I made it to the end of a season! Wohoo!

We made it to the end of a year! Wohoo!

Yeah, 2016 was a pretty bad hand, but instead of brooding over what was, I think it’s also just as important for us to appreciate what we have. And true enough, 2016 was quite an adventure for me. I’ve been to three different continents, seven different countries, and fourteen different cities; I’ve met random people on the street and have met new friends and faces in all of my travels. And I’m not here to show how blessed I am; rather, I’m here to tell you that it’s important to count your blessings as well.

It’s one of the reasons why I rushed in a review for Flying Witch, to remind everyone to look for the magic in a dismal world. Because it’s only in realizing what’s important to us — the things we value — that we actually strive to see to it that these things are upheld. It’s what ignites passion and fuels change. Never lose sight of the things that have made your life worth living, no matter how shitty 2016 was.

Because the truth is, there’s no telling how shitty 2017 will be. Or the year after that. But if you know what it is you live for, then that’s an entirely different story.

But what does that have to do with anime? Well, nothing really. But I’ve been trying to link the anime I watch with life in general, and to a certain extent I think I’ve achieved that. What I write basically tries to prove to people that you can learn quite a lot about life through moving images on a television screen, and that every story has a hidden message just waiting to be told. We can bitch and rant about the things we hate about 2016 — just as much as we can bitch and rant about the things that sucked about anime. But I’m here to talk about what makes us enjoy the things we enjoy; what makes us hate the things we hate; what makes us keep coming back for more and more anime despite all of that.

In short — anime is love; anime is life.

And before I go on aimlessly with this lengthy entry, let’s move on to the season end ranking, yeah! (man, what a messy segue) Continue reading →

Weee! I’m finally writing my first mid-season round up post since I started this friggin’ blog. Two seasons have already passed since then, so I guess third time’s the charm?

But what’s all this for, anyway? I mean, I’m already doing weekly round ups, so why one come mid-season? Well, there are just so many shows, and a number of my RL friends often come to me sometime around mid-season just to ask if there’s anything worth picking up. In some ways, you could say they’re more than happy to make me suffer on their behalf, what having to plough through all these shows expecting for the worst… But at the same time it’s always a good feeling when I can recommend a good title or two. Because let’s face it, some shows grow at their own pace, but knowing a show will be worth the effort is always something helpful to keep in mind.

So this will just be a quick rundown of the current standing of all shows this season based on my current census of titles. As with the season preview list and weekly round ups, these shows are ordered in descending rank. Only the season end ranking places the shows in order of ascending rank (they say it’s more dramatic that way). Also, if you’re lazy and just want a TL;DR, look for the words in bold in the last paragraph of each show description.

On a personal note, I’d highly recommend #’s 1-6. The rest might require a bit of… well, patience. Anyway, enough talk, let’s do this!
Continue reading →