Toucanbird's Blog

Anime Relations: Sidonia no Kishi, No Game No Life, Seitokai Yakuindomo*, Hitsugi no Chaika, Bokura wa Minna Kawai-sou, Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis, Hanamonogatari, Sword Art Online II, Ao Haru Ride, Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii, Amagi Brilliant Park, Free! Eternal Summer, Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, Tokyo Ghoul, Aldnoah.Zero, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, Psycho-Pass 2, Zankyou no Terror, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, Log Horizon 2nd Season, Hitsugi no Chaika: Avenging Battle

Happy New Year Oh MAL Community!

I fully expect 2015 to be the greatest year ever! Well, I suppose its better to be optimistic than my usual old pessimistic self...because, well...2014 had me pretty pessimistic overall. Generally speaking, I found the anime year that was 2014 to be rather dull. There weren't really many blockbuster hit series outside of one in particular. Hell, I can't even say there was an anime I watched in 2014 that "blew me away." I did believe there was one in particular that was far stronger than all the rest, but there wasn't anything that aired that I'd give the illustrious "10" title to.

At any rate, it is time for me to put together my best anime list. Overall, I was pretty disappointed with just about every anime I watched. There were a few pretty nice surprises, but it seemed like more times than not, an anime series would start great and end terrible.

Normally I do a complete countdown of anime I watched in 2014, but I dropped and put so many series on-hold, I could only compile a Top 20 list...and even with that, I struggled. Before I get anyone harping on me about my list, here are a few series that I either didn't watch but probably will after hearing reviews or have put on-hold.

Parasyte - I didn't watch this one right away, but after hearing a lot of great things about it. I'll probably give this anime a viewing when I get the opportunity.

Ping Pong - To be honest, this one doesn't seem appealing to me. However, I'm hearing a lot of great things about it, so I might give it a shot.

Akame ga Kill! - I had to put this one on-hold just for the fact that I started Grad School and really haven't had the time to keep up with it. Now that I am on winter break though, I might try to get caught up on it.

Mushishi - Honestly, this is just something I need to catch up on. I'm only about halfway through the original Mushishi series so I'm quite a ways off from catching up to this. I'm sure I'll get to it eventually, but I'll admit its a slow process.

Now, with no further ado, here are the top 20 anime I watched in 2014. (All MAL Scores are as of Jan. 1, 2015

20. Seitokai Yakuindomo*
Temp. Score - 7
MAL Score - 7.91
Mean Score - 7.45
I can't say there was anything particularly memorable about Seitokai Yakuindomo*, but that's the thing with this series. It's really only a simple comedy series with a complete role reversal with perverted female characters with the lone male character being the "voice of reason." Much like the first season, it was worth a few laughs and it is a nice series if you just want to shut the brain off and let your own perverted sense of humor be amused by this series.

19. No Game No Life
Temp. Score - 7
MAL Score - 8.66
Mean Score - 7.83
I was actually quite disappointed by No Game No Life. While I'm not one to typically judge others sense of judgment toward anime, I really do question what the MAL community sees in this series to rate it an 8.66. Sure, the series does have some hilarious moments and some pretty well written gaming scenes (as well as comedic writing), however, this series just had too many turn-offs for me. For starters, the characters felt extremely linear with very little depth to them. It got to the point where it felt like all the characters were predictable as to what they would do and even how the puzzles would be solved. Secondly, my God the fan service was off-putting in this...to the point where it was a distraction. Thirdly, dat cliffhanger ending. They actually would have had a perfect ending to a first season if they just would have stopped it 30 seconds sooner. All-in-all, I thought NGNL was a very entertaining series, but far from one of the best anime of the year.

18. Hitsugi no Chaika (+Avenging Battle)
Temp. Score - 7
MAL Score - 7.63, 7.44
Mean Score - 7.36
I'm not sure what the obsession is with lolis and coffins lately, but what I will say is Hitsugi no Chaika was entertaining. The series had some pretty likable characters and some of the best fighting choreography outside of Fate/Stay Night that I watched. I included both seasons of Hitsugi no Chaika in this since both series aired in 2014 and the two series overlap with each other perfectly (I honestly don't even know why they needed to take a season break). However, I will admit that this series was a pretty massive disappointment. The second season in particular was quite a letdown after what the first season built up. The twist of this series was rather predictable, the last episode as a whole was anti-climatic, and the ending of the series felt incredibly rushed and uneventful. The series as a whole was still incredibly entertaining, but it had way too many flaws for me to consider it a great series. It was good, but it could have been so much better.

17. Tokyo Ghoul
Temp. Score - 7
MAL Score - 8.08
Mean Score - 7.54
I tell you what, listening to the fans of the manga whine and complain about how poorly this series was adapted sure was annoying. Mostly because I wasn't a reader of the manga, so I basically just had to enjoy the series as it was. So, was it any good? I do believe so. Considering how it started and how it finished, I do think it was kinda disappointing, but most of my complaints with this series come with the pacing and character development. Ken's development was extremely slow and it felt like he didn't get most of his overall development as a character until the last two episodes. I don't think that bodes well for the series when it's main protagonist is thrown that much to the wayside. However, the positives with this series is the supporting cast was fantastic and the plot of this series was intriguing. This series had an interesting take on the horror genre, since it didn't portray ghouls as these horrifyingly evil creatures of the night that feed on human souls. This series actually humanized ghouls in a lot of ways. I found that in itself to be interesting. I do feel this series ended on a rather awful note, but at least it will get a continuation right off the bat in 2015...so I'll be looking forward to that.

16. Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou
Temp. Score - 7
MAL Score - 8.04
Mean Score - 7.52
There really was a lot to like with this series. The comedic writing and development of the characters in this series was truly fantastic. There were very few anime in 2014 that had me laughing harder than this series and it's incredibly unique cast. The thing I liked most with this series for a while was how it balanced out romance and comedy for a little while. However, at the end of the day, I can only call this a good series and not a great one. The reason? A very unsatisfying ending. VERY...unsatisfying. It truly resolved nothing by the end of the series and considering the nature of this series, I found that disappointing. It actually makes me bitter because now I want a sequel to this series, but I highly doubt we'll ever get one. All I can do now is shake my head at the creators of this series and how they let a golden opportunity slip through their fingers on this one.

15. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
Temp. Score - 7
MAL Score - 8.43
Mean Score - 7.71
This is yet another series where I truly don't understand what the MAL community sees in this series. I've heard countless people say that they think this is the anime of the year, or "one of the best" anime of the year. I actually didn't watch it as it was airing and ended up picking it up later after hearing the reviews. What did I think of it? It was good...not "great" like a lot of people said, but good. As a comedy, it was pretty solid. It had a lot of laugh-out-loud moments and Nozaki was hilariously blunt. Overall though, I felt like some of the comedy fell flat and (to continue the trend), I was VERY unsatisfied with the ending to the series. Would it kill a series this year to actually pursue a romance? Because this felt like another wasted opportunity. Either way, Nozaki-kun was one of the funniest anime I watched this year, but it was still far from one of the best.

14. *Log Horizon 2
Temp. Score - 7
MAL Score - 8.09
Mean Score - 7.54
I considered the first season of Log Horizon to be one of the most pleasant surprises of 2013. While it seems like the "trapped in a video game* concept has been quite popular the last three years (starting with Sword Art Online), Log Horizon actually felt like one of the better ones. So, how about the second season? Well, midway through it, I'd have to say that it's just okay. It really seemed like it took a while for this season to "get the ball rolling" as the pacing through the first quarter of this series felt remarkably slow. There also seemed to be a lack of actual gaming strategy that made the first season so much fun to watch. I did feel like the series picked things up quite a bit in the latter half, all the while adding a lot of depth to Akatsuki's character. Overall, it does feel like this series is heading in the right direction and will eventually get as good as the first season. It's not there yet, but it's definitely on its way.

13. Amagi Brilliant Park
Temp. Score - 7
MAL Score - 7.86
Mean Score - 7.43
I'm still waiting for Kyoto Animation to "blow me away" with something, ANYTHING recently. Coming into the fall season, I didn't expect Amagi Brilliant Park to do that. I had my expectations set pretty low for it and overall, the series was a mild surprise. It has been a while since I've seen Kyoto Ani make a straight-up pure comedy, but that's essentially what this was. It was primarily a comedy first and foremost with some drama mixed in just to keep it interesting. Overall, I'd say the comedy was solid. It had me chuckling at quite a few moments and personally, I found the mascots of this park to be the funniest part of the series (especially Tiramie). The biggest hold-up for Amagi is it's COMPLETELY unnecessary final episode as well as one of the main plot points not being resolved. It seriously felt like the creators had a "oh $h!t, we scheduled 13 episodes instead of 12, let's make something to fill up time!" moments with its final episode. The last episode I'll admit was funny, but it did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to advance the plot. It seriously felt more like an OVA than part of the actual series. Still, as a comedy though, I highly recommend this and it is typical Kyoto Ani making a beautiful anime...albeit it is a bit scaled back compared to most Kyoto Ani anime.

12. Aldnoah.Zero
Temp. Score - 8
MAL Score - 7.91
Mean Score - 7.95
There is only one word I can use to say to describe Aldnoah.Zero in a nutshell...polarizing. I don't think there was an anime that segregated its fans more than what Aldnoah.Zero did. The way this series ended, it felt like people were either going to love the ending of this series or absolutely hate it. I was in the latter camp at first...I was outraged by the ending of this series. However, I took a little time and contemplated what it all meant and I feel as though I rushed to judgment to it at first. The character flaws of this series stick out so much that it actually makes the characters extremely realistic...and it is something that I really appreciate from this series now. Unfortunately, this is a tough series to recommend because you are either going to love it or hate it. There really isn't much of a middle ground with this one, however, I was one that loved it and can't wait for the second season to air this coming Winter.

11. Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii
Temp. Score - 8
MAL Score - 7.78
Mean Score - 7.89
I'm not going to lie, I feel that The World Is Still Beautiful was one of the best romance series of 2014...or at the very least a highly underrated one. I wasn't sure what to expect from this right away when I watched it, but overall, I was pretty happy with what I saw. The characters have a rather interesting chemistry with each other that made their relationship work remarkably well. It was almost hilarious seeing just how many people were trying to break them up, but they just kept overcoming it and proving the naysayers wrong. The few downsides this series has is the production values aren't the best. However, the music is quite fitting and the characters and story are pretty well done. I do feel like this series does get a bit of a bum rap just for the fact so many people are turned off by the so-called "pedophilia" of this series...which I personally didn't really see considering the age of the prince was a bit deceiving. However, on the whole...this was a really pleasant series to watch and was definitely one of the better romance series I watched this year.

10. Sidonia no Kishi
Temp. Score - 8
MAL Score - 8.00
Mean Score - 8.00
I'll give this to Sidonia, it was unlike any anime I've ever watched before. It's visual style in itself was rather interesting. There was very little color implemented in this series outside of fight scenes...and to be honest, I think that use (or lack there of) of the color palette actually gave this series the feel of fighting for your life in outer space. Now, I'll admit the plot to this series is pretty cookie cutter and recycled. There is NOTHING unique about the plot of this series in the least and I'll even admit that the characters aren't all that interesting. However, there is one little aspect to this series (which I will not spoil) that I do believe makes this series REALLY interesting to watch and has my curiosity piqued for a second season.

9. Free! Eternal Summer
Temp. Score - 8
MAL Score - 8.08
Mean Score - 8.04
While the surprises were few and far between in 2014, Free!: Eternal Summer was one I'd consider a MASSIVE surprise. First of all, I'll admit that I wasn't a big fan of the first season. It was a decent series, but for me, it was nothing to write home about. The character development for that series was a bit lackluster and there wasn't anything I found particularly remarkable outside of the animation. However, Eternal Summer blew me away at parts. The emotional development of the characters felt genuine and after about a season and a half, the writers of this series actually made Haruka into a three dimensional character. Honestly, I actually got quite emotional at parts of this series, especially in the final third. This series was also one of the few that had a very satisfying ending that essentially wrapped up the series in a nice little bow. I was concerned when I originally started watching this because I truly believed it was probably going to be the first season all over again, but the drama of this series was genuine and I loved every minute of Free.

8. Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis
Temp. Score - 8
MAL Score - 8.00
Mean Score - 8.00
It was a pretty good year for Studio MAPPA and Rage of the Bahamut was a nice little series they put together. This series implemented and mixed a lot of ancient folklore into it's own unique plot that provided an interesting cast of characters (full of hilarity) to go along with a remarkably gorgeous final fight scene. The action of this series was remarkable and the animation was absolutely fantastic. The downside to this series for me was the pacing though. This series kinda sped up and slowed down the pacing of the plot that had me enthralled at times, but also disinterested. There were times where I'd let this series sit for a few weeks because I lost interest in watching it, however when I did pick it back up again, things would become interesting again. Still, on the whole this was a really nice series to watch and it ended up being rather adorable in the end (although if you do think about it, it is kinda gross knowing what you know about Amira). lol

7. Psycho-Pass 2
Temp. Score - 8
MAL Score - 7.81
Mean Score - 7.90
I really wanted to love this series. After the first five episodes, I was almost ready to give this anime of the year. However, it’s final half was a huge step in the wrong direction. The series became predictable and the whole plot itself became unraveled at the seams. I definitely wouldn’t say the series was bad, just disappointing in its final act. It didn’t have the sort of payoff that I would have liked and it seemed like many characters lacked some major development. I’d say on the whole, this series needed to be much longer to hash out some of the characters. I feel if this series were 22 episodes like the first series of Psycho-Pass, it would have been damn good and the series would have been far better fleshed out. Still, I wouldn’t say this series made me hate the Psycho-Pass universe because I’m still REALLY looking forward to the movie.

