Board 8 > Robazoid Ranks 275 Anime and Top 100 Anime Characters 2 (Average and beyond)

(+) Yeah! (+)

155 sounds like Campione, but I'm pretty sure that's not it.
154 sounds like Dusk Maiden, but I don't think that's it either.
153 sounds like Mother of the Goddess' Dormitory, which I also think is wrong

Yamada-kun
Yuuna and the Hot Springs
dunno

Bane_Of_Despair posted...

Although I generally don't watch, let alone finish, shows I don't enjoy so most of the shows I watch range from a 7-10 for me. I think the lowest score I gave a show I fully finished is a 5 lol

Probably a smarter way to watch things than me! I don't regret finishing any of these, though. Even the 1/10s were fun to rank in this topic, retroactively making the pain of watching them worthwhile

Time for some fun facts!

-The name 'Yuuki' or 'Yuki' is by far the most common name in my top 100 characters, appearing five times. If you count 'yuki' in part of a name, it bumps up to seven. The next closest are several names appearing twice.
-There are three voice actors who each voice five different top 100 characters. Seto Asami, voice of Kurokami no Onna, is one of them. Yuuki Aoi, voice of Konno Yuuki, voices three top 100 characters.
-The first anime where my score actually improves its MAL score is #100

I'm also bringing over these trivia questions before the first topic purges. Very few people made guesses but I still think they're fun. I'll still accept guesses for awhile, if anyone else wants to throw out a ratio or something.

1- The ratio of males and females in my top 100 characters (example, 51:49 would be 51 guys, 49 girls)
CURRENTLY: 0:2
Mac's guess: 25:75
Seabass's guess: 29:71
Koala's guess: 32:68

2- Only one anime has three characters in my top 100 characters
Mac's guess: Katana Maidens
Koala's guesses: Laid-Back Camp, A Place Further than the Universe, BanG Dream

3- Five lowest ranked anime with a character in my top 100
Death Parade (Kurokami no Onna)
Sword Art Online (Konno Yuuki)

4- Five highest ranked anime without a character in my top 100

Mobilezoid posted...

I still love how some of them are lookalikes to famous anime heroines. One looks exactly like Hanekawa from Monogatari, another like Renge from Non Non Biyori, and the cat-girl in this has the same voice actress as Nya-tan from Etotama, who is THE cat-girl as far as I'm concerned.

i don't think i know a single one of the "famous" references

monogatari i think i've seen somw of (senjougahara?) but i don't recognize hanekawa

155. Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches
https://myanimelist.net/anime/28677/Yamada-kun_to_7-nin_no_Majo
Spring 2015 (12 episodes)
My Score: 5/10, MAL Score: 7.57/10
Best Character: Shiriashi Urara

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

Premise: Yamada Ryuu is a delinquent at school. Then an accidental kiss with honors student Shiriashi Urara reveals that they have the ability to swap bodies!

The Good: I like the idea of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches. There are seven girls in the school with different powers, and Im always a fan of supernatural stuff where different abilities need to be used smartly to solve problems. Like theres a witch who can make people fall in love with her, a telepathic witch, etc, and they all require a different approach. My favorite character was Shiriashi. In a show where her love interest is, by necessity, kissing a bunch of girls to awaken powers, she couldve easily been jealous and angry all the time. Instead, she was great.

The Bad: I know theres a good plot reason for most of them, but my goodness there are a lot of forced kisses in Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches. Id usually hate that a lot more, so I guess the plot necessity helped a bit. It was still uncomfortable. This adaptation also felt rushed with lots of characters getting minimal development and certain events happening way too fast. It still reached a solid ending, but there just werent enough episodes for the story it wanted to tell.

Overall: Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches had some aspects I really liked and some I kind of hated. Im a huge fan of weird abilities being used smartly in different combinations and situations. Im not a fan at all that he often had to forcibly kiss girls in order to get said abilities. I also enjoyed the relationship between Yamada and Shiriashi, but most other stuff felt rushed.

meh

At least the anime benefits from not adapting the bad part of the manga, but I only liked the parts focusing more heavily on Shiraishi (shiriashi is japanese for buttfeet)

Thank you for correcting my spelling while there was still time to edit the post!

