Spring 2016 Anime Season: First Impressions

First Impressions Spring 2016

For a better view of the list, click here

It has been a little while since I wrote in this blog. Life got busy and the winter season fell though. But now we have what could be one of the best anime seasons of the year. Let’s see if I have any ring rust after being gone so long. These are my first impressions of the spring 2016 anime season. 

Final Thoughts: Summer 2015

Final Thoughts: Summer 2015

The people I fight with!

There are times I am really conflicted at the end of the anime season, especially ones like this. I am always happy to see so many great shows come to a satisfying conclusion, but I also almost always want most of the shows to continue on and just stay for a little bit longer. And when a season like this has so many shows ending the feeling is doubled. Only two shows are following us into the new season, with so many more coming to a close, some after an entire year. So before we get to those shows, let’s look at the ones that are going to stick around. 

Nerima Daikon Brothers

Nerima Daikon Brothers

As I mentioned before, I used to watch anime on something called Anime OnDemand. It was a strange little service that had tons of anime that were less then mainstream. Sure it had classics like Baccano once in a while, and introduced me to my favorite anime Super Gals, but it also introduced me to Magi-fucking-cano. But there was one show they had that really stuck with me. It was an insane little musical comedy with some catchy tunes and some really strange characters. This is The Freshly Grated Musical, Nerima Daikon Brothers. 

Final Thoughts: Fall 2014

 Fall 2014 anime Season

I still miss this series

As the year comes to an end, as does the fall 2014 anime season, our last anime season of the year. Let’s not waste any time and get right to it, these are my final thoughts for the fall 214 anime season. But first, let’s look at the shows that will be sticking around into next season. 

Final Thoughts: Summer 2014

Summer 2014 Anime Season

AS it turns out, Free has lied to us. Summer is not eternal and is quickly coming to an end, and with it, an amazing anime season. There were really some amazing shows that entered our lives this summer, and unfortunately we have to say goodbye to so many of them. But before we say our final goodbyes, let’s give those shows one final look over. These are my final thoughts on the summer 2014 anime season. 

Summer 2014 Anime Season: First Impressions

First Impressions: Summer 2014 Anime Season

For a better look at the chart, click this.

In the middle of the burning hot summer, a new anime season slowly rises, and gives us many new shows for us to watch and enjoy. So these are my first thoughts on the summer 2014 anime season. Let’s get started, there are a good number of shows. 

Final Thoughts: Spring 2014

Spring 2014 Anime Season

Spring has finally ended and with it, what was once a bright new season comes to a close. There will be many shows that I will miss from this season, but first, let us take a glance at those who will be with us into the blistering hot days of summer.

Spring 2014 Anime Season: First Impressions

2014 Spring Anime Season

For a more updated chart, click here.

The spring anime season is now upon us, and we have some great shows to look forward to. Let’s not waist anytime and get right to it. These are my first impressions of the spring 2014 anime season.

Akagi

Akagi

I like anime that, on some level, teach me something. Bartender taught me about mixed drinks and the stories around different types of alcohol. Hikaru no Go taught me about the game of go. Saint Young Men taught me about Jesus’s blogging history and Buddha’s hair. Super Gals taught me about feminism. Any show that can teach me something makes the show all the more enjoyable. And by watching today’s show, I learned a surprising amount about Mahjong. Hell, I might even be able to play the game. But probably not. Today’s show is a mix of gambling, insanity, and really pointy facial features. It shows you the darkness in all men’s hearts, and how people with silver/grey hair are all crazy apparently. This is Touhai Densetsu Akagi: Yami ni Maiorita Tensai, also known as Akagi.

Winter 2014 Anime Season: First Impressions

First Impressions: Winter 2014

Final Thoughts: Fall 2013

Final Thoughts Fall 2013

This has been an interesting season, to say the least. There were so many shows that started out so interesting, that half way through I just wanted to entirely drop. This isn’t helped by the fact that the shows I did keep were almost all keep going past 12-13 episodes and there are another million show I am really interested in next season. Oh the problems of an anime fan, too many shows, not enough time or attention span. Yeah, yeah, I know, these are stupid problems. But really, let’s get right into it. These are my final thoughts on the fall 2013 anime season.

Garo: A Retrospective

Garo: A bit of a retrospective

As you might know, I watch tokusatsu. But I mainly stick to the big two, Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. And while I love those franchises, there is more to the genre that I want to get into. I hope to one day watch some of the older Metal Heroes series, maybe look into Ultraman, and any other of the many great series that exist. But there was one that I heard talked about again and again. People would say it was a tokusatsu for adults, or that is was dark and really good. So finally I decided to check out this series, and long story short, it is fantastic. It is a great series with incredible fights, creative monsters, and so much more. But I might be getting a bit ahead of myself. This is Garo, and its sequel series, and the movies, and everything else. Let’s go!