6. Hanamonogatari
Temp. Score - 9
MAL Score - 8.26
Mean Score - 8.63
I will say that it is strange seeing a shift from the lead character Koyomi to Suruga, especially considering Suruga is one of my least favorite characters in the entire Monogatari franchise. HOWEVER, what I will say is it didn’t detract from the overall quality of the series. Hanamonogatari, in my opinion, is one of the best sub-plots in the entire Monogatari series. I wouldn’t call it the best, but definitely up there. This series made me feel a lot of sympathy towards both Suruga and Rouka, the person of focus in this series. Overall, this series does everything that past Monogatari series have done. I wouldn’t say this series brakes the mold a ton. It’s the same type of animation, same type of music, and the same type of storytelling. On the whole though, I thought the one thing that sort of kept me from absolutely loving it was due to just how short the series was. I wanted to find out even more about Rouka and what was going on with the rest of the characters with this series, but the length didn’t allow the series a ton of legroom to develop those characters. Still, this is a solid series, even for how short it is.

5. Sword Art Online 2
Temp. Score - 9
MAL Score - 7.81
Mean Score - 8.40
I’m not going to lie, I think SAO 2 was the surprise of the year for me. I’m not a huge fan of the SAO franchise. I thought the first season was okay, but I wasn’t on the lover or hater bandwagon like many others were. I just thought it was a decent series and that was it. However, I thought the second season of this series was fantastic. The Phantom Bullet arc was a pretty decent one. It was certainly a step up from the Fairy Dance arc from the first season from a narrative standpoint. The Calibur arc (albeit short) seemed a bit unnecessary. I’ll admit that was probably the only downside of this season. However, there was one arc that I thought absolutely made this series…and that was the Mother’s Rosario arc. The Mother’s Rosario arc was probably the most engaging story of any I’ve seen this year. It was certainly the most emotionally captivating. I can honestly say I didn’t expect SAO 2 to make me cry this year but Mother’s Rosario sure did tug at the heartstrings. More importantly though, it added A TON of depth to Asuna’s character and no character in this series needed the development more than her. Overall, SAO 2 was a ton of fun to watch and I feel the MAL community might be overlooking it quite a bit.

4. Ao Haru Ride
Temp. Score - 9
MAL Score - 7.98
Mean Score - 8.49
I’m not the biggest shoujo fan on the planet, but I’ll admit that Ao Haru Ride had me going quite a bit. It truly had me invested in all of its characters. Even the characters that managed to piss me off at times had me buying into their characters and their emotions. While I wouldn’t say the ending to this series was perfect, it definitely “sequel baited” and ended it where I expected them to (I read the manga). I thought the acting of this series was pretty superb and I also felt it had an interesting visual style. Like I said, the downside of it was that this isn’t a story that’s going to be concluded in one season, or hell, even two seasons. The series ended in an odd spot which took away from how emotional the series could be. However, regardless of its ending, Ao Haru Ride was a series that had me thoroughly engaged from beginning to end. It’s a really wonderful story with wonderful characters. It certainly is one of the most emotionally engaging anime I watched from 2014.

3. Zankyou no Terror
Temp. Score - 9
MAL Score - 8.34
Mean Score - 8.67
I was truly hoping that Zankyou no Terror was going to be the best anime of 2014 when I watched it. This series had “great” written all over it. From the animation, to the music composition, to the direction, this series was an absolute delight to watch. This series got off to one of the best starts I’ve ever seen from an anime and took a rather odd direction. This series actually took the perspective of the antagonists of the series. Shinichiro Watanabe was able to direct this in a way that you actually felt sympathy for the antagonists. The only real slight I have against this series was a pacing issue between the second and third acts. This series hit a little bit of a bump when Five was brought in, even though I would say she’s an interesting character. There was also one minor plot convenience that made me go “wait a minute!” toward the last two episodes, but I wouldn’t say it interfered enough with the story for me to say it was a huge detraction. I was hoping Watanabe would have another “Cowboy Bebop” level anime that set the standard with this series. Unfortunately, I don’t think it quite “hit the mark” in that regard, but I still won’t deny that it was one of the best anime I watched in 2014.

2. *Shigatsu no Kimi Uso
Temp. Score - 9
MAL Score - 8.55
Mean Score - 8.77
Atmospherically, this is one of the most captivating series I watched from 2014. While it does have an asterisk since it is only halfway through the series, I feel this series is the most capable of hitting a Clannad or Ano Hana type standard with developing dramatical characters. This series is downright gorgeous with its outstanding classical soundtrack, downright gorgeous visuals, and somewhat mysterious characters (or rather one in particular). This series attacks its character development from several different angles, and I feel this series will only continue to hammer away at it through the winter season.

1. Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works
Temp. Score - 9
MAL Score - 8.72
Mean Score - 8.86
I’m honestly not surprised I put this as my #1. To be frank, when I heard about ufotable adapting F/SN: UBW, I felt like this could be the best anime of 2014. Out of what I watched, it was definitely the best anime I watched. I was EXTREMELY close to giving this a 10, but I did feel that the pacing of this series dragged at times and I felt it was overemphasizing a bit with its character development and the plot was at a bit of a standstill. Granted, I gave it a little bit of a benefit of the doubt since I am a firm believer that too much character development is better than not enough, but even I’ll admit the pacing dragged a little too much for my liking. However, that doesn’t detract from just how fantastic this series was. The animation was absolutely remarkable and it had some of the best action/fight scenes I’ve ever seen in an anime. That is one thing I will say about Ufotable, hot damn do they know how to animate a fight scene! The soundtrack was superb as to be expected and the characters were pretty solid as well. The one thing I’ll say is it’s such a shame that this is going to be my “Anime of the Year” and it’s only the first part of a two part series, because that is going to make the anticipation for the second season only that much more grueling.

