Tuesday, December 31, 2013

ChuuniJof's Best of 2013

And so we say "sayounara" to another year full of anime. That said, I've always wanted to do a personal best of list, yet never really got to do one for some reason. This year, I've managed to keep myself occupied with the ups and downs of the shows that aired this year, which finally managed to make this list possible. Keep in mind, this is not a best anime of 2013, but more of a personal favorite list which reflects my taste. After much consideration and thinking, I've decided to compile this into a top 11 list. Anyways, here are my picks for the year 2013.



1. VIVIDRED OPERATION




This should come as no surprise that this one managed to be my overall pick from this year. Granted, this is no STRIKE WITCHES, but after a few rewatches, no other anime this year comes close to satisfying my moneeds than VIVIDRED OPERATION. Takamura Kazuhiro once again proves himself to be a competent director with the excellent characters and character-driven story which pretty much run the show. In addition, his character designs combined with A-1 Pictures animation quality as well as the overall tokusatsu vibe that the action scenes provide makes this my overall personal favorite of 2013.



P.S. I love the ass shots in this show sue me.



2. NON NON BIYORI



Talk about a show that brings out the feels in every way possible. NON NON BIYORI manages to add an atmospheric and emotional touch, while bringing about a lot of laughs and silliness to it. Words cannot express how beautiful this show is. A close one this was; despite this, it's my pick for slice-of-life anime of the year.



3. LOVE LIVE



Another excellent idol anime that hits the mark. The shows extremely strong pacing brings out the characters and story in an extremely convincing way, leaving me wanting more. Thankfully, season 2 will bring a lot more to the table.



4. KIN'IRO MOSAIC



This show is nothing but Norwegian butter cookies for the soul. Everything from the jokes to the more sentimental moments leave a smile on my face. Another one of the best slice-of-life shows to come out this year.



5. KYOKAI NO KANATA



And here I thought KyoAni lost some steam. With KYOKAI NO KANATA, KyoAni continues to prove their work as evident in the shows awesome world building elements, dialogue and story-telling. That and the main characters really tickled my fancy.



6. MONOGATARI SEASON 2



This show manages to continue the usual in the third series of the MONOGATARI SERIES (following NISEMONOGATARI.) Yet still manages to go strong at the same time. A prime example of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."



7. KILL LA KILL



Yes people, it's a Studio Trigger anime. Despite this and the fact that it is only halfway done, I've quite enjoyed what I saw with KILL LA KILL. The show is a prime amalgamation of the staffs previous works PANTY AND STOCKING WITH GARTERBELT and TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGAN, yet manages to create something fast pace, fresh and enjoyable.



8. LOVE LAB



Watching this show puts a smile on my face. Great consistent comedy and a fun cast of characters with a lot of great chemistry between them. One of the overlooked gems of the year.



9. GJ-BU



This one sort of fell under the radar for a lot. Yet it's light brand of comedy kept me coming back for more. Another overlooked gem of the year.



10. BOKU WA TOMODACHI GA SUKUNAI NEXT



After a rather decent first season, HAGANAI NEXT finally nailed what it was aiming to do. This show brings out the blunt unapologetic raunchy humor with a lot more consistency, putting it a step above it's predecessor.



11. SENRAN KAGURA



After many years of the mediocrity known as IKKI-TOUSEN (and many of it's endless clones and sequels) we are finally treated to a fanservice/action pandemonium. It's fun, silly, and doesn't take itself too seriously.



BEST OVA'S



RESCUE ME -Nothing but good o' fanservice done right with a little bit of some subtle humor at times. Not exactly hentai, yet it might as well be. And a great one too.



PAPA NO IU KOTO WO KIKINASAI OVA 2 - Another PAPAKIKI that manages to bring out the service as well as the feels. A heartwarming addition to the series.



LITTLE WITCH ACADEMIA - Been wanting to watch this since I've heard of it early this year. Needless to say, I was quite impressed with this when I watched it at Anime Expo 2013. Studio Trigger really unleashed it's magic with this one.



DISAPPOINTMENTS



KOTOURA-SAN - Not a bad anime as the first four episodes of this show were pretty damn solid and great. But then it went off on it's own and deviated from the dramatic show it was trying to be. The ending was good; but still disappointed by the direction it went. Not the underrated gem that we hoped for.



ORE NO IMOUTO SEASON 2 - I had no hope for this series as I hated the first season very much. Despite showing some potential, this show eventually fell even lower than I had expected. As a show that tries to be a character-driven rom-com, this one actually offends my taste.



INFINITE STRATOS 2 - Not much of a disappointment as the fact that it's an IS anime makes it guarantee to suck. I'm disappointed by the fact that it got onto paper in the first place as well as the fact that people still ate this one up.



HOPES FOR 2014



THE IDOLM@STER MOVIE - I may need to wait a while for this one, yet because it's an IDOLM@STER anime, I'm hyped up for this already.



LOVE LIVE SEASON 2 - The first season was excellent and impressive. I expect this season to be just as good, or even better.



CHUUNIBYO DEMO KOI GA SHITAI REN - Given that I loved the first season, I have no doubts that I'll be following this season as well.



KANCOLLE ANIME - Given that I'm slowly becoming a fan, I'm dying to see what KANTAI COLLECTION in anime form would turn out.



STRIKE WITCHES (NEW TV SERIES) - I honestly am not hyped up for this as I was with the last two STRIKE WITCHES anime. Yet, parts of me hopes that this one will be something good. Hopefully Takaaki Suzuki will keep his inflated ego in check, so that this will turn out great.



Overall, I'd say this year was pretty good to say the least. Though I am sort of disappointed that that's all this year had to offer, and I did want a little more. Hopefully next year will have a lot more to offer.
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