Melv's Anime Awards Part 3 : Miscellaneous

Thanks for sticking around for part 3!

Three is the number of Masaaki Yuasa directed anime series that I have watched and it is the number that is relevant for today. Today's post will just be for random awards I'm giving out which deserved to be here but not content heavy enough to warrant its own post. It's not without its importance however as some of these awards do carry a certain amount of weight.


Some of these awards truly took way too long to consider giving out - especially the final award. Thus without further ado, let's kick it off.


Most Disappointing Anime Series of 2017


1. The Ancient Magus Bride 

Oh yeah, I said it. 

So, this is probably one of the most unpopular opinions on the Internet right now. It is currently sitting at an impressive 8.52 rating and ranked 92nd best anime of all time on MAL. I really wanted to love this show and the hype when I first decided to watch the show was unreal.

I have watched probably 13 episodes of it but honestly don't find it engrossing enough to continue watching the show. It has quite an interesting setting and its OP and ED are really good. But that's about it. I didn't like any of the characters as I found them terribly dull. The romance between Chise and Elias was terribly bland in my opinion with the side characters being unmemorable as well. And my biggest problem with the show is that it is terribly slow paced. 13 episodes in and nothing has happened. NOTHING. Arghh.

Man, I wish I could love this show. Oh well.


2. Blend S

Probably because I realized that I spent around 6 hours watching the entire season.

Another show that was hyped up among the anime community for its memes in its OP (Smile, Sweet, Sister, Sadistic, anyone?) but unfortunately its biggest contribution to me was filling up a space in my most disappointing anime series list.

Blend S is another show on the never-ending conveyor belt of SOL comedy anime series - a genre I enjoy a lot but its take on comedy fell flat 90% of the time. I didn't find myself laughing at all when watching the show and that really is the biggest crime a series like this could make. Its romance between Maika and Dino didn't make any sense at all and the jokes they used were constantly recycled which didn't help its course.

Hideri was the only highlight of the show which is a real shame as she barely appeared at all after first appearing very late into the show. This is currently my lowest rated anime (I just started watching anime) on MAL and it will probably stay there for a while due to my own pickiness in choosing what to watch.



Most Surprising Anime Series of 2017

Anime-Gataris

I loved this show more than I should have.

                                       

The only anime that came to mind when I think of as surprising was Anime-Gataris by the relatively unknown studio of WAO World. Looking through MAL, it's pretty clear that this anime was pretty unpopular among anime watchers. With a poor score of 6.67, it had the lowest average MAL score of all the anime I watched all year. Yet, I considered at one point in giving the anime a score of 9 before settling to give it a well deserved 8/10.

The premise of the anime was bland to say the least. In a very concise synopsis, the anime is basically about a girl who couldn't remember about an anime she saw as a child. She decided to go to the school's anime club to ask about it but ended up reviving the anime club when it was found to be dead. And that's about it. An anime about people talking about anime in an anime club.

That sounds like a plot that couldn't really get off the ground right? At first , it was all anime references and anime trivia. I personally thought of dropping it in episode 1 before the cat ( yes, a cat) at the end of episode 1 told me not to drop the show. Yes, it was that meta. So, I didn't.

And after a few episodes, I truly looked forward to each and every episode as the plot of show started to build up to a crazy climax at episode 11 which one of my favorite episodes all year. No one could have forseen where the anime was heading to. It was that crazy. The fourth wall was truly shattered and I really enjoyed it. It's not for everyone but it was certainly for me.


Guilty Pleasure of 2017

Eromanga-sensei

Yeah.......I have nothing smart to say.

Yeah, the incest show. I liked it. Judge me for all I care.

So, this was the show that became an early source of memes over the Internet with one of the most dumbest plot I've ever seen. Sagiri and Masamune are step-sisters but due to the death of their parents, their relationship has broken down. Sagiri has become a shut-in - refusing to go to school while Masamune is forced to take care of her. Masamune earns a side income by writing light novels with an artist called 'Eromanga-sensei'. And of course, they both love each other.

