The last few years have seen a resurgence in anime, with a variety of adaptations of new manga, shinier reboots of classic series, and even original storylines getting a primetime slot. The current offering has everything from classroom settings in modern day Japan to
apocalyptic futures overrun by monsters… that are still in a classroom setting. Japan sure loves their school stories. The quality of animation has improved
tremendously and the fact that several series have adopted a seasons format has
benefitted them in keeping a consistent quality.
 |
| Shockingly, I'm not talking about either of these guy's shows Ah, who am I kidding, I'm bound to mention them eventually |
There are still long running juggernauts like One Piece or
Naruto: Shippuden, but shows like Attack on Titan and Nisekoi have chosen to
adapt the manga for a standard 26 episode-or-so run then take several months
off before returning for the following season.
This has helped to negate the nightmare of most anime fans: filler arcs.
While there are some absolute gems created by filler, such as my favorite arc
of Dragon Ball Z, the Great Saiyaman adventures, where Gohan becomes a
superhero and lampoons Sailor Moon poses and stops street-level crime in mere
seconds or my co-host Straw Hat Rican’s beloved G8 arc in One Piece where the
Straw Hat Pirates land in the middle of a Marine base, these diamonds in the
rough are rare gems indeed, drowned out by the overwhelming quantities of Garlic
Jrs, silkworm ninjas in Naruto, cooking ghosts in Bleach, and the old stand-by
beach vacation episode in every slice-of-life anime ever.
