5 Worst Complaints People Have About New Seasonal Anime Before The Shows Even Aired

Wow, that’s some heck of a long post title, huh? This post is something of a longstanding reaction to some of the most egregious continual and consistent complaints that come around at the start of every new anime season and with a new anime season on the horizon what better time than now to bring up these “terrible” complaints people have and offer my strong-worded rebuttals!

5. “It’s A Short Anime So It Won’t Be As Good As A Full Length One”

You know what, this is sadly a view I used to share, I used to flat-out refuse to watch short anime because I assumed it being short meant less money and time and care was put into the show’s production and would reflect in the finished product. That’s simply false though, while certainly some shows might have suffered as an adaption by being made into a short anime, the vast majority of short anime have just as much care put into them as their longer brothers and sisters. From 12 minute anime all the way down to the bite sized 2 minute anime, every length of anime has merit!

4. “Based On The Art/Trailer This Looks Nothing Like The Source Material So I’m Not Watching It!”

Absolute adherence to source material is not only short-changing the complex and multi-faceted elements that go into an animation project but also suggests that there’s only one way to tell a story and I’m sorry but that’s a pretty dim and narrow mind-set to have. So your favourite manga/game/whatever is getting an anime adaptation and the art is different or they seem to have cut some things out, that’s no reason to decry something’s existence–and on so little information too. You can be disappointed after you’ve watched it that they missed something or it’s not up to the same standards of the source material, but refusing to watch something off mere teases and trailers is almost the same as judging a book by its cover.

3. “It’s Got 3D CGI In It So It’s Going To Suck!”

Aside from the fact that every new anime uses some element of 3D CGI (usually in subtle ways that most people don’t notice) the idea that using a different animation medium for part or even all of an anime is somehow going to be a detriment to an anime’s overall quality is ridiculous. If there’s a CGI component it’s there for a reason, either because it involves complex movements that would have cost too much/taken too much animation time to have been done traditionally or it was simply the intent of the artists and/or director. Either way stop being so childish and judging CGI like it’s a plague when it’s actually incredibly necessary in the high turnover world in which seasonal anime is made.

2. “It’s Based On A Visual Novel/Smartphone Game/Whatever So It Can’t Be Good!”

Not all source material is created equal–just because there’s “bad” visual novels and likewise adaptations doesn’t mean that whatever new show is coming out will be the same. Also, as far as smartphone game adaptations go some of them are produced by legitimately excellent studios with highly competent writers and directors behind them and a far cry from being “lazy cash-in’s”, some multimedia projects even have the anime being produced alongside the smartphone game to synergise both products rather than just boosting one off the name recognition of another.

1. “It’s Produced By JC-Staff So It’s Going To Be Rushed/Bad!”

I originally had the ‘complaint’ written as “It’s Produced By [Insert Studio Everyone Hates] So It’s Going To Be Bad”, but let’s face it when it comes to the anime communities whipping boy it’s (sadly) JC-Staff. And I honestly don’t get it, I may have only been watching seasonal anime for a couple of years now but nearly every JC-Staff anime I watch is more than competent in almost every technical and artistic aspect. Maybe it’s just the ‘normies’ out there who only watch big-budget-studio shonen anime coming to shit on an easy target but I can name more than a dozen anime from the last couple of years from wildly different studios with shoddier production values that don’t get 1% of the shit that JC Staff gets. All I can say is JC Staff is one of my favourite studios and they deserve better treatment by the anime community that’s decided to make their name a punchline.

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Taking The Harm Out Of Harems – 10 Complaints And Rebuttals About Harem Anime

1. “All Harem Anime Are Sexist!”

It’s probably the most frequently levelled criticism against the genre and it’s easy to see why, a bevy of beautiful girls throwing themselves at a single guy! “What woman would act like that? That’s completely unrealistic! And insulting too! What self respecting woman would put themself in that kind of situation?!” But with the exception of some specific examples these girls are all willingly in this situation, they are individuals with the autonomy to choose their lifestyle and what they’ve chosen is to compete for the attention of a man they desire—regardless of whether others have too laid claim to said man. Are there harem anime that are sexist? Yes, for sure. But that’s the fault of specific creators who put sexist dialogue or situations in their series’. Harem Anime should be treated on a show-by-show basis as there’s multitude of show’s out there that run the gamut from offensively sexist to vaguely feminist. The genre as a whole however is not by default sexist.

Grisaia no Rakuen (The Eden of Grisaia)

2. “Harem Anime are unrealistic, superficial male fantasies!”

Well done for realizing that fictional anime and manga is meant to be escapist fantasy! The kind of wish-fulfilment fantasy is present in nearly every genre of anime so why are harem anime being singled out as especially offensive to certain sensibilities? I have a theory: Western pop culture idolizes heroes, superheroes specifically being deeply ingrained in our cultures as being the fictional ideal—modern day gods living amongst us. Polyamory however is not only frowned upon but downright illegal in many places in the West and so portrayals of these kind of relationships are are seen as a problematic kink at best or destabilizing to the natural order at worst. Do I think this should change? No, monogamy works for me as it does most people, but there’s no way we should treat Harem Anime any differently from any other fictional fantasy.

Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou (Monster Musume: Everyday Life With Monster Girls)

3. “Harem Anime give impressionable viewers unrealistic expectations about relationships and the opposite sex!”

Ah, I see your letting anime doing the parenting now? Certainly the media we consume does a great deal at informing our world view, especially if it’s all you watch. But I’d argue the way most harem protagonists treat the women in their lives reinforces ideas of being kind, being patient and listening to the concerns of your significant others. Once again the onus is on the individual creator as to whether their harem protagonist treats women with respect but in my experience most male harem protagonists only have the best interest of all the girls around them in mind. As for whether the actions and shenanigans reinforce imitable behaviour that can lead to women in real life being the victim of sexual assaults—well, let’s not bring up the tired “violent video games cause real life violence” debate again shall we? We’re all smarter than that, right?

Shinmai Maou no Testament (The Testament Of Sister New Devil)

4. “People who like Harem Anime are perverts!”

Correct!

5. “Harems don’t make logical sense, someone’s going to end up hurt—it’s an unrealistic way to build relationships!”

Because nobody ever gets hurt in monogamous relationships, right? /sarcasm. In all but the cheapest and poorly written of harem anime, the concept of ‘who’s best’ and ‘who’s sidelined’ is a common source of drama and dilemma not just for the girls themselves but the protagonist too. Navigating the minefield of emotions of not just one but multiple women means a smart harem anime can mine a lot of worthwhile plot and character development. People learn who they are and what they really want when under these trying and unusual situations and that in of itself is very interesting to behold.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai (Haganai: I don’t have many friends)

6. “Harem anime fetishises having multiple partners and encourages infidelity!”

