my favorite genre of anime is "what the fuck is this? where did it come from? how did this get made? why is it making the decisions it is??? and most of all, why the fuck do i find it so compelling???"
- it has to either be an anime original or an adaptation nobody saw coming, cause the original is super obscure or completely different to the anime or something
- it has to be unique, going in a different direction then other stuff; if it does a standard anime story or genre it does it in a way that consistantly surprises you
- it has to commit SO hard. Whatever it's shooting for, it shoots as much as possible and throws everything at you in a consistently surprising way
- this commitment and uniqueness has to be a main factor in why you're watching it. Maybe it's also, like, good, but much more important is that every week you turn in to see where the FUCK it goes next
- in the words of my friend iris, it's gotta be kinda gay
In 2021 of course we have our namesake FAIRY RANMARU, one of the worst anime I've ever watched and an absolute disaster of a show. It's incredible, I 100% recommend it. It's almost sad that this one because it was a banner year for this category- Sk8 the Infinity would have hands down won any other year and competing we also had stuff like Visual Prison, Vivy Fluorite Eyes, and Pretty Boy Detective Club as some runner ups. A special shout-out also to Oddtaxi, which while I would argue isn't gay enough a LOT of furries in Japan would apparently disagree with me.
In 2022 the obvious choice would be Lycoris Recoil, but this isn't for the most popular or traditionally well liked show, so it's a runner up. Our winner of course is one of my favorite shows ever Akiba Maid War because by God every single episode makes you go "WHAT" at least once. Please watch this show, it's absolutely incredible in every way. We also of course have to credit Birdie Wing for being the weirdest sports anime I've ever seen and a shoe in runner up. I'd also nominate Do It Yourself for being gay if not "what the fuck" compelling enough, and Renai Flops for being "what the fuck" compelling if not at all gay (or tasteful).
In 2023, I think we have to give this to beloved dark horse Undead Murder Farce. What a weird and wonderful show, and it just squeaks by on being gay enough by having a homosexual combat maid. Runner ups I'd give to 16 Bit Sensation, a show thwt commits far harder then anyone expected, and spyXfamily-but-its-yaoibait show Buddy Daddies, marking P.A.Works second appearance here. (If we went back to 2020, Appare Ranman would be a shoe in, they're like the masters of this prize) there might be more, please suggest them!
And now in 2024 we have Brave Bang Bravern, one of the gayest, weirdest, wackiest, most incredivle mech shows to ever appear. Can anything unseat this? P.A. Works has two separate original Cute Girls shows coming up, so at least it'll have competition!
If you think I missed any PLEASE suggest them. This is my no contest favorite type of anime.
Zombie Land Saga (2018): seven girls are brought back from the dead as zombies to form a zombie pop idol group in order to revitalize the rural Saga Prefecture. wild premise, offbeat humor mixed with actual feels about celebrity and the changing nature of the entertainment industry, and it's also in my personal top 10 list for trans representation in anime/manga
Vatican Miracle Examiners (2017): a ... buddy cop show? about ... two catholic priests? who are ... sent by the vatican? to ... investigate reported miracles? and ... figure out whether they're actual miracles from god? (spoiler, the answer is always no and also there's actually an elaborate murder mystery conspiracy they need to uncover.) it's absolutely batshit, I wouldn't call it a good show but boy does it commit to the bit, and i'm gonna say it's at least a little gay