{"id":35231,"date":"2015-01-01T10:00:37","date_gmt":"2015-01-01T14:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/?p=35231"},"modified":"2025-08-09T10:19:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T14:19:24","slug":"ask-john-what-were-the-most-least-interesting-anime-of-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/ask-john-what-were-the-most-least-interesting-anime-of-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask John: What Were the Most & Least Interesting Anime of 2014?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wonder-Momo-kick\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Over the past ten years I’ve annually compiled a list of the annual new anime TV and web anime productions that I considered the finest of the year. Regrettably, I’m unable to do the exact same thing this year because I don’t feel knowledgable enough about some of the year’s most popular titles to critique them. So rather than compile a “best of” list, I’ll provide a list of the year’s most interesting new anime, along with my picks for worst new anime of 2014.<\/p>\n


\nUnlike 2013, which was a particularly good year for new anime, 2014 was the weakest year for new anime since 2010. The ten most highly regarded debuts of 2014<\/a> included three sequels (Psycho-Pass<\/em>, Sword Art Online II<\/em>, Log Horizon<\/em>), a remake of a relaunch (Fate\/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works<\/em>), and an adaptation of a 26-year-old manga (Kiseiju: Sei no Kakuritsu<\/em>), suggesting that creativity was not a strength of 2014. Anime News Network compiled a list of 155 new anime that premiered in 2014. My own list is more comprehensive, including 213 premieres last year. Out of those 213 new TV shows, TV specials, and web anime, I watched at least one full episode of 206 of them. I deliberately excluded Nano Invaders<\/em> because the show isn’t Japanese animation.<\/p>\n

Witch Craft Works<\/em> & No Game, No Life<\/em> both earn credit for being the most sheer fun harem farce TV shows since 1992’s Tenchi Muyo<\/em>. Both series featured unexpectedly attractive art design and unusually smooth animation quality. Witch Craft Works<\/em> was a pleasant change of pace because it didn’t include any obvious bumbling idiot characters. Certainly the KMM-dan fills the role, but the girls themselves aren’t actually inept; they’re just prone to bad luck. Co-protagonist Ayaka Kagari’s no-nonsense chivalry is a refreshing and gratifying role-reversal, and Takamiya’s efforts to be worthy of Kagari’s devotion are admirable. Shows like 2014’s Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin<\/em> demonstrate the difficulty of effectively mixing slapstick humor with serious, threatening danger; Witch Craft Works<\/em> consistently got the balance perfect. No Game, No Life<\/em> ostensibly seems like a story that shouldn’t work as well as it does. Borrowing its concept from Sword Art Online<\/em> & Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai Kara Kuru Sou Desu yo?<\/em> and adding in a heavy emphasis on otaku behavior seems like a recipe for bland, pandering clich\u00e9. However, the narrative twist of forcing the protagonists to rely on intelligence and wit to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds gave the show a spark of creativity and unpredictability. The show wisely placed viewers into conference with the protagonists, keeping the viewers guessing about forthcoming plot twists just as much as the characters. The protagonist siblings’ self-deprecating yet unflappable confidence is also relatively uncharacteristic of modern anime, making them instantly empathetic characters that viewers like and want to cheer for.<\/p>\n

I’m embedding the Witch Craft Works<\/em> ending instead of the opening because I love the KMM-dan song and because the ending is tonally a better representation of the show than the opening animation is.<\/p>\n