2009 is the first year I’ve actually completed to monitor from January to December. Now I can fully assess the anime(s) I’ve watched—and liked from every season. Is 2009, yay or nay?

The anime(s) listed below are not really in any order of preference or such, but these are my final picks for the best shows for the year of 2009. I really didn’t include shows which weren’t done airing yet. Meanwhile, I’ve included a show from 2008 Fall which didn’t finished airing on 2008.

Anyway, I’ve finally finished Persona 4 before the end of the year so expect some sort of a review of the game. It’s partly responsible why the year end post is late.

Toradora! – It was kind of let down that this show not really left that of a heavy impression among the viewers but to tell everyone the truth, Toradora! is one of the shows that really kept me excited every week during the season it was being aired.

I never really liked Taiga at first because she only seems to me a brat, with a Shana-esque voice, spouting baka-inu over and over. It was really Minorin who enticed me in this show. I still remember that scene with Ami whispering to her, whether her feelings of guilt has disappeared or whatnot… Although I also have to agree that Taiga was awesome during this episode as well because of the cat fight.

I just don’t care anymore about the love interest of the characters here in the series. I just really like the character developments made in this show, from Minorin’s guilt, deceit and of course her impulsive character, Ami’s provocative attitude, Yuusaku’s idiotic tendencies, Takasu’s awesomeness, and Taiga’s ill-temper.

Well, I honestly didn’t liked the ending of the series. Seriously, I just don’t know why Toradora suddenly tripped that branch when it’s already about to end. I don’t know if I’m the only one who didn’t like the ending. Adversely, I guess there are also several episodes which I liked, which I think could compensate for the feeble ending.

Spice and Wolf II – The best sequel I’ve seen so far. I think the first season is somewhat shallow because it  simply seemed to me a boy meets girl plot. Season 2 begs to differ because it explored more the relationship between Horo and Lawrence. There have been several situations already where Lawrence was drove into a corner to select from limited options but it has never been the case that Horo has to leave his side, in exchange for something he has desired for long. Season two further tests the strength of the bond formed between Horo and Lawrence after their encounter. It was a good watch because you get to see some substantial character developments from the two primary characters, even if it was in a slow-paced manner. I am highly anticipating a third installment from this series.

Bakemonogatari - Haha, it’s kind of expected already because Bakemonogatari is one of the unique series through out the year. Nisio Isin’s antics were funny, but at the same time, he still didn’t failed to incorporate the story. I fail as a viewer though because I never had the chance to formally write a review for it, but I’ll certainly write one. Someday.

Ugh, I still remember that it was too late for me to realize that Senjogahara’s staplers were sembalnt to that of crab’s pincers. I think I was only able to sumise that after 10 episodes, yes it was a real fail for me for noticing it on the last minute.

The series’ capriciousness is one of its fascinating traits. The characters are pleasing in sense that they are fun and surprising to watch, on how they are going to react to certain situations. I especially liked conversations between Senjogahara and Araragi, since these two are the very embodiment of the descriptions I’ve just said. Araragi’s fun to watch because of his tsukkomi-esque responses while Senjogahara is so enticing to watch as she teases Araragi.

My only qualm though is the walls of texts. Probably, that’s one of the reason I just can’t say that I’ve fully understood the series. Once in a while, I get to see this kanji character of kuro 黒 (black) — which I still don’t comprehend up until now.

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 – One of the anime(s) that left me dumbstruck after it was finished.

It was a blunt bullet for people who don’t really know how to get past some obstacles in life. It was a realistic portrayal of how Mirai was able to change from that of an annoying teen into a much mature Mirai after all the events. It showcases that commonality among people to take for granted some things that they’d find important once it is lost already. Sometimes though, we just have to overcome that fear in order to advance in our own lives.

I doubt one would still be able to utter “the world should just break” after watching this series.

The final episodes gave such a confusing impression among the viewers though because of the issue regarding Yuuki. Either way, I think witnessing Mirai’s growth through out the story is the true essence of the series.

Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou – A supernatural series that has a subtle atmosphere, but piquant on its own unique way.

Okay, how should I describe this anime? Well, it was interesting on its own right, but I especially liked the portrayal of Natsume’s character. He is an interesting fellow for he does his best to deal with youkais alone. I guess I just can contemplate with his behavior towards the people around him. He seems to be fine around others when he’s actually not often times.

Natsume’s stance between both youkais and humans is of course one of the catch of the anime. Will he be able to keep up with the youkais given his transient life? When will he finally be at his true self around humans? The human-youkai relationship being the focus between Natsume and Madara is also a good watch because it somewhat tells a story of an unrequited relationship between two different entities. Madara’s growing fondness towards Natsume is given already but will the two of them make it given the barriers?

