Lurker > Mobilezoid

So now Relm has a loyal father and a flaky dog that runs away for no reason

...It's an improvement.

Find a swap that can fix Shadow and then we can talk

I actually don't remember much about the whole r/athiesm evil god aspect of Tanya. Which might be good because it sounds like I would've complained about it.

I just wanted a ruthless little girl warlock fighting in WWI. That's a good idea on its own, no need to complicate it!

Lopen posted...

Imagine if Superman curled into a ball and let everyone else decide what he should do and had no personality to speak of

So regular Superman then

Gogo is a party member, doesn't get much more main than that!

Suprak_the_Stud posted...

All of the main cast of FFVI is quite good, including Terra.

HOT TAKE

Even Gogo?!?

Terra is the best FFVI character and #4 FF character overall imo

There are just too many people here who hate her for no good reason so she'll never have a chance to win

Would've been nice if we could get the undisputed main character of FFVI a last-standing for a change. Ah well

Should I vote Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within in that movie topic?

I don't care what anybody says, that's one of the best sci-fi films ever made.

Will a new page bring new saves?

Can I say "Papa" instead? (I'm not holding)

Rinoa

SeabassDebeste posted...

this whole isekai genre sounds pretty iffy

There are some gems out there, including a few that even I loved! It's just the current trend in anime, like this airing season has six or seven different isekai. I personally find a lot of them lazy or samey or offputting (Slave Harem, ugh, no thanks) but there's clearly an audience for them.

161. Overlord
https://myanimelist.net/anime/29803/Overlord
Summer 2015 (13 episodes), Winter 2018 (13 episodes), Summer 2018 (13 episodes), Summer 2022 (0/13, unfinished)
My Score: 4/10, MAL Score: 7.92/10 S1, 7.76/10 S2, 7.93/10 S3, S4 currently airing
Best Character: Monmonga, aka Ainz Ooal Gown

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOWcj7XKnfQ

Premise: Monmonga, the only remaining player of a powerful guild in the VR MMO Yggdrasil, remains logged on as the game is shut down. Then hes transported into another world.

The Good: Overlord is one of the rare isekai stories that used that concept in a way I enjoyed. I liked the first season the most, back when Ainz was still grappling with the impossibility of what had happened. Carefully scouting unfamiliar surroundings with no idea what the nearest threats could be, wondering if there could be other transported players like him out there, getting to know the newly sentient personalities of former NPCs, all of that was great. While most isekai protagonists are hilariously overpowered, it still felt fresh coming from a badass skeleton lich.

The Bad: Each season of Overlord has focused less on what I found most interesting. Theres a fourth season currently airing that I havent watched yet, I dont know if it continues that trend. As Ainz learned more about the world and began putting plans in motion, the story became a more typical power fantasy. At this point, I'm forced to accept that him getting transported to another world was just a narrative convenience, not the overarching mystery I first imagined it to be.

Overall: As someone who usually doesnt like isekai, only a select few have used the concept in a way I enjoyed. Overlord was once up there with them. It endeared itself to me by showing Ainzs questioning what happened, as well as his methodical exploration of the new world. With each season, however, Overlord is focusing less on the aspects that appealed to me. Its still a solid fantasy anime about a badass skeleton lich, but it isnt one of my favorites.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
160: This anime died in the game, which also killed it in real life.
C43: This character needed help to defeat a boss.
159: This anime is being sent away so its mother can elope.

We're done the 4/10 Mediocre Tier! It felt lame to end it (and to begin this new topic) with anime where my problems are basically nitpicks with their genre. Out of everything yet to be ranked, however, these were the two I could most easily justify giving a lower score. Tomorrow, we move into the 5/10 Below Average Tier. We'll finally start seeing some more top 100 anime characters, too.

Jessie

Trading Rinoa auto, can't get Barret

Barret

Reg posted...

I'll be completely forthright in saying that I have no recollection of how far the anime goes so I may be kinda talking past where it ends a bit, and if I do I'm sorry

I'll also admit I don't remember Tanya the Evil super well myself. I also still haven't seen the movie. I'm glad it starts justifying the isekai aspect more later, though, because obviously it bugged me.

Also, don't worry isekai fans! After the one I'm ranking next, there are only four more isekai on my list (assuming SAO isn't one and not counting reverse-isekai) and two of them are ones I really like

Edit: Actually there are five, I forgot one

(This was a tough one to write because my main problem with it is so petty)

162. Saga of Tanya the Evil
https://myanimelist.net/anime/32615/Youjo_Senki
Winter 2017 (12 episodes)
My Score: 4/10, MAL Score: 7.97/10
Best Character: Tanya Degurechaff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fggISqEyuew

Premise: Tanya Degurechaff is known for her ruthlessness in battle while fighting for the Empire. What no one realizes is that this little girl is a reincarnation of a man from another world.

