Best Anime of 2010: Tournament-style

[ChristianKitsune]

<1@drrr!!>

[blkmage]

Durarara!!: 12
Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0: 3

Heiwajima Shizuo beats back the Third Impact

***



[SIZE="6"]Kuragehime vs. Star Driver[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]Kuragehime (海月姫)[/SIZE]
KURARA
Rank: 4
Aired: Fall 2010
Studio: Brains Base
Director: Takahiro Omori
Cast: Hanazawa Kana, Saiga Mitsuki
Adaptation: Manga by Higashimura Akiko
Defeated: Shiki
[color="lime"]Voting Code: <4+Kuragehime>[/color]

[SIZE="4"]Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto (STAR DRIVER 輝きのタクト)[/SIZE]
Mecha-Utena
Rank: 11
Aired: Fall 2010
Studio: BONES
Director: Igarashi Takuya
Cast: Miyano Mamoru, Hayami Saori, Fukuyama Jun
Adaptation: Original by Enokido Yoji
Defeated: Bungaku Shoujo
[color="lime"]Voting Code: <11 StarDriver>[/color]

[color="Red"]Voting closes at 2300 EST.[/color]

[blkmage]

The entire contents of this thread and the fact that such a thread exists is why I'm voting <11 StarDriver>. Jellyfish ain't got nothing on the Galactic Pretty Boy dazzling the stage and (ﾉゝ∀･)~☆ KIRABOSHI and APPRIVOISEEEEEEEEEER and battle songs and giant robots.

P.S. I ditched my DRRR!! post to talk about Utena and Star Driver, which should show up on my blog in about half an hour.

[Fish and Chips]

I know it's the running joke and all, but have you actually watched it or are you just being snarky? In all seriousness, I didn't enjoy Neon Genesis Evangelion that much (and I think I know why), but I've really liked the first two Rebuild movies so far.

I haven't watched Rebuild, no, but I am one of the three people on Earth who watched End of Evangelion and not only enjoyed it, but thought it was a fitting end to the series. I will actually defend End of Evangelion as an ultimately happy ending that had something meaningful to say.

Japan, of course, disagreed with me and sent Hideaki Anno death threats while still buying up every Asuka and Rei figurine put out on the market.

Now, years after, Anno comments on the stagnation of the industry: "Over the past 12 years, there has been no anime newer than Eva." His bold solution?

Remake Evangelion.

Remake Evangelion with, and I've since lost the article to link here, a "Better" ending.

With new merchandising.

Hideaki Anno you are what is killing Anime.



Consequently, this is tangentially similar to why I voted against Black Rock Shooter.

[Tancos]

<4+Kuragehime>

[Atria35]

<4+Kuragehime>

[mechana2015]

<4+Kuragehime>

Hard to see a good show when the only availability is :X :X :X :X.

[ChristianKitsune]

<4+Kuragehime>
This still has my vote...even if it's adversary has an adorable fox mascot >_<.

[TWWK]

<4+Kuragehime>

DESTROY STAR DRIVER!

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

<11 StarDriver>

Crap.

[MightiMidget]

<11 StarDriver>

It doesn't have the creepy uncle that's in Kuragehime. (otherwise there is no way I could pick.)

[MasterDias]

<11 StarDriver>

[Cadence]

<4+Kuragehime>

Though, yeah, that uncle is pretty freaky.

[blkmage]

Kuragehime: 6
Star Driver: 4

Galactic Pretty Boy wasn't pretty enough

***

With Round 2 over, here are our eight contestants for the quarterfinals:

Voting
Not gonna lie, I'm not exactly thrilled with the level of non-voting posts in the thread, so I'm going to add a condition to voting: [color="Yellow"]You must include a reason for voting or some show of support for the anime you are voting for.[/color] I don't care what it is, it can be stupid, it can be because you don't like the other show, whatever, just don't let your post consist only of a voting code. 2ch uses that rule to keep bots from voting, but it seems like a good idea in general to get some arguments going.

