2021 is almost over and it was quite a follow up to 2020,
both the busiest and most productive year I’ve had on this blog. With the world still in the state it’s in, I
wanted to make it my mission to cheer everyone up with good reviews and
entertaining rants if it came to that.
This year, I increased my review quota by posting two reviews a week,
something I aim to continue in 2022.
Believe it or not, I’m not sure if that increased the number of titles
I’ve looked at in anyway. Still, from
Macross to Bubblegum Crisis to a tour of the works Studio Trigger, I’ve kept
busy and, as is tradition, it’s time to choose the Top 5 Best Titles I’ve
Reviewed in 2021. I hope you’ve enjoyed
these selections too and I cant wait to see what 2022 brings us in a few days. Til then, enjoy the last Top 5 Wednesday of
2021 Dear Readers.
The biggest hurdle this movie had going for it was
simple: it had to follow Your Name.
That’s not an easy task considering I think of Your Name as one of the
Greatest Anime Films I’ve Ever Seen.
But
for my 7
th Anniversary Review, Weathering With You met all
expectations and didn’t try to be like Your Name and instead do it’s own
thing.
The premise was just as unique,
the central romance still one to root for.
And the animation?
Well I’d say
keep an eye on CoMix Wave Films for giving us a near Kyoto Animation level
quality of gorgeous Anime filmmaking.
Makoto Shinkai is on a roll with these fantastical Anime fantasy
romances.
And now he’s raised the bar
even higher with two back to back slam dunks…I feel really bad for whatever has
to come next.
#4-Mobile Fighter G Gundam
Not gonna lie, when I first saw G Gundam on Toonami back
in 2002, I didn’t like it.
The premise
was fine but I wasn’t big on the characters and I felt it took itself too
seriously at times.
Man has time and age
wisened me up because G Gundam is one of the best entries in the entire Gundam
franchise.
It does take itself seriously
but somehow combines classic Gundam tropes with the fun you’d come to expect
from Gundam’s playing Street Fighter.
I
think watching this one in Japanese this time helped too because Domon Kasshu
was far more tolerable for me.
G Gundam
was a chance for the Gundam franchise to show that it could be different and
fun while still delivering more of what made it good in the first place.
Gundam might excel for its excellence in
mature scifi storytelling, but G Gundam is just straight up fun.
#3-Castlevania
While it might not be a true Anime, Castlevania screams
Anime in every fiber of its visual being.
From the fight choreography to the over the top violence, this is a show
that is brimming with edge and bad assery that we all loved about ultra violent
90s Anime like Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D.
And while the fights are a major selling
point, the writing for Castlevania is freaking phenomenal.
Every character in this series has an
interesting story to tell (mostly, sorry Carmilla) and everyones arcs is worth
getting invested in.
How often do you
get to simultaneously cringe in fear as Dracula comes bearing down from the
skies in a ball of flames and then weep when the King of the Monsters has a
breakdown when he realizes he’s pummeling the crap out of his own son?
Castlevania has some growing pains in Season
Two but otherwise is a perfect series from beginning to especially the tear
jerking end.
As far as Anime inspired
shows go, Castlevania more than earns the right to stand tall alongside Avatar:
The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra.
#2-Evangelion 3.0+1.0-Thrice Upon a Time
A ten year long wait sent anticipation far above Earth
orbit for this one.
After a so-so but
also not great third chapter, the Rebuild of Evangelion saga had to score a
true home run if it wanted to recover and end on a satisfying note.
What surprised me is that after another mind
blowing, action packed intro, Thrice Upon a Time took the riskiest move…and
just let Shinji, Asuka and Rei chill out and reflect for a good third of the
movie.
It was here, watching them
recover and deal with everything that’s come so far, that I saw how brilliant
Hideaki Anno was with this movie.
Thrice
Upon a Time is a very different finale for a very different Evangelion, made by
a creator who is not the same, angry man he was when he made The End of Evangelion.
It subverts expectations and actually
delivers a message of hope you don’t find often in Evangelion, while also
saving the best action and shocking twists for last.
Worth the near ten year long wait?
Damn right it was.
#1-Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning
HOOOO BOY I DID NOT EXPECT THIS!!!!! I mean, I gave the
movie a freaking 10/10 and I haven’t don’t that as often as you might think in
the 8 years I’ve been doing this.
For
the first time ever, Rurouni Kenshin has been dethroned as my favorite Live
Action Anime Film of all time…by the prequel film in its own series.
I had high expectations for this one, based
on the Trust and Betrayal arc from the RuroKen Manga and OVA of the same name.
And it didn’t just deliver, it destroyed
expectations on all fronts: Action, acting, direction, production, music, you
name it, The Beginning came through.
Bakumatsu Kenshin was every bit as fierce, deadly and totally bad ass as
I wanted him to be.
Tomoe was perfectly
cast and perfectly acted, hell she was a better love interest for Kenshin that
Kaoru in 4 movies.
Even the lack of
familiar Kenshin supporting cast didn’t hamper this movie and the historical
figures that had a hand in Kenshin’s life were well handled too.
I honestly didn’t expect Kenshin’s Live Action
escapades to go out on such a high note.
But they did and in doing so, set the bar so high I have no idea if any
future Live Action Anime movie will be able to touch it.
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