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عدد المساهمات : 98
تاريخ التسجيل : 27/12/2010
العمر : 30
الموقع : https://4algeria.mam9.com
 |  موضوع: Reader’s Choice OVA/Movie  الجمعة مارس 04, 2011 5:13 pm | |
| Looking Beyond the Surface google_protectAndRun("ads_core.google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad); [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] The Best of Anime 2010 Filed under [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] by [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] | 299
Comments | 1,300 views [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة]Now that 2010 is over, here’s a look back at some of the best series the year had to offer. Due to the subjective nature of it all and the fact that I’m constrained to what I’ve seen, I’m not trying to pick series that the vast majority finds agreeable. Instead, I’m here to convey my personal favorites for 2010, after which you’re more than welcome to chime in with your respective choices. Carrying over from last year, there’s an increased number of categories separated into corresponding areas, namely Production, Miscellaneous (fun stuff), Genre, and Notable Others. Also included at the end are the final results to the [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]. Disclaimer: These are purely my personal opinions based on the shows that we’ve seen in the past year. While I’ve watched [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] ( 56 this past year), please keep in mind that I haven’t watched everything. For a show to even qualify for consideration, it had to have met the requirements outlined in the [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]. For OVAs/movies, the additional requirement is that it’s been either released on DVD/BD so that viewers outside of Japan have had a chance to watch it.
Production
Animation Visuals and fluid movement. It’s all about the quality of what we
see on screen and what impressed us the most. Any lack of consistency
due to poor outsourcing should be taken into account, as I’m trying to
think of the most jaw-dropping series across the board. To a certain
degree, character designs and overall art style fall into this category
too.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | There’s only a handful of studios that I tend to associate with high
quality productions, and BONES is without a doubt one of them. Their
faithful remake of Fullmetal
Alchemist stood out the most to me in the end, edging out J.C.
Staff’s work in [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], Kyoto Animation’s in the
sequel to [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط],
and AIC’s in [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]. When I consider the fact that Fullmetal
Alchemist: Brotherhood ran for fifteen months — a full 64 episodes — it
made the series even more deserving in my eyes. From all the fast-paced
transmuting action to just crisp artwork all around, I don’t recall a
single episode where I was terribly disappointed with the animation
quality. Consistency goes a long way toward giving off a sense of a
stunning production.
Honorable Mentions: K-ON!!, To Aru Kagaku no Railgun, Oreimo
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Story As the somewhat polar opposite to what’s on the surface, here I’m
looking at depth and what captivated me from start to finish. You don’t
need amazing visuals to tell a good story, so it’s about the original
material (if any) and the screenwriter’s adaptation of it here. Good
cliffhangers that keep you on the edge of your seat week after week says
the series is doing something right, whereas filler-esque showings
don’t.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | Considering how [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] was expecting a two-cour series for Angel
Beats, it’s a bit of a shame to know that we only got a portion of
what he had in mind. Still, its thirteen-episode run had me captivated
from start to finish as I tried to make sense of the afterworld that the
characters found themselves in. The method of storytelling with the
characters misconceptions led to some interesting twists later on, plus
there was the emotional aspect from each of them coming to terms with
how they died. The true underlying story was masked with a lighthearted
mood much like Jun’s previous works, and was flipped to quite
seamlessly throughout the series. There were a lot of times that this
series had potential to be a real tear-jerker as well, which I would
have been suspect to had I not gone in emotionally prepared. For those
people who feel the story didn’t make sense, we must have watched
different shows, because it made perfect sense to me when I covered it.
Honorable Mentions: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood,
Durarara!!
