I’ve been watching anime since I was a kid but I think 2017 is my year for anime so far. It was a busy start of the year for me but because of Anime (except for books and manga), I was able to keep my cool and sanity tucked in.
It’s not really a very massive list but with a very tight schedule that I have right now, I think having to watched 5 anime series with 4 movies was quite an accomplishment. Btw, I didn’t include those anime that I’ve re-watched. *wink
So without any further ado, here’s my list:
Series:
Image Source: Pinterest
Episodes: 277
Aired: October 12, 2009 – December 26, 2015
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Magic, Fantasy, Shounen
Duration: 24 min. per episode
Sypnosis:
In the mystical land of Fiore, magic exists as an essential part of everyday life. Countless magic guilds lie at the core of all magical activity, and serve as venues for like-minded mages to band together and take on job requests. Among them, Fairy Tail stands out from the rest as a place of strength, spirit, and family.
Lucy Heartfilia is a young mage searching for celestial gate keys, and her dream is to become a full-fledged wizard by joining this famous guild. In her search, she runs into Natsu Dragneel and his partner Happy, who are on a quest to find Natsu’s foster father, the dragon Igneel.
Upon being tricked by a man, Lucy falls under an abduction attempt, only to be saved by Natsu. To her shock, he reveals that he is a member of Fairy Tail and invites her to join them. There, Lucy meets the guild’s strange members, such as the ice wizard Gray Fullbuster and magic swordswoman Erza Scarlet. Together as a family, they battle the forces of evil, help those in need, and gain new friends, all the while enjoying the never-ending adventure that is Fairy Tail.
Short Comment
I’ve heard of this anime before but never got the chance to watch it until this year, and my! The moment I watched the first episode, I can’t seem to stop. I remember I finished all 277 episodes for less than a month, I guess that was almost 3 weeks. The animation, the storyline, the characters, everything is just perfect. Fairy Tail is actually already in line in my manga TBR.
Image Source: Den of Geek
Episodes: 161 (Ova – 12)
Aired: April 15, 1989 – Sep. 25, 1992 (Ova: Oct. 21, 1993 – July 31, 2008)
Genres: Comedy, Martial Arts, Fantasy
Duration: 24 min. per episodes
Sypnosis:
Ranma Saotome is a top-class martial artist and prodigy at the Saotome “Anything-Goes” school of martial arts. While training in China, he and his father meet a terrible fate when they accidentally fall into a cursed spring. Now, Ranma is cursed to turn into a girl when splashed with cold water, and only hot water can turn him back into a boy.
Things are only complicated further when Ranma discovers that his father has arranged for him to marry one of Soun Tendo’s three daughters in order to secure the future of the Tendo dojo. Though Soun learns of Ranma’s predicament, he is still determined to go ahead with the engagement, and chooses his youngest daughter Akane, who happens to be a skilled martial artist herself and is notorious for hating men.
Ranma ½ follows the hilarious adventures of Ranma and Akane as they encounter various opponents, meet new love interests, and find different ways to make each other angry, all while their engagement hangs over their head.
Short Comment:
I’ve watched a few episodes of Ranma 1/2 when I was a kid and I always thought this anime is pretty interesting because Ranma is a boy but when poured with cold water, he transformed into a girl. I became an instant fan of Rumiko Takahashi after watching Inuyasha and when I found out that she’s also the one who created Ranma 1/2, I then decided to watch this.
This one isn’t as good as Inuyasha but I enjoyed watching it. It’s pretty much a classic but the animation was good especially the first few episodes. And as expected, I was laughing the whole time while watching this anime.
- Sword Art Online written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by Abec (didn’t finished)
Image Source: Game Neon
Episodes: 25
Aired: July 8, 2012 – Dec. 23, 2012
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Game, Romance
Duration: 23 min. per episodes
Sypnosis:
In the year 2022, virtual reality has progressed by leaps and bounds, and a massive online role-playing game called Sword Art Online (SAO) is launched. With the aid of “NerveGear” technology, players can control their avatars within the game using nothing but their own thoughts.
Kazuto Kirigaya, nicknamed “Kirito,” is among the lucky few enthusiasts who get their hands on the first shipment of the game. He logs in to find himself, with ten-thousand others, in the scenic and elaborate world of Aincrad, one full of fantastic medieval weapons and gruesome monsters. However, in a cruel turn of events, the players soon realize they cannot log out; the game’s creator has trapped them in his new world until they complete all one hundred levels of the game.
