MysticMew's Personal Anime Report 2013

So, the year is at an end. Finally some would say. Let me recap what the year brought for me in the realms of my anime experience in somewhat chronological order and some brief commentary. I admit to not have seen many new series that actually aired this year but a lot of it just didn't interest me enough and those that did often disappointed me to no end. Without further preamble (since I'm typing this up rather hastily ^_^), here is my list.


 

To Love-Ru: My first this year. Very funny harem anime. The character cast was quite interesting and I really liked Momo ^_^. Bad thing about it... Darkness ended without conclusion. I have yet to take a look at the manga, perhaps I will soon.

Angel Beats: Definitely a good series. Not exactly what I usually watch but it drew me in. And of course, the opening theme is just awesome.

Moretsu Space Pirates: One of the most underrated anime. Granted the pace was quite slow and considering the title and setting it had much less action than expected. However, the characters were wonderful and the entire setup was done extremely well. Plus, a yuri kiss scene! Yes, an actual kiss scene. Not from the main character unfortunately but Marika has several potent options available. ^_^ Me? I like Marika/Gruier best, but that is really just me. Honestly, I suggest you take a look at this. Moretsu (or Bodacious) Space Pirates needs more attention.

Thundercats 2011: Not a full anime but deserves mentioning. I watched this on a whim. I remember the original fondly (although vaguely) and was curious. The end result was a pleasant surprise. The western cartoon style/anime crossover mix works out surprisingly well. The new story setting is more mature and the plot more streamlined. Sadly, the series left us hanging in the end and a continuation is not in sight.

Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Very... odd. I was forewarned but I think I have to put myself into the category of people who just got thoroughly confused by the strange episode arrangement and the various orders to watch them...

Vividred Operation: Considering I loved Strike Witches, Vividred was eagerly anticipated... and turned out as the first disappointed. Not as big as others but there was so much more potential in Vividred. The anime suffered too many characters squeezed into a seasonal 13 episode run which left far too little room for proper character and story development. I wouldn't say it was entirely worthless but as I told my beta when he asked: If you want to choose between Strike Witches and Vividred, take the former.

Strike Witches Movie: Oh yes, great! It had been awhile since I saw Strike Witches but from what I could tell, the movie wonderfully connects to the anime and redeems the series' sour ending by giving Yoshika her powers back! That scene was so beautiful!

Accel World: In a year dominated in the shadow of Sword Art Online, I watched Accel World and at some points actually liked it more. They might have overdone it a little with the outcast main character, yet the story deals with quite a few mature themes and I found myself sympathizing with the characters quite a bit.

D.Gray-Man (Rest of Episodes): I got curious about what wasn't aired here, so I watched the rest. I honestly cannot quite say what to say. It was good, it was action-packed, it was thrilling... perhaps a little too much. D.Gray-Man past the halfway mark maintains such a high pace of tension, drama and action that the viewer barely gets a breather. I would still like to see this continued since I am not that big of a fan to pick up the manga...

Code Geass: Oh yeah. Whoa! Death Note? Light? Forget about them. Lelouch is the most twisted, badass main character in anime history ever. The degree of scheming, planning and the raw, unwavering conviction. Code Geass is nothing for the faint of heart. Expect a lot of character deaths, harsh reality and a main character where you constantly don't know whether to hate or love him. It is all done so excellently well, however, that you just get chained to your chair (or from wherever you are watching) and continue watching. It's like watching a train wreck at times, you can't look away. I doubt I'll ever watch it again since it gets so incredibly depressing at times but if you have yet missed this, go watch.

Girls and Panzer: The title says it all, cute girls in a school for driving Panzers and engaging in mock battles for fun... Again a surprisingly well-done anime. I know a lot of people on NSW who like this and I quite enjoyed it myself. Not necessarily a favorite, yet a better watch than some newer stuff this year.

Evangelion Movies: Err, I am not the biggest Evangelion fan. The movies were nice, perhaps a step up from the series but ultimately I just think Mecha Anime are not my thing (even though I'm male).

