No surprises in the results this year.
Shin Sekai Yori claimed the top spot on the first day of voting, cruising to an easy victory in the 2013 reader poll. The only real drama at the top was the see-saw battle between Shingeki no Kyoujin and Kyousougiga for third place.
The biggest gaps between my ranking and the reader ranking were for Ginga e Kickoff and Rozen Maiden Zuruckspulen – in the other direction, it was Shingeki no Kyoujin and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. As for the RC poll, it was indeed won by Shingeki (I guess I was too optimistic based on SSY’s dominance in the comments). The only show common to both polls (Hunter X Hunter was not an option there, though I doubt it would have made the top 10) was Shin Sekai Yori, which placed third at RC. Chihayafuru 2 and Zetsuen no Tempest (a surprising #6 at RC) were the other two series that placed in both reader polls’ Top 10.
J-Man
January 2, 2014 at 2:39 pmPicked a couple of different shows from RandomC. There weren't many standouts, but there was a whole lot of good to very good shows.
pocarisweat88
January 2, 2014 at 2:41 pmAs mentioned in the previous guest column my top 5 are as follows:
1. Shinsekai Yori
2. White Album 2
3. Kyousogiga
4. Uchouten Kazoku
5. Watamote
K Robert M
January 2, 2014 at 3:15 pmHere's the list of my favourite shows that aired during 2013:
1: Gatchaman Crowds
2: Kyousougiga 2013
3: Kill la Kill
4: Monogatari Second Season
5: Hunter X Hunter
6: Uchouten Kazoku
7: Wata Mote
8: Shin Sekai Yori
9: Kara no Kyoukai TV edit
10: Peeping Life
11: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
12: Aku no Hana
There's a good deal of overlap with Enzo's list, as well as at least a couple of big differences.
Duke of Earls
January 2, 2014 at 3:25 pmWell, my number 1 doesn't follow your rules regarding currently airing series, but…
1. Kingdom
2. Hunter x Hunter
3. Shinsekai Yori
4. Rozen Maiden
5. White Album 2
6. Red Data Girl
7. Uchuu Senkan Yamato (probably would be higher if it had a normal airing schedule)
8. Uchuu Kyoudai
9. Valvrave
10. Psycho Pass
Fallen hero/11. Gargantia
tak-kun
January 2, 2014 at 6:02 pmTV
1. Tamako Market
2. Chihayafuru 2
3. Uchouten Kazoku
4. Genshiken Nidaime
5. Watamote
Movies:
1. Evangelion 3.0
2. 009 Re: Cyborg
3. Hanasaku Iroha: Home Sweet Home (if you even moderately liked the show)
Shows I wish I finished and could rank:
1. Yamato 2199
2. Kyousougiga
3. Valvrave
Honourable mentions
1. Aku no Hana (no order for the rest)
Free!
Gargantia
Hataraku Maou-sama!
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Kyoukai no Kanata
NouCome
Psycho-Pass
Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S
Zetsuen no Tempest
Dishonourable mentions:
1. Gatchaman Crowds
2. Samurai Flamenco
3. Sasami-san@Ganbaranai
4. Shinsekai Yori (I don't deny it may be good but it feels like a bad adaption. I'd rather read the novel.)
I'm really sad no one seems to think Tamako Market was a masterpiece 🙁
nc622x
January 3, 2014 at 9:19 amIs the novel Shin Sekai Yori available in English?
admin
January 3, 2014 at 9:25 amhttp://shinsekai.cadet-nine.org/about/
That said, if it's ever licensed (HA!) please buy it…
Ktullu
January 3, 2014 at 10:28 amThis made my day. I didn't know there was a translation project for Shinsekai. Thanks, Enzo!
admin
January 3, 2014 at 10:53 amI'm here to serve. Like Roger Federer every other game.
sonicsenryaku
January 3, 2014 at 4:47 pmSo along with basketball, baseball, and football, perhaps even soccer, you're into tennis as well?…you sir are a busy sports fan
sonicsenryaku
January 4, 2014 at 2:22 amhahaha well that definitely explains a lot
admin
January 4, 2014 at 2:54 amNo perhaps – I love soccer, RL and anime/manga.
