Mar
18
AnimeReactor Community Awards 2006, results and discussion
March 18, 2007 |
Since I don’t really take a great interest in the Anime-Reactor.net community, I can’t say I know a great deal about the process by which these awards are decided, so there’s no real point in me commenting on that. These awards are just as weighty as any other community decided “awards”, but they have a little more permanence in the fact that winners of the award receive a little sticker in their AniDB entries, and that’s something that they can never lose with time. As is the case with most such awards, it’s more for the fans than anything else (or anyone else, like the creators), who can momentarily boast that they’re favourite was slightly more popular than the second best vote-getter and savour in any momentary glory of such a victory. But, sarcasm aside, I always do find it worthwhile to discuss which anime made an impact in a given year. I wouldn’t push our site to publish its annual reviews if that wasn’t the case…
Full results here: AnimeReactor Community Awards - 2006
Best Anime Overall: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Jury’s Pick: Mushishi
Other nominations: Black Lagoon, Fate/stay night, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Kamichu!, NHK ni Youkoso!, Ouran Koukou Host Club, Rec
No surprise about the community’s choice. It’ll inevitably be a contentious choice, since it’s a contentious anime and a contentious award to begin with, but on the sheer impact the series has made on the anime community, it’s deserved. But, I do think the jury’s pick is a better anime overall. My own personal choice is split somewhere between Mushishi and Honey & Clover II, perhaps leaning ever slightly to the latter. Either way, I have no complaints about the two winners, they both deserve their own kudos, though for different reasons. On an aside, the rest of the nominees are crap (in comparison). Ouran is the only other nominee I’d even consider close to the two winners, while F/SN and REC aren’t even in the same park. Honey & Clover II and Bokura ga Ita are far and away better than all the other nominees… why they weren’t nominated is beyond me.
Best Story: Mushishi
Jury’s Pick: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Other nominations: Fate/stay night, Hachimitsu to Clover II, Noein - Mou Hitori no Kimi e, Pale Cocoon
Good choice, though a more just naming of the award for Mushishi should be “Best stories“. This is one of the few cases where I liked the community’s choice better than the jury’s choice. Higurashi also had a very competent plot, though, and even though I don’t feel comfortable saying it since it was left incomplete at the series’ ending, it probably did beat H&CII and Noein out of sheer complexity, mostly thanks to it’s non-linear timeline. F/SN deserves the award for “best story with worst story-telling”.
Best Character Development: Eureka Seven
Jury’s Pick: Welcome to the NHK!
Other nominations: Asatte no Houkou, Hachimitsu to Clover II, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Kamichu!, Rec
Can’t really comment on Eureka Seven, since I haven’t seen it, but how does Welcome to the NHK! win jury’s pick for best character development when Asatte no Houkou and H&CII were also nominated. Hell, I’d even say Higurashi almost has more profound character development than NHK!. NHK! was a real mess with how it handled many of its characters, particularly Misaki, by waiting until it was far too late before even thinking of giving the audience a reason to care about them. Anyway, this is another category where Bokura ga Ita’s non-nomination is a sin. I’ve always thought that series was criminally underrated and here’s another example of that.
Best Visuals: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Jury’s Pick: Pale Cocoon
Other nominations: Eureka Seven, Kamichu!, Kemonozume, Mushishi, Top wo Nerae! 2
Again, can’t really comment on Pale Cocoon since I haven’t seen it, but Suzumiya Haruhi is, in my eyes, certainly a deserved winner. Not just for animation, though, even though KyoAni’s work was outstanding, but also for the visual directing and cinematography, since the series did, at times, really barrage the audience with a lot of unconventional effects, which certainly aided the atmosphere and level of creativity in the series. Kemonozume is an interesting nomination since it really had a bizarre art style and also it’s fair share of unconventional effects. However, I’d almost argue that Noein’s visual efforts were in a similar vein to Kemonozume’s, but better. Out of the non-winners, Mushishi would get my nod, but not ahead of Suzumiya Haruhi.
Best Soundtrack: Eureka Seven
Jury’s Pick: Mushishi
Other nominations Ergo Proxy, Kamichu!, Mai-Otome, NHK ni Youkoso!
Jury gets it right again. Mushishi’s soundtrack was absolutely out of this world. Haven’t heard E7’s soundtrack, but Kurier’s reviewed it and gave it a pretty good rating. NHK!’s soundtrack was also quite good as well, but it doesn’t compare with Mushishi’s. Otome’s was a solid Kajiura Yuki effort, but I wouldn’t say it’s as memorable as Mushishi’s or NHK!’s.
Best Opening / Ending: Shakugan no Shana
Jury’s Pick: Black Lagoon
Other nominations: Ergo Proxy, Eureka Seven, Fate/stay night, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Mushishi
Hmm… what were the good OP/EDs of the year? There was Shakugan no Shana’s “Hishoku no Sora” and pretty much all of the Mushishi ED’s, but I can’t really think of much else. Ah, wait, the ARIA the Natural OP and ED pieces were really good, though it doesn’t surprise me that they don’t have the popularity to get nominated. Welcome to the NHK!’s Round Table feat. Nino OP was another classy J-pop tune. Either way, I suppose the winner is deserved, but that’s only because I can’t really think of anything that it’s criminally usurped off the top of my head.
