#and ep 12 wraps it all up in such a nice bow

[leconcombrerit]

Pran's teary eyes in episode 4 still get me and it remains my favorite. Pat being a total menace and unabashedly flirting without even realizing it is also perfect. Ink is perfect too. We got our first bits of Inkpa. Flashbacks of heavy pining. I'm a simple girl I don't ask for much more than that.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Morose Mononokean 3 – 13 (FINAL) | Nanbaka 19 | ACCA 5...and anime from 2016, ranked.

(Morose Mononokean ep 3)

LOL, the kaomoji scroll.

Hopefully your handwriting won’t be illegible, Fusshi.

The Japanese place a lot of emphasis on independence, hence th errand running comment.

It’s so threatening to get pointed at with a stick.

I didn’t quite get the “five years again?” joke, but the jokes were going pretty rapid fire there. I might’ve just missed one and that’s OK. *shrugs*

Technically Ashiya lied when he said “you don’t have to believe me” because she believed him in the end…kinda sorta…?

Oh, to grandstand means to be showy. I don’t think I solidified that into my brain until just then.

Are those weeds or onions?

…Oops, not onions at all. Close enough (since they’re blub plants), though.

Where’s your dad, Ashiya?

Zenko’s not crying, you’re crying, I’m crying. Everyone’s crying!

…Oh, that’s the punchline of the joke…but Abeno’s scary when he’s really angry.

(ep 4)

I think even lil’ Fuzzy nods in the OP near the end.

The d and b thumbs are very inventive in regards to kaomoji. I like inventiveness.

Exhibit A of how Comic Sans ruins a mood, CR subbers.

So that’s Abeno’s writing (and not Comic Sans)?

Ashiya and Abeno have really creepy eyes on the eyecatch.

Shizuku means “water droplet” IIRC.

Ashiya, Super Sentai!...or something like that.

The Fuzzy Ashiya knows has 3 tails. This one only has one.

Ashiya, getting coerced into deals he can’t handle. *sigh*

(ep 5)

Fuzzy’s basically a Pokémon now.

What happened to Abeno’s jar?

Where I am, there’s three arms to the government: the legislative arm, the judicial arm and the executive arm. This show must run off a lot of the same principles.

Fuzzy seems vaguely unimpressed when Ashiya learns he doesn’t have to die.

How is that communicating with a fuzzball? Sad life for Abeno-san.

The sad thing about Abeno is that he’s very grumpy. While that does make him basically a male tsundere, his grumpiness isn’t something everyone can live with. Rippou (Legislator) included.

(ep 6)

The Ring? Like a horror movie? (This is the last of the Mononokean episodes I’ve seen before, so it’s not a horror movie, but I had to make the joke while I was at it.)

Fuzzy looks like an offering to the ancestors there on that cushion.

The Mononokean went “If you’d followed my instructions [yada yada yada] but…” Note the “but” – that wasn’t in the translation.

Where does Abeno sleep?

Fuzzy wrapped up is like a fuzzy sushi roll. I wouldn’t like to eat a fuzzy sushi roll, though.

Edo = old Tokyo…so are all Edoites (or whatever you call them) meant to be non-honorific users?

Manjiro must’ve been easy to draw if this were in the source material. However, since this is obviously a CGI Manjiro, it must’ve been easier to animate than, say, Fuzzy. (Apparently fur is hard to get right in CGI.)

“15 whole minutes”…hardly anything impressive…LOL.

Ashiya will never give you up, he’ll never let you down, he’ll never run around and desert you…

Even Fuzzy’s sweating up a storm just thinking about how to return the ring.

Ow. Getting headbutted by an eel is not the way to go.

The salve on Fuzzy looked like a box for a frame or two.

The irony of an eel shop with an eel youkai…

(ep 7)

It’s fresh impressions from here on out.

Butterflies don’t fly like that…

Since middle school is years 7 – 9…okay…Ashiya is that childish? *laughs awkwardly*

I just realised this show doesn’t do flashbacks very well.

I saw a grave in the back that said “Abe Family Grave”. It’s not the kanji for Abeno, though.

Don’t be so proud of your status as a hide and seek veteran, Ashiya.

