Board 8 > Robazoid Ranks 275 Anime and Top 100 Anime Characters 2 (Average and beyond)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Haven't watched Nijigasaki, but I listened to that song. It did nothing for me, whoops.

I know you aren't a fan of idol anime, so I'm surprised you even gave an idol song a shot!

I like some idol songs. Self-Control is an all-timer.

(This is a weird write-up because I never finished it and it probably deserves at least a 7/10. I will immediately rewatch and finish this if it ever goes up on streaming again)

131. AKB0048
https://myanimelist.net/anime/12149/AKB0048
Spring 2012 (13 episodes), Winter 2013 (1/13 episodes, unfinished)
My Score: 5/10, MAL Score: 7.36/10 S1, 7.64/10 S2
Best Character: Motomiya Nagisa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J1lBLqyif0

My Nagisa Figure: https://imgur.com/XiZwyC5

Premise: In a future where humanity has spread amongst the stars and music is outlawed, the idol group AKB0048 puts on guerilla concerts across the galaxy to bring hope to the oppressed.

The Good: I dont know why I didnt finish AKB0048. I absolutely loved the first season. It just fell through the cracks when I was watching too many different things, and of course this is the anime that isnt available anywhere anymore. AKB0048 deserves to rank higher, I just dont remember it as well as it deserves. Since I cant rewatch it, I put it near the middle of the list. Still, even if I dont recall many specific moments, I have lots to talk about because AKB0048 fascinates me. Its about a dark future where music is banned for I dont think they ever give a reason. This means that brave warrior idols, carrying on the spirit of the real-world AKB48 idol group, must put on subversive concerts while evading the forces trying to stop them.

Basically, this has the most awesome premise of anything ever. One of my favorite things about anime is that there are so many of them, so some are allowed to go nuts and do something as fun and different as this. Every single character is great, though if I had to pick favorites it would be Nagisa (who I bought a figure of because it was fifteen dollars) and Suzuko for her deadpan sense of humor. It was fun watching them train in dancing, singing, and even warfare because sometimes theyre on defense duty while others are doing the show. I remember grinning like an idiot during most of AKB0048, which again makes me wonder why the hell I never finished it.

The Bad: The only bad part I remember of AKB0048 was one subplot where one girl wondered if she was carrying on the legacy of the original AKB48 member she was named after. I dont know anything about the real idol group or its members, so that kind of fell flat.

Overall: Im sad I didnt finish ABK0048 and that I cant watch it again. It has one of the zaniest concepts ever and I loved it, but I dont remember it well enough to justify ranking it higher.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
130: This anime gave me a bunch of seashells.
129: This anime was forced to flee when its village was attacked.
128: This anime is running away from home to play music.

AKB0048 was good stuff. Made by the creator of Macross, as I recall. The second season was quite a bit less good, though. Got more serious and less fun, IIRC.

We're now finished with the 5/10 Below Average Tier, as well as the bottom half of the ranking! Next up comes the 6/10 Above Average Tier. Thanks again to everyone who has been following along.

One of the fun fact trivia things is done too! Only five top 100 characters were in my entire bottom half.

Five lowest ranked anime with a character in my top 100
-Death Parade (Kurokami no Onna)
-Sword Art Online (Konno Yuuki)
-Megalo Box (Nanbu Gansaku)
-Classroom of the Elite (Ayanokouji Kiyotaka)
-Love Live Nijigasaki (Nakasu Kasumi)

Ratio of guys to girls is currently 2:3!

Wait a second: if 5/10 is Below Average Tier and 6/10 is Above Average Tier.... does this mean Average occupies the null space?

oh yea I missed the Megalo Box ranking

Both seasons of Megalo Box are great. I actually liked Season 2 more than Season 1 even! I love how dark it is.

MartinFF7 posted...

Wait a second: if 5/10 is Below Average Tier and 6/10 is Above Average Tier.... does this mean Average occupies the null space?

Average is a line drawn down the middle with an equal number of anime above and below it. If I were ranking an uneven number, whatever was exactly in the middle would be average!

Bane_Of_Despair posted...

Both seasons of Megalo Box are great. I actually liked Season 2 more than Season 1 even! I love how dark it is.

I just didn't like how depressed and angry everyone was, plus that new CEO character was the worst

6/10: ABOVE AVERAGE TIER

130. D4DJ: First Mix
https://myanimelist.net/anime/39681/D4DJ__First_Mix
Fall 2020 (13 episodes)
My Score: 6/10, MAL Score: 7.65/10
Best Character: Akashi Maho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wcGvZuF2AE

Premise: Aimoto Rinku moves back to Japan after years of living in Africa. Her new school has many famous DJ units and, after meeting Akashi Maho, they decide to form their own.

