2024 年 Sakugabooru 動畫獎

This is to say that even then, Taguchi is still Taguchi; he wants those striking colors, and he needs his bright highlights. To find a balance in this case, he compromises by making them part of this more grounded aesthetic. Instead of making the primary color of a scene red, as he would in Akudama or Bleach, he instead utilizes diegetic elements that exist in the background. For example, a blinking red light or a blue umbrella are allowd to cast these highlights onto characters.

Taguchi is a brilliant creator, and not the one-trick director I would have suspected before. He could have gone his usual route and made a colorful chaos that doesn’t look like the show itself, as many anime openings do nowadays. However, he adapted and took inspiration from another director while also adding his own spin on top. I hope to see both sides of him from now on.

Best Aesthetic: The Elusive Samurai

Let me preface by saying I hate Elusive Samurai’s writing with a passion. It might not be the nicest thing to say in an article celebrating the year, but it puts into perspective how impressive its aesthetics are for me to be celebrating it regardless. It’s now harder than ever to single out any shows based on color use, so it catches your eye when a show mixes pastel blues and greens with saturated reds and purples like EluSam does. Bold and confident. It’s got an experimental edge and yet also a classic understanding what ought to work—and this describes everything about this show’s visuals, not only the colors. It cycles through styles multiple times per episode; different approaches to drawing and paintings, modulation of realism and whimsical, the show has it all. Even the show’s amazing Blu-ray covers embody everything I’ve just mentioned.

However, as much as every frame is a picture, the actual experience of watching EluSam is a type of chaos that I don’t find very enjoyable. Experimenting is fine, but if there is no cohesion it can end up feeling directionless. From a fully superficial standpoint, this show is a masterpiece, but one I would rather experience through screenshots and booru uploads.

Best Animation Designs: Look Back (Kiyotaka Oshiyama)

Look Back is a one-in-a-lifetime project that would never work in TV. Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s designs are intricate yet animation-friendly. Simple yet requiring a lot of skill. It’s such a fine line to tread that I’m not surprised Oshiyama himself had to supervise almost the whole movie himself, while the rest of the team was up up of some of the best artists whom he could trust to follow his path.

The decision to complete the look of the movie by leaning into rough, uneven linework, evoking the main theme—manga, drawing, art itself—was a brilliant move. It’s also not something we will see much more of as it’s done by hand by animators, and it directly contradicts the anime production pipeline. I can only imagine how much extra work not being able to scan and process linework is.

Fede

Studio founder [NEW!], Translator, International Production Coordinator, Savior Of Doomed Projects [Twitter] Best Episode: Puniru is a Cute Slime #07

I wouldn’t say this episode really felt as cinematic as previous China outings, nor did it flaunt as much sakugaSakuga (作画): Technically drawing pictures but more specifically animation. Western fans have long since appropriated the word to refer to instances of particularly good animation, in the same way that a subset of Japanese fans do. Pretty integral to our sites’brand.力量。 Instead, it felt like what moving manga could be like if you idealized that concept; an awareness of the potential of that idea, unleashing it through screen composition and timing unburdened by the influence of older forms of paneling coming from comics and illustrations.

The more perspective-oriented framing felt more isometric than volumetric in a way, and I found that choice particularly captivating. It depicts daily life scenes in a way that isn’t necessarily connected with real-life camera work using real-life lens, thus allowing something more akin to spiritual rendition of the subject matter. In this regard, the less-detailed and rounder animation supervision did an incredible job of de-anatomizing the character behaviors; otherwise, those may have felt a bit uncanny with Noriyuki Imaoka’s usual approach to supervision, which while not being the most anatomical is still quite intricate.

While I think it might be early to tell whether China’s Naoko Yamada era is over or not, they demonstrated a high level of proficiency with so many more different visual tropes and ideas. At this point, it would be fair to start looking at them as one of the innovators of this medium rather than anyone’s follower. Someone who’s trying to see what anime has not yet done, rather than simply a talented and dedicated young director who is in love with a world of anime that doesn’t exist anymore.

really不是嗎? A special type of kino, even.

Best Show: Girls Band Cry

There’s no denying that Girls Band Cry builds on top of the legacy of other, perhaps more drama-heavy titles about girls playing music—Bang Dream first of them all. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the interesting mix between the genuine elements of universal human drama and the specific depiction of hurdles that Japanese Gen-Z individuals will find so relatable; that struggle to find a path for themselves in these troublesome times, spiced up with more heartwarming comedic aspects that at times felt very slapstick-y and at times almost subtle.

In this sense, while the composition wasn’t perfect (the fact that they didn’t give me a Rupa episode made me cry) it felt explosive in a way I hadn’t seen in a while when it comes to CGDC; as in, cute girls doing cool things. If you think about it from a theme color perspective for this genre space, rather than feeling like Nina’s boisterous nature is an out-of-pocket depiction of superficial angst and anger, it feels closer to an expansion of the attributes we associate with those red protagonists. She adds a dash of chaos and juvenile bursts of anger to the clumsiness and straightforward will of the Haruka Amami, Honoka Kousaka, and everyone who’s preceded them. Only time will tell, but this could be a breaking of the mold in favor of more harmony-breaking leads like her to enter the stage in the years to come.

Additionally, the animation did a great job supporting the general atmosphere the show wanted to push over the individual character interactions. I found that to be a smart move that differentiated it within the current era 3D projects. On a more technical front, I appreciated the work that went into modeling individual mouths for the singing to achieve a more 2D for the serious, climatic moments. The timing choices themselves didn’t feel like they were trying to mimic a specific model, but rather attempting to achieve the best of both worlds when it comes to stylization. Which is to say, blending together traditional 2D anime concepts with the kind of timing tropes you’d see on cheaper 3D and indie projects, where the lack of realism becomes so funny that it’s endearing.  In the beginning, I wasn’t feeling the lighting direction that much; it felt a bit too chaotic and overly intense on the broader screen, but not being punitive enough on the 3D materials may be what 3D anime really lacked until now. Not sure, just a thought!

One day, I’d love to make characters like Nina and Momoka. They’re very cute girls but they’re also very real ones, aren’t they?

Best Movie: Look Back

Well, the first time I watched Look Back I cried 5 times. And I’m crying even right now while trying to write something about it. A work able to depict creation as a beautiful curse rather than a blessing is something that I believe has value in and of itself. What made Kiyotaka Oshiyama and Tatsuki Fujimoto’s child truly special, though, was the way the directorial and animation choices felt so deliberately in their expression of that idea; within them, you can feel the expression that, despite being a curse, making art is so beautiful that us creators are oftentimes willing to sacrifice our happiness and wellbeing for it.

There is so much to appreciate about the synesthetic connection between haruka nakamura’s music and the low-profile colors, the almost geometric structure that’s full of reiterative payoffs, and how even the story itself was elevated by the painstaking temporal balance in the storyboardStoryboard (絵コンテ, ekonte): The blueprints of animation. A series of usually simple drawings serving as anime’s visual script, drawn on special sheets with fields for the animation cut number, notes for the staff and the matching lines of dialogue., between rapid still montages and longer emotional shots. We are talking about a movie brilliant enough that, at its mathematical center, places a shot with the two protagonists; one in the first half of the movie, and the other one in the second half, those corresponding to the focus as well. It’s the type of film where every single little detail is worth obsessing over, but doing so here might be out of place. Every time I rewatch Look Back, it becomes a moment of self-discovery and vulnerability. It’s incredibly accessible through its universal language of raw cinema, but at the same time it’s really painful, like every great piece of art should be.

I could write about this==the people who have to edit and publish this piece, I’ll call it a day here.

Best Opening: Too Many Losing Heroines/Makeine OP (link)

I really hope that A-1 Pictures seisaku folks will not read this one thinking that I’m somehow happy和他們在一起； for the record, we’re still enemies and we will face each other in that battlefield that is the anime industry. However, I really appreciated the stance this opening seemed to take. Compared to modern sequences that attempt to feel super artsy while still remaining conservative in their choice (not execution) of methodology—I’d put the recent One Piece opening in that camp—this piece wasn’t afraid of feeling naif, dirty, or even amateurish in places. With its great range of color designs, inspired typography, and especially the traced backgrounds, it achieves that appealing indie feeling.

But it’s not as if it has no muscles to flex: I was really impressed with the exorbitant amount of strange production design choices that this opening did consciously. For one, they clearly understood how the lack of character outline in certain cuts could blend together with the rakugaki-ish fonts at the start. For another, they also knew the more outline-heavy characters in the latter parts would feel appropriate, but only with the addition of nonsensical geometrical shapes within the picture and that indie flair for the backgrounds. At points, those instead featured shapes that felt way more reminiscent of the very surgical work of Eizin Suzuki. What a style!

Makeine was really kino, wasn’t it? Nevertheless, prepare yourselves A-1: one day we will win.

Best Ending: Too Many Losing Heroines/Makeine ED2 (link)

I was already a big fan of how Kasen was able to blend a minimalist production design with the kind of shapes that someone like Tetsuya Nishio would draw when he was entrusted with the final Shingeki no Kyojin ending. And yet, he keeps on improving! This was a peculiar cocktail, blending the eros of vulnerable self-discovery approaching adulthood with the energetic yet delicate charm of Lemon as a character. This exploration is remarkable with its technical emphasis to achieve a feeling that I wouldn’t describe as pervy or voyeuristic, but rather warm and pure. And you know, that’s an achievement for an ending that essentially shows her au naturel by end of it. In particular, I enjoy the shapeliness both in the chrysalis and rotoscoped parts that give her new design a womanly feeling closer to statuesque physiques rather than pin-up girls.

I will cut it with the technical appreciation of a fictional girl’s animated body, though. Wouldn’t want to be crucified over this, would I?

Best Music Video: Snail’s House Utakata (link)

It was really motivational to witness Rapparu approaching a more bucolic setting and atmosphere in the Utakata music video. With less of a focus on the effects animation side of things, this time the emphasis wasn’t so much what is happening frame by frame on the cel layer but rather the combination between the background style, the compositing, and the specific colors of the cel layer. While I’d never considered production design to be Rapparu’s forte, I was really impressed with its soft-solarpunk depiction of current-day Japan; you could even pinpoint big influences and references to the post-impressionist era of painting in the second half. Really refreshing stuff!

