Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

This year has been an interesting one for anime. Some may say that it was one of the worst and others would beg to differ. I don’t think I fall into either bunch but rather I was simply on cruise control for most of the year just enjoying show after show that came out. I had many experiences over the past twelve months that left me in various states. I laughed, cried, face-palmed, groaned, sighed in frustration, stared questioningly, cheered and shouted, and threw verbal threats at many of the anime I’ve seen in 2007. Now here on the last day I’ve come to look back on everything and to think about which shows deserve end-of-the-year recognition.

Therefore, I’m glad to announce the 1st Anime Awards ni Youkoso! that myself and Youko will be hosting. We’ll be discussing various shows that came throughout the year. Among those discussions will be highlighting our best and favored shows and perhaps even the utter fail and worse of the year. You’ll have to keep reading to find out.

Oh yeah, and don’t forget that these are our personal opinions on what we’ve watched and completed. So we know that some will agree or disagree. There may also be spoilers. So, don’t have a fit if something you like didn’t win, ‘kay? ^__^

And lastly, we wish everyone a Happy New Year 2008!!

Best Action

Winners: CODE GEASS and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Honorable Mentions: Darker than BLACK, Claymore

Before the “Oh my god! Are you serious? Code Geass can’t compare to Gurren Lagann in action!” stuff starts to rise, just hear me out. Both shows possess different styles of action. Gurren Lagann possesses the in-your-face, shout-at-the-top-of-your-lungs, and pure-unadulterated-madness style. Code Geass on the other hand has a more, how shall I say, refined style. It’s not shown throughout almost every episode like Gurren Lagann but when it is shown it is nothing short of awesome. Episodes 11-12 and the final episodes (starting from 22) are perfect examples. I recognize different types of action and both of these shows excelled in the genre.

When there’s a rebellion going on you can’t help but feel that there will be hot stuff. Geass was definitely hot stuff from start to finish. Even looking at the promos before the series started, it looked like it was gonna be a fun-filled ride. You could say all the great action was done with Knightmare Frames but it’s not just the mecha. Once Zero organized the OBK things went a little nutty, though nothing went as nutty as the final episodes.

Best Comedy

Winners: Minami-ke and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Honorable Mentions: Lucky Star

This was a tough one for me. I took me like an hour to decide whether I Minami-ke or Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei should take this award but I just couldn’t choose. Both of these shows had charming characters and made me laugh uncontrollably. Granted their styles of humor are rather different and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is laced with satire but they both appeal to my sense of humor, sometimes even managing to break it to the point where I’d laugh long after the episode was over.

Both shows have characters that are just purely unforgettable. Nozomu and his cracked yet unique students never failed to have me rolling around in my chair. I’m so glad that I’m going to be seeing them again once the second season starts not too long from now. The same can be said about Minami-ke as well. I love their cast and I especially adore Kana. She’s an absolute riot and her “serious business” face is banchou-level. I’m looking forward to seeing Kana, Haruka, Chiaki and all their friends in the not-so-second-season but rather alternate retelling that starts next week.

Minami-ke was, without a doubt, the best of its season. I laughed and chuckled so much because of the insanity of these three sisters. Actually, not only these three, but their friends as well. I loved the idea of each sister in a different school level. That only meant there would be three fun filled moments all in one. I think the best part of it is the whole ignorance displayed by everyone, particularly, Kana, our epitome of stupid. You can’t go wrong. Each episode is as enjoyable as the last. If you haven’t finished yet or even started, your loss.

I wanted to go with my Lucky☆Star, I truly did. It went on a bumpy road in the beginning but it never strayed from the audience when it comes to attractiveness. That’s at least how I saw it. No, there weren’t that many scenes that made you LOL or ROFL to death, but that doesn’t matter. I personally felt inside jokes were their niche. C’mon, everyone talks about random stuff every now and then. This is no different. It was basically like taking the typical real life events of these four girls in anime form. All the questions they ask, even I wonder sometimes. Unfortunately, it can’t be one anime everyone can enjoy. Some people don’t understand it, some people can’t stand it. Episodes were either a hit or miss sometimes, and other times it was just awkward. That’s not to say it wasn’t truly a fun watch. It really was, but it was slightly off from Minami-ke.

