Bad Anime! Top Five Worst Series

Bad anime... often talked about, sometimes ignored, yet rarely forgotten. This list was a tough one to make, but I think I came up with a solid list of awful. The problem was when I find a bad anime, call me crazy, I stop watching it. I've seen every episode of three of my choices, but the last two choices... I just couldn't force myself to keep watching them. Now, there were a few self-imposed rules I set for myself when making this worst anime list. First, I only looked back to series' (at least 10 episodes) made after the year 2000. Anime before that are judged by a different standard, or should be, so I left them off the list. Had to have a cut off point somewhere, so that's mine. Second, I tried to pick a variety of genres. It wouldn't be as fun to make a list of five similar anime I dislike because I dislike their genre. Lastly, I know I'll change my mind given time. I haven't seen everything, not by a long shot, so the chances of my finding an older anime worse than those mentioned is possible. I may even add a widget with my current best and worst anime compared to the general public...hm, not a bad idea...I'll have to add that to the "to do list". Anyways, now that the explanation is out of the way, let's begin with #5.

Worst Anime #5

Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

This show was a fairly popular Shonen at the time of its release (2005-2007) and still has a decent following today, so it may be a surprise for the list. The manga is still ongoing by the well known artists of Clamp and the animation was done by Bee Train, which split off from Production I.G. The director, Kōichi Mashimo, is best known for his work on ".hack//Sign"

This show is about Syaoran, pronounced Shh-ow-ron, who travels to different parallel worlds in search for feathers. Each feather represents a lost memory from princess Sakura, his love interest, which were scattered at the beginning of the show. Sounds fine right?

Well, if those names sound familiar to you, there is a good reason for that. They both appeared in Cardcaptor Sakura, another clamp offering, with the same names and similar appearances. They get around this by saying all universes are connected, but it just comes off as an excuse to throw all their various characters into the same setting, which they do...shamelessly. It doesn't help that the series is probably 75% filler, and I'm being generous, and don't even get me started on the minute long pauses where they just show a couple characters looking at each other. Every episode has it, and it is ridiculous every time. It's like someone just hit the pause button. The characters are mildly interesting, and I've always liked the Clamp art style, but the overall story... is for lack of a better word, boring. There are some plot twists, but by the time I got through the boring and random story lines of 50+ episodes, I didn't even care. The one thing this Anime has going for it is the music. Yuki Kajura did a great job on the music, as she does with everything she works on honestly, and it is the shows only high point.

Worst Anime #4

Hagure yuusha no estetica aka Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero

The manga is still ongoing. It was made by Arms Corporation, created by people from Studio Pierrot, and directed by Rion Kujô.

The show is about people who are mysteriously and without warning shifted to a fantasy world named Alayzard. Normally, the show would take place in that fantasy world full of swords, magic, and whatnot. No, this is about what happens after they get back to reality, still possessing whatever magic and/or skills learned in Alayzard. The main character Akatsuki Ousawa has just arrived back in reality after beating the Demon Lord. The Demon Lord requested he take care of his daughter as he laid dying, so he brought her with him to his reality. They then proceed to go to school for people who returned from Alayzard, because that's just what you'd expect in an Anime.

Now, where to begin. The show is a harem with mild to extreme ecchi tendencies. That means I am already predisposed to not like it. Doesn't mean I dislike the entire genre, I thought Rosario+Vampire was alright for example, but the ones I like are far and few between. If I had to describe the main character, a Rogue does kind of fit. If that rogue was overpowered and sexually harassed every girl around him. Not uncommon for him to strip clothes or to take undergarments just because he can. It comes off as incredibly creepy, especially since it seems malicious. He likes causing trouble and that, plus the connections between worlds, is what the show mostly deals with. The character personalities aren't unique in the least, and the story is just there to get you to his next "prank". The premise was decent, it reminded me a bit of Maoyu from my first review, but it didn't do anything worth while with it. I remember a lot of talk about the show being overly cruel at times. I even saw someone call him, and I quote, a "maladjusted misogynistic rapist" on ANN(anime news network). I don't think he is as bad as that, this is an anime after all, but certainly worthy of being #4 on my list.

First Reaction: Grisaia no Kajitsu aka The fruit of Grisaia

Well... it's an anime...unfortunately. The premise of the show is Kazami Yuuji, who is the mysterious and stoic protagonist of the story, has a certain issue that can mean trouble for those around him. This issue means he can't have the "normal high school life" he wants. He enrolls in Mihama Academy and tries to be and act normal. The school itself is not your average school. There is only one teacher and five other students, all girls with their own issues, attending the school. The show then proceeds to give backstory about each girl and presumably have the protagonist "save them".

I have seen the first five episodes, and this show is extremely ecchi. Seems like it was probably based off of an eroge to be honest. Main character wins over various girls and that is about it. The show tries to add something psychological to it, and that was why I gave it a shot, but it doesn't work... at all. I can't think of one redeeming quality of the show, since it is just a weak narrative combined with panty shots and censored nudity. While fun for some, it's a complete waste of time for others. It was one of the worst anime I've had the displeasure to see in a while, which is an appropriate segue to my plans for this Saturday.

