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Maison Ikkoku is a throwback romantic comedy that surprisingly stands up to today’s cynical standards. I admit – I was extremely apprehensive about watching this 96-episode retro anime for a number of reasons. First, I didn’t think the animation quality would keep me visually interested. This despite the fact that I chose to watch this because I wanted to watch an anime with the same character designs as Inuyasha. Second, I thought the plotting and story would be too antiquated; that tropes that were (somewhat) fresh then, would be stale nearly 30 years later. And finally, I feared it would ... be too “sitcomy”. In other words, I thought it would be too episodic, too aimless, with no narrative throughline.

Luckily, my fears have been allayed. Maison Ikkoku is a classic in every sense of the word. From the timeless animation to the tried-and-true love story that carries you, and the main characters, to the final episode. In terms of good ol’ fashioned romances, you’ll be hard-pressed to find one better. It takes its time answering the will-they-won’t-they question that gnaws at the core of every potential romantic couple. Some people may appreciate its deliberate pace, while others will impatiently skip episodes. Obviously this anime has quite a few filler episodes, which you can identity within a few minutes of watching. But skip too much, and you’ll miss out seeing the nuances of how a mature relationship blossoms.

It’s a typical boy-meets-girl story, except the boy, Godai, is a ronin (a high school graduate who failed his college entrance exams), and the girl, Kyoko, is the widowed manager of his boarding house (Maison Ikkoku). She’s only a few years older than him, but they make you believe the age gap is larger than it is. Living with them in Maison Ikkoku is Ms. Ichinose, a stout mother who can hold her liquor, Akemi, a scantily clad waitress, and Yotsuya, a straight-up creeper. Those three are easily the most annoying characters in the anime. They aren’t annoying in and of themselves; they’re just annoying whenever they interject themselves into young Godai’s affairs... which is basically EVERY episode.

You feel his frustration when they constantly find a reason to celebrate and drink in his room, despite the fact that he has exams or other obligations in the morning, or when they run up his bar tab. Godai is strapped for cash as it is, he doesn’t need freeloaders moving him from the Ikkoku house to the poor house. That being said, over the course of the anime you see how they support Godai in subtle ways. In the later episodes, Akemi actually helps Godai in such a way that it forces other characters to make some timely decisions. Akemi, Ms. Ichinose, and Yotsuya do grow on you, kind of like annoying family members. Even though they never miss a chance to take advantage of Godai, they do care for him and Kyoko.

The two main characters are well-written and constantly enamor you with their emotional and personal growth. Initially, I was giving Godai the side eye. He is affable to be sure, but he had this horny teenager aspect to him. With other female characters, he would find himself in compromising positions that often left him embarrassed more than turned on. But when it comes to Kyoko, he would find himself in the same compromising positions, but instead, you could see him debating on whether or not to take it a step further. For example, he tried to steal a kiss while Kyoko slept; only stopping when she woke up. To make matters worse, there’s an episode where Godai says, “She could cry or ream, and no one would interrupt us!” It gave me pause, and I thought to myself, “Now, don’t do anything rash, Godai!”

Thankfully, he outgrew that mentality and tries in earnest to become a respectable and responsible adult. He’s not smart, but what he lacks in smarts he makes up in with resolve. He has absolutely no luck when it comes to finding a viable career, but he swallows his pride and works odd jobs, eventually finding his calling. His resolve to find himself in the professional world despite numerous setbacks is one of his most relatable qualities.

On the other hand, Kyoko’s struggle has nothing to do with work; she’s taken over the managerial duties of the Maison Ikkoku from her grandfather. So don’t worry about Kyoko, she’s fine. Her battle is an internal one, focusing on her inability to move on from her dead husband, Soichiro, whom she named her dog after. The attraction between Godai and Kyoko is mutual, but she’s only ever truly loved one man, and that’s man death left a hole in her that early on seems impossible to fill. The feeling of loss and loneliness sometimes creeps up on Kyoko when she’s in the presence of Godai. He in turn gets discouraged, but never gives up hope of getting together with her. If anything, it’s just one of the many obstacles he has to overcome. But not only does he have to compete with a dead man, they both have to compete with other love interests.

