Click on the image for the original Top 10 Funniest Anime list

(Updated 2010) Originally posted on July 5th 2007, the “Top 10 Funniest Anime” has been by far the most popular post on my blog. It also have the most comments of anime fans giving thanks, throwing in their 2 cents and sharing their own favourites with others. There have also been cries for an updated list since last year – after all, the original list was created 2 years before that.

So after all the pushing, nudging and encouragement (especially WIZ and Vini) the new list is finally here!

Yes, it took me a looooong time to get the new top 10 sorted out. Believe it or not, I actually spent half a year re-watching most of the series in the old list so I could judge better against the newer series that was released after that.

And while some of the old series still made it back to the top 10, you will find plenty of new funny anime have conquered my list.

The usual disclaimer: This list is based on MY preference, on what I watched, what I liked and what I thought deserved to be here. I want to share with you on what I believe are excellent and funny anime series you should watch if you ever want a good laugh.

These are the series that always made me laughed till my tears came out, or at the very least puts a smile to my face even when I’m feeling down. Don’t underestimate the power of laughter!

Also, just because a series ranked higher than another doesn’t mean I prefer it over the lower ranking ones. It just means that I believe it to be funnier – this is a top 10 list of funniest anime, not my top 10 favourite anime. If you’re looking for that, check out the “What’s Hot” section on the sidebar for my yearly best 10. They’re always somewhere there.

And so the rants ends here. Let the show begin…

#10 Akazukin Cha Cha

• Little Red Riding Hood + Magical Girl = Cha Cha
• Huge and diversified cast, yet most are memorable
• Cha Cha & Co. can be really silly sometimes most of the time
• Still surprises me how the first 2 seasons of the anime is filler content, and they are also the best parts of the entire series. Goes to show fillers might not be so bad after all, eh?

#9 Hayate no Gotoku

• Debt ridden butler who seems to attract trouble and misfortune
• Lots of parodies and references to other anime and manga series
• Great animation quality
• Can really be over the top sometimes – in a good way

#8 K-ON!

• Mio~~ Moe Moe Kyun~
• Superb music! (Don’t Say “LAZY”)
• Starts out rather slow, takes a few episodes before it really hooks you in, thanks to Mio
• Animation quality quite a let down, especially coming from KyoAni

#7 Ouran High Host Club

• Rich bastards with no common sense
• Poor guy girl with weird common sense
• Still think it’s one of the best anime/manga ever
• Can’t think of anything bad at all about Host Club, really…

#6 History’s Strongest Disciple, Kenichi

• Useless, no talent disciple training under the world’s best martial artists
• Ryouzanpaku masters are just insane – in more sense than one
• Great balance between comedy and action
• Sadly, the anime ended right before one of the best arcs in the manga

#5 Baka to Test to Shokanju

• Brand new anime from 2010
• School where students can summon avatars whose strength are directly linked to their test scores
• It’s so damn stupid, but oh so damn funny!
• The summoned beings are cute and funny too
• Great tear-jerker… and I mean tears of laughter, of course

#4 Ranma 1/2

• Boy who turns to girl when splashed with cold water
• Completely whacky cast and story
• Over 160 episodes (including movies and OAVs) and yet managed to be funny almost every episode (trust me, not an easy feat)
• Classic that will never die

Now, For The Top 3

Before we move on to the top 3, I just need to say this…

It took me a very long time and a lot of thinking, debating and rewatching to come up with the current order. I even thought of making it a 3-way tie for the title of Funniest Anime, but that didn’t felt quite right either.

These 3 series are just as good as the other and just as hilarious. I kept switching the top 3 spots between them as I made this update before finally deciding on this order.

All 3 deserved to be winners, but unfortunately each position can only be occupied by one show…

#3 Full Metal Panic FUMUFFO!

(Yes, the previous Funniest Anime title holder has been pushed down to #3! Oh noes!)

• Top secret mercernary on a mission with no common sense thrown into normal everyday life with not so normal situations
• Extreme opposite of the serious Full Metal Panic and FMP The Second Raid
• It was, and still is, one of the funniest anime around so far
• Bonta-kun exo-suit FTW!