“Yoko” is the word for a fox spirit. it’s why, in Tactics, the fox spirit is called Youko. Even I knew that much and Ashiya didn’t, LOL.

Oh right! Abeno calls Fuzzy “hairball”.

Abeno is 15?! I’m absolutely positively flipping out!...Abeno and Ashiya look like they’re 17!

(ep 8)

I thought something was up with the subs. Turns out “Haruitsuki” was spelt wrong.

Remember “–sama” is of more respect than “–san”.

I think Mr Chips from Eldlive was like this critter. Gets drunk on green tea.

Tsundere flying green youkai. That’s probably better than an annoying, possibly tsundere fairy (<- reference to One Wish They Never Wanted).

Benkei? I’ve never heard anyone yell “Benkei!” when they stubbed their toe. I get that it’s Standing Benkei though.

Aww. Even if it’s a youkai proposal, it’s so sweet…

(ep 9)

How do you spell “dispirited”? Two Ss? One?

Dangit, Ashiya would do well in job interviews…

The eyecatches always look unnecessarily dramatic, don’t they?

Does Abeno’s question about amateurs include Ashiya?

Abeno must’ve gotten a “Don’t come near my daughter again!” sort of thing a lot.

Fuzzy’s body went “boomph!” when he jumped on to Ashiya’s shoulder.

Fuzzy absolutely fails at rolling on balls, LOL.

(ep 10)

Why did I think of “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” when it came to large!Yahiko?

The title of this episode is “deku”, like Boku no Hero Academia Deku.

Rakugan.

How did the eyecatch manage to put shojo sparkles on Nobou and turn him into something that’s vaguely appealing (in a handsome sense)? It must be the magic of the shojo sparkles…Also, henohenomoheji scarecrow.

“Phantasmagoria” aka “fantasy” or “illusion”.

Wow, basically this show is an ethics lesson…

Who knew a mutant scarecrow could cause such a heartfelt story? Also, please stop hitting yourself with a potato.

(ep 11)

I don’t think I’ve seen the character for “purple” being read as shi before.

Stop using Fuzzy as a shield for your words, Ashiya.

Fuzzy jumped on to Zenko’s head. It’s kinda funny to see Fuzzy acting like a Swablu.

Fuzzy with a leaf hat is aesthetically pleasing. It soothes the soul. (Uh, hey. Come to think of it, Mononokean’s a lot like the works I’ve done on Honeyfeed, eh? Light comedy and a lotta drama.)

I keep stumbling upon spoilers for shows I’m not caught up on, this show included. So I technically knew about Yahiko and never mentioned it, and I’m going “oh no” here because I know what will happen to Ashiya…

Tomori. That was the name from the spoilers…oh no!!!

Fuzzy looks particularly round in the eyecatch.

Apparently Ashiya began as a doodle in the margin of Kiri Wazawa’s sketchbook, but he became the protag of Morose Mononokean. That’s the ultimate upgrade in life for a character, eh?

Abeno’s logic…I get it, but I guess it was played for hilarity. Well, it worked. Really well.

A 9-11. I thought it was funny at first, but now it’s scary and solemn.

Simultaneous equations? I want nothing to do with them anymore.

Come to think of it, Aoi may have been a woman due to the woman’s cloak.

(ep 12)

Oh? A sister? I’ve haven’t seen her in the show yet. I wanna see her.

One of the lil’ pine cones is sleeping. It’s strangely adorable.

(ep 13)

Yahiko’s so spoilt by Zenko.

*squints at Ashiya’s book* Oh hey. I haven’t done this in years! Yeah, that sort of stuff is “first year of high school” stuff, but speaking from experience as an advanced maths student, I have a skewed perspective of what “normal maths” is for a year level. Add that to the fact Japan has the idea that they have to push their geniuses to the limit by being ahead of their years (sometimes going up to one year ahead of the “usual” standard) and…yeah.

From the lip reading, the word could’ve been tera (Buddhist temple) or jinja (Shinto shrine). Knowing how Zenko is built off the ideas of Buddhism anyway, it’s tera.

Well, out of sight, out of mind, as they say.

Abeno looks like such a bad boy in that eyecatch, it’s hilarious.

Seriously, how does Nobou talk with no mouth?!

