Top 30 anime 2k9 edition

30. Planetes
29. The Twelve Kingdoms
28. Rurouni Kenshin
27. Eden of the East
26. Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
25. Darker than BLACK
24. Honey & Clover / II
23. The Vision of Escaflowne
22. Aoi Bungaku
21. Black Lagoon / The Second Barrage
20. Revolutionary Girl Utena
19. Neon Genesis Evangelion & End of Evangelion
18. Monster
17. Mushishi
16. RahXephon
15. One Piece
14. Last Exile
13. Baccano!
12. Gintama
11. Eureka Seven
10. xxxHOLiC
9. Gundam
8. Dragon Ball Z
7. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

I was late to the bandwagon with this show – the initial hype during its airing passed me by, and it wasn’t until a few seasons later that I attempted the show. It’s probably just as well that I waited – Haruhi came at a time when I was just discovering the world of ongoing series and downloads

6. Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann

its just a very feel-good series that wants to do nothing more than entertain you. And by god was I ever entertained! TTGL takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions, once you’ve committed to the series you can’t stop yourself from going along for the ride. Full to bursting with awesome larger than life characters, epic speeches, eye-popping action and a plot that kicks reason to the kerb


5. Code Geass / R2

The whole Fabulous package of Code Geass seems to be custom-made to appeal to me – its got the pretty CLAMP character designs, smooth stylish Sunrise animation, roller skating mecha, anti-hero lead with magic eye powers, fantastic voice cast, and brilliant music; really there’s nothing more I could really want out of a series! Code Geass caught my attention with its very first episode,

4. Cowboy Bebop

Unlike so many shows that are hailed as ‘must-sees’ Cowboy Bebop actually delivers on its claims – its just a remarkably well made series from beginning to end. I’m not a fan of slice of life or episodic shows, which is why I kept putting off watching Cowboy Bebop, but this is how you do episodic right

3. Death Note

I know that Death Note is over-rated and flawed, but feck it – I love the series to bits! I had read the manga a while before the anime started airing, so knew the story and what twists to expect. Despite this I was still gripped by Madhouse’s adaptation. Really, the direction and animation that this series displayed was something special – completely overblown (eating crisps and writing in a notebook will never be viewed the same way again) but absolutely perfect for building the tension required to make Death Note work

2. Shiki

I can’t even begin to tell you how much time I spent thinking/writing/talking about this series; its a very rare series that gets me that completely obsessed with it. Anime that are truly chilling are rare, but the latter half of Shiki had some of the creepiest, most disturbing scenes that I’ve ever seen animated – the horror tag is well earned.

1. Fullmetal Alchemist / Brotherhood

original FMA was my first taste of the series, and even though it was mostly anime original, it was a very well crafted show and excelled at creating believable drama. However, the recently finished FMA: Brotherhood series, completely blew the original out of the water on nearly every level.