2007 Anime. A best of retrospect.

December 29th, 2007 by Shirukii

Figured the header should be Lucky Star since you won’t be seeing it on the actual list =P

With the end of 2007 just around the corner, one can’t help but look back on the year that has passed and wonder, was all that time that I spent watching this stuff actually worth it? Which led me, like so many other bloggers out there, to compile a list of anime worth of “Best of…” titles. To qualify for the list, all an anime had to do was to have an episode aired during 2007, meaning carryovers from 2006 are fair game.

These are of course highly opinionated, based on my personal preferences and etc. Hell, there were quite a few series that people raved about that I didn’t even watch, but personal bias aside, I feel that I was fair in my evaluation. So, without further ado…

Best Comedy: Minami-ke

There was a ton of series that you could lump under the comedy genre this year, so picking one wasn’t easy. What I find most important in comedy is variety, if the same old jokes are repeated over and over with no changes, no matter how funny it was the first time, the fun fades quickly. This was a problem that various comedies like Hayate no Gotoku, Lucky Star and Nagasarete Airantou faced. I picked Minami-ke because the formula is simple and entertaining, short and sweet comedy sketches varying in comedic range, everything from slapstick humor to double entendre puns. Plus the characters and their interactions are great, I mean how many anime series can boast a trap AND a reverse trap, not to mention Chiaki’s “bakayarou”, Haruka-neesama’s banchou past and Kana’s I AM BOSS. When you throw it all together you get a great comedy that has never once left me an episode without laughing out loud.

Runner ups:
Potemayo
Seto no Hanayome

Best Romance Drama: Ef -a tale of memories-

If there’s one thing that we’re never short on, it’s harems and romance dramas, with the vast amount of visual novels out there that are adapted to anime series, it’s tough to pick just one. But this little gem of an anime came around at the end of the year and trampled the competition. Ef -a tale of memories- basically took the awesome drama that I love in harem anime and removed the notion of a wimpy male lead, often the destructive force in said series. This award was a toss up between Ef and Kimikiss, and while I think Kimikiss is a more down to earth romance, one that you could perhaps relate to in your high school years, Ef came out on top with its many instances of “WTF! Did that actually just happen?!”. The complex relationships formed over the series, divided over two overarching stories were brilliant, while I found myself much more emotionally vested in Miyamura’s arc, both hers and Chihiro’s were well executed. Perhaps the only detraction would be SHAFT’s odd style, which while not exactly bad, is somewhat of an acquired taste.

Runner ups:
Kimikiss - pure rouge
Kanon 2006

Best Action: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

There’s no question in my mind that Gurren Lagann deserves this award, I couldn’t even find decent competition for it (preemptive counter: no, I did not watch Darker than Black). From the very beginning Gurren Lagann was all about large scale mecha battles, completely disregarding the governing laws of physics, kicking reason to the curb, and etc. The battles may not have been as complex and intricate as say, Code Geass, but the scale that was fought on and the visuals just can’t be beat. Call me simple for thinking that pretty explosions and fluid animation make Gurren Lagann superior, but visual appeal is pretty much the basis of this category, just go back and watch the latter half of episode 15 or the final confrontation between Simon and the anti-spiral if you need further convincing.

Runner up:
Code Geass

Best Animation: Byousoku 5 Centimeter

I don’t think this one needs any justification, there are very few out there that would argue against the visual superiority of Makoto Shinkai’s works. He may not be animating galactic mecha battles or close quarter melee combat, but damn his backgrounds are beautiful. Everything from the movement of the clouds, snow and cherry petals to the attention to detail with shadows and lighting is masterfully done. The only slight complaint I have is that his character designs could use a bit of work. It may be unfair to give this award to Byousoku seeing as it’s a movie which took upwards of a year to produce and movies/OVAs always have superior budgets and completion deadlines, but when you’re faced with such a work of art, how can you help but praise it.

