This is my second post describing the anime I have watched. I will describe some of the anime I have watched in the past year, as well as some of the anime I am watching right now. Note that I will be giving ratings to some of the anime I have watched. This will NOT include anime which have never been released outside of East and Southeast Asia in some way, shape or form. With one exception, I will only talk about anime with full-length episodes.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I only started watching simulcasts in July of last year. For Summer 2015, I watched three simulcasts, consisting of three full-length episode series. For Autumn/Fall 2015, I initially watched six simulcasts, although that eventually went down to two (the only simulcasts I watched to the end were the two full-length episode series I watched that season). For Winter 2016, I watched four simulcasts, with one full-length episode series (which I later dropped) and three shorts. As of now, I’m watching five full-length episode series and one short.
The rating system I will use is a letter-grade system. Unlike many people (presumably Americans, because apparently there a 60/100 is the passing mark, whereas it is 50/100 where I live), who equate a D with a 6/10, I tend to associate a D with a 5/10 rating. I also have ratings higher than A (unlike many people), so the value of an A given here is lower than that of other people. The letter grades go as follows: G, F, E, D, C, B, A, S, P. The grades from D to S can also have plus and minus modifiers. The meaning of the grades are listed below:
- A “G” grade means that I found the anime terrible (actually, “terrible” would be an understatement). I only reserve this grade to anime which has obvious errors in things like animation, music and voice acting (e.g. “melting” animation, excessive amounts of visual errors such as omitting faces, music which is not only painful to hear, but extremely loud or extremely soft in comparison to sound effects or character voices, and inconsistent or inappropriate voices). Note that the criteria I listed alone is not enough to “earn” this grade, but is “necessary” for this grade to be awarded.
- An “F” grade also means that I found the anime terrible. Only this time, it’s more subjective criteria that led me to this grade. The difference between this and an “E” grade is that for an “F” grade I would not be able to understand why people would consider it “good”.
- An “E” grade is like above, however, I can find some merit from a different point of view. The “G”, “F” and “E” grades represent scores below 5/10.
- A “D” grade means that I disliked the anime, and found it rather poor, but I also found some good points in it. This is equivalent to a 5/10.
- A “C” grade means that I did not enjoy the anime, but saw significant good points about it. This is equivalent to a 6/10.
- A “B” grade means that I liked the anime, but I was bothered by many things about it. This is equivalent to a 7/10.
- An “A” grade means that I liked and enjoyed the anime, and found it good overall. This does not mean I found it flawless; there would be some significant flaws for this grade (note that I consider “no plot” to be a significant flaw, hence I never award CGDCT shows without plot anything higher than an “A+”). This is equivalent to an 8/10.
- An “S” grade means that I absolutely enjoyed the anime, and found few or no flaws. This is equivalent to a 9/10. I don’t use this grade as often.
- I have never awarded the “P” grade. It means that I consider the anime “as perfect as it can be”, and not only represents something which is objectively excellent, but something that conforms to one of my ideas for an ideal story. This is equivalent to a 10/10.
These ratings simply refer to my preferences. I make no claims that these ratings can determine how YOU will see these anime as. For brevity, I will not elaborate on my ratings. Note the lack of ratings lower than B in the list; usually if it is ranked C or lower, I usually end up dropping it halfway or something like that (this was the case with one anime I watched in the winter season).
Anime I watched which aired before April 2015
Winter 2011:
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
My rating: S-
Original anime, now part of Manga Time Kirara
My thoughts: This anime made quite an impact for me. As a fan of magical girl shows, it made me think about what these girls are actually fighting. Are they even suited for the job? After all, magical girls can die while fighting whatever they’re fighting. Anyway, I thought it was quite good.
Summer 2011:
YuruYuri
My rating: A
Based on the manga by Namori
My thoughts: Poor Akari. Can’t get any screentime. Also, Chinatsu forcibly kissing Akari.
Summer 2012:
YuruYuri♪♪
My rating: A
Second season of YuruYuri
Spring 2013:
Yuyushiki
My rating: B+
Based on the manga by Komata Mikami
My thoughts: Reminds me of YuruYuri (if only because Rumi Ōkubo (Yuzuko) and Minami Tsuda (Yui) play main characters in both anime (Chinatsu and Yui, respectively, in YuruYuri)).
Summer 2013:
Il Sole Penetra le Illusioni: Daybreak Illusion
My rating: B
Original anime
My thoughts: People have compared this to Puella Magi Madoka Magica, based on its shared dark themes. However, most of the similarities end there. For starters, given the differences in the definition of “magical girl” between Japan and the West, the Japanese do not even consider this “magical girl” (then again, the Japanese also do not consider Yuki Yuna Is a Hero “magical girl” either). From what I’ve heard, the original story was conceived well before Puella Magi Madoka Magica aired, so I believe accusations of “rip-off” are unfounded. As for what I think about it, I thought that another season was warranted to explain everything.
Kiniro Mosaic
My rating: A
Based on the manga by Yui Hara
My thoughts: I absolutely adore Yui Hara’s artstyle! Also, I like the English. Also, I like Isami (if only because she’s voiced by Yukari Tamura).