Robazoid posted...

I also enjoyed the relationship between Yamada and Shiriashi, but most other stuff felt rushed.

that's because it is - they trimmed everything that wasn't strictly necessary to make the arc fit into 12 episodes

the arcs after are worth skipping, but there's a lot of other good stuff going on that got thrown out because of time constraints

154. Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs
https://myanimelist.net/anime/36726/Yuragi-sou_no_Yuuna-san
Summer 2018 (12 episodes)
My Score: 5/10, MAL Score: 7.02/10
Best Character: Yunohana Yuuna

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrOkdBa3Q5w

Premise: Fuyuzora Kogarashi, having long been targeted by evil spirits, has learned how to exorcise them. When he meets a friendly ghost, Yunohana Yuuna, he decides to figure out a way for her to move on peacefully.

The Good: I like supernatural stories, and I really like stories about helping a ghost move on. While Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs wasnt the greatest example of that, it still had enough of those elements that I enjoyed it. However, this is mostly a comedic fanservice anime where Kogarashi lives with a harem of sexy ladies. My favorite running gag was Kogarashis past possessions by various ghosts. Any time he needed a niche skill, hed be like its a good thing I was possessed by the ghost of a master carpenter for three months as a kid! and thats why he knows carpentry. Made me laugh every time. He had a lot more character than the typical fanservice harem protagonist. Yuuna was still my favorite because she was a cute ghost, and the focus was on trying to fulfill her lifes regrets.

The Bad: As much as I like supernatural stories about helping ghosts move on, and as much as I liked some of the jokes, the fanservice aspect of this kept getting in the way. Like, it doesnt matter if a gag has a good setup if the ultimate payoff is Kogarashi accidentally groping one of the sexy ladies again. I dont hate fanservice, but in this it kept undercutting good gags or taking the tension out of what couldve otherwise been a neat situation.

Overall: Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs is a solid supernatural anime about trying to help a cute ghost finally move on. I liked most of the characters and the adventures they went on, but I wouldve liked them a lot more if the story stopped going out of its way to be sexy. The focus on fanservice became distracting and was a detriment to the anime overall.

153. Miss Caretaker of Sunohara-sou
https://myanimelist.net/anime/36817/Sunohara-sou_no_Kanrinin-san
Summer 2018 (12 episodes)
My Score: 5/10, MAL Score: 6.80/10
Best Character: Sunohara Nana

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i51DB6ZKsVI

Premise: Shiina Aki, a boy who is often confused for a girl due to feminine features, moves to Tokyo hoping to change himself. There he lives in a house with four attractive women.

The Good: Miss Caretaker of Sunohara-sou is a fanservice harem anime. Im usually not a big fan of those, but this does a few things right. For one thing, Aki is an okay character and not a lump with no personality like in lots of harem anime. Secondly, quite a few of the girls have no actual interest in him. There are still scenes full of fanservice and innuendo with all the girls, but only one or two like him. That makes their scenes together cuter than if he was being chased by literally everyone. The fanservice in this is also surprisingly great. Nana, the fun gyaru with tan lines, is one of the hottest anime girls ever. Fanservice aside, this is a passable slice-of-life.

The Bad: No matter how many elements I praise, at its core this is still an anime about older women getting into sexually charged situations with a much younger boy. I think most people know right away whether thats something thatll ruin it for them or not. It might be hypocritical of me to say it didnt bother me. I mean, I bashed plenty of anime for uncomfortable age gaps in previous write-ups. Sunohara-sou is literally about that, though, so I give it more leeway. It also helps that, for all the fanservice and teasing moments, nothing ever goes too far.

