Top Favorite Anime/Manga Moments of 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The new year is almost upon us! To kick off the new year and put the old year behind us I decided to get on the ball and make my top anime/manga relate moments of the year. That includes best new series/characters/songs/ect. I also included some of my not so favorite anime moments of the year because that is how I roll.

I am just proud of myself that I am actually posting this while it is still 2009. GO ME FOR BEING ON TIME FOR ONCE.

Enjoy my post and what I thought stood out in the year 2009. I hope everyone has a safe night and that next year will be filled with more awesome anime/manga moments for us to talk about in 12 more months.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!



Saddest moment: Ushio/Nagisa dying

There were a lot of sad anime moments in the year 2009. I tried to think of the saddest moments of the year and it came down to a tie between Nagisa’s death and Ushio’s death. I know I was only supposed to pick ONE moment but I am bad at making decisions when they are this close. Also the deaths are kinda related so it’s okay. Or at least that is what I tell myself.

Be right back, finding tissues. :(

Since I spoiled the series for myself neither deaths were a surprise. But the build up to Nagisa’s death was so sad. Tomoya and Nagisa looking out at the ocean knowing that their future was really really bleak. But then the moment happens: Nagisa gives birth and Tomoya is in denial that the moment is happening. Nagisa is brave until the very end but we probably can’t say the same for all the viewers watching this sad scene unfold. Nagisa’s death brought a lot of tears in my house and I am sure I was not alone in sobbing land.

Thank you Clannad, I wanted to run out of tears today!

I think everyone knows I am not really a fan kids…but Ushio and her silly accent almost broke down the doors to my kid hating heart. The moments she and Tomoya spent together were short but very cute and sweet. So when her tiny self became sick and all she wanted to do was go on a trip with her dad my heart nearly broke. Tomoya holding his dying child in my arms…it was almost Nuriko dying in the snow kind of tears. She didn’t stay dead for long…but still. Not going to talk about this anymore, I feel the tears building up.

Favorite moment: Tomoya hugging his daughter/Tomoya hugging Nagisa

Okay I really suck about picking just ONE moment but can you blame me? Both of these moments are just too awesome for words.

And then I lose it. XD

Tomoya spent 4/5 years after Nagisa’s death mourning and feeling sorry for himself. Which I don’t fault him for but he should have spent time with his daughter. That is time he will never get back and that is part of why this scene is so powerful. He understands what he has done to this innocent girl isn’t fair and he just wants to be the very best father he can be now. And Ushio…well she has a heart of a very forgiving child who just wanted to be loved all this time. If this scene doesn’t bring tears to your eyes well then Mr. Grinch you have no heart. And yes this is one of my favorite moments of the year despite the fact that I was crying like a baby.

I can stop crying now yes?

So after all the sadness that Tomoya has experienced has not been in vain. He has earned his right to reset his time (collecting everyone’s happiness) and be with Nagisa again. Now I thought that Tomoya was doing a “noble” thing letting Nagisa walk away so that she could live even though they would never again experience their life together. But love won out in the end and Tomoya wanted to be with Nagisa even if the sadness would still come. Nagisa is joyful that Tomoya was able to make that hard decision and their faith was rewarded and Nagisa gets to live this time. So this hug symbolizes the magic reset and how it made the whole series worth it. Again with the tears but they are happy tears.

Lamest series: Maria Holic

Sadly she never dies...:(

I really do not know why I watched this series for so long. If I hated something so bad I probably should have dropped it well after it started giving me a headache and stopped being fun to mock. But I didn’t so part of the reason this series sucks is my attitude.

That being said…just no. This series was trying too hard to…well use every artist anime element known to mankind. And the jumps in between the techniques gave me a headache. Instead of coming off as pretty or funny it came off as lazy. The main character was a perverted jerk and you kinda wish these people wouldn’t talk to her.

I liked Maria though. If the story focused more on her the series wouldn’t have been such a failure. But since it focuses on boobies and some girl’s pretend universe that she was a lesbian which…I thought was pretty disrespectful it failed. Tons of fail.

Favorite Manga Series: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

It can't be over! I refuse to accept it!

Probably not a huge surprise with this one. Tsubasa will probably go down as one of my favorite mangas of all time. A lot of fans thought the ending dragged on a little bit which hurt the rushed FINAL conclusion. I tend to agree and thought too many things went unanswered and pages were wasted with beautiful but unnecessary battle scenes.

But overall the manga is gorgeous and the plot was really unique and interesting. I love all the crossovers from the different CLAMP series and the way CLAMP is still stringing me along with X/1999. I love all the characters and the pairings (YES I SAID PAIRINGS). I love the art work and the dramatic emotions.

But I do wish some of the major plot points were answered. There is still hope that we will find out who Fei Wong Reed is in XXXholics. However I fear some answers will never come. I guess that means…they need to a Tsubasa part two! XD

Favorite New Manga Series: Kobato

I love the hats. XD

Thanks to Simplicity I got hooked on another CLAMP series. Which is good since Tsubasa ended and all. I really need to keep up with the latest manga and not rely on the beyond behind selection at book stores. But I also curse Simplicity since Kobato has such a slow release schedule. CURSES for more waiting.

