THE BEST ANIME OF 2023 IN MY OPINION – PART I

Hello my friends. Welcome to a new entry of my blog.

First things firsts…. Merry Christmas!!

I hope all of you had a very awesome celebration with your family and friends. From my regard, I was invited to a lot of parties, and I celebrated Christmas calling my family and friends. And we still have the New Years Eve.

Be as it may be, I am aware that I still have to update myself regarding my blog. And what a good way to end the year than to make many lists of, in my opinion, the best anime of all 2023?

Because yeah, I watched a lot of sweet anime during this 2023 despite not writing as much as in the previous years, some of them have their own pending entry, but until then, I will start mentioning six of my best anime of all 2023.

And I apologise beforehand if your anime is not in this list, but don’t worry, for I will keep doing lists like this for the upcoming days, and I am sure that in one of them, your series will be here.

Until then, enjoy…

THE BEST ANIME OF 2023 IN MY OPINION – PART 1.

6. MASHLE – MAGIC AND MUSCLES.

Yes. This is indeed one of the biggest surprises of all 2023. Just when I though nothing could be as funny as the premise of One-Punch Man, A-1 Pictures releases this little gem of 2023. From minute one, I was laughing hard with all the jokes, and also, I was surprised of the amazing hilarious situations that came from such a simple premise – A world in which magic is everything, yet, one young man, Mash Burnedead, who was born magicless, is going to make his way on Easton Magic Academy.

One could have thought that this is nothing but a rip-off of One-Punch Man, but it is not. It actually takes inspiration from the latter, but ends being its own thing, and that is awesome. You will still prefer One-Punch Man, but there is no doubt that Mashle is memorable by its own merit, for the comedy, the action, and the world itself.

At the same time, the animation is beautiful. I still can’t believe it came from A-1 Pictures. When we are talking about shonen anime, I come up with studios like MAPPA, Wit Studio, Bones, and of course Pierrot. But, somehow, A-1 Pictures perfectly proved it can stand out with other genres, aside from fantasy, sci-fi or romance.

Also, the characters, from Mash to the villains, and the antagonistic Lang House, are relatable and fantastic as well. My favourite characters are definitely Dot and Lemon because they are so eccentric, yet likeable and they beautifully move the plot in their own particular way, giving them more personality.

Combine this all together and you have one of the best and most hilarious anime of 2023.

5. HELL’S PARADISE – JIGOKURAKU

In every project that they release, Studio MAPPA finds a way to make their projects equally amazing, Jujutsu Kaisen 2 increasing the level of drama in many ways, and Vinland Saga 2 exploring a new face of our main character… And of course, Attack on Titan by… making us cry. But in Hell’s Paradise, I was genuinely scared, that was barely happened to me in anime, not even with Umineko, When The Seagulls Cry, because the story presents powerful, yet human characters, such as Gabimaru and Sagiri Asaemon Yamada, and you might be thinking… Nah!! They will survive!!

And then there is a point in which you definitely understand the dangers of their journey at Shinsenkyo, all of the characters, even the main ones, can die. I am not going to spoil anything, but this feeling is because of many factors, the first one is the pretty well-done first episode, in which we see through the complexity of Gabimaru the Hollow, character you end up sympathising with; and also the way story unfolds, allowing you to see that the convicts are not that bad and the not all the Yamada Asaemon are good people, without necessarily hating them – You want, in a way, for all the characters to survive.

And then…   the threats of Shinsekyo arrive, and that is where you understand that anything can die, and that they look like real abominations out of this world.

Take that and combine it with the sweet animation and the soundtrack, in order to give you another gem from MAPPA. Some say Hell’s Paradise is not as good as Chainsaw Man, and I kind of agree, but like Mashle, it stands out in the. Best way possible.

4. MY HAPPY MARRIAGE

Time to jump from the action to the drama.

I read about My Happy Marriage months before the anime was released, and I was already touched for the story of Miyo Saimori and Kyouka Kudou. That poor girl being mistreated all her life due to her apparent lack of supernatural powers, and that soldier who just wanted to find true love, in one of my favourite settings of any story – Meiji Restoration of Japan, or the Taisho era according to Wikipedia.

Thanks to their love, Miyo evolves from a quiet and meek girl to having more self-love and self-confidence, while Kyouka is able to open to his true self and finds hope in his life. Also, the first part of the first season does a great job at portraying the Saimori family as abusers without being too over the top, especially Kaya, who is the personification of this quote from The Simpsons.

