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Well, I can count at least twenty new shows I watched enough of to feel like I can say something about them. This was a dense year. But, you know. This isn't ALL anime of 2018. This is the best. So, without further lollygagging... 5) Hisone to Maso-tan The Netflix delay meant I didn't see this one until pretty late, but I'm glad I did. IBO left me interested in checking out more of Mari Okada's work, and it really paid off. The cast is likable, the romances work, the jokes land, and when it raises the stakes, you actually care enough about the characters for them to matter. Add in the charming art style and an ED that makes me think of tuning into a random radio station late at night on a long drive in the best way, and it manages to make the list, despite a lot of competition. 4) Sword Art Online Alternative Gale Gun Online A bunch of likable complete lunatics commit grotesque violence on complete strangers and each other! ...But it's all VR, so it's okay. GGO was funny, reasonably paced, and had some top shelf action scenes. It wasn't the deepest, but it also didn't outstay its welcome and I liked all of the leads, which is a pretty decent place for a show to be. Really, though, the Pitohui massacre scene was what got it the spot. Nothing quite like seeing a woman smile as she launches a head flying to make your heart skip a beat. 3) Megalobox Smooth soundtrack, old school style, and a protagonist who makes Spike's deathwish feel like a mild death yen? Yeah, that's a hook. Megalobox never quite made that step to greatness, but it delivered a solid, engaging story week to week, with commentary on the same issues that made the original Joe so famous in the first place, and hits that made you wince. 2) A Place Further than the Universe What can I say that hasn't been said? I'm not much for the four-ish girls doing things genre, but everyone's praise made me check this one out, and the comedy kept me coming back. All the characters, even minor ones, are engaging and distinct, the emotional beats are properly built up and paid off, the animation is gorgeous, and the premise is brilliant. Instead of feeling like you were just goofing off with the core cast, every episode made steps towards a goal that you were invested in as a viewer. And it even had the confidence to have the biggest emotional payoff before the final episode! I'm not arguing with anyone who places it in first. 1) SSSS Gridman It's just I like giant monster fights. Yes, everyone talks about how this show is so much more, and it is, how the comedy and drama and characterization and portrayal of depression are so good, how the audio dramas and background events mean that even bit players like Rikka's mom and Akko feel like interesting people, but let's be clear. This is still a show where Hyper Agent Gridman beats the ever loving poo poo out of a kaiju (almost) every week, and it's good at that too. After so much disappointment with the year's giant monster combat, I needed that. Honorable mentions (This is going to be a long list) Hinamatsuri. A good adaptation, but it lost enough from the manga that I can't feel comfortable putting it in the top five. Still hilarious, of course, and well worth watching, but losing most of Hina's best scenes and arcs does hurt when she's, you know, the title character. Aggretsuko: Who doesn't like bitter, jaded office lady pandas? Probably communists. But remember, she's a red panda, so there's something for them too. The jokes land, the characters are relatable, and nothing wears out its welcome. Rascal does not dream of bunnygirl senpai: Another good cast, great banter, and Mai manages to both be entirely out of our Rascal's league while being a perfect match. The first arcs were better fleshed out than the later ones, but even at the end, the show was pretty good. Mr. Tonegawa's Middle Mangement Blues: It's all been said, but yeah. This was fun. Just less fun when it didn't have the extra layer of planning for deathtraps. Devilman Crybaby: This post is getting long, so I'll just note that Doomguy and Devilman have similar taste in entertainment. I'm not saying they're the same guy, but... FLCL Progressive: I know. I know. It's definitely not as good as the original, it's uneven, the ending isn't as good as the episode five setup for it, but there's actually something here, and I'll defend the show if I have to. The main character's arc is a nice balance to Naota's, the shifting styles sometimes really work, and in general it felt like there was a really solid show in here somewhere that didn't quite come together. I'd still give it a seven. Good year for anime, I think.
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Dec 29, 2018 03:25
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Spiritus Nox posted:This but unironically I'm going to go out on a limb and say the murders were wrong. And Akane agrees with me.
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Jan 2, 2019 04:37
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Stairmaster posted:What does the winner get anyways Gundam Fight International Regulations Finals supplementary rule 3: The final winner of the Battle Royale will be awarded the title "Gundam of Gundams."
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Jan 2, 2019 08:11
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Wark Say posted:It's a hella fun show, and there were some neat posts with interesting speculation, but a lot of the latter pages in the thread are just genuinely unfun. I'd say it was fine until the end, when people started posting for the show that actively contradicted its core themes and the actual evidence on screen in favor of... something.
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Jan 2, 2019 09:09
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Hitlersaurus Christ posted:
Although I voted for it in the other thread, I'd say I don't regret watching it, especially because it put me in a mood to check out other mech anime. If you go in with the knowledge it falls apart and maybe bail after episode 15, I think it might be still be worth checking out if you were planning to watch it already. One of the things that made Franxx so frustrating is that, as I said in the other thread, there were times it really worked. Most of the time, a bad show just fucks up every which way it can, but Franxx had episodes with absolutely gorgeous directing, and even when it was actively on fire, there were moments that, in a better show, would have been highlights. It's an odd one.
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Jan 10, 2019 21:21
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Meme Emulator posted:
Odds on bet you'll like it. You know, looking back, we should have seen this year being an absolute monster coming from the start. When the first show out of the gate is A Place Further than the Universe, everybody else really had to up their game.
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Jan 14, 2019 09:43
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Gridman and A Place Further than the Universe as the top 2. As it should be. Also, man. looks like I'm second only to Snooze in Trigger Corner depth. Pretty far from the main clusters, but it's not outright lonely.
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Jan 15, 2019 01:38
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Nanigans posted:I’m halfway through Hinamatsuri. Can the show just be about Anzu? And Nitta? And Hitomi? Anyone but Hina. See, after reading the manga to date, seeing things like this make me sad, because manga Hina is amazing. Especially post timeskip, but even before then, she has a ton of great bits where her complete lack of fucks given can come into play. Unfortunately, most of the best Hina stories were cut from the anime (as were the best Hitomi scenes, but Hitomi pretty much just has best scenes, so you notice less.) Which basically means I get why you don't like Hina, but Hina is great, and it's a shame the reasons Hina is great mostly aren't in the anime.
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Jan 15, 2019 04:48
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