My Winter 2015 Anime Recommendations

I spend a good deal of time watching, thinking about, and analyzing anime. Prior to the start of each anime season (which is broken up into fall, winter, spring, and summer), I meticulously comb over the list of upcoming premiers and choose those series I believe have potential to be good, well developed, worthwhile shows, keeping in mind key points like plot, character development, positive or engaging content, and the like. Generally I have a pretty good eye for picking up on warning signs for animes that might fall short, be it for developmental or problematic content reasons. For instance, a “harem” classification is generally a pretty good indication to stay away unless, you know, you’re interested in that kind of male fantasy thing. But it’s difficult to get a real sense of the anime from a few sentences of description or even a promotional video, and while I often come across multiple websites previewing and recommending upcoming anime, I’ve found there’s a dearth of retrospective season reviews and, even more so, a lack of critiques that critically examine representation and potentially problematic content. With this in mind, I’ve decided to start a quarterly series at the end of every anime season where I recommend a few series to give a try. Let me wade through the bad so you don’t have to.

Akatsuki no Yona (Yona of the Dawn)

Growing up as the princess of the Kouka kingdom, Yona has lived a sheltered life under her pacifist father’s rule and her bodyguard-slash-childhood-friend, Son Hak’s, watchful eye. But all that changes when she witnesses her other childhood friend and long time love interest Soo-won murder her father and claim the title of king of the Kouka kingdom for himself, declaring the late king to be an incompetent ruler. Aided by Son Hak, Yona narrowly escapes being killed herself, but her very core has been shaken – she must remain constantly on the run from Soo-won’s forces, learn to protect and fend for herself, and come face to face with the sometimes treacherous state of her kingdom. On her journey she learns of the legend of the first king of Kouka, Hiryuu, and the four dragons who unified the kingdom. At the advise of an oracle, Yona sets out with Son Hak, determined to reunite the four dragons and bring justice to her kingdom.

Story: Deeply rooted in cultural mythos, Akatsuki no Yona is one of those anime gems that might go overlooked by the masses, which is a shame because it’s easily one of the better series of the season. The story essentially revolves around Yona’s journey of self-discovery and is definitely a coming of age tale at heart, with intriguing fantasy elements and an overarching quest providing the backdrop. Ultimately you want to see how much Yona grows just as much as you want to find out things like Soo-won’s motivation for killing the king or who the four dragons are. It successfully combines drama with action and comedy and even intertwines a romance subplot in without being heavy handed. Although the anime ultimately ends without a definitive ending (fingers crossed it receives a second season to answer the questions that were left unanswered) and the series has a bit of a slow start, the pacing feels just right and every episode succeeds in building anticipation for the next.

Characters: Yona is certainly a compelling character. She begins rather ignorant of life outside of the castle. She’s entirely dependent on others and can do very little for herself. But throughout her journey she actively works to change this, better herself, and learn the realities of life for ordinary citizens of her kingdom, which is not always as pleasant as she previously assumed. When she grows tired of not being able to protect herself and the people she cares about, she spends countless hours trying to master archery. When faced with social injustice in her kingdom, she sets about improving it. All of Akatsuki no Yona’s characters are intriguing and likeable in their own right, and the series certainly gives each time to grow and flesh out.

Animation & Design: The animation and character design is nothing extraordinary, but it nicely incorporates the ancient culture it’s channeling. However the character designs fit the respective characters’ personalities nicely, from Yona’s firey red hair to each of the dragon’s unique traits.

Positive Content: Yona is an excellent representation of a feminist heroine. She assumes the leadership role in her group. She takes up arms when the situation calls for it. She has plenty of realistic weaknesses (especially given her upbringing), but she actively works to overcome them. Adventure anime seem to so rarely feature a female main character, so it’s incredibly refreshing to have one in this series who undergoes a journey that is just as valid, well-developed, and meaningful as her male counterparts. The series never sexualizes her, or any other female character for that matter, and presents a realistic portrait of a sixteen year old girl whose life is turned upside down but who is making the best of it and overcoming any challenges thrown her way.

Negative Content: There’s not much to critique about Akatsuki no Yona from a content standpoint. Technically the series could be seen as a “reverse harem” (female main character with multiple male love interests), but I’d argue that it doesn’t become weighed down or centralized on Yona’s romantic decisions. However this does mean that there aren’t many prominent female characters in the series – other than Yona, almost all of the cast is male. Traditional gender role ideals are thrown around – particularly in comedic moments – which is a little disappointing, but Yona’s character challenges them so often that it doesn’t seem super consequential.

The Bottom Line: A fantasy adventure series with a strong and compelling female lead that balances story with character development, resulting in an anime reminiscent of some of Miyazaki’s works, particularly Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa.

