aired, resulting in me reading the manga version of the same material (chapter 1-30) – an extreme rarity I’ve only done a handful of times. I can’t stop thinking about it, can’t stop wondering where the girls are and how they’re doing. Part of me wants to read the manga past where the anime ended, but with so few additional chapters out, I’d just be running into a brick wall of long waits between publication of new chapters. And there’s something about how Gakkou Gurashi ended that really captivates me. After being cooped up inside the school building for the entire story, suddenly they’re moving on. Graduation is a perfect metaphorical and literal ending – the whole world, or what’s left of it, is open to them. They choose life. That’s their answer. |
9 | TV | 12 | 15c, 15, imported |
| 40 |
Gi(a)rlish Number
|
7 | TV | 12 | 16, 16d, imported |
| 41 |
Girls & Panzer
|
8 | TV | 12 | 12d, 12, imported |
| 42 |
Girls & Panzer Movie
|
8 | Movie | 1 | imported |
| 43 |
Girls & Panzer Movie Specials
|
- | Special | 3 | imported |
| 44 |
Girls & Panzer: Kore ga Hontou no Anzio-sen desu!
|
8 | OVA | 1 | 14, imported |
| 45 |
GJ-bu
|
6 | TV | 12 | 13a, 13, imported |
| 46 |
GJ-bu@
|
- | TV Special | 1 | imported |
| 47 |
Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka?
|
7 | TV | 12 | 14b, 14, imported |
| 48 |
Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka??
The addition of Kinema Citrus to the team didn’t seem to me like it added any real production magic (nothing matching episode four of season one, for sure), so it just continued to be a well drawn if minimally animated affair, relying heavily on very cute and striking close-ups and facial expressions. And it’s /excellent/ at those, mind you. But still, largely business as usual. Thankfully Gochiusa’s usual business is a ton of fun.
There were some notable additions and enhancements. Chino’s Chimame-tai partners (Megu and Maya) played a much bigger role this season. It felt as if they were in almost every episode, and they may have gotten about as much screen time as some of the four older girls. This was a nice development not only because they’re two very fun characters, but because one of the other developments this season was Chino opening up to everyone around her a lot more. She’s still shy and has grown up a little too fast, but she makes a concerted effort to be more honest about her feelings, to laugh more easily, to smile more broadly. It’s a heartwarming transformation to watch, and I think having girls her age around all the time gave her the comfort level she needed to take those steps. Thanks, Chimame-tai! The only new character this season was Mocha, Cocoa’s sister. I thought she was fun, although as a catalyst for Cocoa she didn’t accomplish quite as much as Megu and Maya did for Chino. Still, nothing negative came from her introduction. I think it just reinforced one of Cocoa’s traits (her desire to grow up and be a good onee-chan to the girls) rather than presented anything new. Mocha was hilarious while “stealing away” Cocoa’s imouto harem though. But I think I like her subduing the older girls even more. Suddenly the onee-chans have become the imoutos, what a dramatic role reversal! Really though, it was adorable. As in most iyashikei/slice of life shows, there’s plenty of teasing at relationships in Gochiusa. And in the case of Sharo and Rize, this is actually one of my complaints about the show. Not that Sharo is in love with Rize, but that the show pushes against that line where I get a little uncomfortable at how needlessly reluctant it’s being to validate any of the relationships. I don’t want to overstate my issues with this, but it’s precisely because the story takes Sharo’s feelings more or less seriously that the brick wall named Rize becomes so frustrating. They feel a lot like Ayaya and Youko in Kinmosa, though for some reason I can’t put my finger on, I’m a bit more bothered by it in Gochiusa. Certainly they’ve not moved one inch from season one, and never will. Sigh. On the other hand, I was pleased to see Chiya and Cocoa getting so close. They have exceptional chemistry, but they also feel like an unlikely pairing. I get Sharo/Rize, it’s the flustered kouhai/cool-but-actually-girly senpai dynamic, and that’s fine (when it goes anywhere). Chiya and Cocoa aren’t an obvious pairing archetype but they really work. In season one it felt like a really incidental thing, but in season two Chiya in particular really ratchets up her Cocoa adoration. While Cocoa is less direct about it, she always looks ecstatic to be goofing around with Chiya, in a way that feels distinct from her interactions with Rize, Sharo, and the Chimame-tai. Great season overall, with a strong final stretch that raised my opinion of the series. |
7 | TV | 12 | 15d, 15, imported |
| 49 |
Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka?? Dear My Sister
|
7 | Movie | 1 | 18, imported |
| 50 |
Hanayamata
|
9 | TV | 12 | 14c, 14, imported |
| 51 |
Harukana Receive
|
8 | TV | 12 | 18, 18c, imported |
| 52 |
Hataraku Maou-sama!
|
7 | TV | 13 | 13b, 13, imported |
| 53 |
Hello!! Kiniro Mosaic
All of the charm and warmth and comedy returns, though without the major set pieces of the first season’s flashback and musical. Karen and Alice’s relationship was a highlight this season, both via the flashback to their youth and their time visiting England. Ayaya is still my favorite of the girls and she became even more madly, adorably in love this season, but she didn’t make much progress with Youko – such is the inescapable fate of iyashikei yuribaiting, I guess.
Cast additions were kept rather minimal this season. Hello!! choose to expand screentime for characters we met in season one: Honoka in particular, but also Youko’s siblings, Mitsuki and Kouta. Couldn’t have chosen anyone better! With Alice/Shio and Ayaya/Youko pairings being set, I’ve been hoping for a long time to see Honoka get close to Karen and that’s exactly what we got. Meanwhile, Youko’s little brother and sister are pretty much the best siblings in anime. The only major new character is Kuzehashi-sensei, a young new teacher who primarily interacts with Karen and Karasuma-sensei. She also leads the show off very strong by being a major focus of two episodes, letting us meet the characters again through a new character’s eyes. Warrants a 9/10 without hesitation, for being a weekly beacon of warmth and happiness while Eupho has been beating me bloody with a nail-studded fishing rod. May Kinpatsu conquer the earth! |
7 | TV | 12 | 15b, 15, imported |
| 54 |
Heya Camp△
|
6 | TV | 12 | 20, 20a, imported |
| 55 |
Hidamari Sketch Specials
imported
|
10 | Special | 2 | imported |
| 56 |
Hidamari Sketch x 365 Specials
imported
|
9 | Special | 3 | imported |
| 57 |
Hidamari Sketch x ☆☆☆
imported
|
10 | TV | 12 | 10, 10a, imported |
| 58 |
Hidamari Sketch x ☆☆☆ Specials
imported
|
9 | Special | 2 | imported |
| 59 |
Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb
|
10 | TV | 12 | 12d, 12, imported |
| 60 |
Hidamari Sketch x SP
imported
|
9 | TV Special | 2 | imported |
| 61 |
Hidamari Sketch: Sae Hiro Sotsugyou-hen
|
10 | OVA | 2 | imported |
| 62 |
Hina Logi: From Luck & Logic
|
9 | TV | 12 | 17, 17c, imported, x2 |
| 63 |
Hinako Note
|
7 | TV | 12 | 17, 17b, imported |
| 64 |
Hinamatsuri (TV)
|
9 | TV | 12 | 18, 18b, imported |
| 65 |
Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu
|
8 | TV | 12 | 19, 19b, imported |
| 66 |
Hitsugi no Chaika
|
8 | TV | 12 | 14b, 14, imported |
| 67 |
Hitsugi no Chaika: Avenging Battle
|
8 | TV | 10 | 14d, 14, imported |
| 68 |
Hitsugi no Chaika: Nerawareta Hitsugi/Yomigaeru Iseki
|
- | OVA | 1 | imported |
| 69 |
Hourou Musuko
imported
|
9 | TV | 11 | 11, 11a, imported |
| 70 |
Inu x Boku SS
imported
|
6 | TV | 12 | 12a, 12, imported |
| 71 |
Inu x Boku SS: Miketsukami-kun Henka/Switch/Omamagoto
|
- | Special | 1 | imported |
| 72 |
Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san
|
5 | TV | 12 | 14b, 14, imported |
| 73 |
Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
imported
|
9 | TV | 12 | 12c, 12, imported |
| 74 |
Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi
|
6 | TV | 12 | 13c, 13, imported |
| 75 |
Keijo!!!!!!!!
