Posted by Lynk Former
Reviews8 November 2020

The Great Anime Marathon of 2020! #56 – #60: I didn’t know what to expect

This next selection of anime is a mixed bunch that all have one thing in common. I didn’t really know what to expect going into any of them… at all. Some on this list are a given, but others are a little more subtle in there approach to this concept.

The following is a spoiler-free list of anime I’ve seen this year in no particular order:

#56: Dagashi Kashi

We begin with an anime that features a detailed look into a part of Japanese culture that isn’t present, a least, in the modern western world. The wonderful world of unique Japanese candies and snacks that have a history of its own compared to the kinds of candies and snacks sold elsewhere in the world.

There’s something so authentic about this anime in its representation of these candies and snacks that when you see the opening animation and see a parody of Luke Skywalker in a lightsaber battle with Darth Vader, you think, “what is this even?”

Sure, it’s about something traditionally Japanese, but it also feature huge animu tiddies and a whole lot of sexual innuendo in its history lesson each episode… and for some reason, it got two seasons of this!

I don’t know why this show is compelling to watch (the boobs, must be the boobs, they’re a nice set), but it is.

#57: Devilman Crybaby

I’ve had this sitting on my list for a while but never bothered to take it on until now. It’s… definitely out there, but you never really get prepared for how OUT THERE it’s willing to go.

Devilman Crybaby is the kind of anime that’s hard to explain to anyone who has never seen anime and definitely not the best starting place for anyone new to anime.

It doesn’t have a filter and there is no limits to how far it’ll take things. This short series does whatever the fuck it wants! And that’s great, I love it. Though, perhaps, it’s a little too high concept at times, but that’s the point. Definitely not the kind of anime you’d be willing to re-watch often unless you were definitely in the mood.

#58: Angel Beats!

What the fuck is this? What the fuck is that? Why are they suddenly playing in a band? What the hell is the point of any of this? What the fuck is going on?

Talk about the least compelling thing I’ve ever seen. I was asked to put this higher on my list of anime to watch just so I could explain what the hell is going on but even I don’t know what the fuck I’m meant to get out of this show.

Hell, now that it’s been a few months since I watched it, I can’t even remember anything about it other than the fact that I didn’t know what the point of any of it was.

#59: Tamako Market

This show is very strange, but not for the reasons you might be thinking. It’s a slice of life show with a talking bird, but that’s not what’s strange about it.

The strange part comes from the fact that it doesn’t seem to fit into any one thing. It’s not strange enough and it’s not normal enough, it lives in this no-mans land between that no other anime seems to be.

If it wasn’t for the movie, Tamako Love Story, I’d have given this 1 star, but if all of it was like the movie, it’d get 3 stars. So here we are at 2 stars.

So what made the movie work out better than the TV series? Simple, it was normal enough to come out of that no-mans land of not strange enough and not normal enough and become a normal slice of life love story.

#60: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Like Devilman Crybaby, I had heard about this series being… out there, but you’re never prepared for how far out there you’re going to be taken.

Initially, I watched the TV series and then the Rebellion movie, but recently, I watched the movies by themselves, the first two movies being a retelling of the TV series.

I’m not going to go into any details aside from the fact that this is what magical girl anime should be. It’s so much fun.

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