My Anime Crossed-Off List for 2021: Reloaded

[Author note: This list took me about one week and a half to write it. Don't ask me why, I'm just not motivated enough to finish it off. Well, on the second thought... that's not it. I think it's my non-stop anime binge watching that's causing the delay. Anyways, now that I'm done, please enjoy this new post! -M-]

Why, hello there! Come here, come close.... I'm about to unveil another My Anime Crossed-off list in this blog! Good news everyone - I had steadily been watching anime this year (2021), so I might be dropping a couple more titles than usual. Because of the vast choices I had, I'll also be introducing you guys to an extra section called 'Honarable Mention'. Huhu... are you guys excited? I know I am. So, here we go!

1.) Banana Fish

Banana Fish 
Picture courtesy of Google

Banana Fish might have came out in 2018, but I just discovering it now thanks to a blunder I made while searching for another BL's (Boys Love) titled as 'Banana Scandal'. That initial blunder led me to this 'happy accident' because not only that I get to discovered this anime above, but I also get to watch it from start to finish and lemme tell you something - it was all so very worth it!  

This anime tells a story about mysterious new street drugs only known as 'Banana Fish' that had some sort of disastrous effect to it's user/victims. Our main protagonist, Ash Lynx older brother, Griffin - was one of the unfortunate guy who had fallen victim to this drug while serving in Iraq War (it was Vietnam in original manga). Twelve years later, Ash is set to find out about the person responsible for what happened because his brother is pretty much outta his mind (even till now). His investigation led him to form an alliance with several key people; Shuinichi (a photojournalist), Eiji Okumura (his assistant), Shorter Wong (a gang leader who controls Chinatown), and Max (Ash new friend from prison). All of them are Ash trusted allies to help bring down people who's behind the new drug. Here's a few reasons why this anime is awesome and why you should be watching it;

Pros:

• Great storyline, strong character development, deep social issues (pedophilia, child sex traffic ring, drugs, mobster)
• Good anime, okay manga
• Fall under the categories Shounen Ai, but don't let that tag stopped you. This anime is so much more about sex or love. It's about friendship, loyalty and how one can grow as a person despite being in shitty situation.

Cons:

• Too much violence shown in anime can sometimes make you feel sick on the stomach.
• All of those r*pe scene is no joke. I feel bad for Ash, most of the time cause he's always get the short end of the stick (or in this case - deep end of the 'stick', if you know what I mean).

To be honest, this anime doesn't fall under categories of light-hearted nor fun. In fact, it's the quite opposite. As the story progress and stake increases; I was getting nervous and worried about the final outcome. Sure, there's a part of me that wanted to root for Ash Lynx and his friends, but another part know that this not going to be easy. Often times, I found myself becoming squeamish and worried if things are going to get worst the closer they get to the truth. But, then again - that's what great anime does to you. It keeps you excited, curious, and glued to your seat until you finally finished watching it. Despite of it's dark theme and social issues presented; Banana Fish had successful in serving its purpose and telling its story. For that, I'm giving this anime a rating of 8.5/10. 

p/s: I don't think I'll be re-visiting this anime anytime soon. The pain that it left me after watching the final episodes still lingers till this day. But, I will... eventually. 

2.) Balance: Unlimited

Balance: Unlimited 
Picture courtesy of Google

Imagine being so rich beyond belief that there basically a program telling you that your bank account balance is UNLIMITED, and later using that richness to help solving crimes all around city? I couldn't. But, that what Daisuke Kambe seems to be doing with his vast amount of wealth. As a police officer, he's helping his department by using his own resources (and wasn't afraid resorting to a method such as bribery). His new-suffering partner, Haru Kato are often repelled by his approach, but later seems let Kambe solved things his own way. 

To be honest, if it wasn't for the art-style and characters - I don't think I would enjoy watching this anime that much. The storyline wasn't as great as I thought it would be and who could blame me if every problem can be solved using Kambe family money? What's the stake there, you know? Besides, the lack of character development aside from solving several cases together make this anime seems a lot less... interesting? I don't know what it is, but there's something missing here, for sure. 

