matches will start going up on Saturday August 12th
all polls (except the final) will be 1 day long
if you can, please try to take the time to watch the videos of the EDs that you are unfamiliar with!
since there were two free spots, and I Am God Here, i have made the extremely democratic executive decision to add two endings that I really like which got submissions but didnt make the cut. These are "Yamiyo" by Eve [Dororo 2019] and "Who am I?" by (K)NoW_NAME [Dorohedoro], and they will be battling eachother in part D.
propaganda welcome :)
Tag List:
round 1
round 2
round 3
quarterfinals
semifinals
finals
third place round
intermission round
propaganda
bracket updates
matches (the actual polls, not including any reblogs)
ROUND 1
PART A (8/12 12:00pm ET)
Match 1: "Sugar Song and Bitter Step" by UNISON SQUARE GARDEN [Kekkai Sensen] {VS} "Wareta Ringo" by Risa Taneda [Shin Sekai Yori]
Match 2: "Sayonara Bye Bye" by Mawatari Matsuko (JPN), Stephanie Nadolny (ENG) [Yu Yu Hakusho] {VS} "Tenchi Gaeshi" by NICO Touches the Walls [Haikyuu!!]
Match 3: "Hare Hare Yukai" by Aya Hirano, Minori Chihara, Yuuko Gotou [Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu] {VS} "Shikisai" by yama [SPYxFAMILY]
Match 4: "Mephisto" by QUEEN BEE [Oshi no Ko] {VS} "Hectopascal" by Yuuki Takada, Minako Kotobuki [Bloom Into You]
Match 5: "Virtual Star Embryology" by Maki Kamiya [Revolutionary Girl Utena] {VS} "Zetsubou Billy" by Maximum the Hormone [Death Note]
Match 6: "gravity" by Maaya Sakamoto (Composer - Yoko Kanno) [WOLF'S RAIN] {VS} "Aishiteru" by Callin' [Natsume Yuujinchou]
Match 7: "Roundabout" by Yes [JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Animation] {VS} "RED" by Survive Said The Prophet [Banana Fish]
Match 8: "Shubidubi☆Sweets Time" by Miyamoto Kanako [Precure: KiraKira Pretty Cure A La Mode] {VS} "Fight Song" by Eve [Chainsaw Man]
PART B (8/14 12:00pm ET)
Match 9: "Uso" by SID [Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood] {VS} "Stand By Me" by the peggies [Sarazanmai]
Match 10: "Zzz" by Sayaka Sasaki [Nichijou] {VS} "Mashi Mashi" by NICO Touches the Walls [Haikyuu!!]
Match 11: "Trust Me" by Yuya Matsushita [Durarara!!] {VS} "Nomic" by ACCAMER [I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss]
Match 12: "OverThink" by Fan Ka [Link Click] {VS} "aLIEz" by Sawano Hiroyuki [Aldnoah.Zero]
Match 13: "Shunkan Sentimental" by SCANDAL [Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood] {VS} "Don't say 'lazy'" by Youko Hikasa [K-On!]
Match 14: "You Only Live Once" by Hatano Wataru [Yuri!!! on ICE] {VS} "Prayer X" by King Gnu [Banana Fish]
Match 15: "Shissou" by LAST ALLIANCE [Ouran High School Host Club] {VS} "Kimi No Shiranai" by Supercell [Bakemonogatari]
Match 16: "Truth" by Ruka Yumi [Revolutionary Girl Utena] {VS} "The Real Folk Blues" by The Seatbelts feat. Mai Yamane [Cowboy Bebop]
PART C (8/16 12:00pm ET)
Match 17: "LOST IN PARADISE" by ALI feat. AKLO [Jujutsu Kaisen] {VS} "About a Voyage" by Sayuri [Boku No Hero Academia]
Match 18: "Groovy!" by Kohmi Hirose [Cardcaptor Sakura] {VS} "I Want You" by Savage Garden [JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable]
Match 19: "Refrain Boy" by ALL OFF [Mob Psycho 100] {VS} "Fuyu Biyori" by Eri Sasaki [Yuru Camp]
Match 20: "In the Back Room" by syudou [Chainsaw Man] {VS} "homework never ends" by Mawatari Matsuko (JPN), Sara White (ENG) [Yu Yu Hakusho]
Match 21: "Red:birthmark" by AiNA THE END [Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury] {VS} "Infinity" by Yuuri [Sk8 the Infinity]
Match 22: "Reason" by Yuzu [Hunter x Hunter] {VS} "Datte Atashi no Hiro" by LiSA [Boku No Hero Academia]
Match 23: "Wind" by Akeboshi [Naruto] {VS} "Memosepia" by sajou no hana [Mob Psycho 100]
Match 24: "SPLASH FREE" by STYLE FIVE [Free!] {VS} "Chou Cream Funk" by Philosophy no Dance [Mashle: Magic and Muscles]
PART D (8/18 12:00pm ET)
Match 25: "Sore wa Chiisana Hikari no Youna" by Sayuri [Erased (Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi)] {VS} "Sayonara-gokko" by amazarashi [Dororo (2019)]
Match 26: "Comedy" by Gen Hoshino [SPYxFAMILY] {VS} "Aoi Honoo" by ITOWOKASHI [Black Clover]
Match 27: "Broken Youth" by NICO Touches the Walls [Naruto: Shippuden] {VS} "Shiki no Uta" by Minmi [Samurai Champloo]
Match 28: "Magia" by Kalafina [Puella Magi Madoka Magica] {VS} "For the Love of Life" by David Sylvian [Monster]
Match 29: "Torches" by Aimer [Vinland Saga] {VS} "I'm Alive" by Becca [Black Butler]
Match 30: "Hyouri Ittai" by Yuzu [Hunter x Hunter] {VS} "Akatsuki" by Akiko Shikata [Yona of the Dawn]
Match 31: "Fly Me to the Star" by Starlight Kuku Gumi [Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight] {VS} "Daisy" by STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION [Kyoukai no Kanata]
