2009 was pretty cool

[blkmage]

So the year of our Lord 2009 ends in about two weeks. Before you come in here and go "we still have two more weeks why is this so early why do you always have to make threads so early blkmage" I will note that I will likely not be here for the last week of 2009 and I would like to talk about the year 2009 before 2009 ends. Also, this will force me to think about my own blag post about this thing and remember all of the stuff I'd forgotten from the beginning of the year.

So what were your animu moments from the past year?

Thinking about it, I might have watched less: 3 in winter, 8 in spring, 8 in summer, 3 in fall and much fewer old shows from before. This year was a lot more dabbling in manga, anime movies, and visual novels.

The shows for me this year were Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou, FMA, Eden of the East, Hayate no Gotoku 2nd Season, Bakemonogatari, Spice and Wolf 2, Darker than Black 2, and Kimi ni Todoke.

I had a sort of shoujo manga binge during the spring, blazing through Lovely Complex, Special A, Koukou Debut, Kare Kano, and Aishiteruze Baby. After that, I took some time to go through some classics, like Beck, 20th Century Boys, SaiKano, and Bokurano. And I finally managed to finish Rurouni Kenshin, after all of these years. I also finally got sick of Naruto and Bleach and replaced them with other (better) series. I also dabbled into light novels, reading all of Haruhi up to the latest volume.

I got into some older series. Aria and Nanoha are the two big ones. They're really good. I finally got around to watching the first UC Gundam series, although in movie form.

Speaking of movies, I got into a lot of them. Most of these are from last year, like The Sky Crawlers and Sword of the Stranger, but there are a few that were current like Eureka Seven: Pocketful of Rainbows. And now I'll repeat myself and say you should watch Kara no Kyoukai, the best series of movies in recent years. But the best movie of 2009 goes to Summer Wars, hands down.

And visual novels. Umineko got me in and spoiled me. It's a fantastic piece of fiction. And I discovered just how good a lot of visual novels are and how they probably will never be adapted into anime and will never reach the heights of popularity even though they should. Planetarian is Key at its best without having to resort to high school and moe. Ever 17, like Clannad, makes full use of the visual novel structure. And if you're interested in something more simple, you should check out Narcissu.

So yeah, it's been an eventful year, in spite of anime dying and all. What sorts of things have you experienced through anime over the past year? What were things you were anticipating but didn't? What were some new things you were introduced to?

Look out for a 2010 anticipation thread in a week or two, I guess.

[minakichan]

Cool cool. My memory doesn't last more than 3 months, so I can't write anything like this, BUT I did start keeping track of all the anime I watched in a year, so my list is here (doesn't include some of the series that I'm about to finish):

Finished (2009):
20th Century Boys (film)
5 Centimeters per Second (09.14)
Akira (11.02)
Amatsuki
Code Geass R2: Lelouch of the Rebellion (10.24)
Escaflowne the Movie (11.16)
FLCL (10.19)
Fullmetal Alchemist
Fullmetal Alchemist: Conquerer of Shambala
Hana Yori Dango Final (film) (06.03)
K-On! (08.15)
Kuroshitsuji (07.03)
Maria+Holic (04.09)
Matantei Loki Ragnarok (04.09)
Metropolis (11.23)
Moyashimon (12.04)
Nana (live-action film) (11.30)
Nobuta wo Produce
Nodame Cantabile ~ Paris Chapter
Paprika (09.28)
Pumpkin Scissors
[drama] Ryuusei no Kizuna (06.16)
Saiunkoku Monogatari (08.29)
School Rumble
Senkaiden Houshin Engi (04.09)
Skip Beat! (08.18)
Sky Crawlers (12.07)
Sword of the Stranger (09.21)
Tales of the Abyss (08.10)
Tokyo Magnitude (11.16)
Toshokan Sensou (11.19)
Toradora! (04.10)

[TheSubtleDoctor]

So yeah, it's been an eventful year, in spite of anime dying and all.

I know there is a lot of doom and gloom about the market, but what precisely do you mean by "anime dying?" In North America or Japan? Is this more a case of adapting to changing market conditions or getting over a learning curve? The bad economy certainly hasn't made it possible for the market to come back yet, at least here.

But, Blkmage, I am NOT trying to argue with you at all; on the contrary, I have seen that you are the expert about such things. Just offering a few hypotheses and am curious if you think they have merit. If anime is "dying," then I want to know the details: how, why, etc. On the whole, I'm pretty ignorant about the totality of the business side of the anime industry, so any enlightening words you or anyone else has to offer on this score would prove helpful to me.