Runner ups:
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Kanon 2006
Clannad

Best Death: Itou Makoto (School Days)

There were a lot of anime deaths this year, hell, Gurren Lagann killed off nearly half the main cast and Claymore killed off…well, almost everyone. But the best death of the year has to go to Itou Makoto from School Days. After sleeping with virtually every girl who had a line in the anime, shit finally hits the fan when he gets Sekai pregnant, refuses to acknowledge the baby and runs off with Katsura. After putting up with so much, Sekai finally snaps and carves the bastard up with a kitchen knife. This was perhaps the most satisfying anime death I’ve ever witnessed, for 11 long episodes we saw Makoto’s playboy ways put Sekai and Katsura through immense suffering until karma rears its ugly head and it all catches up with him in the worst possible way. The sheer anticipation the anime community had over that one scene was mind boggling, never before have I seen so many people unite to wish death upon one mere mortal.

Runner ups:
Kittan (Gurren Lagann)
Ophelia (Claymore)

Best Scene: Byousoku 5 Centimeter “One More Time, One More Chance” montage

Byousoku 5 Centimeter was a painful movie to watch. Many of Makoto Shinkai’s previous works were centered on the theme of distance, ie. separation from those who you love. In the past this was achieved through unsurmountable physical or metaphysical distancing, separation by hundreds of lightyears (Voices of a Distant Star) or disconnection with reality (Place Promised in Our Early Days). But Byousoku 5cm hit much closer to home, examining the difficulties of long distance relationships. And it all came together in the final montage as we see the unfortunate truth that love doesn’t always conquer all, that strong feelings fade into nothing but memories and as painful as it may be, there’s nothing to do but move forward towards a new life. That powerful message along with Masayoshi Yamazaki’s ‘One More Time, One More Chance” taking the musical foreground, I was literally moved to tears by this scene.

Runner ups:
Chihiro breaking up with Renji (Ef -a tale of memories)
Kamina’s Giga Drill Breaker (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)

Best Anime 2007: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Last, but anything but least, the best overall anime of 2007. Gurren Lagann was a wild ride from start to finish, from Kamina’s fearless speech in episode 1 to Simon and Nia’s final charge in episode 27 the entire series was brimming with awesome. Admittedly, GL’s plot wasn’t anything revolutionary, plenty of series in the past have used a variant of GL’s “Kick reason to the curb and believe in yourself” motto but GL took it to the extreme and didn’t try to take itself too seriously. The quirky physics, hot blooded GAR and ridiculous, eventually galactic, scale of this series melded together to make it just plain fun to watch. Usually I nitpick about every little detail when there are inconsistencies in almost everything as there were in Gurren Lagann, but I found myself able to sit back and enjoy myself for 24 minutes at a time every Sunday night. I’m not calling Gurren Lagann perfect, nothing is, but there’s no denying that it was a terrific anime and in my opinion, the best of 2007.

Runner ups:
Dennou Coil
Death Note

And that’s it for 2007! Not a bad year, all things considered. I probably could have made up more categories, but in all honesty I’m too lazy and there would likely be a lot of overlapping, so I’ll leave it at this for now. Onwards to 2008!

~ Shirukii ~


32 Responses to “2007 Anime. A best of retrospect.”

  1. on 29 Dec 2007 at 4:40 pm1 lolikit

    You lose points for having any mention of Lucky Shit at all, not to get started on the inclusion of the image… sheesh, Shirukey, I thought you were better than this.

    Your note about Darker than Black v GL for best action… it’s hard to say because the kinds of action are completely different. If you want one person regulating on another with slick, fluid fight scene animation, Darker than Black wins out. If you want rockets and pink spiral lasers of time jump doom, GL is the only way to live, so to speak. In the end the fight scenes in DtB appealed to me more than those in GL because there is actually the question of who’s going to win and the excellent animation is accompanied by good art (as opposed to GL whose animation is accompanied by art that’s laughable at best). But hell, if you’re a mech whore you’re a mech whore. Not much I can say to you there, bitch.

    I’m lawling because you had KANON as one of your romance runner ups. Sometimes I don’t get you, man. Sometimes I just don’t get you.

    Also, did you see Bokura no? I’d imagine it could win for “most fucked up” or something similar (unless you take Kodomo no Jikan seriously).

    Finally, to call GL best show of 2007…
    what
    the
    fuck
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    (there can never be enough whitespace to emphasize this)
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

  2. on 29 Dec 2007 at 4:49 pm2 0rion

    Best Comedy: Definitely one of Minami-ke’s strengths is that it was also fresh, and introducing new material instead of trying to play the same jokes over and over, or using the same formula ad nauseum.

    Best Romance Drama: SHAFT’s style is definitely something of an acquired taste, but I’ve come to really like it, and I think it fits ef very well.

