March 13th, 2023
Old man shouting at cloud again or modern Japanese pop culture product bad 2
Anime Relations: Koukaku Kidoutai: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG
I had a strange dream which woke me up with a sound of nostalgia ringing in my ears. I suddenly hear Olga's Rise playing in my head. The sweet, strange melody sent me back to my teenage days, and I can't help but ask myself, where did those days go?
See, I don't think the industry is in a bad shape right now. Despite changing time and taste, animation and comic in Japan had continued to carve its niche outside of Japan. Attack on Titans and such are keeping the flag that was passed down by its predecessor. But, part of me can't help but ask, why aren't there, more?
Ghost in the Shell's place in sci-fi is not simple as an absolute classic in both visual (the movie) and world building (the comic's concept was beautiful). It was the result of a process of evolution within 10 years, paving the way for even more and sometime less interesting sci-fi. It's beautiful, compelling, thought-provoking but entertaining at the same time. Then, I try to recall something recently released that can invoke such emotion from me again. I found nothing.
It's not that modern comics are all bad, I have to emphasise this. I have found things that makes me excited to turn the page, the same emotion I had many times, in works such as Ballroom e Youkoso. However, for certain genres, the amount of works dwindle every year. In this case, sci-fi seems to be lagged behind considerably. The only one who's still doing sci-fi to a notable degree is Nihei. Yet, for all of Nihei's dedication, I still think Blame! had the most heart and mind out of his entire stack. The next one that I can recall is Rebuild World. Rebuild World is fun, exciting, awesome, but next to Ghost is in Shell, it seems like it was made for imbecile.
That's the problem, while I also love the Rebuild World journey and like its world building, I just don't find any parts of it thought-provoking. It doesn't make me think, question, re-evaluate. I take things at face value, but face value is about the most it can deliver. Action, adventure, intrigues are all there, but there's not a lot of overall theme, an overall message, social critic or even frustration from the author. If anything, it seems to be indulging.
Miyazaki famously said that "anime" was a mistake. He was talking about the entire sub-culture in which the creators are detached from reality and making derivative works out of each other. The king of such, Anno, also agreed. Indulging, as I alluded to, is using "meta" subject and concepts, in this case the "hero-archetype" from other works and put them front and centre, showing a different side to this set up. There's no doubt that it produced a fun work, but on its own, Rebuild World seems rather, vapid. There's no way around it.
Not just Rebuild World, of course. Other good, decent and passionate works such as Tate Yuusha is the flagship of "fantasy". Compare with classic that's still being finished, Berserk, there's no competition. Berserk's journey through violence and darkness into reflect and redemption is in another universe compare to Tate Yuusha. I love Shield Hero, but Gut is an icon for a reason.
I would not discredit people like Akasaka who have carve a new wave of romantic comedy and drama, elevating a casual genre into something else more interesting, but modern day industry have went too far into casual, instant noodle, cookie cutter experience. I seriously doubt that people's emotional depth and thought are less deep than they were 10-20 years ago. That means, the problem lies in the boardroom, the office of publishers, the decision makers. How is Ghost in the Shell, the TV series, which is the "vanilla version" of Ghost in the Shell, done discussion about technology, power, oppression, immigration better than modern shows? How is the modern equivalents limited to Attack on Titans or Cyberpunk Edgerunner which was written by CD Projekt? I was looking for something with less scope but equally ambition in the theme of technology, crime, faith and spiritual like Eden from Endo, but there's nothing that comes to mind.
Modern comic industry sorely needs smaller publishers that are willing to give serious, ambitious and thoughtful authors a chance. As it is, the industry can't even reach the height the predecessors did, let alone breaking newground.
See, I don't think the industry is in a bad shape right now. Despite changing time and taste, animation and comic in Japan had continued to carve its niche outside of Japan. Attack on Titans and such are keeping the flag that was passed down by its predecessor. But, part of me can't help but ask, why aren't there, more?
Ghost in the Shell's place in sci-fi is not simple as an absolute classic in both visual (the movie) and world building (the comic's concept was beautiful). It was the result of a process of evolution within 10 years, paving the way for even more and sometime less interesting sci-fi. It's beautiful, compelling, thought-provoking but entertaining at the same time. Then, I try to recall something recently released that can invoke such emotion from me again. I found nothing.
It's not that modern comics are all bad, I have to emphasise this. I have found things that makes me excited to turn the page, the same emotion I had many times, in works such as Ballroom e Youkoso. However, for certain genres, the amount of works dwindle every year. In this case, sci-fi seems to be lagged behind considerably. The only one who's still doing sci-fi to a notable degree is Nihei. Yet, for all of Nihei's dedication, I still think Blame! had the most heart and mind out of his entire stack. The next one that I can recall is Rebuild World. Rebuild World is fun, exciting, awesome, but next to Ghost is in Shell, it seems like it was made for imbecile.
That's the problem, while I also love the Rebuild World journey and like its world building, I just don't find any parts of it thought-provoking. It doesn't make me think, question, re-evaluate. I take things at face value, but face value is about the most it can deliver. Action, adventure, intrigues are all there, but there's not a lot of overall theme, an overall message, social critic or even frustration from the author. If anything, it seems to be indulging.
Miyazaki famously said that "anime" was a mistake. He was talking about the entire sub-culture in which the creators are detached from reality and making derivative works out of each other. The king of such, Anno, also agreed. Indulging, as I alluded to, is using "meta" subject and concepts, in this case the "hero-archetype" from other works and put them front and centre, showing a different side to this set up. There's no doubt that it produced a fun work, but on its own, Rebuild World seems rather, vapid. There's no way around it.
Not just Rebuild World, of course. Other good, decent and passionate works such as Tate Yuusha is the flagship of "fantasy". Compare with classic that's still being finished, Berserk, there's no competition. Berserk's journey through violence and darkness into reflect and redemption is in another universe compare to Tate Yuusha. I love Shield Hero, but Gut is an icon for a reason.
I would not discredit people like Akasaka who have carve a new wave of romantic comedy and drama, elevating a casual genre into something else more interesting, but modern day industry have went too far into casual, instant noodle, cookie cutter experience. I seriously doubt that people's emotional depth and thought are less deep than they were 10-20 years ago. That means, the problem lies in the boardroom, the office of publishers, the decision makers. How is Ghost in the Shell, the TV series, which is the "vanilla version" of Ghost in the Shell, done discussion about technology, power, oppression, immigration better than modern shows? How is the modern equivalents limited to Attack on Titans or Cyberpunk Edgerunner which was written by CD Projekt? I was looking for something with less scope but equally ambition in the theme of technology, crime, faith and spiritual like Eden from Endo, but there's nothing that comes to mind.
Modern comic industry sorely needs smaller publishers that are willing to give serious, ambitious and thoughtful authors a chance. As it is, the industry can't even reach the height the predecessors did, let alone breaking newground.
Posted by duylinhsss | Mar 13, 2023 1:27 PM | 0 comments
September 6th, 2022
Is Japanese animation regressing? (or CGI and animation)
Anime Relations: Kimi no Na wa.
I recently saw an upcoming chart of animated movies from Japan. There was nothing worth discussing, only for an epiphany to occur. Something had changed about the content of recent releases.
