Another year, another momotato style roundup! Here we go!!!
Top Shows of 2009!
I really wanted to put in Eden of the East in there as well as I thought that was a great show, but since it didn’t end and we still have to wait for a conclusion, it didn’t feel right to include it. At least bakemonogatari gave us a really well done and satsifying “last ep”
Shin Mazinger Z almost made the list too, as did Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou.
Worst shows of 2009
- Kurokami – No contest!!
- Kurogane No linebarrel – What the hell did they do?????
- Queens blade – even the service can’t save it!!
- Munto should also be in the list, but I didn’t even get past the first episode…
Biggest disappointment of 2009
- Valkyria Chronicles – Man, they screwed up really badly on that one…
- FullMetal Alchemist Botherhood – Pacing is well off!
- Toradora – WTF happened with that 2nd half???
Shows I enjoyed far more than I thought I would:
- Hatsukoi Limited – Yes it was retarded and the parts in the manga which annoyed be are still in the anime and do the same thing, but it was quite fun!
- Bakemonogatari – Not my usual type of show.
- Kanamemo – Horie Yui as Haruka was just awesome!!! (actually Horie Yui is just awesome regardless. Looking that damn cute in real life should be a crime for anyone under the age of 8 )
Other notes:
- K-on was pretty naff. There, I said it!!
- I still don’t know why I watch Maria-sama ga miteru…
- More Mahoromatic was a really fantastic surprise for the year! “ecchi nano wa ikenai to omoimasu!!”
- I get conflicting feelings by seeing my room in the Otacool book
- Buying Garage kits got both easier and harder this year. Looks like I don’t have my old method to rely on anymore, but I have more methods at my disposal, which means more overheads…
- Kendo is damn fun. I’m so glad to be wearing armour again!!!
- I still can’t believe that I finished my Knight of Gold!!!
- there were quite a few “so bad they’re almost good” shows this year.
And onto the Games
Best games of 2009
- Uncharted 2: among thieves: GOTY!!!
- Streetfighter IV: King of the hill!
- Modern Warfare 2: Multiplayer is all that matters
Honourable mentions
- Batman: Arkham Asylum is GOTY contender material, so long as you stop playing about 2/3rd of the way into the game!
- Boarderlands: Awsome fun with mates. Pretty crappy without
- Virtual On: oratorio tangram: Ahh, the memories!!!
- FLOwer was quite an experience
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of war 2 was the first PC game I have enjoyed for aaages!!!
Disappointments of 2009
- Ghostbusters: Fun for the first playthrough but that’s it. Multiplayer never worked either!
- Resi 5: It’s just not resi anymore…
- Bayonetta: DAMMIT, WHY??? WHY 2010???!!!!! I wanted it in 09!!! (the 360 version, else I would have just imported)
What is the title of the anime in the 1st pic? LOL Felli as the best character. She is very entertaining and I love her more than other girls in Chrome Shield Regios.
Toradora’s story is a sudden change from happy school life into emo love story. I find it too hard to cope too >___<. But Shin Mazinger Z is definitely great twist for its amazing storyline.
Hover over the pics to get the titles, but the top one was Asura Cryin’
Shin mazinger was really cool but it lost points for a very unsatisfactory ending. I would have at least liked a final shot of Kouji charging into battle with mazinger or something!!
there is, in the 1st ep 2nd half. Kouji charge to the enemy with big bang punch. But starting of the 2nd ep shows that even big bang punch is not powerful enough. The fingers are crashed…
HOLD IT!!! (sorry, you’ll have to imagine Phoenix Wright here with his finger of doom!)
The problem is that the whole of the first ep was technically set before the final battle with Dr Hell. And it was subject to a lot of changes anyway so it may not be canon. Even so, if they just plastered that bit at the end with tape, it would have been more satisfying that what we got!!
Well at least bayonetta can make it for next year
Happy new year mate!!
GOTY man!!! Game of the Year!!! and it’s out next week!!!
woo, i love lists like this. now i have to go back and catch up on what i missed ^^;;
was about half way through seitokai, really need to finish that one ^^
and asura cryin’, totally fell off my radar… another one i need to start up again…
happy new year, yoroshiku ne~
Kochira gosou, akemashite omedetou. (damn, I wish I was on my regualr PC so I could do things properly…)
I enjoyed Kurokami(manga is much better still) more than Valkyria Chronicles, this piece of crap anime with super weak plot and the ending sucked so bad I wanna cry..
I’m not a particularly big fan of the manga so my expectations of the anime were pretty low to begin with. It was watchable up until the half way mark and then I thought it was just terrible.
Valkyria Chronicles was never going to live up to the awesome that was the game but the end result was incredibly poor due to far too much tampering with what they were given to work with.
“if it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it” seemed incredibly apt in this case…
Kurogane no Linebarrel was so awful in anime form I could’nt stand to watch it, thank godness the manga did not turn out the way like it was in anime. They should really stop rushing in to cash in on these mangas before they finish. :s
Lastly, a happy new year to you, gundamjehutykai
And a happy new year to you too!!
Agreed. Linebarrel was awful on so many levels. It would have taken the prize of worst show had it not been for Kurokami, which seemed to be on a whole different level of bad.
The makers of linebarrel obviously had no idea what made the manga tick. The fact that they made the main lead characters so detestable proves that point. And then there was the throwaway Hirano Aya character who did absolutely nothing!!! *sighs* Not sure how I managed to finish that show now… even the Machina weren’t enough of a payoff. And I love those designs. So Orbital Frame-y!!!
Agreed, I lost my appetite when watching ep2, well my friends already warned me though, “Gonzo” expert at CG and graphic, but worst at story..
That’s a bit harsh. Gonzo aren’t inherently bad and I have enjoyed quite a few of their shows in the past. but they have made a fair few flops. And Linebarrel is definitely near the bottom of that pile…
I agree with your Valkyria Chronicles assessment. But that’s probably because I’ve played the game too. I’m sure non-gamers liked it. I do have to disagree with your Tora Dora one though. I actually liked the way they turned the series on its head into a romance drama. The characters were so well established at that point that taking it to a serious route pulled at the heartstrings way more.
I think even people who haven’t played the game would be disappointed in Valkyria chronicles but simply not to the same level as those who have. Especially near the end.
And my main issue with toradora was actually that making everything so serious actually damaged the established characters. Take Minorin for example, You could tell that she was always hiding something with her non-stop energetic ways but when they tried to take that onboard, it was done so heavy handedly that she ended up being annoying rather than getting any sympathy. Ami was simply written out of the story entirely…
There are ways to make a comedy into a serious drama. Seitokai no Ichizon did a rather good job for a few eps but Toradora just felt like the transition was handled poorly and too forcefully.