#2 Lucky Star

• Omigosh! It’s… us!?
• Tons of parodies and references to otaku, gamers, other anime and mangas
• Funny and interesting cast
• Makes you go “holy shit! I do that!” and “hey! I know what you mean!”
• I just can’t get bored of watching Lucky Star x3
• Chocolate cornet…

#1 Minami-ke (Season 1)

• Chiaki-sama~~~
• Lovable cast (Chiaki-sama~~~)
• “This is just the plain depiction of the days of the lives of the three Minami sisters. Please don’t expect too much.” The series tells you exactly what it is at the start of every episode lol
• Epic chase scene in first episode
• Forget Okawari (2nd season) ever existed, even skip it altogether!
• Okaeri (season 3) redeemed Minami-ke somewhat, but the first season is still the best and funniest
• Just can’t really get bored of season 1 and season 3 (like I said, forget season 2 ever existed and you’ll be fine!)
• Minami-ke At It’s Best!

And there you have it!

My Top 10 Funniest Anime list as of early 2010. I’ll definitely update this again in the future to keep it updated, but don’t worry… If you’re craving for more funny anime to watch, here are a few more to keep you company until the next update!

These are all shows that I’ve watched (at least a few episodes) that I find to be both entertaining and funny. While they didn’t make the top 10 or was dropped from the list doesn’t mean they aren’t great – it just means the competition for the list is just that tough!

Here they are, in no particular order of preference:

1. Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge
2. Chobits
3. Zero no Tsukaima
4. Love Hina
5. Slam Dunk
6. Nyan-koi
7. Seitokai no Ichizon
8. Midori no Hibi
9. Fruits Basket
10. Hetalia Axis Powers
11. Shugo Chara
12. Ladies vs Butlers
13. Honey and Clover
14. Kobato.
15. Yakitate Japan
16. Toradora
17. Azumanga Daioh
18. Seto no Hanayome
19. Kamen no Maid Guy
20. Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO)
21. Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun
22. Slayers series
23. Rosario + Vampire
24. Lovely Complex
25. School Rumble

Originally, I wanted to add something extra with this update, but I couldn’t find the time to sit down and get it done. I won’t reveal what is it just yet because I still plan on doing it when I get the chance, hopefully within the next few weeks or next couple of months. How’s that for something to look forward to?

Yes, I’m still here

This time instead of a top 10, there will actually be 12!

The reason is because I had such a hard time trying to decide which are the best in my opinion and I ended up with 12 great shows that I don’t have the heart to just kick any of them off the list anymore.

Only series that started this year (sequels included), or series that started late last year, with at least half the episodes aired in 2009 is considered. Of course, only series that I’ve watched are also considered. I can’t judge something I’ve not watched, after all.

Also, this list is based on my own preference. Everyone have their own tastes, you might not like the same shows as I do, but chances are there will be a few that you will agree with me.

#12

Cross Game

Never thought I would be watching a baseball anime. I’ve had absolutely no interest at all in the sport, and I still don’t. But the story itself is very well written and the animation top notch. The first episode left a pretty deep impression on me, which is what hooked me into continuously watching and enjoying Cross Game.

#11

Eden of the East

Yet another well written story, Eden of the East is destined for greatness. Why the low rank, though? Because the ending was hanging and it would be another year (estimated) before any of us outside Japan can get to see the first movie. And then there’s the 2nd movie…

Having to wait so long for the finale just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

#10

Kobato

CLAMP did it again with Kobato! And thankfully, this time it seems like they’ve gone back to a more straight-forward and less confusing story compared to Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle and xxxHolic. I didn’t want to read the manga yet since I’m still reading the former 2, but after watching this I probably will start reading the manga too.

And Ioryogi kinda reminds me of Meido Guy. He’s awesome XD

#9

Hetalia – Axis Powers

History has never been so fun. I wished they used this to teach World History back in school, I would have learned a lot more (and actually remember it, too!). The jokes can be really hit or miss, and sometimes it just doesn’t make sense at all, which is why Hetalia doesn’t rank any higher. But I always find myself looking forward to more Hetalia every week.

