End-of-Month Rundown – January 2013

So far, Winter 2013 anime season has not come close to matching the excellence of the Fall. That doesn’t mean it’s crap; it’s just not quite at the same level, episode ratings-wise. That’s okay though, as we’re enjoying a varied assortment of series, along with the two carryovers from Fall. Since we’re a week late, let’s get right down to it:

Series progress and ratings current as of 8 Feb 2013

11. Zettai Karen Children: The Unlimited – Hyoubu Kyousuke – 5/12 (6.200) - Despite having no knowledge of the ZKC franchise, this very long-titled series has been quite easy to follow. We’re liking how things are unfolding from the POV of the “antagonists”, but it’s hardly a good-vs.-evil situation, as everyone has shades of gray

10. Vividred Operation – 4/12 (6.750) - We don’t know if “Techno Shojo” is a recognized subgenre, but it applies here. One could argue that the tech really is just magic, driven by the bonds between the girls, but whatever, the action looks fantastic. There’s a lot of fanservice, but it’s mostly momentary butt shots…nothing series-ruining

9. Amnesia – 5/12 (6.800) - We love a good mystery, especially when it involves memory loss, memory alteration, and/or time travel. Like the many bishies apparently after her heart, we can’t help but sympathize with the delicate unnamed heroine…and everyone dresses absurdly, so there’s that

8. OreShura – 5/13 (7.200) - This series started strong, laying out not only what kind of people its characters are, but why they are that way, and what motivates them and their actions, which is always nice when done well. There’s a chance of this becoming an awful harem, but we only dislike harems when the guy/gal in the middle is a dull punk, but Eita is actually something of a catch – intelligent, hard-working, caring)

7. Tamako Market – 5/12 (7.200) - A very cute KyoAni slice-of-life comedy set in a lovely, friendly, cozy shopping district. While love is in the air, we’re not getting our hopes up about anything actually panning out, especially since Tamako is just as dense about romance (if not moreso) than Chitanda Eru. The talking bird Dera is hilarious

6. Chihayafuru 2 – 4/25 (7.500) - So far this is just as strong as the first series in terms of making karuta far more interesting than a game we could never play well has any right to be. Its strength also lies in its characters. The two new members freshen things up, while it’s cool to see the original core group has grown and matured quite a bit

5. Sasami-san@Ganbaranai – 4/25 (7.500) - Though not as strong as the Zetsubou-sensei series, Monogatari series, or Puella Magi Madoka Magica, we still like the crazy premise of an unmotivated girl with the powers of Amaterasu contained within just trying to live a normal life, and three goddesses – including Amaterasu herself – along with her totally undevine (and faceless) brother, helping her out. The animation is by turns gorgeous, breathtaking, and insane

4. Maoyuu Maou Yuusha – 5/12 (7.800) - The only new Winter series to score a 9-rating in its first episode, we’re loving the elaborate world-building and the grand and sprawling designs of the busty female Demon King. One can draw many parallels between Maou and Yuusha and Spice & Wolf, whom the two seiyus also starred in – not a bad thing. Also, best ED of the year so far

3. Kotoura-san – 5/12 (8.000) - The last new Winter series we broke into turned out to be the dark horse, and is now atop the Winter rankings due to its dark, hard-hitting backstory, lots of moving drama, and an excellent budding romance between a long-ostracized psychic and a guy who loves her not in spite of but because of her abilities – even if she can read every nasty thought he has of her

2. From the New World – 18/25 (8.200) - No show has kicked so much ass so consistently throughout its run as New World. We have watched Wantanabe Saki grow from a cautious pre-teen to a strong, beautiful and still cautious young woman. She’s lost so much, but now only she an a select other few stand between the future of mankind and the increasingly terrifying queerats, who are getting way too technologically advanced

1. Zetsuen no Tempest – 17/24 (8.250) - Characters and relationship shuffle slightly in the second half, and even as the earth hangs in the balance between the forces of Genesis and Exodus, we can’t help but point out how funny the series has gotten in the lighter scenes. We had our doubts about the weak-hearted Hanemura at first, but he’s growing on us. We’ve also enjoyed Hakaze tying herself into mental knots vis-a-vis her sudden and powerful attraction to Yoshino

Our second favorite OP or ED of Winter 2013 (Video)

While our favorite ED this season by far is still Maoyu’s, Tamako Market’s ”Neguse” is no slouch. It features the vocals of Suzaki Aya (the voice of Tamako herself), who while no match for Arai Akino, does an admirable job for a rookie. The vocals are cute and peppy but never get too saccharine because there’s a bittersweet, reflective tone to the theme.

She’s also helped by a very smoothly-produced piece of music by the series composer, Kataoka Tomoko. This is only his second series (the first being Winter Garden, which we haven’t seen). The four-on-the-floor beats and day-dreamy atmosphere reminded us a little of Halcali’s “Tip Taps Tip” (one of our favorite ever EDs).

Add in some reliably lush KyoAnimation, and you have a nice little ED that manages to be both cheerful, hopeful, and contemplative.

Our runaway favorite OP or ED of Winter 2013 (Video)

There are other pretty good OPs and EDs this winter, but one ED surpasses them all in our opinion. Take the haunting voice of veteran vocalist Akino Arai (who also sung the also-lovely OP to Spice & Wolf 2, tasteful use of voice distortion, blend the ethereal vocals with some surging bass, subtle guitars and interwoven and progress into a stirring rock beat.

Pair it with elegant Renaissance book-style visuals that portray Maou, Yuusha, and other characters, and you have yourself a winner; an ED that perfectly encapsulates the sprawling, legendary scale and peaceful outlook of the series, presaging the adventures that await Maou and Yuusha in the episodes to come.

(Note: we’re not under any illusions this YT clip will last long, but if you’re following the show, we’re sure you know what we’re on about!)

