2009 in review: Animus

Ahh another year comes to an end. Another year filled with animus, another year wasted watching them. So how WAS the animus this year? Well I would say so – so. Other than the generic harem/fighting/mecha animu, there are some gems that were worth watching up till the end. And it was quite a good thing, as I don’t really have time to watch every anime that is released out there, compared to other people

SHAFT has shown that you don’t need to rely on pantsu claden girls to make good animes (RIP Gonzo. Strike Witches sucks anyways). Their colaboration with Shinbo lead to the creation of 2 of the best adapted anime this year, the humorous trap yuri series Maria + Holic and the tounge in cheek love story Bakemonogatari. Not to be outdone, Production I.G. with Kamiyama Kenji decided to up the ante of an original story with the thriller Higashi no Eden.

On the other front, KyoAni cemented their status of kings of Moeshit anime, first starting with the family tearjerker Clannad, and followed by the musically inclined anime series K-On! Indeed, the impact of K-On! on the otaku kingdom was so big that it singlehandedly lead to a music instrument buying boom in Japan. Who says animes cannot influence people? The series is so popular with short thinking, moe oggling moefags that KyoAni basically can just put any product in the series and these moefags will sure try to get their hands on collecting it.

Worth mentioning also was two movies that took over Japan by storm. Evangelion 2.0, the second movie in the renewal of Evangelion series (Shin Seiki Evangelion: Shin Gekijouban) was an instant hit. The story has been changed by Anno to fit a movie setting more, but that does not keep the Eva-tards from giving it good reviews, especially with the instroduction of a new, crazy character , Makinami Mari Illustrious. Indeed, she was a fan favourite since Sadamoto’s prototype artwork of her appeared on the net. Ironically, another Sadamoto designed anime movie, Summer Wars was also making waves in Japan. Basically recruiting the same team that had done the highly laudable TokiKake, this movie is a good watch and really suits a family atmosphere, something that is quite lacking for anime movies in a while.

Best Anime: For this it’s a toss up between Bakemonogatari and Higashi no Eden. But at the end I must say it’s Bakemonogatari. A friend of mine commented that “The novel was made for people like Shinbo”. And indeed, I agree with him. It was a perfect story for him, and with the help of Nision Isin, the novel writer himself, he managed to adapt this quirky, weird and wacky story into a quirky, weird and wacky anime. Mainstream viewers might be turned off by the quick dialouges, fast changing scene, weird background and puns, but if you manage to take all of this in, it opens up to reveal a lovable story, with lovable characters as well. The show rewards you for remembering details from earlier episodes, and whenever the arc ends, it will always take you by suprise.
Best Storyline: Definately Higashi no Eden. It’s easy to say that it’s just a clone of The Bourne Identity, but it has it’s own appeal. All the characters are well thought off, and the mystery surrounding the overall world that they are living in did not go out of place with normal, everyday living. IMHO, Kamiyama Kenji created what should be a template of what animes should be. Original, thought provoking, mysterious, and it keeps viewers on their seat week after week. While the overall story is always about the mysterious Selecao, you also want to know about the developments between the characters. He has a well balanced storyline to be able to do that. Can’t wait for the two movies to be shown.
Best Comedy: Maria + Holic. The combination of Shaft and Shinbo is never doubted. What they did was take a stererotypical story of a crossdresser inside an all girls school, and give it the Shinbo twist. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I prefer jokes like these than slapstic ones. But god damn Shinbo for ending the series on a cliffhanger
Best Animated Movie: Summer Wars. When you basically taken the team that had created one of teh best animated movie ever, and tell get them to work together ot do another one, it should be good. And Summer Wars did not disappoint. First and foremost, it’s a movie for the whole family, thus everyone can enjoy it. And the cast are so diverse, quirky and lovable that you can’t help but recognising everyone. Characters were designed by Sadamoto, which is always pleasing to the eyes. Combine this with a decent storyline, and you get yourself a winner. Well there are some questionable scenes here and there that I found to be out of place, such as the mahou shoujou changing scene, and the overly over 3D cgi, but that didi not hamper the overall story. I cried manly tears watching this, that’s how good it was.
Best Family Themed Series: Clannad: After. While the original Clannad was a typical harem drama, After was different. True, in the beginning it’s quite generic moeshit anime, but then it changed once Tomoya and Nagisa got married. Somehow the ending was kinda Deus Ex Machina, but it was still a tearjerker, especially when 5 year old Ushio was introduced. She was cute, lively, and yet she yearned to have a father that loved her. The interaction between her, and the father that she never knows is quite nicely done and was the main attraction of this series. A really nicely done tearjerker scene.
Best Unintentionally Marketing Anime: K-On!. As stated above, nothing can beat this series in terms of selling stuffs. And they were not even trying. Shows you how much moeshit sells nowadays =.=
Best Love Story: Kimi ni Todoke. I don’t know how really to describe this series. For one it’s a shoujou show, and another is the too good to be true male lead. But somehow the lead character Sawako kinda grew on me. And the more I watched it, the more it became a good series to watch I wonder if it’s the way that Sawako was potrayed, a girl that was misunderstood by everyone, but whatever it is, it works. And it works well. I mean for the love of god, we can already guess how the storyline will go, but you still feel like watching it. Maybe because we are all underdogs, and to cheer for Sawako is what everyone wants to do.
Best Character: Makinami Mari Illustrious. I have no idea, but even since her designs were shown in Newtype, she quickly became a fan favourite, and that’s BEFORE she made any real appearance, just a short cameo at the end of Evangelion 1.0 But after she was introduced, she lived up to the hype. A bit crazy but not overall weird, it’s hard to see how a character can have so much fan in so little time. And what’s more this is Evangelion we are talking about, where there are a lot of Asuka (yeay!) and Rei (boo! hiss!!) fans already. To be able to just come and exert her presence on a series that has reached cult status since years ago is no mean feat, and thus, why I choose her as the best character this year.