Anime Rated By MAL Score
1. Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works - 8.72
2. No Game No Life - 8.66
3. Shigatsu no Kimi Uso - 8.55
4. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun - 8.43
5. Zankyou no Terror - 8.34
6. Hanamonogatari - 8.26
7. Log Horizon 2 - 8.09
T8. Tokyo Ghoul - 8.08
T8. Free! Eternal Summer - 8.08
10. Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou - 8.04
T11. Sidonia no Kishi - 8.00
T11. Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis - 8.00
13. Ao Haru Ride - 7.98
T14. Seitokai Yakuindomo* - 7.91
T14. Aldnoah.Zero - 7.91
16. Amagi Brilliant Park - 7.86
T17. Psycho-Pass 2 - 7.81
T17. Sword Art Online 2 - 7.81
19. Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii - 7.78
20. Hitsugi no Chaika - 7.63, 7.44

Mean Score Average
1. Fate/Stay Night - 8.86
2. Shigatu no Kimi Uso - 8.77
3. Zankyou no Terror - 8.67
4. Hanamonogatari - 8.63
5. Ao Haru Ride - 8.49
6. Sword Art Online 2 - 8.40
7. Free! Eternal Summer - 8.04
T8. Sidonia no Kishi - 8.00
T8. Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis - 8.00
10. Aldnoah.Zero - 7.95
11. Psycho-Pass 2 - 7.90
12. Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii - 7.89
13. No Game No Life - 7.81
14. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun - 7.71
T15. Tokyo Ghoul - 7.54
T15. Log Horizon 2 - 7.54
17. Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou - 7.52
18. Seitokai Yakuindomo* - 7.45
19. Amagi Brilliant Park - 7.43
20. Hitsugi no Chaika - 7.36

I don't think it's any secret that the fall season is commonly the best season for any anime calendar year. While 2013 seemed a little more reserved, it still produced gems like Kill la Kill, Nagi no Asukara, Golden Time (to some), White Album 2 (which is HIGHLY underrated), Kyoukai no Kanata, Magi, and Kyousougiga. Fall 2012 produced some massive gems, including Psycho-Pass, Bakuman 3, Chuunibyou, Gintama: Enchousen, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Robotics;Notes, and one of my all-time favorite anime, Shinsekai Yori.

I might be crazy for saying this, but the 2014 fall season might be the best one of date. There are some immaculate anime debuting this season and after going through a trial run of the first few episodes of some of the best anime airing this season, here are my thoughts (in order of how I think about them).

1. Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works - I'm not shocked that this was #1 on my list. It wasn't momentarily, but after watching episode 0 and episode 1 (about an hour and a half of content), I can honestly say this has me the most engaged. I was a fan of the Studio Deen F/SN and this is blowing it out of the water. Unlike Fate/Zero, I also feel that this series "has more soul." It spent the first two episodes establishing it's plot and building it's characters right off the bat, with episode 0 focusing on Rin and episode 1 focusing on Shirou. It was a perfect one-two punch, as not only did it develop it's characters extremely well with no "dancing around the events of Fate/Zero like Studio Deen did," but displayed some VISUALLY STUNNING fights. This was just a teaser for what was to come, and what it delivered was downright amazing. I have little doubt that this will be my favorite anime of the year, hands down. However, that isn't to say it has no contenders...

2. Psycho-Pass 2 - The first season of Psycho-Pass ended up coming in a fairly close third/second in 2012 for me. Shinsekai Yori and Hyouka were the only two anime I found to be better than Psycho-Pass that year, but it was close. Psycho-Pass was the dystopian futuristic cop drama that brought back memories of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex. It was an amazing series and I'd argue that it was perhaps Gen Urobuchi's best work, or a very close second to Madoka Magica. Still, with that being said, the first episode of Psycho-Pass 2 completely blew me away. I was expecting good stuff, but I wasn't expecting THIS good. I do like the time skip between season one and season two since I am quite intrigued by what happened in-between, but obviously a lot since Akane Tsunemori has developed into an exemplary inspector. The few concerns I have is the season being shorter than the last and being taken over by a different production company, but so far the first impression it's left is astounding.

3. Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis - Studio Mappa got everyone's attention last season with it's debut hit Zankyou no Terror. Boy, it looks like they're following up in all the right ways with a series that's bringing medieval anime back harder than Justin Timberlake brought sexy back. Unless my memory eludes me, the last medieval themed anime I watched was Legend of the Legendary Heroes. A great anime in it's own right, but it fell flat due to it's lack of a strong conclusion. I guess Maoyuu Maou Yuusha would count, but that didn't seem to have the "grit" that many medieval anime have. I'd say I'm sure many might resort to the likes of Berserk, but I haven't seen that anime...yet. Honestly though, this anime feels a lot like Cowboy Bebop or Samurai Champloo. Quirky bounty hunters trying to unite a girl with a long, lost family member, going on a long journey in the process? Yup, sounds just like Samurai Champloo. Still, even if the story doesn't seem original, the concepts of this anime are. The animation and choreography of the fight scenes is quite stunning. I'm not quite sure what to think of this since one main character in particular is kinda annoying, but so far through two episodes, it's pretty damn good.

4. Shigatsu wa Kimi Uso - I'm not going to lie, of all the anime airing this season, I was looking forward to this one the most. I was looking forward to it even more so than Fate/Stay Night and Psycho-Pass. After one episode? I thought it was pretty good...but it didn't blow me away. I expected this to be perhaps the next Ano Hana...except with more of a Nodame Cantabile theme to it. However, this first episode felt more like Hyouka meets Golden Time-ish...except with 14-year-olds. I do see the potential in this series, but I do feel it was a bit rushed and it didn't really express the inner emotions of the characters very well. Still, that isn't to say this is bad because I see the potential in this. This has the potential to be phenomenal. So, I guess you could say that I found this episode slightly disappointing, but still not terrible and not ruining it's potential.

5. Amagi Brilliant Park - While I do think Shigatsu was a bit disappointing, on the flip side, I found Amagi to be surprising. I haven't had the most faith in Kyoto Ani lately. While I did think Free 2 was phenomenal, I've found many of their works lately to be underwhelming. Amagi has a strange vibe for me. While it's characters are somewhat prototypical and it's plot not necessarily anything that special, there's just something about how the characters play off each other that gives this anime an interesting vibe. Much like Free, it feels like Amagi is testing some waters that Kyoto Ani has never treaded before (I apologize for the swimming pun). Two episodes in and I'm strapped in for the roller coaster ride Amagi Brilliant Park is going to send me on.

