Anime 2020 is winding down now

Follow my Anime viewing in real time at these links..

https://myanimelist.net/profile/JaredMithrandir

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Also here is the introductory post for this series.

https://jaredmithrandirolorin.blogspot.com/2020/01/anime-2020.html

Warlords of Sigrdrifa episode 8 was late but pretty interesting.  So this show drawing on Norse mythology also somehow exists in a world where no one ever heard of it before?

I decided to drop Our Last Crusade or The Rise of A New World during episode 9.  It feels kind of like a waste to get this deep in and then not finish it, but this show was frankly lucky, it holding on by virtue of none of the Fall Simuldubs coming out consistently. 

Episode 9 of Assault Lily Bouquet was not the sequence of events I was expecting.

I’m not supposed to be talking about Higurashi Gou past episode 13.  But most of my thoughts on rewatching Episode 8 for the Dub are heavily informed by the recent developments of episodes 16 and 17.  I was pretty skeptical of a certain theory when this episode first aired, but now it’s confirmed and I can’t not notice what should have and for many did give it away.

Oddly enough I do feel like I’m maybe willing to say I prefer Michelle Rojas as Mion but still Megan Hollingshed as Shion.

I don’t think I’ll be bothering with episodes 9-13, there isn’t much I feel like rewatching anytime soon there.  You can argue there is a lot to look for now that I know, but this part of Higurashi I can only take in small doses and I’ve recently watched all three versions.

I finished the Million Lives Isekai.  I’m only giving it a 7, yet I still recommend it pretty highly to people at all into Isekai, it has plenty of moments better than the sum of the whole.

I watched some more of Fate/Grand Order Babylonia, episodes 14-16, they were pretty good.

TONIKAWA episode 11 a fun Gaming party episode.

Yashahime episode 11 was a decent Shonen filler episode. 

I then finished Babylonia and gave it an 8 out or 10.

Warlords of Sigrdrifa episode 9 was a very good episode, things are coming together now.

The Day I Became A God episode 9 was fantastic.

The fourth episode of Attack On Titan’s final season, and last to air in 2020, was fairly decent, looks like things will finally pick up next week but my coverage here is over.

The penultimate episode of SAO Alicization War of Underworld was alright.

Saber is not Wrong in Fate/Zero

I've classified Fate/Zero as the most Normie friendly Fate/ show, and for many reasons say you should go ahead and watch it first.  But this YouTube Video I just watched on Zero shows what could happen when a Normie watches it with no desire to dig deeper.

If one of your main takeaways from Fate/Zero is that it totally $h!ts on Saber and her values, and that's how it should be.  Then you need to see how Stay Night finishes her story (both the Fate Route and Unlimited Blade Works bring her arc to a nice resolution).  But there are also things even in just Fate/Zero you are missing.

As far as the Grail Dialogue goes, yes Rider is more right, or at least wins that argument.  The thing about Rider in Zero is that he is the most like a conventional Anime protagonist, more so even then anyone in Stay Night.  I don't want to go too far off the main topic here since I'm considering another post specifically on Iskandar.

My problem comes when people decide that Gilgamesh while morally despicable is still ideologically more right then Saber.  Saber and Rider's ideologies are both Collectivist ones, so either one is far more compatible with Otaku ideals. Rider lashes out at Saber more mainly because he knows Gilgamesh is not open to ever admitting he was wrong.

The conclusion Saber comes to at the end, where her wish changes from wanting to change how her reign ended to erasing her kingship entirely is absolutely not the conclusion Rider would have wanted her to come to, he was all about not dwelling on your regrets.

Fate/Zero breaks Saber, her Arc in Stay Night is about restoring her optimism.  

And the real tragedy is how the main thing that broke her was a complete misunderstanding,  Lancelot is not acting like a madman because of anything about how she ruled, the problem is he wasn't meant to be a Berserker, Zouken messing with the summoning spell is what caused that.