Utakata was kino, wasn’t it? I really hope Rapparu will keep experimenting with different elements of the animated whole.

Best Aesthetic: Look Back

Have you heard of this movie by the name of Look Back? The sort of unfinished layout look of certain colored drawings drew many people into its aesthetic. Personally, though, what enamored me was the usage of color tracing/irotore only in small segments of the outlines to depict rim lights. This completely bypasses the technical issues of the more showy lighting you might see in shows like Bleach TYBW, which oftentimes feel like they project a phony cinematic aura rather than reinforcing a depiction of physical space.

In general, the way the iroshitei and the shiage guides—means of color design and guidance for its usage—were made felt like they were trying to improve the accomplishments of early digital era anime color palettes, using Oshiyama’s top-notch shape design skills as the springboard to enable even the boldest choices. A lot of them are accomplishments that theoretically could have been done even in 2001, but at the same time, they feel born out of a more current contrarian spirit. There’s a desire to give more dignity to individual flat colors over the kind of more cumbersome effects that are tied to modern compositing techniques, which is a positively reactionary mindset that would have been harder to justify in the part. It’s not necessarily the best approach in a vacuum, but within this movie’s context of emphasizing the drawings themselves as mandated by the subject matter, this was the way to go.

Maya Kusumoto deserves more credit. She really did a great job, didn’t she?

Best Animation Designs: Look Back (Kiyotaka Oshiyama)

The Look Back appreciation tour continues. When it comes to the design work, I really liked the way hands were depicted throughout the movie: a combination of shapes that felt very reminiscent of the Studio Ghibli/Yasuo Otsuka school and newer tendencies, giving unexpected forms of articulation when it’s their time to shine. For example, one key example would be their behavior during Fujino’s run in the first half of the movie, or their behavior in the scene with her assistants.

I also loved how many bold moves were made to diminish the total line count, even to the point of allowing certain drawings to feel quite radical because Kiyotaka Oshiyama cared that little about properly defined outlines. The raw feeling the art always emanates is something that doesn’t always land for me; can’t say I’m in love with the depiction of Kyomoto’s disheveled hair, much as I appreciate Oshiyama’s confidence as an artist. He doesn’t really need much shading or detail to construct an excellent drawing; all it takes is a few well-placed lines, in a way that feels familiar to all the kagenashi enjoyers even when he does add a degree of shading to his pieces.

On a more narrative level, it was soul-consuming to appreciate how different Fujino’s lips and chin were from Kyomoto’s. Even when using almost the same visual language, these incredibly small variations are enough to give Fujino this distinct, actress-like feeling that elevates her characterisation in conjuncture with her personality. In contrast, those opposite choices gave Kyomoto this blob-like cuteness that wasn’t pretty in a straightforward way but made her endearing in the same way a puppy would be.

A lot of godly animators settle on a definite style after a certain age, but Oshiyama keeps inventing and discovering new stuff. He’s really a drawing nerd, isn’t he?

Non-contemporary Work Award: Honey and Clover

I’m going to confess the truth: back in the day, I only watched the episodes dominated by Tetsuya Takeuchi’s animation. While those do stand out, I now realize my mistake—this show is so good! It increased my appreciation of Takahiko Yoshida, one of the greatest sakkan of the beginning of the new century; supervising the animation with a minimalist yet realistic touch that is very appealing. However, my greatest nerdy prize out of the show was the realization that Kenichi Kasai (someone who rarely comes up in the conversations about the greatest directors) actually held massive influence among the more demure enshutsu crowd of the 2010s.

That influence is channeled the likes of Tatsuyuki Nagai and other younger, more introspective directors who trend towards screen compositions that resemble well-put together evening TV dramas than TV anime. The show even toys with digital tools in a very mature way for its time; it gives a hazy, unshapely feeling to it that I didn’t get from the source material, which I believe elevates the more contemplative moments. That gives a more unpredictable yet very placid tone to the narrative beats in a series that is already one of the most interesting depictions of the uncertainty of young adulthood—and that of artists too.

I really hope Morita, the great man who introduced Kanada-kei animation in the American VFX industry is doing well these days. I’ve heard that they are facing a difficult time, aren’t they?

Creator Discovery: Souta Ueno, Motoki Nakanishi, Yoshiaki Yanagida (Sakugabooru tag)

Souta Ueno and Motoki Nakanishi are two relatively young directors that I believe have potential to bring enshutsu-focused anime back. Even if their debut works—Gimai Seikatsu and Koi wa Futago de Waikirenai respectively—were hindered by their environments, their efforts were a pleasant surprise nonetheless. We’re together with them in this fight to bring spiritual, elegant, non-muscular kino back.

On a completely different end, Yoshiyaki Yanagida is someone I was aware of but whose greatness I only recently processed. While I’d watched plenty of his designs in motion before, it took until now to realize how his design sense can elevate entire works; it’s someone who has turned relatively boring projects into very appealing end-products on his own, on the basis of his wonderful sense of shape balance. The fact that he’s still so active within Ajia-do is incredibly impressive given he’s just one year younger than my dad. I really want to thank him for his hard work.

eichiwai/Hayato Kunisada

Production Desk Aiming For Animation Producer at Cygames Pictures, ascended sakugaSakuga (作画): Technically drawing pictures but more specifically animation. Western fans have long since appropriated the word to refer to instances of particularly good animation, in the same way that a subset of Japanese fans do. Pretty integral to our sites’brand. otaku [Twitter] Best Episode: Dandadan #07

Dandadan #07 features Shuuto Enomoto as storyboarder and animation director, Koutarou Matsunaga as episode director, and Hana Okutani as assistant animation director. By having Enomoto on that dual role of storyboarding and supervision, then entrusting Matsunaga entirely with the episode directionEpisode Direction (演出, enshutsu): A creative but also coordinative task, as it entails supervising the many departments and artists involved in the production of an episode – approving animation layouts alongside the Animation Director, overseeing the work of the photography team, the art department, CG staff… The role also exists in movies, refering to the individuals similarly in charge of segments of the film., they were able to supervise the quality of the entire episode’s layoutsLayouts (レイアウト): The drawings where animation is actually born; they expand the usually simple visual ideas from the storyboard into the actual skeleton of animation, detailing both the work of the key animator and the background artists. and final footage, which I felt was the best decision.

Also, I find it remarkable how both Okutani and Kana Itou, acquaintances from the production of Tengoku Daimakyou (Heavenly Delusion), participated in the episode through Enomoto. Having such animators in charge of important cuts work on the layoutsLayouts (レイアウト): The drawings where animation is actually born; they expand the usually simple visual ideas from the storyboard into the actual skeleton of animation, detailing both the work of the key animator and the background artists. stage likely led to a drastic increase in quality. And speaking as a production assistantProduction Assistant (制作進行, Seisaku Shinkou): Effectively the lowest ranking’producer’role, and yet an essential cog in the system. They check and carry around the materials, and contact the dozens upon dozens of artists required to get an episode finished. Usually handling multiple episodes of the shows they’re involved with., I believe having the in-between and finishing animation work done as much in Japan as possible resulted in a higher aesthetic quality.

Finally, it wasn’t just the animation, but the combined effort including the background art, the 3D background animation before the opening even kicked in, and the performances from the voice actors that gave us the pinnacle of excellence.

Best Show: Yubisaki to Renren/A Sign of Affection

From my point of view, its greatest strength is clear: by having the series director—Ajia-dou’s Yuuta Murano—as storyboarder for all the episodes, as well as episode director for three of them, it gives the entire series a precious sense of cohesion. He understands the manga well, so even when fans of the original watch the anime, nothing serves as unwanted noise; you can naturally grasp the characters’ personalities and the events of the story, which you don’t see that often.

Also, shout out to the effort of gathering Ajia-dou’s Yuuki Nishioka, Emiko Endou, Kazue Tamari, and Kanako Tsuji to serve as chief animation directors, while Yoshiaki Yanagida, Masaya Fujimori, and Yuuki Miyamoto were assembled to be sign language animators. I believe that having Ajia-dou veterans support the production by animating the sign language, a key point of the series, was also very important.

Best Movie: Look Back

I’m sure a lot of people will share this appreciation for Look Back. The audience came with high expectations, as an anime adaptation of a Tatsuki Fujimoto one-shot—and the adaptation answers them. Technically, it reaches a high level of quality in all areas, including animation, backgrounds, color designs, and compositing. But more importantly, it adapts the manga’s story to work as a feature film with a perfect runtime that doesn’t wear out its welcome, allowing those who watched it in theaters to feel its emotional impact right until the final credits roll. I feel that this was possible thanks to Kiyotaka Oshiyama‘s wonderful talents as a director.

Best Opening and Ending: The Elusive Samurai OP (link), The Elusive Samurai ED (link)

Both the opening and ending of EluSam feature energetic animation of the characters synced to catchy songs. Instead of relying too much on post-processing, the animation, backgrounds, and colors are all pleasantly in balance, resulting in an opening and ending that makes you want to watch and listen to them over and over.

Best Aesthetic: Hibike! Euphonium S3

This third season of Hibike! Euphonium arrived eight years after season 2. Not only that, but it’s an anime adaptation in the hands of an effectively new Kyoto Animation. Despite this, it maintains the same level of quality as the movies and season 2, and not only for the animation and direction; it hits excellence in all departments, from the background art both in-studio and from Anime Kobo Basara, the color designs by Akiyo Takeda, and the post-processing team led by Kazuya Takao, everything remains similarly excellent. Completing these 13 episodes to such standards must have required no small amount of effort.

Best Animation Designs: Makeine + Lycoris Recoil (Imigimuru)

This year, Imigimuru was responsible for the original character designs for Makeine (Too Many Losing Heroines!), where he brought into the world a variety of heroine paradigms. This was on the heels of Lycoris Recoil, where he acted as the actual animation designer; in both cases, he shows an ability to make all his heroines appealing and distinctive. He’s given both the original authors and anime watchers so much to enjoy, which I find wonderful.

