Board 8 > Robazoid Ranks 275 Anime and Top 100 Anime Characters 3 (The Top 60)

(+) Yeah! (+)

rezero great f da haters

pyresword posted...

The more specific things I want to say are somewhat mean-spirited so I'll just leave it at that.

If you're worried about hurting my feelings by bashing an anime I liked, I promise I won't mind! I spent months bashing ones I didn't like during the ranking, after all. If you mean you just don't want to spend your time typing it all up, though, then fair enough.

Time for 2000 words about Yuki Yuna.

33. Yuki Yuna is a Hero
https://myanimelist.net/anime/25519/Yuuki_Yuuna_wa_Yuusha_de_Aru
Fall 2014 (12 episodes), Fall 2017 (6 episodes), Fall 2017 (6 episodes), Fall 2021 (12 episodes)
My Score: 8/10, MAL Score: 7.37/10 S1, 7.67/10 S2a, 7.65/10 S2b, 7.28/10 S3
Best Characters: Yuki Yuna, Togo Mimori, Inubouzaki Itsuki

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zUodItQWx8

My Yuki figure: https://imgur.com/aNtarC3

Premise: Yuki Yuna and her friends are part of their schools Hero Club, doing things like volunteer work. When a mysterious force threatens the world, however, they must become heroes in a much more literal sense by transforming into magical girls.

The Good: Yuki Yuna is a Hero is a dark magical girl show. That genre was popularized by the beloved Madoka anime. If you ask me, though, Yuki Yuna is the genres peak. I attribute a lot of that to the characters. There are three in my top 100 and I still feel bad for leaving out Karin, Fu, Sonoko, Gin everyone in this is amazing. Theyre regular middle school girls in a lot of ways. Being part of their schools Hero Club shows that they all have big hearts and enjoy helping others. Then sometimes theyre thrown into a strange world where they need to transform and protect the divine tree from mysterious things called Vertexes. The sacrifices demanded of them weigh on the girls differently, and I found it really compelling watching their development.

The first season of YYiaH was good. I enjoyed the plot a lot, but the action scenes were merely passable. The second season is divided between a prequel and a sequel series, and they were both a huge improvement in every way. The prequel had amazing action scenes where the girls used their abilities creatively and worked together. The sequel series also had one of the best stories Ive ever seen in anime. The setting can get confusing at times, which Ill talk about more in the bad section. However, I was able to accept the things I didnt quite understand and focus more on the characters. Their reactions and arcs always resonated with me.

The Bad: Even after rewatching this, the setting doesnt quite make sense to me. I always had a lot of questions, like the actual extent of the world, how they get resources to maintain society, and so on. It felt like they mimicked modern Japan so they could make things seem normal before the trademark dark magical girl twist. Realistically, though, society should be different after hundreds of years under siege by weird monsters. Id have loved this so much more if their society reflected that. While watching this, I felt like I had to turn off the logical part of my brain and just accept things as they happened. I was eventually able to do that, but Im not sure everyone could.

I also didnt like the third season. This would be a high 9/10 if not for it. The first, followed by the prequel and the sequel, told a wonderful and complete story. Then the third season came along and said, actually there were a bunch of holes in that story! Then it tried to fill them in, but it did such a rushed and crappy job of it. The result is that suddenly there are holes in what used to be a complete story. It didnt ruin the show, but it definitely dragged it down a bit for me.

Overall: As much as I love Yuki Yuna is a Hero, I feel like this write-up isnt the most glowing recommendation! The setting never made much sense to me, and that made certain plot points difficult to follow. The third season is also pointless at best, damaging at worst. I acknowledge all of that. However, this is still easily my favorite dark magical girl anime. Discounting the third season (which can easily be skipped or ignored), this would be one of my favorite anime of all time. After all, theres a reason why this is the only anime with three characters in my top 100! Each of them is amazing in a different way, and Ill talk about three of them more below. Yuki Yuna herself is also my number two! Even if I didnt always understand what was going on, I was always able to follow how the characters reacted and appreciate the plot from that angle.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/8/9/AABz_zAAD3-J.jpg

CHARACTER: Inubouzaki Itsuki (Yuki Yuna is a Hero)
https://myanimelist.net/character/112075/Itsuki_Inubouzaki
Voiced by: Nagatsuma Juri
TOP 100 RANK: 92nd

SPOILERS FOR YUKI YUNA IS A HERO

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bjxQMWXsRE
(This is a long video, but its a great sequence for a bunch of different characters)

Itsuki might seem like a strange number three in a series with so many other amazing characters. I just really love the emotions she brought out of everyone in the first season. Itsuki starts out in the shadow of her big sister Fu. Where Fu is a bombastic leader, Itsuki is quiet and aspires to be nothing more than a follower. As the season progresses, though, Itsuki finds a dream. She wants to be a singer, and she secretly sends out an audition. When everyone loses something (eyesight, sense of taste, etc) after a big battle that pushed them all to their limit, Itsuki loses her voice. Shes concerned of course, but they all believe theyll return to normal before too long.

Fu eventually realizes the truth of their situation, however. Their sacrifices are permanent. All of them were lied to. As if that wasnt bad enough, Fu learns about Itsukis singing dream shortly after. The video I linked covers that, along with what follows. Fu rushes off to destroy the organization that deceived them, only to be stopped by Karin and Yuna. Then she breaks down and reveals that most of her anger is directed at herself. Fu was the one who got them all to join the Hero Club, after all. Because of her, her little sister will never realize her dream.

Thankfully, Itsuki shows up then to set things straight. Yes, she lost her voice, and that means shell never get to be a singer. Still, Itsuki also never would have had that dream in the first place if not for everyone in the Hero Club inspiring and encouraging her. She doesnt regret what she did, not even a little bit. Itsukis arc in the first season really got to me. Her self-sacrificing nature, second only to Yuna herself, proved that shes a good person and a true hero. She was good during the rest of the series too, but this first season arc is why shes one of my favorites.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/9/0/AABz_zAAD3-K.png

CHARACTER: Togo Mimori (Yuki Yuna is a Hero)
https://myanimelist.net/character/112207/Mimori_Tougou
Voiced by: Mimori Suzuko
TOP 100 RANK: 58th

SPOILERS FOR YUKI YUNA IS A HERO

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_i449vq7Tc

Ive mentioned before in various character write-ups that I appreciate seeing different sides of characters. Im a fan of things like amnesia because its fun to compare how they act with and without their memories. Im also a fan of things like old friends reuniting, because its interesting to compare their dynamics at different times. Given all of that, it should be no surprise that Togo is one of my favorites. She has so many different phases in her character development. Shes great in the first season as Yunas best friend who eventually goes off the deep end. Shes great in the prequel series as Sumi Washio. And then shes great in the second season where shes reunited with everyone and trying to atone.

Going chronologically, Togo begins as Sumi Washio, part of the previous generation of heroes. The sacrifices demanded eventually take her memories as well as the use of her legs. Togo takes on another life, moving in next door to Yuna and becoming her best friend. Despite losing her memories, however, I like how there are signs that shes still traumatized by what happened to her. The video I linked shows Togo attempting to kill herself. The big reveal is that the faeries stop her, but lets not brush over the fact that Togo tried to commit suicide. A balanced person wouldnt do that, not even as a test they expected to fail. The sacrifices being asked of them start to get to her much earlier than everyone else, likely because something of her earlier trauma remains. Theres another moment later where Togo promises to kill herself if she ever lost Yuna. Suicide ideation is clearly a recurring theme with her, and I found that interesting.

