I know not every show has aired yet, but since a week of the season has already come and gone, I feel this is an appropriate time to bring this feature back. Plus, I know I didn’t keep up with this during the summer, but there were extenuating circumstances. Anyway, I’ll try my best to get through the fall season intact.
I’m also well aware of the fact that others have been doing a power rankings thingamajig of their own for a while now — and I’m sure they’re doing a fabulous job — but I’m not trying to horn in on anyone’s territory. Basically, I’m only doing this to talk about the shows that do not and will not interest me enough to get a dedicated post (this also mean I won’t be writing extra words for shows I’ve already covered elsewhere). Let’s face it, I’d be very hard-pressed to write a thousand words on something like Ixion Saga DT, Brain’s Base’s bastard series.
One last thing: I rank these shows by how much I’m looking forward to them week-by-week. In other words, this list is not meant to be an accurate reflection of how I would rate these shows’s quality, which is something I’d never be interested in doing anyway. What can I say? Bad shows can be interesting too.
* * * * *
17. To Love Ru Darkness
The first episode features an attempted zombie rape scene.
16. Busou Shinki
A kid in high school owns a bunch of sexy, fighting dolls, and they all call him ‘Master.’ Yeah, enough said.
15. Magi
I’m not quite sure what to make of this show. Well, I guess it’s well-animated. It’s just that nothing about it really captures my fancy. I guess I would appreciate it more had I ever read One Thousand and One Nights, but I haven’t so that’s that. Plus the tiny hero who just wants to be everyone’s friend makes me want to gag.
14. Ixion Saga DT
I think this show wants to poke fun at the fantasy genre, but the jokes fall woefully short. From time to time, Kon, our hero, tries to break the fourth wall as if to suggest, “Man, is this fantasy setting silly or what?” Unfortunately, none of his observations have any bite to them. Plus, who still thinks it’s funny anymore to accidentally grab a trap’s junk? And since we’re apparently so obsessed with dicks and balls, the hero literally saves the day by kicking the villain in the balls. Ixion Saga DT is already aggressively ugly — this must be the B-team from Brain’s Base — but it’s also just aggressively dumb. And yes, those are giant, 3-D letters assaulting my vision in the screencap above.
13. Little Busters!
Yawner. Friends having fun with friends? You’re boring the tears out of me already. Baseball only makes it worse. Supposedly, there’s a harem underneath the bland leading the bland. I can’t wait to get to know more of Key’s midget heroines with oddly-shaped heads. As much as it pains me to admit it, KyoAni probably made the previous Key adaptations palatable. J.C. Staff, on the other hand, is clearly on a mission to invent a substitute for Valium.
12. Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne!
I see what you’re trying to do, anime: make it seem like the sister is the pervert. Oh, poor innocent oniichan over here totally doesn’t want to fuck his sister at all. She’s the one who keeps insisting on it! Meanwhile, we’ll just have naked sister ass bounce up and down all over the screen.
11. CODE:BREAKER
It’s like a nuclear arms race to see which anime can offend us most. Our hero isn’t just a socially awkward character whose actions might carry overtones of promoting rape culture. He is self-professedly evil. How evil? He snaps a dog’s neck in front of the heroine who, by the way, almost got raped. Alright, to be fair, Ogami thinks the dog is done for and he wants to end the poor animal’s suffering. ‘Think,’ however, is the operative word here.
Furthermore, it isn’t just about what the characters onscreen are doing. We have to question the decision-making of those behind-the-scenes as well. Why on earth do you think it would be cool to write in a scene where a dog gets its neck broken in half? Not to mention, this is preceded by a lengthy scene of a bunch of hoodlums kicking the shit out the dog. I mean, do we really need any of this? Do we? Does this sort of brutality actually improve the story? Oh yeah, the first episode didn’t end with a kiss. At least there’s that?
10. K
9. Kamisama Kiss
This first episode, however, did end with a kiss. Also, the heroine is annoying, the main love interest is annoying, and the two attendants are definitely annoying. On the other hand, sounds like they are all destined to be one happy family.
8. Sukitte Ii na yo.
Even though this shoujo isn’t quite as hardcore as its sisters, an animal still had to die. Are you ladies out there so cold-hearted that only animal sacrifices will suffice?! Anyway, I was so awestruck by how this show managed to be so structurally similar to Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun that I couldn’t resist mocking both of them for it. Now, whether or not I’ll keep this up will depend on what the second episodes bring. But look on the bright side: between him and Monster-kun, Skrillex is coming out of this smelling pretty rosy! Who would’ve thought that? Obviously, his best friend can be a big enough creep for the both of them (see the screencap above).
7. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures
It’s alright. I mean, parts of it are entertaining, but overall, it’s just not something I’m dying to watch every week. Plus, another dog died. C’mon anime, stop killing poor, defenseless dogs.
6. Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
5. Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
4. Sword Art Online
Wait, wait… I still want to say a few more words about this show…
…
…
3. BTOOOM!
2. Shinsekai Yori
1. Zetsuen no Tempest
Moe Sucks 
So you secretly like Sword Art but hide it by bashing it …
TSUNDEREEEEEE
Subtlety isn’t a strong point for you, is it?