#8

Seitokai no Ichizon

The student council may not do anything at all with most of the show taking place in that same room, but in this case it’s not the settings but the characters that keeps the series floating. I only wish it was KyoAni who were doing this, they’re probably the most suited to do a show like this.

#7

Pandora Hearts

Possibly the best adaptation of Alice in Wonderland in an anime. Like Alice in Wonderland, Pandora Hearts features a cast of interesting and whacky characters such as Break with his Mad Hatter chain.

#6

Minami-ke Okaeri

While it may not be the same standard as the original Minami-ke (my top anime of 2007), Minami-ke Okaeri is leaps better than the previous season of Okawari. The OP and ED may be placed at annoyingly odd timing, but at the very least Minami-ke became watchable again, and more importantly – funny and interesting.

#5

Nyan-Koi

A romantic comedy with a cat curse, what more can I ask for!?

And you just gotta love Nyamsus <3

#4

Hayate no Gotoku Season 2

Hayate’s season 2 starts off a lot stronger than season 1, but ends rather abruptly. Season 2 puts a lot more focus on side characters, especially Hinagiku. More Hinagiku is never a bad thing – her dazzling performance of Cruel Angel Thesis was nothing short of remarkable.

#3

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

I’ve never been a fan of Full Metal Alchemist. But Brotherhood surprised me. After the first 10 or so episodes, it took a different turn than the original anime series, this time following the original manga storyline. I can finally see why FMA is so popular thanks to Brotherhood. All I can say is I’m glad I decided to stick with Brotherhood to see how the story would be different since it follows the manga. Olivier Mira Armstrong quickly overtook Mustang and Major Armstrong as my favourite character.

#2

Saki

Mahjong is a fun game. It takes both luck and skill to play and it feels like a strategic battle between 4 people. Throw in plenty of ridiculous moves and finishing hands, and you get Saki. The chances of performing any of the hands that so frequently appear in Saki is extremely low in a real life game. But even though you know they are coming, it still feels extremely intense to watch Saki do her thing. While the fanservice can be over the top sometimes, it’s only natural since it’s by Gonzo.

#1

*drumrolls…*

Presenting the 4 members…

On the drums…

On the guitar…

On the keyboard…

And finally the bass…

Oops.. sorry… wrong image.

Let’s try that again.. on the bass…

Yup, the winner this year is none other than the light music club, the K-ON club!

K-ON!

Animation quality may be lacking, even more so since this is coming out of KyoAni’s studio, but K-ON quickly grew into a huge sensation. Mio became the newest darling of anime fans worldwide overnight. It won’t be exactly wrong to say that Mio was what helped pushed K-ON to the top of the list and she is the main reason the majority continues to enjoy and loves the show.

The music and songs are also excellent to say the least. Don’t Say Lazy, Fuwa Fuwa Time, these are just 2 of the songs from K-ON that will live on for many, many years to come. A true masterpiece, if only KyoAni had done a better job at the animation quality, but I guess you can’t always have it all.

Happy 2010!!!

Following through my post on the most promising spring series this year, it’s time to re-evaluate that list. It’s already about a month into the season so I’ve managed to catch all the series I wanted to.

Some were not as good as I originally thought, while some proved to get better as the episodes roll out.

Here are the best 8 this season in no particular order…

Hayate no Gotoku (Season 2)

Season 2 is beginning to look a lot better than the first and that’s really saying something since the first season is regarded as one of the best anime in the past couple of years. And the OAV suddenly made more sense after watching the first few episodes of the second season.

The debt-ridden butler continues to attract more new suitors while getting into even more trouble. Even Maria was tempted to give him some Valentines chocolate, which ended in some unexpected and really brutal chocolate destruction from the usually kind and gentle Maria.

And Hayate in female a girl’s seifuku and miko costume = priceless and always more than welcomed! (crap, did I say that out loud?)