RABUJOI’s Top 15 Female Seiyus of 2012

Japan’s anime industry produces more than 60% of the animated series in the world, so with all those series being produced, you’re bound to hear the same seiyu in multiple places. It could be said that a good seiyu is one you don’t notice – that is, you’re focused on the character and not the person voicing him or her. But it’s inevitable that you’ll hear someone enough that you’ll recognize them instantly upon watching a new series.

It’s really no different than live-action actors. You know who they are, but there’s a contract in place between performer and viewer that puts aside the reality for the duration of the performance. We’ve been watching anime for many years, and in that time, we’ve taken a liking to a number of seiyus’ voices, and in some cases have given series a try purely because they voice a character. For whatever reason, we’ve also always paid far more attention to the female voices than the male ones.

Hundreds of seiyus contributed to the 48 series we watched last year. The time for end-of-year lists has passed, but we thought we’d go ahead and list our 15 favorites from 2012 anyway. Note that the list only includes female seiyus who voiced at least one main/leading role in a series RABUJOI reviewed in 2012 (including dropped series). We love Chiwa Saito and Hirano Aya, for instance, but we only heard them in bit roles last year. Main characters are in bold. Our favorite characters are starred*.

15. Omigawa Chiaki

Eureka Seven AO (Elena Peoples*/Miller Joe)
Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam (Magnolia)
Moretsu Pirates (Endou Mami, Flora Chapie)

We first heard Omigawa as Maka in Soul Eater, and like that manic series, her voice is…an acquired taste. It’s a bit on the shrill side, even when she isn’t worked up, but she did a really good job toning it down with Minko in Hanasaku Iroha. She merged Maka’s energy and Minko’s angst in her turn as Elena Peoples, who can be upbeat and dorky one minute and seriously scary the next. She was a nice fit for Elena.

14. Yuka Iguchi

Girls und Panzer (Reizei Mako)
Nisemonogatari (Araragi Tsukihi*)
KoiChoco (Ougibashi Kana)
Medaka Box (Mochibaru Sasae)
Sankarea (Furuya Mero)
Sket Dance (Usami Hani)

We know Yuka well from the Index franchise, and all the roles she played in 2012 are the same kind of small, cute moe characters at which she excels. While her performances as Mako and Mero were intentionally low-energy affairs, Tsukihi was a more balanced, nuanced role, requiring her to verbally spar with the great Kamiya Hiroshi.

13. Taketatsu Ayana

Sword Art Online (Kirigaya Suguha*)
Guilty Crown (Tsugumi)
Hyouka (Kimura)
Sket Dance (Obaanyan)

Prior to this year we knew Taketatsu primarily as Kirino in Oreimo, in which her role as a tsundere imouto was eventually overshadowed in our books by Kuroneko (more on her further down). With her role in SAO, we’re now comfortable labeling her the “little sister seiyu”, though that may not be entirely fair. It’s not a mark against her; her voice, capable of harsh anger, biting drama, indecision and cutesiness, is well-suited for sibling roles.

12. Kotobuki Minako

Natsuiro Kiseki (Aizawa Natsumi*)
Guilty Crown (Kusama Kanon)
Hyouka (Henmi)
Medaka Box (Nabeshima Nekomi)
Sket Dance (Akina)
Sukitte Ii na yo (Kitagawa Megumi)
Tari Tari (Mizuno Youko)

Kotobuki’s is an interesting voice capable of evoking an air of defiant earnestness and determination with underlying notes of vulnerability, which matches perfectly with Natsumi, who is strong and athletic but also emotionally uncertain. Ditto Megu-tan, who for all her glamour and popularity, is a self-loathing misanthrope nevertheless desperate to be wanted and needed.

11. Takagaki Ayahi

Natsuiro Kiseki (Mizukoshi Saki*)
Tari Tari (Sakai Wakana)
Chihayafuru (Young Mashima Taichi)
Sket Dance (Nanba Kyouko)
Sword Art Online (Shinozaki Rika/Lisbeth)

It’s fitting that Saki and Natsumi are best friends who start the series with a falling-out, because Takagaki, like Kotobuki, has hints of fragile definance in her voice. We first heard Takagaki in Umi Monogatari as the very hard, cold, skeptical Kanon who eventually softened in her dealings with Marin. Saki, Wakana, and Rika are all characters that are perfectly pleasant on the surface, but whom you don’t really want to piss off.

10. Uchida Maaya

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! (Takanashi Rikka*)
Sankarea (Sanka Rea)
K (Hyuuga Chiho)
Kokoro Connect (Mihashi Chinatsu)
Moretsu Pirates (Yunomoto Izumi)

Uchida impressed us with both of her main roles, which both happened to be emotionally wounded individuals living outside conventional society; one by choice (Rikka), one against her will (Rea). Uchida channels the pure, innocent Rea’s deep pain from a lifetime of abuse an humiliation by her overbearing, borderline father. Rikka wasn’t the victim of abuse, but she was deceived by her parents, and she found solace in Eighth-Grade Syndrome.

9. Kayano Ai

Aquarion Evol (Suzushiro Mikono)
Guilty Crown (Yuzuriha Inori, Ouma Mana)
Hyouka (Ibara Mayaka)
Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam (Millia)
Medaka Box (Kikaijima Mogana)
Rinne no Lagrange (Muginami)
Sukitte Ii na yo. (Tachibana Mei*)
Chihayafuru (Ooe Kanade)
KoiChoco (Shigemori Mao)
Moretsu Pirates (Hoshimiya Ai)
Natsuiro Kiseki (Okiyama Chiharu)
Sket Dance (Saotome Roman)
Tari Tari (Matsumoto Fumiko, Kurata Tomoka)

Kayano was the busiest of our Top 15 this year, providing talent for more than a quarter of the series we watched, plus a few we didn’t, including seven main roles. The majority of them are right in her wheelhouse: her delicate, gentle, willowy voice is ideal for characters who – at least initially – lack confidence and a sense of self worth.

