[Click here to go straight to the
Q&A]
"Don't think I know too much about Anime, but feels like I already knew so much ever since 2008 when I started. I can tell you what is bad though; Don't ask me what is good because almost all of them I picked up are."
I feel like I should put this quote to start this very post. I should have
done this post a decade in but you know, it's never too late. As such, I shall
do a Q&A post in this 15th anniversary Anime reflection special!!
I swear it was probably a wiser choice to do this stuff every season but then
again we are specifically here to celebrate
the very first season I was into Anime back in October 2008 watching
"Toradora!" (cannot unsee unglam diary blog post) and the FIFTEEN years of me
watching Japanese animation so if you want to know more or if you were just
here from
my MyAnimeList profile
lol... welcome!! This is going to be a long ride.
THE FIRST YEARS
This is not going to be an introductory post into the world of Japanese
animation, so if you know nothing you are better off not being here haha bye
everyone. *laughs* But if you DO know a little about Anime, you can stay and
hear about my journey into this mess when I started this a decade and a half
ago!
As mentioned in the intro, this marks the very first season I have started
watching Anime on a weekly basis as of simulcast (in Japan, but even back then
licensing has allowed same week airtimes) which yes, I'm sure many of us have
watched Anime without realizing it, because back then "PokΓ©mon" and the likes
of "Doraemon" are also counted as Anime, even if it's geared towards a younger
audience. Even that has a genre in itself (Seinen), and that sort of explain
the many new grounds left untouched and the many times my sister who showed me
to many shows I have seen before undertaking the exploration myself, from
"Love Hina" to "Cardcaptor Sakura" which were aimed at a younger female
audience (Shoujo), and even "Kekkaishi" was a recommendation. My classmates also introduced
me to classics and that's how I ended up watching "BLEACH" and "Nagasarete
Airantou", which were more geared towards a young male audience (Shounen).
My first expedition was through back then cable TV where a new channel geared
towards a younger audience started adding late night Anime airings to their
schedule. (Remember this is not Japan, and there wasn't subscription TV
anyways) Back then I even forgot on which nights but I think it's almost a
week after it aired in Japan, "Toradora!" was aired right after "Code Geass"
and that's how the ending theme song got me by the way, shout out to SunSet
Swish. *giggles* And "Kuroshitsuji" aired not long afterwards right after, so
yeah, that was quite a packed schedule considering by the time I've watched
them all it was midnight and I still had school the next day. *laughs*
Yeah, back then I didn't know much about *piracy* and watching online and
stuff (the Internet was in a worse shape than today, trust me), but the idea
of tuning in to Anime just like how I would for any TV drama was refreshing,
even anticipating and exciting, to look forward too every week. And thus,
unlike many who chose to binge them all once they are aired, I sank into the
weekly schedule of watching Japanese animation.
THE BLOG IN TRANSITION
As I was humbly blogging on the rise of the Internet back in 2008 (about
my daily life in school, if you can believe), I never thought of ever
writing about Anime. But as there wasn't an easy avenue to talk about
Anime with others (I guess the classmates who introduced me to "BLEACH",
but even then we were on different levels) especially with my very niche
opinions about you know, liking theme songs to even liking the voices
behind Anime characters (haha it had already started) which was hard to
relate as many out there were more into the 2D world, and that's what
everyone was trying to escape from. Too real to my own opinions and
needing a channel to talk about this and my parents didn't fancy me
talking to myself lol *cringe*, I eventually transitioned to talk more
about not my school life, and I think started with this new naming since
2012 after I graduated high school.
The blog has since then taken a slightly more formal tone(?) on everything
in my life, which in this case, also for the Anime I watch every week. It
started with short summaries of each week's episodes (yes, plural) but I
still ended up regurgitating a lot of my opinions to myself, and over time
i got comfortable to talk about them in detail more, and as my knowledge
of them increased I also ended up talking about the faucets of what makes
Anime what they are today. Learning programming only made this blog more
fanciful and meaningful as I add more sections and add in images and GIFs
over the years enough for me to want to look back at them from time to
time.
The focus in the future of this weekly post which I have aptly named
"Entertainment News" for the past decade, will be to then allow easier
search, filter and identification of content that has been written all
this time, with a redo on most of the paging of the "series" so far, and
including sitemaps and image archives if possible just as how I've done so
for my GitHub page.
THE NOW YEARS
This will be shorter than above I promise, because despite the many
platforms and ways to watch Anime today (I personally have an active
Amazon Prime account which you would know, has access to Prime Video which
streams Anime, and then there's English licensed sites so Funimation and
Crunchyroll), I still ended up wanting to dictate my thoughts somewhere
where I can still take screenshots and write comments down where it
matters (and that's how you get so many more quotes apart from each
section's opening), because I spend time to reflect an think about stuff
as I watch as many will do but in this case I just write them down, it's
probably better to do the way that it has been so far, and (don't cancel
me but) watch fansubs or get raw sources in order to make this so-called
hobby of mine sustainable in the long run. Yeah, it's like YouTube
reaction videos, but in text, that's how I view my Anime viewing
experience now.