    Best Action: Row row fight the powa~

  3. on 29 Dec 2007 at 5:12 pm3 Adun

    I agree with lolikit’s comment on comparing GL and DtB. The two are very different in the way their action was delivered. Still I do agree that GL was one of the best, if not the best, action series for 2007.

  4. on 29 Dec 2007 at 5:19 pm4 Siva

    Where is my “Best disappointment” ?

    @lolikit: LOL, Ok this is what u got from me.
    The Best Argument: lolikit

    @0rion: ROFLMAO ROFLMAO ROFLMAO ROFLMAO ROFLMAO
    >> ‘ Best “You Got Owned” Face , Winner: Kaiji, Kaiji ‘
    ‘ Most Emo Series , Winner: Dragonaut ‘

  5. on 29 Dec 2007 at 5:20 pm5 Sniper

    What happen to Code Geass? That is way better than Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. It should at least get some kinda award at least. Its a shame.

  6. on 29 Dec 2007 at 5:20 pm6 Servbot

    I like the Gurren Lagann best of 2007, personally it was slightly even between Gurren Lagann and Code Geass.

    I liked Lucky Star more for the comedy slot but thats just my opinion.

    Too much backlog + slew of end of year video games -.-

    What to do…

  7. on 29 Dec 2007 at 5:22 pm7 lolikit

    Thanks Siva. I try.

  8. on 29 Dec 2007 at 6:12 pm8 Shirukii

    @ lolikit: Ah but think of the reverse, many would probably complain about the absence of LS had I not at least done that.

    I didn’t watch Bokura no, or DtB, or Serei no Moribito, all three which were heavily recommended, meh. I’ll get to them eventually.

    Also, you’ve long known of my Key faggotry ;_;

    Best of 2007 was a toss up between GL and Dennou Coil, I had a hard time picking. Would the latter have been a better choice?

    @ 0rion: SHAFT’s style also covers up how terrible their animation budget is. I mean, if you compare the rooftop scenes of the anime and the game, the difference is immense. LENS FLARE, LOL

    @ Siva: Should I add in a Best Disappointment? It would undoubtedly go to Da Capo II with Lucky Star as a runner up.

    @ Sniper: It got an honorable mentioned in the best action category. Geass started out really well, but God did it ever fall apart at the end.

    @ Servbot: Both, obviously. I’m splitting my time evenly between Crysis, UT3 and watching/blogging anime. With the leftovers going towards being social and all that.

  9. on 29 Dec 2007 at 6:20 pm9 lolikit

    I just downloaded Dennou Coil; I’ve yet to watch it. I’ve also not seen Seirei no Moribito. I’m through with this anime bullshit.

  10. on 29 Dec 2007 at 6:58 pm10 W4

    Let us compel/force anime makers of 2008 to adopt the following resolution for New Year:

    Every anime made must end in the violent and bloody death of Makoto Itou. No exceptions.

    >8D

  11. on 29 Dec 2007 at 8:12 pm11 Michael

    Disagree with gurren lagann, I’d say death note was better.

    They were both epic, but death note had swim lessons. ;)

  12. on 29 Dec 2007 at 9:45 pm12 Nagash

    I know this may sound a bit weird but, the best death award kinda spoiled school days for me…. I mean I knew someone died, and I was watching the show, this kinda totally spoils everything.. meh I guess thats life

  13. on 29 Dec 2007 at 10:21 pm13 Pyrrhusonline

    Most dramatic death belongs to Mikami of Death Note. I mean…come on….that was just epic :P

  14. on 29 Dec 2007 at 10:31 pm14 ItAintEazy

    Most slept on series of the year: Les Miserables: Shoujo Cosette. Sure the animation is Disney-esque (if animated by a low-budget, overseas studio) and you probably won’t be surprised by any of the story if you actually read the book, but I still can’t believe people left for dead this faithful adaptation of Victor Hugo’s timeless classic about class struggle and redemption. There isn’t a circle of hell deep enough for the sub groups who promised to do this series but backed away without so much as an explanation, leaving the rest of us who want to see more than six episodes take up either Japanese or French.

  15. on 29 Dec 2007 at 11:35 pm15 nutcase23

    how can there be no lucky star…. T_T……..

