June 13th, 2021
Top 9 anime of 2020
Anime Relations: Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na!, Ishuzoku Reviewers, Id:Invaded, Great Pretender, Maoujou de Oyasumi, Nami yo Kiitekure, Nihon Chinbotsu 2020, Munou na Nana, The God of High School PV
Hello. I’m Zach Attack, your average, everyday otaku. I watched a decent amount of anime in 2020, and I want to tell you my favorites. Here we go.
#9 Id: Invaded - This is a special kind of show. One where a criminal’s murderous intent can be somehow detected. This way a criminal’s subconscious can sort of be explored through abstract concepts in order to find out who they are. Though there is a catch to this groundbreaking technology. You have to have killed someone yourself in order to do this. This is where Akihito Narihisago comes in. Akihito, who was once a detective, ended up murdering someone for personal reasons. This makes him perfect for the job. Him being a murderer and a former detective makes him ideal for getting in the head of serial killers. As the story unfolds there seems to be more than meets the eye. Of course some giant conspiracy is revealed at the end. The setting and themes seemed quite interesting at first, but it became more plot driven in the end. While I was a little disappointed in where the story went, I will admit that there is probably a lot I didn’t understand. Maybe a rewatch will change my opinion.
#8 Great Pretender - This is a fun show about a con artist who keeps getting swindled into swindling by a bunch of even better con artists. Hence the name, Great Pretender. The first thing I noticed about this show is how it’s structured. It is separated into four arcs, each representing one long con. Each arc is its own self contained story, focusing on developing one main character. While this setup makes sense for this type of show, only two characters really make a difference in the end. In other words, each arc doesn’t form one central narrative. Maybe that’s not what the show was going for, but I still would have preferred it that way. Either way, each arc was still entertaining enough on their own, and the cast of characters were dynamic enough to keep me going. The most notable thing about the show is how it will play with the audience a bit. Something unexpected might happen, usually at the end of an arc, then it’s revealed how it occurred. I just look at it as the show swindling the audience in a way. Even if you could see it coming, it still works thematically for the show. The show wasn’t anything particularly special, but I appreciate the effort. With the wacky hijinks, fun characters, and colorful background art, it was a good time.
#7 The God of High School - God of highschool was no doubt the best action show of 2020 with some of the best animation. Characters with clearly defined goals and unique skill sets participating in a battle royale is pretty cool. Since any injuries sustained in battle are healed by some type of “nanomachines,” all the emotional weight is put on the characters’ motivations, at least at first. Eventually greater forces are revealed to be at play here. This type of story where it starts off small and then grows larger in scale really appeals to me. Of course the show kind of screwed itself in the end with the power scaling. That isn’t surprising, considering how it adapts its source material, moving at breakneck speed, skipping a ton, from what I’ve heard anyway. I’m not sure where the story will go from here, if it has anywhere to go anyway. Perhaps I’ll check out the manwa for the full story.
#6 Interspecies reviewers - This one of those rare anime that I would say is guaranteed to give you a boner. It’s one of the most aesthetically pleasing shows of 2020, and it’s not just because of all the love making. From the character designs to the jiggle physics, it doesn’t get much better than this. I love the idea of two bros and a hermaphrodite, in a fantasy world, going around and rating different species based on how hard they coom. There are Elves (my personal favorite), fairies, cows, and much more. Everyone in the town relies on their reviews. There’s no shame in it. Everyone embraces it. I don’t know how anyone could not enjoy this. It just makes me wonder why prostitution isn’t legal nationwide. Me being a virgin, I knew nothing going into this show. After finishing I now feel like an expert. So now I will go forth with this knowledge and become the stud I was always meant to be.
#5 Japan Sinks 2020 - Being conditioned by all of Hollywood’s shitty disaster movies, I did not have high expectations for this one. I am happy to say that I was mistaken. I should have known something directed by Masaaki Yuasa would have to be of some quality. Being his latest project, Japan Sinks holds nothing back from the very beginning. An enormous earthquake shakes all of Japan leaving the main character alone, surrounded by all her dead classmates. It only gets worse from there. There are bombs, poisonous gas, cults, etc. There is no shortage of tragedy. This show depicts people dealing with tragedy in a realistic way, in the style that only Masaaki Yuasa can.
#4 Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle - I never thought an anime about a princess just trying to get some sleep would be this entertaining. The princess is captured and held prisoner by the Demon king. Of course there was a squad sent out to rescue her but they’re pretty much losers. What’s hilarious is that she doesn’t even want to be rescued. She enjoys being locked up in a demon castle away from all her responsibilities as the princess. The only problem is just getting some sleep. That’s her one and only goal. Each episode she runs into another obstacle which prevents her from doing just that. Even when there are no obstacles she just finds new and creative ways to sleep. What makes this so much fun for me is that she isn’t particularly smart, but she is incredibly determined. She is in complete control the whole time. This and her incredibly cute character design unquestionably makes her best girl of 2020.
