Year end top 10ish Disappointments

OK i don't have 10 things because honestly i didn't have many disappointments this year as far as anime and video games were conserned.
I mean the rest of the year sucked and i think we all know it but right now... video games and anime only. and these titles aren't 100% bad... just disappointing to me personally.

8. www.working!!!

or as i call it, Web Working.
This was the final show i finished this year and it was a rushed mess. Yes i like the characters... the psychic girl who doesn't know she's psychic... the murderous pricess who tortures her poor childhood friend/crush...
actually those are the only characters i liked but they are great... but it doesn't have nearly the same charm that working/wagnaria had and i feel like they were just trying to cash in on a known name and when Server x Service didn't do it they tried this and yeah... just not very good.

7. Ceres: Celestial Legend

So Incest plot lines are ALWAYS bad... and this show acknowledges that it's gross and icky so that's one good thing
everything else is just so forgettable....
don't believe me? apparently in 2012 i saw a large chunk of this show (like... 16 episodes) and i logged it on my Myanimlist account... and i completely forgot... and nothing from this show even felt a little similar
so yeah... this show is pretty boring and so i figured it should have a spot on the list.

6. Kiznaiver

To date i have never seen a Studio trigger show I've liked (I should clarify... they aren't bad they just aren't the kind of shows i enjoy)... but i thought the character design for this one was so cool and i had been hearing great things.
and yeah i just didn't enjoy this at all... it never resonated with me and i still don't get the hype... the intro was good?
But yeah this was a disappointing show and hopefully a future trigger show will make me understand why the studio is so beloved by all... this wasn't the one.

5. Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash

Interesting concept, stunning animation... but it goes nowhere, does nothing and i barely remember watching it. maybe that stuff would be fixed with another season but for now i can only judge it on this and boy was it underwhelming. I kinda hope with this that the trend of adapting Light novels that focus on a video game-y world kind of dies down... cause i can only think of one good show that has come of that trend... (and it sure as hell isn't SAO).

4. Magical Girls Raising Project

It's painful watching something try way too hard.
this so desperately wants to be like Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Danganronpa and it just fails at both. maybe had it kept it's twist till a few episodes instead of showing us in the first few seconds... it should have tried to be more sinister instead of just "yeah this is happening and this is what we want you to do"
the ending was also very lackluster... maybe they were hoping for a second cour and it wasn't green lit? but it just felt rushed.
also i can't care for characters when it's like "oh here is there back story... time to get rid of them now" it's shallow and you quickly stop caring.
I still love the intro and ending of the show... but the show itself? not worth it.

3. Mighty No.9

I have no nostalgia for megaman
none
never played one before
still the kickstarter to this game looked like a good starting point for those types of games.
it was colourful and looked really fluid and fun, not as archaic as it's megaman counterpart... so i donated to lowest tear that would get me the game and little to nothing else... and waited.
and waited.
and forgot about it
and then it came out and no only was it nothing like what they were promising at first and to top it off it was also incredibly unfun.
Hell i'd argue that this game is damn near unplayable.
Now to be fair i have heard some people say "it's not that bad" or "you are just being blinded by your nostalgia" but to those people i say:

No, this is a terrible game.

It's buggy, it's got terrible controls (like there must have been a better way to map those buttons), the graphics are muddy and completely lacking on contrast. The level design is atrocious (i would argue some of the worst level design i have ever played). The story is lacking, the cutscenes are laughably bad and while the voice acting is fine there is just too much of it. (to the person who made Beck talk every time you dash... i question your sanity)

I cannot think of a single redeeming quality to this game except that it made a lot of people realise why it's so hard to put your money behind an unproven concept.

The biggest thing about this game though is just how little fun there is... like someone had to test this and be like "wow i would rather do anything else with my time right now" like... did anyone play the mansion level and think "wow this is great... i love that there are instant death things all over and no checkpoints" or the car level and think "man i love these slippy controls that make me plummet to instadeath constantly" or how about "gee this dashing thing is great... i wish there was a dash that made me just a pixel shorter so i could go under these instadeath pink fan things"

so yeah... this had to be on my list even though i didn't write about it (cause by this point everyone knows how bad it is... i honestly almost forgot about it till i was watching other year end stuff and was like "yep... that's is on my list")

2. The Last Village

Fun story, at the end of the year i check this blog and make a list of everything i finished.
Then i mark them as either Green - able to be in the top 10
Yellow - meh - can potentially be honourable mentions if there aren't many green.
Red - Bad/dropped
This was the only show on my entire list of the year that ended up red.
I have already written a bit about this waste of time so I'll sum up here.
the show takes it's own concept and then throws it out the window.
In a show about facing your past and accepting it to move on it has a lot of people choose to wallow in it.
I did plan on making this number 1 but in the end... it's really just on the bad side of mediocre. i had not hopes going in and i just felt like my time was wasted by the end but i knew in time i would forget all about it...
and honestly? i have... i can't remember any characters names (doesn't help that the cast is massive) and other then the basic plot BS i can't remember any of their struggles... so i can't give something so forgettable the number one spot... not when there was something i was looking forward to so much more that was just so disappointing.

1. Star Fox Zero

I have ALL the nostalgia for Starfox.
I have beaten starfox 64 hundreds of times.
there are times where it's like "i wanna kill an hour or so" and i just go through that game.
I love it.
Star fox Zero took that love and slapped some shitty controls and made the game unplayable for me.
I know people say you just have to have the click moment.
but this was game was frustratingly difficult to control that i didn't want to play long enough to have the click moment.