You’re right… damn it, you’re absolutely right, I have three anime body pillows and it’s not enough, I just want more and more and Harem Anime is all to blame!

7. “You can’t be a feminist and like Harem Anime!”

I used to be a feminist, til I took a harem in the knee. Do I support equal rights for men and women–literally the definition of feminism? Yes I do–we’re all human beings deserving of the same treatment. Am I incensed by depictions of inequality in the sexes, mistreatment of women under patriarchal societal norms and negative gender bias? Also yes, there’s no need for reinforcing harmful behaviour in entertainment. But do I like watching scantily clad girls fawning over a guy, endless panty shots, boob gropes–accidental or otherwise–and all manner of other Harem related shenanigans? You bet I do! So where does this leave me? Am I still a feminist? Can I still have my cake and grope it too? Sadly, this is one question I don’t have an answer for. People are complicated…

Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi (A Bridge to the Starry Skies)

8. “I don’t like Harem Anime!”

And that’s okay, because there’s plenty of things I don’t like either. Having a genre bias is fine, it’s perfectly normal in-fact, not everything in this world can be viewed objectively. But what’s not fine is…

9. “All Harem Anime is the same, it’s all trash!”

You must have been busy then, ‘hate-watching’ every episode of every Harem Anime that’s ever been produced! The amount of times I’ve watched what I thought was going to be a standard Harem Anime only for it to find someway to subvert expectations is surprisingly high. Whether it be in the form of nuanced characterisation and devastating personal backstories (The Grisaia series), or the protagonist having a surprisingly delicate and personal way of letting down each of the characters in the harem to finally settle on one (A Bridge To The Starry Skies), or even an unexpected choice of final partner (The Hill Dyed Rose Madder). Be it strained and varied interpersonal relationships between the girls in the harem (Haganai series), complex plotting and narrative (Monogatari series) or a harem with an emphasis on taking care of everyone’s varied physical and emotional needs (Monster Musume). There are harems that explore the idea and viability of the concept itself while assessing what it means to even be in a harem (To Love-Ru Darkness series), harems about saving the world with the power of friendship (Konosuba, Yusibu!) or even saving the world with the power of orgasms (The Testament of Sister New Devil, Hybrid x Heart)! I can’t even claim to be an expert on Harem Anime, I’ve only seen a small percentage of what’s out there but what I have seen has been varied, complicated, exciting, enriching and most of all… unique.

Yuragi-sou no Yuuna-san (Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs)

 

10. “It doesn’t matter how “unique”, or “interesting”, or “good” you say it is, I’m not going to change my opinion on Harem Anime. I just don’t see the appeal!”

You don’t have to see the appeal in something to appreciate the fact that its existence brings joy to others. If it’s legal and it doesn’t hurt anyone, then what’s the harm in me having my little “unrealistic, superficial male fantasies”? Just remember, if you’re someone who finds themselves so angered by something merely ~existing~ that you have to tarnish an entire genre to make yourself feel better, maybe you’d be better off talking about something you do love and fill the world with positivity instead, that’s at least what I’ve tried to do here.

To Love-Ru Season 2 (Motto To Love-Ru)

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Discussing the ANiUTa Top 100 Most Played Anime Songs (Part 5 of 5)

There’s four other parts to this blog, if you haven’t read them you probably should do so before reading this one, you can find them here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

And here we (finally) are! After 80 songs before it we’re counting down the ANiUTa anime music streaming service’s top 20 Most Played songs of the first half of 2018! These are the serious business ones here! Let’s see how long it takes before Love Live! Sunshine!! appears and I start tearing my hair out in frustration!

#20 HAPPY PARTY TRAIN by Aquors, insert song of Love Live! Sunshine!! 2nd Season

The measure of how “big” a band has gotten–at least in the west can often be defined by how obnoxiously long their ‘official music video’ is, specifically the part before any music or singing takes place. It’s nearly 2 minutes before any music appears in this video… okay, maybe I shouldn’t be judging this song on stuff that isn’t even in the song but what else am I supposed to talk about?! It sounds like Aquors, and I’m absolutely not interested. HAPPY PARTY TRAIN? Please derail.

#19 Redo by Konomi Suzuki, OP1 of Re:Zero Starting Life In Another World From Zero

Yes! This is more like it! The beat is kind of obnoxiously repetitive but I just love the kind of raw energy this song has!

#18 Youkoso Japari Park e by Doubutsu Biscuits x PPP, OP of Kemono Friends

Memes, amirite? I’ve never had as much as an inkling to watch this (for some reason) strangely overhyped series and the stale visuals and kid show-esque song has done nothing to change my mind.

#17 Shikisai by Maaya Sakamoto, ED of Fate/Grand Order: First Order

I’ve still never delved in any way into the ‘Fate’ series, and not for any reason in particular mind you, just never really felt the need. This song doesn’t really do anything to change my mind, it’s okay but nothing special.

#16 Kimi ja Nakya Dame Mitai by Masayoshi Ooishi, OP of Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

This song appeared at #56 earlier in this list, not sure why it’s showed up again… could be a mistake, could be a glitch or could be someone somewhere is trying desperately to make me watch Nozaki-kun… well it’s working!

#15 Walkure ga Tomaranai by Walkure, Theme Song of Macross Delta

I think this song appeared too… I feel like I’m taking crazy pills! Hopefully the rest of the picks won’t be doubles.

#14 Fatima by Itou Kanako, OP of Steins;Gate 0

Compared to ‘Hacking to the Gate’ it’s not quite as much of an addictive earworm but what it is is a better song! It’s dark but it’s got this vague but tangible sense of hope highlighting it all. Also “There is no god, wonderful new world” is perhaps among my favourite ‘engrish’ lyrics in an OP!

#13 Ichido dake no Koi nara by Walkure, OP1 of Macross Delta

The Macross Delta songs continue to be a source of frustration because not only they are almost uniformly excellent but I don’t know whether I’ve already heard them before or what?! And also there’s no definitive playlist of all of them to easily find for the sake of this list. I swear I’ve already heard this song on this list before… (Patiently waits to be told of all the mistakes I’ve made).

