Top 5 Anime of 2014

As in years past, I have compiled my end of the year selections for my five favorite anime that I viewed in 2014.  Not all of these anime were in fact released during 2014, though each was released and aired within the past couple of years, and a few of these saw a run that carried on through 2014.  As with my top ten video game selections of the year, my rankings for these five best-of-the-best anime bears little correlation to the ratings I gave to each in my full review posts - rather, they are the five anime that I enjoyed most, and the five which left some noteworthy impact on me as a viewer. 

#5) Knights of Sidonia: Offering a more gritty and dire take on the mecha genre than many of its bigger-name contemporaries, Knights of Sidonia knows how to get from point A to point B in a timely manner, while still exploring enough individual stories that branch out from the core plot.  The scientific advancements made since mankind took refuge among the stars are curious and compelling, if not mildly inconsistent, but the way in which these play off the otherwise outdated tech and cramped living conditions for what are, in all likelihood, the last remaining humans, does well to balance the thriller, drama, adventure, and classic science fiction components.  If only the basic motions of the main cast members’ character models looked half as good as the Garde Unit mechs did when battling the parasitic and ever-adaptive Gauna, this series might have ranked a bit higher on this list.

#4) From the New World: Often times, the whole ‘post-apocalyptic’ subgenre gets stuck in a routine of desolate worlds decorated with litter more than ruins.  How much a breath of fresh air, then, was From the New World, which depicted not only a prospering society, but one which had performed an odd return to ancient technologies and lifestyle.  The strict, often shady rules of this future-past culture incorporate dystopian themes, while the science of the world is largely centered around the esper humans reserving their powers for practical uses that will better the whole community.  From the New World is very smart in its scripting, even though the emphasis on certain plot points might not make their importance known until many episodes later.  Other contemporary science fiction and fantasy anime would do well to learn a thing or two from this series’ careful planning.

#3) Puella Magi Madoka Magica: I admit, I was quite skeptical going into this series.  A number of people had talked it up as being a real game-changer for the magical girl genre – a genre that I was not particularly fond of – but Madoka Magica is much more than that.  Its twelve episode run delivered just the right number of twists and turns to keep me hooked from start to finish, and was fueled by some of the most genuine and raw emotion I’ve encountered in an anime yet.  It’s a dark and depressing tale, but in a similar fashion to Evangelion, it is multi-layered in its themes, yet ever-mindful of tying the narrative threads together for an impactful endgame.  Sometimes the saddest stories deliver the best development for both plot and character, as evidenced by Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

#2) Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders: While the first season adapted the first two parts of the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure manga impeccably well, they were, to a certain degree, always serving to set up the most popular Jojo’s story arc, Stardust Crusaders.  It’s no surprise why Stardust Crusaders has been so well-received since its debut twenty-five years ago – the cast of Jotaro, old man Joseph, Avdol, Kakyoin, and Polnareff makes for quite a raucous crew.  Regardless of how dire the circumstances or rotten the foe, Jotaro and company always manage to turn the situation back to their favor, with plenty of intense action and hilarious shenanigans along the way.  The Stardust Crusaders arc masterfully handles just what a long-running action series should be about – having fun, balancing the action and comedy, and knowing how to properly pace the story for fans new and old.

#1) Mobile Suit Unicorn Gundam: Unicorn Gundam is both a return to form and a push forth into bold new territory for Bandai and Sunrise’s long-running franchise.  I’ve stated in the past that I find the Gundam OVAs are typically among the most high-quality offerings from the franchise, and Unicorn Gundam is unquestionably among the best Gundam projects of all-time.  It has a large cast to juggle, and yet it handles each individual appropriately, shaping them as pieces of a more complex puzzle over the course of its seven (approximately) hour-long episodes.  It’s a love letter to Gundam fans new and old – one that is certainly among the most easily accessible for new viewers who have little understanding of the chronology of the Universal Century, but one that is also chock-full of references and ties to previous Gundam works like Char’s Counterattack, ZZ, and the original Mobile Suit Gundam that kicked off this definitive mecha franchise way back in 1979.

