Best of Season
One Punch Man
There are probably just as many people discrediting the anime as here are people falling head over heels for the series, and that is completely understandable. I'm not going to do a full review of the anime here, I'll save that for another post. I will say though that One Punch Man is in no way a perfect anime, but it is without a doubt the best one of this season. One Punch Man takes a simple plot and makes it interesting by injecting it with a strong secondary cast as well as a main character who wreck anything in a single punch. Naturally, having a character who can end everything in just one punch makes the anime very predictable and in that sense, I believe One Punch Man fails.
It's the same formula episode after episode. The heroes have trouble against a very powerful enemy. They consequently get beat senseless and then Saitama, the One Punch Man, comes in to finish everything in a very powerful one punch. Because of this, it gets a bit redundant and the novelty wears off because the viewer is already expecting Saitama to finish it because, lets' face it, he's invincible. The way One Punch Man makes up for this is by adding comedy as well as philosophy which are generally introduced by the side characters. When faced with adversity their mettle is tested and they learn just what it means to be a hero-- that is, even those without power can be a hero. This is especially apparent with Mumen Rider and Genos who constantly try their best to be the best to be a real hero or in Genos's case, match Saitama in strength.
The debate they bring up of what a real hero is, is something that is not too uncommon, but it is presented in such a way that it is harder to just write off as another generic discussion. This is mostly due to Saitama. Though he is undoubtedly the strongest character in the entire series, he is debatably not a real hero like some of the other characters on. It's because of this discrepancy that One Punch Man can get the viewer thinking as to what a real hero is. Even if he can finish everything in one punch, he is ranked as a C hero because he failed his written exam. Throughout the series, he tries to raise his ranking and all the while he sees what true heroes are like and his perspective on what he should really be doing slightly changes. Instead of just looking for opponents who won't die in one punch, he begins to try and be more heroic. The growth of Saitama as a character is not too apparent since the anime is so short, but it is there.
Aside from the philosophical debate and character development of the anime, another point of praise for the anime is definitely the animation which is top notch thanks to Madhouse. Every fight was very easy to follow and exciting despite the enormous scale of the battles at times. This might sound like something that should just be a given for any action anime, but look at some of the worse action series and see the difference in clarity and fluidity. Without a doubt, One Punch Man excels in many of the categories that constitute a great anime even if it does fall flat in certain other areas. Despite its failings, One Punch Man comes out kicking (well, punching, I guess) and is my vote for best of the season.
You can watch One Punch Man on Daisuki here
Runner Ups
5. Subete ga F ni Naru
Subete ga F ni Naru is a highly intellectual closed room murder mystery where the characters must figure out first how, someone was able to commit a murder without anyone catching them, and two, who that murderer is. The way the anime approaches it is not out of the ordinary, however. what sets this mystery apart from the others is its characters, setting, and story telling.
One thing I'll praise the anime for is that it challenges you to think for yourself. Now, for many mystery anime series, you'll think about the clues and what it means, but in this anime, that's not enough. Trying to figure out who the real killer is takes every clue you get and makes you reconsider what you know about human nature.
My main critique of the show is that the mystery feels like it cheated. I won't go too much into detail, but the clues given were never really properly explained because the main character wanted to try and figure the mystery out on her own. While I'm sure it's possible to figure it out, the anime makes it seem as if the only one who could figure it out was another genius like the deceased genius, Magata Shiki. When the killer is revealed, it didn't feel like an epiphany but more like a disappointment. If you're looking for a closed room murder mystery that focuses more on philosophy than murder, Subete ga F ni Naru might be for you.
You can watch Subete ga F ni Naru on Crunchyroll here
4. Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru
Sakurako-san is another mystery anime focusing mostly on family, friendship, and love... unfortunately, each one involves someone's death. The main character, Shoutarou , drags along the reluctant Sakurako-san to solve cases with her great intellect and knowledge of bones. Each episode feels fresh and original. There aren't many times that the ending is obvious, which makes the suspense all the more effective.
As a mystery anime, the mysteries aren't always too complex, but leave room for emotional reconciliation or clarity. It's never really the mystery itself that makes it interesting, but the conclusion. Gathering clues, talking to people, and philosophical debates were interesting, but at times felt very stretched out and uninteresting.