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Soundtrack What would a series be without the music to help set the mood and
tone? A good soundtrack enhances the power and emotions behind scenes
in such a way that you start associating imagery with the music
unconsciously, regardless of whether it’s cheery, inspiring, or
heartfelt. Lasting impressions say a lot, plus it just has to sound
good too.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | I haven’t listened to as many soundtracks as I would’ve liked this
past year, but for the ones that I have, none stood out nearly as much
as Senju Akira’s musical composition for Fullmetal Alchemist. In
addition to sounding good, his music was memorable enough to make me
recall specific scenes from the series as I listened to it. Having that
associative imagery is what constitutes a good soundtrack in my mind,
as it reaffirms the music helped bring out the emotion in the scene I
was watching, and Akira’s pieces did just that. A lot of times it’s
only a track or two on a soundtrack that will have such an effect, but
all three of his OSTs had numerous ones that brought back memories of a
series I finished watching nine months ago. I still get goosebumps
listening to some of them due to how “epic” they sound. “Clash of the
Alchemists”, “Crisis in the North”, and “The Intrepid” are a few that
come to mind.
Honorable Mentions: Ryou Kunihiko – Tegami Bachi
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Opening & Ending Sequence Whether for its originality or ability to showcase what a series has
to offer, opening sequences are always fun to watch. We tend to look
forward to new ones and the songs that will be featured in them, and
sometimes get a glimpse at what’s coming up in the show too (for better
or worse). Here, the focus is on the sequence itself, even though the
song may play a part in making it memorable.
Unlike opening sequences, endings don’t strive to draw the viewer in
and get them psyched up about the episode that’s coming up. Instead,
they’re an outro to what you’ve just seen and may highlight a specific
aspect/emotion of the series. Sometimes, they’re completely irrelevant
to actual story and are just an outlet for sheer fun/comedic value.
Whichever the case, there are ones I enjoyed more than others.
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Angel Beats! OP |
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K-ON!! ED2 | As much as I like Lia’s “My Soul, Your Beats!” opening theme that
accompanies this sequence, it’s Kanade on the piano, the panning camera,
and the various character screens with all their names that made this
one my favorite. In conjunction with the sneak peak into the episode
around the middle, it’s very reminiscent to the unique style seen in [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]‘s
opening sequences, so it was a bit of a toss-up between those two. In
the end, it came down to which one I liked to listen to more, and Lia’s
song nudges ever so slightly ahead of ROOKiEZ is PUNK’d's [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط].
Honorable Mentions: Durarara!! OP2
| Much like last year, [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]‘s second ending sequence gets my pick of the
year for featuring the girls in outfits and hairstyles outside their
usual ones, while giving off a very different sense of character.
They’re suddenly transformed from a bunch of goofy tea-drinking high
school girls to a pretty cool-looking band, and looking a lot “sexier”
than the show will have us believe. The serious looks on all their
faces as they stare off into the distance, the slow-motion jumping, and
their roughed up uniforms made them seem a bit gangster-like, before
things switched over to a complete outfit change with a very animated
Mio singing. To top it off, Ritsu has her bangs down. With a fully
choreographed dance, [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] comes in at a close second.
Honorable Mentions: kiss x sis ED
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Song With the sequences covered, the attention is now on the actual songs.
Insert songs are also up for consideration, with the only real
guideline being that it’s something I didn’t get tired of listening to.
There’s no bearing on if it was created specifically for a series or
even if the series was even any good, as I’m simply picking my favorite
song featured in an anime.
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Veil – I miss you | Up until a month or so ago, I was pretty set on a couple of songs as
my potential favorite of the year. That changed the more I watched
FORTUNE ARTERIAL though, as its ending theme quickly became the song
that I could listen to over and over again and not get sick of. Veil is
actually a vocalist brand name that Queen’s Label uses for artist
collaborations with [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] and [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] (who sang Angel Beats’ ending theme),
and this particular song features Aoi with [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] ([ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] in [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]). “I miss you” is a very
soothing slow song that immediately caught my attention when I first
heard it in the anime, but it wasn’t until I listened to the full
version and its many variants did it really grow on me. The duet
between Aoi and Misuzu has a very nice sound to it, so much that I even
like it more than Lia’s really good solo rendition.
