When the hot summer rolled in, spirits were high as a new season was upon us.
With the abundance of variety we got in the spring season and Re:Zero grabbing the entire community,
we were all hoping that the hype train would continue
and just as that thought past our minds we were stop dead in our tracks
in a series that started a long time ago in a manga far far delayed...
The epic saga continued
*Star Wars main theme playing*
It was an optimistic time to be a Berserk fan.
8 years had passed and we finally we got off a fucking boat,
and a new adaptation was announced
signaling the first time we could finally stop sucking off the Golden Age arc.
Yet in this time of optimism, a shroud of dread loomed among the fandom...
OH GOD, WHAT DID YOU DO TO IT!
Yes 2016 was the year the Berserk franchise genuinely imploded by releasing one of the most
awful adaptations ever to grace such a beloved franchise
The majority of people were already pretty cautious
as soon as the term 'CG' was being thrown around in early trailers
but nothing could have prepared us for the disaster that would befall everyone
and here's the thing
It wasn't just the CG that ruined it
'Ajin' already proved earlier in the year
that dodgy CG can be saved by good writing which Berserk should have
but the adaptation failed in almost every front
to the point where it just felt like a high-budget fan project
made by people who had little to no knowledge of filmmaking
From terrible action direction, awful shot composition, confusing cuts,
amateur lighting, ugly color palettes, junky frame rates and hilarious sound designers
that transformed Guts' steel behemoth of a sword into a fucking frying pan...
*Frying Pan Hit Sound*
For Berserk fans it was like watching a car crash in slow motion
and the only real good things to come of it were the the opening and the hilarious fan reaction.
Re:Zero may have been this years's show containing suffering,
but Berserk is a pure embodiment of it for characters and fandom alike
from Guts' journey to waiting for new chapters to just hoping for a single decent complete anime adaptation
so if you're thinking about getting into Berserk just read the manga cause here's the BERSERK 2016 experience
*Music*
Outside of the fiery heat of the Berserk fandom
the hottest new show of the summer was of course 'MobPsycho 100'
the spiritual successor to and from the same author as 'One Punch Man'
which we can totally tell because half of character designs look like
they just took Saitama and gave him a different wig,
so of course we all prepared for this to essentially be 'One Psychic Boy'
but beyond the first few episodes it definitely differentiates itself from just being that:
The journey our timid protagonist makes to constantly better himself
drove the theme of self improvement throughout the show
complete with the likable supporting cast
like the Saul Goodman of anime Reagan,
a charismatic con artist unmatched in his talent at selling bullshit
though if there is one stand out thing about this show
is one of the best showcases of absolutely breathtaking and unique animation
with some of the most magnificent looking scenes of the year, making it a must-watch for any animation fan.
'Sweetness and Lightning' gave Japan's latest attempt at combating the country's declining birth rates
by parading around the advantages of having an adorable daughter in:
But the daughter would have to be pretty fucking sweet to convince Otakus to do that,
so how sweet could they make her?
Aaaaand I have diabetes now.
'91 Days' proved to the world that Japan are indeed capable of making a dark and gritty gangster drama,
without forcing in supernatural bullshit making the second half borderline unwatchable,
with the highly westernized historical story of revenge, featuring a very muted and (serbia) down to earth artstyle
this may actually be the least anime "anime" to have aired in 2016
and did this by very obviously but tastefully sucking off classic Hollywood gangster films.
Fans of the ever popular shoujo manga 'Orange' were treated to an anime adaptation,
in the story of a girl who receives a letter from herself 10 years forward in time
in order to free herself from her regrets of her youth,
of the course the concept was always going to be a never ending feels train
as when is messing around with your past in fiction ever gone well!?
But it does beg the question of:
if you could sent the message to yourself in the past that could literally change your life
What would it be?
