So, this awards thing is happening once again. I was a little sceptical about this season before it had even begun, I’ll admit. Fortunately, things turned out much better than I had expected, and we got some great anime to watch. Anyway, here’s what I watched:
- Ai Mai Mi: Delusion Catastrophe
- Aldnoah.Zero
- Encouragement of Climb Season 2
- Fairy Tail (2014)
- Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei!
- Hanayamata
- JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders
- Locodol
- Magica Wars
- Momo Kyun Sword
- One Piece
- Sabagebu!
- Space Dandy 2
- Tokyo ESP
With that done, be wary of potential spoilers. Now, let’s get down to business, shall we?
Best Opening Theme
“STRIKE BACK” by BACK-ON
This is one of the many openings from 2014’s Fairy Tail. I’m particularly biased when it comes to rock songs, so this gets the award this time around.
Runners-up: “heavenly blue” by kalafina (Aldnoah.Zero); “Wake Up!” by AAA (One Piece)
Best Plot
One Piece
In particular, the Dressrosa arc. The kingdom of Dressrosa seems like a happy place, but there is darkness under all that happiness. Naturally, the Straw Hats become involved whilst allied with Trafalgar Law.
Runners-up: Fairy Tail; Aldnoah.Zero
Best Protagonist
Momoka Sonokawa
The protagonist of Sabagebu!; Momoka is a girl who very much only looks out for herself. She will actively use her friends as distractions or shields as long as she comes out of the situation unharmed.
Runners-up: Inaho Kaizuka (Aldnoah.Zero); Nanako Usami (Locodol)
Best Antagonist
Bazett Fraga McRemitz
She shows up towards the end of Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei! in order to take back the Class Cards. She brings along action that had been sorely lacking until that point.
Runners-up: Count Saazbaum (Aldnoah.Zero); Donquixote Doflamingo (One Piece)
Best Cast of Characters
Nagarekawa Girls
The idol group from Locodol and their friends really resonated with me. Nanako and Yukari share a close relationship, and they work closely together with their friends to promote the mascot of their town Uogokoro.
Runners-up: Yosakoi Club (Hanayamata); Survival Game Club (Sabagebu!)
Cutest Character
Naru Sekiya
She’s the protagonist of Hanayamata, and it is easy to see why the girls of the yosakoi club are drawn towards her. Yaya has a tough time refusing her, and so would you too if she done her puppy dog eyes at you.
Runners-up: Nanako Usami (Locodol); Wendy Marvell (Fairy Tail)
Most Badass Character
Bazett Fraga McRemitz
She is able to fight Rin, Luvia and Luvia’s butler at the same time and win easily. Even when Illya and Kuro team up against her, she holds her own. Even more so when Miyu uses a Class Card.
Runners-up: Jotaro Kujo (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders); Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
Best Couple
Nanako Usami & Yukari Kohinata
The main characters from Locodol. It is clear that Yukari has a thing for Nanako from the start. In the latter half, Nanako seems to come to terms with her own feelings, and it is a joy to watch.
Runners-up: Naru Sekiya & Yaya Sasame (Hanayamata); Illyasviel von Einzbern & Miyu Edelfelt (Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei!)
Best Battle
Bazett vs. Everyone
This has already come up a couple of times, but that’s only because it was the best action on offer this season. The way the battle ended was anti-climactic, so I’m hoping to see Bazett return once again.
Runners-up: Miyu vs. Kuro (Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei!); Inaho vs. Count Saazbaum (Aldnoah.Zero)
Best Soundtrack
Locodol
Considering this is a show about local idols, there should be music involved. There was, and it was good.
Runners-up: Hanayamata; Aldnoah.Zero
Best Finale
Survival Club Game vs. Everyone, and then Urara’s Birthday
The cast of Sabagebu reunite for an epic shootout, all whilst Momoka suffers an unknown illness. After that chaos subsides, the Survival Game Club decide to do something nice for Urara’s birthday. This results in Urara receiving a present she loves.
Runners-up: Locodol Festival & Nagarekawa Summer Festival (Locodol); Hanairo Festival (Hanayamata)
Best Ending Theme
“Piti Pati SurviBird” by Gesukawa☆Girls
Sabagebu‘s ending theme, performed by the cast themselves. This is really catchy, and the video reminds me of those Touhou flash videos for IOSYS songs.
Runners-up: “Kyuusei Argyros” by Yousei Teikoku (Tokyo ESP); “aLIEz” by Sawano Hiroyuki (Aldnoah.Zero)
Best Anime
Locodol
This was a close fought battle between Locodol, Hanayamata and Sabagebu!. Ultimately, Locodol came out on top for me. I loved the interaction between Nanako and Yukari, the music was good and each episode was just a joy to watch.
Well, that’s done with for now. Next season we have second seasons of Log Horizon and Psycho-Pass, which I imagine will dominate my autumn awards.
Rory Muses 