#3 Talentless Nana - The best story about super heroes since One Punch Man, Talentless Nana is a great psychological thriller. In this world there are people with special abilities known as “talented.” A group of talented kids are kept on a secret island and trained to supposedly fight “enemies of humanity.” Enter Nana Hiiragi, the talentless assassin sent to exterminate them all. “Why,” you ask? Because she’s been brainwashed of course. She has been told by some mysterious figure that these talented individuals are the real “enemies of humanity” and that they are responsible for her parents’ death. Posing as a talented individual who can read minds, she lives among them, picking them off one by one. Using her deductive reasoning skills she uses their powers against them in order to kill them. As she commits murder without remorse it’s easy to see why some would be turned off by this type of protagonist. Nonetheless it’s interesting to see how she outsmarts each of them.
#2 Keeps Your Hands off Eizouken! - Being the second latest project directed by Masaaki Yuasa, I’d have to say that not only is it visually distinct from his other works, but it’s one of his best. Since this is one of the few anime about making anime, it already stands out based on that fact alone. Three girls come together to make anime...wait a minute...girls making anime? That’s a little unusual if you ask me. What is this, the founding of Kyoto animation? Whatever. Anyways, three students, Sayaka Kanamori, Midori Asakusa, and Tsubame Mizusaki get together to fulfill their passion. Though they definitely aren’t able to do this without facing some obstacles. Kanamori, with her silver tongue, had to trick the principal just to get a workspace. I’m not sure if animation is viewed as lesser in Japan, but that would make sense because that’s also how it seems to be in the west. It’s really neat to see these three work together. Midori plans, Tsubame animates, and Kanamori manages. They even collaborate with different clubs for amazing results. In my personal opinion, I think they proved that animation is the best medium.
#1 Wave, Listen to Me! - Minare Koda is a very troubled woman. She’s depressed. She’s working a dead end job. She can’t find a good man. Life is so bleak for her. Luckily, one of her worst personality traits is what changes her life for the better. One night, completely wasted, she starts rambling to a stranger about all her problems. Little did she know that this stranger was a radio station director. He apparently recorded her and then played it over the radio the next day. Next thing you know she gets dragged into a radio show gig and turns out to be good at it. Having to balance being a waitress and a radio talk show host prove to be a challenge. This new element in her life causes her to grow a bit. This light hearted drama really hits the spot.
#9 Id: Invaded - This is a special kind of show. One where a criminal’s murderous intent can be somehow detected. This way a criminal’s subconscious can sort of be explored through abstract concepts in order to find out who they are. Though there is a catch to this groundbreaking technology. You have to have killed someone yourself in order to do this. This is where Akihito Narihisago comes in. Akihito, who was once a detective, ended up murdering someone for personal reasons. This makes him perfect for the job. Him being a murderer and a former detective makes him ideal for getting in the head of serial killers. As the story unfolds there seems to be more than meets the eye. Of course some giant conspiracy is revealed at the end. The setting and themes seemed quite interesting at first, but it became more plot driven in the end. While I was a little disappointed in where the story went, I will admit that there is probably a lot I didn’t understand. Maybe a rewatch will change my opinion.
#8 Great Pretender - This is a fun show about a con artist who keeps getting swindled into swindling by a bunch of even better con artists. Hence the name, Great Pretender. The first thing I noticed about this show is how it’s structured. It is separated into four arcs, each representing one long con. Each arc is its own self contained story, focusing on developing one main character. While this setup makes sense for this type of show, only two characters really make a difference in the end. In other words, each arc doesn’t form one central narrative. Maybe that’s not what the show was going for, but I still would have preferred it that way. Either way, each arc was still entertaining enough on their own, and the cast of characters were dynamic enough to keep me going. The most notable thing about the show is how it will play with the audience a bit. Something unexpected might happen, usually at the end of an arc, then it’s revealed how it occurred. I just look at it as the show swindling the audience in a way. Even if you could see it coming, it still works thematically for the show. The show wasn’t anything particularly special, but I appreciate the effort. With the wacky hijinks, fun characters, and colorful background art, it was a good time.
#7 The God of High School - God of highschool was no doubt the best action show of 2020 with some of the best animation. Characters with clearly defined goals and unique skill sets participating in a battle royale is pretty cool. Since any injuries sustained in battle are healed by some type of “nanomachines,” all the emotional weight is put on the characters’ motivations, at least at first. Eventually greater forces are revealed to be at play here. This type of story where it starts off small and then grows larger in scale really appeals to me. Of course the show kind of screwed itself in the end with the power scaling. That isn’t surprising, considering how it adapts its source material, moving at breakneck speed, skipping a ton, from what I’ve heard anyway. I’m not sure where the story will go from here, if it has anywhere to go anyway. Perhaps I’ll check out the manwa for the full story.