One of the biggest moments in the first season is when Togo decides, if the world demands these sacrifices of her friends, then the world doesnt deserve to exist. The logic is debatable, and we could argue the philosophy of it, but the important thins is that Togo has simply had enough. She destroys the wall protecting everyone and lets the Vertexes rush in. Everyone bands together and fights them off, and they knock some sense back into Togo too. She still starts the second season having been taken away to atone for what she did, and rescuing her leads to Yunas curse. Togo is horrified when she realizes the true cost of her actions. It was satisfying watching her fight so hard for Yunas sake during the rest of the season, and together they managed to reach a happy ending. The only part of the third season I really liked was the very end of the final episode. It showed a slightly older Togo and Yuna exploring a new world. I was happy they were together.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/9/1/AABz_zAAD3-L.jpg

CHARACTER: Yuki Yuna (Yuki Yuna is a Hero)
https://myanimelist.net/character/112071/Yuuna_Yuuki
Voiced by: Terui Haruka
TOP 100 RANK: 2nd

SPOILERS FOR YUKI YUNA IS A HERO

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDtUXclUZqc
(Another long video, but it covers a lot of reasons why I love Yuki Yuna)

Yuki Yuna is my second-favorite anime character, so hopefully I can do a good job on this write-up! I liked her from the very beginning. Even as a regular girl, she was always smiling and happy and energetic. Alongside the Hero Club, Yuna was willing to do anything, no matter how big or small, just as long as it helped someone else. When the Vertexes attacked and they needed to transform into magical girls, Yuna became a willing fighter. Even when it was revealed that they were lied to, that the things they sacrificed will never come back, Yuna doesnt break. She stops Fu from going on a rampage, filling up her mankai gauge in the process, and Yuna doesnt even mind. She wasnt doing it to protect the organization that had deceived them, not really. Yuna did it because she refused to let Fu do something hasty that shed regret.

After the events of the first season, Yuna leads the charge in remembering Togo and rescuing her. Her punishment for this is a curse. It slowly infects more and more of her body, and the process is incredibly painful. Yuna is a self-sacrificing girl, however, so that isnt the worst part. The thing she has the most trouble dealing with is that she must bear this suffering alone. One of the central tenants of their Hero Club is to talk so someone if you need help. When Yuna tries to do that, its revealed that the curse will bring calamity down on anyone she reaches out to. Just bringing it up with Fu is enough for her to get hit by a car, which makes Yuna immensely guilty.

I really felt for Yuna during the entire second season. She fought so hard to seem normal, to bear the pain alone. She did her best to seem optimistic, and to enjoy whatever time with her friends that she could. She didnt want to worry them, and she refused to put them at risk. She was even willing to sacrifice herself forever at the end of the season. Thankfully, Togo and the others had different ideas. The reason I love Yuna is, no matter what hardship she faced, she never broke. Seeing characters suffer is difficult to watch, but I always enjoy seeing them overcome that pain. Yuna went through hell, but she never lost sight of the fact that she was doing the right thing. She never stopped fighting, not even once. The title of the anime says it all. Yuki Yuna is a hero.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
32: This anime is being attacked by a horde of mechanical rabbits.
C87: This character is the most popular person in school.
31: This anime is battling against the heroes.
C34: This character wants to avenge the destruction of their homeworld.

I'm a fan of magical girl stuff, and Yuki Yuna seems right up my alley. I've been saving it for later. Didn't look too closely at your comments as a result. All I really know about it is the aforementioned Kagawa Life bit. Maybe they don't sing J-Pop while they fight but I think I will enjoy it just fine anyway when I get around to it.

#31 is a good pick, very underrated show. Assuming it is Planet With, but I'm pretty sure it is.

I never watched Yuki Yuna but it has a soundtrack by a lot of the same people as the NieR soundtrack and I love it for that.

HxH and ReZero are both shows I plan to watch at some point.

32. Witch Craft Works
https://myanimelist.net/anime/21085/Witch_Craft_Works
Winter 2014 (12 episodes)
My Score: 8/10, MAL Score: 7.01/10
Best Character: Kagari Ayaka

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

Premise: One day, Takamiya Honoka is attacked by a witch. Hes rescued by Kagari Ayaka, the most popular girl in school who turns out to be a witch herself, and the two are drawn into a conflict between competing factions.

The Good: Witch Craft Works is a modern day fantasy anime with equal parts action and comedy. Takamiya starts out as just a regular dude. His only connection to the beautiful and popular Kagari is that they sit near each other in class, and her fan club beats him up if he ever accidentally dares to talk to her. However, it turns out that Takamiya does have something special about him, because a witch attacks him one day to steal his powers. Kagari, who is also a witch, comes to his aid. From that day forward, she dedicates herself to protecting him.

The premise might not sound like much, but this wound up being one of the most purely enjoyable anime Ive ever seen. Takamiya and Kagari are great as individual characters. Hes mostly just a regular dude, but only in the sense that hes the straight man reacting to all the witch nonsense happening around him. He still has plenty of character traits to keep him from being boring or a mere audience self-insert. Kagari is still easily my favorite character. Shes a serious girl who doesnt show emotion much, but she has a deadpan style of comedy I found endlessly hilarious. Shes also a total badass. Her and Takamiya have a great dynamic, and not just in how they interact with each other. The way their powers work together is cool too. Kagari is effectively immortal, but any damage to Takamiya transfers instantly to her. That means she needs to protect her, and they grow closer as a result. Theres also a neat overarching plot with two competing witch factions, and each one is filled with fun and interesting characters.

The Bad: Theres only one season of this, and it doesnt go as far as I would like. Ive been thinking about getting into manga lately, and Witch Craft Works is one of the first Id like to read if I can track it down. Its high praise that the worst thing I can say about this is that I wanted more. Still, it really left me wanting more, and that feeling that it was incomplete dragged it down a bit in the ranking.

Overall: Witch Craft Works is amazing on pretty much every level. I liked the two main characters, I liked side characters like the fun group of five Tower witches or Takamiyas crazy mom, and I loved both the setting and the overarching plot. There were some neat witch battles where they used their crazy powers or controlled hordes of minions. Takamiya and Kagari also had a unique dynamic. The first season doesnt tell as much of the story as I would like, but it still reaches a decent stopping point. Overall, this was a very entertaining anime.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/5/2/AABz_zAAD4Lo.jpg

CHARACTER: Kagari Ayaka (Witch Craft Works)
https://myanimelist.net/character/35504/Ayaka_Kagari
Voiced by: Seto Asami
TOP 100 RANK: 87th

SPOILERS FOR Witch Craft Works

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kx3dj6zCKw
(The subtitles arent in English but its short and you dont really need them)

I already talked about a lot of the things I like about Kagari in the anime write-up. She has a great dynamic with Takamiya. Shes beautiful and popular, but its obvious that she cares about him way more than anyone else. Once shes allowed to openly start protecting him, Kagari keeps him by her side and refuses to let anyone get between them. I love the way their powers interact. Shes super strong and cant be damaged by anything, but any damage to Takamiya transfers instantly to her. That means she needs to defend him, and that added a neat strategic element to any battle they participated in. I also love her deadpan sense of humor. Kagari never showed much emotion about anything, but her offhand comments could be surprisingly funny.

Shes also a badass, and the video I linked is good proof of that. Her and Takamiya are out shopping when they run across a trio of Tower witches. Kagari effortlessly knocks two of them out. Then she guards Takamiya while the third witch shoots at them with dual pistols. Kagari seems to absorb the bullets, and then she dramatically drops the bullets and uses a finger pistol to explode the floor at the enemy witchs feet. That scene was so awesome that I sometimes randomly think about it in my daily life.

The first season only hinted at the overall story between her and Takamiya. He has some sort of massive power sealed inside himself, and Kagari made a pact to tap into that power in exchange for keeping him safe. Getting at Takamiyas power is the motivation for a lot of enemy witches, but its clear they only want it because it would make them stronger. Kagari, by comparison, has genuine devotion for Takamiya. She doesnt show much emotion so its hard to tell at times, but its clear she cares deeply about him. When Takamiya is in danger near the end of the season, Kagari is even willing to sacrifice her life to keep him safe. Thankfully, hes able to bring her back, but it was still a powerful scene and proof of how far she was willing to go. I plan to read the manga for Witch Craft Works someday, despite not being a manga reader at all, mostly because I want to see more adventures between them and where they eventually end up.

Robazoid posted...

I plan to read the manga for Witch Craft Works someday, despite not being a manga reader at all, mostly because I want to see more adventures between them and where they eventually end up.

You may be disappointed. I was. I gave the anime a 9 and the manga a 6.

MacArrowny posted...

You may be disappointed. I was. I gave the anime a 9 and the manga a 6.

Oh, that's too bad. Still, I'm probably less picky about manga than you are given I haven't read many, so hopefully the problem is just to do with the quality and not the story going a dumb direction or something.

