Shin Sekai Yori: Most Unconventional Anime of the Year?

[Nero D. Ace]

From the New World ...

Not to be confused with Shin Sekai, which is translated to New World and is a stand alone OVA, with no connection to this show.

When I started it, I thought it was a typical high school shounen show with powers thrown in between.

Typical teenagers with a pretty standard cast -

1) Shun - Cool, calm-headed Leader with all the talent.

2) Saki - Tsundere heroine who's in love with the leader.

3) Satorou - Comic relief clown character with average powers.

4) Maria - Red headed bombshell. To give a more feminine view of the group.

5) Mamoru - Shy clumsy lil boy in love with bombshell.

So, there it was. However, I liked the presentation and music of the first episode so i figured - "what the hell ... i'll keep it on my weekly watch list."

Best decision I ever made.

This year, We've had Sword Art Online, Muv-Luv Alternative, Chuunibyou and Kokoro Connect.

However, for me, Shin Sekai Yori takes the cake as Anime of the Year easily. I'm not even done with the show yet and even if the ending is crappier than ME3, I'll still stay true to my decision.

Simply because it's one of the most unconventional shows I've seen.

It is impossible to call anything in this show. You think you know where the plot's going, who's gonna end up with who, who's gonna die, who has superior plot armor when ... BAM! the show does something completely different from the two choices that you think were gonna happen.

The twists come out of nowhere but they're reasonable. The characters don't feel like tropes and even end up going against their tropes occasionally. Shun is not always the genius he's made out to be and Satorou shines as a proper shujinko in quite a few moments.

I dunno, man. I watched this show with a bro who's been watching anime almost as long as, if not longer than me and neither of us can call what'll happen in the episode. To top it off, this show doesn't have an OP.

I know it might seem silly, but we were at the 10th episode when we realised that. The show didn't have a friggin OP song! There was an ED sure, but we had incorporated that as the OP somehow and were then thinking where the hell the ED was and ... aw, man.

Anyways, I'd really recommend this show to people who like non-mainstream stuff. Sure, One Piece and Fairy Tail is good as well but this is something to watch and take a break from all that.

Oh, and this happens -

A bit guy on guy stuff as well but you gotta take the bad with the good, as they say.

[Charcoal]

I started to watch it but dropped it after the 2nd or 3rd episode.

I'll probably try watching it again. Thanks for reminding me.

Edited December 31, 2012 by Charcoal

[Kitsune01]

i had a similar issue but now you got me curious again thanks for bringing it back to the lime light

[Hawkester]

I like to think of this show as the one that the people who are making it are just trying to make each episode just as dark or slight bit more darker than the last.

 

It's adapted from a novel, isnt it?

Edited February 3, 2013 by Hawkester

[Breathless]

Yeah, it's adapted from a novel. Not a light-novel like some other anime, but a full fledged novel.

Personally I enjoy Shinsekai alot! It's probably my favorite at the moment. I was only watching it to pass time, then episode 4 hit and BAM. Now I can't wait for the next episode every week!
Also - I LOVE the voice acting they have! It's up there with the best I've ever heard!

[Hawkester]

True, despite my previous comment, it's quite interesting.