Your best & worst of 2016

Lost Village was certainly an experience I won't forget soon. A lot of the shows this year were either amazing or shockingly bad without so much middle ground.

R
 
I'm also contributing to the big AUKN article, so I'll just slip some brief thoughts into here.

Best:
1) Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash - Seriously after all the 'stuck in fantasy world' anime we've had in the last couple of years, this was a really pleasant surprise in terms of quality! To make it better J-Novel Club are translating the novels so I am deeply and firmly in love. Season 2 please.
2) Bungo Stray Dogs - I'm not sure I like this as much as other BONES shows (although that is a pretty high bar for me), but it's certainly not been bad. I love the cast of characters and actively look forward to the latest episode each week so I think it's a winner.
3) KonoSuba - This one just sticks in my mind all the time. It had some of the worst runs all year in terms of consistent and actively 'good' animation, but man, despite being terrible I just really enjoyed it. If I get stuck doing a low-level, stupid, quest in a JRPG I always think back to the Cabbage Quest scene too. :D

Honorable mentions go to the third season of Haikyu!!, Re:Zero and Space Patrol Luluco. Flying Witch and Amanchu were great too. :)

Also I feel everyone's pain re: Orange. I enjoyed the anime but it was certainly riddled with animation problems >_>


Worst:
1) Big Order
2) The Lost Village
3) Gate Season 2

I think I managed to avoided the worst of the worst this year apart from Big Order and Lost Village. That said I am currently watching Magical Girl Raising Project and Izetta and both have become pretty bad (although not quite *as* bad as Big Order...), so I guess I didn't dodge the worst completely.

Special mention goes to Occultic;Nine which isn't terrible but surely wins an award for being a total train-wreck. Speaking of which, can we give a special prize to the anime the poor girls in Girlish Number are working on for also being terrible? :)
 
Poor Mayoiga at the bottom of so many lists. I had a pretty good time with it, though I did watch it in a Starship Troopers so bad it's good kinda way, plus I really liked the ending theme.

Also pleased to see Flip Flappers on a list that isn't mine!
 
NoSurprises said:
Poor Mayoiga at the bottom of so many lists. I had a pretty good time with it, though I did watch it in a Starship Troopers so bad it's good kinda way, plus I really liked the ending theme.

Also pleased to see Flip Flappers on a list that isn't mine!
Click to expand...

If it makes you feel any better, Flip Flappers would be about fourth for me, perhaps tied third.
 
crashmatt said:
LOL that's the one, they did dimension W as well
Click to expand...
According to MAL they also did Celestial Method. Quite surprised they were all done by the same studio given the (very) different visual styles.
While Flip Flappers is their first work I really enjoy, I look forward to see their next project(s).
 
Not managed to finish everything on my Best Of list, but here's how my best of stands at the moment:

1) Yuri!!! on Ice
Not ashamed to admit that I've almost been in tears at this most weeks. It's a fantastic sports show and a great romance, and quite frankly, everyone that dislikes it is flat-out wrong. It's a rare sports show that can have most of the audience upset at the "villain" failing and helping the protagonist's chances (ep 11 spoiler), so it's a shame some find the nature of ice skating offputting. *Folds arms like cross schoolteacher*
2) Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash
The "Oh ****, we're trapped in a fantasy world" show we didn't know we needed. Finally a grounded version that addresses the likely shortcomings of anyone randomly introduced to a fantasy world. A brutal show, with excellent watercolour backgrounds from A-1 Pictures
3) ReLIFE
My favourite comedy of the year. I raced through it in 24 hours, but it's a shame that the entire season drop let it go under the radar,
4) Durarara!!x2 Ketsu
My favourite show finally returns to the dark sense of humour and playfulness that made me fall in love with it, for a spectacular ending for the Raira Trio. (Or is it? SH and Izaya spin-off novel anime please.)
4) ERASED
A great mystery series with plenty of philosophical things to say. I wonder if it's best elements might be lost without the community aspect and now you can binge the entire show. It kind of messes up the ending, but there's so much to take from it I hope I'm able to afford it on BD without talking to my bank manager.
6) Planetarian
6) Kiznaiver
A pair of "weepies" from David Production and Trigger respectively. Both start questionably, but eventually win you over, and will have you emotionally invested by the end. Planetarian was on both Funimation and Daisuki, but seemed to fall under the radar, you should definitely seek it out. It's less than 90 minutes overall, but it's definitely worth it.