 

Kiseijuu (Parasyte)

Izumi Shinichi, a seventeen year old high school student, lives a fairly quiet life with his mother and father in a quiet neighborhood in Tokyo. One night, alien parasites fall to the Earth, infecting humans by entering their mouths or ears. Once infected, the parasite takes control of the host’s mind and physical form, essentially becoming their host. One parasite attempts to infect Shinichi while he sleeps but, because of the headphones in his ears, burrows into his arm instead. Shinichi awakes in horror to discover that the parasite – which he later names Migi – has taken control of his right hand and arm. The story follows Shinichi and Migi, two beings with their own separate drives, intellects, and existence, as they attempt to coexist, explore the purpose of the parasites’ arrival, and survive in a world where aliens, disguised as humans, see humans as a means to an end.

Story: Kiseijuu is easily one of the best shows of the season. A deeply psychological and philosophical anime, Kiseijuu uses Shinichi’s struggle to maintain his humanity despite his increasingly superhuman abilities to examine what it truly means to be human and the relationship humans should have with other living creatures. As Shinichi becomes exposed to Migi’s strain of consciousness and other parasites and their motivations, he becomes caught in numerous internal debates, such as wondering if humankind’s relationship with animals is truly different from the parasites who must feed on humans to survive. Migi, with his distinctly logical thinking, grows to understand human empathy and emotion, as well as what it truly means to live. Another well paced story, the series juxtaposes its philosophical messages with a strong focus on Shinichi’s character development and growth.

Characters: Shinichi is a believable young man who reacts realistically after being subjected to a rather terrifying situation. Migi, although almost robotic and obviously disconnected from human emotions and motivations, is even likeable for a character essentially devoid of emotions. However it is in their interaction and cohabitation together where the two really combine and shine. Kisejuu even supports its two protagonists with a strong set of supporting characters that not only drive the show’s plot, but give a peek into both human and parasite societies as well.

Animation & Design: Although nothing particularly noteworthy, Kisejuu’s animation, particularly during fighting scenes, does well to portray just how creepy the parasites can be.

Positive Content: For a series involving aliens, Kisejuu is full of believable and realistic human characters, with little to no offensive content.

Negative Content: There are very few female characters in this series, and two of that already small number arguably function more like often love interests and plot devices than characters in their own right. While they act as a reminder/connection to Shinichi’s humanity, they also get in the way and stumble into a world they don’t really belong in or fully comprehend.

The Bottom Line: A highly philosophical and psychological anime that uses an “alien invasion” scenario to examine humanity’s place in the world through the eyes of a man who’s caught between two worlds.

 

SHIROBAKO

In their last year of high school, Aoi, an aspiring anime producer, and her group of friends in their high school’s animation club create an amateur anime short that they one day vow to make into a full length production. It is the sense of accomplishment and the thrill they experienced from creating the short together that inspires them to try to enter the anime industry. Flashing forward to two years after their graduation, Aoi and her club friends Ema, Shizuka, Misa, and Midori are all trying to find their place in the industry and working to make that vow they made in high school come true.

Story: Shirobako not only explores the careers and lives of Aoi and the girls from the animation club as they struggle to find their place in an industry that’s not always friendly to newcomers, but examines the process involved with creating and releasing an anime as well. By following Aoi’s animation studio, Musashino Animation, through the production cycle of an anime, the series provides a rare glimpse into how strenuous and hectic the process of creating an anime can be. Founded in total realism, Shirobako doesn’t shy away from revealing just how difficult it can be to break in and be successful in the animation industry. Shizuka, for instance, wants to be voice actress but, after two years of failing to secure any notable roles and having to work as a waitress to cover her expenses, grows disheartened as she sees her friends succeeding. Aoi, although quickly rising up the production ranks at a notable animation company, becomes so overwhelmed at one point by production delays and busy schedules that she questions why she wanted to be in anime in the first place. Shirobako relies on both internal and interpersonal conflict as well as the natural drama that unfolds from producing anime on a tight schedule to create a charming series.

Characters: It can be difficult to keep track of Shirobako’s large cast of characters at times, what with it incorporating an entire anime studio in addition to the cast of female leads. However each contributes well to the overall charm of the show. The girls of the animation club are particularly compelling as they deal with professional issues that really resonate and hit close to home, like working a less-than-ideal job to earn experience, becoming burnt out doing something you used to love due to sheer overwork, and even being unable to find a job in your chosen field at all. Aoi and her friends are ordinary young professionals, and this adds a great deal to their charm and likability.

Animation & Design: While it doesn’t have the flashy, fantastical settings, unique art style, or complex fighting scenes of some of the other animes on this list, it benefits from high production values and attention to detail that seems fitting for an anime about, well, making anime.

Positive Content: The sheer fact that Shirobako is an anime primarily starring a cast of female professionals working in a field that is still rather male dominated is noteworthy in and of itself. Friendship and support the girls show each other and the mentorship other female employees at Musashino Animation give the younger, newer female employees is an often featured theme in the series as well, which I found uplifting and poignant. It’s an encouraging to see women taking leadership roles in the industry and could potentially be inspiring for a new generation of girls wanting to enter the anime industry.

Negative Content: Honestly, no negative or problematic content really comes to mind.

