Forum - View topicThe best anime of 2009, in your opinion.
|
Goto page 1, 2, 3 Next |
| Author | Message | ||
|---|---|---|---|
kiddtic
 Posts: 309 Location: Kitwe, Zambia |
|
||
|
I've noticed people mentioning this on other threads but I believe its well worthy of its own. what do you believe was the best Anime of 2009?
As some of you MAY Have noticed I'm a Huge K-on fan and going with that I believe that was the best show of 09. I loved Bakemonogatari and the return of Darker than Black :Ryusei no gemini as well some other popular ongoing shows that didn't necessarily start airing this year. so tell me your opinions. |
|||
|
|||
Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23822 |
|
||
|
Had Time of Eve not had half of its six episodes made available in 2008 (thus, in my eyes, disqualifying it as a strictly 2009 anime) I would have unambiguously nominated it as The Best Anime of 2009. There is no aspect of the ONA, whether it be writing, directing, editing, animation, sound, music, characters, etc that I don't absolutely love. I had assumed that the whole "using robots to examine the nature of humanity" thing had been so thoroughly mined that nobody would be able to get fresh fodder out of it, but Time of Eve proved me wrong.
So out of the best shows that actually premiered in 2009, my candidates for the Best are: Kimi ni Todoke, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Bakemonogatari and Eden of the East. Kimi ni Todoke has made me its helpless little bitch. It routinely breaks the "rules" of drama, it can be repetitive about certain elements and uses a lot of voice over narration - all of which normally drives me crazy. But I surrendered utterly to its charms and while the rapidly dwindling remains of my "intellect" are aware of its flaws, they don't matter to me. I can see them mattering to others, however, so as much as I love it, I cannot bequeath the Best honour to it. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 was another fine offering and a show I will remember for many years to come. But the reason I am not naming it as the best is that, ultimately, the story was one that could have been handled in a two hour movie. Stretching it over 11 episodes showed the strain, at times. Having said that, however, there is no question that the longer treatment did put an extra emotional wallop in the end. Still, no Best of cigar for it. Bakemonogatari has Most Outstanding Character of 2009 - the insanely divine Hitagi Senjougahara who combines a cool intelligence, a detached sense of bemusement and outright psychopathy all wrapped in a gorgeous package. The show is often arresting and innovative. However, I am going to with-hold the ultimate accolade because the central premise of a dude helping a bunch of females with their problems is just a little too shopworn for me. Granted, the show may be taking the piss out of that particular trope, but still... So that leaves Eden of the East. Male lead isn't bland? Points. Characters aren't in middle/high school? Points. Unique and interesting plot? Points. Mouth-wateringly lush animation? Points. Scene of spoiler[johnny-snipping, gorgeous female psychopath dressed only in panties suddenly sprouting black wings and breaking out of a hotel window while carrying a rapist under her arm?] Points. So there you have it - my selection for The Best Anime of 2009: Eden of the East. |
|||
|
|||
Kruszer
 Posts: 7985 Location: Minnesota, USA |
|
||
|
I think I'm going to wait until all of 2009's series that I'm following are over before I start playing favorites but right now I'd say the top canidates are Rideback, Eden of the East, and Tokyo Magnitude 8.0. Those were my masterpiece and excellent votes of the year. I'd also love to include Bakemonogatari as well but that's going to stretch into next year before it's done.
|
|||
|
|||
Aylinn
 Posts: 1684 |
|
||
|
Kemono no Souja Erin It’s the best anime of this year. Erin is a great character, calm, nice and intelligent she has easily grown on me after few episodes and developed into one of my favourite characters. Childish as the story is, the way it is presented is excellent and it can keep me interested. Plus, it emits warm feelings.
My second favourite anime of this year is Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou a continuation of Natsume Yuujinchou, a really nice and warm shoujo series, I would like to see a third season. Some other worth mentioning series. Higashi no Eden – Likeable characters and an innovative approach to the clichéd “save the world” scenario. This time our hero has a unique mobile phone to do this. Spice and Wolf II – I have a feeling that Horo become a bit more softer in this season, but I enjoyed her developing relationship with Lawrence anyway, though not as much as in the first season. This is all, I’m reluctant to consider Kimi ni Todoke as it hasn’t ended yet. Kemono no Souja Erin hasn’t ended as well, but it has much more episodes. Last edited by Aylinn on Thu Dec 10, 2009 6:24 am; edited 1 time in total |
|||
|
|||
|
Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18214 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
|
||
|
Given the forums we're in, the OP needs to clarify whether "Anime Releases in Japan in 2009" or "Anime Release in America in 2009" is being asked for. There's some overlap, but not a lot.