You can say that about Mikono, Mayaka, Millia, Mei, Kanade, and Ai. That’s not to say she’s one note, only that she has a speciality and is good at it. Inori is a more opaque, ethereal character, while with Saotome Roman she just has fun poking at shojo tropes. But our favorite character she voiced would have to be Tachibana Mei.

8. Tomatsu Haruka

Natsuiro Kiseki (Hanaki Yuka)
Sword Art Online (Yuuki Asuna*)
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (Mizutani Shizuku)
Accel World (Wakamiya Megumi)
Binbougami ga! (Rindou Ranmaru)
Kokoro Connect (Nishino Nana)
Moretsu Pirates (Gruier Serenity)
Sket Dance (Kanou Arisa)

With Tomatsu, versatility is the name of the game. You can’t get much different than the peppy ball of energy that is Hanaki Yuka and Mizutani “Dry Ice” Shizuku, yet she nailed both. In between those extremes was Asuna, one of the best heroines of the year despite turning into a simple damsel-in-distress in the second half of SAO. She voiced the super-girly Princess Serenity and the super-manly Rindou Ranmaru – another pair of opposites.

7. Shizuka Itou

Amagami SS+ (Morishima Haruka)
Jormungand (Koko Hekmatyar*)
Kokoro Connect (Fujishima Maiko)
Moretsu Pirates (Misa Grandwood, Talvikki Launo)

Our first encounter with Shizuka is as Tachibana’s first conquest in the anime adaptation of the Amagami SS dating sim, in which her clear, crisp, almost aristocratic voice goes well with the character’s beauty and popularity. But there’s also a maturity to her voice, best exhibited with Misa, who is the ship’s doctor and voice of reason, and also a mentor of sorts for Marika.

She commands the respect of the crew despite her odd outfit. And then there’s Koko, the young arms dealer who seeks to force cumpulsory world peace. There’s breeding, money, and a certain arrogance in her voice, but also a keen intellect and copious confidence.

6. Yoshitani Ayako

Nazo no Kanojo X (Urabe Mikoto*)

The saliva-obsessed mysterious girlfriend was 20-year-old Yoshitani’s first and to date only role, and we’re going to pilfer the sentiments from a commenter on MAL: we fell in love the second we heard her voice. It’s not your usual anime girl voice; it’s very natural, warm, sensual, and subtle. This one role was more than enough to earn her a spot on this list, and we can’t wait to hear her in something else, though it will be hard to top her performance as Urabe.

5. Chinatsu Akasaki

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! (Nibutani Shinka*)
Kill Me Baby (Oribe Yasuna)
Kokoro Connect (Nakayama Mariko)
Moretsu Pirates (Harada Maki)
Tari Tari (Hirohata Nanae)

We didn’t notice Chinatsu until we watched Kill Me Baby, in which she portrays Yasuna, the comic half of the double act comprised of her and Sonya, the high school student who assassinates in her free time. As the funnier, sillier, and more unorthodox partner, Chinatsu exhibits a unique blend of manic energy, restlessness, and melodrama, when appropriate.

With Shinka she’s given a more dimensional character, one with a dorky past she’s not proud of that still leaks out. She’s a reformed weirdo, like Yuuta in a club otherwise full of raging weirdos.

4. Kitamura Eri

Nisemonogatari (Araragi Karen*)
One Off (Maezono Rie)
Black Rock Shooter (Izuriha Kagari)
Girls und Panzer (Darjeeling, Tsuchiya)
Kyousogiga (Yase Douji)
Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam (Tatiana Wisla)
Sket Dance (Quecchon)

It was a relatively quiet year for Kitamura, who at least in our viewing experiences specializes in portraying haughty/smug/arrogant characters like Toradora’s Kawashima Ami, though she can also do kiddie stuff like Rie. Her Tatiana in Ginyoku no Fam is a smaller, more role and is more polished, lacking the sizable chip on her shoulder in the first series.

Most of what we heard of her this year was in Nisemonogatari as the older of Koyomi’s little sisters; the one who almost lets things go a bit too far between them during a very intimate toothbrushing session.

3. Toyosaki Aki

Accel World (Kurashima Chiyuri)
Kokoro Connect (Nagase Iori*)
Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam (Fam Fan Fan)
Medaka Box (Kurokami Medaka)
Natsuiro Kiseki (Tamaki Rinko)
Hyouka (Zenna Rie)

Like Iguchi Rika, our first exposure to Toyosaki was in Railgun, in which she portrayed the delicate but diligent, flower-crowned Uiharu. While she was pleasant enough, she was pretty much outshone by the more prominent Misaka and Shirai. In Last Exile she has top billing and a whole big steampunk world to explore as the valiant, fearless, adorable sky pirate Fam. It’s the role she was born to play, and while she gets a little preachy and idealistic towards the end, that’s the writers’ fault, not Toyosaki’s.

We were most impressed by her powerful performance as Nagase Iori, still fresh in our minds as the last four episodes were mostly about her totally losing her shit. Her descent into darkness and eventual redemption comprise some of the best character work of the year in our books, and showed that Toyosaki has the chops to do heavier stuff when called upon.

2. Sawashiro Miyuki

Black Rock Shooter (Takanashi Yomi/Dead Master)
Kokoro Connect (Inaba Himeko*)
Zetsuen no Tempest (Kusaribe Hakaze)
Btooom! (Kira Kousuke)
K (Awashima Seri)
Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam (Liliana)
Natsuiro Kiseki (Aizawa Suzuka)
Nisemonogatari (Kanbaru Suruga)
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (Yoshida Yuuzan)

Every time we hear Sawashiro’s unmistakable voice, our ears perk up; we can’t help it. We’re not exactly sure why we like it so much; it’s a difficult thing to put into words. Is there an untranslatable Japanese term for “vulnerable strength?” Or “warm force?” Granted these aren’t traits unique to Sawashiro (many other seiyus on this list possess it), but there’s just something about her. Even if it defies easy description, Sawashiro’s golden pipes are always welcome. We could watch a Kokoro Connect spinoff focusing on Inaba Himeko all day.

