In Short: 5 Overlooked Shows

WITH THE SHEER AMOUNT OF ANIME OUT THERE, IT'S EASY TO MISS A FEW GEMS. I'VE PUT TOGETHER A SMALL LIST BELOW OF SOME SHOWS FROM THE PAST 10 YEARS THAT I FEEL HAVE BEEN OVERLOOKED. SOME OF THESE ARE AN ACQUIRED TASTE AND NOT EVERYONE'S CUP OF TEA BUT TRY GIVING THESE SHOWS A CHANCE, I THINK YOU WOULD BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED.



MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM MS IGLOO - THE HIDDEN ONE YEAR WAR - APOCALYPSE 0079 - THE GRAVITY FRONT: This is by far the most overlooked Gundam series to date, mainly due to its Bandai Museum exclusivity and extremely limited DVD release following. Unlike the other shows I'm covering in this article, I want to go into more detail in terms of MS IGLOO's story as this is not just any old Gundam side-story... MS IGLOO is a 3 part CG series set in the U.C. timeline during the One Year War. The first 2 OVAs, The Hidden One Year Warit plays heavily on Sengoku period history while at the same time being I guess you could call this a comedy but at the same time it packs some pretty heavy drama. After seeing countless adaptations of this period in history, I feel that Hyouge Mono has been the closest with its historical accuracy. That being said there are a few events which did differ from history as to steer the story towards the MC's favour...

Sakura Trick

I saw a post on the other day about the excessive yuri in Sakura Trick. It was a good post detailing that an anime like Sakura Trick doesn't necessarily have male only viewership, and that the show isn't necessarily objectifying women. On both points I would agree. On the first point I would say that funny is funny regardless of genre. Of course, I also agree doesn't necessarily objectify women, but that doesn't mean a lot coming from a man.



That said, it very well could objectify women and I could just be blind as a bat. Then again, one could argue that anime, as a medium, objectifies women on a broad scale. How are we all supposed to react when Tanabe, from Planetes, is constantly worried about and pressured into finding a boyfriend to take care of her. Is that something an anime should preach (I realize she comes into her own later in the series, so save those arguments)? Or what about the disgusting objectification of classic Evangelion characters like Rei and Asuka. Is that OK because the series is a classic and not a part of a niche genre? Does Code Geass have some sort of carte blanche to put any and every girl in a revealing costume because its Code Geass?

Even more anime!!!



Last Exile

Samurai Flamenco Episode 12 "Document! These are The Flamengers!" Preview Images and Synopsis

The mighty new Samurai Base has been revealed! A new super team has stepped forward to defend humanity from the evils of "From Beyond!" They are The Flamengers! Except this super team has quirky conflicting personalities, so they have no teamwork as their sometimes less than heroic principles come together. Every day is another struggle against more of From Beyond's Mysterious Beings, and Matsuyoshi is questioning himself as the Flamenger's leader.



All right, show. You want to be Super Choudenji Sentai: Combattler Ranger, that's your business. I'm just along to see how you attempt to tie all the shows elements together and whether or not it'll work on any level. Also, in the course of writing this, I just noticed that all the Flamengers are color coded by named. Blue is Soichi AOshima, Green is Hekiru MIDORIkawa, Black is Anji KUROki, and Pink is SAKURA MOMOi. Well, "Sakura" and "Momo" aren't really colors, but the theme is still present.

Top 13 Shows Ending in 2013

Well, the year is ending, and I've actually watched a large amount of shows ending this year (over 60), so here is my list of the top 13 shows which ended in 2013. The shows and their positions are factored by how much I enjoyed these shows and how good (artistically, thematically) I think the shows are. Only full shows had been considered, no OVAs or movies of any sort. The names link to the show's description and information on My Anime List (MAL).



13. (FLOWERS OF EVIL)

2013 in Review

So here's the final "in review" post for 2013 with the top 5 for the quarter, the year, and all time, plus some bonus commentary on best/worst of the year, and a few hints for 2014.



4TH QUARTER

Gravity Review

Peace at last.



Have you ever been curious what spinning weightless would feel like? Gravity is a film that explores momentum and distance with unusual veracity, brought to life by the same technical wizardry that made Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men stand out. You will spin, collide, and soundlessly eclipse your way through a screenplay tailored to showcase the problems and inefficiencies of being an oxygen gulping thermophile in a freezing vacuum. The technology on display will make you forget this is an attraction, at least until one of your tour guides opens their mouths. Gravity is foremost a geeky movie, engineered from a love of space.