Halfway There! Winter 2017 Anime Midseason Report

Winter is so much easier to get through when the weather remains pleasant, like it has around where I live, and the passing of an anime season hurts more when it contains interesting series, like this season does. We’ve reached the middle point of the Winter 2017 season and that means it’s a good time to reflect on the initial promises that this season’s series made, how well they’ve been able to carry out those promises, and what are the chances of a successful ending of these anime. For ease of organization, I’ve covered this season’s anime in a countdown format from weakest to strongest.

The Top 15 Anime of 2015

I feel that I’m somewhat late getting here but I have beaten the APR Top Anime of 2015 list so I can’t say that I’m late. 🙂 I’ll repeat what I said last year because it still holds: 2015 was a good year for anime. It’ll take several years to see how things settle out before one is able to compare it to earlier years but I think it’ll rank just fine in comparison.

I didn’t feel like splitting the countdown into two or three parts like I normally do, so, this post runs a bit long but it’s all here in one post.

This Might Be the Strongest Anime Season in a Long Time

If asked, that would be how I would characterize this season so far. Look at this line-up: Noragami Aragoto, Haikyuu Season 2, Owarimonogatari, and One Punch Man – aka sequel to my #11 anime of 2014, sequel to my #5 anime of 2014, sequel to my #2 anime of 2009 ~ #7 anime of 2012 ~ #7 anime of 2013, and an anime that seems destined to finish at least in my top 10, if not higher for 2015. Sequels can be a bit touchy but all of these three sequels have started very strongly and seem set to be worthy additions to their respected franchises. Or looked at from another direction we have series from Bones, Production IG, Shaft, and Madhouse; we’re short just Kyoto Animation from being able to say this season has basically all the established top quality animation studios. (Waiting for the Sunrise fans to say something 🙂 .)

Early Season Impressions: Spring 2015 – The Revenge of the Sequels

People seem to have a love/hate relationship with sequels. Chances are if the sequel is to a show they watched and liked then the sequel is looked at with either happiness or cautious hope. If the sequel is to a show they did not like they complain about how sequels are killing creativity and anime in general. I think anime, as a whole, is better off that sequels are made over not having sequels; I just wish we’d get more complete stories as a result.

Sequels don’t normally rate too much attention in these impression posts because people pretty much know if they’re in or out by the time the sequel comes out; however, this season features a pair of sequels that are clearly outperforming their predecessors and I wanted to make sure I mentioned them. This also gives me a chance to cover a significant chunk of the series I’m watching this season.

Anime Quiz 7 Answers

Merry Christmas in February!

Long time readers might remember that I’ve mentioned this family-created holiday in the past. For those that don’t know what Christmas in February is, it started over 15 years ago. My family makes too many Christmas cookies and some are always left over after New Years Day. They’d go to the freezer until Christmas cookies sounded good again – February – and we’d pair the cookies with a nice meal (a spare turkey bought super cheap at Thanksgiving or a spare ham/rack of ribs bought cheap for Christmas or New Years Day). It was a very short leap before we started to call this meal Christmas in February and for several years that’s as far as it went. Then a couple decorations were put up, most often bought in the after Christmas clearances and hadn’t been put away yet. Then a few years later we put up a cute little foot high Christmas tree and then we started buying a small gift for everyone and then some of the outdoor Christmas lights are left up and then a bigger Christmas tree was bought on clearance from Wal-mart and suddenly my family spends all of January looking forward to Christmas in February

And it’s not hard to see why. Christmas in February has most of the best parts of Christmas without the pressure and hassle of the real holiday and because we can pick the day to celebrate it, it’s even convenient for everyone as well.

This year the original plan was for me to write a two table continuation of my Christmas Dungeons and Dragons module and I spent all this week getting it ready but last minute cancellations due to the impending winter storm shelved the continuation for now. (Instead, the family and friends that are coming will play Werewolf, Apples to Apples, Cranium or something similar.)

So, Merry Christmas in February everyone! Tomorrow, I’m going to feast on Fried Chicken and quite possibly the best tasting homemade Kolbasa I’ve ever had, homemade Mac’n’cheese, fried Cubed Potatoes (seasoned with onion soup mix and season salt), and all the Christmas cookies I can eat 🙂 .

And here’s the answers to this week’s anime quiz.

Anime Quiz 5 Answers

The slight tardiness of this week’s answer post comes in part because I’m finally starting on my 2014 Year’s Best Anime posts. I had to delay because I was very late in getting to the Haikyuu anime series and realized early on that I couldn’t cover 2014 properly without it.

So, with out further ado, here’s the answers.