[minakichan]

Well, GONZO died, and there are less series coming out each season, but the crazy successes of K-On! and Bakemonogatari make me think that it's not dying quite yet ^_^

[blkmage]

I know there is a lot of doom and gloom about the market, but what precisely do you mean by "anime dying?" In North America or Japan? Is this more a case of adapting to changing market conditions or getting over a learning curve? The bad economy certainly hasn't made it possible for the market to come back yet, at least here.

But, Blkmage, I am NOT trying to argue with you at all]

I was actually being sarcastic. Essentially, yes, there's a lot of a-bloo-bloo-blooing going on about how anime is dying. And yet, I was able to watch something like 20 or so shows that were airing in Japan this year that I really enjoyed. That's not to mention the amazing movies that came out this year: Summer Wars and the tail end of Kara no Kyoukai.

More seriously though, the reason that people are saying this is because of the way that the industry is set up in Japan. TV productions lose money over there and so the only way to make a profit is through DVD sales. Anime DVDs are ridiculously expensive and overpriced over there, about two episodes per disc for something like $60, I think.

The problem with this model is that only really hardcore fans buy these exorbitantly priced DVDs and so the industry churns out bad series after bad series to attract these fans. These fans are also typically into the moe stuff, buying shows that feature their favourite characters or whatever. It's also these series that have a lot of merchandising outside of DVD sales. We're looking at character songs, figures, and other things.

And so we have a death spiral where industry increasingly produces more and more unoriginal pandering series because creative and original productions don't make money. A very good example of this is the shows that run int the noitaminA slot, which are shows that were made specifically to target a broader audience. These shows do amazingly well in TV ratings but get terrible sales, which translates to a financial disaster.

Of course, this only applies to TV productions. Movies and OVAs still do fairly well, and I think I've seen the producer for Gundam UC mention that they think that more productions will be moving in that direction, especially after the success of Kara no Kyoukai.

Do I think anime is dying? Not quite yet. Like I said, there was a ton of stuff that I enjoyed this year and last year, and there's a ton of interesting stuff that I'm looking forward to in 2010. Also, the industry isn't stupid, and they are making changes (like the move to movies and OVAs that I mentioned). There are concentrated efforts to get more original stuff produced.

Cool cool. My memory doesn't last more than 3 months, so I can't write anything like this

That post was a product of many lists and not memory, actually.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Thank you, sir! That's good knowledge. Do you blog about this sort of thing?

[KhakiBlueSocks]

[font="Trebuchet MS"][SIZE="4"][color="RoyalBlue"]I must admit that 2009 was a great year for me as far as anime is concerned. Here are a few highlights from this year:


- "Aria: The Animation": This has to go at the top of my list. Seriously, if you have not had the chance to witness the awesomeness that is "Aria", then I recommend you immediately drop what you're doing and find a copy to enjoy. "Aria" is the kind of anime that will take you to another world and hold your hand gently as you float through the lives of the three gondoliers in training in the idealistic world of Neo-Venezia. Though it didn't have an English dub, I feel that in this case it was the right thing to do to keep it in it's original language.

- xxxHolic: Seriously, when I saw this anime in the library, I didn't think too much of it...until I took it home and took a good look at it. Boy am I glad I did! Everything about xxxHolic set it apart from anything I had watched up to that point--the story, the characters, the unique animation style (Seriously, CLAMP, human limbs are rarely that long) and the general atmosphere really appealed to me. Not to mention the English dub was hilarious! ("I AM A MA-AN!!!!")

- Kodocha: The one thing that I love about Kodocha (One of many things that I love, I might add) is the fact that it doesn't fit into any one genre. One minute it's a dramatic series, then the next it's a fall-off-your-chair comedy, then if you don't watch out, it turns into a shojo anime, then the very next episode it's a shonen anime! Kodocha packs a lot of bang for it's buck.

- "Azumanga Daioh": Before "K-On!", before "Lucky Star", before "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya", there was "AzuDai", the reigning queen of them all. From beginning to end, "Azumanga Daioh" kept my attention and kept me laughing.

- Rozen Maiden: An anime about living dolls. Not really the kind of thing that I'm naturally drawn towards, but one day in the library I figured "Meh, why not" and gave it a shot. What I found was a very nicely done 13 episode series that wasn't just about living dolls but about a kid who just doesn't know how to bounce back after rejection. I found myself relating to the main character (the kid, not the doll), and, quite beside myself, I found myself genuinely rooting for him all the way to the last episode. I can honestly say that there was not one episode in the series that I didn't like on some level. I did have a bit of a giggle moment when I first heard Jun's voice in the English dub--can you say "Izzy"? How about "Toboe"? Or maybe "Chagum?"

