THE “AWARDS” WHERE I JUST MAKE FUN OF STUFF:
“Best” DUDE YOU HAVE TO CHECK OUT THIS AMAZING ‘JAPANIMATION’! IT’S NOT KID’S STUFF LIKE DISNEY CARTOONS! and guiltiest pleasure: Cobra the Animation
Let’s see: Sci-fi? Check. Weirdness? Check. Nekkid ladies? Check. I’m honestly not sure if I enjoyed this show for all the right reasons or for all the wrong reasons.
Finest cats: Mayoi Neko Overrun
I will admit: I can’t remember anything else about this show other than the fact that it had cats in it, and that a cat is fine, too.
Best rehabilitation of a presidential image: George H.W. Bush in Legend of Koizumi
In the real world, he spawned the phrase “Bush suru” after barfing on the Japanese prime minister. In the manga world, he is a legend at mahjong.
Best engrish: Panty and Stocking
Fuck! Bitch! Also, “God my oh!”
“Best” engrish: Angel Beats
KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR.
Best/”best” filler episode, best trap, and “best” conflation of violence and sexuality: Seikon no Qwaser 13
Man, this episode. This was the episode that finally put the show completely over the top for me and proved that no matter how absurd it managed to get, it would figure out ways to top itself that I could never comprehend.
Best/”best” reverse trap: Joey Jones
She is a girl, right? RIGHT???
The Manos: The Hands of Fate award for most redundant title: Legend of the Legendary Heroes
Yeah, the second I heard that title I made sure to pencil it in.
Rosario + Vampire award for “best” anime to watch on Nico Nico: Yosuga no Sora
Ah yes, the prime candidate for this award: a terrible borderline porno. The high point where the Shintaro Ishihara jokes in the last episode making fun about how everything in this show would run afoul of the new censorship law.
Most necessary tie-in: Oniichan no pantsu nanka zettai nusundeinai dakara ne!
Don’t lie. You’d play this.
The Straight Cougar Memorial Award for most ridiculous Sunrise character name: Full Frontal
Not even close.
Most ridiculous non-Sunrise name: Saori Bajeena
Captain Saori, she is a CHAR.
Most unnecessary spinoff: Ookami-san
There’s the original book series, the Swedish movie series, and an upcoming Hollywood adaptation. Did we really also need an anime version?
FANSERVICE:
Buichi Terasawa Memorial Award: Cobra the Animation
It’s only fitting that he win his own award, after all.
(Moar liek Buttichi amirite?)
“Best” boobwall: The Tatami Galaxy
Wait, what?
Best fanservice anime, “best” fanservice anime, breast fanservice anime, and hell, ever single other fanservice award that you and I could conceivably think of: Seikon no Qwaser
Qwaser is just so next level when it comes to fanservice that it would be a waste of all of our time to list these out. Historians will separate human history into two categories: pre-Qwaser and post-Qwaser.
BAD:
Gundam Seed Destiny Memorial Award for the series that could’ve been best improved if I had written it: Senkou no Night Raid
Usually, the anime that gets this award had a lot of unrealized potential. That’s certainly true here. The clincher here was also that Night Raid was just so crushingly boring at the same time.
Most surprisingly bad anime: Black Rock Shooter
I downloaded this OVA, watched it, and then immediately made sure to check the file name again to make sure that I did in fact download the right show. What in the world did this have to do with Black Rock Shooter?
QUALITY-est animation: Starry Sky
As an 11 minute ONA, I wasn’t expecting much. But the first episode was already pretty bad, and usually studios try to put out their best animation in the first episode before they trail off. I’m fearing the worst as this progresses.
Biggest sequel dropoff: Sengoku Basara
The first season was spotty, but AWESOME enough in enough places to be decent on balance. This season was almost never AWESOME at all. The only time I remember this season being AWESOME was when I accidentally downloaded an episode of the first season.
This year’s “ZOMG ANIME IS DYING” award: Oreimo
Stage one: “EWWWW THIS ANIME LOOKS SO KIMOI!”
Stage two: “Hmm, this anime can’t be this kimoi”
Stage three “EWWW THIS ANIME REALLY WAS THAT KIMOI!”
Worst visual novel adaptation: Hakuouki
Why in the world did they make Chizuru a trap for half this series?
Worst shounen: Kuroshitsuji S2
I mean seriously, who is it at Squeenix that thinks that Monthy GFantasy should be marketed towards teenage boys?
