Anime Awards 2015

Which shows were worth the watch in 2015?

Just like with the Oscars, certain series dominate a particular year. It’s always easy to forget the series that aired at the beginning of the year. It’s almost like a quest to find which series really resonated with me. I’m not using the same rewards every year since there is not always a clear winner such as best supporting female character.

I already dubbed Charlotte as the spiritual successor of Angel Beats. Charlotte is the anime of the year 2015. The visuals were great, the story had impact and was well narrated. Yes, a lot of elements were borrowed from series such as Clannad and Angel Beats. Yet, this is the personal touch of Maeda Jun we know and love.

Plastic Memories gets the award for best romance anime of the year 2015. I hesitated between Ore Monogatari and Plastic Memories, but the latter proved that the humanoid robot element gave more depth to the story. You can read the full review about my findings of Plastic Memories.

There were some sequels that entered the 2015 arena, but had to weigh down against the solid package of Fate/Stay Night UBW S2. Fate/Stay Night had the best opening song of 2015, best visuals and best overall male character design. So many awards that its worth the spot for best sequel.

The spiritual, more mature version of K-ON!, successor Hibike Euphonium was a great, well-packed slice of life series. The visuals were really stunning and the characters were credible with a very convincing emotional development. There is a full review available as well.

Comedy is always a very subjective thing and what may be funny in some parts of the world, may not hit ground every time. Working showed it could mature from some of its gags. The gags become more witty and less slapstick.

While Sakurako-san no Ashimoto had its flaws, it showed mystery could be more mature than the average genre equivalent. The mysteries driven by the main plot element ‘bones’ were a welcome addition and gave the show the mature vibe I was looking for in the mystery genre. Paired with the nicely varied visuals, Sakurako-san no Ashimoto became my top mystery show of the year.

Reina was the most convincing female lead of 2015 with her authentic features, combined with a matching visual appearance. I really liked her energy that drove the show forward and gave it a serious undertone not always present with shows created by Kyoto Animation.

A lot has been said about the visual design of Fate/Stay Night UBW. The visuals were truly a feast for the eyes. The animation was smooth, crisp and colorful. No show could match Fate/Stay Night UBW’s graphical display. Not even K – Return of Kings left as a lasting impression.

Noragami’s sound team had a good feel for creating a soundtrack that could be as equally pumped up as integrating the traditional vibe of the show. This strong soundtrack was also present in the second season of Noragami.

Kujou Sakurako had a mature vibe and her visual appearance made her appealing. Not so much cute, but beautiful and feminine. She befitted the setting and her role, perfectly blending into the story.

There is no real specific character out of Fate/Stay Night UBW that gets the reward, its more the whole character design of the male characters that gives the show a more mature vibe. The details in the armor of Lancer and Archer are real milestones.

Another win for Fate/Stay Night UBW, the opening song by Aimer – Brave Shine. The rhythm and pacing were just right and truly caught the mix of action and conversation that is characterizing for the Fate/ franchise. I even enjoy the opening song outside the series.

While I disliked the way too flamboyant opening song of Death Parade, the ending song truly captivated the feel of the subject matter. The lyrics were gripping, the instrumentals rough. The whole atmosphere of the song was unprecedented by anything in 2015.