The Summer
2016 Anime season approaches us, which means it's time to take a look
at the ending Spring 2016 season and choose the BEST Anime from
Spring 2016. I'll also talk about the shows that didn't make the cut
at the end of the list. Keeping in mind, as always, this list ONLY
contains anime that ended this season. Some shows are still ongoing.
That being said let's get started!
Sakamoto Desu ga?
Synopsis : The story
follows the daily life of the "coolest" high school
student, Sakamoto. As soon as he transfers to his new school, he
attracts the attention of not just his class but the whole student
body, and his jealous classmates' attempts to bully him repeatedly
backfire and instead make Sakamoto look cooler.
Thoughts
: If
laughter is what you need. Sakamoto Desu ga? Has it in spades.
Sakamoto Desu ga? never managed to not surprise me in some random
way. Great visuals, good jokes and interesting cast of
characters make for a fun watch. One could complain that there
wasn't any "character development" or main plot line. But
trust me, Sakamoto Desu ga? more than makes up for that with humor.
Flying Witch
Synopsis
: The comical story follows the 15-year-old witch Kowata
Makoto and the other boys and girls in her daily life. With her black
cat Chito, the somewhat aimless girl moved from Yokohama to live with
her second cousin at Aomori in verdant northern Japan.
Thoughts
: I love laid back feel good
anime. and Flying Witch is easily one of the better ones out there
that fit the bill. Every week I was looking forward to the latest
episode to help me unwind after work. Relaxing and Calming isn't all
this charming show has going for it though. The characters are
easily lovable,
jokes were well executed and Flying Witch did a really good of
inviting you as the viewer into it's world of country living and
witchcraft.
Kiznaiver
Synopsis
: The Kizuna System is an incomplete system for the
implementation of world peace that connects people through wounds.
Those connected to this system are called Kiznaivers, and when one is
wounded, the system divides and transmits the wound among the other
Kiznaivers.
In Sugomori City, a Japanese city built on reclaimed land and with decreasing population, Sonozaki Noriko tells her classmate Agata Katsuhira: "You have been selected to be a Kiznaiver." Thus, he becomes connected to classmates whose lives and personalities completely differ from his.
Thoughts
: Kiznaiver was a brilliantly animated coming of age anime
filled with emotions from start to finish. Studio Trigger made
another gem with Kiznaiver. The way characters were introduced and
focused on in later episode was really appealing to me. Also who can
forget the great OP by Boom Boom Satellites - Lay Your Hands on me.
Even though the song is even more bittersweet with the news of it
being the last BBS song.
Bungou Stray Dogs
Synopsis
: The "battle action" story Bungou Stray Dogs
centers around a league of literary figures with supernatural powers.
For example, in real life, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke wrote acclaimed
stories that inspired Kurosawa Akira's Rashoumon film and the Aoi
Bungaku Series anime's Jigoku Hen (Hell Screen) arc. In Bungou Stray
Dogs, he has the power to transform and manipulate his cloak into a
monster-like entity. Together, these writers solve mysteries as part
of the "Armed Detective Agency."
Thoughts
: I'll admit, the first few episodes of Bungou Stray Dogs I
wasn't impressed all that much, but the show quickly grew on me,
especially after getting to know the Armed Detective Agency a bit
better. What I also loved about Bungou Stray Dogs is that even the
villians were well written. So many times in anime the villians get
the short end of the stick. I am awaiting the second season eagerly.
Mayoiga
Synopsis
: 30
young men and women who came together on a shady bus tour. The tour's
destination: an illusive, possibly nonexistent village called
Nanakimura. In Nanakimura, one can lead a utopian existence, free of
the world's obstacles ... or so it was rumored, like an urban legend.
"In
despair over the real world ... wanting to escape the tedious daily
life ... wanting to restart your life from scratch..."
The bus
headed deep into the mountains, carrying 30 people each harboring
their own expectations and wounds in their hearts...
And so, the
place these 30 arrived at, was an uninhabited village with the
lingering faint scents of life, even though it was falling apart.
What is the
truth of Nanakimura facing the 30?
Thoughts
: Mayoiga did a great job of keeping the mystery element
strong, a pretty good horror anime in general with a decent
resolution. With a pretty clear message about human nature. Trust me
it's hard to write about this show without wanting to spill the beans
;)
Now you are
probably wondering why you didn't see your fave of the season in the
top 5. Well I'll get to them eventually. Keeping in mind that I only
included completed shows in this list, means that Re Zero and Gundam
Unicorn automatically gets disqualified. But if you want a full
review of Gundam Unicorn OVA you can get it here
: http://reefza.blogspot.co.za/2014/08/anime-review-mobile-suit-gundam-unicorn.html
First off let
me list the shows I thought were utter trash and didn't bother
watching more of.
