ping pong

The Josei’s Top 10 Anime of 2014: Part 2 (#1-5)

Panning the anime stream to bring you the year’s shiniest gold nuggets.

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Did you miss out on Part 1? Fear not! You can click here for the year in review and the bottom half of the Top 10, including honorable mention(s). Or, if you’re ready to check out the cream of the crop, you can hit that jump and read on for more.

The Rankings

As a reminder, all shows that ended in 2014 are eligible for this list, including sequels, even if they began their run in 2013 or earlier. Ongoing series (like Parasyte or Aldnoah.Zero) will be eligible in 2015.

So here we go, my picks for the best shows of the year! Drums rolled? Fingers crossed? Angry comments about the series I didn’t include typed and at the ready? Perfect. Let’s do this thing.

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The Hero Appears! “Ping Pong” and the Asobi Spirit

In which the Josei betrays her English major background by writing a nice long essay about Ping Pong the Animation, the so-good-it-makes-me-angry anime based on the manga by Matsumoto Taiyou (Tekkonkinkreet) and directed by Yuasa Masaaki (The Tatami Galaxy).

Probably it goes without saying, but Here There Be Spoilers. I’m assuming anyone reading this has watched the entire series – so if you HAVEN’T seen it yet, you should go to Hulu or Funimation and watch it all right now, then come back when you’re finished.

The rest of you can hit the jump and read on. Go go ani-crit!

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Glancing Upstream: Spring 2014 Retrospective

Summer Premiere Week is upon us, meaning I’ll soon be hard at work panning the simulcasting stream for gold nuggets. But before we turn our eyes ahead, let’s take a quick look back at the Spring season and see how it held up.

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Oh, and this is a spoiler-free zone, so please read through and keep your eyes peeled for a series that catches your eye.

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Quick Dip: Anime Weekly Roundup (6/21-6/27)

Celebrate good times~ come on! ♪

Here There Be (Mild) Spoilers: Remember, these posts look at some of the common trends and threads in the currently streaming anime that I’m watching (full list is on the sidebar). I keep things vague but if you’re a plot purist, you may want to skim past.

The week’s highs and lows below the jump.

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Quick Dip: Anime Weekly Roundup (6/14-6/20)

The saga continues.

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Here There Be (Mild) Spoilers: Remember, these posts look at some of the common trends and threads in the currently streaming anime that I’m watching (full list is on the sidebar). I keep things vague but if you’re a plot purist, you may want to skim past.

Who stumbled? Who soared? The answers to your burning questions below the jump.

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Quick Dip: Anime Weekly Roundup (6/7-6/13)

Look, Ma, a recurring segment!

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Here There Be (Mild) Spoilers: Quick reminder that these posts look at some of the common trends and threads in the currently streaming anime that I’m watching (full list is on the sidebar). I keep things vague but if you’re a plot purist, you may want to skim past.

This week’s roundup of winners and losers below the jump.

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Quick Dip: Anime Weekly Roundup

In which the Josei takes a look at the week’s new episodes and crowns the winners, losers, and uncertain in-betweens.

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Here There Be (Mild) Spoilers: My “Quick Dip” posts will touch briefly on the shows in the stream (see what I did there?) that I’m currently watching. (For the full list, check out the “Currently Watching” section of the sidebar.) While I’ll keep them vague to avoid giving away anything major, there will be screenshots and comments, and therefore possible spoilers. Read at your own risk.

This week’s roundup below the jump.

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