In recent years too, I have also learnt enough Japanese to follow official
sources (social media, official websites) to know more about the stuff
behind Anime, behind-the-scenes stuff, special projects where the voice
actors do stuff and honestly saying I like those a lot hehe, and if
anything else, it was Anime that taught me Japanese. Well, not 100% I
ended up listening to a lot of music and learnt stuff from the lyrics, but
I would say this is the motivation to do so since great accompanying theme
songs will make of great shows in the first place.
THE ANIME PROFILE
At this point, I feel like I should talk about what my tastes and/or biases
are in Anime, just go settle things right here and now so I can save you some
time understanding me later down the post.
I was initially very open to all sorts of genres walking into the world
of Anime, from the early days feeling the greatness of variety in comedic characters
(WORKING!!!), blossoming romance in any situation (Hatsukoi Limited, cute
girls in a band (K-ON!), exciting plot twists (at least, back then
Kuroshitsuji was), mysteries for stuff that don't even relate (Yojouhan Shinwa
Taikei), and much more. From adaptations to originals, I've had my share of
seeing them in action, and this is what constituted my first 5 years from
2008-2012.
It was afterwards picking up on more popular series (Attack on Titan, Nagi no
Asukara) that started to make me think otherwise about my tastes in Anime.
I did still watch certain genres from time to time though that offer niche
genres
because damn is it Anime if it's the same damn thing as real life drama
series, but obviously, as you can see from the calendar below, I am more
towards realistic genres along the lines of comedy and romance.
Why though? Because my focus changed over time. From the days of just seeing
anything I liked, today I will consider things like animation, whether I liked
the trailer and/or theme songs in it, and the voice cast because if you
haven't been finding the people behind your favourite Anime characters you
aren't as in this as I am. So you know,
many of these factors will come into deciding whether I will like anything
today.
I can give you examples for days, but if something hits like a movie trailer
when I first saw one for an Anime series... then that will be it. I will talk
about my reasons for giving any new show a chance in my season previews so I
guess those will be a good gauge of my tastes over time.
So I can only say that my profile now and my opinions whatsoever is pretty
much surrounding this meme image as adapted from an
OVA episode of
"Seitokai Yakuindomo":
This also represented the thumbnail of this post in case you didn't notice
since this looks like an interview from me too... Just perfect haha *chef's
kiss* thanks
Aria
Oh, but we aren't just here to talk about the things I've done all those many
years ago (I feel so old now), I want to talk about what was good and bad! So
let's!
THE Q&A
Once again, this is in
no way representative of my opinions forever because I can change and
so do you, but as of now, this is what I feel about the stuff around Anime I
know of, hopefully covering as many categories I can or I have experienced so
far.
(All series linked are to their first season, on MyAnimeList
and it's because I don't want to show you their inconsistent social media
presence)
- Best & Worst Original Series
- Best & Worst Adaptations
- Best & Worse Movies
- Best Soundtrack Pieces
- Iconic Opening Theme Songs
- Iconic Ending Theme Songs
- Desire for Sequels (That Have Not Been Announced Yet)
- Shows I Gave Up Watching
- Extreme Genres
- Manga/Anime to Completion of Anime/Manga
- Top Voice Actors
- Top Voice Actresses
- Outstanding Voice Contrast
- Biggest Anime-Voice Actor Inclusion
- My Voice Type
[1]
"Fractale" is still by far, my favourite dystopian based worldview of the
sci-fi future I desire and envision as I stand now. (Okay maybe not for the
birth of the keys but *laughs*) This original series, along with "money vs
future" economics suspense thriller "C" are the only action series which
helped define the human-like futuristic world I desire to see in fiction, and
has since shaped what my novel project "A Pack of Life" is based on today.
And boy do I not want to talk about "Glasslip" again. Pretty much the only
reason why I picked this one up was from the Anime's theme songs: ChouCho sang
a great summer song, and nano.RIPE ended up being one of my beloved Rock music
artists. Everything else is not to say at all, because despite the decent
animation and great music, the original series failed to write a solid plot or
sound logic on the mystery of... whatever is happening, which makes it even
more disappointing when the truth is revealed, if you have realized if that
happened.
