Jak's Personal Ten Best Anime of 2007

Everybody loves a good list, right? I will list the ten best anime I've watched this year. Now, the views expressed hereafter are not exactly the same as the rest of the writers. These are my personal favorites; one's I enjoyed the most.

So, let's get started.

10. Lovely Complex

Why?:

Okay so, I really only had about eight shows I thoroughly enjoyed this year. I was thinking of some others to make a complete ten, so I chose Lovely Complex. If you've ever read anything written by me, you would know I am pretty biased towards romantic comedies. But LoveCom was extremely over the top in it's expression of emotions and dialogue. If anything, I watched it just to hear the characters yell at each other with a Kansai dialect. I did get really annoyed at the show many times, and even stopped watching it about two-thirds of the way through. But when I finished it I was somewhat surprised that I did enjoyed the series as a whole.

9. Shigurui

Why?:

Shigurui is truly a unique show. I've yet to see anything else like it. It's also a show I'd never recommend to a typical anime fan. The show is very - no - extremely slow paced. Watching one episode seems as if it takes an hour to watch, but it is not as if it was boring. The show has the most dramatic contrast, both in style and in content. The color is almost all black and white; dark and bright. Slow moving shots of the characters, and then in an instant, a fight breaks out and is over quickly. I'm not sure how historically accurate this show is, but if samurai could truly do some of the things portrayed in Shigurui then I find that absolutely astounding, both the actually technique and the torturous training it takes to perfect it. This show also definitely not for the faint of heart. It is extremely gory.

8. Minami-ke

Why?:

Minami-ke was a show I was really surprised I enjoyed. What exactly did I like about it? I'm still not quite sure. The complete randomness mostly. You never knew what to expect and more often than not, the outcome was hilarious. The personalities of the individual characters as well. From the tenderly and loving Haruka, to the mischievous Kana, and the critical, unamused, yes still very naive Chiaki. One truly became accustomed to these characters and continued watching to see how they would conflict next.

7. Claymore

Why?:

I'll be honest, the first third of this show was immensely boring. I don't know why I forced myself to watch it, but I'm glad I did. It started off really slow and typical. Then is slowly started to build momentum all the way up to a certain point, and then it slammed on the gas and never faltered the rest of the show. The ending was pretty disappointing which can easily be cured by a sequel. Some say Claymore will have a sequel, others say they won't. My favorite aspect of the show was how the Claymores had to use restraint when fighting, other wise they would lose their humanity. Each fighter had to use a immense amount of self control when conducting themselves, even when it seemed logical to let it all loose.

6. Baccano

Why?:

Baccano is the best show of 2007 that no one watched. It's also the most confusing. The show has a huge cast of characters that is hard to follow. I think I was familiar with them only half way through the whole show. And then we have the confusing story and time line. Baccano's greatest strength is it's story and how many events from long ago to just a few years ago are affecting the current events happening in the the show's present time. It hops between 1930-1933 so much one has no clue what's happening a majority of the time. And then we have Isaac and Miria. Two vigilante bank robber's determined to put the mafia out of business. They are hands down the best comedy duo I've seen in a long time. They were a major reason why I watched the show and why you should too.

And the ending is absolutely classic.

5. Ghost Hound

Why?:

I'm only half way through with Ghost Hound. If I had seen the whole thing, I'm certain it would be higher, but things didn't turn out like that. I've said it before, I love the audio aspect of the show. The style is somewhat simplistic in certain places, and thoroughly complex in others. I find it interesting how everything looks so pastel when the characters are inside and at school and when outside, they look bold and colorful. The supernatural aspect is finally starting to show itself in true form and the discovery of abilities and their full potential is piquing my interest immensely.

I'm sorry for using such extravagant words to describe something so simple and insignificant.

4. Toki wo no Kakeru Shoujo (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time)

Why?:

This isn't a series, it's a movie. And it is one of the best movies I've ever seen in my life. That includes animated movies and one's with human actors. It's a movie about high school life and a subtle romance with a sci-fi twist. It's also a bit tragic, but not something that leaves you depressed. I recommend this movie to everyone I come across. It's going to be in stores in North America soon, so I'd recommend everyone that can to buy it. I am confident you will not be disappointed. The style, the music, the animation, the feeling, it is all truly amazing.

3. Seirei no Moribito (Guardian of the Sacred Spirit)

Why?:

I am biased towards this show because of Production I.G. This was a show I was begging for more action to happen in. What few fights that did occur, were nothing short of spectacular. I hate characters with pacifist attitudes when they are an amazing fighter, but I love Balsa. She's more noble then most men and could beat any of them in a fight. The art in the show is probably the best I've seen in any anime. The music was eerie and truly reflected the feel the creators want to portray. It also has an interesting fantasy twist towards the second half that sort of threw you for a loop. Towards the end , I was wondering if I had been watching the same show this entire time. The plot does move pretty slow (similar to Ghost Hound, another series by Production I.G.) so if you are patient, I recommend you give this a try.

2. Tengen Toppen Gurren Lagann

Why?:

This show was almost my favorite of the year. Personal bias kept it from that spot. While I loved every aspect of the show, the stereotypical anime fan service and their typical scenario's sort of irked me. That aside, the sheer epic-ness of Gurren Lagann easily eclipses any flaws it has. If you like action, this show is definitely for you, if not perfect. If you like relationships, both that of romance, and of friends and mentors, this show might be for you as well, but be prepared for the worst. Gurren Lagann evokes emotions, both positive and negative. I can not ever recall me hating a fictional character the way I hated Rossieu, or ever felt down because of a certain characters death. Gurren Lagann only had one lowpoint, which was intentional. The protagonist rose above it. Gurren Lagann will give you goosebumps. Unless you are completely insane and hate anime, watch it as soon as possible. Tell all your friends about it and make your (male) children watch it so they'll know how to behave like a real humans.

1. Darker Than Black

Why?:

Here is where the bias comes in to play. Before I saw one episode of this show, I already was in love with it. BONES is my favorite studio. Yoko Kanno is my favorite composer. Watching this show felt like watching a movie because the production value was so high. If any anime could ever get me to buy a high definition media player, Darker Than Black would be it. Not many shows do this, but Darker Than Black has two episode arcs. So in reality, you are watching one forty minute episode. I like long episodes like that. I've seen a few OVA's and short movies that follow this timing format and enjoyed them. It really shows talent in the writing because sometimes it's hard to fill up the allotted time required for even a normal twenty two minute episode.

The show has an unusual cast of an ex-special agent with the power of electricity, an emotionless blind girl who can give intel to her team just by touching water, a black cat who has a human soul trapped in him, and an alcoholic. The show has a serene sense of humor combined with quick and fast paced action where the ones involved have unusual powers. And then the whole process of regenerating that power after the fights is intriguing, and sometimes funny. The first half of the show is confusing since each set of episodes introduces a new set of characters. Towards the end, it all comes together smoothly. The true ending did leave more to be desired. But like Claymore, we'll just assume it's because a sequel will be in the works. BONES does like to make their shows fifty or so episodes.

Conclusion:

And that's the end. If you know me personally, you should be surprised. At anything in this list. I won't recommend a lot of these shows to other people simply because some are just shows you either like, or you could care less about - if that makes any sense.

If you disagree with anything I've said, just chill out and remember it's just one person's perspective. These are the shows I enjoyed personally for various reasons - some which I've listed. If you do watch any of these shows based on my word, that would really make me happy. It's not to be expected however.