Best (and Worst) of 2009 Anime

Before I present my Top 10 Anime of 2009 list, I have to mention first several noteworthy anime of this past year.

Please do note that I watch only a handful of shows every season, because I’m not someone who’ll eat up every single shit Japan produces for otakus. (And I have life away from the PC.) So shows that made quite a fuzz this year that I haven’t seen (yet, but might pick up sometime), unfortunately won’t be able to included in my assessment. Therefore NO Cross Game, Natsume Yuujinchou, To Aru Kagaku no Railgun, Needless, Saki and sequels I have yet to see: Spice and Wolf II and Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Also, there are anime that I avoided to watch because I’m already reading the manga: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Kimi ni Todoke, Hajime no Ippo New Challenger, Fairy Tail. Shows that will be included in this post and the Top 10 post are only those that STARTED within 2009.

Best Anime Movie

I’m quite uncertain with this list, because I have yet to watch THREE films that have been shown this past year, which are I’m looking forward to. The second Rebuild of Evangelion movie, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Lagann-hen, and Higashi no Eden I. I’ll reserve my judgement for those for now.

Summer Wars

From the creator of Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo, Summer Wars is definitely one of the best anime movie of 2009. Slick animation, understandable plot, and cool characters (designed by Eva-famed Sadamoto) made it a hit. The virtual world is Digimon-esque and I like it. The movie was targeted as a ‘family movie’ and created by ‘the next Miyazaki’ Hosoda-san, so this being good is expected. But...

Kara no Kyoukai 7: Satsujin Kousatsu

..we have a tie! The final installment of Kara no Kyoukai series is as always eyegasmic and eargasmic as the rest, but turned out to be more melodramatic rather than action-packed. But that what made this ending so likeable; without throwing insane shounen-esque battles and focus more on the Mikiya-Shiki relationship. This is basically second-best from the whole series, just a little behind the excellent fifth movie.

Runner-up: Cencoroll

Best OVA

Denpa Teki na Kanojo

Yanderes and other batshit insane characters are it's main point. The animation has some faults here there, but overall, it is pretty good to look at. At this point, only two episodes are shown, but they are great so far. I will be keeping an eye on this.

Best OP/ED Song

Kimi ga Shiranai Monogatari (Bakemonogatari)

There are certainly songs that are much musically appealing for me, such as school food punishment's Futuristic Imagination for Eden of the East. But this ED song from Bakemonogatari grew on me. And that's when I almost started to ARE GA ARUTAIRU DENEBU BEGA everyday.

Runner-up: Don’t Say Lazy (K-ON!), Futuristic Imagination (Higashi no Eden)

Best OST

Darker Than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini OST

I usually am not fond to listening to OSTs unless it's Yoko Kanno or Nobuo Uematsu. But DtB's soundtrack is not half-bad. Personally, my favorite would be Galaxy Train, because it is UNTZ UNTZ UNTZ UNTZ UNTZ UNTZ. The runner-up, Aoi Bungaku, has some of the most-spine chilling tracks I've heard this year though.

Runner-up: Aoi Bungaku OST

Best Animation

Aoi Bungaku

Aoi Bungaku series has some of the best animation this year. The most beautifully animated story here would be Run, Melos! and Hell (which reminded me much of Jigoku Shoujo series.) By the way, I refuse to compare series with anime movies in terms of animation, because the latter is obviously has higher budget than most series.

Runner-up: Trapeze

Biggest Disappoinment of the Year

Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu S2

What is it that made me drop this series after the fifth episode, even though I felt that the first season is good enough? ENDLESS EIGHT. 'Nuff said.

Runner-up: Umineko no Naku Koro ni (This could have been better, Studio DEEN. I'm disappointed, and to add to that, I haven't even played the VN.)

Tomorrow, I will be posting my TOP 10 ANIME OF 2009. So stay tuned. (God, the layout of this blog is ugly.)

Anime and Manga of the Week (1st Week, January 2010)

Neon Genesis Evangelion (TV series)/ Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (manga)

Okay guys, to kick things off, I'll start this so-called blog of mine with the weekly dose of anime and manga feature. For starters, this week features classics that every anime and manga enthusiast must see and experience: Neon Genesis Evangelion anime and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind manga.