But after reading a not so fluffy CLAMP series it is nice to get back to the more magical/naïve girl side of CLAMP. Of course since this is CLAMP something bad is bound to happen. And Kobato has so many mysteries going on in its limited release pages it keeps an audience very entertained.

If you like Card Captor Sakura this manga is for you. You are probably a little more mature now since your CCS days so Kobato is right up your alley!

Favorite new series: Eden of the East and 07-Ghost

I sorta suck at just picking one moment/series in my list. I am just that special. But I liked these shows for separate reasons so that is how I justify it! XD

Interesting way to start off a series...

Eden of the East was a good show because it really didn’t depend on any gimmicks to get the point across. The art style is simple and most of the characters aren’t stereotypes/moeish (except for our resident Pantsu). The story is what made this show great and that’s how it should be done. The storyline was unique and our main hero doesn’t even know why he is a hero. There were plenty of twist and turns to keep me interested and while I am not a fan of the open ended…ending the movies might answer some questions. Or at least they better.

It's okay if Teito sparkles. XD

07-Ghost was a good show because it was eye candy and I love my yaoi pairings. XD But it wasn’t totally plotless (even if a great deal of the plot focused on Teito crying in the corner). The art was really well done and most of the characters were enjoyable. After season two I will have a more definitive answer on why I like this series. But for now….eye candy.

Prettiest Scene: Kyoko’s angel moment

Eat that Sho!

Even though I think this moment was done better in the manga the anime still did an excellent job of making Kyoko look awesome (not that she isn’t awesome already). The scene really showed all of Kyoko’s acting abilities and even melted the heart of Sho for half a minute. So while this moment might have happened at the beginning of the year and many people have forgotten about it I love it. Kyoko makes an excellent heartbroken angel and the art was just done so well. Now where is season two?!

Favorite Song: Soul Eater ED4-STRENGTH

I have never seen Soul Eater (insert BOOS and how much I suck). I was wasting time on the internet one day and was searching what everyone else’s favorite songs were and this one came up a lot. Now I can’t get enough of this song (and it is surprises me that it is ending song given how powerful it is!). I have absolutely no idea what they are singing about but that’s okay. Sometimes you just enjoy a song for the music and the emotions the singers are putting through and this song has a LOT of emotion. Such a pretty song listen to it now!

Least Favorite Song: Maria Holic opening theme song

This entire series made my head want to explode so why should the opening theme song be any different. A lot of people LIKED this opening and for the life of me I can’t figure out why. Different tastes okay but seriously people? Naked mannequins, random words, and Maria…just bleh. It is just chaos. Sometimes chaos works but not in this case. But maybe my judgment is a bit clouded since I absolutely hate the series. That might be it.

But the opening still sucks.

Favorite Character: Fai

Clearly I need an excuse to post this again. XD

SURPRISE SURPRISE RIGHT? Who would have guessed that Fai was my favorite character of 2009…and 2008…and probably for the rest of time. XD
I promise next year I will actually make a hard decision and pick someone new from the year 2010. But for now…FAI!

I know that most of Fai’s awesome moments (or sad…) didn’t even happen in 2009 but that is when I read them so that is what counts okay! Fai stabbing Sakura, Fai having to go to his home world and face the one he was running from, Kurogane cutting off his ARM to be with Fai, and the two finally having their awesome moment of YES we are a couple.

Okay so that last part didn’t happen but it got pretty close to it right? The meaningful glance, the one that acknowledges that they are something…yeah it was a special moment. And I loved it.

Fai changed from his fake smile way to his…cruel fake smiles to his honest tears and his sad screams and now his real happy smile. Fai is a tragic character who needed to be saved, probably more than Sakura herself. He is definitely my favorite CLAMP character and he has earned his spot at the top of my 2009 favorite list. Hopefully he and the other Tsubasa boys are finding some happiness now wherever they are. I still have my fanfics to keep me company.

Least Favorite Character: Kuroko

But I like this moment...

She sucks. She sucked as a minor character is To Aru Majutsu no Index and she sucks as a main character in To Aru Kagaku no Railgun. Her voice, her perverted nature, the fact that she is like 12 years old and acts like a know it all. The list goes on and on. And on and on. Her one redeeming quality is that she is loyal but that comes at a price of course. The price being her perving on Misaka every episode.

Kuroko might be tolerable in small doses but not every episode every week. I really wish she wasn’t in Judgment, it is hard to swallow her holier than thou attitude when she has the authority to back it up. Just stop talking you crazy kid.

So there you have it, some of my top anime/manga moments of 2009. A lot got left out but I tried to just pick the moments/topics I could think of at the top of my head. If I could still remember the series/moment/character after an entire year then that topic deserves to be mentioned.

Good bye 2009. Thanks for the memories and the great series you gave us. Here's to hoping that 2010 is just as awesome if not more than 2009.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!