tl;dw
- Vinland Saga
- Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
- Jujutsu Kaisen
- Pluto
- Apothecary Diaries
- Heavenly Delusion
- Skip and Loafer
- Attack on Titan
- The Eminence in Shadow
- Oshi No Ko
- TRIGUN STAMPEDE
- The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You
- Zom 100
For fun, you can also check out the end of year discussion thread from this community.
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I’ve seen most of these. I have vastly different opinions than Gigguk on Vinland, Pluto, Eminence, Oshi no Ko and Zom 100, but it’s fine, I know I have different tastes than most anime fans. While I didn’t like those titles, it’s not like they filled me with rage to the point where I need to go on some internet crusade and convince everyone else on the planet not to watch them.
100 Girlfriends was unexpectedly brilliant. It’s not just dumb ecchi gags (although there are plenty of those), the season actually has a few multi-episode arcs in the latter half.
Haven’t started Sousou or Apothecary yet, will wait to watch them all in one go when they are finished airing. I really can’t stand waiting around a week in between episodes.
I have Attack On Titan to thank as one of the big shows to get me into anime in the first place, but the complete meme of a final season (final season part 1! oh my god) and also having already read the ending in the manga has minimized my interest in AoT. Actually, I still have to finish season 4, I fell off before the end of S4 part 1.
While I didn’t like those titles, it’s not like they filled me with rage to the point where I need to go on some internet crusade and convince everyone else on the planet not to watch them.
Excuse me…this is the internet. Please take your reasonableness and exit in an orderly fashion.
Yeah, there are certainly some of his opinions that I don’t agree with either. It’s only natural that different critics are going to have different opinions. I know that I have some very unpopular opinions about certain pieces of media, both anime and Western media (I have written before about how I couldn’t stand Clannad for example). What I do appreciate about a good media critic is that you might not agree with their opinions, but that they are able to articulate why they have those opinions. If they aren’t able to tell you that, then it is no different than some random person just hitting you with their personal favorites list.
As for AoT, it was kind of wild to be an anime fan and attending cons pre vs. post AoT. That show (Season 1 from 2013), along with Sword Art Online (Season 1 from 2012), brought a whole new generation of fans into the medium. The show finally ending this season was certainly a milestone for many. However, like you, I dropped off at a certain point (I actually don’t remember where, somewhere in season 2 I think).
Of the series I know, I am mostly suspicious of 100 girlfriends. I tried reading the mango when it showed up in the new releases feed and it didn’t seem very good. Eminence in shadow I quite like as a book but I would anticipate it being too fanservicey in anime or mango format for my liking and I’m just there for the dumbest of the humour. I’m assuming Vinland is a continuation but I barely remember what happened before if it is. Everything else is in my manga tracking but haven’t gotten around to them or just read a few chapters and kept them marked to continue later but just never did. Does the reviewer explain much about each show? I’ve never even heard of Pluto or heavenly delusion.
Eminence in Shadow is probably my favorite light novel series, and, like you, I am there for the stupid humor and misunderstandings that Cid brings. It is one of those series that has a very different feel depending which adaptation you consume. Since you say you are a fan of the humor, I recommend giving the manga a shot. It takes the jokes of the light novel, cranks it to 100, and then adds another layer of visual jokes that are also really funny. The manga also is drawn in a mostly silly way without very much fan service. The anime adaptation has, as you suspected, a lot more fan service with a whole episode each season pretty much devoted to it, and is more serious and edgy in tone usually.
In my opinion, Gigguk does a pretty good job giving a mostly spoiler free couple minutes to each series as to why he thought it was good. I watched Heavenly Delusion and it was probably the show that surprised me the most last year. It is a really interesting mix of mystery, post-apocalypse, sci-fi, and coming of age that I found really engaging. Also, the animation looks gorgeous. After the first season aired, I needed more and, with no announcement yet of any kind of season 2, I went and binged the manga instead. It is also quite good.
Finally, 100GF isn’t to everybody’s taste. The anime is even more unhinged in a lot of ways than the manga.
Of the list he put together, I watched 6. I really need to watch Apothecary Diaries and Vinland Saga. My wife is a huge fan of the Vinland Saga manga, so I can probably convince her to watch that one with me after Frieren finishes airing. For those that have read the manga and watched the anime, how is the adaptation?
