So finally got around to this. I've been wanting to do some longer reviews for these shows but never got around to it.
1.
Fate/Zero- Season 2
This was a masterpiece. There were some flaws near the end mainly due to some storylines being a bit more truncated than they should have been, however so much of this was beyond fantastic. This is the best work Ufotable has done and you can tell through every episode that they put everything they had in it. The characters are outstanding from the darker servants such as Caster to the more emotionless Kirei. Rider is a true bro and an amazing character from start to finish. Each character has their own story and background and the show by and large did justice by its large cast. The juggling of such a large cast can be fairly hard but Urobuchi does a masterful job not only developing these characters but making sure that each feels unique.
I would first like to praise the writing in the show. Although it's merely an adaptation from the novel by Urobuchi, that writing shines through. I've seen so many adaptations butchered that I should give praise when it's done correctly. Urobuchi did a fantastic job in the Type-Moon universe and his writing completely overshadows Nasu. Urobuchi is capable of telling a story of not only tragedy but redemption and his work in the novels beat out Madoka. While again, certain things had to be truncated for the television series, Ufotable did a fairly good job with the time allotted to them. Urobuchi took Nasu's world and wove a narrative that intermingles so many emotions on a grand scale.
The directing was sublime and I can't give it high enough praise. The camera shots in some of the later episodes such as 'the church scene' are some of the best I've ever seen. Certain scenes are handled amazingly well such as Caster's introduction where scenes are allowed to linger the appropriate time. Aoki did a great job handling everything and even let the newbies at Ufotable have a shot at the penultimate episode. The show as a whole oozes atmosphere due to the color palette and lighting. The backgrounds in particular are great and bring a strong sense of location to the show. The action scenes are stellar and really stand out. Episode 4 set the standard for action in the show and it was a fairly high bar to maintain. Speaking of animation as a whole, the animators did a job that they can be proud of. Even the CG for the most part, except for the aerial battle and the car gif, was handled extremely well such as in regards to Berserker.
There is the soundtrack by Yuki Kaijiura that is a perfect fit. She really outdoes herself and the music really highlights the tragic undertones of the show. The booming sound that she brings is a really great addition to the show.
The soundtrack by itself is a pleasure to listen to. Visuals by itself can't do all the heavy lifting in a show and Kaijiura picks up the slack.
If there ever was a show in the past few years I could recommend whole-heartedly to my friends who are either starting anime or getting back into it, this would be the show. No hesitation when I say this is the best show that has come out in years.
2.
Tsuritama
This was another masterful show. Nakamura redeemed himself fully after the shitfest that was
C – Control – The Money and Soul of Possibility. So many things to praise about the show. There are the outstanding visuals with such a gorgeous color palette and even chokefull of sakuga moments. The show really feels alive at times and brings a sort of charm that makes a person fall in love with the show. The soundtrack also is a blast to listen to.
There are the characters, all of whom are outstanding. Each has a very well developed story arc with payoff moments. By the end of the show, the characters have changed and the audience has watched as the characters have cried and struggled. At the end, the cast are strong friends and Nakamura makes the audience feel like they're a part of the gang.
The premise itself sounds pretty boring. A show about fishing right? Nakamura somehow makes it a grand adventure with danger and really raises the stakes. It becomes something much more than the premise leads on and really becomes an epic at the end.
The show never feels like its dragging on and after episode 3, is a fantastic ride through and through. It's a show that not only has character but heart.
3.
Kokoro Connect
For a show that looks so generic on multiple levels, it turned out to be truly something exceptional. While other shows such as
Ano Natsu de Matteru seemed to delve ever deeper into the murky waters of drama, Kokoro handles it in a superior manner. It might become a focus on the show, it however never remains so.
The core cast other than Taichi also develop and become stronger as characters. That said, Taichi is the major weak link in the show due to a couple of reasons. The first is that Taichi never really breaks down and remains for the most part, this impassive observer. This is a big problem for the main lead. The other is that Taichi isn't really analyzed in any deep manner unlike the rest of the cast. Other members of the cast do note this, however nothing is really done on the author's part to correct this. The other characters though are pretty fantastic especially Inaba. She really brings the show to life in later episodes and is a great character all on her own.
The animation and visuals aren't particularly impressive but they're not bad either. The artstyle itself is also pretty generic. Team Neko though does a pretty good job of handling the music in the OPs and EDs.
The strength of the show lies in its writing and the show does a fantastic job balancing both the darker moments but also the lighter ones and knows how to use both appropriately. It's a show all about the characters and it's a damn good one at that.
4.
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
This was another romance show that was handled exceptionally well. The directing was topnotch for this. The transition shots are handled really well at times and even the storyboarding is used appropriately to play with perceptions. The visuals are great and the show has a really lively artstyle that makes it fun to watch.
The characters are all a blast to watch. Natsume is too good for the likes of mortals. How many girls do you know who can be classy after throwing up? Huh? All the characters though really are fun and there is a strong group dynamic that makes everything better. The audience also does get a strong sense of the core relationships.
That said, the show felt like it was spinning its wheels near the end. While it never really got bogged down in drama, it just felt like it wasn't progressing at an appropriate speed. Also there were some pretty big background stuff that was left unresolved, mainly in regards to Haru.
That said, I normally don't watch shoujo but this was great. I might make a more pointed effort if there are more shows of this caliber in the genre
.
