Capsule Computers 2013 Anime of the Year Awards

 Editor’s Choice

In this section each member of the Capsule Computers Anime Team has a chance to sound off on their personal favourites of 2013, to highlight series they feel deserved some recognition, or to reinforce those who received it. Without further adieu, this is our Editor’s Choice.

Sergei Lazarev:
“It’s almost easy to forget that little mecha show that aired in last spring, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet or Suisei no Gargantia. To be perfectly honest, I expected it to be far bigger than what it ultimately turned out to be. While the scale starts off as tremendous, we were confined to just one planet; an Earth that has long since sunk beneath the ocean.

The show perfectly captured the enormity of having a technologically superior being come down and mingle with natives. Stranded and away from a galactic war Ledo has to get used to a simpler life, which isn’t easy when you’re bred for war in a society where privilege is earned only if you survive. Soon enough, the war appears on their doorstep and in a way that turns Ledo’s beliefs upside down.

Visually gorgeous, Gargantia blends sleek, sci-fi with rusty and derelict ships. The whole anime simply shines with quality even when not much is happening. Being a Gen Urobuchi title, there is surprisingly little of his writing traits here. Gargantia is hardly as depressing or as forcefully tragic as his other works, but it still retains that game-changing twist in the narrative.”

James Mapley:
“2013 has been a year of massive highs and massive lows in my life. It was the first year in which my anime journalism was published on a professional platform and it was also the first time that I got fired, only a few months after starting to write reviews and general interest articles. Just a few hours after that disappointment, I applied to come and write here at Capsule Computers having been jealous of how much more professional my fellow journalist’s work was than mine in the limited capacity I was allowed at my previous employer. 5 months have passed since then and I have learned so much, all while being able to bring you content about the things that I love in life, so for that I am truly thankful. 

The year for me has been mirrored in many ways by the anime releases of 2013. There have been some titanic highs (forgive the pun) and some disappointing lows, but all in all it has been an amazing step forward for the industry. 2013 saw the fall of KyoAni in my opinion, starting with soft mochi foundations in the form of Tamako Market, getting them soggy with Free, and then finally trying to pick up the gooey mess with Kyoukai no Kanata, but inevitably failing. A company that I thought could do no wrong left me distraught with their obsession with ‘money-for-moe’ and in a year of breaking conventions that just wasn’t good enough. Conversely, we saw the ascension of Production I.G who have produced nothing but gems since Psycho-Pass and who look like they still have a lot up their money-lined sleeves. However, Silver Link continue to be my favourite dark horse animation company, proving repeatedly that it doesn’t take billions of dollars, killer source material, or silly gimmicks to make a good anime – All you need is to be true to the source material.

For me, easily the most enjoyable anime of the year was Watamote. This silly, cynical look at the life of a deranged highschool girl had me coming back every single week desperate for more. I don’t know if it was seeing someone worse off than me suffer, or whether it just appealed to my dark British humour, but something about this anime was just perfect to me. What I would consider to be the best all round anime of the year though would have to be Attack on Titan. Anybody that has heard me talk about Sword Art Online knows that I am not just a sucker for any popular shōnen, in fact I slated SAO for pretty much everything but its world. Attack on Titan though is not just any old shōnen. Slow and lumbering like a titan, but always carrying that same ominous fear and tension with it; every single episode threw me off of the edge of my seat, into another seat, and off of the edge of that one too. It is the only anime of the year that I would consider strong enough to break into my top tier anime bracket featuring such masterpieces as Steins;Gate, Sakamichi no Apollon, and Toradora.

2013 will be remembered by the anime community as the year that humanity remembered the fear of being ruled by them… The humiliation of being kept in a cage… And I wouldn’t have it any other way. As for 2014, all I will say is, Space Dandy.”

