I honestly don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions. It’s bullsh*t for people that think they want to change, but honestly, mostly don’t have the actual willpower to do so. I’m not here to worry about that real life stuff. I’m going to focus on what I really can change, what really matters. Anime. I’m gonna fill in those glaring holes in my repetoire and make myself a better anime loving nerd. So without further faffing, here’s my list of anime resolutions for 2011.
Super Shoujo!
(Nanoha, Heartcatch Precure, Princess Tutu)
I’ve gotten recommendations over the years for many things. My real life friends and associates kept pushing Afro Samurai at me. Some of my snobby (just kidding) aniblogger associates have pushed vampire anime at me. I’ve even gotten a request to read the Rave Master manga (I’m a bit afraid to go there). But one of the most nagging, the most prevelant, the most repetetive recommendations over the years has been NANOHA!
Apparently since the days of Sailor Moon, things have gotten a bit rougher and tougher. Somewhere along the line these girls stopped twirling and cackling, and started punching and getting really naked. I’m down. Doctor’s tweet about an episode of Heartcatch Precure gave me the idea to try this out.
You’re probably wondering why I included Princess Tutu in this list, aren’t you? Well she turns into a duck… or she turns into a girl. Regardless that’s not normal, so by my logic it’s super. Plus I really need to get this show out of the way.
Mecha & Space Operas
(Macross franchise, Legend of the Galactic Heroes)
You know, 2010 was supposed to be my year for Macross and Legend of the Galactic Heroes. I don’t know what happened. Oh wait, coupled with my short attention span and some spectacular Winter anime I kind of got thrown.
The original Macross should’ve been easy enough to finish, but for some reason I decided to be the good guy for that series and not download the torrented version. I went to HULU like a good boy and started marathoning those episodes. Then I got HULU Plus to go with my iPad. Not so fast! Turns out HULU hardly had a fraction of their content availabe on the “plus” version and I was paying $10 a month for something that wasn’t nearly as good as the free version. What the f*ck?! Like my capable company soon after, I dumped HULU like a cheating girlfriend with a venereal and never looked back. Unfortunately, I left the Macross baby in the car when I shoved it off the pier.
As for Legend of the Galactic Heroes, I decided to postpone watching that at about the right time. Episode 54, enough said.
Here’s to hoping I finish those series by 2012. I got a lot more Macross to watch, and it has got to be easier than catching up with Gundam. I’ll take space whales over f*cking ZZ any day.
Critics’ Choice
(Trapeze, Aoi Bungaku series, House of Five Leaves)
THAT is exactly why I try to watch as eclectic a selection of anime as possible. So I don’t have to deal with comments like those. It’ll never be enough. Regardless I feel a little guilty for being distracted and not finishing shows that have been generally referred to as quality shows with things like strong characterization and writing. 
That’s why at some point during this year I’m committed to knocking out Aoi Bungaku, Trapeze and the House of Five Leaves. A combination of curiousity and guilt is what drives me in this instance.
Sequels
(Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni 2)
I had a hell of a time watching two different series for completely separate reasons. Hajime no Ippo for its action and music; Higurashi for its highly entertaining and creepy premise, if not unfair story telling practices. I have their second seasons high on my list of things to do.
Elfen Lied
Speaking of creepy, I only got 3 or 4 episodes into Elfen Lied before I decided to move on to other endeavors. It wasn’t that it wasn’t good, or entertaining; much like Berserk I just couldn’t get in the mood to commit to this series or deal with its nastiness. But I’m no pussy. I’m forging ahead this year. Besides, the series isn’t very long and I heard the manga ending was far more gruesome than the anime’s. The only thing I worry about is dealing with so many stupid people. Even with that small amount of exposure, I still noticed a large amount of dumbasses in the story.
Move on!/Put it behind you!
(InuYasha: Kanketsu-hen)
I WILL finish InuYasha! 6 or 7 years ago that wouldn’t be a problem or even up for debate. Hell, I watched and nearly bought all 160+ episodes of that damn show. You can’t challenge my commitment. But I’m not the same anime fan I was back then. Oh no! It’s not even close. I hadn’t even seen a fraction of the anime I’ve seen since.
