Last season's top 3

[Archangel]

So this thread is now stickied so it can provide an alternative to the recommendation thread

I hope everyone drops by as each season ends to let us know what they followed and how much they enjoyed, so that future members who pass by may have an idea of what shows to watch should they give that old season a chance

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Guidelines:

- Only post complete seasons, the objective of this thread is to help users find good anime and not anime that has been good so far. If it was that awesome, you can post about it in the next season.

- There's no need for lengthly descriptions ( that's what we have ann, anidb and wikipedia for ) but do try to concisely describe what made that particular show worthy of entering your top 3

- There isn't any need for a specific order between the three you choose but make sure to make visible distinctions should you feel like adding some "honorable mentions"

- Should you be the first to post about a new season, make sure to mark what particular season you're posting about with the title of your post (eg. Spring 2009)

Note:

- As not to make a mess of things the purpose of this thread is to simply post your top 3, NOT to comment on other member's choices or on any other subjects.
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Spring 2009

A new season is starting, an old season is ending ( i feel nostalgic all of a sudden )

What do you think were last season's top 3 animes?

Personally i didn't care for most of them but there were a couple who caught my attention

1- K-ON! - Extreme moeness, and everyone who's watched it knows exactly what i'm talking about. Hoping there will be a sequel with more Yui and Azu-nyan

2 - Full Metal Alchemist - The first episodes were very quick paced but that's understandable and they were still very enjoyable to watch.

3 - Eden of the East - Very slow at times but the mystery never ceased to keep me interested and the main character was pretty entertaining and original

Honorable mentions:

Dragon Ball Kai - It was nice to watch the classic once again, even if the groups subbing it are all crap

Basquash! - The main character is an idiot and completely annoying at times but there are some pretty entertaining episodes and even with all its flaws it still keeps me interested

[Marik]

For me it's..

1. Saki - My favorite show right now and it's still going. Touka x Nodoka please.

2. Hatsukoi Limited - Saki-nee & Kei-chan, nuff said.

3. Hayate the Combat Butler 2nd Season - I'm liking this season a lot more than the first one.

[Board of Command]

1. Cross Game - still going, but definitely the run-away winner last season for me

2. Hatsukoi Limited - refreshing

3. Basquash - still going, but it's one of the more entertaining series out there

[MFauli]

Very weak season, though number 1 is by far the best:

1. Hajime no Ippo

2. Eden of East

3. Crossing Game/Hatsukoi Limited

[Geddoe1]

1/ Hajime no Ippo

2/ Guin Saga

3/ Eden of East / FMA

[BioAlien]

1. K-ON / Too Short, need more.

2. Kemono no Souja Erin / Went above all my expectation, great anime. Faster subs would be appreciated though.

3. Hayate no Gotoku - 2nd Season / So much Hinagiku Goodness compared to the first season.

[DDBen]

1. Eden of the East: By far the most interesting series of the season though I wish it was more then 11 episodes as the movies are a ways off.

2. Cross Game: The Story of this one is quite interesting I'm amazed its going to run 51 episodes as that is way longer then I would have guessed but I'll be watching all of it.

3. Basquash: I expected to like this one a lot less then I have but they really have been developing the characters and its been keeping my interest.

Honorable mentions: K-On! It was decent and can be best described as Beck Light but overall there was just to much fluff to put it in my top 3. Plus they stopped doing those Music Video things as soon as they added a 5th member and the pacing seemed just to rushed with problems being presented and solved almost immediately.

Slight disclaimer: I've yet to actually get to Hatsukoi Limited, Guin Saga or Kemono no Souja Erin.

FMA Brotherhood: Don't get me wrong I loved the original series but 13 episodes in there has basically been nothing new presented and I liked the original pacing better so frankly I can't place it even close to the top 3.

[Buffalobiian]

3-way tie for me:

Cross Game, Hatsukoi Limited, Guin Saga.

K-ON! was totally heart-melting for the first 4 episodes or so, then it kind of fell from grace. The producers just couldn't do anymore after that, and it was mostly recycled stuff from then on.