The Good: Saga of Tanya the Evil is a war anime. It's basically World War I but with magic, which is an interesting era compared to the standard fantasy setting most isekai use. I enjoyed watching Tanya do her thing, even if I wasnt a huge fan of her abilities stemming from being a reincarnated Japanese businessman. She puts everything she learned from the other world into advancing herself and her new nation. Its fun watching a little girl be so calculating and ruthless.

The Bad: My main problem with Saga of Tanya the Evil is one that I acknowledge is silly. This didn't need to be an isekai. It didn't add anything worthwhile that I can remember. It felt like a thing the author shoehorned in because isekai are popular. Tanya shouldve just been a prodigious young girl who came up with all her tactics on her own. Even if nothing else changed, that alone would've improved this for me.

Overall: As I admitted above, my main problem with Saga of Tanya the Evil is petty. Its a fine war anime that probably shouldve ranked a bit higher. Ill also credit it for using her memories from another world to influence Tanyas successes. However, she couldve easily just been a genius young girl who deduced those lessons herself. The fact that such an otherwise fun and original story is made an isekai for little reason is, to me, a symptom of one of my least favorite trends in anime. I know its unfair, but I cant help it if my opinion is soured by it.

(In the interest of full disclosure, when I looked for my old post for this on the archive website, I also found a response from the user Wanglicious defending the isekai aspect as a good thing that added a lot. I'm of the opinion that anything it adds could be worked in somehow without needing to make this an isekai, but he made some good points. I'm not calling this a bad anime. It just hit one of my pet peeves, and I'm sure we all have a few of those!)

CoolCly posted...

I want to recommend Chivalry of a Failed Knight but I'm not sure it's really available in any legit ways, so I suppose I'll recommend Rokka - Braves of the Six Flowers.

It looks like Chivalry is on HiDIVE. I'd need to confirm that from home when logged into my account though because there seem to be a handful unavailable in Canada. Assuming it is available, let me know if you prefer that or Rokka!

This topic is almost at 500, too, so I'm just letting everyone know about the other topic I've already made. I'll start posting write-ups there tomorrow.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80155422

MartinFF7 posted...

.... what is "legal piracy"??? I see what you mean about limiting options, for sure, like other than raiding abandoned ships or something (and does that even count as piracy?), I don't get it...

One thing I remember them doing early on was raiding a passenger ship, but the whole thing was routine with the other ship's crew involved and was basically dinner theater for the rich passengers. It was odd.

163. Bodacious Space Pirates
https://myanimelist.net/anime/8917/Mouretsu_Pirates
Winter 2012 (26 episodes)
My Score: 4/10, MAL Score: 7.15/10
Best Character: Katou Marika

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvQpDEUJ2UU

Premise: Katou Marika learns her absent father has died, and shes inherited his spaceship, the Bentenmaru. Now she must decide if she wants to leave her normal life to become a space pirate.

The Good: Bodacious Space Pirates has one of the coolest titles ever. I felt like I needed to watch it based on the premise alone, I mean its about a girl becoming a space pirate, thats awesome. I always like science fiction stories about the crew of a spaceship going on adventures.

The Bad: I cant say that Bodacious Space Pirates does anything truly wrong, but it definitely doesnt live up to its premise. For one thing, space pirates in this setting need to operate within the confines of the law. To me, thats a baffling choice. Despite having plenty of fun adventures in the show, everything needing to stay legal really limited the kinds of stories this anime could tell. Also, while the characters are all fine with one or two fun traits, none of them are special. Half the fun of a spacrship sci-fi story is getting to know the crewmembers and watching their personalities bounce off each other. I dont remember a whole lot of that happening in this.

Overall: Bodacious Space Pirates isnt a bad anime, but for how much I immediately loved the idea of it, it was a huge letdown. Maybe I went in with my expectations too high. All I know is that I felt disappointed by the way it wasted its potential.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
162: This anime is going to reincarnate as a ruthless little girl.
161: This anime is staying logged on as the game ends.

Rinoa

Tidus

(We're officially out of the mediocre idol anime group)

164. Yona of the Dawn
https://myanimelist.net/anime/25013/Akatsuki_no_Yona
Fall 2014 (24 episodes)
My Score: 4/10, MAL Score: 8.03/10
Best Character: Yona

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iPqTVcpmpA

Premise: Yona is a princess who dreams of marrying Su-won, the man she loves. Then Su-won kills her father and usurps the throne, forcing Yona to flee with her trusted bodyguard, Son Hak.