Honourable Mentions:
The Lost Village - I appreciate what they're going for here, but it's too bizarre for it's own good. They might have been better off trying this concept/idea as a modern art piece or film, rather than a full length series.
Occultic;Nine - I really like what I've seen of this (currently only 2 episodes), but at the same time. It is a complete mess and I can see why the first episode scared some people off. I think this is one for just me.
World Trigger - My favorite "long-running" battle shonen of recent years. Fight me.

Biggest Disappointment of the Year
My Hero Academia - The manga has spark, life and vibrancy, the anime is the reanimated corpse of some forgotten shonen series BONES made 4-8 years ago. It felt to me like BONES slept their way through this, like they weren't even trying. This show plays it so disappointingly safe, that I feel bad even complimenting it for the stuff it gets right and I refuse to include it in Best Of, even though I enjoyed as much as some other series included in the list. I'd have rather seen somebody like Lerche or Wit or David Production or quite frankly, even Pierrot, invited to do it. I'd genuinely think I'd rather have had a show that tried to do something vibrant and exciting, and attempted to capture the "lightning in a bottle" feel of the manga, than one we got, a rote copy of the manga, but where Kacchan is slightly more annoying (though I don't think he was as bad as everyone said.).

Worst Shows of the Year:
1) Qualidea Code - A dreadful exercise in attempting to engineer a hit, from three publishing companies and three light novel authors. It is the most generic, cliched wretched piece of **** imagineable. Nothing about it is remarkable except perhaps how unremarkable it is. I said at the time, in a review I scrapped for being too mean, that I was quite frankly amazed the entire finance departments of Aniplex, Shogakukan, Kadokawa and Shueisha weren't credited as co-authors too and I stand by that. At least everything else I hated this year tried and failed, this just didn't even try. It's sad A-1 Pictures brought their A-game to this piece of crap and not something better, which would have been literally anything else. [Dropped after episode 1]
2) Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- - An awful time-travel show where I was paying more attention to continuity than anybody on the production staff. The lead is an unlikeable smug jackass, constantly cracking what technically qualifies as jokes, but all of them are about as funny as being repeatedly shot in the leg and forced to allow the wound to fester. He's surrounded by insufferable people, but there's a vaguely cute pair of twins so that makes up for literally everything else to do with the show (which has almost no redeeming features, except for the animation). [Dropped after episode 4]
3) Active Raid - Well, Code Geass is clearly a product of it's director. I hated Geass' lack of restraint and general haminess, and I hate Active Raid's lack of restraint and general haminess too. [Dropped after episode 1]
4) Konosuba -God's Blessing on This Wonderful World- - An awful show who's first episode consisted of zero jokes and instead just had insufferable wankers being mean to each other. The female lead clearly exists only to fulfill the bizarre humiliation kink fantasies of the male audience and other delightful jokes from the show include a character wanting to be attakced and (sexually?) assaulted by wolves. If it's insufferable wankers being mean to each other and bizarre bestiality based humour you want, Mr. Osomatsu would be a much better (though still not great) choice, it's better directed, has a nicer design aesthetic, an amazing voice cast and understands that it's characters suck, even attempting to give them pathos at points. As I said at the time, I don't know what God's Blessing on This Wonderful World is, but this show is clearly not it. [Dropped after episode 1]

TL;DR - I appreciate shows that try to be different, even if they don't succeed. 2016 seems to have been a mixed bag on that front.
 
Last edited:
Buzz201 said:
Not managed to finish everything on my Best Of list, but here's how my best of stands at the moment:

1) Yuri!!! on Ice
Not ashamed to admit that I've almost been in tears at this most weeks. It's a fantastic sports show and a great romance, and quite frankly, everyone that dislikes it is flat-out wrong. It's a rare sports show that can have most of the audience upset at the "villain" failing and helping the protagonist's chances (ep 11 spoiler), so it's a shame some find the nature of ice skating offputting. *Folds arms like cross schoolteacher*.
Click to expand...

