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 10 – 123,714

This might seem like an odd topic for a 12 Days of Anime post, but it’s a topic worth discussing given how it continues to grow on me every year and with every new anime. In fact, it’s routine for me now, something constant and universal that occurs every time I watch an anime. And it’s a subject that can be entrusted quite easily by the number 123,714. So, what exactly does 123,714 mean?

12 Days of Anime (2015) – Day 11 – D’Arby the Gambler

I first stumbled across JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure many, many years ago, in the mid-2000s, when I kept coming across references to Jotaro, Dio, and Stardust Crusaders around the internet. At the time, I did limited research into the series, but quickly discovered the appeal and charm of the franchise. It was at that time that I watched bits and pieces of the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure OVA (1993), including what became my favorite moment in the series thus far: the “fight” with D’Arby the Gambler.

12 Days of Anime (2015) – Day 12 – Watching “Uncensored” Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works

**Warning: spoilers below**

Although I wasn’t able to spend much time at this year’s Sakura-Con, I am grateful that I was able to attend the Pacific Northwest’s largest anime convention for my fourth consecutive year. One of my lasting memories from this convention, as well as for 2015 as a whole, was watching the first three episodes of the second half of Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (TV) before it even premiered in Japan. How awesome is that, getting to watch three episodes of one of the best anime of the year before anyone else? But… that’s not exactly the point of this post. Instead, one scene in particular from the fifteenth episode of FSN: UBW really stunned me… and it stunned me again when I realized it was omitted from TV broadcasts in Japan three weeks later. In fact, the event that’s reserved for the beginning of my 12 Days of Anime for 2015 is a rather strange tale of censorship, and of how the most emotional scene, to me, in all of Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works went unseen to a majority of its anime fans.

Autumn 2015 – Season Preview

The way most people realize that it’s the beginning of autumn is that the days begin to grow shorter, the air begins to feel cooler, and the trees transition into a palette of warm yellows, oranges and reds. But for me, the only way I realize that it’s the beginning of autumn is when the autumn anime season begins! And yes, with the start of the Autumn 2015 anime season this week, it’s time again to look ahead to this new season of anime and project, speculate, and guesstimate which anime we should watch.

Summer 2015 – Week 3 Anime Review

This week: deliberating about the setting and what we’ve seen about the city of Ergastulum in Gangsta., curiosities about continuing delusions in Gakkou Gurashi!, noticing and appreciating the music in Rokka no Yuusha, and a statement about disposing drugs down the toilet with Durarara!!x2 Ten.

Summer 2015 – First Impressions (Part 4)

This post reviews: Himouto! Umaru-chan, Gakkou Gurashi!, and God Eater.