- "Ouran High School Host Club": After hearing all the hype over this one particular series, I decided to check it out from the library to see what all the hullabaloo was about. As it turns out, it was a very funny, very thoughtful show. The acting was excellent--you couldn't have found a better set of V/A's, especially when it came down to Tamaki and Haruhi.

- "Dead Leaves": I'm going to say this right now...roughly 30% of CAA is not old enough to watch this one. This is an anime movie for grownups. That being said, I have to admit, it's one of the more craziest additions to my collection. Just when I thought it couldn't get any crazier...it did...times twenty. How wild it it, exactly? Lemme put it this way...the ENGLISH dub is the more tame of the two.

However, there was one real, REAL letdown for me in 2009. I can sum it up in one word: "Garugamesh". Yes, I'm talking about the Sakura-Con 2009 Commercial. Say what you will, but seriously...that whole commercial from beginning to end gets an epic fail in my book. It's my hope that whoever wins the contest for the 2010 commercial comes up with a better product.
[/color][/SIZE][/font]

[blkmage]

Thank you, sir! That's good knowledge. Do you blog about this sort of thing?

'fraid not, I tend to post my impressions on things I've watched and read. But, I do chat with and read stuff from people who do.

[font="Trebuchet MS"][SIZE="4"][color="RoyalBlue"]- Kodocha: The one thing that I love about Kodocha (One of many things that I love, I might add) is the fact that it doesn't fit into any one genre. One minute it's a dramatic series, then the next it's a fall-off-your-chair comedy, then if you don't watch out, it turns into a shojo anime, then the very next episode it's a shonen anime! Kodocha packs a lot of bang for it's buck.

- "Azumanga Daioh": Before "K-On!", before "Lucky Star", before "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya", there was "AzuDai", the reigning queen of them all. From beginning to end, "Azumanga Daioh" kept my attention and kept me laughing.[/color][/SIZE][/font]

I'm surprised you watched Azumanga Daioh for the first time this year. Then again, I guess others could say the same about me and Eva.

Your description of Kodomo no Omocha is really surprising, because my recollection of it from the manga was that it was really heavy on the shoujo and drama, to the point that I was weirded out because these were, literally, kids.

And Aria definitely be a 2010 thing for me, what with Aria the Origination coming out on March 2 (like another early birthday present). ヽ( ﾟ∀ﾟ)ノ

[KhakiBlueSocks]

[quote="blkmage (post: 1361220)"]I'm surprised you watched Azumanga Daioh for the first time this year. Then again, I guess others could say the same about me and Eva.

Your description of Kodomo no Omocha is really surprising, because my recollection of it from the manga was that it was really heavy on the shoujo and drama, to the point that I was weirded out because these were, literally, kids.

And Aria definitely be a 2010 thing for me, what with Aria the Origination coming out on March 2 (like another early birthday present). ヽ]

[SIZE="3"][SIZE="4"][color="RoyalBlue"][font="Trebuchet MS"]
I would've gotten to it sooner, but I only found out about it being in the library this year. Better late than never I say. I'm glad I saw Azumanga Daioh after I finished Lucky Star.

As for Kodocha, I've only read a small bit of the manga online, and I have to say that the anime has way more comedy in it...and I'm willing to bet more rapping. Yes, there are moments when the series gets VERY serious, serious to the point that you could forget that the main characters are in elementary/middle school.

I'm checking out "Aria The Origination" on Veoh. I've only seen one episode, but from what I can tell, it's more of the same disarming, relaxing anime that we've come to know and love. [/font]
[/color][/SIZE][/SIZE]

[Falx]

Ugh Kodocha... something else I seriously want to watch.

DVD's are scarce though and other means... well it's over 100 episodes.

Ooh! I scored Aria season 1! Woohoo!

[Cap'n Nick]

Kodocha is fun throughout but you'd be fine just making your way through the first twenty.

[Blitzkrieg1701]

As always, the bulk of the anime I got into this year has already been around for a while (heck, I only just watched all of Kiki's Delivery Service THIS MORNING), and to be honest, most of the stuff I saw WAS produced this year was kind of underwhelming (K-On! is the one exception, and even that's just a silly diversion) But then, I spend way more time getting caught up on anime I missed the first time around than I do following the Hot New Things, so I'm sure I'll experience the best parts of '09 eventually.