Anyone who dislikes it is wrong? Give me a break, it's utter tripe. I love how you knock Re Zero for having a protagonist whose a snug jackass when Victor is one of the most unlikable smug jack assess I've ever seen, not to mention the Russian Yuri. If there's anyone whose flat out wrong in this situation, it's you, not anyone else.
 
Well they do change and become more likeable but I who had the same complaint about re0 is Viktor and Yurio has had more development in 11 than Subaru did in 24.
 
While both YoI and Re:Zero could have been shows I would really enjoy, they both failed to do so.

I intended to binge Yuri!!! on Ice once (most of) it was done airing. However, after hearing great things about the first episode, I decided to start watching it. After two (or three?) episode, I decided to put it on hold and perhaps binge it sometime later. In my opinion it was underwhelming, not really in its story or animation, but in its presentation:
  • Anime has exposition enough, framing it in a meta context by having the main character talk about himself outside of the show itself is one thing I actively dislike. They could've also placed this as voice over/internal monologue during is train journey (while looking out of the window, for example)
  • Early on we get to a lot of talk about his dog and his love for Victor. Why did they have to point out the reason he got that dog was because Victor had such a dog so early on in the series? Either don't mention it, or later on, and have me face-palming that I didn't realise the obvious connection earlier.
  • Not a fan of Victor's character. A character which behaves goofy, but is actually serious, has been dozens of times and IMHO only works in comedy shows.
  • The other Yuri from Russia also flies over like that; how else can the main character have an opponent? Would have preferred them meeting/facing off during competitions.
  • What is the main character working towards? We start with him not winning a competition and then (sort of) giving up for several years. His remaining goal of reaching Victor is effortlessly resolved by Victor going to him. Which leaves him with the sole goal of... becoming the best, maybe? I want to feel/understand his goals and the significance of those goals.
  • Those triplet. They actively show what I dislike about the current use of social media.
To end on a positive note, a few things were really nice:
  • The ice skating scene was very nice. I hoped it would be on the level Endless Night short, but was satisfying nevertheless.
  • Really liked the backstory part, showing
  • The way they portrayed his home town and family felt really
I really hope they managed to "fix" Victor's character and focus more on competitions. Let the main characters set his goal, let the audience feel the tension and root for him. Even better would be if they make you feel like rooting for multiple parties. That and keeping the ice skating scenes looking nice and I can see myself enjoying the rest of the show.

As for Re:Zero, I did watch the whole thing. It has a nice concept, but I feel like they didn't utilise it the way I hoped. Many possibilities are left unexplored.
The main character really feels a bit stupid, despite not always being one. It took him way too long to realise he was set back in time after his first death. There are quite a few situations that could have been easier resolved or futile "instances" stopped early by committing suicide.

Although, if I were in his position I would also be reluctant to rely on the respawning ability. The strange thing is that once the whole "witch" aspect of his power becomes slightly clearer, he starts using the more and more often. At that point, I would assume that to be more dangerous than dying. Especially once trying to tell Emilia does not result in his heart getting grabbed, but Emilia killed(!). In other words there is some sentience/will behind the power.

All in all, I think the biggest thing that was lacking, was reasoning from Subaru. It took some mental effort to come up with plausible explanation why he would choose a certain approach. Add in a tons of internal monologue and it would have been way better IMO. Though, for some reason I assume the LN probably does that a lot better.

Other than that, what annoyed me was:
  • Subaru telling about a story so remarkable similar to the situation of Rem and Ram (even with correctly coloured utensil!). It almost made me believe he just hit his head and is dreaming this world while in a coma.
  • Repeatedly he goes against the norms of that world. While I can understand it initial and in some cases, during the thing where the candidates to follow up the throne, was just plain stupid. Often times he could have just asked anyone how he should behave/what is expected/normal.
  • Subaru starting to use some magic. While I get there needs to be some progress in what he can do, I think it would have been better if I did not have those magical channels/magical gate (can't recall what they called it).
The thing it did have going for it was the animation and music. Even if the decisions by the characters were not always logical, the ensuing battles were generally nice to look at. Also, the aspect of gaining knowledge one shouldn't/can't have is always nice.