#12 Sincerely by TRUE, OP of Violet Evergarden

This is the best thing that’s ever came out of the Violet Evergarden series #controversialopinion

#11 Ikenai Borderline by Walkure, ED1 of Macross Delta

The opening of this song is legitimately terrible, like someone’s put a Ricky Martin song through a child’s Casio keyboard. How is this song so high up the list, especially among the other stellar Walkure songs?! This is actually garbage! It’s the kind of song that’d come dead last in Eurovision were it not for the Eastern Bloc vote… what is that too specific a reference?

Turns out I had a shitty cover song, not the real thing so strike those comments from the record! Thankfully I have a Walkure/Macross expert in my comments helping me fix my (many) mistakes when it comes to this show as it is the single most troublesome series to find accurate YT versions of! This live version of the song is pretty damn kickin’, still not my favourite of their songs but I can understand now why it’s so high on the list!

#10 Iwanai kedo ne. by Yuiko Oohara, OP of Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san

This song immediately brings tears to my eyes, it’s just utterly gorgeous and fun and brimming with life and spirit! It’s not quite as good as it is with the accompanying OP visuals but it’s still a worthy entrant–even this high up in the numbers.

#9 FEELING AROUND by Minori Suzuki, OP of Miss Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles

Imagine my surprise to see the OP from Miss Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles–the black sheep of the Winter 2018 anime season this high up the list! But my surprise is quickly vanquished as I remember how damn good this song is… never underestimate the power of noodles! Also, it’s worth mentioning that the rest of the song past the OP length 1:30 is just as consistently excellent as what came before, so you know, listen to the whole song, yeah?

#8 CLEAR by Maaya Sakamoto, OP1 of Cardcator Sakura: Clear Card

Cute. That’s all I have to say.

#7 Mirai no Bokura wa Shitteru yo by Aquors, OP1 of Love Live! Sunshine!! 2nd Season

Much like I said about the first season OP, it’s perfectly serviceable… “good” even, but that’s what you’d expect from the OP of an idol show.

#6 Aozora no Rhaapsody by fhana, OP of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

I love this so damn much! But I think it’s because of my overwhelming love for the show that whatever actual opinion I may have had for the quality of the song in of itself has been obfuscated. But there’s no denying that chorus is utterly sublime. Even if I’ve talked negatively of this artist previously in this list (pretty sure I did) I’d never say a negative word against this groovy OP!

#5 NOISY LOVE POWER☆ by Ayaka Ohashi, OP of Magical Girl Ore

Huh… can’t say I expected to see this show’s OP song so high on this list… or on the list at all to be honest! Not that it’s not a tremendously fun song, it has ‘layers’ which I like–that is to say it changes up throughout–but I certainly wouldn’t have listened to it outside of the context of watching the show. Although I guess I can see the charm of it to have on at a party, or when exercising… neither of which I do, so yeah…

#4 Kokekara by Machico, OP of The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done!

Ohh~ I had mixed feelings about hearing this song again, on the one side it’s ab absolutely immaculate song and I love it… but this show… yikes! Really wish they hadn’t made the protagonist such an irredeemable dickbag (see my review for more on that)–but that’s not really what this list or this song is about is it? Fantastic song, and well deserving of being so high on the list!

#3 Walkure wa Uragiranai by Walkure, Theme & insert song of Macross Delta Movie: Gekijou no Walkure

It wouldn’t be a legitimate Top 5 of this list without another Walkure song appearing! And saved the best for last? Well not quite, but it’s damn near close! Everything about this song is just so good, musically, vocally… lyrically? I don’t speak Japanese so sure let’s just assume that too! But seriously, top quality stuff!

#2 SHINY DAYS by Asaka, OP of Yuru Camp

Even though the opening few bars of this song sound like a Jackson 5 song I still dig the lighthearted infectiousness of the beat. This song just makes me smile from ear-to-ear whenever I hear it!

#1 Backlight by Maaya Sakamoto, ED2 of Fate/Grand Order

So this took a bit of work finding… the original list had the song as being called “Gakkou” but I couldn’t find anything by that name belonging to either the artist or show/game in question. So I had to go back to the original Japanese post and copy/paste that into Youtube and I found this song which was apparently only uploaded 6 days ago… so I don’t even know if this is the right song?! Yay, what a totally confusing and anti-climatic way to end this absurdly long countdown list! Why anti-climatic? Well because if this is the most listened to song from the past few months all I have to say about it is, “eh, it’s okay”. Riveting content!

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And there we have it! A short diversion that turned into nearly a week’s worth of content and many hours work! For those of you who’ve read all the way to the end, thank you and I hope you found some form of enjoyment out of these posts! And who knows, if they’re well enough received maybe I’ll do a continuing feature where I look at each week’s Top 10 songs on ANiUTa?! Thanks for reading!

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Discussing the ANiUTa Top 100 Most Played Anime Songs (Part 4 of 5)

If you haven’t read parts one, two and three then maybe you oughta do so.. you know for context or whatever! Or not, either way is fine…

Here we are with Part 4 of ANiUTa’s Top 100 Most Played Anime Songs of the first half of 2018 and my super redundant but nonetheless entertaining “commentary” of it!

#40 LOVE MEN HOLIC by Shiena Nishizawa, ED of Ramen Daisuki Koizimi-san

Yes… YES! Justice for Koizumi! Here we have one of the most criminally shat upon series of Winter 2018… like seriously how is this show ranked so low, it’s not a masterpiece by any means but it’s just so consistently good and entertaining I can’t understand the negativity around it! Oh I’m supposed to be talking about the song? Yeah it’s pretty damn good. In fact it’s better as a ‘song’ than it is an ED, so yeah completely understand how it got this high on the list!

#39 Wagamama MIRROR HEART by Ayaka Ohashi, OP of Masaumune-kun no Revenge

Listening to this I was instantly transported back to Akihabara, there’s something very ~anime~ about this song and I haven’t even seen the show it’s from it’s just every bit of the composition and production just exudes “I am an anime song” and there’s something commendable and even endearing about that, at least for this shameless weeb…

#38 Kimagure Romantic by Rie Takahashi, ED of Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san

The start of the song is way too bombastic for what is ultimately just a sweet sounding song, little else to say about this other than I’m slowly falling in love with Rie Takahashi’s voice. “My sweet sweet darling”

#37 MY Mai☆TONIGHT by Aquors, insert song of Love Live! Sunshine!! 2nd Season

I’m not going to spend this whole blog series shitting on Love Live! Sunshine!! Where’s the fun in that? This song is pretty good, that’s about all I have to say about it though…

#36 Yuuki wa Doko ni? Kimi no Mune ni! by Aquors, ED of Love Live! Sunshine!! 2nd Season

Two songs in a row? Mate, you’re pushing your luck here… Again, resisting my urge to upchuck at their mere mention this song is fine… “fine”…

#35 Change!!!!! by Walkure, insert song of Macross Delta Movie: Gekihou No Walkure

Sad to say I’ve been defeated, I couldn’t find this song online! I’m sure it exists, just my searching skills are evidently not up to scratch!

