Top 14 Anime and Top 14 Characters of 2014

The first day of 2015 means it’s the first day we can turn, look back, and reflect upon 2014 as a whole. Today, I aim to present the results of my own introspection and analysis on all the anime I watched in 2014. I will present my final thoughts on the most remarkable, memorable and outstanding anime that aired in 2014 by revealing lists for both my favorite characters of the year and the top anime of 2014. So, how exactly will I remember 2014, and which of the anime that aired is simply the best to me?

12 Days of Anime (2014) – Day 6 – 4 Year Anniversary and Accepting Obstacles

Today is this blog’s fourth birthday, and the traditional way I’ve chosen to celebrate this anniversary has been to reflect upon a valuable lesson that I’ve learned since the last December 20th. Of course, these posts are always a cover for me to needlessly post pictures of Setsuna everywhere, but the topic of this post relates to a previous post in this year’s 12 Days of Anime series as well as a couple of future posts that will appear later on. The theme between these posts is on the challenges and difficulties inherent in following anime within a dense, tight schedule, and the focus of this post is learning how to manage these obstacles and accept certain complications.

12 Days of Anime (2014) – Day 8 – Giving a Renowned Anime a Chance

Every year, for Day 8 of my 12 Days of Anime, I recall an experience where I gave an anime a chance. So far, my list has included:

• 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)

For every rendition of this tradition, I have attempted to cover a distinctive and different focus with each post. The first year was on an anime that I originally deemed bad, but stuck with it to see if I could salvage some entertainment from it. The second year reflected an anime I never gave a chance to, not even an episode when it first came out. The third year was on a sequel to an anime that I was frustrated and dissatisfied with and was originally planning on skipping. Here, for my 2014 version about giving an anime a chance, I look back at a greatly admired, highly acclaimed, and universally respected anime that I never made an effort to watch in my many years of watching anime. For Day 8, I will reflect upon watching Mushishi, and how that watching this renowned anime was one of the highlights of my year.

12 Days of Anime (2014) – Day 12 – Sakura-Con 2014 and Watching Mushishi Zoku Shou Live

Every time I attend Sakura-Con, I experience something new. During my first visit, the friends, panels and convention itself stood out to me the most. For my second trip, the social interactions were the most memorable of my experiences, though I knew what to expect and was able to manage my time better. This year, however, I did not actively plan out any new activities or experiences, and mainly rested on the idea to just see my friends again, buy some more art books, and take it easy. However, the most memorable experience for me during Sakura-Con 2014 was something I never anticipated…

Autumn 2014 – First Impressions (Part 4)

This post reviews: Parasyte (Kiseijuu), Garo: Honoo no Kokuin, Shirobako, Ore Twintail ni Narimasu and Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso.

Autumn 2014 – Season Preview

Autumn 2014 is the fourth and final anime season of year. The Spring and Autumn season are usually the busiest or densest, featuring more total anime than the Winter and Summer seasons, and Autumn 2014 looks to be another enormous one in terms of volume of anime. But the question each season is hardly ever a question of volume but rather a question of quality… and that’s what I hope to answer, at least from my perspective, with my preview of the Autumn 2014 Season Preview. What anime am I looking forward to the most this season? Let’s continue and find out!

Summer 2014 – Week 3 Anime Review

Last week: why the third episode of Space Dandy Season 2 might be my favorite of the year, an analysis on the diversity of rural settings and how the specifics of this are impacting Barakamon, some egregious contradictions with the mecha in Aldnoah.Zero, and some serious questions about the structure and purpose of Night Raid in Akame ga Kill!