2007 Flashback: The Rundown

Run, Mihashi, run...

It's already 3 months into 2008... And I'm still stuck writing posts about yesteryear (This is what happens when you restart your blog at an odd time of the year -_-"). Perhaps not the best time to publish this, but what the heck, this list has been sitting in a word file for much too long.


The 16 anime that made my year in 2007 (no real significance to the number, just so happen 16 of them I considered above average by my technically loose standards. And no series continued from 2006 or continuing into 2008 either, it's a purely 2007 list), in ranked order (good to great to best) :

The Good:
16. Dennou Coil (spoiler: RIP Densuke T_T)
15. Nodame Cantabile (Mukyaa~!)
14. Lucky☆Star (L-O-V-E Lovely~Tsukasa!)
13. Claymore (The Idiot's Guide to Self Mutilation)
12. Seto no Hanayome (Masa-san!!!)
11. Lovely Complex (All Hanshin-Kyojin BANZAI!)
10. Darker than Black (BONES)

The Great:
9. Sketchbook ~full color'S~ (Slow down world...)
8. Hidamari Sketch (Sorry ef and Bamboo Blade, the Miya of the year is here)
7. Moyashimon (The "You Absolutely HAVE to check this one out for yourself" show of the year)
6. Minami-ke (KANA IS BOSS)
5. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (~Burebureburebure~)
4. Potemayo (Honi, honi!)

Top 3:
3. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
2. ef ~a tale of memories~
1. Seirei no Moribito

Ranking done by the more serious, rational, and supposedly objective side of me that's supposed to judge the overall aspects of the show (Story, characters, presentation, blah blah blah) though obviously influenced by the whimsical, instinct-following, impressionable me (an indication of how much I felt the show impacted myself as a viewer, whether it tickled me silly or made me go "HOLY SHI- THAT WAS AWESOME , now I just have to sit down and let the other side of me think why...").

Of course anyone who's read this blog lately will probably notice the omission of one particular title, which at the time of this list's conception (a few months ago, mind you) was done on purpose since I wasn't done watching the series in question... But in the back of my mind there was no doubting its place on the list - the question is where? If serious, rational and objective had more of a say, this series would probably rank 4th pushing the current #9 to #4 a position back (and Gurren Lagann would have to switch places with ef). But based on my sheer enjoyment of this series and how it really changed the perception I had of its genre, I'm giving the 2007 top honour of personal favourite anime on Tondemo Nothing! to...

0) issa-sa's personal fave of 2007: Ookiku Furikabutte

Which neatly rounds up the Top 10 standouts series (#s 9 to 0) on my list with OoFuri coming out tops. *applause* A similar situation arose the year before that: Mushishi was easily the best overall 'serious' anime of 2006 (this time, it's Seirei) and Haruhi to me was best in just about every other respect (and was no doubt the iconic series of its year -whether you liked it or not- much like Gurren Lagann), but my personal favourite Ouran High School Host Club won me out anyhow. Call it personal bias or 'bad taste'/'good taste' or whatever, but what can I say, my blog my pick =P When you have strong shows colliding at the top, I'm the kind who'll pick the one that just feels right, and there's no denying that Ookiku Furikabutte is that series for 2007. Even back when I was only halfway through the series starved for subs, OoFuri had already impacted me so positively that I just knew it was the year's Ouran for me. I'd like to say more about the show now that I've officially completed watching it, but that'll be another post for another day.

It's also interesting to note what others ranked as their best show of the year: Specifically, Jason chose Gurren Lagann, Kurogane went with Seirei, Jeff Lawson pulled pleasant surprise by crowning Potemayo ^^ while the guys at Epic Win championed the best of the best: Mushishi! (Okay their real choice I wasn't as excited about). Besides these that come to mind, there was quite the Minami-ke love as well if I remember correctly.