#34 SAKURA SKIP by fourfolium, OP of NEW GAME!

One of my commenters said I was ‘incorrect’ by saying the second season NEW GAME!! OP was better and while I say it is indeed a close race, I personally think the song is weaker BUT the visual tie-in is much stronger. So as a whole OP (visuals and music) this one is better, but minus the visuals it’s not ~quite~ as good. Still an excellent song though!

#33 Awaken the power by Saint Aquors Snow, insert song of Love Live! Sunshine!! 2nd Season

Here’s another song I couldn’t find an official online version of. Oh well! If you find one (and it’s accurate) link me to it, yeah?

#32 Watashi no Tame no Monogatari ~My Uncompleted Story~ by fhana, OP of Marchen Madchen

I used to think this song was pretty good, now it just gives me PTSD thinking about how badly f**ked the animation was in Episode 9, so bad that not only did I (and many others) give up on the show but it was pulled from airing til December 2018 (remember this was a 2017 anime!) I don’t know what to think anymore…

#31 ONENESS by Roselia, from the BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! game

Oh hi again Roselia, still rocking? Yup. Well keep up the great work!

#30 Lion by May’n and Megumi Nakajima, OP3 of Macross Frontier

Macross series anime songs delivering the goods again, like seriously how can one franchise have such a monopoly on quality songs?! I sense a conspiracy…

#29 God Knows… by Aya Hirano, insert song of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

I mean… what do you want me to say? This is iconic in every sense of the word… this youtube video has 76 MILLION views! That speaks for itself doesn’t it?!

#28 Colors Power ni Omakasero! by Colors☆Slash, OP of Mitsuboshi Colors

My kawaii daughters! Mitsuboshi Colors just fills me with utter joy at the mere mention of its title, let alone this adorable, genki opening song! Musically it’s just sublime but being familiar with the characters and hearing each of the girls’ personalities in their vocals certainly adds a lot to the experience. Just go watch Mitsuboshi Colors already!

#27 adventure bleu by Maaya Uchida, OP of Takunomi.

Ehh~ it’s okay? But honestly kind of dull, actually it reminds me of a more low-key version of the Marchen Madchen OP… anyone else hear that?

#26 Aozora Jumping Heart by Aquors, OP of Love Live! Sunshine!!

I mean it’s the OP for an idol show, you’d hope it would be good and it is good, you’re just never going to find me raving about a Love Live! Sunshine!! song anytime soon… internal bias and all that… sorry!

#25 Furu Biyori by Eri Sasaki, ED of Yuru Camp

There’s a lot of recurring things I like to complain about when it comes to anime music, I often get annoyed at what I call ‘dull’ music–which this list already has a couple examples. That’s not to say I don’t like slow and peaceful music, like this absolutely gorgeous track, and I’d never heard the full version til now but I’m so glad I gave it a chance because it’s beautiful. It’s like the sweetest lullaby and I mean that in all the best ways.

#24 This Game by Konomi Suzuki, OP of No Game No Life

I always feel weird saying this but, this feels like a real song. That’s not an insult against other anime songs, it’s just there’s a certain level of polish and gravitas to the production that ~sometimes~ can be missing from other OP’s. I think this works better as a song than an OP because–also weird to say because I love No Game No Life, but this song doesn’t remind me of watching the show like listening to other OP’s after the fact do… Maybe it’s just been too long since I watched the show, perhaps time for a rewatch?

#23 Gimme! Revolution by Maaya Uchida, OP of Ore, Twintail ni Narimasu

I saw that this was Maaya Uchida again (whose #27 song I just proceeded to call “kind of dull”) and expected the worst. But wow, talk about unexpected energy! I mean it’s not like an amazing song or anything, it doesn’t do anything particularly special but it’s still a lot of fun!

#22 Otomodachi Film by Masayoshi Ooishi, OP of Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai

I mean it’s at least ~different~ sounding, it’s pretty good just not really the kind of anime music I usually like to listen to recreationally, though the chorus is way better than the verses.

#31 WATER BLUE NEW WORLD by Aquors, insert song of Love Live! Sunshine!! 2nd Season

It starts off sounding like a Disney song but then ends up being an Aquors song, imagine my disappointment. Sorry! I really have to stop picking on Love Live! Sunshine!!

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We’re almost done! Part 5 coming soon!

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Discussing the ANiUTa Top 100 Most Played Anime Songs (Part 3 of 5)

If you haven’t read the previous two parts you can find part one here and part two here, please read them for context for this one, or don’t… whatever.

So turns out (some) of you really enjoy these posts of mine, well that’s a win-win for me because I enjoy making them! Let’s get on with my ‘commentary’ as we cover songs 60-41 of the ANiUTa Top 100 Most Played Anime songs of the first half of 2018!

#60 Absolute 5 by Walkure, Insert song of Macross Delta

So much Macross Delta on this list! Can’t deny I’m kinda, really intrigued about this show now. Song is pretty good too. Though ridiculously dramatic, who would have thought a song on this list would have an idol being shot mid song!

#59 Hello! My World!! by fhana, OP of Knight’s & Magic

I really don’t like the lead’s vocalist voice, so that pretty much informed my whole opinion of this song. No idea why it’s so high on the list…

#58 Tomorrow by Machico, OP of Konosuba! 2

This is an absolutely a case of the opening visuals absolutely making the song, not to say it’s not a good song in of itself but the visuals fit so perfectly it feels ridiculous to listen to this song without the accompanying imagery. Also, Konosuba is just the best you guys.

#57 OH MY Sugar Feeling!! by Ayana Taketatsu, OP of Dagashi Kashi 2

Dagashi Kashi is a super under appreciated series, in just every conceivable way. And there’s not really any better way to try and sell this show other than have them watch this high-energy super adorable song for the second season on loop until they crack! Also, Hotaru… nice oppai.

#56 Kimi ja Kakya Dame Mitai by Masayoshi Ooishi, OP of Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

A lot of people (my irlwaifu included) absolutely love this show, I’ve not bothered to watch it but well heck and darn isn’t this song absolutely adorable. It’s ~different~ but in all the right ways!

