Open Thread: Top Posts of 2016!
I’m sure you all know how top ten lists work, so let’s get straight into it!
Top Ten Posts of 2016
1. Book Review: The Financial Expert
2. Anime Review: Urusei Yatsura
3. Open Thread: Minicon 51 Report
4. Comic Book Review: Batman Deathblow After the Fire
5. Book Review: The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds
6. Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans
7. Manga Review: Ooku 10 & 11
8. Comic Strip Review: Kill 6 Billion Demons 1
9. Book Review: Outlaws of the Atlantic: Sailors, Pirates and Motley Crews in the Age of Sail
10. Book Review: The Guns of Navarone
The Financial Expert by R.K. Narayan was the dark horse victory of the year. It was a book randomly selected off the shelf at a used bookstore for my #ReadPOC2016 challenge. And somehow, my review of it is within the top ten of Google results for this book!
Now let’s compare to the list of all-time favorite posts as selected by you, the readers.
Top Ten All-Time Posts
1. Anime Review: Urusei Yatsura
2. Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump (USA)
3. Book Review: Wrapped in the Flag: A Personal History of America’s Radical Right
4. Comic Book Review: The Forgotten Man Graphic Edition
5. Manga Review: Vagabond Volume 1
6. Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans
7. Anime Review: Magi – Labyrinth of Magic
8. Book Review: The Financial Expert
9. Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood/Battle Tendency
10. Book Review: Narrative Structure in Comics: Making Sense of Fragments
As you can see, “Those Annoying Aliens” is a series with legs.
Time to break it down into categories, starting with the media type this blog is mostly about.
Top Ten Books 2016
1. The Financial Expert
2. The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds
3. Outlaws of the Atlantic: Sailor, Pirates and Motley Crews in the Age of Sail
4. The Guns of Navarone
5. White Fang
6. They Talked to a Stranger
7. The Black Tulip
8. The Inugami Clan
9. The Casebook of Carnacki the Ghost Finder
10. Thanks for the Feedback (tie)
10. Jewish Noir (tie)
Four of these eleven were #ReadPOC2016 selections, but more notable is the dominance of older works.
Top Ten Anime 2016
1. Urusei Yatsura
2. Active Raid
3. The Kindaichi Case Files Return
4. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood/Battle Tendency
5. The Rose of Versailles
6. Tonari no Seki-Kun
7. Matchless Raijin-Oh
8. Mushibugyo
9. Invaders of the Rokujyoma!?
10. Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches
Active Raid, Kindaichi and Jojo’s have all had new seasons since my reviews.
Top Ten Comicbooks 2016
1. Batman/Deathblow After the Fire
2. Showcase Presents: Weird War Tales Volume 1
3. Vertigo CYMK
4. Teen Titans Earth One Volume 1
5. Showcase Presents: The Great Disaster Featuring the Atomic Knights
6. Child of the Sun
7. Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash
8. Essential Sub-Mariner, Vol. 1
9. Essential Rampaging Hulk, Vol. 1
10. Showcase Presents: Super Friends
Apparently there was a huge jump of interest in Brian Azzarello’s early DC work this year.
Top Ten Manga 2016
1. Ooku 10 & 11
2. Vinland Saga Book Seven
3. Dream Fossil
4. Ayako
5. Die Wergelder 1
6. Princess Jellyfish Volume 1
7. Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches #1
8. A*Tomcat
9. Let’s Dance a Waltz (tie)
9. Assassination Classroom (tie)
More mature titles were strong this year, with the first young adult title coming in at #7.
And now, let’s look at where you, the all-important readers are coming from!
Top Ten Viewing Countries 2016
1. United States
2. United Kingdom
3. Canada
4. Russia
5. France
6. Germany
7. Brazil
8. India
9. Australia
10. Japan
There was one lonely visitor from Bahrain–tell your friends!
The number one search term this year was “Images of Bela Lugosi in ‘The Island of Dr. Moreau.'”
And now it’s your turn! Have any thoughts on the winning media? What else have you enjoyed this year?
Happy New Year!
