#this stupid little goblin man makes me want to throw up /pos

[ibeewashere]

I genuinely cannot describe how deeply DEVASTATED I am about riz being the only one who can take stress tokens for the others. Yes fig is a protector and will fight endlessly for her friends and I love that about her but there is something about the way riz loves his friends. It’s a more subtle kind of love, but just as relentless and passionate and he will take any burden for the people he cares about and bear the weight of it on his shoulders so they don’t have to deal with it without any hesitation. I am ILL.

[rieshon]

Best of 2016

Another summer, another way-too-late best-of post.

10: Girlish Number ∥ Diomedea ∥ Dir. Ibata Shouta: Obviously, Girlish Number gets significant bonus points for being an anime about the seiyuu industry, something I'm heavily invested in. Watari Wataru's cynical but ultimately inspiring look at this girls trying their best seems a more fitting tack than Sore ga Seiyuu!'s when dealing with what we all know is frankly a borderline "black kigyou". I can't think of a better face for this industry than the solely self-interested and delusional Chii-sama. Industry commentary aside, Girlish Number also functions as a perfectly good coming-of-age series of sorts, as Chitose and her castmates slowly come to terms with the roles they've come to play in the industry (no pun intended) while supporting each other.

9: Kuromukuro ∥ P.A. Works ∥ Dir. Okamura Tensai: I didn't have very high expectations coming into Kuromukuro. It's a robot anime with copious CG animation, and the Okamura Tensai anime I've seen recently have all been solid but never amazing. Kuromukuro, though, ends up being a testament to the importance of execution. A cast of lovable characters (including the main lead!) with solidly-written relationships and pitch-perfect direction carries what would otherwise be a merely passable-at-best science fiction story to the height of being one of the best series of the year. It helps that it's a two cours series, which gives the characters time to breathe without constantly being shoved out of the way to deal with the encroaching danger in the plot. It also features one of the most satisfying endings I've ever seen in an anime, which is a medium not known for great endings, much less satisfying ones.

8: Netoge no Yome wa Onna no Ko Janai to Omotta? ∥ project No.9 ∥ Dir. Yanagi Shinsuke: Man, was I ready for spaghetti when I first read the title of this show. MMO-based light novel anime are a dime a dozen nowadays, but Netoge Yome ends up distinguishing itself from the pack because of what it's not. Unlike most MMO-based stories, the game really isn't that important (except to Ako), you don't die in real life if you die in the game, and there's not really any philosophizing about the nature of reality in a fictional world... It's just a story about some dorky friends playing a video game, and I love it for that. The friend group depicted here actually makes me feel nostalgic for my high school days of playing video games day-in and day-out, and I think the show will do the same for a lot of people. Of course, most of us didn't have an angel like Ako in our friend group, but no one's life is perfect.

7: Amanchu! ∥ J.C.Staff ∥ Dir. Satou Junichi: Undoubtedly the most healing anime of the year. ARIA is one of my favorite series of all time, and Amanchu! reunited Satou Junichi (the king of healing anime himself) with an Amano Kozue original work and it's every bit as wonderful as you would imagine. If you've seen ARIA you know exactly what you're in for here: cute girls forging cute friendships at as slow a pace as possible. The scuba diving stuff is interesting but ultimately inconsequential; this show is all about the atmosphere and the comfortable feeling of slowly passing the time with friends. Also, Teko is angel.

6: NEW GAME! ∥ Douga Koubou ∥ Dir. Fujiwara Yoshiyuki: Gambaru zoi! NEW GAME! combines the best of a Kirara anime's trademark cute girls doing cute things style with a premise straight out of one of P.A. Works' working women series to create one of the more unique series that has come out of that venerable magazine. The author of the original manga formerly worked in game development, so on top of the cute girls it also offers an (adorable!) look at what it's like to be an (adorably!) exploited artist in Japanese corporate culture. No one is really here for the social commentary, but it does add an interesting additional layer to the show. More importantly, all the girls are angelic. Between this and Mideshi, Douga Koubou's Fujiwara Yoshiyuki is rapidly proving himself one of the best directors of cute-girls-doing-cute-things anime.