31. Planet With
https://myanimelist.net/anime/37578/Planet_With
Summer 2018 (12 episodes)
My Score: 8/10, MAL Score: 7.17/10
Best Characters: Kuroi Souya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl5ZGNYDGiI

Premise: Kuroi Souya has lost most of his memories, leaving only dreams of a dragon destroying everything around him. When a group of heroes defending Earth use similar looking powers, Souya begins fighting against them.

The Good: Planet With is a mecha anime that goes in some unique directions. It follows Souya, a boy with a grudge against something he barely remembers. Earth is under attack by exceedingly strange floating constructs, and a group of heroes have risen to fight back against them. Before they can celebrate their victory, however, the heroes are attacked by Souya in his own mecha. All he knows is that something ruined his life, the power the heroes are using looks suspiciously similar, and that his guardians (a maid and a weird cat creature) say hes doing the right thing.

As you can probably tell, Planet With isnt an easy anime to describe. Its a conflict with a lot of different sides, and its unclear at first who the good guys are or if anyone even knows for sure. All I knew at the beginning was that Souya walked out and there was a weird cat creature sitting at the table. It was such a bizarre visual, but it hooked me! I love how this anime can go from absurd and funny to serious and dramatic without ever missing a beat. Sometimes the weird cat creature is trying to look up an anime figures skirt. Other times there are legitimately thought-provoking philosophical questions alongside awesome mecha battles. I was also impressed at how far the story went. There were at least three different points where it couldve ended and I wouldve been satisfied, but then it just kept going and getting better and better. It felt like several seasons were condensed into one, and somehow none of it was rushed.

The Bad: There are times during the mecha battles where the sound mixing isnt very good. I use headphones, so maybe it wouldnt be as noticeable with speakers or from a TV, but a lot of the attacks were incredibly loud compared to everything else. It doesnt ruin the battles, its just annoying. This was the only bad thing I can think of for Planet With, so I figured Id mention it.

Overall: Planet With is zany at times. There are weird animal creatures, and the alien constructs are just I dont even know how describe those things other than calling them random in an uncomfortable way. I enjoyed all of that. However, what hooked me was the story this told. It has a lot of serious moments. Some were heartfelt, some were heartbreaking, and some were simply awesome. The mecha battles were also all great aside from some shoddy sound mixing.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/9/4/AABz_zAAD4N2.jpg

CHARACTER: Kuroi Souya (Planet With)
https://myanimelist.net/character/160400/Souya_Kuroi
Voiced by: Abe Atsushi
TOP 100 RANK: 34th

SPOILERS FOR PLANET WITH

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK3kuQ12rrw

That video is from the first episode, and I think it encapsulates a lot of what Planet With is about. Souya gets swallowed by his weird cat creature, Sensei, to enter the mecha. A vegetarian maid needs to translate Senseis instructions, but eventually Souya wins even though he doesnt get whats going on. Its only afterwards that he realizes the power the heroes are using is similar to the one from his vague memories. Then he gets angry and pledges to beat them all. It intrigued me the first time I watched this. The heroes seemed like good guys, I mean they just defended Earth from a weird alien construct that could get into peoples heads and pacify them. Souyas destructive memories were true too. I wondered who the actual good guys were, but it turned out I wasnt giving Planet With enough credit. The conflict here isnt as simple as good vs evil.

It turns out that Souya is the subject of a kind of intergalactic bet. Hes from another planet, one where the people used their awakening psychic powers to become warlike. This contrasts with planets like the one the maid Ginko is from, who became peaceful. Theres a large intergalactic federation of species called Nebula who all chose the so-called evolution of love. One of their most powerful members, a dragon-like being, became angry at the people from Souyas planet, Sirius. The dragon destroyed it and every single person on it except for Souya, who was rescued by Sensei. Sensei made a bet. He argued that nothing is black and white. Not everyone on Sirius was evil, and he wants to prove that by showing that Souya can also reach the evolution of love.

The story is all about Earth reaching its own psychic awakening, and being faced with that same choice. One part of the intergalactic Nebula wants to seal Earth in blissful emptiness before they can turn warlike, but the other half wants to at least give them a chance. Meanwhile, Souya is grappling with his need for revenge vs his desire to do the right thing. He lost his whole planet. Theres a scene where he breaks down talking about the people he knew and the family he lost. Little things, like how he never returned something he borrowed. He has a good reason to hate the dragon. However, thanks to new friends like his classmate Nozomi, Souya overcomes his hate. He also spreads that message to most of Earth and helps them overcome Nebulas sealing.

The final act of the anime involves fighting the returned dragon, and I was glad there was a happy ending. The story couldve ended before that and I wouldve been satisfied too, though. Souya had already gone through all of his important character beats by that point. It was still nice to have the finale as an affirmation that the choices he made were correct. They only avert disaster by having everyone come together, after all. Planet With isnt about good and evil, because no one is completely evil. Its about doing your best to be good despite the temptation of evil, and Souya represented that theme in a way I found really compelling.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
30: This anime is taking part in a strange audition.
C90: This character hopes hard work can eventually catch up to natural talent.
29: This anime has been split in two by a revolution.
C15: This character is always telling lies.

We're done the 8/10 Great Tier! All that's left is twenty anime in the 9/10 Amazing Tier and ten in the 10/10 Perfect Tier (and the remaining recommendations which I swear I'll get to. I have less than 100 episodes to rewatch now). As always, thanks for following along, everyone. I just want to update the fun stats.

There are 30 anime remaining, and 33 characters.
-Three anime have zero characters.
-Twenty-one anime have one character.
-Six anime have two characters.
-Since the start of 2022, I have watched at least some of 29/30 of the remaining anime.

The ratio of males and females in my top 100 characters (example, 51:49 would be 51 guys, 49 girls)
CURRENTLY: 9:58

(Since the remaining 33 characters could all potentially be dudes, I'll also include the three guess people made on the ratio. Mac is the winner and it isn't even going to be close)
Mac's guess: 25:75
Seabass's guess: 29:71
Koala's guess: 32:68

Only one anime has three characters in my top 100 characters
Yuki Yuna is a Hero (Yuki Yuna, Togo Mimori, Inubouzaki Itsuki)

Five lowest ranked anime with a character in my top 100
204- Death Parade (Kurokami no Onna)
160- Sword Art Online (Konno Yuuki)
139- Megalo Box (Nanbu Gansaku)
138- Classroom of the Elite (Ayanokouiji Kiyotaka)
132- Love Live: Nijigasaki (Nakasu Kasumi)

Five highest ranked anime without a character in my top 100
36- From the New World
35- Hunter x Hunter
???
???
???

Starlight Revue up next? Glad to see it so high, I always feel like it's weirdly underrated even by the people who've watched it.

I'm enjoying Romance Killer right now, that seems like the kind of anime that might be on this list.

Hello yes put me in the "Revue Starlight was not good" camp

Mizukami is a great writer and Planet With is no exception. I really dig the way he looks at things. Spirit Circle is my favorite manga of his overall but I enjoyed just about everything he's written.

I dunno about the WCW anime, but I really did not like the manga - it never really felt like the author had any coherent plan for what they wanted it to be and just winged it

PW was pretty solid, but I always felt like it was missing a little something to make it really great.

9/10 AMAZING TIER

30. Revue Starlight
https://myanimelist.net/anime/35503/Shoujo%E2%98%86Kageki_Revue_Starlight
Summer 2018 (12 episodes) plus one movie
My Score: 9/10, MAL Score: 7.65/10
Best Character: Hoshimi Junna

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha07uSQmtLc

Premise: Seisho Music Academy trains students in dancing, singing, and acting to prep them for a life in theater. Then nine girls are pulled into a series of mysterious auditions unlike any other.

The Good: Revue Starlight is a music anime that at first seems like it'll be a cute girls doing theater slice-of-life. It has an amazing first episode twist, however, and, fair warning, I'm going to spoil what that is because otherwise I can't talk about anything. It quickly turns out to be an action anime. Nine girls are drawn into auditions by a mysterious talking giraffe, and the so-called revues take the form of musical battles fought on an impossible shapeshifting stage. The animation and visual style are beautiful. The characters are all unique and relatable. The battles are also some of the best I've ever seen, and they're bolstered by nice songs with a lot of meaning in the lyrics.

