The Inaugural LofZOdyssey Highlights - 2018 (Day 5): The Top Anime of 2018 (10 - 1)

***To see the full rundown of the rules for the Inaugural LofZOdyssey Highlights, please click HERE.***

Introduction

So it has come to this. The absolute best.

If you want to catch yourself up on which series earned the first ten positions, please click HERE.

If you are ready to go, though, let’s not waste any more time.

The year has ended, and these are the Inaugural LofZOdyssey Highlights - Top Anime of 2018 (10 to 1):

The Inaugural LofZOdyssey Highlights - 2018 (Day 4): The Top Anime of 2018 (20 - 11)

***To see the full rundown of the rules for the Inaugural LofZOdyssey Highlights, please click HERE.***

Introduction

I had to make this a top twenty. Even after coming to that conclusion, I still debated and toiled over which series were going to make the cut. I hate to imagine what it would have been like had I just limited myself to only ten.

Nevertheless, here we are – Part One.

Out of the many series from 2018, which were the cream of the crop? Which were always meant to make this list, and which turned out to be huge surprises?

Comedy, drama, adventure, fantasy, horror, there were so many stories from so many genres over the last year. These shows couldn’t have been more different. But, there is one crucial factor which links each of the following entries:

They were all fantastic.

These are the Inaugural LofZOdyssey Highlights – Top Anime of 2018 (20 to 11):

The Inaugural LofZOdyssey Highlights - 2018 (Day 3): The Top Ten Best Characters

***To see the full rundown of the rules for the Inaugural LofZOdyssey Highlights, please click HERE.***

Introduction

With any show, it is safe to assume there will be a full cast of characters to get to know.

The same is then true with the next series. Then the next one. And then the one after that. And then so on and so on until your stuck compiling a list of the top ten characters of a given year and you must sift through hundreds of possible contenders.

If you think that sounds daunting, don’t. You would be surprised by how manageable such a task is.

When you have encountered as many characters as I have, only the truly best stand out. Now don’t get me wrong, there were a lot more than ten exceptional characters from 2018, and cuts had to be made.

Thus, my guiding rule was: The closer a character came to absolute excellence, the higher their rank ended up (a flawless system, I know).

Representing the year’s most interesting, engaging, and solid, this is the Inaugural LofZOdyssey Highlights - Top Ten Characters of 2018:

The Inaugural LofZOdyssey Highlights - 2018 (Day 2): The Top Ten Best Animation

***To see the full rundown of the rules for the Inaugural LofZOdyssey Highlights, please click HERE.***

Introduction

I have said this on multiple occasions in the past: Animation is NOT what makes an anime good. Stories and characters do that.

However, gorgeous visuals have never hurt anything. Besides, how can we expect to have an anime highlights week without showcasing the medium’s own namesake?

It goes without saying that every category during these highlights is based off one person’s opinion – mine. Nowhere is this more the case than when it comes to ranking art styles. What I might see as gold, you may see as trash.

And if you think that about any of the entries, so be it.

All I can offer is my criteria.

Along with general beauty, I tried taking into account a series’ uniqueness. Did a show stand-alone or did it look like something I have already seen hundreds of times before?

Also, since certain styles – a.k.a., CGI – are becoming more and more prevalent, execution and implementation needed to be considered.

Mix all those factors together, and BOOM, you have the list for the Inaugural LofZOdyssey Highlights - Top Ten Animation of 2018:

The Inaugural LofZOdyssey Highlights - 2018 (Day 1): The Top Ten Best Opening Songs

***To see the full rundown of the rules for the Inaugural LofZOdyssey Highlights, please click HERE.***

Introduction

As a reviewer – and more to the point – as a marathon viewer, I usually must set aside up to SIX HOURS to watch a single series. Then there are the twenty-plus-episode shows that require at least half a day to complete. Therefore, any place where I can chip away at some of that time, I will.

Often the first to go is a series’ opening song.

Not only have I seen shows’ openings completely misrepresent what their stories were about, but they have actually spoiled specific details about the narrative. For example, have you ever wondered about a mysterious character seen in an opening who has yet to make an appearance despite being on episode eight of a twelve-episode show?

Yes, I don’t mind skipping an opening song in favor of just continuing with a story.

HOWEVER, every now and then, an opening will catch my attention. A song plays that fully encapsulates the heart of its series, and most importantly of all, gets you excited to watch.

And for the record, I didn’t realize until I was making this list how many of those types of openings were in 2018. It was far more difficult to pick out the top ten than I expected.