Assuming we're talking about Japanese releases, though, Cross Game is the year's best for me. It has its faults - too little animation of facial expressions, for instance - but this is a story about sports, love, and how one tragic loss can shape people close to the victim for years to come. It has consistently shown class, insight, and a gentle touch while progressing its characters from elementary school age up to (so far) the cusp of one of the lead's senior year in high school. 36 episodes have passed so far and it's still going as strong as its wonderful first episode. Secondary consideration for intact series goes to Eden of the East and Spice and Wolf II. The former combined a great concept with strong technical merits and solid writing, while the latter actually managed to improve on a first season that was already very good. Among other titles mentioned so far, Ride Back was good, but something about it keeps me from acknowledging it as "great," and although the second season of DTB has been very good so far, I'm not quite sold on it yet as a top-quality title. Amongst series that overlap years, Toradora! has to be mentioned. Some thought it dropped off a bit towards the end, but I thought its entire second half (which came out this year) was also very strong. Definitely one of the best romantic comedy/dramas around, with a deft sense for making its characters feel more fully-rounded than the norm. |
|||
|
|||
|
dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
|
||
|
Wow Kruszer, you think Rideback was great? It did have potential, but completely and utterly squandered it. To me it wasn't one of the worst shows for the year, but it was one of the biggest disappointments.
---------- Anyway, everyone already knows that I believe Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 was the best show of the year. I can't go very far as to why, mostly because of spoilers. But let's just say that even the slow first half immediately and strongly won me over me with its incredible characterisation. I didn't like the character designs (the mouths especially), but I got used to them. When you are watching quality Anime you tend to forget (or at least forgive) minor gripes. Also good was the music, and the OP and ED were catchy. The OP had great visuals, a real treat. In the second half the story stopped being about the action and drama and started being about the Drama. Yep, that's getting into spoiler territory, that is. Needless to say, although I considered it a Masterpiece after the first episode alone, it really became one in the second half. All in all, disaster works are something Anime doesn't do very often (barring depressing works like Barefoot Gen and Grave of the Fireflies), but this show did it well. My favourite episode: That's an easy one, it was the fifth. ---------- Second place goes to Bakemonogatari. I like this show, but I love Kimi ni Todoke. So why the order? Because while Kimi ni Todoke is the more enjoyable show, Bakemonogatari is the better show, just. Yeah, I know that Anime is mostly an entertainment medium, but we should always be looking to reward creativity, and Bakemonogatari had that in spades. While a lot of it looked (and was) unfinished, it was just so interesting and amazing I didn't really care (except in *that* fight). The visuals were utterly surreal sometimes, mostly in the first episode. The dialogue was the show's biggest strength and greatest weakness, as you'd often look at the progress bar to realise that the episode had been going for fifteen minutes and all the characters had done was insult each other. Still, the dialogue was funny, most of the time, and the chemistry between the two leads was great. Too bad Hitagi frequently went AWOL, because without her the show suffered a little. Also annoying was the ultra gratuitous fanservice; gah. My favourite episode: Some fans might say the twelfth, but I don't have a favourite episode. I like some more than others, but I cannot really pick a single favourite. ---------- So of course that leaves Kimi ni Todoke. I absolutely adore this show, and it is my only Romance Anime for the year (barring Cross Game). It is rare to find two leads who are so inherently likeable that you cannot help but root for them, but Sawako and Shota (poor guy) fit the bill perfectly. I really am under the show's spell, aren't I. Casey said in her review of the first volume of the Manga something along the lines that the story makes you feel optimistic about humanity, and that feeling has made its way into the Anime. You know that if Sawako and Shota can just communicate to one another their feelings for one another then everything will be fine. The trouble is, they're too shy. Yes, the story sounds generic; how many shows have love-struck teenagers who get into strife because of miscommunication, or because they couldn't enunciate their feelings? But the story is just much more honest than that, it really breaks the mold despite seemingly being cast from it. Notable are the great side characters Y&Y, who could have been made as enemies but instead are Sawako's closest friends. And finally, the narration. Many hate it, I love it. It allows Sawako to speak to you, not to other characters, and she comes across as a three-dimensional friend, not a constructed two-dimensional character in a cartoon. My favourite episode: Oh, that's a hard one. If pressed, I would have to say the second. ---------- So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed reading it. And I hope that if you haven't watched any one of these three shows, you have been convinced to give them a go. And to all those who said that all new Anime is garbage, you should go sit in the corner and hang your heads in shame. Just because ninety percent of new Anime is crap does not mean squat when it comes to the other ten. Sturgeon's Law and all that. Edit: ah, so many typos to fix . . . Last edited by dtm42 on Wed Dec 09, 2009 9:45 pm; edited 4 times in total |
|||
|
|||
Skylark
 Posts: 827 Location: ORE NO TSHIRT |
|
||
|
Toradora would surely be 2008? In any case it is still my pick of romantic comedy from any out there in any year, including the vastly overrated Kimi ni Todoke which I honestly can't understand why people are raving about. The whole "too shy to talk about it then a love triangle forms" has been done to death and well I've said numerous reasons why I don't think it should be so highly rated in the other thread. It isn't a bad anime and I'm probably going to rate it "Good" but it sure as hell isn't a masterpiece in my book.