Overall: Miss Caretaker of Sunohara-sou is one of the rare fanservice anime where I enjoyed the fanservice. Most of the time Im either neutral on it or annoyed if it gets really blatant. Nana was just so incredibly hot that, for once, I didnt want it to focus on something with more substance.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
152: This anime is inhabited by a sentient spirit.
151: This anime is riddled with viruses and bacteria.
150: This anime doesnt even know what species it is.

(The theme for today was fanservice (well, Yamada-kun was just a bunch of kisses but still) which I know some people are put off by, but we're past it now!)

Cells @ Work?

152. We Rent Tsukumogami
https://myanimelist.net/anime/36654/Tsukumogami_Kashimasu
Summer 2018 (12 episodes)
My Score: 5/10, MAL Score: 6.69/10
Best Character: Okou

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWfVvAlBTQE
(Couldnt find OP or ED, linked to full OP song)

Premise: Seiji and Okou run a shop that rents items to people. Some of these objects, after many years of existence, have become tsukumogami and are inhabited by sentient spirits.

The Good: We Rent Tsukumogami is a surprisingly pleasant anime. The tsukumogami antics are fun in a Toy Story kind of way, and theyre all given a good amount of character. What I like most about this show, however, was the way it explored the relationships between people and objects. A comb can be an important part of the bond between a mother and daughter, for example. A lot of these are presented as mysteries, and the emotional payoffs were satisfying. I went into this anime with low expectations and was surprised how often it surpassed them.

The Bad: The production quality for this wasnt the greatest. The tsukumogami comedy could also get kind of lame at times. I dont want to rave about this anime too much, either. Most of the plots were satisfying but ultimately they were nothing special. It was just a nice anime to watch.

Overall: We Rent Tsukumogami isnt the greatest anime in the world, but it had elements that appealed to me. I liked the tsukumogami antics, I liked the low-stakes mysteries, and I liked the dynamic between the main characters. Im also a sucker for this kind of slice-of-life with a supernatural twist, which helped it overcome its poor production values.

151. Cells at Work
https://myanimelist.net/anime/37141/Hataraku_Saibou
Summer 2018 (13 episodes), Winter 2021 (0/8 episodes, unfinished), plus 1 OVA
My Score: 5/10, MAL Score: 7.57/10
Best Character: AE3803

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFe3srrhLdI

Premise: The human body has 37 trillion cells, and this primarily follows the lives of Red Blood Cell AE3803 and White Blood Cell U-1146 as they deliver food and oxygen or battle viruses.

The Good: The concept of Cells at Work is still one of my favorite things ever. It turns the human body into a labyrinthine complex where trillions of people are all performing their little tasks while under constant assault from bacteria and viruses. Its just such a creative and fun way to think about something thats happening inside every one of us. This is an edutainment anime, and some episodes handle the education aspect better than others. My favorite parts were where it was symbolic (snow falling when the body is dangerously hypothermic, for example) without needing to pause everything for a voice-over to spell it out.

The Bad: I remember the first episode of Cells at Work feeling amazing. It was such a fresh idea handled in a fun way. Sadly, it turned out the first episode was the peak, and they couldnt maintain that level of excellence for long. Too often, this started focusing on the education half of edutainment. Stop the action to explain what a parasite is, stop the action again to explain the damage the parasite is doing, stop the action again to introduce the cell that defeats parasites just have the parasite melt something and have that cell stab it, I can put the rest together myself.

Overall: Cells at Work is still a fun anime, but it wound up being a lot worse than it shouldve been. Since the concept couldnt even hold me for one season, I still havent watched the second season (or the spinoff about a hard-drinking drug abusers body, though that one at least sounds different). Cells at Work was at its best when it was using the concept of a world where knockoff DBZ villains could burst through the walls at any moment, but it was boring when it focused on painstakingly educating the viewer on everything.

Black > CaW

Though Black's not amazing either it's at least more interesting and aimed at a more adult audience.

