The end of the year is upon us and dedicated anime fans have a lot to be thankful for. From the reemergence of Type-Moon’s Legendary Fate series to updates of shows like Sword Art Online and Log Horizon this has been a phenomenal year for anime.In honor of this amazing year I would like to give my readers my opinion on the subject of “best” anime of 2014. I say “best” because that is a matter of opinion and varies from person-to-person. With that said, I hope you enjoy this list.
Rules:
1. The items listed below are strictly from the Spring, Summer, Winter 2014 lineups. Long-running series like One Piece will be excluded as I wish to focus on series unique to this year.
2. This list is ranked in no particular order.
On with the list:
#5 Sailor Moon Crystal
I’m kicking off the list with a remake of a true anime classic.Who doesn’t remember Pretty Solider Sailor Moon from the late 90s with it’s heavily edited story and character designs and annoying “Sailor Says”segments? Sailor Moon Crystal is what that series should have been but improved upon greatly with better animation and a direct from manga retelling of the original story. In many ways, this remake has evolved so far past its predecessor that it has become a good series in its own right.
#4 Fate/ Stay Night Unlimited Bladeworks
Type Moon’s Fate/Stay Night is an anime near and dear to my heart. Naturally, I had to check out the remake. The people at Ufotable have done the Fate franchise proud through its retelling of the fourth Holy Grail War. I’m a particularly big fan of Bladworks being centered around Rin Tosaka rather than Shiro Emiya as I have always found Rin and Archer to be a more interesting pair to fallow. Having said that I am glad that other masters receive a good amount of screen-time. With Fate/Zero’s caliber of animation and a revamped story it is more than worth a watch.
#3 Avatar: the Legend of Korra Book 4-Balance
I know this is a long-running series but since each book of the Legend of Korra is designed has its own unique story which is interconnected via an over-arcing plot to every previous season. Yes, its made by Nickelodeon but the animation style and mature storylines dealing with everything from mental trauma to socio-political issues it has every hallmark of a true anime. Book 4: Balance offers a great ending to the journey of the Avatar I only wish Nick had handled its distribution better.
#2- Sword Art Online II
This next one surprised me. Those of you who are long-time readers may remember that I have a deep-seated distain for the latter half of Sword Art Online I. Fortunately, the second season has renewed my faith in the series. The Phantom Bullet arc made characters deal with the traumatic effects SAO has on the lives of its survivors while introducing new characters complete with personal scars alongside a new virtual setting. I recommend this anime for any Shonen fan,
#1- Brynhildr in the Darkness
The last piece on my list is underrated. Brynhildr in the Darkness is a decent supernatural anime. It has everything from aliens to magic. Be warned fan service is heavily engrained into the shows fabric of this piece. It makes no less watchable Feel fee to check it out.
I hope you enjoyed my list because I enjoyed making it. I would like to wish my readers happy holidays. No matter what religion you practice we are all connected. So I extend my warmest wishes to my reader. May your days be filled with happiness.
