A reminder, that if you would like to be involved, just answer the very simple survey here and I’ll consider your question for inclusion in this series of posts. You don’t have to answer the second question but if you leave your name and link I will link to your blog when I respond.
Question: Out of all the anime that you have watched, what is the series that was the biggest surprise to you? From Raistlin
I don’t even know where to start with this one given anime is endlessly surprising me. Shows I expect to be amazing from their synopsis end up being average or dreadful and shows I expect nothing from turn out to be stand outs of the year.
Right now, March Comes in Like a Lion is probably the show that continues to surprise me. Even when explaining it to people in real life I regularly get asked why I like it because it just doesn’t seem like the kind of show that should appeal to me (and anyone who has seen my movie collection with its heavy action, creature feature horror, and cheesy fantasy focus would know that March is well outside my normal genre choices). Yet, there’s just something about the show, and more importantly about Rei, that draws me in. So it is a massive surprise and week after week it manages to blow my expectations out of the water.
Though, shows like Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash surprised me as well because it seemed like just another stuck in a fantasy world/game stories and then it had some excellent and mature handling of death and grief.
I think what I’ve learned watching as much anime as I do, is that you never can tell until you actually try a show. Something that sounds on paper like a surefire winner may be the most boring and derivative thing you’ve ever encountered whereas something that barely registers when you read the description may deliver a really powerful and memorable viewing experience.
Sorry if it sounds like I dodged the question but I really couldn’t say which show has surprised me the most.
Thanks Raistlin for the question and let’s ask the readers. Which anime was the biggest surprise for you?
Thanks for reading.
Karandi James
If you enjoyed this post and would like to see 
more great content on this blog, consider becoming a patron for as little as $1 a month.
Another way you can support the content here is by buying a copy of ‘Thoughts on Anime 2017‘ as an ebook. It contains a selection of reviews, features and top 5 lists from 2017 and while the content is available free on the site, this is a great way to give a one off show of support for the blog. It is available for $3.99.
it was intresting what you write
The show that surprised me is Gintama.
Surprised good or surprised bad?
Very good
I had little hope for Negima! (the manga) when I first started reading it. The nickname “Harem Potter” seemed to fit well. And wow, it turned out to be quite the fantasy action series.
Glad it worked for you.
Haha, you didn’t dodge the question at all. Oh how I wish that I could currently watch this series. You have told me so many great stories about it through your reviews and the comments that I am really highly anticapating this one.
The two series that I guess have surprised me the most are Yuri on Ice (simply because I thought I would really not enjoy it, but it ended up being one of the best animes that I have seen), and School-live (simply because it was such a unique concept….and one I would never have found out about if D didn’t share that great episodic review for the series. God, I really miss D 😢).
Thanks for answering this: this is really a fun series of posts you are doing 😊😊
I’m also really glad that D started reviewing School-Live because even though I had access to it, I’d never even considered watching it because the art work and description didn’t really sell it at all. I guess I should say that one did really surprise me.
Yeah before that review , I had seen it in the Chrunchyroll line up, but automatically passed by it. I remember showing it to my mum the first time (she loves anime), and the look on her face when the big reveal came was priceless 😂😂
For me it was definitely Akatsuki no Yona, because I wasn’t expecting anything but ended up getting so much from it ~
Yona was highly recommend to me so I went in expecting quite a bit from it. I don’t think it quite lived up to the hype but it was still pretty great to watch.