[2]
BEST & WORST ADAPTATIONS | π ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka |
---|---|
π Red Data Girl |
"ACCA" is a simple choice as I like to watch shows with deliberate mystery, as
we are brought into the journey of main guy Jean to travel the country for
auditing purposes, only to then realize (spoiler alert) there was an ongoing
coup d'Γ©tat and he is fundamentally involved in it. So cool, the story is so
well presented including the plot twist, everything else including the
worldview is just so perfect, I would love to recommend this adaptation. And
it's not because Lotta-chan is cute. *giggles*
"Red Data Girl" was honestly so bad, I keep reminding myself what was good
about it or what was the reason for me to watch the Anime. Was it because of
Hayami Saori? I don't think so. I think I was expecting some action or cool
stuff at some point, but unlike "Koukyuu no Karasu" which despite its ancient
dynasty context still had some action at the end with the build-up on plot,
this one just has none, and even what was the slice-of-life parts didn't
deliver. Also, destroying electronics? You need to stay away from me forever.
*laughs*
[3]
BEST & WORST MOVIES | π Neko no Ongaeshi |
---|---|
π Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai |
This one was hard to choose, but if I have to mention a good one.... I still
like "The Cat Returns" back when I was a student watching this Studio Ghibli
classic in class (by the way) after the exams were over. It's the perfect
fantasy adventure you would want to live as a kid similar to "Spirited Away"
just without all the creepy stuff I guess, they have a certain magic. Outside
of Ghibli though, "NakiNeko" can be that runner-up just being in relation to
this masterpiece in terms of storytelling also serving as an ideal romance
scenario in animation.
I legit thought "Kimisui" was supposed to be good and I totally enjoyed the
story though with a sadder context, but it took a bad turn at the ending to a
new level - a level so new, you wished it had ended with a standard crying bed
scene because spoiler alert, she was stabbed by an aggressor. *silence* This
is probably the reason why I will mention this in a negative light even if at
all.
[4]
BEST SOUNDTRACK PIECES |
π
In the Garden of Sinners (Kara no Kyoukai) |
---|---|
π Tetsukazu no Kanjou (Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun) |
|
π Yasashisa no Ashioto (Toradora!) |
I was an avid fan of listening to just music back then, so I appreciated more
of Anime soundtracks especially in iconic scenes where it matters, or when the
tunes appear more than often. I would say impact and me still caring about
soundtrack back then is where I will be at, so it's no wonder the list here
does not feature newer shows just because.
For selections though, I went for "Kara no Kyoukai" and despite it being a
dark movie (will explain later) it does have a strong, depressing view with a
soundtrack written by Kajiura Yuki (which you might know better from the
"Fate" series, this movie series is effectively its spin-off) and chorus sung
by now disbanded Kalafina? Man, this was that perfection to an intro of a
movie. This is the music that filters its audience. *giggles* This was also
what led me into the series and Kalafina, all music produced by Kajiura-sensei
herself.
As for the other two, they symbolize what I distinctively remember for the
Anime I watch, whether it's the theme music or just something sad and quaint
after a hectic day, these have never disappointed me. Shout out to Hashimoto
Yukari (for "Toradora!") and Kousaki Satoru (for "WORKING!!!", "OreImo" or
anything Aniplex) specifically for making great soundtracks whichever
direction I go and meet them in.
Of course, there are other so many good ones out there that make the show they
were in recent years, so I'm just listing these off my head to give you an
idea what I liked back then that were so, so impactful.
I would like to also give a shout out to a playlist(?) which I distinctively
remembered I have burnt into a CD (back then) which is a great summary of
the first 5 years of me listening to Anime soundtracks before I fell off, as
seen below:
[All links to VGMDB]
- High Heel Shoes In Pink (pf ver') (From "C" Original Soundtrack)
- avenue (From "A Channel" Original Soundtrack)
- MANHATTAN ~Utsukushisa~ (From "Bartender" Original Soundtrack)
- going home (From "BLEACH" Original Soundtrack 1)
- Suite "Going Home" 2nd Movement: Piano Solo (From "BLEACH: Fade to Black" Original Soundtrack)
- feel your heart (From "Hatsukoi Limited" Original Soundtrack)
- Narade Arukou (From "Hatsukoi Limited" Original Soundtrack)
- pure heart (From "Hatsukoi Limited" Original Soundtrack)
- Kimi ga Tw wo Sashinobete Kureta Toki "Kekkaishi" Original Soundtrack
- Ii Yumemite ne "K-ON!" Original Soundtrack
- Nukumori (From "Love Hina" Original Sound File Disc 1)
- Hitotoki "Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai" Original Soundtrack
- Tsuji Aeta Kokoro "Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai" Original Soundtrack
- Jours passes "Shakugan no Shana II" Original Soundtrack
- Yuugure no Yakusoku "Toradora!" Original Soundtrack
- Yasashisa no Ashioto "Toradora!" Original Soundtrack
- Watashi' no Theme (Piano Ver.) "Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei" Original Soundtrack
- Yojouhan to Castella to 'Watashi' "Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei" Original Soundtrack
[5]
ICONIC OPENING THEME SONGS |
π ONE III NOTES "Shadow and Truth" (ACCA) |
---|---|
π Aqua Timez "ALONES" (BLEACH) |
|
π Minami "Kawaki wo Ameku" (Domestic na Kanojo) |
|
π Necry Talkie "Fuzaketenaize" (Kanojo mo Kanojo) |
Anime opening theme songs make the best of any series: They define what it is
about the even set a worldview to anticipate and be excited about. For this,
there can be so many produced by the animation (collaborated) music labels
because they can have more control on the genre and style of what is, and thus
song like those from Anime "K-ON!", "Chio-chan", or even "JoshiMuda" will be a
hit. But we don't want to only about those intentional perfections (or flops),
we want to talk about what's great and bad about making mainstream artists who
are affiliated to these music labels, that come up with memorable songs to
shows we remember.
