TV Animation In 2015

This posts includes televised animation. This post will continue to be updated as I remember stuff.


Gravity Falls
Most of the second (and sadly, final) season aired in the past year. Always retaining a great mixture of mystery, humor, and characterization, the Pines twins' summer reaches a turning point when Grunkle Stan(ley) opens a portal to another dimension to save his twin brother (Stan)Ford, the six-fingered author of the journals that kicked off the start of the series. They were once inseparable, like Dipper and Mabel, but Stan's accidental sabotage of Ford's science project blew his chance at a scholarship, causing Stan to get kicked out of the house by their parents' house and having to fend for himself as a con artist. Ford continued investigating the paranormal, working with "Old Man" Fiddleford McGuckett and becoming an unwitting pawn of Bill Cipher. Upon discovering Bill's plans, he stopped his research and called Stan to get rid of one of his journals. Stan would have destroyed it, but Ford tried to stop him. The two had a fight and accidentally turned on the portal, sucking Ford in, where he remained for at least 30 years. Since then, Stan faked his death, assumed Ford's identity, and turned his house into a tourist trap as the Murder Hut (later renamed the Mystery Shack) in order to pay bills and continuing to try to get his brother home. Ford was not happy about his rescue, since it put Bill one step closer to Weirdmageddon. The portal left a dimensional rift behind that Ford has tried to contain. At the same time, Dipper and Mabel have been growing further apart, whether it's by their own decisions, or just growing up. Mabel doesn't take this well, especially once Dipper agrees to stay in Gravity Falls as Ford's apprentice. She runs off, inadvertently taking Dipper's backpack with her, and encounters time traveler Blendin Blandon, who offers her a way to make summer last forever using the rift. She hands it over, and Bill reveals himself to be possessing Blandon. He breaks the rift out of its container, tearing open the sky and letting his demon friends in. This kicks off the Weirdmageddon; which takes up the following two episodes, and will finish up in the one-hour finale. I haven't watched any of these episodes yet, but will cover the whole thing when the final episode airs. Suffice it to say, I'm really sad to see this show end. I always assumed the plan was to make 3 seasons. Nonetheless, it received a solid 40-episode run over the span of 3 to 4 years. Pretty good shelf life, all things considered.

Rick & Morty
A mad scientist and his grandson have crazy adventures all over the multiverse, while Morty's family also deals with their own domestic dysfunctions. The show is incredibly good at mood whiplash, fluctuating between laugh out loud comedy, tense character moments, and horrifying traumatic incidents all over the course of a half hour, and often at the same time. Something I liked about this second season is that Morty's sister summer starts getting more involved in the pair's weekly adventures. It became less Rick dragging Morty along on dangerous interdimensional exploits, and more about him spending time with his grandchildren, but there's always plenty of danger. At the end of the season, one of Rick's oldest friends, Birdperson, is getting married to one of Summer's best friends (they hooked up at a wild party at the end of the first season), but she turns out to be a spy with the Galactic Federation, bent on bringing Rick and his fugitive friends to justice. Things go to squanch from there, but Rick and Morty manage to escape with their family to a miniature Earth-like planet. They seem to survive there for a little while, but Rick ultimately turns himself in (making it sound like his son-in-law Jerry sold him out) so everyone else can return to Earth safely, which is now part of the Galactic Federation. I have no idea where the show is headed next.

Kill La Kill
This one of the strangest anime I've ever seen. The main character, Ryuko Matoi, is searching for answers about the person who killed her father, and her search leads her to Honouji Academy, a high school with a totalitarian student government headed by student council president Satsuki Kiriyuin. The school's uniforms contain life fibers which, when worn by humans, and can sometimes give unique abilities as well. Ryuko comes across one such uniform, a kamui (100% life fibers) which she names Senketsu that transforms into a very revealing outfit but also grants her a great amount of power. Armed with a scissor blade that can cut life fibers, she fights her way through the school's heirarchy and runs into a large resistance movement and tons of wacky characters along the way. This is one show that has to be seen to be believed,  hence the lack of spoilers. Suffice it to say, despite its obvious fanservice appeal, it actually is a very well-written and incredibly animated show. It embraces its ridiculous premise and can take itself seriously and be absolutely ridiculous depending on the episode. By the end, it's completely awesome.

