2011 was… an interesting year for me.
Fitting pic since as a buddhist, I have been dragged, for some time, into taoism by mom. Credit: Ringetsumon
Anime
This first quarter of the year started out strong with Madoka setting the bar very, oh so very high, by daring to go where Nanoha itself did not dare to go. It also was a blind bet on Shaft’s part and Shaft certainly fared much better with one of its first tries on an original IP than KyoAni did years ago with Munto, does people still remember Munto TV btw?
The second quarter showed disappointment with Hidan no Aria, yes JC Staff should really be stopped to be entrusted light novel adaptations with reckless abandon. A damn shame, the whole Ariaverse IS an interesting sandbox for original characters creators or fanfic writers. I personally would have retconned Vlad as looking like an actual vampire from the lores or Hammer movies or Castlevania tbh. Denpa Onna was very nice to follow while Steins;Gate started out slow and took a while to get used to or to like. There was also Ano Hana, but later on the angst then the narm in the last episode downright pissed me off.
The third quarter had Idolmaster, a harmless yet good show. Those expecting the GRIMDARK study of the GRIMDARK world of idols complete course with couch casting and NTR could just fuck off. Then you had the pretentious Kama-sama no Memochou, that’s really the one word describing this show. Penguindrum IS a polarizing show, some will see it as THE anime of the decade, it is not so for me. Why? Because I think that Ikuhara have gone overboard with it. I liked what I have seen in Utena but what I have seen in Penguindrum did not strike the right cord with me. The likes of roriconfan can blow, I am not going to rain praise on Penguindrum just because Ikuhara did it. I did not have to like everything churned out by Tim burton, I just don’t see why I should do the same for Ikuhara. Finally the last shows of the third quarter of 2011 to me were Croisee and Usagi Drop. Croisee was a slice of life trying to see how a Japanese girl would do in late 19th Paris; but the painting of the Paris in Croisee was very far from the miserabilism I was see used to see since Emile Zola, it may not please those looking for something more ambitious, but it appealed to me. Usagi Drop was to me the winning show of Summer 2011. Yes, well over Penguindrum. Maybe because deep inside me I wanted to experience the hardship of being a father, adoptive or biological. But more importantly, this show have done it with a just tone, without excessive pandering. And steins;gate continued to gain momentum and confirmed its status around a certain episode.
Fall 2011 had Fate Zero, Ben-To and Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai. Fate Zero have yet to finish before I can fully judge it. So far, it delivered, less than Kara no Kyoukai (unfair when you know that it is comparing movies to TV series) but much better than Deen’s Stay Night. Boku wa Tomodachi could be called, for me, the Married with Children of the Harem Highschool Romcom genre. The comedy in it was crude and rude, and crass but it worked well for me. More importantly, the fanservice blended well with the series, and it looked good for most of its run, as you SHOULD expect from an entry in the genre. Not the most memorable comedy around, those for me are Excel Saga, Kimengumi and Cromartie High, but I will surely purchase the DVDs if I have the opportunity. Then Ben-to, an affectionate parody of the fighting shounen genre, but also the demonstration that one trope have overstayed its welcome. Nope, that girl don’t get a free pass because she is a lesbian, fuck you guys.
Tags: Anime, Manga, Real Life
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