10.) Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders
I'm completely biased with this pick as I've been reading the Jojo manga since my early high school days. I can't get enough of the manliness and awesome characters that Hirohiko Araki has so expertly created. And I know I'm not the only one who shares these feelings as Jojo's Bizarre Adventure has been a cultural icon in the otaku world in Japan for quite a while now. These sentiments I feel are also beginning to rise up here in America as more and more people are being exposed to the series via David Production Inc.'s fantastic, recent anime adaptations of the first three parts of the Jojo manga. Stardust Crusaders is the third part of the Jojo series and will always be my personal favorite arc. The currently finished first part of Stardust Crusaders spanned 24 episodes and will continue with part 2 in January. As such viewers were only given a taste of what this amazing arc of Jojo has to offer. I think the appeal of this particular anime lies in two things. The first: the premise revolving around an entire bloodline's (the Joestars) struggles to fight evil over centuries. The second being just how completely absurd and insane the show really is! Nevertheless, I feel Stardust Crusaders (especially with the introduction of Stands) is most certainly the most entertaining of the Jojo arcs currently animated by David Productions.
9.) Mushihi Zoku Shou
Mushishi Zoku Shou is another anime I can't help but feel compelled to place on this list if only for the fact that Mushishi (the first season) is one of my personal favorite anime of all time. That being said, the 2nd season of Mushihi (Zoku Shou) is a brilliant follow up to an already fantastic show. Mushihi is a show that I struggle to legitimately recommend to people as it is not your typical show. It's extremely episodic in nature (allowing viewers to comfortably watch episodes out of order) and follows a single recurring protagonist, Ginko. To sum up the plot as best as possible: Mushishi follows the story of Ginko a traveling mushi master that seeks to utilize his knowledge of mushi to help anyone and everyone he can whom are affected by these creatures. Mushi are essentially the microorganisms in this world that are the closest things to the root of all life that have adverse effects on people (mostly accidentally and not purposely). It's a very slow paced show that succeeds in capturing and emphasizing real people's problems, emotions, and reactions in situations when they come in direct contact with certain mushi. It's the kind of show that you can sit down and watch to relax at the end of of a long day. It's a show that's rather difficult to marathon but I definitely feel deserves a watch if only for the unique and calm atmosphere that was so brilliantly created. It's also worth mentioning that the lovely and talented English singer/song-writer Lucy Rose performs quite possibly the most beautiful opening theme of all of 2014 for this show. Not a Japanese artist but a British one! I'll leave it here for anyone interested.
8.) Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
Shigatsu is a show that has not yet completed at the time of this list. Yet, only 11 episodes in to this show and it has already had a profound effect on me. Shigatsu tells the story of a boy named Arima Kousei who prior the beginning of the show was a mechanically perfect piano protege. Kousei would practice intensely to master piano under the strict and cruel discipline of his disabled mother whom has transferred her dreams of becoming a master pianist to her son. We find out that she died a few years prior to the series around the time that Kousei has quit playing piano all together, as he has been unable to quite literally hear the notes he is playing. It isn't until Kousei meets a girl named Kaori Miyazono, a fantastic violinist, that he begins to become inspired to play piano again and erase all the trauma that his dying mother left for him, almost like a curse that has tormented his life. This show spouts some of, if not the most beautiful animation of any anime this year. It is breathtakingly stunning how beautiful this show really looks. It's also complimented well with some of the best music direction I've seen all year. The classical soundtrack starring my favorite composer Frederick Chopin has been equal parts beautiful and entertaining. The last thing I will mention is that the show fantastically depicts what it is like to be under stress while participating in music competitions. I myself am a pianist and was forced to participate in many piano competitions in my youth. I have not been able to relate in this way to any show I've ever seen until now. Cheers Shigatsu! Here's to hoping for another brilliant 11 episodes.
7.) Sidonia no Kishi
Translated to "Knights of Sidonia," Sidonia tells a sci-fi story in a futuristic/post-apocalyptic setting where mankind has been forced to leave the Earth. A thousand years prior to the show, the mysterious alien race known as the Gauna have destroyed the solar system as we know it. This has forced mankind to live on enormous "seed ships" (such as the Sidonia) that has allowed for mankind to continue to survive and develop. However, mankind must still fight for their survival as the Gauna still remain a constant threat. Mankind has fortunately created a response for the Gauna threat in the form of giant mechs know as "Gardes." The fate of all of Sidonia lies in the hands of the talented and brave pilots of the Sidonia and the mysterious protagonist: Tanikaze, Nagate.