Still, my favorite thing about Revue Starlight is that it's brimming with symbolism. There's a nice surface level story for each character, plus an overarching plot about them battling to become the top star. There is also just so much depth beyond that. The revues blur the line between reality and fantasy, starting with a wonderful scene when Karen leaps from a high place and has a full magical girl transformation sequence before she elegantly arrives onstage. In that scene, one basic bit of symbolism is the hair clip she got from her childhood friend representing their promise to stand onstage together someday. It gets melted down in the sequence to power an engine. Her dream and their promise fuels her transformation! That's an easy one, but there is so much more and it goes so deep. Every time I focus on something and think about it for a bit, I keep finding more and more symbolism about acting and theater and dreams and life. I love stories with so much to examine. It also helps that the surface level story is flashy enough to be compelling on its own. The symbolism feels more like a bonus, a reward for attentive viewers rather than something that's necessary to appreciate the story.

The Bad: There are a few plotlines and characters that kind of bug me. I'm not a fan of Hikari because she's so needlessly antagonistic at times and a lot of her actions don't make sense to me. She drags Karen down a bit as a result. It isn't anything that ruins the anime, but that is my least favorite part.

Overall: Revue Starlight was such a wonderful surprise when it first aired. I thought it would just be about cute theater girls. I would've been happy with that too, I mean the theater bits were fun in Hinako Note. Then Karen found a mysterious elevator where a wall used to be, fell into the basement to meet a talking giraffe, and then she leapt into the auditions with an amazing transformation sequence. The revue that followed, a well-animated battle with good music, was beautiful. The rest of the anime maintains that level of excellence. It's also chock-full of symbolism, which I love. The anime felt like watching an impossibly intricate theatrical performance. I also enjoyed the sequel movie when I watched it recently.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/2/7/AAcDcBAAD4a3.jpg

CHARACTER: Hoshimi Junna (Revue Starlight)
https://myanimelist.net/character/151668/Junna_Hoshimi
Voiced by: Satou Hinata
TOP 100 RANK: 90th

SPOILERS FOR REVUE STARLIGHT

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXz51nX7dLQ
(From the movie)

I like all the characters in Revue Statlight (except for Hikari). None of them were an obvious favorite, though, so I had to think a bit before settling on Junna. She might seem like a weird choice, and Junna herself would probably agree. She's not a childhood actress like Claudine, and she doesn't have the raw talent of Maya. She isn't effortlessly capable like Nana, and she isn't an heir to a prestigious dancing school like Kaoruko. Even a goof like Karen has moments where she can flip a mental switch and blow everyone else away. Against all of that skill, the only thing that Junna has is discipline and hard work. She fears that will never be enough to catch up to her peers.

I'll talk mostly about the movie now since it's still fresh in my memory. Everyone is choosing what path to take after graduation, and Junna wants to go to a higher level school. She reasons that she isn't ready to go onstage, not yet, so she wants to continue working hard to get there. The video I linked is her battle with Nana, which is all about calling Junna out. During the anime series, despite her doubts, Junna fought and clawed and struggled to be the top star. She lost, but she at least tried. Now she's seemingly giving up, cloaking herself with excuses that she isn't ready yet. Nana dominates her for most of the revue. All that Junna has is a bunch of famous quotes about acting and perseverance.

Then, as Nana is walking away, Junna finally decides that she's not done yet. Using one of Nana's swords (rather than her bow, which I viewed as symbolism for the way she distanced herself from things to make it hurt less when she couldn't reach her goals), Junna fights back. There are no more excuses. She gets knocked down, over and over, but she gets up every time. Then, finally, she gets the upper hand. She beats Nana, someone who easily defeated everyone else in a 1v6 earlier in the movie. I really related with Junna. The question of talent vs hard work resonated with me, and I was glad that she won't lose sight of her dreams.

NOTE: This has a sequel movie, but I haven't watched it yet because it's apparently going to be a six movie series. Rather than wait years at a time between them, I'll just wait a decade until it's all done.

29. Princess Principal
https://myanimelist.net/anime/35240/Princess_Principal
Summer 2017 (12 episodes)
My Score: 9/10, MAL Score: 7.70/10
Best Character: Ange le Carr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QjqkATvH9M

Premise: At the height of its power, a revolution split the Kingdom of Albion in half. A large wall divides the city of London, and spies like Ange le Carre work in the shadows.

The Good: Princess Principal is a spy anime set in an alternate history steampunk setting. The main divergence is that Albion, the alternate version of Britain, discovered a technology that let them alter gravity. A fleet of airships made Albion the undisputed world power, at least until the lower classes rose up in revolution and split it in half between the Kingdom and the new Commonwealth. A large wall divides the city of London, and spies regularly operate on both sides. Ange is a top spy for the Commonwealth, and her team often gets difficult assignments. She has also managed to recruit Princess Charlotte, who is fourth in line for the Kingdom's throne.

I really enjoyed Princess Principal. It isn't flawless, and I'll talk about a few problems in the bad section. I just really liked all five of the main characters. The serial liar Ange was my favorite for reasons I'll cover in her write-up, but everyone on the team was fun and had unique skills. Dorothy is the driver and seductress, an adult pretending to be in high-school. Beatrice is a mostly normal girl but she can mimic anyone's voice, which proves useful. Chise is a samurai who is monitoring the conflict in Albion for her master (I guess at least one character needed to be Japanese). And, lastly, there's the princess Charlotte who joins the team for her own reasons. All of them are great, and I like their team dynamic.

The stories are mostly episodic with each covering one assignment, but theres also an overarching spy plot building up in the background. I really like the animes tone. It stars five high-school girls, but this isn't a cute girls anime. While it isn't devoid of comedy, the focus is on the serious spy action, and it gets pretty dark at times. Another spy anime I ranked really low was Release the Spyce. That one was ruined because it tried to be a cute girls spy anime while still having serious stuff, and the two conflicting tones ruined each other. I was glad Princess Principal chose the serious side and stuck with it, because it did a great job.

The Bad: The episodes are out of order chronologically and I'm not exactly sure why. It doesn't ruin the anime or anything, it's just baffling. I can see arguments for some of them, but one episode heavily features Chise and then the next episode introduces Chise. Why did those need to be out of order? There are also a few times when the story creates drama seemingly just for the sake if it. I preferred the conflicts that were more logically rooted in the spy assignments.

Overall: Princess Principal was an excellent spy anime. It had occasional lighthearted or comedic moments, but for the most part it was serious. The characters were all unique and they had a great dynamic. My biggest complaint is the episode order, but thats a nitpick overall. The story between Ange and Charlotte was more than good enough to outweigh any flaws.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/9/8/AAcDcBAAD4b-.jpg

CHARACTER: Ange le Carr (Princess Principal)
https://myanimelist.net/character/150943/Ange_le_Carr%C3%A9
Voiced by: Imamura Ayaka
TOP 100 RANK: 15th

SPOILERS FOR PRINCESS PRINCIPAL (First season only)

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OITlDCssAww

Ange is an excellent spy. That much is clear from the beginning. The video I linked is from the first episode. She all but admits that nothing she says is true, and some lies are obviously like her being from another planet. She's still so great at lying that I believed a lot of the little things she said. She expertly figures out the defector is a double agent thanks to clues anyone else would've missed. Then she bluffs him into dropping a loaded gun by telling him it was unloaded. And, just to confirm this won't be a cute girls spy anime, Ange shoots the guy dead. The only happy part about any of this is that Ange also took out insurance on the guy to help his sick little sister.

She has a clear soft spot for the children who have been orphaned and forgotten by the horrific state of the world. Eventually, the reason why becomes clear in a really awesome reveal. Ange was actually originally the princess Charlotte. She befriended a commoner lookalike, and they had switched places on the fateful day of the revolution. Ange was forced to find her way in the unstable Commonwealth, and she became a spy mostly to reunite with Charlotte. Ange once had a dream of becoming Queen and fixing the broken world. Now Charlotte is the one dedicated to making it happen. I really like the dynamic those two have.

Beyond all of that, Ange is also just a cool character. She carries herself with such quiet confidence, and she has the skills to back it up. Her gravity-altering C-ball leads to lots of neat action moments. I also like her background with Charlotte. Ange can act happy and vulnerable with her, the one person in the world who knows the truth about her. And Ange is dedicated to keeping Charlotte safe. Towards the end, even if Ange hadnt been set up as a liar, I would've known she was lying when she agreed to kill Charlotte. The last few episodes get a bit too dark for my tastes, but I was glad the two of them were able to get through together.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
28: This anime is sinking beneath the sand.
C96: This character wants to write down everything that happens.
27: Lost Song
26: This anime went all in and lost the bet.
C7: This character loves the thrill of gambling.

