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Blog a Day #025

Hello everyone, how are you? As I've mentioned before, I really love anime. But rather than dedicating a single BaD post for each like last year, I will just list all of my favorites that I watched last year in this one post. That and because there isn't enough days left to make a dedicated post for each. So, without spoiling anything, here is my favorite anime of 2017...

 

Wangan Midnight: Based on the manga of the same name. Named after the Shuto Expressway Bayshore Route of Japan, simply known as Wangan which is the longest stretch of straight road in Japan. The story follows high school student Akio Asakura and one day he finds a Nissan Fairlady Z in a junkyard and convinces the junkyard owner to sell it to him. However the previous owner of said car told the junkyard owner to scrap it because it's cursed. The anime follows Akio trying to control the car since it's really fast as well as running into other drivers who race in the Wangan. I haven't actually finished it but it's a pretty good anime. Wangan Midnight came out before Initial D but the latter is more popular. 

Koro Sensei Quest: This is a spin-off/alternate universe series from Assassination Classroom. The premise of this one is that it takes place in an rpg world, which is really cool. The students here are training to become heroes to take down the demon king, Koro-sensei, which is ironically also their teacher. So yes, it's just like Assassination Classroom but just in a different setting. The episodes are short but it's really hilarious. I haven't finished this one either but I'm getting there.

Himouto! Umaru-Chan: This anime is about a girl named Umaru Doma, a high school student who lives with her older brother. At school, she is basically the ideal student. She gets good grades, she is good looking and she is very talented. However when she gets home she becomes lazy and plays video games, watches anime and whatnot. The anime revolves around Umaru and her various personalities while making friends and dealing with problems using said personalities. It's always a treat to see how she deals with her problems because it's pretty funny. It's a really nice slice of life anime and sometimes we need something like that every once in a while.  

Noragami: I got this one recommended a few years ago but got around to watching it last year. It follows the story of a minor god named Yato. The thing is he has no followers nor a shrine to his name, so he charges 5 yen to grant the wishes of people to become known. And use that money to save for his own shrine. He also meets this girl named Hiyori and Yukine, which was a wandering spirit that becomes Yato's weapon named a Regalia, and together they fight these spirits known as Phantoms. It's a really great anime actually with some really great themes and quotes. There are some really funny moments while still having a supernatural element to it. I haven't finished it yet though. 

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: If you've been on the internet and are even remotely familiar with anime, then chances are that you've heard or come across this one. This basically one of the most popular anime series right now. It's... pretty hard to actually explain this without spoiling any important plot points but I'll try. Basically it chronicles the adventures of the Joestar family throughout generations of fighting (supernatural) evil. What's neat is that each season has a new hero/member of the Joestar family but familiar characters from the past season appear as well. It has some really impressive animation and visuals. I'm technically not done with it because the current season is still currently being dubbed but I have caught up the anime at least. I really recommend it if you want something with a lot of action.

Hitman Reborn!: This one is about an average middle school kid named Tsunayoshi "Tsuna" Sawada. He is a very clumsy and very underachieving guy that everyone calls him "No-Good Tsuna". Till one day an infant hitman from Italy named Reborn arrives at Tsuna's house to train him to become the Tenth Generation Vongola boss, which is like an Italian Mafia basically. Just much more cooler. The anime has Tsuna face a lot of trials along the way as well as making new friends that will eventually be part of his "Vongola Family". All while fighting various villains who want him out of the way since it comes with the territory of being in the Mafia. This one really surprised me actually. I haven't finished it yet since there's a lot of episodes. Unfortunately this one only has a sub but I really recommend it.

Dragon Ball Super: The popular anime and what is basically the anime of anime finally got a new series. This one takes place after the end of the original Dragon Ball Z, peace has finally returned to Earth and Goku has (finally) settled down to support his family. But this being the world of Dragon Ball means that peace is short-lived when a new threat appears. What I love about this new series is that it has all the action that you expect from DBZ but still retains the humor from Dragon Ball which is basially the best of both worlds. It's still currently being dubbed, but the sub version is coming to an end soon. But I'm just glad that they brought back an anime from my childhood, which is more than I could ask for and for that I'm grateful. Speaking of anime from my childhood...

Initial D Legend 1 Awakening, Legend 2 Racer, and Legend 3 Dream: These are basically anime movies that are a retelling of the first season of Initial D. They have been out for a while in Japan but select theaters in North America are currently screening them at the moment which is great. More people need to see that anime. Anyway, they are really great movies, the only really 2 minor annoyances are that some of the races were cut out and the movies don't have the original Eurobeat soundtrack that the anime is known for. But I think these 3 movies are a great starting point if you plan on getting into the series. I highly recommend the anime more but I recommend this too.

My Hero Academia: This is my favorite anime from last year. This is Japan's take on super heroes, which is really good actually. In the anime, the world is inhabited by super heroes and super villains. Basically nearly everyone on Earth has a special power called a Quirk and it's basically your super power. Some Quirks are used for heroics like saving the day and fighting villains. Others are used for the good of society like fighting fires and whatnot. Not everyone has a Quirk unfortunately like our hero and main character, Izuku Midoriya. But throughout the anime he learns what I think is one of the most powerful messages in anime that "You can become a hero".  The anime currently has 2 seasons and the 3rd season is coming this year as well. I really love this take on super heroes and it's just a fun anime about them which is really refreshing.

And that's all my favorite anime from last year. And before I end this, questions for my annual Q/A is now closed. I'm going over all the questions and this year I received quite a bit more than last year. Thanks for reading and...