#55 Walkure ga Tomaranai by Walkure, Theme song of Macross Delta

Yup, guess this show is being added to my watch list despite being exactly every genre of anime I give zero shits about. Such is the power of damn good music (and apparently this anime has an abundance of it)!

#54 Nesshoku Starmine by Roselia, ED of BanG Dream!: Asonjatta!

Oh hey look, it’s Roselia again, you remember them right? That band that’s better than pretty much every other idol band in existence! This list has made one thing abundantly clear to me, Roselia is a powerhouse group and are amazing and I want to marry them. Wonder if we’ll get some more Roselia songs on this list (spoiler alert: yes, lots because Japan has good taste).

#53 Miiro by AKINO with bless4, OP of Kantai Collection: KanColle

“WANKER!” Okay, I know they’re (probably) singing “wake up” in that opening line but I can only hear “wanker”… umm… sorry, stream of consciousness and all that. But wow, what a powerful and commanding song, it just grabs you by the, uh… okay my mind is officially stuck in the gutter.

#52 WONDERFUL STORIES by Aquors, insert song of Love Live! Sunshine!! 2nd Season

I tried my hardest to give this song the benefit of the doubt, I really did. I mean for a second there I thought I almost liked it… but that was a brief and fleeting second, I really don’t see the appeal of Aquors (or this show) at all. Sorry Love Live! Sunshine!! fans, these girls are just creepy and uncomfortable to me… Oh and the song is pretty average too, sorry for a second there I thought we were just reviewing the girls…

#51 Seikan Hikou by Megumi Nakajima, character song of Macross Frontier

Finally! A song that’s not from Macross Delta! That show has way too many songs in this list! Oh… what’s this, this song is mediocre and drab… oh… can we have Walkure back please?!

#50 Here by JUNNA, OP1 of Mahoutsukai no Yome

Ah… The Ancient Magus Bride, a show I’ll (probably) never watch for ~reasons~, but I guess this song is okay? It’s got a distinct mediterranean/Latin American vibe which is fun(?) but I’m still not particularly inspired to watch this show from it… you tried song, you tried…

#49 Tokimeki Experience! by Poppin’ Party, OP of BanG Dream!

Hey look, it’s a BanG Dream song that’s not from the mobile game and is distinctly from the series! It’s a pretty great song, that build to the chorus is gosh darn irresistible. Why don’t more people like the BanG Dream anime? *sad face*

#48 LOUDER by Roselia from the BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! game

I used to be a big Babymetal fan–used to be–that was until I saw the light and discovered Roselia. Seriously, every new song I hear from this further cements them as one of my favourite bands, not just anime bands, but favourite bands fullstop! Such power and conviction! But it’s not like they could possibly top this, right?!

#47 BLACK SHOUT by Roselia from the BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! game

Oops, they did it again! Not to sound like a broken record but Roselia, man. Roselia. I didn’t use the live version because, well… need them sweet anime girls in my life!

#46 Maware! Setsugetsuka by Hitomi Harada, Ai Kayano, Yui Ogura, ED2 of Unbreakable Machine Doll

Seemingly an eternity I reviewed a show I thought was pretty crappy, it was called Unbreakable Machine Doll and pretty much did everything wrong… except as I pointed out in the review it’s Ending Song was absolutely flawless and among the best and most purely “genki” anime songs out there! And here we are however many years later and it’s still ranking among the most listened to anime songs of all time… Seems like someone knows how to pick quality anime songs! /gloat

#45 WiSH VOYAGE by iDOLiSH7, OP of iDOLiSH 7

Don’t know if you notice but this list seems pretty highly populated with female voices… not that I’m complaining, I love my sweet anime girl voices–they give me life but sometimes a bit of ‘boy voice’ doesn’t go astray… good song is basically what I’m saying! Just don’t expect me to make a habit of it, tch!

#44 Paradisius-Paradoxum by MYTH & ROID, OP2 of Re:Zero – Starting Life In Another World From Zero

I did say I was going to just play OP length songs when available, but sometimes a song just begs to be listened to in its full, uncut length. Like this sexy, gritty, angsty beast. I love Re:Zero and it’s hard to deny apart of the reason is because of the great musical selection, also Rem… because Rem is best girl and don’t you forget it!

#43 Azalea by nano.RIPE, OP of Citrus

Don’t mess with Citrus! I don’t know what it is about this song… it’s kind of grungy, kind of rock, bit rebellious, bit seductive, bit sexy… it’s basically the anime in song form! I dig it, I dig it a lot fam! (Sorry I’ll never say “fam” again…)

#42 Hey-day Capriccio by Afterglow, from the BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! game

Hey look it’s a BanG Dream band that ins’t Roselia! Get out, I’m not interested… but seriously, this song is fine it’s just nothing special, you know? Sorry, Afterglow!

#41 Hacking to the Gate by Kanako Itou, OP of Steins;Gate

Oh boy oh boy oh boy! Didn’t expect to hear/see one of the single best OP’s of all time on this list, I thought this was all just new memes and whatnot but then again why should I be surprised, the power of Steins;Gate transcends time and space! What world line are we in again?!

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I’m glad you’re all (hopefully) still enjoying this… whatever this is. Music, it makes the world go round…. Part 4 coming soon!

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Discussing the ANiUTa Top 100 Most Played Anime Songs (Part 2 of 5)

If you haven’t read the previous part please click here to read it for context of this post.

Let’s continue with this completely pointless but nonetheless fun (for me at least) look at ANiUTa’s Top 100 Most Played Anime Songs of the first half of 2018!

#80 Chiisana Koi no Uta by Rie Takahashi, ED5 of Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san

I made a mistake the last time I mentioned the ED’s for this show, for some reason I thought they were sung by different artists… how embarrassing! Even though (some of) the original versions of these songs are from artists from different artists decades ago all the ED’s in the show are covers by the VA for Takagi-san. Can’t believe I didn’t realise this earlier… Not my favourite song, it’s sweet and cute but kinda boring.

#79 Teardrops by Poppin’ Party, Character song from BanG Dream!

BanG Dream (and by extension the main band Poppin’ Party!) are the second coming of K-On!’s ‘Afternoon Tea Time’–at least if this rockin’ song is anything to go by! Not much else to say, it’s just a great tune!

