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2017, was not the best of years, not the worst of years either, but it was a year that could
be accurately described in about 2 seconds:
For anime however 2017 was a fairly unique kind of year, there weren’t many big must
see shows that usually get mentioned in these sorts of lists, but I can’t say that the
year was horrible.
For me 2017 was a year where we got a lot of really good Niche shows, not many big blockbusters
but a lot of smaller sometimes more wholesome shows to keep my passion for anime alive while
the rest of the world felt like it was crumpling all around.
So today I wanted to take the time as I usually do, to highlight some of the shows that I
thought were the most unique, maybe not the best, defiantly not the worst, but the ones
that too me had the most impact out of everything I’ve watched from last year.
For those who care about how this list was created here are my four guidelines:
1) I had to have seen the show, so If I missed something that’s potentially why.
2) The show must have started in the 2017 calendar year.
It doesn’t have to be OVER by 2018 but it must have started its run in 2017.
3) With exception to my best of year none of these are in ranked order.
this allows me to not have to decide which of any of these are better than the others, with exception to my favorite.
Which leads me to the final thing 4) this is my list, you don’t have to agree with it
and If you don’t like it feel free to make your own. But it is mine, so...
...yeah.
Ladies, gentlemen and others my name is Arkada and today on Glass Reflection Here
are my top 10-ish anime from 2017.
Let’s Jam.
The Honorable mentions for this list are quite simple.
All the good Sequels.
While I could have each of these their own entry in the main list, a recommendation for
a second season is really a recommendation for the first if you’ve never seen it before.
While these sequels are good in their own right, really this is just me telling you
to go watch the whole freaking series so here we go:
Some of these shows I’ve either relayed my thoughts on before or have thoughts upcoming
#PleaseLookForwardToIt but all of them are worthy successors to their respective shows
and if you haven’t checked out any of these at all, now would be a good time to start.
But now, let’s move onto the list proper.
Starting off the list is Girl’s Last Tour.
This is a show that I would refer to as my Whiskey anime for the year.
Usually every year or so there comes a series that I use to just kind of chill and relax
with, one that doesn’t ask for much and tells a somewhat calming tale for me to enjoy,
possibly with a glass of whiskey.
This one fits the bill, even more so then say Rakugo Shinjuu for me.
Which is odd really, I find a lot of Slice of life to be a bit too upbeat for what I
want out of a Whiskey anime, this however is not really upbeat.
Not really downbeat either, it ended up being this calm middle ground for most of its run
that I didn’t really get much from other shows this year.
While others of this kind I’ve enjoyed before, either focus on some kind of mythological storytelling,
unique histories, or a fascinating journey, Girl’s last tour is a much more practical
tale focusing on survival in a wasteland but not in the more desperate sense that you normally see.
The thing that makes it hard to recommend besides the Moeblob aspect that some can’t
stand, for the longest time it was only available on Anime Strike, which recently bited the dust.
and now it only requires a Prime membership. Still not great, but not as bad as it used to be.
Though if you have the time, the ability to watch it and are in the mood for something
a bit more chill, it’ll do you just fine.
Now the other side of the moe spectrum.
Instead of having two moeblobs trying to survive in a wasteland you have one that seems to
be trying her hardest to create one.
Tanya was a series that I pegged pretty early on for this list.
Its setting is a country in the middle of a world war like scenario, and it plops our
main character right in the middle of it.
It gives her the tools to be one of the most powerful soldiers that the world had ever
seen, but she would much rather try to defy fate and do her damnedest to just get to a
cushy position on the sidelines.
But fate, and this show’s version of God does not let her, constantly plunging her
deeper and deeper into the fray just to see if she can handle it, to see if she’ll give
up and admit in the existence of god and a greater power but she’s too stubborn for that.
It’s a show I kept up with for the explosions and the action but also just to see how far
Tanya would eventually go to get her way, how stubborn she would become, and what god
would eventually throw at her to change her mind.
In the end it didn’t complete the way I would like but that doesn’t stop it from
being one of the more enjoyable watches I’ve had this year.
Ancient Magus Bride is a series that hit home a bit harder then I’d like to admit.
