2018 Archives | Page 2 of 2

Tuesday’s Top 5: Visually Interesting Anime from 2018

Posted on December 4, 2018December 27, 2018 by Karandi

Continuing my lists of anime from 2018, I am now looking at the most visually interesting anime. Notice it does not claim the best visuals or animation. To be honest, as long as something is watchable I generally don’t pay a huge amount of attention other than to decide something looks pretty or not. For instance, Angolmois managed to have me complaining about how ugly it looked almost every episode so I knew it had to be pretty bad for me to pay that much attention to it (that and Devils’ Line – what was it with weird filters this year).

Still, there are some requirements for an anime to be on my radar for visuals. I need to like the look it is going for. It needs to feel slightly different from the other shows I’ve been watching. Some good choices in direction usually help. And, let’s be honest, the animation needs to be pretty smooth. Now, some of my choices on the list won’t have all of those things, but that’s kind of what I’m going for. And that term ‘interesting’ is in the title for a reason. I need to have found the visuals interesting, as in I thought they were worth mentioning and discussing on more than one occasion because they grabbed my interest.

Which is kind of how 18if made it onto the top of the list for 2017 and March Comes in Like a Lion took out second place in 2017 and top place in 2016. These anime demanded that I pay attention to their visuals and gave me imagery that stayed with me well after the episodes had ended. So what made my list in 2018?

Honourable Mentions:

This year I’m giving an honourable mention to Run With The Wind and Darling in the Franxx. Franxx’s animation was gorgeous and the character designs were really cute. Even if I’m not a big fan of Trigger in general, it is hard to argue with those visuals. Run With The Wind has moments of spectacular direction and aesthetics and then large stretches where it feels pretty ordinary. If it could harness those moments where visually it just nails the scene, it would definitely have made it on the official list.

Number 5: Cardcaptor Sakura – Clear Card

While there were many parts of this reboot/sequel that didn’t quite work out as well as I would have liked, visually this was everything I could have ever wanted. Cardcaptor had always been beautiful but the update to the look of the show was spectacular. The magical moments sparkled and did everything they needed to, but it was the attention to detail on the everyday aspects, trees, leaves, flowers, cooking, background characters, that really sold me on the visuals of this one. While the story ended up being kind of meh, there is no denying how pretty this anime turned out.

Number 4: Tsurune

I will admit, this one has some wavering quality with some sequences being outstandingly pretty and others being more ordinary, but it never looks bad. The archery has so far been beautifully animated, the characters are lovely to look at and differentiated enough that you don’t get confused, and there’s just a general care and attention to detail here that is truly pleasurable to watch. I accept that some of what makes this work is how the visuals and sounds are paired together, but ultimately this is one very pretty sports anime.

Number 3: My Hero Academia Season 3

Right, it would have been just plain wrong to leave this one off of the list. For all that I didn’t find season three as enticing as seasons one and two, this season really did bring some spectacular animation to the mix of the already fairly amazing character designs and general distinct look of the show. For all that My Hero Academia is pretty classic shounen, everything about the look of the show has managed to make itself feel unique and the ongoing impressive quality of the action sequences where it never feels like lazy or reused imagery means this anime remains one that should be praised for just how good it manages to look.

Number 2: March Comes in Like a Lion Season 2

So, yeah, this one is on the list for the third year in a row (because it is awesome). I’m kind of sad that once again it has lost out on first place given it is still a truly amazingly beautiful anime to watch. Even in its most mundane moments, March Comes in Like a Lion manages to use an impressive combination of visual symbolism and interesting direction to draw the viewer’s eye to whatever they wish us to focus on. They are crafting an amazing character journey and the reason it works so well is very much because of how they present each stage. However, what really impressed in 2018 was the scene where Rei returned to his foster parents’ house. The awkwardness of that scene and the emotions both characters were feeling came through beautifully. It was something really simple and yet it worked spectacularly well. Wait, why didn’t I put this at number one again?