“Sweet on the outside, poison on the inside.”

Luckily, she receives her comeuppance, and that is one of the sweetest moments.

And the second half, and possibly the rest of the light novels, it’s mostly about Miyo and Kyouka learning to trust each other, sharing moments together, facing problems as both a couple and individuals. But you feel their love, they enjoy being with each other. And for me, that makes them more enjoyable to watch.

Also, the animation by Kinema Citrus is superb, the soundtrack is beautiful. And yes, I am aware that not everyone would enjoy the story, because it is a bit slow and not so action-packed.  Nonetheless, due to its story, it brings a wonderful sensation of happiness and comfy despite its initial melancholy.

Finally, My Happy Marriage does something with the story I will be always grateful for – making Miyo and Kyouka a couple from the start, instead of directly confessing their feelings at the last episode, making the narrative more interesting and original.

Because of this, and many other reasons, I consider My Happy Marriage as one of the best anime in 2023.

3. MUSHOKU TENSEI – JOBLESS REINCARNATION (SEASON 2)

Those who read my previous entries might know that Mushoku Tensei was one of my favourite anime in 2021. It offered a new perspective with the Isekai genre, in the way of a mixture between bildungsroman, adventure and fantasy, I really welcomed that, especially since I am a very big fan of Isekai, even the worst isekai can actually attract my attention.

From the start, the life of Rudeus Greyrat has been difficult, in a personal and in a social way, and also because the trauma of his previous life deeply affected him; despite this, he worked hard in order to move on, especially after the end of season 1, which for me, was… bittersweet.

But in the beginning of the season, we understand that he truly hit rock bottom, just when we thought he could move on… he hit rock bottom once more. However, with the help of some friends, and due to his previous endeavours, Rudeus is able to enrol into the Ranoa Magic Academy, and meet his childhood friend Sylphy… more or less.

Overall, the season 2 is about the story of Sylphy and Rudeus. We go with them in their difficult trials, and we smiled when we see they made the best of them and evolved as characters, and then, we were present when they know “this something” was missing in each other’s life, and… SPOILER ALERT.

The ending when Rudeus reunites with Sylphy is heartwarming. I was waiting every week to see when they meet again, and when they did, and Rudeus proposed to Sylphy I was almost in tears. Such a beautiful ending for such a beautiful story, despite Part 2 is still waiting.

If there is something that Mushoku Tensei – season 2, taught me is that if we work hard and persevere in life, we can become more than we could ever expected, especially if we are genuinely good people, because our beloved ones might give us the “push” we sometimes need in the most difficult moments.

And for that, and the beautiful animation, is Mushoku Tensei – season 2 is in this list.

2. OSHI NO KO

Oh my gosh!! Speaking about surprises.

I will be honest with you. When I saw the cover of Oshi no Ko, I thought… “Nah. It is another formulaic story of Japanese Idols.” It is not like I hate them, in fact I loved both Idolmaster and Love Live!! But I am not sure that I will be that invested.

And then…

MY POOR AI. WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOU?

This scene was the one who pushed me into Oshi no Ko. But that was only the tip of the iceberg, because I realised this story… is better and more complex than I thought. It got fantasy, it got drama, it got good characters, it got such a catchy opening song, and there, it got our attention.

Furthermore, we are on an idol anime that, unlike many of its predecessors, portrays the ugly side of the entertainment world in Japan, not just the beautiful one, with many real-life similarities that makes Oshi No Ko more relevant that we could ever thought.

Also, the part of the “origin” of both Ruby and Aqua was so heart-breaking and heart-warming at the same time, and the fact that it has some of the most tragic deaths in all anime history makes it more impactful.

But just because Oshi No Ko is dark does not mean it lacks comedy. Check it out.

I know it was a matter of time before Oshi No Ko became this popular, although I am still surprised of how it apparently became so entangled into the anime community.

I am really looking forward for season 2, and the ending of Aqua’s quest of revenge.

1. DEMON SLAYER – THE SWORDSMITH VILLAGE ARC

My friends…

It cannot be in another way.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is one of my favourite anime of all time. And after the ending of Mount Natagumo arc, I wanted to watch both Demon Train and Entertainment District arcs. But I couldn‘t watch them completely. Happily, I could watch more of The Swordsmith Village Arc, and… it is pure gold!!