The Good: D4DJ is a music anime where four girls with different skills come together to form a DJ unit. It was neat learning about how DJing works, as well as the different roles the girls had in the performance such as Muni creating accompanying animations. The main group, Happy Around, also tries lots of different genres. I still liked the music from Photon Maiden the best. All of the main characters were fine, but Maho was my favorite. I rarely skipped the ED because it was just her at a turntable dancing and it was great.

The Bad: Rinku won me over eventually, but, speaking as someone who usually likes energetic and happy girls, she was almost too much even for me. Her introduction is bursting into the wrong classroom and giving an overlong too-much-information introduction. Then she keeps stalking Maho and giving her seashells. Rinku annoyed me a lot in the beginning, so thankfully she became more tolerable as D4DJ went on.

Overall: D4DJ is a solid music anime that covered things I'd never seen before thanks to its focus on DJing. Rinku was a bit much for me early on, but she slowly won me over, and the other three main characters were always good. It's always nice to watch an anime with fun characters and good music.

should've posted the ED instead tbqh. best part of the show

I didn't think it was that great but it was okay. IIRC the performances were the worst part (I always hate concerts in idol series). I also wished it focused more on DJing and had less singing or whatever.

(I havent thought about this anime since I watched it years ago, so I just mindlessly ranked it with the average music anime. Once I looked up my old post on it and started remembering it, however, this honestly should be at least fifty spots higher. Oh well, maybe I'll fix that after the ranking is over when I add in all the recommended anime. After AKB0048 yesterday and now this, I apologize for having two anime where I'm like "whoops, bad memory, pretend this is ranked higher". Sadly, posting the hint for this yesterday kind of locked it in place.)

129. Lost Song
https://myanimelist.net/anime/34338/Lost_Song
Spring 2018 (12 episodes)
My Score: 6/10, MAL Score: 6.92/10
Best Character: Finis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS_8WnqkzvI
(This is too long to be the OP, it might be an AMV, but it was all I could find so oh well)

Premise: Rin was always told to hide her ability to sing magical songs, but she's discovered after saving an injured knight. Then her village is attacked, forcing her to go on the run.

The Good: Lost Song is a fantasy musical anime, and now that I'm thinking about it for this write-up I regret not ranking it higher. It has some shortcomings as I'll cover in the next section, but I still feel like this anime is special. I'm going to talk about it more than usual because I'm guessing no one else has seen it and frankly it deserves more exposure than it ever got on Netflix.

It's set in a fantasy world that reminded me of a fairy tale. The heroes are idealistic good guys, the bad guys are bad because they're the bad guys, that sort of thing. It's not deep, but it's instantly relatable. Even within that simplistic morality, the royal songstress Finis goes through one hell of a complex character arc full of forbidden love and sorrow and hope. It really goes places.

Rin, a village girl who also has the abilities of a songstress, is the other half of the story. She's forced to go on the run early on because people want her power. Her journey reminded me of an RPG. Her and her inventor brother Al gather a cast of zany characters who are basically party members. One of them is named Pony Goodlight and she's awesome.

Lost Song has some great musical sections, and since that's how magic works in this setting they often have a plot purpose beyond just being a song. Still, my favorite thing about this is the way the story comes together. I can't go into it without huge spoilers, but basically there's a moment in Lost Song that blew my mind and recontextualized everything that came before it. This anime did a lot of things that really appealed to me.

The Bad: I compared Lost Song to a fairy tale above, and there are times where that's to its detriment. I can see people being put off by the tone, for example. Still, I enjoyed it enough to forgive its occasional simplicity or unexplained magical mumbo-jumbo. The production values also aren't super impressive, which I think would bother other people more than it did me.

Overall: Lost Song really appealed to me. Everything from the setting's tone to how certain aspects of it were revealed to how the two separate stories came together, it was all great. I don't want to hype this up too much, the production values were average and I can see some of the things I loved being sources of annoyance to other people. Even with all the things that appealed to me, I still wouldn't call it a huge favorite. Lost Song just surprised me with how much I enjoyed it, and I'm sad I'd forgotten that until right now. This should honestly be a high 7/10, not a low 6/10.

Actually, I want my big dumb anime ranking to have higher standards than to allow this Lost Song mis-ranking to stand. I'll rewatch Lost Song soon, put it where it belongs, then shift everything down a spot.