The Bottom Line: Shirobako is a cute slice-of-life series highlighting a group of girls trying to achieve their dreams and an interesting look into the development and creation of anime.

 

Death Parade

In a purgatory-like world between the mortal world and the afterlife, beings called arbiters are responsible for deciding whether or not a soul should be reincarnated or sent into the depth of the void. When two people die at the same time, they are sent to this world, which takes the form of a bar.There they play a “Death Game,” hosted by an arbiter, where their lives are on the line, which is designed to reveal the person’s true nature to the arbiters and inform them which dimension to send them to. The series focuses on one arbiter in particular – a white haired man named Decim- and a mysterious black-haired woman who disrupts his “typical” process.

Story: Death Parade is truly an anime unlike any other I’ve seen before. In addition to the main exposition where the black-haired woman (who has a name but is not revealed until later on in the series) explores this strange world she’s suddenly awaken in and what part she has to play in it, it, at its very core, continuously asks the eternal question of whether people are inherently good or bad. As the deceased are forced into playing games with high stakes, tension is high and tends to bring out the worst characteristics of the competitors. The series continuously encourages the viewers to question whether this method – judging a person’s fate for all eternity based off of how they act in their lowest moment and whether or not mistakes could be made during this process – is really the best way to judge people. Raising other morality-based questions and debating what it means to live and be human, Death Parade uses the black-haired woman’s inexperience and “outsider” status with the world to question what seems to be a centuries old process.

Characters: Death Parade features a cast of regulars in addition to souls/visitors to the bar. Each character largely has their own unique traits, with the visitors to the bar perhaps having some of the more interesting stories and personas. However, there is little in the way of character development.

Animation & Design: Both the animation and art style in Death Parade are gorgeous, with a unique mixture of colors and palettes befitting of a lavish underworld bar.

Positive Content: The black-haired woman is often the voice of reason in the series, instilling doubt in Decim over the techniques he’s always used to judge souls and revealing that Arbiters aren’t infallible. She’s really the catalyst of change and (without going into spoilers) brings up some serious questions on the purpose of living.

Negative Content: While I understand narratively why it happens, the black-haired woman goes without her memories for most of the series. In this way, she’s somewhat of Decim’s doll or captive.

The Bottom Line: Death Parade is a beautifully animated series exploring existential questions like the meaning of life and primal human nature.

 

Yuri Kuma Arashi

Once upon a time, a planet named Kumaria exploded in space, raining a shower of meteors down upon the Earth. This meteor shower had a strange effect on bears: it caused them to rise up and turn uncontrollably violent and bloodthirsty against humans, leading to a war between the two species. In order to protect themselves, humanity built the towering Wall of Severance between them and the bears, forever separating the two worlds. One day two bears, Ginko Yurishiro and Lulu Yurigasaki, disguise themselves as humans and invade the human world. In order to get close to Kureha Tsubaki, a human girl attending Arashigaoka Academy whose mother was killed by a bear, they enroll in Kureha’s school with mysterious plans for the young girl.

Story: Yuri Kuma Arashi is a difficult anime to describe. Highly symbolic, it would take a fair bit of time to analyze every one of the series’ hidden meanings and encrypted imagery and describing the plot in any real detail would involve more spoilers than I’m comfortable with giving. It can be incredibly difficult to understand just what’s going on, especially in the first few episodes. Even I, after watching the series, can’t describe all of what the creator was intending to achieve with the series. However it becomes quickly apparent with the forbidden relationship between Ginko and Kureha that the series is, in some way, a social commentary on the societal exclusion of non-heteronormative women. Throughout the course of the series it explores other themes as well, like friendship, purity, selfishness and desire, how the society treats lesbians, and sexual lust versus romantic love. This is certainly a series with a great deal of depth.

Characters: Although it isn’t exactly clear in the first few episodes, each of the main characters are well defined, with distinct motivations and flaws, so much so that I often found myself both simultaneously liking and disliking the characters.

Animation & Design: Yuri Kuma Arashi is one of the best looking series this season. With its unique colors and overwhelming artistic imagery, it certainly has a unique style to match its unique content.

Positive Content: As mentioned above, the series is clearly providing commentary on the way lesbian relationships are viewed by mainstream (in this case, more than likely Japanese in particular) society. By consistently portraying Kureha as being excluded by the rest of her classmates and the militant-like way in which they go about excluding and manipulating her, the creator is certainly casting this judgemental view in a negative light.

Negative Content: Yuri Kuma Arashi is deeply rooted in sexual imagery and themes. Part of this involves nudity and compromising shots of female characters. While I’m a little more tolerant of this in this series than I might be in another because of the somewhat artistic way in which its presented, I could certainly see it as being off-putting to some viewers.

The Bottom Line: Made by the same creator behind Revolutionary Girl Utena, Yuri Kuma Arashi has a lot to say about female love, sexuality, and societal norms.

 

Between all the series I’ve listed above, I hope you find something that interests you! Got another series recommendation from this past season or disagree with one of my picks? Leave a comment below and let me know!