Best Anime of 2010: Tournament-style

[blkmage]

This music deserves to win.

Ohh, no wonder that name sounded so familiar, it's the Gurren Lagann and Soul Eater guy.

<14$Black★RockShooter>　何処へ行ったの？　聞こえますかあああああああああああああ？

For a 50-minute animated project based on a song based on a single illustration, you really can't ask for more. Yes, it was a bit cryptic in how the two halves fit together, but it's definitely got production quality in it. The fact that so many people I like (Hanazawa Kana, Sawashiro Miyuki, Asumi Kana, Yamakan, ryo, huke) are involved in this is a bonus. Also, there is a freaking B★RS nendoroid sitting on my shelf staring at me with her sword drawn and I'd rather not incur her wrath.

[MightiMidget]

I haven't seen BlackRock Shooter (I haven't seen a lot. O_o I'm trying! Really!), but I absolutely Adore LoLH. So... <9$LegendLegendLegend>

[MasterDias]

<9$LegendLegendLegend>

I suppose I should give Black Rock Shooter a shot at some point. An RPG just got announced for it too.

[Atria35]

Abstaining. I haven't really seen either.

[CrimsonRyu17]

<14$Black★RockShooter>

Probably the shortest OVA I've seen but it's made its way into my top faves.

[Falx]

<14$Black★RockShooter>

[blkmage]

Black★Rock Shooter: 4
Legend of Legendary Heroes: 4

Because a picture is worth a thousand light novels

***



[SIZE="6"]Yumeiro Patissiere vs. Cross Game[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]Yumeiro Patissiere (夢色パティシエール)[/SIZE]
"Let them bake cake"
Rank: 27
Aired: Winter 2009
Studio: Studio Hibari
Director: Suzuki Iku
Cast: Aoi Yuuki, Taketatsu Ayana
Adaptation: Manga by Matsumoto Natsumi
[color="lime"]Voting Code: <27^YumePati>[/color]

[SIZE="4"]Cross Game (クロスゲーム)[/SIZE]
"Pretty much Touch 2"
Rank: 31
Aired: Spring 2009
Studio: SynergySP
Director: Sekita Osamu
Cast: Irino Miyu, Tomatsu Haruka
Adaptation: Manga by Adachi Mitsuru
[color="Lime"]Voting Code: <31^CrossGame>[/color]

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

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

<31^CrossGame> I saw like, three minutes of it.

[Midori]

My favorite won by a tiebreaker again! I swear I'm not mucking with things behind the scenes.

Unfortunately I have not seen either of these new series so I feel it'd be best to abstain. Unless of course someone can convince me that their pick is far and beyond the best choice. :)

[Cadence]

This is the hardest match ever. =)

Since I nominated it, I feel like I must do my duty for Yumeiro Patissiere. I'm going to clutter up the thread with a post promoting it, for those of you who might be on the fence with your vote.

So, five reasons you should all vote for YumePati:
1. It is about dessert! What better subject matter could there possibly be?
2. While not amazingly original, it works well within the formula of ultra shoujo anime and it avoids most of the traps that similar titles fall into; e.g. Ichigo's fairy friend doesn't give her magical baking abilities, but actually makes her work to get better.
3. It has a fabulous cast of up-and-coming seiyuu. The best of which is the little eleven year old girl, Iino Mayu, who voices Caramel.
4. It knows its audience (little girls, of course!) and never tries to pander to other groups (which is surprisingly refreshing).
5. It has moe chocolate spirits in it.

ショコラ by るりこ

Pretty sure no one else is going to vote for this, so R.I.P., <27^YumePati>!

(Oh yeah, and Cross Game is pretty great, too. OK, really great. You should all vote for that, as well!)

[TheSubtleDoctor]

<31^CrossGame>

Probably my favorite show about plain old life.

[mechana2015]

<31^CrossGame> The first episode was amazing on it's own, let alone the rest.

[Falx]

Guess I'll abstain, I didn't even get a quarter into Cross Game before I realized I don't like Baseball and I've never watched Yumeiro.

[Atria35]

Abstaining again, since I have seen neither.

[blkmage]

<31^CrossGame>

Cross Game is really, really good. I remember finding out about it and ending up reading the 100+ chapters that were out at the time during finals. The anime is a really straightforward adaptation of the manga (which is actually why I didn't watch it beyond a few episodes).

[MasterDias]

<31^CrossGame>

[MightiMidget]

Abstaining again, since I have seen neither.

I, as well.

[blkmage]

I don't actually like baseball either, but there's just something about baseball anime. I also think that this matchup is hilarious because they're both Sunday morning kids' anime.

[MasterDias]

Yeah, actually, I've sort of thought Cross Game might appeal to people who weren't necessarily really into baseball, considering a lot of the series focuses on the characters/slice-of-life.