As for missed possibilities with the settings, what about:
  • Being placed back a "checkpoint" further back than the previous one
  • Missing memories from a certain live (sort of done with him dying in his sleep)
  • Checkpoint very close to him dying, instead of the overall one or two days he seems to get
  • Some form of transferring information from his other lives besides Subaru (déjà vu or fortune telling, etc...)
 
thedoctor2016 said:
Well they do change and become more likeable but I who had the same complaint about re0 is Viktor and Yurio has had more development in 11 than Subaru did in 24.
Click to expand...

Besides the fact that comparing a character focused show with story focused one is quite unfair, and that I can't exactly say you're wrong when I couldn't even stomach 6 episodes, never mind 11, Buzz was talking strictly likeability, and in that regard, Victor is down right annoying and not likeable in the slightest.
 
IncendiaryLemon said:
Besides the fact that comparing a character focused show with story focused one is quite unfair, and that I can't exactly say you're wrong when I couldn't even stomach 6 episodes, never mind 11, Buzz was talking strictly likeability, and in that regard, Victor is down right annoying and not likeable in the slightest.
Click to expand...
Likability is subjective and Subaru takes a while to warm a lot slower than Viktor does.
 
IncendiaryLemon said:
Anyone who dislikes it is wrong? Give me a break, it's utter tripe. I love how you knock Re Zero for having a protagonist whose a snug jackass when Victor is one of the most unlikable smug jack assess I've ever seen, not to mention the Russian Yuri. If there's anyone whose flat out wrong in this situation, it's you, not anyone else.
Click to expand...

Those parts of the comments were very clearly not supposed to be taken seriously. I'm sorry you were upset by them, but they were intended jokingly and I thought that was obvious. I shall consider my tone more carefully in future.

Subaru's defining character traits during these episodes is to point out "flaws", cliches and perhaps weird things from other fantasy shows. "Flaws", cliches and perhaps weird things that for the most part Re:Zero doesn't manage to avoid or subvert in any manner. Much of Subaru's dialogue is seemingly a proxy for the author criticising other writers for things, they themselves haven't managed to avoid. Rather literally, Subaru is in a whole other dimension of obnoxiousness.

I get the whole Yurio does nothing redeeming viewpoint, but he's not the lead character and there are episodes where he barely appears, it's not comparable. And it seems from stuff in the production materials, there's more going on that they didn't manage to fit in the actual show, although I didn't consider that in my decisions. Apparently the absence of his mother, means that he has to pay the bills for his family with his skating. One would assume the puberty comments early on in the series are questioning his ability to continue to do so. None of that is included in the show or justifies his behaviour, so it's not fair to judge it based on that, The other thing to bear in mind, is that I'm not necessarily asking for every character to be likeable, I'm asking for there to be at least something that I can hold on to. I was actively warned that the only character I genuinely liked in Re:ZERO (Reinhard) appeared for all of 2 or 3 episodes and then never again and there was literally nothing else.

I don't think Victor is ever at all mean, which is weird given what we discover in later episodes. Cold and distant? Sure, but mean, no. The character of Victor was the one that stood out as most questionable for me, as he very clearly falls into Manic Pixie Dream Guy territory for most of the series., receiving almost negative levels of development. There's an event later on, the implications of which explain much of his behaviour and would maybe remove him from this territory, but that never gets discussed on the actual show. So whilst I appreciate Victor is the worst element of the show, I'd argue that's a fairly high bar for the worst character.

No spoilers, but from what I've heard, maybe one or two of your suggestions @IdiomaticLynx are included in the novels.
 
