#animebucketlist

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Toradora!

Adorable. Fabulous. Made it into my top ten anime.

This was refreshing to watch. I feel like slice of life anime are pretty formulaic. The couple meet and either have crushes or hate each other then fall in love. This anime deviated from this. I love that they aren’t crushing on each other from the get go, like they have other people they are pining after. It’s refreshing. They became friends before they fell in love which is so much more realistic. 

I think that’s what makes this anime so great. It was realistic and relatable. That along with all the characters. The dynamic between all of them was so amazing. Particularly between Taiga and Ryuji. They complimented each other so well. 

Taiga is sooooo freaking cute AND so relatable. I too am emotionally constipated and the biggest clutz, so it was nice to see this. I also liked the fact that she was loaded didn’t have a huge impact on the overall plot. She was able to live alone and that’s all we needed to know. 

I loved Ryuji’s mom. Usually characters like her drive me crazy, but I just couldn’t help love her. She was trying her best even though the cards were not delt in her favor. 

The fact that Ryuji is like turned on by cleaning made me laugh everytime it came up. I also loved that he looked scary but was so not. 

This anime was excellent. It ended well, without it feeling rushed. I definately cried at the end. It was super refreshing and made me smile. I would recommend it to any one who wants to watch a heart warming and funny anime!

Also the kiss scene omg 😍😍

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Erased

Holy shit. This anime met all my expectations and more. I definitely did not know what I was getting into when I started watching. I have this wonderful habit of not reading the synopsis before I start watching. All I knew was this anime had really good reviews. 

They were not wrong.

This anime pulled me in from the start. The concept was really cool! The animation was gorgeous and the storyline was well executed. For a twelve-episode anime, it felt better thought out than some long-running anime. It was so well-paced that I didn’t feel like I needed more after it ended. I was really satisfied with the ending. I think it handled the topics it brought up really well. I never felt uncomfortable, but I think it did well exploring them without forcing the viewer to watch it. I can tell you I wasn’t mentally prepared for what I was about to watch. I was not expecting the anime to go to the places it went. And my heart broke so many times. 

Satoru’s mom is the best. I tend to really like the single moms in anime because they are made out to be such great people, which is not always true, but I still admire single parents. They really are doing something that most people couldn't even handle. His mom is a really great mom. I love that he calls her “witch.” I found that such an awesome way to add dimension to the character.

I really enjoyed this anime. It was so multidimensional and just so well done. I’m going to try to watch the live-action version on Netflix, though I’m scared to do so after the Death Note incident. I definitely want to try to read the manga too! I definitely would recommend this anime to anyone who was asking.

Spoilers ish

So like not a total spoiler but the revival sound effects scared the shit out of me.

Also, I kept thinking throughout the whole thing that even if Kayo dies, at least Satoru was making her las days better, which made me feel better about it all but also so much sadder. 

I was not expecting Kayo’s mom’s ex-husband to have abused her, but the more I thought about it and it made sense. Abuse tends to breed abuse. 

I genuinely wanted to like the teacher, but I couldn’t help but be suspicious of him. And it turns out I was right. I’m mad that I was right though. 

I am so mad that Satoru and Kayo did not end up together. But I also appreciate not have that subplot. 

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Angels of Death

I do not understand why I don’t read the synopsis of anime before I watch them. Like I just go into an anime not knowing what I’m in for and acting all surprised when it is nowhere near what I thought it was.

That is what happened with this anime. I thought to myself: What kinda shit. I then looked at my “To Watch” list and discovered that it was in fact not on there. So a) this anime is not what I thought it was and b) I didn’t even have to watch its.

But I did.

This was an excellent anime. Like it was so creative and well put together. The animation was great. I thought the voice actors were really well chosen. I’m not one of those people who shit on the English VAs. I think its hard to make anime scripts not sound kinda stupid and also it's hard to convey emotions when you can’t see their face. That being said, I do find some performances underwhelming, but I cannot speak Japanese and multitask while I watch anime. I kinda need the dub. This anime made me really take a step back and appreciate how well the VAs did. There was so much emotion and I just really thought it was superb.

 It did not feel rushed in any way which was such a relief. I’m soooooooooo tired of writing that the plot was rushed because it was a short anime. Like I understand why that is the case, but it just gets old. Then again, long anime tend to drag out things, so what can ya do? When I do find a well-paced short anime, I feel like it is a light at the end of the tunnel. This anime just did such a good job of pacing itself.

I would like to talk about Zack. Why did I find him attractive? What does that say about me? Lol. I really liked him as a character and like they did a good job explaining why he was the way he was. His backstory made me tear up a little bit. I hate that, while there are good people a part of the foster and orphanage systems, they are abused by some people too. I also hate that this part of it is depicted in TV shows in general, yet no one wants to actually do something about it. Sorry about the mini-rant,. I just think its all so stupid. But yeah Zack I loved him.

I shipped both Zack and Ray, but I appreciated that in the end, they didn’t get together. I liked that this anime was about two lonely people finding their people. I thought the ending was really good too. It wrapped up with what it started with, and never really deviated from that goal. This anime really made me reevaluate my meanings on what it means to be human and loneliness. 

So yeah 10/10 would recommend. Go watch it. It's a wild freaking show. 

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Devils’ Line

So this anime was...interesting.

 It had potential but didn’t quite reach it. There was a lot about this anime that was intriguing: it had good action, an interesting concept, good animation, and the dialogue was pretty good. Unfortunately, it was super rapey. I felt like yeah that needed to be touched on with the whole devils’ blood lust being tied to their sexual lust, but I think it was overly used. Also like I got mad stalker vibes from the main character that made it really hard for me to want to keep watching.The end really had me. Like if there had been more time for it to elaborate then I think it actually could have done really well, but I feel like it just ended in the middle which was weird for me.  