I'm a sports nut. Huge golf fan too, grew up in Chicago so hockey as well. Cycling is pretty much only animanga and TdF, but the latter is great drama. I used to love footy as well, but ESPN stopped showing it.
ilikepopcans
January 2, 2014 at 7:25 pmSince Gin no Saji is not a pickable obtain I guess I will go with my 6th also. Sigh
Flower
January 2, 2014 at 8:26 pmWell, I'd guess something like this:
1. Gingitsune
2. Kotoura-san
3. Shinseki Yori
4. Tamayura futatose
5. Kiniro Mosaic
6. Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi
7. Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge
8. Little Busters Refrain
9. Gatchaman Crowds
10. Kyousogiga
I don't include carryovers like Girls und Panzer or Saki Achiga Hen here, even those two, while not stellar series, were ones I really, really enjoyed watching and looking forward to. ^^
MgMaster
January 2, 2014 at 9:54 pm1. White Album 2
2. Psycho-Pass
3. Hataraku! Maou-Sama
4. Zetsuen no Tempest
5. This one is very hard for me as the more I think about it the more I can't decide between these 3 shows:
– Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru
– Shin Sekai Yori
– Monogatari 2nd
For the sake of choosing one,I'll just go full subjective here and pick Yahari.
maverickmann84
January 3, 2014 at 1:13 amI'm somewhat surprised you never mention Monogatari Enzo. Aside from being a LN adaptation the being a more dialogue based show seems like something that you would be interested in. Plus there's also the series overall popularity which at least have you mention it in some way? Do you hate it that much that you don't watch at all?
admin
January 3, 2014 at 2:21 amI have talked about this in the past, but I can envision nothing good coming from going into detail again. Suffice to say I find Nisio Isin's writing to be the equivalent of surgery without anaesthetia.
sonicsenryaku
January 3, 2014 at 2:23 amthaaaaannnnnkyouuuuuuuuu : D
Ronbb
January 3, 2014 at 6:34 amSorry, but you totally cracked me up…
thedarktower
January 3, 2014 at 7:57 amEnzo – LOL. ROFL
that's totally this, and this is why it's so much fun XD
BTW,
as for the options in the poll – is it by the same rules of eligibility you did with your top20? because I really wonder what KuroBas S2 and phi Brain doing there…isn't it carry over?
p.s
I'd be surprised if coppelion isn't at least in top 5 of this poll after you chose it as your #1 😛
admin
January 3, 2014 at 8:33 amHmmm, I did a lot of copy-pasting with that poll – I may have snagged a few that shouldn't be in there.
MCAL
January 3, 2014 at 2:53 amMy Top Ten Anime (I won't count H x H, but it would be Number 1):
1.) Kyousogiga
2.) Shin Sekai Yori
3.) Little Busters Refrain
4.) Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge
5.) Uchoten Kazoku
6.) Rozen Maiden Zurückspulen
7.) Zetsuen no Tempest
8.) White Album 2
9: Hataraku Maou-sama
10.) Watamote
Kentaiyoshimi
January 3, 2014 at 3:38 amIt' been a while, but Happy New Year Enzo. May you have an even more sucessful year here at LiA.
As for me, my list goes like this:
Shin Sekai Yori
Hataraku Maou-sama
Uchouten Kazoku
Kyousogiga
White Album 2
With honourable mentions going to:
Kakumeiki Valvrave
Gingitsune
Robotic;Notes
Chihayafuru
Shingeki no Kyoujin
Mondai-Ji
I always find it difficult to place any series in any particular order, since I find it difficult to compare series from different genres.
White Album 2 was a bit of surprise, since I just marathoned the series today, and it turned out to be quite heart-breakingly stellar.
Mondai-Ji deserves special mention, because it demonstrated quite well that you can have a ridiculously overpowered MC and still have a show that is interesting to watch. This was particularly relevent as the debacle known as SAO had just finish airing.
Also it presented a view of fanservice that I very much approve of, albiet in a comedic fashion. Here's the link to the short video in question.
dangerly
January 3, 2014 at 4:54 amMy Top 5:
1 – Watamote
2 – Hunter x Hunter
3 – Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
4 – Psycho-Pass
5 – Monogatari: S2
Honorable Mentions:
Uchuu no Kyodai
Shingeki no Kyojin
Gatchaman Crowds
Aku no Hana
Nothing else I've seen this year brought much out of me, though I really feel the need to still see Kyousogiga, Shin Sekai Yori, and Eccentric Family.
