Lurker > KokoroAkechi

Bonus 2.

Best OPs from the past five years or 15 very popular songs. No hipster picks here.

(Will only include shows I've seen an episode of) in alphabetical order of song title. This is a lot harder to do because the quality of like OPs are a lot closer than like that of shows, but I think these are the 15 best ones.

Bloody Stream - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure


Borderland - Jormugand


Bravely You - Charlotte


Choir Jail - Dusk Maiden of Amnesia


Database - Log Horizon


Flyers - Death Parade


God only knows -Secrets of the Goddess - TWGOK: Goddesses


Guren no Yumiya - Attack on Titan


Gravity Wall - Re:Creators


Hikaru nara - Your Lie in April


History Maker - Yuri on Ice


Let Me Hear - Parasyte - the maxim-


Re: Re: - Erased


sister's noise - A Certain Scientific Railgun S


Sparkling Daydream - Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!


It's worth noting that summer 2017 was a very strong season in terms of OPs and a lot of them would lobby for a spot on this list.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

BONUS. Worst shows of the past five years (that I finished).

Originally I was going to do all shows that I gave a like 3 or less, but that was too many. After that I went down to two or lower... and eventually I decided just the 10 worst.

10. Kenzen Robo Daimidaler
-When the best comparison I can give this show is to another one on this list you know it's going to be bad.

9. Big Order
-So this was made by the same person who did Future Diary. Basically it's all of the bad and none of the good. At least it did have some good looking girl characters.

8. Devil Survivor 2 The Animation
-Asspull Fist.

7. BanG Dream!
-This had to be one of the cringe things I've ever seen. Like it doesn't go anywhere big either.

6. Cuticle Tantei Inaba
-Do you want a show that is not funny? Here you go.

5. Mayoiga
-This is a train... I mean bus wreck.

4. If Her Flag Breaks
-Remember how much fun noucome was? Well take a similar concept but totally fuck it up.

3. The Fruit of Grisaia
-I mean WTF.

2. RDG: Red Data Girl
-Want a show where nothing happens?

1. Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai.
-Basically high school dxd only the main character is unlikable, the girl is not as hot, and it has random dumb drama instead of the fun kind.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

GuessMyUserName posted...

kateee posted...

trdl23 posted...

Johnbobb posted...

Shaduln posted...

Yep

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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Almost always weapons. Mainly because at most your character is going to have 2 of them. You can have a ton of armor slots and it adds up quickly. In games like say Dark Souls a good weapon will carry you through the game. Like it's reasonably "easy" to beat the game with a +5 Long Sword or whatever and with like no armor at all. It's a lot harder to beat the game with like a non upgraded Long Sword and really good armor.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Okay just had like the luckiest thing happen to me.

I'm on a 7-2 game with the deck and like I'm way ahead on the board. But I don't have a lot of life. My opponent is a mage/rogue with a bunch of cards so it's possible for him to kill me. So just because it usually works in my favor and maybe i can get lethal from it I play Primalist and get the choices are like Holy Wrath, Secret, Lay on Hands. Well I dont want to hit my face so i choose lay on hands because its the safest option. Well it heals my face and I'm like "good deal".

Then the rogue/mage is like "Sap, Coldblood, Discounted Fireball, fan, ping." and it ended up that I was left at one HP at the end. Basically that 1/9 lay on hands won me the game.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

I have a Paladin/Rogue deck in arena. It's like really bad. It has some decent tempo cards but not enough early ones (like no backstab, evis etc) and no vilespine. And doesn't have dudes to support like my single spikeridge. Also no bonemares or anything really insane. Like I can prep Spikeridge or prep lay on hands, but besides that I don't have any good plays.

Well at 3-1 I face a Paladin/Shaman. Like it looks like im winning but then he just starts to play amazing card after amazing card. It eventually got to a point where he discovered Alikired and after I got a good top deck to kill it... plays a Tirion off the top. The thing is, it was still possible for me to win. But I didn't.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

azuarc posted...