Last edited:
I think what's come out of this post is that Re:Zero and Yuri on Ice are the most divisive shows this year. People either seem to love or hate them. I would argue that neither are the worst as some people have argued especially Re:Zero which was one of my personal favourites. Especially in a year we had Taboo Tattoo, Qualidia Code, The lost Village and Occultic 9.

As always though one mans trash is another mans treasure.
 
Do I need to gather up all of the parts of this particular debate and make a YOI megathread? I'm totally up for talking about it all day, though I haven't had time to watch ep11 yet (rage).

(I didn't like Re: ZERO either and there is nobody in YOI whose face I have wanted to slap more than Re: ZERO's Subaru at any point in its run to date. It's definitely one of the hits of the year though, even if I couldn't get into it.)

IdiomaticLynx said:
  • Early on we get to a lot of talk about his dog and his love for Victor. Why did they have to point out the reason he got that dog was because Victor had such a dog so early on in the series? Either don't mention it, or later on, and have me face-palming that I didn't realise the obvious connection earlier.
  • The other Yuri from Russia also flies over like that; how else can the main character have an opponent? Would have preferred them meeting/facing off during competitions.
  • What is the main character working towards? We start with him not winning a competition and then (sort of) giving up for several years. His remaining goal of reaching Victor is effortlessly resolved by Victor going to him. Which leaves him with the sole goal of... becoming the best, maybe? I want to feel/understand his goals and the significance of those goals.
Click to expand...

Not going to say too much since you're still watching but I have a couple of comments on these points (ignoring the personal opinion ones which are valid and hard to dispute)...

  • With the dog, he's already gone so it would be a little awkward to bring it up later out of the blue and make it into more of a big deal than it probably needed to be (and there's so much going on plot-wise that I think it would require the leads to talk about their pasts in the middle of a bunch of other stuff). I personally found it cute the way that Yuuri did such a fanboyish thing when he was younger; it helped establish how human he was right from the start.
  • Russian-Yuri did meet Yuuri at competitions, but as he is considerably younger and initially competing at a junior level; he's aggravated that someone at the level of skating he is looking forward to is so disappointing and that's what kicks off their rivalry at the start of the series. Their shared experiences in Japan help build up the competition rivalry which probably wouldn't ever have existed naturally; Yuri wouldn't have been so interested in beating a lesser skater like Yuuri under other circumstances without the Viktor connection and Yuuri isn't all that furiously competitive himself. So I have to respectfully disagree with this!
  • I hope this gradually makes itself clear as you watch more :)

R
 
Buzz201 said:
Biggest Disappointment of the Year
My Hero Academia - The manga has spark, life and vibrancy, the anime is the reanimated corpse of some forgotten shonen series BONES made 4-8 years ago. It felt to me like BONES slept their way through this, like they weren't even trying. This show plays it so disappointingly safe, that I feel bad even complimenting it for the stuff it gets right and I refuse to include it in Best Of, even though I enjoyed as much as some other series included in the list. I'd have rather seen somebody like Lerche or Wit or David Production or quite frankly, even Pierrot, invited to do it. I'd genuinely think I'd rather have had a show that tried to do something vibrant and exciting, and attempted to capture the "lightning in a bottle" feel of the manga, than one we got, a rote copy of the manga, but where Kacchan is slightly more annoying (though I don't think he was as bad as everyone said.).
Click to expand...

I think the problem with My Hero Academia is that BONES didn't adapt enough of it and so it was a bit lacklustre through to the end. The better arcs come after what BONES have adapted really. I honestly think if BONES hadn't adapted the anime though I wouldn't have paid half as much attention to it and although I agree it's not their best offering of late (I think we can agree that's BBB? :p) but I'd just have skipped it outright if someone like Pierrot had it.

I found Kacchan fairly annoying but I think that was down to the VA rather than the character. I also found him considerably irritating in the manga as well though so it's not just the anime and more his character. I think adding a voice to him just made him somewhat worse sadly.

On a side note: While I respect your stance on KonoSuba, I still want to say you're wrong and it's very obviously the best thing all year. ;) This is a joke btw.
 