On that note, I have discovered a lot of non-recent anime over the past year that were great. Movies in particular have been really good to me this year. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was a revelation, while Neo-Tokyo and They Were Eleven made me proud to be a Sci-Fi geek. Oh, and I finally discovered the old school goodness that is Slayers this year, so there's that too.

[MasterDias]

Of course, this only applies to TV productions. Movies and OVAs still do fairly well, and I think I've seen the producer for Gundam UC mention that they think that more productions will be moving in that direction, especially after the success of Kara no Kyoukai.

That's actually a good point, and one I hadn't really considered. Aside from Gundam Unicorn, we also have Katanagatari and Break Blade (which is going to be a 6-movie series apparently) coming up...both adaptations of light novels/manga respectively.

[Falx]

A quick question about Kodocha, those who have watched the whole series... how many volumes are there? I've found up until vol. 13 but it seems to be a bit low for a series with more than twice the episodes of FMA.

[Falx]

Nevermind, I see it now... darn...

[KhakiBlueSocks]

As always, the bulk of the anime I got into this year has already been around for a while (heck, I only just watched all of Kiki's Delivery Service THIS MORNING), and to be honest, most of the stuff I saw WAS produced this year was kind of underwhelming (K-On! is the one exception, and even that's just a silly diversion) But then, I spend way more time getting caught up on anime I missed the first time around than I do following the Hot New Things, so I'm sure I'll experience the best parts of '09 eventually.

[SIZE="4"][color="RoyalBlue"][font="Trebuchet MS"]
YAY! I'm not alone with being behind the loop with anime! Because of my financial status and my comparatively slow internet connection speeds for my computer, I'm kinda behind the loop with some of the newest hot titles. But the way I see it, being off the beaten trail has it's advantages--you get to let others go all fan boy/girl over a particular anime, then sit back and read the reviews and see if it's worth your time.

Anyway, there's two more anime that I neglected to mention in my earlier post that really made 2009 special:

- Kino's Journey: There's a lot of story packed in this little 13 episode series. I get the feeling that a lot of thought and work went into this particular production especially into the title character, Kino. For me, the first part of the series left me asking a lot of questions about who this character was, what she was traveling for, and why in the world her Motorad is talking? Then, right after her flashback episode "Land of Adults", I got into the mindset of "Okay, I got the basics. Let's ride and see what these travels are all about." I have to mention the English dub of this one because it was really well done][/color][/SIZE]

[minakichan]

most of the stuff I saw WAS produced this year was kind of underwhelming (K-On! is the one exception, and even that's just a silly diversion)

Then you clearly missed Bakemonogatari and Eden of the East. Don't talk about 2009 without those!

(OK, Eden of the East to a lesser extent, but I actually liked it better so HMPH.)

[Nate]

Hey guys Shinkenger and Rescue Fire were totally awesome and...and...

*crickets chirp*

I'll just...see myself out.

[ST. Attidude]

I definitely agree with you on OHSHC and Azumanga Daioh, Khaki.

Both shows are quite unique, although Azu Daioh is much more unconventional that one should not ignore it. *sigh* that Osaka sure is hilARIOUS X)

As for me, here is my list of this year in no particular order:

-Sword of the Stranger (stupendous action this one!)
-Trigun
-Ouran High School Host Club
-Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (this show is a real blessing to the manga readers...The first end credits is probably one of the best for an anime series)

-The Irresponsible Captain Tylor (this show has certainly surprised me a number of times. I love the excerpts of classical masterpieces in the soundtrack!)
-Cowboy Bebop (WOOT! If you have not seen this yet then GO FOR IT!)
-Samurai 7 (Have not finished this series yet; I think I stopped at volume 4. The show is pretty good, tho I prefer the Seven Samurai film that its based on more...)
-Ponyo
-I just saw the first two episodes of "When They Cry" today...so far its interesting but the real suspense has not started yet...obviously to early for me to fairly evaluate...
-Sgt. Frog (This is one of the funniest shows I've ever seen!...the English dub is done shockingly well. Especially Natsumi's voice; there are times where she sounds better than the original. Although if the other yet-to-be-seen characters turn out to be like "Kululu", then my mind will change very quickly...let's hope they don't screw up more on the dub...>_<)
-I've tried watching Pumpkin Scissors but for some reason my Library has yet to receive the first volume that I ordered

[Radical Dreamer]

It's kind of sad how I don't have much of a 2009 list of anime watched. XD The only anime/Japanese-produced movies I watched this year were...