Number 1: Bloom Into You

Oh right, March Comes in Like a Lion couldn’t quite beat this one for direction in its second half of season two (which is all that aired in 2018). Now, if you want to see something that feels like it has been carefully constructed with love and attention to detail in every single frame, Bloom Into You is the anime for you. I love the direction, the use of colour and contrasts, the character designs, quite literally everything about this anime is beautiful and it works to construct a story that emotionally takes the audience on a ride. It is a truly amazing thing to see in action and there isn’t a single sequence that isn’t worth rewatching just to think about how it has been put together and why it is so amazing.

And that brings us to the end of my list of visually interesting anime for 2018. However, as always, I am dying to know what the rest of you thought this year. Please share your favourites in the comments below.

Thanks for reading
Karandi James

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Tuesday’s Top 5: Surprisingly Good Anime in 2018

Posted on November 27, 2018December 27, 2018 by Karandi

I started this list in 2017 and unsurprisingly Spiritpact took out my top pick for surprisingly good show. The sequel didn’t have quite the surprise factor, though it was still pretty awesome.

Now, I will make it clear, this is not my list of best anime from 2018. That will come once the Autumn season has ended and I can do my final evaluation of the shows. These are anime that I expected nothing from, or very little, and what I got was actually pretty decent. These shows surpassed anything I ever thought they would so even though they all still have a few rough edges, ultimately these are some fun anime to check out if you passed on them initially or looking at the name makes you want to run and hide.

When looking at the list below, I’m aware a lot of them come out of the Autumn season. That’s because of all the seasons this year, Autumn was the one I expected little from most of the shows (Spring and Summer had definitely lowered my expectations) and then there were just so many shows that I have thoroughly enjoyed. However, this list are the shows that surprised me by being good, so I’d love to know what is on your list for 2018.

Please Note – Potential spoilers below.

Honourable mentions this week go to: How to Keep a Mummy and Run With The Wind.

Number 5: How Not To Summon a Demon Lord

How Not To Summon a Demon Lord Episode 4

For an ecchi filled harem isekai story about a guy who enslaves two girls on arrival (accidentally of course) this anime could easily be dismissed as trash. Those who dislike fan-service of any sort probably will dismiss it and move on as will those who by default dislike isekai stories. However, How Not To Summon A Demon Lord proved itself a fairly enjoyable romp full of interesting characters and some fairly solid magical fights. The fan service moments certainly pushed things to the limit at times, but the story being constructed was surprisingly good and they certainly paced things so that every time the thought of maybe calling it quits something very good would happen and draw me back into the story. Ultimately, I ended up really having a lot of fun with Diablo, Shera and Rem and I actually kind of hope this one gets a sequel.

Number 4: DAKAICHI -I’m being harassed by the sexiest man of the year-

Having read the manga of this one I was curious about its transformation into an anime and was expecting something so much worse. I’m not going to say it is all smooth sailing and there are certainly plenty of actions that would cross the lines some people have drawn for themselves, but this one has been a surprisingly fun ride. I really enjoy Takato as a character and even Junta has grown on me as the season has progressed. There are some incredibly sweet and touching moments and the more extreme aspects of the manga have been toned down (which will probably annoy those who wanted to see those scenes brought to life but I’m kind of happy with the alterations that I’ve noticed). All and all, I expected that my curiosity for this one would be short lived once it started and instead I’ve been falling more and more in love with this story since episode 1.

Number 3: Voice of Fox

Anime shorts don’t normally last long on my watch list so I’m really surprised that I’m not only watching this one but how high up my favourites list it is most weeks. Certainly not a perfect story by any means, it really isn’t wasting its time in each episode as it progresses what is a fairly competent and interesting story and a character who is fairly likeable. Sure, it could all go belly up in the final weeks and maybe I’ll change my mind about where on this list it should go, but considering I expected almost nothing from it, I’ve ended up really looking forward to and anticipating the episode each week. That and Hu Li’s singing voice is out of this world good. Would love an actual album of just that.

