Happy New Year everyone and welcome to the first Project Nitsuj blog of 2014. Well 2013 has come and gone, we’ve seen good anime, bad anime, and weird anime but which animes stood out the most? Which animes made the most impact this past year? Well back in November of last year I asked you guys these questions and even asked for your help in helping me make a list of the top 11 animes of 2013 and disappointingly I got no lists from you guys forcing me to use my list. Well no since in dwelling on the past. When you got lemons and sugar make Kool-aid I always say so let’s start 2014 off with a bang and take one final look at 2013 by naming the top 11 animes of 2013. Why top 11 because just like someone else on I too like to go one step beyond. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the top 11 animes of 2013.
#11: Puchim@s
This mini-series centers on the idols from the Idolm@ster franchise and these cute little chibi creatures called the puchidols who look exactly like the idols. The anime focuses on the misadventures of the idols and the puchidols. While the show was short with each episode lasting only 2 minutes they did their best to make the show fun and entertaining in those 2 minutes. The puchidols are cute and pretty much have the same characteristics of their idols so it’s nice and funny to see them interact with each other. I also think this series is responsible for why we’ve been seeing so many mini-series as of lately. The show was short, weird, funny, and cute but above all it was entertaining if you’re looking for a quick anime to watch this series this is for you.
#10: The World God Only Knows season 3
Keima is back and this time he has to conquer 5 girls simultaneously to save the life of a person he cares about as well as the world. Once again the story has many laughs and creates interesting stories and characters that you come to identify with and even brings back fan favorite characters from the previous seasons who come to play an important part in the story. The story this time around seems to have gotten bigger, Keima has not only find the 5 goddesses in order to save Kanon but he has to love all of them equally to restore their power while also avoiding devils that could be out to get him and the goddesses. We also see in this season Keima becomes more human and starts to become a part of the real world more, whether he realizes it or not but he still maintains that smart god-like video game loving character we all know and love. The third season of TWGOK served as a game changer for the series inviting a new element into the story and showed us that this story is much bigger and deeper than we could have ever imagined. Here’s hoping to season 4 in this coming year if not next year.
#9: Highschool DxD season 2
Another one of my favorite animes from 2 years ago. Highschool DxD is a show that combined 3 of my favorite elements in the world. Good comedy, action, and ecchiness. Throw in a good story with fun characters and you have yourself a series that’s sure to become a hit in the years to come. While Issei seemed to take a backseat this season story wise it was nice to get a little more backstory on the other characters like Kiba and Akeno as well as welcome new characters like Gasper and Xenovia. Kiba’s story was quite time consuming but at the same encouraging and showed us that behind that smile lies the heart of a man who’s carrying a heavy burden but doing his best to live on in the world. We also get a lot of big reveals this season that get a big shock out of everyone such as the leader of fallen angels, new characters from the church, new members of the Grimory family, and we even get to see the white dragon who has an awesome fight against Issei to end the season on a high note. I’ve heard this was the last season they were gonna make but I think not there’s still plenty to be explored with this series and the story keeps getting better and better as you keep watching it. Highschool DxD provided us with plenty of laughs, action, and uncensored fanservice what’s not to like about this series?
#8: Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio: Ars Nova
This was an anime I honestly didn’t think I would find myself really getting invested in when I first started watching it but to my surprise it is a very well done and exciting anime. The story of a world conquered by this unknown race of powerful ships and humanity’s only hope lying in the hands of a bunch of school characters is interesting, they waste no time at diving directly into the action but being sure to provide you a backstory into the situation the world is in. The ships battles are done well and are exciting to watch, I like how the Fog characters has personalities that resemble their respective ship and I like how the main characters have a righteous attitude in that they want to change the world for the better but at the same time they’re not gonna take being dogs of the government, they’re gonna do things their way even if that means being considered enemies of their country. I like their message about free will and how one person can have a great effect on those around them even if they themselves don’t realize it or are too afraid to accept this change. The story is interesting, it has decent characters, impressive ship battles, and I hope they continue the series in the months to come. I salute this anime.