All they had to do was make it optional.
They could have had a setup that was just like Starfox 64, one where the wii u game pad was only used for the joy sticks to move the vehicle and point where you want the lasers to go.
not to mention the current control setup is like... so mu ship is pointing forward but my lasers are going left? or oh gee thanks for getting de-synched... again.

I wanted to love this game
I can't even begin to describe how happy I was when it finally got a release date.
and i should have learned not to expect anything... that getting your hopes up like that is just a good way to have them dashed.
I so desperately wanted to love this as much as starfox 64... and i just can't.
So i have to name this the biggest disappointment in anime and video games for 2016.

I hope you enjoyed my lists.... i know people like more negative stuff and i try to avoid being that person but it felt good getting this all off my chest.
Here is to 2017.... please let it be even better then 2016.

Year End Top 10ish - Video games

I played lots of games this year...
still technically only beat 9 (cause even though one is 3ish games... I'm counting it as one since it was on one cartridge for me)

SO yeah year end Top 9... i could run and beat FFXV or Xanadu next or spirit of justice but honestly i rather just take my time.

With no Honourable mentions.... here is the list!

9. Professor Layton Vs Ace Attorney

I have been a fan of the Ace attorney series since i had a chance to play the first game and while the Professor layton games have been lacking as of late i still have a soft spot for them. So when it was announced we were getting the crossover game here i was thrilled.
The i played it and... it was easy... and i mean... super easy.... easy enough where i didn't really want to continue at that moment so instead i played something else.
Fast forward a few years and i wanna tackle my backlog... and this game had been bugging me... so i figured even if it's super simple compared to the others in both series i could just speed through it.
In the end story wise this may be my fav of both series? It literally had me sobbing at one point where they did a very uncool thing. yes overall the puzzles were simple the courtroom stuff did get more interesting and that kept me engaged... plus the character designs were simply fascinating. I think the Collaboration brought out the best of both companies and i can see the influence of this title on the later Ace attorney games... and i mean that in the best way possible.
it's also nice seeing a game with proper spelling~ (it's the European translations... no words missing Us it was lovely)

8. Legend of Heroes: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch

this was the other game that had been bugging me cause I've had this game nearly beaten for years....
instead i just played from the start and it didn't take too long to get back to the end. the story follows two characters on a Pilgrimage that just happens to end in saving the world. still this means i have 2 Garghav Trilogy games beaten... just need to finish Song of the ocean and I'll be done with these hilariously translated games.
And yeah... hate to say... not the only falcom game on this list so... uh... sorry

7. Pokemon Sun

I enjoyed this more then i thought it would... sure it doesn't add too much but it had more personality then the other pokemon games have had as of late... and a lot of the Alolan versions were cute and i hope we get more regional variants in future games.
it did feel a bit short but i still haven't done much post game stuff so maybe I'm judging it a bit unfairly in that regard.
Now they just need to make a game for the switch that has all the regions... that would be amazing.

6. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

This game was custom made for me... SMT games mixed with Fire Emblem? i couldn't have been happier.
Yes the story is goofy and terrible... i don't care i had so much fun with this and I'm still a little sad that it's over and i beat it months ago.
At least i have some of the music for it.
I know a lot of people hated the censorship... i understood most of it (except the wedding dress... that one makes no sense/looks terrible)and it didn't bug me.
Part of me hopes TMS#FE 2 would be a thing.... i know it wont ever happen but i really loved that combat system and i wish i could play another game with it.
plus so much colour... it's so nice to play games that aren't afraid to just use all the colour.

5. Asagao Academy

Dammit i was determined to make this higher... but the next four games just mean so much to me.
Asagao Academy is the first visual novel dating game i have ever played and i love it.
I don't often complete games (as in 100%) but this one i did, i got every scene, every line variant, every ending, every extra.
I drew a crapton of fanart for it (and i still want to draw more)
The writing is great, the art is fantastic, the music is great and the fandom just makes me smile from ear to ear.
This game makes me want to make stuff... like it's so inspirational that this game was made with a relatively small team and has such a high level of polish is just... ugh i wanna go out there and make all the things.
Also if you are wondering, you don't need to be a fan of the actual youtubers the characters are based on. you can go into this game completely blind and i promise you will have a good time... then go check out their stuff after cause all the content creators are incredibly talented.
I was hoping it could be number 2 or 3 but.... this is still a fantastic game that you should try for free 

4. Zero Time Dilemma

Worth the wait. I was so happy we were getting a conclusion to the Zero escape series (possibly my all time fav VN series) and even though the ending leaves some things unanswered... i still loved every second of it and the fact that the twist got me once again... just perfection.
I do wish there weren't so many graphical oddities considering all the cut-scenes could have essentially been pre-rendered...
but i love the theme of chance... and things actually being based in chance... oh boy so good. I am sad it's over but hey... at least i still have another Danganronpa in the future.

3. Fire Emblem Fates

Because i got this as one cartridge i will treating it like 1 game.....
that being said i think birthright is the weakest of the games (too easy/too much "oh man sure is great being the good guys") Followed by conquest (awesome to play as the bad guy but some of the story doesn't make sense considering who you are working for) then Revelations (most varied types of maps and huge cast leads to interesting character interactions) HOWEVER my fav of all the plotlines...... The Heirs of Fate DLC
no seriously... that 6 chapter DLC with all the children from the characters is just... so good. it ties everything together and i wish it was longer. it also gives us the 4th verse of the song AND a kickass final battle song... i couldn't be happier.
I feel like i need to stress something... everyone knows i love Falcom games.... Honestly i love Fire Emblem just as much... the only reason this isn't number one is because of falcom.
So without further ado.... the top Two games are

2. Trails of Cold Steel

Cold steel Is a great game. It takes my favourite elements from other games (mostly persona and the Tales of games) and slaps an amazing soundtrack on it. The characters are great, the story is great, it does a great job of adding to the lore of the other 'kiseki' line of games.
I love this game... while the cliffhanger ending isn't quite as heartbreaking as Trails in the sky First chapter it still had all my emotions running high.
Not to mention i spent the entirety of the game trying to prove myself wrong.... only to be correct and full of tears by the end.
However it wasn't the best game this year.... that honour goes to!