Worst action: Shinrei Tantei Yakumo
I still don’t understand why those girly anime magazines like Girl’s Style have been featuring a typically terrible Bee Train action show in their coverage. Oh wait, now I do. KYAAAAAAH HEALING A BISHIE’S WOUNDED HEART KYAAAAAAAH.
Worst mecha: Super Robot Wars OG: The Inspector
All right, I admit it: the first couple minutes were AWESOME. But after that…yeah.
Worst “comedy”: Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts
Not only was it not funny, but it tried its hardest to push a forced meme.
Worst fanservice anime, worst OVA, and worst anime of the year: Isshoni Sleeping
Oh how the mighty have fallen. The first one was kind of a funny meta-joke, but this one was well, a girl sleeping.
GOOD:
Best English: Senkou no Night Raid
I was honestly expecting the worst here, but surprise surprise, they actually got native speakers to play people like the foreign ambassadors rather than having a Japanese person stumble through lines like “Uii aa zaa Ameeerikan deregeeeshon tsu Japan.”
Best OP: Kuragehime
Best ED: Basically every one from Hanamaru Kindergarten
Best soundtrack: Panty and Stocking
Most surprisingly good series: B Gata H Kei
I feared the worst coming into this show, but ultimately I was amazed how many times I laughed at it. Even if a lot of those were probably kusowarota.
Most surprisingly “good” series: Koe de Oshigoto
I haven’t laughed this hard at an anime in a long time. I also haven’t thought “Oh gawd this is so wrong” so many times during a single episode of an anime. And since you’ve gotten this far, you know that that includes Qwaser.
Best sequel and best shounen series: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Man, I’m glad this show ran for as long as it did. That made this category so easy!
The IT’S OK IF I’M THE DEVIL Memorial Award for AWESOMENESS, best action anime, and best OVA: Cat Shit One
OMG OMG OMG THE FUCKING BUNNIES ARE KILLING THE FUCKING SHIT OUT OF FUCKING EVERYONE OMG OMG OMG OMG
Best shoujo series: Kaichou wa Maid-Sama
I’m not gonna lie: the pickings here were so slim that I didn’t even have anything I really could give the worst shoujo award to.
Best mecha anime (and “best” anime featuring a scene of a female character blushing at the thought of eating a hot dog): Gundam Unicorn
Man, it’s pretty rare that I can actually give out this award, but for the first time in quite a while I am pleased with a mecha anime and don’t need to qualify anything. I’m also going to go out on a limb here and say that the reason that it’s so good is that it’s a UC Gundam, but it isn’t directed by Tomino.
Best something, if I had a category that I could easily give it an award for: The Tatami Galaxy
Well, it can’t win best comedy, and I feel bad just giving it a lulz award, so like with Cencoroll last year, I’ll just make up something for it.
Best comedy and best anime of the year: Panty and Stocking
When I thought about it, I had to admit: Panty and Stocking is actually really uneven. The reason that I had to think about this, however is that when the show hits it is simply so funny that I forget that there were a few episodes in a row preceding it that simply fell flat. If this show won’t work in America, I have no idea what will any more.
So all in all, I think that 2010 was a weaker year than usual (due primarily to the huge number of sequels to shows I didn’t care about the first time, and not because of lolipedo moeshit), but it partially made up for things by being a REALLY good year for comedies. There were probably a half-dozen comedies that I watched this year that I genuinely laughed at. Most years struggle to get a single one.
BONUS: I make fun of the titles of various anime that came out this year
Anal Beads
Baka to Test to Shoukanpoo
Dance in the Vampire Butt
Ika Poosume
Jewelpet Tinkle (oh wait…)
Kiss x Piss
Koihime Kuso
Kuroshitsuji (think about it)
Ladies vs. Butts
Letter Pee
Motto To Love-poo (To love poo, or not to love poo; that is the question)
Ookami Cockushit
Pee Gata H Kei
Poo-Bra
Pooragehime
Ring ni Cock-ero
Shitray Tantei Yakumo
Shukupoopoo no Campanella
Toganus no Chi
Wanking!!