Non-contemporary Work Award: Scorching Ping Pong Girls

Scorching Ping Pong Girls is a show that people should definitely check out.

It’s full of talented storyboarders and episode directors; you can start running down with series directorSeries Director: (監督, kantoku): The person in charge of the entire production, both as a creative decision-maker and final supervisor. They outrank the rest of the staff and ultimately have the last word. Series with different levels of directors do exist however – Chief Director, Assistant Director, Series Episode Director, all sorts of non-standard roles. The hierarchy in those instances is a case by case scenario. Yasuhiro Irie, who handled 8 episodes, assisted by the likes of Kaori on 3 of them, and one Hiroshi Ikehata leading an episode too.

Their scouting ability is demonstrated by the fact that the show features a lot of animation from folks who nowadays are entrusted with leading roles. We have Takushi Koide, Hiroyuki Saita, Satoshi Mori, and even Shiori Tani. Their work takes no shortcuts for the main draw of the series, its ping-pong scenes, which are a real delight to experience. I think it’s a must-watch for people who have just recently gotten into animation.

Creator Discovery: Shin-Young Lee

In the year 2024, Shin-Young Lee is an animator that I got to work with as a production assistantProduction Assistant (制作進行, Seisaku Shinkou): Effectively the lowest ranking’producer’role, and yet an essential cog in the system. They check and carry around the materials, and contact the dozens upon dozens of artists required to get an episode finished. Usually handling multiple episodes of the shows they’re involved with.. He’s skilled at character acting, and works hard as an animator, never neglecting his daily practice through sketches. I believe he’ll become an animator to keep your eye on in the future.

Omar

Believes Love Cobra is real (send help) [Twitter] Best Episode: Hibike! Euphonium S3 #12, Puniru is a Cute Slime #07, One Piece Fan Letter

Hibike! Euphonium S3 #12 contains the narrative climax of not only what this season had been building up, but the entire series as well. Of course, the whole episode is excellently animated and directed, but the emotional climax at the end of the episode reaches new heights and delivers an intense mix of emotions that I will never forget (nor stop crying about). The impact of this scene was only possible thanks to the combination of multiple factors; the visual staging, for one, is directly taken from a very well-known and beloved moment in S1, which this time serves as an effective and painful contrast to the events that unfolded in this episode.

The emotive animation of Kumiko and Reina by Tomomi Sato has a huge impact mainly because their body language and facial expressions feel real, and not just due to its ambitious and well-executed character animation. Props to the staff at KyoAni for not pulling any punches and even deviating from the source material to achieve maximum emotional damage to the audience. Definitely the episode that had the biggest emotional impact on me in 2024.

On the other hand, Puniru wa Kawaii Slime #07 deserves a spot here due to its commitment to a single, simple goal: fun. It was a delight to see China, who served as storyboarder and episode director, successfully apply his style to a fun and light hearted series like Puniru. I feel this is a side I haven’t seen from him before because the episodes he directed in the past are more on the emotional, nuanced side. Though general audiences and even sakugaSakuga (作画): Technically drawing pictures but more specifically animation. Western fans have long since appropriated the word to refer to instances of particularly good animation, in the same way that a subset of Japanese fans do. Pretty integral to our sites’brand. fans tend to appreciate dramatic and action showcases more, this episode’s commitment to fun and loose animation deserves to be celebrated in equal manner. I feel like showcases like this are becoming rarer in TV anime (and luckily you can read more about it in an article posted on this site). So here is to more fun sakugakai in the future!

Finally, let me add that I’m definitely not qualified to discuss One Piece at length, as someone who has only seen about 5 episodes of the series. Despite that, my inclusion of Fan Letter goes to show how universal its appeal is. What Megumi Ishitani and Keisuke “soty” Mori achieved is truly sensational, you can enjoy this even without previous knowledge of the series so go watch it if you haven’t yet!

Honorable mentions: Other awesome episodes that I want to at least give a shoutout include Shuuto Enomoto’s amazing storyboardStoryboard (絵コンテ, ekonte): The blueprints of animation. A series of usually simple drawings serving as anime’s visual script, drawn on special sheets with fields for the animation cut number, notes for the staff and the matching lines of dialogue. debut in Dandadan #07, Tatsuya Yoshihara’s grandiose opener in Tsue to Tsurugi no Wistoria #01 and Masahiro Tokumaru’s storyboardStoryboard (絵コンテ, ekonte): The blueprints of animation. A series of usually simple drawings serving as anime’s visual script, drawn on special sheets with fields for the animation cut number, notes for the staff and the matching lines of dialogue. and episode director debut in Boukyaku Battery #11.

Best Show: Hibike! Euphonium S3, Yubisaki to Renren/A Sign of Affection

Not content with featuring my favorite episode of the year, Hibike! Euphonium S3 also went and sat at the very top of my 2024 anime. Every episode felt stand out and properly built up to the conclusion of the series. It helps a lot that this season stood on the foundation set by the also excellent two first seasons, but it delivers an experience of its own that makes it stand on the same level as previous seas s as previous why s. p>

What I find so appealing about this series is how it convincingly establishes its characters as actual people, each with a distinct set of body language, expressions and goals, and places them in the band place language, expressions and goals、俱樂部。 This season’s main conflict is intrinsically tied to the two main characters and the brass band club, and the way it slowly but unsubtly develops it made me simultaneously fear and crave the impending doom. In the end, the resolution to such conflict was logical but emotionally impactful.

Another standout aspect of this season is that it depicts the 3rd year students’ struggles (or lack thereof) regarding their future after graduation. I could write more, but at this point I’d just recommend you to just watch this season or start the series if you haven’t yet (and read the numerous posts published here, they are awesome complimentary material).

The last thing I want to highlight is the confident execution of this ambitious narrative by the staff at Kyoto Animation. It’s a work that spanned almost 10 years and the level of accomplishment is remarkable given the numerous changes in the main staff as time passed. Of course, there were changes along the way, but the essence of the series remained intact. Goes to show how valuable Kyoto Animation’s focus on mentorship and self-sufficiency is!

Meanwhile, Yubisaki to Renren was a series I was not expecting at all to enjoy as much as I did because romance anime is not really my thing. However, I was instantly charmed and genuinely moved by the effort led by series directorSeries Director: (監督, kantoku): The person in charge of the entire production, both as a creative decision-maker and final supervisor. They outrank the rest of the staff and ultimately have the last word. Series with different levels of directors do exist however – Chief Director, Assistant Director, Series Episode Director, all sorts of non-standard roles. The hierarchy in those instances is a case by case scenario. Yuuta Murano. On top of storyboarding every single episode, the creative choices he made in all departments were finely tuned and exponentially enhanced the result. Thanks to this, the characters and world created by Morishita suu were brought to life to a degree rarely seen in other adaptations.

The studio in charge—Ajia-Do—might not be as certain juggernauts out there, but they made great use of the exceptional staff at their disposal and delivered truly outstanding work; including some who are also important for some of my entries below. You can see this in the show’s focus on immersive layoutsLayouts (レイアウト): The drawings where animation is actually born; they expand the usually simple visual ideas from the storyboard into the actual skeleton of animation, detailing both the work of the key animator and the background artists., which we can thank veteran animator Masayuki Sekine for as he was entrusted with its Screen Design. This feels appropriate in a series with a deaf protagonist, whom you’d expect to have developed a keener spatial awareness. Likewise, Yoshiaki Yanagida, Masaya Fujimori, and Yuki Miyamoto imbued the hand sign language animation with life, which is of essential importance because it’s the main means of communication between the characters.

All of these factors combined made me fully embrace the somewhat idealistic romance of the series; it might make some eyes roll but I don’t care, I just want to see Yuki happy because it heals my soul. I really recommend you give the series a try even if it doesn’t appear to be your type of anime, maybe it will surprise you like it did to me! After watching it, you can also read this nice article posted on this site that goes in-depth about the show’s production, very convenient!

Best Movie: Uma Musume: Prettyby – Bening of Derby – Bening of Dertty a New Era, Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window, Look Back

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby – Shin Jidai no Tobira is the spectacular debut of Ken “Leaf” Yamamoto as a film導演。 It is also proof of Kan Mizoguchi’s exceptional abilities as an animation producer. And yet, this movie is much more than a ridiculously stacked sakuga movie. The story focusing on Jungle Pocket and her journey towards being the best in the fictional sport of horse girl racing is as viscerally satisfying as it gets.

Without spindling too much, her journey journey jor r. 。 It deals with the act of competition itself, what it means to the main characters and how they find or lose their motivation. However, the truly exceptional aspect of this movie is its unhinged and intense delivery. Yamamoto pulls no punches and uses every weapon at his disposal to overwhelm the viewer, be it via the unrestricted animation philosophy which deforms the characters however it sees fit, the smart placement of the OST and sound effects, or everything at once. As a result, the act of watching this movie is an exhausting experience (in a good way of course) which will stick with me for a long time. Definitely give it a try, you can watch it with no previous knowledge of the series!

For a complete change of mood, Madogiwa no Totto-chan, directed by Shinnosuke Yakuwa, was a pleasant surprise. It is based on an autobiographical memoir written by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi and mainly shows her childhood years in Japan right before and during the 2nd World War. To avoid spoilers and be brief: it’s a movie that deals with many themes and is able to connect them in a meaningful manner. It’s a beautiful movie, which I’m sure will move anyone who watches. Also, the animation and art direction are fantastic so go watch it!

A lot has been said already about Look Back. I’m sure it’ll get a lot of praise here (deservedly so) and there is even a neat article about it on this site so I will refer to them. But I will say that Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s decision to express the joy of creating animation with a unique philosophy that embraces the inherent roughness found in key animationKey Animation (原画, genga): These artists draw the pivotal moments within the animation, basically defining the motion without actually completing the cut. The anime industry is known for allowing these individual artists lots of room to express their own style. fascinated and resonated with me. It added a new layer to Tatsuki Fujimoto’s original work, which deals with the act of creating manga and made this movie stand on its own. It’s a type of approach that we probably won’t see happening in a long time, but hopefully its success opens up the door to more works like this.