1. Trails of Cold Steel 2

.... so Fates gets considered one game cause it's on one cart for me... this is on two disks that were sold like... 6 months apart.... so it's different then fates.
cause i say so.
PLUS...Cold steel 2 is barely the same game....
I mean is still has elements from games i like, a kickass Soundtrack, great characters a heartbreaking ending... but it's so different.
and unfortunately i can't even hint to what is so different cause that would be a spoiler and i am trying to keep these spoiler free.
all i can say is that i hope the translation for Cold Steel 3 (which is set to be released in japan next autumn) is simple and quick... granted I'm not going to mind waiting for this gem.

So yeah.... a lot of very similar games this year but honestly for me this year was amazing for video games. reminded me why i love the medium so much.
but here is hoping next year i at least have 10 titles.... shouldn't be too hard right... i mean the 3rd is coming out.... persona 5, gravity rush 2.... possibly Ys VIII.... should be good. (plus i should beat FFXV and Xanadu next sometime in early 2017)

However this year wasn't perfect... time for some of the years disappointments (anime and Video games)

Year End Top 10ish - Anime

Every year around this time i like looking back and ranking my fav anime from the past year.
Or more accurately the top anime i finished in the past year... this year there is actually a lot of potentials for older shows to make the list (but I'm thinking they may just be Honourable mentions... we will see.

Honourable Mentions (in no particular order)

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Yes.... i only saw this show for the first time a few months ago.... Yes i have been living under a rock for the past 6 years. and yes i really liked it.
However! Everyone knows how amazing this show is so it felt silly to give it a spot on the top 10. Also i still have some issues with the first 3 episodes... but yeah this show is amazing and i still need to watch the movie but there was just so much good this year that i couldn't justify this eating up a spot on the list.

Cute High Earth Defence Club Love! Love!!

I adore this show but the second season lost some of the charm of the first season.... also it gave Hiroshi Kamiya a much smaller part and that is no good. In all seriousness i just felt like it was good... but not good enough to be in the actual list.

Erased

This show was amazing... right up till the very end were it lost a bit of it's charm... and there are just so many good shows that even something as simple as a lack luster ending could bump it off the list. Still a great show with a neat concept and setting... just like.... once everything is wrapped up maybe stop.

Sailor Moon Crystal 3

I have made 2 things very clear about Sailor Moon as a Series.
1. it was one of the first shows i ever watched and just loved every second of.
2. Sailor Moon crystal 1 & 2 nearly destroyed all the joy i used to have for the series cause it was so awful... it was my number 1 disappointment last year.
Season 3 however redeemed itself completely... and i don't even like the arc it covers. it did such a good job, the animation was so much better and it just made me smile from start to finish.
Had it been the Helios arc it would have been on the list... bu it's not so it just gets a honourable mention and a big thank you for fixing what was a blatant crappy cash grab.

And the rest are all too good... so they go on the list...

Year End Top 10 13

13. Danganronpa 3 (Despair/Future/Hope arc)

I think this show was incredibly ambitious... airing 2 separate stories at pretty much the same time and having them play off each other was such an interesting use of non-linear storytelling... and that final episode to tie it all together was simply Brilliant.
So why isn't such a unique show higher on the list? one reason... i have a feeling it'll be packed in a way where it's completely in order instead of alternating the episodes... so you lose some of the great reveals for the second half while reveals for the first half wont happen to the end. and even if they do sell it with the episodes alternating between arcs the show still has problems. I can't really elaborate but certain aspects do not make any sense if you think about them for any amount of time... and the reveal of how [spoiler] does [spoiler] was lame... i figured it would be a bit more complicated then just that.
still with that final episode... it had to make it onto the list now i just look forward to Danganronpa V3 the game.

12. Mr. Osomatsu

This show made me laugh more then i would like to admit.
Hell it made me cry more then i would like to admit.
I mean i can't even pick a fav Matsu... Choromatsu is great... but then Ichimatsu is like... who i am.
this stupid show about Sextuplets shouldn't be as funny as well made as it is. I honestly thought this would be higher (like around 7) but in the end... there was just too much good this season and as much as i loved it... i don't necessarily want to watch it again (unlike pretty much everything else after this entry)
So great show, if you want a really funny/goofy watch then give it a chance.

11. My Hero Acedemia

I'm not the biggest fan of Shonen anime so i didn't expect to like this show as much as i did. I wish there was more (I'm sure soon their will be) and I hope that ti wont follow certain Shonen anime tropes (granted i already know it follows one that i loath so... guess I'll see) It may have been higher on the list if it had been longer and dealt with more character development but I'm sure we will get another season down the line. For now this is as high as i could put it.