[blkmage]

Yumeiro Patissiere: 1
Cross Game: 5

Two kids' anime enter; only one remains

***



[SIZE="6"]Angel Beats! vs. Ookiku Furikabutte: Summer Tournament chapter[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]Angel Beats! (エンジェルビーツ)[/SIZE]
"Haruhi with guns"
Rank: 28
Aired: Spring 2010
Studio: P.A. Works
Director: Kishi Seiji
Cast: Kamiya Hiroshi, Hanazawa Kana, Sakurai Harumi
Adaptation: Original by Maeda Jun
[color="lime"]Voting Code: <28&AngelBeats!>[/color]

[SIZE="4"]Ookiku Furikabutte: Summer Tournament chapter (おおきく振りかぶって ～夏の大会編～)[/SIZE]
"More moe than Taishou Yakyuu Musume"
Rank: 20
Aired: Spring 2010
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Director: Mizushima Tsutomu
Cast: Yonaga Tsubasa, Nakamura Yuuichi, Shimono Hiro
Adaptation: Manga by Higuchi Asa
[color="Lime"]Voting Code: <20&OoFuri2>[/color]

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

[Falx]

Again with the abstaining. Never saw anything of either.

[Atria35]

Again with the abstaining. Never saw anything of either.

QFT. Maybe the next one...

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

QFT. Maybe the next one...

Again with the abstaining. Never saw anything of either.

Same.

[Midori]

You know what, <28&AngelBeats!> was pretty cool. Didn't agree with it on theological grounds, but you can't have everything.

[blkmage]

You know what, <28&AngelBeats!> was pretty cool. Didn't agree with it on theological grounds, but you can't have everything.

I think a lot of people assumed Angel Beats! was supposed to have some Christian underpinnings because of the really obvious Purgatory metaphor for the school. It shouldn't be surprising at all that no one here would agree with the show theologically, because much of its spiritual influences are drawn from the Japanese traditions regarding death and the afterlife.

Angel Beats! is a fairly middling show for me. It has really good ideas and really good moments and its production is pretty good. However, the execution and the plotting and the flow of the story is really, really bad. I think the one cours run really limited how much the world could be explored and forced really jarring transitions from one plot point to the next as well as inducing some really weird mood swings.

Ookiku Furikabutte's second season was another one cours show (its first season was two cours). The difference between Angel Beats! and Oofuri is that the scope that the show covered was too large for Angel Beats! and just right for Oofuri. It was tight and it delivered what it promised. And no, I don't know why I liked Oofuri so much.

<20&OoFuri2>

[Cadence]

This is the easiest matchup for me. <20&OoFuri2>

I think I went into Angel Beats! with expectations far too high. I kept hoping and expecting it to deliver something, but it just let me down time and again. When I ended up laughing hysterically through the drama of the last episode, I finally recognized how much I disliked it. So yeah...Angel Beats! gets an award for greatest disappointment of 2010 from me. =(

On the other hand, OoFuri never failed to entertain me--in the right way. I was a huge fan of the first season and had watched it several times; season two did not disappoint, though I was hoping it would be two cours like the first.

[Midori]

I think the one cours run really limited how much the world could be explored and forced really jarring transitions from one plot point to the next as well as inducing some really weird mood swings.

That's the same problem SoRaNoWoTo had too, wasn't it? Why do shows like Fantastic Children, that only have 2 or 3 hours worth of plot, get 26 episodes, when interesting complicated shows only get like 13!

[MasterDias]

I guess I'll cast my vote for <28&AngelBeats!>

I enjoyed it, despite its flaws. And the other choice is the second season of a show I never watched.

[blkmage]

Angel Beats!: 2
Ookiku Furikabutte: Summer Tournament chapter: 2

The superior baseball anime.

***



[SIZE="6"]Tegami Bachi vs. Mobile Suit Gundam UC[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]Tegami Bachi (テガミバチ)[/SIZE]
"CG beetles"
Rank: 7
Aired: Fall 2009
Studio: Studio Pierrot
Director: Iwanaga Akira
Cast: Sawashiro Miyuki, Fujimura Ayumi, Fukuyama Jun
Adaptation: Manga by Asada Hiroyuki
[color="lime"]Voting Code: <7*LetterBee>[/color]

[SIZE="4"]Mobile Suit Gundam UC (機動戦士ガンダムＵＣ)[/SIZE]
"The God of Possibility"
Rank: 19
Aired: Winter 2010
Studio: Sunrise
Director: Furuhashi Kazuhiro
Cast: Uchiyama Kouki, Fujimura Ayumi, Ikeda Shuuichi
Adaptation: Novel by Fukui Harutoshi
[color="Lime"]Voting Code: <19*GundamUC>[/color]

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

[TheSubtleDoctor]

<7*LetterBee>

I haven't seen MSGUC yet, and I'm pretty sure I would like it; however, I can't not vote for Tegami Bachi. Such a fun show.

Why do shows like Fantastic Children, that only have 2 or 3 hours worth of plot, get 26 episodes, when interesting complicated shows [presumably like SoRaNoWoTo - TheSubtleDoctor] only get like 13!