The reason Fate/Zero should be the starting point for specifically the people who want to watch Fate/ because it's pretty much the only Anime franchise about Arthurian Legend, is because this is the one where Artoria starts the story as from her standpoint where her original life ended.  Stay Night is about an Artoria who's already been changed by the modern world.

It is also mainly for their sake I want a UFOtable quality adaptation of the Fate Route, that is the only Route of the VN that's really about that stuff.  However I want UFTOtable adaptations of Tsukihime more, and like with Fate/ they can start with the second route and save the one that already has a less then ideal Anime till they've done the rest.

The main thing you notice when watching Zero as a Prequel is how this time Saber is like Shirou while this Emiya is the pragmatist.  Watching it chronologically however you see that she goes full circle.

Pretty good Weekend of Simuldubs.

So I returned to the Dub of HigurashiGou for episode 7 to hear Ayu’s Dark Rika voice.  I’m afraid it was disappointing, I do like this actress and wanted something nice to say about this Dub.  Of course I don’t think the writers “translated” it well either. I watched that scene multiple times on YouTube after seeing the full episode, I really didn’t think it’s be that hard to write.

Rebecca Forstadt doesn’t get the respect she deserves because she’s one of those VAs who pretty much always sounds that same.  But that’s what makes Rika special, her little bit of time as Dark Rika was great stuff and it still angers me they never let that cast to Kai.

WOW, Episode 11 of Million Lives opens with a Pretty Cure Homage that made my Cry.  What is this doing buried deep into a forgettable Isekai?  And then we get even more.  This is 10x better than the show it’s in.

Assault Lily Bouquet episode 8 was the perfect kind of Fanservice episode.  Someone animating this show appreciates Legs and Feet in a way most Seinen Anime do not.

TONIKAWA episode 10 was Cute.

Yashahime episode 10 was decent.

Episodes 7 and 8 of The Day I Became A God were quite an emotional whiplash.  The show is really getting good now.

Episode 3 of Attack On Titan’s Final Season was basically flashbacks, but it looks like things are finally connecting back up.

The latest episode of Sword Art Online Alicization War of Underworld was an entertaining mess.

Follow my Anime viewing in real time at these links..

https://myanimelist.net/profile/JaredMithrandir

https://twitter.com/JaredMithrandir 

Also here is the introductory post for this series.

https://jaredmithrandirolorin.blogspot.com/2020/01/anime-2020.html

Fate/Anime Normie-Otaku Levels

There is naturally an entire spectrum to how Normie friendly a given Anime can be.  From an ideal Anime to show your parents to this OVA will get you excommunicated.

What makes Fate/ special as a franchise is that I think only it has representation on every level of that spectrum.  To the point where I feel like I could define each level using a Fate/ Anime.

Some of these levels do have more than one Fate/ show on them, but for this I’ll be using the Fate/ shows I most personally recommend.

Fate/Zero 

Shows that are completely Normie friendly, either nothing Otaku about them at all or it’s so faint only someone who already is an Otaku would notice.  Other Anime on this level would include Noir, Witch Hunter Robin, Ghibli films, Pokemon, original Gundam and Macross, and probably most Toei Stuff.

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (UFO Table TV Anime)

Shows that don’t have enough Otakuness to put anyone off but enough of an Otaku hook to be a potential gateway drug.  Other shows I like to put here include Code Geass, Gundam 00, Madoka Magica, Yuki Yuna Is A Hero, the original Higurashi Anime, and most of the first two seasons of Railgun.

Fate/Apocrypha 

Not impossible for a Normie to get into, but only recommend it to someone if it appeals to some other interest of theirs, for Apocrypha that could be any of the Heroic Spirits.  Other Anime I place here include the rest of Raildex, the SciADV Semi;Colon shows, the main Haruhi Anime, School Live!.

Carnival Phantasm 

A Normie could enjoy it if they’re watching it with someone into it, or maybe just hooked on the franchise via something above.  Other Anime I’d put here include Project A-Ko, Nanoha, Lucky Star, most of that Isekai I watch, and things like comedic Chibi spin offs.  

Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya 

This is the point of no return, once you enjoy this there is no normal left in you.  

None of this is a statement of quality (I pretty much only listed stuff I like).  There are Anime you could wind up hating for reasons that have nothing to do with Weeb Degeneracy, and there are Hentai I consider Masterpieces.  For the three in-between categories the lines can be blurry anyway so that’s where it’s important to make an effort not to let your opinion influence your ranking, this is about how Otaku something is not how good it is.

Update December 2021: I shall elaborate a bit.

Now that I've seen Cowboy Bebop I'd put it on the Fate/Zero level.  Something else I should have listed on the Zero level but neglected to is most Lupin III stuff.

Simply saying "most Toei stuff" I kind of regret because some Normies stumbling on this post may not know what shows are and aren't Toei.  Toei shows include Sailor Moon, Dragonball Z, Pretty Cure, One Peice, Digimon, Yugioh.  But even some of their lesser known stuff is just as Normie friendly if it's a kids' show, however they've also done a lot of Go Nagai stuff which perhaps belongs on a different level.  

Trixie The Golden Witch once said her problem with trying to recommend people "gateway drug Anime" is that what makes them good Anime for Normies is exactly what makes them not very representative of Anime as a whole.  The Anime she's thinking of are the Fate/Zero level ones.  That's why the UBW level Anime (essentially all adaptations of routes of Stay Night are on the same level) are special, they are shows that are genuine glimpses at what Anime is usually like, even what's sometimes disliked about it, but in ways that ease you into it.

The Apocrypha level is probably where the largest percentage of Anime that currently exist falls, at least stuff made in the last 20 years.  The goal studios are usually going for is stuff that definitely will reel in those money wasting Otaku, but have some potential to appeal beyond them.  That includes probably all the Fate/ shows that are neither Stay Night adaptations or one of the shows I named a level after.

Stuff on the Apocrypha level potentially could work as someone's very first Anime if they already have an Otkau mindset somewhat but don't know it yet.  Christians who both believe in Universal Salvation and reject the sexual prudishness usually associated with Christianity I'd say are potentially examples of that, your Peter Hiett and David Bentley Hart types.  But you'd still need to know the right one to recommend for that person.

Putting all the SciADV shows on the same level was a mistake, even the ones I had seen when I first made this I didn't think about enough.  Robotics;Notes and Occultic;Nine are the ones that belong on the Apocrypha level, but Steins;Gate is on the Stay Night level while the Chaos; shows are on the Carnival Phantasm level.

YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love At The Bound Of This World is on the Apocrypha level.

Going back the initial premise of Fate/ uniquely representing all the levels in one franchise.  Yeah other franchises exist on more then one, and probably all franchises exist on the Prisma Illya level when you include Doujins.  But as far as officially licensed stuff goes, most franchises try to stay mostly consistent to where they started in how broad or narrow their appeal is.  Most that start on the Zero level especially try to stay there, and shows that start on the SP or PI level are kind of hard to even theocratically make adaptable into a Normie friendly form.  So IDK what it is about Fate/ that gave it this talent, but I'm glad to have one.

Railgun T raises the Bar for Intelligent Anime Fight scenes

For the small minority of people who've only seen Index and never bothered with the Spin Off, from the beginning the fight scenes are much different on Railgun.  

The male led Toaru shows are very Shounen in their approach to action.  Touma wins by somehow getting his super special punch in, and Accelerator just proves himself to be ridiculously OP even when the antagonist claims to have neutralized his OPness.

Now even Railgun still sometimes needs to have Misaka simply overpower the bad guy so we don’t forget she’s a Level 5, but a lot of that is in the show’s Cold Open episodes, where it can be quite satisfying to see some random goons have no idea who they're dealing with till it's too late.

