Tenchi's Thoughts: Favorites of 2008

A simply fabUUUULOUS year of anime!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I thought I would be a good little sheep and follow my fellow bloggers in listing some of my favorite things/people/shows of the year 2008. Due to a little get together and a sibling's birthday party I am in fact posting this a little bit late. Good thing I didn't bother in making a New Year's Resolution about being on time for now on. That would be just silly.

And we can't have SILLY!

So after leaving my list of favorites at work and my husband hogging on the computer I am posting this even later than expected. :P Such is my life. Anyway, here is a list of some favorites I had throughout the year. It was really fun going down anime memory lane. That and I think I watch entirely too much anime.....

Take a look back on 2008

Favorite Series: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Clannad

Yes, some of these series were not NEW to 2008 but this in when I viewed the same. Same goes for any "older" selections on this post. :P

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya has a huge cult following and I can see why. It was over the top enough to be entertaining but made enough sense that it wasn't just one huge laugh riot. The concept was very new to me and I enjoyed how the episodes were showed out of order to make the romance seem slow rather than episode 6 (I think). The art was right on and they really made a hit with the anime community with some other shows using TMOHS in their own shows. :)

Clannad is a slice of life anime with a bit of sci fi going on. Well, maybe more than a bit...In any event I watched this show because every forum I went to was MOG CLANNAD BEST SHOW EVA FOR REAL! While I have not played the game nor do I have plans to the anime was very good. The art is beautiful and the storyline is really good. Sometimes the issues the kids have seem very minor and not worth all the tears but it is done in such a sad way you feel like crying too. And props to a show that can make Tomoya cry as much as he does and still look manly.

Least Favorite Series: Vampire Knight (Guilty), Sola, La Corda D'Oro

I had seen the manga for La Corda D'Oro a few times and thought I would give the anime a whirl. Yeah major waste of time and I have no idea why I kept watching the show after episode...3. Kahoko was almost as annoying as Yuki. She had the memory of a goldfish. It was like everyday she remembered she really couldn't play the violin. Why the other characters couldn't put this together I will never know. Just an excuse for having 47384 hot guys standing around swooning over some stupid girl.

Air violin is made of fail.

Sola was a pretty disappointment on a massive level. Apparently it was voted the anime of the year in 2007. Those fans are insane. It was a mess crammed into 13 short episodes and made my head almost explode. The concept was very original...but it was just too much too fast. I really didn't care about the characters or their problems and it just got too unbelievable at times.

Let me show you the truth by stabbing you in the chest!

Vampire Knight Guilty. Enough said.

Favorite Female Character(s): Kotomi, Haruhi,

Kotomi. I have no idea why I love you so. You are just SO adorable I want to hug the life out of you. Why are you in America (I think) studying when you could be on my screen being cute? Who cares that Afterstory is mainly about Tomoya and Nagisa. There is room for you! You sitting on the floor and moving to see Tomoya is still one of the cutest things ever.

TOO CUTE FOR WORDS!

Haruhi...you are 15 kinds of special and all flavors that I like. You are a weird little girl with many different hair styles. You may or may not control the entire universe and yet you are bored with life. You try to spice up your life and it nearly leads to the destruction of the entire universe. And yet...we all love you anyway. CUE THE MUSIC!

Such a happy girl too!

Least Favorite Female Character(s): Yuki, Nina

This is pretty much self explanatory if you read my reviews on this series. I am not a fan of overly weak girls who are beyond stupid and need rescuing every 5 minutes when they mess things up. I am okay with weak girls who need rescuing...but Yuki insists on getting in danger and causing problems...then keeps apologizes for it. That and she crushed Zero's heart and...is stupid. That is all.

Nina is a little racist jerk who needs to fall in a hole and die. Seriously, I don't understand why she got to survive to see the end of the series. Just....every time I saw her on screen I wanted to throw something at her. Just not a table...we know how that would have ended.

Please choke on it!

Favorite Male Character(s): Aido

Aido is my little cutie pie! Kaname should have followed Aido's lead. Aido was able to be a little mysterious and sad but still be likeable. He was such a source of amusement in an anime that was dark and gloomy. He was trying to bring people up...and suck on some girls at the same time. Sorta like Spike from Buffy without the accent.