I learned during my original attempt to watch 26 episodes of this new and final season of InuYasha that I really don’t give a damn anymore. I tired of the lack of development, the faffing about of the characterizations, the relationships, the damn plot! That stuff doesn’t fly with me anymore. I’ve seen better, much better stories like InuYasha’s that are much better than InuYasha’s. This is merely me attempting to relieve that nagging feeling I get from not having a series completed. After that I’m burning this zombie and putting its rotten ass back in the hole.
Honey & Clover (all of it)
I curiously picked up some of the discs for the first season on DVD from Netflix. And while I didn’t completely “get”, let alone fall in love with the series during the firstfour episodes I very well can’t ignore what many have regarded as one of the best and most important series of the decade. Like I initially did with Haruhi, I’m going to have to grin and bear it and hope for a huge payoff before the end. The gamble paid of that time. Let’s see if I’m rolling the lucky die again. Besides, I’m always b*tching about how I want more mature stories with more realistic romances, this should tickle my fancy. And my fancy does need tickling.
Dragonar
SOMEONE FINISH SUBBING THIS PLEASE! F*CK! I’ve been waiting years to plow through what some mecha fans regard as well kept secret/hidden gem. I don’t care if it is a Gundam ripoff. If I know it’s there I can’t ignore it. Come on fansubbers, this one’s all yours. You can do it. Just hurry!
Shiki
By far, the most popular series that did not watch in 2010. It started out normally enough. Anibloggers giving their thoughts on the show as it aired. Something that could easily go unnoticed, which is why it initially flew under my radar. Then I started seeing non anibloggers on my Twitter feed talking about it. By the end of the year, I could not avoid the in-jokes, the banter, the cursing and fauning over the show. It was a phenomenon. I don’t understand its popularity, but I aim to try.
Index
(A Certain Magical Index series)
Believe me, I knew of A Certain Magical Index before I watched A Certain Scientific Railgun, but just barely. With it being a relatively popular series and my absolute love of Railgun when it aired in 2010, I knew I had to give it a shot. Don’t worry, I’ve already been warned about the differences in the style and tone of the two series. I think I’m ready for it.
Fullmetal Alchemist vs. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
For years the original Fullmetal Alchemist has held a coveted spot in my Top 5. Dare I say it almost has tenure (I only hold that position for one series, Neon Genesis Evangelion; Azumanga Daioh and TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN are likely candidates too). I watched the Conqueror of Shamballa movie and accepted everything for what it was and was content. I made peace with the fact that I would just keep buying the manga volume by volume and I would eventually get to finish the series as Arakawa intended. Then Brotherhood was announced, and though I called bullsh*t on the original announcement, I couldn’t be more happy to be wrong. There’s a problem though.
There’s only room for one Fullmetal Alchemist in my Top 5. While both series have the same base, one series takes a more dramatic turn, has an ending very in line with what we can expect in a post Evangelion world of anime and borders on tragedy porn. The other series sticks to its manga base all the way through, stays truer to its shounen manga roots and does a much better job of fleshing out its world.
This is THE project for me for 2011. And I have no idea how I’m going to tackle it. Should I rewatch one series completely through and then the other. Or should I compare them more directly by watching them in an episodic, alternating fashion?
Ay Lebron! What should I do?
You don't know do you? G0ddamn it!
To make matter worse, this endeavor goes completely against the kind of anime fan I am right now. I’m always consuming more anime; whether it be classic legacy anime or in-season stuff. Most importantly this directly conflicts with my last resolution, as I don’t see how one is possible if I attempt the other. And the hardest part is that the punishment for the series that loses is that it’s out of my Top 10 permanently. Tough decisions have to be made.
Yaoi
(Just Around the Corner, Antique Bakery)
I try to be fair. Yaoi is pretty much the only genre I haven’t cracked and every year I get “ickies” and stop watching a show. This year probably won’t be any different, but I may as well try. “Just Around the Corner” will be my attempt to read a manga from this genre this year. Let’s hope I can see this for the story and not throw up all over the monitor.