KokoroAkechi posted...

Just had a druid bright eye into a UI. He 100% won because of this 10% chance of this happening.

So he 100% won based on an event 20 cards into the deck? Or did you discover he had a second one?

I'm assuming he ran two of them.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

[This message has been deleted at the request of the United States government]
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Just had a druid bright eye into a UI. He 100% won because of this 10% chance of this happening.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

The difference is that in constructed decks are either combo based with a lot of survivability or board clears. Or it's minion based where you just fight for the board with a rogue with other cards (notably shaman and warlock are the ones that compete the best).

But in arena you can't do this making a early card like backstab even harder to deal with.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

I've had 5 runs this week. 3-3, 6-3, 10-3, 11-3, and 12-2.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Druid/Mage arena

My deck is subpar. I don't expect to do well.

Game 1 (Mage/Paladin)
-So I use living mana and I have Savage roar in hand. So the mage uses a volcanic potion he got from a shimmering tempest >.>. HOWEVER, I still won because his follow up turn was slow and I was able to take back the board.

Game 2 (Mage/Warlock)
-The warlock had FOUR despicable dreadloards. Fucking four of them. Obviously I lose but I almost won. Really it came down to the the final topdeck. My opponent needs to get damage. I top deck nothing and my opponent gets a soulfire. It's worth noting he could not tap so he only got the top deck. His other card was a meteor.

Game 3 (Mage/Rogue)
-Got Volcanic again, but he had it like for real this time. He pushed face hard after a vilespine turn but I had a Mastadon+earthern scales in hand and just armored out of range. Drew the nuts with That druid draw card no one runs, which reduced the cost of a grim necromancer (2/4 summon two 1/1s) and fired up Mark of the Lotus. Savage Roar next turn.

Game 4 (Mage/Hunter)
-Not really sure why you would pick hunter as a second class with mage. In any case my opening hand is bad. Lot of high cost or reactive spells. I play Living mana and like always it gets instantly volcaniced. I stonehill into a Lich King and use Army of the dead to fill my board. Finish with Savage Roar.

Game 5 (Druid/Mage)
-Mirror match here. My hand sucks. But it doesn't matter because my opponent sucks even more.

Game 6 (Mage/Druid)
-My hand is a little better this time. It looks like it's going well for me but he uses the Druid DK and I'm like "fuck" but he chooses poison instead of taunt and I'm thinking "why". Like if he got taunt his chances of winning were a lot higher (although admittedly I had a good hand).

Game 7 (Warlock/Shaman)
-Okay I'm scared because these two classes in this order should not do well. So this guys deck has to be insane. Well it wasn't.

Game 8 (Mage/Rogue)
-Out of all the class combos this is one of the ones I'm most afraid of (the others being like Paladin/Mage or Druid/Warlock). At this phase I completely expect a DK. Well he didn't even need it because he had backstab in the opening. I think backstab is a card that should be banned from arena. It's too much of a tempo gain on turn 1. Pretty sure my win rate against a rogue who uses backstab on turn 1 or 2 is like under 40%.

Game 9 (Shaman/Mage)
-Well my living mana finally doesn't get volcaniced. But it gets flamestriked a couple turns later. Then he plays Kalimos (after a elemental) and it's like, come on now. Also had lightning storm, 2 framewreath faceless, Maelstrom portal. etc. Basically his deck was insane and he should feel bad he lost two games.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

The rate of death knights seems to be a lot higher in the dual class. Around HALF my games have one.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

The mage/Priest went 11-3. The last two games I just drew very poorly against aggressive decks. Fucking lame.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Drafted a mage deck that I think should get me to 12 wins. But you never know.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Just lost a game where a druid mcted a 1/5 chance of getting my biggest minion. There's actually a chance i would have won even after that but he also got a random crystaline oracle from a devolve that gave him jade claws.

