With 2017 coming to a close, it’s time to share my thoughts on the top 5 five anime for 2017. As always, the list is subjective.
1. Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon
In the past, there are some yuri ship teasing in some of Kyoto’s Animation’s anime, namely Sanae and Shinka from Chuunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai and of course, Kumiko and Reina, and later Kumiko and Asuka in Hibike! Euphonium. But really, Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon is the first show that have an official pairing off the bat.
Sure, people are afraid that Kyoto Animation will tone down the yuri, but it’s not really the case. Tohru is openly in love with Miss Kobayashi, who saved her from an injury caused by a magic sword. Of course, there are one other notable pairing, Kana, another dragon girl who is banished from the world she came from. Riko, who is a normal human being develops a huge crush on Kana. Not surprising since Kana is adorable.
Aside from that, the comedy in general is very funny and worked well with the cast. It’s not surprising since they managed to make the story of Little Match Girl into something crazy and funny with magical girls and such. With those crazy moments combined with the characters make Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon one of the most enjoyable shows of this year.
2. New Game!!
Like the first season, the second of New Game is very enjoyable with more of the same things that made the show great, but better. This time, Eagle Jump works on a new video game property called PECO. While Aoba and Hifumi and Rin and Kou ship teasing reduced a bit, there are more development with the other pairings. Hajime and Yun finally receives the development they deserved. There are two episodes filled with nice moments with them together. Of course, Nene and Umiko gets taken to the next level, especially with Nene feeding Umiko a taste of her of her parfait with her own spoon. Not only that, Umiko hires Nene and have a lot of faith in her coding skills.
Of course, like the first season, there are a lot of funny and serious moments. Of course, the comedy is taken to another level. One notable instance of this is Hazuki dressing Aoba and her friends (excluding Hifumi) in maid outfits and Aoba doing the Moe Moe Kyun thing. The new characters, Narumi and especially Momo are enjoyable additions too.
3. Konohana Kitan
Sure, this show doesn’t get talked about that much, but this is one of the enjoyable Iyasashikei shows, with of course lesbian fox girls who work at a hot springs hotel. It’s obvious with the pairings as each show feelings towards each other’s, most notably Yuzu and Satsuki and Ren and Natsume. As expected, the girls are adorable, especially Yuzu and Sakura.
The thing that draws me to this show is of course the setting. The world the girls work in is between the actual world and heaven, which leads to interesting situations. The girls not only help serve their guest’s needs, but also solve their problems. Some notable examples are Yuzu helping a girl on the beach from committing suicide and the girls helping Shino grow up. Of course, each of these segments show the small things in life that most people take for granted, which is nice.
4. Blend S
While this show has hardly any yuri compared to other shows that publish in Kirara Manga Time, it manages to be a very fun show to watch. The cast, mainly Maika, Kaho and Mafuyu are very enjoyable as they work at a cosplay café with other co-workers. The show reminds me a lot of Working!! as the cast are eccentric in their own way. For instance, Maika’s sadistic glare, Kaho spending most of her time playing games, Mafuyu’s obsession of children’s anime, Koyo’s obsession over yuri anime and manga and so on.
As for the comedy and character development, it’s very good. Surprisingly, each character are developed well despite not receiving screen time in every episode. One good example is Kanzaki Hideri, which shows up in Episode 8. He received an episode of his own. It’s interesting how he wants to dress up as a girl and become an idol because he doesn’t like his future prospects of running his family farm. Of course, Maika’s natural sadism usually leads to hilarious moments along with Mafuyu helping Kaho study so she can pass her makeup exam.
Not to mention, people made tons of memes with the opening theme with the whole “S stands for” thing. I have to give the show some credit since the opening theme is catchy.
5. Kemono Friends
This Is one of the shows that is mentioned a lot. Sure, Kemono Friends has a shoestring budget and used computer generated graphics for its animation. Despite the animation quality, the story is quite enjoyable. Serval finds a girl named Kaban. They eventually set out on an adventure in Japari Park to find out what species Kaban is. They meet various animal friends as they head to the library, filled with fun, dramatic and heartwarming moments. This goes to show that you don’t necessarily need a top-notch production values to tell a good story.
Notable Mentions (6-10)
- Hinako Note – A slice of life Anime involving a girl named Hinako trying to shred her shyness by doing theater. The show has an enjoyable cast with a lot of fun slice of life moments.
- Urara Meirochou – Yet another enjoyable slice of life anime with Chiya and her friends aiming to become the top Urara. It have a lot of fun moments and of course, lots yuri as well.
- Sakura Quest – While the first half is kind of silly, the second half was interesting as Yoshino and her friends try to revive Manoyama. While they failed to do so, they managed to at least preserve the culture of the town. Of course, it shows the challenges that most millennials have with the struggle of finding a worthwhile career.
- Hina Logi: From Luck & Logic – The more enjoyable Luck & Logic spinoff with an almost female cast, with light hearted comedy and of course, lots of yuri.
- Love Live Sunshine Second Season – The second season is definitely an improvement over the first season. The girls becoming unable to save their school is a good twist since it makes their difficulties more realistic. Also, there is good character development with Riko and Yoshiko and the first-year students helping Leah create a song together. Despite the improvements, I still feel that the second season of Sunshine is still somewhat formulaic. Aside from the flaws, I enjoy the show for what it is.
This sums up my top 5 anime for 2017. With that, feel free to discuss your favorite anime from 2017.
Great top 5 dood! Only one I didn’t see was Blend S. I might check out one day when I’m in the mood. The other four were all excellent.
While Blend S have 3 male characters, the comedy is what makes it rather enjoyable. Reminds me of Working.
But yes, there was a lot of good shows, and the list would probably be different if Anime Strike titles were available on Crunchyroll instead.