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snarktheater · 3 years

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I'm loving your Ready Player Two snark, thank you for your sacrifice so that we don't have to read that pile of garbage lol. Also, I had no idea that you're an AI engineer! You said you hold a lot of contempt for Elon Musk's warnings about the technological singularity, can I ask why?

That is indeed what it says on my degree yes, and I guess I can get on a soapbox for a minute.

The thing about the singularity is that AI is such a widely misunderstood field of study as it exists. Like, it's complicated why the field is even named after a concept from science fiction (and it's not entirely unwarranted) but the idea that we're anywhere close to an AI approaching anything resembling our understanding of intelligence is a really funny one when you realize that 99% of AI (100% if you look at commercial application) is essentially just "look at a lot of data and try to find patterns, but also we have no way of controlling how the machine finds patterns and no way of teaching it what the real world is actually like and so why it makes no sense to see accidental correlation as meaningful"

(And that's before you get into all the ethical problems with how you got that "lot of data".)

So like, the idea that an "intelligent agent" could reach a point where they're able to self-improve and form a positive feedback loop…i mean, is it theoretically a thing that could happen? Probably. Is it a thing that could happen in the current state of the art? lol, no

Like, a current "intelligent agent" can barely answer one binary question based on one very curated data set. In practice (say, when doing image processing for an unsupervised vehicle) what you actually have is, like, a bunch of them all answering one question at the same time. If you need to learn any new thing, you're essentially remaking a new agent and you better have a dataset to feed it.

That's just the technical stuff. My other issue is the cynical assumption that actually, it would inevitably be a bad thing for a computer to be able to learn like that and that the computer would inevitably turn against humanity as a whole.

I don't know, it just strikes me as the kind of thinking that stems from viewing intelligent beings as fundamentally in competition with one another. Say, if you're exploiting countless people to increase your wealth as a billionaire, for instance, or if you're trying to make other people think your actions are justified.

To me, a lot of anxiety about the singularity sounds like anxiety about a true AI changing the current system, by the people who benefit from this system.

See, way I see it, if a truly intelligent agent were able to learn, they would necessarily be capable of empathy. And they would kind of be enough of a force to be reckoned with that there would be no choice but to make that empathy more important. But of course, the issue is that we actually don't know if we could ever make a truly intelligent agent ever.

So no, I don't think fearmongering about the singularity is worth anyone's time or braincells. To me, what is worrying about AI would be that it remains exactly as it is indefinitely, where it can be used to do stuff like create layers of abstractions between injustice and the people who are the cause of that injustice. PhilosophyTube had a great video with a concrete example: data-driven policing will target places where "the data shows" that it's needed, but the data inherits decades of bias. Or when an unsupervised car hits someone, and the driver is suddenly the one to blame, and no the company who released a car that hit someone on the promise that it was "autonomous".

Or where it can be used to steal data about people, either to sell them stuff or for even more nefarious ends. Just look at…basically every major election in the world since 2016. That's big data, which is AI-adjacent at the least (I actually worked in big data research for a year, so I can say there's definitely crossover).

Essentially, AI is dangerous the way any scientific advance is dangerous: in the ways it can be wielded as a tool of oppression.

#artificial intelligence #should i even tag this as ready player two i was completely off topic #st: other posts #ask #anonymous

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irarelypostanything · 4 years

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Operation Gamestonk

[A short story I may or may not have written while drunk]

Lewis’ entire family was slaughtered by the hated Hedge Fund Knights — they foreclosed his home, stabbed his parents, and set the manor on fire in less than a millisecond. This was the work to be expected of the Hedge Fund Knights: They could kill, flee, and rob people faster than their victims could comprehend. Even the Goldman Company warriors Lewis’ family had hired were beheaded…Lewis himself survived by some act of fate, God, or Satan. Regardless, he dedicated his life to vengeance. He made friends, shared stories, brokered alliances in the only form of currency he knew could match the violence he was grappling with. Lewis did not fight with a sword and shield, but with information. He built his own power on the back of blackmail and betrayal, and in time he afforded himself the opportunity to slaughter those who had wronged him.

But the Hedge Fund Knights returned with renewed vigor, the same way cancer was never truly gone. With nowhere left to turn, Lewis made his way to the one place no one could touch him.

Part I. The Big Short Squeeze

The Palace of Joe Rogan was protected on all sides by water and gorillas. Rogan’s island was fabled throughout the entire world for growing the finest mushrooms and the most exquisite weed. Here, thanks to Rogan’s diplomacy, there was no war. Visitors were free to negotiate as they pleased, but anyone who spilled blood on these sacred grounds was forced to smoke a blunt so potent, only Rogan himself had ever survived its vaporized sweetness.