And that is the synopsis which can very well explain the whole plot in 12 episodes. Steadily, Masamune develops his own harem and we go on a stupid ride to see which girl becomes the chosen one (Elf is best girl). But, as stupid as the plot is, it was pretty fun.

I honestly enjoyed the show a lot more than I should have as the comedy bits in this anime were pretty good. Most of the characters in this anime were really fun and carried the show at times. My only hated character was Sagiri which at times was unreasonably stubborn and immature which pissed me off. Sure it had the usual anime tropes, but anime tropes at most times are fun and they certainly utilized it to good effect.

I'll probably never rewatch it but I certainly enjoyed the show a lot despite its many faults. And it also had a strong and catchy OP and ED which the show didn't really deserve.


Worst Show of 2017

Blend S

Least annoying character in the show.

I pretty much stated my reasons in the most disappointing list earlier so I won't elaborate much. Very poor comedy with a below par romance and overused jokes. Nothing redeeming whatsoever and I would much rather rewatch Nichijou to get my fix for comedy than sit through 12 episodes of this again.


Movie of The Year

In This Corner Of The World

Heartbreakingly beautiful.

It was a tough choice between this and The Night Is Young, Walk On Girl! but I decided on MAPPA's award-winning film since I have a soft spot for films that take part in a WW2 setting.

I watched this in a one day only release in Melbourne. The show was rather packed with people and there were a noticeable community of old Japanese people in the theater with me. I left the movie feeling like money was well spent.

This movie tells a story about a woman who moves to Hiroshima in the height of WW2 to marry a man she knows nothing of. We then follow her life during the war from its very beginning to the end of it. This movie felt like 70% of  1940's SOL and 30% of actual WW2. I truly felt like I was experiencing what it was like to live in Japan during that well documented period in history.

We have our very interesting cast of characters which were pretty fleshed out considering the short run-time as a movie. Suzu as the lovable idiot MC was a great character which made me feel a lot of different emotions when going through her story. There were a few side characters that had tragic stories which was heartbreaking to see and made me sad inside.

This movie tackled a lot of themes rather interestingly as we get to see the World War in the eyes of everyday Japanese citizens which was so refreshing to see. The ones largely not involved in the war caught in a power struggle between two nations really was a tragic story. And the scene where Suzu and her family found out that Japan had surrendered was one of the most powerful scenes I've seen in all of anime. Gave me a different perspective of the decision to drop the nuclear bombs.

And lastly the music for this show was great with Kotringo supplying four amazing insert songs in the movie that gave the show an even bigger impact with her melancholic and sorrowful voice. Man, war sucks.


Best Girl

There will be salt.

            

Some might say this would have to be the most important part of the whole anime awards and it would be hard to argue otherwise. Flame wars all over the Internet have been arising ever since the first ever conflict of characters were brought up as the best girl. Everyone has massively different opinions and there is no escaping the fact that everyone's taste will come into scrutiny at the end of the day.

No heart will be left unhurt at the end of the day as the salt around the Internet will continue to pile up and eat up every single megabyte of data the Internet has to offer. And now is my turn to add to the salt.

I'm going to limit one girl per series so I'll start by listing a nominee for each anime series/movie that I had watched in 2017. Some hard choices were made with imaginary tears shed as some were forced to make way for the true best girl of its own series.

1. Hina from 3gatsu no Lion
2. Sayaka from Aho Girl
3. Minoa from Animegataris!
4. Mikasa from Attack on Titan S2
5. Kaho from Blend S
6. Tomoe Takasago from Eromanga Sensei
7. Satania from Gabriel Dropout
8. Chiaki Hoshinomori from Gamers!
9. Phos from Houseki no Kuni
10. Suzu Urano from In This Corner of The World
11. Yumeko Jabami from Kakegurui
12. Ouzen from Made In Abyss
13. Kobayashi from Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid
14. Moriko Morioka from Net-juu no Susume
15. Hanabi from Scum's Wish
16. Silky from The Ancient Magus Bride
17. Nishio Chinatsu from Tsuki ga Kirei
18. Chizuru Takano from Tsurezure Children
19. Kaisei from Uchouten Kazoku S2
20. Kurokami no Otome from Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome


Man, that is a lot of really great characters from the year 2017 but only one can come up on top. Choosing just one to be shone in the spotlight would be unfair so I decided to put out a top 5 yet again. Believe me when I say that I had put quite some thought into listing this top 5 as some characters which were dear to my heart had to be bumped off the list.

