The usual caveats apply: I haven’t sampled everything and my tastes are not yours. Series that are continuing into the Spring are not generally eligible, though I am making an exception for one that has no overall story.<\/p>\n
The anime<\/a> industry is clearly suffering from the bad economy. Fewer series were produced. Fan service shows (a mainstay of the second-tier studios) have gotten raunchier. Even if you think that’s a good thing, it has to be a sign of desperation.<\/p>\n Still, the year has to be judged by the best that is produces (remember Sturgeon’s Law<\/a>.) By that measure 2009 actually wasn’t all that bad.<\/p>\n Amazingly there were 3 series this year that really stood out, each with its own unique visual style.<\/p>\n Bakemonogatari<\/em><\/strong> (Ghoststory) Finally a series from Shaft that I can wholeheartedly endorse. Macabre, funny, twisted and solidly entertaining.<\/p>\n Higashi no Eden<\/em><\/strong> (Eden of the East) OK, the ending feels a little abrupt, but the show as a whole is brilliant, like nothing I’ve ever seen. A dark story, but funny and clever, consistently surprising and fascinating.<\/p>\n Kemono no Souja Erin<\/em><\/strong> (Erin the Beast Player) A great fantasy story, quite long but carefully written with no waste or filler. Warning: the drawings may remind you of a children’s book, but this is not for little kids.<\/p>\n Ponyo<\/em><\/strong><\/a> was actually released in Japan in 2008, but Americans had to wait until 2009 to see it. The bottom line: Hayao Miyazaki is back and near the top of his form, at least if you like things like Totoro<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n Aoi Bungaku<\/em><\/strong> (Fresh Literature). This selection of stories by noted twentieth century Japanese writers is not for everyone, but I rather liked it. The stories are fairly dark; in an earlier post<\/a> I half-jokingly said that contemporary serious Japanese literature is mostly about suicide in one way or another. This series did nothing to refute my thesis.<\/p>\n Clannad After Story<\/em><\/strong> People who had played the game seemed to like the ending more than those who hadn’t. Still, if you like this sort of thing, this is another solid adaptation of a Key visual novel<\/a> by Kyoto Animation. Get out your handkerchiefs.<\/p>\n Kimi ni Todake<\/em><\/strong> is indeed an angsty shoujo<\/a> romance, but this one is special. The heroine, who has more than a trace of ASD<\/a> wonders wonders why she has no friends and tries to reason out logically what she needs to do to get some. The results are a bit strange, but surprisingly successful. <\/p>\n Mainichi Kaasan<\/em><\/strong> (Everyday Mom\/Mom’s Life) Sure the character designs are horrifying, but this adaptation of the gag manga<\/a> about a manga artist and her family is the most consistently funny show of the year. However you may need to have kids of your own to appreciate the humor.<\/p>\n Summer Wars<\/em><\/strong>. It’s cyberpunk<\/a> vs. Japanese tradition in this movie. As science fiction it has a few refrigerator moments, but the depiction of the quarrelsome but supportive traditional extended family is priceless.<\/p>\n Toradora<\/em><\/strong> Finally–a harem comedy<\/a> with a decent ending!<\/p>\n There were several shows that were worthy efforts, but which for various reasons I found unwatchable.<\/p>\n Genji Monogatari Sennenki<\/em><\/strong> OK, let’s get real. The Tale of Genji<\/em>, written by Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, is not the world’s first novel. Perhaps it’s the first novel written by a woman, or the first example of chick lit. In any case The Golden Ass<\/em>, written by Lucius Apuleius sometime in the 2nd century, reads much more like a modern novel.<\/p>\n This anime adaptation of Gengi<\/em> is beautifully drawn, and the convoluted writing has been cleaned up to make it comprehensible to a modern audience. Unfortunately I can’t make myself care about the endless love affairs of a beautiful but narcissistic prince.<\/p>\n Kuuchuu Buranko<\/em><\/strong> (Trapeze) A daring, innovative visual style. I couldn’t make it through even one episode.<\/p>\n To Aru Kagaku no Railgun<\/em><\/strong> (A Certain Scientific Railgun) There are many people who really like this, and it clearly has a lot going for it, including fine animation and interesting characters. Unfortunately I find the character of Kuroko so revolting that I just can’t watch the show.<\/p>\n Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya<\/em> (Second Season)<\/strong>. There was plenty of reason to fear that the sequel would be a disappointment, given that the writers had cherry-picked the best of the source material for the first season, but nobody expected something as bad as this. Stretching what was at most 5 episodes worth of material to 14 episodes had the fans dumbfounded and furious.<\/p>\n Haruhi<\/em> illustrates the sort of mistake that talented people can make when they get too arrogant, but Sora o Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai<\/em><\/strong> (Munto) is a work of total mediocrity: an uninspired story, flat uninteresting characters and bad animation with obtrusive CGI.<\/p>\n You may not feel that K-ON<\/em><\/strong> belongs in this category. It was a tremendous hit, pretty to look at, funny and fun to watch. However compared to Lucky Star<\/em><\/a>, the same studio’s earlier adaptation of another gag manga about high school girls, K-ON<\/em> falls short. Lucky Star<\/em> is just as plotless, but it is funnier with much better developed characters. The main innovation in K-ON<\/em> consists of cranking the moe<\/a><\/em> factor up to 11. This is no substitute for good writing.<\/p>\n Cross Game<\/em><\/strong>. There’s nothing obviously special about this sports\/romance anime, except the fact that it is well-drawn, well-written and has lovable characters. It is a long, slow-moving series, but consistently enjoyable.<\/p>\n Kobato.<\/em><\/strong> I’m still not sure whether this is going to turn out to be brilliant or a disappointment, but it is rather cute and charming. Charm can only take you so far though. They need to prove that there is a real story here.<\/p>\n Inuyasha Final Chapter<\/em><\/strong>. It’s very simple. If you were a fan of the original series, you will want to see the ending. If you didn’t see the original series, the sequel has nothing to offer you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Outstanding Anime Series of 2009<\/h3>\n
Special Honorable Mention<\/h3>\n
Noteworthy Anime Series of 2009<\/h3>\n
Interesting, but Not to My Taste<\/h3>\n
Kyoto Animation Jumps the Shark<\/h3>\n
Still Watching<\/h3>\n