150. Kemono Friends
https://myanimelist.net/anime/33089/Kemono_Friends
Fall 2017 (12 episodes), Winter 2019 (1/12 episodes, unfinished)
My Score: 5/10, MAL Score: 7.53/10 S1, 5.86/10 S2
Best Character: Kaban

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxg-AADx39w

Premise: Japari Park is home to many half-animal creatures called Friends. One of them, Serval, has just met someone named Kaban, and they go on an adventure to learn what species she is.

The Good: Kemono Friends looks like it should be terrible. Its an incredibly low-budget anime with weird CGI and parts of the story feel like its a kids show educating viewers about animals. All of that is true. However, theres a good reason why this became a surprise sensation when it was airing. All those lackluster elements come together to create something fascinating. My favorite part was the little hints at the setting that were sprinkled throughout, I mean it's set in a run-down seemingly abandoned nature park. Their main quest is discovering what species Kaban is, but I think most viewers will instantly realize shes human. That brings with it a new and far more interesting overarching question for the viewers what happened to the other humans?

The Bad: While the bad CGI and weird writing didnt ruin the show for me, they were still lackluster and didnt elevate it much either. I also wonder how much of the things I found most interesting was accidental due to the poor production, which detracted from the experience for me (though Im sure it wouldve elevated it for others). I know a lot of people found Kemono Friends charming, and I did too, but Id have still preferred something more competent that explored these same ideas.

Overall: Kemono Friends hooked me early on with a million questions about its setting. While I was watching intently for any information about where the humans went and what the deal was with this weird park, I also wound up becoming interested in the cute animal antics. Kaban and Serval were a fun pair to watch exploring this strangely fascinating world. I still havent watched the second season, but I remember there was a lot of drama around it when it was airing, and the low MAL score makes me wonder if its worth watching at all.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
149: This anime froze up and forgot its lines.
148: This anime has such little presence, no one will notice its elimination.
147: After it dies, this animes spirit will inhabit the body of a cute animal.

MacArrowny posted...

Black > CaW

Though Black's not amazing either it's at least more interesting and aimed at a more adult audience.

I liked the big-titty-ness of the WBCs in Black, but the main RBC was too annoying. Also, the show should have ended after episode 11 with the body dying

I don't disagree with any of that on CaW.

I liked Kemono Friends a lot. Ultra charming show. AFAIK, KF2 is made by a totally different team, and they didn't do a great job.

149. Hinako Note
https://myanimelist.net/anime/33948/Hinako_Note
Spring 2017 (12 episodes)
My Score: 5/10, MAL Score: 6.77/10
Best Character: Natsukana Kuina

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JlEvaGyYuc

Premise: Sakuragi Hinako is so shy that she freezes when talking to new people. Inspired by a play she saw, she moves to Tokyo for high school to change herself by acting in theater.

The Good: Hinako Note is a cute girls comedy anime with... somewhat of a focus on theater. I like all of the characters in this well enough. My favorite was Kuina because she had lots of fun mannerisms like lazily eating books. I liked Hinako too. The way she snapped into a T-posing scarecrow whenever she was nervous was cute. Hinako Note also excelled at a certain kind of comedy. Lots of anime do that thing (I don't know if there's an official name for it) where the art style briefly simplifies into a chibi-like style for a joke. Hinako Note was one of the best I've seen at that.

The Bad: Hinako Note tries to do too many different things. It's supposed to be about theater, but most of the time that isn't the focus. It's also about school, and getting to know the people where she's living, and helping with the bookstore on the first floor. The result is that Hinako Note doesn't feel like it's about anything. For example, even a mediocre cute girls show like Asteroid in Love was able to find something new in familiar situations by focusing on astronomy or geology while doing it. When Hinako Note goes to the beach, it's just a typical beach episode.

Overall: Hinako Note has fun characters and is really good at delivering certain kinds of jokes with them. However, it didn't spend enough time on theater, which should've been its focus. That made it feel generic. I've enjoyed plenty of cute girls anime with no specific twist, but Hinako Note was nowhere near as good as them and really couldve used something to help it stand out.