|
7 | TV | 12 | 16, 16d, imported |
| 76 |
Kiniro Mosaic
|
7 | TV | 12 | 13c, 13, imported |
| 77 |
Kiniro Mosaic: Pretty Days
|
9 | Movie | 1 | 17, imported |
| 78 |
Kitaku-bu Katsudou Kiroku
|
7 | TV | 12 | 13c, 13, imported |
| 79 |
Koisuru Asteroid
|
9 | TV | 12 | 20, 20a, imported |
| 80 |
Kokoro Connect
imported
|
6 | TV | 13 | 12c, 12, imported |
| 81 |
Konohana Kitan
|
9 | TV | 12 | 17, 17d, imported, x2 |
| 82 |
Kore wa Zombie desu ka?
|
5 | TV | 12 | 11, 11a, imported |
| 83 |
Koufuku Graffiti
A story about learning how to love, and (re-)learning how to be loved.
This isn’t “a cooking anime”, meals are just a stand-in for the emotional bonds that form between people – a medium through which those feelings pass. Eating a good meal prepared by someone you love is a way of figuratively (and I guess partly literally?) internalizing their feelings. Working with them to prepare that meal is a way of forming those memories together. For Kirin, it’s about emotional growth. She’s much less mature and emotionally developed than Ryou when they first meet. Kirin is nervous around adults, self-conscious about her size and apparent youth, slow to make friends, and doesn’t appear to have particularly deep personal relationships with anyone. Throughout the series we get to watch her become more conscious of others’ feelings. See her chip in and help instead of sit back and passively consume. See the changes that come over her as her relationship with Ryou goes from weekend roommate to soulmate. Her growth is more subtle than Ryou’s and doesn’t occupy as central a position in the narrative but it’s just as satisfying if you pay attention to it. For Ryou, it’s about emotional healing. She’s much more reserved than Kirin, and lacks her (surface, at least) self-confidence and vigor. On the other hand she comes off as much more mature and empathetic. When we first meet her this is causing her more grief than comfort because her grandmother, the woman who raised her with gentleness and boundless, unconditional love, has passed away. Her emotions flow in a deluge towards that feeling of loss, draining the rest of her world and leaving behind a dull gray. Until the day she meets Kirin – a vibrant flash of purple sweeps across her life, and steadily, bit by bit, with Kirin’s love and everyone’s help, Ryou moves forward. Ryou’s journey climaxes in the final episode when she receives her grandmother’s old apron as a gift, shortly before Kirin formally moves in with her. Kirin, flexing her character growth muscles (and being quite pleased with herself for it), opens Ryou’s eyes with a suggestion that memories aren’t just artifacts of the past, but something you create going forward too. Even if the person you’re remembering is no longer with you Ryou’s weakness is being bound by the past. Kirin’s is in living only in a nervous present. Together, the can overcome this by living for a future together. With her friends and family near, with her grandmother’s apron wrapped around her, and above all with Kirin’s love right by her side, Ryou finally has all the ingredients she needs. Koufuku Graffiti is about as close as a show can come to a 10/10 for me without getting one. A sequel would almost certainly address that… but I’m not holding my breath. ;_; |
9 | TV | 12 | 15a, 15, imported |
| 84 |
Kyoukaisenjou no Horizon II
|
8 | TV | 13 | 12c, 12, imported |
| 85 |
Little Busters!
|
5 | TV | 26 | 12d, 12, imported |
| 86 |
Log Horizon
|
7 | TV | 25 | 13d, 13, imported |
| 87 |
Machikado Mazoku
|
9 | TV | 12 | 19, 19c, imported |
| 88 |
Magia Record: Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica Gaiden
|
9 | TV | 13 | 20, 20a, imported |
| 89 |
Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku
|
5 | TV | 12 | 16, 16d, imported |
| 90 |
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha ViVid
Less ambitious than the other entries in the series, but very good at focusing on what it does: no larger plot (so far), just cute little (and not so little) girls beating each other silly as part of their species’ elaborate mating rituals.