*Sad Music*
'Tales of Zestiria the X' did what Ufotable does best
by presenting more stunning scenes of digital animation
while overall not being that impressive of a show,
when they aren't busy sucking off Type-Moon behind the scenes.
For those who needed some serenity in their lives
'Amanchu!' was the perfect show for those who just needed something calming
*Demonic Voice* {You must cleanse the world of this ignorant filth}
giving us one of the most atmospheric, peaceful
*Demonic Voice* {BURN IT, BURN IT ALL DOWN!}
and tranquil slice of life anime to come out in the summer
*Demonic Voice* {KILL THEM ALL HAHAHA KILL THEM ALL!}
'Thunderbolt Fantasy' gave us a curveball to look at
by making a show using Taiwanese puppets!
wait hold on a second
Alan! Does this count as anime?
Alan: Who gives a fuck man look at this shit!
A show which everyone expected to suck 'cause of that,
but with the story from Gen Urobuchi and music from Hiroyuki Sawano
the puppets themselves are actually executed pretty damn well!
And as an added bonus can also be added to the growing list
of things that are still better looking than BERSERK 2016.
The glorious weebs in China (lol) manage to ask an unimpressed Sir Ian McKellen
to recite the incantation to unlimited blade works
causing thousands of anime fans to discover new level of hardness their boners could reach.
Unlimated Blade Works
And of course 'Love Live! Sunshine!!' gives the spin-off Sunrise desperately needed
in order to fund the 50 Gundam they release every year.
With a story that plays out like watching a bunch of Love Live! fans drool over the original characters
and I mean it's more Love Live! what more can I say about it, it's fine if you love 'Love Live!'
but did anyone catch the secret message in the opening of the show?
You have to look really hard but it is there,
here let me show you
*LoveLive! Sunshine!! OP [Aozora Jumping Heart]*
*Deep Voice* It's joke
As the leaves grew red and fall came about, it looked like we're about to hit a very full season
with so many shows and so much variety how will we ever going to choose what to watch?
Little did we know that something was about to come along
that was born to make history.
*History Maker starts playnig*
Ever since 'Free!' swept through the anime community in 2013
a new group of fans emerged louder than ever when the industry realize that maybe, just maybe
a good portion of people who watch anime also have vaginas.
This ushered in a new wave of shows with all the ripped abs,
prettyboy manservice and yaoi tension you could ask for
and this year 'Yuri On Ice' skated into our homo-erotic hearts,
while also winning the title of most misleading title of 2016
as I'm sure when the name was announced
most people's initial thought was that it was going to be like this:
YOU GET IT?! IT'S YURI... ON ICE!!! MAN THATS FUNNY!!!
*Yuri sounds in the background* For the man with the most exquisite of tastes~
But one look at it, and you would immediately be able to tell
that the show was actually about bunch of gay dudes dancing on a solid water.
Dancing exquisitely I might add because at the best of times,
the ice skating scenes were so gorgeously animated it could be spine chilling,
beautifully depicting the artistic expression of the human physique,
but of course with all this flamboyant male expression the show was going to be a bit gay.
How gay?
Well, 10 Shinji Ikari gay piano scenes weren't as gay as Yuri On Ice.
no
All of the homo-erotic fan fiction and fan art of the Free dudes making out on Tumblr
weren't as gay as Yuri On Ice.
No
5 gay men having gay orgy sex to the beat of YMCA
weren't as gay as Yuri On Ice.
But nothing could have prepared us for what was to come
which I can't discuss without massively spoiling the middle of it,
so if you want to skip that click this button or skip right ahead.
(Skip it)
(Trust me you want to skip it)
(It's a big spoiler trust me)
Alright are you ready,
are you ready for most unpredictable plot twist of all time?!
The show was actually gay!
Yes the biggest hint came when it was revealed that this wasn't just manservice yaoi baby girl were screaming up
but at how the series came to depict a very tender relationship between two men
exploring queerness without resorting to conventional tropes
not surprisingly leading to it's massive popularity in the LGBT community
Along with actual professional iceskaters
this was signified by a kiss absolutely nobody thought would actually happened
marking a massive turning point
but also ashering the sound of about 10 million dying whales that could probably be heard from Mars.
