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1.)Yagate Kimi Ni Naru/Bloom Into You - Rock solid adaptation of one of my all time favorite manga. Story is a fantastic romance and character drama, taking a very deliberate, careful, and compassionate approach to topics like self-loathing, identity issues, our somewhat arbitrary expectations for what romance is supposed to look or feel like, among others. Has easily my favorite love triangle I've encountered, and doesn't even really have any real trick to it besides "the author loves all three of them very much and tries to be kind to all of them." In terms of the adaptation, it's a step below the raw production chops of Gridman or any of this year's KyoAni shows, but only a step. Has some of the stronger storyboards I've seen all year, and it's been an extremely good year in that regard. Soundtrack sets the mood wonderfully too, and the voice cast low-key turned in one of the strongest overall performances of any show I've seen all year. There's probably shows I'd say are "better" than Bloom was this year, but this one meant the most to me specifically, so there. Smartly written, excellently boarded, relentlessly compassionate - a winner in every regard that matters IMO. 2.) SSSS Gridman - This might be recency bias putting it ahead of Universe, but fuckit. Gridman was my best surprise of the year. Went in expecting a solid action romp, came out with hands down one of the best shows of this year, and the last couple. A feast for the eyes every week, with the best storyboards of the year and I don't think it's even all that close, at least in terms of TV anime. The writing really stole the show, though - fantastically realized characters, wonderfully handled mysteries, and a villain who evoked online predation and radicalization in a way I've simply never seen an anime even seriously attempt before. Really excited to see what's next for both the writer and the director. 3.) A Place Further Than The Universe - Fantastic coming of age drama, Atsuko Ishizuka deserves all of the praise this show won her. Marvelously directed from start to finish, handled its character relationships with a lot of charm and subtlety. Shirase's isolation, grief, and eventual catharsis in particular was a real highlight. The climax of that arc in episode 11 made me want to wail like a baby. 4.) Revue Starlight - Easily the next best storyboards of the year, after Gridman. Told a really compelling and entertaining story about the arbitrary and often unfair nature of competition and performance with a spectacularly well-realized framing device. Great fight scenes, a fantastic and wonderfully-utilized score, really ambitious and impressive production values throughout. 5.) Yama No Susume season 3 - Kind of hard to talk about because most of its story material is exactly what I expected from it, but that material is so fundamentally sturdy and so well delivered that it really doesn't matter. Like everything else in this top 5, it was consistently a real treat for the eyes, especially in the more dramatic material in the show's last third. Aoi and Hinata are just relentlessly charming and endearing leads, and when you pair that with a show that consistently draws a real showcase of upcoming animation talent, you get a show that's always worth returning to. Honorable Mentions: Violet Evergarden: Rather uneven in terms of writing, but consistently visually stunning and had a late episode that made me bawl like nothing else this year has besides Episode 11 of A Place Further Than The Universe, and it would feel rather unfair of me not to at least shout out a show that did something like that to me. Even outside of that, I kind of appreciated VEG's enthusiasm for sappy Hollywood melodrama and dedication to swinging for the emotional fences 100 percent of the time, even when it didn't entirely land. Yuru Camp: The best Iyashkei offering of the year after Yama No Susume. Provided all the therapy of a calming nature walk, sneakily had one of the best soundtracks of the year, and set up a really interesting and charming dynamic between Rin's positively-framed fondness for solitude and Nadeshiko's more outgoing nature. So glad we're getting more. Hinamatsuri: Best comedy of the year by a mile. I don't have anything especially long or flowery to say about it, it was just consistently hysterical. HeroAca 3: Some saggy narrative stretches in each cour keep it from making my top 5, but All Might vs One For All solidified All Might as one of my all time favorite mentor characters, and Deku vs Bakugo round 2 was a real treat too. Best shounen running right now, IMO. GGO: Fun story that managed its tone and utilized its hook very well. Akanesasu Shoujo: Would have been my best surprise of the year if not for Gridman. The first arc is actively kind of rear end and the middle of the show was still only kind of okay IMO, but the last two episodes are, without any irony at all, some of my favorites of the entire year.
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Dec 27, 2018 03:02
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 13:51 |
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Expect My Mom posted:akane shinjo did nothing wrong This but unironically
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Jan 2, 2019 04:09
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Yeah, it's one of those shows where the villain is basically the protagonist of the story.
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Jan 2, 2019 23:39
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Endorph posted:https://enquete.nicovideo.jp/result/170 Pretty strong list, I'd say.
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Jan 13, 2019 17:42
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Little surprised that Antarctica is so much higher on the men's list than the women's. Also interesting seeing Slime sneak on to the women's list.
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Jan 13, 2019 18:48
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Endorph posted:I have an easier time imagining 40-50 year old dudes still using niconico than 40-50 year old women. Ah, yeah, I hadn't thought of this but it makes sense.
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Jan 14, 2019 03:13
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 13:51 |
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I'm a little surprised I'm so deep in Trigger territory, lol. Thought I'd be more in Yuri/Comfy territory. Neat.
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Jan 15, 2019 02:51
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