Apart from more NanoFate and the adorable budding Vivio/Einhart relationship is how the series seems to exist purely to take the piss out of StrikerS. Lutecia’s hilarious personality shift and Garyuu fetching vegetables for dinner felt like a wonderful way of saying “StrikerS was kinda dumb wasn’t it, how about we do something fun?” And while I don’t remember anything about most of the Numbers, Nove is really great in this! She continues the tradition of adopting cute little ass-kicking girls pioneered by Nanoha and Fate and becomes Einhart’s guardian and teacher, and she’s just excellent in the role. A tournament setting is *perfect* for this series too, because it’s very good at introducing colorful new characters who we only need to pay attention to for a short time. The Saki model, you could say. We even got an ill-fated Arai Satomi character. Just run this with in the Saki model for a couple cour and I will be completely on board the whole way. While the production quality is for the most part garbage (carrying on that TV Nanoha tradition!) the content of the tournament battles was rather excellent. Even battles between characters we’d not met until episode 9 were engaging and well paced and a ton of fun to watch. But the highlight of the tournament so far is Einhart vs Corona, which was shockingly good considering how hideously out matched I assumed Corona would be. She was the quiet underachiever of the group, far inferior to her friends in raw strength and always on the verge of dropping out of competitive martial arts. Her battle with Einhart used this character premise to fantastic effect, integrating it into her battle style in very cool ways. That the fight had just over a full episode dedicated to it gives me a lot of hope that future battles will be just as good, particularly the, I assume, inevitable Einhart/Vivio clash. Bring on season two. |
8 | TV | 12 | 15b, 15, imported |
| 91 |
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha: Reflection
|
7 | Movie | 1 | 18, imported |
| 92 |
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha: The Movie 1st
|
7 | Movie | 1 | imported |
| 93 |
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha: The Movie 2nd A's
|
10 | Movie | 1 | imported |
| 94 |
Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica
|
10 | TV | 12 | 11, 11a, imported |
| 95 |
Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica Movie 1: Hajimari no Monogatari
|
10 | Movie | 1 | imported |
| 96 |
Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica Movie 2: Eien no Monogatari
|
10 | Movie | 1 | imported |
| 97 |
Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica Movie 3: Hangyaku no Monogatari
|
10 | Movie | 1 | imported |
| 98 |
Minami-ke Tadaima
|
8 | TV | 13 | 13a, 13, imported |
| 99 |
Monogatari Series: Second Season
|
9 | TV | 26 | 13c, 13, imported |
| 100 |
Mouretsu Pirates
|
9 | TV | 26 | 12a, 12, imported, x2 |
| 101 |
Natsume Yuujinchou San
|
7 | TV | 13 | 11, 11c, imported |
| 102 |
Natsume Yuujinchou Shi
|
7 | TV | 13 | 12a, 12, imported |
| 103 |
New Game!
Take one high school club anime, add one to ten years to every cast member, stir vigorously. Pour the mix into one medium-sized corporate office environment. Garnish with a 50/50 mixture of an adult’s exhaustion and a newbie’s enthusiasm. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve in your cutest dishes. Enjoy your New Game!.
Instead of being a first year high school student joining a new club, Aoba is an 18 year old high school graduate hired on as an entry-level character designer at Eagle Jump, the developer that created her favorite game. While detractors initially made a lot of her lack of experience and how “unrealistic” that was, in reality the original mangaka worked at a game development studio and this “hire new, teach on the job” approach is actually quite realistic. It really makes you wonder how many of Aoba’s experiences mirror Tokunou Shoutarou’s experiences. I’ve always said that I enjoy slice of life shows not because they remind me of a past I’m nostalgic for, but because most of them instead offer a heartwarming faux-nostalgia for a past I didn’t have, but much prefer. The unreality is the point, and I’m content watching the characters on screen grow together and be happy, nevermind that reality offers something much more ambivalent. New Game! effectively transitions this feeling into an adult workspace. It certainly acknowledges the cynicism corporate environments breed (“Full-time Employment is a Loophole in the Law to Make Wages Lower…” is an A++ episode title), yes. And those of us who have worked office-type jobs for years can smile and nod tiredly at that sort of thing, which is fun in its own way. But fundamentally, New Game! maintains for me the same faux-nostalgia high school slice of life does. It’s incredibly fulfilling to see Aoba’s meet her idol Yagami Kou, to see her eyes light up when her first character model is approved, to see the pride and satisfaction she feels when her game is released to the world. These triumphs keep her passionate and excited about her job. They’re certainly not feelings I know from my job. I do what I do because it’d be a huge hassle and risk to try to find something else, and because it pays the bills comfortably enough. Not because I feel any sense of accomplishment from what I do. Maybe part of the difference is that Aoba is working in a creative field, while I’m not. She’s more likely to feel a sense of accomplishment and ownership over what she does. Regardless, I’ll never have Aoba’s experiences, but I can completely understand why they’re so desirable, and I feel so happy and grateful that she’s finding success. Aoba’s happiness matters to me. Aoba’s progress happens under the watchful and compassionate eye of her superiors at work, particularly Kou. The gap in age between Aoba and Kou (18 to 25, seven years) is larger than is possible in school settings. While they’re written similarly to a first-year kouhai/third-year senpai dynamic, it’s more accurate to see Kou as combining the teacher/club advisor role with the emotional intimacy of being a fellow student. She is both a boss (teacher) and a coworker (classmate). The Aoba/Kou dynamic generates much of New Game!’s emotional appeal and would itself be reason enough for me to desperately want to see more slice of life with adult casts. Watching Aoba settle into her job and create things she’s proud of would be a fine enough show on its own, but the ways Kou grows from the experience are just as satisfying. While confident in her own skills, Kou lacks any confidence in her ability to lead a team. It’s just not what she ever expected to be doing (WELL SHIT, RELATABLE MUCH?). Aoba understands Kou, and it’s Aoba’s faith in her that gives Kou the confidence to accept her role. The final scene of the show is dedicated to precisely this moment and is among the most magical of the whole season. If Aoba is the sudden push that Kou needs to take the next step, Rin is the gentle embrace she’s needed to keep going these last few years. Their relationship, so clearly romantic in all but name, leaves me craving more adult couples even more than I was before. That’s another bonus of New Game!’s setting – you just don’t get this in high school slice of life. I got slightly spooked early on when a romantic moment between these two was derailed by a cliche weight gag. But that was soon forgotten and their relationship grew into one perhaps only surpassed by Teko and Pikari in Amanchu!. Rin is the perfect “loving mom” character, and that was especially on display with her handling of Nenecchi during the pudding theft episode. Which leads me to the unexpected character also at the heart of this show… If Nenecchi had just remained Aoba’s cute phone buddy, giving Aoba a chance to recap her feelings at the end of the episode, that would have been enough. I didn’t dare hope that she’d become such a major character. I knew she joined the debug team from reading a little of the manga, but I thought it was something that’d come and go in an episode or two. While Aoba went straight to work, Nenecchi continued on to college. She provides a unique perspective on Aoba, telling us things her coworkers wouldn’t know. Her conversations with Aoba remind us that Aoba is still only eighteen, and is struggling to grow up rather suddenly, without the buffer the college years provide. Nenecchi’s feelings towards Aoba are a mixture of pride, jealousy, protectiveness, surprise, and affection. As goofy as Nenecchi can be, she’s able to tell us a lot about Aoba that we wouldn’t otherwise see. I really didn’t expect Nenecchi to become such a major character, let alone one that gave us so much more insight into the cast – not least of which being almost everything we know about Umiko, thanks to their strange and amusing relationship. Thanks, Nenecchi! So that’s New Game!. All that’s left now is to hope we one day see New Game+. As Aoba would say, 今日も一日がんばるぞい！ |
9 | TV | 12 | 16, 16c, imported |
| 104 |
New Game!!
|
9 | TV | 12 | 17, 17c, imported |
| 105 |
Nisemonogatari
|
8 | TV | 11 | 12a, 12, imported |
| 106 |
No Game No Life
|
8 | TV | 12 | 14b, 14, imported |
| 107 |
No Game No Life: Zero
|
7 | Movie | 1 | imported |
| 108 |
Non Non Biyori
|
9 | TV | 12 | 13d, 13, imported |
| 109 |
Non Non Biyori Movie: Vacation
|
9 | Movie | 1 | 19, imported |
| 110 |
Non Non Biyori Repeat
I don’t usually have a ton to say about iyashikei shows, and less about their sequels. They’re about the experience, not any thematic analysis. You live inside of them for a short time, and reluctantly say goodbye. Non Non Biyori evokes that feeling as well as any of its contemporaries.