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya -- Season 2 (still need to finish this, actually. XD)
20th Century Boys (first movie)
Ergo Proxy
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Scrapped Princess (STILL need to finish this)
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya -- Season 1
Metropolis
Jin-Roh
Tokyo Godfathers (LOVE <33)

Aaannd I'm pretty sure that's it. It's been a busy year. 8( I need to get back on the anime-watching bandwagon in 2010. XD Not having torrenting abilities at school fails! I think I ought to make my way over to the recommendation thread and get you guys to throw some of the newer stuff at me, so I can get to downloading while I'm at home over the break. XD

[Blitzkrieg1701]

[SIZE="4"][color="RoyalBlue"][font="Trebuchet MS"]
- Kino's Journey[/font][/color][/SIZE]

YES

[KhakiBlueSocks]

YES

I take it you really liked "Kino's Journey"???

[Blitzkrieg1701]

Dang straight, man! That's probably one of my all time favorite TV anime, right there.

[crazypackersfan]

The thing I'll remember most about 2009 in anime: "Endless Eight." The only way to ruin Haruhi Suzumiya for such a big Haruhi fan as myself.

[Lynna]

This is my second year of loving anime. It was so great! I'm the sort of person who watches animes really slowly, so I didn't watch much. I watched the following:
Full Moon wo sagashite!!
Shugo chara!
Mermaid Melody Pitchi Pitchi(which I still havn't finished watching. I always watch a bit, drop it for awhile, and then pick it up again.)
In contrast, these are the mangas I have read:
Fruits Basket
Full Moon wo sagashite
Gakuen Alice
Skip Beat
Shugo Chara
Chobits
We Are Mint
Game Plan
and I think that's it but I'm not sure. I also tried some and then stoped.
So , as you can see, the rate I consume anime is allot less compared to the rate I consume manga.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Here's all I watched in '09.

http://myanimelist.net/animelist/HatandClogs

Okay, I watched Naruto and most of Bleach last year, but this still is pretty much everything. I'll rant about my favorites though.

Fullmetal Alchemist(First anime): Not quite my favorite anymore, but it showed what anime really could do. I was already really in it anyways, but it was still amazing and cemented my anime fandom.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: After nearly giving it up on the first episode, thinking it would become some lame, fanservice-filled formulaic Super Robot, I reluctantly watched the second episode and was hooked. Episode eleven is still my favorite episode of any anime, ever.

Cowboy Bebop: Wow, just wow. I'm actually going to try and get my English teacher to watch this. Such an amazing show. Bang indeed.

Ouran High School Host Club: The only one of these, suprisingly enough, that I recognized as genius from the begininng. Hilarious to the end, with a fair amount of drama and amazing characters. Bones needs to leak a document saying they're making a second season.

Darker than BLACK:Another one I dropped for a while after the first few episodes, I was so sorry I did. The development was amazing, and filled with suspense to the end.

Bacanno!:If I may, thank you SO much for this one Goldy. I just realized that my statement about Ouran was wrong too, Baccano! had me sucked in from the beginning, and I can't wait to buy the boxset after Christmas.

[Bobtheduck]

Hmm... What anime did I get intro'd to this Year?

I'm not sure if Natsu no Arashi started this year... I think it did, so that should count. I watched it because I loved the author (same author as school rumble) and I read the first 2 issues of the manga, but wasn't able to read any more after that.

I watched Umineko this year. I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it. I think a lot of the twists were cool, but... Well, I've said what I feel about the basic mechanic of the universe, so...

Since people are mentioning old anime, I watched Dragonball (classic, not Z) past the first tournament for the first time (though I still skipped a good portion of it where fights got drawn out)

I've been watching Naruto the whole time... I think it was actually 2008 I started, though... I started watching it so I could have common ground with some classmates that treated me like crap. It didn't work. First they just laughed at me for watching the anime instead of reading the manga, then when I caught up on the Manga, they just didn't talk to me about it.

I just started watching the Familiar of Zero. I had read an issue or two of the manga, and it seemed like nothin but fanservice, but the anime doesn't seem that way to me. I actually really like it.

