Ranking 10 shows from 2013

Continuing on with trying to meet blogosphere year end tradition, I am now going to rank this years ABSOLUTE BEST anime.

I am not going to make an overarching statement like 2013 sucked compared to 2012 which sucked compared to 1904 but I probably didn’t watch too many shows to completion this time around. I am not actually sure of this though because I don’t have an up to date MAL and I didn’t bother tallying.

Note that when I say this year, I mean anime that ended this year so naturally, there are a few series that could not make the list.

10. Yuyushiki

Yuyushiki features cute girls googling things and talking to one another. Up until I watched some of this anime, I had no idea that the things I do daily could be so much more exciting and special if only I was a lifeless, 2-Dimensional, cute girl.

Thanks for that self-esteem boost, Yuyushiki. Oh and I now also understand how to properly look up things on the internet.

8. Cuticle Detective Inaba

A heart thumping thriller about a detective who can sniff people’s hair to get more information. Do not let the description deceive you, this is a suspenseful tale full of great, difficult to solve crimes.

It is a shame I had to drop it before it got into the real meat of anime.

9. Dog and Scissors

Sometimes, anime creators like to experiment. Dog and Scissors was one of those anime.

It was revolutionary because it complimented the main story of a boy turning into a dog with small boob jokes and psychotic tsunderes.

A truly groundbreaking work.

6. Senran Kagura

I think most people avoided Senran Kagura because they thought it was a fan-service anime featuring well endowed high school girls. Now, I don’t want to debate the well accepted notion that fan-service shows featuring non-well endowed girls are better than fan-service anime featuring well endowed girls but there was more to Senran Kagura that fan-service.

It featured ninjas, magical girl transformations and most importantly sushi rolls. We (the classy crew) covered it in extraordinary detail here. (Image courtesy of Fosh and stolen from there.)

5. Walkure Romanze

Another great anime that featured sex-deprived horses and jousting. The supposedly perverted deeds of the horses and the phallic symbolism might have suggested ecchi garbage but the truth of the matter was that this show was advocating the importance of friendship, comradery and begleiter’s.

4. Photo Kano

As a photography enthusiast, I can’t help but be impressed with the notion of a club dedicated to taking sneaky photographs of cute girls. Some may call this Voyeurism, but I am sure it is art. I just lacked the understanding and passion to truly understand that. That is why I could only watch an episode of this.

Their love and passion for photography was too great. It would make me feel worse about my own shortcomings. So, while it was cowardly to do so, I abandoned this show because I knew I could not bear the shame of my incompetence, at least not at my current, sensitive age.

4. Galilei Donna

I watched the first few episodes and found them to be be both riveting and simulating.

From what I hear, it only got better later on with improved mech fights, time travel, exciting court cases and hints of time defying incest.

3. Amnesia

A powerful anime that provided great commentary on video games.

2. Diabolik Lovers

Most people thought Diabolik Lovers was about a poor girl constantly getting harassed by diabolical vampires.

But they were wrong. They didn’t read the game wiki like I did. I understand that the vampire boys are more that just jerks.

They are deeply, disturbed children. All of them have mother issues.

Did you know that one of the boy’s carries his mother’s ashes in his teddy bear because she didn’t pay attention to him when she was alive? Most of the mother’s attention was diverted to the boy’s uncle and his brother, both of whom she often slept with.

Another boy was jealous of the attention his mother (a different mother since they are step siblings) gave to his brother so he had her and his older brother’s best friend assassinated.

So, it is quite naturally the girl’s job to fix these troublesome problems. In light of this incredible amount of depth, I feel compelled to give this anime this high rating without even having watched past episode 1.

1. OreImo

As many of the readers of this post are well aware, I am an individual with high expectations for romance anime. OreImo met those expectations and exceeded them.

The way it switched from one girl to another, the way it stringed us along only to dump as a dead end, the way it defied social expectations and condoned incest, all of it was remarkable.

It was a true masterpiece and it achieved absolute perfection with that fake wedding at the end.

Okay, silly “BAD” anime ranking over. I totally stole the idea to do this bait & switch from my main man J. I would copy his APR tally idea as well but unfortunately, I haven’t kept track of my submissions and going through my sent folder would be too much work. (And well, I often forgot to vote as well…)

A quick note on the classy choices above:

Senran Kagura, Walkure Romanze and OreImo were anime I watched as part of the classy crew. If I had seen enough bad anime this year, I wouldn’t have included Senran Kagura and Walkure Romanze.

They might not be great in any way but at least they are both honest anime. They don’t lie about what they are. OreImo isn’t like that. OreImo stabs your heart again and again all the while claiming to be something better.