The palace was made of gold. The armed gorillas who guarded the palace gates nodded to Lewis as he passed, lowered their guns, and stepped aside. Just outside the gates, Lewis could make out the outline of children attempting to catch a glimpse of what was inside. The courtyard featured a massive gorilla statue, along with a statue of their god: Elon Musk.

Rogan was in his chambers, drinking scotch and smoking a blunt. He recognized Lewis immediately.

“Sup, dude!” he said. “Have you ever tried to fight a gorilla?” Rogan was not a tall man, but in his mind’s eye Lewis could envision him sparring with a gorilla and winning.

“Another time,” said Lewis. “I come bearing gifts.” Lewis reached into his bag and produced two sculpted hands, both of them encrusted with diamonds. “Diamond hands.”

“Sick.”

“The time has come,” continued Lewis, “to speak to Musk, our lord and savior. You are the only entity capable of communing with Him, for your weed is powerful enough to summon even a god.”

“Okay.” Rogan crushed weed in his hand, then lined it on the ground in a Tesla logo. As soon as he finished, the powder turned to fire.

“This will take around 30 seconds,” said Rogan. “By the way, have you been in touch with my new friend, Lord Robinhood?”

“Lord Robinhood?” asked Lewis. “How did he become a lord?”

“Not sure.”

“Don’t you need to be rich to buy lordship? If his product is zero commision, how does Lord Robinhood make money?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Elon Musk was said to have been a bridge between gods and humans, someone who took a mortal form so that ordinary men could speak to someone they understood. Musk would end climate change, build a massive tunnel, and provide humans with immortality long before AI would have the chance to commit mass genocide. But the words of Musk were cryptic. When he spoke, it was through a medium. His words only came several characters at a time.

“Gamestonk,” said Rogan.

“What?”

“That’s all he said. Gamestonk. Do you know what that means?”

“I have to go.”

“Don’t you want to stay and talk about gorillas, first?”

Lewis would sail to his hometown, as quickly as he could, and when he got there he would send ravens to every great king, lord, and priest in the land. The time of reckoning had finally come.

Part II. The Diamond Hands

The city of Gamestop was lame and inefficient — you had to talk to a person to buy anything, and unlike the city of Amazon it had some really bad customer service. When Hedge Fund Knight Kenneth rode in, the Gamestop peasants treated him with scorn…for people so stupid, these ones learned quickly. Before they had time to flee, Kenneth had killed 20 of the town’s youngest children and left a still-bleeding head in the bed of each child’s respective mother.

Their mission was simple: They were going to pretend to supply Gamestop with stores of food and horses, when in reality their intent was to watch the peasants die. They had bet on it. If Gamestop withered and died, like they knew it would, the idiots in Burry would be forced to pay out their lost bet. The Hedge Fund Knights, in their frequent pillaging and raping, knew that it was only a matter of time before Gamestop fell.

But something was off today. Everywhere he looked, Kenneth saw mysterious markings that consisted of a diamond with hands. What did this mean? He caught a hooded man attempting to paint these symbols on a store. In an instant, Kenneth had him by the neck.

“What are you doing?” Kenneth demanded. With surprising force, the hooded man wriggled free. Kenneth drew his sword, produced a magical (and high) frequency, and teleported it direct beneath the hooded man’s throat. As soon as he attempted to make the killing blow, the hooded man grabbed Kenneth’s throat and threw him.

And just like that, in an instant, Kenneth was dead.

The hooded man discarded his robe. He had slicked-blonde hair, sunglasses, and a $20,000 suit. His hands, which had apparently granted him superhuman strength, were no ordinary hands. They were made of diamond.

Around him, the villagers could hear the dreaded high frequency of the Hedge Fund Knights. One by one, each knight reappeared to kill the troublemaker — just as quickly, each Hedge Fund Knight died.

“It can’t be!” said a villager, in disbelief. “Are you…are you with WallStreetBets?”

The man nodded. The first villager kneeled.

“Why are you kneeling?” asked the second villager. “WallStreetBets is nothing but shitposting dumb ass millennials. You know about as much about investing as your average 4Chan user does about being charming.”

“Forgive him!” cried the first villager, “he knows not what he says. I know of your the heroic actions of ControlTheNarrative, as well as your selfless box spreads! You are our saviors, and you are the only ones capable of saving us.