1. Hanazawa Kana

Aquarion Evol (Zessica Wong)
Binbougami ga! (Sakura Ichiko)
Black Rock Shooter (Kuroi Mato)
Moretsu Pirates (Kurihara Chiaki)
From the New World (Akizuki Maria)
Zetsuan no Tempest (Fuwa Aika*)
Guilty Crown (Shinomiya Ayase)
Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam (Alvis E. Hamilton)
Nisemonogatari (Sengoku Nadeko)
Sket Dance (Agata Saaya)
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (Ooshima Chizuru)

Really? We need to say why? She’s Hanazawa Kana. She’s the shit, THE END. She wields the voice of an angel sent from heaven (Ooshima, Sengoku), a demon from hell (Sakura), and everything in between: tsunderes, pirates, bitches, little sisters, shy introverts, loud exhibitionists, conflicted souls. She makes subpar characters better just by voicing them and makes good characters great.

End-of-Month Rundown – December 2012

Well, that’s about it for Fall, the final season of 2012. It’s been an entertaining and at times awesome season. There was a lot of solid romance, a fair share of darkness, and far more tanks than we initially expected.

12. Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse - Complete (6.091 ▲) - The Red Shift fiasco is dealt with satisfactorily, but the Beta threat, numerous human enemies, and the love triangle remain, suggesting a sequel in the future

11. Girls und Panzer - 10/12 (6.300 ▲) - Most surprising to us is that even when tanks weren’t front-and-center, this was still a very decent, watchable slice-of-life, in which the main circle of friends/colleagues have mini-arcs parallel to the tank action

10. Btooom! - Complete (6.750) - Like Muv-Luv, a lot of loose threads remain, and no one’s off the island yet, but Taira finally gets a half-pathetic, half-noble death, and Ryouta and Himiko commit to leave the island together

9. Jormungand: Perfect Order - Complete  (7.000 ▲) - A series in which we root for the supervillain, whose master plan for world domination has been hinted at and slowly built up since the beginning. A compelling reinforcement of the truism that information trumps ammunition (but having both is even better)

8. K - Complete (7.385 ▼) - The city is saved and the mad Colorless King defeated through the sacrifice of kings – Weismann/Shiro and Mikoto. A neat and tidy end to a series that looked good but for better or worse didn’t take any big risks

7. Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun - Complete (7.538 ▼) - What started as a strong, well-paced romance started wandering in circles a bit with Shizuku and Haru, which you could say is realistic considering their personalities. The Yamaken factor didn’t accomplish much, and the side character romance was cute but ultimately a dead end

6.  Sword Art Online - Complete (7.667 ▲) - Kirito scores a total victory over Sugou in both the virtual and real worlds, finally meets Asuna in the flesh. The  final episode allows ample time to say goodbye to everyone

5. Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! - Complete (7.833 ▲) - Stuck with its guns by keeping the focus on Yuuta and Rikka, which was the right move. Rikka dumps her Chuunibyou cold turkey, but Yuuta vows to help her find a balance between the real and the fantastical

4.Kamisama Hajimemashita - Complete (8.000 ▼) - Adorable, but never sickeningly so, this was a very nice little rom-com with generous helping of the supernatural. Nanami excels as the relatively normal, earnest girl with hidden strength

3. From the New World (Shin Sekai yori) - 13/25 (8.308 ▼) - Ends its first half with the reveal that Saki is being groomed for leadership, and is thus learns more of the dark truths about humanity, fiends, and karma demons. Starts its new half with the fallout from that knowledge: her friend Mamoru may be the next victim of the system

2. Zetsuen no Tempest - 12/24 (8.583 ▼) - Things lagged a bit for a while, but at least all the conversation going on for those two and a half episodes was necessary information. Hakaze is finally back for the second cour, and must now try to control the dual threats of Exodus and Genesis

1. Sukitte Ii na yo. - Complete (8.615 ▲) - Ep-for-ep the strongest and most consistent series of the Fall. Many obstacles in the main couple’s relationship are set up but overcome one-by-one, the procrastination is kept to a minimum, and the solid supporting cast plays a crucial role in the couple’s growth, while growing themselves

★. One Off (OVA) - Complete (8.750) - Short, sweet, pretty, charismatic, surprisingly deep, and full of Honda motorcycles

Top 10 Car Cameos of 2012

In no particular order, here are some of the more interesting car cameos we’ve spotted in all the anime we’ve watched this year. We’re unsure as to the real car content of Winter 2012 series, and to be perfectly honest, we haven’t been Johnny-on-the-spot as we’d like with every cameo in every episode, but we’re only human-youkai hybrids. But this post isn’t about regrets, it’s about the celebration of horseless automotivation!

The Principal’s Ferrari F40 – Girls und Panzer – 02
Later in the series, we learn that Ooarai is in financial trouble and will be shut down due to a lack of accomplishments. Apparently that pain isn’t being felt by the principal, who is wealthy enough to afford one of only 1,315 F40 supercars ever built. In an act of prescient karmic retribution, it is flipped then crushed by Chouno Ami’s surprise tank-drop.

Shrade’s Ferrari California – Aquarion Evol – 07
Shrade is by all accounts a very privileged, cultured young man who comes from money. As such, he drives a red Ferrari despite still being in high school, and tailgates fellow travelers of the road, to boot. “Out of my way, PEASANTS!”

Evangeline Yamamoto’s VW New Beetle - Zetsuen no Tempest – 03
Evangeline is friendly, cute, and curvy on the surface, but all business underneath. So too is her tomato-red Volkswagen New Beetle (let’s make it a Turbo, because why not?), which is really just a Golf in retro clothes.

Malloy’s Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16v Evoluzione II  - Aquarion Evol – 15
Like we said when we saw it, it’s probably no coincidence that this same, very specific model of car has shown up both here and in another one of Shoji Kawamori’s works, Macross Frontier. No matter where it shows up, it’s one of our all-time favorite cars.