Number 2: Cells At Work

No surprise this one made the list. I kind of expected the show to be cute enough but get repetitive and dull. Instead, I enjoyed it each week and found the characters a true delight. Again, this anime wasn’t perfect by any means, but considering my expectations the silly smile on my face each week from the opening song on was very unanticipated. That and this show delivered on the cutest characters of all time (losing out only to Mii-Kun from How to Keep a Mummy), the Platelets. Yes, we all need more platelets in our lives.

Number 1: Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

Bunny Girl Senpai - Episode 1 - Mai Sakurajima and Sakuta Azusagawa

Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai Episode 4

Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai Episode 3

I almost did not watch the first episode of this one. I saw the title, saw the promotional art and I sighed. I avoided the first episode and watched other things. I took notes on what was going onto my watch list. And then I decided I’d give it five minutes of my time. This is now the top of my Autumn season watch list and has been pretty consistently my favourite show every single week of the season. Great characters, great writing, interesting plots, and pacing that never feels too slow or too rushed. While I will continue to make fun of their running animations, I love this show and it is one that truly convinced me that every show is worth trying (even if only for a minute).

So I’d love to know which anime have surprised you this year with how good they have been. Be sure to leave me a comment below and next week I’m going to look at my top 5 anime for visuals from 2018.

Tuesday’s Top 5: Disappointments 2018

Posted on November 20, 2018December 27, 2018 by Karandi

More Top 5 lists for 2018 and now we’re diving into shows that I, for whatever reason, had some kind of expectations of and for whatever reason they left me feeling a little disappointed. I started this sort of list in 2016 where Kiznaiver took my top spot and did my second list in 2017 where Sword Oratoria swept the floor (that one actually hurt a lot) and I’ve been wondering which titles would end up on the list in 2018 because there have been a number of shows I really was looking forward to this year.

Now, as always, this is a personal list. These are shows I started watching and I had expectations for them that they didn’t quite meet. In some cases, they are actually still reasonable anime in their own way, but they didn’t end up being as good as I hoped.

So, without further delay let us get into the shows that decide to crush my hopes under heel in 2018 and then I’d love to know what shows ended up disappointing you this year. What did you wait for with baited breath only to have the wind knocked out of your sails (and there is a mixed metaphor and a half)?

Please Note – Potential spoilers below.

Honourable mentions this week go to: Devils’ Line and Record of Grancrest War

Number 5: My Hero Academia Season 3

And yes, I know My Hero Academia season 3 is actually not a bad anime. I am well aware of that. However, season 2 was an amazing season. It kept me thrilled from start to finish even though it had a tournament arc for half its run time (which normally is something I can’t stand). Season 2 worked and blew me away and cemented a real fondness for this show inside of me. And then season 3 happened. It wasn’t bad, but a lot of the thrill and fun seemed to be missing as things came across more than a little flat. Season 3 had its moments. Certainly All Might’s final fight was one of the truly epic moments of any shounen anime (I say with authority despite not watching a lot of them). But looking at the season as a whole, there were definitely more episodes I walked away from wanting more and that’s why I’ve given My Hero Academia my number 5 spot on the list for disappointments.

Number 4: Junji Ito Collection

Maybe it is just that horror doesn’t translate very well from the manga to the screen, but really this one was talked up a lot and I even checked out a lot of the art behind some of these stories online before hand and I was really kind looking forward to a solid horror anime (something we get so few of). Instead I got a fairly weak viewing experience with a few oddities, a little bit of eye-brow raising, and a few grotesque moments, but nothing that really managed to hit me with a major horror vibe. It was all just a little ordinary to be honest and while some of the concepts were cool, the execution was lacking. This one gains a place simply because it is a genre I love, there was so much hype about the source, and ultimately it just didn’t deliver much of anything.