In order to escape Aincrad, Kirito will now have to interact and cooperate with his fellow players. Some are allies, while others are foes, like Asuna Yuuki, who commands the leading group attempting to escape from the ruthless game. To make matters worse, Sword Art Online is not all fun and games: if they die in Aincrad, they die in real life. Kirito must adapt to his new reality, fight for his survival, and hopefully break free from his virtual hell.
Short Comment:
This one wasn’t actually in my radar until a friend of mine suggested it. It’s just a very short anime with only two seasons so I decided, why not? The first few episodes was fine with me. The idea of being stuck in an online world was quite clever, but as I proceed with the anime, I find it quite corny. I mean, I thought there’s more action but seeing in the later episodes, it’s more like romance. I dunno, this one just didn’t worked out for me. I guess I only watched 15 episodes until I decided to drop it.
- Death Note written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata
Image Source: Hulu
Episodes: 37
Aired: Oct. 4, 2006 – June 27, 2007
Genres: Mystery, Psychological, Supernatural, Thriller
Duration: 23 min. per episodes
Sypnosis:
A shinigami, as a god of death, can kill any person—provided they see their victim’s face and write their victim’s name in a notebook called a Death Note. One day, Ryuk, bored by the shinigami lifestyle and interested in seeing how a human would use a Death Note, drops one into the human realm.
High school student and prodigy Light Yagami stumbles upon the Death Note and—since he deplores the state of the world—tests the deadly notebook by writing a criminal’s name in it. When the criminal dies immediately following his experiment with the Death Note, Light is greatly surprised and quickly recognizes how devastating the power that has fallen into his hands could be.
With this divine capability, Light decides to extinguish all criminals in order to build a new world where crime does not exist and people worship him as a god. Police, however, quickly discover that a serial killer is targeting criminals and, consequently, try to apprehend the culprit. To do this, the Japanese investigators count on the assistance of the best detective in the world: a young and eccentric man known only by the name of L.
Short Comment:
OMG! This is absolutely the most amazing and ingenious anime I’ve watched this year so far. I’ve been seeing a lot of posts online about this anime so I decided to try. And my! I was shocked. I’m already a goner just by watching the first half of the first episode. I’ve never been this amazed watching an anime because of the well-thought scenes since I’ve watched Detective Conan. Ofcourse the latter is equally ingenious, but Death Note used a different approach. If you’re a fan of suspense and mystery, I’m pretty sure you will have the same reaction as mine when you decided to watch it.
- Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama (on going)
Image Source: Monkeys Fighting Robots
Episodes: 37
Aired: April 7, 2013 – June 17, 2017
Genres: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Shounen,
Duration: 24 min. per episodes
Sypnosis:
Centuries ago, mankind was slaughtered to near extinction by monstrous humanoid creatures called titans, forcing humans to hide in fear behind enormous concentric walls. What makes these giants truly terrifying is that their taste for human flesh is not born out of hunger but what appears to be out of pleasure. To ensure their survival, the remnants of humanity began living within defensive barriers, resulting in one hundred years without a single titan encounter. However, that fragile calm is soon shattered when a colossal titan manages to breach the supposedly impregnable outer wall, reigniting the fight for survival against the man-eating abominations.
After witnessing a horrific personal loss at the hands of the invading creatures, Eren Yeager dedicates his life to their eradication by enlisting into the Survey Corps, an elite military unit that combats the merciless humanoids outside the protection of the walls. Based on Hajime Isayama’s award-winning manga, Shingeki no Kyojin follows Eren, along with his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman and his childhood friend Armin Arlert, as they join the brutal war against the titans and race to discover a way of defeating them before the last walls are breached.
Short Comment:
This one reminds me of the Game of Thrones because it involves walls and ofcourse a lot of people dying. My! This one sounds like an anime version of apocalypse. The idea of giants as a threat to humanity was not totally a new one for me, but I like this series. It’s just pure entertainment.
