...Of the ones I've watched/read this summer. NOT counting series that I'm still in the process of watching, including Aria & Natsume Yuujinchou. And I'm JUST ON THE VERGE of watching Redline (torrent download 98.6% done!!), so the list is still subject to change. :3
5. Pluto
From the very first chapter onwards, I was hooked. Not a single page of this manga is wasted. And mad respect to Naoki Urasawa for taking a rather simple Astro Boy plot and crafting an entire WORLD out of it. I think the ending stretch of the series is a little less good/too rushed in comparison to the rest of it, but eh. Small slight to an otherwise great manga.
4. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica
For what are now obvious reasons. I think it's even better appreciated if you actually sat through seasons upon seasons of Sailor Moon/Card Captor Sakura/old-school mahou shoujo anime as a kid. Would have never thought of it before watching this series, but the mahou shoujo genre really was in bad need of deconstruction (and boy did they deliver).
3. Eve no Jikan
Pretty much my favorite anime movie now. The animation is gorgeous, pacing is consistent, and the ending story is just wonderful. And not only is the cast characterized well (including characters who only appear for 15 min), but the leads get some genuine character development, all in less than two hours. I walked away from this feeling like I had just watched a mini-series (which it technically is, har har).
2. FMA: Brotherhood
Yeah, I only watched this in full this past summer. Sue me. :P
When I was watching the first series, I always thought that it had a lot of unnecessary episodes. And even besides that, the main story just didn't draw me in the same way it did other people. (Mind you, I had no idea the first series diverged so much from the manga until Brotherhood started airing.) If anything, I'm glad I am finally now a fan of FMA and am no longer one of the handful of people who doesn't care for it much. ^^;
1. Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan
Gets the #1 spot mainly due to how emotionally affecting the story is. I still can't believe how much I came to care for the characters when the entire story is only 8 chapters long. This is also one of the few anime/manga I've encountered that has the potential to really change how some people think and act. And yeah, I'm totally willing to admit that the last chapter made me cry like a bitch. Seriously, I'm glad no one else was around. (FYI, the plot is NOT as melodramatic as the MAL summary makes it seem. I swear it!)
Not anime, but still deserves mention:
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Yeah, watched this series only recently too. And it's AWESOME. Totally buying the whole thing on DVD someday. Zuko pwns my soul, weh. *o*~
Game of Thrones
As amazing as everyone says it is. Yeah.
X-Men: First Class
Really liked this movie. Enjoyed it quite a bit more than Captain America, tbh. Probably because of James McAvoy. :P