The best ones, I can remember, are those that define the series thanks to the
artists themselves, by mistake or by spending time to make their craft go into
the world of Anime. Ironically, it's also those long-run series who will have
such rep, from ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION to Ikimonogakari back then to today's
Anime artists dominating the Anison world... they are what makes of the best,
but I still think of the oldies as when they brought me in. And the worst ones
we don't talk about, and pray to the gods there are the ending theme songs to
carry the impression for the show. Looking at you, Anime "KanoKano" and
"DomeKano". *giggles*
[6]
ICONIC ENDING THEME SONGS |
π Horie Yui "Vanilla Salt" (Toradora!) |
---|---|
π Natural High "Hajimari no Hito" (Bartender) |
|
π Uesaka Sumire "Koisuru Zukei" (KONOBI) |
|
π Erabareshi "Miss Rabbit" (Time Travel Shoujo) |
For Anime's ending theme songs though, as much as it's a sandbox for putting
in anything related to the genre I think I have seen too many examples of
songs going off the perpendicular; I have seen cover songs of oldies old
enough I know of them (thanks "Tada-kun" and "Tenshi-sama") and they are just
a lazy effort by production, I've seen ending theme songs done for each
episode that the series existed ("OreImo" WTF but thanks to all the indie
composers who participated), I've disliked those which aren't as great as
their opening theme song coming in from Anime character songs and that's
understandable lol I skip them anyways and I promise you it was tough finding
them back to list here, but most importantly, the ones that make the most
impact are the ones, which link to the end of every episode.
Why though? Because those who link their episode ends to the ending theme song
create a plot transition, and those are just the best, making the twist happen
not within the show only, but also outside to give one reflection and invoke
further emotions to what is due to happen. Trust me, learning that from an
emotional drama series like "Toradora!" hurts a lot, and that's how I knew.
[7]
DESIRE FOR SEQUELS (THAT HAVE NOT BEEN ANNOUNCED YET) | π Kono Bijitsubu ni wa Mondai ga Aru! |
---|---|
π Taisho Otome Monogatari | |
π€ Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun | |
π€ Kyokou Suiri |
[*As of October 2023]
We have seen many Anime having sequels to their ADAPTATIONS (by the way) or
their original work, and whether they have completed that from the source, for
me it has always been a pain to wait for the next one and whether it'll
deliver, known by me as "sequel drag". However, there are some series I would
love to see them announce another season though many of which have been
fulfilled in recent years (shout out to "Kuroshitsuji" still going, "Yojouhan"
for giving it a proper ending despite being a light novel adaptation), so I
will talk about the remaining ones that have never announced a sequel *prays*,
or those in contrary I don't want to see (more) sequels of since, most likely
my reason will be because, that they aren't that enjoyable in the first place
and I have given it to them for the get-go from the first season. And now I
have an obligation to see it through no matter how far they are from the
initial boom, but that's just me.
Speaking of which...!
[8]
SHOWS I GAVE UP WATCHING | 6️⃣ Koi to Uso |
---|---|
3️⃣ Hataraku Saibou | |
3️⃣ Mieruko-chan |
As I've learnt from bloggers from the early days of Random Curiosity, is that
to give oneself a three-episode rule, as they will involve plot twists, and an
implication of a summary of a series, sometimes the end of a first arc, sort
of like a checkpoint, for you to decide whether this will be worth following
through all the way. The ones listed I have followed on those rules for
reasons that just make me generally not want to watch them through (typically
involving horror and/or biological science that is *cringe* or just makes me
*pukes*), but one particular one I recall, I watched way more before giving it
the thumbs down. Why? Because they showed me an implied sex scene. Between
high schoolers. Yup, totally off the rails from what was just like a love
betrayal series? Dude, we can do better. Even "Glasslip" was- And that's why
we know the greatest mistakes are those we don't put down and have to deal
with their presence from here on.