These last few days have been filled with shows I never finished and now one I didn't really consider until it was too late. Even if no one else cares but me, I feel bad about that because I am trying my best. Believe me, this ranking wasn't just thrown together! There simply isn't enough time to rewatch everything, so I've been prioritizing my top 100 anime or ones with character write-ups. Something was bound to slip through the cracks.

So consider that Lost Song write-up a preview from later in the ranking.

But what happens if you rewatch it and decide it should be lower than it already is?

Xeybozn posted...

But what happens if you rewatch it and decide it should be lower than it already is?

I'm actually rewatching one right now that should've probably ranked a bit lower (like a 5 instead of a 6) so the ranking will never be perfect. At least that one isn't a huge shift, plus I still really like the one character in it so I'll have good stuff to talk about. The entire Lost Song write-up felt like "whoops, this should be way higher" and I didn't like that.

I've already had one 8/10 become a 3/10 on rewatch, though. Thankfully it was Dragon Pilot and that happened before the 3s so I could just shift it down. Hopefully the last dozen or so favorites I plan to rewatch don't disappoint me like that one did...

128. Carole & Tuesday
https://myanimelist.net/anime/37435/Carole___Tuesday
Spring 2019 (24 episodes)
My Score: 6/10, MAL Score: 7.88/10
Best Character: Tuesday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsNm1LQUrXM

Premise: In the future on a terraformed Mars, a rich girl named Tuesday runs away from home. She winds up meeting Carole playing songs on the street, and the two begin playing music together.

The Good: Carole & Tuesday is a music anime where the titular duo try to make a name for themselves in a market where AI-written music is dominant. I liked pretty much everything from the main two. Tuesday won me over right away with how quickly her character came across. She tried to climb out a window, because that's what you're supposed to do when running away from home, but it was too high so she gave up and took the door. I don't know quite how to explain it. That fifteen second scene with zero dialogue really endeared her to me. There are a lot of nice characterization moments like that throughout C&T. I also liked their music. They peaked early on, Loneliest Girl was their best song by far, but it was all good. I also liked seeing the future society on Mars, even if it wasn't used as well as it could've been.

The Bad: They say that AI dominates the music industry, but that isn't really shown. When I heard that, I hoped they'd go up against a futuristic Hatsune Miku or something that could sing in ways no human is capable of. Instead, their rival is Angela, a human. I didn't like Angela at all, she never added anything and the anime would've been a lot better if it cut her out entirely.

Overall: Carole & Tuesday was a nice music anime about two girls trying to infuse their songs with feelings. It had a lot of great character moments, but also wasted a bunch of time on a bad character, Angela. In the end I was still glad I watched this, but it wasn't as good as it could've been.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
127: Singing can't cure this anime's elimination from the ranking.
126: This anime is moving to the countryside.
C99: This character is going to the candy store.

127: Healer girl
126/99: Non Non Biyori and Renge?

Carole and Tuesday was pretty good, though I thought the ending was pretty cheesy.

I really like Carole and Tuesday, the music is really great and having a tournament arc is always an easy way to showcase this kind of talent. It's unfortunate the writing is phoned in on a lot of one off episodes and weak side characters. The manager and that little robot thing were such a waste of time.

Angela and her sidekick guy are ok but not as good as they should be. Ertegun was the bomb.

Carole & Tuesday is great, the only subplot I didn't care for was Tuesday's crush on the older journalist guy. I have the whole soundtrack in my music still

I liked all of those things in C&T (the ending, the crush on the older guy (he was quite dreamy after all) and even the little robot episode). Anything to do with them was great because they were both such strong characters imo

127. Healer Girl
https://myanimelist.net/anime/48857/Healer_Girl
Spring 2022 (12 episodes)
My Score: 6/10, MAL Score: 7.38/10
Best Character: Fujii Kana

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49UDf5sTfMU

Premise: Vocal medicine, the practice of singing to help heal patients, has become an accepted form of treatment. Fujii Kana is training alongside her friends to become a healer.

The Good: Healer Girl is a music anime with a supernatural twist in the form of magical songs. I always like concepts like this. A lot of it is the cute girls hanging out or training, but sometimes things get real with an emotional scene. The healers in training, Kana, Reimi, and Hibiki, are a fun trio. I also liked most of the side characters like their enigmatic teacher or the friendly rival from another clinic. The art style in this is light and colorful. Creative, symbolic visions also spring up whenever they're doing songs, which makes each of them feel special.

The Bad: Healer Girl never did anything wrong, but I still felt like it didn't utilize its premise as well as it could have. Since their curing songs can't treat everything, I think it was a lost opportunity that they never faced an ailment they couldn't help with, just to face their limitations. There was also one episode where they went kind of nutty from training and they were stuck singing everything they said. It was like a musical, and it was amazing! After that, going back to only singing during songs couldn't help but feel like a letdown. I want a full musical anime someday.