Sidonia is the first anime I've ever watched that is completely in CGI that I've both enjoyed and been able to tolerate. Usually CGI art styles in anime bother me and distract me so much that I can't get into the show at hand. However, Sidonia has proved me wrong for the first time that it is possible to do CGI justice. Beyond this, I was thoroughly invested in the first season of this fantastic show. It was the best mech anime of 2014 in my opinion and it cleverly weaves in unique aspects of sci-fi to keep viewers interested. The invention of a third gender amongst human begins, humans learning to photosynthesize to survive, and the realism behind giant cannon shells flying at a slow pace in space are all cool and nifty aspects that showcases just a bit of what the show has to offer. I highly recommend a viewing of the show and look forward to it's second season coming in 2015.
6.) Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis
Where to begin with this fantastic and fun show. First off, it's worth mentioning that this show is an adaptation of a semi-successful mobile phone card game called Rage of Bahamut. Studio MAPPA did an amazing job taking a loose concept of the world of the card game and creating a world that feels fun and memorable. Mind you this was a really high risk, high quality project for the company that was formed from a cast of people that broke off from legendary anime production company Madhouse. Anyways, Bahamut's first 4 episodes spouts what honestly was the best action anime of 2014 for all intensive purposes. The amount of attention to detail, fluidity, choreography and personality in the fight scenes alone were spectacular. It sore above everything that I had seen this year and really shows off its high quality from the very get go. Throw in some amazing animation that is gorgeous to look at it and your in for a real treat.
The story goes a little thing like this: Favaro (whom by the way, gets my unofficial favorite anime character of 2014 award) is a bounty hunter/thief with a heart of gold that is buried under layers of filth. I have to say that Favaro's character design is very interesting as it doesn't subscribe to your typical "make the protagonist look and feel badass" motif. No, instead we are presented with a loud mouthed every day man who spouts a glorious red-haird afro. What I'm getting it at here is that he's a goofy looking character and it's awesome! There's a lot of heart behind his character and it takes an entire watch though of the show to seem him develop. Anyways my love for Favaro aside, the other main characters include: Favaro's best friend Kaisar who also has a ridiculous hair style and has a pseudo-competitive/revenge centered relationship with Favaro, the quirky half demon Lady Amira who wishes for Favaro to take her to find her mother in another city, and Rita (a literal zombie girl). This colorful cast of characters must traverse many obstacles in a world filled with angels, gods, demons, and the menacing Bahamut, the great, evil dragon who's very existence can bring about the end of the world.
-Shingeki no Bahamut: Geneis was the greatest surprise in anime of 2014 I can't recommend this underrated series enough!
5.) Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu / Parasyte: the Maxim
Another great series by studio Madhouse, Parasyte is an adaptation of an old seinin, horror/sci-fi manga from 1989. Parasyte tells the story of planet Earth getting invaded by extraterrestrial beings known as parastytes that crawl into people's heads and take over their brains. Protagonist, Shinichi Izumi is a rare case that is the result of a parasyte failing to crawl into his head and has instead infused itself to him by literally becoming his right hand. Thus, Shinichi is in the rare position of being able to see things from both a human's and a parasyte's perspective. He befriends his new alien friend calling it "Migi" (meaning hand in Japanese) and learning more and more about the parasyte invasion. Most of the parasytes are mindless feeding machines that look to eat every human in sight. While others are trying to coexist with human beings and take in higher social roles amonsgt human society. The main hook of the series is getting to see how Shinici develops as a character as a result of having a prasyte infused with his body. He also may be the only person who is capable of stopping the world from falling prey to these horrible alien creatures. The show is vastly entertaining and has some very excellent pacing. Cheers Madhouse for a brilliant adaptation so far.