PS: Naoko Yamada’s new feature film, Kimi no Iro, would for sure earn its place in my list if I had the chance to watch it…well at least that is something I can look forward to next year!

Best Opening: One Piece OP26 (link), Kuroshitsuji: Public School Arc (link) One Piece OP #26: Just an absolutely stunning opening that never ceases to amaze me no matter how many times I watch it. Shines due to Megumi Ishitani’s slick storyboarding and editing and Keisuke “soty” Mori’s visually appealing designs and loose animation supervision. Kuroshitsuji: Kishuku Gakkou-hen OP (link): I love Masashi Ishihama’s openings and even though I haven’t watched a single episode of this series, this opening instantly charmed me. You can find many of his usual traits here such as the use of flat coloring and geometrical shapes. What stood out the most to me was the flow of the opening (another Ishihama specialty of course); before I noticed, the opening was already over. Very addicting! Best Ending: Too Many Losing Heroines/Makeine ED1-3 (link, link, link), Urusei Yatsura 2022 S2 ED1 (link), The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash ED (link), Shoshimin series ED (link), Undead Unluck ED2 (link), Wind Breaker ED (link), Ranma 1/2 (2024) ED1 (link)

First I want to highlight what a great year 2024 was for anime endings. In contrast to anime openings, which are becoming more of a grand spectacle that gather many of the industry’s big names, I feel like endings are increasingly becoming a space where artists can showcase more of their personal style or apply bolder creative choices to the respective series, which wouldn’t be possible in the episodes themselves.

Make Heroine ga Oosugiru! All 3 EDs (link 1, 2, 3): It was a nice choice to dedicate an unique ending to each loser heroine, but it is really remarkable how these were made. From the first ending being literally cel animation inserted into live action footage, the second one being a lavishly animated dream sequence with a very attractive and unique style, to the third one being beautiful hand painted animation. Urusei Yatsura (2022) 2nd Season ED #01 (link): An almost solo effort by Hitomi Kariya. Really liked her take on Lum’s design and the overall beautiful aesthetic. This ending felt like a proper homage to the original series (noticed references to openings, endings and one particular episode) while still having its own creative identity. Now this is a good way to give a modern take on an anime classic. If only I could say the same about the remake series itself… Saijaku Tamer ED (link): The animation of the abstract shapes in combination with the music give this ending sequence,  which is storyboarded, directed and solo key animated by Jamie Vickers, an ethereal feeling that really stood out to me. Shoushimin Series ED (link): Directed by Tao Tajima, who was also in charge of Sarazanmai’s wonderful ending sequence. Tajima blends anime characters in live action footage in a very cool and convincing manner. And it’s not only cool live-action footage, it depicts the city the series takes place in (modeled after Gifu city) that is already faithfully depicted in the anime’s backgrounds. It was nice to see their live action counterpart, which looked much better by the way. Undead Unluck ED #02 (link): Full solo effort by Taiki Konno, there is no need to say more. Wind Breaker ED (link): Atsuya Uki is a fantastic illustrator and animator; if you don’t know him, please do yourself a favor and go watch Cencoroll, two short movies he basically produced fully by himself. Because of his tendency to operate as a one-man army, the second Cencoroll entry was released 10 years after the first one. Which is to say, that it’s a special occasion whenever an animation by Uki is released—on those grounds alone, Wind Breaker’s ending solo Uki effort is already worth celebrating. Uki’s wonderful take on the designs and color choices breathe life to the series’ characters in a very special way. Ranma 1/2 (2024) ED (link): Mostly put together by Minami Kitamura with some animation help from Fumiyuki Uehara. Kitamura depicts the charismatic characters of this series with her simple and attractive art style, leaning more onto the romantic and cute side of the series. The sequence shows a typical interaction between Ranma and Akane that feels very genuine and sweet, it’s just very cute. Now this is a good way to give a modern take on an anime classic. If only I could say the same about the…wait is this deja vu?? Best Aesthetic: The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to be Archenemies/MahoAku, Too Many Losing Heroines/Makeine

MahoAku  makes aesthetic choices that normally don’t sit well with me in modern anime: designs with high line count, highlights, strong postprocessing from the photographyPhotography (撮影, Satsuei): The marriage of elements produced by different departments into a finished picture, involving filtering to make it more harmonious. A name inherited from the past, when cameras were actually used during this process. department, enhanced brightness and more. These choices are more or less what one could expect from a current day magical girl or shoujo show, but are executed beautifully by series directorSeries Director: (監督, kantoku): The person in charge of the entire production, both as a creative decision-maker and final supervisor. They outrank the rest of the staff and ultimately have the last word. Series with different levels of directors do exist however – Chief Director, Assistant Director, Series Episode Director, all sorts of non-standard roles. The hierarchy in those instances is a case by case scenario. Akiyo Oohashi and her team at Bones. I really liked Yukari Gotou’s color design, which built a tight color palette based on the protagonist’s colors. This extended to the backgrounds and lighting, ultimately forming a strong aesthetic identity in the show.

It was nice seeing this more focused color palette, which gave the show a unique mood (and contrasts with the more heterogeneous and varied palettes typical of magical girl shows). The painterly backgrounds supervised by art directors Yumiko Kuga and Takumi Okutani greatly contributed to the show’s ethereal feel. I also think that they acted as a counterbalance to the show’s more “modern” touches like the intricate lighting, which were also executed pretty nicely. This series reminded me that it’s all about how you execute the creative choices you make, and I hope we get to see more works as well accomplished as this one (so maybe give Oohashi another nice project).

Though not as refined as Katsute Mahou Shoujo, Make Heroine ga Oosugiru! is another example of a very good looking modern aesthetic. What I want to highlight is what series directorSeries Director: (監督, kantoku): The person in charge of the entire production, both as a creative decision-maker and final supervisor. They outrank the rest of the staff and ultimately have the last word. Series with different levels of directors do exist however – Chief Director, Assistant Director, Series Episode Director, all sorts of non-standard roles. The hierarchy in those instances is a case by case scenario. Shoutarou Kitamura was trying to convey with his aesthetic choices.

As he stated in an interview, Kitamura sought to evoke a “cheerful nostalgia” through the atmosphere of Makeine. For that purpose, the team first gathered a bunch of reference materials (via location scouting, research, etc) of Toyohashi city, the location where the series takes place. With the help of these materials, the backgrounds of the show managed to become a very accurate representation of the city. But simple photorealism wasn’t Kitamura’s goal, as the visuals were filtered through a subjective lens (mostly color and lighting modulation) to give them this youthful, nostalgic feel. To me, the visuals of this show look like how the characters would remember the events that unfold in the series, filtered through their emotions. Happy moments are visually enhanced, sad moments look like it’s the end of the world and so on. Having an aesthetic carry this much narrative weight was one of the highlights of the year to me. If you want to know more, there is a nice article on this site!

Best Animation Designs: NegaPosi Angler (Hiromi Taniguchi)

NegaPosi Angler was a very special work for its character designer Hiromi Taniguchi. That is very clear if you follow her on social media, where she constantly posted drawings of the different characters as the series was airing and commented on basically every episode, sometimes even explaining her creative choices. It wasn’t only the passion she expressed in social media that got through to me, I also think that her designs are quite special in how they successfully showcase her range as an artist.

Each character from the main cast has a very distinctive look, some appear to come from a different series even, but it still feels unified because they are all clearly Taniguchi’s art. This also conveys how very different and quirky people can come together thanks to a common interest like fishing. This diversity is not only conveyed through the characters’ physical traits, but their clothing too, another specialty from Taniguchi. The more illustrative qualities of her art are evident in the series’ more serious moments (and in the ending that is literally an exhibition of her illustrations) and in characters such as Ice, who is a model.

Taniguchi’s Gainax roots are evident in the way the characters move and deform in goofy and fun fashion. Thanks to all these qualities, the show’s animation always felt dynamic, diverse and was able to seamlessly switch between fun and serious moments. This held even for the episodes with more conservative animation, which really highlights how great these designs are. Hope Taniguchi gets another chance like this in the future!

Before moving on, a disclaimer: the next categories, which deal with works released outside of 2024 are very long, maybe too much. But I watched all of them this year and are thus representative of my anime watching experience in 2024. If you are only interested in anime released this year, you can skip the rest of my section. However, if you are burnt out from keeping up with seasonal anime, maybe you can find some interesting recommendations among all the series I will mention. What I learned is that there are enough great anime released throughout the industry’s history for a lifetime!

Non-contemporary Work Award: The immaculate vibes of Kimagure Orange Road, Urusei Yatsura 4: Lum the Forever, Ranma 1/2 (but actually all the classic anime adaptations of Rumiko Takahashi works)

Maybe you are familiar with those annoying “80s/90s anime aesthetic” accounts plaguing social media. The same ones that idealize anime from that period, and yet often misrepresent them. Well, Kimagure Orange Road, directed by Osamu Kobayashi, is dedicated to portraying 80s Japan in a beautiful and idealized way. Rather than glorifying that era, though, that focus has a well well-defined narrative purpose. The anime is framed as a distant memory, with a future version of the protagonist acting as the narrator, even referring to the events of the series as him living the best years of his youth.

Across the show, many important moments are presented as “snapshots” thus highlighting them as valuable memories. To top it off, the final scenes of the episodes are literally turned into photographs. All of this gives the series a very strong sense of nostalgia, which is enhanced by the very beautiful and romanticized presentation of its setting. I think anyone can relate to idealizing, even a little bit, the fond memories of one’s youth. This anime goes for that feeling and executes it splendidly by looking stunning for every single one of its 48 episodes.

The efforts of the staff (many of whom also involved in other shows I’ll talk about) will make you feel nostalgic towards 80s Japan, even if you never experienced it. Add to that Shiro Sagisu’s soundtrack, which oozes 80s energy, the banger openings and endings and you get some of the best vibes in anime. To top it off, Tomomi Mochizuki’s incredible movie that serves as a conclusion to the series adds gravitas to the whole series and a bittersweet feeling to its nostalgia. Annoying, clout chasing accounts might tarnish the concept of “retro anime aesthetic” but Kimagure Orange Road is the real deal: 80s beauty distilled, with a purpose.