I thought the hand was Yahiko. Turns out it was Abeno.

Fuzzy looks downright ill when Ashiya’s scared.

A boss normally doesn’t bow his head to his subordinates, let alone call them “lord” (dono), which is the highest type of honorific one can give to a person.

See, the kaomoji scroll really is fun. If someone could make one for me, I’d love to play with it for a little bit. Maybe you could make a (computer?) program that could function mostly the same way…huh. That’s a good idea, actually.

Notice the Mononokean uses “watashi”. I guess it doesn’t have much of a gender anyway.

Nice hat, Ashiya. (LOL.)

Welp, that’s the final episode of all my 2016 anime. I moved the top 10 anime of 2016 to the bottom of this post for the surprise factor, but knowing my reactions to the anime means you can’t be too surprised by the results.

(Nanbaka 19)

Honey’s still on arrow mode.

The scream. It’s like a horror movie, but so funny because it overlays the OP.

The sparkles actually helped viewers see something for once.

Rokuriki. So that’s the guard’s name. It has “six” in it.

Deer hook swords. I’m not quite familiar with them but they look cool.

I only just realised, but they left Nico behind in the supervisor’s office.

The rubble is so beautifully rendered.

What was Jyugo doing behind the pots? Something for humour, I suppose, because I laughed.

“Hachiman” can mean 80000.

Kawaisouni… translates to “unfortunate” or “how unfortunate” but I probably wouldn’t peg it as “poor baby!” like the subbers did. It’s probably the tone Uno used that caused them to sub it the way they did.

Here we go again with this Jyugo comeback from episode 1…

It’s around the part where Upa’s trash talking Hachiman that you can identify Upa’s VA is Yuu Kobayashi (SGRS’s Konatsu’s VA). Even Nico is voiced by a dude and yet Upa is not.

(ACCA 5)

Seriously, this blue haired guy (Magie) reminds me of Japan from Hetalia. Must be the haircut.

How does a guy not remember toast? Probably because this is of Japanese origin, where rice and fish are more common than bread.

I still think his name should be Gene Otus.

CGI fits flawlessly into this style, and if you’ve been around these parts long enough, you know I don’t like obvious CGI.

Dowa Travel.

Hotel Akevitt. They have some weird names in this show.

Reindeer…? I’m not very good at identifying deer vs reindeer.

I heard you like wheat bread, so I put some wheat bread in ACCA to keep you happy, Jean. (insert more memes about wheat bread here)

Lotta really likes walnuts, eh?

Crow/Nino’s a free agent hired by Grossular, right?

Ah. I get it. Lotta’ll keep an eye on Nino for Jean.

Isn’t a sandpiper a bird?

Oh. So that’s why Grossular has such long hair.

Lilium’s bro? Gotta remember him for later.

Grossular’s an older Kyosuke Kuga, LOL.

 Anime of 2016, Ranked

Since I have 17 entries this year and it took a lot of shuffling to get right, I’ve decided to show my entire 2016 rankings. Only shows I saw in their entirety at least once over in 2016 (with the exceptions of D Gray Man Hallow and Morose Mononokean, which are applicable through the simulcast commentary process but were only watched to episode 6 before 2016′s end, and fall anime, which due to being AFK at 2016′s end were unfinshable until 2017), and had at least one new seasonal entry in 2016, apply:

17. Prince of Stride Alternative

16. Mr Osomatsu s2

15. D Gray Man Hallow

14. Kiznaiver

13. Morose Mononokean

12. Nanbaka s1: can’t talk about this yet because its s2’s not finished!

11. Classicaloid s1: can’t talk about this yet because it′s not finished!

10. Flip Flappers: The art style and fight scenes really make this a show worth watching. However, it did get somewhat confusing at the end so that’s where most of the drop in the rankings comes from.

9. ReLIFE: While the themes were pertinent and the art style on point, it was a bit plain and there wasn’t much of an explanation as to why the pills work (even if that isn’t Yoake or An’s role). I guess I’m still used to it living in the shadow of Detective Conan, after all.

8. Boueibu s2: This was a step up from s1, but unfortunately there were prime contenders this year that knocked it out of higher places. Also the fact that it does seem more rushed than s1 due to the time constraints does give it a bit of a toll.