That being said, if I didn't love HxH and Watamote to death, I could've very easily seen Jojo's at the top of my list – that show effortlessly oozes style and bombast. If anyone's been on the fence for it, I highly recommend it. If you're having a hard time with Part 1 (first 9 episodes), then I recommend at least getting to Part 2 (episode 10 onward), where it really comes into its own.
This was my first year following you Enzo, with your series finale review of E7:AO catching my eye, as you seemed to be one of the few people who shared my sentiment on the series in general. You often bring thoughts and perspectives that I don't often see with other bloggers, which I find incredibly refreshing and often vindicating to my own thoughts. Here's to another (hopefully) good year of anime, and as always, I'll eagerly be anticipating your thoughts on future episodes/series'.
dangerly
January 3, 2014 at 5:37 amUgh, I meant "Uchuu Kyoudai".
admin
January 3, 2014 at 7:27 amThanks, Dangerly. The AO experience should teach us that being in the minority in no way means you're in the wrong.
P.S. You got some seriously good shows on your need to see list there… 😉
Ronbb
January 3, 2014 at 6:36 amVoted, and I'm pretty excited to see that I share my preferences with many of the readers here although I would love to see more love given to Rozen Maiden (2013).
thedarktower
January 3, 2014 at 9:04 amIt took more than a moment to think about it, but here is my top-20 list, I am still not 100% sure about the final order, but let it be:
1.Shin Sekai Yori – this was superb. I don't think any anime this year had made it to SSY's caliber. it is in top of the top with some of the last year best anime.
2. LB: refrain I am including both seasons here together. I loved and enjoyed both. so much that I've played the VN before refrain. and I really like it. this was a year of LB for me.
not so long ago I stated here on LiA that when you truly love something, you love it with all your might, even its flaws. and that's the kind of love I have for LB.
3. Monogatari – best season of all monogatari so far. it managed to intrigue me for about half-year. and it was a tough road, lots of mind-fuck and even some really hard and dramatic moments. best monogatari so far. I just wished to see more of fire-sister and the special relationship between Araragi and Senjou as we've seen in Bakemono and Nisimono. other than that…perfect season.
4. WA2 – quite funny since I still have not finished it (started a few days ago). but marathoning it now as fast as possible HaHa. this is great anime and it's one of the best in 2013. I am enjoying it as because seriously I needed an anime great like that in this year.
5. space battle ship yamato 2199 yes it made it to top 5. I only watched it this year. and it was great. a little short, could be longer and develop more of thing. but still it was focused and it's like some classic via modern animation with everything – great execution of plot, action, old-school romance. I'll save the huge comment for the post whenever it'll come. but I liked it very much.
6. uchouten kazoku one of the best special anime of 2013. animation was amazing except for the characters' ears. I didn't enjoy the first episode. but P.A advanced greatly after that. both as some SoL episodes and the 2nd half that pushed the plot little by little.
7. kyosogiga well uchouten and kyosogiga are close not for nothing. both presented a different perspective than regularly. ep #09 (yeah #10 too) was the best. and I admit sometime kyosogiga gave me mind-fuck, still it was very good and intriguing. not to mention how colorful and lovely it was.
8. gingitsune one of the best anime in 2013 and no surprise it's on top10 list. I enjoyed it a lot. it hasn't magnificent animation or brilliant idea. it's just something simple, but lovely. it was charming. and that last episode…damm I want more!
9. chihayafuru 2 lovely and great season. true, not as amazing as the first one. but I enjoyed it with all my might (except for when Arata steal the focus from Taichi HaHa!).
10. shingeki no kyojin SNK is a phenomenon. and we witnessed in this live phenomenon. true, it's a little bit overestimated, but you can't deny that it was great. animation,visuals, OST, execution..all combined together made great anime. true, it wasn't great with character development, some might even say it about the progression of the story. but I was really moved seeing it week by week. I eagerly waited for next episode. and really it was great anime. not perfect, but indeed great.
thedarktower
January 3, 2014 at 9:04 amas for top 11-20 here is the list. right now I am out of juice to detail about it. so accept it as it is I guess HaHa!