One of my criticisms of the show is Sakurako herself. You can call her eccentric, but there are times where she's just a straight up horrible human being. To their credit, the animation studio did a great job conveying her expressions to show her disgust, confusion, and anger, but it's sometimes hard to get behind the character. Sure, the premise is that she doesn't really care about being nice as long as she gets to the bottom of things, but it's because of her personality that it's difficult to always sympathize with her.
Another one is just how secondary the side characters feel. Most of the time, they just feel like convenient tools for Sakurako's use instead of their own character. It could possibly be because they are overshadowed by Sakurako, but to me, it feels more like they were just written in as if they were purely convenient tools for her use.
Sakurako-san is one of the better anime of this season, but is not the best. I'd recommend watching it if you're interested in mysteries coupled along with discovering human nature.
You can watch Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru on Crunchyroll here
3. Yuru Yuri San Hai
Yuru Yuri has always been a very amusing anime to watch, but this season might be the best of them all. The laughs, the emotions-- everything was just kicked up a notch. I believe this is because, by this point, I already know the characters well because of the previous two seasons (I also think it's because they limited the appearance of a certain bespectacled character). It's easier to laugh with friends and I feel like I know the characters well enough to be friends. Yuru Yuri San Hai honestly might possibly be the best comedy of the season. The only place that Yuru Yuri might fall short is that it's inconsistent with its humor. There are a lot of jokes that rely on character interaction and setup, but more often than not, these two are repeated. The repetitiveness can be endearing (it usually is) but after you see the same joke setup/character interaction, it becomes less novel and more stale. Yuru Yuri tries to avoid this as much as possible by trying to create new character interactions that weren't in the previous seasons, but ultimately it falls back on previous tendencies.
However, different from the previous seasons, there is actually change within the maturity and relationships of the character. These visible changes that are apparent through their actions rewards the viewer for sticking around for all three seasons of the anime-- something that many anime seldom do. I highly recommend watching this season of Yuru Yuri if you've seen the previous seasons.
You can watch Yuru Yuri San Hai! on Crunchyroll here
2. Owarimonogatari
In my previous list, I said that I wasn't sure what I thought of Owarimonogatari, but now that it's over and I can review the entire series as a whole, I see that it still had the elements that made the Monogatari series so loved in the first place, as well as the one's that made it lose some of its traction with fans. Let's start with the good parts, which are its plot, animation, sound, and characters. Owarimonogatari manages to bring up new conflicts without introducing new oddities, and instead goes back and opens old wounds for Koyomi. With the help of the mysterious Ougi, the mysteries of Koyom's past are slowly unraveled and laid bare for him to see. Both of the arcs in the series focus around Koyomi and his choices, whether that's his ties to a girl from his middle school or Shinobu. The focus on his past is not only very welcome but also very well executed. It was very interesting to come back every week to learn little by little about the mysteries in the series. Of course, this was only amplified by the great animation work from shaft as well as familiar and new characters.
So, if it's as good as I say, what were people complaining about? Pacing issues and an overload of dialogue. Owarimonogatari felt very stretched out at times and that was feeling was only worsened by the heavy focus on dialogue. As usual, Shaft tried to keep it interesting by making the visuals interesting to distract the viewer from the extreme length of dialogue, but when the entire episode is just talking, it's not very interesting especially when most of that dialogue is just debate. It might work in its original novel form, but as an anime, it loses its novelty. While the dialogue was still very clever, there was just simply too much of it without anything actually happening.
But even so, the anime still was very entertaining to watch and one of the better anime of the season. If you like the Monogatari series, I think you'll enjoy watching this.
You can watch Owarimonogatari on Crunchyroll here
1. Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka??
Seeing this anime rated so high might come as a surprise to some people-- heck, I'm even surprised myself, but the second season of Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka blew my expectations out of the water, taking me or a very very enjoyable twelve episode ride. Similar to the first season, the anime is still very moe-centric with hit or miss jokes, but this time, most of the jokes are hit rather than miss making for a very enjoyable series. In fact, I'm positive that every episode made me laugh more than I'd like to admit. That being said, there were still some jokes that were either very predictable or forced. Fortunately, these occurrences were few in number, so the overall enjoyment was not affected.
