OG’s Top 10 Favorite Anime of 2019

Happy Perfect Day (New Year) 2020 doods and peeps! Another year (and decade for 90’s kids, which I assume are most of my readers and passerby) is in the books and I will go into more detail talking about it when I upload my 2019 Yuri Reflection post. For now join me as we take a look at my picks for favorite anime I watched this year!

• Note 1: If a show you liked isn’t on the list it’s either because I didn’t see/finish it or didn’t enjoy it as much.
• Note 2: As usual these shows are ones I enjoyed watching the most. They are not the best of the best, just my personal favs.
• Note 3: Don’t like my picks? Make/share your own list.
• Note 4: Some of these anime are one/two episode(s) short of concluding due to delays and a New Year’s break. Even so I am confident with my picks.
• Note 5: Only my Top 5 have definitive standings. 10-6 have no edge over the others.

Before we begin, the customary honorable mentions:

• Million Arthur
• Carole & Tuesday
• Kanata no Astra
• Miru Tights
• Null Peta
• Kimetsu no Yaiba
• Wataten
• The Magnificent Kotobuki
• “Sounan Desu-ka?”
• Z/X: Code reunion
• Magical Girl SPEC-OPS Asuka
• Fight League: Gear Gadget Generators
• Azur Lane
• Hitoribocchi
• Houkago Saikoro Club
• “Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life!?”
• Star Twinkle PreCure
• Kakegurui XX

Almost there folks. Just one last thing. My favorite anime movie of 2019:

BLACKFOX

Mainly because there weren’t many anime movies that got my attention and the fate of the FRAGTIME OVA release remains unknown after the Tear Studio fiasco. That leaves me with BLACKFOX. Put simply it’s an awesome superheroine origin story (Imagine a Batgirl anime) that I’d LOVE to see a continuation of in either a cinematic sequel or preferably a TV anime. Whether it’ll happen remains to be seen.

NOW we can get to the Top 10

Joshikousei no Mudazukai

There are many explanations on “what is funny” to people from “seeing others suffer” to “it being subjective”. The best explanation I saw is “You know what’s funny to you”, only you know what’s funny to you and what isn’t. Joshikousei no Mudazukai hit the right buttons and had me busting my gut from Episode 2 to the end. Episode 1 not as much because “Baka” to me was the best as a comedic foil to the other girls rater than the central focus. Everyone else was fantastic and hilarious. Personal favorites being “Robo”, “Lily” and “Yamai, who I prefer to call Chuuni”. It’s a comedy anime of an acquired taste similar to Asobi Asobase in 2018, another subjective schoolgirl comedy anime I loved.

GRANBELM

Of the two Moepocalypse shows I watched this year GRANBELM was the most intriguing. SPEC-OPS Asuka was enjoyable with its military motif and yummy yuri goodness GRANBELM was slightly better. Basically we had another Magical Girl Battle Royale anime but this time with chibi mechs called Armanox akin to ones in the SD Gundam line. The pilots, from the first eliminated to the last, all served a purpose. The standout performances were Yoko Hikasa as “Anna” with her goddess tier throat and lungs and Aoi Yuki as Suisho giving one of her best performances to date. Alongside the surprise yummy yuri the main draw of the show (besides the cool robattles) is the relationship between Mangetsu and Shingetsu/Ernesta. Good stuff. Oh, and this being a Moepocalypse show be ready for anything.

Aikatsu Friends! (S2): Kagayaki no Jewel

Aikatsu Friends! is the third entry in the Aikatsu! idol anime series. The first 50 episodes were pretty good overall but it had its hiccups. While the remaining 26 episodes weren’t devoid of flaws, mainly due to it being half as long as S1, it blew me away thanks to most of what I enjoyed about S1 being ramped up to the max awesomeness. The veteran couples didn’t get many new songs but the challenges they faced and their ongoing development more than made up for it. However, the main reason I loved this show so much were the new main couple of Hibiki and Alicia. Their love story alone catapulted the season to spectacular heights for me.

“Dumbbell nan Kilo Moteru?”

A predictable one considering my tastes in media. It’s a show about sexy girls working out and teaching viewers how to properly exercise and stay healthy. I was initially worried the male trainer, Mr Machio, would end up being a het harem protagonist. As far as the anime goes that thankfully wasn’t the case. In fact he too was a great character alongside the bodacious beauties who frequented his gym. Not only was the show full of steamy sexiness and some wonderful lady muscles from our heroines and side-babes, the show also briefly motivated me to exercise some more at home. In the end I realized I need a personal trainer after all to keep going but for a while Dumbbell filled that role wonderfully.

With the rise of muscle maidens in anime in recent years this is hopefully leading me one step closer to one of my dream sports anime about competitive female bodybuilders.

ENDRO~!

