2015 Anime Awards

Subject: 2015 Anime Awards January 1st 2016, 9:54 pm

Though most probably don't give a shit, I decided I may as well take a look back at all the awesome (or not-so-awesome) anime shows and movies I completed this year. This particular set of Awards is ONLY for shows/movies I completed in 2015 that also came out in 2015. Some shows began in 2014 and didn't end until 2015, and they will count towards overall Anime Awards, but not towards ones for Seasonal stuff.

Best Soundtrack:

Parasyte The Maxim

A badass dubstep-influenced soundtrack that got me hyped all throughout the series. I don't usually notice songs playing in the background, but Parasyte was definitely an exception.

Best Animation:

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (Season 2)

Best Comedy:

Ore Monogatari!!

One of the funniest shows I've ever seen and probably the best Rom-Com (Romantic Comedy) I've ever seen, Ore Monogatari!! had pretty much everything perfectly executed in terms of its genre and proved so by stepping outside the boundaries limited to its genre as a Rom-Com by not going by the usual cliches of drawing out the "will they or won't they get together?" bullshit. Another very common trope in Rom-Coms is lack of communication that always causes some sort of big problem that could have easily been avoided, but that's all thankfully squashed by one of the best bros in fictional history: Suna. Takeo's best friend, Suna, is a walking foil to old and tired Rom-Com cliches while still being a well-developed character himself. I loved all 3 of the main characters, I loved the comedy, I loved the romance, I loved it all. Definitely one of the best out there.

Best Returning Anime:

Psycho-Pass The Movie

I could go on for hours about how great Psycho-Pass is, but I'll try to just keep this short and sweet: Psycho-Pass is a series that would draw in anyone, be it diehard anime-watchers or just casual viewers. The series is a tremendous homage to Western science-fiction movies and television shows such as Blade Runner. The Psycho Pass Movie, made by original creator, Gen Urobuchi, knocked it out of the park again with this one and took us back into a World where humans must abide by a system that determines whether they're fit to live freely as normal citizens or if they're considered latent criminals or worse. Much like the Television series, the Psycho-Pass Movie is thought-provoking and badass, questioning whether it's better for humanity to determine its own fate or have it determined for us.

Best Newcomer Anime:

Death Parade

Best Characters:

The Seven Deadly Sins

Maybe not the best overall story of this past season, but The Seven Deadly Sins still offered some very awesome characters just the Sins themselves, specifically Ban and King, whose individual backstories along with their personalities make them very enjoyable to watch.

Best Story:

Your Lie In April

I've heard some complain that Your Lie In April was a little cliche in its foreshadowing, and yeah, maybe it was, but I think being cliche can be acceptable if your execution is perfect, and it really was with this show. Your Lie In April was, in my opinion, a powerful, emotionally-draining ride coinciding with breath-taking imagery and a passion behind it in its subject of music and how it changes those around it. All it takes is one performance to change the lives of multiple characters and you watch where it takes them. However, the forefront of the show is obviously the main story between the main character, a Pianist that psychologically lost his ability to hear anything he plays, and a Violinist that tries to help him. I'm doing it absolutely no justice with by putting the basic premise of it in a nutshell like that, so really, you just need to go check it out for yourself. It's beautiful to watch, beautiful to listen to, and a fantastic story.

Episode of the Year:

Death Parade, Episode 9: "Death Counter"

I wish I could put into words how much I loved this episode, I really do. Of all the stories Death Parade gifted us with, I think this one is usually considered the most powerful of them all as it tells the second of a two-part arc in the show dealing with a young man and an old cop who come to realize the truth behind why they both ended up dead. When everything comes to light and the final scene plays out, it becomes absolutely heart-breaking to watch. The exceptional imagery sided with the Ending theme song playing as well as the fantastic voice-acting and raw emotion - it's all perfect. Hands down one of the best episodes of any show I've ever watched one that will provoke a lot of thoughts about what's morally right and wrong.

Honorable Mention: Charlotte, Episode 7: "The End of the Exodus"

Protagonist of the Year:

Shinichi Izumi (Parasyte The Maxim)

The easy pick here would have been Saitama from One Punch Man, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Saitama, despite how hilarious and awesome he was, didn't really go through nearly as much as someone like Shinichi did. It's hard to compare the two characters, but what I mean is that though, yes, Saitama did have challenges to overcome, he pretty much remained the same throughout the series while Shinichi had to pursue through various life-altering and death-defying situations and it's not easy for a character to remain likeable ot become more likeable afterwards. I think Shinichi's plight throughout Parasyte The Maxim was a perfect example of a character being done right. He has his flaws, he has his good traits, and it feels genuine when he has to overcome all the obstacles in his way.

Antagonist of the Year:

Gilgamesh (Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works [Season 2])

Without a doubt, Gilgamesh is one of my favorite villains in anime. Hell, I even based Ares partially off of him. As a Demi-God that considers every treasure in the World to be his while looking down at all others as "mongrels", Gilgamesh has done whatever he pleases without a fraction of concern for those who get in his way as he kills and deceives and destroys to get what he wants: The Holy Grail.

Opening (OP) of the Year:

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (Season 2)

Ending (ED) of the Year:

Death Parade

Anime Movie of the Year:

Psycho-Pass The Movie

See: Best Returning Anime

Anime of the Season -

Winter: Death Parade

Spring: Ore Monogatari!!

Summer: Prison School

Fall: One Punch Man

Worst Anime of the Year:

Seraph of the End

Had a very promising first episode, and then it just got worse and worse. Not even gonna bother going down the list of all the stuff I didn't like.