Like nothing else mattered. He played autopilot jade and I was playing around plague and other cards. But nope he wins because he's good at the game.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

It's not just the ending. It's the TWO TIME SKIPS. I mean it's hard enough to get away with one. There are other issues too. Like the villains being either like a faceless horror or the fucking rat thing. You could say the villain is society but I don't think the anime sets that up well enough.

Like it's a slow moving show too so there's not excuse to need information dump episodes like this anime has. Like another is that most of the cast seems to be very unrelatable due to story elements and the world background etc. So it's common that they put Saki as like the one that the viewer can latch onto. But I don't think they do it fast enough where she's like "Okay she's someone I can get behind."

I often compare the show to that of a game like Dark Souls because I find their strengths and weaknesses to be similar.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Golden Time
-I've talked a lot about Golden Time in the past. Basically I think the main plot device the show has puts its into a corner. It can really only end a couple of ways and both of them are awful from any writing standpoint. It makes it hard to relate to the character too and it makes everything seem a lot less authentic. I don't think it's a bad show, but not a good one either.

Log Horizon
-Log Horizon was a show I liked a lot at first. But as it went on the stuff they seemed to do seemed very trivial. Side characters got more development than main characters and a whole lot of nothing seemed to be happening. The first season is fine if unexceptional but I could not even finish the second one.

Samurai Flamenco
-This is more a polarizing show. This anime is a complete train wreck. Basically if you like the gorilla you'll love this show but if you didn't you'll hate it. So like watch to that point and you can decided based on that one scene.

Seitokai Yakuindomo*
-This is an anime that was barely cut. Well not that well known it's well received. It's just a little too much like the sheer density of jokes and stuff all the time while lacking in the extreme characters like Shimoneta leaves it on the outside looking in.

Barakamon
-Decided to mention this one because it's another pretty well received show. I just don't find it to be all that great. Not bad sure, but not something I'd put on a top 100 over 5 years list.

Zankyou no Terror
-This is basically an empty experience that is prettied up by a "mature" subject matter and some good art. Basically your average fan loves this anime. It's like the high class anime fans SAO.

Seven Deadly Sins
-This is a shounen anime that has some fun characters but just doesn't move the actual story along fast enough, even for shounen standards. Like stuff just happens and none of the characters really change or do anything that makes me change my perception of them or have character development etc.

Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works
-Okay, you know i liked the first season. The second season though is crap. Basically the more shirou starts to talk about stuff the worse the show gets.

Assassination Classroom
-I just find that I would have liked this anime a lot more if it was set into different arcs where the class had to do something more specific etc each time. It just seemed to have a lot of stuff that was just "can we please get onto the main show?"

Ore Monogatari!!
-This is a fine show that does what it sets out to do. But the repetition and lack of depth on any front hurts it in the long run.

Snow White with the Red Hair
-So, let me get this straight. We have a female character who is set up as a strong character, or at least not a passive one. Only to have her constantly saved by the guy in the show like all the time. You can't have it both ways like that. I understand this is a show that is heavily targeted towards females (it's a shoujo) but its basically a wish fulfillment anime.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu
-I feel like this is another show that is going to seem like an odd exclusion. It was close to the cut line as I do think the show is good. Things like the voice acting are particularly good. But the ending is just so bad. Like almost co medically so. How can anyone watch that and not be like "what were they thinking?" I also find that they don't really use the time outside of the Rakugo as effectively as possible for character stuff.

Hai to Gensou no Grimgar
-Despite some of the good stuff this show does it has among the worst pacing I've seen in an anime. It has other issues too like the worst character is suddenly given a story thing where he's now likable. No he's not. He did one thing.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Popular/Notable shows to not make the list.

These are some shows that I think are either popular or have gotten a lot of acclaim from a niche that missed the list for whatever reason. They are listed in order of premier.

Space Brothers
-Nothing to really say about this. I dropped it half way through (well its like a 100 episode show). It's just painfully slow.