Now, as we are battling through these trial times, I do recognise that nobody is looking for "gritty realism" and complexity in their entertainment. That's an observation as old as essays, with nostalgia usually coming in time of excess and vice versa. Having said that, even before the bad times, the industry had definitely changed. Gone are the days of Akira and Ghost in the Shell, Shinkai-clone seems to be the trend of the day. I have no problem with Shinkai-esque works per se, but variety is the spice of life. I wish there's more of something else.
Since the 2010s, the frequency of mature, heavy theme, moody, serious animated movies have dropped off the cliff. The last one I can remember is Genocidal Organ, and that one wasn't very good either. It felt like something that should have came out 10 years before it did. 2007 would have made it a huge hit. I'm not asking animators to make more military animated series with bloodshed, I am trying to explore how this trend came about. The first thing that comes to my mind is, well Shinkai again.
I do think while Shinkai individually did not cause any of this, I think studios avoided investing into projects that are not targeting teens because of Shinkai. Shinkai works are rather vapid, but that's not terrible, again, per se. But, because his movies are so successful, studios want to be in the action and producing vapid works, because it's safe.
To which, they followed another sort of pioneer, Haruhi Suzumiya. Shoushitsu was such a hit, studio proceed to cut parts of their TV series into movies and put them in theatres for an extra kick. What's safer than making more of an already successful product? For example, Konosuba movie might have been pretty great for its fan, for normal people they will just be left confused. Not just that, the animation quality is unchanged. It's extremely low effort, completely the opposite of Shoushitsu. Another egregious example is Seishun Buta. While the movie story is nice and interesting, the animation quality is, again leave much to be desired. That's to say fuck all was improved from the TV series which brings into question why not breaking it into another 3-4 episodes.
Then, we go a little bit deeper than just the commercial side of things. No doubt Japanese animation have appealed to the teen crowd since its inception, which draws eyes because teens are still excited by animation but are looking for something more substantial, something with a bit of blood, a bit of sexiness. In this category, they are relatively well served, except the blood part. The reality is that the movie side of creation and the TV side are the same, so movies merely reflects the TV series trend, and the trend has been out with the blood, gore, emo, and in with the power fantasy. Shows have progressively becoming less provoking and daring, instead dabbles in the comfortable zone. Those so-called "edgy" materials like Shield Hero, Goblin Slayer or a little older like Akame are nowhere near as provoking and as heartless as Ghost in the Shell and Akira. Culture had shifted, and I am not sure myself whether it's the audience that dictates this or is it the producers, creators and publishers who decided that teenagers should be doused in power fantasy.
Of course, it would be ridiculous to claim that teen targeted works are unchallenging. Masaaki had continued to pump out good, interesting works throughout the period. Hosoda makes light hearted works with a heart and a lesson, Shinkai. Those 2 reminded me of Ghibli under Miyazaki. Movies for children or teens are not inherently bland and blunt, it is the creators that made it so. Miyazaki is chock full of adult fear, abandonment, sick parents, sick children, environmental destruction, war, disease, sins, excess, consumerism right next to pretty scenery, determination, power of love, community strength and so on. Virtues and sins are 2 sides of the same coin. This has always been what the Japanese did well, much better than Disney and Pixar if you ask me, which can't shed that made for children, sentimentality veneer. Of course, I conceded that the one time Pixar challenged its audience with Toy Story 3 ending, everybody got uncomfortable. I don't have a good feeling that the industry isn't moving towards that sentimentality, avoiding provoking the audience of Western animation.
Then, there's the CGI thing. The reason why more serious, space and military shows have largely disappeared is due to CGI filling that gap. In the past, action shows require huge budget and a lot of expertise, experience, something the Japanese film industry completely lacks. The best they have were samurai fights, but those are unsuitable for the vision animators had. Making GitS opening on CGI during its time would have been prohibitively expensive, so animation is the only outlet for such creativity. However, I reckon that now, a relatively average sized budget movie can even recreate something done in Mononoke hime. If GitS can be recreated with CGI, there's no need for expensive model, costume, custom sets etc.. and people can be filmed on a green screen for the same effects. What's the point of making animation of those subject matters? If Star Wars episodes can be pumped out like the Mandalorian, why makes more space shows when the Mandalorian can adequately fulfill that vision? I think CGI had largely displaced those elements from Japanese animation, which is a shame. In a way, it is the reverse of what happened in the past, when Japanese animation filled the edgy horny teen demographic, which had largely been displaced by Marvel and the likes. From space to cyberpunk to war movies, CGI had allowed TV shows to depict what the Japanese can only achieved through animation.
Now, as we are battling through these trial times, I do recognise that nobody is looking for "gritty realism" and complexity in their entertainment. That's an observation as old as essays, with nostalgia usually coming in time of excess and vice versa. Having said that, even before the bad times, the industry had definitely changed. Gone are the days of Akira and Ghost in the Shell, Shinkai-clone seems to be the trend of the day. I have no problem with Shinkai-esque works per se, but variety is the spice of life. I wish there's more of something else.
Since the 2010s, the frequency of mature, heavy theme, moody, serious animated movies have dropped off the cliff. The last one I can remember is Genocidal Organ, and that one wasn't very good either. It felt like something that should have came out 10 years before it did. 2007 would have made it a huge hit. I'm not asking animators to make more military animated series with bloodshed, I am trying to explore how this trend came about. The first thing that comes to my mind is, well Shinkai again.
I do think while Shinkai individually did not cause any of this, I think studios avoided investing into projects that are not targeting teens because of Shinkai. Shinkai works are rather vapid, but that's not terrible, again, per se. But, because his movies are so successful, studios want to be in the action and producing vapid works, because it's safe.
To which, they followed another sort of pioneer, Haruhi Suzumiya. Shoushitsu was such a hit, studio proceed to cut parts of their TV series into movies and put them in theatres for an extra kick. What's safer than making more of an already successful product? For example, Konosuba movie might have been pretty great for its fan, for normal people they will just be left confused. Not just that, the animation quality is unchanged. It's extremely low effort, completely the opposite of Shoushitsu. Another egregious example is Seishun Buta. While the movie story is nice and interesting, the animation quality is, again leave much to be desired. That's to say fuck all was improved from the TV series which brings into question why not breaking it into another 3-4 episodes.
Then, we go a little bit deeper than just the commercial side of things. No doubt Japanese animation have appealed to the teen crowd since its inception, which draws eyes because teens are still excited by animation but are looking for something more substantial, something with a bit of blood, a bit of sexiness. In this category, they are relatively well served, except the blood part. The reality is that the movie side of creation and the TV side are the same, so movies merely reflects the TV series trend, and the trend has been out with the blood, gore, emo, and in with the power fantasy. Shows have progressively becoming less provoking and daring, instead dabbles in the comfortable zone. Those so-called "edgy" materials like Shield Hero, Goblin Slayer or a little older like Akame are nowhere near as provoking and as heartless as Ghost in the Shell and Akira. Culture had shifted, and I am not sure myself whether it's the audience that dictates this or is it the producers, creators and publishers who decided that teenagers should be doused in power fantasy.