Never watched Hinako Note for some reason. Maybe the bad reception.

MacArrowny posted...

Never watched Hinako Note for some reason. Maybe the bad reception.

It honestly isn't a bad CGDCT. Ultimately nothing special, but not one I'd warn people away from for any reason.

Not exactly interested in watching meh shows.

There are only so many cute girls anime in the world! A lot of them will be meh but I still get something out of them.

I was mostly commenting on the bad reception part of your post, too. Hinako Note is generic at worst, it doesn't do anything annoying or egregious to deserve a bad reception that I can remember.

That's what I mean by "bad" - no one loves it.

Oh, Hinako Note seems like it should have been another member of the club of unremarkable manga I read that I didn't know had an equally unremarkable adaptation.

148. Yuru Yuri
https://myanimelist.net/anime/10495/Yuru_Yuri
Summer 2011 (12 episodes), Summer 2012 (12 episodes), Fall 2015 (12 episodes)
My Score: 5/10, MAL Score: 7.58/10 S1, 7.83/10 S2, 7.92/10 S3
Best Character: Akaza Akari

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a9kVT52jR4
(Couldnt find the S1 OP, which is too bad because that song is great, so heres the S2 OP)

Premise: Four friends, including Akaza Akari, have taken over the former tea club room. They hang out there having fun and looking for new ways to amuse themselves.

The Good: Yuru Yuri is a cute girls comedy anime with no specific focus. They mostly just hang out and their zany personalities lead to jokes. Akari was my favorite character, which might be controversial because her gimmick is having such little presence that sometimes she literally fades away. People always seem to forget about her in the show, but I found her hilarious. One scene was just Akari alone at a train station reacting to text messages and it was my favorite bit in all three seasons. I also liked Ayano, her tsundere crush on Kyouko was cute.

The Bad: While I didn't dislike any of the characters, I found some of the more prominent ones to be very hit-or-miss. Chinatsu, Yui, and Kyouko all had running gags thst never worked for me. Kyouko thinks Chinatsu is cute, but Chinatsu thinks Kyouko is annoying and idolizes the dashing Yui! Nothing about those dynamics is as funny as Yuru Yuri thinks it is. Kyouko also had a powerful personality that often verged on annoying.

Overall: I enjoyed Yuru Yuri, especially Akari and some of the side characters. The other major characters weren't the best, but they all had some great moments. Overall, this was a solid cute girls comedy anime that simply wasn't one of my favorites.

For some reason I enjoyed it a lot more after the studio switch with Nachuyachumi for whatever reason. Felt like the SoL and comedy and characterization worked better.

Akari was the weakest character.

Kyouko is awesome and by far the best part of the show.

I think a lot of the established character groupings get a little tired, like Chinatsu with Yui or Sakurako with Himawari. It's good when different characters get to bounce off each other and that should maybe happen a bit more often. The dynamic of the main four is always funny enough though. Akari is also my favorite.

Especially in high-tension janken. That Akari is a true terror.

MacArrowny posted...

Akari was the weakest character.

https://c.tenor.com/phhtTn3yIpAAAAAd/akari-akaza-akarin.gif

That was the best Akari gif I could find in response on my crappy work wifi where gifs take forever to load

could at least do anti-bully ranger tbqh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olckGhH3Wo8

I thought the comedy for Yuru Yuri was way better in the earlier seasons. It felt like season 1 and 2 were actually attempting to create clever and unexpected jokes, while season 3 just tried to cash in on being a bad yuri show.

Kyouko was also easily my favorite character.

MacArrowny posted...

Akari was the weakest character.

Wow, how did you misspell Chinatsu's name that badly? Obviously that's what happened there, can't think of how else this sentence would exist.