Fate/Zero 2nd Season
-I think my dislike for the main line fate series is pretty obvious by now. I think there are a lot of problems with the way the show is formatted as a whole. I remember I was watching UBW, which was pretty good at the start, but in a later episode Shirou was talking to Lancer and the dialogue was so bad I wondered in what world was this considered to be a good show. (I'll talk about UBW a little too). Fate/Zero did some good things like have more character backstory that seemed meaningful but a lot of the stuff that happens in the show just seems to have very little relevance to the grand story they are trying to construct.

Jormungand
-I often see this compared to Black Lagoon. The difference is that Black Lagoon has two amazing leads that get great development and have complex personalities. The characters in Jormugand are nothing like this. Only Koko (and to an extent that eyepatch girl) is entertaining and she lacks that badass charm that Revy has. On top of that the animation is not that great which leads to issues in an action show.

Kids on The Slope
-I think this is one of higher profile niche picks. No one talks about this any more so I don't know how well its held up within the fandom. By no means do I think it's a bad show, it's actually just outside the cut zone. I guess the best comparison would be to Your Lie in April. I think there are some key differences in the characters and the melodrama. A lot of the melodrama in this show seems dumb, like its been manufactured through teenage angst and brooding. It gets annoying. Reveals are set in weird places and they don't really use the characters in ways that sync with the show. The characters in YLIA have significant problems that would make anyone on edge. They mix both ones where you can understand why they might be acting out and also more common ones that every viewer can relate to. Kids on the Slope does not do this effectively enough.

Sword Art Online
-I'm only including this here because it's a popular show. I don't even think anyone here actually thinks this show is that good. But a lot of people do. In any case the issues with this show are well documented all over the internet but I think my biggest gripe is the complete lack of focus the show has. I guess the second was that Kirito has to save everyone. I don't even mind him being strong, it's that him being strong actively takes way from every other character in the show. Like it was bad enough with Asuna, but fucking Sinon too. And I legitimately like Sinon.

Shinsekai yori
-I think this is the big one. Like the title that I find a lot of people will find to be the biggest absence from the list. If i had a gripe about this one it would be that nothing is resolved. Like people didn't even like this show until an information dump on episode 4 and I'm thinking that they basically gave you world info in the most boring way possible and now you think it's the best show of the season? Or when they do Squealers ending and they think it erases everything he did all of a sudden. Stuff doesn't work like that. Like they get the atmosphere and everything down very well. The show has a lot of good ideas that never get explored fully.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Arena experience in a nutshell

Completely outplay your opponent and he has one card left. Last card is a death knight and you lose.

Have 5 cards in your hand 2 crap and 2 good ones and a Doomguard. You play doomguard, you discard the 2 good cards.

Other guy plays that 4 mana buff 2/2 and summon a 2 drop. Gets Cho. You have to kill Cho before you can do anything effectively making it so he has an advantage for the entire rest of the game.

You use Firelands portal and get a Bomb Squad. Your opponent uses a firelands portal and gets a nesting roc.

Your opponent gets a random card from a card that was generated from a card that gives him a card and gains lethal.

You have a good legendary that would help you win a few games, but you don't draw it.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

tazzyboyishere posted...

I can't imagine anything having more edge than Zodiac War

Like the entire intro episode was one guy brooding over something in a monologue or whatever and a bunch of people striking anime poses and laughing to themselves.

xfd
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

bump
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Today every rogue ive lost to has either had Prince on 2 or game changing random cards from swashburgler. When I say game changing. I mean getting Lyra. Or this one rogue who got Dragon Fire to clear a board I had. Like if he doesn't get dragonfire I for sure win that game because even with his insane luck I almost won. Like in the same game he got a thought steal that stole both Mind Blast and shadow reaper. (Like I was about 22 cards in without drawing it).
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

My battletag is #Neptune12910
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Fall 2017 Anime Rankings (Week 2)