Honorable Mentions: “Sign of Love” by immi (Sarai-ya
Goyou), “irony” by ClariS ([ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]), “Kimi no Kioku” by mao ([ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط])
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Miscellaneous
Character Branching away from strictly picking series and focusing on some
specifics is the idea behind this miscellaneous section. The first one
is my favorite character, who won his or her way into our hearts for
whatever reason. The criteria here is somewhat loose, but with numerous
options in a single series, multiplied by almost a hundred in the past
year, it’s actually quite difficult to pick one above all others. Be
that as it may…
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | I fumbled around with this decision much longer than needed, because I
somehow overlooked the absolutely adorable Ika Musume. It’s not every
day you see a squid girl, let alone one that’s come to the surface to
conquer mankind with absolutely no understanding of how things work
above sea level. Her naivety about the world was endearing, and it was
always funny to see her get swept up into other people’s pace since no
one took her threats seriously. In addition to her tentacles, her
manner of speech ending sentences with “de geso” and “-nai ka?” added
further uniqueness to her character, whom [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] brought to life in an unbelievable
cute way. Then there’s [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط],
who was so warmly received by viewers that bonus episodes of her are
planned for the DVD/BD releases. Ika Musume may not be able to invade
the surface world, but she sure has a knack for invading people’s hearts
by just being herself.
Honorable Mentions: [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]
(Amagami SS), [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] (Oreimo)
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Seiyuu As the natural extension of characters, the seiyuu who voiced and
gave life to them deserve some attention. A character’s appeal can
change drastically depending on the voice behind it, so I’m here to
highlight whose acting I enjoyed time and time again. While a variety
of roles may help showcase a seiyuu’s talent better, sometimes all it
takes is that really one good role to grab our attention and never let
it go.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | In terms of impressing me and really making me look forward to her
roles, [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] really stole the spotlight when she
broke out of her K-ON mold and started playing a wide variety of
characters. Her role as Tomo in Seikon no Qwaser particularly surprised
me in the later stages of the series, during which she mustered up a
pretty evil and psychotic voice. It was stark different from Hirasawa
Yui in [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]
and Uiharu Kazari in [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], and made it seem like she
had the ability to play any type of role. As the year went on, she
diversified herself further with support roles in [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], Otome Youkai Zakuro, [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], Motto To LOVE-Ru, and Sora
no Otoshimono Forte, using distinctly different voices for each
character. Before long, I found myself taking notice to any series she
was cast in due to her versatility, making it difficult to see fellow
K-ON co-star [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] (whose roles I really enjoy) match up
to her. As for sheer number of roles, [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] deserves recognition for having a
breakout year, after starring in Angel
Beats, [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط],
[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط],
[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط],
[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], and SEKIREI
~Pure Engagement~ in addition to numerous support ones. Likewise
with [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], and [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط].
Honorable Mentions: Hanazawa Kana, Itou Kanae, Yuuki Aoi,
Nakamura Yuuichi
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Plot Twist This is the replacement for the category previously known as “Biggest
Shocks”. I’m looking for a sudden unexpected turn of events in the
story that caught me off guard and delivered sheer shock value. It’s
that “WTF” moment that has people talking about it for the next few
days, regardless of whether or not anyone found it agreeable. Below are
the specific unfolding of events I have in mind.
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[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]| [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | Anime no Chikara’s [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] brought a lot of quirky humor and kept
me guessing on what Nostradamus’ Key was going to be, and while the
truth behind the death of Maya’s father and Mikaze’s true identity
didn’t come as much of a surprise, the same can’t be said about the very
suspicious Chihiro turning out to be a [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] who’s
been protecting Maya all along. After purposely leading us astray and
focusing on all the occult stuff instead, the sudden revelation that
we’re dealing with black witches and white mages completely blew my
mind. Up until that point, the series had done an impeccably job
dropping hints about various other possibilities, but none about the
existence of magic. The focus was on time travel and the impending
alien invasion after all, making this shocking turn of events in [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] the plot twist of the year for me.