Anime review: From the New World

Set in a post-apocalyptic Japan, Shin Sekai Yori, otherwise known as From the New World, depicts a society that has largely reverted to feudal era technologies. People rely on waterways as their primary means of transportation, live in tight-knit communities, and emphasize teamwork as schoolchildren are divided into small groups they are meant to stay with until graduation. While all of this may seem rather mundane, the biggest defining characteristic of the series is that all the humans bear some psychic powers that manifest in slightly different ways. Satoru, for example, can change the surface of an environment to be reflective, offering him a look down a long hallway without risking his safety. Maria can levitate her body, while others are capable of deflecting arrows or commanding fire, the latter being the trait most commonly exhibited by the main protagonist, Saki.

When Saki’s story begins, she is but a child, thrown into a group with five of her peers. As they learn about their psychic powers, referred to as their Cantus, they are instructed to take part in various challenges – some team-based, others independent. However, one of the children in Saki’s group apparently cannot harness their powers to as full or focused an extent as the others, and soon after the teachers take note of this, the child ceases to show up to class. Thus is the first of many scenarios which will drive Saki, Satoru, Shun, Maria, and Mamoru to question just what the motives of the adults are, how their society truly operates, and what exactly happened between the arrival of the first Cantus users hundreds of years ago up to present day.

One of the great dangers Saki and friends learn of early on is the Fiends, Cantus users whose powers run wild, their behavior turning animalistic. Or at least, that is what they are claimed to be. These Fiends supposedly appear on very rare occasions, and much of the information on them, as well as information regarding the rest of the old world ways, is restricted. Some of this knowledge is retained within small databanks that resemble small horse-like creatures known as False Minoshiros. During their adventures, Saki and friends encounter more than one of these False Minoshiros, but much of the truth of humanity’s past is not divulged until late in the series.

The children also make multiple encounters with a species that resembles large naked mole rats. These creatures stand around two to three feet tall, with rare exceptions like the proud warrior Kiroumaru standing as tall as an adult human. Different colonies of these rats bear different skin tones, facial structures, etc., but each colony is intelligent to the point of understanding human speech and operating on their own as they gather supplies to dig for resources underground. Squealer is the rat Saki, Satoru, and company encounter most frequently, and despite their confidence in the fact that these rats perceive humans and their Cantus abilities as god-like, they are ever-catious of Squealer as his behavior is sometimes suspicious.

The animals that inhabit this future world range from the aforementioned sentient naked mole rats, to giant cave-dwelling crabs, to ruthless hunter cats that the townspeople use to seek out and destroy Fiends – all bizarre mutations on real-world animals. Some of these creatures evolved on their own post-old world fallout, while others were designed by humans to serve particular purposes. Even the humans, with their mastery over psychokinesis, have restrictions worked into their gene pool. High tense situations force young adults to turn to physical interaction as a way to calm their nerves, sexual orientation apparently being completely irrelevant, as seemingly every character shows the capability of being attracted to both genders. Even more extreme is the Shame of Death, an involuntary reaction that will instantly kill a human should they attempt to kill another human. In theory, this creates a peaceful society that seeks only to benefit the whole, but as anyone familiar with dystopian media is well-aware, there are always ways around these restrictions, and what lurks in the shadows may seek to undo everything the humans have crafted these past many centuries.

From the New World weaves its story over multiple decades, throwing in themes of coming-of-age, piecing together puzzles from one’s past, the conflict of man vs. nature, and the strive to achieve one’s personal goals even as death and loss are prevalent around them. For this series delivers a number of plot twists and shock value moments, the biggest ones being at the conclusion of story arcs. The finale, while fitting and intelligently plotted, is not exactly what should be described as a ‘happy ending’. Saki and friends’ desire to expose the truth comes at a cost, and though these new world humans wield incredible powers, they are not all-powerful.

The way the five core characters are handled from the start of the series to its conclusion is human and practical, even if the society in which they live is somewhat removed from our own. The manner in which Saki and friends deal with emotional, physical, and moral challenges certainly paints them as rebels within their own time and place, but they are all the more likeable for that reason. As strikingly different of outcomes result from Shun, Satoru, Maria, and Mamoru's own personal journeys, the story always centers back on Saki, whether she is exploring the forests with her schoolmates, digging up information on the monster rats, or seeking advice from her elders on how to deal with newfound responsibilities. Truth be told, I don’t think the series would have been half as enjoyable if a character with less perseverance, someone who has not had to deal with a much personal loss, someone who lacked Saki’s quick-wittedness, had taken the role of main protagonist.