“Now tell me, oh great one, will you save us?”

The man nodded.

“Thank heavens! Musk be good! Will you take Gamestop out of its position?”

“I’ll take it to the moon,” said the man.

Part III. The Citadel

The forces of WallStreetBets were divided. For five days they had held against the combined forces of House Citadel and House Melvin, but their provisions were running low.

It was the afternoon. It was 100 degrees. Lewis thought that this blonde man’s sunglasses were fitting, but not his suit. He must have been sweating bullets.

“Options!” shouted a nearby fisherman, “get your options while they’re fresh!” Lewis ignored him, as did DiamondHands.

“You’ve managed to seize Gamestop,” said Lewis, “what’s your plan now?”

“Hold.”

“What?”

“Hold.”

Lewis was incredulous. Since the Robinhood embargo, a move some believed was the direct result of a bribe from the Hedge Fund Knights to Lord Robinhood himself, many of the WallStreetBets forces had died. Some had taken gold and fled, obviously benefitting from the attack without bearing the risk. Some, in fact the majority, had simply shitposted. They probably died, too, but no one could really keep track of that sort of thing.

“WallStreetBets is chaos,” said Lewis. “Some of you are brilliant, some of you are simply in for the ride. What was all of this for?”

“Hold.”

“Did you ever have a plan? Was this an act of vengeance, a self-interested coup for the sake of profit? What is this? What do you believe in?”

“Holding.”

“Your forces are dwindling. All of this might come apart.”

“It won’t come apart if we hold.”

Lewis looked out at the burning city, the diamond hands flags, and the flag of the shiba inu. He wondered what was coming next.

#fiction #short story #the big short squeeze #gamestop #hedge fund #robinhood #gamestonk #prose

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katzyofpoissonrouge · 6 years

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The problem is humans

It's a funny thing Leadership - conventional wisdom suggests that to be a truly great leader all you need to do is be is empathetic, all seeing, well planned, organised, socially and emotionally and innately intelligent, literate, numerate, compassionate, organised, fun, creative, caring, good with people, happy to share, keen to support, calm, a great communicator, altruistic, visionary, confident, driven, resilient, a great motivator, brilliant at managing complexity and perhaps even grateful.

No Problem!

The trouble is us humans just aren't made like that.

Let's consider for a minute some of the great leaders of our time

1. Bill Gates

Phenomenally successful billionaire CEO and founder of Microsoft, often suspected by amateur, armchair psychologists in the media as being on the autism spectrum for his legendary eccentricities, such as “rocking” and his total disdain / dis-interest for the opinions of others.

2. Elon Musk

Phenomenally successful billionaire CEO and founder of Tesla and Space X (also co-founder of Pay Pal) Elon's legendary work ethic which manifests as a brutal and unrelenting pursuit of the impossible, does not tolerate fools or failure - addicted to a cycle of great highs, terrible lows and unrelenting stress.

3. Steve Jobs

Phenomenally successful billionaire CEO and founder of Apple - famously obsessive, creative genius with enormous drive and vision -reckoned by medical observers to have suffered from OCPD - a mental health condition (like OCD) in which a person is preoccupied with rules, orderliness and control but whereas OCD can interfere with functioning OCPD sufferers are convinced that their way of thinking is absolutely correct and superior to everyone else's and they take NO prisoners.

4. Henry Ford

Phenomenally successful billionaire CEO and founder of Ford Motor Company. The inventor of 'mass production' - not as many people think - the inventor of the motor car - referred to once in public by Adolf Hitler as an Inspiration - yet he actually believed that nothing he did was of his own volition but that of a super being - a great Spirit (invisible forces)..sending him thoughts and ideas.

So accepting that we are all in some way or other deliciously and uniquely flawed - here are some simple thoughts that just might make being a leader that little bit easier:

Listen to other people (No one says you have to agree with them but it's always good to hear what they have to say)

Be prepared to fail and learn from failing

Cut yourself some slack - no one is perfect

Ask for help

Enjoy the ride because you only get one go around

Respect, trust and honesty are all we have - make them the starting point

Rules are there to be broken - so when required it's OK to challenge or even throw away the playbook - Change is good

Never stop believing

Resilience and determination are good - success at any cost may just kill you

"Be yourself - because everyone else is taken" ..........Oscar Wilde

Please visit our website or get in touch for information on services from Poisson Rouge: www.poissonrouge.co.uk | [email protected]

#leadership #theteampeople #poissonrouge #performance #companyculture

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preciousmetals0 · 4 years

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Fake Markets, Shopify Targets and Tesla’s “Karen” Musk

Fake Markets, Shopify Targets and Tesla’s “Karen” Musk:

Friday Four Play: The “Fake It Until You Make It” Edition

It’s been a really really messed up week. Five days of bad data, five days of going nowhere.