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Death This may be part of a plot twist or something you see coming a mile
away, but I’m concerned about the impact the death has on the story and
me as the viewer. Well done screenplay leading up to it may play a big
part, but there are also cases where a character dies so suddenly that
we’re left in complete disbelief. In both cases, it’s the lingering
impression I’m basing my selection on.
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[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]| [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | Of the character deaths that stood out to me this year, Sakuragi
“An-chan” Rokurouta’s one in [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] left an
immediate impact that carried on throughout the rest of the series. I
recall being in disbelief that he was killed off, to the point that
feelings of sadness never even got a chance to sink in. In comparison,
the death that I felt much more remorseful toward was [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] in
Fullmetal Alchemist. The sight of his daughter [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] asking why
the soldiers were burying her father ripped right through me, even
though I felt his death was much sadder in the first adaptation of the
series. Had it not been for that prior experience, Maes would have
definitely been my pick for the year. I can’t forget [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] in
Hakuouki Hekketsuroku though, as his valiant struggle in his
tuberculosis-ridden state that [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] he
died had me tearing up a bit with [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]. For
those wondering about Katanagatari, I wasn’t feeling the death there as
much as some people may have, though I can see why some may feel really
remorseful in that scene.
Honorable Mentions: Maes Hughes (Fullmetal Alchemist:
Brotherhood), Okita Souji (Hakuouki Hekketsuroku)
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Admiral Ackbar Award (It’s a Trap!) “It’s a trap!” and by that I mean a guy cross-dressing as a
remarkably cute-looking girl. Gender bender is also acceptable since
we’re simply looking for the character who gave off a disturbingly
unsettling feeling with how well they portrayed the opposite sex. In
short, the character who managed to deceive others (and me) into
thinking they’re actually a hot girl, if even only for a moment.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | This is a bit of a no-brainer, since I had the perfect candidate [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] I posted last year’s Best of Anime.
It’s pretty hard to contend with a trap that even his male friends want
to dress up and drool over, knowing very well that he’s a guy.
Hideyoshi has a lot going for him as well, having a nearly identical
physique and appearance as his twin sister [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]. Voiced by [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], he’s more or less the dumber,
flat-chested version of Yuuko, and can deceive just about anyone dressed
up as her, which he did as part of Class F’s plan to pit everyone
against Class A. Now how’s that for using sex-appeal as a weapon?
Forget nosebleeds, as Hideyoshi’s cross-dressing had pervert ninja
Mutsuri bleeding out of his eyes when he was unable to take a
picture of him while he was changing.
Honorable Mentions: [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] (Kaichou
wa Maid-sama!), [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] ([ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط])
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Genre
Action In the genre section, the goal is to pick the series of the year for
their respective classes. These are pretty much the series that brought
their A-game to the table and are viable candidates for my favorite
anime of the year. First up is action, which ranges from shounen-crazed
series to war-filled mecha ones. For battles, choreography plays a
huge role so that was definitely taken into consideration.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | With shounen series never ending and no Gundam or Macross offerings
aside from their movie counterparts, no particularly series stood out to
me that much in the action department. Looking back, Fullmetal
Alchemist still isn’t a series where the action comes to mind first, but
it’s pretty hard to ignore the awesome transmuting battles that it
animated. In combination with what I perceive as the best animation and
music of the year, it was easy to see the fights against the Homunculus
as some of the most exciting exchanges to grace television airwaves for
the past year. It wasn’t just senseless action either, as the alchemy
aspect came into play from a strategic standpoint and made everything
more interesting. The other series I had in mind, [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], and STRIKE
WITCHES 2, come in at a distant second at best.