  16. on 30 Dec 2007 at 12:58 am16 Kanon_fan82

    While I am disappointed to see no awards given to Kanon (I vote Yuiichi for best harem lead :D) I can understand how EF won you over…..I still have to finish the series….but Shaft’s ability to create WTF moments is captivating :P

    what about best surprise of the season Shirukii?

  17. on 30 Dec 2007 at 1:29 am17 Pyrrhusonline

    Wasn’t Kanon technically a 2006 series? Hence the title Kanon (2006)? >

  18. on 30 Dec 2007 at 1:48 am18 Shirukii

    @ lolikit: What, pray tell, do you do with all the spare time that comes from not watching as much anime anyways?

    @ W4: Haha, but then they’d have to work in Makoto as a character into every single anime. Imagine that.

    @ Michael: Maybe it was because it finished earlier in the year, Death Note has kinda faded from memory, perhaps it deserves a rewatch.

    @ Nagash: Er…oops. Sorry about that. I figured it was one of the more well known ones so I didn’t feel the need to warn ahead for spoilers.

    @ Pyrrhusonline: I STILL don’t understand exactly what Mikami did to get that much blood gushing, save from stabbing his heart, and is that even possible to do with a puny pencil?

    Also:

    “To qualify for the list, all an anime had to do was to have an episode aired during 2007, meaning carryovers from 2006 are fair game.”

    @ ItAintEazy: Ooh, I’m fluent in French, if I weren’t so lazy I’d sub from French -> English, but alas…

    @ Kanon_fan82: I think Tomoya is doing a better job at leading his harem than Kyon-ichi. Tomoya went on a date with all four of them at once!

    Best surprise of the year? As in, surprisingly good? Hmm, a toss up between Dennou Coil and Myself; Yourself.

  19. on 30 Dec 2007 at 4:50 am19 Roy Mustang

    If Kanon had just finished its run and ef-tom had finished 8 months ago, you would have picked Kanon.

    You’re just picking the series that’s fresher in your mind.

  20. on 30 Dec 2007 at 6:53 am20 PCgamer

    surprise I was wonder why there are no entries for the Ef episodes and what at the it’s appear to mark as the best one in his category :) anyway I feel out of date for that year I mean actually from the nominated animes I’ve only watch ef and school days (not till the end though) from the winners. yeah the death of makoto makes me what to watch schools day till the end :D

  21. on 30 Dec 2007 at 7:17 am21 W4

    @Shirukii: …you are right. Let us never speak of this so-called resolution again.

  22. on 30 Dec 2007 at 10:22 am22 ItAintEazy

    @Shirukii:

    Way to get my hopes up, ;^)

  23. on 30 Dec 2007 at 11:18 am23 Shirukii

    @ Roy Mustang: While there is some bias towards series that finished more recently, Ef really was superior in terms of drama. KeyAni series are nice and all, but they tend to focus on fantasy elements rather than actual romance.

    @ PCgamer: I’d recommend everything that won an award and the runners up without hesitation, watch moar! XD

    @ W4: lol, scary thought huh

    @ ItAintEazy: If it were only a couple episodes, say…if it were a 12 ep anime, I’d consider doing it. But a quick check on TT shows raws up to 51 so far D=

  24. on 30 Dec 2007 at 2:56 pm24 lolikit

    >>What, pray tell, do you do with all the spare time that comes from not watching as much anime anyways?

    im in ur comments, trollin ur blog

  25. on 30 Dec 2007 at 4:20 pm25 Telliamed

    I can’t argue with your summary of best romance and action shows. I’m going to have to resist the urge to (unfairly) compare all romances to ef now. And I haven’t even seen all of TTGL, but I know it’s awesome. I’d include Night Wizard as a runner-up, though.

    Is Blue Drop romance or action? Or both. It deserves a mention at least for showing that a Gonzo show doesn’t have to suck.

    I cannot disagree with you more about the comedies. The hardest I laughed in a long time was while watching Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. But as you say, Shaft is difficult for some people to swallow. Even so, there are other more accessible shows like Hidamari Sketch, Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun, or Manabi Straight. I think the most deserving of “best” that I’ve seen is Genshiken, which has not only funny gags, but an engaging and consistent plot. (Lovely Complex has received many favorable reviews and is scoring well in my website’s poll, but I haven’t seen it.)