10. Planetarian

Imagine the world has ended, but a lonely robot tries to continue on her job as a Planetarium MC.
Imagine after years of never seeing another human one just happens to stumble by.. and he helps you fix the Planetarium even though you know you will probably never see another human again.
This is short, 5 episodes of different lengths (or 1 movie if you stitch them all together)
it's heartbreaking, beautiful and one of my fav shows of the year. the only reason it's not higher is because of how short it is... and how good this year was for anime. I want to say it redeemed Key/vis arts a bit but considering the game this is based on was made around the same time as Clannad (their peak in my opinion) they are still on probation... cause their other shows have been so bad lately. But this was a gem.

9. Re: Zero - Starting Life in Another Dimension

This show has such a neat concept... what if you had the ability to jump back in time (like a save point) however it only worked when you died and how traumatic would that actually be. Seeing the main character go through death after death just to get a little ahead and be murdered even more violently then before. Sure this show was hell to watch week to week but the payoff was worth it every time.....
well except the ending... i mean i guess we just gotta wait for another season but that ended felt a little rushed.
the other reason this show is as low as it is is the fandom... yes i get it everyone loves this side character that has been outright told she will not be the love interest... but just cause someone is nice to someone else doesn't mean the other person is obligated to have romantic feelings for them.
I'm not saying him an the canon love interest are any better... it's shallow at best... and selfish at worst... but it's just the sense of entitlement that the fandom has to their fav character being the girlfriend that pisses me right off and actually sours my entire experience with the show. I am looking forward to season 2 even though i know it'll probably be a year or two (or more... i have no idea how fast the Light novels are coming out) before we see it... and i worry by then that i may have stopped caring about this world and it's issues.

8. Haikyuu!! 

I was behind on this show for a long time... i still feel like ever since Kuroko's Basketball i just can't watch Sports anime week to week... it is too painful.
This show however has excellent pacing, realistic team dynamics... every member is interesting and i really enjoyed every minute of it.
I'm sad season 3 was cut short by the untimely passing of Tanaka, Kazunari on Oct 10th (literally 3 episodes into the new seasons.... however they seem to have recorded enough to last till episode 8 or 9 of a 10 episode season) However i hope that soon we get another season and the new voice actor can cement himself in the role... the show/manga is apparently insanely popular so hopefully that wont take too long.
Why isn't it higher? cause season 3 is literally only against 1 team and even though it's paced well and so many character grow in those 5 matches...  i still wanted to see more.

Ok i feel like i should mention.... most of these titles are fighting for 3rd place... like these are all amazing shows.

7. Sweetness & Lightning

Ok.... but... the shark song.
have... have you ever seen anything so utterly heart melting-ly adorable?
Sweetness and lightning is a cooking show wrapped in a family drama of a husband losing his wife while his daughter is still very young.
it made me laugh, it made me sob and most of all it made me want to try cooking some new things.
I just wish there was more... i wish it never ended... i am planning to read the manga (just haven't had the chance) and i hope it's longer cause... juts too cute for words.

6. Bungo Stray Dogs Season 1 and 2

I.... thought this would be higher.
I loved everything about the show, it's goofy nature, the animation, the characters, the serious moments... i love the concepts of people having these gifts that are oddly specific but can be quite useful. i love that the most useful character in the show isn't gifted.
I understand it's not for everyone... it doesn't take itself seriously at all until near the end where shit goes down and suddenly everything is serious.
I think the on;y reason this isn't higher is because i know that we are still missing so much of the story so there is stuff to do next season (whenever that arrives) that incomplete feeling is the only reason it's not number 3... well that and just... so many good shows... too many good shows.

5. Durarara

I thought this would be higher too.
Durarara is a brilliant story in the fact that while it is completely honest about who the main character is we think it's someone else because of their own assertions. while the 3 cours of season 2 are far less non-linear then season 1 and overall some plot elements don't get the best resolution (cause the cast is massive by the end) I still felt completely satisfied with how this ended... and the fact that is actually did end. it's rare for shows to be as final as this one was. I can't even think of any way to make this show better... it was really good and I've been enjoying the light novel quite a bit. the other shows on this list just hold and even more special place in my heart.

4. Snow White with the Red Hair

I think about this show all the time... i think about the characters, the art, the music, they story... how they could do another season and how that would be awesome and probably cover my fav arc so far. I Have already re-watched it a few times and it's not even been out very long. i hope we get another season soon. I love that Shirayuki is always willing to fight and not just be a damsel in distress... i like they she makes people around her try to act better. the only reason it isn't in the 3rd spot is because i didn't get my fav arc in the season that aired this year... and the next 3 shows were pretty much set from the start.

3. Showa Genroku Rakugo Shingu

Full Disclosure, i am currently re-watching this show to prepare for season two in a few weeks.
I adore the show, i wish every episode was as long as the first one. every week i was heart broken that it ended cause i just wanted to know more. The fact that this show is pretty much all a giant flashback (at least this one season is) is a really smart move... they could have rushed through to get back to the present but instead we spend so much time learning about these characters and their lives that brought them to this point.
not to mention for a show that mainly relies on the voice acting to carry it... it is fantastic.
When the actor isn't feeling it we feel that he isn't feeling it.
when he's scared or rushing it's physically uncomfortable... and when he's in his element you feel pride in him doing a good job. it's just so powerful where they don't have to tell us what the characters feeling because we feel it at the same time. I cannot wait for season 2 and the fact that it's so soon makes me incredibly happy.
but not quite as happy as the next two shows.