Another thing that the second season did better was fleshing out the characters. Thanks to the basis laid out from the first season, the viewer already has an idea of who each of the characters are and what their personalities are, but with the second season, they not only give side characters a bigger presence, but also give each character more depths. This is possible because of the character's interactions with each other, their problems, and their conversations. This season of Gochiusa gives more character to each member of the cast, so each character feels important and memorable. This is something that series with just five characters frequently fumble doing, but Gochiusa manages to do it masterfully with seven characters and nothing in way of a concrete plot. It's very rare that a daily life/moe series is able to provide as much depth and feelings for its characters, but Gochiusa is the rare kind that can. I'm not usually confident in recommending these kinds of series to people, but I'm confident that Gochiusa will be better than you expect.
P.s. its ED song is amazing.
You can watch Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?? on Crunchyroll here
Average
5. Gakusen Toshi Asterisk
The only reason this is here is because I needed a number five. Know that this should actually probably be in the category below, but it's only here because I needed a fifth anime to keep this list consistent.
The reason I chose Gakusen Toshi Asterisk is mostly because its animation was definitely above average. Most generic harem/action anime are animated fairly poorly, but Gakusen Toshi Asterisk actually breaks the stereotype and instead comes in as one of the better animated series of this season.
Aside from the animation, the story was beyond generic with even more generic characters. I will admit that some of the characters' back stories were fairly interesting, but nothing I would get too excited over. Well, if you liked the series, good news, it's getting another season next year. If not, then you don't need to watch it unless you like harem/action anime genre.
You can watch Gakusen Toshi Asterisk on Crunchyroll here
4. Comet Lucifer
Comet Lucifer is like a poor man's Eureka 7. It's the typical "Boy meets Girl" story with flatter characters and an even flatter scenario. I predicted the end from episode one. Ever episode was similarly predictable and not too interesting. However, the anime still had redeeming points such as its animation and sound which were without a doubt above average. While not making up for its story, it should definitely be praised for being above average in those regards. Another reason why Comet Lucifer makes this section of the list (it's not just because I needed a number four), is because of the pacing of the story. Even though the story was not the best, it was still paced well so that nothing felt rushed until the last two episodes or so. I would not really recommend watching Comet Lucifer unless you're looking for another "Boy meets Girl"anime in which case, Comet Lucifer's got you covered.
You can watch Comet Lucifer on Crunchyroll here
3. Owari no Seraph: Nagoya Kessen-hen
Half the anime was Mika trying to fight his urges to drink human blood while he also tried to find Yuu. The rest of the anime was Yuu and his crew maturing and then Yuu forgetting about that and reverting to his previous, no family left behind routine. While the same old song and dance does become a drag to watch, the filling in between and seeing how the characters have matured is amusing. It's also great to finally know just what the heck is going on in the world. With this season we learn what the humans and vampires are planning and we also find out some new information about several characters. Owari no Seraph is overall successful in getting viewers to come back each week because it's a competent shounen anime with an interesting enough plot. Owari no Seraph unfortunately falls short with its characters which are very uninteresting and are basically no more than afterthoughts. The main characters are Yuu and Mika, the anime makes that very clear and yet, it tries to bring in side characters as afterthoughts. The result is that it begins to feel very inconsistent. What's more is that Yuu and Mika are very weak characters, so putting all your eggs in their basket isn't really doing you any favors. I recommend watching Owari no Seraph: Nagoya Kessen-hen if you saw the previous season and are interested in seeing more.
You can watch Owari no Seraph: Nagoya Kessen-hen on Funimation here
2. Hacka doll the Animation
Between the references to other anime and its own original humor, Hacka doll the Animation has been a pleasant surprise. There are episodes that aren't so funny, but most of the episodes are very amusing and some are even emotional. For an anime that only had about seven minutes of air time each week, I have become very attached to the anime. It was very entertaining to see the bumblings of the characters as well as the advancement (or not) of the people they were sent to help. I would recommend watching Hacka doll the Animation to anyone who's looking for a quick laugh and is relatively familiar with anime.
You can watch Hacka Doll the Animation on Crunchyroll here
1. Noragami Aragoto
I wasn't a huge fan of the first season of Noragami. To me, it was just another Shounen anime with an underdeveloped cast. The second season changed me to someone who wants to vouch for the anime. This season was much better done as it dealt with the relation of the main characters as well as Yato's past. Watching the characters overcoming the hurdles that are thrown at them is entertaining and rewarding. There are some things that were predictable, but the anime deals with them in a skillful way so that even if it was predictable, it doesn't matter because the character's actions afterwards are just that engrossing. I recommend the anime to anyone who has seen the first season although I'm sure you've already watched it.