The “repetition” in the title refers to this season’s events happening simultaneously with the first season’s. It’s neither sequel nor prequel, it’s a… simulquel? Think the first couple seasons of Hidamari Sketch. It’s a really neat idea and provided for some great side by side comparisons early on, though after a few episodes the references to season one thin out and you quickly forget what it was doing most of the time. Non Non Biyori’s serene rural landscapes don’t convey much sense of the passage of time outside of the changing seasons. Each day is largely like the next. But within those largely similar days, small moments are what stand out. Non Non Biyori is excellent at that as well. Koma-chan fleeing in terror from the world’s scariest teruterubouzu. Hotarun letting loose and acting adorably spoiled when she’s at home with her mom. Koma-chan being too short to capture a cell signal. Nattsun trying desperately to fake her way through a conversation with Hotarun about a show she’s never seen. Koma-chan and Hotarun getting lost in the woods at night. But Non Non Biyori has always reserved its most gentle, beautiful, and inspired scenes for Renge’s moments of self-discovery and growth. Her life lesson in mortality with the tadpole shrimp was touching, and as a bonus showed a thoughtful side of Nattsun we’re not used to seeing. But her scenes with Candy Shop brought me to tears, particularly when she learned to ride a bike. Moments like those are precisely what elevate slice of life shows from enjoyable diversions to stories that demand a deeper engagement from the viewer. Moments that make you feel like these characters are worth emotionally investing in. They’ve given you so much, and deserve a little piece of your heart in return. When the show ends, it might ache a bit, but the memory remains. |
9 | TV | 12 | 15c, 15, imported |
| 111 |
Null Peta
|
9 | ONA | 12 | 19, 19d, imported |
| 112 |
Nyanko Days
Sadly there’s not much I can say about a show that ran for roughly 20 minutes all told, except that I think it’s regrettable such an adorable show was so short. That just ain’t right. We need so much more time to see Yuuko and Azumi’s love blossom. ;_; Shout-out to the mangaka for drawing most of the good Sakura Trick fanart available on Pixiv too. How can I not support someone enlightened like that?
NYANKO ♥ IS ♥ LOVE ♥ |
7 | TV | 12 | 17, 17a, imported |
| 113 |
Ookami to Koushinryou II
|
9 | TV | 12 | 09, 09c, imported, imported (box) |
| 114 |
Ookami to Koushinryou II: Ookami to Kohakuiro no Yuuutsu
|
- | OVA | 1 | imported |
| 115 |
Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai
|
6 | TV | 12 | 10, 10d, imported |
| 116 |
Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai Specials
|
5 | ONA | 4 | imported |
| 117 |
Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai: SD Chara ni Yoru Character Commentary
|
- | Special | 16 | imported |
| 118 |
Otome Youkai Zakuro
|
7 | TV | 13 | 10, 10d, imported |
| 119 |
Owarimonogatari
|
9 | TV | 12 | 15, 15d, imported |
| 120 |
Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai!
|
5 | TV | 12 | 12a, 12, imported |
| 121 |
Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai!: Pokkapoka
|
- | Special | 1 | imported |
| 122 |
Rinne no Lagrange
|
7 | TV | 12 | 12a, 12, imported |
| 123 |
Rinne no Lagrange Season 2
imported
|
7 | TV | 12 | 12, 12c, imported |
| 124 |
Rinne no Lagrange Specials
|
- | Special | 6 | imported |
| 125 |
Saki
|
9 | TV | 25 | 09, 09b, imported |
| 126 |
Saki Achiga-hen: Episode of Side-A
imported
|
8 | TV | 12 | 12b, 12, imported |
| 127 |
Saki Achiga-hen: Episode of Side-A Specials
|
8 | Special | 4 | 12b, 12, imported |
| 128 |
Saki: Zenkoku-hen
|
9 | TV | 13 | 14a, 14, imported |
| 129 |
Sakura Trick
|
10 | TV | 12 | 14a, 14, imported, x10 |
| 130 |
Sakura-sou no Pet na Kanojo
|
8 | TV | 24 | 12d, 12, imported |
| 131 |
Sansha Sanyou
Sansan is a slice of life show that maybe cut the slice a little too thin. Something about it felt insubstantial, and not in the “light and breezy” way I want a slice of life show to feel. While I found it consistently watchable, it always felt lacking in direction.
“But slice of life means not having to have a direction!” you say. Sure but I guess I mean that Sansan never carved out its own niche. Anne Happy and Bakuon had more outright missteps than Sansan but they also had a sense of identity that I didn’t feel as strongly from this. Pretty animation aside, it comes off as something I won’t remember for very long, because I’m not sure I can describe to you a particular attribute that made it special. If you asked me to describe the aspect of Sansan that distinguished it from its peers, I’d actually come up with a negative: half the secondary cast was unusually annoying. While Kou, Nishiyama, Kondou, and Sonobe were great, we also got saddled with some really dismal characters: Yamaji, Yuu, Sakura, Hajime, and Sasame. The last showed brief sparks of promise in her interactions with Youko, but by and large they were all unwelcome distractions in every scene they invaded. The best way I could spin them is that they gave the better characters a chance to do some heavy lifting, usually pretty successfully. Sonobe was a good foil to he exasperating Yamaji. Futaba delivered some of her best lines when crushing Hajime and Sasame’s hopes. Youko’s one or two more intimate scenes with Sasame were a saving grace. There was really nothing the show could do to redeem Yuu/Sakura scenes though. I guess the “sing into a bucket” scene was pretty funny? Sansan had some of the quiet character moments that -really- endear me to these shows. Teru and Kou’s conversation when walking home in episode two. The girls stopping by Youko’s place to cook a meal with her. A few Nishiyama scenes. They feel sparser than in other shows though. More of those moments would have really helped the show click with me harder. And it’s not purely a shipping thing, but I do wish the characters had felt closer to one another. Nishiyama and Teru were in a classic frenemies position but it just kinda simmered without going anywhere. Nishiyama is my favorite character in this show, but unlike Rin or Hibiki (who I liked for similar reasons) I don’t think the show provided her a equally strong support structure which meant that her scenes lacked the same punch. I do think she show did a good job rewarding Youko’s gradual opening up to her friends with some nice scenes between her and Teru/Futaba though. As I’ve said before, Sansan is the kind of show I actually -liked- even if my comments always come out negative. Maybe it’s because episode one blew me away so hard and I expected the rest to live up to it, or maybe it’s because the delightful character animation felt like it was just dressing up a rather plain core. I know I liked it because I’m -importing- it, although I’d probably describe it as not-quite-import tier if I didn’t feel compelled to support most Kirara anime adaptations. Still, even when I’d put a show near the bottom of the slice of life totem pole, it’s still a competently executed slice of life show and as such it’s so inherently My Thing™ that it’s hard to turn me off completely. As long as you avoid injecting bad het romance or something similarly catastrophic, I’m probably going to enjoy the show! |
6 | TV | 12 | 16, 16b, imported |
| 132 |
Sasameki Koto
|
9 | TV | 13 | 09, 09d, imported |
| 133 |
Selector Infected WIXOSS
|
8 | TV | 12 | 14b, imported |
| 134 |
Selector Spread WIXOSS
|
8 | TV | 12 | 14d, imported |
| 135 |
Shakugan no Shana III (Final)
|
6 | TV | 24 | 11, 11d, imported |
| 136 |
Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume
|
9 | TV | 12 | 16, 16d, imported |
| 137 |
Shin Koihime†Musou: Otome Tairan
|
7 | TV | 12 | 10, 10b, imported |
| 138 |
Shingeki no Kyojin
|
7 | TV | 25 | 13b, 13, imported |
| 139 |
Shinryaku! Ika Musume
|
7 | TV | 12 | 10, 10d, imported |
| 140 |
Shinryaku! Ika Musume Specials
|
- | Special | 2 | imported |
| 141 |
Shinryaku!? Ika Musume
|
7 | TV | 12 | 11, 11d, imported |
| 142 |
Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii desu ka? Sukutte Moratte Ii desu ka?