And that’s real life in a nutshell. In Kyoko’s eyes, Godai’s inaccessible, not only because she can’t move on, but also because Godai is a high school graduate with no discernable future. Likewise for Godai, he doesn’t feel he’s in the position to have a serious relationship with Kyoko. We know, they know, and the other tenants know that they’re perfect for each other. However, until they both reach the point in their lives where they can financially and emotionally commit themselves to each other, they have to live their lives and explore other options. The good thing about this is that, despite the fact that both characters are dating different people at different points in the anime, you’re never under the impression that their pairing is anything but a done deal. It’s just a matter of when and how they humbly reject their love interests.

One criticism regarding their relationship is that it gets hindered in seemingly contrived ways. Far too many times Godai or Kyoko would begin to confess or assert their position only to be interrupted by the other or outside parties. Even back when Maison Ikkuko first aired, this trope was already showing its age. Today? It’s downright it’s cliché and frustrating. So many misunderstandings could have been resolved if one person allowed the other to finish their thought. Or if interrupted, the other character when asked, “What were you going to say” didn’t respond with, “Ah, n-nothing”. I rolled my eyes every time that happened, but to the anime’s credit, the characters do address these issues.

The character designs are attractive, and the animation aged well. The voice acting is also top-notch, especially Akemi’s voice, which is seductive and oozes with sex appeal. The multiple OPs and EDs sound good, but the first OP becomes repetitive after a while. The second OP played for one episode before getting axed (likely due to rights issues), so you’re forced to listen to the first OP longer than you should. Other than that, the anime effectively uses musical cues to emphasize certain scenes, such as when Soichiro (the dog), who was lost at the beginning of an episode, is returned to Kyoko. Coincidentally, the song that played during that scene was the quickly-retired second OP.

If you’re going to watch Maison Ikkoku, you have to be patient with it. But unlike some long anime, you are rewarded for your patience with a satisfying payoff. This is a huge recommend for anyone who loves mature, throwback romances.

World Trigger seems like one of those anime that requires you to be a fan of the manga in order to appreciate it. When I first heard of this anime, it was getting terrible reviews for its languid pacing and mediocre artistry. Mind you, this was 10 episodes in. About around episode 50 – when I checked back in – users were giving this 10s, saying it drastically improved. That piqued my interest, and I thought, hell, if I could power through Hitman Reborn, which took roughly 25 episodes JUST to get mildly interesting (still a better anime overall), I could ... give this a shot. Cut to episode 50, and I was more or less ambivalent on the series, but there were some aspects of it I liked. However, once I finally finished the series, I was left unfilled, as if the anime failed to reach its potential.

World Trigger has the foundation of a good action-sci-fi shonen. The main character, Osamu Mikumo, is someone we the viewers can identify with. He’s part of a multi-tiered organization called Border, whose main function is the protect citizens from ”neighbors”, or extraterrestrials. Border agents are divided into four ranks: C, B, A, and S. Mikumo begins as a C-rank agent, which is no different than being a civilian employee in a police department.

Mikumo is not particularly skilled in any one area, but he has a lot of heart and courage. Ideally, we’d take pleasure in seeing him hone his skills and become someone who can hold his own in battles. Yet, in 73 episodes, combat-wise, he’s at the same place he was in the beginning of the series. He literally doesn’t figure out his most corrigible skill until the final episode. And that’s his ability to strategize.

Eventually Mikumo, a.k.a. Megane-Kun, breaks his C-Rank shackles with the help of Yuuma Kuga, the transfer student who befriends him. It’s revealed early on that he is a neighbor and possesses a black trigger. Agents and humanoid neighbors use weapons called triggers, and black triggers are the most effective triggers in the world, capable of tremendous power. In other words, Yuuma has his ultimate weapon at the beginning of the series. Unlike Mikumo, Yuuma is overpowered and constantly has to handicap himself, especially when sparring against fellow Border agents.

Rounding out the trio is Chika Amatori, the milquetoast childhood friend of Mikumo who’s secretly one of the most powerful characters. Then there are other notable characters like Jin, the Border poster boy, who has a predictive side effect (sixth sense), and Replica, Yuuma’s trion companion. The anime focuses on Mikumo, Yuuma, and Chika as they join Border and train to become strong enough to go on away missions. And really by the end, none of them show any character growth. Yes, we do learn their motivations for joining Border, but I didn’t notice any significant change in their personality. Mikumo remains a martyr, forever putting others’ well-being above his own, Chika never steps out of her comfort zone to be remotely interesting, and while Yuuma shows flashes of depression, he can’t stop making that dumb-ass face long enough for you to care!