Please do note that most posts may contain personal biases, so pardon me for that. Also, I never intended this blog to some sort of "famous anime reviewer blog" so I'll keep things simple and short.

Anime of the Week: Neon Genesis Evangelion

Japanese: 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン

Type: TV series

Episodes: 26

Aired: Oct 3, 1995 to Mar 27, 1996

Producers: GAINAX, ADV Films, NAS

Genre: Action, Mecha, Sci-fi, Drama, Psychological

Synopsis: In the year 2015, the Angels, huge, tremendously powerful, alien war machines, appear in Tokyo for the second time. The only hope for Mankind`s survival lies in the Evangelion, a humanoid fighting machine developed by NERV, a special United Nations agency. Capable of withstanding anything the Angels can dish out, the Evangelion`s one drawback lies in the limited number of people able to pilot them. Only a handful of teenagers, all born fourteen years ago, nine months after the Angels first appeared, are able to interface with the Evangelion. One such teenager is Shinji Ikari, whose father heads the NERV team that developed and maintains the Evangelion. Thrust into a maelstrom of battle and events that he does not understand, Shinji is forced to plumb the depths of his own inner resources for the courage and strength to not only fight, but to survive, or risk losing everything. (Source: AniDB)

Phantom's thoughts:

Although not my first anime series, Evangelion is the most influential anime for me. And I'm sure that goes the same to most anime enthusiasts. Sure the series was never perfect. (LOL CONGRATULATIONS END.) In fact, it does have a fair share of haters as well. The philosophy, the focus on human psyche, and all those 'pretentious' shit was not for everyone. Controversial it seems, but still Evangelion was monumental enough that it raised the bar on viewing standards of anime fans since the 90's.

Recently, both newfags and the loyal fanbase gets a good dose of Evangelion experience through the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy. And hey, I just have to mention that Eva got a kickass soundtrack.

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Manga of the Week: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Japanese: 風の谷のナウシカ

Type: Manga

Volumes: 7

Published: Feb 1982 to Mar 1994

Authors: Miyazaki Hayao

Serialization: None

Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Supernatural

Synopsis: A millennium has passed since "Seven Days of Fire," an apocalyptic war that almost wiped out human civilization. Since then, the earth is covered with an ever-growing "Sea of Corruption," a vast forest of fungi that secretes poisonous miasma and invasive spores, along with large and deadly insects inhabit within.

In order to fight for more habitable lands unpolluted by the Sea of Corruption, the Kingdom of Torumekia has declared war against the Dorok Empire. Nausicaä, princess and heir of a small city-state named "Valley of the Wind" which pledged alliance with Torumekia, is now forced to join Torumekian to invade Dorok Empire. This war will change her life and the fate of human race forever. (Source: ANN)

Phantom's thoughts:

Whenever there's Miyazaki Hayao mentioned in any form of media, you bet it is something special. The theatrical feature of Nausicaa sure is well-received; but as for some reason, the manga didn't received same attention. Nausicaa manga has an outstanding artwork, and a well-written story that involves humans destroying, which is fairly typical Miyazaki plot. However, the manga seemed to have a darker, more mature tone than its anime counterpart. Nausicaa is a charismatic character, albeit her frequent moralfag tendencies; and the this apocalytic world is something you just have to experience to believe. In short, read it, faggot.

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I have yet to think of any layout for this blog. I'll stick with this for a while.

Weaboo Blog ni Youkoso!

Welcome to my blog! I am Uragimono Phantom, and I am born a few minutes ago. My name clearly suggests that I am a weaboo. I am an infant, so be kind with me! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. *bows*

This blog will contain posts that are related to anime, manga, Japanese music, Japanese movies, cosplay, doujins, games, and other stuff from the glorious Nippon! A few stuff from Korea my sprung; Kpop and some other shit. Maybe I'll include some other things related to animation from other countries, including my home country the Philippines (lol) and also some Western animation.

I may include stuff like anime/manga of the week, depends on my mood. Coming up would be some anime/manga watching and reading guidelines for dummies; and a top anime of 2009 blog. So stay tuned!

By the way, even though I'm a baby, I have an alter-ego named Kej who's already a couple of decades old. He is my benefactor, so check out his blog sometimes.

Bye-bee!