Gurren Lagann
This may be the greatest anime I've ever seen. It begins with a boy named Simon finding a robot head buried deep underground, where most humans have spent generations living. His hot-blooded best friend, Kamina, dreams of life above the surface and knows they can get there one day. Then, a monster breaks through from above ground, while a girl named Yoko was fighting it. Using his core drill necklace, Simon activates the robot head, which Kamina has dubbed Lagann, and the trio embarks on an adventure in the surface world, meeting more humans and creating a resistance along the way. Kamina eventually gets his own robot which he names Gurren. The two can combine into Gurren Lagann, and together they fight against the Beastmen and their leader Lord Genome who have kept humanity underground for so long. The early episodes are pretty light-hearted action-adventures, then the eighth episode happens and the series changes forever. After that, there's a slightly more serious tone and a heavy focus on Simon's character development. The series changes again after Lord Genome is defeated, which probably would have been considered an endpoint if not for what happens next. The rest of the series takes place some time in the future, where humanity has flourished above the ground and Simon is more or less in charge of humanity. It turns out Lord Genome had a reason for keeping humanity underground and there's an even bigger threat to the Earth coming for them. This is another show that has to be seen to be believed, but it keeps getting bigger and bigger until it takes up the entire universe. It seems to pay homage at the entire giant robot anime genre spanning all the way back to the 70s, and working its way up to the modern era. And it is awesome.

Akame Ga Kill
Still watching this series as it airs on Toonami, but I like what I've seen. A young man arrives at his country's capitol to join the royal guard and seek his fortune, and is instantly exposed to the Empire's rampant corruption. He is rescued by Night Raid, a team of assassins working as part of the resistance movement, and quickly joins their ranks. The team is an eclectic group, each wielding a special weapon called an Imperial Arms. The weapons are said to be so powerful, that a duel between two of them is said to guarantee that at least one fighter will die. For example, the titular Akame wields a sword that guarantees a one-hit kill thanks to being laced with a deadly poison. Tatsumi eventually gets a sword and suit of armor that can turn invisible. The series fluctuates between comedic moments and very serious drama, but it's very well paced so neither element truly overpowers the other. Unfortunately, characters do die. Within the first eight episodes, Night Raid already loses two of its own. Another interesting aspect is that most of the Jaegers, the Empire's foil to Night Raid, aren't necessarily evil (except for the sadistic General Esdeath). Either they're blind to the corruption of the Empire and see themselves as lawful good, or are simply following orders and just trying to provide for their family The series excels at shades of gray, and I like that. There's also plenty of great action scenes and fun fleshed out characters, even though some of them might not make it to the end.

Parasyte ~The Maxim~
John Carpenter's The Thing meets Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. A seemingly alien race of worms is embedding itself into the heads of humans (and at least one dog) and are now living among them and eating them too. One parasite fails in its attempt to assimilate into Shinichi Izumi's head, and instead merges itself into his right hand. Shinichi and his hand Migi develop a more symbiotic relationship as they try to keep themselves alive while fighting against the other creatures. Over time, Shinichi becomes stronger and less emotional, the young man and others around him wonder just how much of himself is still there. The plot and premise is intriguing, as the parasites actually see humanity as a curiosity as well as a food source. The human characters are wonderfully designed and the monstrous transformations are nothing short of frightening. If you enjoyed Akira, or one of the classic movies mentioned above, this is a series you'll enjoy. Still watching it as it airs on Toonami.