You watch sword art every week … the average haters dropped it long time ago
Basically you love it in a different sense that people love it …
IN FACT, I think you like sword art more than your average comedy shows
So you’re a TSUNDERE … through and through
Don’t you worry. When the blog goes down in three weeks, every show — including SAO — will be dropped.
this blog is going down in three weeks?? :-0
Personally for me:
1. Shinsekai Yori
2. Sukitte Ii na yo.
3. Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
4. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures
5. Kami-sama Kiss
6. K
7. BTOOOM!
8. Zetsuen no Tempest
9. Magi
10 Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
11. Busou Shinki
12. Sword Art Online
13. Little Busters!
I pretty much disliked everything after Kami-sama and really hated this Sword Art Online episode.
Surprised to see Sukitte Ii na yo. so high for you. Why’s that?
The main reason for that is that my opinion about these shows isn’t really all that positive aside from Shinsekai Yori. From just the premise, I think it is the most likely to hold my interest. Sure, the kiss in Suki-tte has the same issues with consent as Kaibutsu-kun, but at least Yamamoto didn’t kiss Mei to test out something he read in a stupid book. Yamamoto could definitely have just stated that he was Mei’s boyfriend or something, but I am willing to give this show a pass for that for not making me want to punch something, which is what I wanted to do after I finished Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun. I do like Yamamoto and Mei a lot, although I can do without the stupid skirt chaser. As you stated yourself, Chuunibyou might not be able to retain your interest over time, which is an opinion I share, although I enjoyed the first episode. As for JoJo, I found it fun, but I disliked the set-up in the beginning.
Ah, the “everything stinks so it wins by default” analysis. I’ve been there a lot of times with anime. My whole deal with Sukitte Ii na yo. is that it’s just so generic. After a while, all the genre shows tend to bleed together into one incomprehensible mess. Anyway, since it’s so generic, I find other shows more interesting to watch… even if they are more technically flawed.
Well, I am told that Suki-tte is a smut shoujo, so it will show a lot more skin than the other two series. It will probably distinguish itself through doing that, for good or for bad.
What? Does showing skin automatically make it smut now?
That is not what I suggested. There should be sex in it as well going by what I am told (although I am unsure if this occurs between the main pair of Mei and Yamato).
Everyone else I know seems to place Kamisama Kiss and Sukitte Ii na yo higher than Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun and this kindasorta baffles me.
If I were to position the anime I’ve watched based on the episodes I’ve seen…
Tier 1: Shinsekai Yori, Zetsuen no Tempest
Tier 2: Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai, Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
Tier 3: K, Little Busters
Tier 4: Kamisama Kiss
I think I’ll be fully booked once I have a verdict on Psycho Pass.
I suspect people are ranking these shows by their perceived quality. I don’t care about that right now (or possibly ever). I think Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is definitely a lot more interesting to follow than the other shoujo series.
Anyway, why do you like Little Busters? I don’t really read anime blogs, so I’m curious as to why people think the show is worth watching.
Would you believe me if I said I enjoyed both seasons of Clannad?
I don’t like Little Busters, at least not yet. I know my friends do, because they somehow have the time to eat up the source material, which consists of a 5-year-old VN. You know what happens when a fanbase of a source material “finally” get the anime they were waiting for (though after a fit of rage over learning that it’s not KyoAni doing it but *gasp* J.C. STAFF instead). People care about this shit.
As for why they like it, I’m not sure it takes much analysis. People like Key game adaptations because they have a variety of girls to attach to and each one of them (eventually) has a sob story to tell. If one watches anime to become attached to the characters, this setup is more than enough for people to love Key to bits.
Well shit, this is the second time I’ve messed up on the html. You can probably guess which word I was trying to emphasize.
A lot of people like Clannad. It’s not unsurprising. My deal with Little Busters is that it doesn’t look to be as interesting or charismatic, and JC Staff is horrible.
“It gets better, I swear!”
Too bad you won’t be around for that. >:3
No, I’ll still be watching anime. Just won’t be writing about it.
Oh? I assumed the torrent of shame would prevent you from doing that too.
No need to get personal. I have about three weeks left. I just want to finish it out peacefully.
Kamisama Kiss and Sukitte both had better first episodes, and most don’t really consider series ahead. I have no idea where Sukitte can go from here, and I’ve always hated the ‘the class loner becomes the prettiest girl in school’ stereotype, and while Kamisama Kiss had me giggling throughout the episode I can’t see how it can develop as anything but a wacky comedy (except for when they’ll go into the bishonen’s angsty past).
I liked Kaibutsu-kun, to be honest. The scene where he accidentally punches her was just perfect – a lot of anime have this exact stereotype male lead, but none of them actually explore how fucked up the situation would be for the girl (and I actually believe this anime will, as I heard it takes ages for them to get together).
Why is it gonna take a whole three weeks for your blog to die? Sheesh, way to be a drama queen, bro.
We’ll be gone eventually, alright? No need to get nasty about it.
Drama queen, bro – draaaaamaaaaa queeeeeeennn
Whatever. I was hoping we could be cordial about this, but it’s clear that ship has sailed.
Wait, why will your blog die? Where will I get my weekly SAO snark!
There are plenty of people doling out snark to SAO though.
And I just noticed that I spelled Yamato as Yamamoto. Thanks for not pointing it out that I couldn’t even get the male lead’s name right.
Well, the characters in ixon saga are certainly ugly, but the animations arent half bad, and the scenary is ok. And when will traps be treated as actual human beings in “mainstream” anime!
Will you be called Moerocks later on?
In other news, the new arc of SAO will be much worse.
What later on?
:/