Geek Babble- The Big Anime Queue Purge, Part Five

 

The end of my Crunchyroll anime queue purge is in sight. Today we’ve arrived on the penultimate entry with the finish line quickly approaching the horizon. This list is filled with shows from the early part of this decade, some of which just had sequels finishing up, or they run the gamut from beloved to highly forgettable. Personally, out of the shows I’ve watched I’m still upset that Log Horizon never had a proper follow up to its second season. But hey, if we can wait five years for Attack on Titan ‘s third season, surely there’s hope for one of my favorite trapped in a video game series. Before I get my hopes up any higher just to see them cruelly dashed, I’ll get on with the list. You can read previous articles in this series here.

 

Finished or Removed:

The shows in my queue that I’ve either watched to completion, dropped, or I was too slow and the streaming rights expired.

Durarara!!- When the original Dururara!! was introduced in 2010 and ended without a definite conclusion, it left fans wanting more. In 2015 fans received several sequels, none of which were produced by Brain’s Base and the drop in quality was visually painful. The story ended and I’m not sure if the ending had worth beyond simple closure. (I would have preferred more Baccano! to be honest.)

Parasyte –the Maxim-– As of this writing, Parasyte is nearly four years old. It was notable at the time because the manga had gone nearly 20 years without a proper anime adaptation. While this story of humans being taken over by murderous parasites feels inspired by The Thing, the ’90s style of anime story telling was a breath of fresh air in sea of sameness. Until the ending left me feeling mildly disappointed. Recommended for the first half.

 

Fate/Zero– My first introduction the works of Gen Urobuchi actually began with Blassreiter. That said, Fate/Zero was my introduction to the Fate universe. Urobuchi’s story of the Holy Grail war was a riveting tale of action, loss, tragedy, and betrayal from start to finish. Combined with Ufotable’s excellent animation, this series has everything an anime fan could want. Highly recommended.

Devil Survivor 2 the Animation– Following up on the success of Persona 4 the Animation, director Seiji Kishi was given a second MegaTen project. While DS2 had a strong start, the show felt rushed by the final few episodes. Some may argue that this show was an attempt to appeal to the Evangelion crowd. The series could have been worthwhile if it had been 24 episodes instead of a measly 12.

Gatchaman Crowds– I knew nothing of Gatchaman going into to this remake of a classic. It’s probably best that I remained ignorant because this show had very little in common with the Gatchaman of old. It was easy to understand why many longtime fans were upset. That said, the show in itself had neat commentary on the nature of society and even how social media plays a role.

 

Log Horizon– Out of all of the big “trapped in a video game” shows such as .hack or Sword Art Online, Log Horizon was my favorite. It was the only one I could watch to completion. As some thought was given to how players would actually react if trapped in a game, how they would navigate the world, politics, and if they would seek an exit. Sure the animation could have been better, but my only complaint is the lack of a definitive ending, even after two seasons. Recommended– just fast forward pass the terrible intro song.

Nisekoi- False Love– I distinctly remember the manga being pitched by Viz Media at an anime industry panel as “Romeo and Juliet meets the Yakuza.” So when a TV show materialized, I was in. What I got was less Yakuza and more harem comedy. I couldn’t stand how Raku (a typical bland protagonist) was forced into a relationship with Chitoge while pinning for Kosaki. On top of that more girls were introduced, including a Naoto Shirogane clone. I made it partway through the second season before dropping this series. Good riddance.

 

Untouched Recommendations:

Shows that were recommended to me by friends or were so hyped up by larger anime sites that I wanted to check them out. As you can guess, I never did. Feel free to tell me why I should, or shouldn’t bother with a particular show.

Chihayafuru – This recommendation comes inadvertently from The OASG founder, Justin. His enthusiasm for this show about competitive karuta was so infectious that I added it to my CR queue. Years later, I still have yet to see a single frame of animation, and I’m not even sure if I’ll enjoy the show. Sports and competitive type shows are a hit or miss for me.

 

Steins; Gate– This show made it to my list purely based on hype around the first season. I enjoy shows based on science and SG might have been a fun romp. Sadly, the more I hear about the show, the less enthusiastic I feel. While I probably owe it to myself to check out at least one episode, something tells me I might be bored and listless before long.

 

The final part of my purge list will be posted next Tuesday.

Images courtesy of Random Curiosity.