Despite having so many episodes, World Trigger fails drastically in terms of characterization. It doesn’t help that every episode you’re introduced to, conservatively, three new characters! Seriously, there are so many characters in World Trigger. Sooooo many. A few of them are actually memorable, but memorable only as a character type. You don’t remember their actual names, but you remember: “oh, there’s the edge lord,” or, “there’s the compulsive liar and the girl who always believes him,” and of course, “there’s the tsundere”. The anime itself doesn’t even try to hide the fact that there’s a metric-ton of characters, because every time you see a character, you see their name, their age, and the ranking. And this continues until the final episodes, as you’re always introduced to new, underdeveloped characters.

As mentioned in the beginning, World Trigger caught a lot of flak for its lackluster animation. For the most part, those criticisms are accurate. The character design ranges from average to flat-out lazy. A lot of the characters look the same, with no distinguishing features other than hairstyle and weird irises. Then there are some characters that have black dots as eyes. And Yuuma - 75% of the time he’s making an annoying face that seems to be a catch-all for reacting to everything. The only time the animation reaches an acceptable level is during the battles.

Honestly, the rank battles are the best part of World Trigger. They utilize the most fascinating part of shonen anime (IMO), which is battle strategy - overcoming an opponent’s trump card by analyzing it and determining how it works. Yuuma, because of his skillset, makes every battle he’s in worthwhile. Mikumo, on the other hand, makes them exhausting, as he barely improves and ends up being a liability. He has some brilliant strategic moments though; too bad he waited until the end of the anime to make that his primary focus.

The only thing that sucks about the battles in general is that the stakes are extremely low. Border agents fight using a body made out of trion, which is like some form of energy. So when someone loses all of their trion, they “bail out” and return to their fleshly bodies. There are a few times when characters such as Mikumo fight without a trion body, and you know what? Those were the most suspenseful battles in the entire anime! The battles against the neighbors are mostly good (until you realize no one can die) and the rank battles provide the most fun (until you realize Mikumo’s team, excluding Yuuma, sucks).

Based on the review thus far, you might think that this anime is trash, but it’s not. It’s okay, but “okay” is not good enough for an anime of this length. There were times when I truly thought the anime was reaching its stride, and then it spends the next few episodes with one-dimension Border executives, or Chika and her dull sniper trainee group. Or it might take a huge detour to explore some “fugitive” characters when instead it could be concentrating on having the main characters reach the point where they’re able to explore the neighborhood. With better pacing and less characters, World Trigger could actually be good, but in 73 episodes, like its main character, it doesn’t even begin to reach its potential.

Note: this was written a long time ago as a review of both seasons, but I’m submitting it to season 2 because reasons.

The best slice-of-life anime are able to take a hobby you have no interest in and make it interesting. Before watching Silver Spoon I would have never thought an anime about a city kid going to an agricultural school would keep me entertained over 22 episodes, and yet here I stand corrected.

Yugo Hachiken is a high schooler who's extremely intelligent, but becomes fraught with the weighty expectations of his father. Unlike most of his peers, Hachiken hasn't given much thought to ... his future - this fact creates tension between him and his father, and the stress of the situation forces him to get as far away from his family as possible. To that end, Hachiken enrolls in Oezo, an agricultural school located in rural Japan.

Once enrolled, Hachiken expectedly excels in the academic portion of school, although nothing he experienced in the city has prepared him for the laborious-but-rewarding work that makes up the other half of his curriculum. After a rough start, Hachiken starts to respect the demanding schedule that comes with being a farmer. That respect goes a long way towards proving to his father and himself that he can be productive despite being directionless.

The heart of Silver Spoon's story has to deal with the maturation of Hachiken. He comes into Oezo as an outsider with only book smarts at his disposal. He makes various friends along the way, and genuinely starts to enjoy the physical practicums that accompany his studies. He wakes up at 5 in the morning to tend to the farm animals, and his duties include baling hay, grooming horses, raising piglets, and collecting chicken eggs just to a name few. Our journey as viewers -- assuming none of us are farm hands -- mimics Hachiken's as a student. A lot of what he experienced is educational and brutally realistic.