147. Is the Order a Rabbit?
https://myanimelist.net/anime/21273/Gochuumon_wa_Usagi_Desu_ka
Spring 2014 (12 episodes), Fall 2015 (12 episodes), Fall 2020 (12 episodes)
My Score: 5/10, MAL Score: 7.50/10 S1, 7.79/10 S2, 7.94/10 S3
Best Character: Kafuu Chino

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEnjmOt-rzQ

Premise: Hoto Kokoa moves into the Rabbit House caf and begins working there to pay for her room. She befriends Kafuu Chino, the owners daughter who often has a rabbit on her head.

The Good: Is the Order a Rabbit is a cute girls anime with some comedy, but mostly it focuses on comfy slice-of-life. I liked all the characters. Whether its Chino putting up with Kokoas wannabe big sister antics, Rize having a gun for some reason, or any of their friends visiting the caf, it was always fun to follow their daily lives. This anime has a relaxing aura best exemplified by the various cute rabbits who are part of the cast, including one seemingly inhabited by the spirit of Chino's grandfather.

The Bad: I'm struggling to find anything bad to say about Is the Order a Rabbit. It's such a solid slice-of-life with a cute and fluffy atmosphere. I like all of the characters, even the self-insert manga author side character who only has one running gag (where she's literally always running from her editor). Nothing about this anime sticks out to me as being truly great, however. Cute and fluffy can only carry a show so far, I guess.

Overall: Is the Order a Rabbit is a nice and relaxing anime. None of the characters or plot elements really stuck with me, however. This is a comfy slice-of-life, but it didn't have anything to elevate it into my favorites.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
146: No one can hear what this anime is saying.
145: This anime is harassing a police officer while pretending to protect the city.
144: This anime got blown up by a tank.

Only watched one ep of Rabbit. Was annoyed by the fanservice, and the grandpa character seemed lame.

Never noticed the name puns the first time. Kafuu Chino = Cappuccino, Hoto Kokoa = Hot Cocoa, Kirima Sharo = Kilimanjaro, Ujimatsu Chiya = Uji Macha (it makes more sense in Japanese).

...I honestly never noticed the name puns either. I mean Kokoa = Cocoa is hard to miss (I'm pretty sure the Crunchyroll subs even use Cocoa but I use the MAL spellings for this unless they're super terrible) but I saw her last name so rarely in Japanese order that I never connected it as Hot Cocoa.

Also, it's interesting that the fanservice put you off. I remember this as one of the rare cute girls anime with no fanservice at all. Maybe I'm just desensitized to it, or maybe it wasnt as blatant in the third season. I've watched that a lot more recently than the first two.

Like I said, I only watched the first episode. There's a scene in their with Rize in lingerie. I'm generally cool with fanservice (I think Strike Witches is great, for example), but it bothered me here for some reason.

146. Aharen-san wa Hakarenai
https://myanimelist.net/anime/49520/Aharen-san_wa_Hakarenai
Spring 2022 (12 episodes)
My Score: 5/10, MAL Score: 7.38/10
Best Character: Aharen Reina

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UeGeKumLFg

Premise: On his first day in high school, Raidou Matsuboshi wants to befriend the person sitting next to him. That happens to be Aharen Reina, a girl who speaks so softy no one can hear her.

The Good: Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is a lighthearted comedy anime about the friendship between an imaginative guy and an unbelievably quiet girl. I like Aharen a lot as a character. She's quiet because she doesn't know how loud she's supposed to be. A character like her would usually be stereotypically shy, but Aharen is actually quite confident and bold. She still has doubts and anxiety stemming from her inability to comprehend things like distance, too, which I found compelling. Most of the anime focuses on her and Raidou. They explore various fun things to do and engage in lots of friendly competitions, which Raidou always builds up way too much in his imagination.

The Bad: As good as Raidou and especially Aharen are, they couldn't carry the whole anime on their own. Sadly, with the exception of the angry little girl who sees Aharen as a rival, all the side characters in this were boring. The big shy girl Ooshiro was boring, Aharen's sisters were boring, and the teacher had one nosebleed joke they used over and over. They have a pair of school friends who, impressively, have no distinguishing character traits whatsoever and only show up when a game needs more than two players. This anime desperately needed some better side characters.