Following that elegant romcom rec, I’m going to invite you to my journey through the works of the queen of the genre. Rumiko Takahashi is undoubtedly one of the most important mangaka ever. In the 80s she published at least 3 classic, all-timer manga series in Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku and Ranma ½. This is already a huge achievement, but what if I told you that their anime adaptations are also all-timers that you should definitely watch?

The Urusei Yatsura TV anime is for many rea?

The Urusei Yatsura TV anime is for many rea?

The Urusei Yats。 。 One of them is that its (debuting) director for the first 106 episodes was a young Mamoru Oshii, who proved very quickly that he was the real deal. He took full advantage of the series’ ridiculous setting, which combined slapstick comedy with supernatural and sci-fi elements. He made tweaks and additions to the source material to exploit the creative sensibilities prevalent in his team.

In short, Oshii let the young core staff of animators and directors goser wild, which at the wild, whichal the wild, whichmore the wild, which the wi. 。 For this reason, this series is a must-watch for sakugaSakuga (作画): Technically drawing pictures but more specifically animation. Western fans have long since appropriated the word to refer to instances of particularly good animation, in the same way that a subset of Japanese fans do. Pretty integral to our sites’brand. fans; just look at the contributions from Masahito Yamashita, Katsuhiko Nishijima, Yuji Moriyama, and Motosuke Takahashi among many others. Besides these thrilling bursts, the series simply looks beautiful on a consistent basis, and remains a really funabletiful on a consistent basis, and remains a really funtime. 。 The team became increasingly more daring with the anime original additions—with Oshii even writing the script for some episodes, which definitely have that unique flavor his fans are familiar with. The culmination of this process was Oshii’s marvelous movie Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer, which further launched his career into stardom.

And yet, the entry in this series that had the biggest impact on me came from the second director of the series: Kazuo Yamazaki. Yamazaki was a regular storyboarder and animation director in Oshii’s half and took over the director’s seat from episode 107 until the final 195th episode. I find it a bit of a shame that Yamazaki gets overshadowed in analysis of the series, because his understanding of the world and characters of Urusei Yatsura was only second to Rumiko Takahashi herself.

Many of the best episodes of the whole series were in his hands. Yamazaki came from an animation background (in contrast to Oshii’s production background) so he gave a different touch to the series. Under him, you’d see evocative storyboards, great layoutsLayouts (レイアウト): The drawings where animation is actually born; they expand the usually simple visual ideas from the storyboard into the actual skeleton of animation, detailing both the work of the key animator and the background artists. and enhanced emotional expressivity for the characters. As a result, he stood out as a specialist in giving genuine depth to the character’s emotions, which struck a good balance to the series’ more dominating comedy.

After this introduction, now it’s time to speak about Yamazaki’s magnum opus for Urusei Yatsura—the fourth movie of the franchise, Urusei Yatsura 4: Lum the Forever. This movie serves as the definitive ending to the animated series, as the manga was still ongoing and its ending wasn’t yet in sight. And what a finale it was! Concluding a series as episodic as Urusei Yatsura is definitely a challenge and Yamazaki’s answer to that challenge is nothing short of fascinating.

It’s important to have a bit of context in mind. When the time came to put together this movie, Yamazaki was understandably exhausted after working on the series’ grueling production for years. I don’t think he grew to dislike the series, but he felt the need to reach a definitive conclusion on his own. He also wanted to convey that to the audience because he believed they were just as enthralled by Lum as the characters from the series. It was time to move on.

This leads us to Lum the Forever, a movie with a somewhat unusual structure and even more unusual rhythm. It overwhelms the viewer by being constantly disruptive, challenging the series’ own tropes and making the characters question their obsession with Lum. This movie is a unique experience that could only work in the universe of Urusei Yatsura and could only be told by Yamazaki. I think it succeeds in conveying to the viewer that the crazy happenings in the series will eventually come to an end, but the characters will be fine as they’re capable of moving on. As far as I know, there isn’t an anime movie tied to a huge franchise as daring as this one.

In the same month that the Urusei Yatsura anime concluded, the next animated adaptation of a Rumiko Takahashi manga would start: Maison Ikkoku, with Kazuo Yamazaki directing the first two cours. Its adaptation is more straightforward and less daring than Urusei Yatsura, but it’s a good choice given that the series is more grounded and much less chaotic than its predecessor. Most importantly, it is still an excellent adaptation with its own creative vision.

One particularly noteworthy aspect was how consistently excellent the series looked throughout its 96-episode run, a monumental achievement by the staff at Studio Deen, which also produced the latter half of the Urusei Yatsura anime. People who know and talk about sakugaSakuga (作画): Technically drawing pictures but more specifically animation. Western fans have long since appropriated the word to refer to instances of particularly good animation, in the same way that a subset of Japanese fans do. Pretty integral to our sites’brand. and the anime industry tend to rightfully point out that a studio is not the biggest factor behind a series’ success or failure. But in this case, I think that Deen really played an integral part behind the success of the anime adaptations of Rumiko Takahashi manga. Their members gained a cumulative knowledge and understanding of the mangaka’s works, which enabled the excellent adaptations they produced despite the core staff changing considerably across different projects.  If you look closer into those teams, it starts to make more sense when you notice that these adaptations benefitted from promoting young creators who’d contributed extensively to preceding Takahashi works into main roles in their follow-ups.

The animated adaptation of Ranma ½ is the best example of this, and also what I consider to be the peak of this process. The first director of Ranma ½ was Tomomi Mochizuki, an already acclaimed director who previously directed Maison Ikkoku’s excellent film. The following series directors Kouji Sawai and Junji Nishimura also had experience in preceding Takahashi adaptations—Maison Ikkoku and Urusei Yatsura respectively. Debuting character designer Atsuko Nakajima was at the time one of the young promises of Studio Deen, having worked previously on Maison Ikkoku as one of the best animation directors on the rotation. As you can see, it’s a team representative of this process of constant promotion of staff already acquainted with Takahashi’s flavor. And more importantly, they’re all great at their job!

Nakajima’s designs in particular are all-timer level, giving the anime its own visual identity. They have an incredible range of expressivity that lets them seamlessly switch from looking beautiful to extremely goofy. Nakajima herself deviated from her sheets in the episodes she supervised, thus encouraging the other animators to do the same. This made the Ranma ½ anime into a training ground for many up and coming young, freelance animators who delivered excellent work there and later became legends of the industry. Perhaps you’ve heard of a certain animation legend known as Norio Matsumoto. And what about a certain director by the name of Kazuhiro Furuhashi? Well, he was also one of the promising young talents at Studio Deen. It was precisely in Ranma ½ that he started his excellent career as a director, consistently directing the best episodes of the whole show.

Something that differentiates Ranma ½ from other Takahashi adaptations is that nearly half of its content is fully original, on top of making some changes to the events in the source material. Given the team’s accumulated understanding of Takahashi’s work I mentioned earlier, though, this was not a problem. As a result, Ranma ½ became a transformative adaptation, which stood on its own and offered a different experience while maintaining the essence of the manga. Out of all Takahashi adaptations, this was the one I enjoyed most because it simply was a blast to follow its charismatic cast of characters.

Again, it also helps that the animation was consistently great across its 161 episodes. Thanks to the spirit in Nakajima’s designs, the animation remained loose and expressive even when the amount of movement was conservative. The amount of “filler” might be a big turn off for many, but I could not have cared less. In fact, it was difficult to differentiate between anime original and manga canon episodes; many of the best episodes were fully anime original after all.

In the end, one strong point of the anime that I feel sums up the appeal of this team’s approach is that it made its world feel actually lived-in by the cast. It adds a lot of original scenes with the characters just living normally, which made them more relatable and also served to contrast with the crazy situations they’d constantly experience. I highly encourage anyone to consume both the manga and Deen’s adaptation because they offer excellent, distinct experiences!

Creator Discovery: Takashi Anno, Naohito Takahashi, Atsuko Ishida (Sakugabooru tag)

Though recently retired, Takashi Anno’s career spanning since the 70s is unarguably a well-accomplished, complete one. Despite that, his name is not well known in the current sakugaSakuga (作画): Technically drawing pictures but more specifically animation. Western fans have long since appropriated the word to refer to instances of particularly good animation, in the same way that a subset of Japanese fans do. Pretty integral to our sites’brand. sphere, which sort of makes sense given the type of works he did and their time of release. I watched some of his most representative work and was absolutely fascinated.

For starters, I consider Anno to be a truly holistic director; he has a great understanding of every production department and is able to unify them all into something greater than the sum of its parts. But Anno is more than a technically proficient director: he has well defined interests and style, favoring the creation of immersive worlds, quiet atmospheres, subdued storytelling—he’s also the best at depicting street lamps slowly turning on, which is an important skill. No really, I can assure you that he has brought countless viewers to tears with it, he is that powerful.

Anno’s more subdued style made him stand out both as an episode director in series directed by others—Creamy Mami and Kimagure Orange Road come to mind—but especially in his own titles. You can watch his OVAs for Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, rightfully considered by many as his peak of incidental storytelling (there is also a great blog article about it). I also highly recommend Mahou no Star: Magical Emi, a magical girl series with its good share of fun moments and animation, but that will also surprise you with its grounded presentation of the character’s lives and its quiet and elegant delivery of its messages.

If you are more sakugaSakuga (作画): Technically drawing pictures but more specifically animation. Western fans have long since appropriated the word to refer to instances of particularly good animation, in the same way that a subset of Japanese fans do. Pretty integral to our sites’brand.-brained, you can try the Hakkenden  OVAs (the first 6 directed by Anno) which showcase his feel for the atmosphere and get to showcase some of the best realist animators of the time firing on all cylinders. You can also kill two birds with one stone when it comes to my recommendations and watch Maison Ikkoku, which he directed from episodes 27 to 52; in my opinion, the best segment of the series and also the one that features its greatest episode…incidentally the only one storyboarded by Anno. And of course, in this episode there is a scene of street lamps slowly turning on and it’s peak fiction.