The way Silver Spoon shows the life of farming is extremely graphic in some situations, and probably isn't for the faint of heart. Exploring the process of collecting eggs and raising pigs only to be slaughtered is sobering, but if you're meat-eater, like Hachiken, you're likely to go from being distressed to reverential of the finished product. What Hachiken learns at Oezo he applies to his own life, which makes him less apprehensive as a person. He drops his guard, and really starts to connect with his fellow classmates, even when they politely ask he basically mind his own business.

Other than the lifelike depiction of farm life, Silver Spoon also explores the business side of agriculture. Unless you're a huge farm, you're more than likely operating in the red. Farms incur huge debts, and if their harvest goes bad, or their animals aren't producing like they should, they can go under real quick. It's even worse when you consider that if someone from another farm consigns a loan; their livelihood is threatened if the other farm defaults on it. Some of Hachiken's friends are in that exact predicament, and it forces them to make some tough sacrifices.

A prevalent theme in Silver Spoon is personal dreams vs. familial responsibility. Two characters are put to the test in this regard: Mikage and Ichiro. Mikage is the obligatory love interest. Hachiken falls for her almost immediately, while she tries to herd him into the friendship stable. As the series progresses, it becomes obvious that they both really like each other, but their relationship doesn’t payoff romantically. However, he does help her to become more assertive with her family. She loves horses and wants a career working with them. The only problem is there’s no one to entrust her family’s farm to but her. Likewise, Ichiro dreams of being a professional baseball player, except he is the lone man in a household full of women. With two younger sisters and an exhausted mom, he must decide what's really important to him.

Seeing Mikage and Ichiro go through their respective trials assists Hachiken in finding his own calling: helping others. He might be aimless, but he takes on a lot of responsibilities while at Oezo, and he's a better person for it. He ultimately realizes no matter the size of the contribution, it could have a substantial effect on someone's life, as illustrated by a short, touching note he read from a person whose spirit was lifted simply by seeing horses jump over hurdles.

Despite Hachiken's growth, most of the supporting characters are underdeveloped. They either exist to give Hachiken sage advice or to instill humor with their strange character quirks. Even Mikage is kind of bland until the second half of the second season. Also, a girl named Tamako, who fluctuates between obese and skinny, is scarcely used. Aside from the obvious visual gag, her physical changes convey just how secure she is with herself. She can astonish the entire school with her beauty, but she’d rather be overweight because it makes her feel more comfortable. It would have been nice to have a single arc focused on her.

While Tamako’s varying weight is played for laughs, the overall character designs of Silver Spoon is serviceable. There are some of characters with exaggerate features that make them visually clash with everyone else, but you eventually get used to them. As I mentioned previously, there are some very graphic scenes dealing with the life cycle of farm animals, and the artists pull no punches. The cow birthing scene is slimy and blood gushes when chickens are beheaded. The detailed scenes of nature are countered with gorgeously produced food. There’s one time when Hachiken makes pizza for the entire school, and the pizza he cooks looks mouth-watering, almost like you can reach into the screen and grab it.

Silver Spoon does exactly what any good slice-of-life anime should do: It shows passion for a niche interest through the eyes of a character who gradually changes over the course of the series.

My thoughts after the first few episodes: “The OP and music is great, the art is clean and colorful, but it seems like a standard Magical Girl anime”.

My thoughts after the last few episodes: ”Wow, that was a rollercoaster of emotions! And it actually turned out to be more like a contemporary Magical girl anime”.

As of late, the Magical Girl genre has given us anime like “Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica” and the “Selector WIXOSS” series. Joining their ranks is “Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru”, an anime that shares many themes with the aforementioned ones. The primary theme, of course, is the power ... created by friendship. Here, our heroine is Yuuna, a junior high girl whose devotion to Tougou, her paraplegic best friend, is praiseworthy. The two of them are part of the “Hero Club”, members of which also include their senpai and club originator, Fuu, and Fuu’s younger sister, Itsuki.

