IzzyHime's Blog

Anime Relations: Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no Tobira, Koukaku Kidoutai: Stand Alone Complex, NHK ni Youkoso!, K-On!, K-On!!, Hourou Musuko, Steins;Gate, Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai., Hunter x Hunter (2011), JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken (TV)

10. Gotta Knock a Little Harder (Cowboy Bebop movie)
9. No, Thank You! (K-On!!)
8. Secret Base (AnoHana)
7. Odoru Akachan Ningen (NHK ni Youkoso!)
6. Hunting for Your Dream (Hunter x Hunter 2011)
5. For You (Hourou Musuko)
4. Roundabout (JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken)
3. Tokitsukasadoru Juuni no Meiyaku (Steins;Gate)
2. Don't Say "Lazy" (K-On!)
1. Lithium Flower (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex)

Anime Relations: Trigun, Shoujo Kakumei Utena, Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World, Nana, Toradora!, Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei, Hourou Musuko, Monogatari Series: Second Season, Uchouten Kazoku, Samurai Flamenco

1. H.T. (Trigun)
2. Rose (Nana)
3. Just One Life (Samurai Flamenco)
4. Magoinu to Ame no Beat (Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei)
5. Mousou Express (Monogatari Second Season)
6. Pre-Parade (Toradora)
7. Uchouten Jinsei (Uchouten Kazoku)
8. Rinbu Revolution (Shoujo Kakumei Utena)
9. All the Way (Kino no Tabi)
10. Itsu Datte (Hourou Musuko)

Anime Relations: Shinseiki Evangelion, FLCL, Shoujo Kakumei Utena, Shoujo Kakumei Utena: Adolescence Mokushiroku, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Evangelion Movie 2: Ha, Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica, Shinsekai yori, Uchouten Kazoku, Kill la Kill, Ping Pong the Animation

10. Daga Mate, Shibashi - Uchouten Kazoku
The song that accompanies the beginning exposition to every episode. I hear this and I think "hustle and bustle". This melody's all about enjoying life as it moves along at a blistering pace, fitting perfectly with the point of the show. All is well.

9. Kyubey's Theme - Puella Magi Madoka Magica
This song is interesting because its meaning changes at the end of the series. All throughout, this theme comes with conflict and despair. Usually, it reflects Kyubey and fate's dominance over the magical girls and the sinister underlyings of the series' events. In the last episode, however, it plays in a moment where Kyubey feels weak. It goes from representing Kyubey (and utilitarianism's) dominance over fate, to the dominance of the solution Madoka chooses.

8. Traditional Song of Shadows - Shin Sekai Yori
Shin Sekai Yori is about injustice. The injustices are seen from the lens of a group of children growing up, but also delivered in a third person narrative about the children in the past. This track feels like it's the screaming of all those victims and unfortunate souls.

7. Naming Sense 0 - Kill la Kill
Both the broad epicness and the personal intimacy of Kill la Kill's action sequences are heightened by sections of this track. Perhaps the song that expresses what Kill la Kill is best.

6. Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku - Revolutionary Girl Utena
(Preferred version: Student Council Arc, though Adolescence version is also good)
The first time I heard this song, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I couldn't believe what I was watching, and I knew I'd be watching it 30 more times. Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku is a canned epic. It's an ear worm designed to reflect the repetitive and performative nature of the duels in Otori. To me, those "are they really freaking doing this?" experiences heighten this show so much.

5. Hero Theme - Ping Pong the Animation
The beginning riff of this song is so meticulous, and the chorus is a piece of wonder. It's so caught up in its own moment - victory in a ping pong tournament in the name of bringing friends together, and is such a good piece of music on its own.

4. Libera Me From Hell - Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Part opera, part piano, part rap. This song is the pure essence of Kamina - just listen to it. I wouldn't say it as much exemplifies the series as that it captures one aspect of the characters in the series, Kamina's fighting spirit, and reflects it to the listener.

3. Blumenkranz - Kill la Kill
What does power sound like? Power defines Kiryuin Ragyo. "I am the one who knows everything in this world." This song is calming and powerful, yet sinister enough to show that this is more than a simple hymn. It's the song that you hear when your true enemy is a god.

2. The Beast II - Neon Genesis Evangelion
Evangelion is a character drama, pivoted on the interactions between its myriad protagonists and the world around them. But it also has scenes of giants tearing each other apart. What's great is that intimacy and serious is conserved in so many of those fights. Blood doesn't explode, it spills and it looks gross, like it should. Lots of songs have been used in those moments, but The Beast II does the best portraying moments of absolute chaos and horror, and the way that the Eva he pilots threatens to consume Shinji.

