Going into this year’s spring season of Japanese Anime, I wasn’t really expecting a lot of worthy series to watch. I mean, there were so many entertaining anime to watch from the winter season that I was only looking forward to one series this spring which I had declared to myself the best one on this list at one point. I was SO WRONG with that presumption. As of this writing, we are at midseason proving once again that this year’s crop of anime have been very good so far. Yes, I dropped a few bad eggs here and there, and what I was left with was an intriguing list for the spring season. Disclaimer once again, these are actual anime that I am watching so you are allowed to disagree with the list entirely. Though you might end up agreeing with me in the end. So, on with the countdown…
At number eight, we have ‘Joran: The Princess of Snow and Blood’. This reminds me a bit of ‘The Crow’ comick book with a movie adaptation staring Brandon Lee, and ‘Rurouni Kenshin‘. The story revolves around assasin Sawa Yukimura who is a changeling. To my mind, she is a combination of The Crow and Kenshin without Kenshin’s sense of humor. Yukimora is a truly depressing character and she thrives in it. I was about to drop this series from my viewing because the story became quite predictably boring, but the plot took some interesting twists and turns and this barely made my list. The story progresses quite quickly with Yukimura’s band of assassins and moral compass, Asahi Nakamura who is actually the daughter of parents that Sawa murdered. I told you this story was depressing. Don’t take your eye off the story. I was engrossed enough to keep this on my list.
At number seven, we have ‘Mars Red’. No, this has nothing to do with the planet. This series has more to do with vampires and vampire hunters. In 1923, the Japanese government created a new unit to counter the increasing number of vampires. The unit itself is led by Yoshinobu Maeda, a human, who leads a unit composed of both humans and vampires. Similar to Joran, there’s a bit of historical revisionism here to provide the backdrop for the series’ story. Mars Red focuses on the relationship of humans and vampires while also showing how human (humane?) some of these vampires actually can be. I’m sure you’ve heard this story before, but there are some story elements in this anime that, like Joran, have kept me viewing this series in spite of the overfamiliarity of its theme. Check it out to find out.
At number six, we have ‘Combatants Will Be Dispatched!’. Anime like this normally don’t make my list. Why, you might ask? Well, it’s just…it can be…at times…sexually offensive? Who am I kidding. The series objectifies women in a very crass and lewd way. And yet, I find myself laughing at the situations and get to wonder if there is a point to all this.
The series revolves around Combat Agent 6 who works for the Kisaragi Corporation, a corporation of great evil. In fact, Six has to get evil points in order for himself to optimize the resources of the Kisaragi Corporation. The more evil points he has, the more access he has to the arsenal the Kisaragi Corporation has to offer. Six is sent on a mission to spy on a distant planet in order to later takce control of it. He is accompanied by combat droid Alice who serves as his liaison in the conquest of this new world. There are shades of Ranma 1/2 in this anime that allow me to tolerate the female objectification. Seriously, I find myself bursting out in laughter with noboby around while watching this, and I almost seem like a crazy person. It’s sci-fi fantasy harem. it’s semi-ecchi. It can be VERY offensive at times, but it’s just too funny not to be on this list.
At number five, we have ‘Tokyo Revengers’. Takemichi Hanagaki has been given the power to go back in time, twelve years to be exact, which allows him to prevent the try and prevent the death of his former girlfriend, Hinata Tachibana. However, each time he spends in the past, he inhabits his middle school younger self. As Takemichi spends time in the past, his present body is left in a coma. The amount of time he spends in the past is also the amount of time that lapses in the present when he returns. Takemichi skirts back and forth from present to past in order to find clues and ways to prevent the death of his former girlfirend.
I’ve always like redemption stories, and this series is one of them. When Takemichi goes back into the past, he is not only changing history, he is also changing his personality. This dynamic between time travel and redemption is enough to put this series on my list.
