Monday 15 July 2019

My Top 5 Anime in Spring 2019

The Spring season has finally finished and I have a range of different Anime that I have completed and rated. The fact we are halfway through another Anime year is CRAZY. Here is my top 5 Anime and one honourable mention.


Honourable Mention #1
Fairy gone (12 Eps) – 3 Stars
The trailer, synopsis and music had me looking forward to this Anime and how it disappointed me. Between all the different characters, confusing plot, confusing narrative and the repetitions of certain things just had me so annoyed. Was there a need for the constant reminder that she is what she says she is? The answer is no. There was no need, I don’t have such a bad memory that I need to know nearly every episode and I doubt other people do. The storyline was a mess from start to finish and I didn’t actually know who I was rooting for. The reason why I rated this 3 stars and not any lower was because there was good elements to this mess. The fights were really good and enjoyable to watch.

The only character’s I wasn’t confused about was the main cast. Every other character I was confused as whether they were a good guy or not. The Main female character was dull at times but at the same time I felt like I wanted to protect her. I hope she develops a lot more in the future.

The opening and ending songs were amazing and the OST was amazing. The ending wasn’t that bad, it actually hit me with some sort of reality check. Will I be watching the second half in October, yes I will but I am dreading it at the same time.

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#5
Midnight occult civil servants (12 Eps) – 4 Stars
This Anime was so under rated and people left after just one episode which was their mistake. Was it the greatest Anime I have ever watched; no, but it certainly was a good one. It had some amazing unique takes on certain creatures and legends etc. The story was well paced and thought out, though at times I did feel it was rushed, but that was most likely because they only had 12 Episodes to do this in.

I did feel they lacked on character development on some characters but done really well development on others. The main character was interesting and I loved the unique gift he had, but I felt I would have liked it more if he was in danger because that gift and not just used to do things etc. 

I really enjoyed the opening and I loved how the opening song was sung by the main guy and the ending song was sung by the other character. Would I watch this if a second season was announced, yes and until then, I think some OVA’s was going to be released. 


#4
Bungou Stray Dogs 3rd Season (12 Eps) – 4 Stars
History repeating itself in this season. Just like last season they start the season with a time skip to the past regarding one of the characters. I know that learning the past of one of the main characters is interesting and entertaining but it means the rest of the cast and current storyline suffers. It doesn’t help that I get confused way to easy when it comes to who is who and who is in what organisation. Apart from what I have mentioned I did really enjoy this season. The fighting was epic, the main storyline was awesome and interesting and I also loved the interactions between certain characters. I did feel at times, it was slow and not as interesting because of small talk that could have been cut out, in my opinion.

I know everyone loves Dazai and Ranpo more than other characters but my favourite character is Atsushi even with all the hate he gets. I just love his character development and his progress with everything. I think people keep forgetting he once didn’t even know he could transform into a tiger, so still to do this day he most likely hasn’t got full control over his power. Give him a break. My tiger boy.

The opening song is amazing even though it took me a while to get into it and the ending song is beautiful. I really hope future movies or season happen as so much more is to come and I want to see tiger boy prove everyone wrong. Go get them tiger boy.


#3
Ultraman (13 Eps) – 4 ½ Stars
Don’t let the animation put you off from an Anime, because underneath all that weird looking animation lays an interesting storyline and awesome fight scenes. I want to first point out that all episodes got released at the same time both in Subbed and Dubbed and I opted to watch it in Dubbed. I firstly watched the first two episodes to see if it’s something I want to finish off or not continue. The fight scenes were amazing although at times maybe predictable but I mean most Anime end up falling in that loop. I did find myself confused at times as I didn’t really have a lot of knowledge about the “Ultraman” franchise but my partner did fill me in things during the time we were watching it, so that helped a lot. The pacing and the storyline itself was amazing and it was addicting and I for one am glad all episodes were out at once because waiting a week after every ep would have been torture.