The Good: I like the idea of a princess in hiding, and for the most part Yona of the Dawn handles it well. Yona was sheltered all her life, so this is her seeing the world for the first time in the worst circumstances imaginable. The main plot also has a focus on finding legendary warriors to ally with her. I enjoyed the quest to find those dragon guys.

The Bad: I wouldve liked Yona of the Dawn immensely more if it had gotten another season. This season wasnt bad, but it felt like a prequel to a much larger story. Yonas father was murdered by the man she loved, forcing her to go on the run and gather legendary allies, and go read the source material if you want more, I guess. Plenty of anime are only partial stories, but this one bugged me way more than usual because it felt like it ended right when the story was finally about to get started. I also had a problem with some of the more comedic moments in this. Lots of anime do that thing where the art style degrades into a kind of chibi format for a quick joke. Normally I enjoy those bits, but in this it felt harshly out of place next to the life-and-death situations Yona was in. Her father is dead after a horrific betrayal, her life has been shattered... now its time for a gag or two.

Overall: Yona of the Dawn had a solid premise that I enjoyed quite a bit. Sadly, the anime ended right when it felt like the story was getting started, which soured the experience for me. I also felt some of the comedic moments were out of place.

Trading Rinoa auto, can't get Barret

Barret

Trading for Rinoa auto, can't get Barret

Barret

Trading for Rinoa auto, can't get Barret

Barret

How can people hate Rinoa. She owns a cute dog

Hopefully Rinoa sails right into the finals and I won't need that information!

Time for top 20 rankings? Until doing this, I hadn't realized how crappy this year looks for me.

Would happily support: Rinoa, Terra, Garnet, Rikku

Would begrudgingly support: Seymour

Never played their games, would only support against former champs: Dad, Ramza, Ghido, Galuf, Faris, Emet, Sephiroth, Aerith, Tifa, Barret, Jessie

Former champs: Tidus, Cecil, Celes, Vivi

Rinoa

Dad

Huh, I hadn't considered people pooling recs. On the one hand, that means 20+ people could force me to watch One Piece. On the other hand, letting people do that sounds fun and could lead to discussion about longer shows. Maybe I'll allow it for up to four people (so 200 eps max) with the understanding that I likely wouldn't finish any super long ones until after the ranking was over.

And no, I haven't seen Galactic Heroes. I don't know how many readers this topic even has waiting to recommend stuff, though, so you might have a hard time finding people!

MartinFF7 posted...

That comfort in knowing 172 isn't Kaiji.... countered by the sadness that Roba won't watch it due to it having too many episodes!!

52 eps on Crunchyroll. Unless there are more not on there, that's within acceptability of my suggested 50 episode limit for recommendations. I mostly have that to prevent any 100+ recs. You can recommend Kaiji if you want!

I will indeed get the Dad of dads

I don't think anyone took my Rinoa trade

Trading Rinoa auto, can't get Barret

Barret

174. GJ Club
https://myanimelist.net/anime/14811/GJ-bu
Winter 2013 (12 episodes)
My Score: 4/10, MAL Score: 7.31/10
Best Character: Amatsuka Mao

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9S__wUcd8A

Premise: Shinomiya Kyouya is the only guy in the GJ Club, which doesnt have any particular focus. The unique personalities of the four girl members always keeps things interesting.

The Good: There are lots of anime about being in a club, and usually the selling point is whatever specific thing that club does. GJ Club instead takes the aesthetic of being in a club but isnt really about anything. The characters are all archetypes that can be found in other anime, but its still fun watching them hang out and seeing what gags emerge. I liked Mao the best, shes kind of a tsundere but shes allergic to love (or claims she is), and seeing her bite the main dude whenever she gets flustered is funny.

The Bad: There isnt anything wrong with GJ Club, but thats because it never really does anything. The whole premise is that these five characters hang out in a room and jokes develop from there. Some jokes are better than others, but very few are outright hilarious or outright duds. This is just a comedy anime about being in a club boiled down to its most basic form.

Overall: GJ Club is a funny club anime, but in my opinion it suffers from not really being about anything. Asteroid in Love, for example, wasn't as good as this, buy at least it taught me about stars and rocks. Anyway, the thing I remember most about GJ Club is that whoever made it clearly has a hair fetish. The main dude combed his way through the entire female cast over the course of the season. Nothing wrong with that, Im just struggling to find anything else to say about GJ Club.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
173: This anime is self-conscious about missing a year.
172: This anime has lost all of its money.
171: Having been defeated here, this anime will now go back in time and try to do things differently.

Maniac64 posted...