Ao’s Flying Piaggio Ape – Eureka Seven AO – 01
Okay, it’s not exactly an Ape (Italian for Bee), but it’s pretty clearly inspired by it. Not quite a car, not quite a motorbike, but damned practical all the same. Making one that can fly is the next logical step.

Sakura Ichiko’s Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow - Binbougami-ga! – 01
It’s only seen in for a moment as Ichiko is dropped off at school, but it’s the perfect car for her: something not to drive, but to be driven in, and ruinously expensive.

Mayor Bacchus’ Toyota Century – Mirai Nikki – 19
Bacchus travels in style in perhaps the quirkiest executive car money can buy: a brand-new car that looks thirty years old. It’s still hella cool.

Mr. Tatsuji’s Volvo 240 Wagon – Another – 12
Aside from the fact that old boxy Volvo wagons are the mainstay of educators (and cool moms), there’s a certain morbid irony in a Tatsuji driving a car that’s the paragon of safety in a series where no almost no one is safe from a grisly death.

Koko’s Armored Volvo S80 – Jormungand
We can’t remember if she called it by name (she gave up on “V” trying to name a new car she bought for Ugo, which was incidentally a VW), but one thing’s for sure: while other arms dealers roll in Mercs and BMWs, Koko prefers Swedish Volvo S80s, and while she had to grudgingly abandon one in South Africa, it wasn’t long before she procured another.

Unyuu Rintarou’s Car Collection - Sket Dance – 74
Student Council Treasurer Unyuu Mimori’s family has more money than many developed nations. Among her father’s many possessions is a formidable collection of model cars, along with a collection of the real things. It’s an eclectic, even eccentric mix…but that’s par for the course when you own an underground city. Also, it’s apparent the cars in this episode were hand-drawn, with no shortcut CGI; a nice touch.

BONUS: All of the Background Traffic in K – 01 
It may take teams of video editors years to discover every car cameo in the shiny first episode of K, but it’s not just the volume of vehicles, it’s the quality of the models. They’re shiny, detailed, not all the same color, and add a lot of richness to the background. Sure, they’re mostly CGI models that may have been modeled by a third party and inserted in the animation, but when they’re this pretty, who cares?

RABUJOI’s Top 15 Anime of 2012

We watched 48 series this year, including six carryovers from 2011. We dropped eight of them and became better at not sticking with shows we didn’t like.

In August, we changed our rating scale from 1-4 to 1-10, meaning more colors and more nuance in our ratings. We started documenting car cameos, kept track of common tropes, and even drew a few org charts. We dabbled with summaries-as-cocktail recipes. We started a successful Tumblr and a not-so-successful Twitter account.

But all that aside, this site has been and always will be about the reviews, and what we thought of those 48 series and hundreds of episodes we watched. From that large collection, we present you the top 15 of 2012, by average rating (Current as of time of publication).

15. Rinne no Lagrange – Winter/Summer (7.708) – “Competent action and space battles take a backseat to the characters and their bonds”

14. Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! – Fall (7.727) – “We can never totally reject the extraordinary from our lives, because the fact of the matter is, when you take a moment to look at it, every aspect of life is extraordinary”

13. Kokoro Connect – Summer (7.769) – “We liked all three arcs, all the characters, and cared about what happened to them. Their interactions under duress were always engrossing”

12. Natsuiro Kiseki – Spring (7.917) – “4 parts high school girls yearning to stick together, muddle a few wishes on a big rock, top with club soda and a scoop of ice cream. Repeat”

11. Moretsu Pirates – Winter/Spring (7.885) – “Lots of cool sci-fi procedural action tempered by hearty heaps of heart”

10. Aquarion Evol – Winter/Spring (7.923) – “Mix everything, ever, for thousands of years. Doesn’t matter what. Just MIX. MEEEEEEKUUUUUUSUUUUU!”

9. Kamisama Hajimemashita – Fall (8.000) – “A veritable smorgasbord of neat supernatural concepts and story twists”

8. Hyouka – Spring/Summer (8.045) – “The festival arc was epic in its scope, complexity, and conclusion, never neglected the little details, and gave the whole cast something to do”

7. Another – Winter (8.077) – “The horror series which gets the fundamentals right, even if it isn’t breaking any particularly new ground”

6. From the New World – Fall (8.308) – “As the characters age, the danger intensifies, and the tension over their fate continues to build”

5. Sakamichi no Apollon – Spring (8.333) - “1 part each rich egghead pianist, poor delinquent drummer, cute earnest girl, pretty adventurous girl, and depressed trumpeter. Combine and shake well to the stylings of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.”

4. Nazo no Kanojo X – Spring (8.385) – “1 part each strange, horny girl with an unusually natural voice and normal, horny guy. Pour in mixing glass with a whimsical soundtrack, retro 80′s character design, and liberal amount of saliva. Stir well, garnish with hundreds of lemons.”

3. Zetsuen no Tempest – Fall (8.583) – “Everything happens for a reason. The daily tragedies and misfortunes are all meaningful events, leading toward an ideal conclusion.”

2. Sukitte Ii na yo – Fall (8.615) – “Mei and Yamato both prove inexperienced with romantic relationships (though in different ways), but at least they’re trying to overcome their stumbling – and mostly succeed”

1. Natsuyuki Rendezvous – Summer (8.636) – “A short, sweet, mature, and absolutely moving romantic drama”

RABUJOI’s 15 Favorite Episodes of 2012

We’re doing something we’ve previously done with Sket Dance (and one Skepisode almost made it on this list): identifying the episodes that we enjoyed the most, regardless of rating. That being said, all of these episodes are highly rated.

So out of 550+ episodes watched in 2012, here are 15 of our favorites. There are many others we liked quite a bit, but we wanted to limit this list to a nice clean 15, listed alphabetically. We could re-watch any one of these episodes many many times.

Another – 08 – 27 Feb
Theory about being safe outside Yomiyama? Disproved. The importance of Matsunaga remembering more about the past? Crucial.