6. Hitsugi no Chaika: Avenging Battle - I'm not going to lie, I did find it's first episode to be rather disappointing. It felt rather shounen-esque. Chaika fights one of the heroes for a remain. Chaika gets her ass kicked. Hero considers it a friendly battle and gives Chaika advice about how to beat her next time, and then Chaika trains her new method for yet another challenge with the hero. Needless to say, I wasn't overly impressed with this side story. However, the one saving grace about the episode revolved around Vivi and the Gillete Corps. They suffered a major blow at the end of season 1 and what's happening to Vivi has me enthralled. I won't lie, Vivi was my least favorite character from season 1. However, she's suddenly become one of my favorite characters here in season 2...or at least the most intriguing.

7. Grisaia no Kajitsu - I'll admit, the first episode didn't quite sell me. It was a little too heavy-handed with the ecchi in the first episode and I feel it detracted a bit from the feel of the series. The second episode wasn't quite what I expected, but it did provide a nice bit of character development and it's slowly but surely changing my opinion of it. This series is fairly mysterious...maybe selling it short, VERY mysterious. There's an unknown background to each character in this series and little by little, each character is getting unraveled...like peeling an apple. While I can't say the first two episodes were amazing, I did at least find them intriguing. Do I think this series will turn into a cult classic? I doubt it, but I've learned to never put anything past anime. This could turn out to be phenomenal, but the first two episodes left more to be desired from the series.

8. Selector Spread WIXOSS - To be honest, the only reason why I even watched this was out of obligation. I finished the first season earlier this year with some mixed feelings. The first season was rather disappointing. I was expecting potentially the next Madoka Magica...instead, I got a ton of oddball character motivations, a reversal in story building, and a cliffhanger end that didn't really satisfy me as a viewer. I do think it's animation style is interesting, but it had to do something with it's characters and their motivation. The second season so far is off to a remarkably better start. Of course, splitting off the story from the incestuous pair does help tremendously, I am intrigued by the psychological twists this is taking. I'm still keeping this relatively low on my list because I'm wary of this series. I thought the first season got off to a decent start too and then went down the toilet at the midway point. You know what they say, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I'll be wary of this series until it's end, but so far it's off to a good start.

9. Log Horizon 2 - I tell you what, I never thought I'd be putting Log Horizon 2 all the way down to #9 two episodes in. I loved the first season of Log Horizon. It was a refreshing take on the MMORPG genre of anime (funny how it's essentially becoming a genre). However, after two episodes, I'm relatively bored. There really wasn't much in the first two episodes that made me feel invested. It introduced a new character and brought back a few that saw limited action in the first season. However, I'm having a hard time staying invested in this. I was looking forward to a second season once the first season ended, but so far, it seems like I'm regretting it. I'm hoping this anime picks up soon...

10. Shirobako - Is it weird of me to have this anime in 10th but thought it got off to a good start? I guess perhaps this is the case of me suffering from a P.A. Works hangover on how dreadfully abysmal Glasslip was. To be honest though, Shirobako actually had an entertaining first episode. I picked it up on a whim and I'll admit, I found it enjoyable. This series in a sense reminds me a bit of Hanasaku Iroha as we follow a girl go through the process of growing up within the anime production industry and how frantic the lifestyle is on a daily basis. I guess it's an interesting take on how the animation industry works. The reason why I have it so low on my list is due to my expectations of the series. I'm really not sure what to expect of this and I'm not sure of how this is going to play out. I suppose you can't really call that a bad thing, but I like to be in certain mindsets when I watch anime and I'm really not sure what to consider this. The first episode had very little character development because it introduced about 20 characters (if not more) and had them moving at a mile per minute. The pacing was incredibly fast and the character development was rather non-existent, despite it being an enjoyable episode.

11. Ushinawareta Mirai wo Motomete - Coming into the season, I was kinda looking forward to this. Judging from the plot synopsis and initial artwork, I thought this could be a potential Tasogare Otome x Amnesia or Sankarea, both of which outstanding and underrated anime. However, wow...these first two episodes left an awful impression on me. HORRENDOUS artwork and animation...some of the worst I've seen this year, awkward transitions, strange cuts between scenes, unexplained plot points that are followed by the aforementioned awkward transitions. It's actually pissing me off because I see a good story here, but it's being handled terribly. This series has me a bit handcuffed because I'm interested in the story but it has nothing to do with how Feel is producing it. I really wish a bigger and better production company took the reigns on this because Feel fell flat on their face with it so far.

12. World Trigger (dropped) - I dropped this after the first episode. It's ultimately just another sloppy shounen produced by Studio Pierrot, who, yet again, is putting in a C- effort with the animation and writing. I watched the first episode as a bit of a test for Studio Pierrot and they just failed miserably.


Those are my impressions of the anime I'm watching so far this season. All-in-all, I see a lot of great stuff coming out this season with a few possible classics in the mix. Still, just a small reminder, the order these series are in aren't how I expect these anime will play out. They are just my impressions so far. I think everything that I have in the top 10 of my list to be at least a potential great series. The only ones I question are the last two, one of which I dropped. Still, as noted in the comments, I do have my concerns for some the series in the top 10 and I feel they could potentially falter. I'm really looking forward to how this season will play out and I feel this could be the best season of anime in a long time. One can sure hope so at least...

Anime Relations: Chrno Crusade, Koukyoushihen Eureka Seven, Kanon (2006), Sola, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Clannad, ef: A Tale of Memories., Ookami to Koushinryou, Clannad: After Story, ef: A Tale of Melodies., Ookami to Koushinryou II, Senjou no Valkyria, Angel Beats!, Katanagatari, Little Busters!, Little Busters! Refrain

Okay, yeah. I realize I'm three days late with this blog. I had a weekend that caught up to me and a job interview on Monday, so I didn't really get a chance to focus on writing this blog. So hey, a few extra days of Retrospective Week can't hurt, can it?

I do feel a little bad being late with this blog since I did "hype it up" in my Friday blog of Eureka Seven. Still, I cannot help but gush over Angel Beats the more I think about it and the impact it had on me as an anime viewer.

At the time I watched Angel Beats, I was still a modest anime viewer, especially since I had just started getting into subbed anime. I watched Angel Beats around the same time I was starting to get into watching airing anime. If nothing else, perhaps Angel Beats was the anime that converted me to an airing anime viewer.

I watched Angel Beats back in 2011. At the time, I had a mutual anime friend that recommended seven anime that I absolutely HAD to watch because he claimed that it would "change my perspective on how I would view anime." The seven anime he recommended, in order, were Angel Beats, ef-a tale of memories (and melodies), Katanagatari, Spice + Wolf, sola, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and Senjou no Valkyria. I have to give this friend a ton of credit, because outside of sola, I've rated all of these anime a 9 or higher on MAL, with Angel Beats and ef-a tale of memories being on my actual favorites list.