1. The Magician's Bride
2. Children of the Whales
3. Girls' Last Tour
4. Kino's Journey: The Beautiful World
5. Net-juu no Susume
6. UQ Holder
7. Houseki no Kuni (TV)
8. Inuyashiki
9. Blend S
10. Konohana Kitan
11. Animegataris
12. My Girlfriend is Shobitch
13. Food Wars S3
14. Just Because!
15. The iDOLM@STER SideM
16. Juuni Taisen

DROP LINE
17. Black Clover (TV) (2)
18. Two Car
19. Evil or Live
20. Code:Realize
21. A Sister's All You Need
22. Urahara
23. Ousama Game
24. Sengoku Night Blood
25. Dynamic Chord
26. Tsukipro The Animation

Not a lot of changes. IMO this is a very strong season so far with most of the shows I havn't dropped being good and the ones that are teetering like... bareable. However, the shows I have dropped are fucking bad.

NEW SHOWS.

Inuyashiki
-As far as all the new stuff that aired in week 2 this has the most promise imo. The ranking is really more on potential enjoyment versus like how much I think I liked it.

My Girlfriend is Shobitch
-I thought this was pretty funny. I really liked the humor overall but I can see it getting dull quickly as it doesn't really have much else to lean on.

Evil or Live
-Well, this was bad. But the worst thing was like the animation quality was awful.

Dies Irae
-Saw the episode 00 and decided not to pick it up. This is like something I'd expect to see out of a early 2000s edgelord show.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Spoilers for Your Lie in April.

I honestly thought that Kaori's illness was an important factor not only for her complete character, but as a good contrast for kousei too. I also think that her death was also, while something they didn't have to do, was like something where Kousei was at a point where he could deal with it at the end of the show, he wasn't at the start of it.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Yeah you only have to disclose class lol
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Yeah I made the sheet public
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Complete List (Might be some spelling errors etc I just did this quickly to keep track of stuff).

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WcQ8CPPutccDQSWv4LXZfmGZddCCnwDMV6FMYew5gPU/edit#gid=0

More stuff

Shows by season
Season - Number of shows (ranks of the shows. Some will be listed twice due to some shows having combined seasons for rankings).

2012
Spring - 5 (12, 13, 14, 33, 35)
Summer - 3 (18, 20, 36)
Fall - 8 (3, 23, 26, 32, 39, 40, 65, 94)

2013
Winter - 3 (1, 11, 67)
Spring - 7 (27, 34, 57, 72, 89, 92, 93)
Summer - 4 (25, 54, 56, 59)
Fall - 6 (10, 21, 32, 41, 58, 100)

2014
Winter - 6 (9, 23, 51, 69, 74, 78)
Spring - 7 (4, 5, 38, 55, 80, 87, 97)
Summer - 7 (50, 52, 53, 73, 79, 90, 91)
Fall - 5 (6, 38, 49, 81, 82)

2015
Winter - 2 (64, 94)
Spring - 5 (16, 25, 69, 37, 85)
Summer - 9 (15, 22, 29, 41, 44, 47, 62, 86, 96)
Fall - 7 (5, 7, 36, 42, 43, 48, 78)

2016
Winter - 6 (8, 17, 46, 75, 76, 84)
Spring - 4 (2, 71, 77, 98)
Summer - 4 (45, 63, 68, 70)
Fall - (5, 28, 30, 66, 83, 88)

2017
Winter - 3 (19, 24, 31)
Spring - 1 (99)

Shows that would have made the list
Re:creators (probably just sneaking in around 99 or 100)
My Hero Academia S2 (Mid teens)
Aho Girl (low 50s)
Made in Abyss (Low 90s)
Princess Principal (Low teens)
New Game S2 (Would combine seasons and probably raise it to about 27)
Welcome to the Ballroom (Currently airing. Look like mid 60s right now)

ERRORS
ReLife was left off and would have ranked at 17.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Also won a match where Shadowreaper was the last card I drew (right after I lost a match because it was the last card in my deck). The only reason I won was because the other priest in the second one could not find Raza. I was 3 cards ahead of him but I was fortunate enough to still have all my combo pieces still in my hand so I was able to OTK him.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Camden posted...

