#21 A Centaur's Life!

     A Centaur's Life could fall under a few different genres, school life being the most prominent. It could also fall under comedy, slice of life, and monster girls. It focuses on our main character Himeno, or Hime, who's a centaur. We get to meet characters of different races and see how their society functions 'without prejudice.'

     A Centaur's Life has some subtle political undertones that we get to see in the first episode. The politics mostly focus on how the government pushes the equality between races and avoid 'hate crimes.' I'm glad that it's only addressed every once and awhile, otherwise it might alter the fun slice of life feel the show has going for it. (At the same time though, the undertones keep it from being just another monster girl school life anime.) If you want to check out some of the other undertones and or themes that both the manga and anime include, click here. (It's actually pretty cool to look at)

(just a side note I've also seen it translated to Centaur's Worries so if you're looking for that you're in the right place)


     One of the cool things about this show is how they address evolution and why their world ended up the way it is. Just like I said in the Made in Abyss post, I love learning about new worlds that stories introduce. It's awesome when the writers and animators take the time to explain the world the story takes place in. Although, I think A Centaur's Life takes place on an earth that's just evolved differently. (If you're confused this is all explained in the first episode.)

     Another great thing about this anime is that it shows you how the characters, who are different races, live depending on their differing sizes and limitations. For example, there are specific desks and cars made for centaurs. And there's a robot walking device made for mermaids. Usually in a monster girl anime or any anime that includes fantastical characters, it's never addressed how the society has to change in order to accommodate things like extra limbs or tails.

      One of the only problems I have with A Centaur's Life is the mermaids structure. As you can see, the tail starts much lower on the legs than a normal mermaid. I personally think it's disturbing to have a weird slit between the legs and then a tail. All of the other races look the way you would expect them to, except the mermaids. (Coincidence? I think not) 

     Another really great facet about the show is that the mermaids internal structure gets explained. There are a few other times where the structures of the different races are explained and we get to really understand the races themselves, instead of just accepting the characters as being fantastical. For example, in one of the episodes Hime explains why centaurs have to stay at a certain weight. (You're going to have to watch it to find out why)

     

     A Centaur's Life also includes a gay couple, which is fantastic! Especially since they're given actual personalities and aren't just there for extra fluff. When you think about it, on the surface A Centaur's Life looks like any other monster girl, school life anime but when you start watching it you begin to see all these little details that make it so much more interesting.

     If you want to watch A Centaur's Life click here.

     I've actually written a review about this one on anime planet if you want to check it out! (Click here.)

I do not own any of the pictures, gifs, or videos used in this post or any other post on AnimationNomination they are protected under the fair use policy 

#20 Made in Abyss!

When you look into and Abyss, the Abyss also looks into you - Friedrich Nietzsche

     The most important thing to know about the world that this takes place in, is that there's a gigantic hole that goes deep into the earth that everyone refers to as The Abyss. Inside of The Abyss are artifacts of old civilizations, along with incredible and dangerous creatures. The Abyss is split into different levels depending on the depth, dangers, and different flora and fauna found there.




     Decending into The Abyss is dangerous due to the creatures and environment, but ascending is even more of a challenge due to the 'Curse of the Abyss'. When a cave raider ascends they are struck with terrible and fatal effects. The first of which is light dizziness and nausea, which doesn't sound too terrible. But when ascending from, say, the 4th level, the effects are intense Full-body pain, dizziness from pain and varying amounts of internal and external bleeding across the body. (If you want to read more about the Curse of the Abyss click here. )

    One of the main characters of Made in Abyss is Riko, who is a 12 year old girl. She was orphaned after her mother, who was a renowned cave raider, died on one of her expeditions. 

     Riko is a cave raider in training, and during one of her raids she meets Reg, our second main character. He's a robot in the shape of a human boy. He has no memories of who or what he is. Riko take's him back to the orphanage and explains to him that she thinks her mother is alive and waiting for her in the abyss. This is essentially when their adventure begins.

