12 Days of Anime (2015) – Day 1 – Imai Kami’s Shoukan! Kengou Gakuen

Imai Kami’s premier manga, Needless, concluded with Chapter 114 in June of 2013, following a cherished 10 year run. In December 2013, Imai Kami’s other long-running manga of 7 years, Shirasunamura, also concluded. At the time Needless concluded, Kami expressed interest in taking a well-deserved break before returning to draw the latter half of Needless with his planned continuation called Needless 2. However, since that summer, Kami has been quiet as a mangaka, only working on 4koma comics for Arcadia magazine and releasing an art book in 2014. It wasn’t until January 2015 when I discovered that Kami had been working on a new manga in Arcadia magazine, Shoukan! Kengou Gakuen, with the first volume being available in February. Unable to find any useful information online, I waited patiently for the manga to be imported from Japan. Imai Kami’s new manga, Shoukan! Kengou Gakuen will be the focus for Day 1 of my 12 Days of Anime for 2015.

12 Days of Anime (2015) – Day 2 – Speaking with Hiromi Katou, Character Design for Needless, at Sakuracon

Hiromi Katou is a gifted and experienced talent, having a successful career in the anime industry through a variety of roles. Among his notable accomplishments, he was the character designs for Guilty Crown, Kobato., and Hakkenden, the animation directors for Beck, Gunslinger Stratos, and Fantasia Doll, and a key animator for Death Note, Azumanga Daioh, Shingeki no Kyojin, and many more. However, his most distinguished achievement, to me at least, is that he was the character design for Needless, which you might guess from previous posts is my favorite anime. I was extremely fortunate that Hiromi Katou was invited as a guest for Sakuracon this year and made sure to visit his Q&A panel, so that I could ask him some questions regarding Needless. So, for Day 2 of my 12 Days of Anime, I’ll recall my time with Hiromi Katou and the answers he provided about his experience with Needless.

12 Days of Anime (2015) – Day 3 – Favorite Openings and Endings of 2015

Every year, I recall my favorite anime openings and endings in my Final Review, selecting my very favorites from each of the four Season Reviews that settle at the end of each season. But, seeing as I haven’t published a Season Review since 2013 and given that there is no other time to document my favorite OPs/EDs of the year, I have reserved Day 3 of my 12 Days of Anime for 2015 for this lacking quality of mine. Of course, I won’t reveal my favorite OP and ED of the year just yet (that will be reserved for the Final Review of 2015), but here are some of my favorites that I would love to share with you. Now, please enjoy 8 of my Top 10 Openings and Endings for 2015.

12 Days of Anime (2015) – Day 4 – Year of the Sequels

It’s been 1 year, 3 months since Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?. It’s been 1 year, 6 months since Miss Monochrome, Non Non Biyori, and Noragami. It’s been 1 year, 9 months since Gatchaman Crowds and Monogatari Series Second Season. It’s been 2 years since Kamisama Kiss. It’s been 2 years, 3 months since Dog Days’ (S2).  It’s been 2 years, 9 months since K and Sidoni no Kishi. It’s been 3 years since Yuru Yuri ♪♪ (S2).  It’s been 3 years, 6 months since Working’!! (S2). It’s been 4 years, 6 months since Durarara!!. It’s been 5 years, 2 months since The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. It’s been 9 years since Utawarerumono, and it’s been 10 years since Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor. I think it’s safe to say, with all of these anime franchises returning with TV broadcasts, that 2015 will be remembered as Year of the Sequels.

12 Days of Anime (2015) – Day 5 – Closure in Plastic Memories

**Warning: spoilers below**

Plastic Memories is nowhere near my favorite anime of 2015, but it deserves recognition and praise for having one of the best anime endings of 2015… or rather, having an ending at all. Though, I never found myself genuinely invested in the characters, the story, or the setting (though I will make fun of the berserk zombie-bots at ultra-specific times whenever I have the chance), I want to highlight Plastic Memories in my 12 Days of Anime series because it had something I wish every anime had: a conclusion. Plastic Memories actually had an end to its story and its series… and not one of those bullshit anime endings where everything resets at the end. No, Plastic Memories had the courage to have a genuine finish, a final episode that left me feeling fulfilled and absolute, and above all, satisfied.

12 Days of Anime (2015) – Day 6 – 5 Year Anniversary and Having Fun

Today, December 20th, marks the 5 Year Anniversary of Avvesione’s Anime Blog. As I’ve done with every anniversary post, I reflect upon the previous year and provide my input on the most valuable lesson I learned in terms of watching anime and writing for this blog. This year has been quite turbulent and chaotic, with countless new transitions, obstacles, responsibilities, and challenges – easily the busiest year of my entire life to date. As a result, I’ve had very little time to watch anime and even less dedicated to this blog. It pains me that I haven’t had as much time or energy this year to keep up with currently airing anime or write my weekly or seasonal posts, but it has helped me realize a valuable lesson, one that I may have overlooked since I started writing for this blog back in 2010. So, with that in mind, I’d like to share with you the most important lesson I learned in 2015 which is to make sure you’re having fun with anime.

12 Days of Anime (2015) – Day 8 – Giving a Sequel a Chance (Even Though I Never Watched the Original)

Day 8 of my 12 Days of Anime has traditionally been reserved for recalling an experience in which I watch an anime that I normally wouldn’t watch. For reference, the four previous versions of my Day 8 posts have been:

• Giving a Bad Anime a Chance (Softenni, 2011)
• Giving a Forgotten Anime a Chance (Yuru Yuri, 2012)
• Giving a Disappointing Anime a Second Chance (Tamayura ~more aggressive~, 2013)
• Giving a Renowned Anime a Chance (Mushishi, 2014)

The posts all share a common theme in which I watch and enjoy an anime that usually would otherwise be rejected or dismissed due to my exclusion criteria for anime. Sometimes, I don’t watch an anime because it looks bad or because I forgot about. Other times, I don’t watch an anime because the first season was disappointing or I never got around to watching one of those anime classics. This year, I’m going to remember an experience where I watched the second season to an anime franchise without watching the first series or the movie in between TV broadcasts. Yes, I’ve never really done that before, jumping into a franchise in the middle of its run, but without the time or energy to catch up on the originals, this was my really my only chance to stay current with the anime while it aired. And in case you didn’t figure it out yet, either from the context of the post or the screenshot above, the anime is Soukyuu no Fafner – Dead Aggressor: Exodus.