Movies
- Fairy Tail: The Phoenix Priestess
Image Source: Manga UK
Aired: Aug. 18, 2012
Producers: TV Tokyo, Dentsu
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Magic, Comdey, Shounen
Duration: 1 hour 26 minutes
Sypnosis:
The film revolves around a mysterious girl named Éclair who appears before Fairy Tail, the world’s most notorious wizard’s guild. She lost all of her memories, except for the imperative that she must deliver two Phoenix Stones somewhere. The stones may spell the collapse of the magical world, and Natsu, Lucy, and the rest of the Fairy Tail guild are caught up in the intrigue.
Short Comment:
Well, this one’s as great as the series as well. Nothing out of the ordinary but this one’s an entertaining movie especially when there’s some NaLu moments. Oops, haven’t I told you? I’m a NaLu shipper haha.
- Ranma 1/2: Big Trouble in Nekonron, China
Image Source: Discogs
Aired: Nov. 2, 1991
Producers: Viz Media
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Shounen
Duration: 1 hour 14 minutes
Sypnosis:
All is well at the Tendo residence when from out of nowhere, a Chinese girl named Lychee appears, seeking revenge on Happosai for a broken promise made since her birth. Things get worse when Kirin and the Seven Lucky Gods appear and abduct Akane to take as his wife. Ranma and the gang must travel to Nekonron, China, and save Akane from getting married to Kirin.
Short Comment:
Oh my! I can’t believe it was aired even before I was born. That long huh. But I totally love this one. The animation was on point considering it was aired in the ’90s. Ranma’s still Ranma and I think in this movie it’s quite obvious that he really cares for Akane, ayeei!
- Death Note: L: Change The World (live action)
Image Source: Yes Movies
Directed by: Hideo Nakata
Written By: Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata, Hirotoshi Kobayashi
Starring: Kenichi Matsuyama
Distributed by: Warner Bros.
Aired: February 9, 2008 (Japan)
Duration: 1 hour 29 minutes
Sypnosis:
The last foe is a new “Death,” created by man. To solve the Kira Case, L (Kenichi Matsuyama) leaves Los Angeles convincing Kira is in Japan. At the same time, his intuition tells him that he may never be able to return to Los Angeles again… Known as Kira, Light Yagami, using the Death Note, attempts to become God of a criminal-free new world. By L’s ultimate choice, the Kira Case closes, but, at the same time, L loses Watari who was L’s most trusted partner. After Watari left, L takes on the task of solving the cases left in Watari’s file. As all the cases are solved, a “gift” addressed to Watari arrives. The gift is a little boy. From the SD card the BOY has in his possession, L learns that the child is the only survivor of the Thai village, which was exterminated. L also discovers that a huge conspiracy, utilizing a man made “Death,” was on the move behind the Thai village tragedy. Meanwhile, L has another visitor. The girl’s name is Maki, and she tells L that she has brought something her father, who died a horrible death, told her to deliver to Watari. As L realizes the item the girl brought is, indeed, the “Death” in question, pursuers are closing in. Protecting the two children, L physically makes moves to solve the horrendous case. However, there were only 6 days left for him.
Short Comment:
I’ve only watched a handful of live action before but I like this one. This one didn’t totally follows the series but I guess that’s because I haven’t watched the other movies (I guess?). Light didn’t appear in this one but only L. My! He’s really weird but kind of cute at the same time especially on how he loves sweets lol. There’s enough suspense in this one so I guess that wasn’t bad for 1 movie eh?
- Attack on Titan (live action)
Image Source: Wikia
Directed by: Shinji Higuchi
Starring: Haruma Miura, Hiroki Hasegawa, Kio Mizuhara, Kanata Hongo
Distributed by: Toho
Aired: July 14, 2015
Running time: 98 minutes (Part 1) 87 minutes (Part 2)
Sypnosis:
100 years ago, titans suddenly appeared on Earth. Soon, human civilization veered on collapse due to the titans. Humans then built a giant wall to defend themselves. Within the giant walls, humans lived in peace, but, 100 years later, the giant wall is broken.
Short Comment:
When I heard that there’s going to be a live action of this anime, I was really intrigued. I’ve only watched a few live action before and most of them were romance, so I was really curious how they’ll going to shoot this one since there’s a lot of devastation going on because of the giants (titans). And my! I didn’t expected that. The cinematography was fine I guess, the characters as well. The only thing I was looking forward for this one was Levi. I am interested to find out the actor who will portray as him, but unfortunately, there’s no Levi.
So that’s it! Hopefully I could get to watch more in my second half 
How about you? What anime have you watched lately?