2. Yuri on Ice!!!

If not for the number one show being this year... this would have easily been number 1
This is one of the best Sports anime i've ever seen... i am so happy i finally a good Skating anime... and not only is it good it's probably one of the best shows i have ever seen. also the fact that it's got a well developed/ non fetishised homosexual relationship that is just there and not the point of the show... this is good... we need more shows that have romantic plots but are not focused on them. like it's there and it's important but the show is about a skater gaining confidence in himself through seeing the love surrounding him from his friends, his family, his fellow skaters and his coach. The characters are great and even though some of them need to chill (here's looking at you Chris and JJ) you do end up wanting to cheer for them all.
My only issue is how much they had to rush things because they were only greenlit for 1 cour.... I think this show gained popularity faster then anyone expected (especially considering it's a rare show that isn't based on a manga or Light novel... this had no established audience going in) More importantly this was a worldwide phenomenon. I have never seen a show actually gain fans that as in the actual sport being portrayed. Reading how Johnny Weir or Evgenia Medvedeva enjoy the show as much as they did or seeing people who may have never given anime a shot giving this a shot is just so incredibly cool i have a hard time putting it into words.
I hope this show continues to improve the perception of anime to those who don't currently watch it... i hope it continues to push the boundaries and i hope it allows other shows that may not have been greenlit  a chance.
but most of all i hope when season 2 hits... it's 2 cours instead of one... i'll even take a three month gap but this rushing through an entire skating season was too fast... slow it down and develop the characters even more then you already have.
but yeah i love this show and i look forward to owning it and probably re-watching it many many times.

1. Natsume Yuujinchou Go

Because of course it is... this is me we are talking about. So essentially no one should be surprised.

look this is the 5th season of my fav show... of course it's going to be number one... there was never a question about that.
Not only that it animated 3 of my fav chapters/arc.
AND after all that... season 6 was announced... i literally (not figuratively) cried for about half an hour when i saw that announcement because i knew i would only have to way a little (most likely 3 months but no confirmation just yet) to see more of my fav show and i wouldn't have another 3-4 year wait.

Yes i am bitter that this season was 11 episodes instead of 13... but we are getting more of it and that makes up for everything

oh and the show is still about a boy who can see spirits and the cat/youkai that is his bodyguard and just wants the book of friends.... granted i think only two names get returned this season but hey we still have the original concept so it's all good.

if 2017 is even half as good to anime as 2016 was... I'll be happy (even though you already know my number 1 pic for next year... so that's fun. )

Next I'll be talking about games and then we'll poke fun as some of the years disappointments in anime and video games.

Web Working!

cause i don't want to make the title www.working! so i'm going with what i have been calling it this past season.

um... I really enjoyed Working/Wagnaria... those three seasons were funny and sweet and well paced but i was wondering how they would handle an entirely new cast....

and the answer is... well... it's rushed.

Unlike Wagnaria.... Web Working is only 13 episodes long... but it tries to have the same amount of character development and it's just.. all over the place.
Time passes crazy fast but no one ageas or changes (until the very end.)
Characters get together out of nowhere.
and some of the humor falls flat either due to repetativeness or just not being funny.

A friend of mine explained that this was considered the Cat cast (since Wagnaria had characters that had dog like personalities and this has more catlike personalities) which i would buy other then cats can be more then just assholes.... had they had a character running around doing crazy shit and getting distracted by everything maybe i would buy the explination but it seems to be more just everyone is a chill asshole.

I did like the show overall.. it's still got the charm of Wagnaria... it just felt like it was trying to cram too much into too little time.

and Now i'm done with all my shows for the year... time to get writing! (unless i once again remember something i forgot..... hopefully i'm done though.)

Magic-Kyun! Renaissance

I have no idea why in the Musical reverse harem genre is a thing.... but I love it.

Logically i know this show isn't the best. The pacing is a bit off... most episodes feel like an excuse to get characters singing (even though only 1 of them is a singer), the male characters (while the do have personality) can mostly be put into specific stereotypes.
But i don't care, I really enjoyed this show.
I would only recommend it to people who can take a high level of goofy... but i still really enjoyed it.
I guess this is what a guilty pleasure is?

Magic-Kyun! Renaissance is about a girl who is transferring into a school that focus on magical arts (cause in this world artists of all mediums and styles go to school to learn how to create Sparkles.... like their art produces light show known as sparkles and these can look like different things.... roses, shattered glass, golden strings... bigass trees) however by chance she is assigned on her first day at school to the equivalent of a student council. and she just happens to be forced to work with this stranger that hates him for... reasons and the rest of the council refuses to show up so she has to convince them to come and do their job.

they have to all come together and do a large performance that melds all their different styles. (and i mean.... really different... a painter, a cellist, a baker, a calligrapher, a painter, a florist and a singer)

the rest of the show is about these guys falling in love with her... and while the show always keeps it open... there is a main one (cause... there almost always is in these shows) all surrounded by at least one song per episode.

and yeah... it's stupid and silly and i can't help but smile. If you can stomach just... goofiness.. give it a shot over on crunchyroll. 

If nothing else the animation is pretty good and the character designs are really nice.
Honestly i'm just happy that Crunchyroll translated the songs since they don't always do that *quick glance at March comes in like a lion* even if the lyrics are so bad... still it's very fun.

I think that's it for the year, march comes like a lion seems to be going into next year... so i can get to work on my top 10's for the year that i think everyone just wants to end.

Kiss Him, Not me!

This is a comedy show about a Fujoshi (girl obsessed with Shonen ai/Yaoi) and her harem of boys that she obtains after she loses a lot of weight.

Granted, all of the guys are kind to her before she becomes pretty but yeah... thats the concept of the show.
The only problem is she ships these boys together... and is a bit dense when it comes to being liked.