Matchups
Using the computational power of a Turing machine, I have constructed an image of the matchups thus far.

18 December: FMA: Brotherhood vs. Summer Wars
19 December: Cross Game vs. Letter Bee
20 December: Time of Eve vs. The Tatami Galaxy
21 December: Durarara!! vs. Kuragehime


We'll be taking a break today. Voting for the next round will begin in approximately 24 hours.

[Atria35]

*looks at first matchup* FFFFFFFF-

[blkmage]

That's right, you all best be voting for Summer Wars.

[Falx]

That's right, you all best be voting for Summer Wars.

I am afraid I cannot do that, Dave.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

That's right, you all best be voting for Summer Wars.

Absolutely.

[Midori]

Well I just watched Summer Wars and can vouch that it is indeed very awesome. I know everybody believes FMA is the best thing since unsliced bread, but...meh. I'm just not interested in popularity for popularity's sake.

[ChristianKitsune]

Well I just watched Summer Wars and can vouch that it is indeed very awesome. I know everybody believes FMA is the best thing since unsliced bread, but...meh. I'm just not interested in popularity for popularity's sake.

XD I don't think people who like FMA necessarily are either...


OMGOSSssshhh that's a harsh line uppppp @_@ Poor Princess Jellyfiiish!

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Let's just say it's really going to hurt to have to vote for not FMA.

[blkmage]

ROUND 3 START

[color="Yellow"][SIZE="3"]Remember that you must now include some kind (any kind, really) of commentary accompanying your vote in your post in order for it to count.[/SIZE][/color]



[SIZE="6"]FMA: Brotherhood vs. Summer Wars[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]FMA: Brotherhood (鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST)[/SIZE]
"Just like the manga"
Rank: 2
Aired: Spring 2009
Studio: BONES
Director: Irie Yasuhiro
Cast: Park Romi, Kugimiya Rie
Adaptation: Manga by Arakawa Hiromu
Defeated: House of Five Leaves, Sora no Woto
[color="lime"]Voting Code: <2;FMA:Brohood>[/color]

[SIZE="4"]Summer Wars (サマーウォーズ)[/SIZE]
"Second Life, but useful"
Rank: 3
Aired: Summer 2009
Studio: Madhouse
Director: Hosoda Mamoru
Cast: Kamiki Ryunosuke, Sakuraba Nanami
Adaptation: Original
Defeated: Break Blade, Katanagatari
[color="Lime"]Voting Code: <3#SummerWars>[/color]

[color="Red"]Voting closes at 2300 EST.[/color]

[blkmage]

<3#SummerWars>

is amazing.

Let’s start out with the first and coolest thing we’re introduced to: OZ. OZ is essentially a much, much cooler Second Life that is actually useful beyond flying around. Every possible thing that you could think of is tied to OZ: GPS systems, utilities, emergency services, commerce, entertainment, everything. As someone who understands software design, this super-centralized system is frightening.

Now, Natsuki mentions that she’s born in 1992 and she’s 18, which sets Summer Wars in next year. I guess that’s why we’re seeing Windows 7 and DSes connect to OZ. Again, I find it frightening that someone imagined that every aspect of our lives would be intricately tied to Second Life by next year. The movie’s main plot thread starts when OZ’s security (which is apparently a 2056 digit number) is broken and an AI starts taking over. Obviously, because everything is tied to OZ, the real world is essentially thrown into chaos.

So who do we have to save the day? Mild-mannered math nerd Koiso Kenji. How does he get roped into saving the world? By getting conned by his crush, Shinohara Natsuki. Basically, she wants him to pretend to be her fiancee at her grandmother’s ninetieth birthday, where her entire extended family will be gathered.

