Anime Review 2008

These are my personal opinion and only on those anime that I watched. :)

My Favourite Anime of the Year
Aria The Origination, Gundam 00, Code Geass R2, Zero no Tsukaima III, Clannad, Conan Movie 12, Mai Otome 0 Sifr.
My Manga of the Year
ARIA, Prince of Tennis, Tsubasa Chronicles, One Piece

My Soundtrack Album/Theme of the Year

ARIA The origination OST
Clannad OST
Macross OST and selections


I rate the anime with my personal expectation and enjoyment, rather than the quality or the anime as a whole, which is often disputable and differ with people's interest.

Enjoyment:
Enjoyable: Anime which is enjoyable to watch
Fair/Content: Anime which is average or content to watch
Disappointed: Anime which is disappointing to watch

Expectation:
Above Expectation: Anime which exceed expectation or impression
As Expected: Anime which match expectation or impression
Below Expectation: Anime which fall short expectation or impression

Exceptional: Anime worth watching and enjoyable.
Terrible: Anime which is terrible. Not recommended



ARIA The Origination
The finale of the ARIA series. Très bien! All the episodes where the 3 young undine become Prima are beautifully choreographed. Music, background and setting all excellent. I actually wish they covered more episodes since there are a few chapters in the manga that are not animated. Nevertheless, it is great to see new episodes that are not from the manga and also beautifully done. The ending, similar to the manga, was sweet and fulfilling. Applaud to Kozue Amano for this wonderful series and Junichi Sato & crew for excellent animation of the series from Animation, Natural, Arietta to Origination.



Clannad
I'll make it simple. I like Clannad >>> Air and Kanon. Fuko's arc was my least favourite but the ending to the arc was good. I like the Makoto arc and also the way the first season end was excellent. Tomoyo chapter was unnecessary in my opinion but guess it's an ending that some people like.

Clannad After Story
Havent really get into this yet but the development is quite good from the preview and sumamry that I read.



Code Geass R2
One of my most anticipated series after season I, not because I like Code Geass but because it left as a major cliff-hanger! A bit disappointing at first but the cliff-hangers were answered gradually. While there are several storylines that I liked, I do find several arc rather weak. probably the worst arc was the part on Charles, Marianne, CC and Lelouch. However, the ending was strong with Lelouch sacrificing his life & name and Suzuka sacrificing his identity. As for the final ending, everyone come together (Black Knights, Britannia, Chinese Federation) for Ougi and Villeta wedding is a bit over. Anya and Jeremiah development is too short to be real. As for the real final ending, I believe Lelouch is dead rather than the ambiguity that people speculated. Poor CC is lonely, except she has her cheese-kun accompanying. Throughout the series, Kallen probably ended up as my favourite apart from Milly. Overall, the whole series is enjoyable and interesting to watch.



Detective Conan Movie 12 Full Score of Fear
I have anticipated Movie 12 as I am interested of how they would pull through the series with a music theme case. I do find it quite balance in terms of the story plot and the mystery. The scene on Akiba's persistence with her Amazing Grace to prevent the explosion is wonderfully potrayed. No doubt, one of the best among the 12 movies, corroborated by its earning figures. Cant wait for Movie 13: The Raven Chaser with Black Organization as the theme.



Dragonaut The Resonance
Cant remember what made me pick up the series but wish I didnt. Some of the dragons look terrible. But aAt least they are CG and no deformation in character illustration. Story plot towards ending is a bit hard to swallow especially the part where Kazuki repented.



Gundam 00 Season 2
Ah, Gundam 00, who can resist a Gundam series, even if you dont like the first series. Afterall, who wouldn't watch it just to have a glimpse at the over-powered Gundam 00 to compensate for Exia. At least they didnt make Gundam 00 God-like throughout the episodes. But now we got the 0-raizer + twin drive giving 290% output is a bit ridiculous. Anyway, there's a lot of twist and plots to anticipated so stay tune to the series. My least favourite character is still Saji. As for the mecha, what the heck is the Gundam face behind Tiera's Seravee. Anyway, with a spy in Ptolemis and stronger mecha from A-laws, thing should be interesting.



Ikkitousen Great Guardian
I still dont really fancy the storyline but the third instalment probably has the least reference to the Three Kingdom. If it wasn't for Shoukyou, I dont really want to watch the series. I still dont understand what this Saji Genpou shit is about.




Macross Frontier
Macross Frontier is above my expectation but the ending ruined it. The ending of Grace being the final antagonist and her mass destructive weapon is ridiculous. Nevertheless, love the macross mecha and the vocal soundtracks are probably among the best I heard so far.



Mai Otome 0 S.ifr
I love Mai Otome 0 S.ifr! It's even better than the Mai Hime, Mai Otome, Mai Otome Zwei. Wish it's more than 3 episodes! There's a lot more that they can tell on Rena Slayer but it wasn't covered. However, the fighting scene between Rena and the Garderobe Meisters are awesome! The scenes on Elliot having attraction towards Rena is amusing. How I wish there are more Mai Otome 0 S.ifr episodes.



Soul Eater
I was surprised to find that the anime is sponsored by Square Enix. I like the way the setting and characters are potrayed in an unique illustration manner. But then, I lost interest since the ressurection of Asura. Probably the most exciting bit for me was the part where Shinigami got serious, no more funny guy. The worst part is also the crona and stupid excalibur (It is not funny! It's boring).



Tales of Abyss
I really tried to watch it but it just doesnt appeal my interest enough to conitnue watching after episode 2. Need to find some time to continue watching it




Toaru Majutsu no Index
I only watched till episode 9 or 10 (heading to Makoto arc) and started to lose a bit interest in it. I wish they have more funny scenes of Index and Toma, especially eating scene.



Zero no Tsukaima Princess no Rondo
Zero no Tsukaima is always amusing to watch. At least one thing that the third instalment is better than the last tone is less bombing on Saito. Season 2 was ridiculous with same ending almost every episode. It's great that the third instalment focus more on Tiffania and Tabitha. I do find it interesting that Colbert isnt dead and now Kirche is in love with him, guess Fire attracts Fire. The part where the gang rebel against the order of Henrietta is great, except the circus attire they wore to Gallia sucks.


Other popular anime that I'm following; One Piece and Prince of Tennis National Champtionship OVA.

P/S: Done in a rush... will be updated tomorrow.. I hope..