A picture is worth a thousand words

On Saturday, I will be doing a special post. I will be going through my entire library of anime I've seen and choosing the five worst anime. That's right, "Bad Anime!: Top Five All-time Worst" will be my new post on Saturday... what makes it a special post you ask? Well, I'm not the only one making a top five worst list! A fellow blogger and Anime fan, Salome D at "Tales of a Chocolate Brit"(parental discretion advised), has asked me to join her in making our respective top five worst anime lists. Will our lists be similar or completely different? Whose list will you agree with more? Will you agree with any of our choices at all? Find out this Saturday... and thanks for reading.

Best of the Rest: Anime of 2012

Well, this best of the rest series is coming to a close soon. With the next one being 2013, it will be the last until the 2014 season finishes up. I usually don't get personal in my posts, even though this is technically a blog, but I thought there is a first time for everything. I'll take a moment to explain why I made this particular series of posts, and also to a lesser extent the entire site.

The main reason I decided to try this best of the rest series is simply because I've seen, and enjoy, a wide range of shows. That gives me some perspective when judging if an anime is worth the watch. When I make posts, I usually have no idea if the anime in question is popular or even generally well liked. I would like to think that gives me more objectivity than most, but probably not... let's just say I am objective and leave it at that. Anime fans in general seem to gravitate towards a specific genre or two, like shonen (some popular examples would be Naruto, Bleach, Onepiece, Hunter x Hunter, etc.) for example, and that is perfectly fine. That just isn't me. I didn't start out that way of course. Like most people in my age group, I started with DBZ and Sailor Moon, being the only airing anime in the US, and later Toonami around the age of ten. I've always had a strong imagination, so when I saw anime for the first time it was like someone's imagination in motion. It wasn't life changing, but it was influential in giving me the desire to create something from my own imagination... now that's enough about me... I just realized I'm a person who dislikes talking about themselves who has a blog. Oh the irony lol... anyways,  let's get to the reason for this post. So without further adieu.

My choice for Best of the Rest '12 is...

Kokoro Connect

 

This anime, out of many of the anime I've seen, is one of the more unique series. The story is about five high school friends -Taichi, Iori, Himeko, Yoshifumi, and Yuri- who are all members of the Student Cultural Research Club. So, it seemed like your normal slice of life with the standard beach and festival episodes in its future. This is where they throw a curve ball. One day, they begin experiencing a phenomenon in which they randomly swap personalities, essentially body swaps,  amongst themselves. Throughout the series they have to work through and overcome various phenomena placed on them by an entity called "Heartseed". The show covers the first four phenomena they experience from the light novel it's based off of.

When I saw the first "body swap", I figured there would be some comedy, but not much substance to the show. I was wrong. The show avoids the archetypes we are accustomed to in anime, and created characters that felt real. Real feeling, real reactions, and real emotional baggage. There is some good comedy to be had, but this show can get surprisingly dark at times. Not as dark as "Bokurano: ours", another decent anime about a group of people affected by an unknown entity, or "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" but still surprisingly dark for its start. The show doesn't care about the larger issues, just the everyday lives and tragedies of five friends. I liked how the opening was light and cheerful when the show can be dark and disturbing. The show is also fine for a younger audience, but does deal with some mature topics. Ages 13 and up should be fine.

The show is a great show, but it doesn't have a true ending, the animation, music, and backgrounds are all decent but unremarkable, and they reused many locations, probably to save time and/or money. This is a classic "read the manga" or in this case, since the manga is currently ongoing, "read the light novel" ending. They try to wrap it up as best as they can, but there are more phenomena they leave out that happens later in the series. If there was a second season, this anime could become one of the best in its genre. Right now it feels good but just  incomplete, so I name it the Best of the Rest '12.

Now, here is the opening. Keep in mind that the anime gets dark, much darker than the opening would suggest. I had no knowledge about the show before I started, so the opening did make the show's content a bit more surprising. As always, thanks for reading.

First Reaction: Parasyte -the maxim-

After four episodes, I am seeing quite a few similarities between Tokyo Ghoul, an anime from last season. The show is summed up fairly simply. Parasites of unknown origin infect random humans and take control of their brain, with the main character being the exception. He is infected, but only in the right hand and arm. The parasite can think for itself and often disagrees with the main character on their next move. In general, the show can be gross. Really gross. I wouldn't suggest watching it while you eat, that's for sure. There are even some decent moments of comedy, but they are far and few between.



If this happened to you, what would you do?

"Google" it of course

So, the show is pretty much what I expected. Not a must watch so far, but depending on how the story develops it could become a good show. The animation is great in the fight scenes, but average elsewhere. Right now the show isn't good or bad, just meh. It tries too hard to be edgy and is barely interesting enough to watch. I wouldn't recommend it, yet, but that could change. The first four episodes definitely weren't very impressive. Nice opening though. Here, have a look.