Best Anime of 2010 2: 2011

[blkmage]

Yes, I actually agree completely with your assessment and I wasn't actually responding to your post, but rather the assertion that I've seen that Fate/zero is simplistic and thus has nothing of value.

[TWWK]

<まどまぎ>

I'm really, really enjoying Chihayafuru...but Madoka's on a different level. Powerful, thoughtful, beautiful, deep, and oftentimes painful, the series is a creative joy.

blkmage, I think you need to change Mawaru Penguindrum to Chihayafuru in the title post for this match.

[MangaRocks!]

<まどまぎ>

I feel like everything that can be said about Madoka has been said already , so this time I'll just add: unique visuals, powerful story.

[Falx]

Yeah sorry card-slingers but this hand goes to:

<まどまぎ>

It's just better on basically every level.

[Atria35]

<まどまぎ>
What can I say that everyone else hasn't? This was just better.

[Vii]

Madoka's probably gonna win this round. I highly doubt I need to vote this time...

[blkmage]

<まどまぎ>

It's only fitting that I should vote for the best anime of 2011.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

<まどまぎ>

I cannot really fault Chihayafuru in any way. I adore the series a whole bunch; however, Madoka just accomplishes so much more. It inspired flippin' Kazuo Koike to create a magical girl story. Come on.

[Maokun]

<まどまぎ> Because we're defining 2011's best anime and nothing else.

[blkmage]

Puella Magi Madoka☆Magica: 8
Chihayafuru: 1


[font="Times New Roman"]LET'S CHANGE FATE[/font]
[SIZE="5"]The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya [font="Times New Roman"]vs.[/font] Mawaru Penguindrum[/SIZE]
<ＳＯＳ団> ★ <ピンドラ>

[SIZE="4"]The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (涼宮ハルヒの消失)[/SIZE]
YUKI.N> Ready?
Rank: 3
Aired: Winter 2010
Studio: Kyoto Animation
Director: Takemoto Yasuhiro
Cast: Hirano Aya, Chihara Minori, Sugita Tomokazu
Adaptation: Light novel by Tanigawa Nagaru
Defeated: Fate/zero, Guilty Crown, Mobile Suit Gundam AGE, Persona 4, Bunny Drop
Voting Code: <ＳＯＳ団>

[SIZE="4"]Mawaru Penguindrum (輪るピングドラム)[/SIZE]
There are penguins in it
Rank: 2
Aired: Summer 2011
Studio: Brains Base
Director: Ikuhara Kunihiko
Cast: Kimura Ryohei, Kimura Subaru, Arakawa Miho
Adaptation: Original
Defeated: Ikoku Meiro no Croisée, Kimi to Boku, Hourou Musuko, UN-GO, Fate/zero
Voting Code: <ピンドラ>

Voting closes on 28 December at 2300 EST.

[Neane]

Easily the super complicated Mawaru Penguindrum. Best Anime of 2011.
The mere fact that it has penguins in it makes it better than anything from the Haruhi series.
<ピンドラ>

[Falx]

<ＳＯＳ団>

An anime which uses symbolism to enhance the story rather than relying on it to drive the entire thing from top to bottom?

The way I must vote is clear.

[goldenspines]

<ＳＯＳ団>



For those who are unfamiliar with The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya or just need a reminder, here's a nice fan-made trailer that gives you just a tip of the iceberg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYO1Vz9KE10

[Neane]

Truth be told, the movie only works if you are a fan of Haruhi or at least have seen all the series and you were greatly angered by the Endless 8 and all the trolling.
Penguindrum is at least intellectual in many regards, but it does not do well in the psychology department if you compare to shows on the scope of say Evangelion and others.
And I have heard from all people who watched Utena that Utena is far better than Penguindrum in about everything. [I have only seen 1/4 of Utena so I cannot tell.]
However, compared to Magica [The only other show that is left in the voting] I prefer Penguindrum due to the fact that the characters are better well done and there are less problems in the storyline.

That said, I must say 2011 has been mind-blowing anime-wise and I can say this year is the closest we have been to the quality of shows made from 1995-2000 time-period compared to others.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

<ピンドラ>

It's only fitting that I should vote for the best anime of 2011.

[blkmage]

Truth be told, the movie only works if you are a fan of Haruhi or at least have seen all the series

I agree, this is true.

and you were greatly angered by the Endless 8 and all the trolling.

This, however is completely wrong and is a very typical argument for someone who isn't a fan of Haruhi. The reason this is wrong is because Disappearance, even before the anime, was considered the best part of the series, which speaks to the writing. And the thing is, the light novel predated the movie and second season of the anime by about three years, so there's no reason it "works" because you were "trolled". In fact, the two stories have basically nothing to do with each other.