Being the unconfident guy that he is, Kenji doesn’t really do much saving at first. Much of that glory falls to Grandma, who might be the most awesome character in the movie. She demonstrates her power and her sense of responsibility, using her vast connections in the midst of the OZ crisis and by not taking any crap from one of her kids. At the same time, she’s not crazy like the head of the Sonozaki family. Her priority is her family and she’s the central figure to that family.

That family is pleasantly diverse. Unlike your standard powerful anime families, this family has members everywhere. They’re civil servants or rescue workers or businessmen or fishermen. They’ve got housewives, kids, and young adults. And what’s great about the movie is that the interactions between the family and with Kenji feel very real. Yeah, those are those annoying aunts and those cousins that you meet up with every year.

Now, honestly, Kenji doesn’t really do that much saving. I mean, he’s good at math, but the only useful thing that seems to come out of that is only factoring 2056 digit numbers on paper. He really doesn’t even do much in OZ. What he is able to do indirectly is move the rest of the family into action. He starts off very unconfident of himself, but grows through his time with this rambunctious family to the point where he’s able to take a stand for fighting this thing and by the end, does end up saving the day through math.

There’s a ton of good stuff that’s explored here. We’ve got the whole technology angle with OZ. We’ve got all of the family stuff going on. We’ve got a bunch of characters that are unsure of themselves who grow throughout the movie. And of course, there’s a budding romance that needs some growing.

One of the things that I really liked from this movie was the fact that it had so much stuff that happened in it. Usually, I prefer TV series because I find they have more time to develop their characters and carry out more elaborate plots. Summer Wars was able to have a lot of discrete events and still have it paced really naturally. I’m surprisingly satisfied with how much the movie covered.

And the visuals! Madhouse is a pretty amazing studio. Most of the movie looks like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time stuff, which is to be expected. And those parts look great. But the real eye candy is in the OZ scenes. That stuff is worth watching in Blu-ray. OZ is ridiculously detailed. There are a ridiculous number of objects in OZ and they all look great.

I’m pretty sure there’s a ton of stuff I missed out while throwing this post together, but basically, tl;dr: Summer Wars is probably the best animated work of this year.





Now, FMA: Brotherhood is no slouch, but the thing that made it much, much easier for me to decide was the weak start, even if it was completely forgivable and understandable.

So there.

[Atria35]

<3#SummerWars>

Okay, I have to agree with Blkmage that Brotherhood had a rushed start. That being said, they're both amazing anime that have great stories and totally deserve to be in this final round.

In fact, I think the only reason I can make a decision is because of the first 10 episodes of Brotherhood.

Summer Wars has amazing visuals, a great storyline, interesting family dynamics, and really gets you rooting for it.

So does Brotherhood. But those first 10 episodes....

[Falx]

Too bad OZ doesn't have water-cooling.

<2;FMA:Brohood>

[TheSubtleDoctor]

<2;FMA:Brohood>

No, I have not seen Summer Wars yet, but I cannot not vote for what is not only my favorite anime of the year but my favorite anime period.

The action/drama are spectacular and put FMA:B in a class of its own. But, everybody already knew that, so here is a more personal reason for my fandom.

When I watch FMA, I feel this warm, tangible sense of camaraderie among the characters. Watching the interactions of the Elrics or the relationships among Mustang's unit, I feel like I am experiencing the life of a genuine family, of real people, rather than a bunch of scripted encounters of a collection of cold stereotypes. So, in addition to feeling "wow-ed," FMA also leaves me, well, nourished in a certain sense.

Now, occasionally it might kick me in the gut prior to providing nourishment, but I can live with that.

EDIT: And yeah, rushed start blah blah blah. True enough. But, for me, the highest of Brotherhood's highs place it far above the reach of anything else I have seen.

[TWWK]

<3#SummerWars>
I admit, I'm voting based on anticipation. But I'm a huge fan of the director's, hearkening back to his work on the Digimon movie. As for FMA...I like it, but the anime (even this reboot, which I like better than the original) never captured me - at least not like the manga.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

<3#SummerWars>

I loved Brotherhood. The show gave me the chills very often during the last few episodes, and watching some of the spectacular animation to my favorite manga ever makes for some awesome stuff. When I see stuff like any of Mustang's curbstomp fights or Ed's actual rage, I am amazed by how good Brotherhood was.