Ufotable, once again, has proved to know what to do on the adaptation of Kimetsu no Yaiba, how to make the battles memorable, how to make Mitsuri shine, how to transit the feeling of the story, how to make Mitsuri shine, and how to adapt one of the best moments of Kimetsu no Yaiba.

And… Did I mention How to make Mitsuri shine?

I am going d to watch again The Swordsmith Village Arc from scratch, because there is nothing that I love more than relive the feeling that I got from this adaptation, and everything that has to do with the franchise of Kimetsu no Yaiba.

Nothing else to say. It is something that you must experience… Simple as that.

And there you go. Six of my favourite anime of 2023, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Stay tuned for Part II.

And… Merry Christmas and happy new Year 2024.

WHY I HAVE BEEN SO ABSENT DURING 2023 – MY OWN MEA CULPA

WHY I HAVE BEEN SO ABSENT DURING 2023 – MY OWN MEA CULPA

Hello my friends. Welcome to another entry of my blog.

First and foremost, I just want to apologise to all of you, those who read me and those who follow me on my blog, because I know that this 2023 has been a very, very slow year regarding my entries. I mean, I have posted less than two entries per month since January, and that is not how I adore to work. That is not how I am supposed to be active in my blog.

Again, I apologise to all of you, especially to Irina. This is my Mea Culpa.

Now I will proceed to explain why I have been less active these 2023.

The truth is that this year has been a bit busy since February, because… Perhaps some of you do not know this, but in 2023, I published my first book – Journey of Sea, Heart and Land, in past May 30^th, almost six months ago. The satisfaction has been amazing, but believe it or not, the proofreading was excruciatingly hard. I was correcting from twenty to fifty pages per day from March to May, because I wanted to finish it as quick as possible. I retook this project in 2018, and I spent five years improving it, however… the story is way longer than that. I will tell you about that one day.

The point is that, after publishing Journey of Sea, Heart and Land, I was exhausted, I barely got any strength for writing many blogs. And then, in July, I spent holidays with my family back in Colombia, some of you might have seen my pictures, and of course, I got less time for writing entries, at least until I returned in August to Melbourne.

Now, some of you might be thinking. Jaime, if that’s what happened… Why didn’t you become more active from August?

Well… That’s because I published another book – Magical Missions: The New Chosen Ones. And just like with the first one, I spent at least four hours per day proofreading this second book, that was from August to October. It was the same story. I ended up too exhausted for writing entry on my blog. I simply felt the necessity, because I got the opportunity, to publish both books. And the reason was because I started writing them in 2001, but I finally found a published for both of them.

Again, I felt the necessity to published them, after two decades of literary work. And Magical Missions – The New Chosen Ones was published on November 2^nd. So we can say it was all worth it.

Of course, this is not an excuse for overlooking my blog, but I wanted all of you to know the situation. Moreover, work has been very demanding these days, and studying to get my driver’s license, among many things.

And also… I almost suffered from depression in October, because I had an argument with one of my closest friends from Perth, and I was at risk of hurting myself, and I felt that nothing in life was worth it, which of course was ludicrous. Despite my will, this depression did not go, so I needed to talk to a psychologist as soon as possible. But I feel much better now.

All these factors have been stopping to write as much as before on my blog. I have more plans to write entries, because I love anime, I love publishing in my blog, and I love to share my thoughts with all of you. I am trying to organise everything so I can go back to write as much as in 2022 or 2021.

I cannot promise to publish every week, but I will make sure I publish entries so often. Until then, I am watching season 2 of Spy x Family, I am also watching Frieren, The Apotechary Diaries, Classroom of the Elite, even The Kingdom in Ruin, but I have serious doubts about this one, not because it might be bad, but because the protagonist might not be my cup of tea. And I am writing the entries of Blue Lock, Bocchi the Rock, Akiba Maid War and My Happy Marriage.

I will be taking them as soon as they are ready.

Finally, I am re-watching Zom 100… And I love it. Can’t wait to have a review soon. And Captain Laserhawk… Is that an anime? Not. No matter.

And before I go, if you want to, you can also support by buying my books. I am aware this is not the right moment to do so, but some of you have the curiosity. They are available at Amazon in the following links.

And I want to thank to my beloved readers for their support, by reading my entries, that’s good enough.

Thank you, my beloved people. Stay safe, Take it easy. See you soon.