Aquarion Evol – 15 – 10 Apr
This episode had a cinematic depth and breadth that drew us in…and on more than one occasion had us laughing and yelling out loud at the sheer…kick-assery of it all.

Eureka Seven AO – 19 – 8 Sep
We had a feeling the company had a tough road to follow, but we didn’t expect its absolute obliteration.

Eureka Seven AO – 22 – 28 Sep
We’re not going to mince words like we always do, and just curse instead: that was a fucking awesome episode.

From the New World (Shin Sekai yori) – 09 – 24 Nov
[Saki] cares about [Shun] so much she’s willing to risk everything – her freedom, her life, her parents’ peace-of-mind – to find him. Which is badass.

Hyouka - 17 – 12 Aug
To put it perhaps too simply, there are passionate failures and casual geniuses in Hyouka.

Kokoro Connect – 05 – 4 Aug
One of the trademarks of a great anime is…breathing life and vitality into the characters.

Moretsu Pirates – 12 – 24 Mar
…the characters didn’t shrink to insignificance in the face of such mindblowing vastness.

Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse – 02 – 8 Jul
Now we know why the characters were so bland last week: because they never made it past this week.

Natsuyuki Rendezvous – 11 – 13 Sep
…we wanted nothing less than a good old-fashioned happy ending, and by gum, we got one.

Nazo no Kanojo X – 01 – 11 Apr
The quirky but warm Mikoto is so lovably weird, you have to root for Akira to try to win her, and he does…

Sakamichi no Apollon – 07 – 24 May
Just as jazz was the catalyst for Kaoru and Sentaro’s friendship, it’s also the salve that mends it when it’s asunder.

Sankarea – 03 – 20 Apr
She’s a brave, strong young woman. Only…by episode’s end, she’s no longer a living woman.

Sword Art Online – 10 – 8 Sep
…Kirito gives Asuna a kiss when she most needs it, and when his intentions couldn’t be conveyed any more powerfully.

Zetsuen no Tempest – 09 – 29 Nov
This episode may just be three guys yelling at each other while holding weapons while a half-naked girl lies on a distant beach but good God was it powerful.

End-of-Month Rundown – November 2012

It’s a day early, but what the hay…we’re in the ninth week of the Fall season with four weeks remaining. It’s been a very good season: about a half-point better than Summer. Four series have consistently scored 8 (Great) or higher. It’s hard to gauge whether it’s the best season of the year, since we used the old rating system in the Winter, but we know it’s very close.

We’re also no longer sticking with shows that can’t consistently score a 6 (Good) or better – something that will continue in the Winter. In that respect, Girls und Panzer just barely passes muster.

While cumulative ratings have dropped for most series, consider that normalization due to larger sample sizes, not a regression of quality. Of the eleven series we’re watching, it’s likely From the New World and Zetsuen no Tempest are the only ones carrying over into the Winter, so there will be a lot of finales to sort through, and it’s still too early to predict how well they’ll handle them.

We’ll also say at this point that there’s no series we’re watching that we’d have dropped in hindsight; everything is fully meeting our entertainment needs…though Muv-Luv was certainly floundering there for a while.

12. Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse - 21/24 (5.714 ▲), (.72 RTI) - After a three-episode slump, Muv-Luv roared back with a vengeance, with a bloody assault on the UN base…by other humans

11. Girls und Panzer - 7/12 (6.000), (.40 RTI) - The series has balanced awesome tank battles with pretty good character sketches and slice-of-life. Miho is torn between her family’s strict stance of victory at all costs and simply enjoying what she does and the company of friends who have her back

10. Btooom! - 8/12 (6.750 ▼), (.44 RTI) - Himiko is ever-so-slightly warming up to Sakamoto, now that she knows he was her wife in the virtual game. Sakamoto’s plan to leave the island seems doomed to fail, what with all the surveillance

9. Jormungand: Perfect Order – 19/24 (6.857 ▼), (.28 RTI) – This season seems to be about giving all of Koko’s members a backstory, and they’ve been decent thus far, though R’s remains the most compelling

8.  Sword Art Online - 21/25 (7.250 ▼), (.64 RTI) - Suguha and Kazuto are still unaware they’re playmates in ALfeim (so she’s unwittingly fallen for “Kirito” in both worlds). Asuna briefly breaks out, but she’s still a damsel, and the villain is still boring in his Pure Evilness®

7. Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! - 8/12 (7.625 ▼), (.56 RTI) - This series’ core is the strong and appealing bond gradually developing between the two leads. Achieving romantic status will be tricky due to the Rikka’s emotional immaturity and penchant for talking in obscure code…and Yuuta’s reluctance to date a weirdo

6. K - 8/13 (7.625 ▼), (.60 RTI) - Shiro may be finally, finally starting to remember what went on, thanks to Neko (grudgingly) releasing his memory block. We’re introduced to the eccentric Gold King,, but many issues remain unresolved we’re not sure if the story has adequate time to transcend all the gorgeous eye candy

5. Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun - 9/13 (7.778 ▼), (.44 RTI) - Things between Shizuku and Hari are stalling a bit, but this series still has great energy and an interesting lead in Shizuku, who struggles with an ingrained personality and outlook shaped by her family dynamic (powerful, unyielding mom, warm but weak dad). Not sure we needed Yamaken to fall for her, but it’s being handled well so far

4. Kamisama Hajimemashita - 9/13 (8.111 ▲), (.48 RTI) - Nanami has not only full-on fallen for her familiar Tomoe, but unwittingly gained another in Mizuki. This series is surging right now, with four straight superior episodes and a veritable smorgasbord of neat supernatural concepts and story twists

3. From the New World (Shin Sekai yori) - 9/25 (8.333 ▲), (.48 RTI) - Rising to the elite shows of the year, New World earned a ten in its masterful ninth episode. As the characters age, the danger intensifies, and the tension over their fate continues to build

2. Sukitte Ii na yo. - 8/13 (8.750 ▼), (.40 RTI) - Mei and Yamato both prove inexperienced with romantic relationships (though in different ways), but at least they’re trying to overcome their stumbling. Their resolve may be tested by an incoming transfer student

1. Zetsuen no Tempest - 8/- (8.750 ▼), (.60 RTI) - The guys finally meet Samon, who drives a wedge between both them and Hakaze, calling into question who’s really threatening the world. After a satisfying conclusion to Eureka Seven AO, Bones remains on a roll with this

End-of-Month Rundown – October 2012

October has been a fairly active month for RABUJOI, in that it’s seen the addition of the new RTI rating, anime Trope Charts, and colorful Character Organizational Charts. On top of that, we’ve been following ten Fall series plus two Summer carryovers. It’s been a great Fall so far, with plenty of engaging action, powerful drama, touching romances…and TANKS.

12. Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse - 17/24 (5.570), (.72 RTI) - Another lull in the Beta action has meant more time for girls to fall for Yuuya…yippee.

11. Girls und Panzer - 4/12 (6.000), (.40 RTI) - We’re surprisingly into this. It’s got girls who live on giant city-ships careering around in frikkin’ tanks. What more could you possibly ask for?

10. Btooom! - 4/12 (7.000), (.44 RTI) – Like many of Madhouse’s darker works, this is building a great, tense atmosphere with diverse characters helpless against a higher power that seeks to use them as game pieces.

9. Jormungand: Perfect Order – 16/24 (7.000), (.28 RTI) – Another arc, another badass chick. Next arc: Tojo gets something to do.

8. Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! - 3/12 (7.667), (.44 RTI) - Very fun and quirky series that looks great, especially when portraying the over-the-top fights in its characters’ imaginations.

7. Sword Art Online - 17/25 (7.750), (.64 RTI) - Transitioned nicely from the first game to the real world and now a new game, but we’re disappointed Asuna is currently nothing but a plot device, replaced by an imouto (really a cousin) who has fallen for Kirito. New villain’s a bit dull, too.

6. Kamisama Hajimemashita - 4/13 (7.750), (.48 RTI) - We like the growing bond between earth deity-in-training Nanami and her fox familiar, Tomoe, as well as the diversity of their exploits thus far.

5. From the New World (Shin Sekai yori) - 5/25 (8.000), (.36 RTI) - After lots of exposition this series probably has the richest (and most effed up) setting, with kids in genuine danger having stumbled upon secrets they weren’t supposed to hear. It’s on the rise.

4. Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun - 4/13 (8.200), (.40 RTI) - Haru can be a spastic sonofabitch, but Shizuku is gradually taming him, and the two have great chemistry.

3. K - 4/13 (8.250), (.60 RTI) - There’s a crapload of factions and players and agendas – like Durarara!! – all living in a gorgeously-rendered Tokyo that really feels alive and accompanied by a sweet slick soundtrack.

2. Sukitte Ii na yo. - 4/13 (9.000), (.36 RTI) - Lots of similarities to Tonari, but this is the better shoujo romance series so far, as the male lead is less abusive/more nuanced. Both Shizuku and Mei are tough cookies, though.

1. Zetsuen no Tempest - 4/- (9.000), (.56 RTI) - Our favorite Fall series by a hair – two high schoolers getting embroiled in the middle of a magical clan war seeking revenge (or not) for the girl they both loved – one because she was his sister, one because she was his lover. Bones at its best. We wouldn’t mind a second cour.

Fall 2012 OPs and EDs

Another season, another set of opening and ending sequences. How do they stack up?

YouTube links provided where available. Some are just the music. Some are probably dead links :/

Btooom!
OP: There’s something about the girl(guy?) whispering “It’s only just begun…” followed by the rapping that just makes our eyes roll. Rating: 4
ED: The music’s a little too heartwarming, and the visuals are just beauty shots of Himiko. Rating: 5

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!
OP: Clearly Haruhi-inspired, but not as good – it’s trying too hard. Rating: 4
ED: We like the character names in Roman letters frizzing to the beat, but other than that, but watching Rikka try to dance? Notsomuch. Rating: 5

Girls und Panzer
OP: Utterly average in every way. Rating: 5
ED: Chibi Girls un Chibi Panzer…meh. Rating: 5

Sword Art Online
OP: Not as good as the first season’s, and when we first saw it, all the elf ears really confused us. But nothing offensively bad about it. Rating: 5
ED: Heavy use of Sugu; also pretty innocuous. Rating: 5

Jormungand
OP: The overengineered vocals were fine in the first season’s OP, but there’s something stale and laggy about this new theme.Rating: 5
ED: The first season’s ending theme was a beautiful, haunting piece of music that carried the whole ED. This, like the OP, just isn’t as good, though it does remind us of FF battle music.Rating: 5

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
OP: Fairly generic brassy-rock music. The visuals are better, with good colors and layers, a chain motif, and a nice moment of the two leads dancing together. (FWIW, this remains our favorite Romance OP.) Rating:6
ED: Also very generic ending rock music. Girl can’t hit the high notes. Ruins the nice watercolor montage. Rating: 4

Zetsuen no Tempest
OP: We’re really not fans of the English vocals, but the rock instrumentation and visuals are solid. Rating: 7
ED: Syrupy-sweet vocals and very generic rock music with walking silhouette. Neither offends nor impresses. Rating: 5

Sukitte Ii na yo
OP: Very quiet, gentle music and vocals. We like the longing strings. Pretty good visuals of characters, settings and various moments. Rating: 7
ED: Fittingly bittersweet rock piece, blue slideshow, and an animated chibi preview Mei that’s either cute or frightening. Rating: 6

K
OP: Stirring rock with really strong female vocals (we like the occasional hesitation as she enunciates the lyrics), perfectly fits the energy of the series. Very lively montage of characters/factions too. Ends a bit abruptly. Rating: 8
ED: Whimsical snowglobe-type song, with a lovingly-animated Neko lounging around nude, looking forlorn. Rating: 6