The Hero Club is a supportive group in Sanshu Middle School – Their duties generally include volunteer work and providing assistance to the other clubs. When everyone first joined the club, Fuu had them download a special app that contains hidden features which are activated when they’re summoned to a surreal forest by the Divine Tree. Unbeknownst to everyone except Fuu, the members of the Hero Club are the next in line to protect the Divine Tree against monsters called “Vertexes”. Should the Vertexes (Vertices?) reach the Divine Tree, the world as they know it will be destroyed. And if they’re up to the challenge, they’re able to use the app to transform into heroes who are aided by Pokémon-like fairies. However, any damage that results from battling Vertexes is reflected as collateral damage in the real world.

It seems like a conventional good-VS-evil story, right? That’s how it starts out, but there are several revelations unloaded in the second half that’s more reminiscent of Madoka. What has basically been subtext in similar anime is the main focus here. There’s a heavy emphasis on what it means to be a hero and what one is willing to sacrifice to that end. Heroes aren’t perfect – they go through trials and tribulations like any normal person. With that in mind, several of the girls experience doubt and begin to question whether or not their efforts are in vain. That kind of exploration is the real appeal of contemporary Magical Girl anime, and it’s also all you need to know from a plot standpoint. And even though comparing this to Madoka might be a spoiler in and of itself, it works better going in with the knowledge that this isn’t a sugary, saccharine Magical Girl anime.

As I alluded to, the second half provides startling answers to any questions you may have about the characters’ purpose. But the first half sets the rules, characterizes the girls, and establishes what’s at stake should they fail. You know, aside from the obvious end-of-the-world setup – namely, their personal goals and keeping everyone together. Seeing the interaction amongst the girls gives you a warm feeling in your heart. The feeling manifests even more when you see how they welcome a lone wolf-type into their group. Their bond in the real world is strong and it never wavers once the battles get underway. Most of the time, they wins battles through support and sheer determination. As for the battles themselves, outside of “Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works”, “Rage of Bahamut”, and “Garo”, Yuuna has some of the best choreographed battles of late 2014. The colors are clean and bright, the characters move gracefully, and the Vertexes have that otherworldly look that Madoka captured so well.

Likewise, the transformations are stylish and gorgeously animated, but I couldn’t help but notice how slyly the anime tries to insert gratuitous fanservice. The fanservice is not restricted to their transformations either, as on occasion, the director shoots the girls from suggestive angles. The anime wants to portray these girls as paragons of purity, yet conversely takes time out to say, “This girl has a tight body” or, “This girl has huge boobs”. I don’t know for whom this level of fanservice is directed, but there’s not enough to satiate those who crave it and it’s distracting to those who actively avoid it. However, from what I hear, the fanservice is toned down from other Yuuki Yuna properties, so I can somewhat accept it as a compromise that leans more towards my sensibilities.

“Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru” is an anime with an unassuming beginning that artfully raises the stakes as the series progresses. Despite the homogenous character design, the entire anime is exceptionally drawn and animated. The music is at times delightful, energetic, and ominous. And as a final note: The character of Yuuna is one of the kindest, most dedicated female characters in recent memory. I mean, she’s stubbornly dedicated to – not only her friends – but her ideals. Characters like her can come off as cloying, but in the second half, her hopeful nature is very reassuring. Even when the situation is at its bleakest, you can count on Yuuna to display true heroism. Those who like Magical Girl Anime with a tinge of darkness to it should give this a try. After all, you’re likely to succeed (finding a good anime) if you try.

One thing “Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou”, or “Daily Lives of High School Boys” taught me is that high school boys acting silly is a universal occurrence. If you’ve ever been a part of a tight-knit group of friends while growing up, then DLoHSB is something you should watch. It’s an atypical Shouen anime that revels in the camaraderie, trivial conflicts, and the general antics one engages in as an immature young male.

DLoHSB is a comedy that follows a group of friends as they simply live their lives. That’s it. It’s serialized in the least possible way; every episode consists of a ... series of short, comedic vignettes that may or may not be revisited as the series progresses. So those looking for an overarching narrative that begins in the first episode and satisfyingly concludes in the final episode might want to look elsewhere. What DLoHSB does offer is an abundance of laughter. As we all know, comedy is subjective, so whether or not this anime works for you depends largely on how funny you find the characters and the situations they find themselves in.