Similarly, Naohito Takahashi is another criminally overlooked figure in the anime industry. He was well-regarded as an animator and animation director in the 80s and early 90s. I can personally vouch for his AD work in Maison Ikkoku, definitely one of the best in the rotation; his designs in works that are best left to adults are also pretty good, if you’re so inclined to check those out. However, it’s his work as a director that resonated strongly with me.

Takahashi’s directing style is actually similar to Takashi Anno’s: it embraces the pauses and silences, is refrained and clinical with its deployment of music, constructs scenes as if they were shot with an actual camera, and employs intricate layout work for an overall feeling of solemnity. I believe that Takahashi was likely influenced by Anno in Maison Ikkoku and maybe I’m onto something here.

His vision was hard to pull on a technical level, but luckily, he could rely on many excellent creators to sustain his vision. The works I particularly want to highlight are the ones he created alongside Yuriko Chiba as designer and/or CAD, as well as the great Shichirou Kobayashi as art directorArt Director (美術監督, bijutsu kantoku): The person in charge of the background art for the series. They draw many artboards that once approved by the series director serve as reference for the backgrounds throughout the series. Coordination within the art department is a must – setting and color designers must work together to craft a coherent world.. The first work with this trio was OLM’s adaptation of Berserk—and despite what you might hear about it, as a manga reader I can say that Takahashi made an excellent adaptation that focused on the more human, contemplative side of the series to great effect.

My favorite work from this group, though is 1999’s transformative adaptation of To Heart. Considering that angle better suited for animation for starters, Takahashi’s vision of the story carefully depicted the daily lives of its characters, in a way that motivates the viewers to remember their own days in school. Watching To Heart is just soothing for the eyes, ears and soul—with no exaggeration, one of the best-looking TV anime I’ve seen.

The original anime Figure 17 is probably this trio’s most obscure title, but it is also wonderful work. It leans even more on Takahashi’s slower, naturalistic side by having 50-minute episodes that really take their time. This might turn off some people, but I think it’s successful due to the sweet story, excellent layout work, and one of the best Kobayashi works in TV anime I’ve seen; he was apparently extra motivated for this work because it was set in Hokkaido, the prefecture where he comes from. And if all these neat offerings weren’t enough to make you curious about Takahashi, I’ll add that he was an amazing mentor, who had the aforementioned Chiba under his tutelage, but also Kazuya Tsurumaki, Nobuyuki Takeuchi and more.

This won’t surprise you after such a long write-up, but I watched a lot of anime this year and thus got to experience many amazing artists. And yet, it was easy to pick the animator whose work I enjoyed the most this year: Atsuko Ishida. She’s best known for her design work during the 90s, which flaunts of a great illustrative quality (see the likes of Magic Knight Rayearth and Shamanic Princess). What I want to highlight here, however, is her work as a  key animator for Ranma ½, where she did a monstrous amount of work.

In a tweet, Ishida fondly recalled the time when she worked for Ranma and mentioned it was an anime where she could draw freely. I could tell that was the case because her animation always stood out though its personality. Whenever she was animating, the drawings became more detailed, the expressions more exaggerated, and the timing much more frantic (or everything at once). However, I didn’t find her to be the series’ best animator due to purely technical reasons. In my eyes, the characters of Ranma ½ felt the most alive under Ishida’s animation. I had the most fun during the comedic scenes she animated, was constantly impressed by her action scenes, and she made the characters emote in unique and charming ways. Atsuko Ishida was not only an impressive animator in Ranma ½, but also one of its best storytellers.

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The Sonniest Of Boys [Twitter] Best Show: Shuumatsu Train Doko e Iku?/Train to the End of the World

Tsutomu Mizushima’s career is very diverse, given that he has dabbled into all sorts of genres as director. Scroll across his works and you’ll find everything from comedy, horror, sports, slice of life, you name it, and always with one recurring spice: his sense of weirdness. This makes Shuumatsu Train Doko e Iku? the quintessential Mizushima anime; it has that mix of genres and pop culture knowledge he has accumulated—The House of the Dead bit is still my favourite—with the great control over pacing and mastery over oddness that he has developed during that densely-packed career. In short, it has everything to become a highlight of the year for me.

The show kept on delivering every week; constant surprises, a deluge of insane new ideas being introduced weekly, and the unshakable feeling that those deranged concepts were conceived to be inherently amusing with animation in mind, which made it an extremely enjoyable ride for me. There’s so much to unfold and discover in each location, especially if you know a bit of history of the medium and art altogether. Because let me tell you, this show is not above parodying tropes and other people’s works just to add extra dashes of weirdness.

Keep anime weird, as some of my fellow sakubuta would say.

Best Movie: Kimi no Iro/The Colors Within

I gotta admit to committing a crime: Kimi no Iro was the first Naoko Yamada work I’ve ever completed. I was fortunate enough to watch it at a festival, and now I couldn’t imagine a better introduction to her filmography. I immediately understood the craze; it’s impossible to miss the film’s emphasis on delicate character movement and gestures, the focus on the relationship of the main trio, her understanding of art (music in this case) as a tool to connect people, and a whole lot of elegant, charged floriography.

This all creates an image of a director with well defined priorities, who has a story to tell and knows how to do it the way she really wants to; what you would call a genuine vision, very thoroughly developed at that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to prepare myself for tomorrow’s delicious ramen, amen.

Best Ending: Negaposi Angler ED (link)

When I heard that Hiromi Taniguchi would be doing character designs for an original project I was very excited, because I really like Kurage no Shokudou—an OVA which she not only directed but did the designs for, while also supervising its animation. Negaposi Angler retains much of the appeal that the OVA had, simultaneously adding a very cartoony vibe to the characters and the animation itself.

That said, it was the ending of the show in partic that reson強烈。 It only debuts a few episodes into the show, and ditches any sort of animation in favor of series of very charming and cute illustrations by Taniguchi herself. Sometimes that’s all you need, you know?

Best Aesthetic: Look Back

The return of Kiyotaka Oshiyama to the directorial seat was definitely one of the biggest, most significant moments of the year. As was expected, the long-awaited comeback turned out to be a visual feast. The animation wasn’t the only aspect that shined though; to be perfectly honest, the aspect that impressed me the most was the approach to compositing and processing that allowed them to retain the original animators’ lines.

The result isn’t only beautiful, but also fits perfectly with the themes of Look Back’s story, which focuses on artists and what creating art means to them. Everything in the film complements the whole; the aforementioned processing, the colours designed by Maya Kusumoto, the backgrounds supervised by Kiyoshi Sameshima, all of it blends together so flawlessly that Kazuto Izumita deserves extra props for the compositing that blends it all together. A phenomenal team effort led by an extraordinary artist.

Best Animation Designs: Dragon Ball Daima (Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru)

When the era of Tadayoshi Yamamuro as the visible face of Dragon Ball came to an end, that torch was first passed to Naohiro Shintani. The results were excellent: not only did he make the character designs more animation friendly, but also managed imbue them with the Frieza arc-era Akira Toriyama energy, resulting in a fresh, distinct mix of styles. He was then succeeded by another winner—Chikashi Kubota took the role of designer for the next film and captured another era of Toriyama’s drawings in the sheets, closer to their look near the end of the manga’s run.

As a side note, I feel like it’s important to understand that Toriyama and thus Dragon Ball’s style has changed a lot since it finished serialization; especially when he switched to digital in the early 2000s, losing angularity in favor of rounder forms and opting for a skinnier look when compared to their previously bulky, muscular feeling. Most of these modern traits weren’t carried over into animation designs until Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru took the helm of a Dragon Ball project once again, returning as a character designer almost 30 years after Dragon Ball GT.

I believe Nakatsuru always understood Toriyama’s style the best. That remains the case to this day, as is visible through his work as Dragon Ball Daima’s chief animation directorChief Animation Director (総作画監督, Sou Sakuga Kantoku): Often an overall credit that tends to be in the hands of the character designer, though as of late messy projects with multiple Chief ADs have increased in number; moreso than the regular animation directors, their job is to ensure the characters look like they’re supposed to. Consistency is their goal, which they will enforce as much as they want (and can).. The tends to prioritize consistency, so it doesn’t veer into heavy deviations from the sheets, but that’s not a big issue when the designs themselves are a perfect rendition of what Toriyama used to draw in the last decade. It looks like his modern illustrations were made alive and honestly, I couldn’t imagine a better farewell to such a legendary artist.

Non-contemporary work award: Sonny Boy

Sometimes in life you come across a work of art that changes how you view certain things. For me, that was Sonny Boy.

I was aware of Shingo Natsume’s abilities before and had been interested in his work since Space Dandy. I had one problem, though: I couldn’t really grasp what made him a truly great artist. With the release of an original project where he as an individual had had full control over everything and was given freedom by the producers, I was finally able to see what I was missing—the exceptional aesthetic sense, the very clear Masaaki Yuasa inspirations, and what’s most important, a worldview that really resonated with me.

Since then, nothing really felt the same. I started paying even more attention to colour design and art direction, focusing on what really makes animation an art form so interesting and engaging. It inspired me so much I even wrote my thesis about this topic, and one of the shows I tried to make an analysis of was of course Sonny Boy.

I’ve always gravitated towards original projects, but Sonny Boy made me realize how important they really are. If I could have one wish for the future of the industry it would be for the producers to finally start embracing its creators, so we can get as many director/animator-driven originals as possible.

I’ve been following a certain Twitter account for quite some time, always enjoying the art they shareed. Thanks to Dungeon Meshi, this year I found out that this account belongs to a Trigger animator Sho Oi, whose name I was familiar with already at that point. However, it was specifically his work on the show that really made me fall in love with his work and realize why that name comes up in conversations about talented youngsters at the studio. His style is obviously inspired by Hiroyuki Imaishi, but even more so by Kai Ikarashi, who at this point has created a following of his own.

