So that means Rebellion doesn't qualify?
In that case:
Gravity is truly the best cinematic experience of my life time and perhaps the first time I've truly understand the power that animation affords to a director with skill. When you detach the camera from the confines of, pardon the pun, gravity, you suddenly have the ability to take camera to places that are literally impossible on Earth or with "real" cameras. A podcaster/reviewer detested the movie because it created what he described as the "uncanny valley of cinematography", but that is precisely why I think this film is a landmark achievement in cinema.
You look at the 13 minute long take at the beginning of the film and see not only how space is being manipulated, but time. In the film, over an hour passes between the start of that scene and the end of that scene, but you just don't notice it because of the power of the film making. The movie is a master class, film school in 90 minutes, and if all anime directors could harness the techniques used in the film, then anime as a whole would elevate itself tremendously.
Now I understand what the people who loved
Redline felt. The only difference is that
Gravity has much more skill expressed and isn't burdened by a nonsensical story that fetishizes its main heroine.
With that out of the way, here's my real list:
1.
Yamato 2199. It made my list in 2012 when it probably wouldn't have qualified and when no one watched it and it is my #2 TV show of
ALL TELEVISION in my
2013 TV vote, so it seems like a no brainer.
Having reached the end of the series, I can say that this show embodies the spirit of science fiction that has long since been lost with the move to Post-Trek space opera and plot-drive soap-opera science fiction like Lost and BSG. As a remake/reboot, it respects the source material without being wedded to it, breathing life into a text that probably does not hold up 40 years after the fact. As a science fiction show, it doesn't try to trick or outsmart the reader by trying to come up with gimmick plot twists or reversals or otherwise completely unpredictable story beats in order to keep the reader guessing. It respects the reader enough to believe that she will be invested in the characters and the narrative as presented. The strength is in the storytelling, not in trying to create watercooler moments that have since become inane in science fiction stories.
I also believe that as a television series, it leverages the long form possibilities that a television series offers fairly well. Yes, there are cliffhangers, but no, they aren't major shocking twists. *Most* of the characters have a chance to become more than just their 70s archetypes, including the development of one of the more interesting "Sis-mances" between the two rival fighter pilots Melda and Yamamoto. The show even has time to do what seem like one-off episodes that evoke the old tempo of a Star Trek episode while still maintaining the urgency of their 1 year mission to save Earth.
If there are any caveats the show might have, it's that most people would have seen the show in its unedited and admittedly not-on-television format. It's the only way to watch the show, since a lot of it must have been butchered to fit a 22 minute time slot (complete with a new OP made to be more palatable for modern audiences), but I can give that a pass.
Personally, I would have loved to have seen more fighter vs fighter action, but that's just my particular hang up that doesn't really have a bearing on the show itself.
2.
Tamayura ~MORE AGGRESSIVE~. A return to Fu-chan and her memories of her dad. The ED sums up everything that this show represents and why, even though SatoJun makes the exact same show over and over again, I still love it. Truly :firehawk or mono no aware, for the non-animegaf readers.
Yes, the show is still about Fu learning about the impact that her father has had on her life, but this time through the eyes of others that he has effected - whether it is a former high school friend or coworker or even a tree he planted when Fu was really young, she discovers that even though her father may have passed away, he is still very much a part of her life. If one must call SatoJun shows "healing anime", then this season really does get back to trying to get the audience to understand that death is a natural part of life; that loved ones are not simply gone even if they aren't with you anymore.
Combine that with character growth for Fu and all of the other characters, including a new sempai, and you have a strong story that takes the best of SatoJun's works and distills it into something that is simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming. If you know what :firehawk or my tag refers to and, for whatever reason you didn't watch this show, please give it a chance.
3.
Monogatari SS. If it wasn't for Monogatari, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai would have picked up the token Shaft slot. You either love or hate Monogatari at this point - I put Nisemonogatari on my list last year - but a lot of its strengths and weaknesses are still there. It has wonderful, almost lyrical dialogue exchanges which are performed wonderfully by the voice actors, it has the same old Shaft-style direction that I still find visually interesting even if some people might find it stylistically vapid, and once again Shaft has put together an adaptation that shifts is completely away from the previous season and stands alone as its own thematic text. We've gone from the standard harem/shounen set up of the original Bakemonogatari to the more dialog heavy psychological emphasis of Nisemonogatari to the failure of the harem/shounen protagonist in Monogatari SS. It's still one of the more interesting franchises in anime today. Take into account how the last two arcs not only wrap up this season nicely, but tie in so wonderfully with innocuous events from previous seasons, it feels like the best plotted and scripted series that I've seen in a while. It probably works great as a light novel series, but it works wonderfully as a television series.