Number 3: Devilman Crybaby

Maybe it was just that the internet exploded with hype after the release of this one, and maybe it was because again the source was fairly well spoken of, but this Netflix release really underwhelmed. It wasn’t strictly speaking bad, but at the same time, after watching it I ended up fairly indifferent to it. I get that it was over the top violence and sex and the conclusion they were aiming for, it all works in its own way, but I just didn’t feel it. The characters weren’t developed enough and I felt like the show spent too long trying to tell me things that I was meant to be feeling rather than giving me a reason to believe they were true. Basically I ended up thinking ‘is that it’ rather than being blown away by this one and that’s probably a good reason why I shouldn’t pay attention to internet hype.

Number 2: Angels of Death

Really, this one shouldn’t be too much of a shocker. Again, fans of the source really talked this one right up and then it kind of went splat. It wasn’t the obvious game dialogue, the shifting tone, the characterisation that didn’t sit right or even the plot that just didn’t seem to be connecting that ended up killing this for me. Nope, what killed it was that episode one promised me one tone and idea and then it was all taken away and replaced by other elements that were nowhere near as good. What had been intriguing in episode one evaporated leaving me with only elements that bored and even the fans of the source seemed to go quiet once the anime started rolling out so I guess a lot of people found the adaptation a little less than amazing (that said I do know a number of people who made it through this one, well done). Also, another fine example of why I shouldn’t listen to internet hype because I might have low-key enjoyed this if I had gone in expecting nothing.

Number 1: SAO Alternative: Gun Gale online

This one should be no surprise to people who have followed my posts. I love SAO. I really do. I was a little wary when I found out this spin-off was going to be set in GGO, my least favourite of the SAO worlds. Then I started it and met the characters and discovered the lack of anything resembling a forward moving plot. While I appreciate there’s an audience for pink bunny girls with guns playing a game in a kind of slice of life style thing with a story slowly developing in the background but four episodes in I was bored, still didn’t know where it was going, and didn’t really have any reason to watch. SAO Alternative went the way of Sword Oratoria in 2017. A spin-off for a show I loved that just missed everything about the original that I loved.

And that is my list done but next week I’ll turn it around and look at the shows that caught me by surprise. Where my expectations were zero and I ended up having a great time. In the meantime, remember to let me know in the comments which shows left you disappointed in 2018?

A Special Friday’s Feature: Adventures at Supanova – Brisbane 2018

Posted on November 16, 2018November 18, 2018 by Karandi

Supanova Brisbane - Cyberman from Dr Who

Hi all and welcome to a very special edition of Friday’s Feature as I share a bit about my weekend when I travelled to Brisbane for Supanova. For those who don’t know, Supanova kind of covers a bit of everything. Comics and gaming seem to be a large part of the focus, but there’s a lot of sci-fi, a bit of horror and quite a bit of anime thrown in just for fun. Previously I’d been lucky enough to travel to Melbourne for the event but that was a number of years ago and so I was super-excited when I managed to save up some cash, organise some time off work, and get to the convention this year.

CIMG3846 — Despite how it looks at opening, there was plenty of room and the lines were never too long.

Now, it does start on the Friday afternoon, but with travel I was only able to go on Saturday and Sunday, but I still found heaps to do and way too many things I wanted to buy. However let’s start at the beginning. Over four days (counting the Monday and the Friday travel time), I drove over 19 hours, spent nearly 5 hours on trains, and walked over 30,000 steps.

And I wonder why I was tired this week.

I also met some incredibly cool people, picked up some amazing merchandise, got to hear Dean Cain answer questions about whether or not there were ever any accidents involving his Superman suit and Bonnie Wright talk about what it was like to kiss Harry Potter so I’m feeling pretty happy with my weekend. I am a little bit disappointed that the panel with Julie Benz didn’t go ahead, but it did mean I had plenty of time to listen to the guys who rent out Darlek’s and a Tardis for charity and have operated a Darlek on the set of Dr Who, so again, not a lot to be disappointed about when so many things were so much fun.