Love Lab
My rating: A-
Based on the manga by Ruri Miyahara
My thoughts: So the student council president keeps a dakimakura in the student council room…
Winter 2014:
Engaged to the Unidentified
My rating: A
Based on the manga by Cherry Arai
My thoughts: So… no one noticed that the little sister of Kobeni’s fiancé really doesn’t belong in high school? Yes, I was as amazed as Kobeni was when she transferred in. Also, I like Benio. Especially her siscon tendencies.
Sakura Trick
My rating: A-
Based on the manga by Tachi
My thoughts: Two kisses per episode. Two kisses between girls per episode. Yep, this is a yuri anime alright. It even has more yuri than YuruYuri. Also, Haruka (Takayama) is voiced by Haruka (Tomatsu). Yū (Sonoda) voiced by Yuka (Iguchi) is close enough.
Spring 2014:
Is the Order a Rabbit?
My rating: A
Based on the manga by Koi
My thoughts: Wow… Cocoa really does have a sister complex. She sees Chino (and Maya, and Megu) as her little sisters. On the other hand, is that a real gun? Being used by a high school girl? It’s probably a toy, though. I mean, no sane government would allow a high school student to carry guns, right?
Summer 2014:
Hanayamata
My rating: S-
Based on the manga by Sō Hamayumiba
My thoughts: This would have to be one of my favourite Manga Time Kirara anime. To see Naru grow out of her shell as part of becoming a yosakoi dancer… Also, is “Fountainstand” an actual last name?
Autumn/Fall 2014:
SHIROBAKO
My rating: S
Original anime (2-cour)
My thoughts: I absolutely enjoyed this. I’m hoping for a sequel (they had planned 50 episodes, but had to cut it down to 24). After watching this, I now know how anime is made and the hell these people go through to put out something we can watch.
Yuki Yuna Is a Hero
My rating: S-
Original anime
My thoughts: In many ways this is comparable to Puella Magi Madoka Magica. But instead of having deaths left, right and centre, you have the girls… I’ll leave it to you to find out. Anyway, I enjoyed this anime.
Winter 2015:
Gourmet Girl Graffiti
My rating: B+
Based on the manga by Makoto Kawai
My thoughts: I’m hungry. Maybe I should eat that food in front of me. Oh, wait, that’s my computer monitor. Anyway, this is about cooking, with a real emphasis on the food itself (and how the girls eat them).
Spring 2015:
Hello! Kiniro Mosaic
My rating: A
Second season of Kiniro Mosaic
Summer 2015:
Castle Town Dandelion
My rating: B+
Based on the manga by Ayumu Kasuga
My thoughts: So each of the siblings has a particular power. Should be interesting. Akane is very shy, and the thousands of cameras installed to monitor the siblings aren’t helping. I thought there was maybe a bit too much fanservice in this anime.
School-Live!
My rating: A+
Based on the manga by Norimitsu Kaihō of Nitro+ (illustrated by Sadoru Chiba)
My thoughts: I thought this anime would be better, but, it deviated from the manga quite a bit (not to mention some of the filler). Anyway, I won’t tell you what it actually is about; find that out for yourself.
Seiyu’s Life!
My rating: A+
Based on the manga by Masumi Asano (who is also a voice actress)
My thoughts: Wow, being a voice actor is tough… I feel for Futaba, though. Anyway, this is a perspective into the Japanese voice acting industry, just like SHIROBAKO was a perspective into the anime industry. As such, I quite liked it.
Wakaba*Girl
My rating: A
Based on the manga by Yui Hara
My thoughts: This is my sole exception to talking only about full-length episode anime; this is a short. It’s only a short (I think) because only one volume has been released and Hara isn’t working on it anymore (as of now she’s only focusing on Kiniro Mosaic). Anyway, does Wakaba even realise what a “gyaru” is? And she has fulfilled her dream (namely, of becoming a high school girl). Anyway, I liked it.
Autumn/Fall 2015:
Is the Order a Rabbit??
My rating: A
Second season of Is the Order a Rabbit?
My thoughts: Finally, I get to see Mocha, in all her siscon glory. She’s basically an older version of her younger sister Cocoa, including being sidetracked by rabbits.
YuruYuri San☆Hai!
My rating: A
Third season of YuruYuri
My thoughts: I felt the approach in this season was different from the first two seasons. It felt more like a healing anime rather than having the comedy of the first two season. Regardless, it did not reduce the quality. So Akari’s hair buns are her life force? Or something? And Chinatsu gets a taste of her own medicine (after Akari got a bump on the head).
That is all I’ve watched to completion (other than shorts, stuff from before 2011, and stuff which was never released in the West). At the moment, the entries in my backlog I’m trying to complete are Non Non Biyori (and its second season), and Locodol.
As for the simulcasts I’m currently watching, they are (apart from the one short):
- Anne Happy (about a group of girls with specific misfortunes)
- Flying Witch (about a young witch moving to live with her relatives in Aomori prefecture; a side note is that one of the voice actresses, Shiori Mikami, is from Aomori)
- Haifuri (I did not expect what happened in the first episode)
- Kumamiko (so Machi wants to go to high school in the city, despite living in the country all her life? Her guardian… bear… on the other hand…)
- Three Leaves, Three Colors (about three girls with wildly different personalities)
Anyway, that’s all. I should get to work on Innocence Seekers soon.
P.S. Happy birthday to Shizuku Minami of Sakura Trick. Also, it is Manami Numakura’s birthday today; she’s now 28.