It also has a slow paced manner of story telling but it is worth watching Natsume’s struggles with Madara, as they take that path, nobody knows where it leads.

Also— A third installment as well puh-lease.

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Hmm, probably my runner-ups would be: Aoi Hana, Eden of the East, Birdy Decode 2 and Skip Beat. K-on, Umineko and Valkyria Chronicles just didn’t made it on my cut. There are still lots of anime I’ve watched but I guess those above would be the top 5? Well, I guess this will look like very subjective since I don’t have any formal criteria to assess them, but i really don’t care about crappy animation and sound that much because I give the heavy weight to the story and characters alone while distributing some to my personal enjoyment and the value of the anime itself.

I hope you’ve enjoyed as well these top 5 anime(s) of mine for the year 2009.

Well then, it is again the start of another decade. I hope there would be more good anime(s) which would be produced.

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image credits: pixiv users NPN♥サイト引っ越しました, きぃら～☆, 椿九, 928, Liddle

I’ve always preferred slice of life anime(s) since it somehow reflects what is happening in reality, as well the things we often take for granted, exploited, and even those things that go unnoticed. Still, I’m amazed that there are two anime(s) so far that was able to relate both afterlife and life itself to produce an uncanny yet interesting series about youkais with relation to humans.
xxxHolic didn’t really appealed to me that much at the very moment I heard of it thanks to its girlish title. Yep, it was my mistake to judge the book by its cover. Meanwhile, I don’t know why I decided not to pick up Natsume Yuujinchou last year. Nyanko-sensei is just not so adorable as Mokona I guess.

xxxHolic and Natsume both deals with humans with relation to youkais, or the so-called demons on Japanese folklore. Probably xxxHolic is the one who achieved a higher feat in the idea regarding correlation of youkais and humans. It was those customers of Yuuko that show the relation of the lives and decisions of humans to that of youkais around them. The shop might really be a shop that fulfills the wish of those who inevitably stumbled upon the doorstep but more than that is the resolve of the people who came inside in exchange for the thing they consider significant. Because of this, it still carries that certain genre of slice of life with regards to handling your priorities and resolve to get rid what is trifling with your life.

Natsume Yuujinchou still falls on this category but it was mainly focused to Natsume. It was on his actions that we see how he handles certain encounters with different youkais. Also, we can observe a much more closer look here on the relation between Nyanko-sensei and Natsume as the very example of the human-youkai relationship. The barrier between humans and youkais, which is time, is also centered on the story on how the monsters with their names written on Yuujinchou responded the moment they knew that Natsume Reiko already died long time ago.

Slice of afterlife anime is rather very not so fascinating at first because the audience probably treats monster/youkai-related anime(s) to be cliche already. Well, there are indeed so many anime(s) which involves youkais, demons, ayakashi and such but slice of afterlife anime(s) could make you see a different side of youkais since they are seen in this genre as factors that can affect humans, and vice versa, not simply just cheap anomalous creatures our protagonists need to kill or defeat. If there would be fights, it’s just minimal to compensate the dose of action for the viewers.

It explores a dimension one haven’t fully understands yet, the life together with youkais, something no one would normally desire, and the spirit world. It somehow lets us realize how lucky that we don’t experience such supernatural aberration.

Of the two protagonists from the two series, I feel more empathic towards Natsume since he was the one who experience being chased away by those around him because of his paranormal capability to sense and see youkais. He experienced being passed around to all of his relatives unlike Watanuki who somehow lived a normal social life, besides being alone and chased by youkais. Also, unlike Watanuki, Natsume has lived by always lying in order to avoid such nuisances regarding the youkais.  It is rather sad, that even those concerned people that would like to help him, like Tanuma and Taki are sometimes being driven away as well. Meanwhile I don’t remember Watanuki putting up such pretenses while talking to anyone.

Between the two series, I am more attached to Natsume Yuujinchou because I just can’t continue to think of how it’s going to end. The life of humans is transient compared to youkais. If the ending of the series would be the parting between Natsume and Nyanko-sensei, that would be very heart-breaking to witness. Natsume Yuujinchou also possess a subtle story, a story set on an countryside where a young man faces and struggles to live his life at its best while dealing with youkais. Meanwhile, I think xxxHolic has a serious, with some awkward slapstick moments, atmosphere because it often deals with serious cases in life and what lies beyond it.

I really recommend both series since they are very worthwhile to watch. They are the only two series that encompass the genre of supernatural, contemporary fantasy, with connection to daily life.