Match 32: "Yamiyo" by Eve [Dororo 2019] {VS} "Who am I?" by (K)NoW_NAME [Dorohedoro]
Oshi No Ko Episode 1: Overhyped To The Moon, Or, Crucifying An Adaptation
A release schedule that's had the first episode in the works for a month in the making. Ninety minutes of content to start. An Akasaka story. This first episode, and its subsequent reaction, is like throwing a dud of a bomb and everybody pretending that it went off. But why? Well, even though I'm a fan of Akasaka's work, and even if I suggested the license to various publishers through their suggestion channels, I feel like an explanation is owed to the overhyped mess that appeared today.
A Nine Point Three Six on MAL. You know, the website where FMA:B reigns supreme and anything that challenges it is review bombed into oblivion? The site where the next highest rated anime is at a 9.11? Yeah, that MAL.
This is Doga Kobo's highest rated series, by Over One Point Three points. That's the Akasaka Difference™, and it's insane.
Let me dispel any preconceptions you might have about it. It is nowhere near that number. It's nowhere near A-1's adaptation of Love Is War. Oshi No Ko does have an interesting, if not abrasive, story for its first episode. But that can't carry it that high. It's story can't get rid of the limitations that Doga Kobo has, it can't get rid of flaky and flat direction, it can't get rid of shallow work that relies on the individual.
So, allow me to paint a more accurate picture of this first episode, starting at the bottom. Doga Kobo is... a studio. Not a particularly outstanding one, and one that hasn't had any "big" titles in its repertoire for a long time now. Arguably, their most memorable titles such as Plastic Memories, which are the poster children of the studio, are well out of their prime now. The majority of their higher rated series are 5 or even 10+ years old now. Stuff like Yuru Yuri, stuff like Nozaki-Kun, stuff like... stuff like. Would you consider New Game? Or Gabriel Dropout? I guess really, they only have Plastic Memories for the average anime fan.
They're not a studio that you entrust with big projects or names. Not that they can't deliver adaptations that make full use of and more of their source material like Nozaki-Kun, but that was almost a decade ago now. It's been over a year since Doga Kobo had an anime that was over a 7 in score, and I'd be surprised if their average score for the last 5 years could punch above a 7.3 (side note: excluding Oshi No Ko, it can't. It doesn't even break 7, it sits at 6.99).
Alright alright I swear on my life this is the last piece of Doga Kobo/OnK slander before I start getting to the episode itself. That would be the director. A career Doga Kobo in-house man, Hiramaki Daisuke has had forays into other studios for an episode or two and even some storyboarding, but has stayed close to home for his biggest projects. You know, big works like An Angel Flew Down To Me, or Selection Project (which is another Idol Anime), or Koisuru Asteroid... Also, you might be wondering, "Why is the direction so bad at times, and so much better at others?". Well, to the astute and curious people out there that had the same thoughts as me, it's because there's Five people credited with episode direction for it. So, odds are you're picking up on the direction changes that are of issue with the episode. I'd have to find proper time frames and everything to give real answers, but I'd say there's probably two episode directors in this first episode that offer solid direction. Anyways, point made, moving on.
The first half is painful. At a glance you might think "oh this isn't too bad", but when you get into it, in a single sitting, it's hard to get through. The direction and delivery is incredibly flat, and it relies totally on the energy that the quality VAs bring in.
It's a lot of single character and focus frames that suck any originality or uniqueness from the content, and causes it to feel like it's just droning on as we suffer an onslaught of dialogue that's ill-equipped to match the visuals.
I could pull hundreds of these layouts from the first half of the episode alone. Conversation bounces back and forth between incredibly static characters, closeups that can hide detail, and any number of other tricks. Of course, it's not that it's all terrible or lazy, but that the overwhelming direction is of this lazy and flat nature.
And this is where the core issue arises. As a visual adaptation, it's plain rough. The character designs are alright, if not a pretty big overgeneralization of the art of Oshi No Ko, and the art is solid enough, but it has nothing to give itself a leg to stand on. The direction is limp, the animation only in bursts, and the whole appeal is almost nonexistent to the manga.
