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- #221
Mythopoet
Auror
Let's resurrect this thread because- holy crap, guys!- there are some seriously awesome fantasy anime this season.
*If you don't watch anime seasonally and don't know what I mean, in Japan anime airs on TV stations in 4 seasons which pretty much correspond to the seasons of the year. These seasons are also called "cours" by anime know-it-alls like me. Most anime shows these days air for 1 cour (12-13 episodes) or 2 cours (24-25 episodes). Very rarely shows air for a full year (50-52 episodes) or indefinitely (pretty much only One Piece at this point, Boruto might fall in this category). But since most shows only air for one season, there are lots of new shows to watch every season. And there are several places where new anime can be streamed online ("simulcasted") at the same time it is airing over in Japan.*
Fall 2017 introduced some of the best anime of the year:
The Ancient Magus' Bride: based on a popular manga series (which can also be purchased in English) about a young girl who has experienced neglect and abuse her whole life and after almost committing suicide, she allows herself to be sold on the magical black market. There she is purchased by a mage with a skull head who takes her on as his apprentice and future bride. When she goes to live with him she is immersed into a world of magic and wonder and learns that she herself has intense natural magic which has been the root of her misfortune but also allows her to experience a unique relationship with the faerie realm. The art and animation is stunning, the music is wonderful and the story and characters are full of unexpected depths. Highly recommend.
Land of the Lustrous: also based on a manga about a far, far future earth where all the humans are gone and all that remains are the humanoid Gems or Lustrous (depending on the translation). They live on a small island which is the only land left on the earth where everyday they have to defend themselves from the Moon People (or Lunarians) who attack on clear days, trying to capture the Gems and take them back to the moon. The story follows Phosphophyllite, the youngest and one of the least strong of the Gems (with a hardness of only 3.5) who is not strong enough to fight off the lunarians and not competent enough for any other job. Phos is unsatisfied with the life the gems lead and seeks change and to know the truth about their world. The anime is an all CGI production which is amazingly beautiful. The gems and their world are unique and compelling. Highly recommend.
Children of the Whale: yep, another manga series set in a unique fantasy world where a human society lives on a giant earth island that travels a sea of moving sand called the Mud Whale. It is a peaceful, contained place with no knowledge of the world outside the sea of sand. The people are divided into the Marked and the Unmarked. The Marked are those who have the ability to utilize thymia, a type of magic that also drastically shortens their lives. One day they come into contact with another floating island where there is a lone survivor of a massacre remaining. Bringing her back to the Mud Whale is the first step in the discovery of the truth of their world, and the war that the outside world has begun to wage on them. Again, beautiful art and animation. A thrilling story with lots of secrets to discover and many endearing characters. Highly recommend.
Blood, Blockade, Battlefront and Beyond: the second season of the adaptation of the manga Blood, Blockade Battlefront which I've mentioned before. The story is by the author of the well known manga/anime Trigun but is even more awesome if you can imagine it. This one takes place in "Hellsalem's Lot" which is the city that was built in place of New York City, after it disappeared in an incident that connected our world with the "Beyond" or "alterworld". Now the city is the home of dauntless humans as well as countless species of aliens and monsters from the alterworld living side by side. The survival rate of riding the subway is about 13% on a given day, but somehow people survive and thrive. Humanity is protected by the most dangerous threats by the organization known as Libra, full of humans with supernatural abilities, which strives to maintain balance between our world and the Beyond. Leonardo Watch, a young man who was given the "All-seeing Eyes of the Gods" by a mysterious creature from the Beyond, works for Libra while also trying to find out how and why he was given this ability at the expense of his sister's sight. There's nothing I can say to express the awesomeness of this anime. It is stylish and action packed and fleshes out its insane world and characters bit by bit while maintaining its thrills and mystery. Highly recommend.
*If you don't watch anime seasonally and don't know what I mean, in Japan anime airs on TV stations in 4 seasons which pretty much correspond to the seasons of the year. These seasons are also called "cours" by anime know-it-alls like me. Most anime shows these days air for 1 cour (12-13 episodes) or 2 cours (24-25 episodes). Very rarely shows air for a full year (50-52 episodes) or indefinitely (pretty much only One Piece at this point, Boruto might fall in this category). But since most shows only air for one season, there are lots of new shows to watch every season. And there are several places where new anime can be streamed online ("simulcasted") at the same time it is airing over in Japan.*
Fall 2017 introduced some of the best anime of the year:
The Ancient Magus' Bride: based on a popular manga series (which can also be purchased in English) about a young girl who has experienced neglect and abuse her whole life and after almost committing suicide, she allows herself to be sold on the magical black market. There she is purchased by a mage with a skull head who takes her on as his apprentice and future bride. When she goes to live with him she is immersed into a world of magic and wonder and learns that she herself has intense natural magic which has been the root of her misfortune but also allows her to experience a unique relationship with the faerie realm. The art and animation is stunning, the music is wonderful and the story and characters are full of unexpected depths. Highly recommend.
Land of the Lustrous: also based on a manga about a far, far future earth where all the humans are gone and all that remains are the humanoid Gems or Lustrous (depending on the translation). They live on a small island which is the only land left on the earth where everyday they have to defend themselves from the Moon People (or Lunarians) who attack on clear days, trying to capture the Gems and take them back to the moon. The story follows Phosphophyllite, the youngest and one of the least strong of the Gems (with a hardness of only 3.5) who is not strong enough to fight off the lunarians and not competent enough for any other job. Phos is unsatisfied with the life the gems lead and seeks change and to know the truth about their world. The anime is an all CGI production which is amazingly beautiful. The gems and their world are unique and compelling. Highly recommend.
Children of the Whale: yep, another manga series set in a unique fantasy world where a human society lives on a giant earth island that travels a sea of moving sand called the Mud Whale. It is a peaceful, contained place with no knowledge of the world outside the sea of sand. The people are divided into the Marked and the Unmarked. The Marked are those who have the ability to utilize thymia, a type of magic that also drastically shortens their lives. One day they come into contact with another floating island where there is a lone survivor of a massacre remaining. Bringing her back to the Mud Whale is the first step in the discovery of the truth of their world, and the war that the outside world has begun to wage on them. Again, beautiful art and animation. A thrilling story with lots of secrets to discover and many endearing characters. Highly recommend.
Blood, Blockade, Battlefront and Beyond: the second season of the adaptation of the manga Blood, Blockade Battlefront which I've mentioned before. The story is by the author of the well known manga/anime Trigun but is even more awesome if you can imagine it. This one takes place in "Hellsalem's Lot" which is the city that was built in place of New York City, after it disappeared in an incident that connected our world with the "Beyond" or "alterworld". Now the city is the home of dauntless humans as well as countless species of aliens and monsters from the alterworld living side by side. The survival rate of riding the subway is about 13% on a given day, but somehow people survive and thrive. Humanity is protected by the most dangerous threats by the organization known as Libra, full of humans with supernatural abilities, which strives to maintain balance between our world and the Beyond. Leonardo Watch, a young man who was given the "All-seeing Eyes of the Gods" by a mysterious creature from the Beyond, works for Libra while also trying to find out how and why he was given this ability at the expense of his sister's sight. There's nothing I can say to express the awesomeness of this anime. It is stylish and action packed and fleshes out its insane world and characters bit by bit while maintaining its thrills and mystery. Highly recommend.