Anyway, here's some things that I like and dislike about this anime, if you're interested to check it out;

Pros:

• Beautiful art-style and character design
• Catchy OST (especially the ED song)
• No shortage of money (Daisuke Kambe)

Cons:

• Lack character development among main characters
• Repetitive episodes, some too long for its own good

So, for those reason above - I'm giving this second anime on my list a rating of 6.8/10. I know others might want to rate it higher, but I had seen a lot of detective themes anime with better execution than this one. Thus, I can't, under a good conscience - give it higher rating than this. Anyway... with that being said - let's move on to the next one!  

3.) Kemono Jihen

Kemono Jihen 
Picture courtesy of Google

Another happy accident for me this year is the anime above called as 'Kemono Jihen'. So, there's a lot of things I wanna say about it, but first; I just wanted to say how much I'm glad that out of hundreds of anime that they had released so far in 2021 - this is my first anime of the year. 

Kemono Jihen tells a story about a young boy by the name of Kabane and how he is being mistreated by his aunt's family for a long time. Aside from a hard work in the farm, Kabane is also isolated by all the young kids in his village for unknown reasons. All about change when a man named Kohachi Inugami suddenly appeared from the city to solve the case of mysterious death surroundings cows and other animal's in Kabane village. Unbeknownst to anyone, Mr. Inugami is actually a 'Kemonoist' who runs a small agency called 'Inugami Strangeness Consultancy Office'. It's later revealed that Mr. Inugami is actually a 'kemono' or moster, and his original form is of a Tanuki. 

It was after the incident in his village that eventually led Kabane to discover about his true form; which is a Ghoul hybrid (ghoul + human). All this time, he been thinking that he's just an unwanted child whom his parents abandoned. Mr. Inugami later explains that the Life Calculus in Kabane's possession means that he wasn't abandoned on purpose, and his parents must have their own reason. 

With a help from Mr. Inugami, Kabane later decides to leave the village on his own in order to find his birth parents. Here, he meet with two other kids or 'kemono' living with Mr. Inugami named Shiki (an Archne hybrid) and Akira (yuki onna). There's also a reclusive vampire named Mihai living in the building, though he's loves doing underground job and rarely seen going out. Together, they work to solve strange cases that been occuring in the city and each kids had their own goals and mission to achieve by working with Mr. Inugami. Anyway, there's a lot of things I wanna say about this anime, so please check this list below;

Pros:

• Rare male protagonist (Kabane) who is innocent, straightforward and self-sacrificing.
• Outstanding supporting characters (Shiki, Akira, and Mr. Inugami) with their own unique personality.
• Great character design (anime and manga)
• Gripping storylines and character development (everyone had their own goals to achieve and the mangaka waste no time letting these kids and everyone achieved their goals)
• The storyline can get dark sometimes (despite of the nearly whole-kid cast), but it's for the good reason and really carries the story forward.

Cons:

• The storyline can sometimes be too dark, so yeah - please be informed.
• NSFW content, so please be also beware.
• Underrated AF making this anime almost didn't fell under my radar.

Despite being so underrated, I can vouch that this is a great anime (and manga) and it would be a shame if anime fan miss out on this one. Well, without wasting anymore time - my final verdict for this anime is 8.1/10. Why is it so high you ask? It's because after watching the fantastic anime adaptation, I soon begin to read the manga and it's so good - I have to add a few extra points for this anime! Anyway, with that being said and done - let's move on to the next one on this list...

4.) Jujutsu Kaisen

Jujutsu Kaisen
Picture courtesy of Google

Ah~ It wouldn't be 2021 if you haven't already heard about this phenomenal anime that have taken the anime world by storm. Originally released back in Oct 2020, it wasn't until Jan 2021 that Jujutsu Kaisen eventually reaches it's peak and later become a household name. I swear, the support of this anime is so massive - that there's wasn't a day would goes by without seeing its content on my Tiktok FYP or Youtube recommendation. I'm not one for the trend, but it's truly remarkable to be able to see how anime fans from all around the world had taken interest in this particular anime and manage to keep it trending for weeks. The last time I remember fans raves about anime this bad was 'Demon Slayer', and that only two years ago... So, what about this anime that made fans love it so much? Well, lemme tell you... 