Honorable Mentions: Seikon no Qwaser, Densetsu no Yuusha no
Densetsu, STRIKE WITCHES 2
|
Romance Emotion-filled romance at its finest. The relationships between
characters and the emotions involved are the appeal, and the main
criteria for selecting a series here. A sentimental story is always
good, with tear-jerking scenes being a plus. There’s a saying that
romance is in the air, and this is the series that made that mood the
most prominent from the character interactions to the big confession.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | After giving me my first good taste of the omnibus format and showing
me the beauty of having multiple endings, Amagami
SS had multiple opportunities to become the standout romance series
of the year and made good on them. With six different heroines to focus
its short four-episode arcs around (plus a bonus
one at the end), the series leveraged the “thrill of the chase”
leading up to a relationship, and provided drastically different looks
on how it can happen depending on the girl in question. It may seem a
bit unfair considering how the series focuses on arguably the best part
of romance series, but there was no guarantee that the format would work
out as well as it did. Regardless, all I needed were a couple of arcs
to win me over with this one, namely Kaoru and Ai’s. Using a
pseudo-omnibus format, the very lustful Yosuga
no Sora deserves special mention, as does the more innocent Kimi
ni Todoke and the more lighthearted romantic comedies, Kaichou
wa Maid-sama and B Gata H
Kei.
Honorable Mentions: Yosuga no Sora, Kimi ni Todoke, Kaichou wa
Maid-sama!, B Gata H Kei
|
Drama I separated the drama genre from the romance one this year, as there
are a lot of good series out there that depict an emotion-filled story
where the romance comes secondary, if at all. Strong depictions of
friendship and in challenging situations can really draw a viewer into
the story and start making them sympathize with the characters. It’s a
bit of an all-encompassing genre, but only a handful of series tend to
portray it well.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] deserves a lot
more attention than it received, depicting a very dark drama that most
viewers would rather turn a blind eye to. Abe George’s story about
seven boys who find themselves in a juvenile corrections facility in a
post World War II era was incredibly powerful, as they struggle against
absolutely ruthless acts of tyranny by corrupt adults and find a way
through it all. Relying on nothing but their absolute trust in one
another and the friendship that was hardened when they came in contact
with their senior prison mate “An-chan”, the first half of the series
was full of strong depictions of anger, sadness, and despair. It’s
definitely not for the feint of heart, but it’s for that very reason
that I was so captivated by this very “un-anime-like” anime. It’s a
must-watch for anyone who’s lost faith in the medium doesn’t and feels
it’s degraded to shows about scantily-clad girls of “moe crap”. [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]‘s
surprisingly faithful depiction of the [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] on the losing side of the [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] was a favorite of mine as well, since it
depicted a similar perseverance in an otherwise depressing story.
Honorable Mentions: Hakuouki (Hekketsuroku), Yosuga no Sora
|
Comedy The ability to make you laugh until you cry. That’s probably the
number one criteria when selecting a comedy of the year. From
everything to sheer stupidity, quirky characters, and timely comedic
pauses to perverted fun, elaborate setups, and witty jokes, it’s the
lighthearted nature and humorous entertainment value of these series
that I love.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | Of the comedies that left me laughing up a storm and hurting from it,
[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]
is at the forefront of them all with its quirky depiction of sixth
graders who get into a whole whack of slapstick incidents and subtle
misunderstandings. It’s a real shame that some people would ignore this
series simply because they don’t find the character designs agreeable,
since they’re missing out on some of the best laughs of the year. The
misconception that this involves pedophilia is almost as laughable as
the humor in the series itself. Bridge brought a lot of the hilarious
moments that I loved in the gag manga to life, and did an impeccable job
of it as a new studio. It was a close contest between Mitsudomoe and [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], but I can remember
laughing more often with the former, so that gave it the nod for being
my favorite of the year. Both are absolutely great comedies worth
watching, as are [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], and [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط].
Honorable Mentions: Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu, WORKING!!,
Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls, Oreimo
|
Slice of Life A laid back series with no reliance on heavily gimmicky plot devices
nor a constantly progressing storyline is what this genre stands for.