I realized as I was writing this that I am making a record of my feelings on a show so I can go back and know why I did or didn’t like something. With that being said, I am only looking at the anime and not critiquing the source material, which in theory had more developed everything. I genuinely think that the manga has to be pretty good to be turned into an anime, but that’s where execution can sometimes be lackluster. So I guess my point is that I’m not being a complete ass about someone’s hard work. I feel less guilty kinda explaining my reasons. 

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Sankarea

So like what?

It was good? But also like what?

I had a few questions from the start;

1) Why does his hair look like cat ears?

Like I feel like its because her father referred to boys as cats, but like bro why?

2) Who thought her haircut was a good idea?

I have no excuse for this.

I honestly don’t know what to say about this anime. I enjoyed watching me but it was weird and kinda fucked up. I also fell like there was waaaaaaay too much fanservice but like what can you do? Thought, if I have to see any more anime ass I will sanitize my eyes. Despite that and all of the weirdness that I honestly can’t put into words, I actually thought it was really funny. I found myself chuckling to myself a lot. But I think I just couldn’t move beyond the whole dad taking naked pictures of his daughter to really get into it. It also left you on a wild cliffhanger that I respect but also felt unsatisfied with. 

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Cowboy Bebop

All I have to say is the opening. 

Classic. I knew it was a classic before I had even started the show. But every single episode I watched it. Not just because Funimation doesn’t let you skip the openings. 

Dead ass loves this show though. 

It has taken me a little bit of time to get through. Just ‘cause college and all that jazz. But honestly, it really is great. I love the plot, that doesn’t really feel like a plot. Like all the episodes just feel like fillers, but I really like how there is still a progression. But even though it took me so long to get through, I still didn’t feel like I needed to start over which is more than I can say with some anime. 

*cough* Inuyasha *cough* 

I also really liked the way each episode ended. They all just left me feeling satisfied. There was either something deep and somber about it or just easy going and that was so nice to have in an anime. Sometimes I just feel left there with nothing to really keep me wanting to watch more. But I have fallen in love with the characters, so I want to watch for them. 

The characters are intriguing. Like idk they were trope-y but also sooooo unique. They were so deep and well thought out for a 20 episode show. Like there were times I found my chest tightening for them. And Spike’s existence is a blessing. 

I also love the aesthetic of the whole show. Not only does it fit into the 90′s anime aesthetic I have been obsessed with, but it also is just like gorgeous in itself. I mean just Spike smoking is perfectly aesthetic. 

Like I am soooo obsessed with his smoking habit. So much so I have a poster and sticker of him and a cigarette. 

I also appreciate a show that makes me ship people, but not even realize I was shipping them. LIke honestly I just woke up one day and realized that I shipped Spike and Faye like so much. 

I do wish I could have seen more Spike x Faye, but like I really appreciated that it was more about the group’s antics and not the romance. I guess I don’t have to watch romances constantly and then I would be able to find anime without romance, but I still really liked that there wasn’t a whole lot in it. 

I wanna talk about Faye because honestly we stan badass women who don’t need no man. Like she’s not in it enough for my personal preference but every time she graces the screen I’m like damn. She is such a deep and complex character and I love her and will protect her until my dying breath. 

The ending was fabulous. I wish we could have gone a little deeper into Spike’s background but like that’s fine. I honestly am so happy I watched this series. It was a lot shorter than I expected. It’s great tho so it isn’t hindered by the fact it’s so short. 

So yeah I love Cowboy Bebop

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Fruits Basket (2001)

I hate that this anime was not among the first I ever saw. I hate that I adamantly avoided watching it because it was too mainstream. 

I loved Fruits Basket. Honestly its the type of anime that you recommend to first-time anime watchers. I don’t think I could do a break down of what I loved and what I didn’t because I loved it all. It was so heartwarming and funny. I’m excited to see where the 2019 version takes us. I’m going to read the manga, which will eat up so much time during finals, but who needs good grades right? 

This anime gave me this sense of completeness that I haven’t gotten since I watched FMA. Maybe it's because right now isn’t the easiest for me, so I needed a little hope and someone saying “You’re gonna be okay.” Maybe its because it was well put together. But it was such a needed thing right now in my life. I can’t say thank you to the creators enough. 

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Wolf Girl and Black Prince

This anime was really cute. Like weird, but cute. 

Erika’s hair made me really happy...at least for the first half. I loved that her hair changed the style from episode to episode. That was super awesome to see. And then the animators got lazy and chopped it all off. Which was a bummer, but still points for trying.

It wasn’t like other anime like it. I felt like there was a good role reversal where, yeah the girl was like causing well-intentioned problems, but Kyoya was the more incompetent one. I like that he was sooooo helpless, like same bro. And I think that not having the conventional male character in that sense was a nice break from the typical really cool and all-knowing male lead. 

I adore protective men. That's all. 

The ending felt inconsistent with the characterization of the characters. Like they all were the same except Kyoya. He has been this hard ass non-romantic for the entire show and then what he has this one-episode character development that resulted in a complete shift in his attitudes? Idk that was a little hard for me to grasp on to. 

I wish it had been more fleshed out. It would have been really good, but that's kinda the way it is with a 12 episode slice of life anime. 

But I did like it and it was cute. It probs won't make it into my top 10 but it was still worth the watch. : )