Kill la Kill

Chitoge Versus Satsuki

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A Vote for Chitoge Kirisaki

Once upon a time, there was a cute blonde girl with pink-highlights in her hair (yes, I know, I’m kind of fixated on the pink highlights). One day, she was walking alone in the forest when a tall young woman with large eyebrows appeared at the top of a small cottage, shouting at the pigs she was tending.

The cute blonde girl, named Chitoge, stood in horror as she watched a veritable verbal laceration of the innocent pigs by the virulent eyebrows girl, whose name was Satsuki.

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Top Winter 2014 Anime: Final Ratings

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The Winter 2014 season has come to a close, and so it’s time to assess the shows that I watched, rate them and rank them. What follows is are short reviews and rating on a scale of 1-10 of the shows that I watched during the winter 2014 season. Overall, the season was one of the least impressive I’ve seen, although it did has a few shows I genuinely enjoyed.

Here’s the format I’ll be following. I will be going through the list of shows I’ve been watching in ranked order. Each show will be given a rating out of 10, as well as a short review and any awards the show won (Best Animation, Best Comedy, etc.).

Tiered rankings will be found here, and full series reviews for the shows that need them can be found on the Reviewed Anime List, as well as on the front page of the blog as I post them.

Let’s get started!

Kagari Ayaka

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Winter 2014 Midseason Report

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While I’ve only been watching simulcasted anime for three seasons, the Winter 2014 season is probably the weakest I’ve seen. This is mostly due to a number of very inconsistent shows. I’ve seen batches of shows that were consistently excellent or consistently mediocre or consistently bad, but Winter 2014 has brought many shows that just can’t make up their mind if they want to be good, bad or just run-of-the-mill. It’s a frustrating phenomenon, which makes those shows that are consistently good much more valuable to us viewers. So, which shows are falling more on the good side than on the bad? Read on to find out. Here’s a hint:

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Top Anime Fall 2013 Season: Keepers and Drops

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The fall season is roaring up on us, with a ton of anime premiering in the next couple days, so here’s your quick and easy guide to the best anime of Fall 2013! Shows are still being added as we speak, so the list should grow over time. If you need links to shows, head over to my current watchlist page.

Nagi no Asukara Poster

Keepers:

  • Golden Time
    • From the author of Toradora!, Golden Time has Yuyuko Takemiya’s fingerprints all over it. Instantly likable, and notable for its setting at a university (not a high school!), the first episode set up played no tricks. It’s not a guessing game what this anime is going to be about, but the fun will be watching the story unfold. High expectations and recommended watch. Golden Time Poster
  • Beyond the Boundary
    • The dark-fantasy anime from KyoAni had a strong first episode, setting up the main characters as likable and fun to watch. As expected, the animation quality is phenomenal and the plot interesting, at the very least. Beyond the Boundary is a recommended watch.
  • Kill la Kill
    • The novelty of this show alone is enough to keep me watching. Kill la Kill is like no anime I’ve seen recently and approaches FLCL levels of insanity. Fortunately, however, it seems be a little bit more lucid that FLCL, with a plot that can actually be followed. For now, it’s a recommended watch because you’ve probably never seen anything like it. Also, it reminds me of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, for some reason.
  • Nagi no Asukara
    • Was it a foregone conclusion that Nagi no Asukara would end up here? Well, not exactly, but pretty close to that. The animation is superb, maybe the best I’ve ever seen. It is just absolutely beautiful to watch. The story has already raised some interesting questions and character relations, and has the potential to go pretty much wherever it wants. Overall, the sheer beauty of it all is the overwhelming charm, but I expect great things from the story. Nagi no Asukara is a recommended watch.
  • White Album 2
    • No, you don’t need to have seen White Album to understand what’s going on, and that’s a good thing. I was hugely impressed by the first 3 minutes of the episode, and continued to enjoy it through the end. I’m always a sucker for good music as an important part of the story & I especially appreciated the portrayal of music bringing people together. Expecting at least one major cry fest by the end. White Album 2 is a recommended watch and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

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