And yes, I did dress up for the occasion (at least on the Saturday). I went as a gender-bent version of my very favourite anime ice-skater, Yuri Katsuki. For patrons, there’s a little surprise over on Patreon to check out.

Now, I spent a huge amount of time in the artists alley because some of the art work there was amazing (as were some of the key chains, dog collars, self-published books, and insect themed jewellery). Still, my favourite stand ended up belonging to an artist by the name of Andrew Law (and here is his website which links to pretty much everything else). I absolutely loved his art work. Lots of fairies and dragons and fantasy based work. Some was coloured, a lot just ink, and I’m going to be honest, it was beautiful. I ended up buying his art book and I will admit I couldn’t really stop looking at it on my way home. I really just enjoyed talking with him and looking at his work. A lot of the other stalls were more interested in just giving you their spiel or pitch or would more or less ignore you until you directly asked them a question, but he was really nice. If you get the chance, check out some of his work because some of it is absolutely stunning.

Outside of that, I did buy quite a few fan arts of Nyanko Sensei, the characters from Land of the Lustrous, and a poster from Yuri on Ice. The Sword Art Online posters came as part of a show-bag I picked up because, Sword Art Online (couldn’t help it).

If you follow me on Twitter you’ve already seen my gorgeous new Nyanko Sensei plush (oh my goodness I love it so much).

Look who is coming home with me. pic.twitter.com/dM1f62Hdvu

— Karandi (@100wordanime) 11 November 2018

And finally, my prize from the convention, I splurged a tiny little bit and bought myself a petite character box of the Black Moon Clan from Sailor Moon including Wicked Lady. I have tons of Sailor Moon themed merchandise, but almost nothing from the villains side and I absolutely love the villains from season 2, so this was a really fantastic pick up and one I’m glad I found.

So yes, an awesome weekend and I would absolutely love to do it again, though I’m not sure when that will happen. I’d love to say I’ll go next year but it was quite hard to fit it in this year so it may have to wait another year or so before I manage to work it in again.

On a final note, I got a few odds and ends (mostly fan posters and the like) that I’m going to save up and put together for a bit of a give-away next year when my blog turns three (I’ll hopefully add to the small collection I have now to put together a couple of decent prizes).

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

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Tuesday’s Top 5: Ending Themes in 2018

Posted on November 13, 2018December 27, 2018 by Karandi

Continuing on with our Top 5 lists for the year that is 2018, this week I am turning my attention to the ending themes. Now, this list was a little harder to make because there are plenty of ED’s I don’t listen to after the first episode, which is why in previous years I haven’t even tried to do this list. Then again, if the ED is interesting it will make me hang around and so I’m going to roll out my list.

(If you missed the previous list you can check out my top 5 favourite openings here.)

Now what makes a good ending? I have no idea. I like endings that are fun to listen to or capture a theme in the story, but I also like character focused ED’s or ones that just play with their cast and characters. Really it could be one of a dozen things that grabs my interest, though I can guarantee still images and panning aren’t high on my list of priorities to watch each week.

Please feel free to share your favourites in the comments below.

Please Note – There probably won’t be any spoilers in this list.

Honourable mentions this week go to: How To Keep a Mummy and Darling in the Franxx.

Number 5: Steins;Gate 0 – The Last Game by Zwei

There’s something incredibly plaintive about this ending, which is probably what it was going for and even as it becomes more energised later in the song that underlying sorrow never really fades. As much as I wasn’t the biggest fan of Steins;Gate 0, didn’t dislike it but just couldn’t help but compare it to the original, I really did love this song each week and I will admit I didn’t skip listening even once. Great song, solid visuals, and a really good effort at capturing the core emotion of the story.