If only the commentaries for these releases were subtitled!
Here's my write up of the final episodes and the series from the anime thread:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=97433354&postcount=11171
4.
Tamako Market. Problems aside, I think Yoshida and Yamada produced the best KyoAni work this year. I enjoyed it more than most though, and I will admit that it didn't always come together. But its more human moments - Tamako and her relationship with her dead mother - come close to matching what SatoJun was able to do in
Tamayura.
In fact, I know that in many ways it is a poorer version of what SatoJun is good at - and it's why it's one slot below Tamayura after all - it still hits a lot of the beats that I think is unique to anime. This is very much a personal pick for me.
5.
Kiniro Mosaic. Perhaps it's because of the Engrish. Perhaps it's because of the pirate musical episode. But this turned out to be one of my favourite of "those kinds" (four girls, no plot) of shows this season.
That's not to say that there weren't a lot of other shows that might have fit the bill, but I am trying my best to stick to one of these types of shows lest my list be all 4 girl animes. Other shows that I enjoyed of this sort would include
Yuyushiki,
GJ-bu,
Seitokai no Ichizon,
Seitokai no Yakuindomo,
Kitakubu Katsudou Kiroku,
Aiura and probably many others I have forgotten to list. What's interesting is that, despite the similar premise of these shows, each of them approach their subject matter in a slightly different way - whether it's having the male insert be a part of the show - or whether it is embracing its 4koma roots by structuring itself around specific jokes.
I would say that these shows are like the various family sitcoms that I leave on in the background and watch because they are just comforting.
The Michael J Fox show is a perfect example of a family sitcom that I don't find particularly funny or insightful, especially since Fox's Parkinson's has stopped being a plot point for the show, but for your generic "families stick together" sentimental laugh moments, it's just pleasant comfort food.
These shows don't attempt to be as emotionally profound as the four girl shows above or even
K-On!!, but they are still comforting to watch.
6.
Non Non Biyori. I compared this to
Minami-ke at the beginning, because of the age differences between all the characters, but this show really ended up being the Renge show by its second half. It has one of my favourite "beats" of the year and shows the power of just holding a camera on someone's face and waiting for a reaction to happen. Without Renge being as strong a character, I probably would have just lumped this show with the other four girl shows above and used this slot for Minami-Ke, but certainly that's not the case.
7.
Yama no Susume. This was yet another mono no aware show, but what made this stand out was that it could do what it did in 5 minute episodes. 5 minute anime seems to be a growing trend, and there have been a lot of interesting shows that just work in that format - last year's
Poyopoyo being a big example. This pick goes toward acknowledging the strength of this show, proving that it is possible to make a good show without a long running time, but also toward acknowledging the format as a whole.
8.
Aku no Hana. The most notable and, to some people, offensive aspect of this show is the fact that it is rotoscoped. But for me, that is one of its strengths. The weight of the characters, their position in space, makes the nihilism of the teen angst romance feel much more important than if it was simply "just" animated.
And yes, this is a show that probably doesn't hold a candle to many of its contemporary live action counterparts in terms of dealing with tween social disconnection and dysfunction. But for me, much like
Say I Love You which I put on last year's list, the fact that this was made into an anime is in itself a kind of miracle. On the one hand, it would almost be suited for a jdrama and presumably there's a way that they could have taken their rotoscoped footage and edited that together into a live action series - but we all know that jdrama looks terrible and cheap. By leveraging the verisimilitude of having real bodies in a real space with the better production values of anime, they've made something that is one of the most interesting and perhaps important shows of the year.
9.
Watamote. I almost don't want to put this on because ANN loves it, but really... the combination of its direction (being an Oonuma joint) and of its writing makes it one of my favourite shows of the year. Serving as a bit of a companion to Aku no Hana, Watamote takes us through the other extreme of individualistic teen nihilism - while one might argue that there is SOME positive to be found in Aku no Hana, there is very much nothing positive to be found in Watamote. It's more human and admittedly comedic schadenfreude moments come from watching the main character constantly fail at trying to justify her nerdy and loner existence. It's a show that makes us cringe and laugh if only because we might see a little of ourselves in the main character.