Without further ado, here's the top 5 best girls of year 2017.


5. Kobayashi by Mutsumi Tamura from Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

You're sparkling too, Kobayashi.

It speaks volume when the best character from a show full of female dragons is a human being. I don't think it is possible to hate on Kobayashi as she is quite possibly one of the sweetest characters in anime. She didn't start off as such but after taking in Tohru and eventually Kanna, she becomes a lovable and kind motherly figure to those two.

There are many scenes that show Kobayashi to be such a likable character. From spending an insane amount of money just to satisfy Kanna's dream to go to school to defending Tohru from her father despite being a mere human being, she couldn't be nicer if she tried.

Her comedic timing is also really on point and she can be really funny at times. An all-around great character whom I'll miss if season 2 never comes along.


4. Suzu Urano by Rena Nounen from In This Corner of The World

Such innocence.

In a criminally underwatched movie, Suzu Urano shines the brightest as we follow her footsteps as her life turns for the worst as Japan enters World War 2. This was a character that didn't exactly wow me from the beginning. We start off the movie watching her as a kid daydreaming of monsters and ghosts. But as the story progressed, her character changed as well into one of intrigue.

I can't quite explain why but I found Suzu to be such a fascinating character in the movie. In most scenes, she plays off as a lovable idiot who is married off to a guy in Hiroshima. She could barely do any housework but you could really see that she tries her best. I just couldn't hate her even though she kept messing up and getting into trouble. A smile you want to protect.

And in some scenes, she shows powerful emotions and delivers some real powerful lines which shocked me. She went through a lot during the war and you could really feel her anguish and pain in some of her outbursts which made me uncomfortable, but in a good way.

By the end of the movie, Suzu became someone whose journey felt very much like something I had just experienced which simply ends the moment the credits roll. It was a very immersive movie and Suzu was a main part of it.


3. Moriko Morioka by Mamiko Noto from Net-juu no Susume

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I'm gonna get this out of the way, I'll refer to her as MORIMORI-CHAN from now on. There is something charming about the nickname that best bro Koiwai gave to her.

When first delving into Net-juu no Susume, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I knew if it all worked out, it was going to be quite a fun ride. And it did. And then some.

To summarise briefly, Morimori-chan quit her job due to stress to pursue a 24/7 life of playing MMORPG. She is a very passionate player and meets an online user in the game that soon becomes rather close to her. I won't go further as it is minor spoiler territory but trust me that it's a fun anime with some romance and a lot of video games references which certainly won me over.

It is physically not possible to hate Morimori-chan. She is such a cute marshmallow with a body of an adult but feelings and actions of a teenager in love for the first time. Her antics in the many romantic subplot scenes were so adorable that it melted my heart every time I saw her on screen. She's not particularly pretty at all but her whole personality carried her character throughout the show. Her overreactions to some scenes were just a treat to watch and could brighten up even the darkest of days.

By the end of the series, I found myself willing on this fictional character in her bumbling and adorable antics with the guy that she loved and hoped that they would get together. And when the show ended, I missed her too. We need more than ten episodes of dear old Morimori-chan.


2. Phosphophyllite by Tomoyo Kurosawa from Houseki no Kuni

Genki Phos is Best Phos

So this might be crossing into a certain gray area since the gems in Houseki no Kuni is said to be genderless. However, in the show, it can be clearly seen that most gems are very feminine in nature. And since Phos is voiced by a female voice actress, I would like to think that Phos is female, at least for this awards section.

Phos is our MC in Houseki no Kuni and starts off as a bit of a wildcard among her peers. In the first few episodes, she comes off as pretty brash, lazy and very obnoxious. She's a poor fighter but does not accept a more 'boring' job when offered - choosing to instead contribute nothing to the team. Yet among these few moments, there was always some charm with Phos especially in her interactions with Cinnabar.