[Inazuma]

Hajime no Ippo ( Yes, sport anime eats Moe for breakfast )

Eden of the East ( Thats how slow this season was )

Hetalia ( Just give ep one a chance, you'll understand why. )


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Yes it was a slow season, but you can't expect to get a heavenly combo of
Claymore - Code Geass - Soul Eater - Macross Fonter - Black Lagoon - Gurren Lagann -
in a six month bracket can ya ?

[Buffalobiian]

If it's only counting the ones that have ended, then:

1) Hatsukoi Limited

2) Natsu no Arashi (charming series in a SHAFTy way, belly buttons FTW)

3) K-ON!

I didn't find Eden of the East terribly engaging. The story was full enough, and production quality was nice, it just didn't score high enough in the Enjoyable Factor.

[shinta|hikari]

Mine would be:

Still ongoing included

1) Cross Game - this isn't even a matter of preference, it's just that good.
2) Koukaku no Regios - this is purely a matter of preference, with a lot of what I like about anime appearing in the show.
3) Guin Saga - I didn't expect much from this, but it turned out to be really good, and satisfying, for a change.

Only those that ended:

1) Koukaku no Regios
2) K-on - this was my favorite until the first half. I thought it would regain momentum with Azu-nyan, and was disappointed. It ceased to be funny and focused way too much on moe.
3) Hatsukoi Limited - Relatively enjoyable, but only included due to the limited choices.

I agree with Buff regarding Eden of the East and K-on. Eden had the depth, but lacked enjoyment. K-on had the enjoyment, but never had anything else.

[Idealistic]

Mine are, in no particular order, Chrome Shelled Regios, Hatsukoi Limited, and Eden of the East. Though I'd probably say Chrome was #1 for me because I'm just a lot more interested in the kind of stuff present in Chrome.

I haven't watched some of the shows listed here though. I should probably check some of them out.

[Pandadice]

i'm seeing a lot of Guin Sega.. is that really good? I didn't think it looked that good, but if you guys are liking it i'll give it a try.

as for my top 3?

I guess it'd have to be

Eden of the East (waiting for the movies sucks >.<)
K-ON
and Hatsukoi Limited.

in no real order. and I haven't watched the last Hatsukoi episode. and those three are my picks because them and Valkyria are the only one's I've bothered watching past the first few episodes on.

maybe I'll get back to all those other series and I'll adjust my 3 picks :\

[narutosharingan]

I really enjoyed this season. I ended up watching too many.

1- Cross Game- honestly, over a consistent period, this was the best. It just has a certain charm to it

2- FMA- So far, I like it better than the original

3- K-ON- this should have been 1, but it started falling

Eden of the East, Hatsukoi LImited, Basquash, Guin Saga were all interesting as well

[Yukimura]

Lol my top three that ended would be about the same as shinta's:

1) Regios - good and proper 5 man band action series with an interesting if somewhat confusing story to support the action, and plenty of interesting characters to really keep things engaging from start to finish.

2) Hatsukoi Limited: Had something of a love hate relationship with much of this show but I think Saki-nee would want me to forgive all wrongs.

3) K-on: It was fun. Certainly not the most fun thing I've ever seen but it made me smile most of the 13 weeks it ran and that counts for plenty with me.

Honorable Mentions:
Sora Kakeru Shoujo - Came for Lelouch, stayed for the absurdity, humor, and characters.
Natsu no Arashi - interesting but didn't have enough grab for me week to week.

Honorable mention to shows still airing:
Guin Saga - If you like badassness you should definitely check this out, and even if you don''t there seems to be plenty of intrigue, politics, and expansive fantasy world building going into this one. I'd liken it to Seirei no Moribito in tone however I think Guin might give Balsa a run for her money in terms of overall awesomeness due to his edge in political skills.

Phantom - Really loving this one, if they don't mess up the ending this may be in the running for my best of '09 despite fall being so far away.

