I probably shouldn’t even post this, since I don’t do well at keeping up with new anime. As it turns out, the number of anime I have seen from this year pretty much adds up to exactly 10 different shows/movies/OVAs that I would consider myself to have ‘watched’ (I guess I count watched as having been upwards of 10 episodes, since Shiki will be on this list, and I haven’t really watched Shiki all the way through).

I will probably just list out each of the ten anime I gave attention to, give a short summary of my thoughts on each, and call it good. Hopefully my opinions invite discussion. However, this probably shouldn’t be considered a ‘top 10′ since I’ve only seen 10 different shows. Instead, it will be what I watched listed from least to greatest, in terms of the measure of enjoyment I got from them. Note that I’m just going off of the list Gene provided in his last post.

Before I really begin, let me just say that, even though this is more of a ‘worst to best’ list than a ‘top 10′ list, I don’t think that any of these shows are actually awful. As I put the list together, I realized just how hard it was placing some of them. Some of the placements I’m still unhappy with, but I feel like placing shows next to each other as ‘equals’ is sort of a cop-out, so the list is the list. I’ll try to keep spoilers out along the way, but no promises!

Here we go!

10. Shiki

Yes. Shiki is at the bottom of this list. I could blame all the hype I was hearing for my disappointment in this show, but I’m not sure that’s entirely it. I wouldn’t go far as to say I dislike this show, as I am interested in what will happen, but I also feel like it’s a stretch to say I like it. Maybe I’m just missing something, but many of the things in this show just don’t do it for me.

The art style, for one. It’s unique, that’s for sure, but it rubs me entirely the wrong way. It’s difficult to stomach such a serious story when it’s being fed to you while everyone in it has ridiculous hair and even more exaggerated proportion than typical anime. The eyes are certainly pretty, but almost every character makes me question the art direction. When the characters aren’t the usual pretty anime types (Megumi, Natsuno, the young priest) they’re downright ugly (note a couple of the nurses).

I probably shouldn’t whine about the style so much, but I feel slightly entitled, anime being a visual medium. It’s hard to see the severity in the doctor’s experiments on the Shiki when his first test subject has both hair and an attitude that pisses me off, or when the next scene has a man with turquoise hair and conspicuous wolf ears which, like many things, seem plain out of place here (never mind that these have an explanation). Similarly, every single character in this show irritates me. It’s difficult to get emotionally invested in the village’s plight when I would just as soon have them all die so we can get this over with. At least to me, there is a distinct lack of charm in this show.

All that said, though, the story actually does interest me, and I will be finishing the show to figure out how this predicament ends up, and I can see myself recommending the show to select people, despite it not really being my cup of hot cocoa. Like I said, not an incredibly awful show, but not brilliant.

9. Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt

Ah, Panty & Stocking. This show is practically the definition of ‘all style, no substance’. Sometimes, that’s okay, though. This is a fun show to sit down and watch, as it’s often funny, always over-the-top, and sometimes rather intense–not in the sense of being emotionally harrowing, but in being high-flying and full of action.

Some of the things that happen in this show aren’t really my thing, however. The raunchy direction that many of the episodes take generally just doesn’t suit my tastes; it’s hard to get terribly interested when you know the next episode is probably going to be either half toilet jokes or half sex jokes.

Still, while I wouldn’t call the show ‘interesting’, it’s just simple fun. There’s usually call for simple fun now and again, so I certainly don’t mind having a show like this on the list.

8. Arakawa Under the Bridge

I was rather constantly praising this show throughout the semester as it was being shown, so it feels strange to me to have it so low on the list. But compared to the rest of the shows, I feel as if it belongs here–and I do have a fair complaint, I suppose.

This show is similar to P&S in that it’s here for the laughs; it’s a decent show for sitting down and enjoying the comedy. I also just like the concept of implausibly rich boy implausibly going to stay on the riverside with an implausible bunch of weird homeless people. All of the characters are fun and ‘interesting’, so it’s generally a treat no matter who’s on screen, though Sister is my favorite. It’s just a funny show, and the art, while not always totally smooth, definitely does the job. The quirky OP and ED also amuse me.

My one complaint is that sometimes things get… old. It ends up feeling like things are sort of going ‘as usual’ after a handful of episodes. This is a complaint I usually have about many comedy shows, though: it eventually seems like they rely on the same old things after a while. I also kind of don’t like the lemony narrator (this complaint will appear again), but that’s minor.

Overall, a frequently amusing show. I don’t know if I’ll move on to finish the second season, but I wouldn’t mind it.

7. High School of the Dead

Oh, High School of the Dead. I did a review on this, so I’ll try and keep it brief, but my overall feelings are that I think this is a show worth watching. It’s basically only a B-movie zombie plot adapted to anime with lots (and I mean LOTS; like, LOOOOOTS) of fanservice thrown in, but it’s obviously very well animated and can be exciting at times. It’s mostly another fun anime, but I still think it’s worth viewing.

Still think there’s too much fanservice, though.

6. Evangelion 2.22

I’m a fan of Evangelion (despite not yet having seen the first rebuild film), so I feel obligated to put this here on the list. I did honestly enjoy it, though. There were more differences from the original series than I expected there to be, so I was often pleasantly surprised as I watched.