The show is funny and has some sweet moments but i only ever was rooting for one guy cause he was the only one that seemed to like her no matter what. (most of the others only seem to like her if/when she's pretty)

it being a comedy reverse harem i honestly think it handled it's ending perfectly and it was good for a laugh.

I will say there were moments i wish they did more with... there are certain tropes in shonen ai/yaoi that are really unsettling (like someone forcing themselves on someone else when they've said no) and when it almost happens to her she connects that it's actually terrifying but never thinks "hm maybe i should think more about the media is consume and ask if this trope is still necessary"

so yeah it missed the mark at some points but the show overall is very sweet and fairly short.
also not my only reverse harem of the season so that's fun.

next will either be March comes in like a lion (again i don't know how long it is) or Magic-Kyun Renaissance.

Hope everyone has a Merry Chirstmas!

Poco's Udon World

Dammit *wipes tears from eyes* that was uncalled for.

ok... uh, first of all Merry Christmas... or merry Christmas eve... either way wow i cried a lot during the end of this show.

When i first turned it on I figured the show would be like... Barakamon mixed with a bit of Sweetness & Lightning.... and i wasn't entirely wrong... i just needed to throw in some Eccentric family.

Poco's udon world follows Souta, a web designer who is returning to his hometown after his father passes away. As he searches through the house he comes across a too adorable for words child. As he tried to find the kids parents it's quickly revealed that the kid is actually a Tanuki that has taken human form.

The rest of the show (oddly enough) plays out more like a tourism commercial for Kyushu.
Normally this would be a bad thing... since it's so blatantly like "oh look at this shrine where you can do this thing" or "this is something that is only done here" but honestly... this show makes it work... mostly because all of that is background to Souta dealing with the fact he feels responsible for this Tanuki child while keeping the fact that it's a tanuki a secret from everyone. the fact that they go to all these neat places for the bulk of the episodes really didn't bug me.

The final few episodes do push the tourism aspect aside as well so thats all good.

I really loved this show... i want to say it's in my top ten of the year but *looks at ever growing list* lets just say i have over 10 things fighting for the number 3 spot so..... it's going to be fun figuring all that out... i just have to hope some of the shows i haven't watched yet today end up being 2 cours instead of one...

but yeah i loved this show, it's very chill and other then the kid being a tanuki there is little to no conflict but it's so cute and heartwarming and sometimes that is nice.

You can watch it (and infact all the shows i just mentioned) on crunchyroll if you are curious.

Poco's Udon world - http://www.crunchyroll.com/pocos-udon-world
Barakamon - http://www.crunchyroll.com/barakamon
Sweetness & Lightning - http://www.crunchyroll.com/sweetness-lightning
The Eccentric Family - oh wait never mind they lost the license to this one... but considering season 2 is on the way i wont be surprised if they maybe get it back?

But yeah once again, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays... i still have like.. .3 or 4 shows to watch but it'll probably have to wait for monday cause you know... holiday stuff.

Yuri On Ice!!!

I have always loved Figure skating. almost all my life i've known someone who competes in it... hell i even got to design my friends dress once. 

for the longest time there have been no good Figure skating anime though (i remember one about a girl and this canadian ghost boy.... it was fine but i wouldn't call it good) 

Now not only can i say there is a fantastic anime about figure skating... it's possibly one of the best shows i have ever seen. 

Yuri on Ice follows Yuri Katsuki, after failing miserably at the Gran Prix he heads back home to Hasetsu to spend some time with his family at their hot spring since he hasn't been home in 5 years. 

However one day he is shocked to find out that 5 time world champion Victor Nicforov is not only staying at his family's inn but is also claiming he is going to start acting as his coach.

The goal is clear, Win gold at the grand prix final even if the road there isn't an easy one. 

Along the way Victor helps deal with Yuri's extremely low self confidence as well as helping him realize how much his life is surrounded with love. 

The only downside is that this is a 1 cour show so fitting that much into 12 episodes was a tiny bit rushed. 

HOWEVER

They seem to have all but officially announced that we will get another season. no date or anything but if they are smart... it'll be more then 12 episodes. 

also if they are smart they will have more cameos since this show has transcended anime barriers like i have never seen. 

so many professional skaters were raving about this show. People who may have never sought out anime of their own volition watched this... that is kind of incredible. I am so happy to see a medium i adore get so much credibility so quickly.

not to mention this final episode seemed to crash Crunchyrolls site for a good 10ish minutes... i have never seen that happen before. 

This show was amazing. 

Great music, stunning animation, one of the most healthy relationships i have seen in any anime ever. 

Voice acting was perfect (plus seeing pictures of Junichi Suwabe dressing as Victor makes me way too happy) 

The only thing i didn't like about it was seeing the fandom freak out over every little line. 

it's an anime... it's going to end happily... like... that's just storytelling 101. 

So do i recommend it? Hell Yes! 

This is a show everyone should see. I hope that down the line many years from now when people recommend shows to someone who doesn't know where to start with anime that this is one of the titles they mention. I'm sure Season 2 (whenever it happens) will be just as good if not better. 

You can watch it on Crunchyroll: http://www.crunchyroll.com/yuri-on-ice/videos 

The dub is being Done with Finimation and should see a bluray release eventually. 

I loved this show, I hope you love it as well. 

Natsume Yuujinchou Go

I've said it before, this is my all time favourite show.

when they announced season five i literally got teary eyed.
they have since announced season 6 and i literally sobbed just because of how relieved i was to be getting more sometimes in 2017 (waiting for 4 years was a little harder on me then i first realized)

The show is about A boy who can see spirits and has a book with many of their true names and the cat that wants the book but has agreed to wait until he either returns all the names or passes away to take the book.