The character interactions themselves in an otherwise “normal” setting
are the highlight, along with any incidental humor that results from
them. A lot of times, they’re just really cute and innocent happenings,
and that’s exactly what makes a good slice of life series.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | This happens to be one of my favorite genres with the [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] considered one of the pinnacles, so it
felt odd not to pick my favorite of the year for it. After all, this
past year saw the highly-budgeted sequel to the series about the high
school girl band, “Houkago Tea Time”, which doesn’t strive to be overly
hilarious yet slots in beautifully as a cute series with amiable
characters that I love watching. Even though the music is secondary,
the episodes that featured [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]‘s songs were a treat and always
something I looked forward to. The drastic increase in production
quality was a huge plus, but even without it, the continuation brought
more of the rather simplistic lighthearted moments that I enjoyed in the
original season. While Shinryaku
Ika Musume made a strong push at the tail-end of this year, K-ON
had precedence that was followed up nicely in this sequel. For a series
that has a remarkable resemblance but no real connection, Sora
no Woto‘s portrayal of “girls playing war” (as I like to refer to
it as) goes down as one of my favorites as well.
Honorable Mentions: Shinryaku! Ika Musume, Sora no Woto
|
Fan-Service While fan-service-flavored affair tend to go hand-and-hand with
comedies, that’s not always the case. In addition, fan-service doesn’t
only constitute breasts in your face, nor an abundance of needless
upskirt shots. The only criteria here are character interactions
suggestive of a sexual-related context, regardless of how revealing the
scenes may actually be.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | From kissing with [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]
to using one’s body as a [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], kiss x
sis sure didn’t leave much to the imagination. At the same time,
the series never once shelled out with any actual depictions of nudity,
regardless of how risqué some of the wild actions and fantasies of the
Suminoe twin sisters got. Ako and Riko are pretty daring to say the
least, and their forwardness in their love for their non-blood-related
little brother Keita makes most depictions of romance in anime look like
they’re moving at a snail-like pace, save for Yosuga
no Sora. While the series is just a huge tease, it never failed to
amaze me with the boundaries they pushed. Suggestive is a bit of an
understatement since the girls had every intention of getting the deed
done. However, it was their sliver of innocence in light of all their
advances that showed exactly how far you can take fan-service without
treading into hentai territory. The precarious situations depicted
makes it far more enticing than the breast milk drinking in Seikon no
Qwaser, which was pretty outlandish even by anime standards.
Honorable Mentions: Seikon no Qwaser, Yosuga no Sora
|
Notable Others
Most Underappreciated This is the replacement for the “Show We Wish We Blogged More”, and
falls into the same criteria short of being something I didn’t blog.
There are a lot of shows out there that people don’t watch or continue
watching because we’re so fixated on what’s unanimously popular. I make
a point of watching and covering series that tend to be overlooked, so
this is intended to highlight the series that more people should have
checked out but probably didn’t.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | I had several series under consideration for this, and decided to go
with [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] since it should appeal to a wider
audience yet never did. Ruling out an anime because it’s about sports
is a fairly ignorant mindset, and one that I’m guilty of as well in the
past. Luckily, I took the time to see exactly what this series had to
offer and was immediately hooked on the story of a seemingly unorthodox
coach turning a his struggling ex-soccer team around. I’m not a huge
fan of soccer, but the portrayal of skeptical players whom Tatsumi
eventually gets to buy into his system completely won me over. Some
games were depicted in great detail and showed just how much excitement
can be built up from inner dialogue alone, and left me in awe on several
occasions when East Tokyo United would pull a huge upset. RAINBOW is
another underappreciated one (even as my favorite drama of the year), as
are [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط], [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط],
and [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]. The last one is not only
underappreciated, but difficult for most audiences to even appreciate
with the inclusion of a very controversial period of history.