1. Little Busters - FLCL
The guitars, the volume, the barely audible lyrics. This song is one of the most comfortable things ever, while being really confusing. Confusing and comfortable is just about what makes FLCL too. The action sequences are loud and the conclusion is satisfying. It's both a burst of robotic power in the forehead and an unchanging daily life. So that's it? It's just another song that goes well with its series? No, it's the song that made its series one of the best shows of all time.

Anime Relations: JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken (TV), Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru., Gatchaman Crowds, JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 3: Stardust Crusaders, Gatchaman Crowds Insight, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Zoku, Shirobako, JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 3: Stardust Crusaders 2nd Season, Yuri Kuma Arashi, Hibike! Euphonium, Death Parade, Ore Monogatari!!, Owarimonogatari

Let’s get this show on the road!


10. Your Lie in April
Your Lie in April is kind of uneven. It’s being soothing and inspirational one second, making petty laughs the next, and the end of one episode doesn’t always flow into the beginning of another. Yet the show feels all too familiar to me for that reason. It’s a show about hesitation and insecurity, and it does good job of showing it. And gosh that music.


9. Ore Monogatari!!
On the other side of the table, we have the warm and thoughtful romantic comedy, OreMono. This show just makes me happy. The drama feels relateable, the characters don’t get caught up in unnecessary conflicts, and the central bromance (Yamato’s great too, don’t get me wrong) warmed me up. I would have liked the show to build up more on Suna and Takeo’s character development and the level of artistry in the first three episodes, but I’m not too disappointed.


8. Sound! Euphonium
This show is everything right about KyoAni. Captivating direction, wonderful colors, an endearing sense of humor, and a great central relationship between Reina and Kumiko.


7. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure - Stardust Crusaders 2
An action show and a sitcom. The Egypt arc begins with a series of humorous faceoffs against various Stand users before going into an epic action conclusion. JJBA knows what its audience wants.


6. Yuri Kuma Arashi
I could talk all day about Kunihiko Ikuhara. The compassion inherent in his criticisms, the aesthetic beauty of his symbolism, and his brilliant method of combining comedy and tragedy. Yuri Kuma itself is his most focused work: a criticism of the Invisible Storm, a criticism of those who pass judgment on those who haven’t harmed them. The show looks amazing too, and I’m still so glad to see something that simultaneously parodies Attack on Titan and heteronormativity.

5. Death Parade
Death Parade checks the boxes. Brilliant aesthetic? Check. A relatable theme? Check. Engaging stories? Check. Engagingly built world? Check. Rather than wallow as an exploitative shock show, this expansion of 2013’s Death Billiards gives us a lot to work with. Its stories are sympathetic and personal, and sometimes even seems to comment on the shallowness of anime death games and non-human stakes.

4. Oregairu Season 2
Some of the most fantastic character work I’ve seen in anime. The new studio and new director elevated Oreigairu to new heights. It continues to capture the tensions of high school life while rejecting the cynicism they imply. Oregairu is a work of art.


3. Owarimonogatari
Owarimonogatari is Monogatari that knows it’s brilliant. It stops trying to impress you, and just acts like its silly yet poignant self. The first book puts the series’ main principles into question, and it’s up to Araragi and Hanekawa to find a solution. The second book explores the beauty of temporary bonds, capping off the themes of second season and advancing them too. It might not seem much, but despite its title, Owarimonogatari isn’t trying to seem like much. It’s a preamble to a bigger conclusion, hopefully coming in 2017, and it’s a hell of a ride.


2. Shirobako
Shirobako is perfect. It’s an anime about making anime, and in that it is an anime about real life. The workplace environment is grounded while staying compelling, and the show heightens its reality at just the right times to make an impact. I couldn’t stop watching, and I hope shows like this never stop being made.


1. Gatchaman Crowds insight
Gatchaman Crowds is an anime unlike any other. Most stories are structured around the arcs of relatable characters. In Crowds, the main cast is larger than life, a series of symbols and commentaries on society. The true main character - the relatable element - is the city of Tachikawa itself. Tachikawa’s development details the movement of society through the movement of the smallest individuals. Gatchaman Crowds insight is a show that challenges us, the viewers, to be better. With brilliant aesthetics and a captivating soundtrack, it adds up to be my favorite anime of 2015.

Anime Relations: Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Shoujo Kakumei Utena, Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World, Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster, Top wo Nerae 2! Diebuster, Cowboy Bebop: Yose Atsume Blues, Bakemonogatari, Katanagatari, Shiki, Mawaru Penguindrum, Nisemonogatari, Nekomonogatari: Kuro, Monogatari Series: Second Season, Hanamonogatari, Ping Pong the Animation

Here's a list of my 10 favorite anime I saw in 2015 that weren't aired in 2015.