Overall: Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is a cute and funny anime whenever it's focusing on Raidou and Aharen. If it had one or two other side characters on their level who added to the fun dynamic, I would've liked it a lot more. The other characters were boring, however, and even the main duo started to feel stale when they were all there was.

Mobilezoid posted...

Aharen's sisters were boring,

Unless I missed something, Ren is her brother.

Most of the characters are great, siblings/teacher/Ooshiro included. School friends being boring was the joke, and worked imo. Big fan of the show <3

SockoressKnight posted...

Unless I missed something, Ren is her brother.

Switched to siblings, my mistake. I originally listed the brother separately in that list of boring characters but I edited it down and forgot to switch it to siblings.

aharen very good

Wasn't a fan of Ooshiro, but the side characters were mostly fine. Best ones being "the angry little girl" and...Ren.

145. Mitsuboshi Colors
https://myanimelist.net/anime/35078/Mitsuboshi_Colors
Winter 2018 (12 episodes)
My Score: 5/10, MAL Score: 7.42/10
Best Character: Kotoha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xTE1ApWi00

Premise: Yui, Kotoha, and Sacchan are three imaginative elementary school girls who go on adventures together. They often like to pretend theyre defending the city as the play.

The Good: Mitsuboshi Colors is a lighthearted comedy anime that really nailed the feeling of playing with friends at an age where imagination is pretty much all you need. The three girls take their fun to more comedic extremes than most kids would, but it still made me nostalgic for playing with my own friends as a child. I liked a lot of the gags their antics led to, and Kotoha was easily my favorite of the three. I also liked how the various side characters around town reacted to them differently. Some gave them little toys or played along, but there were some great running gags with an exasperated policeman who they often harassed.

The Bad: This is another anime where I don't have anything bad to say about it, I just can't justify ranking it any higher. There isn't a whole lot of depth to anything, but I think adding character arcs or big themes would ruin the aura of childlike wonder so I'm glad they didn't try.

Overall: Mitsuboshi Colors excels at a certain kind of comedy. It's nice watching an anime like this sometimes, even if it ultimately didn't do anything special to elevate it into my favorites. I still enjoyed watching the girls and their adventures.

Colors also rulz

144. Girls und Panzer
https://myanimelist.net/anime/14131/Girls___Panzer
Fall 2012 (12 episodes)
My Score: 5/10, MAL Score: 7.52/10
Best Character: Akiyama Yukari

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES06Fkkl8ac

Premise: A tank battle sport is about to have its first worldwide championship. For Nishizumi Miho, who quit driving tanks after a traumatic incident, this event might force her to start again.

The Good: Girls und Panzer is a fun concept. It's essentially a mix of a sports anime and a battle anime. The tank sport is way too expensive and dangerous to exist in real life, but that absurdity is what makes it so fun in an anime! I enjoyed all of the battles, they were full of neat strategizing and crazy maneuvers. Yukari was my favorite character by far for her love of tanks and always going the extra mile to help the team. Of the lesser characters, the group that cosplayed as historical figures was a lot of fun.

The Bad: The characters in GuP didn't stand out to me much. There were a whole bunch of them, for one thing. The main school had several tank crews, never mind the opponent teams. They all at least had a fun gimmick or two, but it wasn't enough to endear me to all of them. The main characters were also really bland aside from Yukari. Miho is the only one I can remember much about and she didn't exactly impress me.

Overall: Girls und Panzer is a fun anime about girls battling with tanks. It used the tank aspect really well, so I enjoyed most of the battles. Sadly, in a sports anime like this, lots of the enjoyment for me comes from watching the characters grow and bond with each other. In this, most of the characters were so basic that I didn't care about them at all.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
143: This anime is leaving its small country to learn how to control its magic.
142: This anime read my mind and knew it would rank here.
141: This anime divined its future and knew it would rank here.