I can't remember what other anime I've watched this year... I'll come back later when I think of htem

[Mithrandir]

Oh my goodness. I don't think I can remember everything I watched this year. I kinda got on a kick, though, and watched a bunch in a row any number of times. Prolly 400 hours, anyway. The one that most sticks out would be Midori Days. Guess it was an original (enough) idea. ^.^

[Yamamaya]

I was actually being sarcastic. Essentially, yes, there's a lot of a-bloo-bloo-blooing going on about how anime is dying. And yet, I was able to watch something like 20 or so shows that were airing in Japan this year that I really enjoyed. That's not to mention the amazing movies that came out this year: Summer Wars and the tail end of Kara no Kyoukai.

More seriously though, the reason that people are saying this is because of the way that the industry is set up in Japan. TV productions lose money over there and so the only way to make a profit is through DVD sales. Anime DVDs are ridiculously expensive and overpriced over there, about two episodes per disc for something like $60, I think.

The problem with this model is that only really hardcore fans buy these exorbitantly priced DVDs and so the industry churns out bad series after bad series to attract these fans. These fans are also typically into the moe stuff, buying shows that feature their favourite characters or whatever. It's also these series that have a lot of merchandising outside of DVD sales. We're looking at character songs, figures, and other things.

And so we have a death spiral where industry increasingly produces more and more unoriginal pandering series because creative and original productions don't make money. A very good example of this is the shows that run int the noitaminA slot, which are shows that were made specifically to target a broader audience. These shows do amazingly well in TV ratings but get terrible sales, which translates to a financial disaster.

Of course, this only applies to TV productions. Movies and OVAs still do fairly well, and I think I've seen the producer for Gundam UC mention that they think that more productions will be moving in that direction, especially after the success of Kara no Kyoukai.

Do I think anime is dying? Not quite yet. Like I said, there was a ton of stuff that I enjoyed this year and last year, and there's a ton of interesting stuff that I'm looking forward to in 2010. Also, the industry isn't stupid, and they are making changes (like the move to movies and OVAs that I mentioned). There are concentrated efforts to get more original stuff produced.


That post was a product of many lists and not memory, actually.

Unfortunately, this can often happen in a niche market. Sure, they could make an anime series that attracts a broader audience but in the end they can't count on the casual viewer to buy the DVDs. Thus, they go with the less risky option and give out the crap that the otakus want.

The only anime series that wasn't based off manga, visual novel, or light novel in the last few years that I can think of was Code Geass. They threw in a multitude of Pizza Hut ads in the anime just for extra cash.

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't the anime industry in dire condition when NGE came along and saved it?

So anyway, I watched a lot of stuff this year. Let's see if I can remember it all.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Tis amazing, absolutely amazing.

Gurren Lagann: Over the top, campy, pure fun.
Elfen Lied: A great series but not something I would rewatch a lot, for obvious reasons.
Higurashi no naku koro ni: An excellent horror series. Shion FTW
Bleach: Pretty good for an action shoenun although it definitely has some very weak moments.
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: One of the most original satires I've seen in a while.
School Days: Never cheat on a Japanese girl ever, that is all.
Umineko no naku koro ni: Epic troll...I mean Beatrice is epic
FMA Brotherhood: Less character development with the Homoculous but I definitely like the storyline better than the original anime.
Sora no Otoshimono: Lol flying panties
Darker than Black second season: Mmm, not bad, not bad
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: The sci fi in it was weak but it was a good series.
Excel Saga:Some of the episodes were great, others dragged way too much, like the dog episodes. *facepalm*
Clannad: Sweet and adorable and heartwarming
Chobits:Chiiiii

That's all I can remember atm.

[blkmage]

Unfortunately, this can often happen in a niche market. Sure, they could make an anime series that attracts a broader audience but in the end they can't count on the casual viewer to buy the DVDs. Thus, they go with the less risky option and give out the crap that the otakus want.

That's one part, but the other part is just pricing. There's a reason why, say, Rebuild of Eva and Summer Wars and Kara no Kyoukai and other movies gets sales numbers are an order of magnitude higher than most TV series, and that's because movies are priced far more reasonably than an entire season of a show. DVD sales currently count on a small number of buyers at high prices, rather than a larger and wider audience at lower prices.

The only anime series that wasn't based off manga, visual novel, or light novel in the last few years that I can think of was Code Geass. They threw in a multitude of Pizza Hut ads in the anime just for extra cash.

Out of the ones I've watched, there's Darker than BLACK (2007), Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 (2009), Kaiba (2008), Eden of the East (2009), Summer Wars (2009), Cencoroll (2009), Sword of the Stranger (2008), 5 Centimeters per Second (2007), Xam'd (2008), Dennou Coil (2007), Gurren Lagann (2007). All of these were pretty good.