|
9 | TV | 12 | 17, 17b, imported |
| 143 |
Shuumatsu no Izetta
|
7 | TV | 12 | 16, 16d, imported |
| 144 |
Slow Start
|
8 | TV | 12 | 18, 18a, imported |
| 145 |
So Ra No Wo To
|
10 | TV | 12 | 10, 10a, imported |
| 146 |
So Ra No Wo To Specials
|
10 | Special | 2 | imported |
| 147 |
Sora no Method
|
9 | TV | 13 | 14d, 14, imported |
| 148 |
Sora yori mo Tooi Basho
|
10 | TV | 13 | 18, 18a, imported, x2 |
| 149 |
Steins;Gate
|
7 | TV | 24 | 11, 11b, imported |
| 150 |
Stella no Mahou
|
6 | TV | 12 | 16, 16d, imported |
| 151 |
Strike Witches 2
|
8 | TV | 12 | 10, 10c, imported |
| 152 |
Strike Witches Movie
|
8 | Movie | 1 | imported |
| 153 |
Tamayura: Hitotose
|
9 | TV | 12 | 11, 11d, imported |
| 154 |
Tamayura: More Aggressive
|
9 | TV | 12 | 13c, 13, imported |
| 155 |
Tamayura: More Aggressive - Tsuitachi dake no Shuugakuryokou, nanode
|
9 | Special | 1 | 14, imported |
| 156 |
Tamayura: Sotsugyou Shashin Part 1 - Kizashi
|
9 | Movie | 1 | 15, imported |
| 157 |
Tamayura: Sotsugyou Shashin Part 2 - Hibiki
|
8 | Movie | 1 | 15, imported |
| 158 |
Tamayura: Sotsugyou Shashin Part 3 - Akogare
|
8 | Movie | 1 | 15, imported |
| 159 |
Tamayura: Sotsugyou Shashin Part 4 - Ashita
|
9 | Movie | 1 | 16, imported |
| 160 |
The iDOLM@STER
|
10 | TV | 25 | 11, 11c, imported |
| 161 |
The iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls
Where the first Idolmaster anime was working with deeply established characters with half a decade under their belts, the cast of Deremas carried a lot less baggage, for better and for worse.
This means that while Animas made a lot of (generally warranted) assumptions that we knew the characters, and started with a fully-formed agency, Deremas makes few assumptions, and takes establishing its characters as a top priority. It pulls it off beautifully. The strength of the first cour is undoubtedly its ability to take a large cast and systematically make everyone one of them unique and interesting and worth caring about. It’s not entirely even – Kanako and Chieri for example are still significantly less developed than the rest thus far – and the assumed protagonist trio actually fade into the larger group rather than clearly stand out. But the former can be dealt with in time (and it’s not like Animas didn’t have its less-developed characters [hi Azusa]) and the latter is more a testament to how well the cast is developed as an ensemble than a criticism of the New Generations crew, all of whom I find rather charming (especially bedhead Shimamu). The care with which the show managed its characters was strongest in Miku, Ranko, and Minami’s stories. Miku’s increasing frustration at being passed over for debut and subsequent struggle to form a unit with her polar opposite (Riina) was a real rollercoaster, providing both the show’s early emotional set piece and the most interesting unit-formation story by far, with probably the most interesting result. Ranko’s initial inability to express her personality (see how the Producer assumes she wants something dark and scary) was handled well but even better was her stepping up to support Love Laika when Minami was unable. Ranko is the lone solo act among the Cinderella Girls, so keeping her integrated with the larger cast by supporting Anastasia and Minami was a brilliant move. And where to start with Minami? I’d pegged her from the start as doomed to be by far the least interesting character but then, unexpectedly, somehow, SHE BECAME THE BEST!? She’s one of the unlikeliest picks for group leader, but she nailed it. She has no real equivalent in 765Pro, because while Haruka was the emotional center of the group she could rely on much stronger administrative backup from P-san, Ritsuko, and Kotori. The 346 girls have much less to work with. P-chan, much as I love him, is just not as capable or naturally empathetic as Animas P-san was. Chihiro could have filled Kotori’s role, but we simply don’t see a lot of her. Minami, then, takes on much more individual responsibility than any of the 765 girls had to, and while it’s not easy on her she settles into the role and becomes the linchpin of the group. Her despair at missing out on most of the climax concert made for probably the best-executed and most emotionally powerful scenes of the show. So how does it stack up to Animas? The one area it clearly lacks compared to its predecessor is visual quality. There are a few stand-out scenes/episodes, a few embarrassingly bad scenes, and a middle that’s “okay”. Big step down from Animas, which is one of the best productions out there. But overall it’s simply a very different first half from Animas’. It starts with a different sort of cast and has to do different things with them. If I were to pick one story aspect where I think it lacked, that would be on the business/administrative side. One of Animas’ strengths was the shockingly good P-san, the lovable Kotori, and the stellar role Ritsuko played as an idol-cum-new producer. Even Pres Takagi’s occasional interjections displayed his intense faith in his idols, which they in turn appreciated. On the other hand this allows more focus on the idols dealing with each other, which I’d generally mark as a big plus. But I’m hesitant to count that as a big edge over Animas, because Animas did quite a lot of *that* too, and P-san was so good that even when he solved problems it felt natural, because /that’s literally his darn job/. It did not feel at all like a harem MC monopolizing all the interaction with the girls. So point to Animas overall on this one too. Even so, I feel like Deremas does have the potential to get on the same level, if the second half cleans up the visuals and builds on the first half’s engaging character writing. If it’s as good at utilizing a fully developed cast as it was in developing them in the first place, we’re going to see some real magic in a few weeks. I’d like nothing more than for it to fully earn that 10/10. |
9 | TV | 13 | 15a, 15, imported |
| 162 |
The iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls 2nd Season
The second season that was never intended to be a second season. Was the wait worth it? Production-wise it managed to settle on a consistent baseline quality, but it was pretty conservative with its highlights. It still had some very nice scenes, but never attempted to reach Animas’ heights. Much more importantly though, did the story and characters deliver? There I have no reservations, my answer is a loud and satisfied “Absolutely!”