The last part is why we keep getting hits like “anime piss” and “anime huge breast” and “peeing anime” (ﾉಥ益ಥ）ﾉ 彡┻━┻
WHAAAAAT EVERYONE KNOWS THAT TOGAINU NO CHI WAS THE BEST SHOW THIS YEAR!!!!
i love this post.
the post-qwaser change is one that i can believe in
The only 2 I disagree with is the BRS OVA and Baka to Test. I was expecting more BRS and DM from the OVA, but I liked the story… because it was a normal school with no fanservice or lovey dovey shojo relationships. The animation quality was very nice as well. I’m into traps and BL overtones, so I highly enjoyed Baka to Test. A character I surprisingly liked was Shouko, Yujii’s forced GF. Though, I think it’s because I’m like that IRL with my BF orz;
Oh god, kuroshitsuji 2. Season 1 was terrible enough. I thought they couldn’t fuck the storyline anymore, until I saw season 2. What a bunch of fail.
Kuragehime won for best OP….and deservingly so. Awesome shit.
There’s going to be a Hollywood adaptation of Ookami!? How? That’s going to be interesting to see develop.
Wow, there was only one proper shoujo show in the entire year (Maid-sama)? I guess we were really flooded with moesht this time.
Yep, Koe de Oshigoto is the sleeper hit of the year. Black Rock Shooter was merely a sleeper, I literally did when I was watching it.
Yosuga no Sora FTW! SORA FTW!
Thank you for calling out Baka Test for what it was: try hard comedy.
Butts, boobs, and piss. Yep this is definitely what I expected for this year.
B Gata H Kei was pretty funny…I just don’t know if I laughed at the right parts lol. I wanted to watch another shoujo after Kaichou but that was pretty much next to impossible.
I just kept reading the manga instead.
I must wonder JP; what did you think of the Nanoha movie?
@toastcrust
Let’s see. How about “It was what I wanted the original season to have been all along.” Now there can be two Nanoha anime worth watching instead of just one.
(Or, for the lulz, what the first season would’ve been if it had competent direction rather than Shinbo lolololololololol)
On a related note, I usually don’t give out movie awards because usually there’s enough of a delay with most of the anime movies each year that most people don’t get to watch them in the year that they were released theatrically. I/everyone didn’t get to see Summer Wars or Evangelion 2.0 until this year, for example. This year was like a weird outlier in that the three big movie releases (Haruhi, Nanoha, and Eden of the East) came out very early in the year and made it out onto DVD before the year ended. Out of those three, I’d give the nod to Eden of the East.
While JP didn’t add it in, I’m giving a personal award to both Eden of the East: Paradise Lost and The Disappearance of Haruhi as best cinema flicks. While I don’t go to Japan every year to watch movies on the big screen, I definitely enjoyed both of them. Eden for concluding the franchise and haruhi for reminding me how good the original series was (and not the shit that came during kyonkun denwa)
Heh, Full Frontal.
I watched Koe de Oshigoto with some other folks not knowing what it was, and man, that was a fucking weird half hour, haha.
Awesome year-end post, as always. I don’t watch much Gundam, but I always look forward to the Straight Cougar Memorial Award. In presidential matters, Bush’s (spoilers ahoy) tragic death scene, accompanied by Dubya singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”, in Legend of Koizumi is the stuff legends are made of. My number one manga series of the year, by far. I thought nothing could top FOREVER LOVE, FOREVER DREAM, but then we got Super Aryan and Asimo. Just a cornucopia of awesomeness. The sheer insanity of Franken Fran was a close second; the superhero cockroaches, including the roach signal, was some of the funniest stuff I’ve read all year.
I loved Shiki… xD mainly because I’m a fan of the original novel. Other than that, BRS really was dissapointing, as Angel Beats! :/ Hopefully next year will have nice things (Kimi ni Todoke and Maria Holic xD)
That describes My Little Sister perfectly.
I agree about Black Rock Shooter – I didn’t have much of a reaction to it when I watched during an anime club meeting. It just kind of happened and then it was over.
Koe no Oshigoto *was* surprisingly enjoyable given its subject matter while another manga OVA about sexy stuff, Hen Zemi, was disappointing aside from its poppy opening.
That Hanamaru ED that you embedded was boss but not sure if I’ll try to continue watching it after not feeling the first episode.
Finally, thanks for reminding me I need to keep going with B Gata H Kei and Night Raid (despite its boringness). Maid-sama didn’t ring with me but then again, I don’t seem like typical shoujo so maybe I shouldn’t feel too bad about it.
I think these annual awards are my version of Momotato’s promised updates that you guys look out for every year. Don’t stop, please.
By the way, Kiss x Piss actually works if you read far enough into the manga…
You forgot the Shortest OVA ever award for Mirai Nikki. Nearly everthing was in the trailer. I was waiting for it for months and got a 5 minute ova, literally. That is less than a QUALITY episode of Starry Sky. I’m disappointed ;_;.