Tag: Japan

My favorite anime of 2018, and there are too many to name

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I have to say, I really loved a lot of the anime that came out in 2018. Overlord III, My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Cells at Work, How Not to Summon a Demon Lord, Violet Evergarden, and The Seven Deadly Sins were just a small part of the many successful animes that came out last year.

The year ended with a bang with Goblin Slayer, Sword Art Online: Alicization, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, A Certain Magical Index III, and the final season of Fairy Tail. There is not enough time in the day to binge watch all the anime I need to watch.

I know there is a lot of anime I’m not going to talk about here. I’m a big sci-fi/fantasy fan. So please, let me know your favorites from 2018 in the comments.

First off, I have to admit, Cells at Work was my guilty pleasure of 2018. It was fun and educational. It was better than Osmosis Jones, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask), and so many other TV shows and movies that tried to demonstrate the inner workings of the human body. All the cells have such unique personalities you would expect from cells and viruses. Cells at Work did it in a fun, captivating way that taught me something new. And those platelets are so darn adorable.

Goblin Slayer was an emotional journey I never expected. I played D&D for years, and I never thought of goblins the way they are represented in this anime. I mean, capturing women and brutalizing them was never something I even considered in all my fantasy writing and roleplaying. It shocked me, but in a way I never expected. It gave me an appreciation that goblins are not a throwaway monster that many stories and games treat them as. They’re evil and viscous and need to be wiped out. Beyond that, the show had some of the best characters I’ve seen in a fantasy anime. They were believable, and that’s what made this anime so special. I cant wait for Season 2.

One of my favorite sequels released in 2018 was A Certain Magical Index III. I have always loved the idea of bridging magic and science and this anime does it for me. I love the parallels between the two in Academy City and how religion plays a big part in all of it. Additionally, the anime has great characters that you either want to root for or kill outright. There is no gray area in this series. Some might consider this a “harem” anime, as there are more females after the main character, Kamijou Touma, than you can shake a stick at; but I’m rooting for Misaka.

One other great thing about 2018 anime is the theme songs. I have an entire playlist on my phone of just anime theme songs, and most of them are from 2018. The music is vibrant, toe-tapping, and out of bounds. Even if I don’t understand the lyrics, I love it. It has been a great year for anime music.

I’ll close this by saying I loved the emotion behind Fairy Tail, the over-powered characters of Overlord, the spirit of My Hero Academia, the beauty of Kakurio-Bed and Breakfast for Spirits, the humor of Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs, and the story of Violet Evergarden. There are times I wished I lived in Japan, so that I could watch these anime when they come out. That would be awesome.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

Anime is “the most expressive” form of art with no boundaries on imagination

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73b11efb2c17bf4483481cc5183d01d9I have been a fan of anime before it was known as anime. In the 60’s and 70’s, it was just a Japanese cartoon dubbed in English to American kids. Shows like Speed Racer, Gigantor, Marine Boy, and Star Blazers were an absolute joy to watch, after school and on Saturday mornings.

In the 80’s, anime became more frequent with Mobile Suit Gundam, Captain Harlock, Sailor Moon, Voltron, and more. Then came the great Hayao Miyazaki and movies like Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, and the Academy award winning film Spirited Away. There so many more that I didn’t list here. That’s because anime has become a global phenomenon.

There are so many different types of anime, from story and style to genre and sub-type. There are terms like Ecchi, Harem, Shounen, Mecha, Shoujo, etc. There are so many different anime out there, there isn’t enough time to watch it all. A lot of them seem formulaic in their writing, but they do have their own quirky characteristics.

I am currently binging on Crunchyroll, an anime app and website that plays dozens of anime, old and new. There is such a wide variety available, I can’t watch it all. My favorite genre is magical fantasy, and they don’t stick to just one type. There are dozens of different combinations, from your basic fantasy (Full Metal Alchemmist) to Angels vs. Devils (High School DxD) and supernatural (Tokyo Ghoul) to fantasy/sci-fi (Infinite Stratos).

CGYXBY5UQAEbrcUThese anime is so different and so expressive that it comes up with new ways of approaching fantasy. The Irregular at Magic High School is a great example. The story takes place in an alternate history where magic exists and is polished through modern technology. However, the ability to use magic is determined by genetics, limiting the amount of magicians in existence. Due to the limited amount of magicians, they are treated as commodity and are forced to enter magic related schools and professions. It follows Tatsuya and Miyuki Shiba, siblings who enroll into First High magic high school.

The thing I love about this anime is how they combined technology as a way to better use magic. Instead of using chants and spells, magic users cast spells with their Casting Assistant Device (CAD). The CAD is infused with the user’s Psions (a substance-less thought particle) that activates the device and constructs the magic ritual. The spells are programmed into the CADs that allow them to use their magic more efficiently. It’s an incredible concept that, to me, brings the fantasy/magic genre to a new level.

A lot of the fantasy genre revolves around magic schools, training young men (but mostly women) in the arcane arts. There is a strong obsession in these anime with school girl uniforms and how they “fill” them out. I’ve been told its called a “fan shot” by name. Quite peculiar but fun to watch.

Another one of my favorites is Is it Wrong to try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon. This anime is like Dungeons and Dragons but better. The story takes place in the fictional city of Orario, whose main feature place is the Dungeon which contains an assortment of monsters from goblins to dragons. The people of Orario join groups called Familia, who serve a range of functions from dungeon crawling to crafting items. The story follows the exploits of Bell Cranel, a 14-year-old solo adventurer under the goddess Hestia. He is a “Level 1 Noob” who is trying to do good by his Familia and impress Ais Wallenstein, a powerful swordswoman who once saved his life, and with whom he fell in love.

Watching this anime is like playing D&D on Saturday night. This anime goes as far as the dungeon crawlers leveling up, with their statistics tattooed on their backs. Their deity updates the stats through magic. They can buy armor and magic items, just like in the game. You can’t help but laugh out loud through each episode.

For a writer, freedom to express your stories is vital to creativity. Anime has such a broad range of genres that it has inspired my own writing for more than 40 years. I watched it as a child because it was entertaining and imaginative. I watch it now because it inspires me to broaden my imagination. You should too!

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Chapter 3 of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.