Overall: This was a solid music anime with a creative fantastical aspect to give the songs weight. I liked all the characters and the things they did together. Healer Girl just didn't resonate with me enough to rank higher than this. It was a nice anime, but it could've been great if it leaned more into the musical aspect or put the characters in situations with more of an emotional punch.

Yeah, the sports day episode was so good. High point of the series, but the rest was good too.

126. Non Non Biyori
https://myanimelist.net/anime/17549/Non_Non_Biyori
Fall 2013 (12 episodes), Summer 2015 (12 episodes), Winter 2021 (12 episodes)
My Score: 6/10, MAL Score: 7.94/10 S1, 8.19/10 S2, 8.39/10 S3
Best Character: Miyauchi Renge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_cB9m4GM6k

Premise: Ichijou Hotaru moves with her family to the countryside. Her new school only has five students all sharing one classroom, but they soon become good friends.

The Good: Non Non Biyori is a laid- back slice-of-life comedy featuring several cute girls (and one guy who never speaks). The art style and animation really makes the most of the beautiful countryside scenery. The four main characters all have fun personalities, though Renge was easily my favorite and I'll talk about her below. There's also a decent cast of side characters, including Renge's older sisters and a teen who commutes to high school. I like how scenarios use the characters in different combinations for unique dynamics. Sometimes it's Hikage and Natsumi getting into trouble, other times it's Hotaru idolizing Komari. The one thing they all have in common is they're all a good time.

The Bad: I think Hotaru is ten years old or so, but she's, uh, a very well developed one. I liked it one time where the joke was that someone from out of town thought she was a fellow high-schooler, but it's uncomfortable whenever Hotaru is used for fanservice. Thankfully it doesn't happen often. Other than that, NNB is just a bit too slow for me. I'm a fan of relaxing anime so it isn't a huge problem, but sometimes it lingers just a little too long on some beautiful countryside shot and I want it to move along to the next scene.

Overall: Non Non Biyori is a great anime to put on and then just sit back and relax. It has a cast who all have fun dynamics with each other. There aren't any big plot arcs or dramatic moments, but there's still some good character development as they grow and learn more about each other.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/4/2/AAcDcBAADstG.jpg

CHARACTER: Miyauchi Renge (Non Non Biyori)
https://myanimelist.net/character/54151/Renge_Miyauchi
Voiced by: Koiwai Kotori
TOP 100 RANK: 99th

VIDEO LINK (short, no spoilers): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAEbJs-rnVc

SPOILERS FOR NON NON BIYORI

Non Non Biyori has a decently sized cast of unique characters, and they all have their moments depending on the scenario and who they're paired with. Renge still manages to stand out as the best character, because no matter who she's with or what theyre doing it's pretty much guaranteed to be a good time. She's younger than the rest of the cast (at least until a friend moves nearby in the the third season), but Renge seems mature for her age. She's a good kid, never intentionally getting in trouble like Natsumi or Hikage. And when her big sister needs help with planting, Renge is eager to help and grows attached to the crops.

She has a kind of stoic demeanor, sometimes seeming bored or expressions, but Renge is friendly with everyone and takes interest in everything. Her screentime is filled with amazing little moments, like the short video I linked to above where she greets Natsumi with a cute "nyanpasu". It's fun watching her practice her recorder, explore the countryside, or get roped into someone else's misadventure.

I also really love the relationship Renge has with Kaede, owner of the local candy store. She's known Renge since she was born (as shown in numerous cute flashbacks of her as a toddler) and is quite attached to her even she tries not to show it. Renge calls her "Candy store" rather than her name, but it's clear that she loves Kaede too. They share lots of great scenes together, including Renge learning to ride a bike. When there's a day for parents to visit the school (where Renge's older sister is already the teacher), Renge asks Kaede to come in the place of her absent parents. Non Non Biyori is good, and most bits with Renge are great. The scenes with her and Kaede were still always my favorite because their relationship has a lot of heart.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
125: This anime is too small and angry to find love.
124: This anime features many people trying to find love.
123: This anime is too big and ugly to find love.

As you can see, the theme for tomorrow is love.

nooo not ore monogatari (maybe) and tsurezure children (maybe)!!

I agree that NNB is too slow. I really don't like those slow shots where nothing happens. I thought it got better as it went along, though. Better humor, interactions, etc. And it's neat that it actually got an ending.

Also Renge rules.

MacArrowny posted...

And it's neat that it actually got an ending.