But even in season 1 Railgun has scenes like when Kuroko has to take on one villain in an abandoned building.  Episode 2 I advise new fans to skip on their first viewing because I worry about the bad first impression it gives of Kuroko, this episode is the one that proves there is more to her then clingy Lesbian with boundary issues.  And then Railgun S has Shinobu’s awesome introduction and later the really intense showdown between Misaka and ITEM.  

But the third season has outdone itself in this area.  Railgun S is still the best season overall, but failing to top S is nothing to be ashamed of, I’m seriously considering letting Railgun S dethrone Noir.  Railgun T is in my opinion the Anime of the Year for 2020 and in my top 20 of the last decade.

Now I know most people who care about voting in the best Anime Fight Scene category for the Crunchyroll Anime Awards probably aren’t looking for what I’m looking for, they just want fast paced fist pumping action.  I can enjoy those kinds of fight scenes when I’m into the story around it, as I usually am for Raildex shows.  But if I’m going to praise something specifically as a fight scene, I want tactics, I want some level of actually needing to outthink your opponent.

A Certain Scientific Railgun T first gives us a taste of what it’s up to with the Daihasei Festival itself, the three legged race and the glorified Dodgeball game are both a lot of fun to watch.

Then comes episode 6 and all of the sudden two of the most peripheral characters of the show are our main protagonists for the week, and it’s awesome, instantly a best fight scene in all of Anime contender.  Where else but in Anime does that kind of thing happen?

Then we enter the last act of the Arc and we have two intense chess matches going on at once contrasted with Touma doing his thing.

The second part of the season is the Dream Ranker Arc, the Dream Ranker arc is a lot of fun, I’d perhaps have preferred it as the first half of a season rather then as an ending.  But as a follow up to the three preceding epic sagas it’s kind of like Star Trek IV The Journey Home giving us something more fun after an intensely melodramatic trilogy.  A modern Satyr play.

In the fight scene department we first get the two part episode about Frenda randomly befriending Saten, where the fight is mostly in part 2 but you do need the context.  Frenda has to outwit a sniper and there is a moment that I may in the future use as a case study in why voice over narration is good actually.

Then we get into the Arc proper where the show manages to endear us to Scavenger and we get to see Misaka herself have an interesting battle for the first time this season.

Anime 2020 Fall SimulDubs finally seem to be back in swing.

I watched the 3 part saga of the SlimeIncarnation OVA that was released in 2020, it was pretty entertaining. Well, episode 10 of Million Lives Isekai was not what I expected. Yashahime episode 9 was entertaining. TONIKAWA episodes 7-9 were a lot of fun. The Day I Became A God episode 6 was good television. The second episode of Attack On Titan’s Final Season was pretty interesting. I love the way Reiner told the Potato story making it sound all sinister, it really makes you think about perspective. Well as of this episode the main plot of SAO Alicization War Of Underworld seems technically over, but I think there are three episodes left. I think when I’m done with what’s left of Anime 2020 I may take a break from following Seasonal Anime for a few weeks. I think it may be best to not start winter till I can already binge 4-6 episodes of the shows that interest me.

Follow my Anime viewing in real time at these links..

https://myanimelist.net/profile/JaredMithrandir

https://twitter.com/JaredMithrandir 

Also here is the introductory post for this series.

https://jaredmithrandirolorin.blogspot.com/2020/01/anime-2020.html

Incepting Anime 2020

Follow my Anime viewing in real time at these links..

https://myanimelist.net/profile/JaredMithrandir

https://twitter.com/JaredMithrandir 

Also here is the introductory post for this series.

https://jaredmithrandirolorin.blogspot.com/2020/01/anime-2020.html

Our Last Crusade or The Rise of The New World episode 8 was pretty good.

Assault Lily Bouquet episode 7 introduced a Daughteru.

Million Lives Isekai episode 8 was very awkward.

Warlords of Sigrdrifa episode 7 was fine.

I changed my mind on Attack On Titan. I wasn’t prepared for this weekend to still have so little of the existing Dubs I'm following, or how little I’d have to say and also didn’t expect it’s Toonami run to start this soon.  Still only 4 episodes count as 2020.