The show when full homo and no one saw it coming
but regardless of how good the show actually was in the end
or how the ice skating animation did suffer in later episodes,
it will go down as a landmark for progressive representation in anime
so well done Yuri On Ice
you really were born to make history
In conclusion Yuri On Ice?
mo-
more like
Yaoi
Yaoi On
Yaoi On Ice
*Laughs*
Elsewhere in fall fans of actual Yuri weren't as lucky as we got a trifector of shows
that merely dangled the yuri in front of us
giving us a chance to play everyone's favorite game:
Watch A Bunch Of Cute Girls NOT KISS!
brought to you by Yuri Watch
Yes I'm Gigguk and welcome to the annual Watch A Bunch Of Cute Girls NOT KISS!
I'm joined today with my co-host John Aka BaronJ
BaronJ: Thank you very much for having me here and
can I just say this was certainly a fantastic year to Watch A Bunch Of Cute Girls NOT KISS!
Gigguk: Right you are John
BaronJ: Let's see who the contestants were this year
Gigguk: Well first up we have 'FLIP FLAPPERS' -who gave us an original spin on magical girls
with some of the most beautifully animated mayhem of the year
coming from a less know studio in:
Magical Girl: FLCL with with cute girls not kissing!
BaronJ: This new kids on the block certainly had potential giving us two adorable girls not kissing
this is the stuff people!
Gigguk: Next up 'Hibike! Euphonium 2' -continuing for a second season do what Kyoto Animation does best
BaronJ: And Kyoto Animation here just flaunting their expertise in cute girls not kissing
I mean just look at this perfectly baited hand holding,
you can actually feel the squeals of thousands of fanboys in this exact moment
Gigguk: And finally 'Izetta the Last Witch' had two older girls not kissing riding inappropriate weapons
with the a fancy spin on World War II in cute girls not kissing vs Nazi Germany
BaronJ: Yes this was a pretty standard affair and really didn't do anything special-
wait a minute
Gigguk: Oh My God, Oh My God!
BaronJ: We are witnessing history here folks, let's get an instant replay of that
Gigguk: And right here you can see a moment never seen before on Watch A Bunch Of Cute Girls NOT KISS!
BaronJ: God I don't believe, I don't believe it folks!
We were graced by this year's new savior of anime 'KEIJO'
a full on video thesis on why the female backside is the greatest gift God has given us
the series showcases the best and worst parts of the ridiculousness only anime could offer
by making a straight up sport of super powered ass wrestling
with this absolute over the top absurdities
it broke new ground pushing boundaries in the elegant art
of taking the piss
Literally
♪ Splash ♪
♪ Splash In ♪
♪ Splash In My ♪
♪ Splash In My Pee ♪
♪ Making You Taste ♪
♪ Splash ♪
♪ Splash In ♪
♪ Splash In My ♪
♪ Splash In My Pee ♪
The semicolon series continued with the new show 'Occultic;Nine'
a mystery show that was so mysterious absolutely nobody
including the viewer had any idea what the fuck was happening
so of course the biggest take away from it
was that someone unfortunately stuck in the studio one day
and replace one the characters boobs with a pair of bowling balls.