5: Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu ∥ White Fox ∥ Dir. Watanabe Masaharu: This was undoubtedly the biggest event anime of the year, at least among series I watched. The plot and pacing took me back to the likes of Code Geass, another show where week-to-week you're simply riveted to the screen just to see what kind of crazy twist the show will throw at you next. The show is a bit of a rollercoaster ride, not just emotionally but also in its highs and lows. If every episode were as good as episodes 18-19, this would undoubtedly be my show of the year, but it struggles to carry that momentum through to the end. Still, Re:Zero offers one of the most compelling protagonists of the year in the detestable yet somehow still heroic Natsuki Subaru, who is almost too relatable in his sad and pathetic existence.

4: Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! ∥ Studio Deen ∥ Dir. Kanasaki Takaomi: It seems fitting that Konosuba is sandwiched between two isekai anime; this show, a hilarious send-up of the genre, came at exactly the right time. Satou Kazuma is also a wholly self-interested loser trapped in a fantasy world with nothing but his own delusions of grandeur. The difference is that when his life falls apart, it's just funny. The cast of female heroines, all uniquely "dame", are what really make this show shine. The voice acting is some of my favorite of the year: Amamiya Sora is brilliantly pathetic as Aqua and Fukushima Jun is a perfect foil to her, while you've also got Kayanon being made to say lewd things and Rieri playing a deadpan loli. This A+ cast is gifted with some of the sharpest comedic wit this year, both in script and in what I'm sure is a healthy heaping of ad-lib. I read the source novel recently and the anime is honestly much funnier, probably due to the quality of the acting.

3: Hai to Gensou no Grimgar ∥ A-1 Pictures ∥ Dir. Nakamura Ryousuke: I almost forgot this show aired this past year, since it was way back in Winter. Grimgar is undoubtedly one of the most unique (and one of the best) isekai fantasy anime that has been produced in recent years. Dark without ever being brooding, Grimgar is an at times sobering look at life in a hostile and brutal world. It has the trappings of power fantasy insert isekai stories, but none of our protagonists here are heroes: they're just people in extraordinary circumstances fighting to stay alive and make a place in the world. For a show that spends a lot of time on the moral justification (or lack thereof) for killing goblins, this show probably speaks more to young people in the modern world than anything else that aired this year. There's a level of accomplishment in writing here that is rarely seen in this medium.

2: Occultic;Nine ∥ A-1 Pictures ∥ Dir. Ishiguro Kyouhei: I never thought I'd see the day that a semicolon anime ends up this high on my year-end list, but Occultic;Nine is a masterpiece. The show is an exercise in how manically you can tell your story without losing your viewers, and the result is a bewildering web of interlinking characters and plots to which one has to hang on to for dear life as they're whipped from twist to twist to yet another twist. It's fitting that this is based on Shikura's first paper novel, because like a great novel it's the kind of story that should really shine on the second and third viewing. Watching this show. I felt at times like I wanted to take notes in the margin to keep from getting lost. With lesser execution, the sci-fi story here would probably come across as nothing more than stupid, but the audiovisual ringer that this show puts you through really makes for a unique and memorable viewing experience.

1: Flip Flappers ∥ Studio 3Hz ∥ Dir. Oshiyama Kiyotaka: Speaking of audiovisual experiences... I waffled on whether I really should make Flip Flappers my anime of the year because of how the story falls apart towards the end, but just the first six episodes of this show outdoes anything else that aired this year. It's the purest anime ('Pure Illusion' pun not intended) I've seen in a long time: each episode is an adventure of creativity in visual storytelling. Color pallets and art styles change, we find ourselves in different genres and different styles of storytelling, and through it all we're treated to some of the most inspired art direction and most skillfully put together animation of the year. Individual episodes of this show put entire other series to shame; there's enough creative juice flowing here to fuel another ten single-cours anime. Yes, the story after Ayana Yuniko left the project leaves much to be desired, but if you're picking an anime of the year, nothing this year embodied the spirit of animation quite like Flip Flappers.

Then there's the shows that didn't make the top ten...