This season the focus is on belonging and some of these chapters hit so hard.

the animation is even better then it was in season four with Brain Base taking over.

My only gripe with the show is that it was only 11 episodes instead of 13 like all the other seasons.
we did get a translation for one of the OVAs but honestly.. .would have preferred a new episode.

also they didn't animate a specific episode i was dreading so..... i guess i get to experience that in 2017 *sobs*

However two of my fav chapters were animated (both special chapter so i honestly was surprised they we got them) AND hopefulyl this means we get a few special chapters in Natsume Yuujinchou Roku.

for now thought i'm just so thankful for this show and i can't wait for more.

Tomorrow Yuri on Ice finishes and then i think i have one or two more shows that end before i can start working on my Year End Top 10s.

so have a good day everyone and see ya tomorrow!

Magical Girl Raising Project (spoilers)

I'm going to have to spoil this to be able to talk about it.... the show spoils itself within the first few minutes so i don't feel too bad about it but just know this is how i feel.

This show is ok.
Not bad, not good.... simply ok.
It also feels like it's trying way too hard to be like two other things... and really doesn't have it's own voice or purpose.

ok so onto the show.

Spoilers from here on out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Magical Girl Raising Project follows a girl names Koyuki, while playing a phone game about magical girls the app comes to life and asks if she really would like to be one for real.

However after accepting she quickly learns that the motives behind this seletion process may be more sinister then originally perceived.... and the original goal of collecting the most candies soon turns into just trying to be one of the few surviving magical girls.

The entire time i was watching i felt like this was trying to be Both Puella Magi Madoka Magica (albeit far more violent) and Danganronpa (minus the trails but still with the copious amounts of killing). However the thing with those two stories is that they don't feel rushed.
They both also take the time to set up a safe world to then brutally tear it down and make you feel despair. This (like many shows with similar themes) suffers from "lets get you to like the character minutes before we cut them from the story" so you can't grow attached to anyone since you are pretty much explicitly told "this one is next".

The show never made me cry, for someone like me who cries so easily that shows that i couldn't form a connection with the events unfolding... it never resonated with me.

Still it's not a bad show. The music (including the intro and ending) are fantastic, the characters have adorable designs and even though they felt shoehorned in a lot of the characters on an individual level were interesting even if we only got to know them for 10 minutes or so.

I wish it had been a bit more about fighting the system that was wrongfully placed on them. I wish the ending had a bit more impact and i actually wish it has been a 24 episode long show instead of 12 since it would have felt a lot less rushed.

so yeah, i don't feel like my time was wasted... but i also don't feel like anything was gained by watching it.
It didn't make me feel anything.
It didn't make me think about the world around me.
it simply existed... and now it's done...


I will say that the episode previews were probably my fav of any show this season... just some text and maybe an audio thing? really well done.

Ghost Slayer Ayashi

Sometimes it's just fun to give random shows a chance.

So Crunchyroll has a lot of titles i have never even heard of, occasionally I have been trying to give them a chance by watching about an episode a night.

This show seemed interesting because for a 2006 show the animation is really good. the focus is on breaking down what the parts of the kanji mean and how they would manifest as weapons and it's set in a time when japan had closed off it's borders to the rest of the world.

We follow Yukiatsu Ryudo, a vagrant who is living illegally in Edo and is trying not to be captured since it would mean his death.
However fate has something else in mind as a group known as Ayashi find and try to recruit him. Seems he has an ability to manipulate names (ayagami) and create weapons that will destroy monsters known as Yoi.

The show is mainly about destroying the monsters but it also deals with possible conspiracy to overthrow the current government and some organisations working to try and forcefully reopen the borders of japan.

While i did enjoy the show i wouldn't say it's terribly good.

Throughout the enter runtime there were issues of "who is the good guy" or "i don't understand this characters motivations" and it's mostly because people are more shades of grey but as far as telling an interesting story sometimes it was a bit distracting to see people act wildly out of character.

In the original 25 episodes a lot is left unanswered so there are 5 additional episodes. these are both great and terrible.

Great because they tie up all the loose ends (and have some really interesting moments that harken back to things in the intro song of season 1 which i always love).
Terrible because it makes one character act so out of character the it kinda destroys what the rest of the show has built up.

Still i did enjoy it... as average as it was. in a few years i'll probably forget having seen it but hey.... at least i got to see the most basic looking characters with the most sparkly eyes i have ever seen. that was kind of fun.

Bungo Stray Dogs 2

Seriously this season had far too many amazing shows.... like i feel like half of my year end top 10 list will be from this season and that's a little crazy.

Still now i have the joy of trying to summarize Bungo Stray Dogs.
hm... Easier said then done..

The story follows a detective agency in Yokohama where all the employees are considered gifted.
not just good at solving mysteries (although that is one of their specialties) but one can create illusions in a small area, another can make anything he writes down appear from his notebook and some can even turn into something not completely human.

This of course Steps on the toes of the local (and also heavily gifted) mafia... the story for the most part deals with these two warring factions.

Season 2 does a few things to spice things up. the first few episodes are more about how the agency came to be as well as introducing a new faction known as "The Guild" who are doing a lot of terrible stuff while spouting that they are the good guys.

it's a show that focuses on character interactions and thats probably why i loved it so much. it has a sense of humor one second and the next it can rip out your heart. the animation and music are lovely and it follows the rules it sets up which is really nice.