Buzz201 said:
Subaru's defining character traits during these episodes is to point out "flaws", cliches and perhaps weird things from other fantasy shows. "Flaws", cliches and perhaps weird things that for the most part Re:Zero doesn't manage to avoid or subvert in any manner. Much of Subaru's dialogue is seemingly a proxy for the author criticising other writers for things, they themselves haven't managed to avoid. Rather literally, Subaru is in a whole other dimension of obnoxiousness.
Click to expand...

Perhaps I'm a minority, or given the success of Re:Zero, perhaps I'm not, but either way, after watching the whole show and reading two light novels, I never did find Subaru obnoxious. I always found his attitude to be rather charming, and although I'd hesitate to call him funny at any point, I never disliked him, and I always found him at least amusing. What I do really like about him, however, is the face he feels very human. In the later episodes, we see exactly what effects the time travel has on his mind, and it's here where we see his vulnerability. It's here, in his darkest moments, when he stops cracking wise and making jokes, where the audience truly sympathises with him, and it makes you want to root for him. He's very much an underdog, someone with no fighting ability, who has to use his wits to get by, and I really like that about him. If you don't like him, fine, but don't talk as if you can't understand why someone would like him.

Buzz201 said:
I get the whole Yurio does nothing redeeming viewpoint, but he's not the lead character and there are episodes where he barely appears, it's not comparable. And it seems from stuff in the production materials, there's more going on that they didn't manage to fit in the actual show, although I didn't consider that in my decisions. Apparently the absence of his mother, means that he has to pay the bills for his family with his skating. One would assume the puberty comments early on in the series are questioning his ability to continue to do so. None of that is included in the show or justifies his behaviour, so it's not fair to judge it based on that, The other thing to bear in mind, is that I'm not necessarily asking for every character to be likeable, I'm asking for there to be at least something that I can hold on to. I was actively warned that the only character I genuinely liked in Re:ZERO (Reinhard) appeared for all of 2 or 3 episodes and then never again and there was literally nothing else.
Click to expand...

I don't get what you mean by 'someone to hold on to'. That seems very vague. I'm not going to say all the characters in Re:Zero are these deeply developed, complex cast, but I think the majority of the cast stand out, and there isn't really anyone who I'd call bland or lacking personality. Hell, if I did have to pick on weak link out the bunch, it probably would be Reinhard, who could have used more screentime. As far as I recall, he was just kind of a generic knight character.

Buzz201 said:
I don't think Victor is ever at all mean, which is weird given what we discover in later episodes. Cold and distant? Sure, but mean, no. The character of Victor was the one that stood out as most questionable for me, as he very clearly falls into Manic Pixie Dream Guy territory for most of the series., receiving almost negative levels of development. There's an event later on, the implications of which explain much of his behaviour and would maybe remove him from this territory, but that never gets discussed on the actual show. So whilst I appreciate Victor is the worst element of the show, I'd argue that's a fairly high bar for the worst character.
Click to expand...

I never said he was mean, I said he was smug. I despise the way he goes around, full to the brim with confidence, thinking he's the best, it's bordering on egocentric. On top of that, his attempts at so called comedy are all terrible, which only compounds my hatred for him. Honestly, the only member of the YOI cast I vaguely liked was Japanese Yuri, but even then, I wouldn't call him a great character. He wasn't really charismatic enough for me to attach myself to, and he lacked any sort of memorable trait. Before you go into a tirade of "You just don't understand the hidden complexities" or whatever, save it. Honestly, I can only form an opinion around what I'm able to process, so if me being dense is preventing that, so be it, but you, or anyone else, isn't going to change my mind on this.

Rui said:
Do I need to gather up all of the parts of this particular debate and make a YOI megathread? I'm totally up for talking about it all day, though I haven't had time to watch ep11 yet (rage).
Click to expand...

No, honestly. I'm sick of talking about it. I just want it to end so everyone moves on to the next flavour of the month. I only bothered responding this time because anyone with the gall to say "my opinion is right; yours is wrong" deserves to be called out on it.
 