When was the last time someone here saw Gelbin Mekkatorque? Someone just played ETC against me and I honestly can't remember the last time I saw Gelbin.

Is that the one that summons a random invention? Even back in gvg you barely saw it. lmfao.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

I also like a 4 deck with a ban via conquest style (need to win with all 3 decks). I can like only bring at max 4 decks though and I don't have a lot of flexibility in my card pool.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

1. Chihayafuru 2
https://myanimelist.net/anime/14397/Chihayafuru_2

There has been debate over what was the best year in anime. The two years that come up most frequently are 2007 and 2011, one of the shows that aired towards the end of 2011 was Chihayafuru. Despite being well received by fans and among the best shows in an extremely stacked year (Steins;Gate, Madoka, Penguindrum, Fate/Zero all aired that year) it was touted as one of the best, even so a second season seemed unlikely... but it happened.

Technically Chihayafuru is a sports show. It's about Chihaya, a beautiful girl who has the looks to be a model but instead wants to play a game called Karuta. For those uninitiated Karuta is a game where cards are laid face up and players are given a short time to memorize the positioning. Afterwards a reader will read off one of the poems and they have to grab the card associated with it. For a game that sounds kind of boring the anime makes it among the most intense matches I've seen. It's one of the key differences in Chihayafuru and a show that focuses on another game that by nature can be somewhat boring to watch (Shogi in March Comes Like a Lion). Like 3-gatsu no Lion Shogi is just something the character does at times and they don't really put the same emphasis on it like Chihayafuru puts in their Karuta matches. It's a big different in passion and it comes through in how entertaining and exciting the show is to watch.

In the first season there is that scene where Chihaya takes her first card and from there she starts to practice as much as she can. It's feelings like that that make the show, and there are a ton of them. The story is generally set into different with minor romance elements and such built in. But the formula is very sports anime based overall. There are tournaments and the main cast getting stronger together, etc. On top of that Chihaya has a goal to become the Queen, or the best female player in Japan. However, despite her natural talent it's clear she has a long way to go.

The second season introduces a new member, Sumire Hanano. At first she seems a little out of place, but quickly it seems like she's a natural part of the group and show. On top of that the second season starts to explore more of each of the primary casts feelings and struggles (although most of them do have to do with Karuta in some way). Of course, Chihaya gets center stage, as she should. She is absolutely captivating to watch.

The overall art work, animation, and sound direction is top tier. If it wasn't for the absolute masterpiece in soundwork Knights of Sindonia S2 this would be what I'd call the golden standard in that regard. Like every sound cue, when they swipe at the mat, even simple things like the reading of the poem is just undoubtedly high quality. Things like the color choices and especially the shading in terms of the look of the show are beautiful.

Chihayafuru is an anime that combines the heart pounding tension of a sports show with the emotional rollercoaster of something you'd more likely find in different shoujo anime. And it married these two elements wonderfully. It might never get a season 3, but I said the same thing about this one.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

2. Re:Zero
https://myanimelist.net/anime/31240/Re_Zero_kara_Hajimeru_Isekai_Seikatsu

Re:Zero is an isekai or other world show where Subaru has been suddenly transported to well... another world. There he quickly finds out that after he dies he comes back to life at a time before he died. Eventually he decides to use this power in order to protect those he cares about, but things don't always turn out like he envisions.

You would think a show about a guy who has unlimited resets on things be boring. However, it's the resetting that makes the show interesting. The anime becomes like part puzzling solving and part drama. Some horror elements too. Subaru has one of the most fascinating character arcs on this entire list. If you want a show where you can really see how actions can change the perception others have of you and how events can change how you act this is a great show.

As for the cast, it's no secret that Rem (the blue haired girl) has become like an uber waifu. But in reality the entire cast is well balanced. While in truth only Subaru is really a main character it seems like any one of them could move into a prominent role at any time. This is like a grand scale type show where there is plenty of stuff that can happen later on so there has been substantial set up for a second season which might never happen.