There are a couple of non-full-length shows that didn't make it into the above top ten. Uchuu Patrol Luluko is peak Trigger, and if you're a fan of any their previous works you'll find plenty to love here. Really, it's just pure Trigger fanservice. Inferno Cop even makes a cameo. Oshiete! Gyaruko-chan is probably my favorite show that didn't make the list. It has that choice feel animation but more importantly is a surprisingly frank depiction of high school girls talking about their bodies, and in a way that actually isn't weirdly sexualized. I guess you could still get turned on hearing Gyaruko talk about inverted nipples and periods though.

In a year where we got Amanchu!, it's a little overshadowed, but Flying Witch was a wonderful return to form for the healing anime archetype, and was one of the most comfy shows of the year. orange was an example of a teen drama done right, with a remarkably good depiction of depression and very strongly performed characters by an all-star cast. Finally, planetarian deserves some recognition simply for being the only Key anime I think is good. It's short, sweet and to the point. CLANG CLANG.

And the awards go to:

Best Actress: Amamiya Sora as Aqua, Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! Konosuba is one of the funniest anime in recent memory and as I mentioned in the top ten, a large part of that is due to magnificent performances from the voice cast. For me, "Ten-chan" is the best of the bunch as Aqua, whose moronic-sounding nasal voice is perfect for the arrogant and incompetent damegami, and the vocal gymnastics she does when Aqua goes into a screaming fit never cease to make me bust a gut.

(Honorable mention: Minase Inori as Rem, Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu. I actually wrote an entire paragraph for this before remembering Konosuba was also last year. The most memorable single episode last year in terms of acting was the ep of Re:Zero where Rem monologues to Subaru for 24 minutes, and that's all thanks to Inosuke's great performance; Kurosawa Tomoyo as Oumae Kumiko, Hibike! Euphonium 2; Kakuma Ai as Kurihara Yuki, Momokuri)

Best Actor: Kobayashi Yuusuke as Natsuki Subaru, Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu. I don't know w hy everyone hates Subaru when he's one of the most compelling male protagonists in LN anime history. I've gone into depth on why Subaru is so great before, but Kobayashi deserves credit for giving him the humanity that makes him so despicable and pitiable at the same time. This role is an emotional rollercoaster and Kobayashi delivers both the comedic highs and the soul-wrenching lows as well as anyone could.

(Honorable mention: Fukushima Jun as Satou Kazuma, Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!; Kaji Yuuki as Gamon Yuuta, Occultic;Nine; Yamashita Seiichirou as Naruse Kakeru, orange)

Best Director: Ishiguro Kyouhei. A couple years ago this man delivered us Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, one of the best seishun dramas of all time, and now he's given us Occultic;Nine, the show that finally made semicolon anime good. Occultic;Nine is unlike anything else I've seen, with manic pacing and some truly adventurous camerawork, which is something I don't know I've ever singled an anime out for before. Occultic;Nine is a shock to the senses both visually and auditorily and you couldn't ask for a more quality production.

(Honorable mention: Oshiyama Kiyotaka, who directed Flip Flappers. This was his directorial debut, so we'll need to see more of his work before we can say for sure, and he was most intimately involved with the worst episodes of the show (the end) but he should get some credit for directing the anime of the year.)

Best Animation: Flip Flappers, by Studio 3Hz. Their debut work, Sora no Method, may have been a flop but 3Hz came back and delivered the most visually striking show of the year with Flip Flappers.

Newcomer Seiyuu of the Year: Hanamori Yumiri. For someone with as cute a voice as she does, Hanabee doesn't get nearly enough work, but what she lacks in quantity she makes up in quality. Her first major role was Uritan in Etotama in 2015, which quickly put her on my radar. Recently, she played the leads in both Anhapi and Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume, which showed she could carry a show emotionally as well as being adorable. And recently, although it's out of the scope of this awards post, she showed she has dramatic chops as well with a great performance as Zero in the otherwise terrible adaptation of Zero Kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho. This is a character I had imagined as Ayaneru, mind you, so the fact that I have no complaints about Hanabee's portrayal -- she plays it just as I thought Ayaneru would play it -- is high praise indeed. Hopefully she'll get more work going forward so we can see how wide her range really is.