*silence*
ALSO IF SOMETHING SUCKS STOP WATCHING THEM DON'T KEEP BUYING INTO THEM AND
THEN COMPLAIN ABOUT HOW BAD IT IS!! ANIME PRODUCTIONS LOOK AT STATS ON
VIEWERSHIP AND VIDEO SALES NOT INTERNET COMMENTS AND REACTIONS ok let's move
on since this doesn't reflect on me I watch so many sequels just in the
previous season anyways lol
[9]
EXTREME GENRES | π Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace |
---|---|
π Babylon | |
π₯© Kara no Kyoukai -the Garden of Sinners- |
You have been seriously warned about watching any of these (okay maybe just
the trailer LMAO), and I don't mean these shows show
ecchi scenes or
dirty jokes
or they are absolute tearjerkers or anything, but you might cry because many
of these are just straight up core and in themes of life and death and more,
enough to make you and I lose your appetites; It's that
bad. You may say
they were mistakes I have never put down because they still are quality drama
despite how disturbing they are (and that kind of says what kind of depressed
human being I am) so, uh... let's move on, shall we?
You really have been warned unless you want to witness (respectively, as
stated above) a hanging or sexual arousal or saliva porn- *pukes*
[10]
MANGA TO COMPLETION OF ANIME | BLEACH |
---|
"BLEACH", which will be ending its final arc Anime adaptation by next year so
we are technically celebrating this early, will still be the longest-standing
and most beloved action series I have chosen to prefer over whatever others
were available at that time. (Looking at you, Naruto and One Piece.) Nothing
here will explain how much I wanted action scenes or sword releases to
dominate my imaginative mind, and to see it happen in animation from the
comics is only a dream come true, no matter how critical I can be of the Anime
series those years ago and today. I will only thank for its completeness, if
it hasn't made grounds in both media types already.
ANIME TO COMPLETION OF MANGA | Binbougami ga! |
---|
On the contrary, this is likely what the Anime industry expects us to do after
watching an Anime adaptation, and this is my only best example so far, so hear
me out. Instead of desperately wanting a sequel which considerably has a
conclusion for their Anime adaptation, I decided back then when I had a lot
more time to do this, to binge or even follow on the latest chapters of the
comic it was based on, and boy did it end in the most spectacular fashion
ever, true to its style and storytelling, it definitely made me like this
series about fortune more than I started. (Spoiler alert: Everyone became a
Fortune God haha true chaos has arrived) I think that's enough for me to give
them due credit just for introducing me to this story.
[11]
TOP VOICE ACTORS | 1️⃣ Suwabe Juunichi |
---|---|
2️⃣ Tsuda Kenjirou | |
3️⃣ Hayami Sho |
I picked up these voice actors based on a few factors, including their voice
acting and how often they appear in shows I watch, and I think this is an
adequate representation of what I know of them to give them credit for. From
Hayami Sho's iconic voice as Aizen Sousuke in "BLEACH" and evil principal in
"Assassination Classroom", to Tsuda Kenjirou's deep voice that gets the female
audience going (and I swear also on the looks too) even if he voices a horny
father in "Ao-chan" haha, and I have to put my hat off to Suwabe-san for
always delivering on his roles every time I see him, "Senko-san" and "GREAT
PRETENDER" to name a few I've seen.
[12]
TOP VOICE ACTRESSES | 1️⃣ Horie Yui |
---|---|
2️⃣ Hanazawa Kana | |
3️⃣ Hondo Kaede |
For the female voice actors though, I may give a little exception due to my
inclination of bias towards certain roles and/or voice behind, so don't mind
me showing appreciation to veterans like Hocchan and Kana-chan and the like
just because they are pretty much the bulk of my liking Anime characters
throughout and perhaps beyond. Ede-chan here though is just worth a mention
purely because of her efforts in voice acting in the Anime I see here in, and
I cannot describe how much that transfers to her image and my love for all of
this in general.
Of course I can list many more from Tomatsu Haruka to Kitou Akari but what's
the point, you will find out who I will follow from here on. *giggles*
[13]
OUTSTANDING VOICE CONTRAST | 1️⃣ Toyosaki Aki |
---|---|
2️⃣ Uesaka Sumire | |
3️⃣ Naganawa Maria |
Also known as "gap moe", this segment(?) is dedicated to the (typically
female) voice actors who have shown outstanding voice acting ability by not
just sounding different, but because it's so far away from their usual acting
voice, will make me stand on end on how they sound otherwise. In this case
though, instead of the end result being cuter than the usual, some of them
start from the usual, as seen in Aki-chan who voiced
a matured woman in "FRACTALE"
and blew my mind even though it was just a minor character, and I know using
Naganawa Maria here is kind of cheating, but have you ever heard
her matured voice? Yeah, it's just different, and I only have examples in video games so not
going to touch on them too much. Sumipe is likely the only one who voices cute
roles normally so not as herself, and it's when she voiced characters who
sound like herself but behaving otherwise (see "Aho Girl") that makes them excel and/or make me like them more.