IncendiaryLemon said:
Perhaps I'm a minority, or given the success of Re:Zero, perhaps I'm not, but either way, after watching the whole show and reading two light novels, I never did find Subaru obnoxious. I always found his attitude to be rather charming, and although I'd hesitate to call him funny at any point, I never disliked him, and I always found him at least amusing. What I do really like about him, however, is the face he feels very human. In the later episodes, we see exactly what effects the time travel has on his mind, and it's here where we see his vulnerability. It's here, in his darkest moments, when he stops cracking wise and making jokes, where the audience truly sympathises with him, and it makes you want to root for him. He's very much an underdog, someone with no fighting ability, who has to use his wits to get by, and I really like that about him. If you don't like him, fine, but don't talk as if you can't understand why someone would like him.
Click to expand...
For me (as somebody who finds awkward moments impossible to sit through) every time he opened his mouth it was like I was continually being kicked in the balls. At no point in the four episodes I saw did anything about his personality ever interest me.

IncendiaryLemon said:
I don't get what you mean by 'someone to hold on to'. That seems very vague. I'm not going to say all the characters in Re:Zero are these deeply developed, complex cast, but I think the majority of the cast stand out, and there isn't really anyone who I'd call bland or lacking personality. Hell, if I did have to pick on weak link out the bunch, it probably would be Reinhard, who could have used more screentime. As far as I recall, he was just kind of a generic knight character.
Click to expand...

Just somebody who is likeable. I wouldn't call any of them cliched or lacking in personality, but all of them were just bad people, I didn't want to succeed. Emilia, Puck and Reinhard are the only characters that weren't just mean and insufferable. And I wouldn't call either Puck or Emilia likeable. She's best girl, but only by the virtue of being the only girl that isn't a complete bitch. Reinhard is the only character I could genuinely say that I liked without qualification, hence my disappointment at his recurring guest role. Though to be fair, Reinhard is the only non-villain(?) that doesn't have that much screentime, so maybe I'd dislike him just as much as everybody else if he'd appeared more. It's not really fair to judge the show on this (and I didn't really), but some fans were also criticising other fans for liking the "wrong" character, Emelia, what I'm sure it started in good humour, it quickly became a bit more toxic than that and did actively start to make me question the show's fanbase.

I'm sure you'll disagree me, but hopefully you can understand that if none of the characters are working for you, and the show isn't completely tied together from a plot perspective, it all falls apart.


Demelza said:
I think the problem with My Hero Academia is that BONES didn't adapt enough of it and so it was a bit lacklustre through to the end. The better arcs come after what BONES have adapted really. I honestly think if BONES hadn't adapted the anime though I wouldn't have paid half as much attention to it and although I agree it's not their best offering of late (I think we can agree that's BBB? :p) but I'd just have skipped it outright if someone like Pierrot had it.

I found Kacchan fairly annoying but I think that was down to the VA rather than the character. I also found him considerably irritating in the manga as well though so it's not just the anime and more his character. I think adding a voice to him just made him somewhat worse sadly.
Click to expand...
I liked it from the very start, I don't agree with everybody else's viewpoint that the start of the manga is really slow and boring. Maybe BONES will make the next part exciting, but I'm not optimistic. And I should clarify that I did enjoy MHA, I just find it lacked the "x factor" the manga has.

Clearly BONES is a bankable name and it has a following, but I just meant that I think other studios have done better jobs at adapting and tailoring their shows to the tone of the source and the resources available to them. The Pierrot comment was an exaggeration, but for my money their recent works have nailed the emotional element, even when they've mangled the rest of the manga. I am an unashamed defender of Twin Star Exorcists and I will stick up for Root A, even though I didn't enjoy it as much. For more money, I could have forgiven screwing up plot elements. provided they'd nailed a tone and emotional element, and I think Pierrot would have managed to do that.

At present I would agree, but given I've just start Fullmetal Alchemist, that may soon change. (I really like the 9 or so episodes I've seen so far.)

Demelza said:
On a side note: While I respect your stance on KonoSuba, I still want to say you're wrong and it's very obviously the best thing all year. ;) This is a joke btw.
Click to expand...

Hai Hai K12211147 Desu! :D
 
Last edited:
Back
Top