Before I get to the real point of this post, I want to share this short interview with Kyle Hebert on Anime Diet. I met the Anime Diet dudes at AX, and they're good people, so check out the rest of their interviews if you're interested. Some good tidbits in this one, including why Kyle voiced Kamina younger than his Japanese counterpart, Katsuyuki Konishi. Also, he has a sensible view on the sub vs. dub debate. :p
Anyway, I have not done a good ol’ anime seasonal ranks post for nearly a year. Clearly this is a terrible crime; therefore, I’ll be bringing ‘em back, except now they’ll be streamlined because I don’t have the time to blabber on like I did in the past. (Except for in this post, though it was written in parts. Thank you, Google Documents!) I don’t know how many of you want to see big, chunky paragraphs full of blabber, anyway.
Because I’ve got a year to catch up on, they’re all going in this post. Apologies in advance. Summer 2009 through Spring 2010, here we come!
Summer 2009
1. Bakemonogatari: Tough choice because the top two are about equally good, but SHAFT’s willingness to be visually daring (even though it’s because the studio is cheap as shit and occasionally leads to stinkbombs like the conclusion of the Nadeko Snake arc -- btw, Nadeko sucks, worst Bakemonogatari girl by far; the best is Kanbaru). Also it’s just fun watching a show strip down its genres (harem comedy + ghost hunting), somehow play everything straight later and smell like roses by the end. Good show, Bakemonogatari. Good show. (9/10)
2. Spice and Wolf II: Second arc is the best story in either season. Great supporting character in Abe, drives Lawrence and Holo’s relationship to the brink and the ending rocks (even though it’s a bit inconclusive). In addition, the economics stuff is toned down just enough to not give any headaches but not so much that those who get hard-ons from cost/benefit analysis will bitch and moan. (9/10)
3. Aoi Hana: Not quite as refined as, say, Maria-sama ga Miteru (though it’s close; those J.C. Staff watercolors are out in full force here), but it at least has the balls to say, “Hey, guys, our characters are lesbians. Not afraid to admit it here!” It’s also a plus that the show actually treats seriously the dilemma of coming out, and it doesn’t treat the same sex relationships in a exploitative way. (9/10)
4. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0: Definitely one of the more divisive shows of this season, particularly the latter half of the series after a twist that either had people running for tissues or raging at their computers. I thought it was a solid series, although perhaps a bit heavy on the “JAPAN WILL COME TOGETHER IN A TIME OF CRISIS” theme. Ah well. (8/10)
5. Sora no Manimani: Solid high school romantic comedy; no more, no less, though I did enjoy all the astronomical fanservice. (That is, lots of pretty stars, not, like, planet-sized racks.) (7/10)
6. Canaan: I thought the series tried to bite off a bit more than it could chew, but the action is consistently good, and the story is cool, if a bit too bonkers at times. Also, Maria is awful. (7/10)
7. Umineko no Naku Koro ni: I don’t know if the visual novel apes the Higurashi structure, but this DEEN adaptation sure as hell does, except the story and characters are not as interesting, and the ending, uh, kind of blows. Definite disappointment, although I did not take this disappointment as hard as the visual novel readers, who were truly hilarious to watch week-by-week. (7/10)
8. Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: It pains me to say this, but Zetsubou Sensei probably needs to end soon (the anime adaptation, anyway). Each episode literally has one funny skit, one OK skit and one terrible skit. Every character has their same reactions to everything, with little deviation. Frankly, it’s boring now. (7/10)
(Dropped: Kanamemo)
Fall 2009
1. Aoi Bungaku: Not all the adaptations in Aoi Bungaku were good, but the best were magnificent, particularly the adaptation of “Run, Melos!” That is the best piece of storytelling from any TV anime in the past year. Beautiful, stylish, thrilling, daring and a fantastic ending. Other stories, such as “No Longer Human” and “Kokoro”, are pretty damn good too. (9/10)
2. Sasameki Koto: Was compared to Aoi Hana a bit after the first episode, but Sasameki relies more on comedy . . . in a weird way, I’d say it is Angel Beats! done right, at least in terms of tone and balance of humor and drama. I’d like to see another season of this series since the ending is pretty inconclusive. (8/10)
3. Kuuchuu Buranko: People expected a heady, intellectual show coming in and got a shockingly straightforward series that celebrated the humanity of life’s many weirdoes and didn’t take itself very seriously at all. Apparently having an inventive visual style means a series must be Serious Business, and if it falls short of lofty standards, then a show is Pretentious. Bah to that, I say. Kuuchuu Buranko is a good, fun show, simple psychology or not. (8/10)
4. Kimi ni Todoke: Was often slow as molasses, the Kurumi arc as a whole was almost entirely awful and yet another romance series where the relationship moves at a glacial pace, but there is some good enjoyment to be had with those characters who float in the outer orbit of Sawako and Kazehaya. Chizuru’s arc in particular is a wonderful piece of melancholy that gave me Honey and Clover vibes. (7/10)
5. Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini: Proof that numbers don’t mean everything. Darker than Black’s second season gets the higher score, but I’m biased toward the type of series Kimi ni Todoke is, so the latter series is ranked higher. So there. Anyway, action is great as usual, and I like the development of Hei and Suou, but the show’s story ultimately feels a bit meaningless at the end. Hm. (8/10)