The year's best would have to be Bakemonogatari, here's hoping they actually get around to finishing it before the year is out because i'm on the edge of my seat to see how it all finishes. Partly because of my complete infatuation for the main lead, Senjougahara, and partly because everything about this anime kicks liberal amounts of ass. The art is stylish and refreshing, the plot is pretty new and the constant smashing of common tropes is hilarious. The occasional nod to 4chan memes and the dark humour coupled with some awesome, awesome fight scenes and an interesting story and characters... Coupled with the rather unique method of dialogue delivery (the show is pretty much held up by it which I haven't really scene in another anime... um... ever) I would say this is the most intuitive, awesome anime of the year for sure. Eden of the East would be a close second though; I wasn't too happy with the abruptness of the ending but the show played out like a hollywood movie, with plenty of suspense, action and plot twists that would constantly leave you guessing. An excellent premise for a story, and excellent execution. I don't really remember which titles count as 2009; time has passed so quickly. I'm sure I've seen other really great series this year but these 2 stick in my head as being memorable. If Darker than BLACK: Ryuusei no Gemini finishes strongly I'd probably put it in 3rd; maybe second. But I'm biased here; the second season hasn't really been quite as gripping as the first was. EDIT: Oooh, I forgot to mention Cross Game. Ordinarily sport anime doesn't interest me at all but this one is really character oriented and absolutely sucks you into the story. I've only seen the first 20 episodes and then read the manga but I've been told it's following the manga really well; and the manga is brilliant so I would rate the anime very highly as something to watch, and this is coming from someone who doesn't like sport anime and lives in a country that doesn't promote or televise baseball. Hell I didn't even know how it worked till after watching this anime. Last edited by Skylark on Wed Dec 09, 2009 9:41 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|||
|
|||
Ggultra2764
 Subscriber Posts: 3889 Location: New York state. |
|
||
|
2009 still seemed to be a tough year for me in finding good anime to watch. But for best titles:
-Cross Game- Definitely at the top of my list for this year's top titles. Even though it's still running after 30+ episodes, the series still has me hooked with it's focus on the training of the Seishu baseball team and the fun, subtle developments of Aoba and Kou's bond. -Spice and Wolf II- The second season of this surprise hit from last year continued to hold up my interest for the summer as developments in Horo and Lawrence's bond are explored through two arcs that test it. Even with both arcs, there are still a good number of characters that are fleshed out when Lawrence and Horo meet up with them. -Eden of the East- Despite its abrupt ending, Eden offered an original premise that did well to earn my interest and Akira Takezawa's character had me laughing enough at some points, reminding me enough of Shinobu Morita from Honey and Clover. The two do seem strikingly similar in appearance and with some personality traits. -Maria-sama ga Miteru 4th- Having watched the first three seasons, Marimite's 4th season was definitely at the top of my list for watching in Winter 2009. Despite having it's main storyline dragged out compared to the prior three seasons, the fourth season offers some major character development with a couple of the younger members in the Yamiyurikai. |
|||
|
|||
|
Kruszer
Posts: 7985 Location: Minnesota, USA |
|
||
Well, it had some great characters with some good looking character designs, the story was pretty good and fairly complex, the motorcycle mecha rocked, the action when we got it was darn cool and epic, the animation was from Madhouse and top notch, and stylish, the music was good, and as I see it, the series did exactly what it set out to do and concluded things in a nice 12-13 episode time-frame leaving me completely satisfied, but still leaving the universe open for more. In addition this series had me completely at episode 4 with one of the coolest action scenes ever where spoiler[Rin runs the military blockade.] So yeah, all that combined equals awesomeness in my book. Last edited by Kruszer on Wed Dec 09, 2009 10:11 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|||
|
|||
|
dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
|
||
I see you rated it as Masterpiece. Huh. Well, each to their own. By the way, Bakemonogatari is eligible for Anime of the year, even if episode fifteen won't be out until January or whenever. It is the year that the Anime first starts airing that is important, not the year it finishes. |
|||
|
|||
|
Kruszer
Posts: 7985 Location: Minnesota, USA |
|
||
|
But it's not done yet, there's still more episodes left where anything could happen, and how a series ends is very important to me, so until I finish the '09 series that I'm currently watching they're ineligible for the running no matter how awesome. Especially, important this year given the number of series I've seen with awful endings.