Number 4: Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Episode 3 – Negai Hana by Katsuyuki Konishi

This is an odd one because it isn’t the ending the whole way through. Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi had some great music and I liked that at intervals various characters would get an ending focused on them, and in this case the Ogre Master’s voice actor performed the song, and in the process very nearly knocked Daisuke Ono off from being my favourite voice actor. The visuals aren’t much with this one, but I really loved this song.

Number 3: Dakaichi – Chuntaka! by Junta Azumaya (Yuuki Ono), Takato Saijou (Hiroki Takahashi)

There’s genuinely no excuse. The song is generic as, the slow pan over the characters and the heavy use of the stereo is pretty lazy. The dance sequence is simple and incredibly twee. And yet, I genuinely love this ending. It make me smile and I genuinely feel like getting up and dancing with the characters by the end of it. So while I will accept this song is very much not a sensible choice, and if I were to rewrite this list in six months it probably wouldn’t be here, right now this song is so getting this spot.

Number 2: March Comes in Like a Lion Season 2 – I am Standing by Ruann

You want an ending that captures a character journey over an entire series, sounds great, and is visually interesting, than March Comes in Like a Lion delivers. I love the song and the mood it sets. I love how it shows Rei over his life and the heavy link to the water and colour symbolism used throughout the whole series. Favourite moment though is when he runs toward the colours and the sisters appear, Hina the last of them at the very centre, Rei’s sun. Truly beautiful and perfect for the anime.

Number 1: Banana Fish – Prayer X by King Gnu

Visually, this is perhaps the least impressive ED on the list, but the music is so incredibly distinctive and haunting and so perfectly suited to the character (as are the visuals) that I can’t help but get totally drawn into this. Just hearing the first few notes of the ED can suck me right in at this point and after listening to it the song will be stuck in my head for hours. I really love it and I feel it is the perfect song for the show so here it is at number 1.

Alright, over to you. What would you pick for your favourite anime endings in 2018?

Tuesday’s Top 5: Opening Themes in 2018

Posted on November 6, 2018December 27, 2018 by Karandi

You may be asking why in November I am starting my top 5 for the year lists. There’s a really simple answer to that. I want to have them all finished by the end of January but with only one list coming out a week in order to get through all the top 5’s I want to do I needed to start at the beginning of November. That said, I’m holding off on best character lists until the season is almost done because I’m trying to give the Autumn characters as much time to develop and show us what they can do as I can.

Now my 2016 and 2017 lists are both available if you want to see what OP’s have grabbed in previous years though it will be fairly unsurprising to see that History Maker (Yuri on Ice) took out 2016 and The Other Side of the Wall (Princess Principal) landed a top spot in 2017. I’m kind of looking forward to when my blog is five years old and I can see the five top choices over the years of blogging and whether or not I’ve completely changed my mind.

Anyway, much like my taste in comedy, my taste in music is a little odd at times. Sometimes songs just grab my attention for reasons even I can’t explain and other times music that works perfectly well for everyone else just seems like noise to me. I think for me, what makes a great anime opening is music that gets my attention but has visuals that also draw me in and they work together to set a tone or a mood for the episode to come.

However, that more or less means my list is entirely my own opinion so as with all of my lists I welcome your comments telling me what you would have picked. So check out my list below and then I’d love to know, what are your top 5 openings for 2018?

Please Note – There probably won’t be any spoilers in this list.

Honourable mentions this week go to: GeGeGe No Kitaro, Goblin Slayer and Sword Art Online Alicization. And a double special honourable mention to Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai. That opening is awesome though I’m not so sold on the visuals.

Number 5: Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens – Stray by Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets

Now, this opening sounds fairly generic when just listened to with the audio but for this show, it works perfectly. The pace changes and the overly dramatic moments interspersed between quieter and more contemplative moments really does capture the nature of the show itself as though there was always a tug of war with the tone. I also love the way the characters are each introduced through the visuals in the opening. This actually kind of helped early in the series as a lot of the characters didn’t get a lot of screen time until later and the OP just set you up to enjoy the show and know who everyone more or less was (kind of similar to Baccano except that they don’t bother to float the character names around the screen). All and all, this was one OP I didn’t skip during the season.

