Following 2015’s frankly disappointing year of anime, 2016 was a relief.
Full of surprises, experimentation and most importantly progression.
This year has been host to some of my now favourite series, for the first time in awhile
i’ll have a genuinely hard time deciphering what I like more.
That’s not to say we haven't had our fair share of bad shows, 2016 has been no exception
to the storm of poorly produced calamities that everyone loves to hate.
Regardless of content it’s been an interesting year for us over here in the west, the growing
online streaming services mean that almost every airing show has been picked up and subbed
by at least someone.
No more are the days of shows being forgotten by a lack of subtitles, we’re living in
a weird time where everything is available in great quality with reliable sub titles.
It’s also been a great year for anime coverage here on youtube, i’ve lost count of how
many new, innovative anime videos i’ve seen, offering new perspectives and broadening our
appreciation of the medium.
I hope it all continues in 2017.
But, before we embark on a new year we need to make sense of the current, to understand
what 2016 meant to japanese animation, giving us an indicator to what might be on the horizon.
Gundam Thunderbolt was a huge treat, a beautiful showcase of intricate animation, telling a
story from the Gundam universe with a stylistic twist.
It was a jazz inducing mech experience in many senses, these mind blowing actions scenes
with hauntingly striking character moments.
For a series that only lasted a few episode, it had massive impact.
Subtle details and a slow moving story allowed them to build up the world and it’s characters
to deliver really engaging conclusions.
To be honest it was more of a visual experience, the narrative was at points just a baseline
for it’s outstanding animation.
But that on its own created a lot of value.
3-Gatsu is again, more of a visual treat, but less of a flashy exhibition.
The visuals have this dark, meditated eeriness to them.
Drawn out shots from a distance or unnatural compositions.
And this mirrors into the story and its characters, theres always this underlying darkness to
everything that isn't directly addressed for a lot of the story.
Even the juxtaposition created by the brighter moments still works into the whirlpool of
emotions in the series.
And the production in general is just brilliant, the slowly animated, detailed facial expressions
and the rough backgrounds work so well.
It’s been one of the more interesting shows of the year.
Kuromukoro is one of those shows that really encapsulates the cultural differences in how
Japan approaches media.
It really represents those feelings of curiosity I had in anime and japanese video games before
experiencing them.
Kuromukuro has Samurais, princesses, high schools, unnecessarily complicated mech mechanics;
it’s a whirlwind of Japanese culture.
And this whirlwind is exactly why the show works, it’s so busy with excitement and
twists that you kind of gloss over how complicated and incoherent it actually is.
Despite it’s complexities, it manages to nail the basics with intriguing characters
and and somewhat easy-to-follow underlying narrative.
I might not really know what everyone is doing what they’re doing but they’re doing it
with such style it’s hard not to be glued to the series.
After blasting through KonoSuba in a day, it easily became the most fun and accessible
watches i've had all year, with an explosively energetic cast and wild setting, KonoSuba
had the rains to basically do whatever it wanted without feeling detached.
It created this beautifully simple premise and just bounced ideas off of it, offering
a massive range of comical approaches and styles, it uses mini adventures as a base
for, basically just having fun.
That’s not to say the series didn't offer any substance, I think the show’s simple
appearance disguises some really smart storytelling.
I loved how the characters interacted so naturally and how the silly storylines felt so right.
The series itself somehow became a fresh take on a painfully overused premise by ignoring
conventions and being a bit wild.
Unfortunately a lot of KonaSuba becomes a bit of a blur after awhile, its characters
and the odd episode being the only things that really stick out, but for it achieve
what it did in such a simple and unique way is commendable.
As a massive fan of classic mafia movies, 91 Days offered to scratch an itch that animation
rarely comes close to.
Gangster flicks in anime are not common, i can count the ones i’ve watched on one hand,
and there’s a reason for that.
The genre relies on stark realism and believability to work, unlike the something like the samurai
genre that has sword fights and epic settings, Gangster stories offer very little in terms
of flashiness.
It’s hard to make a business deal or an important family event matter if you're not
completely immersed into that world.
A realism that can be achieved easily with live action but not so easily with animation.
But, 91 Days offered that realism by creating characters and a world that were easy to engage
with.
I could really see the events of the show actually happening in that city, I could imagine
the characters talking in dingy bars and squabbling over family arguments.
The events of the show ended up not being as exciting as they could have been but I
felt as if i experienced a collection of important and real events in a world, it felt like everything
that was happening had weight and knock on effects.
It was nice to see a change in tone from a lot of other shows this year.
DJ Agetarou is by far the biggest and most welcomed surprise of the year.
A show that has the shell of a scarcely produced throwaway short the heart of a fantastic exploration
of passion with a subtly evocative visual presence.
Using its simple exterior and structure, the show explores with ease the technicalities
and meaning of passion, touching on different themes with every episode.
Throughout the series our main character discovers and develops an interest in music, exploring
not only the medium but hidden emotions he didn't think he had.
DJ Agetarou’s stark precision in nailing exactly why we love music, or any other hobby
is fascinating.
