(My) Top Anime This Season [Spring 2013]

Attack on Titian

Shingeki no Kyogin

Surprise, surprise. I bet no one saw this coming at all!
To put the record straight I am going to loosely analyse Shingeki no Kyojin to justify why it is top of my list and the fact that I'm not bandwagoning it like most people.

1. The music. Starting with the music first above all other aspects. The score for the entire anime is amazing. Unlike most, I don't recognise or even know if certain pieces are being played more than once because the atmosphere the music and the anime makes as a whole, overloads my senses and I generally don't know any better.

2. The storyline. The story is well paced, leaving each episode on a cliffhanger. And I really hate to sound like a bandwaggoner but, I am and I was. I watched the first episode of Shingeki and didn't like it and dropped it for 6 weeks, until the internet raged and exploded over the episode 5 ending. And THAT ending, if you havent seen it, heard of it or watched it. WATCH IT. And don't drop it after, keep with it and it's worth it. Don't lose faith in the writing cause it is amazing.

3. The animation. The animation compliments the storyline, keeping the levels just as epic with the music and storyline. The subtle use of 3d animation mixed with traditional digital animation is amazing. Unfortunately in a few of the episodes you could see when the episode's production budget was lesser or lacking with the use of still images for 30seconds to minute long scenes several times. Generally, I don't mind the use of still images. People complain saying that they are dull and boring, but in a scene of just walking through a forest, it would still be dull and boring and I don't mind the use of images.

4. The characters. Many anime's have set themselves to the cliché characterisations and yes, Shingeki no Kyogin does have a stereotypical characters. However, it is not until you set yourselves into the series that you realise why there are so many minor characters and so many stereotypes. Shingeki being one of the few anime that I like when it sticks to these stereotypes; the whimp, the hero, the lone wolf, the leader, the rising leader etc. And it's only when all the stereotypes are brought together and interact where they become a team and feed from each their own strengths-and that is why I am completely happy with the types of characters placed forward in Shingeki.

Overall, Shingeki no Kyogin, is definitely the anime of the season. Some even hailing it the anime of the year. I only wish that Shingeki got released least year and competed against Sword Art Online and have the two bandwagon-anime's compete. Then maybe, people could see that Shingeki, does have it's flaws but not nearly as many as SAO. We don't know what the rest of the year has to offer, but I have to tip my hat to Shingeki so far because as far as I'm concerned and up to the 10th episode Shingeki is the anime of this half year, at least.

The Devil's a Part-Timer

Hataraku Maou-Sama

Hataraku Maou-Sama might just be one of the most underrated anime's of the season. Seriously underrated. I'm not going into depth like I did with Shingeki-that was more of an explanation-but, the storyline is incredible. It's not often that you come across a storyline as original as this one. Not only is the genre turned upside down and on it's head, but the story is interesting and hilarious to watch. The fact that devil, the devil who is introduced in the most devil-like light is suddenly broken down from his massive sizing and is now a human. Not only a human but a working human, who helps others and smiles. A lot. He smiles a lot. Everything he does isn't expected, you wouldn't expect the devil to be acting in the way he does, and that's what makes it so amusing.
The characters are amazingly written, the storyline is amazing and the anime as a whole is underrated and worthy of a bigger audience that it has retained.

Henneko Hentai Ōji to Warawanai Neko

The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat

Henneko started very strange for me. Firstly I didn't understand the storyline. I didn't understand this special "Power" That the main character has. I didn't understand the forged relationships between  characters. But I sat back and gave it time and I realised that I really liked the anime itself. It's funny and spontaneous, there is a few plot holes, but above all I like Henneko a lot. The character relations are chiche but still good to watch and the story, as it unravels is really intriguing and interesting to watch.

Gargantia - Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet

Suisei no Garugantia

When I fist saw Gargantia and for the first half of the first episode all I could think was "Oh great another gundam anime, let's not watch", but it was my friend who urged me to keep on watching and it was then I learnt that it wasn't a gundam anime but one on a different scale. I don't know how to exactly explain Gargantia to anyone, I can't really see a genre so far, possibly adventure...action maybe a little romance in there, but even then there is less of each of these elements. But there is something that makes Gargania special. It moves a little slow and the actual plot seems transparent with episodes that seem like they are more filler and character building than plot building points. Somewhere in there, there's something that I like about Gargantia. Maybe it's the animation, maybe it's the setting, maybe it's just less light-hearted but not serious and without too many cliche moments. Maybe it's just the story of a foreigner learning the ways of this new Earth portrayed in the series. Honestly,  I don't know. There is just something and I like it. To me that's all that matters.

Strange but true

When I think of this current season of anime, I sometimes think that it's generally not that great. But lining up my regular shows in a line like this reminds me that I'm wrong. That I have a great selection of anime to watch, each having their own strengths and weaknesses. I am not one to say that this season's anime is weak, I actually think that it is pretty strong and the term weak comes mostly from people who don't venture out of their comfort zones. So let's all give next season a fair shot, there's actually a few series that I really want to watch and a few that I'd just love to give a shot. So let's all give next season a shot and try out series that you usually wouldn't blink at. 

So for now until my next post, adieu.