Of course, it would be ridiculous to claim that teen targeted works are unchallenging. Masaaki had continued to pump out good, interesting works throughout the period. Hosoda makes light hearted works with a heart and a lesson, Shinkai. Those 2 reminded me of Ghibli under Miyazaki. Movies for children or teens are not inherently bland and blunt, it is the creators that made it so. Miyazaki is chock full of adult fear, abandonment, sick parents, sick children, environmental destruction, war, disease, sins, excess, consumerism right next to pretty scenery, determination, power of love, community strength and so on. Virtues and sins are 2 sides of the same coin. This has always been what the Japanese did well, much better than Disney and Pixar if you ask me, which can't shed that made for children, sentimentality veneer. Of course, I conceded that the one time Pixar challenged its audience with Toy Story 3 ending, everybody got uncomfortable. I don't have a good feeling that the industry isn't moving towards that sentimentality, avoiding provoking the audience of Western animation.
Then, there's the CGI thing. The reason why more serious, space and military shows have largely disappeared is due to CGI filling that gap. In the past, action shows require huge budget and a lot of expertise, experience, something the Japanese film industry completely lacks. The best they have were samurai fights, but those are unsuitable for the vision animators had. Making GitS opening on CGI during its time would have been prohibitively expensive, so animation is the only outlet for such creativity. However, I reckon that now, a relatively average sized budget movie can even recreate something done in Mononoke hime. If GitS can be recreated with CGI, there's no need for expensive model, costume, custom sets etc.. and people can be filmed on a green screen for the same effects. What's the point of making animation of those subject matters? If Star Wars episodes can be pumped out like the Mandalorian, why makes more space shows when the Mandalorian can adequately fulfill that vision? I think CGI had largely displaced those elements from Japanese animation, which is a shame. In a way, it is the reverse of what happened in the past, when Japanese animation filled the edgy horny teen demographic, which had largely been displaced by Marvel and the likes. From space to cyberpunk to war movies, CGI had allowed TV shows to depict what the Japanese can only achieved through animation.
Posted by duylinhsss | Sep 6, 2022 9:35 PM | 0 comments
May 14th, 2022
A random tier list
Anime Relations: Shinseiki Evangelion
https://ibb.co/80PTftD
This was an afternoon exercise in digging through memory, and in no way is comprehensible or having much thoughts put into them.
G Tier:
Monster Musume: The show premise wasn’t anything to write home about, so is the animation quality. Being at the bottom doesn’t mean the show didn’t have any value, it just means I don’t think it is worth anyone’s time watching it.
Hitman Reborn: among Shounen, I think Hitman Reborn got the short end of the stick mostly because it came out later and ended early than the lots of them. Personally, I don’t think it’s worse than any other popular Shounen. It just wasn’t as fun.
Ero Sensei: Same as Monster Musume, same premise, bland execution.
ReLife: not great premise, I read the comic, wasn’t impressed, watched the show, same impression.
I forgot the title, so I didn’t bother looking it up. It’s the run-of-the-mill harem nonsense.
Sword Art Online: I admit I was excited for its initial release. 3 episodes in, it dropped the ball. The party part was emotionally important, but it was done hastily, so it lost all its tension and meaning for the rest of the run. I am puzzled by its popularity when the animation was done so poorly.
Kabeneri: They ended the first act with a group pose. That’s about my impression. Nice animation for very bland story.
Dungeon ni: same as Monster Musume
Overlord: animation quality isn’t great, and people who love the dual story, I would like to ask. Why start with the isekai overpowered act? It losses all of the fun tension. Kumo did it right by starting from the bottom.
Shokugeki: if you really think about it, it’s a Shounen battle manga. The food techniques are not really something to write home about. Animation quality is so so.
Akame: Edgy is the word. Bland is another, comic wasn’t great, so is animation.
Wifuh War: same as Musume.
Fate Stay Night UBW: The remake had terrible dialogue writing. The dialogues just kill all the pacing. Deen did a much better job with their shitty adaption.
Fairy Tail: It really wasn’t bad but the animation is the usual bad animation, while the story isn’t better than Hitman. I wonder why I read all the popular Shounen despite being bored by them and never touching them after one read.
Conan: Same as above. I love the comic, really, but not because it was great, but because it never changes. It’s like meeting your asshole uncle for 30 years. He’s still the same asshole as he was in your childhood, and the nostalgia blinds you. But the moment you stop seeing him, you can see that he just wasn’t that great of a guy.
F Tier:
Free: Free is actually the same as cute girls doing cute things guys edition. I don’t hate it, I just find it boring. It needed more drama, tension, spices, like in sport manga. I much prefer Tennis no ouji-sama over it.
Shigatsu: In April I met you, even though I love music and animation, I find nothing but tedium. This wasn’t my first rodeo, perhaps you can find naïve young people, being fooled by the stereo (type)
Inuyasha: love the comic, animation just wasn’t great. It wasn’t that it was plain bad, it just wasn’t notable even for its time.
Umaru: cute girls doing cute things, just wasn’t interesting
No game no life: puzzled by people’s love of the show. Sure, it has great animation, but the game rules are rather arbitral, other gambling comics have done it much better. I don’t feel like the main character really outwitted his opponent because he’s cunning, he outwit them because the plot says so.
Darling: for Trigger original work, very underwhelming, both in animation and in story. Expected Evangelion, got something not quite close.
Tokyo Ghoul: I actually hate the colouring, but I find the animation to be, endearing, in a way. It’s as if some people tried and some don’t, and it ended up this way.
Beez: same as other bottom shounen. I can’t find myself to be entertained for long and just go on to see the ending.
Goblin: has one gimmick, same as SAO, Akame. I still read the comic, but it really is not worth anyone’s time. Sexual violence isn’t edgy folks. Edgy is adding political, humanity cruelty in places it shouldn’t belong, but somehow do, like others higher on the list.
Golden Time. Should have been G, but I love the comic and the LN so much it can’t be down there. It is worth somebody’s time, but JC Staff ruined such a great source material. I feel gutted.
Angel: It’s not good. It really is not. I admit to have played Keys’ works, so Maeda magic don’t work on me anymore. I felt sad in Air, but the same trick don’t work 3-4-5-6 times and so on, Maeda.
Violet: same as Angel Beats actually, but it is much much worse in writing. Maeda is a master, this is like a bunch of moe writers and producers tracing back their serious root and just can’t quite grasp what made them work. I puzzled me that people find it “emotional” and “deep”. It looks pretty doesn’t quite justify its existence. Why don’t Kyoto Animation go back to adapt Maeda and Keys works? I actually visited the studio and the gift shop. It’s a nice neighbour. Shame what took place. Rest in peace.
Naruto: same as other Shounen. It went on for too long.
Rurouni Kenshin: I actually followed the original release of the comic until its end in 1999. It really doesn’t belong in the “classics”. It’s fine, but nothing special. I even rated a girl’s comic about a girl getting involved with a yakuza, eventually marrying him, but she’s an action tomboy who’s really good at fighting that I can’t even remember the name now, higher than this back then. Shows how much I value Rurouni Kenshin. Animation wise, it is a classic.
Charlotte: same as Angel Beats but worse.
Dangan: I played the game for the detective part, wasn’t impressed, animation is better, but it just wasn’t clicking. I actually liked the villain the best, but her screen time is very short.
Dragon Balls: as much as I love the comic as a child, I can’t quite rate it highly just for nostalgia. It is fun, but only as a 5 years old. 20-30 years later, not so much.
Bleach: same as other Shounen. It bugs me that most Shounen started out very fun and interesting then sorts of just floats.