5.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
This has just been flat out fun to watch. While the show is obviously on a low budget, David Production has used every cent to create a show that is a blast to watch. The plentiful use of manga inserts throughout the OP and the show itself also serve to remind you about the manga source. It feels very 80's in execution but that sure as hell isn't a negative. The characters are very old school in regards to that whole black and white morality and it's actually kinda refreshing to see a villain that is completely unafraid to be a villain purely for kicks.
The second arc, which was just starting at the end of 2012 though, is where the gold is at. Joseph in three episodes managed to completely outdo JoJo.
All in all, it's a very puristic show which is unashamed of its roots and is a great show to lay back and watch.
6.
Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita-
This was a great black comedy. The jokes are on point and the show can be so over the top while still maintaining that bit of social commentary. The artstyle, mainly in regards to the coloring is wonderful and brings a sort of uniqueness to the show. Watashi is a great female lead. I love sarcastic and cynical leads and she was phenomenal at it.
That said, the show does have some pacing problems in the middle but the early and final episodes are very strong. I also like the non-chronological aspect of the episodes themselves.
-Honorable Mentions-
Hyouka-
The reason this show didn't make it on the list is primarily for two reasons. The first is the pacing. Parts of the show can really drag and are for the most part, unnecessarily long. A perfect example is the film arc where the point of the arc is dragged on for far too long. The second is that of the mysteries themselves in that they are so amazingly mundane that it actually becomes annoying. The show also wastes too much time analyzing the mysteries so the mysteries themselves ultimately should be judged with the rest of the show. In short, both of these can really make the show be a bore at times.
That said, it's also a fantastic character study piece and does an excellent job bisecting Oreki, Satoshi, and Mayaka. There is some real character progression over the course of the show and some of the themes, and particularly messages, in the show are really fascinating to study.
The visuals are also beyond topnotch. Truly. This is one of the most gorgeous television shows I've ever seen. The detail is comparable to a movie or OVA not only some of the time but most of it.
Mayaka would be better though if she was fat. Gobble that chocolate you pig.
Nekomonogatari-
This was another fun show. It didn't have any particularly outstanding message or really any, but the characters are so much fun.
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This part of my post is dedicated to two shows, SAO and Eureka Seven AO. Both are shitstains on my memory and I want to record that. SAO has been written up multiple times as to why it's an awful show so I'll just leave it at that.
If only the animation and visual direction was matched by the writing.
Now as for AO, this is the biggest fuck you I've gotten from a writer since playing the Mass Effect 3 endings. The show started off with such promise. The first three episodes looked to live up to the legacy of the original series. They had fantastic animation, good music, seemingly good characters, and solid animation.
Hell even some of the later episodes all the way through roughly 14 seemed solid enough. Not exceptional but solid. There seemed to be an underlying political message and some sort of good overarching narrative. We even got some more art from the fantastic Kenichi Yoshida in ep. 13, who dearly miss. He really needs to do more character designs on shows.
Then the shitty writing kicked in. I don't know who to blame, either Aikawa or Kyoda. Kyoda was responsible for the awful E7 movie but Aikawa is also responsible for some serious stinkers. Either way, oh boy. They created a script that would make either Lindelof or Mac Walters proud. Speculation for everyone indeed. They created a show that not only retconned large parts of the original but also served to undermine the main message of the original. The writing almost seemed to deliberately spite fans of the original. It's bad enough they had time travel that wasn't handled anywhere near appropriately enough, they also had retcon cannons and godlike individuals running around. There are subplots that are brought up and promptly dropped.
The characters themselves also deserve to have an axe taken through them. We have the shitty Truth. What is Truth? I don't give a shit. There is Naru who is seemingly important then promptly dropped and forgotten about. We have Elena, who had one of the most anticlimatic buildups I've seen in awhile. Ao is certainly better than early Renton and Ivica is a less annoying Holland but both are shallow reflections compared to their E7 counterparts. Really none of the characters had good writing attached to them.
Fuck the writers involved with this damn mess. I never want another sequel from BONES ever again. They screwed up once with DtB and they somehow had a bigger fuckup with AO. I'm done son. Duckroll did an aptly good summing up this pile of dog shit.
Episode 22 (END?)
Terrible. Awful. Disrespectful. Insulting. Lame. Dumb. Pitiful. There are so many ways to describe this episode, but ultimately all those descriptions can be labeled on the show in general. It is clear now that there was always a plan for E7AO. It was just an awful plan, written in a way which would never be satisfying, and going in directions which served no purpose.
- Every single major character development in the show is pointless
- Every single subplot in the show leads to a dead end which gets negated
- Every single faction in the show is inconsequential
- Every single threat in the show does not build up to anything
- Nothing the characters have learned in 22 episodes mattered in the end
- There is no worthy foe in the entire series
- Nothing in the original Eureka Seven series really matters
- Nothing in Eureka Seven AO really matters
- The entire show was just an excuse to try and milk something out of old fans while attracting a new audience with new characters
- In the end the show never intended to satisfy the old fans nor the new audiences
It's sad, because this episode has some of the best mecha action since ep14 probably, but it's so hard to care because at this point it feels like a few capable animators just furiously jerking off onto their canvas hoping that the cum will cover up the disgraceful piece of work under it. But as their spent seed slowly drips off the canvas, their left standing there with their pants down, holding their limp dick, and their disgrace and shame is visible both on the canvas and on their face.
Fuck this show, and fuck everyone who wasted their time working on it.
The sakuga and music are literally the only thing going for this show. It's a shame too as the soundtrack is phenomenal.