10. Trigun
Trigun starts off as an action comedy. Then it sometimes dives into atmospheric drama. At the end of it, we have a fully built world with greatly fleshed out characters. While I didn’t feel rewarded by the central moral conflict, everything else Trigun did hit the nail right on the head.


9. Gunbuster/Diebuster/Aim for the Top!
Gainax’s NSFW missing link, the buster shows total 12 episodes that lay the groundwork for NGE and TTGL, but also stand out as a story of their own. It’s a story about loss and moving on. It’s a story that looks to the future, and perhaps to the least desirable future where mankind has to battle the universe itself. It’s also a story with nudity. While I enjoyed Gunbuster more, watching the sequel is a must.


8. Kino’s Journey
Atmospheric, surprisingly stylistic, and endearingly grim, Kino’s Journey is the tale of a traveler who never seems to catch a break. Everywhere Kino goes, she finds tragedy, either undeserved or at the hands of a traveler who refuses to be a victim. She doesn’t try to change people. She doesn’t have any sort of destination. Kino just moves, story to story, and it’s amazing to see someone who just keeps moving.


7. Shiki
This is a slow horror story. It feels sinful to recommend a show with a slow start with the promise of a worthwhile ending, but Shiki’s emotional impact hit so hard I had nothing but praise for it after the fact. Shiki shows that in a world with monsters, no one is going to make the best choices, but everyone does the best they can. It also belongs in a hall of fame for shows that are elevated by how ugly their characters look.


6. Cowboy Bebop
This show made me feel things. It’s not straight up action, it’s not straight up character development, it’s not straight up plot. Cowboy Bebop is a jumble. And I came out of that jumble having witnessed a masterpiece. What’s interesting is that no one piece of it feels perfect, but you could take out any one piece and the whole would still feel perfect to me. You should watch Mish Mash Blues some time after episode 18. A thematic recap made to close off the show’s original run, Mish Mash Blues is one of my favorite anime episodes of all time.


5. Ping Pong the Animation
You ever see a show and just know that it’s on another level? Ping Pong the Animation follows the careers of five high school boys trying to make it in the world of table tennis. Each of them struggles with winning, losing, talent, and hard work in their own way. Like Shiki, I’d say this show has an elevating ugliness about its visuals. The soundtrack is also phenomenal. I heavily recommend it.


4. Mawaru Penguindrum
As far as I can tell, there just aren’t anime like Penguindrum. Most great stories center around a tangible theme, a tangible character, or a completely developed story. This show blends an exploration of trauma, the tests of multiple families and friendships, and a mythology that, while unexplored, is able to build themes of its own. And all of this comes together through an undercurrent of good humor and visuals above anything else Brain’s Base has produced.


3. Katanagatari
A story that sheds a harsh light on samurai dramas while building an absolutely ridiculous mythology of its own. Katanagatari doesn’t act like it’s trying to impress anyone, but its conservation of drama and the immense intelligence at its core make it one of the worthiest shows I’ve seen. These 12 double-length episodes chart the development of a great central relationship, a captivating sense of humor, and entertaining fight scenes. It’s a show that does so much without doing too much.

2. Monogatari
I know that Monogatari had a release this year (and a good one!), but I have to talk about everything that came before. This year I saw all of Monogatari. I saw Bakemonogatari, a romantic comedy with remarkable direction and captivating dialogue. It introduced a world where our inner demons become actual ones, and crafted this tale around a budding relationship between two high schoolers.
Then I saw Nisemonogatari, a family drama set in the world of a raunchy comedy. I did not enjoy it as much, but I was luckily not among those who it set back (though others argue that Nisemonogatari is actually the least problematic incarnation).
Then I saw Second Season. Whereas Bake was about the building of a relationship, Second Season was about who we are without the relationships that define us. Four out of six arcs have narrators other than faux-harem-protagonist Araragi, and these new narrators flesh out the world and make it more real.
It’s funny to say that a series is worth the parts that don’t have the “main character” in them. But being visually ingenious, meticulously adapted, stunningly directed, and filled with lessons and conflicts with the potential to redefine the way you see art, if not life, Monogatari is perhaps the greatest adaptation project, and almost certainly, for all its wastes and gross points, one of the best anime of all time.