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Eden of the East

Excellent in almost every angle – story telling, character design, animation, pacing, you name it, although I don’t really find the soundtrack to be that good. And for once they actually had proper seiyuus who could speak English to actually speak it! *gasp*

The first episode took off interestingly with Morita Akira running around naked and flashing his “Johnny” everywhere. He is certainly the most enigmatic character to show up in an anime for quite some time. The more we find out about Akira, the more mysterious he becomes.

Why did he chose to wipe out his own memory?

Why was he standing naked with a gun in front of the White House?

What are the Selecao and who is the Supporter?

The more answers Akira finds, the more questions he starts to have. So many questions and the episodes aren’t coming out fast enough. Eden of the East will easily be one of the best shows this year if it keeps up the momentum.

 

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Cross Game

Besides Eden of the East, Cross Game is one of the most well crafted show this season. The first episode captivating to say the least, at the same time it was quite cruel. I say cruel, because I really thought the story was cruel. Not cruel in an evil, bloodstained kind of way but on an emotional level.

 

A nice build up between the relation of the main character and his love interest that was suddenly and unexpectedly pulled to a halt.

You seldom feel sad when a character dies off in the first episode. There’s just too little time to build up a strong enough emotion to actually do that. Cross Game did more than that with actually leaving a hole in your heart and the feeling that something really important has suddenly gone missing.

I call that top-notched story telling.

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Valkyria Chronicles

I really was planning to buy the game only after I’ve finished playing a few other games, but after watching the anime, I decided to buy it now rather than later.The animation style still takes a bit to get used to, but there’s a certain elegance in it. From screenshots of the game, it looks like the style is actually taken from the game itself.

Welkin is still very much a mystery and no one can really tell what he’s really thinking. He looks naive at first glance and while he does act weird, he’s always able to think about things calmly and logically when it counts – even though some of his thoughts and actions are based on whims. But that’s what makes him such an interesting character.

There are few game-based anime that are good or memorable, and even though it might be too early to say this,Valkyria Chronicles looks set to be one of the best adaptations in recent years.

“I am Kana. Fear me!”

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 07-Ghost

The first thing that caught my eye in 07-Ghost is how well the character designs were.

It’s really interesting how the story started off with Teito being in a military academy where students are able to use some sort of ability that manifests some sort of runic words and use it as a weapon against enemies.

But the setting quickly changed and Teito found himself in the care of a church said to be protected by the 7 ghosts. What exactly are the 7 ghosts are still kept hidden but I can only guess that the 3 bishops are very closely related to them. They might even be the ghosts themselves in human form.

07-Ghost keeps coming up with new questions as well but it seems that everyone involved in it knows whats going on except Teito.

The only thing I really hate about 07-Ghost is Ayanami. He’s most likely to be the final villain, so I’m just counting the episodes until Teito totally tears him apart for all that he’s done.

What a scary place, it even managed to turn the no-nonsense Teito into comic relief…

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Saki

Non-mahjong fan who skipped this should give this a try. It’s a fun series thats really entertaining even if you don’t really understand everything that’s happening on the mahjong table.Trust me on this, I play mahjong a little myself and I can barely understand the wa they play. My only conclusion is that Japanese mahjong uses a very different scoring system compared to the rest of the world. Even so, it’s still fun to watch.

The anime is beginning to take a slightly different path than the first volume of the manga I’ve read, but that might not be a bad thing. That’s not really a bad thing, considering the anime appears to be trying to get the series to move forward faster to the good part – the mahjong tournament.

Give this a try, and you might just be tempted to start playing mahjong yourself. Or you might just want to watch it for this:

 Yummy…

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K-ON

One word: Mio.She has swept the guys off their feet and instantly became the new darling of otaku-dom. She is Tsukasa with a brain and will be one of the toughest competitor in the upcoming Saimoe.

K-ON has a cast of likable characters, there’s the rich and well mannered Mugi (who apparently has a thing for yuri), the energetic little devil Ritsu, the complete airhead Yui and the moe moe kyun~ Mio.

