Musings and Reflections – end of 2017

      Well well well, ain’t it an obligatory year-end post, eh? How was the last year? Well, quite normal to be frank. Personally I think I feel just like usual with neither big announcements nor any news. How was it for the anime world? Quite good, I guess. Last year  I found that in MAL Top 100 anime list there were 16 titles made in 2016. This year in that respect seems to be similar – it’s 15. Yeah, people really don’t hype up new shows. Out of these 15 titles only 3 have no connection with earlier entries, that is they are not related to any previously aired show. It’s quite natural that sequels are overrated as they are watched mainly by people who already know they would like it. And you ask what these 3 great shows are? Well, one of them is Violet Evergarden, so technically it’s not even started yet, but it seems like regardless of it’s airing date it will definitely be considered one of the better stuff made by KyoAni. Or at least I hope so. That leaves only 2 anime and they are Made in Abyss and Mahoutsukai no Yome. I’m not so sure about the latter one being one of the greatest anime ever(though it definitely has charm), but Made in Abyss certainly looks so.

Out of everything I’ve watched this year, apart from Made in Abyss the second season of Rakugo, Scum’s Wish and Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou felt like ones deserving the biggest praise. To a lesser degree Natsume and Mahoutsukai no Yome also did many things right. Then there’s Hand Shakers (if you want to have a good laugh), but beware of dizziness watching all these CG chains. So yeah, everything’s looking quite positively as there undoubtedly are many great shows being made right now. It’s very likely that the trend will continue (with Violet Evergarden in the front I hope), so I guess it’s a great time being an anime fan. Yet, you have to be extremely cautious as there’re many times as much bad stuff as there’s good, but in the end if the industry will be able to survive its own terrific pace, us anime viewers won’t be bored any time soon.

     Speaking of non-seasonal anime, last year I wrote that I was (and still am) quite a newby who still hadn’t seen Clannad, Madoka Magica, Monogatari series or Death Note. I guess I haven’t been totally idle since that’s no longer the case for Madoka and Bakemonogatari. As expected, these two shows were something. Also I’m very happy I had a chance to finally savor Monster, Shirokuma Cafe, Koe no Katachi, Flip Flappers and exceptionally beautiful Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni. It might be not as fun community-wise, but certainly far safer to immerse into already tried and tested older anime. So, dear reader, don’t miss out on some great stories that are already waiting for you – seasonal anime won’t escape anywhere. Might as well say the same thing about manga – great stories are waiting. For example try out some Nijigahara Holograph or Pluto that proved to be my favorites this year.

      New Year’s Resolutions? Well, I don’t practice such stuff much, but sometimes it’s good to have a written goal in front of you. A dream would be to find one or two anime worth 10/10. Well, if I’ll be successful reaching at least 350 entries on MAL (right now I’ve got over 250. Not many, not many…), it seems like a more or less doable task. Possible candidates? It’d be cool to finally get to Kimi no na Wa, Anohana and more Monogatari. Some Spice and Wolf light novels are comfortably sitting on my shelf, so there’s another potential direction to take. Also, I’d like to be more consistent with other write-ups beside my episodic Musings and Reflections. It’s quite easy to scribble a short paragraph after an episode of an anime, but definitely not as satisfying as writing something bigger. So yeah, the following year looks to be interesting enough.

     Dear reader, thanks for stopping by this time as well as others. I’m very happy to be a part of this wonderful community of truly talented writers and thinkers (that includes You), and I’m looking forward to the future that looks quite interesting. Happy New Year, everyone! Cheers!

 

Posted by Aldael on December 31, 2017

https://aldael.wordpress.com/2017/12/31/musings-and-reflections-end-of-2017/