1. Revolutionary Girl Utena
Why did I watch about 40 anime this year? Oh yeah, because this absolute masterpiece was essentially my gateway. Revolutionary Girl Utena is my idea of a really good time. It’s loaded with symbols and there’s enormous meaning in just about every shot and line in the series. The character arcs work as well defined critiques of society, particularly its expectations of women, and the central relationship between Utena and Anthy is complicated, but has a beauty of its own that gets further explored in the movie. The real great thing about Utena though, is that despite being such a heavy show, it doesn’t drag and it doesn’t frustrate the viewer with its perplexities. Revolutionary Girl Utena is always moving and always fun. Even if you don’t find meaning in the symbols, it’s still a lot of fun to watch chaos unfold in the reputable halls of Ohtori Academy. The presentation of this show shifts from progressive sitcom to psychological procedural to flashy routine battles, ending with a slurry of conversations and struggles worthy of being called the apocalypse, but director Kunihiko Ikuhara’s thematic purposes and compassion for his characters and viewers stand out throughout. For me, Utena is anime at its highest potential. Don’t get your expectations too high.

Anime Relations: Cowboy Bebop, Shinseiki Evangelion, Shinseiki Evangelion Movie: Air/Magokoro wo, Kimi ni, Samurai Champloo, FLCL, Shoujo Kakumei Utena, Shoujo Kakumei Utena: Adolescence Mokushiroku, Bakemonogatari, Katanagatari, Shiki, Mawaru Penguindrum, Nisemonogatari, Sakamichi no Apollon, Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!, Suisei no Gargantia, Monogatari Series: Second Season, Yu☆Gi☆Oh! Arc-V, Yuri Kuma Arashi, Death Parade, Ore Monogatari!!, Owarimonogatari

12. Knocking out the classics
I got through Lain, Bebop, Champloo, Gunbuster (tears!), Trigun, Mushishi, Kino's Journey, and Eureka Seven this year. Go me! I also saw one Ghost in the Shell Movie and the first two cours of SAC.

11. YuGiOh Arc-V
I've never finished a Yugioh show. Well hopefully one day I will! What started with curiosity in the new summoning mechanic has turned into a binge watch only rivaled by getting through Utena in a week.

10. First of the year - Death Parade!
As far as I recall, Death Parade was my first anime of the year. I could be wrong. Anyhow it was good stuff!

9. Coming back to MAL
I hadn't used my MAL in years. There were so many 10s! Since that re-visitation, I've got over 100 titles in my completed and I'm having a blast here.


8. Holy crap Yuasa
The year's not complete if I don't mention Ping Pong the Animation. Basically it's perfection. I also saw Mind Game, which had a similar level of aesthetic strength augmented by character depth.

7. End of the Year Rush
I'm currently trying to watch as much 2015 anime as I can so I can say which are my favorites. I somewhat regret not watching Ore Monogatari!! and Sound! Euphonium sooner, as they have been lovely. JoJo I'm glad to be caught up with, and Maria the Virgin Witch looks promising. Alas, despite the hype, Unlimited Blade Works and Gundam the Origin have failed to impress me enough for consideration. I'd like to get through them next year though!

6. Nice to meet you, Shinichiro Watanabe
Samurai Champloo and Kids on the Slope were some of the best shows I've seen. Cowboy Bebop made me cry over a Betamax tape.

5. Okay I freaking love this show
Shiki went from "this just seems averagely good", to "did I just compare this to Penguindrum?" to "Okay this is one of the greatest things I've ever seen, when will I stop thinking about it?"

4. Reinvigoration
What do you do after you watch Psycho-Pass and Haibane Renmei, two slow burning dramas based around intense themes and silent moments? Watch Suisei no Gargantia, a story about a young man reinventing himself in a beautiful new world, and Chuunibyou, a show about accepting your past and emphasizing the people who get caught up in it. After two very gray (and good!) shows, it was nice to have that bright spot.

3. So... Many... Gataris
Monogatari is basically like More Eva for me. Katanagatari is a show I can't help but find to be genius.

2. Re-watching
I re-watched Evangelion and FLCL this year. I've never been much for re-looking at shows, but I'm glad I've started too. On a second viewing, Evangelion wasn't the boring-but-brilliant action piece I remembered. I saw into the mind of a young boy named Shinji Ikari, a very interesting one who molds himself into whoever he thinks people need. Episode 4, which was cringeworthy on my first watch, was a piece of brilliance on my second watch. Eva also reminded me of many anime I saw for the first time this year, like Utena and Eureka Seven. I looked right into End of Evangelion and saw a movie that was profoundly sad, and yet still lovely.

As of now I still have 2 episodes of FLCL to go, but it's certainly been an impressive show! I've realized the unique thing about it is it feels like a music video. I hope the ending's any good.

1. Kunihiko Ikuhara turns me into an anime fan.
I'd seen a lot of anime prior to 2015, but I've seen more in 2015 than in any other year. It's honestly because of Kunihiko Ikuhara. Utena, Yuri Kuma Arashi, and Penguindrum are some of the most impactful shows I've seen. Their charming humor and incredible thematic points made me look at this medium and say "I want to find everything worth finding in here".