[14]
BIGGEST ANIME-VOICE ACTOR INCLUSION | K-ON! |
---|
Need I say more? *laughs*
What took the world (or at least Japan) more than a year ago, this cute girl
music band slice-of-life series is anything but, and that's just half the
story, because pretty much everyone in the main cast is basking on its
success: Toyosaki Aki is renowned for her uniquely adorable voice, Hikasa
Youko is veteran and a jack of all trades, even Taketatsu Ayana went to become
one of the most popular voice actresses to date. Even if Satou Satomi and
Kotobuki Minako did not achieve the success of the other members from this
series, I still ended up following them just because, until they all become
the married women we all expected. For what might not look like them, their
impressions on me have never faded since then, and I can only be more than
happy I picked this one up to know of them.
[15]
MY VOICE TYPE | 1️⃣ Komatsu Mikako |
---|---|
2️⃣ Nukamura Manami | |
3️⃣ Toyosaki Aki |
This is just a personal preference, where I will talk about a little how much
these voices make my Anime experience infinitely better for no reason.
Naturally, they fall into the idolism territory so don't mind me speaking my
mind out here. Mikakoshi and Nu-chan typically appear in places I least expect
of them and they turned out better than I thought (shout out to
Moeka's mom
and
Pieck-san *umph* respectively), and every time I hear Aki-chan in Anime always
brings a joy to my ears whether
I can recognize her
or not. *giggles* Others would include Horie Yui but damn do I even need to explain
how much her voice resonates within fans ourselves I can't even.
TOP SERIES BY GENRE
This is technically staple for this post so it's excluded out of the Q&A,
but I might as well rank some of the shows I watch based on genre... which I'm
weak at identifying so with the help of
MyAnimeList I've
classified them and sorted them out accordingly, as follows:
(*As of 2023)
ACTION | 1️⃣ BLEACH |
---|---|
2️⃣ Bungou Stray Dogs | |
3️⃣ Shakugan no Shana |
I have real strict requirements with respect to action series, and I'm sorry
about that, but the idea that there is human extension of power AND the main
weapon of choice is a
katana TOTALLY
got me when I started reading and watching "BLEACH" all those years ago, and
competing franchises do not even come close. (I do not include the drag that
is filler arcs for this analysis) But many of those I watch today are also due
to this, whether it is through tools or just made up from magic or whatever
phenomenon. Other than that, I will appreciate a unique worldview as seen from
"Bungou Stray Dogs" and how they use literary authors of the past century as
material (so they don't get copyright infringement lol), and to a smaller
extent proper plot progression because who cares about never-ending series I
can't even stand how long the "Attack on Titan" series took to conclude.
Some of these were even used in my personal light novel project "A Pack of
Life"; The duel setting was based on "Shakugan no Shana" portals which stop
time all while letting the action carry on within the space, which I thought
was really cool. "Kekkaishi" also deserves a worthy mention because of how
much physics they can go with just the barriers alone before they had to use
OP stuff, to be frank.
COMEDY | 1️⃣ Chio-chan no Tsuugakuro |
---|---|
2️⃣ Komi-san wa, Komyushou desu. | |
3️⃣ Asobi Asobase |
For this though, as you can see the crazy amount of titles I watched from this
genre, you would know that I am more than just a sarcastic individual.
*giggles* So I take my jokes very seriously, but then again it's really
anything floats, I would expect jokes to land properly to not be
disappointing, not to take itself too seriously, and have memorable characters
which at this point can be supplemented by the voice behind so don't mind me
liking "Komi-san" here just because Koga Aoi is main girl (and also it has
great 2000s comedy vibes), or the reverse where I ended up liking the "Asobi
Asobase" main trio just because of the voice actresses and I recall watching
this live through VPN on Abema TV without subtitles, by the way. Those were
great, confusing times. *giggles* "Chio-chan" I would say in summary is the
best balance of all of this it was worth watching time and again always making
me laugh, also cringe if you have seen the girls dance especially on the
livestream special back then with Oozora Naomi and Omigawa Chaki doing it. I
will always remember Ede-chan laughing at the background the whole time I
can't even. *laughs*
Honourable mentions include "JoshiMuda" which is fine but the main girl is a
total idiot which I really don't like along with "Aho Girl" but the rest of
the cast did make up for it.