My Favoite 30 Anime of All Time

 

So I was skimming a few anime blogs and decided to read their favorite 10, or 20, or 30 anime series of all time. I got to thinking about what I would consider my top however many anime series. So I decided to make a list. I am making some rules to this list. It has to be on my completed list on myanimelist.com. You can find my list here, http://myanimelist.net/animelist/mangahead333. I will also include any series that I want on the favorites list that are more than 50 episodes and still running. I will also exclude movies and live action stuff. So here it is, my top 30 favorite anime of all time, until something better comes along. Note: much of this list will probably change depending on how I am feeling from day to day. Many series could easily just swap places with one another. Also there will probably be spoilers. But enough of that, onto the list!

Tensou Sentai Goseiger

Tensou Sentai Goseiger Review

Have you ever watched a series or movie that you know you could improve? A series where you just know that if you were given the chance you could make it something hundreds of times better than the original?  Well that about sums up my over all thoughts on this week’s fair. With s group of heroes on a mission, multiple groups of villains on different missions, and twist that is actually pretty surprising, this is Tensou Sentai Goseiger. 

Final Thoughts: Winter 2013

Final Thoughts: winter 2013

The first season of 2013 is over, and what a season! It had everything from omnipotent beings to school idols to the return of my favorite traditional Japanese card game. I’ll be giving my final thoughts on the winter 2013 anime season, but first let’s take a look at the shows that I will be continuing to watch into the new season.

One Outs

One Outs Review

It’s odd but I have been watching a lot more sports anime recently. I think it is the fault of some of my friends who introduced me to some legitimately good sports anime, like Major, and the fact that good sport’s anime have been coming out as a late from Japan, like Kuroko’s Basketball. This has led me to find even more just plain good sports anime, like today’s fair. A story of victory, manipulation and gambling. A show about baseball like you have never seen it before. A show with a lot illegal activities going on. But I might be getting a bit ahead of myself. This is One Outs.

Wedding Peach

 Wedding Peach Review 

I have always had an interesting relationship with the magical girl genre of anime. When I was young, and Toonami was on the air, the first thing that I remember watching was Sailor Moon. I started watching it because right afterward would be Dragon Ball Z or something, but Sailor moon was always on first, and I would always watch it. The magical girl genre, to me, has always been that way. It is something that I watch on the side, something that I regret not watching more of. Now that I’ve grown up, I really respect Sailor Moon, and am really looking forward to the reboot series coming soon. I also respect the genre as a whole. I know it can produce wonder thought provoking shows, really fun action pieces, and even just silly little fun shows. I also know it can produce awful, awful shows, but that is not what today is about. Today is about a little show I once watched part of years ago, and have now completed. It is a show about love and marriage. It is a show about girls who fight for not only their own love, but for all those in love. I am going to be saying love a lot, aren’t I? But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is Wedding Peach.

Engine Sentai Go-onger

Engine Sentai Go-onger Review

When I was a kid, I loved Power Rangers. I loved the action, I loved then characters, I loved the mecha fights, I loved the villains, and basically I loved everything about the show. I watched it religiously; right up instill Power Rangers SPD. I started sleeping in more, so I would miss the initial broadcast, and I just started to drift away. I would sometimes watch a random episode if I would happen to catch it, but I was no longer invested. But then college happened. It was here that I found a love of tokusatsu, and I learned where the action scenes and some of the plots for Power Rangers came from. I was ecstatic, and decided to watch some of the more recent seasons. I watch Jungle Fury, and liked it well enough, it has some problems but overall I feel it is an underrated season. And then I watched Power Rangers RPM at the insistence of a friend, and it was amazing. A post-apocalyptic Power Ranger season with little filler episodes, good acting, a great plot, and some of my favorite characters in the show since Adam and Tommy from the old seasons, made this one of the best seasons of Power Rangers since In Space. With this knowledge, I decided to watch the RPM’s Sentai equivalent, and let me tell you I am still recovering from the whiplash. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is Engine Sentai Go-onger. 

Amagami SS

                                                      Amagami SS Review

   Harem anime are something of a bit of an oddball for me. On principle, I shouldn’t like them, and usually don’t. They are fan service ridden pieces of banality that usually have a main character that annoys me. They treat women like objects and usually send the message that all a woman wants and needs is a boyfriend. Now when I say harem anime, I mean shows that are built fully around the romantic story line of a bunch of girls chasing a main character. A show like Accel World or Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, which definitely has elements of a harem, is not included because the harem is not the purpose of the show. But there are quite a few harem shows I really like. The World God Only Knows is an excellent show that completely rewrites the details of a harem show, and I Don’t Have Many Friends is one of the funniest shows I’ve seen in a while. So when a harem show can transcend the boundaries of its cursed origins, then it can be good. Which segways perfectly to this little review. A show that is six romances in one, a show that goes far beyond that of any harem anime before it, a show that captures the heart and mind of its viewer. But I might be getting a bit ahead of myself. This is Amagami SS.

Katanagatari

Katanagatari Review

You know, I’m having a bit of trouble starting this little review. I mean, right around epsidoe 8 I had a whole beginning thing about how this show is one of those strange sub-genre shows that I really love, in this case it is a strange sword show, and I was going to use that to talk about my love of strange weapons, and how that ties back into anime and what I watch. But then the show ended, and it was just great. But it completely blew away anything I was going to use to start this. I mean, this is a good show. And the ending works so well. And well, I think I might be getting a bit ahead of myself.  This is Katanagatari.