Number 4: Cells at Work – Mission! Ken – Kō – Dai – Ichi by Kana Hanazawa, Tomoaki Maeno, Daisuke Ono and Kikuko Inoue

I shouldn’t really need to explain this one. With the main cast singing along, this opening is just pure fun and energy. It is impossible to listen to it and not have a smile on your face and watching the characters get up to their usual antics as they run about in the opening is a great time before the episode even gets going. This is what all OP’s should be about; capturing the tone of their show.

Number 3: Banana Fish – Found & Lost

And speaking of OP’s that perfectly capture the tone of the show, Banana Fish’s first opening Found & Lost did a truly excellent job. Despite being relatively energetic there’s some real pain and longing in the sound and when coupled with the visuals the tragedy surrounding the characters is very clear as is a sense of trying to move forward and through the situation. There are some beautiful visuals in this OP and it really does suit the show so very well.

Number 2: March Comes in Like a Lion Season 2 – We of the Coming Spring by Unison Square Garden

This is an opening that made me smile each and every week but not for the same reason as Cells at Work. After two season of two cours each, this fourth OP brings so much hope and warmth to the characters while still holding onto the visual symbolism that has dominated all the openings. Wind, water, and light are used beautifully to showcase the progress the characters have made and the tone of the story and it is just a delight to listen to and watch. Of course, I’m pretty biased when it comes to this anime in general but I absolutely loved this OP. The only surprise is that it isn’t number one on my list.

Number 1: Attack on Titan Season 3 – Red Swan by Yoshiki

Seriously, even I don’t know how this happened. The first time I heard the opening to Attack on Titan season 3 my reaction was stunned silence, a head shake, and then a ‘what was that?’ before replaying it just to check that I’d heard right. Where was the dramatic tension and the terror of the titans. However, I did say that my choices are based on how well the music fits the show and having watched season 3 of Attack on Titan with its heavy focus on politics and characters and bringing all of those old secrets out into the open, reconnecting characters with their past whether they like it or not, I really feel this opening fits perfectly with what the show delivered. I do know that by the mid-season I was very into this song and found myself listening to it even when I wasn’t watching an episode. Ultimately, I just really like it and that is why it is my number one pick for the year.

Alright, over to you. What have your favourite opening themes been this year?

Friday’s Feature: Choosing A Watch List When Faced With A Sea of Spring Anime

Posted on April 13, 2018April 12, 2018 by Karandi

The Spring 2018 anime season has started and so many bloggers, reviewers and just watchers are faced with the question of what will end up on their list. For some this is an easily answered question as they had already picked out 2 or 3 big titles that they intended to watch during the season and the rest will either wait or be forgotten, but for the rest of us watching a plethora of premiere episodes this can actually end up being quite a difficult decision.

The important thing to keep in mind is that there is no surefire way to pick a winner and regardless of what you end up watching, you always have the option of dropping mid-season and picking up something else. Or you can just keep going and at the end of the season check out those titles that slid past you. And at the end of the day, as long as you are having fun, what does it really matter? Still, there are some approaches I’ve watched other reviewers take when choosing their watch list that I’m going to share here and then I’d love to know how you pick your list.

Genre Matters

This method works for bloggers who have a very specific theme on their blog. For example some people review cute girls doing cute things and slice of life and that’s what they like to watch so their list is automatically narrowed down to titles that fit within those descriptions with maybe one or two outliers for variety. Other bloggers focus on shounen or romance or whatever it is that they have made their niche. It is quick and effective and if your blog is targeted at a specific genre or audience then it is probably a necessity in order to avoid brand confusion. Needless to say this doesn’t work for everyone, particularly those of us who while there are genres we’d prefer to watch don’t have any one genre that we’re crazy enough about to only watch that.