The premier of the final season didn’t feature any of the usual protagonists.  But it was pretty thrilling.  That one girl’s voice sounds familiar but I can’t put my finger on it.

The following episode of SAO Alicization War of Underworld was very entertaining, often nonsensical but entertaining.  Totally made me think of Inception.

Anime 2020 continues in 2021

 Looks like Episode 13 was the last episode of HigurashiGou to air in 2020, so the Sub will receive no more comments on this tag, and the Dub when I watch more of it will only be relevant up to that point as well.  Same with Yashahime, only 13 episodes aired in 2020.  For the single cour shows of Fall 2020 however I will cover all of them I’m following here even if for some the last episode technically didn’t air till January because at that point the resolution is still part of the Anime 2020 experience.

However I’m not gonna count as 2020 Anime any Winter shows that started early like Attack On Titan’s final season or the new Vampire Yuri (if I watch them at all, I’m unsure at this point).  They are mostly 2021 shows and I made a point not to watch any December pilots till the year was over.

Episode 8 of Million Lives Isekai was alright.

The SAO Alicization War of Underworld episode that aired on Toonami on the night of January 2nd 2021 had some good stuff but also felt a little over done at times.

I also watched the Fate/Grand Carnival episode that premiered on New Year’s Eve. I suppose that kind of breaks a rule I laid out above but it's situation is different, I might as well comment on what seems to be the very last brand new Anime of 2020.

It was funny, I’m glad to see Lancer is still the Kenny of the Carnival Phantasm universe, and they even made a Meme about 2020.  But I mostly loved that they finally used the female version of the Grand Order player character, she was awesome.  I hope future episodes provide us some Astolfo memes.

2021 is off to a good start so far, let's hope it stays that way.

Follow my Anime viewing in real time at these links..

https://myanimelist.net/profile/JaredMithrandir

https://twitter.com/JaredMithrandir 

Also here is the introductory post for this series.

https://jaredmithrandirolorin.blogspot.com/2020/01/anime-2020.html

Top 20 Anime of the Decade that ended with 2020

Naturally this decade also begins with 2011.  This list will also only be TV Anime or ONAs and OVAs serialized enough to be watched like a TV Anime.  No movies or one offs.

I already made a post listing a top 17 of the 2010s, and more recently an attempt to list my favorite of every year of this decade.  Between those two posts I’ve said all I have to say for now on Anime films of this decade, but my rankings for serieses are always evolving.

My honourable mentions are still Attack On Titan and Sword Art Online as the major mainstream Anime of the decade I enjoyed them and they played a role in my journey.  But I liked and even loved a lot of stuff during this decade not mentioned in this post.

20. Symphogear

Watch it.

19. YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at The Bound of This World

An underrated recent show that is a great adaptation of one of the earliest major Visual Novels.  And it held up on my re-watch.

18. Doki Doki Pretty Cure (Glitter Force Doki Doki)

I’m going back to calling this the best PreCure of the Decade and perhaps my favorite Pretty Cure series period.

17. Lupin III Part V (Blue Jacket season 2)

A great way to bring Lupin more firmly into the 21st Century.  And I liked it’s original characters.

16. SSSS.Gridman

Fun show, great homage to old Tokustatsu stuff, and has two of the best villains of the decade.  Plus another great Anime that unintentionally works as an allegory for The Gospel.

15. Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine

Probably the most important Feminist Anime we’ve had since Utena, and has a great Retro Neo-Noir style to it as well.

14. Sailor Moon Crystal

All three seasons go here, I was hard on them at first but they are a satisfying reboot for Manga fans.

13. School Live!

One of my top five Horror Anime and absolutely number one Zombie Anime.

12. Citrus

Best Yuri genre show of the decade, and it keeps proving it’s rewatchability.

11. Engaged To The Unidentified

My first Slice of Life show, and perhaps my first truly Otaku show too.  It’s fun still holds up even now that I’ve seen more.

10. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

A perfectly satisfying 12 episode saga.

9.  No Game No Life

Best Isekai, with world building that makes me really want it to get that season 2.

8.  Yuru Yuri

Best Cute Girls Doing Cute Things show of the decade, 3 seasons of fun and some OVAs.

7.  Mawaru Penguindrum

The most rewatchable Ikuhara show for me personally, and it also has lots of themes I could comment on.

6.  Yuki Yuna Is A Hero

Both seasons go together here.  Yes I do honestly think this show ultimately surpassed Madoka based on my personal investment in the characters.

5.  A Certain Scientific Railgun T

Anime of The Year of 2020 which doesn’t mean much given the options that year.  But it's also a not at all disappointing follow up to it's phenomenal prior seasons.

4.  Steins;Gate

My favorite SciFi Anime and favorite piece of Time Travel fiction in any medium.  Also I’ve used it as an unintentional allegory for The Gospel.

3.  UFO Table Fate/ Anime

Might be unfair to put all of these together,  But they are great adaptations of great source material.

2.  Robotics;Notes

A perfect love letter to the Mecha Genre, a great Reconstruction, and a scene near the climax that even on rewatch still makes me cry.

1.  A Certain Scientific Railgun S

Railgun as a whole is in my view the gold Standard for any Anime that wants to be like a Superhero franchise.  And this season is a perfect follow up to it’s great start.  It’s moving and intense and with a great message.  It’s the embodiment of what Anime means to me.  It may in time be able to become my favorite Anime period, surpassing certain classics as it becomes a classic.

A New Batman movie is coming out this year, and I don't care

Only a few years ago I never would have thought that was possible.

The Dark Knight is still the most hyped any movie has ever made me, but Rises and BvS were also huge deals.  Now this year is going to give us the first proper simple Batman movie since 2012, and first movie with Batman in the title since 2016.  But it doesn’t feel like Batman has been absent the way he was between those films.

Some people feel the Superhero genre itself is going to die of oversaturation, but the Superhero genre is inherently diverse in what it can do in ways that I feel make that impossible.  But Batman specifically has been overexposed.

Batman has been in an Animated movie every few months and been tied to multiple TV shows. And we’ve had Theatrically released films featuring Batman characters and lore.  I'm not criticising any individual of those projects, of even the loosest definition of what can be considered a Batman movie the only ones I truly dislike are a couple of the Animated ones.

Disney has quickly done the same to Star Wars, a Star Wars movie is no longer an Event, instead it was an annual thing for a while.

And while DC has been giving all this attention to Batman, there still hasn’t been a Superman Animated series since the 90s.

Meanwhile I’ve gotten into Anime during this same time period, and while this may have been unthinkable to me in 2008, Batman arguably isn’t even my favorite Nerd Franchise anymore.

But in-spite of all that, I could have been excited for The Batman if they gave me the impression it would be a new different kind of Batman movie.  As someone who has been one of the biggest Nolan Batman fanboys, I always wanted the next Batman franchise to not be more of that, to move beyond the Gritty Realism obsession.  Instead it looks like Mat Reeves was inspired by one of those old 2009-2010 fan trailers of what a “Nolanized” Riddler would be like.

I don’t want a theatrical Batman movie that isn’t at all serious and has no “darkness” in it.  But I want one that is maybe not literally unrealistic but still has a fantastical quality to it.

What am I excited for?  As far as Hollywood movies go the final Jurassic World film, Godzilla vs Kong and The Suicide Squad are what I may check if we can go to theaters again at some point this year.  For Anime we should finally get the Sailor Moon Eternal films, the end of Attack on Titan and the Dub of the final Heaven’s Feel film.  That’s all I currently know to expect, with Anime what I often like the most a given year is what was totally unexpected.  

Update March 28th: Great, my very first post of 2021 wound up being an inaccurate premise, The Batman has been delayed to 2022.