LogFAQs > #974537212

Two more rankings for today and I'll do the rest over the weekend.

12. Mawaru Penguindrum
Genres: Surrealism, Mystery, Drama
Favorite Character: Ringo Oginome

Penguindrum is certainly a show that exists, and despite how high I have it here it's a show that's really difficult to recommend. The show is completely and unapologetically bizarre, abstract, and bewildering. If that sort of thing is not unpalatable however, then I do believe this show is one of the best out there. The series has a very well-realized artistic vision and an earnest emotional undercurrent, which are always at the forefront of the series. The director is incredibly skilled and uses a ton of different clever techniques to communicate his ideas--the easiest to explain at least probably being the heavy use of repetition with slight variations to emphasize and contrast different aspects of the characters and story. The visuals are fantastic--from a literal standpoint they are vibrant and full of color, and from a thematic standpoint Ikuhara uses art and symbols skillfully to communicate thematic ideas in ways that you just don't see often from anime. And as I said before the underlying story and characters are just incredibly strong, and it's one of those shows that just feels like it's from the heart. A very artistic show that all but demands patience and active interpretation from the viewer, but if you're willing to give it those then this is a real treat.

11. Monogatari Series
Genres: Drama, Harem, Romance, Supernatural
Favorite Character: Tsubasa Hanekawa

When this show is firing on all cylinders, its one of the best there is. In particular, Second Season* is such an unbelievably good stretch of arcs and might be able to crack my top 5 considered in isolation. Unfortunately every arc doesn't hit quite as well as the strongest ones, but still the show rarely misses and is a fantastic experience either way. Monogatari is an infamously dialogue-heavy show, but I do really think it has the writing skill to back that up. The dialogue is always witty and engaging and is also willing to be serious when the situation demands, and the result is that the show probably has what I consider the most well-developed cast in anime. The actual supernatural events of the story are also very cool and strike an interesting balance of being themselves tense and exciting, and of being interesting allegories for the lives of whatever character is the focus of the current arc. The show is also quite stylized which adds a lot to the series overall, though I would be lying if I did not say that I thought this aspect gets somewhat weaker over the course of the series' runtime. Sort of like the last show this one's another very unique experience and one that demands your attention, but it's a fantastically well-written show imo.

*To clarify, I mean the arc called "Second Season", which hilariously is not actually the 2nd anime season because the "First Season" arc was split across multiple television seasons.