Yeah, it's always nice when a SoL show like that actually concludes. I remember being pleasantly surprised when I came back to anime and saw concluding third seasons for NNB and Is the Order a Rabbit, especially since it'd been a long time since their second seasons.

(This was the anime I alluded to a few days ago in post 165. It was one if the first few I ever watched years ago, and I remembered enjoying it a lot and really liking Taiga. I just finished rewatching it last night and... meh, it was okay I guess. Taiga fell out of my top 100 characters. Luckily I was able to find someone to replace her.)

125. Toradora
https://myanimelist.net/anime/4224/Toradora
Fall 2008 (25 episodes)
My Score: 6/10, MAL Score: 8.10/10
Best Character: Aisaka Taiga

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzOEMJSQRZU

Premise: Takasu Ryuuji has a face that terrifies his classmates and makes his crush on Minori seem hopeless. Then he forms a bond with Aisaka Taiga, a small girl with a big temper who happens to be Minori's best friend.

The Good: Toradora is a romance anime with occasional jokes but mostly drama. I recently rewatched it and it wasnt as good as I remembered, but there was still a lot to like. Both Taiga and Ryuuji are fun characters in different ways. Taiga is often short-tempered and attacking people in a slapstick manner, but she has lots of cute and shy moments too. Ryuuji is a good guy who always tries to help people and do the right thing, plus he's a clean freak which leads to lots of good jokes. When Taiga throws a trash can at a strange guy with a camera, Ryuuji can't help but clean it up. They both have a crush on the other's best friend, but the best part of Toradora is watching these two interact with each other.

The Bad: There was way, way more crappy melodrama in Toradora than I recalled, which dragged it down a lot for me. I'd mostly remembered the fun parts, like when Taiga was running for student council but didn't want to win so she promised to ruin the school for everyone and her campaign posters were like an evil dictator's propaganda. I'd forgotten that she was only doing that because of some dumb melodrama with Kitamura. Pretty much every character had one plot or arc that I hated. They all had good moments too, thankfully, so the bad parts didn't ruin the anime. While Toradora eventually limped its way to a satisfying conclusion, the final episode also had some gigantic problems that killed the anime's momentum.

Overall: Toradora has fun characters, especially Ryuuji and Taiga. When they're used well, it was often funny or heartwarming. Sadly, there are large swathes of this anime where no one is being used well and everything is just sad or infuriating. I didn't hate Toradora, so that puts it above a lot of other anime romances I've already ranked. I used to consider it one of the standouts in the genre, however, and after a rewatch this was a lot more average than I'd remembered.

I love Toradora, but there's definitely some glaring problems in the last few episodes that bring it down for me. I do love the characters, and I still think it's one of the best in the school romcom genre. Plus Taiga is actually a well-executed tsundere (even if I don't particularly like her or the archetype).

Made it a little less than halfway before dropping it, and that's back when I actually tried to complete every show I started. Fucking hated Taiga. #Justice4Ami

Ami got a lot worse in the second half, in my opinion. It felt like all she did was scowl and judge people. She was good in the first half though.

Taiga is still great though, even if not as much as I remembered. She is indeed a well-executed tsundere.

Oh hey I've watched that one!

It was fine, my wife enjoyed it more than me but that's not surprising.

124. Tsurezure Children
https://myanimelist.net/anime/34902/Tsurezure_Children
Summer 2017 (12 episodes)
My Score: 6/10, MAL Score: 7.58/10
Best Character: Takano Chizuru

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqlk8P22XYc

Premise: This anime explores various couples as they try to navigate young love. Some are dating, others want to date but can't work up the courage, and others aren't quite sure what love even means.

The Good: Tsurezure Children is a romance anime with an ensemble cast. It showcases numerous different kinds of romances all set in the same school. I liked how the episodes were structured. Each one has multiple short scenes featuring different couples, and their relationships slowly change over time. I'll admit that my memories on this anime aren't the best, but I still recall the standout moments from a few couples. One started as friends and, even though they're close and get along well, they struggle to take the next step into physical intimacy. Chizuru's story was my favorite because she had trouble understanding what love even is. I also liked the mysterious love guru guy who often appeared in the various stories. He was a fun character and a good connecting thread for the anime overall.

The Bad: I appreciated all the different kinds of couples there were in Tsurezure Children. However, having episodes be a series of short vignettes was a downside in some ways. There were so many different stories running parallel to each other that not all of them got the development they deserved. I also cared about some way more than others, to the point where I started feeling disappointed when one of the crappier ones got a scene. Some of them also never reached a satisfying conclusion, at least not in the anime.