Honorable Mentions: RAINBOW: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin,
Sarai-ya Goyou, Hakuouki (Hekketsuroku), Senkou no Night Raid
|
Biggest Disappointment The pitfall of excessive hype and anticipation for anything is the
disappointment that results when things don’t meet expectations. With
regards to anime, this is doubly true when a series has precedence
established by its original and a sequel falls incomparably short. At
times it’s only a small letdown, but sometimes we’re left wondering what
we did to deserve sitting through it. I’m not looking for the
worst series of the year here, but the biggest disparity between
expectations going in and way the series turned out.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | This choice may surprise a lot of people, but please keep in mind
that it by no means makes [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] the worst show of
2010. Just like the criteria above states, I went into this adaptation
of an award-winning light novel with pretty high expectations, and they
fell quite short of the impression I got from the early chapters of its
manga version. I attribute this largely to what I perceived as poor
direction and series composition (i.e. script), since the series was
ridden with a lot of interesting story elements that never really came
together. There’s a common belief that predictability is a bad thing,
but I’m a firm believer that providing the viewer with some idea on
where things are headed is not a bad way of telling a story. With
Denyuuden, I never once could felt like had a good idea of its
direction, despite how closely I paid attention to the plot and tried to
anticipate where it was going. The abrupt ending only reiterated the
sentiment that not enough thought went into the production of this
series. To put it in really crude terms, it’s as if the production
staff took whatever parts of the story they found interesting, animated
those, and (poorly) strung them together in whichever way they deemed
fit. As someone who was expecting a good medieval story in a fantasy
setting, this series turned out to my biggest disappointment of the
year.
|
Exceeded Expectations Naturally, there’s the exact opposite of the above, where we go into a
series with low or little-to-no expectations and it turns out much
better than we anticipated. This could easily be considered finding
diamonds in the rough, which is only possible if you tend to give new
shows the benefit of the doubt. My picks here don’t mean they’re
blockbuster hits in disguise, but that the disparity between
expectations and the actual series goes in the favorable direction.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | Since I approach all new series with expectations aligned
accordingly, I’m rarely surprised by something turning out to be much
better than it initially seemed. In 2010, I was fortunate enough to be
graced with a few that did so, with Hobby Japan’s [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] adaptation being the
most notable one. While I was open-minded to the possibility that this
series would go down a similar fan-service path as Queen’s Blade, the
focus on the comedy really took me by surprise from the second episode
onwards. I was already content with the unique art style and stylistic
touches in what I expected to be a modern samurai series, so the sudden
shift to the high school comedy that it was intended to be transformed
this series to a mesh of some of my favorite genres. In addition to
providing some slapstick laughs — most noticeably through [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] — there
was much more plot than I imagined, which included a couple of twists
along the way and worked towards a climactic finish. In a somewhat
similar fashion, [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] had some nice twists, and
Otome Youkai Zakuro came together really well in the end.
Honorable Mentions: Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin, Otome Youkai
Zakuro
|
And Finally…
Favorite of 2010 The be all and end all of the year. If I had to pick just one series
as my favorite, this would be it. If I could’ve only watched one show
this past year, here’s what I would’ve been watching. There’s no other
criteria here and being on the same page as the masses is the least of
our concerns. You may not agree, but this category is for conveying
what I enjoyed the most in 2010.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | There were really only two series that were under consideration for
this, and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood not only gets my pick as my
favorite series of 2010, but also as one of my favorites of all-time.
As someone who wasn’t familiar with the manga but did enjoy the original
adaptation, this faithful remake with [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]‘s intended conclusion took
everything that I liked there and enhanced the experience. With BONES
back behind the production and a beautiful score by Senju Akira, this
adaptation had it all on the production side of things, plus a complex
story that well warranted the 64 episode adaptation that it received.
It’s not often we see an anime of this caliber, and that is what
ultimately led to me picking it over Angel Beats. As another one of [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]‘s stories, Angel Beats was a very
entertaining series that stands out from the crowd with its combination
of humor and melancholy, and featured great songs that he composed for
it, making it the only other series that really contended for my
favorite of the year.
Honorable Mentions: Angel Beats!, K-ON!!, Oreimo, Durarara!!
|
| Kiiragi: Katanagatari, Kimi ni Todoke,
Kuragehime, Tatami Galaxy, Angel Beats!
Prooof: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood,
Kaichou wa Maid-sama!, Angel Beats!, WORKING!!, Durarara!!