#78 Hana wa Odore ya Irohanih by Team “Hanayamata”, OP of Hanayamata

This show has been on my to-watch list for ages (of course it has: cute girls, slice of life, etc.) and yes this is a very sweet-sounding song, it’s very good… it’s just I wonder if there aren’t better songs that could have been on this list? [Edit: the second half of the full-song is really good, makes me wonder which part of it they used for the OP, hguess I’ll have to watch it and find out!]

#77 Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM by Aqours from Love Live! Sunshine!!

I’ll always have an immediate dislike for Aquors as a band because for some reason they choose to pronounce their band name as ‘Aqua’ and there’s already a fantastic band called ‘Aqua’! Ahem… with that rant over, ugh… I don’t like this song at all… it just feels so ‘try hard’ to be “cute” and “fun” and “happy”–it literally does nothing for me at all. Come at me Love Live Sunshine fans!

#76 Sousei no Aquarion by AKINO from bless4, OP1 of Sousei no Aquarion

A 2011 anime! Try not to get too annoyed as I’m constantly surprised by older anime songs appearing in this list–I just assumed it’d all be new stuff. I’ve never watched the show but funnily enough I almost immediately recognised it as it’s a part of a massive compilation of anime music I have on my iTunes. And with good reason! It’s a catchy and interesting sounding song!

#75 fantastic dreamer by Machico, OP of Konosuba!

*excited flailing Muppet arms* Yay, Konosuba! Did I mention I love this show? I think I may have… anyway a great song from a great anime that had so many memories flooding back… I need to watch Konosuba again…

#74 -HEROIC ADVENT- by Roselia, ED of Cardfight!! Vanguard G: Z

I had to look up to see if this was the same Roselia that features as a side band in the BanG Dream! Girls Band Party mobile game (and who appear many times on this list) and yup, apparently so! I’m sure there’s some sort of cross-promotional synergy that made this happen and whatever, I’m all for it, Roselia is the best thing about BanG Dream! Girls Band Party so the more the better–that said this song is mixed very loud in favour of the music. Good thing it’s great music in fact the latter half of the song sounds a lot like ‘Metal Resistance’ by Babymetal, anyone else here that?

#73 B.O.F by Poppin’ Party from the BanG Dream! Girls Band Party game

(I picked the live version because Poppin’ Party is just so cool live–that keyboardist *swoon*). Not the best Poppin’ Party song out there, but still a lot of fun!

#72 Diver’s High by SKY-HI, OP of Gundam Build Divers

It’s Gundam meaning my eyes have glazed over in boredom, but this songs is so damn cool and unique!

#71 Tomoshibi no Manimani by Nao Touyama, OP of Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi

I’m still watching this anime and I’m still kind of ambivalent on it, but holy heck do I love this OP! Hard to believe such a beautiful voice comes from the VA from the very monotone Rin from Laid Back Camp! Just goes to show Nao Touyama’s range! This song should be higher on the list, it’s utterly sublime!

#70 Zettai Reido θ Novatic by Walkure, OP2 of Macross Delta

This is the third(?) a song from this show has appeared on the list and man is the starting to this song iconic! Talk about a song that’s transcended the show it’s from! But it’s not just the start, the rest of the song is no slouch, absolutely understandable that this song is still getting play after all these years… I might have to watch this show if it has such consistent bangers throughout!

#69 Rocket Beat by Kiyono Yasuno, OP2 of Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card

What I know about the Cardcaptor series could fit on a post-it note, but it’s a beloved series right? And I know this is from the new series that’s aired this year? And, uhh… I’m running out of things to say because I’m padding for time because I can sum up this song in one word. “Yawn”.

#68 GO CRY GO by OxT, OP of Overlord II

As I was listening to this I was like surely this should have featured on my Worst OP’s of Winter 2018 list, but nope! I must have been feeling generous when I did that list because right now, ugh, it’s just a messy and disappointing song! Next!

#67 DETERMINATION SYMPHONY by Roselia, from the BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! game

The more this list (or whatever it is I’m calling this blog post) goes along the more I realise I’m ~incredibly~ biased in my opinions. But then again I just know what I like and I know I adore Roselia. Another rock solid banger!

#66 Michishirube by Minori Chihara, ED1 of Violet Evergarden

Sometimes you hear a vocalist and you’re just like, “Nope! No thank you!” that’s about the summation of my feelings on this song! I know, I’m such an insightful and intellectual commentator, aren’t you glad you’re wasting your life reading these barely coherent ramblings?!

#65 You by May’n, OP2 of Mahoutsukai no Yome

Anyone else getting a heaping feeling of ‘generic’ from this OP? No? Just me? I mean it’s fine as a song, I just couldn’t imagine listening to this more than a couple of times in my life let alone as an OP for however many episodes and moreso on a streaming service so repeatedly that it gets to #65! I’ll shut-up now.

#64 Stray by Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets, OP of Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens

The Winter 2018 anime season had a lot of really top quality OP’s, even one’s I failed to mention in my best of list. Hard to deny how great of a track this is even if it kind of trails off into nowhere by the end…

#63 Clattanoia by OxT, OP of Overlord

It’s a “good” song, that much I’m sure of. But please, for the love of god ease up on the autotune, because it almost sinks the song completely… almost, it’s still pretty fun!

#62 STEP by STEP UP↑↑↑↑ by fourfolium, OP of New Game!!

Ahhh, it’s like slipping into a warm bath on a cold day after a hard day at work. God I adore this show and everything about it, especially the second season from which this song is the OP. This is the superior New Game OP, I’m only saying this out-loud because I have a feeling I’ll need to refer back to this opinion sometime soon…

#61 Sparkling Daydream by ZAQ, OP of Chuunibyou demo Koi ha Shitai!

I’ve heard about this show for a long time but this OP doesn’t do much to sell me on the show. It’s good, but nothing special. The chorus is fun though!

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And that’s part 2 done, can you believe I’m still rambling on about this?! Yeah, so can I… it’s almost like I have a problem that can only be solved with.. more anime music! Continued in part 3!

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Discussing the ANiUTa Top 100 Most Played Anime Songs (Part 1 of 5)

So I saw an interesting list come up on twitter and you should all know by now how much I love lists, and what’s more it was about Anime Music and I do love anime music too! Basically it’s a list of the top 100 most played anime songs for the first half of 2018 from a Japanese music streaming service called ‘ANiUTa’–I’m sure that probably stands for something obvious, I just don’t see it. And it’s a pretty interesting list, sure a lot of it is made up from songs from the Winter and Spring 2018 anime seasons but there’s also a few classic tunes in there as well as songs I’ve not heard of before (mostly because they’re from shows I don’t watch). Either way, I felt like talking about each of the songs on the list, not sure if this will make for ~interesting~ content but I wanted to talk about them and it was blog relevant so here we are! For those who are interested in the list but don’t care about my “commentary” the link to the list can be found by clicking here.

