December 2013 Rankings

Hope everyone had a good holiday season. How did fall manage to suck so badly? I decided some of the shows weren't even worth the screencap.



GOOD TIER

TOP Anime OP ED Countdown #6

Bakemonogatari ED



"Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari ()" by supercell; performed by nagi (Gazelle)

Anime Admirers 2013: Hub Worlds And Homesteads

The year is coming to an end, and as we reflect back on everything, it is the season for anime lists and more excuses for silly alliteration.



This will be the first in a series of posts about my thoughts on my favorite anime productions from 2013. This post will feature five works, effectively a 10 - 6 listing (but I'm not bothering with numbers), while additional individual posts will follow each day for this week covering the rest. There will be six posts in all, and the normal weekly category write-ups will also continue, so there will be a fair amount of content surging about this week!

Top 10 Anime of 2013

I thought 2013 was a pretty weak year for anime. Of course there were certainly a decent amount of things that I liked and enjoyed. It was difficult compiling the top ten list this year. For the first time I have movies and specials on here simply because I didn't have enough TV series that I loved this year. Number ten was, again, a fight between a couple of series.



2012 CARRY OVERS

Winter Anime 2014 Genius Compendium

The Winter Anime Season Has Arrived. This Pretty Much Means Me Ranking A Ton Of New Anime And Pretty Much Being Dead Wrong By The Time February Rolls Around. Let's Get This Started!



Now, for those of you who don't know how my Compendiums work, it's simple: I only rank all of the new TV anime that's making their debut this Winter. No Sequels (*looks at Silver Spoon and Chuu2Koi2*). No already existing franchises, or I guess long running franchises (*Looks at Saki, Seitokai Yakuindomo*). No Shorts (*looks at Pupipo, Strange +*). And of course, no films or OVAs. It just makes everything easy for me/I get to shine all the new faces in anime. For better or for worse. So, you get how things work? Then I better get started!

Anime of the Week (11/10

ANIME OF THE WEEK - AOKI HAGANE NO ARPEGGIO



When described in simple terms it seems very straightforward, but too often an interesting villain will be killed off for dramatic effect when if that character had lived he or she could have continued to serve a purpose in forwarding the story. That Arpeggio makes good use of its character resources is a testament to the vision of its writing.

From this pile of dust into the ideal woman: Nadeko Sengoku

"ACTING NICE IS A CHILDISH PROFESSION - PRETENDING YOU'RE SOMEONE ELSE, AND AT THE SAME TIME, SELLING YOURSELF."



-Katherine Hepburn

2013 Awards

Still in the process or experimenting with how I do these awards. Unlike last year where I chose the best based upon each season, I went with my five favorites of each category. (Though some have less than five simple because I couldn't think of five.)



Best Main Female Character

Random Thought (December 28, 2013 at 11:13PM)

Random Thought 568



Since Winter Anime Season 2014 is coming next week, I think it's the right time for me to reveal my picks this coming season. More than half of my picks are plainly based on my anticipation due to the fact that I am already familiar with their source material. The rest would be by thoroughly reading their synopsis and watching the PVs. Without further ado here is my potential but still tentative Winter 2014 watch list:

Nekomonogatari Black: questions of love?

Sweet dreams or dark nightmares?



A prequel to 'Tsubasa Cat' from Bakemonogatari series, NEKO BLACK lays out exactly what happened during that unforgettable, gold-tinted week; the week when Araragi Koyomi fell out of something that was not a first love

12 Days of Anime (2013)

On May 19, 2013, the June issue of Ultra Jump debuted as any normal issue of a mangazine would.However, this particular issue was noticeably different with an announcement following the 113rd chapter of Needless stating that next month's chapter would be the final one.Without any preparation or any proper warning, the sudden and abrupt ending was only a month away.The announcement began to explain the accelerated pace of the last few chapters and the conclusions of many loose ends, but with so much more remaining and the peculiar developments of late, especially some of the absolutely shocking events in 113, you wondered just how the manga could end with an unfortunate amount of unanswered questions.But one month later, Needless 114 debuted and so ended the serialization of my favorite manga.



But rather than , which are all properly documented in my final post on the manga, I wanted to take a moment to remember just how important and significant the anime and manga were to me.

[] Comic Fiesta 2013 Day 1 & 2

Here we are opening to our avid K-Pop readers to other new and exciting available events to expand your horizons. Comic Fiesta is Malaysia's largest and longest-running animation, comics and games (ACG) convention. Comic Fiesta 2013 was held 21-22 December 2013 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and has attracted thousands of people. Comic Fiesta is truly a must attend event for everyone. There were a huge variety of exhibitor booths with illustrators showing their artworks, doujins and more. Equally, there were art-booths separated by basic art booth and premium art-booths. Items available for sale are mainly handmade. Other than that, there were panel rooms at different time of the day for the fans to get to know guest illustrators, cosplays, PPY and Livetune. Also on Day 1, fans get up close with a Coffytiam Signing session with VOFAN and Yuegene Fay.



One the first day, there was a Group Cosplay Competition and each portray of characters can be seen with passion and hard work. Guest judges present for the Group Cosplay Competition were Xrystal, Yuegene Fay, and Zend. What's more, on stage of the first day at 3PM - 3.30PM was Culture Japan ft. Danny Choo. Following "absolutely crazzzy" perform live on stage and judging by the screams it was a big hit! Game developer of the community-centric rhythm game "osu!" came on stage at 5.30PM-6PM.