|
|||
|
|||
Miranox
 Posts: 247 Location: Montreal, Canada |
|
||
|
Honestly, I find that no truly outstanding anime aired this year. Initially, I gave an Excellent rating to Eden of the East, Cross Game and Umineko no Naku Koro ni (nobody even mentioned this one so far so I'm guessing it's not too popular) but now I'm having second thoughts. Sure, they're pretty good but not quite worthy of a 9/10. The Darker than Black and Spice and Wolf sequels were both inferior to their respective first season. I'm going to re-watch Bakemonogatari and finish both Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 and Kimi ni Todoke but none of these impressed me either.
For now, I'd say my top ten are: 1) Cross Game 2) Eden of the East 3) Umineko no Naku Koro ni 4) Bakemonogatari 5) Saki 6) Spice and Wolf 2 7) Darker than Black 2 8) To Aru Kagaku no Railgun 9) Kimi ni Todoke 10) Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 I'd mention Kara no Kyoukai but since we're not talking about movies it doesn't qualify. |
|||
|
|||
dayjobdeluxe
 Posts: 49 |
|
||
|
Well 2009 was certainly an interesting year. I would have to say there was no show I looked forward to most every week (and still do) than Bakemonogatari. When you look at it, it had a very simple plot. But for Ghostory the show was not about its plot, it was about its characters. Character development played a big part in driving each to the arc to their conclusions with how the characters changed and reacted to the male lead, Araragi. Not just Araragi, but every other character in the show was a fresh take on archetypes we have seen before. But as one blogger wrote, "When you laugh and cry with characters, is that not the sign of a great story?". I could not agree with this statement more. I look forward to Nisio Isin's Katanagatari to see if his great writing carries over into other stories aswell.
The Darker than Black sequel I was not enjoying so much until this past episode and it had me devote my attention to it with the way its plot has just moved. It is a nice second. This just might be me, but I think Needless is a better show than most give it credit for. You have got to look beyond the surface (and fanservice). People might not agree with me on this and may feel inclined to do so over the thread, but whatever, haters gotta hate, right? Needless is a sort of honorable mention in my book (Anyone else notice how fantastic DBZ without filler, if you've been keeping up with Kai...). Is it also me, but anyone enjoying Kampfer too? Another honorable mention in my most humblest of humble opinions. And that's all I have to say about that... Last edited by dayjobdeluxe on Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:28 am; edited 1 time in total |
|||
|
|||
RedLeader
 Posts: 310 |
|
||
|
Well, I'll tell you right now my opinion probably isn't worth spit since I've only watched ONE new show this year but that's because A., I don't have as much free time as some people, and B., because my interests in anime run almost completely counter to what's currently popular so there wasn't that much released this year that I wanted to watch anyway. And what I did watch, wasn't released this year. So... Yeah. And still haven't been able to track down information on the new Corba series that was supposed to be on TV this year... >_>
Anyway, since I only watched ONE new series (from Japan, anyway) this year, there can be NO DOUBT as to what I'm voting for...!  The one show no one here cared much about, it seems... -_-;;;
Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z Hen!!! Yeah, big surprise, I know? :p It was a great show, 'did a lot of things right but... it felt too rushed. And with that spoiler[cliffhanger] ending, people are naturally expecting a sequel (which I thus name, Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Raijin Hen) but there hasn't been anyword yet other than a brief aside by Nagai from his visit to Kuwait where he mentioned still needing to finish Shin Mazinger before he thinks about Grendizer (which in and of itself, makes one wonder if this is an indictation that the Shin Mazinger storyline will flow into Mazinkaiser, rather than into Grendizer, is it would've since they're sticking so close to the manga)... I probably shouldn't be worried... But I'd feel more confident about a sequel if there was an announcement or if the show had managed to catch on more people... :\
|
|||
|
|||
zgripţuroicǎ
 Posts: 140 Location: Newburgh, NY |
|
||
I would mention Umineko, but I started playing the game...and liked it way more. I'm just waiting for witch-hunt to finish their patch for episode 5 (they have the original creator's permission to do the translation and distribute it for free, so I'm guessing it's okay to post about witch-hunt), because I don't want to have it spoiled for me. For me, I'd say Bakemonogatari, unless the ending is really botched. Then again, I'm a big fan of Senjougahara, so that probably affects it. |
|||
|
|||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group