11.PP
12. robotic;notes
13. Yahari
14.outbreak company
15. blood lad
16. Servant X Service
17. hataraku maou-same
18. Suisei no gargantia
19. gatchaman crowds
20. Railgun S
yes you might be surprised why some series aren't in the list.
Silver spoon – simply because it never finished in my eyes. so it's not eligible.
as for HxH, of course it should be #1. but I am waiting for it to end and to become even better this year with Chimera ant final moments.
space brothers – I am catching up…I am in the middle around ep 50+…moving slowly lately, but I'll catch up. I really like it. and I look forward to catching up and reading your posts, but it's gonna a little while HaHa.
as for others..either I didn't see or I didn't find a slot in top 20. that doesn't mean I didn't like them…but that's how it is.
p.s
almost forgot…honorable mention: coppelion. LOL I am kidding.
I didn't think about it much…maybe YQ.
as for disappointments: Dangan Ronpa (I am veteran of VN after all), but GD and DESU2 (didn't play the game but it was…horrible) too.
William
January 3, 2014 at 10:21 amShin Sekai Yori was without a doubt, series of the year (if not one of my favourites all time) – Absolutely loved everything about it.
I guess our tastes are quite similar, Enzo. I've never been able to stomach the Monogatari series either. I understand there is a large fanbase…but the dialogue always came off as "trying too hard to be witty" for want of a better term.
Anyway, thanks heaps for your blog. I've long since abandoned RC and your blog is the last one that satisfies my anime blogging needs. I don't really like the upvote system they introduced in RC – it always seems to bring forward the witty comments and discourage more personal discussion. Hopefully that never happens here.
Yet again, thanks for your great blogging. Looking forward to another great year.
admin
January 3, 2014 at 10:52 amI can assure you, until Megagigantocorp. swoops in and buys LiA for $2 million, this site will never have a comment upvote system. I can't stand it.
I'm sorry you're not at RC anymore but of course, glad to have you here. and for the record I 100% agree with your assessment of the Monogatari series, though you phrase it more discreetly than I tend to.
dangerly
January 4, 2014 at 7:06 amI agree with you on Monogatari, in the fact that much of the dialogue is pointless rambling with a notable helping of smug, self-masturbatory pretentiousness. For anything else I would hate it, but I find with Monogatari it often just… works; it would lose a good deal of its identity without it (for better or worse). It also helps that the directing and visual flare really bring the show to life in a way that really feels unique. That being said, Araragi as the main, is most of the time quite grating, and I find a lot of his shtick distasteful to say the least. I can totally respect the fact that people dislike or even hate Monogatari, as there's bound to be some good merit to those feelings.
That being said, however, that last arc in Monogatari S2 really just brought out the best of everything the show has to offer in everything from its visual flare to its storytelling. Its so good, in fact, I could almost recommend it as a solitary viewing experience, though given the character-centric nature of the show, much of the impact would be lost. I'm just going to say Kaiki cemented his status of being my personal favorite character of the year, and really brought his own brand of pessimistic adult reasoning to a world inhabited by angsty naive teens (and gave even the likes of Senjogahara thorough comeuppance). The last 4 episodes alone catapulted it into my top 5, whereas before it would have barely been an honorable mention. Monogatari can be very uneven at times, but when it's good, I find it can be really good.
Yann
January 3, 2014 at 2:45 pmWow… I guess I'm in the minority… I dropped Shinsekai Yori after maybe 5 eps. Although I liked the premise, I just couldn't stomach the animation. For me, it was one of the ugliest anime I'd seen in a long time… To the point where it eclipsed the story. Funny how tastes can differ!
Rannta
January 3, 2014 at 2:56 pmYou aren't in the minority. Look in MAL or similar sites. Lot of people drop the series in less than 5 episodes. I found nothing interesting too but, after that it's one of the most enthralling series in years. Certainly GE has a particular vision of anime but, the rest of the mortals can enjoy this series as well.
Zeta Zero
January 3, 2014 at 4:17 pmWell I watched the thing through to its entirety. While I wouldn't say it was ugly, the style certainly left much to be desired IMO. The poor bastards at A-1 Pictures were under budget constraints mind you, so I gave them a free pass.
admin
January 4, 2014 at 1:09 amRaanta, you know it has an 8.47 ranking (and is in the top 100 all-time) on MAL and a 4.34 on Anime Planet, right?
