Anime of the Year 2010

Hello friends, It's been a while. For better or worse I've pretty much fully migrated to Twitter/Facebook to share my unwanted opinion now days. However at least once a year I have to bounce back to the blog/lj to post my annual "of the Year" list. That time is now. As per usual I'll be starting with Anime. Look forward to my games of the year list next week sometime. Anyways...

This wasn't a great year for Anime, as it is I had a hard time picking five shows that really stood out to me. This has been a year full of average shows, or things that just didn't grab me for one reason or another. However there were at least a few shows that I really enjoyed, and I will recommend them here.

Another thing to note is that I'm trying to mix up the format a bit this year. I was really disappointed with my list last year. I had a hard time trying to put words to how I felt about shows, while at the same time trying to explain them. For whatever reason, talking about Anime just doesn't flow as naturally for me as it does with games. So this time, I'll be doing some quick hits. Telling you briefly why I liked the show. And if you need to know more about the show, or are interested in it - please click the wiki link I provide. Sound good? Okay. Let's go.

5. Highschool of the Dead

HotD is kind of the black sheep of this list. It really isn't as good as the other four shows on this list, and it was kind of a toss up between this and a couple other shows. Yeah, real positive start. That's just the kind of year it was though. Anyways... HotD is a bunch of mindless fun. It has tits, and zombies. Pretty much. It's based on the original manga of the same name, and features art by Inazuma - who is a pretty good hentai artist. So go figure, he can draw pretty hot chicks. The story isn't much, it's pretty standard zombie-fare, but there are some pretty awesome action scenes, and again - it's nice to look at. I'd recommend it to anyway looking for a decent action show, and it doesn't hurt if you aren't tired of the whole zombie thing by this point.

4. K-ON!!

Hey, it's K-ON! again. Except this time it has two exclamation marks!! Seriously though, K-ON is still a ridiculously cute, and funny show that I looked forward to watching every week. I can't honestly say which season was better, but if you're an Azusa fan chances are you'll like this season more (the episodes tend to focus more on her and her two side-kicks instead of the Seniors so much). Though I will say that I can recall more memorable moments this season than the last, so take that for what you will. I'll get this out of the way too, they don't top last year's ending theme "Don't Say Lazy". However, "No, Thank You!" certainly comes close.

3. Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

Holy-Shit. That's the best way I can sum up PSG. Gainax is pretty infamous at this point for bizarre ass series, but this really takes the cake. The first episode starts up with Panty and her sister Stocking fighting a giant shit demon, and it doesn't slow down from there. Chances are, the first thing you'll notice is... well, the name of the show. Secondly you'll probably notice that this show has a very unique art style and direction to it that doesn't come across as your average Anime. If anything it reminds me of some of the weirder western cartoons. The show does switch styles though, and can even changes the way it's animated drastically from episode to episode. Who would I recommend PSG to? Anyone. Just check it out, if nothing else you'll be left saying "What the fuck?".

Ah, what the hell. Allow me to gush more about PSG for a bit. Another fantastic thing about PSG is the soundtrack. Oh god, the soundtrack. It's fucking amazing. Almost every track is note-worthy, especially the ending theme "Fallen Angel". The OST is coming out soon, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it. I've never been this excited about an Anime soundtrack - ever. Something else that I really enjoy is the character designs. The show doesn't have a bunch of characters, but all of them are interesting. The designs are initially pretty simple, but the girls all get highly detailed "sexy" versions during transformations that really impress.

Ah, what else can I say? I guess that's enough. Some final words though. The last episode of the series hasn't aired yet, am I'm eagerly awaiting it. I doubt it would change the placement on the list much though. And finally, just... enjoy this shit while it last. The Japanese Government just passed a law banning any Anime of Manga containing sexual content that's judged as being harmful to children. This might be the last time we ever see anything like Panty & Stocking. And that's really, really sad.

2. Katanagatari

So, what can top PSG at this point? How about the greatest action Anime to come along in a long time? With an art style, and character designs even more beautiful and interesting than PSG? Sound good? Well, that's Katanagatari. An interesting an entirely pleasant experience - Katanagatari was 12, one hour long episodes, one of which aired every month of this year. And followed that month's adventures of the main characters of the show. It was a real treat watching this every month.

So why do I say it's the best action show in years? Certainly it isn't as action packed as your typical shonen-shows, and in fact in can be down right slow at times. Make no mistake, the main focus of this show is long, (but always interesting!) conversations between the characters. And then there is some fighting. But they do such a fantastic job of getting you hyped up for the action, that when it finally happens? It's fucking awesome. The biggest payoff? The last episode of the series. Within that hour you will see that Shichika is badass. It's like the ultimate "FUCK YES!" moment.

1. Durarara!!

While it might not be as crazy, and weird as PSG. Or as badass of an action show as Katanagatari. Durarara!! has it's own thing going for it. For starters, the show has all of the highlights from the above shows: it looks great, excellent characters, an awesome soundtrack, it can be pretty weird, and sure it even has some action in it. What really separates Durarara from other shows is it's writing, and story. I'll say this, it's not often that an Anime will get it's hooks in me, and demands that I watch the next episode. Just like a good serialized television series (think HBO) Durarara has a really compelling story that kept me dying to see what happened next in each episode.

At a glance, the characters aren't nearly as interesting (looking at least) as those found in PSG and Katana. However once you start watching the show, and watching the story unfold, you start to get attached to the characters... most of them anyway. And hell, just look at Celty. She's one of the coolest characters in recent memory. It's hard to explain, because you can't really say "This show is crazy!" or "That was the coolest thing ever!" about it, but it's consistently good, and that's why it's my pick of the year.

Final words: I can't think of another Anime outside of Death Note that has gripped me like this, and I can only hope we get another season, because there is a bunch of story left to cover. Another thing to note is that both opening and endings for the show are amazing. Particularly "Trust Me" which inspired me to watch the show seriously in the first place. Also, the number of characters can be a bit intimidating, but once you get rolling you'll ease into it pretty well. And finally, my only regret is that I didn't watch Baccano last year, because it totally would have made last year's list.