(Really crappy hint for 143, my apologies. Any other hint I considered made me think of a bunch of other anime and 143 was never one of them. At least the other two share a fun theme!)

GuP disappointed me for whatever reason. Maybe because there's too many characters? Had a lot of potential, but it's just solid.

143. Hina Logic: From Luck & Logic
https://myanimelist.net/anime/34834/Hina_Logi__From_Luck___Logic
Summer 2017 (12 episodes)
My Score: 5/10, MAL Score: 6.65/10
Best Character: Liones Yelistratova

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-GYlA4mXvQ

Premise: Princess Liones Yelistratova enters a school that trains Logicalists, a certain kind of magic user. There she makes many friends and learns to manage her abilities.

The Good: Hina Logic is a spinoff from Luck & Logic, a battle anime I've never seen because I heard it's abysmal. This one has cute girls doing cute things, however, and while it still has impressive magical battles they're pretty much all low-stakes training exercises. The main draw to this anime is the character interactions, which are lighthearted fun and lead to lots of great jokes. Liones was my favorite because she had the strongest character, plus her supporting cast was fun, like her doting parents. I loved Mahiro too, she was a genius inventor type who was always blowing things up with her latest gadget.

The Bad: This is pretty much a cute girls anime set in a magical academy, which is a great place to have one. However, aside from the occasional battle and a few standout moments, Hina Logic doesn't do a whole lot to set itself apart in the genre. I enjoyed all the characters, but I've seen their archetypes in plenty of other anime. The arc in the final episodes was too serious for my tastes too, I much preferred the lighthearted fun from earlier.

Overall: Hina Logic is a fun cute girls anime with nice characters and some surprisingly well-animated battle sequences. I complained in the bad section that it ultimately didn't do anything new and the archetypes were generic, but I want to clarify that isn't a terrible thing. I'm always happy to find and watch another cute anime like this, because they're always a good time!

Hina Logic good times. IIRC, the latter parts weren't the best, but I enjoyed it quite a lot.

142. Spy x Family
https://myanimelist.net/anime/50265/Spy_x_Family
Spring 2022 (12 episodes)
My Score: 5/10, MAL Score: 8.77/10
Best Character: Anya Forger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_rWZK_8vUY

Premise: In order to preserve a tenuous peace between East and West, top spy Twilight is given a tough mission to create a fake family. As Loid Forger, he unwittingly adopts a mindreader, Anya, and marries an assassin, Yor.

The Good: I obviously don't adore Spy x Family like most people did, but I still enjoyed a lot about it. The premise is a fun idea for a comedy, and each of the main characters add to the dynamic. Anya was easily my favorite for being cute and having amazing facial expressions whenever she hears something crazy from someone's thoughts. She's also the one who knows everyone's secrets, though she's too young to comprehend the magnitude of most of it. Her attempts to help the spy mission and do her best at school are adorable. Loid and Yor have their own quirks and zany situations too, but for me they mostly facilitated Anya's great moments.

The Bad: I don't dislike SxF, but I do feel it wastes its potential in some ways. After one season, Yor being an assassin hasn't been used for much. It's telling that I'm still not sure which side she's loyal to. The setting also feels inconsistent. In one episode they're able to call upon hundreds of agents for an over-the-top adventure, then a few episodes later Loid is overworked because he's apparently the only spy they have. I dunno, the overall tone of the show just didn't resonate with me I guess.

Overall: Spy x Family is a lot of fun, especially whenever it's focusing on Anya. I also enjoy the sweet moments of this fake family, who came together for selfish reasons, starting to truly care about each other. Some of the humor didn't work for me and I'd prefer a more consistent setting, but it's still an enjoyable anime. I just hope the future season reach me the way SxF has already reached so many other people.

Spy x Family is definitely one of those shows that gave me "why is this so popular?" vibes. It wasn't bad or anything but it just felt like totally run-of-the-mill comedy to me.