E Tier:
Isekai MMO: I think it represents the entire genre here. I don’t hate it, but I have no love either.
Berserk: A classic but I don’t love the animation. Animation and adaption should be the primary criteria in an adaption before the original story. The animation just doesn’t hold the candle to the masterpiece that is the comic. Just read the comics and pay respect to a great man.
I forgot the title. I read it around 10 years ago. I don’t love the original work, but the adaption wasn’t that bad.
Mirai Nikki: animation was pretty good admittedly, but the original work don’t quite capture me. Still, it done edgy much better than Akame. The character’s edginess really shows. The story is not as good as Tokyo Ghoul, but the animation is better.
Yuzuki’N Dash work original work isn’t bad. The animation is average, but the premise is whacky enough that it is here. Being entertaining is better than being boring.
Maou: Animation wasn’t that bad, but it also wasn’t great. The original work is actually quite interesting the longer it goes on.
Clannad. Of the 3 that hits the TV, I actually dislike Clannad the most. Can’t rate it highly, I find it much more boring than the other 3. Clannad real story really wasn’t here.
Baccano: Solid animation, solid story. Why is it here? I just find the author’s story to be around the same template. Perhaps I reached Baccano too late, but I don’t find it to be mindblowing. It was good, just doesn’t quite excited me. I don’t remember much of the characters as well, which is a big problem with the author. Sure, they are very cool, but there’s just too many. Please consolidates them.
Death Note: highly overrated original story. It wasn’t a great, brainy thriller, it just looks cool all the time. Animation is alright, but really nothing to write home about. I much prefer Durarara and Baccano for character driven tension.
D Tier:
Yu Yu: nostalgia mostly. For its time, it was fun. The comic first act is actually really entertaining, but then it degenerated into Shounen.
Ergo Proxy: of the cyberpunk line, I have always found Ergo Proxy to be lacking. Shows here are often cooler than meaningful, which for Cyberpunk is a sin.
Monster: what kind of Monster puts a classic this far down. Against the original work, I just find the animation wasn’t great. I do think it doesn’t matter much, but for such a classic, I wasn’t expecting average.
Dragon Maid: same as other cute girls doing cute things. Characters are quite cool and Kyoto went back to adapting established works so it’s great. Nothing special however.
D-Grayman: I don’t love the animation. The comic is actually pretty good, going into FMA territory, away from the usual Seinen.
Kaguya-sama: I went against the grain and say, the animation isn’t that amazing. It’s good, but not amazing. Perhaps Kaguya-sama is good enough that adaptions are not going to make it much better. But it is my opinion.
Boobie physics: I don’t like the original story, the animation isn’t great. Why it is so high? I just can’t stop laughing at the boobie physics. At least someone is having fun doing it. The author is actually a legend. For some reason it just wasn’t good.
C Tier:
Sangatsu: from April to March, but this is much higher, not because March comes before April, but because Shaft is just something special.
Ballroom: Welcome, have a sit or a dance. It should be a tier lower, but the original work just deserves some credit. I wished there’s a studio that specialises in full on stylistic animation and gives all the great comic art works to them.
Gurren Lagaan: I didn’t like it. But it has meaningful story, strong emotion and extremely great animation. I thought Trigger lacked the heart that Gurren Lagaan had.
Ano Hana: emotional story but I wasn’t buying it. I just thought it was fun to watch all the way until the end and ended satisfyingly. That means the animation team was doing something right. Must be the way they paced the dialogue.
Diving Manga: Adaption wasn’t great, but the world needs more light-hearted, fun college story. The comic is a lot better however.
I Cream: For a detective story it wasn’t bad at times. Kyoto Animation animation work was terrific, even unnecessary. It just did a lot of things right, even if the entire package wasn’t spectacular.
Eye patch: Same as above. This time it’s fun and energetic. Strange how Tamago Market completely missed the mark.
Kanon: I like Air the most, but Kanon wasn’t badly adapted. I like lost memory, but it could have been better as a story. The animation for the time was really good compare to other VN adaption.
Sora no: It’s fun and energetic. Not quite hitting the mystery, cerebus syndrome of the comic, but good enough.
Elfen Lied: why so low? I think the animation was actually pretty bad technically. But emotionally, they avoided skimming out the “good parts”. That’s commendable.
Claymore: I just prefer Claymore as a shounen to others. The animation quality wasn’t bad either.
Bunny Senpai: actually quite good and emotional. Ending kind of ruined it, animation was subpar, but they focused on the emotional parts, which was quite well done. But, it belongs here with the rest of them.
OreGairu: honestly, the story, is really good. The animation is not that bad, both seasons. I want to rate it higher but as an adaption and animation, it really isn’t anything special. Voice acting is fun and even the musical fits, but it really just stops at “good enough”. I do wish Golden Time received the same treatment. It really deserves your time, but not a classic.
K-On: cute girls doing cute things, the inception. I don’t hate it, but I enjoyed it at the time. Came to regret it because of what it did. But, this is how to adapt cute girls doing cute things right. The older attempts weren’t as great.
After Story: much more emotional, real than Clannad. But, the ending just tossed it all out. I think the animation suits it well too. I think Maeda should just focus on stories like this rather than doing more school story setting up for drama. Drama should be more real, serious, putting a “fantastical” spin on it ruins it for me. It’s all a dream is bad too. The journey is good enough to place it high, of course.
Shingeki: I loved the comic, the animation wasn’t bad. This is conventional edgy done right. Politics, racism, historical hatred, conspiracy in an action comic? Now that’s the cream. Some people prefer it to be about killing titans. If all of those deaths, sacrifices, brutality were all about killing some aliens, how boring and meaningless would that be? Remember Gantz? It was almost fun because the aliens had some screen time. I wish they were as well done as SnK.
Abyss: really entertaining show. Animation was well done. The original work is gorgeous. Definitely deserved its reputation. Where it is going, I don’t know. Hopefully somewhere satisfying.
Afro Samurai: again, edginess done right. Not just that, but the stylistic trademark of the director just oozes out of every nook and cranny. Was I in love with it? No, more admiration than love. So it’s here.
B Tier:
Soul Eater: the animation wasn’t terrific but the original work is just so fun, I just enjoy the hell out of it.
Ginga Densetsu: I love the feel more than the show. It felt epic, albeit archaic. As I grew older, I tend to enjoy the little stories more. But, it is a classic.
Eye boi: Fun thriller, strange animation, but still good. It deserves to go higher but I felt it avoided quite a bit of philosophical questions and moved to more Death Note territory, which isn’t good.
Kill la Kill: fun, energetic, exciting. But that’s it. I like it more than Gurren Lagaan, paradoxically because it doesn’t pretend to have some emotional value. At the same time, I felt less tension watching it for that reason. But, I was more entertained, so it’s here. The animation is also more radical, which deserves to be rewarded.
FMA: so low? I don’t like the animation. The author deserves a lot better. Even the remake wasn’t as great as it could be.
Durarara: many people liked Baccano more than Durarara, I felt they are about the same, same template, but Baccano had that connection to a real place that made me appreciated it more. Ikebukuro, Otomesando, Shinjuku, Shibuya and Yoyogi were areas I am very familiar with, seeing it on screen was just more fun. It’s bias, unfortunately.