    And I will hate you forever for not including Sketchbook in the animation category. Is it really fair to judge movies alongside TV shows for that, though?

    90% of everything is crap, though. And there’s a long list of “worsts” for 2007
    Idolmaster Da Capo II Kyoushirou to Towa no Sora Dragonaut Nanoha StrikerS Lucky Star Umisho Zero no Tsukaima II Moetan Shakugan no Shana II
    Lesson to be learned: Beware the sequels.

  26. on 30 Dec 2007 at 7:29 pm26 Siva

    @Telliamed: Night Wizard maybe better than any others action series in this season but it wasn’t good enough to join the runner-up

    Blue Drop is romance or action and I would like to add Yuri in it. In my opinion I wouldn’t say it is the best and i would like to say that i am really having a hard time from watching this series.

    “Nanoha StrikerS, Lucky Star, Umisho ” Are these 3 really really that lame?

    (Aside: Just finished ARIA The ANIMATION, wow I dont know what to say but it is feel like the world around me filled with peace and warm heart.)

  27. on 31 Dec 2007 at 1:12 am27 Alias

    Actually, Shana II just had a slow start.

  28. on 31 Dec 2007 at 3:56 am28 wend`aii

    dennou coil was awsome =D
    i havnt watched gurren lagaan but somehow managed to watchd the other series in the same season xD
    UMISHO WAS HILARIOUS. H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S. cool and funny =) not lame neverrrrr.
    death note, no matter how blood gory and ‘cool’ it was was boring T_T
    kanon was a pretty good anime, confusing, but touching and somewhat emotional.
    DIE MAKOTO UNITED =D
    LUCKY STAR. many probably watched it due to the slight connection to haruhi suzumiya. whilst it was quite enlightening it wasnt hilariously funny, rather RANDOM-COOL-FUNNY. like extremely random.
    i have somewhat fob vocab T_T”

  29. on 31 Dec 2007 at 5:09 am29 Pyrrhusonline

    @Shirukii: Touche :D

  30. on 31 Dec 2007 at 11:03 am30 Sieg Hawk

    TBH, I really liked episode 22 of Lucky Star when Konata’s dad talks about his wife, for me that was the best scene of 2007, beating even the scenes from Gurren Lagann when Kamina dies. That said, I agree that Gurren Lagann is the best Anime of 2007, although I can understand that not many may like the series and its animation, the storyline has to be the most epic one of all anime this year.

    Deathnote was good to begin with, but since I’ve read the manga the ending of the anime gives a different overall tone compared to the manga. In the manga the ending remains dark and evil, whereas in the anime its playing a calm piano piece which wrecks the tone in my opinion.

    Lucky Star is good for the people who have seen anime such as Haruhi, likes Hirano Aya, have a personality of an Otaku.

    Can’t comment on Bokurano, since i’ve only just started watching it (a bit late i know) but its good so far after 8 episodes, and I am sure the ending will be interesting. However the most fucked up anime for me this year has got to be School Days, when it all starts out very nicely then just goes crazy in the last few episodes….

    Others like Nanoha StrikerS, Zero no Tsukaima 2, Dragonaut - the resonance, Da Capo 2 and Shakugan no shana 2 aren’t too bad, they deserve more credit than others claim. I have to say that I have enjoyed those anime and they are ones that kept me watching anime this year.

    Special mention to Goshuushou sama ninomiya kun and Genshiken, both have their sense of humour especially Genshiken with its funny yet realistic plot.

  31. on 05 Jan 2008 at 11:53 am31 Owen S

    lolikit acting his shoe size and not his age in the comments here is LOL. I’ve got nothing much to add on to a good list, but eh, watch DtB. If you appreciate the emotion behind shows like Clannad, which do it pretty well, and prettily at that — DtB does it better, outclasses it by a mile, and shows instead of tells. Most underrated show of 2007, in my opinion.

    Ditto Bokurano, which is as “family” as Clannad is sans the moe decorations, and real heartfelt short stories. Hope you get around to watch them soon this year!

  32. on 15 Jul 2008 at 8:42 am32 GigaLoki

    for me the best anime of the year is death note even though it has a brutal scenario (not really but its for me)

    the real reason for me to tell that is because i haven’t watch Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann yet hehehe…. so i will try it and return ninn this page to tell you guys my reaction ( i dont care if you dont care @_@)

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