A Splash of Haruhi
(The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya season 2, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya)
I’d like to attempt to watch all of Endless Eight, plus The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya in one week. Which is doable. But if I could do that in one day it would be epic. Regardless, I’m a bit sad that I didn’t get to dive into such a well received movie before the end of 2010, but I think it will be worth the wait.
From 200 to 300
The year 2010 ended with me completing 200th and 201st anime (EVA 2.0 & Kuragehime respectively), and now I’m aiming big. It’s gonna involve a lot of watching shorts and movies and possibly a bunch of crappy OVA’s, but if I can reach that magic number I’ll be incredibly proud of myself. You also now know why it’s probably impossible to complete my Fullmetal Alchemist resolution and this one in the same year now. Watching over 110 episodes of an anime that doesn’t even count to that number is going to be suicide for the 200 to 300 goal.
Well that’s everything I have planned, anime-wise anyway. What are your resolutions? No matter how big or small, mundane or preposterous. I wanna here them.
We Remember Love 
I used to have a batch of Dragonar, which was in HK subs. It wasn’t as *bad* as the other HK-subbed shows, but not very good either. Maybe you could try that out?
I’ll look forward to starting Heartcatch and Princess Tutu this year, too.
There was a group called Brosubs that subbed the first 2 episodes last year, and I thought they did a very good job. But I haven’t heard a peep from them since. It sucks to be teased like that. Plus I’ve tried a few HK subs before. I don’t wanna say I think all of them are crap and I hate them but…
“All HK subs are crap, and I hate them.”
Holy crap, that’s a lot of anime. Good luck and may you have fun with all the Macross in front of you.
As for myself, I’m in the middle of my rewatch of Eureka SeveN which is great as I expected (I’m going into my favorite arc — Charles and Ray ;_;) but I’m kind of miffed that I’m not getting ideas on writing about it. I won’t force it though.
I will also rewatch Cowboy Bebop as I’ve intended to as early as 2009. I already have post ideas planned for that one.
For unwatched series, I have Dai Guard, Infinite Ryvius at the top of a long list. While for series on hold, I want to finally finish Victory Gundam, and Armored Trooper VOTOMs.
Also, fuck LeBron.
oh man… THAT arc in Eureka SeveN. I thought you already blogged about that show’s first half anyway. Something I forgot to put in this post were all the shows that desperately deserved a rewatch like Eureka, Angel Beats, Code Geass and Full Metal Panic! (the original). That’s probably because rewatching stuff is so far down on my list.
I’ve heard good things about Dai Guard, the concept is intriguing. Infinite Ryvius, too, I almost watched that just for the character designer was one of my faves in the early 00’s (SEED & s-CRY-ed were his work, too).
As for Victory…. oh boy. I think Tomino’s puppy, grandma, or somebody died while he was directing this. It almost makes Zeta’s horrors look like playtime at Disneyland. I think you’ll find its final 15-20 episodes very interesting.
HA! I knew you would love the Lebron cameo!
Shiki- Great and addictive fun there, I liked all the random hair styles and crazy outfits! and they have some interesting characters too.
FMA vs FMA-Bro I liked the original FMA but brother hood extends the show adding some great characters and making the ending more epic feel to it. Can’t wait for the movie to come out!
IndexII- Well it takes a while for things to get good and I liked Railgun too mostly due to Misaka’s character and all the random powers. With Index we get some magic thrown in which is kind of fun too.
I look forward to microblogging Shiki. I’m gonna go in with no expectations and planning to have some fun. And with Index, and that whole world period, I think the best thing it has going for it is the incredibly creative esper powers and over the top action. I’m looking forward to it pushing my WTF index (no pun intended) to the limit.
Glad to see you committed to watching some good series. Especially Honey and Clover. After the first four episodes is exactly where the story starts taking off, the show just took its time in the first four establishing the characters and their connections to each other. You won’t be disappointed. I’ve personally converted 5 of my friends to the One True Drama by watching it along with them and all of them have loved it.
That’s a pretty good accomplishment. I think my most successful anime for conversion has been Full Metal Panic Fumoffu? and Azumanga Daioh. Even the most stuffy people who have never had childhoods have enjoyed those shows.