Penguindrum is at least intellectual in many regards

I love Penguindrum, but I hate that this is the reason so many people seem to like it. I know it's intellectual (and I know why it is), but everyone seems to be content in just saying it's intellectual. Very few people have said anything of actual substance about the show (what is it trying to say? how is it trying to say it? why is it trying to say it?). There's no point in a fancy show with symbols flying around everywhere if no one is bothered to parse it.

I haven't decided which way to vote yet, so I guess for Penguindrum fans, those are my questions. What is Penguindrum trying to say and how does it do that?

P.S. TheSubtleDoctor is disqualified from answering this because he's already done it.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

So I haven't finished Penguindrum, so I'm not going to try and argue its meaning because I haven't seen the ending yet, but I love pretty much everything else about Penguindrum regardless of what I think it is saying, because it really is something that I'll need the ending to figure out what it's saying.

I love Penguindrum for pretty much everything about it. The characters are awesome and interesting, the animation is probably the best for a TV show of the year, the mystery aspect alone is incredibly interesting, and best of all for me, it's a fun show that also can take itself seriously and is trying to say something. I ranted before about the fan reactions to Madoka, but it really is nice to see that a show as highly symbolic/abstract as Penguindrum can also be a blast to watch. I love every minute I watch of it, and it's my pick of the year even without having deciphered all its meaning and symbolism.

[Vii]

(゜ロ゜)

I guess I'll go with the one I've rewatched four times already: The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. <ＳＯＳ団>



Penguindrum was good, don't get me wrong, but Disappearance actually made sense in the end. Mawaru Penguindrum left me with my head spinning.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

<ピンドラ>

I'm a bad guy b/c I haven't seen both nominees and I'M STILL VOTING.

Penguindrum left the strongest emotional impression on me of anything I've seen this year. I will watch Disappearance one day.

[mechana2015]

Truth be told, the movie only works if you are a fan of Haruhi or at least have seen all the series and you were greatly angered by the Endless 8 and all the trolling.

Untrue for me. I saw the movie with little knowledge of the series, having seen only the first DVD of the first season. It's an excellent story, if a bit more confusing for not being familiar with the other parts, and was much more satisfying in the end than Mawaru penguindrum, which, while definately having an end didn't thrill me nearly as much. Penguindrum drowned in its own symbolism, which is something I was supremely worried would happen. The Haruhi movie made me want to watch more haruhi.

<ＳＯＳ団>

[A_Yellow_Dress]

<ピンドラ>

How do you like them apples? XD

Both are great, phenomenal pieces of work. But my vote goes to Penguindrum. There really isn't much I have to say that hasn't been said already...

[goldenspines]

I will watch Disappearance one day.

And you will look back with regret that you didn't give it the time of day before the moment you watched. But thankfully, Disappearance is fantastic enough to leave you feeling blessed you even saw it.

I love Penguindrum, but I hate that this is the reason so many people seem to like it. I know it's intellectual (and I know why it is), but everyone seems to be content in just saying it's intellectual. Very few people have said anything of actual substance about the show (what is it trying to say? how is it trying to say it? why is it trying to say it?). There's no point in a fancy show with symbols flying around everywhere if no one is bothered to parse it.

This. Absolutely this.
So far, many voting here don't even know why they like Penguindrum, or even knew what it was about. Besides saying the penguins are great and that all the abstract symbolism they didn't understand is cool or something, no one has given a valid reason for liking Penguindrum.
Penguins are not a valid reason, nor are apples (though, both could be if you understood).

Makes me sad. :\

P.S. Hat got pretty close, though.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

everyone seems to be content in just saying it's intellectual. Very few people have said anything of actual substance about the show

So far, many voting here don't even know why they like Penguindrum, or even knew what it was about. Makes me sad.

Substance; concerning my favorite episode:
---
I don't necessarily expect people to agree with me or feel as strongly as I do about this, but I thought the first segment after the ending was absolutely one of the most moving things I have seen in a while.

The abstract imagery of the sign-children in the child broiler, sliding down into the blender(?), being told they will all become a homogenous blob and dsiappear, being ground and broken into pieces resembling shards of glass...this affected me greatly. The fact that the children's suffering wasn't "realistically" portrayed did not blunt to emotional impact of the scene. In fact, I think it actually proved to be more powerful imagery because of its abstractness. My imagination and emotions did the heavy lifting.