#6 Interspecies reviewers - This one of those rare anime that I would say is guaranteed to give you a boner. It’s one of the most aesthetically pleasing shows of 2020, and it’s not just because of all the love making. From the character designs to the jiggle physics, it doesn’t get much better than this. I love the idea of two bros and a hermaphrodite, in a fantasy world, going around and rating different species based on how hard they coom. There are Elves (my personal favorite), fairies, cows, and much more. Everyone in the town relies on their reviews. There’s no shame in it. Everyone embraces it. I don’t know how anyone could not enjoy this. It just makes me wonder why prostitution isn’t legal nationwide. Me being a virgin, I knew nothing going into this show. After finishing I now feel like an expert. So now I will go forth with this knowledge and become the stud I was always meant to be.
#5 Japan Sinks 2020 - Being conditioned by all of Hollywood’s shitty disaster movies, I did not have high expectations for this one. I am happy to say that I was mistaken. I should have known something directed by Masaaki Yuasa would have to be of some quality. Being his latest project, Japan Sinks holds nothing back from the very beginning. An enormous earthquake shakes all of Japan leaving the main character alone, surrounded by all her dead classmates. It only gets worse from there. There are bombs, poisonous gas, cults, etc. There is no shortage of tragedy. This show depicts people dealing with tragedy in a realistic way, in the style that only Masaaki Yuasa can.
#4 Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle - I never thought an anime about a princess just trying to get some sleep would be this entertaining. The princess is captured and held prisoner by the Demon king. Of course there was a squad sent out to rescue her but they’re pretty much losers. What’s hilarious is that she doesn’t even want to be rescued. She enjoys being locked up in a demon castle away from all her responsibilities as the princess. The only problem is just getting some sleep. That’s her one and only goal. Each episode she runs into another obstacle which prevents her from doing just that. Even when there are no obstacles she just finds new and creative ways to sleep. What makes this so much fun for me is that she isn’t particularly smart, but she is incredibly determined. She is in complete control the whole time. This and her incredibly cute character design unquestionably makes her best girl of 2020.
#3 Talentless Nana - The best story about super heroes since One Punch Man, Talentless Nana is a great psychological thriller. In this world there are people with special abilities known as “talented.” A group of talented kids are kept on a secret island and trained to supposedly fight “enemies of humanity.” Enter Nana Hiiragi, the talentless assassin sent to exterminate them all. “Why,” you ask? Because she’s been brainwashed of course. She has been told by some mysterious figure that these talented individuals are the real “enemies of humanity” and that they are responsible for her parents’ death. Posing as a talented individual who can read minds, she lives among them, picking them off one by one. Using her deductive reasoning skills she uses their powers against them in order to kill them. As she commits murder without remorse it’s easy to see why some would be turned off by this type of protagonist. Nonetheless it’s interesting to see how she outsmarts each of them.
#2 Keeps Your Hands off Eizouken! - Being the second latest project directed by Masaaki Yuasa, I’d have to say that not only is it visually distinct from his other works, but it’s one of his best. Since this is one of the few anime about making anime, it already stands out based on that fact alone. Three girls come together to make anime...wait a minute...girls making anime? That’s a little unusual if you ask me. What is this, the founding of Kyoto animation? Whatever. Anyways, three students, Sayaka Kanamori, Midori Asakusa, and Tsubame Mizusaki get together to fulfill their passion. Though they definitely aren’t able to do this without facing some obstacles. Kanamori, with her silver tongue, had to trick the principal just to get a workspace. I’m not sure if animation is viewed as lesser in Japan, but that would make sense because that’s also how it seems to be in the west. It’s really neat to see these three work together. Midori plans, Tsubame animates, and Kanamori manages. They even collaborate with different clubs for amazing results. In my personal opinion, I think they proved that animation is the best medium.
#1 Wave, Listen to Me! - Minare Koda is a very troubled woman. She’s depressed. She’s working a dead end job. She can’t find a good man. Life is so bleak for her. Luckily, one of her worst personality traits is what changes her life for the better. One night, completely wasted, she starts rambling to a stranger about all her problems. Little did she know that this stranger was a radio station director. He apparently recorded her and then played it over the radio the next day. Next thing you know she gets dragged into a radio show gig and turns out to be good at it. Having to balance being a waitress and a radio talk show host prove to be a challenge. This new element in her life causes her to grow a bit. This light hearted drama really hits the spot.
Posted by Zach-Attack | Jun 13, 2021 6:09 PM | 0 comments