10.
Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabu Kome wa Machigatteiru or
The Dark Knight SNAFUs. The anti-Haganai, with a protagonist that doesn't give a fuck about his individual standing in the classroom but still somehow manages to attract a group of friends who also have problems connecting with other people in the class. What makes the character interesting is that he is socially aware and perfectly acute of the people around him. And while he finds human selfishness petty, he doesn't necessarily go out of his way to condemn it or position himself as superior to other people.
Like The Dark Knight, he dons a socially unaware mask and takes on the social burdens and pains of the other students in the class in order to help them feel better about themselves or fit into the class better, all at the cost of his own social standing. The fact that he doesn't care is what makes him a tragic character, especially since everyone around him slowly notices that he is putting this weight on himself in order to preserve the social status-quo.
It's lighter than Aku no Hana or Watamote in tone, but perhaps just as devastating with its criticism of its protagonists and the social circumstances that they find themselves in. The fact that it is a bit lighter could probably explain why it was comparatively successful compared to the other two anime. At the very least, it's the only one of the three shows that is likely to get a sequel commissioned.
Honorable Mentions:
Otona Joshi no Anime Time. I'm not going to burn a vote on this because I know I will be the only one who mentions it, but the Yoshida Bones
Jinsei Best 10 episode is one of my favourite episodes of the year. In the end, it's nothing that you wouldn't find in a chicklit story, but the energy of the adaptation and the ending of the episode make this one of the more enjoyable experiences of the season. The fact that someone is trying to represent older women's voices in anime should also be applauded - even if the other two episodes were much more staid and more "Lifetime movie"-ish.
Gintama. The end of the television series gave me one of my favourite lines of the year. "Sensei no yoroshiku ne". That they would then, in the follow episode, shit all over the line to make a Katsura joke only shows how great Gintama is at balancing the line heroic bloodshed shounen drama and comedy. I only put it here because of the movie list.
Space Brothers. The show improved immensely this year when all the pieces came together. The set up with Brian Jay was a long game that hooked right into Hibito's journey to the moon and also Mutta's journey to becoming an astronaut and it was amazing to see it all come together. Of course, the show is still very much a slow burn, and while I enjoy watching it every week, I don't feel like I can bump it from the list.
Polar Bear Cafe. This made my list last year and I don't think my thoughts have changed. But I figure it got its due and it also wouldn't be a factor this year. It's still one of the "gentlest" comedies around and I'm looking forward to more whenever they make it. That the characters starting appearing as husbandos in
Yomecolle is just hilarious.
Little Busters ~Refrain~. I can't say this is any good... but it's good for a Key show. This takes into account the entire series, including the 2 cour run last year, but it goes to show what having 36 episodes can do when you want to tell a jdrama-esque story. The characters have time to breath, the premise isn't shoved down your throat, and even though the ending makes no sense whatsoever, you root for the characters because you've become attached to them. Compare this to the much flawed
Angel Beats and you see this is how you do one of these correctly.
Kitakubu Katsudou Kiroku. Although I did mention this above, I do want to give it a bit of a particular mention here. The show itself has many problems. It has a very young and inexperienced voice cast, although they have the perfect actress as the protagonist. It also is very Japanese, which isn't a problem per se, but a barrier for someone who doesn't find Manzai comedy and Japanese cultural references funny. It's much like
Joshiraku in that respect. But if you can get over those two humps, it's one of the more interesting four girl comedies of the year.
Genshiken: Nidaime. While I was upset that they recast all of the original characters, by the end I was able to cope with the new Madarame. Certainly having new cast members should be a warning sign to anyone expecting more hijinks along the lines of the original Genshiken.
In many ways, this feels like a sort of a cash grab. The original Genshiken ended the arc of the characters by having them live out their nerd lives in college but become responsible adults otherwise. Sasahara being the luckiest of them all by becoming a manga editor. So here we have a new generation of characters, but without a through line to really connect the old series to the new series or to even carry the new series forward.