- Hundred : A terrible cheap Infinite Stratos type anime
- Seisen Cerberus : As expected, just another anime proving the rule of thumb that anime with dragons are shit
- Super Loves : Complete and utter fujoshi bait
- Joker Game : You are probably surprised by this one but Joker Game tried too hard to be clever without ever reaching the point
- Onigiri : Short form fan service, and not even that was done very well.
With that out
of the way it's time to share my thoughts on the rest of the Anime
that Aired in the Spring 2016 Anime season. This isn't in any
particular order.
Wagamama
High Spec : A really short (3minute) cutesy anime about a
mostly all girls Student Council. A quick time waster but nothing
more.
Pan de
Peace! : A cute and short anime about girls and bread. With
banter and jokes surrounding mostly bread.
Boku no
Hero Academia : I didn't enjoy the start of this anime,
though it did grow on me quite a bit. But just not enough to grab a
spot in the top 5. Did feel though that the season ended a bit
quickly, curious to see if a wait between seasons will be a good or
bad thing for Boku no Hero Academia.
Bakuon!! :
Very few fanservice scenes aside (like the one above) Bakuon had
quite extensive information on the bike manufacturers from Japan and
other countries. The road trip part with Bike Jesus was great!
Kuma
Miko : An adorable show with great characters, some of the
jokes caught me off guard, like the whole Maiden Sacrifice story, but
really enjoyed this anime. Even though I do feel the last few
episodes let it down.
Big
Order : I had high hopes for Big Order, as it was on my list
of most promising shows of Spring 2016. Sadly it just missed the mark
about halfway in. Still well worth watching though.
Anne
Happy : I'll admit, I do enjoy slice of life type anime with
mostly ALL girl casts. Anne Happy added a bit of misfortune into the
mix, with all the jokes focused mostly on the types of bad luck each
character has, that aside it was still a very cute and fun show to
watch.
Sansha
Sanyou : Sansha Sanyou was also a slice of life show, with
the main focus being friendship between a fallen rich girl, a girl
that eats too much and a devil with an angelic face. Weirdly Sansha
Sanyou was probably one of the most well animated shows from the
Spring 2016 season.
Assassination
Classroom S2 : The second and final season of Assassination
Classroom was really well executed, it was action packed from start
to finish and in my eyes, a big improvement over the first season.
Some might say the finale was a bit emotional though.
Haifuri :
Haifuri caught me a bit off guard. I was half expecting something
along the lines of Girls und Panzer with ships but it was far closer
to Bodacious Space Pirates. If you want a fun show with good mix of
action and ships! and a bit of scifi/fantasy ness added. You can do
far worse than Haifuri!
Terra
Formars R : Terra Formars R starts off where the first
season ended. With a fair bit of recap so you don't feel lost. In the
second season the roaches are smarter, stronger, faster and
seemingly superior to humans in every way. The show did
feel a bit confused though as at times it felt like the creators
didn't know which direction to take the show into. And there are a
lot of plot holes throughout the series.
Netoge no
Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta : Netoge was a fun show
about an online games club, with character types that fit well with
the ones you'd see in online games, except in the show a lot of the
"gamers" were really cute girls. There is a cute romance
comedy hidden in this show. But as a gamer in general it's
a fun show that doesn't take itself too seriously.
Nijiiro
Days : A Show I thought would initially be about bishounen
turned out to be a light hearted romance anime with a heart warming
end. The characters were well written and with the episode length of
15 minutes pacing didn't feel off.
Gakusen
Toshi Asterisk 2 : A continuation of the Phoenix Festa
from the first season. One of those shows where there are some
good characters stuck with bad story telling.
Shounen
Maid : Even though this show has all the making of fujobait,
it turned out to be filled with quite a fair bit of sad scenes, it
kinda reminded me of Ouran Highschool Host Club, just without the
reverse harem or romance.
Kabaneri
of the Iron Fortress : One of the more popular shows from
the Spring 2016 season, which a lot of you probably expected to see
in the top 5, But Awesome trains with gore and zombies aside, the
first episode didn't grab me, second episode was a big improvement,
but the second half of the show the focus seemed more on daddy issues
of a certain character than the actual zombies themselves. Which
kinda ruined it for me.
Let me know
if there is any show I missed so I can update this blog. What are
your thoughts on my list? Do you Agree? or do you want to murder my
cat for not including your fave shows. Fire off in the comment
section or on twitter/facebook.
