It's that time of year again. That is, the end of the year and the beginning of another. As has become a normal thing for my website, I am here doing reviews of anime series I watched during the year. However, I will be changing it up a bit and instead of reviewing everything, things will be done in a categorized award fashion. Joining me again this year are my brothers Jeff and Chris. So, without further ado, let's begin!

Why the Hell did I Watch That?

Chris - First half of the first episode of We Without Wings

I'll be honest, I watched the first episode of this show because I wanted to see some mad panty shots. What did I get? An initial two minutes of fan service that made me uncomfortable, followed by ten minutes of a couple of dick weeds in a bar having a boring ass conversation.

I will never get those twelve minutes of my life back.

Jeff - Astarotte's Toy "Astarotte's Toy", though it could be called "Ass-tarotte's Toy" for all the ass shots in the show. This anime has some major issues, and I'm not just talking about the appeal to pedophiles.

The first issue is the mention in the beginning of how a succubus can pass on in full its genetic traits to its offspring, regardless of the father's race with 100% transference. If you're a male orc, and you have a child with a succubus, your child will be a succubus(don't ask me where incubi come from, because I don't know). I would take this furthur, but we'll table it for now and elaborate later. The next issue is a bit more dire. The main character, Naoya Tohara, has a daughter, Asuha Tohara. This daughter's mother is a succubus; the same succubus that gave birth to Princess Astarotte. This makes Astarotte Asuha's half-sister. Got all that? Good. Now, why in the hell is Naoya falling in love with his daughter's ten year old half sister? Asuha is at most a single year younger than Astarotte. What are the ethical implications of this outside of pedophilia? Did I mention that the queen succubus who Naoya banged to create Ashua is completely all right with it? This family is fucked up for real.

And now that thing I said I was going to elaborate on: Why is Asuha a normal human not a frikkin' succubus? Another question not answered is what do incubi eat to survive? Too many questions, too many disturbing facts, and too much pandering to pedophiles...

Matt - Astarotte's Toy I actually have a handful of shows that could fit in this category, but I too must choose Astarotte's Toy. This show is so close to lolicon it's not even funny. The two main females of the show (who are supposed to be ten, btw) are either wearing skimpy clothing or think it's fun to go commando. And not to mention the ahem "life seed" that's supposed to sustain our titular character since she's a succubus (the former of the aforementioned girls). I swear to god I'm not a pedophile, but I could not tell you why I watched this show in its entirety.

Oh, and there's a milk maid. But she doesn't get her milk from cows... her cow shaped ears and actions tell us that she is the cow...

Best Opening Song

Chris - Hacking to the Gate (Steins; Gate) This song is from Steins; Gate, which automatically makes it awesome. Do you know how many times I've listened to this song? One hundreds of zillions of times. FUCK YOU, that is a real number.

Jeff - God Only Knows (The World God Only Knows) "The World God Only Knows" season one wins the award for best opening. No, I'm not going to elaborate. To express my feelings behind this choice is impossible, go listen to the song if you want validation.

Matt - Shoujo Q (Pani Poni Dash) I'd considered choosing Madoka Magica's Connect, but instead opted for Pani Poni Dash' third opener. What bumps Shojou Q above is how the song is drippy with 80s goodness, from the synth stabs to the wire frames littered throughout the opening animation. This really fits in well with Pani Poni's pop culture referential, super random craziness.

Best Ending Song

Chris - Sky Clad no Kansokusha (Sky Clad Observer) (Steins; Gate) This song was used as the ending in one episode of Steins; Gate, but that' enough to grab the award from me. As with my choice of best opening, I have listened to this song one zillion jillion times. Not possible? This song makes it possible through pure badassery.

Jeff - Ahita, boku wa kimi ni ai ni wuku As for best ending? It comes from a show I didn't even watch, which I will not name. The name of the song is "Ahita, boku wa kimi ni ai ni wuku". Again, it is impossible for me to validate this decision with words. My taste in music is largely arbitrary, so again go listen to the song if you want to know why I chose it. I make no guarantees that you will like either of them.

Matt - Secret Base (AnoHana) The ender for AnoHana is actually a cover of a JPOP song from the turn of the century, but this version seems to kick the original's ass. I think part of this is due to this version being played slightly softer which really helps it punctuate the end of every episode of the show (which, arguably, ended with a lot of downers).

That's all for this round. Tune in again tomorrow for the next wave!