Nanoha Movies: Finally watched these. As a hardcore Nanoha fan, I have mixed reactions about these. Granted, I almost expected to be disappointed a lot more. The expected happened, especially with A's. A movie just can't encompass everything the series has to offer and cuts corners. A's movie just can't compete with the incredible well plot coordination of the anime. The first one I liked a little more since the insight given into Precia's past was the one thing sorely missing from the anime and gave the entire finish a far more saddening note while during the anime I just can't find any sympathy for Precia. Overall the entirely more pronounced mechanical style of the devices threw me for a loop. It drives the way of the technological approach to magic just a little too far home when Nanoha pulls an actual trigger on Raising Heart... Nope, still prefer the anime. However, I have seen far worse adaptions of favorite media.

Date A Live: Another harem anime. Not really outstanding although there were a few good moments. Since a new season is coming up, I might have to rewatch. I can barely recall this as it is.

Digimon Movies: Watched those during my rerun of all the anime seasons (yeah, I'm crazy like that sometimes). None really left a lasting impression I have to say, yet they were decent enough to watch.

Clone Wars: Not an anime but I have to say... The end. Ahsoka... Wow, didn't see that coming. But hey, I think this is a far better open end for her than I expected to be delivered. In fact I had almost arranged myself with character death.

Senki Zesshou Symphogear: First big disappointment of the year. I watched first season before continuing with the ongoing one and in the end continuously asked myself: "Why am I still watching this?!" The initial idea had a lot of potential, add to that Nana-sama in an anime that uses singing for combat and you should have an easy recipe for greatness. Unfortunately Symphogear failed to deliver. I took not one song from this music-heavy anime that stuck (or made it into my playlist), despite Nana-sama being present. The plot was utterly confusing, jumped around too much, with barely any preparation for key revelations and often enough not really comprehending either. I was really so close to quitting when Miku almost died. In the end, the final of second season was perhaps its strongest point but if a series needs 2 seasons and 20+ episodes to get good only for the last few episodes... No, Symphogear was definitely one of the two biggest disappointments of 2013.

Umi Monogatari: The reason I watched this was because of the Marin figurine I got as a prize for winning the NSW editor competition. Again, a nice surprise for not really planning on watching this. A rather lighthearted, emotional anime. Definitely worth a look.

Highschool DxD New: Issei is still the luckiest bastard of all harem anime, 'nough said. ^_^

Blue Drop: Tenshi-tachi no Gikyoku: Oh god... this one sparked a severe case of cursing the trend of having anime like this (especially yuri-heavy ones) end with character deaths. I was so utterly mad after this, it took me awhile to recover. Don't get me wrong. Blue Drop is a wonderful, emotional anime and the relationship between the two main characters is developed nicely... The end ruined everything, however.

Shuffle!: My thanks again to Mirage_GSM from NSW for getting me interested in this. For a VN adaption and a harem-like anime, Shuffle! has been an utter delight to watch. At times the amount of drama got quite high but that only made it more fascinating to watch. Shuffle! does a lot of things well that others of this genre don't. The main character actually makes a choice (which I actually happen to wholeheartedly approve of) and the girls are not tearing each other apart every episodes in typical harem anime comedy fashion that quickly gets old. If you want a tasteful harem-type anime, I most definitely recommend this.

Pokémon Origins: Considering I refuse to watch the anime any longer after Sinnoh and the big letdown that was the start of Unova, this was nice. Took me back to the old days. I could have done without the shameless plug for the new Mega Evolutions in the last episode. Otherwise, I would have actually liked to see this as a real, longer series.

Infinite Stratos 2: Biggest disappointment of the year, period! I usually think the comments on new episodes are overly harsh and unfair but this time I found one that I actually had to agree with at the end of it all. "70% fillers and 20% fanservice." Yes, pretty much sums it up. I rewatched first season for this. First season was decent enough, even if nothing spectacular. IS 2 utterly fails to deliver. The plot is almost non-existent, barely advanced throughout the entire season and in the end we still only have a vague idea about who the enemies are. Lots of stupid squabbling among the girls, a new girl added to the harem (although I would have preferred the older sister!) and Rin is still the most clueless guy in the history of anime. I mean you can't get more obvious with having six girls practically falling all over for you and pretty much stating so at various points. And yet, he continues to be oblivious. That's not funny anymore and it has lost any merit and remote sense of realism. Conclusion: If you don't watch IS 2, you have missed nothing and can probably go straight to 3 should that happen at some point... I feel the producers have managed to drive about 90 percent of fans and potential viewers for such a third season away with an entire 12 episodes of almost-only fillers.