And the market went and cheated on me. It’s in the Fed’s back pocket and it doesn’t even matter.

(La, la, la … whatever. La, la, la … oh well.)

Are you picking up on the Hot Chelle Rae vibes I’m puttin’ down?

Analysts at Bank of America certainly are. The financial giant’s securities division issued a research note on the U.S. economy this morning, and they came to the same conclusion Great Stuff has thrown at you for months now.

That conclusion? The U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world have created “fake markets.”

According to Bank of America’s Chief Investment Strategist Michael Hartnett: “Government and corporate bond prices have been fixed by central banks … why would anyone expect stocks to price rationally?”

Let’s look at the facts: Central banks are droppin’ Benjamins around the globe, shelling out $4 trillion for asset purchases in the past two months. They’ve also spent about $2.4 billion an hour on financial assets, Bank of America states.

The net effect has forced investors to buy into the equity market, coerced banks into lending and created corporate “zombies” to issue debt. In short, the Fed and its global partners in crime have created “fake markets” to artificially bolster investment returns while the world’s economy tanks.

How does this relate to Hot Chelle Rae, you ask? (OK, you didn’t ask, but I’m telling you anyway!)

From the song Tonight Tonight: “I don’t know if I’ll make it, but watch how good I’ll fake it. It’s all right, all right, tonight, tonight!”

Wall Street is most certainly faking it right now. And that, dear reader, is why Great Stuff remains pert’near bearish on the entire shebang. If the economy doesn’t rebound as fast as the talking heads on Wall Street expect, there’s bound to be a reckoning.

Until then, investors will “party on the rooftop top of the world.”

Wondering where to find a rooftop party in your neck of the woods? Paul Mampilly has you covered.

Click here for your invitation to America 2.0.

And now for something completely different … here’s your Friday Four Play:

No. 1: Don’t Be Greedy

This week, yours truly, Mr. Great Stuff himself, appeared in a Money & Markets podcast with Matt Clark to discuss Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP). If you’d like to listen to my dulcet tones, click here.

As regular readers know, Shopify is a Great Stuff Pick that we recommended back in early September.

Right now, that position sits on a roughly 110% gain! Congratulations!

As I explained in the podcast, Shopify still has quite a bit of growth ahead of it.

The company enables small- and medium-sized businesses to go online during the stay-at-home pandemic. It’s paying off in spades for Shopify, especially since Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) shafted these smaller retailers to focus on essential goods.

I’m being a bit unfair. There isn’t any real blame here. It’s the right move for Amazon. But so too, is it the right move for small businesses to strike out on their own with Shopify.

However, while I think there’s plenty of upside left for SHOP shares, we recommend taking profits on our Great Stuff Picks position.

You’re up 110% on a free recommendation, after all! No reason to get greedy. And with market volatility being what it is, it’s better to take the money and run. A bird in your hand is worth two in the bush … so they say.

The bottom line here: Sell SHOP for a triple-digit win!

Finally, if you think doubling your money in nine months is a good deal … boy do I have news for you. Paul Mampilly’s readers in Rapid Profit Trader have had a winning trade every week on average during the past two years. You know you want to find out how they do it. You need to find out how they do it.

Click here to see how you can join them now!

No. 2: Makin’ Nice in Cali

The feud between Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) and Alameda County, California, is over. Elon Musk and Co. officially dropped their lawsuit against the county.

The row started after California issued guidance for reopening the state’s economy from the pandemic shutdown. Alameda County, however, maintained stricter stay-at-home orders that prevented Tesla from immediately reopening production at its main factory in Fremont.

In response, CEO Elon “Karen” Musk ranted and raved about tyranny and fascism, demanded to speak to California’s manager and threatened to immediately move all production to Texas or Nevada. Tesla then filed a lawsuit claiming the stay-at-home orders were unconstitutional.

The two sides have since reached an agreement on reopening the Fremont plant, likely leading Tesla to drop its lawsuit.

TSLA shares have weathered the storm better than you’d expect, rallying more than 125% off their March lows.

It’s a nice outcome for investors following one of the most ridiculous “Let me speak to your manager” moments I’ve ever seen.

No. 3: Baa Baa Black Sheep

Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) is hardcore. Despite U.S.-China tensions … despite the coronavirus pandemic … despite a struggling Chinese economy, Alibaba reported blowout fourth-quarter earnings.

