If you have not already listened to the podcast of this category, this is the final results, so this will spoil the course of the discussion on that podcast! Be warned!
I’ve often said that Oops All Anime is the heart of Scanline Media, and I still think that’s true. One thing that’s happened in 2021, however, is that we’ve grown our output in a way that has added more armor. No more is Oops the heart, protected by the skeleton of our other shows. Now we have so much that we’re putting out that it’s a full suit of armor. But even so, at the center, Oops All Anime, and now its partner show Oops All Manga, are the thing we center ourselves around. We covered some great stuff this year, and this is the best of the best.
The Winner
Delicious in Dungeon
In the debut year of Oops All Manga, one of the few we covered ran away with the crown. I liked the look of Delicious in Dungeon and its art style, but I couldn’t have predicted how powerfully it would portray and develop its characters and its world. The silly “cooking monsters” manga has a cast that’s both hilarious and heartening, and the worldbuilding around this impossible magic dungeon and how it affects the world around it is smart and opens up a ton of possibilities for the series to explore.
My favorite manga have a commonality: I can’t imagine how they’d be improved by being turned into anime. Delicious in Dungeon doesn’t need to be turned into a show: everything you need is right there on the page. I’ve enjoyed the nine volumes I’ve read, and I’m still excited for it going forward.
The Runners-Up
Akagi: The Genius That Descended Into Darkness
If only this show stuck the landing. Or the approach. Or half the flight. But BOY the first half of the flight. Mirroring the way our friend group discovered a love of mahjong, led by Kyrie, Jen and I discovered a love of Akagi… led by Kyrie. Its portrayal of a freakin’ board game and the way it imagines the tensions and mindset of the players is sick. And I do like Washizu, just… that arc is so long and screws up the stakes.
Dirty Pair
Mannnn. There are things 80s anime had that we just can’t seem to get from newer shows. The art style for one, of course- and Dirty Pair looks good as hell. But even tonally, there’s a style of lighthearted action romp that just doesn’t get made anymore. Dirty Pair is beautiful, funny, amazing, and goals. Two disaster bis shooting the galaxy to pieces is just a good look.
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Going into 2022, we’re covering more manga this year, while maintaining our pace with anime. Given the quality of the manga we read last year- we only covered three and one was the winner!- that makes me really optimistic for what we’ll get to cover. Being weekly (or sometimes more than weekly) anime critics has definitely made us a bit jaded, but it hasn’t taken away our love or appreciate of what they can be at their best. I’m happy to be able to shine a spotlight on these nominees.
We have two more award categories today, I hope you’ll enjoy them! Next up is Social Game of the Year!
A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!