The anime introduces a plethora of characters, but the main group consists of Tadakuni, Hidenori, and Yoshitake. The three of them are childhood friends, all of whom attend the same all-boys academy. Even though the anime makes you think Tadakuni is the main character, it focuses on Hidenori a lot more. Left and right, the anime constantly subverts your expectations, and more often than not, it plays a huge factor in making the comedic elements work. These guys mess around every chance they get; sometimes they stop their walk home to engage in some LARP, other times they wear the underwear of Tadakuni’s little sister. And don’t think for a second that Tadakuni has a little sister complex or that the other two are just depraved little boys. He doesn’t and they aren’t, they’re just crazy like that.

The segment that involves them wearing underwear is called, “High School Boys and Skirts”. Every segment has the same “High School Boys and X” naming scheme, in which one or all three of them comment or interact with something or someone (so many “ORs”!). However, it’s not always the three of them – boys from their school’s student council get in on the action, too. But make no mistake; every segment is from a male perspective. Although that’s not entirely true, because most of the episodes are post-scripted with a female-centric short called “High School Girls are Funky”. Basically they’re saying, “Girls are equally crazy and immature!”, and after watching them, they’re absolutely right.

The structure of the episodes makes them go past quick. If you didn’t find a particular segment funny, odds are you’ll find the next one hilarious. A lot of them were absurd, but they all have a recognizable honesty to them. While the absurd moments were funny in and of themselves, I found myself laughing the most during those “it’s so true” moments. Moments like awkwardly trying to sound cool in front of a girl, or being emasculated by your older sister. Even if the humor didn’t work, I still found something relatable about the situation. It’s easy to see everything not humorously hitting its mark for everyone, but when it does, it’s painfully funny. I could easily watch an entire series dedicated to “High School Boy and Literary Girl.”

DLoHSB is animated fairly well, and its animation definitely helps to accentuate the comedic moments. Usually at the punch-line of a joke, backgrounds and character reactions are exaggerated to drive home the point. However, what I found most interesting from an artistic perspective is that the majority of females characters lack eyes. It could be because we’re seeing them from the perspective of the Hidenori & co., and the only girls with eyes are the ones they identify with the most, such as Yassan (Literary Girl). Or, it could be because girls are icky! Whatever the case, I liked their decision to go that route, as it makes the series unique.

As previously mentioned, DLoHSB doesn’t have a series-long plot to resolve, yet at the end, you do get a sense of closure. Despite all the mindless shenanigans, you feel as if the characters learned a valuable lesson they’ll eventually apply going forward. DLoHSB is primarily aimed towards males, but everyone should be able to find something identifiable about it - either as the victim or the offender in one of its many comedy shorts. Male or female, if you like subversive, self-aware comedy with funny and likable characters, then, yeah, watch this!

Attack on Titan focuses on the story of three young protagonists: Eren Yeager, his adoptive sister Mikasa Ackerman, and their mutual friend Armin Arlet. In their world, humanity has been ravaged by otherworldly, humanoid beings known as Titans. Titans look human, but make no mistake, they are anything but; they're giants that vary in height, they have -- in the words of one of the characters -- "stupid expressions" on their face, they're seemingly invincible, and they have no means of reproducing, yet continue to pop into existence.

100 years prior to the story proper, the survivors of the initial Titan attacks created a ... series of 50-meter high concentric walls to retreat into. The outermost wall is known as "Wall Maria," the middle wall is known as "Wall Rose," and innermost wall is known as "Wall Sina." The walls were created to add a defense-in-depth protection from the Titans, who now inhabit what's referred to as the "outside world." Within the walls, humanity has built numerous towns and cities, but by being closed off to the outside world, resources are scarce, and a class system has somewhat developed. The lower-class live in Wall Maria, and the upper-class live deep within Wall Sina, which keeps them safer and better off than most of the population. However, they'll soon find out the peace they've grown accustomed to is short-lived when an aberrant, Colossal Titan beams down from the sky to breach the Wall Maria.

That's really all you need to know from a story standpoint, because to expand anymore would do more harm than good. The strength of the show lies in its characterizations and plot development, so it's best going into it knowing as little as possible. The pacing of the story starts off fast, and we see Eren, Mikasa, and Armin go from being powerless civilians to skilled soldiers in the span of a few episodes. Then, from the moment they begin training, the scope widens and we're introduced to a variety of interesting characters. Some characters only last a few episodes before either being killed off, or fading from the focus of the story. But each character has a distinctive personality that separates them from your typical side characters. The main trio is an affable bunch, and within a few episodes, you'll find yourself emotionally invested in their plight. Eren, in particular, has such an intensity to him that it's hard not to get caught up in his emotional tirades. On the other hand, Mikasa is the complete opposite, but her understated nature portrays a strong loyalty to those she cares about. And while he’s not a focal point as much as the other two, Armin has moments that allow him to prove his worth.

