This year I made it a priority to finally get myself caught up on some of the biggest, most popular ongoing anime franchises. This has included the latest entries into the Food Wars!, Haikyuu!!, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Legend of the Galactic Heroes (LoGH), Made in Abyss, and My Hero Academia franchises. This has been a pretty big undertaking (especially in regards to LoGH), but one that I’ve had a lot of fun doing!
That’s right, after an entire decade spent watching anime I can finally call myself a true anime fan! I’d seen ‘The Big 3’, watched all of the gateway shows that I could get my hands on, and devoted a sizeable amount of time, money, and fortitude to this hobby. I’d even converted other people to the anime fandom! Yet, despite possessing these credentials, I wasn’t able to call myself a true anime fan until now. And why’s that? Because I’d never finished Legend of the Galactic Heroes (LoGH) until this year.
Despite growing up on Bleach, One Piece, and Naruto – all big name shounen anime with attacks far more iconic than Saitama’s punch – it would still have to be my all-time favourite. This can be boiled down to three simple reasons.
Confession time: when I watch an anime that’s wildly popular there’s this part of me that wants to dislike it! This is so stupid, but I like to think of myself as a gourmand when it comes to anime, that my taste is far more refined and superior to everybody else’s and that popular shows are popular simply because the uncultured masses don’t know any better. Of course, this couldn’t be further from the truth! I’m no more cultured than anybody else just because I’ve seen Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and some anime are popular simply because they are great and are, therefore, deserving of their popularity. Haikyu!! is one such anime! It’s exciting to watch, has outstandingly high production values, and has a huge cast of engaging, lovable characters. Oikawa, one of these characters, is, in my opinion, the best of the bunch and is the subject of this month’s Character Spotlight! Minor spoilers for season 2 ahead.
Watashi Wa Bucho!! 