I'm doing three anime tomorrow because one of them is Lost Song, the one I initially ranked 6/10 before I moved it up after rewatching it. I'll still do a new write-up for it, but it doesn't feel like it counts.

The three tomorrow are also some pretty niche favorites of mine. I went back and forth for a long time between 9/10 and somewhere in the 8s, and I'm still not sure I made the right decision. It'll be nice to get past them all at once and move into the top 25, which I have no doubts about!

Mobilezoid posted...

NOTE: This has a sequel movie, but I haven't watched it yet because it's apparently going to be a six movie series

Jeez. I just saw them announcing the date for the third and thought 'Oh there are more movies? Maybe I'll watch them after the third is subtitled'. Probably not doing that.

I like Princess Principal though. Just don't want to be spoon fed content in that manner.

This is what I read on the TVTropes page, at least. I haven't looked into it at all otherwise.

"On April 28, 2018, a second season was announced in the form of 6 theatrical releases"

I would've vastly preferred just a regular second season. I'm also not a fan of getting another small portion of the story every few years.

28. Children of the Whales
https://myanimelist.net/anime/34712/Kujira_no_Kora_wa_Sajou_ni_Utau
Fall 2017 (12 episodes)
My Score: 9/10, MAL Score: 7.17/10
Best Character: Chakuro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5DSs-Qi5-o

Premise: The Mud Whale is a small island floating aimlessly on a sea of shifting sand. The few hundred people living there know nothing about the rest of the world, but that changes when they encounter another island and find a lone, injured girl.

The Good: Children of the Whales is a fantasy anime. The reception most places I looked (reddit, the anime board, etc) is pretty negative on this show. I was pleasantly surprised the first time I watched it, however, and I thought it held up okay on a rewatch. I won't claim that it's flawless. I'll have a few things to talk about in the bad section. Still, the world-building in this is excellent. I liked most of the main characters. The direction the story went also really shocked me. With the beautiful art style and serene life on the Mud Whale, at first this looks like it'll be a laid-back anime. Instead it goes in a surprisingly dark direction. Part of me wonders if that's the reason for the negative reception. Children of the Whales becomes bleak to the point of being hard to watch at times. Even then, I still enjoyed seeing how the characters approached things.

The story takes place on the Mud Whale, a large boat-shaped island that floats on a sea of sand. Only a few hundred people live there, and they've forgotten everything about the outside world. I enjoyed learning more about their society. It had a lot of customs that were interesting. Most of the people are Marked, meaning they have a kind of psychic power but are doomed to a short life. Only a handful of Unmarked grow old, and they move into leadership positions. The main character is Chakuro, the Mud Whale's record keeper. He writes down things about everyone's lives so that, even if the Marked live a short life, something of them will remain for people to remember. The Mud Whale travels aimlessly, and the people have a quiet, serene life. Then they happen upon another island, meet an injured girl named Lykos, and they begin learning just how dangerous the world really is.

The Bad: I thought Children of the Whales told a really compelling story. Sadly, it reached a natural stopping point at around ten episodes. The last two kind of meander, setting up various things that maybe would've paid off if there was ever a second season. Since there wasn't, the story ends on a boring note. I saw a lot of complaints elsewhere that the characters act stupidly, too. I won't claim that they're geniuses, but one of the most interesting things about this anime for me was seeing how a peaceful society faces unprecedented danger. It makes sense, to me at least, that the characters don't always do the right thing.

Overall: Children of the Whales may not appeal to everyone, but it definitely appealed to me. The world-building was excellent. Life on the Mud Whale was interesting to explore, and every little detail they learned about themselves or the rest of the world felt important. I'm sad that the first season ends on a meandering note setting up a second season that never came. The first ten episodes still told a compelling story that went many interesting directions.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/3/4/AAcDcBAAD4ne.png

CHARACTER: Chakuro (Children of the Whales)
https://myanimelist.net/character/149265/Chakuro
Voiced by: Hanae Natsuki
TOP 100 RANK: 96th

SPOILERS FOR CHILDREN OF THE WHALES

(Couldnt find a video for him)

Chakuro is the Mud Whale's record keeper. Since most Marked only live until thirty or so, death is a frequent occurrence. Mentors pass away, lovers outlive their partners, and children die before their Unmarked parents. The anime opens with a funeral rite where they send the body into the sea of sand. They have a custom where people aren't supposed to cry. People need to be strong, after all, because otherwise the pain of this constant loss would break them. Chakuro channels his feelings into writing, leaving a record of everyone they lose so that at least something of them will remain.

Things get a lot darker after they stumble across another island and rescue Lykos. Soon after, the Mud Whale is attacked by an unknown army for reasons no one understands. Since this was a peaceful island and they're caught completely off guard, it's basically a massacre. It only ends when the attackers pull back to regroup, and even then everyone knows they will soon return. Even for an island well-versed in loss, death on this scale is unprecedented. Chakuro even loses his childhood friend and love interest Sami. They need time to mourn, but they don't have it. The residents of the Mud Whale need to train, organize, and prep defenses if theyre going to survive the coming assault.

Chakuro, along with everyone else, is sad. They struggle to make sense of the unfair situation. They never give up, though. When the elders want to sink the island, preferring that quick death over an agonizing execution, Chakuro and others refuse to let it happen. They would rather face the pain and fight. Later on, when he's given a choice by a fantastical creature to remove his emotions, Chakuro refuses this too. Even though it hurts to lose people, that's simply part of life. That pain is also a sign of how much he cared for them, and a part of their lingering presence on the world. Chakuro doesn't want to trade that away. Everyone on the Mud Whale shows impressive resilience given the horrors they go through, and I found that really compelling.

Had to double check that Chakuro was a guy after seeing that picture...

He's not the most manly man, that's for sure. He's only 14 though, maybe he'll grow into it someday

(We finally return to my biggest mistake in the ranking. I originally put this in the low 6/10s. I realized that was wrong as soon as I started thinking about it for the write-up. Still, even I was surprised by how much it rose after I rewatched it. This write-up is mostly just a cleaned up version of the one I wrote for it before, only without all the bits where I lamented how low I accidentally ranked it.)

27. Lost Song
https://myanimelist.net/anime/34338/Lost_Song
Spring 2018 (12 episodes)
My Score: 9/10, MAL Score: 6.92/10
Best Character: Finis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozyMtXPZDzc
(Couldnt find the OP, linked the trailer)

Premise: Rin was always told to hide her ability to sing magical songs, but she's discovered after saving an injured knight. Then her village is attacked, forcing her to go on the run.

The Good: Lost Song is a fantasy musical anime. It has some shortcomings as I'll cover in the next section, but I still feel like this anime is special. It's set in a fantasy world that reminded me of a fairy tale. The heroes are idealistic good guys, the bad guys are bad because they're the bad guys, that sort of thing. It's not deep, but it's instantly relatable. Even within that simplistic morality, the royal songstress Finis goes through one hell of a complex character arc full of forbidden love and sorrow and hope. It really goes places.

Rin, a village girl who also has the abilities of a songstress, is the other half of the story. She's forced to go on the run early on because people want her power. Her journey reminded me of an old SNES RPG. Her and her inventor brother Al gather a cast of zany characters who are basically party members. One of them is named Pony Goodlight and she's awesome. Lost Song has some great musical sections. Since that's how magic works in this setting, they often have a plot purpose beyond just being a song, too. Still, my favorite thing about this is the way the story comes together. I can't go into it without huge spoilers, but basically there's a moment in Lost Song that blew my mind and recontextualized everything that came before it. This anime did a lot of things that really appealed to me. The plot goes one direction in particular that would probably turn a lot of people off, but I absolutely loved it even if it didn't make a whole lot of logical sense.

The Bad: I compared Lost Song to a fairy tale above, and there are times where that's to its detriment. I can see people being put off by the tone, for example. The evil prince is really over-the-top evil. Still, I enjoyed it enough to forgive its occasional simplicity or unexplained magical mumbo-jumbo. It was the kind of anime where I was more than happy to go along for the ride.