What I first thought would be a fantastical western fantasy with the red haired eastern
protagonist turned into a much more personal take at ones outlook in life, starring a young
woman who at the very beginning was a character who was more or less
just waiting to die.
at the start Chise is still young, didn’t have any semblance or a grasp at what she was capable of, and
she's at a point mentally where she doesen't care despite not really being alive long enough
to find a purpose.
We received the majority of the show’s OVA series throughout the year leading to its
rather brilliant 12 episode season in the fall, granted it's story is not over yet and
we’ll be seeing another full cour in 2018 but what we got so far I have to say became
one of my highlights of every week for the past several months.
The change in Chise’s character from her desprate beginnings to her fiery finale
at the end of 2017’s last episode made for I think one of the best character arcs
from almost any show this year, And the whole show,
all of ancient Magus Bride is just….well beautiful.
What if, instead of sending our relatable nerd protagonist to a fantasy world like we
have seen happen far too often in recent times, we instead bring the fantasy to him.
That’s the basis of Re;Creators, a series where beloved characters of this fictional
Tokyo Pop Culture lexicon find themselves in the quote unquote “real world”.
Re;Creators is a interesting twist on the typical isekai storyline while at the same
time, being a quirky parody of all the various genres that have influenced pop culture over
the years, from mahout shoujou to macha, to the stereotypical swords and sorcery.
It’s focuses much on the power of social perspectives, as well and what I felt to be
aptly handling many a chiche tropes combined with a more realistic universe.
It’s not a perfect series though, and at times I felt that tried to circumvent its
own mediocrity by calling attention to it, which didn’t work all that well but in terms
of entertainment and in terms of a unique take on a genre that honestly I’ve had my
absolute full of up to this point it was certainly a success and worthwhile in that regard.
Oh Ark, you can’t like Euromanga sensei it’s a terrible show!
It’s nothing but a cheap rip-off of oreimo with a “plot” that consists of nothing
but narrative coincidences, and it doesn’t even rate a 7 on MAL and we all know that
7 is average in the messed up world of numbers that we live in, so in summary this should not be here and
you are idiotic for even considering it.
Well first of all...
f*&k you
You can’t really call this series a rip-off of Oreimo because they were both written by
the same guy, difference being that this time around they actually made the characters entertaining,
and “narrative coincidences”?
Go watch MMO-Junkie if you want some of those.
Plus who the hell cares about MAL scores anyways?
That’s really a horrible metric for you to be biasing your choices on man.
Euromanga Sensei is not on this list because it is good.
It’s here because it is entertaining.
It’s a bare-bones and cliché lewd rom-com that does exactly what it sets out to do for
the exact audience that it set out to impress, and in that regard it does its job extremely well.
For some people this series is a modern masterpiece of anime, the pinnacle of a genre that’s
far too under-represented.
For others it’s a flaming train wreck that should never have been made and I fully expect
to be blocked, banned, and reported for even daring to suggest to these people that it’s
a highlight of the year for me, but it totally was.
If you want a cute rom-com and aren’t turned off by the idea that the main couple are two
non-blood related siblings then go forth!
Otherwise?
Grab your pitchforks and get in line.
This entry might be a bit controversial.
This is because by most people’s definition The King’s Avatar isn’t even an anime.
While still Asian in origin King’s Avatar is a Chinese production, focusing on the exploits
of one professional gamer working his way through the rankings in a popular MMO title.
It’s a story that has many of the same elements that make Isekai shows popular while not...really
belonging to that genre.
The game that the characters play is not VR, and the game itself isn’t our setting, just
a set piece to show just how serious people can get about competitive esports.
And that tale was extremely compelling for me.
Mechanically I can’t say that the animation is the best here, and listening to Mandarin
instead of Japanese can take a bit of getting used to, but personally I’ve been all for
other countries and viewpoints on the same sort of style and themes that have made anime
the unique thing that it is.
No country on earth has any semblance of a monopoly on good animated storytelling and
this is a prime example of that.
It may not be what people traditionally consider an anime, but it was entertaining for me for
the exact same things that I find animation from japan to be entertaining
It's just it's style, even if this didn't have the extra polish.