The creator of Hellsing gave us 'Drifters'
another violent action anime with historical figures fighting to the death in a fancy world
That's right from the people who gave you
Dracula vs Super Powered Zombie Nazis in London
comes the hit new show
History Channel's Mortal Kombat Annihilation in Middle Earth
this shit sells itself
'March Comes in like a Lion' gave us a bittersweet Shaft production about grief
and human connection with an emphatic understanding of emotions
as one of the contenders of anime of the season is complete with some great examples of visual story telling
that in a nutshell follows one guy up hill journey of learning how to fucking smile
'Haikyuu and ALL OUT!!' gave us the yearly dose of Sport's Anime
that's a one part design for exciting and emotional sports games
and another part design for just watching a bunch of rip guys who are really good at fuddling with balls
'Fune Wo Amu' gave us a sleeper hit of the fall season about some guys making a dictionary
which unfortunately absolutely nobody watch
cause they were streaming on the place where anime simulcast go to die
Amazon Prime
and probably because it was a show about
well making dictionaries, which it sound incredibly boring
but beyond that what we have is a brilliant down to earth drama
a true slice of life that is human and real
with incredible use of music and visual direction that highlights the magical power of language
This was one the top shows of the season and yes it's about a bunch of dudes making a dictionary
you can even say
♪ Yes we were born to make ♪
Dictionaries
*Music*
♪ Born to make ♪
Dictionaries
In a world of movies Makoto Shinkai return to give us 'Your Name'
a new movie that became an international sensation breaking new box office records every week
to the point that I don't even know why anyone would be suprised whenever a fresh new story would come out
Hey guys did you hear 'Your Name' broke a new record?
No
I have no fucking clue 'Your Name' broke some record,
let me tell the next guy.
Hey did you hear 'Your Name' broke a new record!
What no way!
And in another breaking news there are still no screenings near anywhere you live
'A Silent Voice' gave us what looks to be a touching story of a deaf girl
that unfortunately got overshadowed by the release of 'Your Name'
'Kizumonogatari' was finally released meaning that once Eva 4.0 comes out
anime fans will actually have no anticipated movie left to complain about for the coming decades
'Gantz:O' showed us what we really want when a company says:
"Hey we're gonna make a CG adaptation"
And finally Porter Robinson's 'Shelter' took over the internet for a while
a music video in collaboration with A-1 Pictures
it tells a short heartwarming story about parenthood and moving on.
The 5 minute short blew up emotionally affecting more people than most anime do in their entire run
but if you can't even waste 5 minutes of your life watching it, here's the viewing experience in a nutshell
OH GOD MY ENTIRE LIFE IS BEEN FUCKING LIE
A message that truly captures the year that gave us
more trump,
more bowling ball tits,
more ball fondlers,
more sweet diabetes from more delicious creampies,
more Michael Bae,
more swag,
more OBJECTION!,
more booty warriors,
more Track and Free,
with more DDR,
to more bouncing rave parties,
more Love Pentagrams,
more Taiwan-ime,
more dictionary makers,
more record breakers,
more CG haters,
with more gangster movie fakers,
absolutely all the gay guys
and not nearly enough gay girls.
It's joke!
More Hellsing,
more ass shots,
*Demonic Voice* {Kill them all}
*chew* More beautiful duwangs,
more espionage
and more steampunk train cause they calling the "Stig" so you better call Saul.
More adorable existentialism,
more timetravel bullshit,
more Detriot Smash,
more flip fapping,
yet another shitty Berserk adaptation
and of course
Way too much salt for Emilia
I've been Gigguk that was anime in 2016
and for the first time ever I can gladly say:
See you in 2017
We fucking did it!
Hey guys this is Gigguk hope you enjoy the video and
Whoo, it's been one hell of a year right
if you survived another, thank you so much for the support you given me all this year
It's been one hell of a comeback to YouTube
and if not for all you guys I probably be looking to go back to my day job right by now
so thank you so much for supporting me
I also want to thank my editor Bakashift
who without his help there'd be nowhere be able to get both this part in time for the new year
and also BaronJ and Holden for helping me with some of the jokes you seenin the video
All the anime I mention are in the description
if you wanna see all previous anime year reviews you just click on the link here
and if you want to considering helping to support these videos for another year to come
then please check out my Patreon.
Any way though that's it for me
I've been Gigguk and I hope you all have a great New Year!
Ah men, that feel so good to say!