Overall: Lost Song really appealed to me. Everything from the setting's tone to how certain aspects of it were revealed to how the two separate stories between Rin and Finis came together, it was all great. I don't want to hype this up too much, the production values were average and I can see some of the things I loved being sources of annoyance to other people. Lost Song just surprised me with how much I enjoyed it.

26. Kakegurui
https://myanimelist.net/anime/34933/Kakegurui
Summer 2017 (12 episodes), Winter 2019 (12 episodes), Summer 2022 (6 episodes)
My Score: 9/10, MAL Score: 7.24/10 S1, 7.20/10 S2, 7.30/10 Twin
Best Character: Jabami Yumeko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNAP32b9ZWM

My Yumeko figure: https://imgur.com/FdTkB61

Premise: Hyakkaou Private Academy is an elite school where gambling is common. The new transfer student Jabami Yumeko seems nice and normal, but she actually loves the thrill of a high-stakes gamble.

The Good: Kakegurui is a drama anime about gambling. It's set in a private school for the rich and elite. Gambling is encouraged to teach things like how to read others, manipulation, and cheating without getting caught. It also separates the strong from the weak. Any student who falls into debt becomes a house pet that everyone else can push around. If someone falls far enough, they could even be forced to sign their entire future away. It's not a school for the faint-hearted, but it turns out to be a paradise for Jabami Yumeko. Under normal circumstances she's nice and friendly. When taken by the thrill of an exciting bet, though, she turns into an insane gambling freak willing to take any risk.

The first season of Kakegurui was so amazing that the series was once one of my 10/10s. Yumeko is one of my favorite anime characters because she's such a fun and interesting enigma. I like the contrast between her friendly everyday persona and the gambling demon lurking beneath the surface. She happily accepts any challenge, and she's never worried the game might be rigged. After all, Yumeko loves the thrill more than anything else, and what's more thrilling than seeing if she can overcome stacked odds? I love how the narration never peeks into her thoughts, usually leaving that to her opponents or friends watching the game. Yumeko is an enigma, and even the audience is left wondering how much she knows at any given moment.

The Bad: The second season isn't bad, but it's a huge step down. None of the gambles were as good as anything from the first season. It also introduced a plot arc and then didn't conclude it. I waited years for another season... and then they came out with a prequel starring Yumeko's friend Mary instead. Kakegurui Twin wasn't bad either, but it was also a huge step down even compared to season two. It also introduced a plot arc and didn't conclude it, so now Kakegurui is weighed down by two unfinished arcs. Maybe they'll pay off in future seasons, but Netflix is scaling back on anime now so I'm afraid this might be all we ever get. The first season was such a masterpiece, it almost would've been preferable if it had been left to stand alone.

Overall: Even though the prequel and sequel seasons had weaker gambles and left their stories unfinished, I still love Kakegurui. It has an interesting setting full of fun characters for Yumeko to face off with. She is such an amazing character, and I loved every moment I spent wondering if she'd be able to overcome the odds.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/4/5/AAcDcBAAD4qx.jpg

CHARACTER: Jabami Yumeko (Kakegurui)
https://myanimelist.net/character/119413/Yumeko_Jabami
Voiced by: Hayami Saori
TOP 100 RANK: 7th

SPOILERS FOR KAKEGURUI

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehEql1DHIIc

I already talked quite a bit about why I love Yumeko in the anime write-up, but now I can get specific without fear of spoilers! The video I linked is from the first episode, and that game with Mary was the perfect introduction to the setting, the characters, and the two sides of Yumeko. She comes off as friendly to the point of being naive. Mary, who has the game and spectators rigged in her favor, figures this will be an easy score. And it is, at first. Yumeko loses the bet and is forced to make a larger one. It turns out she's hustling poor Mary, however, because Yumeko has already figured out the cheat. Mary has stacked the rock, paper, scissors deck to have uneven amounts that only she knows about, giving her a huge advantage.

Notably, Yumeko still takes a risk. There was a chance she wouldn't get one of the rare cards. When she did, though, knowing how Mary was cheating instantly lets Yumeko win the game. Still in her gambling freak mode, Yumeko requests the money... and then the switch flips back and the friendly side returns. She thanks Mary for the fun game. Yumeko is even grateful to the guy who helped Mary cheat, because it made things more exciting. All of this plays out without the viewer getting a look into Yumeko's thought process. We have no way of knowing if she's figured out the cheat or how to beat it. I loved the tension that created.

Yumeko is also just such an interesting character to think about. She values the thrill of gambling above all else, and that results in some truly alien and insane ways of seeing the world. She has a game of what's basically Russian roulette with Midari. It's real guns with real bullets, literal life-and-death stuff, and Yumeko is disgusted... not at the risk or the game, but at Midari for stacking it against herself in a way that made things boring. In the final gamble if the first season, Yumeko has her future in the school on the line. Her friend Ryouta is choosing a tarot card, and he realizes one of them is marked. If he's right, that card would win it for Yumeko, but theres also the chance this is a trick. Thanks to Yumeko's influence, though, he looks past those considerations. The marked card was meant to be noticed, meaning that, if he picks it, it won't be a real gamble. He decides to choose another card at random. Despite what's at stake, Yumeko is delighted at the thrill it gives her. Shes so happy he understands what's important.

My main problem with the second season was that the gambles weren't as good. The finger guillotine was so obviously rigged that there weren't any stakes. The tower of doors was stupidly convoluted. The final auction was just stupid altogether. Still, even during all of those, I enjoyed watching Yumeko. I love her disarming friendly side, and I also love the gambling freak that rises to the surface whenever things get thrilling.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
25: This anime went for a walk and got hopelessly lost.
24: This anime is tired of biking uphill.
C30: This character started out with nothing.

We're moving into the top 25! Even anime ranked as high as 28, 27, and 26 were all ones I had reservations about, but now we're officially moving into anime I think are varying degrees of flawless. There are a bunch I know for a fact other people hate, but I'll defend these twenty-five to the bitter end!

i liked the first season and manga of kakegurui but never checked out second season

super cub hype

what koala said

both lines

25. Flying Witch
https://myanimelist.net/anime/31376/Flying_Witch
Spring 2016 (12 episodes)
My Score: 9/10, MAL Score: 7.51/10
Best Character: Kowata Makoto

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82mm5JvJOmo

Premise: When a witch turns fifteen, they need to go out into the world to continue independent study. Apprentice witch Kowata Makoto moves in with her cousins in a rural town full of magic and nature.

The Good: Flying Witch is a relaxing slice-of-life anime, specifically from the iyashikei subgenre (it's Japanese for "healing"). Makoto is a nice girl who moves in with her nice cousins in a nice town, and she meets nice people while having nice adventures. I'm a big fan of relaxing shows like that, but my definition of iyashikei appears to be narrower than most. Looking at the TVTropes page for the subgenre, among the ones listed are depressing junk like Taisho Otome Fairy Tale (relaxing... suicidal thoughts, forced marriage, and abuse?) and even Yuki Yuna is a Hero (relaxing... dark magical girl traumatic battles?). It also lists Squid Girl, which at least isn't bleak, but I'd call that a comedy first and foremost. Iyashikei anime can have jokes, but humor usually isn't the focus. To me, at least, the distinction comes down to the pacing and the mood. When I was having a rough day and I needed some relaxing vibes, I rewatched Flying Witch and it was perfect.

Makoto may not have reached my top 100 characters, but I still really like her. She's an apprentice witch, and quite a few stories involve her gathering materials or flying on her broom. She's also a nice girl who spends time with her family, makes friends, or explores the town. Makoto has an awful sense of direction too, which is a cute trait. I like all of the side characters too. Makoto's free-spirited older sister visits often, her young cousin Chinatsu is cute, and they encounter various friendly magical beings. Flying Witch has really nice vibes whether the characters are doing something fantastical like practicing broom flying or doing something as mundane as helping a relative pick fruit. It was always relaxing to watch, and the colorful and vibrant visual style was always nice to look at.

The Bad: Flying Witch is basically flawless. It is exactly the kind of anime it sets out to be. My only complaint is that it's only one season, and that other anime with the same relaxing vibes are so hard to find.

Overall: The subgenre Flying Witch belongs to definitely won't appeal to everyone. There isn't a whole lot of plot or character development in this. Sometimes, though, all I want is to sit back and relax. Flying Witch is perfect for that. It isn't quite my favorite relaxation anime, but it is one of the best. The lighthearted adventures of Makoto's daily life were more than enough to elevate this into my favorites.