7. Bungou Stray Dogs (overall): 2 seasons makes this show stand out as a strong one, especially near the end when it really hits its stride. The fact light novel stories took up up to 4 episodes did make me worried, but the fans definitely have more than enough material to work with as a result, right?

6. Yuri on Ice: I don’t mind the off model in this one if it means the good stuff can come with it, but the fandom is quite intimidating and it was a “show of the year” in ways some people now consider to be a negative thing, so it did suffer a bit from that. I give it merit for the things it does well, but it’s not the saviour of anime the talk of the town can make it out to be.

5. Boku Dake ga Inai Machi: Stunning visuals, a Sayuri ED and good thrills with well executed cliffhangers. My only gripe with this one was the very end, but you’ll have to see the relevant posts for why that is.

4. Boku no Hero Academia s1: Even if it is repetitive, it rises above (Plus Ultra!) to become something more than just a fusion of East and West like I always try to strive for. It’s an emblem and it’s definitely something Horikoshi should be proud of after what happened to Barrage and Oumagadoki Zoo.

3. Sakamoto Desu Ga: This show also managed to go above its repetitive trappings with inventiveness and humour. The fact it’s also touching at exactly the right points shows you why Takamatsu is one of my favourite directors.

2. ConRevo s2: Colourful and politically striking as always, ConRevo was one of the shows I always looked forward to watching, even if it meant staying up past midnight to document things on the wiki. Even if I’m not that fond of the Urobuchi episode, this show managed to reach awesome highs without losing the fans it got from s1.

1. SGRS: With a soundtrack that brings you to the past, humour that can make you laugh no matter how many times you watch it and visuals to wow even the most serious of artists, you can tell SGRS is a labour of love in every aspect. Its second season has already surpassed its predecessor in only 4 or 5 episodes, so...only time will tell whether anything can challenge SGRS for the throne.

 Total:

winter 4

spring 5 (incl. Bungou Stray Dogs s1)

summer 4

fall 5 (incl. Bungou Stray Dogs s2)

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Bungou Stray Dogs 24 (FINAL) | Flip Flappers 11 - 13 (FINAL) | Classicaloid 11 - 12 | ConRevo 19 - 24 (FINAL)

I’m currently having trouble with Crunchyroll videos, so it may take a while to get to some of their stuff...

Yellow + blue = green, not blue.

Dramatic falls really shouldn’t take that long.

Get out, Igarashi humour.

Oh! Hell~o, Fyodorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Face stealing aliens…again.

Aww…sweet reunions.

Just one word from Dazai and he (Akutagawa) falls backwards, LOL.

Blue background, white and black text. Huh, nice colour palette.

LOL, Ango. You’re back.

Whoa?! Was that in the manga, that Herman was the Guild leader two gens back?!

Smol whale…aww.

Twain, you dumb butt. Stop working on your biography.

Lovecraft’s eyes were showing just as he dove into the water. (sarcastically->) Creepy.

Why a tomato during the “Cheers?!”

LOL, did I only just notice the ahoge on Kyouka? Yeah…I guess.

That was me…y’know. End of 2016 apology?

Ahaha, sweet lil’ Poe. That’s me though.

What a lolicon you are, Mori.

Whose painting is that? But…Dazai, you apparently once did a horrible self portraint…

Fyodor looks so good animated! Aww yeah!

…Dazai, you mean Shin Soukoku, yeah?

“My friend said to me…”

Teni Muhou is, of course, an Oda work,

“See you…” – Huh? This is even more open ended than “See you next level” and such. It’s a complete “in the air” thing! I wonder, since Bungou seems to be very popular amongst the Japanese fans, will we meet again?

Flip Flappers 11

Uhh…what now? I’m so confused…so Mimi = Cocona’s mother and yet a doppelganger of her?

Bu-chan basically wet himself…eww.

That shot of Sayuri, with Hidaka behind her, was vaguely disturbing due to the angle…(By the way, Hadaka = no clothes whatsoever, Hidaka = the name of the pink haired character. I’ve only now made that connection.)

Ick, reaaaaaaaaally compromising shot there between her (Mimi? Cocona’s mother?) legs.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh. Okay. Now it makes sense regarding Cocona and her mother.