Frank Inglese:
“2014 is here and with the changing of the new year comes the close to the old year which was a great one both in general and for anime fans around the world. We saw the rise of shows like “Attack On Titan”, “Blood Lad” and “Valvrave The Liberator” but we also saw the fall of some Anime series’ too like “Aku No Hana”, just to name a big one. 2013 was one hell of a year for Anime and there were so many fantastic stories told throughout.

Every anime nominated for our awards were done so because they showed excellence in their field but do not be disheartened because your favourite anime was not mentioned, that does not mean they were bad in any way, it means there were just far too many good releases and we couldn’t get to them all. My hopes are that 2014 maintains the level of excellence that we saw from the Anime industry last year and I have a good feeling that the new year will prove to us that anime will soar to greater heights and continue there for years to come. “Congratulations” to the winners of each of the categories and “good luck for the future” to all the titles that did not get an award, not every series can hit the mark but the ones who did, did it it well. Sayonara for another year.”

Travis Bruno:
“When a sequel comes out to a great series, there are high expectations and while 2013 saw many great sequels and continuations, the best of them happened to be High School DxD New and Hyodou Issei’s breast fueled journey. Not only has High School DxD us in the past that great storylines and enjoyable characters can come from what many may regard as a lowly fan-service laden harem series, but it has also provided a high level of quality in all regards and High School DxD New continued to deliver on all accounts.

Not only was the world expanded to contain the church/angels, fallen angels, and the rest of the demon realm but it also introduced Issei’s mortal enemy and a new faction that sees these three enemies join forces. By introducing a two great new characters and properly developing both these new characters and past characters, as well as proving why Issei deserves the affections that these girls have for him, makes High School DxD New the best sequel that anyone could have asked for.”

Kane Bugeja:
“Where do I begin? 2013 was a pretty damn good year for anime. There were series that had months of pre-release hype, others that people had kinda sorta heard of an a few surprises along the way. But enough of general anime praise. I’m here to quickly run through what I thought were the best series of 2013.

First up and not surprisingly is Kill la Kill. This series just rocks, plain and simple. It’s over the top, action packed and full of humour that’s even more over the top than the action. The series also introduced one of the quirkiest, bubbliest characters I’ve ever seen: Mako Mankanshoku. When she appears, thing are probably going to make so little sense that they loop back around to being brilliant. It is by no means the most intense plotline to come out of anime, but it definitely has its moments (Episode 12 for example)…damn. It had this in common with Blood Lad, another series that decided to just have a little bit of fun. Otaku vampires, delinquent werewolfs, not to mention the unsettling background demons.

Leaning towards the other end of the plot spectrum was Attack on Titan. Goddamn if that show didn’t make you feel things…emotions I believe they’re called. Right from the get go that series let you know that it was not going to pull any punches, a promise it lived up to right until the end. Death, consequences and monsters so oddly human that they became more terrifying than you would imagine…it did have one hell of an opening song though. Finally, I want to give a quick shout out to Beyond the Boundary. Though the plot focused pretty heavily on the relationships between the main characters, the series had some of the best animation of the year. Not only the designs for characters and demons, but the fluid nature of each fight scene made it just awesome to watch. It’s always a good sign when, along with the contents, you recall just how good a series looked. Though, that’s just my opinion…“

Luke Halliday:
“While I could heap even more praise on the phenomenal Eccentric Family, I’m going to take my little bit of space here to highlight another anime series this year that has been criminally overlooked. That series is Ace of Diamond, a baseball anime series with honest emotion and as raw a heart of any I’ve seen in the genre.

This isn’t your standard sports anime and that becomes quickly apparent after watching. Being the huge sports anime fan that I am, I had my eye on Ace of Diamond from the first announcement all the way up to the first episode and it has delivered every episode since. At its core it is a often heartbreaking yet frequently uplifting exploration of the things that drive these people to play sport and the sacrifices they must all make for their dreams.

If you have overlooked this one because you wrote it off as just another sports anime, think again. Ace of Diamond is sports anime at its very best and easily the best sports anime of 2013.”

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