Oh cool a Shogi series. I've wanted to find a good one of those to try since I love Hikaru no Go.

I said I've seen several, but now that I think about it that may not be true. My shogi anime ranking so far is:

1: the one episode of Etotama where Nya-tan learned shogi through intense yet comical physical training
2: March Comes in Like a Lion, an anime someone recommended for this that I'm still only partway through
3: Ryuo's Work

Mac mentioned another one in his guess yesterday that sounded interesting when I looked it up too.

175. The Ryuos Work is Never Done
https://myanimelist.net/anime/35905/Ryuuou_no_Oshigoto
Winter 2018 (12 episodes)
My Score: 4/10, MAL Score: 6.86/10
Best Character: Hinatsuru Ai

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsyL_R1GDpc

Premise: Kuzuryuu Yaichi has just become the youngest shogi champion in history. He also takes on a disciple, a young girl named Hinatsuru Ai who shows real talent for the game.

The Good: Ive seen shogi in several anime, yet I do not understand the rules. Thats okay, though, because things like skill, training, competition, and doubts, can all come across even if I know nothing about whatever the focus is. Anyway, The Ryuos Work is Never Done is a shogi anime with equal parts comedy and drama. It also has several little girls who are relatively new at the game bringing the cute girl factor. Ai was easily my favorite, but the others were fun too. The best part of this was still the way both main characters learned to believe in themselves and improve. Ai has talent but shes still a beginner. And Yaichi, despite already attaining the highest rank, needed to prove to everyone, including himself, that it wasnt a fluke.

The Bad: Unfortunately, there was a bit of forced drama in Ryuos Work. I didn't like Ginko, the skilled female player with an icy personality. Still, my main problem was that this didnt do anything special. I praised its themes about believing in oneself and improving, but thats basic stuff in any sports anime (or competitive game you know what I mean). Ryuos Work didnt do anything new, so mostly it just felt generic.

Overall: The Ryuos Work is Never Done is held back by some crappy drama and by never rising above typical sports anime ideas. However, the little girls were cute and fun to watch. The shogi stuff, while ultimately generic, was also nice with some uplifting themes. It at least wasn't bad.

176. Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle
https://myanimelist.net/anime/40397/Maoujou_de_Oyasumi
Fall 2020 (12 episodes)
My Score: 4/10, MAL Score: 8.00/10
Best Character: Sakkyun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui-KKFZKIq4

Premise: Demon Lord Tasogare has kidnapped human princess Kaymin Aurora Suya Rhys. For the princess, however, the worst thing about her imprisonment is that she cant get a good sleep in her cell!

The Good: Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle is a comedy following the escapades of the princess as she acquires what she needs to get the best sleep possible. There's other stuff occasionally, like cutaways to a hero's epic quest to rescue her (which is filled with failures) and meetings where the demon leaders discuss what to do with a captive who can easily escape her cell and outwit or overpower anyone she comes across. For the most part, though, this is exclusively about the princess wanting a good sleep. For such a singular premise, I'm surprised it never gets repetitive. It helps that there's a large cast of colorful monster characters throughout the castle. My favorite was Sakkyun, the succubus who gets forced to be the princess' body double. Mostly, however, the writing is simply clever enough to keep finding new ways for the princess to try to get a good sleep.

The Bad: While Sleepy Princess never became repetitive, I'm not sure I'd ever call it compelling. For example, I really struggled to pick a favorite character. The princess only cares about sleep, the demon lord only cares about imprisoning her, and everyone else is a one-note monster so I just picked my favorite one of those. It's a good gag anime, but my favorite shows like that still have a bit more going for them in terms of overall plot or characters.

Overall: Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle is a solid gag anime about exactly what its title says. It doesn't even pretend to have much depth beyond that, which is both good and bad. My low ranking of this is mostly my own fault too. I binged it all in one night, and it isn't that kind of anime. I imagine it would be better watched one episode at a time over a longer period, to keep the sleepy misadventures from getting stale.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
175: A little girl could beat this anime at shogi.
174: This anime is allergic to romance.

The Number 22, starring Jim Carey

SeabassDebeste posted...

these last few shows seem pretty interesting - kind of serene and pleasant without having anything too extra. also not necessarily compelling, but hey

We're into that part of the ranking for sure. It didn't always work out, and it might not seem obvious to anyone but me, but I did try to group shows with commonalities together. OPM was the end of the "I acknowledge it was good, it just wasn't for me" group. Now we're into "low-stakes cute and relaxing, which I usually love, but for some reason I didn't love these".

Interviews, Mummy, and Hakumei were all nice shows to watch! They just weren't anywhere near being my favorites in their genre.

Alphinaud