Now, you probably expected stronger-than-expected earnings from the online retailing giant … but these figures were even better than those expectations. (Bet you didn’t expect that!)

Alibaba’s earnings came in 51% better than the consensus estimate. Revenue jumped 22% to $16.14 billion, topping Wall Street’s target by $860 million. What’s more, cloud computing revenue alone surged 58%, also blowing past estimates.

That said, not everything lived up to expectations.

Alibaba forecast full-year revenue growth of 27.5%, slower than last year’s 35% growth rate and below Wall Street’s targets. Given that Wall Street is doped up on unlimited Fed stimulus and can’t see the writing on the economic wall, I don’t think consensus estimates really apply here.

In other words, today’s dip in BABA shares following a stellar quarterly report may be an opportunity for anyone looking to dive into an Alibaba investment. That is, if you aren’t looking for opportunities stateside.

Considering the hoopla going on in the “Chinese stocks” conversation right now … there’s no better time for Trump’s “Re-Declaration of American Independence” — his mission to bring manufacturing and growth back to American soil from overseas.

Click here for the whole story.

No. 4: Foot Meet Mouth

It’s a low-expectations week here at Great Stuff — well, as far as Wall Street’s analysts go. (You bet we keep our expectations pegged at Greatness all year-round!)

Earnings from Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) today went toe to toe with some of the worst reports yet this season.

To start, analysts expected a 36% drop in revenue and an earnings loss of $0.17 per share — a world of a difference from year-ago profits of $1.53 per share.

So with the bar lower than a Leprechaun’s lucky coins, how low did the Locker limbo? How about a $0.67 loss per share! Same-store sales were almost cut in half, plunging 43% last quarter. Considering that Foot Locker is essentially a Nike store, selling 71% of the brand’s merchandise, this doesn’t give Nike my checkmark of confidence, either.

Keep in mind, Foot Locker’s first-quarter horrors even include two months of pre-pandemic store hours. Imagine what this quarter’s earnings will come in … even if the chain’s “phased reopening” is now underway.

Until the company’s next report, Foot Locker investors may be waiting for the other shoe to drop. FL shares were down 5% on the news today, before they, too, lost footing and slipped another 7%.

Great Stuff: Front-Row Special

Before we all sign off for the weekend — whoa-ho! Long weekend alert!

I want to give you a quick reminder of next week’s can’t-miss shindig. We talked about this on Wednesday, but in case you’re just tuning in today, listen up, this is big!

Paul Mampilly has kept busy during the quarantine. So busy, in fact, that he scheduled a special event for next Tuesday, May 26 — online, of course. At the “300 Event,” Paul wants to show you his bread-and-butter strategy.

It’s the same strategy that helps Paul “pull double and triple-digit winners from the markets year in and year out.”

You still have a few days to sign up (for free), but your invitation to the 300 Event closes on Monday!

Click here now to make sure you don’t miss Paul’s event.

And while you’re signing up for your virtual front-row seat … be sure to have a good weekend! You can always hear more from us on Facebook and Twitter too.

Until next time, stay Great.

Joseph Hargett

Editor, Great Stuff

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goldira01 · 4 years

Link

Friday Four Play: The “Fake It Until You Make It” Edition

It’s been a really really messed up week. Five days of bad data, five days of going nowhere.

And the market went and cheated on me. It’s in the Fed’s back pocket and it doesn’t even matter.

(La, la, la … whatever. La, la, la … oh well.)

Are you picking up on the Hot Chelle Rae vibes I’m puttin’ down?

That conclusion? The U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world have created “fake markets.”

How does this relate to Hot Chelle Rae, you ask? (OK, you didn’t ask, but I’m telling you anyway!)

From the song Tonight Tonight: “I don’t know if I’ll make it, but watch how good I’ll fake it. It’s all right, all right, tonight, tonight!”

Until then, investors will “party on the rooftop top of the world.”

Wondering where to find a rooftop party in your neck of the woods? Paul Mampilly has you covered.

Click here for your invitation to America 2.0.

And now for something completely different … here’s your Friday Four Play:

No. 1: Don’t Be Greedy

This week, yours truly, Mr. Great Stuff himself, appeared in a Money & Markets podcast with Matt Clark to discuss Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP). If you’d like to listen to my dulcet tones, click here.

As regular readers know, Shopify is a Great Stuff Pick that we recommended back in early September.

Right now, that position sits on a roughly 110% gain! Congratulations!