…. You DIDN’T finish LOGH !!!!??? Ghost, I am disappoint 😦
But seriously, I powered through that like no tomorrow, and I seriously urge you to put that at the top of your list, especially since you’re on the cusp of getting to season 3 (The best season ever in my and everyone else’s opinion.) Yes I know, its a long commitment, but trust me when I say it’ll feel like time went by far too quickly once its over, and you’ll probably be itching to go back again in a month or two. Would love a review on your final thoughts for the series at some point as well if you can manage 😉
Agghh, sorry about that donkangoljones, I get so used to responding to ghost’s posts it kind of becomes a reflex after awhile :p
HA! No problem, I’ve had to make sure I put my name in the posts I’ve been adding to this blog so much lately.
As for a detailed review of the series, if I’m not weeping or in too much of a rage I might be able to manage one. But like Macross this one is definitely going down this year.
going to finish Code Geass and then watch:
Gurren Lagann
Rurouni Kenshin
Gunslinger Girl
FMA: Brotherhood
Gad Guard
Spice & Wolf
Now and Then, Here and There
Arjuna
Nadia
and more…
you got some nice classics in there. Good luck on that. Word of advice, don’t watch some of that more depressing stuff too lumped together. And you WILL need a break from TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN. It’s almost a 90% given. Good luck and look forward to hearing your thoughts on some of those series.
Heartcatch Precure is fun. I started on my own after a few friends were watching it and caught up to them a while back. Now we watch it weekly (though not for much longer). They like to describe it as a magical girl Gurren Lagann, which I think is overstating its merits a bit too much, but it does have cool, fun action. (Probably to balance how girly it is otherwise lol. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)
I’m sure you’ll enjoy Macross plenty. I loved going through it this past summer — even if I didn’t like Macross 7, it too at least inspired passion in me. Still need to finish Legend of the Galactic Heroes myself, though . . .
Trapeze is fun. More of a zonked out feel good series than something really intellectual like I think most expected at the time. Aoi Bungaku is great, too, especially the “Run, Melos!” arc. That was the best piece of anime I watched in 2009. House of Five Leaves I’m not big on, though. Too slow for me and not enough compelling stuff to make up for it (like, say, Monster).
Thanks, knowing the actual tone of Trapeze will help me figure out when I should watch it. I like to have my serious/depressing anime dissected by some ligh/feel good material every now and then. Right now it looks like I’m powering through Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger and will finish that soon. After that I think it’s time for some Macross. If I don’t see space whales and hear Fire Bomber (which Ghostlightning can’t shut up about) then I’ll be disappointed.
You don’t see space whales or Fire Bomber until Macross 7. :p
That’s what I meant. Even the worse/strangest parts of Macross (the franchise) can’t possibly compare to the horrid sh*t storm that is the worst of Gundam.
>:-P
Other reason for watching Shiki: it was compelling enough to me that I snapped my two year streak of not doing episodic blogging. I pretty much loathe episodic blogging. But my love for Shiki was so intense that I couldn’t help but begin episodic blogging for it. And now that I’m not blogging it episodically? THE EMPTINESSSSSSSSSSSSSS
I don’t hate episodic blogging, but I can see how it can be a pain to blog something consistently like that. That said, it’s generally a ringing endorsement for a show if someone says that they can write about it every week. It means there are details in mysteries worth exploring. I hope you soon find another series that can fill that hole in your anime loving heart.
Antique Bakery isn’t yaoi (except for the doujin written by the author); it’s a josei in which some of the characters are gay. But it’s not even a romance story.
Noted. Still don’t think I have the desire to finish the thing though.
Pleh I don’t believe in New Years resolutions either. Anyway great post here. I still have to finish Shiki. Everyone tells me I’ll love it, but ehh I just haven’t had the willpower to sit down and watch more of it yet. The first two episodes seemed like it was setting us up for SOMETHING…looks like it could be great. Guess I’ll see one of these days.
I think we’ll both have interesting experiences finishing Shiki. But I’m gonna try to go in with no expectations. Thanks for stopping by.
Pingback: DKJ’s 2014 Resolutions | the Check-in Station