Steins’ gate: I actually don’t think it was a classic, but I still love it. Maybe it has something to do with me having played the game and it made me nostalgic about Akiba’s summer and sweaty nerds. It’s compelling and gripping, and the wham episode is effective. Unfortunately, people also find out that the bad ending is actually better than the good one. Solid throughout, not much to complain about. Could it have been better? Very hard to say. Something Durarara could have learned from it, is to trim out the cast and focus on every characters. Mr Braun.
A Tier:
Koukousei no Nichijou: very funny, animation is done right, just enough, not excessive. I don’t think I would change it if I can.
Toradora: same as DKnN. Done just right. Right budget, right amount of fun, decent animation, dramatic enough for the original work. If only the same team worked on Golden Time too. The author’s adaption got worse over the years. She’s a really good writer that deserves better than modern JC Staff.
Konosuba: really good original material, but the voice acting saves the adaption. The first episode missed the mark, but subsequent episodes were made in the spirit of the VA’s tremendous work really elevated what could have been a dumpster adaption into a classic. I don’t think there had been many equivalences in term of VA’s prowess. Everybody shows up and knocked it out of the park. The animation made use of their limited budget to be more fun and entertaining. This is what happen when passion takes the rein. I was expecting myself to be bored by it, but the longer it goes the better it got. What an achievement. It probably propelled the casts into stardom among the “otaku”. Well deserved. But it is still not an animation classic, merely an adaption classic. I won’t put it in a museum, but definitely need a place in the apocalypse bunker.
N.H.K e: Tastefully adapted from a marvellous source material. Just the right amount of budget and creativity. The heart of the show should be the emotional struggle, and they got that right without being overly dramatic nor being too stylistic. I attribute part of its success as a “franchise”? to the animation. Worthy of everyone’s time.
Fate Zero: too much budget for its own good, to be honest. But it is a good story told right. It makes me question how UBW can be such a drag, when Fate Zero was so good. Perhaps it is the focus of the work. UBW focused on the wrong thing, Fate Zero just happens upon the good stuffs.
Psycho Pass: One of the few great original work made in the last 10 years. It’s interesting, compelling, even though the premise isn’t that compelling. I don’t buy into the world building. It’s rather weak for sci-fi, despite the entire premise is based upon that idea. I think it worked because the animation is terrific and the author focused entirely on the premise it introduced, no dancing around the issue nor much fillers. The main cast is well done, everybody is given enough screen time to be interesting, and all of them are in someway connected to the premise. That’s good writing.
S Tier:
Magical Girl ruined: just straight up solid animation and great writing from some of the creators I have heaped praise upon. Urobutcher and Shaft made a modern classic. The animation was stylistic, but still nice to look at. The story is gripping and compelling. Edgy is used so well, it might not be edgy anymore. Exploitation, family issue, mental health, personal failings, hope, despair, human emotion, naiveté, and strength of character are all here in a brutal deconstruction of the genre. Did I also mention terrific music? Just tremendous.
Haruhi: Another modern classic. It paved the way for much more VN adaptions and became a cultural phenomenon on its own. When I made enough money to travel to conventions on a full-time job, all I saw were schools of Haruhi cosplayers. That’s how big it was. Japan was chock full of Haruhi merchandises. As a show, it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But it blends super natural, mystery, school life in a very well crafted pot, mixed in with Kyoto Animation expertly handling of the material, created a monster that we felt until this very day. The cast was great as well. Sugita’s VA brought Kyon to life, the rest of the cast were exceptional. Oh, and the music is just top notch. The second season was a mistake, but it was more of a good thing, so there’s that. I think it was such a success, Kyo Ani never quite reached the same height ever again.
Bakemonogatari: Haruhi separated at birth, with even more 4th wall breaking, more insanity, more supernatural, more mystery but less animation? Shaft made its mark with Bakemono. Their unconventional style that worked great with Zetsubou Sensei worked great again with Bakemono, solidified their name in the industry. It was a joy to watch from the beginning to end, albeit the last few episodes took quite a while to come out. At this tier, I really can’t see how I can improve upon these works. They are just very well done, or so unique I don’t know what should be changed.
SS Tier:
Cowboy Bebop: just a great classic. Noirish story in space, full of fun, action, but remained emotionally connected and impactful. Most people who got into it, love it, and grew attached. Of course, the music is not a classic, it’s a monument. Transcend the medium it came from. Animation was more than terrific, made by true geniuses with great passion. It encapsulated all the experience and development of animation in the 90s in one package, to bid farewell to the millennia.
Mushishi: moody, slow, mysterious, and temperamental at time. Mushishi isn’t slow burn, it just is. It demonstrates how animation can depict supernatural better than movies could ever do. It remained stylistic throughout, donning a colour tone and never quite let it wear off. I love it, but I know not everybody will.
Ping Pong: One of the best adaption of all time. The “comic style” might seem jarring, but the effort to stick to the original comic style while being modern at the same time is one-of-a-kind. So many animated shows just throw the beautiful art work of the original out of the window, removed all of the textures, nuance, great design, beautiful strokes, and put on screen something half-hazard, simplistic, bland, plain, flat, boring. Ping pong animation shoved all of that to the trash, and push the pedal to the metal. It’s a true faithful adaption. The willingness to take art back to its root, yet adding modernised elements wherever they feel like, such as realistic, rotoscoped shots, is a great joy to watch. The VA is great, and Chinese character speaking Chinese is a nice surprise. Should also mention that the story is an absolute classic. Emotional, passionate, sometime even grand, it’s something every sport comic should be and more. Getting chills or emotional watching is part of experience. Classics are classics not because they are perfect, but because they are so good and unique, you don’t want to change them.
SSS Tier:
Rakugo: the author usually does BL, but sometimes they output something that I have to go: “fuck, it’s good”. The problem is, somehow, against all odds, Deen does it, again. They are not the best studio, but I have to admit I like their adaptions quite a bit. They have a good sense of pace that carried through very well depending on the original material. With Konosuba, they captured the fun and original spirit of the work. With Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, they nailed it. It wasn’t the best animation, wasn’t the best story, wasn’t the best at anything, but they focused on the heart of the entire thing, the Rakugo. Rather than messing around with the story and characters, Deen went hard on making sure the VA did their best for the Rakugo performance. It is gripping and interesting, drawing you into an art form that you might have never heard of, or in my case, just a passing curiosity on the TV. It is so high up due to being the rare specimen of being able to look at the original work and picked out the good parts, putting a spotlight. Many similar works just can’t quite understand that. Understanding the source material and expanded on it should be an adapter’s job, not needing to blow the budget is also an art in itself. Minimal, subtle, letting the original work does the work by itself. That’s not greatness, that’s a unicorn.