At the time, Angel Beats hit me harder than any anime I had ever seen. I cried on multiple occasions within this series and I can honestly say it's the first anime that made me cry more than once during it's entire runtime. I can't say it's the first anime to make me cry...unfortunately, Chrno Crusade holds that title. However, I can say no anime to this date has had a more profound impact on me than Angel Beats.

I suppose the biggest question would be, why? What was it about Angel Beats that was so different from anything else? For me, it was just how powerful each character's story was within the series. This was the first series that ever made me realize that the most important part of an anime is it's characters and not it's story or plot. This series, for each of it's sub-plots, made me genuinely care for it's character. Yes, that's including Otonashi and Kanade, two main characters you could argue are some of the blandest personalities in anime. Could have fooled me though, because I genuinely gave a damn about everything these characters did. However, it wasn't just these two characters for me. Hell, they weren't the two characters I liked the most in this series. No, that title would belong to Hinata and Yui.

The sub-plot revolving around Hinata and Yui in my opinion is one of the most profound I've seen from two supporting characters in an anime series. This one hit especially close to home for me personally because I could draw the parallels between myself and Hintata as well as my younger sister and Yui. I've confessed this story before on MAL, but I'll mention it again in this blog. I have a younger sister who was born paralyzed from the waist down and had never been able to walk. Ironically, she has a lot of the same interests as Yui, she loves sports and she loves singing. Both of those things are her passion. I wouldn't quite draw the same parallel in the personalities of my sister and Yui, but then again, I'm not sure how different my sister's personality would be if she wasn't paralyzed and was able to live life how she would want to. I found myself being pretty similar to both Hinata and Otonashi in a sense. I was a very active athlete when I was in high school. The sport I played the most was baseball, so I was able to draw a close parallel to Hinata and how he felt. Since my younger sister loved sports but couldn't play them, when I was younger, I invented a style of play with a whiffle ball and a plastic bat that allowed for my sister to compete with me in simulated baseball games that gave her equal footing. My sister loved playing this game, often asking me to play it with her on multiple occasions. It gave my sister the opportunity to stay active while having fun at the same time. It brought a smile to my face that I was able to bring such joy to her life. While I moved away to attend college and currently live quite far away from my sister now, she's always texting me and calling me to talk about sports. At any rate, the reason why this story about Hinata and Yui had such a profound impact on me is that I wish my little sister would be able to find her Hinata. That she would be able to find someone that loves her deeply and shares her passion for sports like I did. Every time I think about Angel Beats or the name pops up somewhere, it's Hinata and Yui's story that comes to mind. That's not to say Otonashi and Kanade's characters were irrelevant. The story revolving around those two characters was fantastic as well, although a bit challenging to follow in the chronological sense.

While I wouldn't call Angel Beats the most breathtaking of anime visually, it's soundtrack was one of the most breathtaking I've heard in anime up until the point I watched Clannad. This anime introduced me to two of my favorite j-pop artists of all-time in Lia and LiSA (Risa Oribe) and my favorite anime composer of all-time in Jun Maeda. The soundtrack had some beautifully constructed piano tracks with soft vocals, the j-pop/j-rock element with Girls Dead Monster, formally introducing me to LiSA and Marina. Both artists had incredible songs, with Marina's My Song and LiSA's Ichiban no Takaramono, although I do love Karuta's version of the song as well. To this day, I don't think a single song can cause me to tear up more upon spontaneously hearing it than Ichiban no Takaramono. It is the most powerful song I've heard in any anime...ever. The lyrics themselves are enough to send the coldest of souls into a downright depression.

As great as I thought this series was, I'll admit it wasn't perfect. The only aspects I disliked about the series was the main narrative was a bit hard to follow and somewhat open to interpretation. I wouldn't say it ruined my viewing experience, but from a storytelling standpoint, it did muddle things for me. Even to this day, I'm not exactly sure what happened. The other aspect of this series I disliked was that it felt too short and a bit rushed. I truly wish each character in this series got similar resolutions to the likes of Hinata, Yui, Yuri, Ayato, Masami, Otonashi, and Kanade. It's unfortunate that this anime wasn't a two-cour series because I felt the story and characters would've received the proper amount of development in that case.

Angel Beats introduced me to a world of anime I never knew existed. It introduced me to the nakige style of anime that has become by far and away my favorite genre. Seeing Angel Beats and getting exposed to Key lead me to other big anime that left profound impacts on me like Clannad, Kanon, and Little Busters. It was this genre that made me realize that sometimes, its best to watch a series that allows you to show your emotional side, to let out the pent-up emotions that you're holding back. From a narrative standpoint, I wouldn't call Angel Beats as good as Clannad, Kanon, or Little Busters, but it is my first and due to that, it was the most impactful. Well, that and it had the most profound sub-plot, so it has that going for it.

Either way, Angel Beats has held and always will hold a special place in my heart. The memories I possess of watching this series will always stick with me, that much I will confess. Since I'm already on this genre, I might as well stick with it in my next blog.

Anime Relations: Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED, Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED Destiny, Last Exile, Tenkuu no Escaflowne, Koukyoushihen Eureka Seven, InuYasha, Koukaku Kidoutai: Stand Alone Complex, ef: A Tale of Memories., Koukyoushihen Eureka Seven: Pocket ga Niji de Ippai, Katanagatari, Eureka Seven AO

As you probably could tell from my earlier blogs, I was pretty much addicted to Adult Swim while I was in college. It was very rare for me to come across an anime on there that I didn't enjoy to some extent.

However, up until this point, I haven't really discussed any romance anime that had much of an impact on me. GITS:SAC wasn't a romance anime. Gundam Seed had romance, but it was rather secondary to the main plot and action, Last Exile wasn't a romance anime and while The Vision of Escaflowne was, my perception of the series was different due to Fox Kids cutting out all the "romantic" elements of the series.

Therefore, I think it's safe to presume that the first "romance" anime to ever have a profound impact on me from it's romantic elements was Eureka Seven.

I do have to say, I found it pretty ballsy of Adult Swim to show a romantic anime. Sure, you might be able to argue something like InuYasha might have had romantic elements, but they weren't necessarily emphasized throughout the series. Eureka Seven made it clear from the very first episode that this anime is more than likely going to have romantic elements...and those elements will be quite definitive.

As I watched Eureka Seven on Adult Swim, I was quite enamored with it's romantic elements. While I did think the main characters were a bit on the young side, it was still amazing to see just how much Renton and Eureka were in love with each other. What I felt the series did well is build up that romance as well. This wasn't a series that hammered a couple's romance right from the get go. The series did a nice job of establishing characters that were attracted to each other upon first sight, but the romance was built up throughout the series and by the time the anime reached it's conclusion, it solidified the deal.