Takaii: Amagami SS, Katanagatari, Angel
Beats!, Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi, Fullmetal Alchemist:
Brotherhood
|
Favorite OVA/Movie of 2010 The same as above, except for the not regularly broadcasted
offerings. These aren’t covered very often on the site, but I’ve had
the pleasure of watching enough to find some that really caught my eye.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | I’m probably one of the very few people who didn’t place Suzumiya
Haruhi no Shoushitsu in my top three, let alone as my favorite of 2010.
However, as a long-time Gundam and Macross fan, their movie offerings
delivered impeccably in reminding me of everything that I love about
both franchises. I was pretty set on the theatrical retelling of the [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] as my favorite, but the late
release of [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] changed my mind with its
stunning animation and story about a powerful independent organization
intent on putting a stop to war even if it meant getting involved
themselves. The “peace through understanding” theme was finally brought
to fruition in this movie, and gave new meaning on the fifty episodes
that came before it. That’s on top of featuring some of the most
action-packed battles in space to date, including Celestial Being’s
“last mission” that spanned over twenty minutes long. With mankind
facing insurmountable odds, the suspense was off the charts and had me
on the edge of my seat. Some viewers may feel that it took the
franchise in a questionable direction, but as someone who’s been
following it for as long as I have, I personally loved the new outlook.
I still enjoyed Suzumiya Haruhi a lot, but Fate/stay night’s alternate
storyline that addresses the mystery behind Shirou’s connection to
Archer edges ahead from an entertainment standpoint. Beautifully
animated as well, by Studio DEEN of all studios too.
Honorable Mentions: Macross Frontier ~Itsuwari no Utahime~,
Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu,
Gundam Unicorn
|
| Kiiragi: Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu, Summer
Wars, Eve no Jikan
Prooof: Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu, Summer
Wars, Angel Beats! OVA
Takaii: Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu,
Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, Tamayura
|
Reader’s Choice Your choice for 2010. Since I allowed everyone to pick their top 5
this year, we have an even nicer spread of results than the previous
one. In exchange for finding out if there was one series that everyone
would’ve picked with a single vote, we have a much better idea of the
other ones you enjoyed. The top choice is still pretty unquestionable
however, since it was good enough to make it into the majority of your
top 5 picks.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | The Top 5:
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood – 3,232 (9.17%)
Angel Beats! – 2,944 (8.35%)
Durarara!! – 2,633 (7.47%)
K-ON!! – 1,634 (4.63%)
Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai – 1,252 (3.55%)
Total Number of Votes – 35,255
[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]
The turnout for this year’s polls was quite remarkable with at least
7000 voters. Whether or not that’s due to a longer poll duration, it’s a
staggering increase from last year’s 4000 or so, and provides an
interesting spread of results like I was hoping for. As for the results
themselves, the reader’s choice top five are the same as mine (albeit
in a slightly different order), which seems to suggest my tastes are
in-line with most people’s despite being arguably more diverse. I am a
bit surprised to see [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] ahead of the likes of [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط] and Katanagatari however,
indicating that the summer zombie anime did live up all the hype. The
top three, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Angel Beats, and Durarara,
lead the pack by a fair amount, and are quite deserving of being there.
|
Reader’s Choice OVA/Movie Your OVA/Movie choice of 2010. As mentioned in the disclaimer above,
the choices here were restricted to what’s been released on DVD/Blu-ray
so that viewers outside of Japan have a chance of watching it and
making an informed decision. It didn’t make sense to restrict such
offerings to a small pool of voters this year and not have it up it for
consideration in 2011, so if you wanted to vote for anything that
premiered in theaters, you’ll get your chance next year.
| | [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة] | The Top 5:
Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu – 1,807 (10.26%)
Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance – 1,682 (9.55%)
Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works – 1,255 (7.13%)
Summer Wars – 1,153 (6.55%)
Darker than BLACK Gaiden – 1,018 (5.78%)
Total Number of Votes – 17,609
[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]
I gather that Suzumiya Haruhi and Evangelion appeal to wider
audiences, resulting in a lot more voters having them up for
consideration. Either way, they took the lead by a fair margin, earning
a spot on a lot of people’s |
| |
|