Everyone needs one funny friend!

Least Favorite Male Character(s): Kaname

Kaname sucks at life. There is being the mysterious tall man who gets slightly emo at times. Then there is being that kind of person, multiplying the emo by 15 and claiming to do everything just to help a girl. He did not deserve all the love or friends thrown his way. And he was drawn WAY too tall sometimes.

Favorite Opening Song: "PSI-Missing" by Mami Kawada

I think my record is 5 times. That is..how many times I have listened to this song in a row. It might have been higher before the full version came out. Such a powerful and different song. My husband has asked me on occasion why I keep watching the same anime show over and over again. Duh, I am watching the opening theme song 4 more times in a row!

Least Favorite Opening Song: "Kiss of Monochrome" (Kuroshitsuji) by Cid

Um...really not much to say about this song. Just....bleh. I was almost going to give this to Vampire Knight Guilty but the overly done emo song actually fit the mood of the series so I let it slide.

Favorite Couple: Fai and Kurogane, Nasiga and Tomoya,

I do not care if they are not "really" a couple. They sure are to me. They are the best kind of couple with their not having to SAY they are a couple or the way they fight because they love each other. Besides the fact Kurogane is willing to give up anything for Fai means a lot. Something doesn't have to be spelled out for it to be powerful.

It wouldn't be fair if Fai and Kurogane got so much love and everyone else was left out in the cold. In comparison to Fai and Kurogane everyone else loses so let's have some runner-ups. Tomoya and Nagisa are a very cute couple. They bring out the best in each other and they accept each other's short comings. I think Tomoya has become a much gentler person since meeting Nagisa but he is still Tomoya. I like how they are not overly all making out and LOVELY DOVEY. It just seems natural and I love the blushing scenes.

And we are up to TWO onscreen kisses now!

Least Favorite Couple: Amu and Tadase, Yuki and Kaname

Amu and Tadase are boring. Very boring. I hope that this is just Amu's first little crush going on physical appearances. Not to mention that Tadase with his whole I like Amulet Heart...that was so sad. I can't believe he would say that in front of Amu. I don't care if he has changed and loves her now. Ikuto is a much better choice.

The cape makes me want to hurl.

Yuki and Kaname make me barf and that is besides the incest factor. Their "romance" just dragged ooooooooon and ooooon. Kaname was manipulative and Yuki whined way too much. Actually...maybe they belong together after all. In any event it didn't feel like they belonged together; it was just them following "FATE" to be together.

Yuki better watch out since TonyTheShredder from Crunchyroll is IN LOVE WITH KANAME!

Favorite Manga: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle volume 19, The Gentlemen's Alliance volume 6, Shugo Chara volume 4, XXXholics volume 12

Of course Tsubasa shall always win...or will for a long time to come. Fushigi Yuugi use to hold that spot...SORRY!!! Fushigi Yuugi would be on this list but volume 7 was too damn sad. :( Well...so was volume 19 of Tsubasa....I just liked seeing a new side of Sakura and Kurogane protecting his Fai.

Gentlemen's Alliance is a VERY good manga....and I bought it at first solely because of Arina Tanemura being the artist. It has a lot of teen angst in the series but it is done in a very "cool way". Of course it having a yaoi pairing has NOTHING to do with my love of the series....or the fact I enjoy twins and cross-dressing. Hime i tough enough to defend herself but still a vulnerable girl. Two thumbs up from me.

Shugo Chara!!!! I got into this series...I think around June because I remember having to wait for episode 42 to be subbed. Anyway, tracking down number one of this manga was hard. X_X Such an extremely popular series with a crazy fan base. I do think the art is done better in the show than the manga, but I love how the manga has no fillers in it. Gets to the point fast. Amu looks so cute with her facial expressions too. Now...if they would only get released faster.

XXXholics is almost like Tsubasa but with a different yaoi pairing.

Favorite School Uniform: Sola

This series might have annoyed me to death....but I loved the color of their uniforms.

Funniest Scenes of 2008:

There are a few since I couldn't just narrow it down.