That said, the final resolution of the Madarame/Saki relationship probably makes it worth watching for any fans of the original series. The shift toward a female centered cast also makes it interesting to watch, since a lot of the nerd references shift from perverted guys gawking at perverted renderings of their favourite anime girls to perverted girls gawking at anime boys.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect is Hato, the new character who ends up being the center of the series by virtue of being so different from anyone else. Hato is both confused about his gender identity and his sexuality, leaving them in a confused place as to how they should position themselves in the group and more importantly, their feelings for Madarame. The real problem with Hato though is that it's clear that the author really has no idea what to do with the character or any real inclination of what a queer character is like. It reads like a very shallow version of
Wandering Son, and it becomes unclear whether Hato's confusion is meant to be part of their character or if it's because the mangaka has no idea how to write a trans or gay character.
Gatchaman Crowds. Yamakan is one of those directors that I really have no idea how to place. Sometimes his shows are terrible, and sometimes he makes
Tsuritama. Gatchaman Crowds, thankfully, is more like the latter and turns in an interesting meditation on the nature of social networking and social engineering. That the main character is one of my favourite main characters of the year - by virtue of just being so full of energy and positivity - helps a lot as well.
The Eccentric Family. The one PA Works show that doesn't look like anything else that they've done! It's certainly beautiful and some of the moments with the family are just pleasant to experience. My big problem with the show is how all the threads come together at the end, where Benten and her backstory really amounts to nothing much at all and the main conflict of the series solves itself by accident more than by any real design.
Yes, the show constantly reminds the audience of the oddities of the characters and the situations that they find themselves in, but it wasn't a satisfying way to end the show for me unfortunately.
Kotoura-san: I was recently reminded of this anime... it's probably most notable for its crazy first episode which just throws completely dark before becoming your typical romcom anime with perv lead and idiot cast. I'm not sure if it'd hold up, but what I do have fond memories of it.
Servant x Service: As a wacky workplace sitcom, this was fun to watch. It's not really notable in what it does, but as a light version of your typical American workplace sitcom, it was amusing to see this in a Japanese/anime context.
Movies:
1. Madoka Magica: Rebellion. I blame BGBW for not being able to pick this as my number 1! I posted a review of the movie in the official thread, and I think it's one of my favourite cinema experiences of the year.
1.
Gintama: The Movie: The Final Chapter: Be Forever Yorozuya. I posted a review of this movie in the anime thread, but I'll sum up my thoughts here. This two hour movie encapsulates everything that is great with
Gintama. It's funny, it's sad, it's full of hot blooded shounen heroic bloodshed and self-sacrifice. It's every major Gintama anime arc we've seen before, but put together in a package that celebrates the franchise and serves as perhaps a bookend for the series until new episodes can get made. Framing the story around a very strange version of
It's A Wonderful Life gives Sunrise a chance to give us a movie that touches on every single aspect of Gintoki's life while also offering something new. It also answers a very long-standing plot thread, giving us a little bit of closure as well.
I honestly don't know if the film would hold any appeal to someone who doesn't already love the franchise - I'd like to think that, if you are familiar with heroic bloodshed in any way and you have a sense of humour, then you would be able to follow the film without any problems, but that's just a guess. Certainly it's one of my favourite anime movies of the year.
2.
Hidamari Sketch: Sae and Hiro's Graduation. There's really not much to say inasmuch as it is both more Hidamari Sketch, which is Shaft's best franchise, and it takes the tried and true graduation story that we all know and love from shows like
K-On!!. I think this is very much an emotional pick for me. Seeing Sae and Hiro leave was inevitable, and you could feel it looming last season, but to have it actually happen marks a major turning point on the franchise and suddenly puts Yuno in a whole new position. It'd be interesting to see where she goes in the next season.
3.
Wolf Children. Admittedly, it's been a while since I watched this film... and while there were other films that I watched that I probably enjoyed just as much, including
A Letter to Momo and
Saint Young Men, Wolf Children is probably the strongest movie of that bunch. What makes it stand out is that it is very easy for a story like this to focus on the child - what it must be like to be "different" or to lose a parent. Instead, Hosoda chooses to focus on the newly widowed mother and her travails as she tries to raise her two extraordinary children alone. Of the Hosoda films that I've seen, it feels like his most personal and most emotionally grounded film. It's certainly one of the better anime films of the year.
Other movies that came up: Garden of Words, Nerawareta Gakuen, Hanasaku Iroha: Home Sweet Home, Ghost in the Shell: Arise. Each have their own appeal, but since it was a best of three, they had to be here.
I do want to watch this Blue Exorcist movie, but that is on the eternal backlog probably.