DRAMA | 1️⃣ Toradora! |
---|---|
2️⃣ Skip to Loafer | |
3️⃣ Yesterday wo Utatte |
I don't think I have ever been a fan of drama series considering I left drama
to watch Anime which has pretty much every other genre out there, but those
who are good tend to hit, starting from "Toradora!" which started it
all. We won't talk about and also I'm not keen on those drama that is
just The Great Depression, so at least some form of comedy or romance or
something must be involved, is my point. Specifically though, those who excel
are also those that make a point on their story, enough to make me cry on of
course more true to live themes like family and romance, but other stuff less
subtle and relatable do work on me too, but don't quote on me there.
"Skip to Loafer" is probably the latest in the lines of not staying too much
for the storytelling but be able to tell stories of all the characters
beautifully, similar to "Yesterday wo Utatte" and it's not because this was
aired when Hanazawa Kana was still single. *silence* Anyways haha, touching
scenes, memorable soundtracks but I think this is to a lesser extent and more
on theme songs (see ending theme songs section for details), and strong plot
twists are what I will look out for to leave an impression.
SLICE OF LIFE | 1️⃣ Acchi Kocchi |
---|---|
2️⃣ Senpai ga Uzai Kouhai no Hanashi | |
3️⃣ Slow Start |
I wonder how I should explain my 2nd favourite genre of Anime to watch in
recent years, purely because they are easier to digest, but less relatable as
I grow up from a high school student to a working adult, so nowadays I just
tend to go for more adult working area slice-of-life stories which are kind of
present these days in contrast to the overwhelming high school setting
everyone seems to be going at which is kind of stale even watching it for a
decade and a half. In this genre though, if chill feels and strong character
types aren't a thing for you to go by, then this might never be for you. From
tsundere cat(?) Tsumiki and Ookubo Rumi is totally not my fuel after this and
"Servant x Service" too lol, to Futaba in "Senpai ga Uzai" just representing
most kids never growing up nowadays I can't even, to even "Slow Start" which
balanced their character developments all around it's actually ironic to
ignore the actual stories that were going on with whatever Eiko-chan is doing.
*giggles*
I would say "Kawaisou" is also a good runner-up on this, once again if there
are memorable characters and a tad bit of comedy infused into it, "Senko-san"
if you can picture the main guy as me, "Koufuku Graffiti" if you are super
into food p*rn, but I can go on forever. Not all topics will hit though, and I
can promise you I have skipped entire seasons of them because their topics are
not of interest to me. What was the girls riding on motorbike one? *laughs*
ROMANCE | 1️⃣ Tsurezure Children |
---|---|
2️⃣ Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun | |
3️⃣ Kimi ni Houkago Insomnia |
Ah, the dream I have never attained in real life. *laughs* Besides being a
great mockery of my single life watching couples come together through various
means and circumstances, it is definitely hard to make them better because of
how unique the circumstances have to be seeing that you know, falling on top
of one another or seeing each other naked isn't exactly exciting for anyone
anymore. (Notice I did not include an "ecchi" genre in here just because, or else "Love Hina" would be a staple) So for
me nowadays at least, the sweeter the main (or secondary) couple(s) can be,
the better, and that is hoping it isn't without heavy dramatization to not
make this a tearjerker.
Otherwise, you would be glad to see that "Tsurezure Children" has unique
stories of many couples up the wall one might as well start with this and I'm
still paying (passively) for the licensed manga till date (though it has
concluded years ago, but I'm taking my time), and that should give you a good
idea of how this genre works in general. "Kaibutsu-kun" takes credit in just
life-changing one's circumstances, teaching the studious girl that one's
soulmate can appear anywhere around them at any time even if he's weird or
just plain handsome (lmao), and I think "KimiSomu" is probably the best in
progression in recent memory. I mean, there's "Tada-kun" which was pretty
impressive for an Anime original, and "Shikimori-san" for a twist in
circumstances each with its own story to tell, and I think this is why I can
never get tired of them yet.
I would also argue that most of the (not Studio Ghibli) Anime movies I watch
are even more worthy of praise for this genre along haha why do I watch only
those movies though? *giggles*
MYSTERY | 1️⃣ Subete ga F ni Naru |
---|---|
2️⃣ Kuroshitsuji | |
3️⃣ UN-GO |
Now we come to the minority stuff I watch in genre, because honestly speaking?
Mystery series are hard to stand on its own and still be good, or else every
action series or even "ACCA" will make of a good mystery. Still, I think that
having plot twists and stuff is vital for such a genre even if I would expect
a more proper resolution even if you don't lead me on anything because I'm not
that smart and you can make me confused until halfway through the series, I'm
totally fine with that.
