Blog Archives
Janai’s 2010 Year in Review: Top 5 Best and Worst Anime
In 2010 we found out what a squid invasion would be like. We learned about what’s it’s like to attend high school in the afterlife. We were treated to yet more of those famous pantsless heroines we love so much. And on top of all that, zombies and boobs. Yes, 2010 was an interesting year, and while there were a good number of shows I thoroughly enjoyed, some shows ended up quite terrible. Here are my best and worst of 2010.
Oh yeah, I wrote this post at 2:00 in the morning while on a caffeine high, so I’m sorry if I’m more vicious and sarcastic than usual. 
Best of 2010
#5: Angel Beats!
Take some of everyone’s favorite character archetypes, throw in an awesome sci-fi/mystery story with some drama and top-notch animation, and you have Angel Beats! KEY’s original production certainly turned out to be a fan favorite, and it’s easy to see why. If you dismissed this show as “hurr durr generic moe crap” or you just really hate KEY, then you should clear your head of your bias and give this show an honest chance, because it’s one of the more interesting and creative shows to come out recently.
Anime Review: Occult Academy
Occult Academy is an enjoyable series about the supernatural, nothing more and nothing less. The solid writing, fantastic animation and interesting main cast makes it a joy to watch at times, the experience often brimming with creativity. Unfortunately, the shallow supporting cast, disjointed narrative and unsatisfying ending stop this anime from reaching its full potential, resulting in a show that while still decent, can be pretty frustrating at times.
The plot of Occult Academy takes place in 1999, following Maya Kumashiro, the daughter of the recently deceased principal of a Japanese academy dedicated to the study of the occult. She becomes the principal of this school shortly after his death in an effort to shut it down due to her father’s obsession with the occult and the creation of the school harming their relationship. However, before Maya can even begin destroying the school, a time traveler from 2012 named Fumiaki Uchida appears before her, revealing that an alien invasion foretold by Nostradamus’s Prophecy will occur in that same year, resulting in the apocalypse. The rest of the show has the duo trying to stop the apocalypse.
Otaku in Review Podcast – K-ON! Special
This week we invited Jake and Kyonkun from Jake’s Anime Blog to come on and discuss the phenomenon that has taken Japan by storm… K-ON! We discuss the anime, the recently announced movie, the newly released PSP game, and the huge fandom surrounding them.
We also discuss Occult Academy and give our final impressions (it’s at the end, with a spoiler warning, so don’t worry). In the news… Angel Beats! gets another epilogue – yay or nay? Touhou Project FINALLY gets an anime (what the hell took so long?). Visual novel company minori has partnered with the fan-translation group No Name Losers and MangaGamer to bring their titles overseas. Finally, did you get your Toradora! and Persona Trinity Soul replacement discs yet? If not, fill out the form!
Eric’s Summer 2010 Anime Preview
While not as good as the Spring 2010 season, this Summer season has had quite a few impressive shows. Having seen eight shows so far, I plan on watching more later on once I have the time. For now though, here is a list of shows I’ve seen this Summer season.
Amagami SS
Amagami SS is a show that I looked at with great anticipation. Having seen the realistic and good looking character models in the trailer, I thought that it looked promising enough to be a great series this season. What I got was a bit of a disappointment. The story of Amagami SS follows Junichi Tachibana, a high school student who is basically going to hook up with six girls in each four to five episode arc in this series. I can sympathize with this show, as it’s part of a genre that isn’t really known for its wealth of unique ideas; however the problem with Amagami SS isn’t that it’s based on a dating sim game or that it doesn’t really offer anything new. The real problem is that it’s quite a boring series.
The main factor that causes its dullness would have to be the male lead, who is probably the blandest protagonist I have seen this season. While he isn’t an unlikable character, he has the personality of a blank sheet of paper, thus making the viewer not care what happens to him. While the female leads do provide some personality to the show, the male lead does enough damage to make this a snorefest. That doesn’t mean it’s a horrible show though, as the fast paced development of the relationships between the male lead and the female leads does create some drama. Bottom line: If the show does not make become interesting later on, I’m probably going to drop this soon.