Jujutsu Kaisen tells a story about this hot and athletic guy by the name of Itadori Yuuji. Not much is known about his personal life or parents whereabout; except Itadori have been living under his grandfather care for years. As his grandfather lays on his deathbed in the hospital, he begin to ask his only grandson if he wanted to know anything about his parents; only to be rejected by Itadori who thinks it's unimportant. Itadori normally ordinary lives is about to get crazy with the arrival of Megumi Fushiguro, a student/ Jujutsu Sorcerer. While trying to save 2 of his senpai from a Supernatural club, Itadori is forced to ate a cursed object (Sukuna's fingers) and in result granting him a superhuman strength; all while he serves as Sukuna's vessel. Hence, begins the journey of Itadori, Megumi and other Jujutsu Sorcerer as they tries to find the remaining of Sukuna's fingers (so Itadori could ate it) and later destroyed along with Sukuna's.

There's so much things I wanna say about this anime, but doing so only going to take the mystery away (when there wasn't much to go around with). So, for better understanding, here's some reasons I managed to come up with on why I like and dislike about this anime;

 
Pros:

• There's only handful male protagonist with a pink hair in the animeverse, so having Itadori Yuuji in the mix is refreshing.
• Simple storyline, get you hooked before you even watch/read episode/chapter 6.
• Interesting side characters (Megumi, Gojo Satoru, Nobara)
• Good pacing for action/adventure anime, if you're into that sort of things
• Cool character designs and art style

Cons:

• The death of main hero is predetermined (Itadori Yuuji might died after ingesting the whole 20 fingers because they need to get rid of Sukuna's and his vessel). So, basically - Jujutsu Kaisen journey is forced to end if they recovered all the fingers.
• Too much fight scene's and exam's reminding me the early years of Bleach and Naruto's for somewhat reason.
• Too many new characters introduced every other chapters also reminded me of Bleach (later years). Those are not GOOD.
• Slow characters development, more on fighting the war it seems can make it all feels repetitive and boring after a while. 

Don't get me wrong. As much as I'm on board with the whole Jujutsu Kaisen train, I also have some things left to say about it. I love how cool Itadori seems to be even before he ate Sukuna's cursed finger. He seems like a guy who can go anywhere and be in the most desperate situation - yet somehow... he'll manage to pull through. Just like Kurosaki Ichigo from Bleach, Itadori had the 'cool as cucumber' attitude surrounding him (minus the scowl) and that super cute yet gentle grin. Damn, I thought I was falling in love all over again with this new character. But, as much as I wanna say that that's the case - it didn't take long before his character started to get overshadowed by other's such as Gojo and Nanami sensei. That's when I thought.... ahhh here we go again! Dear mangaka, stop making these side characters far more interesting than the main. It's unfair. A manga/anime should have a focus and I'll like that focus to shine of Itadori alone, thank you very much!

So, with that being said and done - my final verdict for Jujutsu Kaisen is 7.6/10. Now, let's move on to the next one!

5.) Gakuen Babysitters

Gakuen Babysitter's
Picture courtesy of Google

From a glance, there's probably a lot more question than answers if you look this poster above. Like, who are these kids? Why are there babies in this poster? Okay, the title might've translated to 'high school babysitter', but how does that even work? Like, why aren't these highschooler studying or dating or enjoying their youth like most of other highschooler does? Why babysit? Are they tight in money or something? So many questions (at least to me)... But, whatever. I'm here to explain to you guys on what really draw me to this series at the first place.

To a jaded eyes, Gakuen Babysitter's could be just another one of Japanese mangaka attempt to 'cash on the cuteness' train. Hey, you guys... wanna know what's cute and trending these days? Babies!!! Oh... and uh... put some high school students on the top of that because they are our target audience and to make it more relatable. Ahaha... I think there's probably some point in there, not gonna lie. But here's why this anime/manga CAN work. Please read my bullet point below;

Pros:

• Half of cute babies in this anime (Kotarou,Taka) are actually related to those highschoolers (Ryuuichi, Hayato), so it does make sense for brother's to take care of their own siblings, right?
• Cute babies gets to me (I give it to the mangaka for making them super adorable and funny)
• Family and friendship plays a role in here (a lot). I have weakness for anime/manga that potrays such themes.