Best Romance/Drama

Winner: ef - a tale of memories

Honorable Mentions: sola, Romeo x Juliet, Myself; Yourself, Kanon

ef taking this award should have been obvious after my rather lengthy review. There aren’t many visual novels that are done more than justice but SHAFT managed to gather a team to craft one of the most amazing shows of 2007. There were lots of crying and smiling to be had in ef and lots of thought-provoking scenes. SHAFT’s unique flair is present throughout of course which artistic scenes splashed all over the place but things still remain pretty straightforward. The remaining two highlights of ef are of course the characters and the music which join together to make the most visually and audibly stunning romance tales to date.

The characters are especially unique and the couples are more than well-put together. The two characters that I personally love are Chihiro and Renji. Seriously, these two give even Romeo and Juliet a run for their money as the best couple ever. If you love romance then you owe it to yourself to watch ef but don’t forget to breathe while you do.

Sensei and Ninomiya-kun was definitely the best romance/drama show ever. It never failed to grab the audience with it’s enjoyable scenes (the ones we saw anyway). Heck, it even spawned a video game. The Super Mario Bros.-esque platformer… the Street Figher-style game, Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda… they were all there, all in one package! Sure, you’ll most likely get a BAD END every time you play but it’s the experience that counts.

Sensei! Ninomiya-kun! Sensei! Ninomiya-kun! Sensei! Ninomiya-kun! Oh shi- not another car!!!

That has to be the best meta-romance show I’ve ever seen. Those two have gone through so much together. When are you ever going to see a couple get run over not once but TWICE from the same car? No where else but Sensei and Ninomiya-kun.

Best Suspense/Thriller

Winner: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai

Honorable Mentions: Death Note

This one was rather obvious. Higurashi spanned two seasons which I found to be a rather enjoyable journey. There were times of cheering and jumping and going “WHOA” and they all resulted in an experience that was one-in-a-million. Higurashi also introduced me to a favorite character of mine who I think is one of the best characters and antagonists hands down. Yup. That’s Miyo. I think she was the most well-developed character in the series though I’m not taking away anything from Keiichi and the others. They were awesome as well.

Game, set, and match. When it comes to psychological warfare, Kai definitely took the prize. What in the hell these murder mysteries were about, what’s up with the village… these were a few of the questions we’ve been asking ourselves since the Question Arcs. Thanks to this seasons, we finally learn the truth about everything. What’s next? Taking down the primary orchestrator of course! It took a lot of effort but the gang never gives up. That’s one thing they believed. Standing up and fighting against fate. Take it from K1. He was overflowing with courage in Minagoroshi-hen and gave Rika the spirit to not give up. It was really Rika/Hanyuu’s show but everyone was a winner.

Best Mecha

Winner: CODE GEASS

Honorable Mentions: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Reideen

Yeah, this one isn’t really a surprise, especially if you’re a regular here at KZI. “Why isn’t Gurren Lagann the winner?” some may ask. Well, I just thought that overall Code Geass was the better mecha series when taking into account certain aspects such as pilots and types of battles. Code Geass’ battles were more ranged and wasn’t really one-sided for either of the powers. There was no sudden access of energy from out of no where which occurred in Gurren Lagann more than a few times. Don’t get me wrong though, I love the whole Spiral power thing with GAR and manliness powering the mecha…but I usually prefer my mecha to be a little more down-to-earth like Gundam or Macross.

It’s quite clear. When you think of mecha, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Hmm, maybe Gundam? Well, we all know Sunrise is the powerhouse of mecha series, most notably Gundam. The creation of Code Geass was a whole entire different being though. We had character designs from CLAMP, we had a beautiful score from Nakagawa Kotaro, not to mention a damn great cast. Now I’m not a fan of mecha at all, but this really turned out better than I hoped. The mecha wasn’t actually the main focus, but that’s what I liked about it. More interaction with the characters and more on Lelouch’s rebellion against Britannia. Plus, it’s got Lancelot.