Forum - View topicYour Single Most Favorite Anime of 2006.
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Lord Kefka
 Posts: 96 Location: California..for now |
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<edited>I did not specify whether "Anime of 2006" was fansub or R1 releases so mentioning either is fine so long it sticks to only ONE Anime mentioned. Sorry about the confusion</edited>
Well, the year is drawing to an end and many series are getting wrapped up as the new season (not to mention year) is about to start. So, which Anime did you really enjoy? Mine is: Welcome to NHK - Although it was a hard choice (as I was debating whether it should be Black Lagoon: Second Barrage or H&C II), NHK gets my vote. It's not just the characters but the countless themes and messages thrown at the viewers. When it comes to a genre involving "slice of life", as I have said, NHK is one of the better examples. When I think of slice of life, I think of all the chaos that exist in reality. The ambition of people. The struggle of people be it relationship between friends, family, or lived one. The struggle to find meaning in life. Struggle to find a purpose for oneself. Although H&C and H&C II does a great job (and probably better than NHK) in certain areas inside this genre, even genre itself an be a general thing, especially involving Anime as delicate as these. To cover a few areas inside a particular genre is one thing but to cover the vass array of themes within a genre is where NHK excels in. So welcome to NHK it is for me. Last edited by Lord Kefka on Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:26 am; edited 1 time in total |
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selenta
 Subscriber Posts: 1774 Location: Seattle, WA |
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Mine is probably no surprise... although Ouran High School Host Club and a few others absolutely deserved the spot... it's going to be Haruhi for me.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - a huge hit at the time, and I'm not afraid to say I loved it, even though it's popular. The animation was the best of the year, by far. The music score was one that I didn't really like at first, but as I watched the episodes for the 5th and 6th time each, I really started to get drawn into it; and by the time it got to "God Knows", I would have been listening just for the music and animation. The story was also first class, and to be perfectly honest, it tackles more interesting philosophical ground than almost anything I've seen besides Kino's Journey and maybe Lain. Now, the philosophical aspect isn't really addressed much in the show except in a half-hearted comical way... but if you really stop and think about it, it's quite interesting. Then there's the dialogue; absolute best script of the year for its biting wit, cleverness, and appropriate mood for the scene, bar none. Parts of other shows like NHK and Ouran were perfect as well, but no other show did all those things any where near as consistantly. And then... as if those weren't enough (it would have been a VERY close race to Haruhi's disadvantage if those qualities were all there had been to Haruhi) there's the absolutely unparalled care KyoAni put into the production and the ordering of the episodes. The mixed eps order could have been a really cheap gimmick to keep people guessing what was going to the end, but a LOT of care and attention to detail was put in to everything associated with it. I went back and rewatched the entire series that had been released up to that point in time as each new episode came out, nearly every time I rewatched an episode I caught something new, oftentimes something rather significant whose background had only been revealed in the latest episode. It was the subtle details and amazingly confusing (if insanely obvious upon hindsight) foreshadowing that occured that kept everyone truly guessing as to what was going to happen and what was the true situation right up to and after the end without anything feeling incomplete or left out (except the cat). It was things like (a few major spoilers)spoiler[never once even noticing that Yuki wasn't wearing glasses in the past three episodes until someone mentioned it and I had to go back and check to my utter disbelief that I had been so dense. Or the scene where Yuki is trying to flirt with Kyon by waving the mouse in the air, or the scene where Haruhi decides against putting Mikuru's hair into a ponytail during the baseball episode, or even the knowledge that completely changes your entire outlook on the second half of the series chronologically: Haruhi actually did know the true identities of Koizumi, Yuki, and Mikuru (of course, it was debatable whether or now Haruhi believed Kyon...).] that kept me coming back for more and more and more even after it all was over. Not to mention spoiler[the concert], which was honestly one of the most intense moments in my anime viewing history. EDIT:
Ah yes, I almost forgot about that category: guilty pleasure of the year. For me that goes to Soukou no Strain from what I've seen so far. The animation is rather poor, and many of the side characters are cliche, don't fit in, and/or extremely annoying on all levels(I'm looking at you mechanic brats duo); but I don't think I've been as surprised all year with the direction the show took as I was for S. Strain, considering how it the show started. When something just completely blows my expectations out of the water and replaces them with a much more interesting story line with main character personality types I've been advocating for years as my absolute favorite non-existant character type... I can't help but to fall in love with it 
Last edited by selenta on Tue Dec 26, 2006 3:59 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18435 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I assume you're talking about series released in Japan in 2006, right?