At number four, we have ’86’. Welcome to the Republic of San Mongolia which has an existing war with the Gladian Empire. The republic is comprised of eighty-six sectors. Sector eighty-six is where people not considered human reside in order to protect the rest of San Mongolia from the Glaidian Empire’s horde. Valdilena Milze commands her Spearhead Squadron, members of sector eighty-six, far away from the dangers of actual war. Spearhead is led by their field commander known as the Reaper who has the reputation of being the sole survivor of his squad.
’86’ makes it this high on my list because of the beautiful animation, and its focus on the effects of discrimiation. The reason why members of sector eighty-six are forced to fight against the Gladian horde while other sectors do not is the color of their hair. Becasue these people from sector eighty-six do not have silver hair, they are not considered human, and thus, are left as expendable soldiers to die for the protection of the Republic of San Mongolia. Ouch. More painful is the fact that characters fall like flies here so don’t get too attached. How do you work with somebody who you know doesn’t even consider you human? Watch this anime to find out.
At number three, we have ‘Zombieland Saga: Revenge’. I was about ready to crown this anime as THE anime to watch for the spring season. That’s how highly I value the members of Franchouchou. The second season of Zombieland Saga continues a few months after the events of the first season. It’s still funny as hell, with a lot of warm moments. The combination of song, humor and drama got me hooked at the onset, and it helps that studio MAPPA took care of the animation for this series. In a spring season filled with a lot of sad and sometimes depressing anime, ‘Zombieland Saga: Revenge’ balances it all out. When the first season of this anime came out, I wasn’t even expecting to continue let alone finish it. This was out of my regular anime viewing…or so I thought. With the second season, you’ll get the same in-depth character development that even viewers like me who are not fans of idol anime will enjoy. Then of course you have Tae Yamada who will soften even the hardest of hearts.
At number two, we have ‘To Your Eternity’. I’ve heard of this anime, and its manga following but it wasn’t a series I was looking forward to watching. A few episodes in and I was proven wrong. Watching it, I see shades of ‘Princess Mononoke’ and the Studio Ghibli touch. This is surprising because this wasn’t made by Studio Ghibli. And yet, it has that feel.
Created under the guidance of Brain’s Base studio,the story is about an immortal being that can change shape. The being itself has no identity or emotions. However, as it roams the planet, it is able to learn from its experiences, and the death of a being it has bonded with at some level (I’m not sure exactly how) allows this immortal being to take its shape. As the story progresses, the immortal being is named, ‘Fushi’. This anime hits the spot on so many emotional levels that it feels like an extended anime movie. The animation is beautiful, and the thematic element of ‘nature vs. nurture’ is constantly portayed in this series make it an entertaining anime to watch. But, that is not enough to put this on the top of my list.
At number one, we have ‘Vivy: Flourite Eye’s Song’. While ‘To Your Eternity’ was an anime I heard of, and took a gamble in watching, ‘Vivy: Flouriet Eye’s Song’ was an anime that didn’t even reach my initial radar. To be honest, I had caught up with all the anime I had lined up to watch, and wanted a change of pace. So, I found this lying around and tried it out. Little did I know that I was watching my number one anime of the spring season.
‘Vivy: Flourite Eye’s Song’ tells the story of a entertainment AI known as Vivy. Her sole purpose is to entertain humans with her songs. She is contacted by Matsumoto, an AI from one hundred years in the future. Matsumoto tells Vivy that she needs to help him prevent events that will lead to a human and AI war. Only Vivy can help Matsumoto with his task. Initially, Vivy refuses to help, knowing that her only function in life is to sing. She reluctantly agrees to help Matsumoto which sets her on a war prevention adventure that spans the next one hundred years of her life. In the process, Vivy learns to empathize with both humanity and AI equally. This leads to some conflict with Matsumoto at times who has one way of accomplishing the task at hand while Vivy has other ideas on what to do.
This anime makes my top spot not only because of the beautiful animation and storytelling, but also because it focuses on Vivy changing the course of her own programmed destiny. By changing here character and approach in life, Vivy literally can change a a war-destined future. Nothing is set in stone, and you are in charge of your own destiny. That grand thematic element puts this anime at the top of my spring anime list.
Obskura And Then Some 