![\"WorldStillBeautiful\"](\"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/WorldStillBeautiful.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAs more and more shows make a point of playing exclusively to a particular section of anime fandom, it\u2019s nice to see a series with as broad an appeal as The World is Still Beautiful<\/i>.\u00a0 The fantasy premise of a princess from a tiny country marrying a powerful king has been used plenty of times, but this show quickly stands out on merit.\u00a0 On their own, the heroine is immediately charismatic and the hero is intriguingly flawed.\u00a0 Together, they have the kind of excellent chemistry that can carry a series all on its own.\u00a0 Add a solid mix of humor and drama, toss in a bit of political intrigue, and the result is hard not to like.\u00a0 The World is Still Beautiful<\/i> has the potential to connect with quite a large audience, and is easy to recommend to just about anyone. US viewers can catch the simulcast on Crunchyroll.<\/p>\n
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Strong Sequel: Mushi-shi: The Next Chapter<\/i><\/h3>\n
While the other titles on this list were pleasant surprises for me, there was never any doubt that the new season of Mushi-shi<\/i> would make this list.\u00a0 The original manga and 2005 anime adaptation are both absolutely fantastic, and this latest iteration appears to have what it takes to live up to that standard.\u00a0 Not unlike a Japanese folklore version of The Twilight Zone<\/i>, Mushi-shi<\/i> presents episodic stories of mysterious life forms called Mushi and the effects they have on humans.\u00a0 Each episode can be tragic, uplifting, or even horrifying, but the series always manages to be both creative and intelligent.\u00a0 Come for the beautiful visuals, stay for the clever insights into human nature. The show is available through Crunchyroll and Daisuki.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Not unlike the controversial Flowers of Evil<\/i>, Ping Pong<\/i> employs an unusual yet fluid animation style that can be off-putting at first glance.\u00a0 However, I found myself forgetting all about its looks by the end of the first episode thanks to the show\u2019s impressive ability to build a compelling narrative and set of characters.\u00a0 While I enjoy the over-the-top approach of more typical sports anime like this season\u2019s Haikyu!!<\/i>, Ping Pong<\/i> stands out by not needing any of the genre\u2019s usual crutches.\u00a0 There are no flashy special moves or spiky-haired heroes aiming to be the best in the world.\u00a0 Instead, Ping Pong<\/i> quickly establishes a number of real human conflicts between characters that feel like more than just the usual archetypes.\u00a0 Check it out if you\u2019re looking for something different from the usual sports shows. Funimation is handling the US simulcast for this one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n With the kind of premise one might expect from a lousy date movie, One Week Friends<\/i> sets itself up for plenty of cynical eye-rolls from potential viewers.\u00a0 Its teenage heroine loses all memories of her friends at the beginning of each week.\u00a0 Undeterred by this credulity-straining premise, one of her classmates does his best to befriend her, even if it means starting from square one every Monday.\u00a0 What should\u2019ve been a sappy and underwhelming show caught me off guard with solid writing and genuine emotional depth.\u00a0 If it can continue developing its characters and keep from going off the rom-com rails, One Week Friends<\/i> could be the biggest surprise of the season. Sentai Filmworks and Crunchyroll both have the license for this series.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I very nearly put Nanana\u2019s Buried Treasure<\/i> or Captain Earth<\/i> on this list, but Mekakucity Actors<\/i> came in at the last second and stole my interest by a slim margin.\u00a0 Combining the visual style of Bakemonogatari<\/i> with an ensemble cast reminiscent of Durarara!<\/i>, Actors<\/i> checks all the boxes when it comes to things that draw in anime fans.\u00a0 A snarky shut-in hero with an Artifical Intelligence girl living in his computer.\u00a0 Morally ambiguous, hood-wearing supernatural vigilantes.\u00a0 Hints of a potentially sinister big picture.\u00a0 Throw in a strong sense of style, and you\u2019ve got all the right ingredients for a fan-favorite series.\u00a0 Mekakucity Actors<\/i> is heavily loaded with potential, and it\u2019s hard to believe that it won\u2019t deliver at least reasonably well.\u00a0 All aboard the bandwagon! Actors<\/em> is available all over the Internet, including Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Daisuki.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Between some solid continuations from the winter season and a promising group of new titles, this looks like a good spring for anime.\u00a0 I look forward to being proven completely wrong about which shows end up being the best.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kawaii Overthink is written by Paul Jensen. You can follow his ramblings about anime on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>. Check back every Wednesday for new articles.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s that time of the season once again: the time when anime fans cram their schedules full of more shows than any reasonable person could possibly watch.\u00a0 Most folks will soon scale things back as it becomes clear what is and isn\u2019t worth watching, but for now we\u2019re still all caught up in the manic [Read more…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=992"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":995,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992\/revisions\/995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\nSubstance Over Style: Ping Pong the Animation<\/i><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nBiggest Surprise: One Week Friends<\/i><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nBuilt to Succeed: Mekakucity Actors<\/i><\/h3>\n
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