They use transitions rather than animation or more creative cuts, they reserve everything for a few moments in the episode, it's just something that can't hold a candle to what the manga can do with its medium.
Just look at this stunning animation. Doesn't it just scream quality work? I wish I could give more examples (I could find a good few if I wanted to slog through 90 minutes again), but Doga Kobo is crafty with it. They very rarely show full characters in motion, and hardly is there more than one person moving in a scene.
I've said it a lot, but it really is just bad enough that I have to say it a few times. I wouldn't have to, if people were to take it at face value, but as it closes in on a 9.5 on MAL it's impossible to separate.
Now, I wouldn't say that all of it is bad. The second half of the episode seems to pick up on the fact that it's meant to do something, but that thought only appears... about 35% of the time.
Thankfully, that 35% appears awfully close to each other, and we get stuff like Ai's Idol scenes. They're well choreographed, and incredibly well animated compared to the rest of the episode. It's fluid, it's creative, and there's lots of moving parts to it. I just wish there was more of that quality in the rest of the episode.
Truthfully I think it's a good example of where the talent and ability comes from in the episode. The idol part has a measuring stick. You can find similar direction in real idol performances, and the flair/impact frames are found later on in the episode (most likely from the same animator).
What I can say at the end of it all, is that this clip is as good as it gets, by a pretty large margin. The direction adds emotion to the clip, the animation heightens it, and the anime original aspect of the music and choreography is the icing on the cake. But in reality? I'd say it's good. Not great, not outstanding, and certainly not worth its outrageous score on MAL.
Oshi No Ko has good pieces, but not a good whole. You can take parts of it out and say "yeah, I think the layout for this scene is really solid and makes use of the full frame afforded by an anime vs a manga panel", but you don't watch an anime in pieces, you watch it as an episode, a total experience. So yeah, you'll get some nice pieces like below, but you're trading off everything I've already talked about and then some for it.
Is it really worth it? Is it really worth that insane score that lords it over other entries this season like Heavenly Delusion, Demon Slayer, Hells Paradise, Skip and Loafer, MahoYome or GWitch? I think the obvious answer is no. Akasaka's story certainly has charm and talent within, but as an adaptation, I really had no interest in most of everything that Doga Kobo gave it, especially considering that they dropped content from the first volume still.
These were a few of my favouritest things - 2018 edition
once again recapping what have been my fave series since I started this tumblr:
2017: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju S2
2016: Yuri on Ice
2015: Akatsuki no Yona
2014: Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun
2013: Love Lab
2012: Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
2011: Fate/zero S1
2010: Saraiya Goyou
2018 was a good year! Drum roll****
Best series of the year: Yuru Camp
Warm and fuzzy~~~~
Best of the Rest
Yagate Kimi ni Naru
The best yuri anime we don’t deserve /not worthy/
SAO ALT: GGO
Badass.
Emiya-san’chi no Kyo no Gohan
FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD (and oh it’s not finished yet!!!)
Hinamatsuri
/digs nose/
Sora Yori mo Tooi Basho
Friendship is built upon frozen dreams.
Megalo Box
Fists of fury.
Fave Individual Episodes
Violet Evergarden 10
I have never cried so hard watching an anime.
Darling in the FranXX 13
Heartbreak seems to be my favourite theme.
Yagakimi 6
Riverbed scene was sooooo good
Hinamatsuri 6
ANZUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Zombieland Saga 01
Death Musume was the best thing ever, shame it didn’t last long.
Revue Starlight 10
MA CLAUDINEEEE MA MAYAAAAA
Fave Girl: Asirpa
My golden-faced girl!!!!
Runner-up: Kesshoban (Platelet). I’ve turned into a lolicon this year (ry
Fave Boy: Honda-san
SPECIAL YAOI BOOK!!
Fave non-human: KIRIN
Wakarimasu????
Fave Girl x Girl: MayaKuro
I fantasized about them the most this year w even if there was nothing to imply they were romantically tied wwww (ofc Mei x Yuzu and Touko/Yuu are much loooveee too <3)
Fave Boy x Boy: Ash x Eiji
It has got to be them!!
Best manga: Sekai de Ichiban Oppai ga Suki!
No manga made me cry (with laughter) so hard this year as this. So much damned genius in it, it’s made me look at (my) boobs differently.
Other: Gokushufudo (yakuza husbands are the rage), Nettaigyo wa Yuki ni Kogareru (so good slow burn!!), Tsurezure Biyori (so much bliss~~), Jujutsu Kaisen, Koiiji, Runway de Waratte,,, and of course a special mention for Yagakimi which hit me in the feels so hard this year…
I can hardly breathe reading each chapter.
Happy New Years! and on to 2019, which will hopefully be even better!
I was going to say "there aren't any anime deaths," but then I thought about the ending of Deltarune, with Susie as the reincarnation of her favorite monster, and me wanting to see how this would play out, and … that was pretty good, too.