But I almost think beyond all of this it's the "feel" of the anime that really gets it to the front of the pack. Like every scene in the show it really sets the mood. It does a great job at letting the viewer get into the head of the character with the point of view for the scene be it calming, comedy, action, or despair. It's this changing of feelings that is presented through the complete production package which makes Re:Zero so great to watch.

The only thing that might be a little bit of a knock is that the art and animation is not always the best. I say that relatively to like the rest of the top 10 which had some power houses in the looks department. Still it looks really good for the most part. Like things like Subaru's first fight is well animated and has really great overall flow (although that is partially due to the first episode budget etc) but action is not the focal point of the series.

Re:Zero is every bit worth watching. Even if a second season never comes to fruition the current one is one of the best shows you can watch.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

You know Im old enough to have used pager phrase short codes but not to have used them on a pager ugh
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

In any case I wish it wasnt on my phone because Id have a recording for it. It was a good game for to show how small decisions and knowing what the other guy probably was playing helped me win. Of course I had some luck, like I had the perfect kazakus pot (poly the 4/3 armor thing and resummon 2). Or knowing to play Geist proactively the get rid of whirlwinds and shield slams. And the big break was getting the mind blast from lyra but you need the realize you probably need to try that to win. That and knowing I had to switch gears and start being aggressive with my minions

Conversely if he ratted one of the other minions (acolyte and priest of the feast) I think I just win easy because I had shadow reaper in my hand .
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Had a game where a deadman warrior ratted my raZa. Like it should have been a matchup he could not lose but Im telling you I made the plays like denying Armor from him and fishing for a second mind blast with Lyra. But I think he ultimately screwed up by playing his dk before he armored up enough to put him out of velen and mind blast burst. Still close though
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

What are the chances of having 8 straight games where you dont draw two specific cards in your first 23 cards? Because I just went 1-7 in winnable matches if I drew like even one piece of the combo at a reasonable time.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Top 3 next time.

After the top 3 I'll also go through some of the more popular shows that are not on the list and talk about them briefly. I'll also talk about other shows on request if I've seen them. In addition I'll talk about shows that didn't qualify that probably would have been on it.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

4. No Game No Life
https://myanimelist.net/anime/19815/No_Game_No_Life

Many claim to be the best at a game... but a particular online handle claims to be the best at all games. Only known as blank (or more literally I think it's like a bunch of underscores). Blank is so good that they can even beat people who are cheating. Yes, they. Blank is a brother sister duo who use their talents to overcome anything gaming related. This catches the attention of Tet, a god who controls a world that is governed by the outcome of games.

Among the most striking thing of NGNL is the art style. It's very vibrant and colorful. The palette works very well with both the whimsical nature and the more action oriented scenes in the show. It makes the anime very noticeable by its look.

The actual story is about how Sora and Shiro are trying to bring Imanity (humans), the last ranking race of the 16 races or exceed. The world is governed by 10 rules (which I will not get into). But basically, nothing really important can be done without playing a game. The show basically follows a path where they build up the respect of the people and their allies in order to challenge another exceed, the werebeast nation. While some of the episodes can act as like contained stand alone stories, they also build to the finale which is good overall series planning.

One of the major factors too is how easy it is to like the cast. Sora is one of those "OP" main characters much in the vein of Kirito, Shiroe (Log Horizon), Tatsuya (Irregular at Magic High School), etc. However he and his sister Shiro has a very clear motivation... get to a point where they can challenge Tet. They of course want to do other things along the way but characters having a goal is something I think is often lost. Like Kirito might have one, but it's hard to tell what it is because of how the anime is structured. As for the sister Shiro, honestly she's not as interesting or overall fun as Sora but she's cute. The other characters worth mentioning are Stephanie Dola who is like the butt of a lot of the jokes. Also Jibril, a member of a race called the Flugel who value knowledge above all, and who also happens to be a pervert.