The series does not hold back on the violence neither, as Titans and characters alike are dispatched in some pretty gruesome ways. That's not to say the violence is extreme; most of it is left to the imagination, but the impact a death leaves is somber and meaningful. You'll find yourself lamenting the loss of minor characters because their death resonates throughout their friends and relatives. Conversely, what's probably most surprising aspect about Attack on Titan is its ability to combine humor and drama in a way that neither undercut what the other is trying to achieve. With most of the characters philosophizing about the limitations of humanity and their worthiness of survival, the appearance of characters like Dot Pixis, Hanji Zoe, and Sasha Blouse provide some much needed levity. Without them and their character quirks, the story would probably be too bleak. The series knew exactly when to ease up on the drama, and it was much appreciated.

As mentioned earlier, the series wastes no time getting into the core of the story. Then it slows down considerably, as episodes are crammed with indecisiveness, internal monologues, and a whole lot of flashbacks. The material during those episodes is definitely fascinating, and allows for a good deal of character development (even from minor characters), but you can easily accuse the show of dragging its feet. Attack on Titan does suffer from some pacing issues, but when it comes to postponing an inevitable conflict, Dragon Ball Z is the undisputed champ. Interesting enough, the last few episodes of Attack on Titan are a perfect balance of exposition and action.

The animation and art style is fantastic and highly technical. The medieval-like setting is brought to life by beautiful backgrounds, and the combination of hand-drawn and computer-generated imagery. The characters are designed exceptionally well, and you really a sense of their emotional state of mind just by looking at the subtle changes in their faces. The Titans are visually frightening -- their bodies have strange proportions that make them look even more bizarre when compared to their human counterparts. Everything's pleasing to look at, but the battle scenes visually stand out as the most memorable.

Battle scenes are smooth and easily to follow, and they're enhanced by the usage of the character's main mode of attack - the aerial 3D Maneuver Gear, which is a set of gas-powered grappling hooks attached to a person's hip. This gear allows its wearers to fly through the air and battle the otherwise impervious Titans. They're the primary mode of attack against the Titans, but are practically useless in an open setting. But when used in closed quarters, with tall structures to latch on to, they make the fights between the humans and Titans exhilarating. And despite humans having the 3D Maneuver Gear at their disposal, aberrant Titans make for unpredictable opponents.

Having never read the manga this is based on, I'm not sure how long the series can last. Nevertheless, this is a must-watch for anyone who loves serious anime with a sense of humor. It's far from perfect (despite perfect rating), but strong characters, crisp animation, and a very absorbing story ranks it amongst the best anime I've seen.

I love 12-episode animes that makes you ask "it's over already?" upon completion. That says two things: it was well-paced, and thoroughly entertaining. Noragami is both, and stands as one the best anime to debut in 2014.

The world in which Noragami inhabits is artfully crafted and full of intrigue. The conceit isn't original -- supernatural beings battling fiends in a realm invisible to the naked eye -- but it works in part to the clean execution, likable characters, and various themes it explores. In Noragami, the world is split into two realms: the Near Shore - the land of the ... living, and the Far Shore - the land of the dead. Gods and their spiritually-infused weapons called Regalia wage war against emotional clusters called phantoms, while at the same time granting the wishes of those in the Near Shore. The main characters are Yato, a lesser-known god; Yukine, his unsullied regalia; and Hiyori, a school girl/half-phantom that finds herself trapped between both realms as a result of an accident she had while trying to save Yato.

Yukine and Hiyori are more or less stuck with Yato; Yukine's stuck because he's Yato's regalia, and Hiyori's stuck because Yato is dragging his feet curing her condition. They have a tumultuous relationship with Yato at first, but gradually they begin to coalescence creating a tight-knit and lovable trio. The chemistry between those three is one of the highlights of the anime. The way they interact with each other can be funny, upsetting, and poignant. The banter and dialogue is witty, and often echoes what the viewer is thinking (speaking for myself). And while an underdeveloped romance/attraction has been hinted between Yato and Hiyori, it isn't needed to fully appreciated the bond they formed, Yukine included.