Cons:

• Cashing in the cuteness 'trend'
• Annoyingly cute babies make me lose my head sometimes, but hey that just me.
• Unrealistic plotlines (since when a highschooler needs to babysit like it's their day job and unpaid at that too? Smells like a child-labor, if you ask me).

So, with that being said and done - my final verdict for this anime is 6.7/10. I like cute babies, but the unrealistic plotlines kinda take it all away from me. Anyway, let's not waste anymore of our time. Shall we move on to the next one??

6.) Dr. Ramune: Mysterious Disease Specialist

Dr. Ramune
Picture courtesy of Google

Next anime on this list is an anime called as 'Dr. Ramune: Mysterious Disease Specialist'. I watched this alongside 'Kemono Jihen' at Muse Asia channel on Youtube, and lemme tell you something - this is my second favorite anime on this list. Already I'm having a difficult time choosing between this and Kemono Jihen, but who says you cannot have more than two favorite anime, right? Anyways, putting that aside - what is this anime is all about? 

Dr. Ramune tells a story about a strange doctor named Dr. Ramune who is said to be able to cure for strange illness of his patient. Living in a shrine while working alongside a highschooler part-timer/assistant, Kuro - all patients with incurable illness will be referred to Dr. Ramune as he tries his best to cure their illness. The premise of this anime based on supernatural and psychological aspects, so that's right about my alley. But that's not all. Below are the reason why this anime is awesome and why you should watch it too! Please read this list below;

Pros:

• Interesting main character I have seen in a while (Dr. Ramune)
• Great plotlines and choices of standalone episodes
• Great dynamic between Dr. Ramune and Kuro (master-student)

Cons:

• Manga series already ended at Vol 5 (such a shame for interesting premise!)
• Probably no season 2 since the manga already concluded
• I wanna more Goddammit!!

As stated above, I really wanted more episodes from this anime series, but considering that the mangaka already concluded everything at Vol 5 - I don't see how that's happening anytime soon. Anyway, let's not dwell on short episodes and be glad that this series are able to hit the homerun at the very least. So, with that being said and done - my final verdict for this anime is with [ipsum lorem] 8.0/10. If you ask me, I'm quite satisfied with that rating and think this series deserved it. Moving on~

7.) Higehiro

Higehiro
Picture courtesy of Google

Another interesting find from 'Muse Asia' is this anime right here titled as 'Higehiro'. Actually, the full title for this anime is bit longer that that, but for the sake of simplifying - let's just go with Higehiro for now. So, Higehiro tells a story about a teen runaway, Ogiwaru Sayu and the man that saved her, Mr. Yoshida. Now, if you started thinking that this is going to be one of those dirty old man and high school girl story, that ain't it. The story about Sayu and Mr. Yoshida is a bit innocent and lighthearted than that, and how they got there is quite a different story. Did I get you interested yet? If yes, then here's in a nutshell of what anime is all about.

After being living with one man after another, Sayu Ogiwaru eventually find herself homeless and sitting underneath a lamp post. While in a daze, she meet with a drunken Mr. Yoshida who begin to ask her what a teenager like her doing there. After having a little conversation, Mr. Yoshida agrees to let her stayed in his apartment for one night. She take it a bit 'differently' and was ready to be forward with him, but Mr. Yoshida just wasn't that... interested. Anyway, long story short - they kinda start living together under basis that he'll provided for her as long she needs to stay there, and in return she'll cook, clean and do other chores for him. Simple right?

Only that... the story isn't as simple as that. There's a lot of trials and tribulation waiting for both of our MC's. Sayu, with her runaway problems, while Mr. Yoshida continue not reporting her to the authority. On law terms, there's actually crime being committed here, but luckily, Mr. Yoshida acts like a grown-up and show his lack of  interest towards Sayu (he keeps on pushing that he likes a more mature woman like his co-worker for example) even when Sayu keeps on offering herself to him. So, kudo's for you, Mr. Yoshida!!