Best Action / Martial Arts Anime and Jury’s Pick: Black Lagoon
Other nominations:Blood+, Eureka Seven, Fate/stay night, Kemonozume, Mai-Otome, Top wo Nerae!
Yeah, probably deserved. Wouldn’t know, since I didn’t see the winner or half the nominations. Out of the ones I see Kemonozume wins for the WTF factor, and Mai-Otome wins for the popcorn factor.
Best Adventure / Fantasy Anime and Jury’s Pick: Mushishi
Other nominations: Fate/stay night, Juuousei, Kamichu!, Utawarerumono, xxxHOLiC, Zero no Tsukaima
Absolutely deserved winner. None of the other nominations even come close to touching it. I did enjoy Zero no Tsukaima, though, but when that’s the second best nomination in a category with Mushishi… well, it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the competition and Mushishi not winning is a crime against good taste.
Best Drama Anime and Jury’s Pick: Honey & Clover II
Other nominations: Bokura ga Ita, Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Mushishi, NHK ni Youkoso!
Now here’s a winner I certainly agree with. And a worthy nomination in Bokura ga Ita. That the terrible Hanbun no Tsuki is nominated alongside some of these titles is a sin.
Best Romance / Love Story Anime: Honey & Clover II
Jury’s Pick: REC
Other nominations: Bokura ga Ita, Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora, I”s Pure, Kemonozume, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu
Not sure what the jury were thinking. As far as pure romance is concerned, I’m not sure if I’d pick H&CII over Bokura ga Ita. It’d be close either way, but I think I’d just pick the latter since its relationships were a little more grounded and a little more compelling.
Best Comedy: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Jury’s Pick: Ouran High School Host Club
Other nominations: Inukami!, Kamichu!, Magikano, Muteki Kanban Musume, NHK ni Youkoso!, Rec
Well, it is pretty much out of those two, isn’t it, since the rest of the nominations are a good tier lower than them. My own personal choice is certainly Suzumiya Haruhi since I thought the wit and consistency was better, but it’s always a contentious choice, particular out of these two titles. Deserved non-nominee: School Rumble 2nd Term. Had it been as funny as it’s predecessor, I’d have been concerned about its absence… but it wasn’t, so I’m not.
Best Fanservice / Ecchi Anime: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Jury’s Pick: Inukami!
Other nominations: Amaenaide yo!, Joshikousei, Magikano, Top wo Nerae! 2
Now this is certainly a contentious award for Suzumiya Haruhi to win, since it’s less a fanservice anime and more an anime that just happened to have fanservice in it (and only sporadically). High School Girls is a good nominee that was destined to lose. I think it’s actually one of the few series where fanservice aided the comedy, and it was partly due to the fact that it was so bad. I dig series like that, and I wish more fanservice anime with (attempted) comedy followed it’s example, since they wouldn’t be so grating if they were actually funny.
Best Sci-Fi / Mecha Anime: Eureka Seven
Jury’s Pick: Noein - Mou Hitori no Kimi e
Other nominations: Ergo Proxy, Juuousei, Pale Cocoon, Top wo Nerae! 2, Zegapain
I’m with the jury, Noein was madness. Where’s ARIA the Natural? Isn’t that sci-fi…?
Best Thriller / Mystery / Horror Anime and Jury’s Pick: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Other nominations: Blood+, Ergo Proxy, Jigoku Shoujo, Kemonozume
Don’t disagree. Higurashi is one of the few examples of an anime that actually manages to pull of horror, and the mystery component added in just makes it all the better. Kemonozume deserves kudos as well, but the horror wasn’t so much the point in that series.
Best Quick Watch Anime and Jury’s Pick: REC
Other nominations: Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora, I”s Pure, Pale Cocoon, Shinigami no Ballad, Top wo Nerae! 2
None of these are very good…. If I had to pick a best out of these, it’d be a choice of Shinigami no Ballad and REC, though slightly leaning towards the latter. None of them deserve an award, though. Almost like REC is given one out of default.
Best Male Character and Jury’s Pick: Kyon (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)
Other nominations: Archer (Fate/stay night), Dutch (Black Lagoon), Ginko (Mushishi), Hiraga Saitou (Zero no Tsukaima), Matsumaru Fumihiko (Rec), Mizuno Kanta (Sunabouzu), Ootori Kyouya (Ouran Koukou Host Club), Satou Tatsuhiro (NHK ni Youkoso!)
And here’s where any chance for objectivity flies out the window. Ok, out of the choice, Kyon probably wins, but I do think Hiraga Saito deserves mention for pure GAR level. I like a male character that has a pair, and his generic character design unfortunately hides how much of a man he actually is.