#7: Danganronpa the animation
Based off the popular murder mystery game Danganronpa this anime delivers on giving us a thrilling mystery in who dun it and providing us with some of the most sadistic but imaginative ways to actually kill someone. While a majority of the characters are just one-note characters that you find hard to connect with it is interesting to watch them interact with each other and work things out in your head in seeing who’s gonna live, die, and who actually committed the murder. You’ll honestly find yourself paying very close attention to the clues and details in each murder case and trying to work out who dun it and when you finally see who dun it and how they did it, it really shocks the mind I found myself totally taken for a twist every time I watched an episode especially at the end. The show has many unique animations, intriguing murder mysteries, and surprises around each corner that shock and catch you off guard whenever you watch it. Watching this anime honestly makes me wanna import this game and give it a try.
#6: Yozakura Quartet: Hana no Uta
One of the most underrated mangas of all time and one of my favorite mangas of all times returns with its second anime adaption that follows the events of the manga more closely. I love the story of this group of demons and humans coexisting in a town with each other and respecting as well as liking each other all for the purpose of wanting to keep their town safe. I like how all the characters have their own unique personalities and powers that makes them 3-dimensional and different from each other so they’re easy to recognize and relate to as well as make them just likable. I love the mayor warden, the guy is just downright hilarious and awesome at the same. He’s this all powerful land god who can pretty much do whatever he wants but instead he spends his time picking on his sister and harassing girls all while being an observer and staying true to the rules that a land god’s job is to watch over people but not interfere too much in their daily life. The fight scenes are also great in this series, they’re fast-paced, action packed, and each character has their own unique way of fighting. In all seriousness guys I highly recommend checking out this anime, it is an anime that you will fall in love with.
#5: Samurai Flamenco
After being kept under wraps until its debut Samurai Flamenco is a unique and interesting twist on the whole hero persona and exactly what makes a hero a hero. It’s not the big flashy car, gadgets, or major villains he faces but his ideals on what he believes in and how he carries them out. The main character is great in this series, I love how realistic he is and how he starts off as a guy who’s in way over his head but slowly starts to become a real hero as the series progresses. I like his idea on crime in how if we let the little crimes go we’ll eventually start to let the big crimes go that’s very true, at first his way of thinking might be delusional but when you sit down and really think about it he’s right in fact his idea can be seen in the world today. While the anime may have lost its realistic setting in the last few episodes it’s still a great anime in my opinion and I do like how the main character still maintains his realistic qualities. He does have the heart of a hero and believes strongly in his ideals of a hero that you find yourself really believing in him and can’t help but want to insert his teachings into your life. Samurai Flamenco you’re the hero of the year in my book.
#4: Log Horizon
Considered by many to be an SAO rip-off this anime is about halfway done and yet I honestly think it’s better than SAO already. The world is a lot more bigger and creative, the characters don’t have rules to follow so they themselves have to create the rules themselves, each character has a different ability with classes and sub-classes that provides plenty of different battling styles in the series, and the fact that they are the aliens in this world instead of the other way around is interesting there’s definitely a possibility of a war breaking out between players and NPCs. The setting of this anime is more like World of Warcraft where you have your various characters with different classes, abilities, and strengths/weakness so it requires the characters to think more and come up with a good strategy so the their party doesn’t get wiped out in a dungeon. My favorite character so far in this series is Shiroe the guy is just a badass like Kirito except while Kirito was badass for his fighting skills Shiroe is badass for his strategic thinking and devil like mind that makes him a player to be recon and feared with. In all honesty this is probably my favorite anime character of the year right here. Log Horizon, people may call you a SAO rip-off but to me you’re a series that stands perfectly on its own and should be treated as one.
#3: Coppelion
This sad and compelling story won my heart over better than any anime this year. The story is a nuclear holocaust has hit a part of Japan and now 3 girls who were created to be living dolls and are impervious to the nuclear air must venture into this uninhabitable city and find remaining survivors. Throughout the anime we see that the girls acknowledge that they are dolls who don’t have long to live but they carry on to the hope of rescuing everyone in this city filled with people who have all but given up on being rescued and giving them the opportunity to live and find hope again. Throughout the series we see so many tragic things such as people dying and turning on each other but also seeing that the people in the city still do have their humanity and want to be rescued deep down while also wanting to save other people who are trapped in the city. The show is dramatic, serious, deep, and teaches us that the biggest dangers of this world comes from us and we need to be careful otherwise we could in up in a situation just like this anime.