     (The scenery of Made In Abyss is extremely complex and detailed, and I can't wait for season 2 so we can see more. It kind of reminds me of the Studio Ghibli movie Naucicaä of the Valley of the Wind. (which is fantastic and you should totally go watch it)

     The character art style is more childlike, they look more like video came characters or some form of chibi art style. However, don't be fooled by how cute and childish the characters look because there are abrupt and gory scenes. While they're not as extreme as Tokyo Ghoul, they're definitely not subtle.

     Personally, I love it when we get to learn more about the world that a story takes place in and it's history and Made in Abyss definitely delivers. We also get to learn about the creatures that live in the abyss and why, even though it's claimed so many lives, the characters are still fascinated by it.

If you want to read the Made in Abyss Wiki click here. If you want to read the official description click here. If you want to watch it you could go to gogoanime or kissanime.

I do not own any of the pictures, gifs, or videos used in this post or any other post on AnimationNomination they are protected under the fair use policy

#13 Beautiful Bones: Sakurako's Investigation!

          "Even in death the bones remain. Bones symbolize life, and embody death."

          If you love the crime tv show Bones then this is the anime for you! Just like Temperance Brennan, (from Bones) Sakurako isn't the best with people, and throws herself into her work. (Which can involve assisting the police when they find unidentified corpses.)


          The main character in the anime is actually a high school boy named Shotaro, who happens to stumble upon Sakurako and ends up becoming her assistant. They work together to resolve unidentified remains and she teaches him more about bones and death itself.

           Sakurako is an osteologist and likes to spend her time reassembling the bones of animals. While this pastime may seem macabre she does it because she really finds bones to be beautiful. (which is totally understandable)

          Beautiful Bones also includes a lot of good quotes and ideas like "Real death gives people pause." They make you think about how we see the dead, and how we view death in general. How we don't really want to think about our bodies once we're dead even though our bones can still tell our stories. 
          Although this anime does revolve around death, I wouldn't say that its dark or depressing overall it's mostly positive.

          Beautiful Bones includes a reverie for the dead and the willingness to solve how they died. Nothing gets over looked in this animation including scientific facts and figures. Beautiful Bones is not a fast paced anime nor does it have much action, but it holds unique ideals that I haven't seen in other shows.

If you want to read more about Beautiful Bones click here.

       I do not own any of the pictures, gifs, or videos used in this post or any other post on AnimationNomination they are protected under the fair use policy 

       

#9 Black Lagoon!

          From kidnapping to killing the Black Lagoon crew will do anything if they're paid enough. 

          The crew on the Black Lagoon are pirate mercenaries who aren't afraid to shoot anyone who tries to mess with their cargo. The members of Lagoon Company include Revy, our gun crazy, short tempered, foul-mouthed protagonist; Rock, a former salaryman, diplomatic, one time hostage, male protagonist; Dutch, the captain of the Black Lagoon, former marine, and cool character; and Benny, the mechanic, computer specialist and researcher. (If you want to read more about Black Lagoon click here.)

          All of the women in Black Lagoon know their way around weapons. From machine gun toting nuns, to a Thai E-nep knife wielding assassin. The women don't need anyone to protect them, even if it's from each other. While in most anime it's more common to see the guys starting violence, these ladies are willing to pick a fight with anyone.

          
          Rei Hiroe; creator of Black Lagoon, said that the series was inspired by Quinton Tarentino, Stephen King, James Ellroy, John Woo, and actual pirate cases in the 1990's in the East China sea. Some of the gun fights were based on spaghetti westerns and cowboy movies. Black Lagoon first aired in 2006 and was well accepted in the US due to the extreme violence and action.

          Black Lagoon is all about violence and money. It also takes the time to get the viewer invested in the characters. They all have a reason for why they do their job and why they act the way they do. Nothing is as simple as it may appear especially the characters. Black Lagoon is fast paced and bloody and I wouldn't recommend it if you don't like violence. But if you don't mind gun fights, explosions, crime syndicates, and kick-ass women then this is the anime for you.

(If you want to watch Black Lagoon click here.)

I do not own any of the pictures, gifs, or videos used in this post or any other post on AnimationNomination they are protected under the fair use policy