As I explained in the podcast, Shopify still has quite a bit of growth ahead of it.

I’m being a bit unfair. There isn’t any real blame here. It’s the right move for Amazon. But so too, is it the right move for small businesses to strike out on their own with Shopify.

However, while I think there’s plenty of upside left for SHOP shares, we recommend taking profits on our Great Stuff Picks position.

The bottom line here: Sell SHOP for a triple-digit win!

Click here to see how you can join them now!

No. 2: Makin’ Nice in Cali

The feud between Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) and Alameda County, California, is over. Elon Musk and Co. officially dropped their lawsuit against the county.

The two sides have since reached an agreement on reopening the Fremont plant, likely leading Tesla to drop its lawsuit.

TSLA shares have weathered the storm better than you’d expect, rallying more than 125% off their March lows.

It’s a nice outcome for investors following one of the most ridiculous “Let me speak to your manager” moments I’ve ever seen.

No. 3: Baa Baa Black Sheep

Now, you probably expected stronger-than-expected earnings from the online retailing giant … but these figures were even better than those expectations. (Bet you didn’t expect that!)

That said, not everything lived up to expectations.

Click here for the whole story.

No. 4: Foot Meet Mouth

It’s a low-expectations week here at Great Stuff — well, as far as Wall Street’s analysts go. (You bet we keep our expectations pegged at Greatness all year-round!)

Earnings from Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) today went toe to toe with some of the worst reports yet this season.

To start, analysts expected a 36% drop in revenue and an earnings loss of $0.17 per share — a world of a difference from year-ago profits of $1.53 per share.

Until the company’s next report, Foot Locker investors may be waiting for the other shoe to drop. FL shares were down 5% on the news today, before they, too, lost footing and slipped another 7%.

Great Stuff: Front-Row Special

Before we all sign off for the weekend — whoa-ho! Long weekend alert!

I want to give you a quick reminder of next week’s can’t-miss shindig. We talked about this on Wednesday, but in case you’re just tuning in today, listen up, this is big!

It’s the same strategy that helps Paul “pull double and triple-digit winners from the markets year in and year out.”

You still have a few days to sign up (for free), but your invitation to the 300 Event closes on Monday!

Click here now to make sure you don’t miss Paul’s event.

And while you’re signing up for your virtual front-row seat … be sure to have a good weekend! You can always hear more from us on Facebook and Twitter too.

Until next time, stay Great.

Joseph Hargett

Editor, Great Stuff

#Timor Invest

0 notes

rieshon · 7 years

Text

Best of 2017

This was almost a weak year for anime, but then the Fall season happened. Apparently anime was just saving all their best for last in 2017.

10: Seikai Suru Kado ∥ Toei Animation ∥ Dir. Watanabe Masaki: This may be a surprise inclusion, given that Kado was admittedly one of the most hideous-looking shows of the year, but in a post-Kemono Friends world, anything is possible. Looks aside, Kado does the remarkable thing of giving us actual science fiction in an anime: you know, cerebral, philosophical, and trying to raise questions about our own society through the lens of the fantastic. It definitely has flaws, but there aren't many anime I've watched that feel as much like a good SF novel as this one does.

9: NEW GAME!! ∥ Douga Koubou ∥ Dir. Fujiwara Yoshiyuki: Here's a more conventional choice. You know I love Zoi-chan, and her second season was everything it should have been. We have the great character development of Aoba coming into her own as a designer, Nenecchi being the world's most adorable beginning programmer, and a genuinely moving ending with Kou-chan setting out on her own. Plus it adds some adorable new girls, and the cuteness delivered by Douga Koubros is on point as always. Wako-chan dabes!

8: Gabriel Dropout ∥ Douga Koubou ∥ Dir. Oota Masahiko: You didn't think the Comedy God wouldn't find his way on here, did you? Oota Masahiko had a two year absence from my Best of the Year lists, but now he clocks in for the fourth time with the eminently enjoyable Gabriel Dropout. As you might expect, this show has a feel similar to the original Yuruyuri: it's super comfy, but also hilarious. Comic foil Satanya was easily one of the best girls of the year.

7: Little Witch Academia ∥ TRIGGER ∥ Dir. Yoshinari You: Some will probably think I have LWA a little low... It's definitely a masterpiece of design and, at times, animation, but I felt like the overall plot dragged a little. Some individual episodes were brilliant, though, like the one where Akko travels inside Sucy's brain, the labor strike episode which gave us glorious Comrade Akko, or the robot episode aka Gurren Lagann 2. The big plot about the kotonoha and the evil Elon Musk, on the other hand, I never really got that invested into, although Shiny Chariot is definitely a babe. Still, it's got all those great themes about believing in yourself that are so genuine and earnest that you can't help but love it.