Before you ask, yes, I probably wouldn’t have included Yuyushiki in there if I had something else (and I didn’t want to antagonize everyone on twitter :P) but its presence here isn’t purely whimsical. I thought what I watched was kind of boring.

Now then, let’s move on to this year’s best. Do note that while I have ranked them, rank is almost always kind of meaningless. I enjoyed all of these series in various different ways.

10. NouCome

NouCome had plenty of flaws. It wasn’t particularly smart, meaningful and some of the character treatment ( e.g. “cute” Yukihira ) was terrible. But, when it tried to be funny, it was really funny.

I looked forward to watching it every Wednesday and I enjoyed watching it. Such simple joy might not mean much to some but for me, it is important enough to throw My Mental Choices are Completely Interfering with my School Romantic Comedy on this list.

9. Haganai season 2

I absolutely adore her smile.

Back, when I made a 12 Day post on the first season of Haganai, I had to try quite hard to defend my fondness for it (if only for myself). I feel absolutely no need to do that this time around.

It is tempting to claim that Haganai was one of this year’s best simply because of how much of an improvement it was. This is one of those rare occasions where a sequel is several times better than its predecessor. That said, I didn’t put this here just because it is a better sequel. Haganai season 2 was a genuinely good show.

Haganai S2 made me squeal, squirm, cringe and rant but it did so, masterfully. I didn’t like everything it did of course (I still dislike Yozura, sorry), but what I did like, I liked a lot.

It also had a very good conclusion. As I said in my last post, seeing Rika go evil with cat ears was definitely one of this year’s finest moments.

8. Love Lab

Love Lab was cute, fun and at times, downright hilarious. Its assortment of jokes, gags and hilarious faces made my week every week.

I had a few quips with its drama but I am more than willing to overlook those flaws in light of how good the good parts were.

7. Aiura

Short. Sweet. Beautiful.

Aiura is proof that a few minutes full of love and heart are really all you need.

6. Mushibugyou

I am a sucker for a good Shonen. I am also a sucker for a good romance.

So, what happens when I get a solid Shonen with good romance? It makes this list of course.

6(66) Valvrave the Liberator

I am sorry. Don’t look at me though. I might break rules now and then by throwing in two #6 entries but Valvrave has no rules.

It is plot is ridiculous, the humans of Valvrave are incredibly stupid and things rarely make sense. And yet, Valvrave is a limitless, boundless anime.

It went above and beyond the call of duty to provide endless, bottomless entertainment.

2013 might not be well remembered in the minds of many anime fans but it is the year that brought me Valvrave, so far that alone, I am grateful.

5. Gatchaman Crowds

Crowds has a slightly confusing plot but great production values and creative design nullify that problem a little.

What makes Gatchaman Crowds truly great though is that at its heart lies a great cast and that cast is tied together by the tour de force that is Hajime.

For Hajime alone, Crowds deserves a mention on this list. That is how great she is.

4. Gj-bu

Gj-bu never tries to reach anime stardom, but because it doesn’t try, it doesn’t fail.

As you walk the halls, Gj-bu quietly invites you into a club room. You are sat down and served tea and biscuits.

Your hair is combed and your ears filled with sweet, seductive words. As you close your eyes and drink your tea, you can’t help but think “this is great”.

Then you open your eyes and the club, along with everyone in it, is gone.

It is dark outside and you realize you spent a lot longer in there then you thought you had, but you wish you had spent just a bit longer.

3. Tamako Market

Tamako is so very pretty.

Tamako Market is an anime about love.

It is about the love between Tamako and her friends, the love between the shop owners, the love between Tamako’s dad and her, the love between Mochizō/Midori and Tamako and various other kids of love.

Tamako Market is about all sorts of love but love is love and I love Tamako Market.

2. Eccentric Family

Eccentric Family  (often known as Uchōten Kazoku) is rare enough in that it focuses on family but even rarer because it pulls it off incredibly well.

Eccentric Family is equal parts funny and heart warming and each part is worth watching but it’s the way the two are combined that makes this show so very good.

I can’t claim that everyone and anyone would be fond of this show but those that like it will no doubt like it a hell of a lot.

1. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

This is a cliche choice but what am I supposed to do? The second part of JoJo won me over.

I could probably nitpick and try to find a few flaws but there is no point. JoJo is so full of energy and fun that any problems that exist are washed away.

I am looking forward to Stardust Crusaders. If it is anything like Battle Tendency, it will be glorious but I have heard that it is even better.

I can’t wait.

Stuff that probably should be here but won’t be because I didn’t finish:

• Majestic Prince
• White Album 2
• Kyosogiga
• Watamote
• Shin Sekai Yori

And with that, I am done with making posts for 2013.

I am very grateful to those of you that read/commented on/liked my posts this year. Please continue to put up with/look after me next year.

Thanks for reading. I wish you all a happy new year.