Top Ten Anime of 2016

by Jeremy Hull

What an interesting year it has been for me. I landed my first software development job back in January, finally got my license before the year ended and I've been trying to watch anime while continuing to work fourty hour work weeks. So time is really lacking for me to do consistent posting, but I'm glad to continue the annual top ten anime list.

Making this list, I began to notice the sheer amount of time travel based anime. Several of them are on my list and they do their own thing to stick out in this haystack. Although I'm glad to see the genre pop up more, I'm not hoping to see as many next year because having three of the ten in my list be about this topic seems obsessive, but also impressive. So let us jump into the list and as always, we start with the too long didn't read section then move on to the explanations.

For the Lazy

Top 10

  1. Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu
  2. Boku Dake ga Inai Machi
  3. orange
  4. Boku no Hero Academia
  5. Yuri!!! on Ice
  6. Akagami no Shirayuki-hime 2
  7. Mob Psycho 100
  8. WWW.WORKING!!
  9. Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari
  10. Amanchu!

Honorable Mentions

  • Hai to Gensou no Grimgar
  • Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu
  • Amaama to Inazuma

Explanation

Amaama to Inazuma

Better known as "Sweetness and Lightning", is one of those slice of life anime that has no distinguishable plot, but that doesn't matter because it is cute and fun to watch. There is something about a single father and his child that resonates with me and I end up liking stories that focus on it. With the addition of Kotori, the duo of Kouhei and Tsumugi made for an interesting twist on what is essentially an anime about cooking. With the focus being on cooking, you wouldn't think that the anime was much, but the three main character work well together in both their dialog and the issues they have around their family. Overall, Amaama to Inazuma is a great anime about characters learning to cook that ties in things like family togetherness inside that frame and is enjoyable to watch in general.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Storytelling is one of the oldest traditions in human history, so much so that people seek it out in the conversations they have and the entertainment they experience. Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu not only being an anime, which has a story, also revolves around a type of Japanese entertainment called "rakugo" that is focus entirely on telling a story. Being centered around the entertainment business, that isn't something that will be all nice and happy, there is drama and complicated relationships. This anime embraced that drama with open arms and the way is was conveyed felt genuine and well paced. The concept of rakugo felt fresh mainly because I haven't heard of it until I watched Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, but it also is quite complex in both character development and relationships.

Hai to Gensou no Grimgar

Fantasy adventures tend to lean toward a more heroic flavor because it feels more exciting then following around a bunch of amateurs. Well, in Hai to Gensou no Grimgar the protagonists are no heroes, hell they barely know how to fight competently to survive. This near dirt level of the fantasy setting makes the series far more dark and when the fight do come around, they are more dramatic because we don't know if one of the character will get badly injured or just straight up die. I wouldn't say gritty spins of fantasy settings are all that original, but the focus on the characters really helped make this series feel like it involved real people who didn't know why they are in a fantasy world. And with realness, you have to have real consequences and I'll just say, the story doesn't hold it's punches, which is great in my opinion.

Amanchu!

An interesting dynamic of an outgoing girl and a shy girl quickly becoming friends via their shared interest in scuba diving. I've always been a fan of slice of life that delve into a specific topic and with one character being thrusted into this new world, she acted as a nice catalyst for the viewer to learn more about scuba diving if they aren't familiar. Both Futaba and Hikari work well together and the full scuba club have really distinguishable characters that fit that tone of the comedy while still being an educated bunch in the field of scuba diving -- although I do hate characters that are defined by their "comedic" violence toward others like Ai. Overall, Amanchu! is a really colorful anime with character who have good chemistry and the driving force for the plot is scuba diving, making for an enjoyable anime with educational aspects.

Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari

Another anime with a male character that ends up in a parental position. What Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari does do to shake this concept up is quite fascinating, but reveling it here would be spoiling it. I'll just stay that lot of the themes tackled had to do with overcoming ones past to be able to make proper progress in ones life. With that being said, most anime with a single male and the child they are taking care of tends to cover family as a main focus -- Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari is no expect. The tilt of this anime being on the past and keep it in close symmetry with its cute exterior, making the balancing act that much more impressive.

WWW.WORKING!!