Hiyori acts as the tether that grounds both Yato and Yukine. Ever since her attempt to save Yato, she's developed a condition where she falls asleep and awakens in spirit form -- hence her existence as a half-phantom. As a half-phantom, she can see gods and phantoms in addition to obtaining some enhanced physical abilities. Hiyori isn't in the same league as the gods, but she quickly adapts to her condition by applying her love for wrestling in battles. This allows her to be more than just a spectator/damsel-in-distress. And while she still requires assistance from Yato, it's only because she's outclassed, not because she lacks resolve. Speaking of Yato, both him and Hiyori have strong moral values that complement each other.

We first meet Yato after he accepts the wish of a socially troubled high schooler. Then without breaking a sweat, he kills the phantom tormenting her. It's clear Yato's experienced at what he does, but his appearance says different. He wears a casual jumpsuit (jersey) that's topped off with a tattered scarf. Very much in contrast to his former Regalia, Tomone, who belittles him for having sweaty hands, and lacking the regality befitting someone calling himself a god. And make no mistake, Yato is a god, but a forgotten one, who's trying to rebuild his reputation.

He has grand designs for a luxurious shrine equipped with adoring shrine maidens. But due to his low-profile existence, he's forced to take on menial tasks that pay a measly 5 Yen. However, you'll hear no complaints from him; Yato is humble and more than happy to take any job that inches him closer to becoming a grand deity. Yato is by no means perfect, but during the series you'll learn a lot about him and his origins. In the past he was a force to be reckoned with, destroying any and everything in his path. Now, he's a delivery god that no one's ever heard of, or -- if they have -- don't take seriously enough to use him for anything more than slight inconveniences. He's laidback and disheveled, yet possesses a work ethic that's completely void of bitterness. But his appearance and stature, as compared to the other gods, annoys the living hell out of Yukine.

Yukine probably develops the most out of any character. He's inexperienced as a regalia, spending most of the anime coming to grips with the fact that he's dead and can't enjoy life like his living contemporaries. His struggles are relatable, and no matter how much he comes off as petulant, you can't help but to feel sympathy towards him. His arc from reluctant regalia to loyal companion is filled with powerful, though-provoking moments dealing with themes of envy, solitude, and atonement. Yato and Hiyori support Yukine through his trials as if they're his older siblings, and that makes their relationship with him feel earned.

There are other characters aside from Yato, Hiyori, and Yukine that leave a favorable impression. You have Kofuku, the manic pixie dream god of poverty, who hurts more than she helps. Nora, the "slut" of regalias, who technically belongs to multiple gods and manipulates events from the shadows. And then there's Bishamon, the god of war, who possesses an army of talented regalias. However, Bishamon particularly sticks out, but that's only in terms of her appearance. She's the god of war, yet goes into battle dressed like Poison from Final Fight. And what we know about Bishamon doesn't lead us to believe she'd wear such an ill-fitting outfit to battle. With that said, they don't use her appearance to facilitate any fanservice (a plus), but unused sex appeal notwithstanding, it's incongruent with her personality.

The characters -- notably the main three -- are, as mentioned, one of the highlights of the anime. The other noteworthy aspect of Noragami is its animation. The battles are short but easy to follow. Characters display nice, fluid moves when attacking, and when phantoms are killed, their flashy death animation is evocative of the end of a JRPG battle. Though it bears mentioning that Yato's pre-finisher battle quote can get repetitive. Elaborating a little more on the phantoms, clusters are usually represented by disembodied eyes, but individual phantoms are depicted with a surreal translucence. Furthermore, their inaudible whispers occasionally add an element of horror to the anime. Altogether Noragami contains some slick visuals.

The biggest criticism of Noragami is that it waits until 3/4 into the series to introduce the main protagonist, leaving the history between him and Yato incomplete. Still, Noragami rightly wraps up the villain's arc, and leaves unanswered questions for a potential second season to address. Overall, Noragami emerges as one of the biggest surprises this season with its cool battles, equal balance between drama and moments of levity, and clean aesthetic. But the selling point is undoubtedly the chemistry between the main trio.