If the first half of Deremas introduced the characters and gave them their first major victory at the festival in episode thirteen, the second half was about how to cope with success and the new demands that come with it. And I think its ability to develop this aspect of the story so well owes a lot to the “antagonist” of the second half, the 346 idol unit executive producer, Mishiro. Animas’ Kuroi was a comic book villain, a one-dimensional “bad guy” concocting one-dimensional schemes purely to give the 765 girls hurdles to overcome. That such moving and charming scenes resulted from this was just the show’s natural flair for flawless execution, not a sign that Kuroi himself was remotely interesting character. Mishiro by contrast is not one-dimensional at all, and she’s certainly not trying to destroy the Cinderella Project. She is, in her own way and according to her own experience and ideals, trying to reshape it into something new, something better. Those “hurdles” feel much more thoughtful and organic. Mishiro is not, by any definition, “evil”. Her motives aren’t even purely financial (though she is responsible for that too), there’s a distinct creative philosophy behind the course she pursues. She has a vision. The idols of course chafe under the new restrictions, and not every decision Mishiro makes is correct. She pays too little attention to the girls’ emotional needs and aspirations in her pursuit of the perfect idol group. (Can’t fault her aesthetic choices though.) But that’s where Deremas’ second half’s shines. Neither Mishiro nor the girls have a monopoly on being correct. Mishiro values results, not mindless yes-men. She relents on her demands when the Producer and his idols deliver on their promises via alternate methods. It’s about compromise. It’s about reaching beneath your surface appeal to dig up something better. It’s about thriving in unexpected environments (new units, new career focus). It’s not about the girls steamrolling all opposition and getting their way by saying “we’re the good guys, you’re the bad guy”, because there is no bad guy. Just conflicting views with a balance somewhere in the middle. Animas touched on the theme of coping with change in Haruka’s arc, but Deremas takes it farther and presents it as the central theme of the whole second half. It results in a more focused story. Of course these broader themes only work because the characters they explore are so damn charming. Riina and Miku fully realize their bond not by ceasing to change after forming Asterisk, but by challenging themselves even further to join with Natsuki and Nana. Minami and Anya, the most stable of the units, deal with being temporarily split apart for solo work. Their mature reaction to this test is an inspiration for the less confident girls. Mio, Rin, and Uzuki struggle to define their relationship amid constantly shifting obligations and new opportunities. Anzu and Kirari, the senpai of their respective units, seek to understand what they mean to each other. It goes on and on. Cinderella Girls is excellent. Is isn’t Animas, and it doesn’t need to be Animas. It stands confidently on its own. I miss them all already. |
9 | TV | 12 | 15c, 15, imported |
| 163 |
The iDOLM@STER: 765 Pro to Iu Monogatari
|
- | Special | 1 | imported |
| 164 |
Toaru Kagaku no Railgun
|
6 | TV | 24 | 09, 09d, imported |
| 165 |
Toaru Kagaku no Railgun: Motto Marutto Railgun
|
- | Special | 2 | imported |
| 166 |
Tsukimonogatari
|
8 | TV Special | 4 | 15a, 15, imported |
| 167 |
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby
|
8 | TV | 13 | 18, 18b, imported |
| 168 |
Urara Meirochou
I didn’t need an urara to divine that Urara Meirochou would be my kind of show, that much was a given. But the difference between what I feel are merely “passable” slice of life shows like Stella or Sansan or Minakama, and the more deeply affecting ones like Koufuku or Manabi or Flying Witch, is never something I can see ahead of time. It makes sense though – we’re talking about shows that are explicitly attempting to extract something special from the deliberately mundane. Everything is nuance, and that’s something you can’t judge until you’re well into the show.