As for some of the highlights scenes like materialization shiritori and the finale game are some of the most fun I've ever had watching a show. Just the structure and in the former how they mix in the actual game, humor, fan service, and the characters all in that episode.

Unfortunately NGNL seems like it could have a lot of content left and besides a movie it seems unlikely that we'll get more anime for it. But nonetheless this is one of the best shows you can pick up.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

5. Haikyuu!!
https://myanimelist.net/anime/20583/Haikyuu

Haikyuu is a volleyball anime and among the best pure sports shows I've ever seen. The set up is like any other sports show, a kid (Hinata) really likes Volleyball but is incredibly short for the sport. However his motivation to win and an uncanny jumping ability and reflexes gives him a spot on a team where he teams up with Kageyama, a prodigy who seems to know the perfect place to put the ball to get a point, but no one has been able to properly receive his passes... until now.

If you've seen like any sports show most of them following similar progressions of like some underdogs trying to beat better teams or a better fighter etc. This is no different. The high school was once a powerhouse but has fallen into obscurity. To get out of it they use the main character duo to rise back to prominence. So like there is not really a way to explain why I like it more than other sports shows or why I think it's better than to... compare it to another popular sports show.

I'd say right now the two big sports IPs in anime are Haikyuu and Kuroko no Basket. Obviously I think Haikyuu is a goty caliber show and I think Kuruko is a piece of junk. But why? By far one of the biggest factors is how they handle the actual games and the back and forth. In Kuruko a lot of matches seem meaningless and focus too much on a single player. Haikyuu matches are like operas of a game with different players stepping up to defining roles at different times. The pacing of getting background on these characters is also much faster overall. Haikyuu knows what's important, the matches being great. Speaking of those characters, because more of them get involve in the games there is also more natural banter and development for the entire cast. Not only that but it feels like an actual sport is being played. Kuroko is a superpower show where character play basketball instead of fight crime or something.

I really appreciate how balanced the show seems to be overall. It gives side characters back stories and actual development that seems meaningful. It's not just to have it there, because a lot of characters show up again from time to time. Kuroko set up members of the team of miracles as like bosses to be overcome, Kuroko sets their opponents up as rivals, and people they know they can beat... but have to come together has a complete unit to get that job done.

The overall animation and art is very strong. It has great editing during the games and the way they present things like the impact of the ball being hit is also superb. Even if you don't really like sports shows this is grade A material.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

oh so it wasnt just me noticing that it did slow down after the patch? Good thing to know
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

Did he thank you?
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

I think some of it is more like, even once someone knows about it, how do you actually go about catching them doing it? What more, who do you get to do it?
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

update in a little bit
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

1. I dont care who runs it as long as they do simple things like make a bracket, etc.

2. I'd make a different topic only to make it easier to see news and updates about it.

3. I prefer standard simply because I dont have the card pool to make a wild list. That's an understatement, I have almost 0 good wild cards. I can barely field 4 decks in standard. That said, as for formats I prefer conquest.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

The overall concept is cool but imo the acting is pretty bad for the most part.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

My record in priest mirrors is still fucking bad. Mainly because I never draw the combo before they do.

Current match up versus another priest. He played Raza/Shadowreaper/Velen/Mind Blast... ALL ON CURVE.

Basically how hearthstone goes for me

For 3 days win like 60% of my games and climb
In a period of 2 hours lose all my games and erase all the progress I made in the past 3 days.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

In the past 8 games where I've drawn Prince by turn 2... I've also drawn patches before I've played a pirate (next turn or the turn after that one) in half of them.

I've lost all 4 of those games.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.

IMO among the best 4 cards you can have opening is Firefly, Prince 2, Captain, and one of the following - Backstab, Shadowstep, Deckhand.

Like if I see firefly in my hand and I also see Captain I keep both because captain on 3 will pull a 2/2 patches. So a Captain after a Prince 2 pulling a 3/3 patches is just incredibly insane.
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Kokoro's Anime Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaIA0gY11FQ_Zh6kLSam5OA
Updated: July 27th, 2016.