Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

Every year, fresh from the Land of the Rising Sun, an overflow of anime in all directions surges out, and we, as technophiles, catch those torrents. In the year of 2008, there was quite many hits and misses. There’s no in-betweens, no so-sos, no kindas, sortas, or littles. Well… maybe… but I’d be lying if I said 2008 was failure. While there were quite a number of mundane shows (mostly from the mundane summer season, which is, by default, traditionally mundane anyway), we can look past them and say we got some good shows out there. So which ones did we find awesome? Which ones were the best? Which ones made us laugh the most? Made us cry the most? Which parts made us shit bricks? All that and more answered when we reveal our picks from this year. A year ago, it was mostly just Leon and I, but the number of writers have doubled, and frankly, that does sound like too much, but with this, you all can see just how diverse our picks are. Variety can be a good thing sometimes. Let’s see just how much we agree and disagree, shall we?

Best Action

Winner: Shikabane Hime: Aka

Honorable mentions: Macross Frontier, Gundam 00, SOUL EATER

Hmm, is this a surprise to anyone? It probably should be, I think. Shikabane Hime: Aka has a ton of action that is almost always in-your-face which is graced by animation that lends itself to the unique pacing of its battles. It’s something that GAINAX isn’t exactly a stranger of handling and, simply put, I fell hard in love with Shikabane Himes style of action. Whether it was Makina taking on Corpses with her guns, Minai’s hand-to-hand sweetness, or any of the other Shikabane Himes using weapons such as swords and hammers, the action never disappointed from beginning to end. Hell, the first season was pretty much just a warm-up for the second which is very likely going to have way more action. I can hardly wait for it.

Winner: Garei -zero-

Honorable Mention: SOUL EATER

As far as action goes, SOUL EATER’s visual presentation of action scenes are really stunning and amazing. Don’t you just love it whenever Black Star’s fighting? It’s almost nonstop action throughout any battle. I can say this was the best show for some action, yet I found myself more in love with Garei’s action-packed fighting scenes and the great variety in the inventive weapons and choreography.

Winner: SOUL EATER

Honorable Mention: Birdy the Mighty: Decode

This one was a no-brainer, not only because this year was a little lacking in action, but because because SOUL EATER has got to be the most high octane anime since Gurren Lagann. The main thing about an action show to work is not just to have great animations, but also have great characters to root for. There is no doubt that SOUL EATER is the best action anime this season.
I do, however, would like to mention Birdy the Mighty: Decode. While it is not really filled with action, the action scenes were pretty enjoyable as well as the show’s overall design.

Winner: SOUL EATER

With BONES behind the series, it’s natural to expect amazingly animated action scenes; and SOUL EATER delivered on that. From the gorgeous Tsubaki vs Masamune fight to the epic Shinigami vs Kishin showdown, the show really poured on the adrenaline, with the help of a banging OST of course.

Best Comedy

Winner: Kannagi

Honorable mention: Kamen no Maid Guy

There’s really nothing else that can stand up to it. It’s an anime of absolute hilarity and much of it is thanks to its wonderful cast of characters. The puns and gags never cease to have me rolling with laughter and the character reactoins and expressions are priceless. Nagi in particular has a %100 rate of success in making me burst into laughter whenever she does something funny/stupid.

Kamen no Maid Guy was also pretty funny. It may have used breast jokes every chance it got, but it still managed to be quite entertaining. Kogarashi is one of the most hilarious characters I’ve ever laid my eyes on and I wouldn’t mind seeing another season of his antics involving his masters and, of course, Fubuki.

Winner: Kannagi

Kannagi wins for comedy, hands down. Not only do I love the little puns that are inserted now and then, the situational and dramatic irony of it all amuses me so much. It doesn’t help that the characters’ actions and reactions make the funny moments even more comical. I just love how they’re using running gags related to previous episodes, such as Jin getting eerie phone calls from raging students cursing him for taking away their Zange-chan or even their Daitetsu from them.

Winner: Kamen no Maid Guy

Honorable Mention: Itazura no Kiss

This may be considered a weird choice for most people, and to be honest I have no idea why I chose it. After all more than half of the show is nothing but big breasts jokes. Still there is something charming about the Maid Guy that makes this show work and never loses momentum. Because it is risky and different than any comedy anime this year, I give a golden maid guy badge to Kamen no Maid Guy.
Itazura no Kiss, however, was great as well. The characters were charming and the story was down to earth. The college years were a little cliché and prevented it from becoming a classic, but just the character development alone makes it noteworthy.