One From Each Box

This method is probably a bit better for people that like to cover a range of anime where the blogger picks a title from each major category or group for the season. So one cute girl anime and one action and one fantasy, etc. It gives some good variety and if the title they’ve picked ends up being a dud they can always swap a new one in. Of course, then you have to wonder how they pick that one title and in a season like last one, how would you narrow down your cute girl show?

No Sequels, No Spin-Offs, No Light Novel Adaptations

For those overwhelmed by the sheer volume of titles each season, having an exclusion clause can really narrow the field. It doesn’t really matter what it is you are excluding. Maybe yours would be ‘no pink haired heroines’, but essentially whatever you eliminate from the line up leaves you with less options to choose from possibly making the choice easier. Now while you might argue that this particular method means that the blogger in question is going to miss some good titles (obviously everyone wants to watch a spin-off light novel adaptation about a pink haired heroine) but realistically there are so many anime out there that even if they miss one brilliant entry because of their exclusion, they are likely to find a title or two that has been overlooked by others.

Try Everything Then Decide

This is probably the most time-consuming method but at least you get a taste of everything. Essentially, watch every first episode that floats across whatever streaming services you use and make the call based on what you see. Now if you were really committed you could give shows two or three episodes but that is a massive time commitment. The advantage is that you aren’t relying on the synopsis or second hand opinions, you genuinely make your own call after watching. The down side, other than the time commitment, is that you end up starting episodes you know you are going to hate – though it does make everything else look so much more sparkly.

My Method:

I kind of do a bit of all of the above when choosing a watch list. I try to watch everything I can but I already know there aren’t enough hours in the day to actually watch everything. There are definitely some episodes I’ve killed in less than five minutes due to wanting to save time and realising pretty quick that it isn’t the show for me. I eliminate all sequels where I haven’t watched previous seasons before beginning and I also eliminate most short form anime unless they really catch my attention in the write up. I used to eliminate all sports anime by default but I’ve caved on that and now give most of them at least half an episode to convince me to keep watching.

As for actually finalising the list, I do give preference to certain genres. Horror, fantasy, and supernatural stories will almost always get in over cute girl, high school, comedy stories. That said, I try to cover a range of genres because I know not all my readers are into bad horror or sub-par supernatural romances. That and, I also happen to like variety in my weekly viewing. There’s only so many edgy vampire wannabes getting transported into pseudo-medieval worlds while wearing trench coats before being attacked by werewolves that a girl can take in any given season (and I swear this story must exist somewhere). So once I’ve picked my list I run my eye over it to make sure I’ve got some variety for me and for my readers.

However, what I do know is that I do deliberately leave anime in my watch list that I know aren’t very good. Why? Because I actually enjoy things that aren’t well done from time to time. Because sometimes things improve. Because watching something that is bad can help you recognise when something is good. And the most important reason, it gives me perspective on average anime. Sometimes perfectly functional stories get torn apart because they aren’t great but when you actually watch anime that have a broken narrative and failed characters you realise that while average anime might be pretty dull, it is perfectly watchable. Of course, there’s a difference between leaving something in that might find a decent story and just watching something that is dreadful. Sometimes I miss that mark and put myself through some pretty painful episodes.

Dragon1a — And given what I will keep watching, I have to wonder how Dances with the Dragons managed to go so wrong that it is a serious contender to be dropped.

So yes, when I finalise my watch list, while I hope the shows on it will end up being fun and entertaining, I usually know that I am signing up for at least one or two titles that are going to leave me shaking my head most episodes. Still, there are the occasional surprises and really no matter what you pick there will always be at least one title you leave off your list that you will later wish you had watched.

With all that said and done, the Spring Anime season is looking good. Sure there are some hits and misses already, but there’s quite a range of titles, some interesting sequels, some continuing anime from last season, and a lot of general excitement in the community. Hopefully we’ll all enjoy this season of anime.

Now, I’d love to know: How do you pick a watch list?

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

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