The soundtrack incorporates original tunes that emphasize classical string instruments, drums, and hauntingly beautiful vocals, as well as portions of Dvorak’s New World Symphony. The character designs are rather typical of the contemporary digital animation style, though the way their hairstyles and items of clothing are rendered shows a curiously unique attention to detail. The colors of environments like green fields where breezes blow through, the dark and muddy caves of the rats, and the torch lit interiors of wooden buildings are distinctly different, but somehow all retain a consistent style – quite a feat, considering some of the bold places the anime takes its characters, as well as some of the stranger-looking creatures that line these landscapes.

Few series in this day and age dare to spend so much time exploring the world and its inhabitants as From the New World does. It would have been simple for the writers to focus on cool psychic battles and brush the multi-layered story to the side for the sake of pretty visuals, but that would have robbed us of such an intelligently-crafted tale. During the final story arc, the pacing does pick up a bit to advance toward the endgame trials, but this is after multiple timeskips and years of Saki preparing for her ultimate role in the tale, so it is largely forgivable. The final story arc is decidedly a bit more single-minded than the previous portions of the story, but it does well to bring all the intertwined plot points to a sensible head. From the New World is frothing with creativity, and with a smart and daring story to boot, once you get to watching, it’s hard to ignore just how much higher a quality and quantity this series provides during its twenty-five episode run than most any of its mainstream contemporaries.

My rating: 8.75 (out of 10)

Anime update: Stand up to the Victory!

I mentioned in my last update that I had some interest in checking out Space Runaway Ideon, as I understood it was something of a spiritual predecessor to both Zeta Gundam and Neon Genesis Evangelion. However, a brief look into some short snippets of the series has led me to reconsider. I don’t mind my anime being dark from time to time – after all, Evangelion is my all-time favorite – but Ideon looks downright morbid. Young children being brought along onto the battlefield only to have their heads blown off? No thank you.

So with that said, I think I’m going to go full steam ahead with completing Victory Gundam – I have approximately twenty episodes left, and though I do make a habit of taking breaks about halfway through these longer anime, I am quite hooked on it. I’m also all caught up with Unicorn Gundam, and I am happy to say that it got back on track after that brief stint of preachiness in episode four. I can’t say for certain yet, because Unicorn still has one more episode before it is completed, but if the last episode stays on the same track the rest of the series has, it could end up as one of my favorites from the Gundam franchise. Assuming I complete Victory Gundam before the end of the summer, I plan to pick up either ZZ or the original Mobile Suit Gundam thereafter as I move into the final phases of completing my viewing of every Gundam series to date.

Also, I recently powered through roughly two-thirds of the episodes that make up Shin Sekai Yori (aka From the New World), and that series has me very interested as to where the remainder of the story will go. Expect that to be reviewed in the near future, likely around the same time as Victory Gundam. I also took a crack at the first handful of episodes of Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, and while I have to say it’s even more explicitly sexually charged than older Lupin works, it’s just as humorous and entertaining as the classic series. It’s a series that I don’t plan to work through as quickly as either Victory Gundam or Shin Sekai Yori, but I will certainly get to reviewing it as well once I’ve completed it.

While I’m still a bit frustrated with Toonami’s shift in the programming earlier this year to accommodate One Piece, Bleach, and Naruto, I can say that Sword Art Online has me intrigued. The first two episodes were quite solid, and it seems like an easy enough watch. I think it helps that I didn’t experience the series back when everyone else was on the hype bandwagon for it, because, while I do have decent expectations for it, I don’t expect it to be the most mind-blowing anime of its kind. I expect it to be fun and adventurous, but beyond that I’m simply hoping it’s a solid blend of science fiction and fantasy.

On the note of the ‘bandwagon effect’, I will go out of my way right now to state that I have absolutely zero intention of viewing either Attack on Titan or Free!, the two most recent flavor-of-the-season anime that everyone and their grandma seems to be gushing over. I did try a few episodes of Attack on Titan and thought the writing was subpar at best, while the characters didn’t interest me much and the art style was grotesque and unappealing. As for Free!, the whole sports anime genre doesn’t do anything for me to begin with, and the pretty boys in speedos approach seems very much like a one-trick pony. You’re welcome to indulge in those series all you want if that’s your scene, but I’m firm on my decision not to.