Oi has a lot in common with him when it comes to the snappy timing and general drawing style in general, but there’s something about his art that feels even rougher and rawer that makes him distinguishable even among animators with similar traits. He’s already made his debut as an animation director, and with him seemingly moving from the studio’s Fukuoka branch to the main office in Ogikubo I hope there are many great opportunities coming up next for him.

Theleux

EMT [Twitter] Best Episode: One Piece Fan Letter

I wouldn’t call myself an active follower of the One Piece anime; only recently have I started showing up for episodes that are either narrative highlights for the series or offer something special, an exciting gift in the form of animated sequences or neat direction. You can colour me surprised, then, that one of my favourite experiences of the year spawns from what is essentially a nostalgic reflection of the series. Perhaps not too much, though, as One Piece has been on a roll for the past couple of years. Two big contributing factors towards that have been precisely Fan Letter‘s creative duo of Megumi Ishitani and Keisuke “soty” Mori. They’ve got to be one of the best pairs of this decade, bringing forth incredibly strong animated spectacles that fill your soul with super positive vibes. #1015 was (previously) the best One Piece thing I was lucky enough to witness, with this duo’s particular colourful sequences still living rent-free in my mind. To then take that exact energy and apply it to an entire episode—one that is less confined by the regular broadcast limitations—is just… well, I think the result expresses itself enough.

Having the freedom to really go off and strike directly where your strengths sit helps tremendously when it comes to producing something of this caliber. As someone without even that extensive experience with the anime, I was mesmerized by how well the direction and boards detail what level of significance the main cast holds in this scenario. There is no need to stop in their tracks to explain everything, the feeling that pushes through tells you all that you need. The new characters we are introduced to are presented wonderfully too; soty’s character design work is just absurdly bouncy and playful, all whilst conveying those real human characteristics—it all ends up feeling lived-in and authentic. Of course, there’s the joy in movement too; it really does not stop, just ever so lively and constant. The first minute and a half would already be enough to sell itself as a fantastic opening in any given year, but it just keeps going! The massive spread of deliciously animated sequences continues the whole way through, but that doesn’t even begin to speak about the colour and composite work, the gorgeous background artwork, or even the music and SFX implementation. It really is an incredible endeavor—and yet here we are, witnessing it.

In a year with quite a wide spread of standouts to pick from, I think it is difficult to ignore just how bright the light is shining from Ishitani and soty’s phenomenal creation. I wish this level of expertise, understanding of the craft, and industry support and participation were a more common occurrence, but that is but a distant dream. Until that time arrives though, I will be keeping this one locked on replay for the foreseeable future. Thank you to the team!

Best Show: Hibike! Euphonium S3

2015, spring time, I booted up my computer after a day at school, scrolled through social media, and stumbled upon an animated clip of a black-haired girl playing the trumpet atop a hill. I was intrigued; I had played in a concert band back throughout elementary school, so I marched forward. Symphony No.9 in E Minor, Il. Largo, from Dvořák, titled “From the New World“. Little did I know at that time what wonders this “New World” I was venturing into for the first time would provide, but nearly 10 years later, I am very thankful for that first proper step into this medium as a whole.

Hibike! Euphonium has been a significant part of my anime-watching experience, something I come back to occasionally or whenever a new chapter airs. It is one I’ve come to set as a benchmark for my personal rankings; which even it itself, as it has progressed, has not always been able to meet—yet impressively, here we are again, with the bar now even higher. Hibike’s third season takes all the best elements of the series and combines them into one spectacular experience for the final season of Kumiko’s journey. The excellent pacing and comedic moments from the first season, the anxiousness and dramatic clashes of the second season, even some of the strong framing tendencies from Naoko Yamada‘s Liz to Aoi Tori。 Everything comes together in an excellent and neat package, evolving the themes of the series in an understandable; incredibly painful, but truthful way, which acts as the perfect send-off for this cast and venture as a whole.

The refinement of the craft director Tatsuya Ishihara exhibits as the series progresses is really just incredible. The first season was never one to really look down upon (and still holds as one of my favourite entries in the series), but going back through again recently, it really highlights just how much the execution has been enhanced by this point. The occasional ‘extra pretty’ moments are absolutely plentiful in the third season, with stronger attention to lighting usage, character motions, and especially the boarding. So much symbolism is present, nothing in outlandish ways; perhaps hilarious at times, but well intended and well delivered. The music too, which may have been one of the factors I would have been more concerned about at this point, is utilized with such outstanding grace. It really is a complete and perfectly executed work, with the reworked narrative direction for the ending being the cherry on top.

All in all, Hibike! Euphonium has always been what I’d deem a pinnacle of human drama in anime, and I am beyond thrilled to see it hold through and true with this third season. Special thanks to all those involved, whatever the future brings, I know it is in great hands.

Honorable Mentions:

Tsutomu Mizushima’s Shuumatsu Train Doko e Iku? is quirky and bizarre, but entirely endearing. One of the funniest shows to air this year, but also wonderfully human in nature. The cast fills every role I’d wish to see from an adventurous series of its kind, and by the end leaves little left to ask for. Colourful, exotic—a nice tight box riding along the rails, a pleasant surprise at every stop and for the year too. Frieren finishes off as strong as it started, offering an intriguing shift away from the day-to-day life experience into a more battle-shounen direction, but still retains the laid-back and chill pacing you’d already come to love. Visually outstanding; expected now from the incredible team at the ready, which shows its extra muscle during the more intense moments as well. Looking forward to the next entry. Dungeon Meshi was a double surprise in a way—the initial manga commercial produced by Trigger was a lot of fun, but to see it be fully realized in a TV anime by the same studio was a real treat. Plenty of fun appearances throughout; one Kai Ikarashi especially. But most importantly, it felt like a genuine exploration of a dungeon with some great stakes, entertaining cast, and delicious food. Excited again for the next season to come. Best Movie: Look Back

I had the chance back in July to visit Anime Expo LA for the first time, at which point I was lucky enough to attend Look Back’s North American premiere. Before said panel, I had the opportunity to speak with Kiyotaka Oshiyama; director, and heart and soul of the project. Around 8 years prior, I had witnessed their directorial debut on Flip Flappers, thoroughly enjoying the eccentric, creative, and occasionally heavy tone of the series, which left a solid impression in my mind. Needless to say, I was happy that they were given the offer to handle a film for this oneshot, originally created by the equally well-regarded Tatsuki Fujimoto—an artist who had also left a mark on me by releasing a similarly bizarre manga in the form of Fire Punch, back in that more formative era for me.

Since that premiere, I’ve seen the movie numerous times in theatres, and a few more once it arrived on streaming. Perhaps the shorter runtime helps with keeping it easy to sit through. Maybe it’s the incredible artwork and music, which provide depth that requires multiple viewings to fully capture. Whatever it may be that keeps getting me to come back, I always end the film with tear-stained eyes and a heavy (but full) heart. And just as heavy is my appreciation for Oshiyama’s approach to the character artwork; as mentioned in interviews, the director wholeheartedly advocates for respecting the work from all contributing animators exactly as it is. This results in much of the film having a very personalized appearance, with what some may deem as ‘errors’ or factors that need to be cleaned up still present. Considering the overwhelming amounts of shows and movies being produced in this overwork-burdened industry, the number of hands in the pot tends to eliminate those individualistic aspects—ones which I so very much cherish. This preservation approach also carries over, not only as a way of portraying Fujimoto’s own artwork in arguably the closest way possible, but as a reflection of the themes as well.

Having shared the experience with varying types of crowds by now, I think it is rather impressive how a film largely targeted towards and dedicated to creators still leaves a significant impact on many who may not be as aware of the trials, tribulations, and general struggles that come with being an artist. As may be evident by the previously mentioned Best Show selection, Kyoto Animations’ works have greatly influenced me over the years; Yasuhiro Takemoto’s mysterious and quirky Hyouka being another strong showing that had molded my outlook over the years. It is therefore hard not to notice the parallels between the narrative and the tragedy that took place 5 years ago, an event that resonated deeply through much of the industry. The questions that spawned from that are asked throughout the story; what reasons do we have to continue doing what we do, or what our real drive or motivation comes from. It is a meta-discussion in a sense, expanding beyond just the characters within the story, or even the audience watching or reading. I think that is where the experience really shines. Everyone has experienced some form of loss, those feelings causing us to reflect on the things we have and do. Being an artist is much like any other passionate venture—it requires the whole of a person to study, evolve, and master. Art in of itself though is an expression of an individual, evocative and pure, but is something that can be appreciated in different ways by many. That to me is why the film transcends those boundaries, potentially even opening the eyes of many along the way.

I believe this film could not have been handled in any better way than it was, and I hope we get to witness more passionate and sentimental offerings in the future of this kind, preferably through better circumstances. These are the ones that remind us of why we do the things we do and that is an important factor – to both reflect on and motivate us. I am very much so looking forward to what more is in store from these two, whenever that may be.

Honorable Mentions:

One of the most anticipated showdowns in the series comes to fruition through Susumu Mitsunaka with Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle. A recent rewatching of the series really brings the evolution of the visual approach into the light, highlighting what a great combination of the early seasons’ character acting fundamentals and the newer design work can provide. The extended set coverage really brings that cinematic feel to the film, offering a much more constant experience you would normally only get during match points in prior entries. The same core feeling is there still, which makes for another satisfying, hilarious, and moving time.

One of the most intense watching experiences of the year, Ken “Leaf” Yamamoto’s leap as director for Uma Musume: Beginning of a New Era resulted in an absolutely exhilarating audio-visual spectacle. Ramping up the dramatic tension to the max, the storyboarding for this film keeps you on your toes at all times; of course, compelemented with the excellent soundtrack and SFX work further investing you in the high stake races. Add in the absurd amount of highly creative and well-animated sequences throughout the movie, these honses have simply never looked this good!