I don't watch a lot of fansubs, but out of the few titles I did watch or sample my favorite is unquestionably The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzimiya. Yeah, it's pure otaku fare, but the clever, gimmicky storytelling really worked for me, and it unquestionably has some of the year's best artistry and production values (and one of the year's best closers). While it's hardly one of the year's better series by any criteria, the other one straight-out-of-Japan that really caught my attention was Karin, the anime version of the manga known in the States as Chibi Vampire. Although I didn't care much for the title character's overly busty design, The oddball take on vampires in this offbeat romantic comedy amused me greatly. And based only on two episodes, Le Chevalier d'Eon also looks like a winner. But I'm a sucker for period pieces, anime or no. |
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Azathrael
 Posts: 745 |
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Definitely Honey and Clover II. If my avatar doesn't say enough already, I've been waiting for the conclusion ever since I finished watching Honey and Clover. As a college student I could relate in so many ways, even though I've nothing to do with art, and I loved how the characters were so realistic when they could have been melodramatic. The serious and comedy aspects of this series was, like its prequel, appropriately mixed. And to top it all off, a great choice of OST that was used throughout the series.
/Honey and Clover less than 3 |
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frentymon
Forums Superstar
 Posts: 2362 Location: San Francisco |
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Kanon 2006.
I was hyped up about this in the first place; I happened to already have been a big Kanon fan, having played both the game and watched the old series and loving both, and one of the most acclaimed studios, KyoAni, was doing the production. The first episode really didn't impress me much, but after that the series was simply amazing. Kanon 2006 has high value on pure comedy alone; there were so many hilarious and laugh out loud moments that I almost thought I was watching something like Azumanga Daioh or GTO. Although protagonist Aizawa Yuuichi (v2006) felt like a neo-Kyon at first, gradually his old persona that I was all so familiar with began to drift in again, producing a sometimes sarcastic, hilarious, yet caring character all at the same time. His witty commentary along with some of the absurdly funny things he does was absolutely priceless. Of course, the aesthetics and high production value were awesome. KyoAni's animation really brought everything to life, the snowy scenary, the impactful moments, even the comedy as Yuuichi occassionally winds up in seemingly hopeless situations. The decision to keep all the sounds the same, seiyuu, music, OP/ED, made the series feel nostalgic yet revamped with a modern feel at the same time, a really cool combination. Storyline has been preserved from the game perfectly, and I was amazed at how they were able to blend in all the girls' storylines so well, without some arc-by-arc feel or any sort of strange plotholes. The first girls' arc introduced so far, my least favorite of them all, was done so tastefully that I was able to enjoy it much more than I expected to, and certainly more than I ever did 2002. I mentioned quite a while back that I thought the first episodes was kind of chopped and didn't flow that well, and I still feel that way, but every episode after that was simply amazing and it more than compensates for my slight disappointment of the first episode. You know, if there was an award for Best Comedy Anime of 2006, I would pick Kanon, even though it's focus is anything but comedy. The funny parts are just laugh out loud hilarious. |
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Lord Kefka
Posts: 96 Location: California..for now |
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Heh. I remember having some fun discussing the "ending" of Haruhi with a few people and making jokes about that song "What if God was One of Us"
There has also been the debate of whether it was better the way it was aired or better chronologically but I guess it's up to the viewer to decide. But with all honesty, I think the way it was aired was probably the best way. Not only did it screw over your brain but did something as rawly original as one can get. That kind of boldness should be acknowledged at the very least. Oh well... Haruhi season two here we come right? Last edited by Lord Kefka on Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:11 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Steventheeunuch
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I really didn't see much- Chavelier D'Eon was probably my serious favourite, and didn't care much for Haruhi Suzumiya or Kanon. NHK was nice but haven't bothered so far.
The sleeper hit, for me, has been Gundoh Musashi. Yes, it's a horrible load of crap, with inconsistient and yet always bad animation, poor music, bad designs, hilarious sound insertions, nonsense plots and just about the best darn parody subs known to man, but what it does is it shows that no matter how much you invest in making something HD and 5.1 and whatever, if it's a load of crap, it will always be a load of crap, and I think it teaches a valuable (abeilt unintentional) but more than likely ignored lesson in that regard. Biggest dissapointments have been Fist of the Blue Sky (Oh wow, CG Dragon! lacked stuff aswell) and Zaizen Jotaro (DA BOMB!). |
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adonais
Posts: 302 |
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I'd put my vote in for NHK ni Yokoso, mainly for resons that make me personally connect so strongly to the series, and which I'll say something about further down. But there were quite a few very strong candidates for the title.