6. Shugo Chara! Party: Even more for kids than the previous two seasons of Shugo Chara! I watched the 10-12 minute main episodes, and that’s it. (7/10)
7. Kampfer: Wonderful trash, with emphasis on the trash. It’s the kind of series I could only watch week-by-week, because marathoning it would drive me up the wall. (6/10)
(Dropped: The Book of Bantorra, To Aru Kagaku no Railgun, Seitokai no Ichizon, Letter Bee, Kobato., 11eyes)
Winter 2010
1. Durarara!!: Sputtered to a close, thus the somewhat low score for a top series. But it was damn good for two-thirds of the way, mixing a great urban style and a clash between surface normalcy and the supernatural lurking beneath that cover. That was probably my biggest problem with the final arc: It got away from that conflict between the normal and abnormal for the most part, which is the aspect of the series that interests me most. Still worth watching, though. (7/10)
2. Nodame Cantabile Finale: First half seems to continue on the path of Paris Chapter, with maybe a bit too much focus on other characters and not enough on Chiaki and Nodame, and more specifically, the clash between Chiaki and Nodame’s respective ambitions and how it affects their relationship. Then the second half of the series just throws out great episode after great episode. Could not be more satisfied with how Nodame Cantabile concludes; definitely one of anime’s great romantic comedies. (8/10)
3. Hanamaru Kindergarten: Cute, funny series, although ultimately not much more than that. Anything that gives me a character like Hiiragi is A-OK, though. Plus, the EDs are inventive, which is refreshing. (7/10)
4. Dance in the Vampire Bund: Yes, I am one of the five people in the world who actually enjoyed watching Dance in the Vampire Bund even though it is a complete mess of a series. There’s a lot of dumb stuff in this show, but I do admire how it goes all out with everything. Too bad the production process was a huge debacle. (7/10)
5. Sora no Woto: A somewhat disappointing debut for the Anime no Chikara timeslot. Mixes military slice-of-life with a more serious storyline and world development, but the show ultimately reaches farther than its grasp; when the series ends, it does not feel as if it explores everything that could have (and should have) been explored. But, hey, when you can waste an episode where Kanata struggles to do a job while she has to go to the bathroom, you gotta do it. (7/10)
6. Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu: Much funnier than I thought it would be at the beginning, and then, like many anime comedies, it got repetitive and unfunny. Oh well. (7/10)
7. Ookamikakushi: Let’s just say Ryukishi07 could have taken a giant dump on my bed, and it probably would have been more entertaining than this series. (6/10)
(Dropped: Nothing, although I should have dropped Ookamikakushi.)
Spring 2010
1. Arakawa Under the Bridge: Pretty damn funny throughout (even if many of the jokes have a similar structure to them), good variety of characters and solid development for Recruit (aka Kou Ichinomiya) and Nino. I’m slightly wary of a second season, just because this sort of series could easily be driven into the ground, but that should not speak to the quality of this debut. (8/10)
2. The Tatami Galaxy (aka Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei): About a thousand times more enjoyable than I figured it would be. Fun, inventive visual style, never takes itself too seriously, and it gives the viewer a bit to mull upon while being enjoyable to watch at the same time. The storyline is surprisingly simple (at least, I had no trouble keeping up with it), but I love all the absurd situations Watashi gets into in his search for that perfect campus life. (8/10)
3. Giant Killing: World Cup fever! Giant Killing could not be better timed. (And I have no doubt that the timing was taken into account. :P) It’s been a solid show so far. I like that it expands beyond the confines of the soccer field -- you’ve got bits about the fans, the front office drama, the media, etc. Makes this feel more like a real sports world. Hasn’t quite taken that step from solid to good yet, but I think it will soon. (7/10)
4. Kaichou wa Maid-sama: Fairly harmless romantic comedy; its saving grace is that Misaki and Usui have good chemistry, although there is an annoying tendency on occasion to undercut Misaki’s strength and turn her into a damsel for Usui to save. (7/10)
5. Rainbow: Utterly melodramatic and undeniably cheesy, but I’ve enjoyed it so far. Now that the boys are grown up and out of prison (spoiler! j/k it’s in the freaking OP), I’m curious as to what direction the series will take now. Also, prison guard Ishihara is the funniest villain of the year so far. That guy has to be seen to be believed.
6. House of Five Leaves: Solid story and character development, but by god, is the pacing ever slooooooooooooow. For many episodes, I just about drowned and fell asleep in an ocean of languid pacing. The show gets much better about this by the end, though. (7/10)
7. Angel Beats!: Most disappointing show of the season. The disappointment probably could have been avoided if it ever decided what the hell it wanted to do, however. Every week the game seemed to change, with new distractions being thrown in with the hope that the audience would not notice how poorly written the series is. It gets laughably bad by the end; I can understand enjoying it as a piece of trainwreck entertainment, but the people who think it is legitimately emotionally touching are baffling me. Oh well. Different strokes, etc. (6/10)
8. Heroman: It’s a show for kids ... or is it? I mean, there’s a Dr. Strangelove/Fail Safe situation near the end of the first arc (come up with a solution to an attack or nuke a bunch of cities), not to mention Lina’s, er, decidedly unsubtle way of getting Joey’s attention on their date. Still, though, kids series. (6/10)
(Dropped: B Gata H Kei, Senkou no Night Raid)
