Top Nine Anime Series of 2015

Another year has come to an end, and with it a bevvy of shows, of which I’ve sampled over 40, and finished about half of these. Not as good as past years, but there were a couple of pretty underwhelming seasons this year. You’ll note there are 9 shows in this post, not ten. I’ve decided to go back to my 2013’s list method, and have as many shows as I think deserve being on the list, be it 3 or 13. And this year has 9 such shows, for me. There’d be “Notable Absentees” and “Honourable Mentions” at the end of the post, so if you don’t see a show, keep on reading!

Only full series had been considered, no OVAs or movies of any sort. The names link to the show’s description and information on My Anime List (MAL).

9. Hibike! Euphonium (Sound! Euphonium)

Euphonium is not a perfect show, which you can tell from its position on the list, but it’s still good enough to make the list. Ironically, even though it’s not a split-cour show, it feels more like half of a grander show than actual split-cour shows I’ve watched this past year. It tells a small and coherent dramatic story, while hinting at much more to come. Its characters, of which there are many, range between fully-realized to not fleshed out sufficiently yet, but they feel real, and they, and the show, carry the charm of the so-called “KyoAni Mastery of Small Moments.” The show had several highlights, and was consistently good after its first arc. Recommended, but I’d recommend waiting for the 2nd season, myself.

You can read my editorial on the show and its ensemble nature here.

Winter 2015 Anime Midseason Overview

Mid-season of the anime season of Winter 2015 is upon us, so time to round up how I feel about the shows I’m current on, or decided to put on hold. A round-up telling you what I think is worthy of your time, or not, and where it’s at. I also happened to appear on a podcast discussing these shows with Flawfinder and others, which you can check out here.

Tiers are in-order of enjoyment/evaluation. Within each tier the order is alphabetical. Also, each show will get a couple of words about how the past week’s episode had been, because I’d rather jot these down.

Great:

Death Parade:

Death Parade is a show where I don’t know what to expect from each episode, except for it to be both entertaining and quite good. We see humanity, and we see humanity pushed to the limit. Then we see said humanity judged by someone with next to no understanding of what it is he observes, which the show is aware of. We see judgments, and sometimes we do not. We see slices of lives, of the people judged, and of the judges. What is the true focus of the show? To show us slices of humanity? To show us the judgment, and make us think what decisions we would have made in their place? To try and understand the inhuman and quite child-like Decim behind his cold facade?

Winter 2015 Anime First Impressions – Week 2 (APR)

Last week was sort of scarce on premiers, but this week had been filled with all the rest of them. So I’m going to start by listing my order on every series up to now, with a numerical score, and then I’ll list my thoughts on the episode. Longer write-ups can be had by clicking on the show’s episode title. The “Post Episode Thoughts” in particular should have my thoughts on the episode, if they weren’t copied here. As always, the list is ordered by how much I liked each episode.

First impressions for Assassination Classroom (Ansatsu Kyoushitsu), Death Parade, Durarara!!x2, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders Egypt arc, Junketsu no Maria (Maria the Virgin Witch), Koufuku Graffiti (Gourmet Girls Graffiti), Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata (Saekano), The Rolling Girls, and Tokyo Ghoul Root A.

The Rolling Girls is very visually flamboyant.

There’d also be notes on the second episodes of Log Horizon S2, Shirobako, and Yuri Kuma Arashi (Lily Bear Storm).

Let’s start with a quick overview of first episodes and scores:

Yuri Kuma Arashi Episode 2 – All About Jealousy

Oh damn, I got the hour wrong. I thought this was going to be airing in 45 minutes, rather than 75 minutes ago.

Well, time to get started. Last episode was very Ikuhara. I think the main theme, and what “The Silent Storm” is about is gossip, giving those who stand out the bad eye. Sumika is probably gone, and it’s just Kureha and the girl-eating, girl-loving bears. Let’s see how it goes. And no, taking notes for this show isn’t wise, but I’m going to do it anyway.

Thoughts and Notes:

Screenshot album.

1) Just Bear Things:

1) “Bears eat people, it’s what we do!” – Again, preordained destinies, of obeying our inner natures.