MAKE WAY FOR THE INEVATABLE MENTION OF THE SMOL DRAGON.
This one should come as no surprise since in my review of the series I called it “The
best comedy Kyotoani has released since Nichijou”, and even now I stand by that statement.
For me Kobayashi was more than just a slice of life comedy with Dragons, it was a brilliant
example of an a-typical family in anime while showing just as much or more heart than you
would expect from a show about family.
None of the characters are related by blood but the relationships that they form over
the course of the short comedy series are stronger than most.
If you want to know more about the series go check out my full review because I’d
rather not repeat my gushing praise for it any more then I have to.
Koybayashi is my Comedy of the year and if that’s not enough to incise you to watch
it then I’ve done all I can.
Annnnnd hopefully the last controversial pick of the list, Kemono Friends is a show that
you either love or hate, there’s not too much middle ground there.
It’s a series that was quite quickly laughed at and forgotten about by many a persona after
the initial episodes due to its…let’s say shoddy animation,
and that’s being EXTREMELY generous.
That said!
Kemono Friends has an heavy amount of heart to it, enough to completely outstrip the production
quality that surrounds it and behind its lighthearted exterior was a continual dark backstory that
kept me interested throughout its entirety.
It is definitely an acquired taste kind of show but it you haven’t tried it out yet,
give it a few episodes and see if it sucks you in.
You might be surprised.
I haven’t talked about Land of the Lustrous much since it’s airing, and all I’ve said
on it basically was in my anticipated video for the season where I hoped, nay prayed for
it to finally give us an example of a CGI animated show worth talking about.
But because of those expectations I never actually got around to watching it past its
first few episodes until I was preparing this list.
But my god, let me say that if it came out in the last couple of years, I think it could
have taken the Best of Year without much trouble.
And not just because it has the best looking OP of the year either.
I mentioned how Chise from Magus was one brilliant example from this year of a beautiful character
arc, but the story of Phos from Lustrous is just as noteworthy.
The show itself takes a bit of time to rev up, it’s not a traditional setting, anthropomorphic
gems fighting some specter like gods?
You need to give it time to explain the circumstances that the characters find themselves in and
who they are, but starting around episode 4 till pretty much the end of the series is
one ride that I felt to be one of the most enjoyable in the entire year.
The downside to it of course is that its story is not yet complete, and its first season
finale really did feel like a bad cliffhanger in some lingering plot threads, but I cannot
deny the story of the show up until that point was a joy to watch.
But of course I saved my favorite for last.
Made in Abyss is the come out of nowhere Feels show that wrecked me so hard this year.
And I am being completely serious when I say that if you haven’t watched it yet, please
stop this video right now and do that, I don’t even care if you come back afterwards just
watch it.
and really that's kind of a weird thing for me to say because I don’t think I’ll ever want to watch it again.
It’s in my heart alongside other very dark feel shows such as Grave of Fireflies, anime like this
are amazing and brilliant, but so sad and terrible that you could not pay me to watch
again, but I cannot stress enough that you need to see it once.
I don’t want to spoil anything about it because hell even talking about it the way
I am, with this much enthusiasm might be too much.
The Production quality of the show is grand, the soundtrack features music that is some of the best of
the year and its story is far more, emotional and engrossing then I ever expected, and I
love it.
But it’s story is not yet over, but even without a fully narrative conclusion they
ended on an arc that was satisfying for what it was and honestly gives me the break that
I need to mentally recover from whatever the plot has awaiting our characters next.
This show is my anime of the year BY FAR and I will recommend it to anyone who asks.
So please go watch it if you can, and I’m not sorry for the state of your emotions afterwards.
And that’s it for 2017, sorry if your favorite anime didn’t make the cut, or if you think
something was far more noteworthy then anything I mentioned.
Hell this year has twice the recommendations compared to the last two years and that’s
not even including the honorable mentions.
2017 was a good year, perhaps not a great year or the BEST year, but it was no slouch
and 2018 has some interesting shoes to fill.
So as 2017 has ended and the new seasons of 2018 have begun I hope for a year that was
at least good if not better than last, and for all the joy that it’ll bring us.
Until then, ladies gentlemen and others: Stay frosty.