I think my most intense viewing experience, albeit more short-lived than NHKnY, must have been Kemonozume. This series blew my mind on so many levels. From the intense drawing and animation style (beautifully analyzed by Cloe in the Kemo-thread), literally a smorgasbord of visual treats, to the mind-boggling story of it all, blurring the line between monsters and humans until you're not sure yourself, this anime took me for quite a ride. The colorful cast of characters, human and shokujinki alike, each with their own idiosyncracies and human flaws marvellously portrayed, made the human element stand out all the more. Yeah. I think if not for my obsession with NHK ni Yokoso, Kemonozume would have been my choice for "Best of 2006." Other runners-up that I think highly of include Ergo Proxy, Mushishi and Death Note. Ergo proxy started out as a default favorite, I just loved the first 6-7 episodes or so, thinking this was going to be an all-timer, until rather strange things started happening. I'm not saying the series took a bad turn, but my enthusiasm definitely dropped at the mind-fudge that ensued, and I didn't feel a great sense of fulfillment or even revelation at the end of the series. It definitely needs to be viewed more than once, and possibly subsequent viewings will restore my initial sense of awe for the series. We'll see, I'm buying the DVDs in any case  As for Mushishi, although I marvelled at the very idea of the show, it felt a little bit too episodic for the kind of story that was being presented, lacking an underlying direction. Finally Death Note is some piece of work, having me at the edge of my seat throughout every episode, definitely aspiring for some high marks, but since the show isn't anywhere near finished (as far as I know...?), it'll have to be one of the condenders for 2007.
Now NHK ni Yokoso.... I don't know if anyone else has characterized it this way yet, but to me it was actually quite the tearjerker, unlike any of the other titles I mentioned above. NHKnY made me laugh till I cried, with Sato's and Yamazaki's hare-brained galge production; with Sato's and Misaki-chan's counseling sessions on everything from Freud to Kami-sama; with Sato's exploration into the world of computer games in general, and the MMORPG in particular. And then there were the other kind of story arcs with the offline meeting, and finally learning the truth behind Misaki-chan - they made me cry for real. The real story of NHKnY is about real people with real problems: we could call them dysfunctional, but in my experience they are a large part of our own society, and could just as well be called "average" - we're just not exposed to them very often. Paranoia, manic depression, childhood trauma - doesn't sound like ingredients for a great anime, does it. But the way it is scripted into NHKnY lets us see both sides of the coin, the heart-rending misery that can be, but also the beauty that exists within that tiny piece of the pie chart that Misaki-chan drew during one of the counseling sessions. The fact that most of us ever live inside that tiny happy slice and never venture much into the "90% misery" slice that is shared by the likes of Satou and Misaki-chan, is part of what makes me feel that this show is showing us something special, and not just your run-of-the-mill slice of life. Well I could probably go on and on, and maybe the NHK thread is a better place for that
EDIT: Spelling, spelling....my kingdom for a spellchecker! |
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Bruce Lee
 Posts: 715 Location: Seattle, Washington |
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My favorite DVD release of the year has to be Karas. It had great DDEX Japanese & English tracks, with a really good dub. The story and art were also top notch. Oh, and did I mention it was much cheaper than most series volumes you find? If even 10% of R1 releases were this good, I would be all over them. I hope this time next year I can write such glowing things about Funi's BECK release |
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Lord Kefka
Posts: 96 Location: California..for now |
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No this is good. You post whatever you like be it this topic or the other topic. And it's better to elaborate your points out of all the series this year anyways... right?
btw, one more thing about NHK. Was it me or was the ending theme lyrics (episodes 13-end) one of the most appropriate...ever? Hell, I even used part of the lyrics as my quote somewhere else.. Last edited by Lord Kefka on Tue Dec 26, 2006 5:08 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Raven Shinobi
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I postponed The Melancholy of Haruhi once I heard it will be liscenced and I'm not an avid follower of the animated version of Death Note since I'm currently following it in manga format, so my vote will go to the other 2006 that I've seen so far: Ouran Koukou Host Club. -no anime made me laugh this hard ever since Tylor and it introduced me to the wonderful manga series that it was based off.
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P€|\||§_|\/|ast@
 Posts: 3498 Location: IN your nightmares |
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The anime that has been on the top of my list for most of the year was Kasimasi Girl Meets Girl. I loved the comedy and emotion and the whole concept of the series blew me away when I first heard about it. I thought some of the dialogue and situations could have been more realistic but I think the production team did a wonderful job of maintaining the feeling of what such an unusual situation would be like for the viewer. The highlight of this series is definitely the music. All of the songs are soft, moody melodies so if you normally like pop, techno or rock in your anime music this soundtrack probably wouldn't fit your preferences. The ending song is easily one my favorites for the entire decade. The original creator of the show, Satoru Akahori is definitely one I look out for when finding new shows by favorite directors / writers / character designers, because of Kasimasi. After all he was the creator of other wacky, fun favorites like Maze, Saber Marionette J and Sorcerer Hunters.