K-ON is without a doubt a great show, but I have a feeling that its popularity shot up mostly thanks to Mio. That’s not a bad thing really, since it just gives more exposure to the series.

I really was expecting a lot more from K-ON in terms of the animation quality especially since KyoAni is behind it. It’s still good, but nowhere near the level of Lucky Star or Clannad.

If anyone dies of moe overload this season, the culprit will be Mio.

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Scythes must be the “in” thing this season.

Pandora Hearts

First episode was so-so, but had that certain attraction to it. True enough, each episode just gets better and better.I was afraid that the whole series might take place in the crappy abyss, simply because it would get boring real fast. But Oz managed to escape to the real world with the help of Alice.

From Gil’s actions, I can guess that one of the Death Gods could be Oz’s father. I might pick up the manga once the anime is over if I can find it. Right now, I’m happy enough to watch the anime.

It’s just sad that the quality for Pandora Hearts is so poor…

I think I’m in love with Alice…

A new season has arrived. As usual there are a lot of shows and even more bad ones. There are still a few shows I’m trying to catch like Hatsukoi Limited, 07 Ghost and Eden of the East. But the season is starting out better than I thought, and here are 8 shows that are standing out so far.

Kugimiya Rie is busy again as usual this season with 3 very different roles:  the rich loli Nagi, the living armor Al and the mahjong player equipped with a fang, Yuuki.

Hayate the Combat Butler (2nd season)

Still as brilliant as ever, although I do wonder about some of the color changes. But it doesn’t really bother me that much since the main cast were not touched. Gotta love the summary of the first season at the start – short and sweet. Was disappointed that the OP wasn’t done by Kotoko

Unless I’ve been dreaming during season 1 (or I just totally forgot about it), there appeared to be a short skip in the story involving Nagi and Ayumu’s younger brother. Guess that means I’ll have to read the manga to find out what really happene.

And Maid Max Hearts FTW!

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

Unlike most who thinks FMA is one of the best anime/manga around, I didn’t think it was that good. Don’t get me wrong, FMA is good, but to me it wasn’t up to the level many others hailed it as.

One of the things I liked about FMA was the great supporter of mini skirts for uniform Roy Mustang. Having the surprisingly perverted colonel come out as if he could shout “nerai wa utsu!” at anytime dampens that. It will take some time to adjust to the new Lockon Colonel Mustang.

But as long as it’s not going down the exact same route the original series did, FMA Brotherhood will be an interesting watch. I don’t really like waiting week after week to watch a “rerun” when we can just rewatch the original series from start to finish in a couple of days.

Salutes to Kenji Utsumi for still being able to pull off an awesome Major Armstrong at nearly the age of 72, one of the oldest seiyuus around today.

Apparently, FMA Brotherhood will be showing on Animax Asia very soon as well.

Saki

It’s like a dream come true. I had really enjoyed xxxHolic’s mahjong episode and it was then I found out about Saki. However, the manga was difficult to find and I only managed to get a few chapters of it, which discouraged me from reading. So when Saki was announced to make its debut as an anime this season, it easily became one of the series I looked forward to most.

And I love it! I play mahjong for fun every now and then with a few friends, and it’s always a barrel of laughter. The kind of things you do just to screw up a single opponent even if it meant losing the round, it’s all good fun – if you consider this twisted kind of fun as good like me.

Unless Gonzo somehow screws this up really bad, I will enjoy this very much.

K-ON

The first 10 minutes or so was kinda boring – my first impressions of Konata’s chocolate cornet was loads more entertaining. The real fun only began after Yui stepped into the club room.

Maybe my expectations were too high after reading and hearing good things about K-ON, but I was slightly disappointed after watching it. Animation is pretty fluid as expected from KyoAni, but I’m sure they could have done a lot better especially the colours.

Slap Up Party -Arad Senki-

I like spirit Roxy. She’s just so cute and adorable, a lot different compared to when she was a demon knight. It looks interesting enough, but at the same time it feels like a ticking timebomb waiting to blow up and go very wrong.

