Imagine generic movie trailer music playing in the background. Focus on the last part of the trailer, you know, where there are random scenes cutting across one another with people jumping with explosions behind them. Now read this:
365 Days.
12 Nominees.
4 Winners.
1 exaggerated post preview.
Cool, right? No? Yeah, thought so too. Just read on.
Technically, this anime cheated. It started in Winter and piggy-backed on Spring too. This anime is a troll. That aside, Madoka Magica takes a cheery and bouncy setting, grabs it by the throat and twists it into something dark and evil. It also manages to juggle elements of psychology, thriller and action successfully, making for tight episodes. The creative aspect of the art department is one of the major contributors to this anime’s shock value. But the shock value and hype, as always, can often backfire because of the audience’s heightened expectations. There are in fact some instances where you feel the show uses shock value and brutality as a crutch to help its handicap in the character department. The characters, while not intolerable, do fall short of the standards set by the other areas. The animation is outstanding, even for a 2011 anime and is richly detailed. Couple this with the atmospheric soundtrack and you have an enthralling atmosphere. So, answering the core question: Is this anime overrated? Yes, but not by much. It might not be the Mona Lisa that everyone has painted it out to be, but it sure as hell is a very good anime in its own right. It's a breath of fresh air in a genre that has become putrid with fluff.
Nominees:
Hurou Musoko
...yeah, nothing else to see here.
I am not a big fan of sci-fi. It usually ends up being mecha blowin shit up or a mysterious girl granting the dude some superpowers. So when Stein;s Gate came out, I was more than a bit skeptical. And (duh) it exceeded my expectations. Although I don't like lots of dialogue at a stretch with no action (that's the reason why I don't play Visual Novels) Stein;s Gate changed that. I loved the dialogue. It took the stereotypical moeblob, the tsundere and the fat otaku and made them all poke fun at each other's cliched characteristics. I know, this shit's been done in every other comedy anime, but Stein;s Gate just seems to pull off dry humor effortlessly. The cast was colorful, vibrant and very loveable. I was emotionally invested in this show and that's something that hasn't happened in a long time. Add to that this anime uses a very unique form of time travel: information time travel. There is base-level techno babble but we all know there's no real working time machine model so fuck that shit. The story was rich with twists and turns too. The anime goes for the contrast in the second half by making things heavy and nail-bitingly tense. It's a very addictive anime, not unlike Death Note. The main issue people had with this anime was with the ending. I look at it this way: If you want a classy ending, just imagine the anime ends at episode 22 and leave it at that. The other two episodes can be considered as fan-fiction. Just like Clannad After Story did something goofy with its ending, this one did too. You can choose where the anime ends...if you love it enough...I guess. So yeah, I loved Stein;s Gate. You can probably guess that by just seeing how religiously I'm inserting the semicolons in the name.
Nominees:
AnoHana
Hanasaku Iroha
Moshidora
Kaiji S2
Here's the deal: Consistency in quality is nigh impossible to achieve in sequels, especially if the subject in discussion is a third season still following the very same formula. Natsume is still the same old moe guy and he's still going to run into yokai, most of whom have very similar backstories and then at the end of the episode he's going to return their name and everyone goes happy. And throw in some chuckle-worthy Nyanko-sensei jokes while you're at it. When you look at it that way, Natsume Yuujinchou is hardly doing anything beyond what its existing audience is already used to. But it doesn't need to. Why? It works. Sometimes I just want to lay on my bad, turn on the fan, cover myself up with a nice thick blanket and cozy up to some Natsume Yuujinchou on my iPod. I don't want shocking plot twists or deep characters talking philosophical stuff. I just want to snuggle into a nice, therapeutic show that is pleasant to watch and makes me feel fuzzy on the inside. This show is at the top, along with the very best Slice of Life anime, in terms of atmosphere. The show places a lot of emphasis on nature and it does make me contemplate on very simple things such as "Is there someone in my childhood I'd like to apologize to?", "How much damage puts a person beyond forgiveness?" and so on. I see people whining about how they want a second season of Durarara or Baccano. Well, the TRazor says this: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Natsume Yuujinchou is very consistent and with every season it delivers, even in terms of DVD sales. I don't see how another season is going to hurt anybody. Stop being all up Brains Base's ass. They just gave you Penguindrum, didn't they?
Nominees:
Usagi Drop
Mawaru Penguindrum
I don't have much else to say about this show, apart from what I've already said here. But since I hate leaving a paragraph with just two sentences, I'll just quote myself.
Chihayafuru
Mirai Nikki
That about does it for this post. The ACAA, Anibloggers Choice Anime Awards, is a project started by kiddtic. Feel free to join in! If you're curious to which anime wins among these four...well, stay tuned for my next post, where I make an announcement about the 12 Days of Christmas and this. Damn, that sounds pretty grand.
365 Days.
12 Nominees.
4 Winners.
1 exaggerated post preview.
Cool, right? No? Yeah, thought so too. Just read on.