Evangelion:
Is there anything left to be said about it. Interesting, beautifully animated, ahead of its time, yet is a combination of the experience of animation of its period. There’s nothing left to be said. It is such a unique, yet grounded experience that I don’t know where to start to improve or change it. Could it have worked without any of the pieces? The timeless character design, the weird mecha elements, the strange symbolism, the mess up characters and their circumstances, the weird overarching plot, the beautiful and detail fight scenes, the feeling of tension in every chapter, the weird slapstick comedy that ended up feeling even more tragic and unfortunate by the end, the non-romance, romantic elements, the sexual tension, the depression from the artist, the budget cut, the out of this world soundtrack. It was such a perfect storm that even the original creator couldn’t completely pull it together with many times more budget he had. The rebuild series failed to wrap up the series for the fans, only for its creator, because the ball he started got way bigger than he could ever imagine. It wasn’t just his work, it was the result of multiple writers that contributed their own piece of mind to it. I don’t think Evangelion is a piece of work that deserves to be loved, all it can be is respected. It changed my perspective on what animation can be in 1998, and ever since I have not ever questioned if animation can be considered art. If something so thoroughly messed up, weird, kinky, overly sexualised, divisible, contentious, and even pretentious can be artistical and full of conflicts from inside its creator’s soul, yet be thoroughly entertaining at the same time, why can’t others? That’s the legacy that Eva left me, there hasn’t been another like it, to me, on TV.
There are shows I have also watched and liked, but can't be bothered to put on it. Naruto, Accel, Zombie and so, so much more.
This was an afternoon exercise in digging through memory, and in no way is comprehensible or having much thoughts put into them.
G Tier:
Monster Musume: The show premise wasn’t anything to write home about, so is the animation quality. Being at the bottom doesn’t mean the show didn’t have any value, it just means I don’t think it is worth anyone’s time watching it.
Hitman Reborn: among Shounen, I think Hitman Reborn got the short end of the stick mostly because it came out later and ended early than the lots of them. Personally, I don’t think it’s worse than any other popular Shounen. It just wasn’t as fun.
Ero Sensei: Same as Monster Musume, same premise, bland execution.
ReLife: not great premise, I read the comic, wasn’t impressed, watched the show, same impression.
I forgot the title, so I didn’t bother looking it up. It’s the run-of-the-mill harem nonsense.
Sword Art Online: I admit I was excited for its initial release. 3 episodes in, it dropped the ball. The party part was emotionally important, but it was done hastily, so it lost all its tension and meaning for the rest of the run. I am puzzled by its popularity when the animation was done so poorly.
Kabeneri: They ended the first act with a group pose. That’s about my impression. Nice animation for very bland story.
Dungeon ni: same as Monster Musume
Overlord: animation quality isn’t great, and people who love the dual story, I would like to ask. Why start with the isekai overpowered act? It losses all of the fun tension. Kumo did it right by starting from the bottom.
Shokugeki: if you really think about it, it’s a Shounen battle manga. The food techniques are not really something to write home about. Animation quality is so so.
Akame: Edgy is the word. Bland is another, comic wasn’t great, so is animation.
Wifuh War: same as Musume.
Fate Stay Night UBW: The remake had terrible dialogue writing. The dialogues just kill all the pacing. Deen did a much better job with their shitty adaption.
Fairy Tail: It really wasn’t bad but the animation is the usual bad animation, while the story isn’t better than Hitman. I wonder why I read all the popular Shounen despite being bored by them and never touching them after one read.
Conan: Same as above. I love the comic, really, but not because it was great, but because it never changes. It’s like meeting your asshole uncle for 30 years. He’s still the same asshole as he was in your childhood, and the nostalgia blinds you. But the moment you stop seeing him, you can see that he just wasn’t that great of a guy.
F Tier:
Free: Free is actually the same as cute girls doing cute things guys edition. I don’t hate it, I just find it boring. It needed more drama, tension, spices, like in sport manga. I much prefer Tennis no ouji-sama over it.
Shigatsu: In April I met you, even though I love music and animation, I find nothing but tedium. This wasn’t my first rodeo, perhaps you can find naïve young people, being fooled by the stereo (type)
Inuyasha: love the comic, animation just wasn’t great. It wasn’t that it was plain bad, it just wasn’t notable even for its time.
Umaru: cute girls doing cute things, just wasn’t interesting
No game no life: puzzled by people’s love of the show. Sure, it has great animation, but the game rules are rather arbitral, other gambling comics have done it much better. I don’t feel like the main character really outwitted his opponent because he’s cunning, he outwit them because the plot says so.
Darling: for Trigger original work, very underwhelming, both in animation and in story. Expected Evangelion, got something not quite close.
Tokyo Ghoul: I actually hate the colouring, but I find the animation to be, endearing, in a way. It’s as if some people tried and some don’t, and it ended up this way.
Beez: same as other bottom shounen. I can’t find myself to be entertained for long and just go on to see the ending.
Goblin: has one gimmick, same as SAO, Akame. I still read the comic, but it really is not worth anyone’s time. Sexual violence isn’t edgy folks. Edgy is adding political, humanity cruelty in places it shouldn’t belong, but somehow do, like others higher on the list.
Golden Time. Should have been G, but I love the comic and the LN so much it can’t be down there. It is worth somebody’s time, but JC Staff ruined such a great source material. I feel gutted.
Angel: It’s not good. It really is not. I admit to have played Keys’ works, so Maeda magic don’t work on me anymore. I felt sad in Air, but the same trick don’t work 3-4-5-6 times and so on, Maeda.
Violet: same as Angel Beats actually, but it is much much worse in writing. Maeda is a master, this is like a bunch of moe writers and producers tracing back their serious root and just can’t quite grasp what made them work. I puzzled me that people find it “emotional” and “deep”. It looks pretty doesn’t quite justify its existence. Why don’t Kyoto Animation go back to adapt Maeda and Keys works? I actually visited the studio and the gift shop. It’s a nice neighbour. Shame what took place. Rest in peace.
Naruto: same as other Shounen. It went on for too long.
Rurouni Kenshin: I actually followed the original release of the comic until its end in 1999. It really doesn’t belong in the “classics”. It’s fine, but nothing special. I even rated a girl’s comic about a girl getting involved with a yakuza, eventually marrying him, but she’s an action tomboy who’s really good at fighting that I can’t even remember the name now, higher than this back then. Shows how much I value Rurouni Kenshin. Animation wise, it is a classic.
Charlotte: same as Angel Beats but worse.
Dangan: I played the game for the detective part, wasn’t impressed, animation is better, but it just wasn’t clicking. I actually liked the villain the best, but her screen time is very short.
Dragon Balls: as much as I love the comic as a child, I can’t quite rate it highly just for nostalgia. It is fun, but only as a 5 years old. 20-30 years later, not so much.
Bleach: same as other Shounen. It bugs me that most Shounen started out very fun and interesting then sorts of just floats.
E Tier:
Isekai MMO: I think it represents the entire genre here. I don’t hate it, but I have no love either.
Berserk: A classic but I don’t love the animation. Animation and adaption should be the primary criteria in an adaption before the original story. The animation just doesn’t hold the candle to the masterpiece that is the comic. Just read the comics and pay respect to a great man.
I forgot the title. I read it around 10 years ago. I don’t love the original work, but the adaption wasn’t that bad.
Mirai Nikki: animation was pretty good admittedly, but the original work don’t quite capture me. Still, it done edgy much better than Akame. The character’s edginess really shows. The story is not as good as Tokyo Ghoul, but the animation is better.
Yuzuki’N Dash work original work isn’t bad. The animation is average, but the premise is whacky enough that it is here. Being entertaining is better than being boring.
Maou: Animation wasn’t that bad, but it also wasn’t great. The original work is actually quite interesting the longer it goes on.
