January 8th, 2019
My Top 10 Anime of 2018 (Opinion)
Anime Relations: Violet Evergarden, Yuru Camp△, Comic Girls, Sora yori mo Tooi Basho, SSSS.Gridman, Darling in the FranXX, Hinamatsuri (TV), Megalo Box, Hisone to Maso-tan, Hataraku Saibou, Asobi Asobase, Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai, Zombieland Saga
To anyone looking for a new anime but not sure what to watch, here's a list of my top 10 anime that aired in 2018. I'm excluding continuations of shows like "My Hero Academia" and sequels like "Steins;Gate 0" for the sake of giving other shows some spotlight, but I still highly recommend those shows too! Rather than include the synopsis of each show, I'd rather talk about why I like it and leave it to you to look into any of these shows if you're interested.
Honorable Mentions:
Zombieland Saga
Cells at Work!
Asobi Asobase
10. Hinamatsuri - Recommending to those who have watched "Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid," due to similar themes and story elements. It's 10th on the list mostly because it didn't have the same impact Kobayashi had, but it was still enjoyable, nonetheless.
9. Dragon Pilot: Hisone & Masotan - Cute art style with an interesting premise and a main character that I can relate to quite a bit. (Note: This is a Netflix exlcusive)
8. Megalo Box - I REALLY liked the musical score of this show, and the art style has a certain roughness to it that reminds me of shows like Cowboy Bebop. Basically a classic underdog boxing story set in a post-apocalyptic future.
7. Comic Girls - I'm a sucker for slice of life shows, and one about manga artists was bound to draw me in. I could relate a lot to the main character in terms of figuring out where I want to take my art and the desire to continuously improve. It's only low this low on my list because they focused on the cute aspect of the show more than that internal struggle in my opinion, but I still really liked it.
6. Darling in the Franxx - This definitely would have placed much higher if they didn't botch the story in the second half. Despite my qualms, the show had an interesting world and well-written characters. Animation is superb. Plus, I’m biased towards Studio Trigger because of Kill La Kill.
5. SSSS.Gridman – One of the best developed villain characters of any anime this year. Not to mention it’s also about giant monsters, which is my wheelhouse! AND it’s also done by Studio Trigger! The action sequences were done brilliantly. Scores higher than Franxx because they didn’t botch the ending.
4. Rascal Doesn’t Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai – Deals with the struggles of adolescence with a supernatural twist to each character’s story. All of the characters are super relatable, and the scriptwriting is the best I’ve seen in a long time.
3. Violet Evergarden – Great story basically about a military veteran re-entering society and trying to find new purpose when all she knew was war. The main thing that drew me into this show was the animation, which on a technical level, was done masterfully (seriously, you can make a wallpaper from every frame of this show and it would look amazing). It was also really interesting to see how the main character developed from start to finish while coming in contact with a variety of people around her in the world. (Note: Another Netflix exclusive).
2. Laid-Back Camp – Another slice of life show and the most-chill show of 2018 by far. It’s just a show about a group of girls enjoying the experience of camping. I think the reason I like this show so much, aside from the character designs and their enjoyable personalities, is that it’s a great example of why I watch anime: the escapism. The world is full of stress, and this show was a great way to just shut myself off from the world, slow down, and just relax.
1. A Place Further Than the Universe – I knew this show was going to be my favorite of the year since it began airing last winter. The themes resonate with me on a level that very few shows have. Follow your dreams with relentless passion, don’t let anyone get in your way or bring you down and break out of your comfort zone. While I have not always been successful with this, it’s something that I’ve been striving to live by. It’s one of the reasons I became an artist, despite what some people were telling me. I could have easily gone into a more secure field of interest, but I don’t understand the point in doing something you’re not happy with doing. I’ll just continue to shut out the negative talk and prove to everyone that I can do anything!
Honorable Mentions:
Zombieland Saga
Cells at Work!
Asobi Asobase
10. Hinamatsuri - Recommending to those who have watched "Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid," due to similar themes and story elements. It's 10th on the list mostly because it didn't have the same impact Kobayashi had, but it was still enjoyable, nonetheless.
9. Dragon Pilot: Hisone & Masotan - Cute art style with an interesting premise and a main character that I can relate to quite a bit. (Note: This is a Netflix exlcusive)
8. Megalo Box - I REALLY liked the musical score of this show, and the art style has a certain roughness to it that reminds me of shows like Cowboy Bebop. Basically a classic underdog boxing story set in a post-apocalyptic future.
7. Comic Girls - I'm a sucker for slice of life shows, and one about manga artists was bound to draw me in. I could relate a lot to the main character in terms of figuring out where I want to take my art and the desire to continuously improve. It's only low this low on my list because they focused on the cute aspect of the show more than that internal struggle in my opinion, but I still really liked it.
6. Darling in the Franxx - This definitely would have placed much higher if they didn't botch the story in the second half. Despite my qualms, the show had an interesting world and well-written characters. Animation is superb. Plus, I’m biased towards Studio Trigger because of Kill La Kill.
5. SSSS.Gridman – One of the best developed villain characters of any anime this year. Not to mention it’s also about giant monsters, which is my wheelhouse! AND it’s also done by Studio Trigger! The action sequences were done brilliantly. Scores higher than Franxx because they didn’t botch the ending.
4. Rascal Doesn’t Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai – Deals with the struggles of adolescence with a supernatural twist to each character’s story. All of the characters are super relatable, and the scriptwriting is the best I’ve seen in a long time.
3. Violet Evergarden – Great story basically about a military veteran re-entering society and trying to find new purpose when all she knew was war. The main thing that drew me into this show was the animation, which on a technical level, was done masterfully (seriously, you can make a wallpaper from every frame of this show and it would look amazing). It was also really interesting to see how the main character developed from start to finish while coming in contact with a variety of people around her in the world. (Note: Another Netflix exclusive).
2. Laid-Back Camp – Another slice of life show and the most-chill show of 2018 by far. It’s just a show about a group of girls enjoying the experience of camping. I think the reason I like this show so much, aside from the character designs and their enjoyable personalities, is that it’s a great example of why I watch anime: the escapism. The world is full of stress, and this show was a great way to just shut myself off from the world, slow down, and just relax.
1. A Place Further Than the Universe – I knew this show was going to be my favorite of the year since it began airing last winter. The themes resonate with me on a level that very few shows have. Follow your dreams with relentless passion, don’t let anyone get in your way or bring you down and break out of your comfort zone. While I have not always been successful with this, it’s something that I’ve been striving to live by. It’s one of the reasons I became an artist, despite what some people were telling me. I could have easily gone into a more secure field of interest, but I don’t understand the point in doing something you’re not happy with doing. I’ll just continue to shut out the negative talk and prove to everyone that I can do anything!
Posted by groovybrush | Jan 8, 2019 6:48 AM | 0 comments