Winner: Kannagi

This show came out of nowhere for me. Sure I read the plot description when the Fall 08 previews were coming out, but it didn’t sound like something I’d want to watch. Soon after the first episode is subbed, my friend suddenly IMs me, telling me to check this shit out. I started the episode expecting crazy shrine maidens doing crazy things, then I see the OP, and it’s like I’m watching a fabulous version of the Lucky Star OP. Fucking lights everywhere with good choreography. The show itself has a great cast and the humour is very excellent. It’s not over the top or dry. It manages to skillfully use what it has and bring about a truly wonderful show.

Best Drama/Romance

Winner: true tears

Honorable mention: CLANNAD ~AFTER STORY~

If it’s romance and based on what I’ve seen in the past year, then there is no doubt in my mind that true tears deserves the award from me. It did an amazing job with the story of three people in love and kept me guessing till the very end as to who would end up with the main guy. It is also one of the most recent romances that didn’t use supernatural elements or have some type of mentally disturbed female in its cast. Shinichirou turned out to be a more decent guy than most male protagonists while Hiromi and Noe were some of the best female personalities in a romance I’ve encountered in recent years. Whether you cheered for Noe or Hiromi, the end result turned out to be rather inspiring for all parties involved. It was simply an amazing story of relationships and hardly anything else I saw during the year was able to match it. Granted, CLANNAD was good but I didn’t think that the romance was conveyed as strongly or clearly compared to true tears (I can’t speak for AFTER STORY since I haven’t seen much of it yet. Ef is also missing because I haven’t finished it yet.).

Winner: CLANNAD ~AFTER STORY~

Honorable Mention: Garei -zero-

Man, I just love how AFTER STORY has been doing since the beginning. Seeing Tomoya working hard for his and Nagisa’s sake is really moving, and it shows how much he’s grown up from being a delinquent. The drama gets fiercer every time I watch an episode. I recall in Episode 12, Yusuke’s story about the young man yearning to be a star in music, but went through hardships after becoming famous. Obviously this sounds like Yusuke’s actual past, but watching it was just so sad and touching, especially when you have the right music at the right time. Heck, even before the actual “after story” began, the Sunohara and Misae story arcs were the best arcs I’ve seen ever, beating even the previous season. The struggle with the Sunohara siblings, Misae’s high school days… they were just very good.

I also want to honorably mention Garei’s awesome drama as well. Kagura’s hesitance and Yomi’s encounter with the Death Stone brought them to the last battle with each other, even after the time they’ve been together since they were young. It showed values of people you cared for the most and how it affects you inside. I can’t forget the fanservice-y yuri moments with the pocky kissing too. And hey, even Yomi and Noriyuki’s relationship was a great watch from beginning to end. Also take note of the line they use for the series. “Will you kill someone you love, because of love?”

Winner: Natsume Yuujin Cho

Natsume Yuujin Cho is probably the mildest anime that has been released this year and there is nothing really that stands out about it, and yet, everything about it works. The characters, the premise and the stories in each episode are just intriguing to watch. To those who like action, however, you might want to stay away. This series is very dialouge heavy and will probably bore some of you, but to those who appreciate good story might want to take a look. It’s a solid proof that even with a small budget, Natsume Yuujin Cho is a soothing adventure tale that will warm everyone’s heart.

Winner: CLANNAD ~AFTER STORY~

Honorable Mention: Nodame Cantabile: Paris Chapter

If this year’s season of Clannad is anything, it’s dramatic. From the soccer drama of SunoGARa’s arc to the gang showdown in Yukine’s, the show just kept throwing the dramatic turns at us. I don’t know any show other that has had us BAWWW over a cat pretending to be a shota pretending to be a dead person. And to think we didn’t even hit the really “good” stuff yet. Of course, the show has a romantic side which is developing now that most of the side character arcs are done. Tomoya’s angst just further intensifies the relationship and it’ll be really interesting to see where that will lead to. Since the show isn’t over yet, it’s best if you keep those tissues near by and maybe get another box, because the warm up is almost finished.

Nodame Cantabile: Paris Chapter gets the honorable mention from me this year. Chiaki and Nodame’s relationship has developed one step further and it’s really cute to see them together whether they’re fighting (physically) or just walking side by side. Though not as good as the first season in terms of pacing and character development, Paris Chapter is definitely still one of the best romance shows this year and the series should not be missed by fans of the genre.