Overall: I enjoyed Tsurezure Children for having so many different kinds of romances. It's one of those shows where everyone will have a couple or two that resonates with them. It has fun characters and a lot of cute moments with them. Still, in my opinion, Tsurezure Children told too many stories to adequately develop all of them or have satisfying conclusions, so in the end it wasnt one of my favorites.

Love Master hilarious times. I thought most of the romances got the attention they deserved, too. I read the manga after and the later parts of the stories weren't as interesting.

123. My Love Story
https://myanimelist.net/anime/28297/Ore_Monogatari
Spring 2015 (24 episodes)
My Score: 6/10, MAL Score: 7.91/10
Best Character: Sunakawa Ai

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmznkTDDoS8

Premise: Gouda Takeo is an exceedingly large and muscular teenager, which has scared away every girl he's ever liked. He instantly falls for the cute Yamato Rinko after helping her, but Takeo suspects she likes his cool best friend Sunakawa Makoto instead.

The Good: My Love Story is a romance anime that did a lot of things I enjoyed. Gouda is a fun character. He's outwardly intimidating and has impossible strength, but he's such a good guy that it's impossible not to root for him. Him and Rinko have a great dynamic, plus she's super nice and shy. She sees Gouda for who he really is and appreciates all of it. There are lots of cute or fun moments in this anime, but it's also one of the rare romances where some of the drama was better than the lighthearted stuff. With a few exceptions (which I'll mention below), pretty much everyone is a good person. Ai, Makoto's older sister, was my favorite character for how emotionally impactful her arc was.

The Bad: There were two characters I hated, Ai's friend Hayato and Kouki the pastry chef. I can't really delve into why they sucked because the reasons are pretty far into the anime so it'd mean a lot of spoilers, but neither one added anything good. Otherwise, while I enjoyed My Love Story and appreciate how it avoided a lot of pitfalls that have ruined other romance anime for me, I can't say that I loved it. It was nice to watch, but it didn't do anything that resonated with me enough to become one of my favorites.

Overall: My Love Story is a sweet tale about a gigantic guy who has a crush on a shy girl. Since almost everyone is a good person simply trying to navigate their feelings, it avoids a lot of melodrama while still managing to have deep and heartfelt moments. Beyond being cute and fun to watch, however, this didn't do anything to really grab me. I enjoyed it, just not enough to justify ranking it any higher.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
122: This anime is getting rejected in a comically over-the-top and meanspirited way.
C93: This character is going to spend years trying to find a way to get even for that rejection.
121: This anime wants its true nature to remain a secret.

tsurezure children sounds potentially interesting.

not a fan of the way gouda takeo looks so that would almost certainly keep me away from my love story

Yeah, after a rewatch, my enjoyment of Tsurezure Children definitely fluctuated with the featured couple. Brotoyama is the best Tsurezure Child, but favorite couple is Gouda x Kamine. Worst couple is either the "comedy duo" or excessively teasing girl and the guy whose sister overly possessive.

President x Delinquent was the weakest couple by a lot imo. They had some fairly weak segments. I liked all the others though.

122. Masamune-kuns Revenge
https://myanimelist.net/anime/33487/Masamune-kun_no_Revenge
Winter 2017 (12 episodes) plus 1 OVA
My Score: 6/10, MAL Score: 6.74/10
Best Character: Makabe Masamune

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqAy5sXmfoI

Premise: After a harsh rejection from Adagaki Aki when they were children, Makabe Masamune moved, changed his name, and worked out a lot. Now that he's hot, he has returned to get Aki to fall for him so that he can reject her this time.

The Good: Masamune-kun's Revenge is a romantic comedy with a premise I really like. Obviously in real life it would be sad to hold onto a childhood rejection for so many years, and it'd be terrible to toy with someone's emotions with the ultimate goal of breaking their heart. Everything in this is just so over-the-top that it becomes fun instead. Our introduction to present-day Aki is her on a building's rooftop hearing a confession from some guy down below, and she brutally rejects him in front of a crowd of onlookers by painting an offensive nickname for him onto a giant scroll that she unfurls. When the tone is zany like that right from the start, anything goes. It's also an excellent introduction to Aki's character as an ice princess, showing that Masamune isn't going to win her over easily. I'll cover Masamune below, but Aki was a great character too with some fun quirks like needing to eat a lot. I'm also a fan of Yoshino, her beleaguered servant who is always deadpan.

The Bad: There's one arc towards the end of the season that came very close to ruining Masamune-kun's Revenge for me. Basically as soon as Gasou showed up, all the fun dynamics disappeared and everything became terrible. I was only able to rank this as high as I have by deciding to ignore it. Supposedly there will be a second season someday. I really hope it goes back to how this anime was before Gasou.