As a fan of the original Working series, I had high hopes for a spin off of the original characters. Well, I'll have to admit that the first two episodes didn't really land with me and it ended up feeling uninspired. Luckily, by the third episode the character dynamics that I grew to love in the Working series began to blossom and the characters started to really stand out more. Each character still did fit a stereotypical niche, but that actual relationship of all the characters are where the complexity is. And that relationship focus and building on that made for a great fit into the series that is Working and I'm happy to see it have one more season with these new characters.

Mob Psycho 100

Stories about the protagonists already being extreme power can be dull because there isn't much conflict to be had, but Mob Psycho 100 isn't the case. Coming from the same mangaka of One Punch Man, "One" does a really good job of giving weakness to characters that could destroy anything in their path by force. Since Mob is someone in middle school, teens around this age tend to be insecure about themselves as they are trying to be independent while still seeking approval of their peers. To really highlight the strength and weakness of a person with psychic abilities, the psychological nature this anime focused on is appropriate to it's theme. It also shows that fights in the action genre aren't the only way to make for interesting conflict, which works for me as someone who doesn't tend to like action that much.

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime 2

This was on my top ten last year, so having the second season of Akagami no Shirayuki-hime on this years isn't much of surprise. This season really felt like it took the loose ends from the first season, tied them up nicely and began to proceed in things that would inspire character and relationship growth. Most of the focus is in building of the world while still keeping the spotlight on Shirayuki and Zen. So really, if you like the first season, the continuation is really a no-brainer. Also, even if you haven't seen the series, the first season is something that should be experienced.

Yuri!!! on Ice

This one caught me by surprise because at first I was going to write this off as another fanservice sports anime like Free. Fortunately, Yuri!!! on Ice was something that captured the passion and excitement of competing in a competitive sport, like ice skating. Sure there are plenty of men moving seductively, but it felt like it fit the narrative of young men expressing emotion into a performance on ice. The only complain I personally have about the series is toward the end the lead up to the finale felt heavy-handed. Other than that, if you don't might or can get past the fanservice, Yuri!!! on Ice is a really great anime to watch filled with drama and good amount of comedy mixed in.

Boku no Hero Academia

I've mentioned this before in one of my older top ten anime posts, but I'm a sucker for school settings that teach magic. Really Boku no Hero Academia is a pretty similar concept only replace magic with powers. The compelling thing about this anime is how adolescent people deal with their superpowers as they develop mentally and in the level of control over said powers. Really, it felt like a good way to related teenage problems like identifying where they stand in the world and growing into there own with the development of ones superpowers. Really, with the second season around the corner, it is a great series to pick up and just enjoy for it's silly antics and serious moments.

orange

An interesting take on a time traveling story where rather than the people going back, it is more their ideas and memories via a letter. Since we know what the results will be if they stick to regular course, the actual decisions made are exciting so how thing change, but the reasons why are more in the spoiler territory. Although orange is about time travel, it never really felt that science fiction to me because the focus was way more on relationship of the six characters and drama surrounding them as they make new or old actions. Quite the anime to watch if you do want something dark that wraps up in a satisfactory way.

Boku Dake ga Inai Machi

Another time traveling anime on the list, but had more to do with solving a mystery of a murderer who ends up framing the protagonist, Satoru. The focal point for the thrill in this mystery was the tug-of-war between Satoru and the murderer. Since Satoru knew a bit more, from the murderer's perspective, it felt like someone was predicting all for their moves which can be frustrating if they dont want to get caught. However, as time changes because of Satoru's actions, the killers actions get a bit less the predictable and the balancing act that get put on is really where more of the intrigue lays for me.

Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

This probably the biggest roller coaster ride of emotion this year. Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu is yet another time traveling anime -- I swear I'm not doing this on purpose -- where our protagonist Subaru goes back in time every time he dies. Knowing that, you would imagine Subaru would lose his mind the more he dies and comes back, and they use that to develop him throughout the story. This was the best paced anime of the years resulting in distinct arc where there was a conflict that got solved while introducing a new conflict in the horizon. Not only that but the world felt big despite only a small chunk on it was revealed. Also, the characters in it were well thought out having there own motivations and goals, that might even be apposed to the main character. So in spite of this being a fantasy, ReZero felt like a real world where all it's parts fit nicely together to form the experience that was this anime.