I won't be debating why one series is better than another (or explaining why I didn't include/watch/finish watching series XXX not on the list) since this post is quickly becoming dated material. As a whole, I think 2007 offered myself many surprises in terms of series I liked (and utterly disliked) and though there were less hard-hitting sure-hit shows than 2006 and more average fodder running around (which even if I completed watching, did not make the top 16) there was generally enough to impress me at any given time during the year. So here's hoping for as good/a better showing of shows this year.

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2007 Flashback: Seirei no Moribito

Here's something new on this blog: a 'serious' review post restricted to just one screenshot and one paragraph. *Gasps* Does this mean that Seirei no Moribito (or if you prefer the cheesier but accurate translation Guardian of the Sacred Spirit) is not worth me writing a longer, more detailed post peppered with samples of its stunning visuals? Does it mean that its characters (such as the kick-ass yet wise and motherly heroine Balsa and the surprisingly mature and unspoilt prince Chagum turned out to be) lack the necessary strength of character and growth to deserve individual paragraphs of their own? What does my lack of verbosity speak of the show's linear but engaging storyline, the spectacularly choreographed fights, the superbly tuned soundtrack, the wonderfully fitted in fantasy elements and the overall impressive quality and atmosphere of the show? How will I be able to express all that and my opinion that this was probably the best overall show of its year just by virtue of being the kind of no-nonsense show that you can even recommend to non-anime watchers and as an argument that anime doesn't need fanservice or snazzy one-liners or unnecessarily flashy plot devices like giant robots or magical girls to work (though a Shaman on a donkey seems to work fine as well)? The answer to this last question: by writing a damned long paragraph full of rhetorics, that's how. And now if you excuse me, I think my job here is done. Good night.

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2007 Flashback: ef ~a tale of memories~

As far as I know, taking an image and rotating it before posting it on you site does not make it your intellectual property

2007 was quite the year for SHAFT, ignoring their work on Negima?! for a while, the studio managed to churn out some of the better titles of the year including Hidamari Sketch and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (both which we are/will be seeing more of this year thankfully) but most notably in my opinion, ef ~a tale of memories~ (and I'll just add here that all 3 of these shows were among my top favourites during their respective seasons).

Now if I can just figure out a better way to start out these supposedly more serious posts without having to mention a single studio...


Hidamari Sketch and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei both obviously had much to gain from SHAFT's quirky and 'artsy' artstyle (the first title being an art school anime while SZS is quirky to say the least), it can be somewhat debatable whether the SHAFT touch was even necessary for a visual novel adaptation such as ef. Certainly the visual aspect comes to mind, especially when the show was first promoted with a preview that was aesthetically stunning to the eye. But the true colours (or lack of them) of ef were truly revealed when the first episode premiered. As we start getting introduced to the characters and setup of the story, what should intervene but SHAFT's signature psychedelic scene blending (honestly, I'm at a lost at how to describe what SHAFT does) which immediately turn off some, yet personally I knew quite immediately that I was sold on the show.

Indeed I will maintain till that ef owed much of its success to SHAFT's styling on it, and not in spite of the studio's efforts. Not only did the art style compliment the stories (for it is not just a tale of memories the show offers, but two), the imagery and symbolism wasn't just there to make the animators seem 'cool' *will not mention Evangelion... damns*, they almost always had a purpose and reflected a great deal upon the progression of the story (well most of the time anyways. The rest of the time it's just SHAFT being SHAFT - which I still enjoy).

Of course being rather shallow myself (and biased SHAFT fan), I'm not the one to be asked about symbolisms so I'll just redirect you to this post.

Storywise, ef is a romance drama of two halves which progress side by side, with the obvious theme of memories in play (specifically, memories that you do not want to forget). It is said that with drama, the story should have a level of believability and should best be uncontrived... But really isn't the whole point of drama to compel emotion into the viewer, and to do so it is almost always the case where contrivances have to be employed to a certain extent? In ef's case, I don't think it was so much of a concern as to whether or not the drama comes across as a tad bit fantastical (true as it is, stating that part of the plot borrows from an Adam Sandler movie leaves a slight bad taste in my mouth fingers), the drama comes across with a strong conviction, the characters are given a respectable amount of depth and growth, and the story is handled very satisfactorily overall.