Pandora Hearts

I’m curious about this series. Like how Pandora was curious enough to ignore Zeus’s warning and opened the jar to unleash evil and misery to the world, I find myself attracted to what evil and misery Pandora Hearts will unleash.

Asura Cryin’

If the first episode is anything to go by, the original summary that this series is about a boy and a ghost girl doesn’t do any justice to it. Secret societies, religious wars, scientific experiments, a mecha hidden in wormhole stuffed inside a small metal casing -Asura Cryin’ might actually end up as one of the best this season.

Valkyria Chronicles

I haven’t played the game (yet) but something tells me I’ll be playing it sooner than I thought. The animation style kinda resembles a painting, especially the shading. You can easily tell it looks different from other shows but personally I think it looks pretty good. One of the most impressive looking series that came this season with a cast of likable characters. I think I have the hots for Alicia already <3

Maybe it’s because I didn’t watch as many anime as I did last year due to work, but it seems like the overall quality of anime released this year wasn’t as high as last year. That doesn’t mean that the series that came out this year are bad. It’s just I find that there were a lot more choices I had to really evaluate to stick into the top 10 last year than this year.

But all in all it’s still a good year, especially for sequels and most importantly, the starting point where studios and anime companies finally begins to see the bigger picture and began to stream anime online for free or a small fee.

As usual, this list is based on what I’ve watched this year (that was released this year) and since I did not get pass episode 4 of Macross Frontier, it will not be on the list no matter how good you say it is. Shana Second would have made the list too if it didn’t suck so bad for the first 3 quarters of the season.

Side note: Kugimiya Rie the tsundere queen has been hard at work this year…

#10 Slayers Revolution

Megumi Hayashibara returns along with the others to voice Lina Inverse and gang in Slayers Revolution. They managed to keep true to the series, although they could have really done more to keep the plot interesting. But since this is basically just the first half, there’s still a chance for Slayers to bounce back in Evolution-R.

Overall the series was just as I remembered, although a bit disappointing at the same time due to the lack of interesting developments.

#9 Shugo Chara / Shugo Chara Doki

Admittedly there are a lot of boring parts, especially at the beginning of Doki, but it’s been going uphill ever since Nadeshiko Nagihiko returned. Come to think of it, the series began to feel boring ever since Nadeshiko left. It was probably “her” presence that gave life to Shugo Chara in the first place since Tadase and Yaya is pretty much hopeless.

Nadeshiko was the one initially pushing the plot forward and is now pretty much doing the same thing again. Just gotta love the rivalry between him and Rima-tan. And Kairi suks.

#8 To Aru Majutsu no Index

This would be so much better if it was moving at a faster pace. The alternating episodes of action and story development leading towards the next action episode feels so painfully slow. But otherwise it’s a pretty good series, although Touma really needs to do learn some new tricks other than rushing into things and depending on his Imagine Breaker which seems to be getting more and more useless with the newer enemies.

To Aru Majutsu no Index does show a lot of promise to be great despite its terrible pacing. It feels like a darker version of Law of Ueki, but at the same time it’s also something that has never been done before from what I know. Magic and science put together has always been an interesting formula especially if done right, and this show is heading down the right way.

#7 Hayate no Gotoku

I still don’t know why Hayate is the combat butler, especially since he rarely do any actual combat. It’s more like a all-in-one butler who does anything and everything (wait… that’s what a butler does, isn’t it?). It’s more appropriate to call Hayate the poor and bad luck butler.

Hayate makes use of plenty of cliches, puns and parodies but at the same time maintain a fine balance of original story and insanity that doesn’t make the series feel like its pushing it too much.

#6 Lucky Star OAV

You wa Shock!

We need more Lucky Star! We need more Lucky Channel Live! More More More!!!

It’s Lucky Star, ‘nuf said.

#5 Tower of Druaga – the Aegis of URUK

The first episode wasn’t really the first episode, but more of a chaotic piece of randomness put together to attract the attention of the anime community. There was an alternate, real, first episode that appeared on NicoNico for a short while before being removed for some reason. But trust me, the one everyone is familiar with is much better.