Speaking of it's conclusion, I have to say Eureka Seven might have my favorite final episode of any anime...ever. There were so many great things that happened in the final episode and the series concluded on such a high note that I was ecstatic at how well the series wrapped up. Also, of all the romance anime I think I've ever watched, I would have to say Eureka Seven might actually have the best "kiss" scene of any anime I've ever watched. I really had to think about it since I was pinning it up against Hiro and Miyako's kiss scene from ef-a tale of memories and Shichika and Togame's kiss scene from Katanagatari, but I'd say Eureka Seven just barely edged those two out.

It is unfortunate for me to say this, but Eureka Seven got the "Gundam Seed" treatment. What I mean by that is for such a great anime series, it sure got a pretty shitty sequel series and alternative re-telling movie. If any of you read this and are interested in watching Eureka Seven, DO NOT watch Eureka Seven AO. It is a true bastardization of what made the original Eureka Seven so great. Unlike E7, AO wasn't a romance series, but it decided to play a "pretentious time/dimensional travel" angle that ended on such a sour note. Unlike Eureka Seven that did such a wonderful job of building up Renton and Eureka's characters, AO tore their characters apart (I don't mean literally) and ruined everything the original series did. To this day, Eureka Seven AO is one of the most infuriating anime I've watched. While Gundam Seed Destiny was disappointing, AO was downright infuriating. It was one of the few times in my life where I actually physically screamed in anger at my computer screen upon watching the finale of AO. Unfortunately, I can't say wonderful things about Eureka Seven: Good Night, Sweet Dreams, Young Lovers movie either. I couldn't even get past the 20 minute mark of that movie. I'm sure some Eureka Seven fans watched it and liked it, but I really couldn't get past how radically different the series was. Let me just say this right now, I don't shun alternative retellings. I actually like fresh perspectives on anime. However, what they did with this was just so different and annoying that at the 20 minute mark, I shut it off and said I'm never watching the rest of it...ever...even if it's the most amazing 1 hour and 40 minutes of anime cinema ever created. It starts you off with one of the lousiest exposition dumps I've ever seen and if you had some favorite characters that you liked from the original series, too bad, because the movie kills them off off-screen before the main plot of this series even begins. *sigh* Way to kill the buzz! The funny thing about the movie is that there isn't really a happy medium amongst it's fans. Some fans love the movie while others, like myself, downright hate it.

Huh, well that's strange. This blog seemed to turn more into a review than a blog. Well, I suppose that is because of how much I loved Eureka Seven upon finishing it and hated it's sequel follow-ups. Eureka Seven is one of the reasons why I tell people if you love an anime and it had a strong conclusion, DON'T beg for a sequel or remake. Great anime should be able to stand out on their own and shouldn't require a sequel or remake to try and build it up. I really wish Bones would've left Eureka Seven alone because it was a fine series by itself. It didn't need a pretentious sequel or a poorly executed retelling to build it up.

Still, I have to give credit to the original Eureka Seven. It was probably the anime series that would at least get me interested in romance anime. I wouldn't say it was "the" anime to do it, but it at least piqued my interest. The next anime I'll chat about will be the anime that did it for me. I would argue that it's probably the most important anime I've ever watched. What anime could I be building up? You'll find out on Saturday. :-P

Anime Relations: Cowboy Bebop, Tenkuu no Escaflowne, Wolf's Rain, Koukaku Kidoutai: Stand Alone Complex, Digimon Adventure, Monster Farm: Enbanseki no Himitsu, Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha, Macross F, Sakamichi no Apollon, Zankyou no Terror

You're probably wondering, why wouldn't I start out retrospective week with the first anime series I've ever seen? There's a lot of reasons but I'll sum it up with this explanation. I actually needed to re-watch it recently to reset my bearings.

My first exposure to anime came in 2000 when Fox was airing Digimon, Monster Rancher, and Escaflowne in their Fox Kids block. Escaflowne was the first anime I had ever seen on that block, but it's impact forever impacted my outlook at the prospects of watching anime. I thought to myself, "this is anime? Damn it's cool!" I said this about the Escaflowne that was airing on Fox Kids...an anime that was so watered down and edited from the original that little did I know that there was much more to this series than Fox Kids allowed me to see.

In retrospective, I really can't understand why Fox would air this in their Fox Kids block. I would not consider Escaflowne to be a "kids show." It's extremely graphic, covers some pretty serious medieval politics, and is a love story, something most kids wouldn't understand nor would it be something they want to watch. Kids want to see action (which it does have a lot of), but the violence is not the centerpiece of what Escaflowne is all about. I suppose we could chalk this up to Fox not knowing what the hell they were doing when they picked this up for their popular Saturday morning block, ended up editing it much more than I'm sure they planned on doing, and it essentially turned into a failed project since they cancelled the show after 10 episodes. How pathetic is it that Fox even edited out Yoko Kanno's BRILLIANTLY crafted soundtrack for a more "techno Americanized sound?" Pretty Goddamn pathetic, if you ask me.

Despite the chaos that surrounded Escaflowne, I was fortunate to see it at just the right time. After seeing it's breathtaking animation for it's time in a fantasy universe, I was hooked. I wanted to see more shows like it. Unfortunately, that opportunity to watch more "adult" anime didn't come until later when I reached college, but I do need to give Escaflowne credit for introducing me to such a unique medium that was far different than the generic action cartoons I often watched as a child.

Conceptually, the Vision of Escaflowne is amazing. Put this into perspective for a second. A Japanese high school girl gets warped to a fantasy world where countries fight each other with floating fortresses and mechas. The Escaflowne, the main unit that this story revolves around is piloted by a teenager that is a half-Draconian prince, a race that possesses angelic wings and can fly. She travels together with him to try and resolve a war being fought between a bunch of small independent nations and the Zaibach Empire. To top it off, Zaibach has superior scientific weaponry due to being led by an emperor named Dornkirk, who is in all actuality Isaac Newton trying to revive a power from the lost city of Atlantis. I think I just orgasmed just by thinking about the plot of this story.

I consider The Vision of Escaflowne to be a forgotten gem that has fallen a bit to the wayside due to anime budgets being "bigger and better" than they used to be in the 90s. If you look at the casting and staff for this anime, I think you'd wet yourself. Let's look at this staff for a moment...

This was Maaya Sakamoto's first major role, as she voiced Hitomi Kanzaki and sang the opening theme to the series. You look at the career that followed after Escaflowne, you have to be amazed by her start. She did have an amazing performance in this series for both her voice work and her acting...it sure did propel her career. Hell, just look at a lot of people in this series. Joji Nakata (voice of Kirei Kotomine, Leopold Schumacher, Alucard, and the Count of Monte Cristo) was still fairly young in his seiyuu career. Hell, so was Tomokazu Seki, who voiced Van and you could probably name a billion other anime characters he voiced over as well as Shinichiro Miki.

