Kamen Rider Build is the best anime of the year but it probably doesn’t count because a) didn’t finish airing in 2017 and b) not animated, but i still posit that it is anime as fuck
Instead I will nominate Tsurezure Children, the only straight romance anime worth a damn.
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My Hero Academia. I am not too too huge on anime but My Hero Academia might actually be my TV show of the year, never mind the “anime” qualifier. I have been following the dub for the show and it has been an absolutely incredible breath of fresh air to see the plot actually move forward at a quick pace while still fleshing everything out. I love me some superheroes, and My Hero Academia is one of the best superhero related pieces of media to have ever been released. The show starts off telling you that the main character eventually becomes the greatest hero which is a nice way of basically telling the audience, “yes the hero wins in the end, now calm your shit and enjoy the journey.” Despite knowing what the outcome of the series will be I still find myself rooting for Deku and feeling tense during every battle even if the outcome “doesn’t matter.” If that ain’t good writing I don’t know what is.
Also the sports festival is the greatest tournament in anime ever. Such tight and concise episodes that don’t drag their feet. It is one fight after another all the while characters are growing and being developed.
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Nominating Neo Yokio. Great world-building, Desus & Mero, and a loathing of the bourgeoisie, which I think we can all appreciate in 2017.
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I’m gonna second ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.
Little Witch Academia probably my actual favourite from this year but that’s already covered and I also really really enjoyed this, so.
The characters are all pretty compelling. It’s probably pretty complicated, with a lot of intercrossing politics and interpersonal relationships - but it never felt complicated? It’s quite compact for how much actually goes on, really.
Also the OP is a banger.
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Quick question about nominations - what about shows that were released prior to 2017, but did not have a legal English language release (in other words, they were unavailable outside of fansubs) until 2017?
what’s the show in question?
There are actually two that would be eligible under the circumstances: Legend of the Galactic Heroes (1988-1997) and Space Runaway Ideon (1980). Both were officially licensed this year by Sentai Filmworks for streaming through Hidive.
They were technically available prior to this, but only through fansubs. If I had to pick one though, it would probably be Legend of the Galactic Heroes, as we’ve gotten most of the way through the show this year, and Ideon only started streaming 3 weeks ago, with one episode rolled out per week.
yeah i’m sorry but that’s a bit of a stretch. while it’s rad that they are available legally for the first time , those shows aren’t recent enough to be considered for this category. sorry!
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In that case, I’m going with Gamers - it’s a glorious romantic comedy farce with great chemistry and really smart writing that helps make what could have been a rote rom-com into something considerably more enjoyable and engaging.
(Also, props to the show for putting a reference to PUBG in the Opening Credits).
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I’ll go with The Idolm@ster SideM.
It was pretty much a tie for me between SideM and ACCA – both have been extremely pleasant and feature lots of very good boys. They’re also pretty much the only anime I actually finished this year, probably due to said pleasantness.
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For me it has to be Re: Creators
The concept of fictional characters coming to life and entering our world isn’t exactly original (see, for example, Last Action Hero), but Re: Creators manages to take that concept and run with it in some interesting ways.
While on the surface it’s simply a battle action show featuring a variety of characters bashing each other with an array of powers (e.g. magical girls, mecha pilots, persona users, wizards and cyber-cops), the writing instead focuses on people who create fiction.
Whether they’re writers or artists, creating for a living or just creating for personal desires, Re: Creators manages to explore the dynamic between a creator, their audience, and the fictional characters themselves.
It even gets into concepts around jealousy between fledgling artists, fanon as accepted by the general audience, and different approaches to writing.
On top of that, the animation is nice to look at, the action sequences are fun, and the score is pretty solid.
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Seconding the 2nd season of My Hero Academia.
My Hero Academia has been what I watch to unwind. It is such a refreshing take on a shounen action show with a really colorful and delightful cast of aspiring heroes.
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Interviews with Monster girls is my pick for best anime of 2017
When I heard one Pat Baer talking about this Waypoint Radio I was very incredulous. First off there is the automatic mind association with this and Monster Musume which I have no interest in watching. It also feels from the outset I have seen so many like this before. Pat however knows what the fuck he is talking about
This show is a very sweet (but not saccharine) slice of life anime about girls with mythological powers. The main character Tetsuo Takahashi the science professor is such a good dude and he complements this female cast so well. An easy criticism I could see being thrown at Interviews with Monster Girls is nothing happens in it. I would counter that by the saying the basis of the show is different kinds people learning and understanding from each other in differences and how they are alike and using that information to be better people. I haven’t felt this kind of goodness in my heart from watching something since My Love Story!! and I am super happy I listened to Pat Baer’s recommendation.
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UPDATED NOMINATION: Land of the Lustrous came as a total surprise to me this season, and after episode 8 (which was incredible), I want to change my nomination to this show in the hopes that it will be represented in the next stage.
Where to begin with what makes this series unique and compelling? To start, there’s the excellence and uniqueness of its production, which blend to create both the most visually stunning and almost-most-well voice acted shows of the year (I will never place another show above Rakugo for VA work, admittedly). There’s the stellar soundtrack from the same composer who wrote for Uchoten. There’s the amazing narrative arc struggling with themes of existence, failure, shame, exhaustion, while still having some of the most charming personalities of any show I’ve seen this year. I truly relate to the protagonists of this show in ways that are hard to put into words.
If anyone is on the fence about this show, the animation and dramatic tension in episode 8 in particular is pure gold. I can’t wait to see what this show does next.
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I will second Land of the Lustrous
I haven’t watched many of the new shows this year, unfortunately, but Land of the Lustrous was a great surprise. I didn’t know anything about it going in except that it’s a CGI anime and its exclusive to amazon’s service. I was pretty immediately delighted with the main character, and also how dang good it looked. As Peregrin said, it really goes places with the themes it explores, and the setting is unlike anything else i’ve seen. Despite exploring some very serious themes it also manages to still be playful and funny.
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Hey, Waypointeers! There’s only seven more days left on nominations! The mod team are gearing up for Phase 2 of The GILM Awards, so we can let y’all decide what the Waypoint Community felt were their favourite works of 2017. We know a few people are wrestling about their nominations, so this is just a reminder to get yours in before the deadline hits — we’re not taking late submissions!
On that note, there’s a few items that have only been nominated once so far. If you feel strongly about any of these making it to our final poll, they need a second nomination before Phase 1 closes.
- Interviews With Monster Girls
- Re: Creators
- Eccentric Family/Uchoten Kazoku Season 2
- The IdolM@ster SideM
- Gamers!
- Neo Yokio
- Tsurezure Children
- Castlevania
- Fate/stay night[Heaven’s Feel] I. presage flower
Hey mods would an anime movie count? Or would this be better for another section?
Over the past few months I’ve been watching/reading/playing the various iterations of the Fate universe. Despite its many problems and inaccessibility (without playing the game or seeing another season of the show this movie would make no sense), I recently went to see the American premiere of the latest adaptation of the third route of the visual novel Fate/stay night[Heaven’s Feel] I. presage flower. Seeing how they adapted it was pretty interesting, with gorgeous animation and intricate fight scenes.
you are in the right category for this nomination!
our way of looking at it is like this:
is it standalone like princess mononoke? then it goes in Favorite Movie
is it tied to a pre-existing anime property like Full Metal Alchemist Conqueror of Shamballa? then it goes in Favorite Anime
I’ll give an ironic vote for Neo Yokio
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I’ll second Interviews with Monster Girls. It’s a lovely slice-of-life show with great character interactions.