Kakegurui S1 is top 100 on MAL popularity with over a million people having completed it

I'd say that is very much not a "niche" series!

Heck yeah Flying Witch rules. Definitely gives a feeling of wonder.

I really like Flying Witch and enjoy following the manga quite a bit as well. Wish it got a season 2.

th3l3fty posted...

Kakegurui S1 is top 100 on MAL popularity with over a million people having completed it

I'd say that is very much not a "niche" series!

Fair enough, I was thinking more about Children of the Whales and Lost Song, but Kakegurui definitely was a lot more popular than those two. All three are Netflix anime that came out around the same time, I guess I just lumped them together in my head

24. Super Cub
https://myanimelist.net/anime/40685/Super_Cub
Spring 2021 (12 episodes)
My Score: 9/10, MAL Score: 7.43/10
Best Character: Koguma

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q74V9Ud_Iok
(Couldnt find OP or ED, linked full OP song)

Premise: Koguma is a girl who feels like she has nothing. No parents, no friends, and no hobbies. Then one day she decides to buy a Super Cub motor scooter, and her life begins to change.

The Good: Super Cub is a slice-of-life anime. It's classified in various places as an iyashikei, which are relaxing healing anime, but it isnt as relentlessly feel-good as something like Flying Witch or Laid-Back Camp. Super Cub follows Koguma, a girl who lost her parents and now lives alone in a self-described life of emptiness. The colors in this are all muted and grey, representing her depression. Then one day she decides on a whim to buy a motor scooter, and she gets a lucky deal on a used Super Cub. The first time Koguma revs it, her world is filled with a flash of color.

This anime is slow and methodical, following Koguma's daily life and all the different ways it begins to change. Some might find that boring, but I personally found it mesmerizing. There are a lot of cute girls anime where the main character finds a new hobby of some sort and then everything in their life is fixed. This isn't like that. Koguma loves her Cub, but it's only the first step. It gives her freedom to go out and do things she couldn't before. Then she needs to learn about maintenance and replacement parts. The motor scooter is an ice-breaker to talk with people. She realizes she needs certain accessories, and that means getting a part-time job. I love how the flash of color from the first episode was only momentary. The colors in this remain predominantly muted and grey. The Cub didn't fix Koguma's life, but it gave her the opportunity to find more and more things that gave her world color. I'm not sure I'm describing these feelings right, but this anime really struck a chord with me. It had some impressive characterization and themes about life for something that could've easily been nothing more than an advertisement for Honda brand motor scooters.

The Bad: This is another anime where I honestly can't think of a notable flaw. Even the one time it got a little dramatic felt earned. I guess this is yet another show where I'm sad there's only one season.

Overall: Super Cub is a slow story about a depressed girl whose life begins to change after she buys a motor scooter. That premise won't appeal to everyone, but I absolutely loved it. Koguma was a compelling character, and this anime is full of little moments where she finds something new to give her life color.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/1/4/AAcDcBAAD47e.png

CHARACTER: Koguma (Super Cub)
https://myanimelist.net/character/175927/Koguma
Voiced by: Yomichi Yuki
TOP 100 RANK: 30th

SPOILERS FOR SUPER CUB

(I couldn't find a good video for her)

I already talked about Koguma a lot in the anime write-up. Her character growth is pretty much the entire point of the show. I love the visual touches where things are mostly grey but every so often there's a flash of color. The Cub opens up her world and forces her to do new things. She finds goals and friends and, over time, a newfound passion for life. All of that is wonderful, and I love how it all feels natural and earned. Buying the Cub didn't solve all of Koguma's problems. It just gave her an opportunity and a reason to begin interacting with the world in ways she never had before, and wonderful things started to naturally arise.

I also really loved how she became friends with Reiko. Koguma has a brief imagination spot where she mentions her new motor scooter in class and everyone gets hyped and suddenly she's the popular center of attention. In reality, Koguma is too reserved to mention it at all. Reiko only finds out when they both make a bag to hold their helmets in class. Even then, her reaction feels so natural. "Oh, you have a motor scooter too? What kind? That's cool." And that's it. I feel like a lesser anime would make them best friends forever right away, but this show takes it slow. A lot of their subsequent interactions are awkward, but they slowly bond over their respect rides and over time they do become close friends. The Cub helped break the ice, but it didn't turn Koguma into an extrovert overnight. I really appreciated that.

The one dramatic moment in Super Cub, when Shii fell into the river, is probably the thing I have the most mixed feelings about. I think she would've been better off calling emergency services or something, and I'm not sure how realistic it is that she gets out relatively unscathed after that long in the cold water. Still, it was satisfying to watch Koguma come to the rescue. The music, Vivaldi's Four Seasons Winter Movement, made it feel so damn epic. In a way, I appreciated it as proof of how far Koguma had come. The girl at the start of the anime couldnt have done that. Her development was just so methodical and wonderful. It really did feel like real life. One thing led to another, and only after looking back does it become obvious how much those little things added up to a big change.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
23: This anime missed the card it was going for.
C26: This character is obsessed with a card game.
22: Someone in this anime has gone missing.
C63: This character drives people around for a living.

too many potential options for 23. hopefully not wixoss...

22 could be Erased? Probably not tho.

Koguma being smug rocks. Gives me life every time she smiles.

22 is Odd Taxi

23. Chihayafuru
https://myanimelist.net/anime/10800/Chihayafuru
Fall 2011 (25 episodes), Winter 2013 (25 episodes), Fall 2019 (24 episodes)
My Score: 9/10, MAL Score: 8.19/10 S1, 8.39/10 S2, 8.47/10 S3
Best Character: Ayase Chihaya

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

BONUS (a ProZD video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj7VMd8z8XA
(I don't normally watch his stuff, but a friend showed me this years ago after we had pretty much the same conversation, so I felt like including it)

Premise: Karuta is a sport where a reader goes through a series of poems and players compete using speed and memorization to be the first to grab its corresponding card. Ayase Chihaya is obsessed with the game, and she works hard to build a karuta club in high school.

The Good: Chihayafuru is the greatest sports anime I've ever seen. I'm sure some of the people who have never heard of this anime are glancing back up at the premise and wondering if I'm being serious. I mean, this is a sport where step one is memorizing a hundred poems, and then you compete to be the first one to sweep them from the play area when their corresponding line is read. I know it doesn't sound super exciting. However, Chihayafuru does an excellent job at all of the things that make a sports anime entertaining.

Karuta has a surprising amount of depth. There's always a new technique to learn and perfect. Theres always a new way of thinking to steel oneself against powerful opponents. Chihaya and her friends practice hard together to improve, and there are a lot of fun character moments along the way. Watching them play karuta also quickly became hypnotic. Anything can be fun with the right presentation and editing. I also like how karuta doesn't have much division between men and women or the young and old. Anyone can play it, so over the course of three seasons it builds up an impressive cast of characters. I like all of the main ones, including Taichi and Arata. Chihaya herself is still easily my favorite. She's a tomboy whose her sport of choice is karuta, and she has a lot of great moments where she obsesses over it. If the sports stuff isn't gripping enough, this anime also has one of the best love triangles I've ever seen between the three main characters. It adds a lot of depth and emotion without ever distracting from the karuta.

The Bad: My only problems with this are inherent to karuta itself. I really hated one opponent whose whole gimmick was challenging every single card the other player got. Karuta matches desperately need to be recorded for video playback and have referees to cut down on this bad sportsmanship! Another opponent was only good when their grandmother was the poem reader because they'd been listening to her voice all their life and could pick up things earlier than anyone else. That's an unfair advantage! As you can see, I'm very invested in the nuances of karuta. In a way, that's a compliment, because it means Chihayafuru made me care about a sport that sounded so boring initially.