Clannad. Of the 3 that hits the TV, I actually dislike Clannad the most. Can’t rate it highly, I find it much more boring than the other 3. Clannad real story really wasn’t here.
Baccano: Solid animation, solid story. Why is it here? I just find the author’s story to be around the same template. Perhaps I reached Baccano too late, but I don’t find it to be mindblowing. It was good, just doesn’t quite excited me. I don’t remember much of the characters as well, which is a big problem with the author. Sure, they are very cool, but there’s just too many. Please consolidates them.
Death Note: highly overrated original story. It wasn’t a great, brainy thriller, it just looks cool all the time. Animation is alright, but really nothing to write home about. I much prefer Durarara and Baccano for character driven tension.
D Tier:
Yu Yu: nostalgia mostly. For its time, it was fun. The comic first act is actually really entertaining, but then it degenerated into Shounen.
Ergo Proxy: of the cyberpunk line, I have always found Ergo Proxy to be lacking. Shows here are often cooler than meaningful, which for Cyberpunk is a sin.
Monster: what kind of Monster puts a classic this far down. Against the original work, I just find the animation wasn’t great. I do think it doesn’t matter much, but for such a classic, I wasn’t expecting average.
Dragon Maid: same as other cute girls doing cute things. Characters are quite cool and Kyoto went back to adapting established works so it’s great. Nothing special however.
D-Grayman: I don’t love the animation. The comic is actually pretty good, going into FMA territory, away from the usual Seinen.
Kaguya-sama: I went against the grain and say, the animation isn’t that amazing. It’s good, but not amazing. Perhaps Kaguya-sama is good enough that adaptions are not going to make it much better. But it is my opinion.
Boobie physics: I don’t like the original story, the animation isn’t great. Why it is so high? I just can’t stop laughing at the boobie physics. At least someone is having fun doing it. The author is actually a legend. For some reason it just wasn’t good.
C Tier:
Sangatsu: from April to March, but this is much higher, not because March comes before April, but because Shaft is just something special.
Ballroom: Welcome, have a sit or a dance. It should be a tier lower, but the original work just deserves some credit. I wished there’s a studio that specialises in full on stylistic animation and gives all the great comic art works to them.
Gurren Lagaan: I didn’t like it. But it has meaningful story, strong emotion and extremely great animation. I thought Trigger lacked the heart that Gurren Lagaan had.
Ano Hana: emotional story but I wasn’t buying it. I just thought it was fun to watch all the way until the end and ended satisfyingly. That means the animation team was doing something right. Must be the way they paced the dialogue.
Diving Manga: Adaption wasn’t great, but the world needs more light-hearted, fun college story. The comic is a lot better however.
I Cream: For a detective story it wasn’t bad at times. Kyoto Animation animation work was terrific, even unnecessary. It just did a lot of things right, even if the entire package wasn’t spectacular.
Eye patch: Same as above. This time it’s fun and energetic. Strange how Tamago Market completely missed the mark.
Kanon: I like Air the most, but Kanon wasn’t badly adapted. I like lost memory, but it could have been better as a story. The animation for the time was really good compare to other VN adaption.
Sora no: It’s fun and energetic. Not quite hitting the mystery, cerebus syndrome of the comic, but good enough.
Elfen Lied: why so low? I think the animation was actually pretty bad technically. But emotionally, they avoided skimming out the “good parts”. That’s commendable.
Claymore: I just prefer Claymore as a shounen to others. The animation quality wasn’t bad either.
Bunny Senpai: actually quite good and emotional. Ending kind of ruined it, animation was subpar, but they focused on the emotional parts, which was quite well done. But, it belongs here with the rest of them.
OreGairu: honestly, the story, is really good. The animation is not that bad, both seasons. I want to rate it higher but as an adaption and animation, it really isn’t anything special. Voice acting is fun and even the musical fits, but it really just stops at “good enough”. I do wish Golden Time received the same treatment. It really deserves your time, but not a classic.
K-On: cute girls doing cute things, the inception. I don’t hate it, but I enjoyed it at the time. Came to regret it because of what it did. But, this is how to adapt cute girls doing cute things right. The older attempts weren’t as great.
After Story: much more emotional, real than Clannad. But, the ending just tossed it all out. I think the animation suits it well too. I think Maeda should just focus on stories like this rather than doing more school story setting up for drama. Drama should be more real, serious, putting a “fantastical” spin on it ruins it for me. It’s all a dream is bad too. The journey is good enough to place it high, of course.
Shingeki: I loved the comic, the animation wasn’t bad. This is conventional edgy done right. Politics, racism, historical hatred, conspiracy in an action comic? Now that’s the cream. Some people prefer it to be about killing titans. If all of those deaths, sacrifices, brutality were all about killing some aliens, how boring and meaningless would that be? Remember Gantz? It was almost fun because the aliens had some screen time. I wish they were as well done as SnK.
Abyss: really entertaining show. Animation was well done. The original work is gorgeous. Definitely deserved its reputation. Where it is going, I don’t know. Hopefully somewhere satisfying.
Afro Samurai: again, edginess done right. Not just that, but the stylistic trademark of the director just oozes out of every nook and cranny. Was I in love with it? No, more admiration than love. So it’s here.
B Tier:
Soul Eater: the animation wasn’t terrific but the original work is just so fun, I just enjoy the hell out of it.
Ginga Densetsu: I love the feel more than the show. It felt epic, albeit archaic. As I grew older, I tend to enjoy the little stories more. But, it is a classic.
Eye boi: Fun thriller, strange animation, but still good. It deserves to go higher but I felt it avoided quite a bit of philosophical questions and moved to more Death Note territory, which isn’t good.
Kill la Kill: fun, energetic, exciting. But that’s it. I like it more than Gurren Lagaan, paradoxically because it doesn’t pretend to have some emotional value. At the same time, I felt less tension watching it for that reason. But, I was more entertained, so it’s here. The animation is also more radical, which deserves to be rewarded.
FMA: so low? I don’t like the animation. The author deserves a lot better. Even the remake wasn’t as great as it could be.
Durarara: many people liked Baccano more than Durarara, I felt they are about the same, same template, but Baccano had that connection to a real place that made me appreciated it more. Ikebukuro, Otomesando, Shinjuku, Shibuya and Yoyogi were areas I am very familiar with, seeing it on screen was just more fun. It’s bias, unfortunately.
Steins’ gate: I actually don’t think it was a classic, but I still love it. Maybe it has something to do with me having played the game and it made me nostalgic about Akiba’s summer and sweaty nerds. It’s compelling and gripping, and the wham episode is effective. Unfortunately, people also find out that the bad ending is actually better than the good one. Solid throughout, not much to complain about. Could it have been better? Very hard to say. Something Durarara could have learned from it, is to trim out the cast and focus on every characters. Mr Braun.
A Tier:
Koukousei no Nichijou: very funny, animation is done right, just enough, not excessive. I don’t think I would change it if I can.
Toradora: same as DKnN. Done just right. Right budget, right amount of fun, decent animation, dramatic enough for the original work. If only the same team worked on Golden Time too. The author’s adaption got worse over the years. She’s a really good writer that deserves better than modern JC Staff.
