1. Blood Blockade Battlefront
This was fantastic. Turning New York into a melting pot of monsters, vampires and super humans made for a very interesting setting. The characters were entertaining and the interactions between them were great. Though they didnt delve into their individual backgrounds or how they came to Libra, you could still tell how close knit they were. It was episodic for the most part with the main plot trickling along in the background that I thought came together well in the end. It has amazing visuals, characters, and of course that soundtrack. The only thing that wasnt amazing was the wait for the last episode. Hopefully a second season comes; such a jazzy stylish show deserves an encore.
Also looking forward to whatever Rie Matsumoto directs next.
2. Shirobako
I think anyone who is a bit interested in how an anime is made should at least check this out. I was expecting a good show when it first started but didn't think it would turn out as great as it did. Has such a large cast aside from the main 5 girls but they were still handled well. Due to that they managed to tackle a number of areas throughout the show. It was very enjoyable to see how some of them grew over the season and how much you can tell they have in the end. It was great to get a little more insight into the process of how an anime is made. And to top it off it had one of the best finales of the year, beautifully ended.
3. Owarimonogatari
Here is another entry in the Monogatari series. Ougi is such a fascinating character to watch and she had the first half of this season wrapped around her finger. Her interactions with Araragi were very entertaining. Then having some of my other favorite characters back again always makes for a good Monogatari season, so if you follow the series and havent watched the new season yet, expect another good one.
4. Non Non Biyori Repeat
It was great to have this anime back. Among all the action or drama shows its nice to have a peaceful show like this, something to just relax to. It may have some sad moments sprinkled in here and there but the lighthearted feeling is prevalent throughout the whole show and its appreciated. It can put you in a really good mood.
5. Durarara!!x2 Ten
Enjoyed this more than Shou, but I suppose thats because a good bit of this season built up off the groundwork Shou laid down, so it was nice to see things intensify even more in Ikebukuro. Its coming together very nicely and set stage for the final part Ketsu.
6. Assassination Classroom
I enjoyed this quite a bit, it had a nice mixture of humor and action with some touching scenes. Seeing the classs skills rise was nice to see as well as how their teamwork improved into more elaborate attempts to take out Koro Sensei. Besides their skills it was nice seeing them personally get closer to Koro Sensei and look towards him as their teacher that they depend on. Im looking forward to the upcoming season.
7. My Two-Faced Little Sister (Himouto Umaru)
This anime managed to entertain me every week and kept me laughing. Just seeing what nonsense Umaru would do or say next made it very amusing; her friends can be pretty entertaining too. Even if Umaru can be really annoying to her brother Taihei at times they still have a good bond and it was nice to see those moments when it was focused on.
8. Noragami Aragoto
The first of half of this was pretty good, I like delving a bit more into the backstories and there was a decent bit of action. The latter half was better though, Yato had some great scenes. Yukine too, hes developing nicely from the annoyance he was in the first season. Overall this was a nice step up from the previous season.
9. One Punch Man
Will echo previous sentiments, this had some amazing animation, those action scenes were incredible. Saitama is a great unconventional hero and watching him was humorous. He may not get recognition from everyone but the acknowledgment he gets from Genos and Rider was pretty good.
10. Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers
The settings itself made it feel fresh from the usual fantasy anime. The mystery aspect didnt turn out to be extremely surprising but it did get me second guessing now and again and trying to figure out how the act was executed. The cast had some annoying ones but for the most part they were straight. This was a nice watch.
Films/OVAs
1. Mushishi: The Next Chapter
rops of Bells
Mushishi is one of my favorite series so it was a little bittersweet to watch the last bit of material. However, I thought it had a beautiful end that once again explores the theme of Mushi, nature, and humans and how they can converge and diverge. The atmosphere, music, and visuals were as wonderful as ever. This was truly a beautiful finale for a masterpiece.
2. Psycho-Pass Movie
A pretty good action movie to wash out the horrible taste season 2 left.
3. Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade
Thought it was a pretty good follow up, I liked the new characters.
Honorable Mentions:
x Sound! Euphonium
This was a stunning show and it made me reminisce a little bit about playing in band. The characters are entertaining to watch, though there is one I could have done without because of their brat like personality but theyre not a big focus. However, for the ones that were focused on it was nice seeing their growth through failure and success. Definitely will be watching the second season
x Snow White with the Red Hair
This was a good romance. One of the best things about this was Shirayuki, she is a great female lead and not some damsel in constant distress. She was very determined and had a great personality throughout the season. Zen was a pretty good lead as well, has a lot of compassion for the people around him, know what his duties are and sharp-witted. This had some very nice visuals too. Also good music that kind of reminded me of Dragon Quest VIII a bit lol it had a nice sense of adventure. So definitely in for the second season.
x My Love Story
Simply put this was a sweet romance with a nice dose of comedy. It was nice to have one without the usual tropes. It was fun watching Takeo and Yamato. Also the friendship between Takeo and Suna was displayed very well.
x Castle Town Dandelion
Overall this was a good anime and had some good consistency; enjoyed all the episodes. Also for such a big cast of characters I felt each one got enough attention on their own as well as with the other siblings. Even got a backstory in with the parents.
x Seiyu's Life
While Shirobako tackled a number of areas in the anime industry this one focused solely on the voice acting. It turned out well; I wasnt that fond of the character designs though. But watching the trio try to pave their way was very interesting as they tried to overcome hurdles like losing roles, trying to get into character and balancing social life. Another cool thing was having veteran voice actors appear as themselves thought that was really neat.
x Ushio and Tora
Fun series, I like how they kept the old style but updated it a bit. The episodic start off wasnt bad since the side characters were interesting, plus Ushio and Tora are entertaining to watch with their antics. But when the main plot started to be explored more deeply things got even better and raised beyond my initial expectations. There were some areas that felt a bit rushed but even with the pacing a little off at some points this turned out to be a very good watch.
x Shokugeki no Soma
An over exaggerated cooking anime that turned out great. The characters were really fun. And the food recipes were cool, makes me want to try making at least one.
x Gourmet Girl Graffiti
This was a nice heartwarming anime. It also had a focus on food but very different from Shokugeki no Soma. No competitions, just a girl learning the joys of having someone enjoy your cooking and also just having someone to share a meal with.