Best Female Character: Suzumiya Haruhi (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)
Jury’s Pick: Revy (Black Lagoon)
Other nominations: Aka Onda (Rec), Fujioka Haruhi (Ouran Koukou Host Club), Hitotsubashi Yurie-sama (Kamichu!), Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière (Zero no Tsukaima), Real Mayar (Ergo Proxy), Tousaka Rin (Fate/stay night)
Best, or more accurately, most popular. My heart will always belong to School Rumble’s Tsukamoto Yakumo, but out of the characters on that list, I suppose Haruhi wins. Tohsaka Rin deserves special mention for being an awesome character in a mediocre show. Hey, aren’t half these chicks tsundere…?
Best Villian and Jury’s Pick: Sonozaki Shion (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni)
Other nominations: Anemone (Eureka Seven), Balalaika (Black Lagoon), Creed Diskence (Black Cat), Dewey Novak (Eureka Seven), Mizuno Kanta (Sunabouzu), Ouba (Kemonozume)
From tsundere to yandere. A fair choice, but she couldn’t exactly help it when you think about it. I actually think Ouba would have been a far better choice. Now there was a villian who knew what he was doing (and even more fucked up than Shion in my eyes). Shion almost deserves the award because of how incredibly well she was portrayed by her seiyuu, Yukino Satsuki.
Best Newcomer: Death Note
Jury’s Pick: Kanon
Other nominations: Code Geass Hangyaku no Lelouch, Le Chevalier D’Eon, Nana, Negima!?
Award for currently airing series, I’m deducing. I’d have agreed with the community’s choice four or five weeks ago, but with Death Note’s spiral downwards and Kanon’s surge, I see that the jury’s got it absolutely spot on. Arguably Nana is better, but it probably didn’t have the popular vote (even in the jury) to see it over the line. I don’t see Code Geass garnering the same amount of critical acclaim that Kanon’s received once it’s all done… althought most of that critical acclaim has come from me and other KyoAni fanboys.
And, since this took me about an hour longer than I expected to put together, I’m not going to bother hotlinking any of the titles as I originally planned…
Comments
6 Comments so far
I think most of the choices made by the community and the jury reflect both the popularity and the quality of particular animes quite accurately, but if I had to bitch about few things…
@Best visuals
Pale Cocoon was indeed beautifully animated and probably superior to Kyoani’s animation in haruhi. Mushishi had an interesting style too but in my opinion, Kemonozume takes the cake easy. So many animes out there are using tired old traditional style of animation, generic character designs with red, green, blue colours for their hair, huge eyes, etc etc. Kemonozume is seems bit experimental but its sheer unique factor, the way it portrays chaotic movements, beautiful scenaries, creating moods of intense lust, greed, desire.
Noein is overrated, I don’t know why so many people rate its visuals so highly. It does have beautiful images, such as those aliens, oboro using computer graphics, but things like their 3-dimensional home, looks so fake and out of place. And character designs are ugly with weird eyes, faces and bodies that move like puppets controlled by a puppeteer sometimes. Action scenes are animated nicely though with sketchy animation.
@best comedy
I agree with jury, ouran beats haruhi at comedy
They both are funny in different ways, but ouran is the one which would be more lol-inducing.
@best fanservice
Yup, haruhi wins again, no question. What is the best anime that features a fanservice? Why haruhi of course!
@best quickwatch
Pale cocoon was decent :/
Maybe not award-winning but decent…
@villain
Ouba ftw -__-
Heh. I remember following these awards when i was first immersing myself into anime.
It’s a little disheartening that fantastic shows like Aria/Kamichu don’t fit so cleanly into any of these categories.
Btw, this is unrelated, but hey Sorrow, have you watched Bridge to Terabithia? Too good! ^^
That is pretty off topic :p
No. I hadn’t even heard of it til you brought it up. I’m thinking it probably hasn’t been released in Australia yet.
I watched it four times in theatre, LOL. (I’ve never seen a movie more than once willingly before this)
Well, if you ever intend on checking it out, just don’t judge it by the trailer. It tries to make it seem like a Chronicles of Narnia ripoff when the movie itself is actually a lot more like a slice of life series.
Slice of Life stuff is hard to find in action/drama heavy Hollywood.
AnimeReactor needs to have like a best Slice of Life series or something…
I highly dislike Haruhi Suzumiya winning the best anime of the year, because although it was admittedly good it wasn’t as awesome as H&C II or Mushishi per se. That’s highly my opinion, but from technical basis the story and plot of the latter two triumph far and away over the disjointed, simple story of Haruhi Suzumiya.
As for the other things … I have comments but am too lazy to reply as of now. I’ll come back later.
I still think Suzumiya Haruhi deserves the award purely on the impact it made. It’s not the winners that I disapprove of in regards to that category, since they were both great anime, though in vastly different ways, it’s the nominees. I mean, how do mediocre series like F/SN and REC get nominated, while H&CII and Bokura ga Ita get the bone? Really…