But for those who feel ef does not triumph with its story and drama, to me this is secondary to how these all important elements not only worked together with the unconventional style of presentation, and how this approach basically conveys the story in a visually and emotionally compelling experience.

I'll also note that ef was not only everything and more than what I expected of the show itself, but also from the same year's sola, which in the end sold out its slice of life charms to some campy action. Also for a supposed sky-whoring anime, sola is majorly outwhored by ef in that respect. (It should be interesting to note that this is my first time using the term 'outwhore')

*spoilers start here*

Just some extra spoilerific personal thoughts on my ef watching experience:

Favourite character: Miyako. I'm a sucker for those seemingly fun-loving whimsical characters, though there was obviously more to her than what met the eye. Which was probably why it pained me as much as it did to watch her infamous 99 message scene, which was the perfect example of how SHAFT's rendering could make all the difference in a scene. It also occured to me that Kei's biggest mistake in the show was to delete Miyako's messages on Hirono's phone. Though Miyako made it obvious later to Hirono that she had reasons to be needy, it probably would've added another level of conflict if Hirono realized the full extent of her personality before being able to accept her. But to rise from that level of devastation to finally snag the guy, Miyako earns a place as one of the stronger heroines of her year.

...Burebureburebure...

Also Miyako's ED song "I'm Here" sounds the best next to the epic one they played in the final episode.

As for the supposed 'cheapness' of SHAFT in not animating Miyako's phone booth drama, as a frugal bastard myself, I say it was an excellent way to both elevate the tension in the moment and save on the budget at the same time =P

Evidently, Chihiro's story was designed to have more of an impact and related more to the theme of memories, in which case it succeeded. (At any rate it's a much better take of the memory loss concept than 50 First Dates was) I envied Chihiro's ability to convey her subconscious onto her writing and the effort she put into it... but not her feeling of utter desolation and worthlessness as she basically spent her days in a loop of hopeless mundane-ness. Her final dramatic act of basically tearing her memories out of her diary near the end may be arguably the most contrived thing to happen in the show (or rather how she overcomes this in the end), but the impact it had was undeniable, and as much as it should've been predictable given the direction her story was going, I still found myself shocked to watch it happen. As a foil to Chihiro's character, Renji was an admirable not only for willing to stick by her through it all, but more so because he didn't do so out of some blind (shounen anime like) chivalry - he had his moments of weakness and fallibility (when Chihiro was the one becoming more forward in their relationship), yet he sought it within himself to help Chihiro for both their sakes.

Since this post has already exceeded my own limitations of wordiness and rantiness, I'll just end it here with a convenient link to sum up what others thought of this show.

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2007 Flashback: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

I was meaning to use a less generic TTGL picture for this post... Ah well

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (TTGL or Gurren Lagann from now on) is one series of the odd crop in 2007 I wasn't fully expecting to enjoy. After all, the mecha genre isn't something I arbitrarily subscribe to and I wasn't particularly jumping for joy at the plethora of robot orgy shows that premiered around the same time as TTGL did (In the end I followed only Bokurano and Gurren Lagann. Gigantic Formula's 1st episode - UN endorses mecha war to decide who rules the world? WTF? - was too unintentionally hilarious). Secondly, GAINAX, the same studio that unleashed on us the emo-fest that was Evangelion was at the helm, causing me to relegate Gurenn Lagann under "Approach With Caution"... If there's one thing to learn from Eva and KareKano, it's that you can trust GAINAX to produce a good show for at least half of the series... before they run out of budget and screw off the rest of the show (Worse still was This Ugly and Worthless Waste of Time, otherwise known as KonoMini).