Urara is a bit more fantastical than most slice of life shows due to its setting, and unlike many it has a fairly concrete goal in mind (advance up the tiers of urara, find Chiya’s mother). But that’s still (mostly) window dressing for the compelling relationships that form among the apprentice urara at Natsume-ya: Koume, Nono, Kon, and Chiya. And those relationships are beautiful and delightful. As far away as Urara is from Yuyushiki on the slice of life spectrum in many ways, it really nails the latter’s understanding of group intimacy. While they sort of pair off naturally (Chiya/Kon, Koume/Nono) in a way the Yuyushikis didn’t given their odd number, fundamentally the Urara dynamic is a foursome. It’s unmistakably a group effort. We see it in Nono’s worries that the “calamity” divined to befall her will hurt the others, to which Koume replies that’ll just split it four ways. We see it in Chiya’s declaration that she’ll challenge the gods themselves if they dare to take Kon’s power away, and Koume and Nono’s reminder that they’re always by Kon’s side too. We see it in the urara rank advancement exam being a team effort, rather than the triumph of an individual. Having to share both feelings and living arrangements with girls their age is a new experience for the young urara of Natsume-ya. It seems quite deliberate that they all come from lives of relative isolation: Chiya is literally a feral girl from the mountains, Koume grew up a wealthy and sheltered only child, Nono has rarely strayed far from her older sister Nina’s side, and Kon has spent years studying alone with only divination texts for company. Maybe it’s no wonder that once they were thrown together as apprentices with the same aim, they immediately took to each other despite their clashing personalities and styles. Without realizing it, without thinking they needed it, they craved this camaraderie. It wasn’t always easy, and they each have their doubts. This is particularly evident in Kon’s conflicted feelings towards Chiya. It’s fair to say Kon has studied the hardest, and Chiya the least (as in not at all), before they met. And yet Chiya’s ease of access into the world of the gods puts Kon’s admiration for her in opposition to her sense of what’s fair. What she doesn’t know is that this ease of access is a mortal danger to Chiya, but nonetheless Kon puts these doubts aside with the help of Nina and the other girls. She realizes that an individual’s strength is everyone’s strength at Natsume-ya. And as they grow closer, we see one of the show’s core strengths: the way it normalizes the intimacy between the girls – and between girls in general. I already wrote at length about episode six in the mid-season post and everything I felt then still applies. That one slightly awkward instance ends up being a strong message in favor of how normal it should be for Saku to be Nina’s soulmate. It’s expressed in the loving smile Koume gives a flirty Chiya and Kon, while leaning her head so casually against Nono’s. And these are some very touchy-feely girls. Rubbing bellies and faces, casually using hair as a blanket, licking and licking some more, holding hands, feeding each other, sleeping and bathing together, being there to catch each other when they fall, and of course lots of hugging and hugging and hugging and hugging. That’s not to say that skinship is inherently meaningful. There’s no lack of throwaway girl/girl fanservice even in het harem anime (cue onsen boob groping), so that alone doesn’t do it. But while Urara has some fanservice that exists more or less for its own sake – which I don’t object to, for the record – it directs far more effort to building up the sense of intimacy among the girls, and the reassuring sense of comfort they develop towards one another. It’s this comfort that elevates Urara above the usual baseline shippiness of slice of life subtext. Urara isn’t a romance per se, and doesn’t depict a “falling in love” story. But it relies so much on romantic coding that I’d definitely put it at a pretty good spot along the yuri spectrum. While I think only so much can be read into OP or ED lyrics, the ED is very explicitly mirroring the themes of the show. It’s titled go to Romance>>>>> and the visuals are all about Chiya, Kon, Koume, and Nono trying to find one another as the lyrics sing about falling in love, searching for your soulmate, imagining kissing them. And then it quite literally ends with the girls finding each other! Urara’s ability to convey a sense of intimacy within a group really is exceptional. Most anime struggles with a single pair, but Urara pulls it off effortlessly with four. It’s well and good that the girls share such strong bonds, because there’s no end of external challenges to face down, particularly when the gods get involved. The forays into the supernatural show us a mix of aesthetics that Urara handles very well. While it’s mostly lighthearted slice of life, there are moments that quietly challenge our perception of Meirochou. Urara juxtaposes the cute and the creepy, the mundane and the supernatural. Divination rituals lead the urara down twisted corridors towards hidden alcoves in which a strange new reality lurks. You can’t get there normally, but with the incantations of an urara, those secrets can be unlocked. Sometimes these secrets may have been better left alone. Chiya and Kon’s taboo underwater divination turns downright disturbing. But it’s Chiya who has the most intense run-ins with the gods as the object of both their protection and loathing. As the anime leaves off, we still don’t know why these beings hate Chiya, except that her mother is the ultimate source of their rage. It’s a tantalizing glimpse into future conflicts, and I’m impressed at how well the serious aspects of the story meshed with its slice of life aspects. Many shows have trouble pulling that off, but Urara builds up to it by weaving it in along the way. Divination does not all of a sudden develop a darker side when the ending requires it. There was always something unknowable and overwhelming about it, and urara have always felt vulnerable and small in comparison to the powers they’re harnessing. Additionally, situating Chiya’s run-in with the resentful spirits within the Urara rank-up examination prevented it from coming off as disappointingly incomplete. Even if we don’t know where that story will lead, we were still invested in seeing them become 9th ranks, and that’s a fitting climax. Urara’s visual style deserves special recognition because I was in love with its look from the first moments. The character designs are hugely appealing in the, for lack of a better word, punipuni fuwafuwa way that made me such a huge fan of Namori’s designs for Yuru Yuri. The animation designs nicely capture the original Harikamo designs in a way better suited to animation, mostly by simplifying the shading (Urara is unusually visually intricate for a 4koma). The anime also accentuates each of its characters with floral motifs which afford the already distinct designs even more unique personality. Where the anime shines even more than the appealing designs is in its colors and lighting. It’s not just the vibrancy of it, because even scenes with minimal colors look great. It’s the way all of these elements combine to create variety, yet consistency. Meirochou itself manages to feel claustrophobic and dizzying while also inviting and alive. The town’s most recognizable landmark is its enormous tower, perpetually surrounded in a swirling mist and located in the heart of the 1st District where the most accomplished urara live. It’s a looming mystery, a guidepost by which to orient yourself, and a goal to reach. I love Meirochou’s architecture and atmosphere, I love its challenges and opportunities. It earns its name of “Labyrinth Town”, but it’s a maze in which getting lost for a while really doesn’t seem so bad. You’re like as not to encounter something or someone special along the way, just as the Natsume-ya girls have. Meirochou is a wonderful case study of place informing the mood and message of a story. The more I write about this the more it reinforces for me just how special a show Urara was. While the absolute highest tier of Kirara adaptations remains Sakura Trick, Hidamari and Yuyushiki, Urara ends up alongside Koufuku Graffiti and Gakkou Gurashi among the best slice of life shows in recent years. With the girls having successfully secured their 9th rank advancement, the scale of the journey ahead of them only seems bigger. Unfortunately the manga is the only place their story will continue… but wherever and however that goes, we know they’ll be doing it together. |
9 | TV | 12 | 17, 17a, imported |
| 169 |
Usagi Drop
|
9 | TV | 11 | 11, 11c, imported |
| 170 |
Usagi Drop Specials
|
- | Special | 4 | imported |
| 171 |
ViVid Strike!
|
9 | TV | 12 | 16, 16d, imported |
| 172 |
ViVid Strike! Specials
|
- | Special | 3 | imported |
| 173 |
Vividred Operation
|
7 | TV | 12 | 13a, 13, imported |
| 174 |
Wakaba*Girl
Wakaba Girl is "cute girls doing cute things" in about the most straightforward manner possible. A series of vignettes captures the life of a naive rich girl and her three socioeconomically "normal" friends. The episodes are short (1/3rd length) and exactly what you'd expect.
It isn't ambitious, but ambition is a very narrow-minded way to evaluate a series. That's not always the point, and Wakaba Girl succeeds by being charming from moment to moment. That those moments are short and simple doesn't particularly matter. |
6 | TV | 13 | 15c, 15, imported |
| 175 |
Working'!!
|
5 | TV | 13 | 11, 11d, imported |
| 176 |
Yagate Kimi ni Naru
|
9 | TV | 13 | 18, 18d, imported |
| 177 |
Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.
|
6 | TV | 13 | 13b, 13, imported |
| 178 |
Yama no Susume
|
9 | TV | 12 | 13a, 13, imported |
| 179 |
Yama no Susume Second Season
|
10 | TV | 24 | 14c, 14, imported, x2 |
| 180 |
Yama no Susume Third Season
|
10 | TV | 13 | 18, 18c, imported, x2 |
| 181 |
Yama no Susume: Omoide Present
|
10 | OVA | 1 | 18, imported |
| 182 |
Yozakura Quartet: Hana no Uta
|
9 | TV | 13 | 13d, 13, imported |
| 183 |
Yozakura Quartet: Hoshi no Umi
|
9 | OVA | 3 | imported |
| 184 |
Yumekui Merry
|
5 | TV | 13 | 11, 11a, imported |
| 185 |
Yuri Kuma Arashi
Too flawed to be a favorite, but it clawed its way into becoming a very worthwhile show. Episode by episode, scene by scene, minute by minute. It culminated in a truly beautiful finale, and with that as my last memory I’m going to remember the show fondly.
