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violet_skiesHonorable Mentions: Videos Uploaded in 2022 that I watched a lot in 2023
While sorting through the long list of videos (an Excel spreadsheet of approximately 2700 rows), a few AMVs rose to the top that weren’t uploaded in 2023. I thought it was important to write something small about these because
1. I didn’t make a list last year
2. These AMVs have withstood the test of time to still be rewatchable and interesting the following year
3. AMVs uploaded later in the year get a spotlight when they would be punished with a numbers-based system
4. This is my list and I can do what I want.
My honorable mentions from 2022 are…
3. Counterfire by AllyKat AVR
I can be hit-or-miss with action AMVs, so when one hits me, it really hits me. This pairing is excellent and brings me a lot of joy. I keep coming back to this video because I keep showing it to other people. The video has just enough exposition that the characters are interesting and meaningful instead of just being a long-form fight sequence that some action vids gravitate towards. Wholly enjoyable from start to finish.
2. Derivative by ashen wind
This video is so far outside of my AMV wheelhouse that I’m not sure how to describe it. There’s such a crazy hatred for use of artificial intelligence because of the risk of removing the human element (i.e. capitalism ruins everything), but this shows how an artist can leverage AI tools to make something truly transformative. To me, this AMV feels like it could be the official music video for the song. The scenes are thoughtful, and the applied effects add a lot of depth and complexity that amplify the selections.
1. Orobouros by Standard Quip
I featured this video as my very first “underrated AMV” videos last year! I definitely rewatched it a lot for that blog post, and that video got an in-depth analysis. Read that blog post here.
Top 10 from 2023!
While compiling this list, I noticed that a full half of the videos were from RICE. That competition has the benefit of being held in the first quarter of 2023. The time-based system of top 10 definitely benefits videos posted in the first half of the year, but I’m choosing to acknowledge that bias and move forward with flawed methodology.
10. Seemingly Simple by hamstar138
It’s not often that an AMV will make me watch the source it’s from, but this one definitely did. This AMV was so sweet and wholesome that I absolutely had to see the full story. The romance between Komi and Tadano is such a beautiful slow burn without excess mush. This video tells that story beautifully, the awkward high school romance beautifully encapsulated. The use of manga panels also adds a LOT to the storytelling. There’s an unspoken (well maybe occasionally spoken) bias against any text in AMVs. The manga panels not only help to tell the story with words, but they also add so much tenderness that would not have been possible with the show alone. This video never fails to make me smile.
9. Happy Fly by BoxJoe
I also wrote about this AMV for my Fun with Fonts Iron Chef. This video was made in a week with an assigned font, and the goal was to make the font choice look intentional rather than random. BoxJoe succeeded in spades, and this video made me a new Cosmo Sheldrake fan. The text work is really exceptional. It includes a lot of extra text work besides the song lyrics to help set the tone. A lot of excellent masking also makes the text really pop. It’s only a minute thirty, so watch it twice.
8. Dancing Backwards by vivafringe
This video is the second AMV on the list from the Fun with Fonts Iron Chef. To contrast with BoxJoe and the highly integrated text work, vivafringe used the text to give credit to both the sources and the year they were released, more like a subtitle than an integral video element. This video is a fascinating retrospective, a historical time capsule for dance in anime. While this video is definitely a great watch, it was particularly exciting on stream when people had no idea how long the video was going to last. Since the video starts with 2023 footage, no one knew how long it would run. The scene transition at 1:30 from 16:9 footage to 4:3 is wonderful. Around 2:45 when the video hit 1990, everyone on the stream started asking “how long was this video, anyway?” The video goes all the way back to 1982, a solid 40 years of dance history in anime.
7. Booming Hearts by vivafringe
Vivafringe is the only editor to appear twice on my list and nearly was a third time with his Vox Machina video, Commune with Nature. Summer Festivals and fireworks are common in anime, and vivafringe’s masterful blending of multiple sources really shines through with this video about them. The video is cozy and brings me joy. It starts simple, builds beautifully, and ends with romance. The song is an instrumental, so the beautiful beat sync is the star of the video closely followed by the careful match cuts. A lovely video that makes me feel warm inside.