But before this all starts sounding like some snobbish studio-bashing post, I'll just state right now that whatever faults I felt were exhibited in those previously mentioned series, GAINAX have more than redeemed themselves (especially in regards to Evangelion) with Gurren Lagann, a series I now find to be iconic of 2007 for all the right reasons (With legions of fans willing to change the image of a country to spread the love, hah). To put it crudely, TTGL is full of epic gar, and win. To be a bit more verbose, I'll say that beneath its 'cartooney' (oddly, enough, a term I rarely associate with anime) exterior, over the top mecha battles, typical GAINAX symbolisms and existential psycho-babble (which, amusingly enough, the show's characters themselves scoff at for being too complicatedto bother with), lies a well conceived and executed evolutionary story with surprising depth.

But most importantly, it's one hell of a fun show to watch. =D

What else needs to be said other than that?

Despite my initial misgivings and what seemed like a rocky start for the show (episode 4 didn't help, but the very first gattai scene between Gurren+Lagann leaving me in stitches did XD), what impressed me eventually was TTGL's brilliantly worked plot progression. What started out as the story of Simon, Kamina and crew thrashing the whimsical looking Ganmen with their own stolen Ganmen (Gurren and Lagann) in their quest to 'pierce the heavens!' quickly develops, or more appropriately, evolves into something else, and by the end you get 4 separate stages that serve as a stepladder (or in the context of the show a spiral) towards a truly epic conclusion.

The main plot-line, when fully revealed by the end may not be the most original of the day, but the progression from stage to stage, each one upping the ante on the epic-ness scale from the previous one, manages to construct a solid straightforward story, carried by a strong cast of characters and outrageously enjoyable action. Also impressive is the daring but effective use of its plot devices which, if were used cheaply merely as shock factor, would've easily turned the story sour. But every new twist the scriptwriters layered down had its signs, and they quickly reveal themselves to be integral to the entire evolution of the plot (so that whether or not they shock the viewer is secondary) and how they affect the characters and the plot progression is clear for all to see.

There's a major spoiler lurking within this picture...

Spoiler paragraph: Truth be told, I only truly knew I was going to enjoy this series once I spoilt for myself that Kamina was going to have an early demise. From the start Kamina and everything he stood for proved to be the driving force for the series - to my chagrin, since his loud-mouthed, in your face GAR mannerisms was just not for me (but for his legions of fans out there, manly tears are still cried till this day...). Which was why when he was taken out of the story, I was going "YES!" in my head... But it did not take me long to realize that it wasn't merely a bold move by the scriptwriters, it was one that was planned ahead, but more importantly, it was necessary to the story and the further development of the cast - eventually pushing Simon to the forefront and forcing him to break out of his Shinji-esque shell once and for all (admittedly, Nia's sudden introduction in the story is of almost equal significance in this process). There was no wastage in Kamina's demise really, he was given the exit he deserved and desired, and even after his tremendous spirit permeates the rest of the show, a torch carried on proudly by the entire Gurren Brigade. In fact, it was only after his death that I could actually appreciate everything Kamina stood for - that devil-may-care unrelenting rebelliousness against an oppressive authority, and how sometimes blind belief can take you further than you can ever imagine!

Many other things working for TTGL : a rousing soundtrack (ROW ROW FIGHT DA POWAA); great characterization (with a cast as bloated as Nanoha StrikerS, only not as cumbersome and with the correct amount of development); SPIRAL POWER (making the impossible, possible!); how the self-contained premise of the series manages to make even the craziest over the top battles (Spoilers: Spiderman mech? Galaxies as shurikens???) and otherwise downright cheesy one-liners (WHO THE F@*K DO YOU THINK I AM??? / BELIEVE IN ME WHO BELIEVES IN YOU!!!) seem not only acceptable, but just plain RIGHT; the heaven-piercing levels of GAR which most definitely trumps the insipid righteousness of crummy shounen shows several times over (Those two signature one-liners alone wipe the floor with the dated shounen eye-rollers: "I want to be stronger(!!!)" / "I have something to PROTECT(!!!)"); and finally, how Gurren Lagann is both the successor and antithesis of Evangelion (Simon >>>> Ikari Shinji).

And for all that I give Kudos to GAINAX for turning out one of 2007's best shows. =)

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