I only watched “Skip and Loafer” (pretty bad) and “The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You” (mid)
My favorites of last year didn’t even made it on this list
Everybody’s tastes are different ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Somebody like Gigguk or other professional critics don’t really consume media the same way us normies do. I have seen from his other videos that in order to watch so many shows each season (there are 50+ that come out each season), he will often watch at 2X speed. That basically means you are just reading subtitles rather than actually watching anything.
When watching anime is your job, I can imagine what you are looking to get out of a series also changes. Rather than watching it after a day of work to unwind and enjoying a half hour of comfy relaxing time, you might instead gravitate to something that is more dramatic and able to keep your interest among the sea of other shows you have to watch all day.
At the end of the day, different critics are going to have their own biases. What this says is that Gigguk’s tastes don’t really line up with yours. He is pretty much the largest anime youtuber out there, so I think his lists like this are impactful to the community, but at the same time he is just one human like the rest of us.
Do, It Vinland Saga is fantastic. I’m anime only so I only heard they changed the order of some things but no drastic changes.
Apothecary Diaries has also been on my todo list for a while.
I’m just here to provide the standard PSA saying that you are free to make up your own opinion about anime instead of having someone on Youtube tell you what to think. The amount of people who don’t seem to realize this is depressing.
Yep, just like any other media critic. I think Gigguk does a pretty decent job explaining why he has the opinion he does, but there are certainly occasions on which I have disagreed with him. But, we are two different people that have different lived experiences, so that is only normal.
Watched 11 out of 13 and those are all great shows. ‘TRIGUN’ is in my PTW list, but I haven’t seen the original yet. Maybe I will watch og first and the remake later. Didn’t expect ‘100 Girlfriends’ be mentioned in the ‘2023 Best Anime’ list. Adding this to my PTW list.
Really love ‘Skip and Loafer’ being in the list. The show is really under-watched. As Gigguk mentioned in his video, the dancing scene in OP is really cute and the music is also fun to listen. Highly recommend if you are searching for a SoL anime.
[Skip and Loafer minor spoilers]
The reason why I got hooked to this anime is mainly because of those moments like watermelon moment mentioned in the video and this running to school in Ep1 moment plus characters interaction that don’t feel like typical school anime.
PTW?
Edit: oh Plan To Watch?
100GF, being a parody, isn’t going to land with everybody. I think, somebody like Gigguk, that has watched way more anime than just about anybody (since it is essentially his job) is more likely to appreciate a good parody than a more casual watcher. The more familiar you are with the subject being parodied, the more the parody’s humor lands.
That being said, I enjoyed the 100GF anime, but I think I actually preferred it in manga form more. I felt like they turned the fan service dial to 11 in the anime (or maybe just when it was in motion, it had a bigger impact). I get that is part of the joke, but I just found it distracting from the rest of the show sometimes.
I love good parody anime, so I think this will be my cup of tea. Speaking of parody, I just remember I have to finish Gintama.
Any suggestions on anime vs manga if I decide to pick up Vinland?
I’m surprised there’s so little isekai in a Gigguk list.
Also, sort of sinful that he added Trigun Stampede without mentioning how hard the opening goes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxYqXOL5uLk
I know how much he likes Mushoku Tensei, so I was surprised not to see that on his list. I also think that Eminence in Shadow tends to land more with people that have consumed a lot of isekai before. It makes sense, as a parody of the genre, the better you know the genre, the more of the joke you are going to get.
I assume even he didn’t like the second season of Mushoku Tensei and that’s why it’s not there this year.
Couldn’t get into Eminence in Shadow but only watched 2 episodes so might take another look soon.
I love TEIS, but the first three episodes were a bit of a mess. If you are really familiar with the source, then they make a lot more sense, but going in blind, it feels like three different shows (they did quite a major rearrangement of story to start the series). The point at which most people say TEIS gets into a groove is by episode 5. So, if you want to give it a fair shake, get through that point (which ends the first arc) and see if it is landing with you.
I can’t agree on The 100 Girlfriends. 5/10 average.
The first episode was very good, with the god gags and over the top development. But while there was the occasional good gag and character type variance, I found it underwhelming, generic, forced, and super repetitive. It’s one formula spanning the entire series. Even with the supposed difficulties, that could have spiced things up, it was just too generically repetitive and obviously “relationship-positive” - if you know what I mean.
I enjoyed Zom 100 - which is ranked below it - much more. And I enjoyed other anime more too.