4.) Fate Stay Night: Unlimited Bladworks
I can go on for hours about the brilliance that is the Fate Stay Night series. Being how lazy I am, I've never actually played and gone trough the brilliant visual novel that is the source material of all the Fate anime series. Thus, my only real experience with the Fate universe was watching the original anime adaptation and the recent Fate Zero series. That being said, with the different alternative routes of the visual novel, the flop that was the original Fate Stay Night anime done by studio Geneon Universal Entertainment, and the recent success of the anime adaptation of Fate Zero by studio Ufotable; Ufotable is back to bring a high quality/high budget adaptation of Fate Stay Night, the unlimited bladeworks route. To sum things up quickly, Unlimited Bladeworks is a route dedicated to showing the events of the Holy grail war with Rin Tohsaka and Archer at the helm of protagonists. One thing I appreciate about the show is the apparent attention to quality and content. The first episode is an hour long and the final episode of the series, once the second season picks up again in April, is confirmed to be an hour long finale. There was even an episode in which the opening was not shown and the entire 22 minutes was dedicated to straight content. I can assure you that some of the greatest action sequences and high budget animation was masterfully utilized in this show. But if any of this hasn't sold you I'll leave you with this: Fate Stay Night is essentially a show with fantastic character development infused with a story about a battle royale between "heroic spirits"whom are essentially famous figures throughout history and mythology. It's an amazing series that I highly recommend and Unlimited Bladeworks shows off a promising future that Ufotable can bring to this series.
3.) Barakamon
I was blown away with how amazing and likable this show really was. I went into this show with the knowledge that the premise had something to do with a calligrapher who punches an old man at a art gala and is forced to move away to the country. But what I got was something even more. Where Barakamon seems to shine is in its ability to use comedy to deliver an emotionally resonant narrative which, while at times kind of cheesy and certainly not horribly original, is nonetheless highly effective. The show stars struggling twenty three year old Handa Seishuu, who is a calligrapher who is indeed forced to move to the country after a horrible incident occurs. He takes this time in the country to learn more about himself and really find some form of inspiration to propel his art to the next level. The character that really shines throughout this series and helps Handa to develop is the young, rambunctious Naru, who provides most of the show's comedy and energy. She really comes to adore Handa as a true friend and drives a heart warming narrative apparent in the show of establishing a sense of family and community being in a new home amongst strangers for Handa. This is slice of life done right and the comedy utilized only makes the experience all the more enjoyable. One thing I thought was really cool about this show was the utilization of a different dialect of Japanese that is essentially the equivalent of an old, southern dialect (as the show takes place in the country) and the fact that they used reallchildren to voice the child characters of the show (as opposed to defaulting to famous adult voice actors). Barakamon is a heart-warming and lovable show that really surprised me this year.
2.) Ping Pong: The Animation
I never thought in a million years that one of my favorite anime that I would be talking about this year was a show involving Ping Pong..... but it's true ladies and gentlemen! This show is a masterpiece.
Director Masaaki Yuasa has made a name for himself over the past decade as perhaps the most consistently experimental and interesting anime director alive. Shows like Tatami Galaxy (one of my personal favorite anime of all time), Kaiba, and Kemonozume boast not only striking artwork and highly expressive animation, but also solidly written original scripts and concepts - a combination which has garnered the director nearly unmatched critical acclaim among animation fans. Ping Pong is Yuasa's first direct adaptation , but lives up to his legacy as perfectly as anything else he's been responsible for. Ping pong is a show that uses the sport as a medium to convey a coming of age story of four very different characters. While each of their stories are very much connected, it is their development and struggles in the stressful world of competitive ping pong that propels this story to a level of greatness akin to a masterpiece. This show also boasts the best soundtrack/music of 2014 by far of any show to come out this year. It's not your average sports anime and I feel many will put this one off if only for the unorthodox art style. But I tell you this... watch Ping Pong. It is a masterpiece that must not be missed!
1.) Zankyou no Terror
Shinicihro Watanabe's latest show about terrorism is a stunning masterpiece. I've already written extensively on this show in my last post so scroll down my blog to the post before this one if you're interested in my critical analysis of the series. This show has had the strongest impression on me this year and I feel is a show that begs to be seen and discussed.
Honorable Mentions of 2014:
-Aldnoah Zero
-Space Dandy
-Haikyuu!!
-Garo: Honoo no Kokuin
Thank you for reading my list and I hope you enjoyed it. Here's to hoping 2015 showcases even better anime!!!
-Nights Off
Link to my MAL: http://myanimelist.net/profile/NightsOff27