Anyway, this cohabitation story without any benefits seems to have a lovely (albeit unrealistic) ending towards the end, but here's a few reasons on why I still like this anime series, regardless;

Pros:

• Pretty new topic is being brought up in this anime (teenage runaways)
• Cohabitation without benefits between an adult and a teenage girl (usually this never happens, if at all)
• Decent character design (Mr. Yoshida looks like a normal adult whereas Sayu an attractive teen)

Cons:

• Unrealistic plotline might make some people feeling like... meh. 
• Can get a bit boring at times and slightly redundant (seducing and rejecting thing... yawn)
• Unreliable family members (Sayu mom and brother are the worst. I kinda get what was going with her mom, but what is Sayu's brother doing in the midst of this? Is he too busy working that he failed to realize that his little sister is missing. Brother of the Year, right here...

So, with that being said and done - my final verdict for Higehiro is 7.1/10. Now, let's move on to the next one!

8.) Gakkou no Kaidan (Ghost Stories)

Gakkou no Kaidan (ak.a Ghost Stories)
Picture courtesy of Google

It's been a long-time since I found an anime with great supernatural stories per episode like this one. Gakkou no Kaidan, or Ghost Stories, tells a story about a group of students who seems to be facing some supernatural occurrences in the school and all around their town. Satsuki Miyanoshita, who just newly relocated to the town of her deceased mother with her lil' brother and father, befriended a couple of kids from her new school (Hajime Aoyama, their neighbor, Momoko Koigakubo, an older classmate and Leo Kakinoki, a classmate and friend of Hajime's with a penchant for paranormal activities.).  

It's later revealed that due to urbanization that it's happening around the town, several ghost accidently get released - causing mishaps and misfortune to happen to several residents. While helping getting rid of the ghost, Satsuki discovered that her late mother is the person who responsible to keep those ghost sealed away at the first place. Now, it's up to Satsuki to follow her mother footsteps in exorcising those ghost and sealed it away, once more.

Honestly, this a pretty cut and dry anime series that doesn't requires a lot of brain power for you to understand. The episodic story is pretty simple, but scary nevertheless and for sure leave you with some sort of feelings afterwards. Overall, I quite enjoy it (despite being an old anime series) and think that I will be coming back from time to time. What made this anime so 'irresistible', you ask? Well, please read this bullet point below;

Pros:

• Okay character design that maybe work in early 2000's
• Pretty decent standalone episodes that manage to give me a proper scare (even by the year of 2021 standard.

Cons:

• Some episodes can be a bit boring, depending on your taste.
• No HD version available (the highest you can go is 720p. So, if you can settle down with that, then please do pick up this anime.

Anyway, with that being said and done - I'm giving this anime a verdict of 7.6/10 rating. I'm quite happy with that rating. Alright, let's move on to the next anime on this list now, shall we? 

9.) Shiguang Dailiren (ak.a Link Click) (ONA)

Link Click
Picture courtesy of Google

Shiguang Dailiren (ak.a Link Click) is an Online Net Animation released from China. Before this anime come out, there only one animation from China I had watched before titled  'The Taste of Youth' (2016). Anyway, about Link Click.... This anime tells a story about a small store called 'Time Photo Studio' that is run by two young men; Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang. Both seems to possess some kind of unexplainable super power. Together, they're able to make it work and use their collective power to enter photo's to fullfill their customer's requests. They seems to be able to control their power very well, but when emotion and desires are put to test - things always get out of control. 

So, that's basically the gist about Link Click. There's certainly an aspect of time travel and superpower in this anime that I like. But through to be told, despite of a nice-looking characters and catchy OP and ED ost, it certainly different than watching a normal Japanese anime. Wanna know what's different? Please read the details below; 

Pros:

• Detailed character design look spectacular (even better than Japanese manga).
• Beautiful and realistic hand drawn background made you think that fantasy had come to life
• Great and catchy tunes (OP and ED ost)
• Captivating storyline and well-direct episodes made you crave for more.

Cons:

• Mandarin speaking characters might sound a little odd at first (I found myself replacing some of the words with simple Japanese phrases, which make it even more weirder), but you'll get used to it once you started to get deep into the storyline 
• Too short!!! (Why there's only 11 episodes (T.T). And also that cliffhanger!!!! Wtf??? I'm dying to know what's going to happened next!