#100 Haru Natsu Aki Fuyu☆blooming by A3ders from A3! game

I remember seeing an A3! collaboration cafe for this mobile game when I was in Akihabara last October/November. This song is pretty adorable even though I’m usually not into cutesy Japanese boy bands, which this is heavily.

#99 Kyoukai no Kanata by Minori Chihara, OP of Kyoukai no Kanata

So this is from a Fall 2013 anime I’d never even heard of, damn good opening and just by looking at the visuals I’ve added this to my watch list. Don’t know if the show is any good but such is the power of a good OP!

#98 Kowareyasuki by Guilty Kiss from Love Live! Sunshine!!

I mean, I know this song probably doesn’t appear in the show? (Remember Love Live! Sunshine!! is on my list of Show’s I’ll Never Watch so my knowledge of this show is limited) But damn if this isn’t a cool and rockin’ song! But that’s usually the case with the rival bands, they always have more interesting songs–especially if they’re not the ‘main’ band but are a “darker” band like…

#97 Re:birth day by Roselia from the BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! game

Now this is more like it! I really enjoy the BanG Dream mobile game and Roselia is my favourite band of the 5 in the game. It’s got an Evanescence sound–which I guess is a compliment? (lol) But seriously, it’s just a cool sounding song!

#96 GALAXY HidE and SeeK by AZALEA from Love Live! Sunshine!!

I knew there’d be a lot of Love Live! music (and Idol music in general) going into this list but here we are 3 in a row! (Don’t worry I’ve looked ahead and there’s not as much as you might think). This song is okay, but nothing special. Good driving beat but a little generic.

#95 Koi wa Chaos no Shimobenari by Ushiro kara Haiyori-tai G, OP of Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W

Here’s another anime from a few years ago that I hadn’t heard of but I guess there’s a song that’s stuck in people’s heads! I mean it’s pretty catchy, but I don’t think I’d rank it so highly that I’d be listening to it enough to rank in a Top 100 all these years later. I linked to the OP length song because I’ve already realised this is going to be a ridiculously long undertaking to listen to 100 songs! Also it gets a sense of the show it’s from which is almost as interesting too!

#94 Be The One by PANDORA feat. Beverly, Theme Song of Kamen Rider Build

This song sounds like it could be an actual pop hit on the charts (or maybe a Eurovision song–hardly much difference). I kind of dislike this song a lot but I can see why it’s popular. Also this looks like it’s from a Live Action series (albeit probably based on anime) so isn’t that cheating? Oh well…

#93 Even… if by Tamaru Yamada, OP of Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory

If I recall this song narrowly missed out on being in my Top 10 OP’s of Spring 2018 list, I don’t regret that decision–it’s good, very good. But nothing special.

#92 Ai Uta by Rie Takahashi, ED6 of Karaki Jouzu no Takagi-san

Takagi-san had a lot of interesting ED songs, most from long before either of the characters in the show were even born (there were some ED songs from the early 90’s) but it’s hard to deny the charms of a song sung by Takagi-san herself! It’s so cute, but more than that it’s actually got a damn good sounding chorus–ironically enough bit of a 90’s indie-pop vibe to it!

#91 Bokura no Senjou by Walkure, insert song of Macross Delta

It was hard to find out if this was the right song, there’s a lot of different versions, plus most if not all have voices and sound effects from the episode–which I guess happens when dealing with insert songs. Either way, it’s pretty good–still a bit annoying with all the other voices and sound effects competing for attention.

#90 Changing point by I☆ris, OP of Mahou Shoujo Site

Despite whatever my opinion on this show is *ahem*, it’s still a damn good song. Enough for it to rank in my Top 10 OP’s of Spring 2018! A great song is just a great song, regardless of where it comes from!

#89 Fubuki by Shiena Nishizawa, ED2 of Kantai Collection: KanColle

Here’s a show I see absolutely everywhere when searching Mandarake for anime merchandise, despite this I’ve never bothered to even seek out what the show’s about let alone watch it. Pretty good song, very bombastic and grand, doesn’t change the fact I’ll probably never get around to watching the show though…

#88 Caste Room by ZAQ, OP of Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e (TV)

I’m surprised this song is still ranking as high as it is, I heard it twelve times while watching all 12 episodes of Classroom of the Elite and that was enough for me for a life time. It’s not a bad song at all it just kind of exists, the chorus is fun and funky but I don’t know, just nothing really remarkable about it (sorry!).

#87 Ugoku, Ugoku by Inori Minase and Yukira Kubo, OP of Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou

It’s been said that some anime OP’s are only good to listen to while watching it with the episode, I’d make the argument that this is one of those. It’s still a fun song but without the context of the show and to some extent the OP visuals it doesn’t have the same impact. FYI Girl’s Last Tour is a great show.

#86 Cagayake! GIRLS by Sakurakou Keion-bu OP of K-On!

K-On! will always be the king of the music anime genre. And that’s not even nostalgia talking, I came late to the K-On! party heck, I watched it after I watched Love Live! So how is it so good? It’s just science… there’s simply no disputing the power of K-On! Like holy heck this is such a good song, here’s the full version for your listening pleasure… no 90 second version here, no sir!

#85 Hametsu no Junjou by Walkure, ED5 of Macross Delta

Why is it so hard to find ‘clean’ (aka without voice acting and sound effect) versions of these songs? I can’t even tell if this is a good song, there’s way too much going on. Let’s just go with ~maybe~ and leave it at that…

#84 Suki no Skill by Wake Up, Girls! ED of Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku

Here’s a show I probably should have watched when it aired, it’s all about my ~aesthetic~ whatever that means. Also for those keeping track this song ranked as my #1 best ED of Winter 2018, so that’s got to count for something yeah?

#83 Dancing by YouthK Saeki, OP2 of Yowamushi Pedal: Glory Line

Trust anime to make a sport as dull as cycling look not only cool but sexy. And I’m not even into sweaty sport boys. Great song too, I’m all hyped up to go cycling now and I don’t even own a bike!

#82 Make Debut! by Special Week (Azumi Waki), Silence Suzuka (Marika Kouno), Toukai Teio (Machico), Vodka (Ayaka Ohashi), Daiwa Scarlet (Chise Kimura), Sold Ship (Hitomi Ueda), Mejiro McQueen (Saori Oonishi) from Uma Musume: Pretty Derby!