It's almost hard to believe that this was only Yoko Kanno's fourth musical composition in anime and her first full length anime series. To me, that's almost unfathomable. This is the woman who composed the soundtracks to Cowboy Bebop, Darker Than Black, Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Macross Frontier, Kids On The Slope, Wolf's Rain, and most recently, Terror In Resonance. To think that this was her first full length anime series is pretty remarkable.

All-in-all, the Vision of Escaflowne was a fun series to think about in retrospective because of the impact it had on anime. I don't hear Escaflowne talked about much when people talk about "great classic anime," but this series deserves to get mentioned. It propelled a lot of great anime careers and it's just an overall great fantasy story to begin with. As I mentioned earlier, it seems to be forgotten by a lot of people and I'm not sure why. I know I'll never forget Escaflowne as it was my introduction to anime.

Anime Relations: Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED, Last Exile, Fullmetal Alchemist, R.O.D: The TV, Koukyoushihen Eureka Seven, Bleach, Fate/stay night, Koukaku Kidoutai: Stand Alone Complex, Dual! Parallel Lun-Lun Monogatari, Fate/Zero, Psycho-Pass

While shows like GITS:SAC and Gundam Seed were anime I enjoyed right off the bat, there was another anime I watched at around the same time that caught my eye, but I didn't know exactly what I was watching until far later.

As I stated in my earlier blogs, I spent an awful lot of time in my first years in college watching Toonami, Adult Swim, and to a lesser extent, the Anime Unleashed block on G4 Tech TV. I wasn't able to watch the Anime Unleashed block as much as I would've liked to, however, when I did, it did have a few shows that captured my attention. One of which would later leave a bigger impact on me than first anticipated. That show was none other than Last Exile.

Last Exile was probably the one show I watched the most on G4. I did also watch R.O.D. and Dual Parallel, both of which I found to be enjoyable shows. Unfortunately, I never really got to see all three of these series in their entirety until much later, even well after the Anime Unleashed block ended on G4.

Of these shows, I'd call Last Exile my favorite at the time, mostly for it's rather unique visual style. This anime combined the use of washed out animation along with the implementation of CGI to emphasize a steampunk environment. While I've always been one that chastises anime for implanting CGI scenes with cell animation, this is one of the few series where it worked INCREDIBLY well. I have yet to see an anime do a better job of implementing it. The only anime I can think of that comes even remotely close is Karas, and that's an OVA series and not a full length series.

Unfortunately, I was only able to catch Last Exile sparingly at the time and I would often miss episodes. I'd come back and watch an episode and have to sort of guess what happened in between episodes. It became rather frustrating because I found the series fascinating, but at the same time, I knew I was missing a lot of important details due to missing episodes. The other unfortunate event that came to pass was the Anime Unleashed block being cut from G4's lineup in 2006 as well as my opportunity to at least re-watch the series to see what I missed.

Several years passed and Last Exile became an afterthought. I went on to watch mostly Adult Swim shows like Bleach, Eureka Seven, Fullmetal Alchemist, and whatever else was airing on Adult Swim at the time. In the late 2000s, I became more familiar with "streaming anime," where I could watch the English subtitled anime online. Due to my often hectic work schedule, I didn't want to rely on watching episodes only once a week at a certain time, so I decided to watch subbed anime online rather than watch Adult Swim.

In 2011, I started watching anime seasonally and also started marathoning a lot more shows. One show that crossed my mind to marathon was the very series that captured my attention all the way back in 2005 but never got the opportunity to watch it properly. Yes, I finally gave in and decided to give Last Exile the proper start-to-finish viewing it deserved. Was it as good as I remembered it?

You bet your ass and then some! To this day, I consider Last Exile to be one of the top 10 anime series I've ever watched. I wouldn't quite put it in my top 5, but it's DEFINITELY in my top 10. The show was brilliant. It had visuals that I still find stunning to this day. It had likable characters and an interesting plot. It had almost everything I'd want in a series. I also watched the sub instead of the dub this time and I actually found that to be a bit easier since I wasn't the biggest fan of the English voice cast.

Also, I won't lie. I would have to say Last Exile has one of the most despicable villains I've seen in anime. Delphine Eraclea deserves to get mentioned amongst the Shougo Makishima's (Psycho-Pass) and Kirei Kotomine's (Fate/Zero, Fate/Stay Night) of the world in regards to dastardly anime villains. Calling her a stone cold bitch could be considered a compliment in regards to her character.

It was actually amazing at how different the sub and dub were for this anime. Dio Eraclea was one of the more annoying characters I'd ever seen when I watched the English dub (and I'm actually a fan of Joshua Seth's work), but the sub completely changed my outlook of Dio. I can honestly say I felt the utmost sympathy for his character as the series progressed. This poor boy even though he lived the life of luxury was psychologically tortured by his older sister and she would ultimately ruin his life. It was so sad to see the events of the series revolving around Dio play out because he became one of the more likable characters in the series up until some later events changed everything. While the main protagonists, Claus, Lavie, and Alvis were all incredibly likable, Dio's character was the most flamboyant and interesting.

All-in-all, it was amazing at how well this show was able to connect with me on the emotional level. I found the story and script to be incredibly well written and engaging. This series did a wonderful job of developing it's characters and the scary part about this series was that it wasn't afraid to kill off characters, so you felt genuine concern whenever one of the main character's lives were in danger. I probably wouldn't have said this in 2005 but I will say it now. Last Exile is better than GITS:SAC. It almost pains me to say it since GITS:SAC was the anime that made me a true anime fan, but when I look back at Last Exile, I wonder if things would've been different if I watched this anime in its entirety when it aired on G4. I wonder if I said it would be better than GITS:SAC then. Perhaps not since GITS:SAC has the far superior English dub.

Being nostalgic about anime is an interesting concept because sometimes that nostalgia, like in the case with Last Exile, I was passive about watching it when it was airing on G4 and I feel ashamed about it because it was a truly remarkable series. Unlike GITS:SAC and Gundam Seed, it wasn't an anime I could watch constantly and follow every week like I did with those two. However, unlike GITS:SAC and Gundam Seed, it was a series where my attitude toward it changed over time and I grew a far greater appreciation for the series than I could ever imagine. There's no if's, and's or but's about it. Last Exile is genuinely one of the best anime I've ever seen...and I can't believe I just said that about a Gonzo anime. WTH is this world coming to?!

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