The KKS Guide to a Comfy Christmas (through Anime binging) Pt.3

COMFY CHRISTMAS PT.3 (COMEDY)



It's nearly Christmas but that doesn't mean you have to spend time with your family or friends. Here's some more anime that you can use to continue to ignore reality.

Bakemonogatari [Anime Review]

This review can also be found on my profile at



After I rewatched Bakemonogatari, I decided to write a brief review about it. First of all, Bakemonogatari is not kind of anime for everyone. If you're an action junky and can't stand lengthy dialogues between characters, don't bother to pick it up, it's definitely not for you. But if you seek a different, unique content, witty conversations and extraordinary presentation, I highly recommend you to watch Bakemonogatari.

A Fresh Perspective (12Days#4)

Well, if we were doing the 12 Days as a countdown like some, we'd have skipped #10 and this would be #9. Though we really should be on #7 by now.



As we've come to expect, our hopeless writer can't even meet the deadlines he sets for himself. Not that he doesn't have his excuses. I suppose consecutive all-nighters punctuated by 6-hour exam blocks can be rather detrimental to one's creative output, after all. We'd decided to split the 12 Days posts by three-way rotation, but as the clock rolled past his deadline and then mine and then 's and then back to his again, I decided we'd have to carry on, with or without him. Hopefully he'll be back with us soon.

bakemonogatari/monogatari series

I got to say bakemonogatari was really good, and the sequels so far are fantastic. i think its going to dethrone TT as my favorite series.



very dialogue heavy but its kind of like grosse point blank, the witty dialogue is what makes it good. its near impossible to follow if u dont understand how the japanese language works of course, because nisio isin is heavy on puns and other word related jokes. he also references other manga and stories a lot, most of which i am unfamiliar with but its not that detrimental to the story.

Hall of Fame Induction: Hidamari Sketch

In my Anime Hall of Fame series, I highlight shows that I enjoyed a lot and think are worth trying out. Click the "stardf29's Anime Hall of Fame" tab at the top of the page to see a list of all the inducted anime series so far. More anime series will be inducted over time, and this post will be updated with any new information for this series.HIDAMARI SKETCH



Don't worry; these girls' souls are perfectly safe in this show. (Official art for season 4.)

(Update) it was the color of your hair

Long time no update. Things have been a bit hectic for me, particularly with my laptop getting stolen from my house on 11/27 which had a lot of my screencaps I was going to share eventually. Luckily it was only a small portion that I had left only on my laptop with the rest on my external HD. Here's a list of series that will be delayed because I have to do them again. Still adjusting to my new laptop, too.



LOST SCREENCAPS

Hot this Season: Fall 2013

With the lack of quality anime that the summer brought over the fall did not disappoint our expectations what-so-ever. As the season draws to a close we can hi-light the good from the bad and really draw out which Anime's stood out from the rest. There were quite a few this season as this one was a fruitful season indeed. And here it is, in no particular order, the Hot picks of Fall 2013.



Monogatari Second Season

12 Days of Anime #11

As a somewhat older anime fan who's been watching anime for a while, I sometimes reflect on who is anime aimed at, such as in . I confess to finding myself cranky and cynical, when shows aimed at "adult men" most often depict high school girls being "cute", and the more thought-provoking anime often end up relying on sound-bytes of philosophy and gore to show us just how "mature" they are and are even ostensibly marketed towards teenagers.



Uchouten Kazoku showing us a rare level of self-reflection within anime.

12 Days of Anime #8

Sometimes, you just find yourself staring at the screen, mouth agape, as the shiny pictures flash in front of your eyes, and they're just so pretty. I know it seems weird coming from someone who writes (well) over a thousand words on so many shows, but sometimes I just look at my monitor, realize I have no idea what's going on or how to approach it, and just let the shows wash over me.



Stills do this no justice, check the YouTube video down-post

Sympathy For The Devil: PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA ~ REBELLION ~

PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA/ is one of those rare, beautiful times where popular culture has found a way to transcend itself; it took something unique to its medium, and managed to give its usual audience exactly what they asked for while simultaneously undercutting the very idea of it all. Originally a 12 episode TV series that aired in 2011, written by noted nihilist Gen UROBUCHI, and directed by Studio Shaft's most valuable madman, Akiyuki SHINBOU. The final result was a stunning, even shocking reminder that you can deliver a near-perfect piece of entertainment that finds a way to give audiences exactly what they want, despite also never giving them what they expect, and even reveling in how absurd their taste really might be.



The word "Deconstruction" is a dangerous one to throw around these days, with TV Tropes being able to get all up in your grill about what does and doesn't technically qualify as such, but if Watchmen was a deconstruction of costumed comic book vigilantes, if A Song of Ice and Fire was a deconstruction of impervious heroism in a fictionalized version of Medieval Europe, and if Cabin in the Woods was a deconstruction of the insatiable need for an audience to watch young people die for their own amusement, I think it's safe to call Madoka Magica a deconstruction of the Magical Girl subgenre, one which - alongside piloting giant transforming robots, being surrounded by a harem of partially-clothed beautiful women, and adolescents traveling the world without parental supervision, homework, or part time jobs to partake in fully legal dog fights with total strangers - has remained mostly, if not quite exclusively, within the domain of Japanese animation. For once, comparisons tothe 90s equally popular and upsetting Neon Genesis Evangelion and its brutal, self loathing vivisection of its own anime-infused genre are completely valid, perhaps even unavoidable... but unlike Shinji Ikari's journey of grotesque and traumatic self-discovery, Madoka Kaname's adventure never gets quite so far up its own ass that it ever stops being a show about the thing it was going out of its way to tear down in the first place.