6. Cyberpunk Resurrections by Rider4Z
I love a well-executed trailer parody. I also really loved Cyberpunk Edgerunners, and I think combining it with The Matrix was truly inspired. The relationship between David and Lucy is a fitting parallel for Neo and Trinity. The sound effects are all carefully leveraged and some, I would guess, were added. The custom raining matrix code is a highly immersive element as well. The trailer is basically flawless, like most things Rider4Z makes.
5. Double Take by BecauseImBored1
I think this video may have appeared on almost everyone else’s top lists, and for good reason. This labor of love is genuinely funny and extremely well thought-out. “A lot of anime characters look like a lot of other anime characters” seems like a simple enough concept for a video, but BiB1 takes that and blows it completely out of the water. The interactions are nuanced and complex, and knowledge of the individual sources often add a lot of depth to the pairings. The amount of technical work alone elevates this video to top tier. I had the benefit of being at Otakon where this AMV debuted AND took Best in Show, and it probably wasn’t even a contest. Audiences went crazy for it. It’s upbeat, fun, and has enough unexpected humor to really hook people. And I admit, I have even confused some of these anime characters myself before.
4. Roaring 80s by seasaltmemories
I have a weakness for Panic! at the Disco. This specific video also uses it to outstanding effect. The editor herself described this video as “sync go brr” and I love it all the more for it. This is another action video that has me wondering about the characters, the world setting, and the gritty world of Yakuza. Great scene selection, great sync, just an entertaining watch.
3. Supersonic by CrackTheSky
I never anticipated a video featuring a flight simulator being this high on my list, but here we are. The song builds slowly, lots of beautiful establishing shots of planes help to set the stage. Then, the first drop hits somewhat abruptly at nearly a minute in, and the video really gets going. I really tell in love with this video during RICE, probably because I really love the pairing. I’ve been meaning to write a long form post about this video, and I had intended to make this one of my Underrated AMVs, but hopefully 3rd slot in my top 10 is sufficient. I can (and would) watch this video over and over. The internal sync in the air combat is just lovely. The stutter frames add a lot of depth and visual interest; they’re carefully placed and judiciously used.
2. Prodigal by Tyken
Okay, MAYBE this one is cheating. Tyken is my wonderful husband, and it’s probably not completely fair that his video takes my #2 spot. But I said at the beginning that I was doing this straight by the numbers, and the numbers don’t lie. I have never watched any Samurai Jack, so when he told me that he was pairing that show with this song, I had absolutely no context for where he would go with it. As I slowly watched him build this video, I knew it would be something really special. I convinced him to submit it to RICE even though it kind of broke the rules… The run time limit was 5 minutes, and the scientist in me said that 5:23 rounded down to 5. If they wanted it to be 5:00 minutes, it should say that. Well the video performed well, being one of the five Best in Show finalists and taking the Character Profile award. This video expertly leverages long cinematic shots, well-placed montages, and strong reliance on internal sync. Tyken isn’t afraid to let the scenes do the work, leveraging predominately raw footage. His love of the source also shines through.
One hurdle that arose with this video was the format change—old episodes of the show were in 4:3, while the final season was in 16:9. Tyken decided in advance and knew exactly where he was going to make that change, and right about the 4 minute mark, he slowly widens the scene to fill the screen, a part that still gives me chills a year later. I’ve shown this video to tons of friends not just because Tyken made it, but also because it’s a beautiful video.
1. Killing Kind by Nekokitkat
Before running the numbers, I had guessed this would be #1, and I was right. While this video had the benefit of coming out in January of last year (January 6th to be precise), the number of views gap between this and Prodigal isn’t exactly small. I previously gushed about how much I love Killing Kind here, but I am happy to elaborate given its #1 spot on my list.
I completely dismissed Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun when I first heard about it due entirely to its stupid name. Watching this MMV absolutely humbled me for judging something on a superficial trait. The video starts so calmly and just works its way into an absolute rush of thoughts and feelings. I had the opportunity to see the editor’s process and the number of small details she laced within the video is phenomenal. At 0:47, for example, the two characters on the sides have shadows, but the middle character doesn’t… because he’s a ghost and ghosts don’t cast shadows. That is just one example of the extreme attention to detail placed in this video. Making an MMV is *hard*, and making an *over four minute* MMV, especially with the level of detail, overlays, effects, and color correction, is absolutely mind boggling. This video takes my top spot not only for quality and impact, but also the insane love and effort poured into every frame.