Overall: When I was watching the newest season of Chihayafuru recently, I was surprised how quickly the episodes flew by. Karuta is a sport that's very stop-and-start. If it was presented wrong it would be a boring drag to get through. This anime always managed to create tension between opponents, however. The matches were always gripping. The overarching goals of the characters, as well as their development, also flowed seamlessly between events and linked everything together. I know karuta sounds like a boring sport, but Chihayafuru managed to turn it into something I genuinely cared about. I hope it gets another season someday. It was a wonderful surprise when S3 came out after a six year pause. Now that the manga is over, though, I fear this might be as far as the anime goes. Even if that is the case, it was still one hell of a ride.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/8/3/AAcDcBAAD5Hf.jpg

CHARACTER: Ayase Chihaya (Chihayafuru)
https://myanimelist.net/character/47163/Chihaya_Ayase
Voiced by: Seto Asami
TOP 100 RANK: 26th

SPOILERS FOR CHIHAYAFURU

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGNTSKusYmY

That isn't a great video. It was surprisingly difficult to find any clips of Chihayafuru at all. Still, I think it's a good way of showing Chihaya's overall character. Other than the karuta sports stuff, the biggest thing in this is the Taichi/Chihaya/Arata love triangle. Both of them are good guys with a genuine connection to her. Chihaya is a beautiful girl, but most people are put off by her personality. Taichi and Arata both respect and admire her karuta obsession, though. That video is two clips where Chihaya had a chance at some girl talk, and in both of them she somehow circles back to karuta. I don't think either of her potential lovers would be surprised or offended at that. They'd probably think it was cute, and that's why I'm pretty much okay with Chihaya ending up with either of them.

Still, if you'll permit me to talk about shipping a bit more, I do have a personal preference. I'm on Team Arata for a few reasons. One is that, as far as I can tell, Chihaya is leaning that direction too. She's had some cute moments where she thinks about Arata that way. When Taichi turned down Sumire, he said that he wanted to choose the girl he dedicated himself to. Well, Chihaya deserves the same opportunity, and she seems to be choosing Arata. By the end of the third season, both of them have confessed to her. I think the contrast between them points to Arata as the better choice. Taichi left Chihaya an emotional mess, and she was even on the verge of quitting karuta. I understood where Taichi was coming from, but, still. Compare that to Arata. The only reason the third season ended on a remotely happy note was because Arata did everything he could to lift Chihaya's spirits. I think he's the superior choice! Both boys are still good.

Aside from the romance stuff, Chihaya is just a friendly and fun character. She has so many idiosyncrasies, like passing out to sleep between matches. More than anything, though, watching her karuta skills grow over the course of three seasons really invested me in her. I celebrated her victories and lamented her losses. I felt for her when she injured her finger. I watched her dream about becoming Queen, and I have no doubt in my mind that she'll get there someday. Chihaya is just such a wonderful character.

oh right chihayafuru, how did i not realize

I definitely want to wait just a bit longer to see if more anime will come out since I didnt think S3 would ever happen but yeah not getting my hopes up

I like Chihayafuru quite a bit but never came to like Arata. I didn't sympathize with his problems that much.

Chihayafuru is one of the best anime ever made imo, and it's such a shame that it's (probably?) dead-on-arrival to a large chunk of the Western fanbase. I don't quite know how they managed to make karuta actively engaging to a viewer that knows nothing about it--but they did--and also the show is an outstanding drama completely independent of the karuta scenes. I like that basically the whole major cast has a character/personality that can exist without relying on the sport itself, which is a trap that I see many other sports anime fall into.

Taichi is probably my favorite character. Nothing wrong with the rest of the main cast but he probably makes my top 10 characters if I were doing a list like this. Definitely agree on not liking the character whose gimmick was challenging every card though. God that was annoying.

NOTE: I still haven't seen the movie for this and whatever new content that has.

22. Odd Taxi
https://myanimelist.net/anime/46102/Odd_Taxi
Spring 2021 (13 episodes)
My Score: 9/10, MAL Score: 8.72/10
Best Character: Odokawa Hiroshi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX-Ry1VxeDQ

Premise: In a world of anthropomorphic animal people, the walrus Odokawa Hiroshi drives a taxi for a living. He often encounters strange people, and circumstances connect him to the mystery of a missing girl.

The Good: Odd Taxi is a mystery/drama anime. The main character is the taxi-driving walrus Odokawa, and hes a really interesting character. However, my favorite thing about this anime is the sheer amount of character and plotline threads it manages to weave together. The biggest hook is probably the mystery of the missing girl, but theres so much else going on that sometimes I forgot all about it. I was thankful they were all animal people, because it made it so much easier to remember who everyone was and what their relationships were. There's a gorilla doctor, a baboon criminal, a rapping porcupine criminal, police officer dogs, cat and dog idols... I havent even begun to list them all. An impressive drama slowly unfolds, and everyone has a role to play. I even liked the comedy duo. It was amazing how funny they could be while talking about how no one finds them funny.

While the majority of the story is intricately woven together, there are a few times, both big and small, where it relies on contrived coincidences to introduce a plot thread or set something up. Normally that would be a bad thing, but I thought it worked really well in this. There were so many moving parts in the story that sometimes a shortcut is just the best way. There's also the fact that life itself has plenty of coincidences, and that's one of the big themes in this. As long as the story uses them well and not just as a crutch, it's fine. Odd Taxi is a satisfying story full of neat twists and interesting characters. I don't mind if one big plot thread only started because Odokawa drove past someone, or because a selfie just so happened to catch something important in the background. Anyway, I tried to be vague about the actual plot because everything is so interconnected, and experiencing it blind was a lot of fun. Odd Taxi was great.

The Bad: Since I didn't mind the coincidental stuff, my only real complaint is this. I binged Odd Taxi in one night, and then I looked around for discussion of it in various places. Everywhere I looked, people were referencing clues and plot points that I had never seen. I didn't understand. Was I stupid? Did I miss an episode somehow? It turned out that, when this was airing, there was a bonus audio drama thing that released weekly alongside each episode. It's not the sort of thing you'd miss while watching it, but it definitely expands the world and clarifies a lot of big picture things, including one huge twist I found a little confusing. I was sad I hadn't known about the audio drama before watching the show because I think it would have enhanced my enjoyment of it.

Overall: Odd Taxi mixes a lot of different tones and styles. It tells a story using funny animal people, but the result is complex and compelling. There are so many different characters and plot threads. Some are mundane, some are serious, and sometimes the mundane turns serious in impressive and satisfying ways. I really enjoyed watching the story of Odd Taxi unfold.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/3/3/AAcDcBAAD5J1.png

CHARACTER: Odokawa Hiroshi (Odd Taxi)
https://myanimelist.net/character/191215/Hiroshi_Odokawa
Voiced by: Hanae Natsuki
TOP 100 RANK: 63rd

SPOILERS FOR ODD TAXI

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll2-vIf5gvg

Odokawa is the main character of Odd Taxi, and a surprising amount of plot points wind up involving him. I was impressed how well he handled everything that happened. People were firing bullets into his house and he almost couldn't narrow down the suspects. He just had to piece everything together as best he could, contend with all the crazy characters involved, and keep moving forward.

The video I linked is obviously a big moment, but what I love about it is that it's the perfect representation of the kind of storytelling Odd Taxi used so well. A whole bunch of characters witness it. Some are there because they're heavily involved, but a number of them are only seeing this coincidentally. Usually in fiction, coincidences are a bad thing. I've never seen anything else like Odd Taxi where coincidences can feel so epic and earned.

I'll also talk about the big last episode reveal, because man was it ever amazing. Learning that Odokawa was the only one who saw everyone as animal people blew my mind. I loved how it was foreshadowed throughout, like the doctor wondering how Odokawa could tell people apart so easily. It also played into the mystery really well. Even Odokawa confused two similar looking black cat people. I also liked the reveal that the thing he was hiding in his house that made him look so suspicion was just an actual animal. Learning how he saw the world was one of those great twists that made me reexamine everything that had come before it. It was difficult to do a write-up for Odd Taxi because, while it had a lot if standout moments, my favorite thing about both it and Odokawa was how all the little plot threads came together.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
21: This anime is going to a frozen wasteland.
C95: This character often looks out for their friend.
C28: No one believes this character will reach their goal.

I love Chihayafuru! Though I've only read the manga.

I like all three of the main trio and really all of Chihaya's teammates by the end.

ok very excited for tomorrow's write-ups!!!

22 and 21 being the two finalists in the last iteration of SMFAS, what are the chances!

Mobilezoid posted...

NOTE: I still haven't seen the movie for this and whatever new content that has.

AFAIK it just adds like 3-5 minutes onto the ending. or at least the only really important change