LogFAQs > #967007370

As you can see, Mac and I often have different opinions about anime. I just finished his recommendation, though, and thankfully there are times where we both like the same thing!

BONUS. Sasami-san@Ganbaranai
https://myanimelist.net/anime/14515/Sasami-sanGanbaranai
Winter 2013 (12 episodes)
My Score: TBA, MAL Score: 6.67/10
Best Character: Tsukuyomi Sasami
Recommended by: @MacArrowny

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPTvRx4OuZ4

Premise: Tsukuyomi Sasami is a shut-in living with her overly affectionate older brother. Sasami monitors him with her computer during the day, including his interactions with three odd sisters.

The Good: Sasami-san@Ganbaranai was a wonderfully weird anime. Early on, I was afraid itd be too weird with the brother never showing his face and the incest vibes, but by the end of the first episode I was willing to go along for the ride. It was made by the same people who made Monogatari and has much the same visual style. The unique way shots are framed (sometimes lovingly animated, sometimes still images of various objects around the room, and everything in-between) really helps guide the viewer through whatever craziness is going on. And Sasami-san had plenty of craziness. I dont know much about Japanese mythology so Im sure most of that stuff went over my head. I enjoyed it all in terms of pure spectacle. I loved how the brother/sister stuff, which I found off-putting at first, was eventually explained through the history of the Tsukuyomi family. The main characters also had some great dynamics. Sasami was my favorite, but I also really liked Kagami and how their friendship grew.

The Bad: Sometimes the tone became too dark too fast. Its probably just my preference for lighter stories, but it always felt out of place. Still, this only happened a few times in the whole anime, so it didnt drag it down much.

Overall: Sasami-san@Ganbaranai was difficult to talk about because I didnt want to spoil anything. Even the first episode has a great moment where everything changes, and I think it hits a lot harder if the viewer doesnt know whats coming. Its an anime that goes to some strange places, but it tackles everything competently and has a lot of heart doing it. Ill need a few days to think on it, but itll likely end up in the lower half of my top 100 in my final ranking. Thanks for the recommendation, Mac! Im not sure Id have ever watched this otherwise.

(Sasami also probably makes it into my top 100 characters. I'm debating if I want to do spoiler-filled write-ups for characters who reach that threshold too. She certainly deserves one, especially since I couldn't talk about the story much in the anime write-up. Depending on how much I like the rest of these recommendations, though, committing to characters could be a bunch of extra work. I don't have time for it right now in any case, so I'll think on it some more. We're still a few weeks away from seeing the first character from the normal ranking. It'd feel weird to have already done a bunch from recommendations before that.)