Winter
Winner: Madoka Magica
Technically, this anime cheated. It started in Winter and piggy-backed on Spring too. This anime is a troll. That aside, Madoka Magica takes a cheery and bouncy setting, grabs it by the throat and twists it into something dark and evil. It also manages to juggle elements of psychology, thriller and action successfully, making for tight episodes. The creative aspect of the art department is one of the major contributors to this anime’s shock value. But the shock value and hype, as always, can often backfire because of the audience’s heightened expectations. There are in fact some instances where you feel the show uses shock value and brutality as a crutch to help its handicap in the character department. The characters, while not intolerable, do fall short of the standards set by the other areas. The animation is outstanding, even for a 2011 anime and is richly detailed. Couple this with the atmospheric soundtrack and you have an enthralling atmosphere. So, answering the core question: Is this anime overrated? Yes, but not by much. It might not be the Mona Lisa that everyone has painted it out to be, but it sure as hell is a very good anime in its own right. It's a breath of fresh air in a genre that has become putrid with fluff.
Nominees:
Hurou Musoko
...yeah, nothing else to see here.
Spring
Winner: Stein;s Gate
I am not a big fan of sci-fi. It usually ends up being mecha blowin shit up or a mysterious girl granting the dude some superpowers. So when Stein;s Gate came out, I was more than a bit skeptical. And (duh) it exceeded my expectations. Although I don't like lots of dialogue at a stretch with no action (that's the reason why I don't play Visual Novels) Stein;s Gate changed that. I loved the dialogue. It took the stereotypical moeblob, the tsundere and the fat otaku and made them all poke fun at each other's cliched characteristics. I know, this shit's been done in every other comedy anime, but Stein;s Gate just seems to pull off dry humor effortlessly. The cast was colorful, vibrant and very loveable. I was emotionally invested in this show and that's something that hasn't happened in a long time. Add to that this anime uses a very unique form of time travel: information time travel. There is base-level techno babble but we all know there's no real working time machine model so fuck that shit. The story was rich with twists and turns too. The anime goes for the contrast in the second half by making things heavy and nail-bitingly tense. It's a very addictive anime, not unlike Death Note. The main issue people had with this anime was with the ending. I look at it this way: If you want a classy ending, just imagine the anime ends at episode 22 and leave it at that. The other two episodes can be considered as fan-fiction. Just like Clannad After Story did something goofy with its ending, this one did too. You can choose where the anime ends...if you love it enough...I guess. So yeah, I loved Stein;s Gate. You can probably guess that by just seeing how religiously I'm inserting the semicolons in the name.
Nominees:
AnoHana
Hanasaku Iroha
Moshidora
Kaiji S2
Summer
Winner: Natsume Yuujinchou-san
Here's the deal: Consistency in quality is nigh impossible to achieve in sequels, especially if the subject in discussion is a third season still following the very same formula. Natsume is still the same old moe guy and he's still going to run into yokai, most of whom have very similar backstories and then at the end of the episode he's going to return their name and everyone goes happy. And throw in some chuckle-worthy Nyanko-sensei jokes while you're at it. When you look at it that way, Natsume Yuujinchou is hardly doing anything beyond what its existing audience is already used to. But it doesn't need to. Why? It works. Sometimes I just want to lay on my bad, turn on the fan, cover myself up with a nice thick blanket and cozy up to some Natsume Yuujinchou on my iPod. I don't want shocking plot twists or deep characters talking philosophical stuff. I just want to snuggle into a nice, therapeutic show that is pleasant to watch and makes me feel fuzzy on the inside. This show is at the top, along with the very best Slice of Life anime, in terms of atmosphere. The show places a lot of emphasis on nature and it does make me contemplate on very simple things such as "Is there someone in my childhood I'd like to apologize to?", "How much damage puts a person beyond forgiveness?" and so on. I see people whining about how they want a second season of Durarara or Baccano. Well, the TRazor says this: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Natsume Yuujinchou is very consistent and with every season it delivers, even in terms of DVD sales. I don't see how another season is going to hurt anybody. Stop being all up Brains Base's ass. They just gave you Penguindrum, didn't they?
Nominees:
Usagi Drop
Mawaru Penguindrum
Fall
Winner: Fate/Zero
I don't have much else to say about this show, apart from what I've already said here. But since I hate leaving a paragraph with just two sentences, I'll just quote myself.
Fate/Zero is not afraid to go all-out. It transforms the laid back F/SN into something more grim and dark. All the characters now have their own motivations and their personality shines through nicely. This is a show that has no fear and is barging straight ahead, making its own path and avoiding the easy routes. There's no lazy storytelling with one Servant slaughtering one after the other. Instead, we get a grand battle with a diverse set of characters. We actually get a war. That, my friends, is awesome.Nominees:
Chihayafuru
Mirai Nikki
That about does it for this post. The ACAA, Anibloggers Choice Anime Awards, is a project started by kiddtic. Feel free to join in! If you're curious to which anime wins among these four...well, stay tuned for my next post, where I make an announcement about the 12 Days of Christmas and this. Damn, that sounds pretty grand.