Dishonorable mention:
Eden of the East - I still haven't figured out what everyone was so into about this show but I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who didn't find it the greatest thing since sliced bread (<3 shinta and Buff). I liked it at times for the mysterious elements but they didn't make me lose sleep or anything like that. The sexy visuals were definitely a plus as well but the main characters really soured it for me and in the end I was just glad it was over.

EDIT - At last 3000 posts for me as well.

[Kraco]

Probably

Hatsukoi
Guin
Phantom

Regios isn't last season's show but from the winter season, only ending last season (like any show of 24-26 eps would do), so it doesn't count. Otherwise it would have easily topped it. Maybe if Eden had actually finished, I'd have put it in instead of Hatsukoi, but since it didn't, it would be risky to judge it yet, even though I'm pretty confident it'll have a nice and innovative enough ending. But as it is, Hatsukoi managed to impress me even though I have hard times taking romance-comedy seriously.

[Dark Dragon]

1. Cross Games: pretty much what everyone else said, it's just that good. It's not even my favorite Adachi manga either.

2. Regios: I'm a big fan of overpowered main character that doesn't need a bunch of power ups to be able to beat random grunt #2.

3. FMA: I didn't like the original FMA, but i am a big fan of the manga. It's always a plus to see faithful anime adaptation since i'm still bitter about quite a few unfaithful ones.

Other good series: Guin Saga, Hayate 2, Ippo, K-On and Hatsukoi.

[Ryllharu]

I would only count shows that ended this past season. To me, it makes no sense to include series that are still ongoing (I have had several series sour very badly on me in the past), and even if it was 52 episodes, it still ended last season. So for consistency's sake, that's the way I am going to do it.
Note: OVAs and movie continuations don't count as "ongoing."

So in no particular order:

Regios. A pleasant surprise for me. I caught up from later on, but it was really enjoyable. Though there is a lot more story to tell, Felli alone would make the series awesome. The animation wasn't top notch, but the fights were entertaining, the love...hexagon(?) was interesting, and the story left me confused as hell but begging for more.
@MFauli: It is a refreshing change from the glut of moe show after moe show, bland (Valkyria) or otherwise disappointing (Soul Eater anime) shonen series. It wasn't a power-up series, Layfon was already absurdly powerful. He hides, locks down, or otherwise handicaps himself. The audience and the citizens of Znuellni get to slowly discover how powerful he is.

Eden of the East. Same more or less. A lot of depth, interesting characters, and plenty of mysteries to go around. Very pretty animation, clever humor, etc.

I'm going to hold off on a third for now, because I just started watching Sora o Kakeru Shoujo, and it is damn entertaining. (Itsuki <3). It'll be either this or Hatsukoi Limited for final spot.

[masamuneehs]

only two i've watched the full season of were Guin and FMA, both continuing to air...

i think both of them are quite good. i'll be checking out a few recommended from here that i hadn't heard of before.

[Ryllharu]

With a new season now started, it is time to revive this thread.

Again, I only list shows that have ended the past season, any other way would allow a series to be potentially listed twice.

In final episode, reverse-chronologically downloaded order:
Bakemonogatari - Who doesn't love a good shafty SHAFT series? Beautiful visuals (and unique visual style as usual), excellent characters, music, and plot with enough mysteries to let us guess. Not really much else to say besides I want more of it.

CANAAN - Great action, great villains, great heroines too, and a great mix of tension, humor, action, and conspiracies. Probably the best pacing out of any series that ended this season.

Shangri-La - A bit of a surprise, since Gonzo has a good reputation for screwing up series at the last minute, but this turned out to be a really well done cautionary tale and social commentary about burdening poor and developing nations with overzealous edicts. While it made an excellent horror scenario about Cap and Trade combined with a out of control, exploited Carbon market, it also managed to hit on dreams that go too far and are achieved by any means necessary, hubris, and what being a leader is all about. It also had a good mix of humor, and Range Murata character designs are always an absolute treat. For a long time in the beginning, it flailed around, not really sure where it really wanted to go, but at the end it all came together quite well.