No one can deny the power of these horse girls, nobody! But seriously this song is so damn catchy, I’m glad the people of Japan (and whoever else is responsible for this last have such great taste). P.S. only video I could find for the OP has the Ending Song attached too, so enjoy that!

#81 Don’t say ‘lazy’ by Sakurakou Keion-bu, ED of K-On!

What did I say about the power of K-On!? Don’t underestimate it! At first I was like, “this is one of their best songs, this should be in the Top 20” but then I realised, K-On! is a 9 year old anime! (That’s 2009 for people reading this who aren’t in the year 2018) That’s a damn impressive feat for so many people to be listening to this after all these years! Also Mio is a better lead singer than Yui–just deal with it!

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Well this is going to take a lot longer than I initially thought, guess I’ll split it up into parts. If you liked this, please let me know as it was a lot of work and I’d like to hear your feedback! You can find part two here!

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What Happened With Märchen Mädchen Episode 9? – A 20 Question Anime Discussion

What’s the show? Märchen Mädchen Episode 9.

Ah, another single episode review, got a lot to talk about huh? Well I don’t know if this counts as a review, I’m going to quickly hammer out my thoughts and post this, no editing, no pictures, just straight from brain to keyboard.

Right, so let’s cut to the chase then? What was it about episode 9 of this show I’ve never heard of that’s got you needing to talk so badly? So I guess a little background info is needed first, so Märchen Mädchen is a magical girl anime of sorts, I found it to be entertaining from the get-go, nothing remarkable but certainly fun and charming and the lead girl had just the right amount of shy and awkward and adorable. But around about episode 5 or 6 the animation quality started to drop. Then at episode 8, it was announced it would be going off the air for a couple of weeks to improve animation quality, and then it finally comes back and episode 9 is probably the most inconsistently animated episode of an anime I’ve ever seen.

Ouch, that bad huh? Mmhmm, and originally I was going to make a big ol’ rant about it because I was upset, upset that a show that had shown so much promise and had such cute character designs ended up this bad. I was going to show comparisons between episode 1 and episode 9 and had all these “jokes” worked out to caption them with.

But? Well I thought that’s not really fair on the one group of people who will be the most affected by these negative words.

And who’s that? The animators, of course. I mean these are dedicated and talented individuals who have to put up with ridiculously tight schedules and absurdly long hours, only then to have to read some asshole on the internet bitch that it wasn’t up to standard? How is that fair?

Let’s be fair, they’ll never read this, but I suppose I see your point… And it’s not even about trying to spread kindness instead of hate, that’s all well and good but that’s not going to get anything done! Where the anger should be levelled against is the studios and production companies who put these impossible schedules in place without regard for the well-being of the people who actually do all the hard work, all so they can earn a quick buck.

Oh? How do you know the production was rushed, I mean aside from what the finished product ended up looking like? This is all just an educated assumption but let’s look at like this, the original light novel author of Märchen Mädchen, Tomohiro Matsu died in May 2017, at the time of his death only one volume of the light novel was out. Of course there was more material for more light novels so the other two were released in July and December of 2017 respectively. So what’s an enterprising publisher to do to capitalise on the tragedy of a light novel author dying young but rush an anime into production in an insanely short window, just so they can sell more books!

So 8 months isn’t enough to make an anime? There’s no hard figures on how long it takes, like any projects there will be delays. Some sources say 6-7 months, some say a year or more regardless of that there’s no doubt in my mind this anime was only made to profit off the tragedy of the novelist dying.

Well that sucks, but it’s hardly a new thing, people are always trying to capitalise off these kinds of things and the quality often suffers as a result. I’m not saying that this is some kind of scandal that needs to be exposed, I’m just trying to say that when things like this happen in anime, we shouldn’t immediately blame the animators who are already working their hardest as it is.

But it’s their job, isn’t it? And if they don’t do a good job at it shouldn’t they be held accountable? Imagine having to work an 80-hour week, facing insurmountable deadlines, doing all that is humanly possible to get your work done only to be spit in the face for all your hard work.

You make it sound so dramatic! It is dramatic, there’s a reason the Japanese have a word for people who suddenly die due to the intense pressures and workloads from their jobs, it’s called Karoshi, you can read all about it on wikipedia if you feel like it, but it’s a serious problem in Japan. And these companies who are trying to make money by rushing out a product are only making things worse for these poor people.

Hmm, I see what you mean… but well, and I know my sole purpose here is to play devil’s advocate so forgive me if I sound callous, but isn’t a lot of the things you enjoy, like electronics and clothing products and what not made by people in terrible working environments? Listen, that’s a whole can-of-worms that I’m not nearly educated about to even begin discussing. That’s a different side of consumerism, what I’m talking about is entertainment and art, movies and video games are made without the kind of pressures that are involved here and there’s plenty of anime out there that aren’t overseen by cruel companies that are enforcing ridiculous deadlines on their employees.

So basically you’re saying? I’m saying it doesn’t have to be this way! Make anime for the love of anime and for the sake of telling a great story, not to turn a profit from an author’s sudden death and risk the physical and mental health of your animators.

Well said, though I get the feeling that this isn’t going to be read by anyone with even an ounce of influence on changing things. Oh I know, but it’s better than writing a 20 Question Anime Review that makes fun of how bad the animation was, I feel better for having taken the high road in this instance.

And is that why there aren’t any pictures or gifs of said ‘bad animation’? Well it’d be a little hypocritical of me if I were to include them when I just spent all this time telling people to be considerate of the animator’s feelings… Plus if they really want to source them out, they can just go on MAL or watch the episode for themselves.

So where does this leave you with the show? Well funnily enough the preview for next week’s episode looks like the animation is pretty much back to the good quality it was at the start of the season, so maybe they fixed up the final 3 episodes and not this one.

Out of curiosity, what would you have done if you were in charge of this show? Seeing how bad episode 9 was, I would have cut it completely, had a voice over at the start of 10 explaining the events of episode 9 and then if the budget allowed for it reanimated for the DVD/blu-ray release. But of course, that’s just what I would have done, the reality of the situation may have made that impossible.

Only time will tell if things are truly improved for the final 3 episodes. Indeed, indeed.

So how do we wrap up this, whatever this was, it wasn’t really a review at all was it? No, but I guess all I can say is, be kind to one another, don’t judge until you have the full story and don’t lay blame where its going to only harm. Especially if the one’s you’re blaming are only doing their job.