But, on occasion, something felt off. Even though his reintroduction was crazy scary and awesome, Bradley's confrontation with Buccaneer and Fu felt really weak, since it was one of my absolute favorite parts of the manga. I'd been looking forward to seeing that part for as long as I'd read it, and it felt rushed to me. There's also the weak beginning and the compression of the Ishbal Civil War into a single episode, but people much better at writing than me have already spoken about those.

Summer Wars, while I can't match blkmage's awesome post, was perfect. So much happened without feeling like they were just trying to cram it all in there. You got to know every important character pretty well for a movie, and even the more backgroundish family members weren't just details in the background. The animation was amazing, and it had the epic koi koi game. Every family member as well as Kenji and his friend help stop love machine. It's not just Kenji and Grandma saving the day. Natsuki, who seems like she might go through the movie without doing much, pulls in when she's needed, and Kazuma, and it takes the entire family to fight this threat.

So Yoko and John guard it's place to my heart better than even Briggs.

[Fish and Chips]

<3#SummerWars>

I have not actually seen Summer Wars, so I'm operating on a certain level of trust here that Summer Wars is, you know, some approximation of "Good."

So why Summer Wars? Let me tell you.

Because Summer Wars is something I feel the industry is severely lacking right now. As we speak, there exists a gaping hole in Anime medium, one few people have tried to fill; one I have seriously lamented for far longer than I have memetically grieved over the lack of Cool Old Guys.

Summer Wars is original.

FullMetal Alchemist is, of course, also original - in Manga form. And if this thread was about Manga I would post FMA without hesitation. But as it is, the Anime, no matter how good it is, is still derivative of the Manga's greatness. Furthermore, this sort of reboot would only have been considered if FMA was a proven money-generator, which it is. If the Manga were exactly the same, only substantially less popular, it wouldn't have been given a second shot like this.

But Summer Wars is an original production. Summer Was had to be conceived, written down, and vouched for before a board somewhere, with no proven popularity base or commercial element to make the decision for them. Furthermore, Summer War is, as I mentioned in the beginning of my post, "Allegedly" quite good.

Summer Wars is able to stand on its own two feet, needing nothing to prop it up besides the reputation of its director, Mamoru Hosoda.

I love FMA, but I'm going to be the bigger man and give it to Summer Wars. We need more directors like Mamoru Hosoda, who are prepared to try something new. Maybe then we can get Anime out of the slump it's been in for years now.

[Cadence]

Much as I love FMA:B, my vote is definitely going to be for <3#SummerWars>. "Socially awkward math nerd saves world"...heck yes!!

I’m not going to deny that the plot and the story of Summer Wars aren’t very original...it is extremely predictable and can be downright ridiculous at times. It definitely requires more than a slight suspension of disbelief to watch--but there is just something undeniably charming and likable about this movie that totally makes up for those weaknesses. The characters were delightful (I can’t even describe how much I loved Kenji as a hero), and production is stellar--the animation is a treat to watch, especially the sequences in OZ.

One of my favorite elements of Summer Wars is the way it is centered around the family. I come from a huge family myself, and so all the way through the movie I was just smiling and laughing at how familiar the situation felt--and anyone who has gone to a family gathering will probably feel the same way.

Another of my favorite things about Summer Wars is that is has so many fun little details. For example, the baseball tournament the one cousin is playing in that is a parallel to basically everything happening to the family during the film. It is such a fun and clever touch.

Also, kick-butt Grannies are awesome.

So yeah, not only do I think this movie is the best anime of 2010, it has become one of my favorite movies of all time.

(I'm pleasantly surprised at how well Summer Wars is doing against FMA:B...so far, anyway.)