Overall: Masamune-kun's Revenge is a fun story about a guy trying to win a girl's heart for revenge. The three major characters are all good in their own way. I enjoyed watching their interactions, which were full of cute moments and ulterior motives. The last few episodes kind of sucked, but when I rewatched this recently I was able to look past them.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/7/8/AAcDcBAADtM6.png

CHARACTER: Makabe Masamune (Masamune-kuns Revenge)
https://myanimelist.net/character/81967/Masamune_Makabe
Voiced by: Hanae Natsuki
TOP 100 RANK: 93rd

(I couldn't find a good video for him)

SPOILERS FOR MASAMUNE-KUNS REVENGE

Makabe Masamune was fat as a child, which led to a lot of bullying. Aki was his only friend, and given how icy her personality was, even at that age, she was often harsh too. Masamune still fell in love, confessed to her... and had his heart broken when she called him a pig's foot. As much as that would sting at the time, most people would move on. Masamune instead lets that rejection alter the course of his entire life. And, you know what, I have an odd respect for a guy who changes his name and dedicates years to working out just to get even with a girl who slighted him. Never mind the reason why he's doing it, that takes real commitment.

When he moves back in high school, Masamune is a hunk who could have his pick of girls based on looks alone. He gets flustered at the attention, showing he's still an awkward guy underneath his toned muscles, but he resists these other women. All he cares about is revenge, and that leads to him trying to get close to Aki. She doesn't make it easy, however, so it's a good thing Masamune gets a powerful ally. Yoshino, Aki's servant, actually recognizes him as the fat kid they used to know. She's also willing to help him get revenge because Yoshino wants to take her haughty master down a peg.

With her help, Masamune has some successes, and this was my favorite part of the anime. It was cute watching the two interact. Aki keeps revealing new sides to herself beyond the ice princess persona. Masamune actually succeeds in reaching her sometimes. For Masamune, it's fun seeing how much of a dork he is. He reads popular romance manga for tips on winning hearts, and most of his schemes hilariously backfire. It also seems like, despite his revenge goal, that Aki is winning him over too.

This is why I hate the Gasou arc so much. Some guy turns up pretending to be Aki's childhood friend, and she's so nostalgic for that old friendship that she instantly falls for him and drops Masamune. All the cute little moments between them that I enjoyed didn't matter, I guess. They clearly weren't building anything or slowly winning each other over if Aki moves on this quickly. That's a problem with her character, though. Masamune is still fine. When circumstances lead to Aki onstage for a play, waiting for Gasou who won't be able to make it, she's guaranteed to be really embarrassed. Despite his desire for revenge, and despite how she treated him recently, Masamune still steps up to act in the play just to help Aki. I really hope the eventual second season gets their relationship back on track. Even with all the icy remarks and ulterior motives, I think Aki and Masamune are cute together.

masamune-kun about 100 spots too high

KommunistKoala posted...

masamune-kun about 100 spots too high

When I was first putting together the ranking, it actually was around 100 spots lower! It was down with Scum's Wish. Then I rewatched it and enjoyed it quite a bit, last few episodes aside, so it jumped up a lot. Knowing there's a second season coming someday to hopefully fix that awful final arc really saved my opinion of this.

121. Actually, I Am
https://myanimelist.net/anime/29785/Jitsu_wa_Watashi_wa
Summer 2015 (13 episodes)
My Score: 6/10, MAL Score: 6.86/10
Best Character: Aizawa Nagisa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H28sXYpGfM

Premise: Kuromine Asahi learns that the girl he has a crush on, Shiragami Youko, is actually a vampire! She asks him not to tell anyone, but Asahi is terrible at keeping secrets, and there are lots of other strange people at their school.

The Good: Actually, I Am is a romantic comedy that mixes a few things I enjoy. First, I loved the awkward hijinks where Asahi has to keep various secrets from getting out even though he has a terrible poker face and his best friend is a reporter always looking for a scoop. This also has a supernatural twist with the various monster people. It's a bit like Monster Musume but with way less fanservice (though one girl who shares her body with a werewolf is a self-described pervert and she provides plenty of fanservice). The vampire Youko is good. She's usually cool and reserved because she was afraid to smile in case people noticed her fangs, so it's cute how she can truly be herself around Asahi. My favorite is still Nagisa, the tiny alien piloting a human-sized body. She's such a unique monster idea and she has lots of fun gags.