I shouldn't neglect to say that Phos really isn't your usual every day free-loader. She wants to help out like everyone else but in her eyes, the only way to do so is to fight with the gems' common enemy, the Lunarians. Unfortunately, she is one of the weakest gem among all the gems as she has a hardness of 3.5 and can barely pick up the lightest sword out there.

As mentioned earlier, she shows some of her good side as she attempts to help the much ostracized Cinnabar by finding her a fun job that only she can do. But man, Phos journey in the 12 episodes was one long and heartbreaking one. Without spoiling anything, the Phos from episode 1 to episode 12 couldn't be anymore different as her character development truly grew into something really special. She became one of my most beloved characters of all time with her desire to change to be someone useful even at the cost of her life was really admirable.

I found myself cheering her on and despairing as she hit multiple roadbumps which felt disheartening at times. Her VA did a fucking brilliant job in magically projecting some raw and believable emotions when delivering her many great lines during the show.

I need another season of Phos :(



1. Hinata Kawamoto by Kana Hanazawa from 3-gatsu no Lion S1/S2

Stand up tall and proud.

And we have arrived at the top step of the ladder. Hina-chan has grabbed the well-deserved crown as best girl of year 2017.

Now, if you told me she would have been best girl at the start of 2017, I would have snapped your arm off and laughed hysterically at your face. I mean, she was always one of the nicest girls in anime during season 1 when trying to help my boy, Rei out during the early dark episodes of 3-gatsu no Lion but there really wasn't much more to her. She wasn't even entirely the biggest focus among the three sisters of the Kawamoto family as she simply existed as someone Rei could rely on as a friend.

But then season 2 happened. And Hina got her own arc. Alright, this is delving into spoiler territory so I'll wait till you get up to date with all the episodes of 3-gatsu. I'm a nice guy like that.
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Okay, done? The bullying arc.

She doesn't deserve this shit.

Now, I'll just say that the entire bullying arc was fucking amazing. There were no stone left unturned as the anime had successfully depicted bullying without any restrictions whatsoever. They didn't gloss over anything and certainly didn't try to bullshit the audience by showing its raw and very uncomfortable truth.

Hina's friend and classmate, Chiho was the victim in this case. Bullied by the students with no help from either teachers or her classmates, Hina decided to be the only person with a sense of justice and help out the poor girl. And in return? She became the next target of the bullies even after Chiho chose to leave the school.

That part really stood out to me because it was so true. Plenty of people hesitate to help bully victims in fear of being bullied themselves. I knew that was true as I was in high school before. Hina was soon isolated by everyone as she soon found herself eating lunch alone, in the class alone and doing most things by herself in school. Her shoes were stolen and insults were constantly written on her desk and blackboard with a clear aim to humiliate her.

Yet, I didn't pick her as best girl simply out of pity. That would be a rather shallow reason to pick her.
She was clearly scared of being alone. Scared of being bullied. Scared of facing the circumstances of standing up for Chiho. Despite all that, she did not regret a single decision she made in defending and helping out her friend because she knew that IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

There was a scene where Kiriyama and her were near the river and she suddenly burst into tears after giving in to the pressure of keeping her bullied status a secret from him and her family. One can only wear a mask for so long before eventually cracking. But yet, despite all of her suffering, amidst her ever-flowing tears, she gave one of the most powerful statement ever delivered in anime.

YOU DID NOTHING WRONG!

And after watching that, I was in shock at the bravery of Hina in standing up for herself. I instantly wanted to protect her. What a girl. Girl of 2017 for sure.

At the end of the arc which kind of extended to 2018, Hina came out of it being one of the most honorable and sweetest character ever.

Basically me after that scene.

Do yourself a favour.

Watch 3-gatsu no Lion S1 and S2.

Melt your heart due to the Kawamoto sisters.

Let your heart be stolen by Hina.

Your welcome.

Thanks for reading. One final part left.