The new budget was also strikingly obvious: it was actually really cool to see ‘old battles’ or scenes updated the way they were. The amount of blood and whatnot was a bit gratuitous, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t like seeing everything unfold as spectacularly as it did. A bit over the top, but immensely entertaining, too.

It has me really looking forward to the next Rebuild. I want to see what they do with this new take on the series.

5. Amagami-SS

To be honest, I feel bad for liking this show as much as I do. Like I’m sure many people have noted, the show is rather… standard. Average. Generic. Etc. The only thing separating this show from a more typical romantic comedy are the different arcs and all the odd ‘fetishes’ associated with each of the girls. Junichi’s character design is also what I would call horribly uninspired, but I guess it works.

I probably like it because I like all the girls. Every arc held my interest, gave me laughs (though the lemony narrator in Sae’s arc was more annoying than anything), and was generally sweet. The drama (such that it is) is often contrived, but it moves things along. I watch the show more for its comedy and the pleasantness of the romance. I never really saw myself enjoying a show like this, but I somehow can’t help myself from being incredibly charmed. It is, in a way, the opposite of Shiki: there isn’t anything of substance I can pick out, but I’m very won over by the characters and the situations, typical as they may be. Watching the show is just purely effortless, and I enjoy that.

In spite of all that praise mentioned, I definitely would be stingy in recommending this anime to anyone else. It’s obviously a romance show for guys (given some of the blatant fanservice, usually in the form of breast bouncing with accompanying cheesy sound effects), but even then I wouldn’t know what guys to suggest it to. I wouldn’t blame anyone for disliking the show, but it’s undoubtedly won me over.

4. Angel Beats!

As I think about it, I think Angel Beats! affected me in a similar way Amagami did. The story is crap, yet the characters, their histories, and the world they end up in are all interesting to me. It’s also obviously high-budgeted, something which is shown off in the very first episode–which I’m sure helped in hooking me.

There isn’t a lot more I can think to say about the show: it’s got good action and decent character interaction, even if the story falls to little bitty pieces late on.

Like I know Chris Lee has said, I feel like the show could have used more episodes–not so much to try and salvage the story so much as show us more of the characters’ past lives. I think those helped make the show for me, so I would have loved to see more of the situations which brought the characters where they are.

I still liked most of what we were given, however. I would recommend this anime to almost anyone.

3. Black Rock Shooter

The only reason BRS is so high on this list, really, is because there was a rumor of continuation. That isn’t to say that the OVA is bad, by any means–I really like it, myself. But if it was left alone, I would probably dismiss most of it as the directors trying to confuse for the sake of confusing. I don’t generally mind convoluted things, but I hope the creators have a direction in mind for this.

I would still like the OVA if it wasn’t continued, but I’m really anticipating something great in the future. I really like Kuroi and the other characters, along with the way their struggles are portrayed in the ‘other world’ with the more dangerous personalities like Black Rock Shooter. It’s an interesting mix of action and small human conflict. The gravity of the situations in BRS gets amplified by the way they’re depicted in the violence of the other world, so these trivial spats between middle schoolers seem a bit more important.

The way the supernatural elements begin to mix with the world we’re more familiar with also intrigues me. BRS really excites me, actually–it just seems like the creators have such grand things in mind, and that’s probably why I have such high expectations. However, even if we assumed that BRS got no continuation, I would still appreciate the OVA as something great. It’s pretty, has a good balance of action and ‘normal’ activity, and did a good job of making Kuroi likable, so I just really like this, short though it may be.

2. Tatami Galaxy

This show is, again, something I’ve already reviewed, so I’ll try to keep it short–which might be kind of hard, since I adore this show so much. From the concept to the art style to the rather pathetic main character, I just have a hard time finding things to dislike about this show.

That said, I guess I also would have a hard time making recommendations to everyone. It’s not exactly action-packed, and the way certain things happen over and over (ala deja vu) might bore other people. I don’t have a very magnificent attention span, though, and I still managed to enjoy the show immensely.

I would be very happy if everyone gave this show a chance, since it’s not something I see becoming wildly popular. In my eyes, it’s an interesting, funny, and stimulating show from start to finish.

1. Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

This may be unfair, since I just really, really like the Haruhi series (so expect some bias), but I thought this film was phenomenal. It’s beautifully animated, has characters I’m already familiar and infatuated with, and is, I think, a fantastic experience. The soundtrack is also incredible, full of familiar tunes that have been refined for the film feature.

I know Haruhi isn’t some people’s cup of tea, but as I already largely enjoy the show, this movie was a great treat for me. I enjoyed it even watching the awfully low-quality camrip at last semester’s showing, but seeing it again in 1080p proved to me how great it is.

As anything I write about this movie will be basically devoid of honest criticism, I should probably just stop here. I would show this movie to anyone, even (maybe ESPECIALLY) people who haven’t had any experience with Haruhi before. I loved the film, and I hope lots of you guys out there did, too.

If anybody does have some thoughtful criticism on the movie, I would be interested in hearing it, as my current infatuation makes me rather blind to its flaws. I probably won’t be compelled to move it from its place as the best piece of anime of the year, but hey, discussion is good!

…And that is everything. My ‘top 10′, if you will. I’m glad I was able to keep this as short as it is. Anyway, it’s late, I’m tired, and I know I’m not proofreading this, so I hope this list is passable to you guys. I don’t anticipate a lot of discussion, but feel free!