You got to see a lot of different characters in this show. The main character Shinjiro is thrown into a crazy situation and he slowly adapts to it. I feel everyone expected way too much from him and that didn’t help him at all. I really didn’t like Dan at all, his personality is what I see in a lot of Anime and although normally you grow to like that certain character as you realise why they are the way they are. I just couldn’t grow to like Dan at all.

The Animation isn’t the greatest but you get used to it and yes the voice actors at time felt like they were under performing or over performing but that didn’t put me off from enjoying it. The theme song by OLDCODEX was amazing and fitting for this show and although at first I didn’t like it, as every ep ended, I grew to love the song. I can’t wait for more as a second season has been announced now. Thank you, Netflix.


#2
Attack on Titan 3rd Season: Part II (10 Eps) – 4 ½ Stars
So much information, so much information, I can’t handle this information. So much happening so much to remember but oh my god was this an epic season. This may not have reached the 5 stars but only because I want more and I felt slightly confused at times. The actions scenes were amazing. The information that I did understand was interesting and also scary in a weird way. I already had some information spoilt for me due to certain websites but even though I knew some things that were to happen; the way it was done was still heart-wrenching and emotional that at certain scenes I did shed a tear…or more. 

The only thing I can say for certain is that even with the hate Eren gets at times, I still really like him as a character. Anyone else in his situation would be thinking or acting in similar fashion. I love when the Trio (Eren, Mikasa,Armin) are together in a scene, it makes it all worth the journey.

I am kind of done with the opening songs for AOT now, at least the first part was a different Artist, but the moment it’s back to the normal Artist it’s just… the same song but different…I just don’t like it as a standalone song but as the opening I get it and it fits. The ending song though is a whole different story; such an amazing song. Knowing Fall 2020 will be the FINAL season is good but also very annoying as that’s a long wait to wait, but hopefully the Manga will be done by then so it will have an actual ending. 


#1
The Rising of the Shield Hero (25 Eps) – 5 Stars
I was hooked from the very first episode (40min roughly). This may be another “another person in a strange world” that we have seen so many times before in Anime but this Anime does something unique and different that just makes you feel so many emotions in just one episode. This show embraced the dark side of situations that haven’t really been explored in this kind of Anime; at least not ones that I have seen. The storyline although isn’t 100% unique, it is although unique for the parts that count. The pacing is amazing and I felt it wasn’t rushed at any time and I also felt the only times it felt slow was on the episodes that weren’t very needed but at the same time; letting us breathe at times from the stressful serious situations was a blessing. I do admit the first half of the show was a little better and entertaining but on a whole it was an epic show. 

Naofumi, Raphtalia and Filo are the three main characters in the first half with more being added in the second half. Naofumi is suddenly drawn into a new world and got told he’s the “Shield Hero” along with three others “Sword”, “Spear” and “Bow”. Now don’t get me wrong when I first heard this title, even I am thinking…how can you do anything with only a Shield? Well just watch the show and you will see how. Not only is he hated from the bat because he’s that hero; “the weakest” but he gets made into a criminal and portrayed as a bad guy. From this he does make some epic friends. Raphtalia is the first one he meets and oh my, she is amazing and strong.. Then he “meets” Filo who is so cute and also brings the fun element in the trio. The other three “Heroes” can just disappear for all I care; especially “Spear” hero. He was the most annoying character ever and I am not even going to talk about a certain female who I despised until I do a full review. 

Both opening songs were sung by the same band “MADKID” and both ending songs were sung by the same female “Chiai Fujikawa” apart from the ED for episode 4. The opening songs were amazing and perfect for the show; also on Spotify they have now sung the opening songs in English too. The ending songs were beautifully sung and just hit you in the feels, especially if it’s been an epic episode. I really want a second season but I wouldn’t cry if they didn’t but I would prefer to have more. 


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I really enjyed this season of Anime and I can't wait to dive into the Summer Anime.

See you soon for my Top 5 Summer Opening Songs.

Tara
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