The Bad: I don't remember Actually, I Am doing anything wrong. There were bits of drama and some characters or running gags that weren't my favorites, but nothing terrible. The overall anime is just kind of mediocre. A lot of what it did appealed to me, but without that I'd have ranked it quite a bit lower. Lets just say I wasnt surprised to see this has a score below a 7 on MAL.

Overall: Actually, I Am is a decent romantic comedy with some interesting monster characters and hilarious misunderstandings. Nothing about it is super amazing, but I thought it came together well enough and a lot of the things it had really appealed to me.

COMING UP TOMORROW:
120: This anime is getting stabbed with forks.
119: This anime doesn't take its activities seriously enough.
118: This anime is terrible at winning games.

(Man, it wasnt easy doing a hint for 119 without using any words from the title)

I'm fond of the manga for that one, but the adaptation looked weak so I didn't try it. One of the funniest manga I've read.

I'm guessing since the anime was only 13 episodes it didn't cover the below spoiler so buyer beware

Actually I Am: I like that the main couple gets together and it doesn't immediately end,

KommunistKoala posted...

I'm guessing since the anime was only 13 episodes it didn't cover the below spoiler so buyer beware

Actually I Am: I like that the main couple gets together and it doesn't immediately end,

I vividly remember being really disappointed that they didn't get together because they obviously should and it looked like it was heading that direction near the end so no it didn't cover that, sadly.

KommunistKoala posted...

I'm guessing since the anime was only 13 episodes it didn't cover the below spoiler so buyer beware

Actually I Am: I like that the main couple gets together and it doesn't immediately end,

That was good, but I was annoyed they kept treating it like a harem anime after that with the other girls confessing to him. No, confessing to a guy who's dating another girl is NOT a good thing! The parts focusing on the main two were good to the end tho.

120. Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos
https://myanimelist.net/anime/11785/Haiyore_Nyaruko-san
Spring 2012 (12 episodes), Spring 2013 (12 episodes)
My Score: 6/10, MAL Score: 7.01/10 S1, 7.23/10 S2
Best Character: Nyarko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9Wk_XWWa9E

Premise: Yasaka Mahiro is rescued from an alien monster by a girl named Nyarko. It turns out that she is an eldritch horror too, Nyarlathotep, and she winds up moving into Mahiros house!

The Good: Nyarko-san is a comedy that takes inspiration from the works of H.P. Lovecraft. I was hyped when I first heard of it since I love eldritch horror. Also, while its no secret that anime can and will turn anything into a cute girl (historical figures, animals, zodiac signs, warships), it was still neat to think itd happened to Nyarlahotep of all things. While this anime didnt do as much with the idea as it could have, it was still lots of fun! Its a mixture of a few genres. Theres fanservice and romantic comedy and occasional action where Nyarko battles horrors from beyond understanding. I mostly enjoyed the slapstick of a purposefully bland guy, Mahiro, suddenly living with zany roommates. Nyarko was my favorite. Her over-the-top lust for Mahiro was fun. Despite how powerful she was, he could always fight her off by stabbing her with forks which was a nice running gag. I also liked the slight twist that Kuuko the Cthughan was obsessed with Nyarko and not the main dude, which kept it from being a harem.

The Bad: Since the H.P. Lovecraft inspiration was what drew me in initially, I was a bit disappointed that Nyarko-san didnt do more with it. It felt like eldritch horror was a coat of paint rather than something that set out to adapt anything from those works, if that makes sense. Nyarko is a Nyarlathotepian, but she couldve been any random alien and it wouldnt change much. I enjoyed catching the references (Carcosa Computer Entertainment, aw yeah). It just wasnt as much as it couldve been.

Overall: Nyarko-san is an over-the-top anime with many moods and genres. I mostly enjoyed the slapstick where Nyarko was ultra annoying and Mahiro would stab her with forks and then Kuuko would get jealous. I also liked the references to stuff from H.P. Lovecraft, though Id have preferred if it was used for more. This was still a fun and zany anime.

Figured it'd be Nyaruko. I watched the first episode or two and hated it. The fork-stabbing was ultra lame and I thought the main guy was a real buzzkill.

Toradora one of my all time favorites. I tend to like melodramatic shows though, and I do think that's the type of show Toradora is mainly trying to be rather than a fun and silly romcom (though it does have elements of that to).

Tsurezure Children was fun but was the spitting image of a "this is fine" show for me. Think my favorite couple was the one with the delinquent but this is one of those shows I remember very little about.

More or less agree on Masamune's Revenge. I liked it a fair amount at first but the back half of the show was just so grating for me, I believe for mostly the same reasons as you.

so it's like... Lovecraftian comedic slice of life?

I want to say "now I've seen it all" but I know there's even more out there, lol... never heard of that one before