The plot is as thick as a slice of cheese, there are no character development, and everything looks as if the director simply dreamed up of a story the night before the episode script was due. Only the last few episode had any real and actual meaning to the plot.

But the journey was a really good one. The seemingly bizarre randomness of plot and twist made the Tower of Druaga what it is that we came to love. I mean, who can forget the Roper dance!? And I can’t wait for the Sword of URUK to start showing in about a week’s time.

Initially I was skeptical of what Gonzo would release to the world as one of two of the first ever anime being streamed online for free right after the episode is released in Japan. Thankfully, the Tower of Druaga proved to be a good show, although I can’t say the same for the rest of Gonzo’s releases since then.

#4 Zero no Tsukaima: Princesses no Rondo

I missed Zero no Tsukaima last year and did a marathon of the first 2 season before starting to watch Princesses no Rondo. The relationship between Saito and Louise reminds me so much of Yuji and Shana but maybe that’s because they are voiced by the same pair of seiyuus. But unlike Yuji x Shana, Saito and Louis is less annoying but more entertaining.

Zero no Tsukaima never fails to crack a laughter whenever some scared super weapon turns out to be something from “our” world such as a bazooka or an antique fighter jet.

One thing that had struck me as odd since the start is how Saito so easily adapted to his life with Louise and never really misses home as much as he would like to make others believe.

ZnT is also one of the rare few series that continues to be good season after season.

#3 Clannad & Clannad ~ After Story ~

Clannad is without a doubt one of the top series last year and it is still tops this year. The last few episodes was very well done and it just loves to twist your emotions at will. It was unfortunate that Kyou didn’t get her own arc since Tomoyo even had her own special alternate ending.

While After Story was not as good as the first season, After Story acts more like an epilogue than an actual sequel season. The focus of the story for the most parts shifts away from the main girls in Clannad. Artwork and animation is still tops, as expected of anything KyoAni.

However, this is probably something only fans of the original season would enjoy. Like me

#2 Gundam 00

I was very skeptical of Gundam 00 when it first aired. It was like an updated version of Gundam Wing and for most of the first season, g00 was just bad. But the 2nd season really picked up and it turned out to be one of the best this year – once you’re used to how Sunrise does things, of course.

Look pass how Gundam 00 is all about the mobile suits power rather than pilot skills most of the time, how a more powerful MS or upgrade appears every few episode and how new technology just appear out of thin air, and you’ve got one of the most impressive mecha anime of the year.

There are more character development so far in the second season than the entire first season combined, something I ranted about before. 00 Gundam is now the most haxed MS ever with its quantum dissolving ability, although I still think it will lose against Strike Freedom and especially Infinite Justice.

Maybe it’s just me, but g00 s2 is beginning to feel a bit like Code Geass in how the writers are trying to screw the cast one way or another.

#1 Code Geass R2

There are no good guys or bad guys, just people with big egos and personal agendas. Trust no one and be prepared to back stab anyone. Those were what made Code Geass the best of 2008.

Suzaku, an ally who turned into your worse enemy ended up being the only person you can rely on in the end. The infamous “Orange-kun” who became one of Lelouch’s greatest ally and carried on to become arguably the coolest character in entire of Code Geass.

The Order of the Black Knights, one of the most powerful and influential organization built from scratch by Zero, turned against him without batting an eyelid. Kallen, the person who no one believed would have turned against Lelouch, did just that without first seeking the proper truth.

And the ressurection of cast members who long thought dead, but as the saying goes, if there is no dead body being buried, no one really died. It’s just sad that Lelouch decided that he needed to die instead of abusing Jeremiah’s Geass-Canceller ability to re-geass the entire world to either do as he wished, or to forget the whole incident.

The final twist of Zero Requiem was totally unexpected, having Zero to finish off Lelouch himself. What surprises me is that no one wondered why unathletic Zero was suddenly able to get pass all those guards and single handedly take out Emperor Lelouch. But the biggest question still remains, is Lelouch still alive somehow in the World of C, just as his mother, Marianne, was?

Happy 2009!