And then there was Momoka. Suffering and completely pouring herself out for someone else, for a child, whose soul was shattered by his parents (motif in this show) bent on self-loathing and self-destruction...she let her hand get mercilessly drilled into just so she could keep Tabuki from destroying himself. Afterwards, she could identify with the pain in his hands. It all seemed very Christ-like, which is likely intentional. Tabuki was freed because he could "live for" Momoka.

Perhaps, though, in a weird way that just became another form of bondage for Tabuki. Without Momoka, his life doesn't have any meaning for him. He doesn't know how to live for himself, escaping one cage to fly right into another. I think Momoka would have taught him how to live his life better than that, were she around.

The whole crew at Brains Base should be really proud of that episode. It was the high point of the series so far, for me, and just executed wonderfully. Bravo team.
---

Am I cool to vote now?

[A_Yellow_Dress]

Penguins are not a valid reason, nor are apples (though, both could be if you understood).

I will try and make a more detailed post, I’] very much similar to Shouma sharing the apple with Himari in the child broiler. Adam and Eve fates were intertwined by this decision. The fates of both Shouma and Himari were also connected from their sharing of the fruit of fate. The intertwined fates of both Kanba and Shouma are shown by their own sharing of the apple. The sharing of the apple may have brought ‘knowledge’ or something positive to the Takakura ‘siblings’, like an extended life in Himari’s case, but also brought its own havoc, like the trauma they all experienced. A life of hardship. [/spoiler]

To bring up something outside of the symbolism, the characters never ceased to surprise me. I really, really hated Ringo the first few episodes she was in and now she is arguably my favorite character. I went from really liking characters, to hating them, to liking them again sometimes in a span of only a few episodes. There were times where all I could think is how messed up every character seemed to be. But I couldn’t help rooting for them.

I’m sorry if my thoughts are everywhere. ^^;

[blkmage]

Am I cool to vote now?

I think you know that when I said very few, that was one of the posts that I was thinking about.

But yes, more of that in Penguindrum discourse please.

[MangaRocks!]

<ピンドラ>

Well, the reason I personally haven't been saying all that much about either Madoka or Penguindrum when voting in this thread is twofold: One, because with Penguindrum you pretty much need essay-length posts to really delve into all the connections (which I have seen, blkmage, both here and elsewhere {elsewhere being some blogs and a couple of posters on MAL}); and two, because I genuinely feel that others have already said what I'd like to say far better than I could rephrase and repeat it.

That said:

I've already mentioned that I haven't yet seen Disappearance (though not for a lack of desire-- the library is still holding me up on reading the novel , and at this point I'm leaning towards just giving up and buying it; I mean, the whole series is on my list of stuff to buy eventually anyway). Having enjoyed the first 3 books, seen clips which truly amaze me by how gorgeous the animation looks, and heard all the reviews, however, I know that it's fantastic and that I'm going to love it.

...But, as much as I enjoy the Haruhi novels (and am sure I will love the movie)-- and as much as I like Kyon -- the reason that I'm voting for Mawaru Penguindrum here is because I have never experienced anything else like it.

Aside from all the mental stimulation with its suspense and multilayered symbolism (I love stuff that makes you think and that spawns in-depth discussions-- both of which Penguindrum does {and yes, I am going to get back to the symbolism thing in a moment! })... along with its amazing power to make you hold one opinion, then make you completely (or almost completely) change that opinion, and then do so again, and again, and again, and no matter how many times it happens, you pretty much never see it coming... to me, as to SubtleDoc, it powerfully accentuates just how amazing true sacrificial love-- a love with possible extreme personal consequences and with no hope nor thought of reward-- really is, and how it can save people. And, being a Christian, that really hit home pretty hard for me.

[AnimeGirl]

<ＳＯＳ団>

This was a pretty intense movie. It deserves to be awarded !!

[Neane]

5 vs 5 currently.

[blkmage]

I ranted before about the fan reactions to Madoka

There's a sort of equivalence here, where I feel that a lot of people only like Penguindrum simply because it's very obviously deep or intellectual.

[quote="MangaRocks! (post: 1523772)"]Well, the reason I personally haven't been saying all that much about either Madoka or Penguindrum when voting in this thread is twofold: One, because with Penguindrum you pretty much need essay-length posts to really delve into all the connections (which I have seen, blkmage, both here and elsewhere {elsewhere being some blogs and a couple of posters on MAL})]
I know that there's a ton of words out there about Penguindrum, I've read a lot of them. My objective (pretty much for all of my threads) is to coax the same kind of words out of everyone here.

[MangaRocks!]

I know that there's a ton of words out there about Penguindrum, I've read a lot of them. My objective (pretty much for all of my threads) is to coax the same kind of words out of everyone here.

Fair enough. (...Hope the rest of my post fits that objective a bit better now, then. )