I did not get the mystery on "F in Naru" but damn is it intriguing thinking
about how that can work back then (spoiler alert there was enough years for
the same woman locked in the room to be replaced), and "UN-GO" I would argue
is kind of cheating with this genre and that's why I prefer not to talk about
this along with the fantasy genre (which we will cover later) since one will
never understand enough to be a
great detective
at any point and the solution can just be magic for all I know which is cringe
in my opinion. Point is, the more true to life for the plot the better, which
makes London history-based series "Kuroshitsuji" earn a spot even if there are
many more I can mention, and despite having a demon on our hands. *giggles*
There are other interesting plots for mystery like "TanMoshi" with the
recollection dump and "GREAT PRETENDER" if you like to be in crime yet know of
nothing every single moment.
I think I'm just too dumb to understand mystery series lmao
FANTASY | 1️⃣ Majo no Tabitabi |
---|---|
2️⃣ Houseki no Kuni | |
3️⃣ Nagi no Asu Kara |
For this? I have to say, I don't have much requirements, and it's really due
to unique circumstances. The more unique the better, and hopefully not on
generic fantasy stuff like magic and magic though I would argue "MajoTabi"
taking up this spot is precisely because it is done so well with an
interesting worldview and immersive storytelling though I was told that the
original work was more depressing, like Elaina would eventually be so poor she
has to work on the streets. So yeah, please more sequels hehe, and apart from
this exception, I will take
no
alternative world
plots where someone suddenly appears in another world for some reason
(though "BLEACH" is technically one so welp), and I chose "Houseki no Kuni"
because damn is the idea of the moon people such a intriguing thing the
stellar cast pales in contrast to the story (or not hehe emo Mikakoshi is
*chef's kiss*), and I think many people agree with "NagiAsu" on their
storytelling and worldview of sea people which I appreciate.
In summary, I would like to think that, many of
the international audience will think very otherwise form my thoughts,
that maybe, just maybe, I'm more aligned with the Japanese audience but haha
that's also unlikely since I browse through Japanese forums too and I see
polarizing opinions, but yeah, I like to have different opinions, things like
soft appeal and impactful minor scenes; I like that I always will have a niche
opinion wherever I go but no one to talk to. *silence*
MOVING ON!!
THE ANIME GOODS
Though I told myself these aren't real and it's better to support 3D girls
then spend money on 2D girls lol that was long ago, but in years going
forward and to not fill up my room, I would wish to buy some Anime goods in
remembrance of those shows I have watched and liked. That is the ideal,
something that every show has sold in common... the only thing I knew about
are badges, so maybe I will start from that soon enough of whenever I want
to drag myself to Japan to buy them since it's hard to buy them for the vast
15 years of shows online. *giggles*
So far though? You may have known some of them here and there, and it's mostly for "BLEACH" so far. From a large calendar to karuta cards, these are still exceptions to the rule for being the most impactful series I have watched thus far, so they deserve some form of repayment. But I might be extending soon, as said above I am trying to find a common item to buy that does not take up space (it is the digital age after all), so we shall see how that goes moving forward.
This shall be it! May I watch many more years of Anime and love the dynamic of
real people voicing behind more ideal characters (lol) and NEVER like the
movie industry or Netflix or whatever but we shall see, I'm only starting even
though it has been 15 years already. I mean, I can go on forever talking about
the stuff I like about all the Anime I watch but why would I? Maybe it's time
for you to experience it for yourself. *thumbs up*
P.S. Oh by the way, my Q&A did not include ranking or even rating of Anime
characters because not only is it unimportant to me (though when I started I
thought
Kushieda Minori
and
Narusegawa Naru
were my love hehe but turns out I just like
Hocchan
more *dabs*), I also judge shows now based on the voices behind them. But
yeah, I do like Anime characters within their shows, so you can't exactly ask
me to rank them-
Urahara Kisuke. *giggles*
P.P.S. ROLEPLAY TIME!! Haha because of my love for the voices behind Japanese
animation, here is some (just some) of the role(s) I can imagine they would be
involved in my life:
- A father who sounded like Hayami Show (or Miki Shinichirou)
-
A mother who sounded like[I have no idea haha, never had that desire] - An elder sister who sounded like Toyosaki Aki
-
A younger sister who
sounded likeis Natsukawa Shiina (hehe) - A long time friend who sounded like Asakura Momo
-
A (jealous) girlfriend
who sounded likeKoga Aoi (hehehehe) - A high school classmate who sounded like Amamiya Sora whom I never had the courage to confess to because she's perfect
-
A woman whom which I might share a physically intimate relationship with
who sounded likeKouno Marika (umph) - A childhood friend who sounded like Nagae Rika (or Kanno Mai)
... Not going to describe more because you can catch up on The Fanfiction
series in this very blog to find out if most of them were true. *giggles*
I'm done!