Its weakness was that its characters were shallow. They were largely imagery and catchphrases, and while I understand the director’s abstract, highly symbolic style lends itself to that, it doesn’t really allow (at least in this particular case) me to feel like I know the cast very well. Not in one cour anyway – and that is a problem, the show felt too short for its ambitions. Lulu was the only character who felt fully fleshed-out in the way I want my characters to be. She felt like the only main character with true agency. The only one that made her choices because she wanted to, rather than because of “Destiny”. It’s not even that I didn’t like Ginko or Kureha. I liked them a fair bit, and there were a lot of fun secondary cast members too. But that Lulu should have ended up standing out so much is less a testament to her greatness (she is great!) than to the lack of competition she had. I think laser girl and mecha-bear’s single scene in the finale end put them at roughly the same level of emotional investment as I had in a full cour of Kureha and Ginko interactions. That’s a problem! But the show was ambitious, in a way I respect. Dealing with sexuality, both in terms of the protagonists’ homosexuality and the show’s sexually charged imagery, is never easy. It tends to either follow typical heterosexual romance cliches or serve as cheap titillation that doesn’t support any larger thematic backdrop. Yurikuma Arashi however is sexually charged from head to toe, ears to claws. Most of the imagery is built around this, and character motivations are tied to it. The bears, Yuriika and Ginko in particular, are driven by a love manifesting as intense lust, a desire to completely possess another both body and mind – to *consume* them. None of this is used simply to spice up a scene with nip-slips and fondling, it’s used because Ikuhara chose sexuality as the language through which the characters speak to each other and themselves. Flawed, underdeveloped, ultimately shooting for the moon and falling short. But well worth your time, and it was certainly worth my import. Intense and ultimately respectful explorations of sexuality are rare in anime, let alone between young women. There’s definitely something here even if you’ve got to apply a lot of polish to see the shine. Gao gao! |
8 | TV | 12 | 15a, 15, imported |
| 186 |
Yuru Camp△
|
9 | TV | 12 | 18, 18a, imported |
| 187 |
Yuru Yuri
|
9 | TV | 12 | 11, 11c, imported |
| 188 |
Yuru Yuri Nachuyachumi!
|
9 | OVA | 1 | 15, imported |
| 189 |
Yuru Yuri Nachuyachumi!+
|
9 | TV Special | 2 | 15, imported |
| 190 |
Yuru Yuri San☆Hai!
San Hai seems to mark the point where more Yuru Yuri stops being financially viable and we’re back to zero successful active yuri anime franchises. Sigh. But it was a truly wonderful parting gift, and getting to three seasons in the first place would have been unthinkable at the start. Because I was a big fan of the first two seasons I won’t say “third time’s the charm”, but it’s certainly the best Yuru Yuri has ever been!
It was evident in the Nachuyachumi OVAs that the tone was shifting a little. Less frantic, slightly more melancholy, a bit more subdued. And this ended up being a great change! It’s still hilarious, the characters are still unique and expressive, and the seiyuu performances are as good as ever. But I really appreciate when comedic slice of life shows slow down a bit. I’ve always felt that character-driven comedies get better when they dial back the punchlines and let scenes end with characters simply sharing a moment. The relationships from the first two seasons naturally got a lot of play this season, and that means my favorite development this season was how often it paired up characters who rarely if ever interacted previously. Sakurako and Kyouko is one great example. Because Kyouko is the irresponsible troublemaker of the group she doesn’t get to play a senpai role very often. Putting Kyouko alone with Sakurako (the only character derpier than herself) casts her in a different light. Sakurako idolizes Kyouko in all the ways that Kyouko jokingly self-aggrandizes herself. It’s hard to tell if this is more an ego trip or source of amusement for Kyouko – probably both. But it really does give her a chance to shine in episode eight, when she’s hanging out at the game center, setting Sakurako up for the slam dunk on the UFO catcher game. It’s a small moment, but shows like this live and die on the small moments. For example, the totally unexpected and very welcome development of Chizuru. She was easily the flattest character of the first two seasons, but she gets two dedicated scenes in this season. The meeting with Kaede on a park bench did wonders for softening Chizuru’s presentation, and was followed up in the next episode by her opening up to two of her classmates, showing how she took Kaede’s advice to heart. It’s amazing what treating a character as more than a one-off gag can achieve, huh? Then there’s Yui and Ayano. Damn there’s a lot going on beneath the surface there. Kyouko has always been there to mediate their interactions, and they’ve exchanged many a sympathetic glance of mutual understanding over Kyouko. But when they’re alone together they’re stripped of that Kyouko filter and what results is this delightful bumbling attempt to converse about… what? It’s the Yuru Yuri Bechdel Test, can two girls who love Kyouko hold a conversation that isn’t about Kyouko? They do manage though, awkwardly bonding over a shared appreciation of bad puns and an understanding that they actually have pretty similar personalities in some ways. There being this really vague tension over Kyouko just spices the interactions up a bit. It’s like a love triangle that’s actually interesting and not defined purely by romance. I’ve only plucked a few examples from many. So many. San Hai was composed from start to finish of moments like these. And it has Akari. Akari is one of my most beloved characters ever. She is a treasure to all of humanity. We even got less “Akari is so forgettable” jokes this time, which I was pretty happy about! They’d run their course, honestly. |
9 | TV | 12 | 15d, 15, imported |
| 191 |
Yuru Yuri,
|
9 | OVA | 1 | 19, imported |
| 192 |
Yuru Yuri♪♪
imported
|
9 | TV | 12 | 12c, 12, imported |
| 193 |
Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru
|
8 | TV | 12 | 14d, 14, imported |
| 194 |
Yuyushiki
|
10 | TV | 12 | 13b, 13, imported, x3 |
| 195 |
Yuyushiki: Komarasetari, Komarasaretari
|
10 | OVA | 1 | 17, imported |
| 196 |
Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou
|
7 | TV | 13 | 09, 09a, imported |
| TV: 140, OVA: 12, Movies: 19, Spcl.: 19, Eps: 0, Days: 201.06, Mean Score: 8.0, Score Dev.: 0.57 |