Best Sci-Fi

Winner: Gundam 00

Honorable mention: CODE GEASS Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 & Macross Frontier

Unfortunately, as of the time you read this I wouldn’t have finished Macross FRONTIER as yet. If I had managed to keep up with the show, I have little to no doubt that it would be among the winners of this award for me. That said, I did complete CODE GEASS R2 and Gundam 00 which both presented their own flavors of Sci-Fi. Gundam 00 easily had the best mecha battles of the year while CODE GEASS R2 had a mixture of both mecha and “out-of-mecha”. However, Gundam 00 impressed me far more than CODE GEASS R2 did this year though thanks to the political drama and moral issues that were woven into the plot. The characters stuck to their roles which grew from start to finish and the world itself was left with no other choice but to adapt to all of the events that took place. So as to not go off on a tangent, Gundam 00 and CODE GEASS R2 both hold special places in my heart and it is all thanks to their respective characters and storylines. This time around though, Gundam 00 has managed to gain my favor a little more than R2 did this year and that is why it is my personal choice as best sci-fi for 2008.

Winner: CODE GEASS Lelouch of the Rebellion R2

Just like the previous season, R2 wins the prize for it’s awesome KnightMare Frame action and the continuing war between the two sides. This season brought many more Frames and a load of other intricate weaponry, including a certain nuke. Yeah, that one.

Winner: Kaiba

Honorable Mention: CODE GEASS Lelouch of the Rebellion R2

The reason why Kaiba was triumphant over Code Geass R2 is because it dared to be different. Kaiba isn’t really a sci-fi anime, it is its own genre. The concept is inventive, the drawing style is unique and there is never a dull moment. Unlike the famous Kaiba, this one is actually enjoyable.

Code Geass would have won in my book if the creators didn’t throw the story to the drain after episode 18. The ending was decent, but I still feel a little empty with the result and the characters didn’t mature or change after 50 episodes, just to prove how much Kaiba did in just 12 episodes.

Winner: Macross Frontier

I don’t really consider Code Geass a sci-fi show. Sure there are giant robots everywhere, but the atmosphere isn’t there. I just don’t want mecha. I want aliens! I want space colonies! I want j-pop! Well… maybe not the j-pop. But a lot of the songs are catchy I’ll admit. From intergalatic dog fights to calming down hostile aliens through song, it has a lot of what you would expect from a typical science fiction show. The CG mecha fights are a sight to behold and the plot is decent enough to keep you interested. It’s not anything award-winning, but it manages to stand out on it’s own not just in genre, but in the whole year of 2008 as well.

Best Suspense/Thriller

Winner: CHAOS;HEAD

Honorable mention: Shigofumi

Like Youko said, CH was a mixed bag of Higurashi and Welcome to the NHK. Though I’d probably through in any anime that had lots of technobabble in it as well. I didn’t know what it was going to develop into since I haven’t played the game and didn’t bother to look for game spoilers but it turned out to be one of the better experiences of the year for me. It really kept me on the edge and wanting more. That is especially true thanks to its use of a save point system. It sort of reminded me of there being a sudden save point near a hard boss in RPGs. Absolute genius use of something so small.

Shigofumi also gets an honorable mention from me. The very first episode ended in such a shocking manner and from there delved into Fumika’s character which was cloaked in mystery throughout until near the end. The individual cases were also highly entertaining and always kept me at full attention so as to not miss a single detail.

Winner: CHAOS;HEAD

Honorable Mention: Shigofumi, Garei -zero-

To me, C;H was basically like a cross between Higurashi and NHK. Sounded like an awesome combination to me. I’d say it was decent of a show to get into, and it was just as puzzling and horrifyingly good as Higurashi was, but probably not as thoughtful a plot as Higurashi’s was. Still, it kept me on edge while watching, just wanting to know just what in the hell is going on in Shibuya. The episode closing scene with the save point was genius, I thought.

For my honorable mentions, I selected Shigofumi because of it’s mysterious atmosphere and the interesting secret behind Fumika’s origins. It gave me that Jigoku Shoujo vibe while watching as well. Again, Garei gets a mention here because it got me wanting more at the end of each episode. Thanks to the teasing first two episodes, the climax built up and it was intriguing to see just how everything led up to the very moment of Yomi’s corruption.

Winner: Hakaba Kitarou

I am sorry I never got to properly review the show, but despite the childish origins of its other adaptations, Hakaba Kitarou was intriguing and gloomy from beginning to end. It wasn’t scary or shocking, but it just had a great atmosphere. Despite the episode with Neko Musume which was a little cheesy, Kitarou was a great show, and that’s admirable considering horror is one of the genres I usually can’t stand.

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