Is it a perfect show? no... there are many scenes (and i mean... a comical level) where characters are all standing still and talking to each other but we are just far enough away where they decided not to give them facial features. (but if this is why we get the stunning dynamic action sequences i'm ok with the tradeoff). some characters get tossed aside for no real reason or their ending is just like "ok i'm done now bye" and has little to no payoff.

Still i find the good outweighs the bad and i'm so happy we got this season season.... and hell season 3 gets teased at the end so i can't wait for that (even though there is no hint to how long i will be waiting.... waiting is hard and i'm just so bad at it...)

if you are curious about the show i would say give it 2-3 episodes and you should have a pretty good idea if you are enjoying it or not.

For now i'll just sit here waiting (and maybe drawing some fanart cause i really love the style)

I'm not sure what finishes next.... i'm just hoping some of my saturday shows finish next week (or i'll be writing 5 of these in one day...)

Haikyuu! 2nd and 3rd season

I am swiftly reminded why i write these right away...
it's been a day since i finished this and i just have no idea where to start.

So... first thing, this may be a little premature since... well there is obviously another arc but considering i never wrote one of these when i finally finished season 2 and we have had a 'season finale' i'm going to just go for it.

Haikyuu is an anime about a short kid who wants to play volleyball on a team that used to be a powerhouse school with a short player.

there is far more to it then that but i would have to describe every character so for now i'll just say this.

This IS a sports anime... it has some of the failings of the genre.... however unlike Kuroko no basket (which i swear broke me) no one is superpowered. even the powerhouse schools have reason for being as good as they are.

Hinata has a lot of stamina, is fast and can jump high but is garbage at serving and receiving.
Tobio is highly talented at setting and good at reading a situation but has a hard time working with others cause he expects them to automatically be at his level.
one character is extremely good at reading the situation but finds it difficult to care or put effort in.
another character has a unique serve but lacks confidence and is therefor inconsistant.

everyone has some kind of flaw that grounds them and that is so refreshing after "basketball gives you super powers"

Even three seasons in i am still loving this show and looking forward to more... sure certain moves (which were completely realistic) we over used but that is better then hearing "the zone" over and over again.

It was however super sad to hear that the voice actor who played the coach died in early october. he was such a talented voice and while the replacement (who was only there for 2 episodes) did a good job it will take a little getting used to (i also wouldn't be surprised if this is why we only got 10 episodes instead of 26 like the other two seasons have done)

but yeah i really enjoyed this show... the only reason it took me as long s it did to catch up was because i don't trust sports anime after Kuroko no basket... yuri on ice (yes it's a sports anime) gained some of that trust back at least.

And sure it helps that i am a short person who played volleyball on a team (grated it was a girls team so there were rarely extremely tall people) but in the end i think this show is extremely accesable to everyone to watch and enjoy.

SO before i end... i have been watching a lot this season
and a lot of it is really really good so yeah... hope to have all those written as the shows end and then it'll be time for the Year End Top 10... where i may or may not have enough for a negative list... i guess i gotta start compiling my data.

Pokemon Sun

Sometimes i'm just not sure how to start these things off.

So i think story time is in order.

I have been a fan of pokemon for years, ever since the first episode of the anime came out i was hooked.
I remember at school there was this spot where everyone would go to trade their pokemon cards (before the schools all banned it) and a kid gave me a card so i could join in the fun. from that one card i grew my entire collection (which i still have even though it has little to no value)
I remember the kid who'd let me watch him play Pokemon Red during recess.
I remember making the mistake of looking at a pokemon yellow/green gameboy colour combopack at a costco with my grandparents nearby... and then being given that same combopack in the car on the way home.

I have so many happy memories of this series... so the overall theme of looking back and growing from that that this game pushed forward really hit home.

In the past 20 years things have changed.
well maybe not changed... i mean i still love art and anime as much (if not more) then when i was little.
so then in the last 20 years things have grown... i think thats more of an accurate statement.
and yes there are things about this series i wish would grow more... some action elements to combat would be welcome... maybe a MMO (which for the record i know will never happen but imagine if it did... they would make all the money... i guess the closest thing we have for that is Pokemon Go)

However... i did enjoy this game a lot... even the things it changes.
is it the best pokemon game?
*looks over at gold/silver/crystal/heartgold/soulsilver*.... no.... no those ones are still my fav... but this is very close.

I had a lot of fun with this one.
A lot more fun then i've had with a pokemon game in a while.

The locations are beautiful, the flow is nice and i never feel like i'm begin blocked for stupid reasons
The game does feel a bit short? i beat it in about 30 hours and i wasn't rushing.... also i haven't done any post game stuff so that should be fun. (i will update this after i do the post game stuff... unless it's only catching legendarily then... then that would be kinda sad.. )

My final team was as follows

Takashi the Mimikyu (easily one of the strongest pokemon on my team... plus adorable)
Darious the Leafeon
Leonidas the Solgaleo (cause gotta have one legendary on your team right?)
Yuki the Alolan Vulpix
Corwin the Incineroar
Lily the Alolan Raichu

It was nice havign fun with the series again. i was going to try a nuzlocke but... nah i'll leave that to others... too stressful for me lol
besides my team has to be full of cute or what is the point~

if you are a long time fan of the series and just weren;t sure abotu picking the game up, i think you should.
if you are new to the series i think you'll enjoy it just as much as the veteran players.

Final note, that nod to the original game at the end? brilliant... i loved it so much... good job gamefreak/pokemon company.

now i can go back to playing Ace attorney: Spirit of Justice....
and FFXV of course...