Friendship Is Magic
The fifth season was all about change, as well as the hanging plot thread of cutie mark magic. After the season began, we saw Twilight Sparkle adapt to no longer living in Ponyville's Golden Oak Library while the others go out of their way to make her new castle feel like a home. It was actually really nice to see this addressed and not simply shrugged off. On a similar note, she had the chance to return to Canterlot and patch things up with her old school friends, who she hasn't seen or talked to since the series began. One particular friend, Moondancer, had taken her departure incredibly personal and shut herself off from everypony else. It's another issue I'm glad was brought up, and Moondancer aside, it was sweet to see that Twilight's other friends had already forgiven her. Rainbow Dash dealt with the five stages of grief and accepted that Tank, her pet tortoise, had to go into hibernation for the winter. She also patched things up with her old griffon friend Gilda. Princess Luna let go of her guilt for past actions as Nightmare Moon. Rarity got her own boutique in Canterlot. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor are having a baby. But the biggest change of all involves the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo have been trying to earn their cutie marks for five seasons, and this year...it finally happened. And in doing so, they also reformed Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the two fillies who have bullied them for having blank flanks the whole time. This season cemented the idea that earning your cutie mark isn't the destiny defining event we all thought it would be. Sure, it's important to your development and it does say something about you, but it can still be a conundrum or be misinterpreted to the pony who gets it. The episode in which this is foreshadowed isn't one of the best in the seasons, but it does present the idea. As for the finale, The Cutie ReMark, we got the return of Starlight Glimmer, who was ready to get revenge on Twilight for bringing down her communist society at the beginning of the season. Starlight uses a time travel spell, takes herself and Twilight back in time to Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom and then stops it from happening. Twilight tries to use the same spell to set everything right, but always ends up taking Starlight back with her, so she fails each time. Every time Twilight returns to the present, it's an alternate doomsday scenario based on the various two-part adventures we've had over the years. First, we see what would happen if King Sombra returned to power, waging an all-out war with Equestria. Then we see a world where Queen Chrysalis and the Changelings rule, Zecora leading everypony in the refuge of the Everfree Forest. After that, a world where Nightmare Moon was never vanquished. The other timelines aren't given as much focus, but we see one where Discord is in charge and another where the Flim Flam Brothers own Ponyville. How does Twilight stop Starlight and set everything right again? She shows her the future she created and straight up talks her out of it. By the end of the episode, she's reformed, and the mane six are helping to integrate her into a friendly member of society, and even get forgiveness from her old village. What does this mean for her in the future? I hope she hasn't become a member of the mane cast, and has just become a recurring character, somepony we can revisit when the need arises.

Dragons: Race To The Edge
While there has been a time skip between this series and the first two (Riders/Defenders Of Berk), it's a shame that it still takes place before the second movie. It doesn't make the show less enjoyable, but I was hoping to see the characters having adventures after those events rather than before. The season kicks off when Dagur the Deranged escapes from prison, amasses a new army of Outcasts/Berzerkers), and has been feuding with Hiccup and the Dragon Riders who are all after a strange artifact: the Dragon Eye. It resembles a flashlight or kaleidoscope, and when its lenses are illuminated by dragon fire, it reveals maps of outlying islands and information about new dragons. Alvin the Treacherous, the past series (reformed) villain, is nowhere to be seen, but we still get other recurring characters like Gustav and Trader Johan, and we learn how Stoick got his new dragon. Heather also returns with a heavily armored dragon of her own, and is revealed to be Dagur's sister. The animation is a step up from the previous seasons, which aired on Cartoon Network rather than Netflix. The character designs are an interesting halfway between the two movies. Some look physically older while retaining most of their more familiar outfits, while others are dressed more closely to their older selves from the second film. The first season of Race To The Edge is 13 episodes, and the finale of which is unfortunately filler. Snotlout's dragon Hookfang meeting a female dragon of its own species, and decides to protect her and her eggs from an even larger male dragon trying to assert its dominance. It's an improvement over the past seasons for sure, but still has a few hiccups (no pun intended) to work out.