2020 Anime That I Watched
For me 2020 was a land of contrasts. On January 1 I started my trip to Japan and the best two and a half weeks of my life. Other good things included starting this blog which has been fun. Bad things from this year include that pesky global pandemic!
For this article I will focus on a positive though. That positive being the new anime I watched this year! I'll only include stuff that was started in 2020 so that means no Chihayafuru season 3. But while I endure the wait for season 4 there were other anime to watch!
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
Season: Winter
Length: 12 Episodes
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
Based on the manga by Sumito Owara and directed by Masaaki Yuasa, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is an anime about unbridled creatively and the constraints commercial art must work within.
After Midori Asakusa drags her friend Sayaka Kanamori to a screening of an anime at their high school they meet aspiring animator Tsubame Mizusaki. Together they form the Eizouken as a school club and work to make animated films while staying on time and on budget! Eizouken started airing on January 5, 2020 and is probably anime of the year. The way it merges fantasy with reality and creative visions with commercial limits is sublime.
Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2
Season: Spring
Length: 12 Episodes
Where to Watch: Funimation
The first thing I should do here is mention OP of the year, DADDY! DADDY! DO! But Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2 has more than just a catchy song. It's also probably the funniest season of anime I've ever seen. Based on the manga by Aka Akasaka this season of Kaguya-sama introduces new characters while giving depth to the original main cast.
Great Pretender
Season: Spring
Length: 23 Episodes
Where to Watch: Netflix
A decent show that I am still finishing up as Netflix only recently dropped the final few episodes. Great Pretender focuses on the adventures of small time swindler, Makoto Edamura, as he is wrapped up in bigger and bigger schemes by master con man, Laurent Thierry. Not much to say about it other than that it is unlikely to get a physical media release with its ED intact!
BNA
Season: Spring
Length: 12 Episodes
Where to Watch: Netflix
BNA is an average series with some high points. One day when Michiru Kagemori is turned into a beastman and she escapes to Anima City. There she hopes to find a way to turn herself back into a human. Coming off of Promare this work seemed to be a step down for Studio Trigger but I did really enjoy the baseball episode!
Sing “Yesterday” for Me
Season: Spring
Length: 12 Episodes
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
A coming of age tale based on a manga by Kei Toume. The story focuses on unambitious recent university graduate Rikuo Uozumi and his attempts to pursue his former classmate, Shinako Morinome. Both Rikuo and Shinako are people who are unable to move forward in life because of love. For Shinako it is her dead boyfriend and for Rikuo it is Shinako herself. An interesting series with a contentious ending.
Fruits Basket 2nd Season
Season: Spring
Length: 25 Episodes
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
The second season of the second anime adaptation of Natsuki Takaya's manga of the same name continues Tohru's story while giving more characterization of the Soma family members. It primarily gives focus to Yuki and his attempts to change and grow as a person
Japan Sinks: 2020
Season: Summer
Length: 10 Episodes
Where to Watch: Netflix
This anime was terrifying. Based on the 1973 novel by Sakyo Komatsu it follows one Japanese family through the disaster scenario of Japan sinking into the sea. Japan Sinks pulls no punches with its depictions of people desperately trying to survive. It also get kinda weird at points!
Golden Kamuy Season 3
Season: Fall
Length: 12 Episodes
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
I discovered this show just as its third season started airing so I had some catching up to do! Golden Kamuy follows the adventures of Saichi Sugimoto. A veteran of the Russo-Japanese War who teams up with a young Ainu girl named Asirpa to find a huge trove of gold that was once stolen from the Ainu people. All three seasons of this anime as awesome and the setting is really unique.
There you have it folks! Some anime that I watched!
This is my day 50 post for #100daystooffload
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