2) It makes sense, you come to a “Keep Out!” sign, you don’t pay attention, and you learn things you weren’t meant to, shocking bear things. Beary shocking things.

Winter 2015 Anime First Impressions (Anime Power Ranking) – KanColle, Yuri Kuma Arashi

After taking a break during last season, it’s time to resume the weekly overview. I usually post these on Wednesdays. Sadly for this season, very few shows have had their premiers in the “anime week” that just ended. So instead, I’ll spend more time talking about each of the entries. What I thought of them, and my thoughts on their content (themes, direction, etc.)

First impressions for Yuri Kuma Arashi (Lily Bear Storm) and Kantai Collection (KanColle), as well as the weekly opinion on Parasyte: the Maxim (Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu).

The list is organized by how much I’ve enjoyed each episode, and the link in the title is to a more thorough write-up on the episode. For first impressions it means mostly more about production and presentation, but also about themes.

1) Parasyte: The Maxim / Kiseiju episodes 12-13:

I feel this show suffers from being talked about weekly. It’s a slow process, and multiple episodes just remind you that stuff is going on with the parasites, so there’s not always a very concrete “thing” to speak of, in terms of plot or otherwise. It does remind one of the earlier Hunter x Hunter episodes, in that sense.

Yuri Kuma Arashi Episode 1 – Setting the Scene, Eating it Up

(Note: Episodic notes are still mostly to be found on the Episodics Notes’ page, but up to a couple every week will have their write-up appear on the main page, when I think they warrant it. For those who don’t know, I take the notes as I watch the episode, and merely re-order them afterwards.)

So, the new Ikuhara show, eh? Should be full of symbolism, and a story where one can’t tell where the symbolic ends and the real world going ons begin. I thought of Mawaru Penguindrum a while back, and thought how my brain would’ve fried had I tried taking notes for it.

Well, I’m not sure if the notes will be “per scene” or “per moment of interest” here, but there will be notes. Now just to hope my brain won’t melt, as I need it.

Thoughts and Notes:

Screenshot album part 1, screenshot album part 2.

1) “Yuri! Yuri Bears Everywhere!”:

1) “I’ll never back down on love.” And here we already have our narrative conflict. “How far will you go for love? How far before you’ll break down, how much of a price are you willing to pay?”

Winter 2015 Anime Season Preview and Expectations

Fall 2014 is over, and I’ve barely watched any series, roughly 7. But enough with that, the season that just ended was apparently pretty great, but we need to look ahead! Winter 2015 begins officially tomorrow, with Tsukimonogatari’s release. Most everything else begins on January 4th, which is next Sunday. This season is a bit sparse, but continuations (Shirobako, Parasyte) and returning shows (Durarara!!, JoJo) pick up some of the slack.

As always, in these posts I cover shows I plan to follow, or have thoughts on why I will not follow them, or considered following and decided not to. As always, I try to strike a balance between giving you enough information on the show, and telling you why I think it is or isn’t worth watching. Shows ordered by day, and by expectation within the day, since I might pick or not pick a show up based on how busy that day is. That’s only sensible.

Most of the information about the shows can be had from RandomCuriosity’s page, the helpful Neregate Chart, and what I’ve happened to see on various sites, such as The Cart Driver. Check them out if you want more information, or information on shows I didn’t cover (such as follow-ups to shows I don’t watch).

Sunday:

Junketsu no Maria / Maria the Virgin Witch – The Hundred Years’ War. Maria decides to stop the war by summoning a succubus and incubus to sleep the armies’ commander into a happy stupor. Heaven intervenes and decrees Maria will lose her powers if she were to lose her virginity. Manga-based. I am often tired of “non-humor gags” that proliferate through anime, but I actually laugh at many such gags when they appear. Speculative pick of the season for me. Of special note is the director behind the show is Taniguchi Goro, knows as the director behind Code Geass and Planetes. Not exactly known for comedy, but a solid pick.
Interest Rating: 1.5/3. I’m not a huge fan of anime comedies, but I do enjoy them when they work. It seems the combination of humor and comedy might work out for me. Hope springs eternal.
Airing Date: January 11th. Preview.