Miscellaneous / Poll

Reader’s Choice – Best Anime 2013 Poll

The end of the year is here and it’s time for the Eighth Annual Reader’s Choice poll! Do you have a favorite series you’d like to see win? Are you just curious to see what everyone else enjoyed this year? Either way, the microphone’s in your hands now. Make your vote count.

As per the usual, there will be two polls for you to vote on this year – one for regularly broadcast TV series, and another for OVA/movies. We’re asking you for your top 5 picks in each poll, which should stop the results from being heavily skewed towards the mega-popular shows. This year we have an astounding 160~ TV series (shorts are included this year) and 120~ OVA/movies/specials for you to choose from, so make sure you look over the entire list before deciding. Keep in mind that like all entertainment, anime is subjective. There is no one size fits all here. Please respect the opinions of others, even if you may disagree vehemently with them.

More after the jump.

Note: The polls will close at midnight PST on Thursday, January 2nd. This means the morning of the 3rd, or 8:00 AM GMT on the 3rd. Results will be posted in the Best of Anime 2013 post, which will be written by myself and Stilts (the two active writers who have watched the most anime this year).

Season Preview / Series Introduction

Winter 2014 Preview!

With winter already upon us and the third year of the Tyranny of Stilts set to begin, it’s time to introduce you to the upcoming anime season. Last season was strangely weak for fall, with many of the most highly anticipated series ending in disappointment while only a few dark horses stepped up to pick up their slack. Can winter, traditionally one of the weaker seasons, do any better? I think it may be able to, and that’s not just my eternal optimism talking. This season is pleasantly plump with original series, including the anime-saving space adventure SPACE☆DANDY, the ridiculous interplanetary mecha brawl Nobunaga the Fool, the world dominating loli fantasy Sekai Seifuku ~Bouryaku no Zvezda~, and the magical courtroom procedural Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil. Notable adaptations include the magical fantasy mish-mash Witch Craft Works, the airborne epic Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta, the Shaft harem romcom Nisekoi, and another ridiculous Nobunaga-based sci-fi romp in Nobunagan. There are encouraging sequels as well, including a second season of the perverted slice-of-life comedy Seitokai Yakuindomo, another season of ridiculously awesome mahjong with Saki Zenkoku-hen, the second cour of the deep agriculture coming-of-age story Gin no Saji, and the second season of KyoAni’s delusional romcom Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! There’s a lot of enjoy this winter, so join me for Random Curiosity’s Winter 2014 Season Preview. Read on to find out what you should be watching.

* This preview will be kept at the top for the next while, so be sure to scroll past it, check the slider on top, or the Recent Entries on your right for new posts.

First Impressions / Ghost in the Shell / OVA/Movie

Ghost in the Shell ARISE – 02

「Border:2 – Ghost Whispers」

As the second part of a quadrilogy, one of the things I was looking for was whether or not it served as a proper bridge between the introductory portion of the series and the overarching plot line it wants to give us. Powered by the always fabulous Kusanagi Motoko, it does just that.