You can watch Noragami Aragoto on Funimation here
Worst of Season
5. Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry
If you saw Gakusen Toshi Asterisk, you saw this anime and vice versa. Both have the same exact setting just with a slightly different set of characters and some different events. The reason that Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry ends up here and not where its mirror image is, is mostly because of its poor execution, worse characters, and worse animation. The anime somehow felt more generic and poorly paced than Gakusen Toshi Asterisk with even worse, less interesting characters, and much worse animation. With it losing in every single category, there's no doubt that it's one of the worst anime of the season.
You can watch Rakudai no Kishi no Cavalry on Hulu here
4. Shomin Sample
I'm not sure where to even start with this anime. From it's uninteresting concept, to its poor art style, and very poor execution, Shomin Sample falls flat everywhere. Shomin Sample has little to no redeeming aspects to boast, making it an easy choice for being one of the worst of this season. I'll admit that I laughed at some parts where the main character trolled people, but those instances were very few in number and even if there were more, it'd just become stale and repetitive. Shomin Sample is unsuccessful in making the viewers care about anything and anyone in the series. It's just another harem series with the typical cast of characters in a different setting that's not remotely interesting.
You can watch Shomin Sample on Funimation here
3. Lance N' Masques
I wish there could be a tie for worst of the season, this would definitely be on of them. Sporting a story even more nonsensical than anything else on this list, with pacing worse than most things I've ever seen, with even worse character designs/animation, :Lance N' Masques is without a doubt one of the worst anime of the season. There are a lot of things I'd love to complain about, but I'll save that for a review if I ever get around to writing one. Just know that nowhere in it's twelve episodes did it manage to pull out anything that remotely made sense, make any meaningful connection with the viewer, or have good animation even in its battle scenes.
You can watch Lance N' Masques on Crunchyroll here
2. Shinmai Maou no Testament: Burst
The second season that no one asked for, but I'm sure a lot of ecchi fans wanted, is back in full swing. It's basically more of the same, just worse in my opinion. From the really flaccid story to the really poorly done animation, Shinmai Maou no Testament: Burst is one of the worst anime to have aired this fall season. If you were to judge it purely on how much ecchi there was and just how dumb the plot was, then you'd be looking at a masterpiece. But, alas, that's not what makes a good anime. So, if this season of Shinmai Maou succeeded at anything, it was at not doing anything particularly well. There's really not much I can say when the anime just does not excel in any category at all. If you wanna see boobs and see Basara's harem grow, then this season might be for you. If not, then good, you have something called taste, and you'll avoid this anime.
You can watch Shinmai Maou no Testament Burst on Crunchyroll here
1. Hidan no Aria AA
There's Lance N Masques, there's Shinmai Maou no Testament, and then there's Hidan no Aria AA-- an anime of a spinoff of a light novel that was already really bad. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think there would be another anime about Hidan no Aria and I definitely didn't expect it could be even worse. Hidan no Aria AA focuses around a clumsy first year, Akari, in the Butei school who wants to be just like Aria and wants to become her Amica. Aria lets her become a candidate for her Amica, but in order to become Aria's real Amica, Akari has to steal her gun back from Aria. The entire anime is basically just fluff that attempts to build on character by alluding to the "dark" past of Akari. Even when the truth about her past is dropped, it's not even that big of a deal, in fact, it's just really frustrating. Everything about the anime is just so poorly done that when the reveal of her secret came up, everything just came crashing down. Blame it on shoddy construction, because the story is just so poorly made. Cameos of previous characters actually made me miss the old anime which is really saying something, because I hated that anime.
Hidan no Aria AA also came packing with poor animation. How gun fights could look so dumb and slow, I have no clue, but Hidan no Aria AA somehow makes it happen. When the main event of your anime is poorly animated, you know you have a problem. For Hidan no Aria AA, the poor animation extends not only to its battle sequences, but to its other scenes too. Watching it is just painful at times and is only made worse because of the characters and plot. To this day, I never thought, that I'd see something worse than the original Hidan no Aria, but I guess it would be another Hidan no Aria that sets the precedent.
You can watch Hidan no Aria AA on Funimation here
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