Best Anime of the Year:

Death Parade

Death Parade is a very one-of-a-kind anime. While it had an over-arcing story going on, its main focus was the individual tales of the groups of two individuals brought in to a place in the afterlife where they play games that leads to judgment of whether they're reincarnated or if their soul is sent to the void. Usually, the two people sent to this place will have something in common or perhaps even know each other. Death Parade held no punches whatsoever in showing the darker side of humanity in the form of these characters that were to be judged by the main characters. The show took very realistic situations and turned them into the stories behind these people that ended up in this afterlife. Some committed suicide, were murdered, some killed, some all happened by accident. All of them were very real flawed human-beings. How they deal with the revelation of their deaths is hard to watch at times and what they do in desperation is equally as tough. Some accept it, and some don't. Some realize that mistakes were made and refuse to let it be or come to some sort of terms with it. To me, the main story of this show, as great was it was, came in second to the individuals brought in to be judged and their stories. The beautiful animation, the fantastic Opening (which is hilarious inappropriately happy) and Ending, the voice-acting - all of it goes together fantastically and is without a doubt the Best Anime of 2015 in my eyes.

RANKING OF ALL THE 2015 ANIME I COMPLETED IN 2015 (FROM WORST TO BEST):

1. Seraph of the End

2. Aldnoah.Zero (Season 2)

3. Tokyo Ghoul Root A

4. Gangsta

5. Overlord

6. Magic Kaito 1412

7. Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

8. Assassination Classroom

9. Everything Becomes F: The Perfect Insider

10. Shirobako

11. Charlotte

12. Durarara!!x2 Shou

13. The Seven Deadly Sins

14. Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (Season 2)

15. Non Non Biyori Repeat

16. Shokugeki no Souma

17. Prison School

18. Noragami Aragoto

19. Your Lie In April

20. Ore Monogatari!!

21. Parasyte The Maxim

22. One Punch Man

23. Psycho-Pass The Movie

24. Death Parade

Posts : 381 Age : 31 Hailing From : Australia

My typical objections (although admittedly there aren't much).

Your Lie in April probably had a better soundtrack than Parasyte, but well performed dubstep does deserve props.

Gintama was a better comedy anime than Ore Monogatari was, because it's a better comedy than everything is, but since you probably didn't watch it, I agree with your choice in general.

Durarara!!x2 Ten was amazing, and makes me unnaturally excited for Ketsu. Similarly Yahari RomCom SNAFU Zoku surpassed its original in character development, but wasn't as strong on the monologue side.

I did a double take when I saw your list. Then I reread it, and saw that it was worst to best, which actually makes sense. You're literally the first person I've seen who has made a 'Best of' list, with their best option holding the highest number.

Subject: Re: 2015 Anime Awards January 2nd 2016, 11:24 am

My only thing is that I believe Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works should be higher on the list. Granted I haven't seen many of these yet, but I just thought Fate/Stay Night was sooooo awesome! And you're right about Gilgamesh and the theme.

If you liked this one, I suggest then Fate/Zero

Subject: Re: 2015 Anime Awards January 3rd 2016, 1:06 am

Zack_Crash wrote:: My only thing is that I believe Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works should be higher on the list. Granted I haven't seen many of these yet, but I just thought Fate/Stay Night was sooooo awesome! And you're right about Gilgamesh and the theme.

If you liked this one, I suggest then Fate/Zero

Yeah, it probably deserves to be higher, but I kind of ruined the whole show for myself by watching the garbage UBW movie that came out years back which was essentially the entire story raped and chopped up to fit the length of a movie and without the epic Ufotable animation. However, I still wasn't particularly keen on the story, if only because I can't help but compare it to Fate/Zero, which was impossible for it to ever top.

Subject: Re: 2015 Anime Awards January 3rd 2016, 1:49 am

Worst Anime of The Year: Charlotte - I know it's a 13 episode show but still the F*CKING pacing was just so horrible. It got lost along the way with episodes that weren't needed.

Surprisingly Good Anime of The Year: Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma. Amazingly this show blew my god damn mind. l mean the animation and the sound and the VA pretty much were the high point of the show.

Anime Movie of the Year: Digimon Adventure Tri Part 1: Reunion. I mean as a person who has seen this franchise grow from a show that was made for a cash grab turn into the Ultimate Kids/Young Teen Anime Series it quite amazing and they're 5 more parts to the Movie series coming out I can't wait! Watch the First Season and look at the crappy budget and then watch this. How much money do you think Bandai and Toei put into this?

Soundtrack of The Year: Fate/Stay Night. I will always say this the Fate franchise (doesn't matter if it's Zero or Stay Night or Unlimited Budget Works) will always have great music soundtrack plus Parasyte's soundtrack sounds like something from a MLG video.

Best Comedy: Nisekoi! I mean I'm a sucker for Nisekoi.

Opening Of The Year: Digimon Adventure Tri.

Butterfly by Wada Kouji
This song got was remade for Tri. The original was made in 1999 during Pokémania it practically represents the fanbase's love for Digimon.

Ending song of the Year: Death Parade. I have no way to describe it.

And Finally The Anime Of The Year: Noragami Aragoto
[size=34]Where to begin, Noragami Aragoto is by far the best anime I have seen all year. Season 1 was great, but season 2 notched up the intensity to a level we didn’t think was possible.[/size]

Top 10 Anime of The Year (my opinion)(Best To Worst)

1.Noragami Aragoto

2. Seraph Of The End

3.Tokyo Ghoul Root A

4. Digimon Adventure Tri Part 1:Reunion

5. Blood Blockade Battlefield

6. Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Budget Works

7. Aldnoah Zero Season 2

8. Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma

9. Diamond No Ace

10. Dragon Ball Super