Best Opening: One Piece OP26 (link)

One Piece’s 25th opening (already directed by Megumi Ishitani) was an impressive and thoughtful love letter for the series, with its visual direction bringing the entire story back into focus and celebrating the journey thus far. To see Ishitani at the helm again for the next one was exciting news, yet did not fully prep for how colossal of an audio-visual experience the new opening would be. UUUUUS!! is genuinely absurd, filled with excitement and life visible in every nook and cranny. It is a behemoth, practically never resting, delivering an onslaught of clear, vibrant, and zany sequences across the entire runtime. It continues the trend of having one of the cleanest aesthetics from a series that already hits some wonderful highs in that regard; especially so in recent years. To be given an opportunity to send it even further is something really special. Ishitani and Soty are, in my eyes, simply infallible. And if you don’t believe that, simply check out their work across this year alone.

Honorable Mentions:

Keisuke Hiroe presented a lovely opening to Honobu Yonezawa’s Shoushimin Series, accompanied by a surprisingly smooth and rejuvenating vocal performance from the renowned Eve. The clean blue and bright aesthetic goes great with the yellow highlights and strong lighting across the varying settings, carried further by pretty character drawings and animation that depicts the characters in quaint but cute ways. The type of piece that you can easily sit back and watch on repeat for a while. The evolution across Saho Nanjo‘s’Otozure’opening for Kimi wa Meido-sama is a treat to watch, offering some incredibly unique conceptsfootough utilization of LIDAR imagery and real footough utilization of LIDAR imagery and real 腳。 Paired with a progressively energized tune from tricot, the resulting experience reflects some neat themes from the story and creates its own little contained narrative that can be appreciated all of its own. Best Ending: Blue Archive ED (link)

The nostalgic vibes for Furan’s Blue Archive ED ‘Mahiru no Sora no Tsuki’ are immense. The music instrumentation does a lot of work early on to establish that tone, with the lovely character acting sequences fading over each other resembling various memories and experiences had in the past. The seiyuu vocal performance is also one that is always appreciated, but especially so in a case like this where the group experiences are a core thematic. The visual front genuinely rocks too; Moaang and Myoun have a wonderful understanding of and way of expressing character movements, making this group truly look and move the best they ever have. Add in the great utilization of lighting across the various times of day and settings, and you truly have something special on your hands.

Honorable Mentions:

Akihito Sudo’s work on the second ED for Makeine‘CRAZY FOR YOU’is a delectable treat, presenting a self-contained narrative that reflects the dreams and desires of one of the cast’sbarrative that reflects the dreams and desires of one of the cast’sbulstal sadgey badim​​gey s​​ion snanaim​​stna​​ yhk nanaim​​st 區。 The whole lot of Makeine’s themes are underlined, brought forth through re-integrated animation techniques and very clearly trained artistry.

Re:Zero’s newest ending ‘NOX LUX’ has the favourable return of MYTH & ROID, their work elevated this time through Takashi Mamezuka’s involvement in directing a neat overview of the cast and approaching conflicts, all while utilizing the extra animation muscle this season has been provided to liven up the visual experience. A solid addition that highlights a refreshing approach for the series going forward.

Best Music Video: Arknights 2024 Special Commemorative Animation PV (link)

Hiromatsu Shuu has been popping up more and more of late; be it their involvement with Blue Giant, contributing to Chainsaw Man’s 5th ED, their animation participation with Ranking of Kings, Wonder Egg Priority, and many other strong showings. Their work with the Fate/Grand Order Memorial Movie last year was particularly impressive, exhibiting a keen eye for symbolic imagery whilst keeping the flow of excellently animated sequences moving—and all of it, with such visual density! They’ve already proven their capabilities as an animator and director up to this point, so it wouldn’t surprise you how excited I was to witness their work once again with Arknight’s Special Commemorative Animation PV earlier this year.

Being a favourite property of mine, it was impressive to see just how efficiently they were able to convey the story in such a short timeframe, as well as how significant and motivational the events depicted would be moving forward. The heavily detailed drawings and shading add both a lot of depth to the imagery, but also bring out more of the human aspects of the series, which for a heavier story helps in establishing a feeling of significance for the audience to latch on to. Mili’s musical accompaniment does incredible work alongside the wide range of stylistically composited sequences, by the end of which fills you with a desire to do what is needed to fight for this grand cast of characters (IE. opening the game and doing your dailies). All in all, a lovely treat to be provided with this year, one I’ve struggled not to humm to myself constantly.

Best Aesthetic: The Elusive Samurai, Frieren

Ever since the initial trailer released, I’d been thoroughly smitten by the art direction and general aesthetic of the Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi adaptation. The lovely saturated colour work is super appealing, but also does good work in contrasting the heavier setting that the story takes place in. The brutality of the battles and bloodshed is ever present, but the approach allows the comedic and significant narrative beats to be elevated, blossoming the protagonist’s innocence and doing a great job at selling their influence on the rest of the cast. It also does wonders for further boosting the rather abstract and impressive sequences throughout, bringing a strong visual identity to the series overall. Fabulous job all things considered.

Couldn’t help but mention Frieren too as it continued its airing from last year. The second half of the season starts leaning in a more action-centric direction, yet the beautiful settings and clean composite work still remains and leaves a strong impression. The series continues to look fantastic from beginning to end, with some especially strong appearances towards the final stretch. I am glad to see that Keiichirou Saitou’s vision for the series held true for the entire run, and look forward to what more is to come.

Best Animation Designs: One Piece Fan Letter (Keisuke Mori), Look Back (Kiyotaka Oshiyama), Too Many Losing Heroines/Makeine (Tetsuya Kawakami)

As the years go by, I feel like designs become more and more of a calling card for me when sniffing through the onslaught of shows coming out each season. This year we were blessed with soty’s excellent work on multiple occasions, enabling many wondrous sequences in his playful worlds. Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s intense work, one that very much so evolved over the course of Look Back‘s production, depicted what may as well be one of the best renditions of Fujimoto’s artwork we’ve seen.

Yet when it comes to your usual TV anime offerings, Tetsuya Kawakami really nailed it with Make Heroine ga Oosugiru’s character design work. Even before the anime was announced, the light novel illustrations of multiple girls wearing an outrageous number of bows on their school uniforms was a frightening sight; and now here we are with said designs being some of the funniest and most appreciated of the year. Every episode brought way for some new twists to the cast, either through quirky movements or goofy facial expressions. It worked wonderfully to bring these, well, losers some well-deserved charm. The supporting cast was no exception either, numerous presumably nameless mob characters are still fresh in my memory. Much like my other favorites, excellent across the board.

Honorable Mentions:

The ‘Girls Band Anime’ debate you were coerced into picking a side in was a lie, turns out both Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai and Girls Band Cry could cook. Kiui, Shizue, Subaru, and Rupa are a triumph for everyone.

Non-contemporary Work Award: Die Hard

The holidays inevitably signaled another rewatch of the Christmas film classic Die Hard, and I must say it continues to hold up each year. John McTiernan and Jan de Bont really were the perfect pairing for the work, setting a stellar tone and visual approach for the action thriller. The perfect pacing of the movie, from the ominous arrival of the terrorists through to the tense shootouts and emotional highs, really keeps you seated and immersed. The excellent casting, particularly in the late Alan Rickman, but also further into the supporting cast, sell the experience excellently. The splashes of comedy throughout also come off well-intended and don’t detract from any moment. Michael Kamen’s score for the film is one I can practically memorize by heart now, whose instrumentation choices with the christmas elements lovingly dotted throughout brings some much needed levity to the otherwise aggressive and impactful soundtrack. It is clear over the years how big of an influence it had on the genre and really cinema as a whole around that point. I wish we’d see more of this type of work, with this particular execution primarily. Maybe someday we’ll get more in this vein for animated works too, especially considering the freedom that the medium offers for action and creativity in general. Overall, I just hope this isn’t simply a relic of the past.

Natasha

Ah, Satan [Twitter] Best Movie: Look Back

Tatsuki Fujimoto has always been a bit of a hit-or-miss for me. More than once, his love for the absurd through male-dominant perspectives has left me feeling like I’ve been shut outside in the cold snow, in front of a surprisingly cozy cottage. It’s not that I can’t peer through the window and see his warmth and hope for the human condition; it’s just that it has felt clinically dissected from my personal experiences.

Kiyotaka Oshiyama shatters that wall with his deft and personal adaptation of Look Back—a  story that hit very close to home for me when I first read it, as someone who was honored to attend the KyoAni Memorial back in 2019. The movie captures the momentum, grief, awkward grace, and messiness of growing up with dreams in a world with the capacity of such cruelty. If that sounds simple, well, it is: Look Back’s story isn’t novel, but its execution pricks at all my sensations, as an engineer amidst the chaotic center of AI discourse and what it means to pursue true art. Like many a good story, it doesn’t offer an answer; it begs us to know that as a creator, where your hundreds of drafts end as a final page’s brushstroke, is where a reader’s inspiration begins.

Best Opening: Kimi wa Meido-sama/You Are Ms. Servant OP (link), One Piece OP26 (link)

It’s a little unfair that You are Ms. Servant‘s OP is set to Tricot, as a massive fan of their music. It is perhaps even more unfair that this opening is the most creative work I’ve seen this year, made by the rising alternative team within Qootain. I don’t have the chops to dissect how this opening manages to capture societal isolation in a variety of mediums that push the boundary of what an anime opening is; nor can I encapsulate how well it brings Tricot’s fresh math rock appeal to life with visual galore with paper cut animations, CG use, and key animationKey Animation (原画, genga): These artists draw the pivotal moments within the animation, basically defining the motion without actually completing the cut. The anime industry is known for allowing these individual artists lots of room to express their own style.. What I can say is that Saho Nanjo and Setsuka Kawahara are easily a duo I’m keeping my eyes on from now on.

As for my runner-up, it has to be One Piece‘s 26th opening. That sequence hit our screens very early in 2024, but it still remains fresh on my mind; Megumi Ishitani‘s talents continue to thrive here, again with Keisuke “soty” Mori‘s bubbly character designs. While it’s not as cohesive as her previous opening, it has some of the densest—yet so free—execution I’ve seen in an opening, almost akin to the work of Rie Matsumoto. Thinly veering on almost too dense, this opening manages to effuse charm and delight while capturing that flat aesthetic that is so emblematic of One Fance at its best.

Best Episode: One Piece at its best.

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