From the New World (Shin Sekai yori)
OP: There is no OP as such; the show jumps right into those flashbacks, which are awesome. (No Rating)
ED: Electro-pop that gets more rousing as it progresses. Nice use of electric guitar. Really neat, dreamy animation too. I’m a soap bubble…Rating: 8

Kamisama Hajimemashita
OP: Cute vocals, cute visuals, just plain cute…but not in a bad way. Rating: 8
ED: Really nice transition from episode’s end to the credits. Same cute vocals form OP. We really like the underlying strings. Ah, ah ah ah…Rating: 7

Muv-Luv Alternative
OP: Same as last season. Which is fine with us. Rating: 7
ED: Also the same. Also fine with us. If it ain’t broke…Rating: 8

Introducing the RABUJOI Trope Incidence (RTI) Rating

Our passion for innovation (read: boredom) has led to the development of another new way to categorize the anime we watch. The RABUJOI Trope Incidence rating, or RTI, is the result of our noticing similar or in some cases identical characteristics within different anime series. We’ve identified twenty-five such tropes. The RTI is simply the number of the tropes a series contains divided by the total, or  n/25. The results, applied to the twelve series we’re currently watching, are charted below. Warning: the results may shock you.

Fall 2012 RTI Report Last updated 22 Oct 2012. Click Here for updated charts.

As you can see, Muv-Luv Alternative (Muv) leads the pack with 18 out of 25 listed tropes each, or a .72 RTI. Jormungand (Jor) contains only seven out of twenty-five tropes;  a .28 RTI.

Does this mean Muv-Luv is the most formulaic series while Jormungand is the most original? Not necessarily; all it means is that they contain the most and least tropes, respectively. But anime can be more than the sum of their tropes. It’s more about how the tropes are used and balanced, more than how many there are. It’s also just fun to see the patterns in otherwise totally different series. Well…it’s fun for us.

A show with a perfect 1.00 RTI would probably be a complete mess, but with good writing, acting, and animation, it could still be watchable. On the other hand, a show with no tropes could still suck. That’s what our subjective ratings are for: Zetsuen no Tempest (Zet) is one of the highest-rated series this Fall despite its .56 RTI.

Since we’re only two or three episodes into most of these, the trope count are likely to change periodically.

Stray Observations:

- As of 22 Oct 2012 there are 142 total trope hits among the twelve series, or 11.83 per series, making the mean RTI .47.

- Muv-Luv is currently the only series we’re watching with mecha. Huh.

- Jormungand is notable for being the only series with no high schoolers (Jonah is a teen, but never attended school).

- For the record, we define a “tsundere” as “a person (either gender) who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing his or her warm side over time.”

- We determine whether one or both of a character’s parent(s) are away, divorced or dead based on dialogue and/or visual evidence in household, not pure assumption. This trope only applies to non-adult characters.

- Chuunibyou (Chu) and Panzer are series with frequent use of weapons (imagined in the former) but the characters’ lives are in no real danger.

- We’ve likely (definitely) missed a couple tropes here and there, but like we said, we’ll tweak as the series progress. Feel free to suggest revisions! We’re going for accuracy here.

- Here’s how some of our favorite anime series shake out:

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: .56
Mawaru Penguindrum: .56
Neon Genesis Evangelion: .56
Shiki: .48
AnoHana: .36
Kare Kano: .28
Nazo no Kanojo X: .16
Natsuyuki Rendezvous: .16

End-of-Month Rundown – September 2012

11. Binbougami-ga! - Complete (5.923) - At times, this series was either trying to do too much or not doing enough, but it had a strong finish to go with its strong first episode, and Ichiko and Momiji had a good friendship arc. Aside from Rindou, we didn’t really care for the supporting cast.

10. Accel World -  Complete (6.000) - Some nice twists at the end, including some epic scheming by Chiyu, completed a consistently decent second half, marred only in the middle by Hime’s forgettable beach mini-arc.

8. Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse – 13/24 (6.308) – Yui and Yuuya have always been fun to watch both earlier when they were at each other’s throats and more recently now that they’re essentially best buds. The show does best when it focuses on these two and amps up the danger levels, definitely not when it’s going for fanservice or comedy.

9. Sket Dance - Complete (6.385) - Still…can’t believe…it’s over…but we’re also kinda glad it ended when it did, with the nostalgic return of episode one client Teppei and the bang of Saaya’s simple, earnest confession.

7. Tari Tari - Complete (7.154) - By the time the end came around, the spell Tari Tari had cast on us was wearing thin, as it lacked balance in the attention it gave its characters, and their goals were just a little on the hokey side.

6. Sword Art Online – 13/25 (7.154) – Kirito and Asuna are officially a couple, and aside from a side episode or two, the remainder of the series should focus on continuing to work towards beating the game. We hope we get to see some of these people waking up in the real world!

5. Rinne no Lagrange Season 2 - Complete (7.333) - A second season that was just as good, if not a little better than the first is what we were hoping for. The competent action and space battles all continued to take a backseat to the characters and their bonds. It earned its tidy, feel-good epilogue.

4. Kokoro Connect – Complete; until extra episodes (7.769) – Like Oreimo, there will be four more episodes to come, but even if there weren’t, the series had a great ending. We liked all three arcs, all the characters, and cared about what happened to them. Their interactions under duress were always engrossing.

3. Hyouka - Complete (8.333) – The perfect example of a series not going where we might’ve liked, but still being amazing to watch, maybe even in spite of Chitanda and Oreki never quite getting anywhere on the couple front.

2. Eureka Seven AO - 22/24 (8.444) - AO has really stepped up its game in the second half, and the twists and trippy turns never quit. Ao, Fleur, Elena, Naru and Truth have all been through a ton – as has the world. The cliffhanger leaves us highly anticipating the final conclusion later this fall.

1. Natsuyuki Rendezvous – Complete (8.636) – The best series of 2012 so far. A short, sweet, mature, and absolutely moving romantic drama.