But alas a new champion has sneaked in for the number one spot for the year and that is Death Note. Since the majority of the first season has been aired in Japan I will count this as a 2006 title. Last year my favorite of the year was Karin even though only a few episodes had aired by the end of the year, but I still counted it as a 2005 title. It's hard to say, but if I considered Karin as a 2006 title it would take the top spot for 2006 over Death Note easily. |
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undeadben
 Posts: 1212 Location: West Texas |
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**Don't you hate when you have a long post written out and you think it's clever and then you lose it somehow?
 Oh, well, not as detailed and not clever at all but here goes.
This is a tough question for me as I am still trying to catch up to 2005 anime. While I really enjoyed the gimmicky SHnY, and the funny Ouran, and I enjoyed the action in Utawarerumono, and am intrigued by the few episodes I have seen of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, my favorite comes to a choice of two: NANA, and agreeing with a few other posts so far, Death Note. I love the beauty of NANA, not so much the artwork or animation, which can be pretty at times, but the way the story is written and plays out. I also love both Nanas, probably my two favorite characters of this past year, I love how well they are developed and how they are portrayed. I haven't advanced anywhere as near far as the fansubs, but I am holding out until it gets closer to the end before I pick it up and run with it; I get the feeling that this show could potentially really get me with cliffhangers. As for Death Note, well I just love the honestly dark and mysterious feel the series has to it. I think there are tiny problems with pacing and possibly continuity, haven't seen enough to know for sure, but I think that they are outweighed by the very interesting story. Although again, I have seen very little of this so I don't know much of anything yet. Who knows, I may get to episode 7 or something at find it's crap, but it doesn't seem like it will. So far it has really gotten my attention, and has not dissapointed. Last edited by undeadben on Tue Dec 26, 2006 9:47 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Keonyn
Subscriber Posts: 5567 Location: Coon Rapids, MN |
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It's hard to say, primarily because I really only watch my anime via DVD releases and since they take so long it's rare that a series is released entirely within the span of a single year.
For favorite series I finished this year I'd go with Scrapped Princess. I technically bought the whole thing in 06 as I didn't start picking it up until after the new years although the last DVD was still released in 06 as well. It was a huge surprise though, I wasn't expecting much going in to it but it's one of my favorites in recent memory. I think it boiled down to the characters and the story, two of the most important elements in my opinion. The characters had an interesting dynamic going and I liked that some characters they met early on the series still played a role later on instead of just being forgotten as many minor characters in shows, anime or domestic, tend to be. The story was the real surprise, I was expecting standard fantasy fare but it really took some interesting twists and turns and did some genre jumping despite its fantasy setting. I admit after the first DVD it took me a bit to pick up the next, but once I saw the 2nd I can't remember a time I rushed to pick up the remainder of a series so fast. For series that started this year I honestly would pick Eureka Seven. I love the fact that it has such a huge cast and actually makes use of them while still developing a significant back story in the process. Renton's voice took some getting used to in the dub but it's pretty good at this point and the rest of the dub cast is doing a terrific job so I really have no complaints despite, again, the large cast of characters that required dubbing. I don't mind the slow pace of the story either, I like that it isn't rushing the story along and that there's actually down time or quiet time as it gives it a better sense of reality, which is vital in a sci-fi series that's already way past that boundary. The music is terrific and the animation and artistry is also really well done. While it was odd at first I love the strong and vibrant colors they use in the series, it actually fits the style really well. Now I usually don't watch fansubs, at least not the bulk of a series, but I did watch Haruhi. It's not listed not because I only count R1 releases, but simply because I really didn't think it was all that amazing. Honorable mention though goes to Ergo Proxy, but since I'm only 4 episodes in it's hard to say whether or not the quality will fall or if it will even improve, definitely too early to call it a favorite but I love what I've seen so far. |
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san-san
Posts: 26 Location: Far Reaches of Space |
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This basically sums up what I think of Eureka Seven. It is such an awesome series....At first I didn't like it but then by god's gracious mercy (Though I don't believe Haruhi is all that merciful) I stumbled upon it again....one late night......Anyways, good series, not exactly my favorite had it not been for three other series. In third place is SHnY, why?.......Well I liked it but only because of Kyon's reactions *like the time when Haruhi came up to the stage to sing the song = classic* Haruhi annoyed me. The second spot goes to my guilty pleasure: D. Gray-man I don't usually like shonen but this has way more style than Bleach and Naruto combined (and style alone won me  )
And number one is Ouran High School Host club This show killed me in hilarity meter. It was the funniest anime I'd ever seen so it's my favorite of this year and possibly all time |
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