#2: Attack on Titan
Probably the most anticipated anime of 2013, Attack on Titan is an anime I can only describe as Jack and the Beanstalk on steroids. The anime is just epic, humans are at the point of extinction fighting against these giant naked people who thank God have no reproductive organs and now they must make their stand against these creatures or risk dying all together. While character motives are a little weak they’re understandable given what’s happen in the anime, fight scenes are done amazingly well it’s very cool how the humans fight against these titans, and it has a badass soundtrack to go along with the anime that opening is hands down epic beyond words. I also like the variations on the titans like we’ll see some who are only 15 feet tall but then we’ll see others that are even taller and more disturbing looking than the other titans. While the story can be a little slow at times it all leads up to a big payoff when the time comes and you really do find yourself intrigued in the mystery of why these titans are attacking the humans even though they don’t need to. There’s much to this anime to really get you invested and keep you coming back for more, and I can’t wait for when they announce the second season. Sind sie das Essen? Nein, wir sind der Jäger and I am the man who cheers on the Jäger.
Honorable Mentions
Before naming the number one anime of 2013 here’s a list of honorable mentions that could have made the list but fell short: Maoyouu Maou Yuusha, AKB0048 Next Stage, Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman, Mondaijitachi ga Isekai kara Kuru sou desu yo?, Hyperdimension Neptunia: The Animation, Infinite Stratos season 2, Outbreak Company, Kyoukai no Kanata, Magi season 2, Tokyo Ravens, Unbreakable Machine-Doll, Galilei Donna, Date A Live, Devil Survivor 2 the animation, Hataraku Maou-sama, Kuroko no Basket 2nd Season, Strike the Blood, and RWBY (okay you could make the argument that this isn’t an anime but we’ll get to that at a later day).
And the number one anime of 2013 is. . . say it with me now
#1: Kill la Kill
Yeah, sorry to be a little cliché but to me this was the best anime of 2013. Attack on Titans came really close and honestly I wanted to put both of these in the number one spot but when I sat down to decide I honestly found myself a little more drawn to Kill la Kill. For starters I like the characters, Ryuuko is a strong independent girl with a good character who even though has had her struggles with her father in the past deep downs she loves him and wants to do him justice by finding out why he was murdered and hoping to understand him more. I love how everyone reveres Satsuki as this goddess but in truth she’s just a girl who sees the dark side of the world and wants to correct it. Her methods may be wrong but she has the right motives. The rest of characters are funny, crazy, and surreal all rolled up into one. The action is jammed pack and over the top that you can’t help but find it both hilarious and awesome at the same time, the animation is very nice and fun to watch, and you can just tell the people at studio Trigger are just having a blast making this anime come to life. The anime just screams energy and excitement, it draws you in and never lets you go once it has you and even though the anime may only be halfway done it’s got such great cast of characters, a good story, fun animation, and tons of over the top and ridiculous scenes that keep you laughing and entertained. Over the top, nonsensical, action-packed, and entertaining this is the anime that pierces the heavens and comes out on top as the best anime of 2013 in my book. Studio Trigger who the hell do you think you are?
Well that’s my list I hope you enjoyed, leave a list and let me know what your favorite animes of 2013 were, and if you’re mad your animes didn’t make the list this year well there’s always next year so be sure to vote this time around. Thanks for reading, happy New Year, here’s to more fun times, and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
*At unknown location*
(Seras): Master, the portal into Nitsuj’s world is open and ready for you to enter.
(???): Excellent. I swear waiting a month for the portal gate to recharge is such an agonizing ordeal. Come Seras, the time has finally come for us to deal with Nitsuj and this time I’ll see to it that there is no escape for him or his friends.
Thanks for reading. As always feel free to leave a comment or send them along with requests or feedback to iamprojectnitsuj@gmail.com.