Top 12 Anime of 2009

Well, it’s that time of year again, 2009 is coming to an end, and 2010 is right around the corner. So, I’ve decided to take a look back at all the new anime that have come out in the last year, and in doing so have come up with the list of my top 10 anime of 2009, however, I couldn’t bring myself to cut down the list any further, so instead, this will now be a top 12 list. That’s just how things work out.

Sadly disqualified from this list are Toradora and Casshern Sins, both for having aired in 2008, and therefore neither counts despite the fact that they ended back in March. Anyways, here we go.

Special Mention: Sora no Otoshimono

This is a pretty crappy show, I have to admit. It’s stereotypical in every way, fanservice everywhere, and no real story to speak of. However, this is what all bad anime should strive to be like. Despite being bad, it was still a really enjoyable series. I mean, when you have an entire episode dedicated to panties taking off into the shy and flying all over the world like a flock of birds, your audience just laughed themselves into watching the whole series.

12. NEEDLESS

Hell yes, this show was just awesome in every way… Needlessly so. I mentioned it back in my Summer 2009 review on the Starhill forums, but it deserves a repeat. People with superpowers beating the crap out of each other, awesome characters, and just one major battle after another. This show was nothing but pure awesome the whole way through, well… until episode 23, then I sad-faced… I won’t say why, but trust me, watch it and you’ll see. It’s still worth it. Not to mention the opening theme, Modern Strange Cowboy by Granrodeo, one of my favourite bands, just makes this series even better.

11. Nyan Koi!

Yeah, who the hell expected this to be on this list back in October? I, as well as most other people, went into this series with absolutely no expectations. I expected it to be entertaining, but good? No, hell no, I was expecting some laughs at the expense of the main character, and some sympathizing due to a shared dislike of cats. No one expected anything from this show, but holy shit did it deliver. It had some pretty solid romantic drama, without resorting to fanservice more than needed. The storyline was good too, ended on a good note. I look forward to the second season that’s already been green-lit, since the series should have been 26 episodes in the first place.

10. Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z-Hen

Well, it’s a Nagai series, it was bound to make this list. In all honesty though, this series was incredibly awesome. The story was amazing, kept you hooked, the combat was intense and well done, and the story managed to please even hardcore Mazinger fans, which is impressive considering it was a remake of the original with a new story. It actually managed to stay true to the original characters and plotline while completely changing it for a more modern audience. I watched it and was taking note of all the moments borrowed from the manga, and every other Mazinger series to come before it, and still managed to bring it all together into a solid series. All that lands it at my umber ten spot.

9. Hanasakeru Seishounen

Now, this series apparently got a lot of negative sentiment from people, and very few actually watched it. In fact, when Fleets saw I was ranking it this high, he commented that he had assumed it was a really bad series. Not to mention how every fansub group doing it dropped this series at around episode 10. It’s just one of those things that the community generally despises, but that’s not always a good way to judge it. The online community has a habit of ignoring anything that attempts to be artsy… such as anything to do with classic literature… I still want my Sangoku Engi subs by the way. Anyways, the series is much better than people give it credit for, and the plotline is new and fresh as well. Yes, it’s a romance series, and yes it’s full of bishounen guys, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. It seems the better part of the community sees that and then ignores it because large numbers of bishounen guys tend to mean shounen-ai overtones. People need to understand that’s not a bad thing, even if you’re not into that, those series can be some of the best, just look at Ouran and Kyou Kara Maoh. Anyways, great plotline, with amazing drama, and a twist towards the end that admittedly would have been more of a surprise if they hadn’t changed the opening theme to showcase it about five episodes before it happened. Still, it was a great series, and I’m going to be sorry to see it end.

8. Umineko no Naku Koro ni

This series just yanked you around from beginning to end, in fact, the ending just took you off your high horse and pitched you into a ditch. Trying to figure out exactly how all the murders were really being done was a weird challenge in the first arc, but was suddenly made harder the second time around when they started showing you how they were supposedly done, and yet telling you that it wasn’t afterwards. Every time you thought you had a handle on what was going on, suddenly you were completely in the dark again. It was a well done series, and it was amazingly suspenseful, the only reason it’s this low is because I’m still kind of pissed about that ending. I mean seriously, I kind of expected they’d do that, but shit… to tell us that every conclusion the main character had come to was completely wrong and then just end it… dick move.

7. Umi Monogatari ~Anata ga Ite Kureta Koto~

I don’t know what I was expecting when I started this series, but it definitely wasn’t a magical girl series. That aside though, plotline was interesting, music was amazing and incredibly haunting at times, and the characters were deep and interesting. There was none of that shounen series ultimate power-up to beat the final boss crap either, though I won’t spoil the ending. I’ll just say that the opening theme for the last episode made my skin crawl. It was the same song as always, but the slight change in the animation for it made such a major difference to how it felt. It still gives me chills to think about it. Awesome series, I recommend it to everyone.

6. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0

I knew this series was going to be good right from the beginning, and man was I right. It was new grounds for Bones, the first time in a while something they made didn’t have mechs or supernatural powers of some kind as far as I know. The entire show was just a drama about a major natural disaster that completely destroyed Tokyo, the after-effects, and a group of people trying to get home to make sure their family was alright. The series always kept you on the edge of your seat, and they pulled a major twist towards the end that even I didn’t see coming. A great series, the perfect length, great ending, everyone should see this if they haven’t already.

5. Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~

A series about a set of assassins brainwashed, turned into trained killing machines, and used to help create the biggest crime syndicate to ever exist. Lots of interpersonal drama, cool action scenes, and moments where the main characters are quite possibly the most terrifying thing you have ever seen. The series pulled itself off really well, despite being based on a short OVA, that was based on an H-game… or so I’m told. The action was awesome, the drama was even better, and that ending. You knew it had to end like that, there was no way around it, but in your heart, you just wished it wouldn’t. I will say no more so as to not spoil the series, but do yourselves a favour and watch it, it’s well worth your time.

4. Aoi Hana

Hands down, one of the best anime to come out in the Summer 2009 season. It was good drama, good romantic plot, a bit sad a lot of the time, but that’s somewhat expected with a yuri series. It’s hard to explain why this series was so good, but I looked forward to each new episode so much. It was just a really addictive show. So if you like good romance, and don’t mind if it’s between girls, then I suggest you check this series out.

3. Bakemonogatari

This show surprised a lot of people. A show made up of smaller story arcs, each one dealing with a supernatural problem centering around a single character. This show quickly became quite possibly the most popular series of the summer season, so good that Shaft announced they would make three extra episodes after it finished airing in September, to be streamed on their website. The series was interesting, the characters were good, and the relationships between them were also well done. At the end of the day, the entire series came down to interpersonal drama, and each character taking a look at their own deepest darkest thoughts and desires. Bakemonogatari is definitely one of the best anime this year, quite possibly one of very few popular anime that are actually worthy of all the hype surrounding them.

2. Eden of the East

This show just floored me in so many ways. The voices, the music, the entire package was just really well done. The storyline was interesting, entertaining, and kept throwing you for a loop, and the characters were great, especially Takizawa, that guy was awesome. The end of the series was absolutely epic too, and left it open just enough for the two movies to come to wrap it all up nicely. I’m looking forward to those movies so much.

1. Kimi ni Todoke

This just had to be here, and most of the people on Starhill know exactly why. This show is just amazing, and manages to deliver to pretty much every demographic. The main character is just so lovable, you just want to hug her and protect her, and when an animated series can summon that kind of emotion, you know someone did something right. In fact, why the hell are you still reading this? If you haven’t started watching this yet, go do it! Now!