Okay, truth to be told - despite this anime, sorry.... this ONA (online net animation) coming from China, I have no problem in enjoying the story. Hell, I even read Manhwa and Manhua in my past time so, that's that. Anyhow... my final verdict for this is 7.4/10. I think it's great, but it would probably played better for me if it this have a couple more episodes (better yet, OVA) towards the end of it. 

So, with that being said and done, let's move on to the final anime/manga in this list, shall we?

10.) Chainsaw Man (Upcoming)

Chainsaw Man
Picture courtesy of Google

Well, well, well.... Chainsaw Man. I first discovered the manga from a Youtuber and have not so much hopes for it. My initial thought for this anime is that it's going to be sick and brutal. Well, after reading it... I can't say that wasn't far off from what I think. 

Chainsaw Man tells a story about a young man named Denji. When his father died, Denji is forced to kill the devils for a yakuza to pay off for his debt (with a help from Pochita, a Devil dog). Forced to work since young, Denji was unable to experience normal everyday things such as living in a nice house, sleeping in a comfy bed, nor even eating a good food. As a result, he and Pochita is forced to live in a decript old building that wasn't safe of either of them.

Things doesn't looking up for Denji when he's betrayed by the Yakuza and he's killed by the Zombie devil. Now in the brink of dying, he make a pact with Pochita who agrees to help Denji out with just one condition; Denji needs to show him his dreams because Pochita likes to hear about it. The newly reborn Denji is now longer looking like a human nor a devil; but a hybrid of two. After successfully killing the Zombie Devil, a mysterious woman called Makima appears. After introducing herself to Denji; she presented him with two choice - be killed by here right then or there, or becoming her pet. Denji choose the latter because that means he gets to eat good food and living comfortably from that point on. 

Now, to tell you the truth, the anime still hasn't been dropped yet (it will come sometime later this year), so there wasn't much I can say about it. Because of that, I'm going to save up the rating and my opinion about the anime version for later review. Anyway, before I go - I presented to you a few more anime that I also had watched this year. Feel free to check it out when you got some time. Thank you for reading this post. See ya next year!!

Yours truly

Mimi Said

(Honorable Mention)

• Mairimashita! Iruma-kun (S01-02) - normal human boy get sold by his parents to a devil who later on adopted him as his grandchild. the boy later enrolled to devil school where he started befriended another devil. so much fun!!
• Bunny Senpai - a young boy noticed his famous classmates wearing a bunny costume but only he could sees her. then, he later found out that people started forgetting about his classmates which prompted her to wear such revealing outfits. it's later to be associated with Adolescence Syndrome. They started become closer to one another and also other students with similar condition.
• Tonari Kaibutsu Kun - boring high school story about a girl who likes studying because she doesn't want to become a failure like her dad and a boy with devil-may-care attitude but secretly a brilliant student. I hate the girl so I don't really recommended this anime to you all if you hate cold and calculating female characters.
• Citrus - a Yuri high school students fall in love with each other despite being step-sister. Talk about crushing and cashing on the taboo, amirite? But don't worry. The story is good so I fully recommended it to you guys.
• Hinamatsuri - a sweet story about Yakuza man and his adopted daughter. The anime is great. I hope they don't 'Usagi Drop' this shit. Honestly, there's so many version of that out there that it really doesn't sits well with me. I mean, why adopt a child just so you could later groom her to be your bride? Talk about gross... 
• Tasogare Otome x Amnesia - Very interesting premise about girl ghost hunting at school get derailed by boring overused plot and confusing story structure. Ah~ What a wasted potential.
• Koi to Yobu ni wa Kimochi Warui - A story about an older guy falling in love with his sister friend. Well, this is where I draw the line... Just because you shifted the attention of the story from *incest*  doesn't make it okay. That girl is still sixteen. Hit the road, pal. I hate the story and anime so I only gave thsi 6.0 at MAL. 
• Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes - Interesting plotlines get boring after a while. 
• Mob Pyscho 100 (S02) - a continuation from the first series. it's only gets better from here!
• Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi - an okay storyline about a girl becoming an oni bride (monster bride) but a serious trimming can make this anime pacing a whole lot better. like seriously. perhaps in the next season, yeah?