K-On!: My last (new) experience of the year and definitely a great one. I have absolutely no excuse for not watching this sooner aside from the fact that I generally don't like/watch Slice of Life anime. Even so, take it especially from someone who isn't at home in the genre, K-On! is a must watch/read (whatever you prefer)! The characters, the music, the plot, the humor... Everything is just the epitome of Japanese animation has to offer. You can't help but love this and you'll definitely squeeze out a few tears at the end... if you haven't died from the cuteness factor before that. ^_^ Definitely my highlight and biggest discovery of 2013, followed by Code Geass and Shuffle! perhaps.

This concludes my report... almost. The conclusion belong to the year-long, ongoing anime I keep track of.

First my report on the new Pretty Cure season: Dokidoki definitely is a step up from Smile. Then again, Smile was so utterly horrible that it hardly could have gotten worse. I am still a bit at odds as how to categorize Dokidoki. There were some good moments but unlike all other series (except Smile) that has something great I could point out, Dokidoki kind of crawls along in the mediocre with slight ups and downs. The Regina arc was probably the best, only for the sudden – entirely unmotivated – entrance of Cure Ace to crash it, followed by several episodes where Regina was practically forgotten. These sudden plot jumps midway through the season really hurt Dokidoki. Of course, now there is the big revelation about Ace and Regina – which left me utterly unprepared and shocked yesterday! – and it does make some more sense that way. Still the mid-season cut was jarring. Let's see what the final has to offer to resolve the situation and hope that Happiness Charge gets back more to the likes of Suite, Heartcatch or Yes... which is finally, completely subbed! Thank you Doremi subs!

Now on to the ongoing anime. Let's start with Fairy Tail: Yes, sadly enough, it ended and when and how it will continue is still left in the open. The Magic Games arc was spectacular and after the anime ended I picked up from there on the manga. After doing so, I honestly have to say, the anime producers made a real mess. They should have finished the entire arc and made a cut there, that would have been much more appropriate and conclusive. The way the anime left us was quite unfair. I dearly we hope a continuation is coming and they are not just redoing things. Because it'll be ages then until the story catches up again. Fairy Tail has been one of my favorite anime for a long time and I was really sad to see it end.

I tried getting myself back into Detective Conan for awhile but while I love the anime, the way the series is structured is just really not for longer watching. There is entirely too much to catch up, with only a handful of episodes every now and then that are moving the plot forward. I don't have the stamina and patience to gruel myself through the entire thing unfortunately. Perhaps if the episodes were picked up on a local station again and I could watch it on the side, I might give it a chance. But not for two hour evening runs.

This pretty much leaves me with just One Piece of the ongoing anime to follow. I enjoyed the post time skip and the advancements made by my favorite band of pirates... However, then came Punk Hazard. This was the first time the new, slower pace of the anime (in order to not catch up to the manga too quickly) was really felt. The entire arc dragged out so annoyingly long that for once I was actually getting dissatisfied just a little with my favorite ongoing anime for years. Dresrossa is coming soon though and I have it on good authority that it gets better now... Let's hope the anime delivers.

On a final note. Another disappointment that actually hits me more personally. Sailor Moon. Yes, new anime announced, along with simulcast, pushed back to December. We are on the verge of New Year now, nothing's happening. So... Sailor Moon 2013 is now officially 2014. Let's hope it actually does happen at all. The lack of information is saddening. Considering the large fandom Sailor Moon has still around the globe, you can't just throw us such a juicy treat and then not deliver. If the new anime is not absolutely awesome after all this waiting, I will be severely disappointed.

And that's it. My anime report of 2013. All in all, it was a year filled more with disappointments and mediocre stuff. K-On!, Shuffle! and Code Geass probably stood out most while Symphogear and IS 2 were among the biggest disappointments. I still have stuff I probably have to watch which seems rather popular. Attack of Titans, perhaps Log Horizon. For now, I am engrossed in rewatching Yes! Pretty Cure 5 after the GoGo season is finally completely subbed.

Have a Happy New Year and hopefully some good anime in 2014!

Yours

Matthias aka MysticMew

PS: A translated German version of this will follow shortly.