Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Five Drinks Into Anime: Ten Anime in the First Ten Months of 2013

1. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Episodes: 27
Rating: 9.7

Review: This is without a doubt the best anime I've watched of the year. There is a childishness to this anime that may turn many away but I advise you don't let. This series is absolutely fantastic. The characters don't have a ton of depth, and there are a couple of weak episodes in the middle, but the completely over the top action and wild enthusiasm at this show's heart more than makes up for it. This show is damn inspiring. And you'll never be bored watching it. 



2. Infinite Ryvius:

Episodes: 26
Rating: 8.2

Review: Infinite Ryvius was a creepy show that promised us Lord of the Flies in space, and for the most part it delivered. This show is not for everyone, and from a purely action based perspective this show isn't the best. You don't watch this series for the action. You watch it for the psychology. And again it isn't for everyone. The main character Kouji is annoyingly pathetic, and many other characters are jackasses, but hey that's how Lord of the Flies was too.  Ultimately I enjoyed this show, although I do think the series had a lot of buildup that never really delivered anything satisfying.

 3. Blue Exorcist

Episodes: 25
Rating: 8.7

Review:  Blue Exorcist is more of a straight action anime with a supernatural theme. This show had a good pace, and I enjoyed the characters, the action, and the world building quite a bit. I actually wanted this show to go on a bit longer and think the school setting could have served a longer running series. But better 25 good episodes than 50 or more sub par episodes. And ultimately the fight with Satan came before we could get bored of the plot. Good series, although it doesn't have a ton of depth.

4. Valvrave the Liberator Season 1

Episodes: 12
Rating: 8.4

Review: I liked the first season of Valvrave, and it had shade of Code Geass to it which appealed to me greatly. I look forward to the second season, and hope it builds from where it left off.

5. Sword Art Online

Episodes: 25
Rating: 8.6

Review: Sword Art Online had a great start and I absolutely loved the first half of the series. It had awesome action, great tension, I personally love the "trapped in a virtual world" plot, and the romance was very sweet. Unfortunately the second part wasn't as good as the first part, as the second virtual world wasn't given enough time to breathe, and then of course there was the weird rapey parts of the second half. Ugh...



6. Btoom!

Episodes: 12
Rating: 8.9

Review: I can't wait to see the second season of this series, because the first season was quite good. This show is disturbing, and all of the characters are heavily flawed, and yet despite this I have been able to find the good in them and find a way to root for them. The action is also more complicated than most, and this show requires that you pay attention in order to keep up.  I recommend this show if you are able to handle mature subject matter, flawed characters, and brutal violence.


7. Nurahiyon No Mago

Episodes: 26
Rating: 8.3

Review: This is another good supernatural action series. If you like the genre, watch this series. It's sort of like Inuyasha for a more mature audience.

 8. Cowboy Bebop

Episodes: 26
Rating: 8.6

Review: I had been hearing how great this series was for a long time. I enjoyed this series quite a bit, although it won't be a top 10 series for me.  I feel the same way about Cowboy Bebop as I do about Firefly. It's definitely good, and I can see the aspects of it that appeal to others more than me, but I just don't enjoy it as much as others. But if you're one of those who thought Firefly was the greatest thing ever, than I highly recommend this show, because it has the same space western combo which I appreciate, but do not obsess over.

9. Big O

Episodes: 26
Rating: 5.0

Review: Big O was a dud for me to be honest. The psychological theme didn't resonate with me, and I felt like the action got repetitive. The result was that I got bored and didn't pay a ton of attention to the show.


10. Trigun

Episodes: 26
Rating: 6.1

Review: I was very disappointed by Trigun. Although the early episodes really drew me into this series, the rest of the show proved to let me down time and time again. This show has such a great setup, and I just don't think it delivers whatsoever on the promise. I wanted Vash the Stampede go have huge adventures and have a truly troubled past. I was let down.

So those are ten anime series I've watched so far this year. I've actually watched more, so my New Year's Resolution about three anime series has been more than met, but these ten are the first to pop into my head. Despite the negative thoughts about the last two, I think all ten are worth checking out. My tastes aren't the same as other people's tastes, and I enjoyed all ten series enough that I was able to at least finish them.  

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