Geek Babble- The Big Anime Queue Purge, Part One

There’s nothing quite like a good fall cleaning to celebrate the end of summer. So I decided to tackle my Crunchyroll queue. In recent years I’ve been lax with clearing out my queue after finishing an anime. This has been out of sheer laziness and the fact that often I tell myself I’m going to write about a show in some manner. Those wishes rarely materialized, especially my planned reviews. Because I’m most likely a masochist (and this may be a cry for help), I decided to write a little about all of the shows I’m purging from my list to make up for not writing more about them. The number of shows I’m covering is high (68 in total), so to save myself some pain and time, I’ve limited my thoughts on a show to a few sentences.

To make things even more painful, I’m organizing this list by shows I’m currently watching, shows I want to finish, shows I’ve completed and removed from my queue (this includes dropped series), and shows I’ve yet to start.

For the sake of brevity and your sanity, I’m splitting this article into several parts. Part one will cover what I’m currently watching and half of the shows I want to finish.

 

Currently Watching:

This list includes a mix of simulcast shows and slightly older shows.

 

Persona 5 the Animation– The first half of Persona 5 got off to a rough start with spots of bad animation, constantly off-model characters, and uninspired battle scenes. However, the series found its footing by exploring elements skipped over in the game and pressing hard on character relationships. I was worried the series would be rushed, but A-1 Pictures is going beyond 26 episodes and giving the show the time it needs to tell an interesting story. Recommended.

Angolmois: Record of Mongol Invasion– A historical military drama covering the 1274 Mongol invasion of Japan. The war effort is focused on the exploits of Jinzaburo Kuchii, an exiled samurai who is the only man capable of protecting the island of Tsushima. It’s a fun watch, but the situation seems hopeless given the sheer number of Mongols. There’s no way this plot is wrapping up in 12 episodes.

Danganronpa: The Animation– I’ve never played the Danganronpa games, so I went into this anime semi-blind other than the recommendations of a friend. I immediately felt the Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors vibe, the difference here being students trapped in a high school must murder their classmates without being caught in order to graduate. Recommended, although I can do without the pink stylized blood.

My Hero Academia– It’s My Hero Academia, one of the biggest shonen shows out there. We’re currently on season 3. Deku has finally learned how to control his powers without harming himself and All Might has effectively been retired. Recommended, unless you absolutely hate costumed superheroes.

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid– I’m fairly early into this show, but what’s not to like about Miss Kobayashi? One day our titular character rescues a young girl who’s actually a dragon. The dragon develops a crush on Kobayashi, moves in and becomes her maid. Amusing hijinks ensue. This show is a bit slower than what I usually watch, but it is lots of fun. Recommended.

Drifters– Trying out Hellsing creator Kouta Hirano’s original new anime was a no-brainer, given how enjoyable that show was. Drifters is an interesting mishmash of world historical figures all thrown into a fantasy war. The comedic timing leaves something to be desired, but it is still a delightful combination of military fantasy and hyper-violence.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure– I’m so very happy Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure finally made it to North America earlier this decade. All of the references to it in other Japanese media finally make sense now! Part four of this long-running series, Diamond is Unbreakable is currently airing on Toonami, but I’m patiently waiting for part five, Golden Wind. Recommended. (There’s no harm in starting with Phantom Blood.)

 

Attack on Titan– AoT dropped in 2013 and quickly became a juggernaut. It was shocking to see the show disappear for years, but at least the wait from 2017’s season two to this summer’s season three was comparatively short. Everything is in top form with political intrigue and the truth of the titans finally being revealed. Recommended.

Free –Dive to the Future– Free! Wrapped up quite nicely with Eternal Summer in 2014, plus the various films released. So a having a season three feels unnecessary, especially when the original director, Hiroko Utsumi isn’t even part of this new project. I’ve only seen two episodes, but I’ve been incredibly underwhelmed.

 

Want to Finish:

I may not finish these shows, but I haven’t been willing to give up on them completely.

 

Ace Attorney– This show should have been a homerun for me, given how much I enjoyed the games. However, this show was a dull mess, and worse, the subtitles with Capcom’s translation of English names are only viewable on Crunchyroll’s website. I don’t watch anime on my PC, so I never went back for those last few episodes. With a second season dropping this October, I probably should.

Saint Seiya Omega– A 2013 spin-off of the original Saint Seiya, based on a new generation of Saints. While the few episodes I saw were enjoyable, 2013 was such great year in anime that I forgot to return to finish this show. At 96 episodes long, I’m not sure if I’ll ever pick this back up.

Rurouni Kenshin– I was originally delighted when I saw Kenshin on Crunchyroll. I had tried the anime back when it ran on Toonami, but I hated the opening song, “Freckles” by Sandy Fox. I cringed and collected the manga instead. Since then, I’ve seen a few episodes on DVD (thank you fast forward) and enjoyed them. That said, in light of recent news about Nobuhiro Watsuki enjoying his works is difficult now.

 

The second part of this series will be posted on Tuesday.

Images courtesy of Random Curiosity and Reddit.