Honestly, where are all the guns coming from?! Salt probably had one in his jacket but Nyunyu probably didn’t. She doesn’t even have a jacket!

Back to being confused. Meanwhile, Elpis.

Who is Cocona’s dad, by the way?

A middle aged man bowing down to a young girl? Now that, in Japanese culture, is desperate.

Flip Flappers 12 

I only just realised when Sayuri said their names, but Papika and Yayaka are very similar names. I hope Cocona never gets confused between the two.

That mailbox looks like a mushroom…or worse…hahahaha. Sorry, won’t tell you what it looks like to me. You’ll have to figure it out for yourself.

Yayaka’s got a lot of attitude – I like it.

Hidaka’s EYESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSss! They’re NORMAL! Dang, the sight of Hidaka’s normal eyes makes my own eyes BURNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNnnnn! ARGH!

Yeah…one does not simply have an emergency button labelled “Muscle”, ‘kay?

Idiom mode? Someone get these guys a dictionary.

“Why do you wish…”

That was one of the fastest KOs I’ve ever seen of a final boss. Ever.

That hand in the ED (during the part where Bu-chan becomes a duck)! That’s what it means!

My video keeps stopping at weird spots in the next ep teaser, which shows that one of the images is the muscular monster Cocona and Papika kicked the butt off before, but in blue. Another is a mixture of the worlds, but there’s the kanji for “snow” in one corner. One with Papika and Cocona shows that they’re rough sketches for the show. Oh, whatever…here you go. Some screenshots I took for this express purpose.

Flip Flappers 13 (FINAL)

How did she eat the watermelon with all the seeds in it? I once at a watermelon’s black seed at a buffet…and it ended with me barfing! (I haven’t quite liked watermelon as much since and since it was my favourite fruit up until then, I’ve never really been into fruit since. Haha.)

Okay, we still don’t know who Nyunyu is…

Giant artichokes! At least, that’s what I thought when Nyunyu shot Bu-chan’s brain.

Oh my…that’s some fine Salt you’ve got there! (tee hee)

Scary trees remind me of the ED.

Yay! Beast man Uexkull came back!

Bu-chan…he LIVES!

It seems highly likely Salt is Cocona’s father. My brain can’t quite wrap itself around that fact.

Sailor Lune. LOL.

I think “School Investigator” (School Keiji, shown on a wall while Sayuri looks away) is a Sukeban Deka parody.

Cocona’s in middle school now…wow. Time sure flies, doesn’t it?

Welp, that was slightly confusing, but overall a fun ride. Reminds me of ConRevo, which (at the point of typing) I still need to finish rewatching…

Classicaloid 11

It’s a pretty light episode, but considering that there’s (almost) another season left before we wrap up, it’s allowed.

LOL, I can relate, Schu.

This episode is pretty good when it comes to LOLs - I haven’t laughed like this in a while.

The “JESUS!” in the back was hilarious. (Sorry, Jesus.) Speaking of Jesus…I once saw an ad for this, and Asian Jesus? Whoever decided on that?

What song is this one if they didn’t even use a song this ep? A CLA:KLA song?

“Great Bach says…” – Uh, who’s narrating this? Bach himself?

Classicaloid 12

Ooh, serious mode. They haven’t done that since the guitar contest.

Why is Bach speaking normally?!

What was that, with the beeping…? Cho*bleep*, that is? I dunno.

What’s with those dancers and their makeup?

Hmph. Deep stuff, but I get it.

More bleeping…

Turning point, eh? (Plus, badass helicopter ride. LOL.)

Emails? You weak willed…Sousuke, dangit. Plus, does Mitsuru have a Pad-kun or the Pad-kun?

So Bach is white, as well as dark blue? OK.

Oh no. I just had a hideous fantasy of Schu turning into a fish. It’s more likely Schu will get eaten by the fish instead…or something. *shrugs*

(ConRevo 19)

Terra Australis. I know from history lessons that’s Australia. Magallanica is an alternate name of it.

Uh, definitely not true, Mr Abel Tasman my man.

The ice effect is nice.

Oh, “the tall nail gets the hammer” seems to be a scolding regarding tall poppy syndrome.