Konosuba: really good original material, but the voice acting saves the adaption. The first episode missed the mark, but subsequent episodes were made in the spirit of the VA’s tremendous work really elevated what could have been a dumpster adaption into a classic. I don’t think there had been many equivalences in term of VA’s prowess. Everybody shows up and knocked it out of the park. The animation made use of their limited budget to be more fun and entertaining. This is what happen when passion takes the rein. I was expecting myself to be bored by it, but the longer it goes the better it got. What an achievement. It probably propelled the casts into stardom among the “otaku”. Well deserved. But it is still not an animation classic, merely an adaption classic. I won’t put it in a museum, but definitely need a place in the apocalypse bunker.
N.H.K e: Tastefully adapted from a marvellous source material. Just the right amount of budget and creativity. The heart of the show should be the emotional struggle, and they got that right without being overly dramatic nor being too stylistic. I attribute part of its success as a “franchise”? to the animation. Worthy of everyone’s time.
Fate Zero: too much budget for its own good, to be honest. But it is a good story told right. It makes me question how UBW can be such a drag, when Fate Zero was so good. Perhaps it is the focus of the work. UBW focused on the wrong thing, Fate Zero just happens upon the good stuffs.
Psycho Pass: One of the few great original work made in the last 10 years. It’s interesting, compelling, even though the premise isn’t that compelling. I don’t buy into the world building. It’s rather weak for sci-fi, despite the entire premise is based upon that idea. I think it worked because the animation is terrific and the author focused entirely on the premise it introduced, no dancing around the issue nor much fillers. The main cast is well done, everybody is given enough screen time to be interesting, and all of them are in someway connected to the premise. That’s good writing.
S Tier:
Magical Girl ruined: just straight up solid animation and great writing from some of the creators I have heaped praise upon. Urobutcher and Shaft made a modern classic. The animation was stylistic, but still nice to look at. The story is gripping and compelling. Edgy is used so well, it might not be edgy anymore. Exploitation, family issue, mental health, personal failings, hope, despair, human emotion, naiveté, and strength of character are all here in a brutal deconstruction of the genre. Did I also mention terrific music? Just tremendous.
Haruhi: Another modern classic. It paved the way for much more VN adaptions and became a cultural phenomenon on its own. When I made enough money to travel to conventions on a full-time job, all I saw were schools of Haruhi cosplayers. That’s how big it was. Japan was chock full of Haruhi merchandises. As a show, it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But it blends super natural, mystery, school life in a very well crafted pot, mixed in with Kyoto Animation expertly handling of the material, created a monster that we felt until this very day. The cast was great as well. Sugita’s VA brought Kyon to life, the rest of the cast were exceptional. Oh, and the music is just top notch. The second season was a mistake, but it was more of a good thing, so there’s that. I think it was such a success, Kyo Ani never quite reached the same height ever again.
Bakemonogatari: Haruhi separated at birth, with even more 4th wall breaking, more insanity, more supernatural, more mystery but less animation? Shaft made its mark with Bakemono. Their unconventional style that worked great with Zetsubou Sensei worked great again with Bakemono, solidified their name in the industry. It was a joy to watch from the beginning to end, albeit the last few episodes took quite a while to come out. At this tier, I really can’t see how I can improve upon these works. They are just very well done, or so unique I don’t know what should be changed.
SS Tier:
Cowboy Bebop: just a great classic. Noirish story in space, full of fun, action, but remained emotionally connected and impactful. Most people who got into it, love it, and grew attached. Of course, the music is not a classic, it’s a monument. Transcend the medium it came from. Animation was more than terrific, made by true geniuses with great passion. It encapsulated all the experience and development of animation in the 90s in one package, to bid farewell to the millennia.
Mushishi: moody, slow, mysterious, and temperamental at time. Mushishi isn’t slow burn, it just is. It demonstrates how animation can depict supernatural better than movies could ever do. It remained stylistic throughout, donning a colour tone and never quite let it wear off. I love it, but I know not everybody will.
Ping Pong: One of the best adaption of all time. The “comic style” might seem jarring, but the effort to stick to the original comic style while being modern at the same time is one-of-a-kind. So many animated shows just throw the beautiful art work of the original out of the window, removed all of the textures, nuance, great design, beautiful strokes, and put on screen something half-hazard, simplistic, bland, plain, flat, boring. Ping pong animation shoved all of that to the trash, and push the pedal to the metal. It’s a true faithful adaption. The willingness to take art back to its root, yet adding modernised elements wherever they feel like, such as realistic, rotoscoped shots, is a great joy to watch. The VA is great, and Chinese character speaking Chinese is a nice surprise. Should also mention that the story is an absolute classic. Emotional, passionate, sometime even grand, it’s something every sport comic should be and more. Getting chills or emotional watching is part of experience. Classics are classics not because they are perfect, but because they are so good and unique, you don’t want to change them.
SSS Tier:
Rakugo: the author usually does BL, but sometimes they output something that I have to go: “fuck, it’s good”. The problem is, somehow, against all odds, Deen does it, again. They are not the best studio, but I have to admit I like their adaptions quite a bit. They have a good sense of pace that carried through very well depending on the original material. With Konosuba, they captured the fun and original spirit of the work. With Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, they nailed it. It wasn’t the best animation, wasn’t the best story, wasn’t the best at anything, but they focused on the heart of the entire thing, the Rakugo. Rather than messing around with the story and characters, Deen went hard on making sure the VA did their best for the Rakugo performance. It is gripping and interesting, drawing you into an art form that you might have never heard of, or in my case, just a passing curiosity on the TV. It is so high up due to being the rare specimen of being able to look at the original work and picked out the good parts, putting a spotlight. Many similar works just can’t quite understand that. Understanding the source material and expanded on it should be an adapter’s job, not needing to blow the budget is also an art in itself. Minimal, subtle, letting the original work does the work by itself. That’s not greatness, that’s a unicorn.
Evangelion:
Is there anything left to be said about it. Interesting, beautifully animated, ahead of its time, yet is a combination of the experience of animation of its period. There’s nothing left to be said. It is such a unique, yet grounded experience that I don’t know where to start to improve or change it. Could it have worked without any of the pieces? The timeless character design, the weird mecha elements, the strange symbolism, the mess up characters and their circumstances, the weird overarching plot, the beautiful and detail fight scenes, the feeling of tension in every chapter, the weird slapstick comedy that ended up feeling even more tragic and unfortunate by the end, the non-romance, romantic elements, the sexual tension, the depression from the artist, the budget cut, the out of this world soundtrack. It was such a perfect storm that even the original creator couldn’t completely pull it together with many times more budget he had. The rebuild series failed to wrap up the series for the fans, only for its creator, because the ball he started got way bigger than he could ever imagine. It wasn’t just his work, it was the result of multiple writers that contributed their own piece of mind to it. I don’t think Evangelion is a piece of work that deserves to be loved, all it can be is respected. It changed my perspective on what animation can be in 1998, and ever since I have not ever questioned if animation can be considered art. If something so thoroughly messed up, weird, kinky, overly sexualised, divisible, contentious, and even pretentious can be artistical and full of conflicts from inside its creator’s soul, yet be thoroughly entertaining at the same time, why can’t others? That’s the legacy that Eva left me, there hasn’t been another like it, to me, on TV.
There are shows I have also watched and liked, but can't be bothered to put on it. Naruto, Accel, Zombie and so, so much more.
Posted by duylinhsss | May 14, 2022 3:29 AM | 0 comments
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