It's going to win the poll here, that's a given – but also on RC I bet. Calling it now.
sonicsenryaku
January 4, 2014 at 2:42 ami think attack on titan will win on RC in the reader polls but let's see what happens. Shin Sekai Yori will most likely win RC writers choice
Rannta
January 4, 2014 at 3:03 amI know that yori has a 8.47, but again, read the "reviews" from first episodes and see how many people droped it.
admin
January 4, 2014 at 3:12 amI think that's probably true of most shows, though – a bunch of people decide 'this isn't for me" and bail. Especially ones like this that don't pander to the usual crowd.
Alchea
January 8, 2014 at 12:01 pmTruth to be said, I dropped it at the 4th episode because I noticed too much the changes from the original novel to anime format, in a way that I found totally distasteful and a lazy adaptation. When I could notice it even without reading the original novel first, I consider that it isn't worth my time.
Rannta
January 3, 2014 at 2:47 pm1. HxH
2. Chihaya s2 (yes, i like it more than s1).
3. Jojo.
4. Watamote
5. Shinsekai yori.
Rannta
January 3, 2014 at 2:52 pmAnd I repeat. I love chihaya s2 more than s1. I like the transition from a romance to a pseudo-sports anime/manga. The karuta matches in s2 had the most memorable moments in anime this year, and fortunately (for me) the manga follow path that i like.
sonicsenryaku
January 3, 2014 at 4:58 pmI dont particularly have a list of favorites this year. Not a lot of anime usually impress me (besides some of the best). A lot of the times i just find them either good, really good, or great. But if any anime did impress me this year, it was Shin Sekai Yori and im glad i got into it right when it aired. Regardless of its weaker third act and some pacing decisions, it was a superb journey through and through and it was the best series of 2013 for me (at least out of the animes that ive seen this year). Again, many anime this year were good and some bordered on great but Shin Sekai Yori was superb.
Balrog
January 3, 2014 at 10:54 pmBoy that was hard, many good shows this year i went with this:
1 Shinsekai Yori
2 Uchouten Kazoku
3 Aku no Hana
4 Zetsuen no Tempest
5 Shingeki no Kyojin
Special Mention to Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo, i was sure it was going to be terrible (especially because of its name) but it was a really good show
maverickmann84
January 5, 2014 at 9:01 am"Pander to the usual crowd" is prob a bit overly-harsh. While I agree that there's too many anime with the same plot/clichéd characters/generic mc that is supposed to be "you"/etc (and to an extent they further the negative stereotypes about anime viewers and anime in general) I don't think there's anything wrong, necessarily, with studios creating shows for the sole purpose of commercial success. I might not be a fan of the shows personally, but there's also the opposite argument of making something to satisfy your own artistic sense and not caring about who'll view it being overly self-indulgent and missing the whole purpose of making TV/Movies which is the viewers enjoyment. Anime as an industry couldn't survive without those series that have commercial success. Action movies might not bring anything new to the table, or raise any great questions, but there's nothing wrong with some mindless entertainment sometimes.
I do agree that its very difficult to take MAL reviews and ranks seriously b/c ppl who've bailed on a show for whatever reason decide to post reviews about how awful it (and anyone who enjoys it) is. There's far too many people on there who write reviews with the sole purpose of feeling superior about what they like vs what others like instead of actually giving people who are looking for something to watch a constructive criticism of a show they didn't like. Which is why I like your blog. Even when I hold different opinions about shows than you do, which is relatively often, you always present a rational case as to why you did or did not enjoy something and a well written analysis of what to expect from a show. There's been quite a few shows I never had any intention of watching that I've checked out and enjoyed thanks to your blog.
John I.G.
January 5, 2014 at 11:19 am1. Kyousogiga
2. Uchouten Kazoku
3. Shin Sekai Yori
4. Psycho Pass
Don't really have a 5th, the only shows I've watched this year alongside those, are Shingeki no Kyojin & Yozakura Quartet, But I'm hesitant to put either in my top 5, I just don't like them enough for them to be next to the others.
Awet M
January 10, 2014 at 3:44 amSince 2013 was pretty bad, it's pretty easy to pick out my favorites:
1. Shinsekai Yori
2. PSYCHO-PASS
3. Aku no Hana
The rest are good shows, but they won't make the cut with ones from 2012, or 2011. 🙁