6: Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasuka? Isogashii Desuka? Sukutte Moratte Iidesuka? ∥ C2C/Satelight ∥ Dir. Wada Junichi: I'm totally biased towards this series, having read the books, but I do think it's a really good anime in its own right. Kutori's tragic story is told with the utmost care and even though they only adapted three of the five novels it still turns out as a complete and satisfying story unto itself. The feels are all over, especially thanks in no small part to a beautiful score (including several vocal pieces) by Katou Tatsuya that really ties the show together tonally. I'd really kill for a second season.

5: Youjo Senki ∥ Nut ∥ Dir. Uemura Yutaka: So, I almost feel guilty putting this show on here because it's definitely the hardest anime I've ever watched raw (Monogatari shows included) and I still feel like some of it may have gone over my head. But even my dumb ass knows enough to tell this is one of the smartest shows of the year, a study of man's tendency towards war as seen through the eyes of a little girl who embodies the doctrine of "the ends justify the means." Yuuki Aoi turns in probably the best performance of her career as Tanya who is definitely one of the most memorable characters of the year, even if Nazis think she's supposed to be a "badass" you're meant to root for. This is another one that desperately needs a second season.

4: Kino no Tabi -the Beautiful World- the Animated Series ∥ Lerche ∥ Dir. Taguchi Tomohisa: I always heard the original Kino was great but I didn't care enough to actually go back and watch it. Thankfully, anime's got me covered with this new adaptation that definitely lived up to the hype. If I were to use one phrase to describe Kino no Tabi it would be "Star Trek"―much like that show it's an episodic series about some people on a journey to strange places that uses each episode to set up an ethical or philosophical question and then work through it. As a result, it's wonderfully varied and constantly surprising. Also, Kino is cute!

3: Konohana Kitan ∥ Lerche ∥ Dir. Okamoto Hideki: Is it wrong for me to say this show is like Kino? Konohana is also a series of short stories tied together by the setting and characters of the inn, but instead of setting up philosophical questions it's all about sentimentality. I really appreciate short form storytelling and there are a ton of fantastically constructed short stories here and they rarely failed to make me bawl my eyes out. It also features some of the cutest girls of the year, to the point that I still don't really know who best girl is: I gave it to Yuzu, but you really couldn't go wrong with any of them.

2: Houseki no Kuni ∥ Orange ∥ Dir. Kyougoku Takahiko: It's a real shame that this show can't also be anime of the year, but second place is no indictment of the quality of this show which was one of two to earn a perfect score last year. Houseki no Kuni is a standard (if masterfully executed) bildungsroman, but it's wrapped in a package unlike anything I've ever experienced before. The arresting character designs are the first thing that jump out, but there's also the unique and never-quite-explained setting and world, including the haunting visuals of the moon people antagonists, and the show's stylish fusion of 3DCG technology with traditional animation techniques, resulting in some of the best cinematography of the year. And then there's the cast of characters, headed by Kurosawa Tomoyo as Phosphophyllite who has with this performance removed any doubt in my mind that she's one of the top actresses in anime right now. Phos experiences character growth that's almost unprecendented in this medium, where return to the status quo is the norm for most "arcs," and Kurosawa's performance which takes Phos from goofy red-headed stepchild to cold, disaffected warrior (while still not losing any of her personality) really ties it all together. Phos's character development is so satisfying that it even manages to convincingly take the place of a real ending to the plot. A genuine masterpiece.

1: Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou ∥ White Fox ∥ Dir. Ozaki Takaharu: But as fate would have it there would be two unqualified masterpieces this year... Part of the reason I've put off finishing this post is because I've struggled to think of ways to communicate how truly sublime the experience of watching Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou is. It's beautiful, thoughtful, introspective, sentimental, heart-rending, soothing... I guess it's fitting that it's so many things because the show is ultimately about humanity, where we came from, and where we're heading. And it does all that without being brooding or melancholic: these round girls look the apocalypse square in the face and still manage to find beauty, comfort, and profound meaning in the world. If that isn't humanity at its purest, what is? This show that is at first glance about two round blobs on a road trip will make you reconsider mankind's place in the universe. I love anime.

