12 Days of Something IV: Ladies versus Butlers Will End You

Because I clearly don’t get enough mileage out of LvB

So a couple months back as I had been part of the recording of the fall season previews for the Friday Anime Podcast an idea was born out of pure stupidity. Kelloggs, who was also a part of this had regaled us for a while of stories about getting unusual people to watch harem anime. The end result of this was a set of rules for consuming alcohol to a bunch of harem tropes. While keeping in mind that this was built with To-Love Ru: Darkness in mind, Kelloggs, Aeroblip and I were set to try this on Hagure Yuusha no Aesthetica. Plans were made, then Kelloggs had other stuff to do. So in a moment of stupidity, and because it’s my most popular post on the blog, I suggested trying it out on the first episode of Ladies versus Butlers. Not the greatest idea.

In Which I Ask, Do I Qualify for Aniblog Citizenship Now?

Tsk, looks like it’s that time of year to do this post again.

So it’s that time of year again where I am legally obligated to point out how long this particular blog has lasted. It’s now reached the point where in many nations I would now be qualified for citizenship for simply being able to hold down a job and not commit any crimes that would see me deported. The caveat to that being that I’m working in the aniblog fast food joint washing dishes while others who emigrated with me are now captains of industry.* That’s enough for the depressing bits in this post (and the many other drafts that are far worse than that you will not see). Instead, I’m going to keep things simple with five things I’ve learned since this blog started.

Pointless Debate #17: A Typical Year

Genre conventions play a key role in deciding what is or isn’t controversial.

As the protagonist in Ladies versus Butlers!, Hino Akiharu is far from the most genre-defining character. He essentially goes around and gets into various sexual misadventures with the variety of girls who also happen to be both have feelings for him, and represent simply character types to attract the interest of a wider part of the niche audience that watches harem anime. Akiharu is really just a typical main character in a typical harem anime. Perhaps that was typical of 2010.

So I bring to you the story of the year in anime presented here in three acts. First is the story of one man and the variety of fates that come about as the result of one seemingly insignificant decision. The second is the story of a group of friends and the creation of memories that can be passed down to others. Finally, the story of two characters pushing boundaries in the hardest way possible.

Pointless Debate #9: Learning How to Aniblog 200 Posts After the Fact

Since this is pointless debate, I give you pointless death. Ideon sure is depressing at times.

I’ve decided to take a moment to acknowledge the fact I have successfully hit the “Publish” button 199 times previous to this. Now I know a lot of people would be tempted to throw together a list of favorite posts they have written, or looked at other successes and experiences they may have had over the course of 200 post. Instead, I’m going to try to focus on one theme: unresolved issues.

A Distinct Lack of Depth to the Current Season

This seemingly has the opposite effect to the character who really matters in BakaTest

Every season lately it seems as though I’m able to find some flaw in anything new, which then goes on to ruin the experience. Maybe it’s a distinct lack of “must watch” feel to anything airing right now, but then again others would disagree with that. Maybe the last time I experienced that was watching one of the bad seasons of 24 and laughing off plot absurdity and disrespect for constitutional law like nothing. What follows is pretty much unfiltered rant material on everything I have watched this season.

The Winter Season Moves On

Having your 4-year-old son dissect a supernatural being is just what any loving father would do.

Maybe this weekly update needs to be fine tuned a bit. The 5th episode of Durarara!! was my favorite episode of the week, but in the process of writing a post I found it quite difficult to actually put something together. It could be the echoes of James Joyce that I find in the series narrative that I find interesting, it could also be the fact that it isn’t too hard to find certain Ikebukuro landmarks in the series on Google Earth or a number of other things. Trying to put that together in just a single weekly update would probably be cheapening it up a bit. Whether I will ever get around to writing that particular post is an open question. Anyway, this will be more of a standard weekly update.

Tank Music That Doesn’t Suck; and A Portrait of the Artist as a Token Loli

She's going to try to play it again! Run for your lives!

Week 3 begins with the same 2 series I started with in week 2 before losing the plot and heaping all the rest of them together. So it is more ソ・ラ・ノ・ヲ・ト and Ladies versus Butlers! in a continuing to put good episodes together shocker.

The Feel-good Harem Anime of the Year, and when they were called Onzes

This may turn into another one of those token Itsuki Kannagi pic of the week thing like last year...

Finally getting into 2nd episodes this week. I went into today’s viewings of Ladies versus Butlers! and ソ・ラ・ノ・ヲ・ト expecting to actually quit one of these. Instead, there was a noticeable jump in viewing experience, which sees both move up the personal rankings.

Anime of this Decade (If I Slip into a Coma and Wake Up in 2020)

The defining image of anime in the 2010s?

The last decade retrospective had me scrambling to catchup on fall shows, which led me to dropping a bunch and actually finishing earlier than expected. I had briefly had a look at the shows on the docket, and had even commented on some of them. Though weeks had passed, I decided that they couldn’t be all that bad. So I present to you the The Best Anime of the 2010s*