2014 turned out to be a pretty fantastic year for anime. We saw the return of some old series' and some fresh new ones. One thing for sure is that CG animation is making a huge impact in the industry and isn't going to go anywhere. Depending on the style and quality I like it, but sometimes its annoying and less natural than traditional animation. But, that's all dependent on the technology used.
Either way, this year had some great shows. Here is a look at some of the ones I really enjoyed, in no particular order. I even linked to the reviews of the shows that have finished.
Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun: This slice of life comedy is about an ill fated, one sided love between Sakura Chiyo and her stoic classmate Nozaki Umetaro. Sakura ends up getting recruited to join a motley crew of peers that help Nozaki produce his monthly shojo romance manga.
This series reminded me heavily of the humor and flow of School Rumble, with out all of the surreal oddities. The cast of secondary characters are varied and entertaining. This was a clean and well done comedy that dipped a little into the trials and tribulations of a manga-ka. The romance portion of the story takes a back seat for the majority of the show, only to really come into play in the final episode. Here's hoping for more beyond the 12 episode TV series and the shorts included in the DVD releases.
Hamatora: Part comedy part deadly serious super natural action show, Hamatora deals with a group of people who form a lose nit detective agency that use their unique genetic abilities known as Minimums to solve crimes. A variety of murders begin to thrust the existence of Minimum Holders into public knowledge. The group has to figure out who is behind it and why before the world turns on them for being different.
I can't say it enough, this is a homegrown Japanese rendition of the X-Men...and I kind of prefer this over that long running comic. The animation and character design were a bit annoying, but the character background and over all plot was well done.
Aldnoah.Zero: Due to alien technology people emigrated to Mars in the 1970's and decided to fancy themselves different than humans. Decades later that hatred turns into an invasion of Earth by the Martians using their superior technology. A small group of refugees from the suburbs of Tokyo find themselves at the front line of the attack as one of the people on the escape boat is a 'dead' Martian princess.
The mechs are cool, the background story is cool, the character designs are appealing and the main character is a hard/stoic bad-ass. This was a fun story that isn't done and will be returning in 2015 with a whole bunch of questions needing to be answered. The internet kind of lost its shit with the final episode of this show.
Maido! Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku: Return of the long running gag manga series continues more odd ball antics and gags of a small group of misfit children and the adults around them.
This would be my second favorite show of the year...and no one has picked it up for subtitling...sad sad world we live in. This show is well made and incredibly funny if you enjoy stupid humor and sight gags.
Mekakucity Actors: A group of kids are drawn together because of their special abilities. Little do they know they are being manipulated by forces outside of their control. They come together and theirs fate begin to reveal its self as they confront the forces manipulating them.
This interesting and arty show was based on a popular series of Volcaloid video's. While confusing until the last half of the show the story is interesting and worth a watch. The art and presentation are interesting and reminded me of some things done in Lain and Evangelion. Definitely worth the watch.
Sidonia no Kishi: Set 1000 years after the Earth is destroyed by mysterious aliens, a seed ship travels the depths of space in search of a place to call home. After a hundred years of peace they are again in threat of destruction at he hands of this relentless behemoth, mindlessly bent on humanities end. A boy raised in the pits of the city may be the ships best hope for survival.
This is a slick and well done CG series that takes mecha space opera out of middle school and into adulthood. This mature story has a fantastic backdrop, excellent intrigue and some creative ideas. The animation is a bit clunky, being cell shade wire frame technology, but its well done regardless. Season 2 can't come quick enough!
Tonari no Seki-kun: Odd slice of life antics of a high school student and her mental dialogue concerning the levels of slack her classmate Seki goes to.
Short anime series are a quickly growing trend. This series uses that format exceedingly well and was able to keep the basic premise fresh for most of its run. The animation is simple but is more than made up for in creativity and the main characters internal dialog.
Mushi-shi Zoku-sho: Ginko returns for more episodes of helping people with their mushi problems. This season was split in two and the second half which began airing in the Fall seems to have the best stories out of the entire franchise.
I would say Mushi-shi is one of the best anime TV shows ever made. It is original and exudes a dream like aura in each installment that I have never before experienced. The show is void of action or power ups and at times can be slow paced and I love every minute of it. Aside from Ginko there are only 3 recurring characters but it is an amazingly well done story. The shows is steeping in allegory and twists on traditional Japanese lore.
Barakamon: Handa Seishu is a privileged professional calligrapher who is banished to a remote island town to cool his head. While there, refocusing, he has to put up with the towns cast of odd ball hicks and learn important life lessons through their antics.
This typical slice of life, life lesson comedy is fun and enjoyable. The cast of yokels are enjoyable, especially the main girl who causes Handa the most trouble. Nothing special, but above average in the slice of life comedy arena.
Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis: Based on a video/card game franchise, the story deals with a half demon half angel who holds in her one of two keys that seal the evil dragon Bahamut. Powerful agents are manipulating her to unleash the dragon from his 1000 year slumber. Unfortunately for Favaro, a quick tongued bounty hunter/bandit, he ends up being dragged along with the woman through Heaven and Hell as she searches for her mother.
This is my top pick for the year and I hate fantasy anime. This show is amazingly entertaining. The background is interesting and fun. The cast of characters are entertaining. The animation is slick, the fight scenes fast paced and satisfying. The comedy is well done. This show feels so much like Cowboy Bebop. Well worth the time...it is the best show this year.
Gugure Kokkuri-san: Spiritually sensitive orphan Kohina ends up attracting a number of animal spirits, much to her annoyance. The main one, a kitsune dubbed Kokkuri, does his best to fill the void of familial love he senses in the young girl.
This show is incredibly funny. There are no straight men in this comedy, everyone's a nut job. It is everything Keroro Gunsou was unable to get right and so much more. Witty, entertaining and steeped in traditional Japanese animism.
Tokyo ESP: Flying fish are giving random people in Tokyo psychic powers. A group, taking this as a sign, use this opportunity to make themselves the rulers of Tokyo. A small band of ESPers end up being their only opposition and face insurmountable odds fighting them.
This is a well drawn series that has some fun characters and entertaining pop culture references. The actual background of the story is less than original but watching the main character learn to deal with her new powers is entertaining and fun. It has bad points and good points but is over all a decent series and worth the watch. I'm intrigued to see if a second season will surface in the future.
Argevollen: Two nations are fighting each other for larger territory and political clout. A small mech platoon from one side stumbles upon a new design that could change the fate of the war. The more that is learned about this incredible new machine the less the encounter seems like a fluke. Instead these soldiers find themselves at the center of a dangerous power struggle between military leaders and corporations.
This is a true and straight forward military anime. Aside from the random and pointless fan service scenes from time to time this is a really enjoyable and entertaining show. I dig clunky mechs and this one if full of them. The mechs though are actually less of the focal point of the story which swings back and forth from focusing on the military and corporate intrigue at work behind the war.
Shirobako: 5 high school girls promise each other to have successful careers in the anime industry. A few years later some of them are on their way to that dream but the hard reality of their tireless work can sometime seem overwhelming.
This is a fun and cute slice of life show that gives a great view into the world of anime production and the insane schedules everyone in the industry ends up dealing with. Its full of great insight and plenty of comedy and otaku references.
Zenkyo no Terror: Two young men have a well detailed terrorism plot planned out to expose the horrors of their upbringing in a secret orphanage. Their goal is to lead the detectives investigating their bombings to the truth before they are ultimately captured or killed.
This series features a completely different direction for Watanabe Shinichiro (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy). This is a slickly animated, straight out of Hollywood action packed cops vs genius terrorist type story. While nothing ground breaking it offers a smart by the book action show amid all the normal offerings in anime land.
While this year was stellar in selection it also had some pretty tragic and disappointing shows. Here are a look at a few of the offerings that ended up being rather disappointing.
Keroro: Keroro Gunsou, which ran for way longer than it ever should have in the half hour format 10 years ago was redone in the increasingly popular 2 to 3 minute format. The show starts from ground zero and retells the invasion of the Keroro platoon. Unfortunately they went super cheap on the art and the entire thing is done in Flash, which looks pretty horrible compared to the original. I like Keroro Gunsou, even if it got old and should have stopped probably around episode 60 or so. But to redo it in shoddy animation and to cut it to shorter episodes seems annoying and unnecessary.
Ai Tenchi Muyo: The first new Tenchi Muyo TV show since 2002. Ai Tenchi Muto is a confusing series of 5 minute episodes that offer nothing new and only present fap material with pointless and annoying harems that put this classic harem series to shame...this show soils the franchise.
One Week Friends: While not bad, this slice of life romance series is actually really really boring...like really boring. I watched the entire thing and didn't really feel anything for the characters. I started to read the manga, which seemed a bit better, but since the anime seemed to follow it verbatim I stopped. The manga at least is presented in a semi comical way as its a 4koma. But the series is incredibly dry and oppressive in its atmosphere. It was weird. I wanted to like it more but it was just so incredibly pathetic.
Soul Eater NOT!: Another return to an entertaining and loved series. Much like Ai Tenchi Muyo, Soul Eater NOT! turns a fun series into a pointless fan service spectacle with no real point.
Well, 2014 yielded one of the best years for entertaining anime since 2006 or so. 2015 has a few gems already in the works; season 2 of both Sidonia no Kishi and Aldnoah.Zero. The return of Soukyu no Fafner and Durarara! New series too that seem mildly interesting like Death Parade and Assasination Classroom. January is up next and an all new batch of shows are neigh!