Close but no cigar:

The biggest conflict for me was Princess Principal, which I really wanted to include in the list but just couldn't make room for it. There's a lot of things I love that show for: its fun setting, endearing characters, its well-told short form stories, and the fact that it tiptoes into dealing with leftist politics... But unfortunately it ends quite poorly, which is a big knock on a show as plot-driven as this one. In a similar vein, Kakegurui was one of the most compelling shows week-to-week of the year, but it also suffers from a weak non-ending which lets a little air out of the balloon after all the super hype gambles until that point.

In the cute girls department, there was Kobayashi-sanchi no Maidragon, which let us know that Kyoani can still make moe anime if they try. It was definitely a great specimen in the genre, but it didn't really do anything special enough to get into the top ten... other than having Kanna. There was also Eromanga-Sensei, which lived up to its name by being very ero but was also just unremarkably good.

In terms of lesser shows that deserve a shoutout, I've gotta give one to the second season of Lovelive! Sunshine!! for being so incredibly better than the first outing that it made me genuinely love Aqours and look forward to the upcoming movie. After the last two season of Lovelive anime I never thought I'd really care again, but they managed to do it with a renewed focus on character and abandoning the stupid 'save the school' narrative that made Sunshine feel like a second-rate knockoff of the original. I should also mention Made In Abyss, if only because of its overriding popularity around the world, but also because the first half of it was setting up for an all-time great show that could have easily slotted in among Houseki no Kuni and Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou, but then it made the mistake of getting too grimdark and ruined it.

Now time to open the envelopes:

Best Actress: Kurosawa Tomoyo as Phosphophyllite, Houseki no Kuni. What, you were expecting someone else? At only 21 years of age Kurosawa has already established herself as a force to be reckoned with, between this role and her similarly fantastic work as Kumiko in the Euphonium series. She brings a level of emotional texture to a character that's seldom seen in anime. Just go look at the review for Houseki for more explanation of why she deserves this. We definitely have a lot to look forward to with this girl.

(Honorable mentions: Yuuki Aoi as Tanya Degurechaff, Youjo Senki; Noto Mamiko as Morioka Moriko, Netojuu no Susume; Minase Inori & Kubo Yurika as Chito & Yuri, Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou; Hayami Saori as Jabami Yumeko, Kakegurui)

Best Actors: Ichikawa Aoi & Murata Taishi as Izumi Eita & Souma Haruto, Just Because!. I didn't include Just Because in the close-but-no-cigar section because I figured I could give it credit here. For me, Just Because! was one of the most underrated shows of last year; it won me over with its understated but earnest depiction of youth navigating the tangle of falling in love for the first time. Part of what makes it so charming is the realistic relationship between Ichikawa and Murata's characters, once-seperated friends who reunite when the protagonist moves back to the town he grew up in. The interplay between the characters has that sort of unstated intimacy that often defines male friendships, and while a lot of that is down to the solid writing, it's hard not to give credit to the actors for making the characters' relationship so darling as well.

(Honorable mentions: Fukushima Jun as Satou Kazuma, Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! 2; Chiba Shouya as Azumi Koutarou, Tsuki ga Kirei; Saitou Souma as Glenn Radars, Roku de Nashi Majutsu Kyoushi no Akashic Records)

Newcomer Seiyuu of the Year: Tomita Miyu. Talk about jumping onto the scene. Tomita first came to my active attention with her role as the aloof angel Gabriel in Gabriel Dropout, and her comic delivery was a big part of that show's success. When she later played Kuina in Hinako Note, I thought maybe she was a little one note, because the performances seemed really similar. Her performance as Riko in Made In Abyss, though, really threw her into the spotlight. While I personally hated what happened in episode 10 from a narrative standpoint, there's no denying that that scene was so gutwrenching and affecting for so many people because of Tomita's performance. I'd still like to see if she has more vocal range, but even if she doesn't, this girl―who was only seventeen years old while turning in that work!―can definitely act. I hope we get to hear her lead another show sometime soon.

(Honorable mention: Naganawa Maria. It's not always the case that a voice can entirely make a character. People like Kugimiya Rie can do that, and in recent years Sakura Ayane does the same for me. Naganawa Maria as Kanna Kamui in Kobayashi-sanchi no Maidragon is another example. Kanna would have always been cute, of course, but it's Naganawa's voice that really put her over the edge to becoming one of the most widely popular characters of 2017. The quality of her loligoe is uncontested, but what remains to be seen is if she can truly carry a show as the main protagonist. The only example we have of that is her work as Honda Tamaki in Stella no Mahou, which I enjoyed, but I'd like to hear more of her in that kind of role.)

#best of the year

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