Mixing Yuri Yuri style of comedy with Fantasy JRPG tropes and elements and you have a recipe for a guaranteed gay old time! From the awesome twist prologue to the wonderful conclusion this is a must watch for fans of either or both kinds of anime in the mix I mentioned.

Rifle is Beautiful

The following two anime made me really think hard about their positioning. Which one did I enjoy more? Both had me busting my gut. Both were super adorable. Both had my undivided attention. Both feature fantastic casts. Etc. Let’s go over what RiB is about. A lot of viewers walked away about the sport of rifle shooting wasn’t interesting. That and weapons aficionados are difficult to please. In any case the show acknowledged rifle shooting as not being the most interesting of sports but that’s not why I loved it so much. When it comes to sports anime there are two things I look for:

1: Is the sport interesting?

2: Do I care about the leads?

The most important is #2 but usually I have to answer “Yes” to one of the two questions. Hanebado! is an example of #2 being iffy for me. Point is I loved everyone in RiB so much that I wanted to see them succeed. That investment made me care about the competition much more than I would have otherwise.

Time for my Top 5

#5: Machikado Mazoku

So how did Machikado end up in my top 5 over RiB? Machikado was gayer. Make no mistake! Rifle is gloriously gay and it along with BLACKFOX solidified 3Hz Inc. as one of my favorite anime studios. But ShamiMomo’s love story was so powerful, so engaging and so wonderful I had to choose it. Again, toughest part of making this list. The other 4 were much easier.

#4: RE:Stage Dream Days

The funny thing about this one is that on the surface it is a by the numbers idol anime about a group of girls joining forces to enter an idol competition to become the best. Its simplicity is precisely what makes it not only my favorite idol show of the year but one of my all time favorites in the genre. There’s no drawn out drama, no complexity and no strings attached. It’s all about the cute, sweet, fluffy and super gay journey of six aspiring idols split into three couples that DO NOT GET MIXED UP IN SHIPPING WARS! The couples you see are the couples you get for the rest of the show. Very much appreciated.

#3: Kandagawa Jet Girls

I can’t help it. When I see a really good ecchi yuri I’ll gravitate towards it without question, especially when it reminds me of Harukana Receive. Such is the case with Kandagawa Jet Girls but instead of beach volleyball (Which they just so happen to play at one point) it’s jet ski racing. This show being set in the Takaki “Ecchiverse” (Senran Kagura and Valkyrie Drive) expect high quality uncensored sexiness. Naturally this show isn’t for viewers who dislike unabashed T&A ecchi media. As with almost every other show on the list the main reason I enjoyed the show besides the great racing and glorious ecchi-ness is the main romance between the leads Rin and Misa. While the show is undeniably a commercial for the upcoming video game the main focus being on their relationship is very much appreciated. Seeing Misa slowly come out of timid shell so she can grow closer to Rin and Rin learning to become more observant of what’s happening around is what I was there for every Tuesday. Again the racing and sexiness are excellent but the main couple is where it’s at. Naturally the other couples are great too. Be sure to watch the show uncensored unless you want to be blinded by the evil shiny rays of doom.

#2: Manaria/Mysteria Friends

My favorite “short” anime of the year and 2nd favorite overall. Sometimes I do enjoy lesbian romances where the couples must overcome many obstacles in order to earn their happy ending together. However, more often than not if I were given the choice on what kind of romance I lean more toward it’s the simple ones like Anne and Grea’s. Besides the magic academy setting and shenanigans that comes with it the main draw and focus of the growing love between the two lead princesses. Another “No strings attached” romance between two girls whose feelings for each other grow stronger and stronger with each passing day. Them being super sexy is a welcome bonus. A simple romance is all I need to be happy. That and GreAnne being FiZetta’s successors.

And now we come to #1. Longtime fans know which show it is long before clicking on the post.

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#1: Symphogear XV

Seven years of buildup to this season. Seven years of waiting for this moment. Five seasons of awesomeness spread across seven years. All leading up to this season. As always Symphogay delivers. It’s more of the same but with the best presentation the series has had to date. The action is gloriously over the top as always, the soundtrack is Goddess Tier as always, our heroines are at peak awesomeness, the “sympathetic servants” are my favorite in the series (Controversy and all), the fanservice is through the roof (More so for longtime fans. The sexiness was top notch too of course) and of cours the yuri reached its crescendo for many of our favorite couples. Some more than others. The way the series ended was almost perfect. It missed just one little thing. Other than that it’s exactly what I hoped would happen. While I hope we get a few extra tidbits to tie those small gaps I am perfectly content with what we got…

…so much so that not only is Symphogear XV my #1 anime of 2019 but (Spoiler) Symphogear is my favorite anime of the decade…and one of my longest questions was answered: “Would I ever find ‘The One’?”. I have indeed found it…

Senki Zesshou Symphogear is my favorite anime series of all time.