Issun boshi aka One Inch Boy. Momotarou…is Momotarou.

The tomb exists. by the way.

Earth-chan went “!!!” at the beam of light, LOL.

Raito’s such a fanboy, albeit a subdued one.

The large object is of course a torii gate.

CGI puzzle…? That’s the weirdest thing I’ll say in a while.

How much would an Equus kick hurt to Koma though? A lot…ouch.

Those red flowers…I recognise them, but I can’t remember their name…*searches* Camellia. That’s the one.

Raito’s face…is so off model, it’s disturbing.

Don’t go around underestimating politicians. (I’m still laughing though...just ignore it…)

Renderer Brace = Satomi, obviously.

(ep 20)

It’s the one Urobuchi episode. I didn’t particularly like it, but when you see what I’m capable of today, I acknowledge I am a hypocrite. The lowest of low beings.

Mekong Delta. That outright confirms it’s Vietnam.

I never really realised how I was so insensitive to POSA colour due to ConRevo…

There’s a distinctly different flavour of story here. Fuurouta, for example, isn’t his usual playful self and is merely a very serious messenger.

Kikko is always treated like a child, huh?

Who’s the bigger monstrosity, Jirou or Jonathan?

At a bar. Just like villains normally hide out.

Shellshock…

“National interest”? Global politics taught me that aside from power, national interest is the most paramount thing there is.

El Coco.

The Middle East? Of course, the ol’ fogey saying that isn’t a coincidence, considering 9/11 and such.

“Cursed bogey”? Never heard that one before.

Wasn’t Urobuchi the one who suffered from depression then decided to kill all his characters? Or was that Yoshiyuki Tomino? Update: Yup, it was the Urobutcher I was thinking of, although I got the story wrong.

Those statues seem to be more Cambodia, but meh.

Of course, that’s deinitely the Urobutcher at work now. To think I used to have stories that were similar to his, because I thought I was capable of writing apocaplytic endings and it was much cooler to kill everyone off…huh. Ro.Te.O is such a weird edgelord amongst all of my stories…

Daizoukyoujiyama.

(ep 21)

The Kachoudou sign actually says August 31st, not October.

The sign in the alley said “Ko-ruten Street”, but I’m not sure what that means.

What’s better than plain ol’ sakuga? Sakuga explosions!

“[N]one of the things that try to trap us are gone”? The syntax is funny in that phrase.

Yee-haw! Sakuga fight!

“No one called you.” – LOL, Raito.

Judas smokes now. What has the world come to?

Arakawa, eh? They’re trying to make the oil spill be water under the bridge, so to speak…geddit? Haha. (Update: Arakawa Under the Bridge. That’s what it refers to.)

(ep 22)

Welp, here’s the Show Within a Show episode…take it as you will.

Gigantopithecus giganteus.

Semiconductor processor.

Such irony in the “You’re still a boy” between Maki and Fuurouta.

Who’s the girl with the yellow headband with Judas?

(ep 23)

Sometimes I wonder if we all wake up from our dreams someday…I think even rewatching this show and finally understanding it, I’m waking up in my own way too.

CGI Equus. Dangit, I thought this show was above that by now.

I didn’t think about why the iron plate thingy is shaped like a fish. Then I realised…taiyaki. They’re shaped like fish and have those sorts of moulds. Just as Fuurouta says.

I forgot Raito dies…*sobs*

Oh? What’s this? Not a complete episode yet?...(Eheh, I just wanted a chance to invoke a meme or two.)

One helmet with a streetlight behind it looks like a bomb…

ConRevo 24 (FINAL)

Final ep…again.

See? Jiro does look like Cyborg 009!

Daitetsu has grown up to be the symbol of justice for Japan and Imperial Ads and to tear him down would mean even more blasphemy on the state than before, eh?

Waitasec…Satomi is basically the Fitz (Bungou Stray Dogs), but without the blonde hair and the (fake and/or crazy) wife.

Jirou disappeared just like Devila and Devilo.

Mm-hm. I do like me some good shirtless Judas. *thumb up*

Aww, Daitetsu. Being the Rainbow Knight for a new generation. Isn’t that sweet?

Hope we can meet again soon!