There are moments that captured me with unbelievable accuracy, pinpointing perfectly, emotions
that dictate my passions for hobbies.
All while maintaining a hilarious and not overstated sense of humor, a fun cast of characters
and a surprisingly relatable world to take place in.
Flying Witch’s beautiful simplicity has been really overlooked.
It has received a lot of praise for its heartfelt stories and lovable characters but people
forget that the series has very little in plot points or action to make this happen.
For Flying Witch to create such connections with its viewer while staying extremely simple
really impressed me.
It used powerful, grounded moments to build up characters, progressing over time to pay
off in the very touching final few episodes.
It uses a lot of classic Slice of Life techniques to create the story, utilizing memorable locations
and moments for future reflection, it’s one that I only appreciate more so in hindsight.
The village in which it takes place in for example is a setting we’ve seen a number
of times in other anime scenes, but none have been as memorable as Flying Witch’s, this
and a number of other similar elements are what really brought the series to life.
I covered Flip Flappers in detail on my channel and I still feel as if i only scratched the
surface of what the show is doing, every detail in the series is packed with discoverables,
making it a ‘journey > destination’ story, a style that’s very hard to execute but
certainly one Flip Flappers excelled in.
My appreciation for the series comes from the depth to which i’m dragged into it,
contemplating the smallest of details during a scene to discover subtle information was
so entertaining.
And the pace at which flip flappers moves on from its episodes is great, quick, focused
stories made the story progress before it overstayed its welcome.
And the show’s vibrant style of storytelling was matched only by the outstanding visual
presentation.
Containing some of the most mesmerizing animated scenes of the year, exciting world design
and character designs that really resonate.
The amount of effort and consideration put into even the smallest visual details just
blows me away constantly.
Tied together with a all inclusive narrative that draws from every corner of literature
and media.
Flip Flappers ended up as a unbelievably solid product, stretching its reach over a vast
plane of themes and styles, making it one of my favourite experiences of the year.
Amanchu, unexpectedly aroused high anticipation, with its connections to Aria and it yielding
an impressive staff list.
As the series approached i realised I had almost unreachable expectations for the series,
how could it possibly stand beside one of the most powerful slice of life anime stories?
Thankfully Amanchu’s anime adaptation delivered in everything it set out to do, leaving very
little room for me to give any solid criticism.
As an Iyashikei series, Amanchu nailed all the elements needed to create a deeply relaxing
slice of life story that also presents emotional depth and strong consideration for its thematic
content.
Structuring its episodes with compelling scenes of emotional investment, characters and storylines
effortlessly connected with me, balanced beautifully with the quieter moments of the series.
This seamless dance between emotions and relaxation is what makes Amanchu such a diverse series,
spreading it wings across multiple topics and narrative focuses.
Not to mention the show’s outstanding visual quality, focusing it’s detailed animation
in very subtle aspects of the world, it really enhanced the emersion and portrayal of emotion.
The thought into the movement of things like hair in the wind or the falling of petals,
it brought a life to Amanchu that is usually missing from shows that opt for minimal movement.
It made the show feel alive.
For Amanchu to have such a profound effect on me with a small set of episodes and a very
narrow narrative focus is amazing, it’s without a doubt one of the best shows of the
year.
I remember watching Shouwa Genroku for the first time so clearly, every detail about
my first viewing is crystal clear because it was such a surprise, this show came out
of nowhere.
No one was talking about it prior to it airing, allowing it to sweep in and deliver one of
the best first episodes to an anime i’d ever experienced.
It set the scene for this, utterly breathtaking piece of storytelling without fault.
I still don’t think i’ve fully grasped the scale of how spectacular this show was.
Looking back and rewatching some episodes I was just flooded with all these emotions,
Shouwa Genroku is by far one of the most captivating stories in the medium, told with such simplicity
but also with such impact.
This straightforward yet dense tale is not only the best show this year but possibly
one of the best shows of the decade, or one of my favourite shows ever.
It’s traditional storytelling at its greatest, a simple tragic love story that unapologetically
keeps its feet firmly on the ground, proving that you don’t need anything more than the
absolute basics to create a masterpiece.
This simplicity was mirrored in the visuals of the show too, using very calculated shot
compositions and scene layouts to express emotion.
The show’s narrow focus allowed the moments and twists to have extended impact, some of
the scenes were utterly breathtaking in the execution and significance.
Despite the amount of great anime this year, for me, nothing has even come close to Shouwa
Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu.
Overall, how was 2016?
It had some really strong individual pieces and even the average shows were still pretty
entertaining.
A number of shows like Grimgar, ReLIFE and Kuma Miku are still certainly worth watching.
I think this year has been a massive improvement on 2015 and i’m so happy to have had the
pleasure of watching the top few shows here, they were a real treat.
Going into 2017 I can only really hope that things continue, I’d love to see more like
Amanchu and Rakugo, and outside anime like the YouTube scene and online streaming is
going in a really good direction, i’m so excited to see where that goes.
Let me know in the comments how 2016 has stacked up anime wise for you.