Ask John: What Were the Best Anime Shows of 2005?

Question:
What were the best and the worst anime shows for the year 2005? Another year came and went by. Based on your initial expectations and your judgement, which series do you think were major highlights and which were major disapointments?

Answer:
With every passing year it’s becoming more difficult for me to compile a list of best anime premiers. There’s simply too much new anime available for me to even sample everything. And that’s not including continuing series. At the bottom of this article I’ll include a partial list of 2005’s new anime premiers. For the sake of convenience, 3D CG animation and other non-2D anime including Tenku Senshi Shadow Fighter, Clay Anime Taiko no Tatsujin, Kirara to Ishyoni Fushigi Tanken, Fukushima Folklore House Nee Minna… 2, and Final Fantasy: Advent Children were left off the list. Manga Nihon Mukashi Banashi and Zettai Zetsumei Dangerous Jiisan were left off the list because they’re re-broadcasts of programs from prior years. And World of GOLDEN EGGS was left off the list because it’s too much trouble to include anime made for cell phones. Even with those exclusions, my list isn’t complete. But out of the 111 new anime TV series of 2005 on my list, I did manage to watch at least one full episode of 92 of them. I’m not so presumptuous as to believe that watching one episode provides enough information to critique an entire show, but one episode can be enough to establish parallels and reasonable expectations. So with this forewarning in place, I’ll proceed to identify the anime debuts of 2005 that I thought were the best. Note that I didn’t say, “my favorite,” because that’s a different list. I also need to stress that the following list is based on my own exposure and awareness. There are some shows on this list that I haven’t finished watching, and some on this list that haven’t yet finished in Japan. So without further ado, in no particular order:

If I was forced to rank the past year’s premiers I have little doubt that the Mushishi television series would top my list. The anime is based on a highly respected, award winning manga, and the animation takes care to do justice to its source. Mushishi does a brilliant job of creating a complex, totally convincing mythology. In fact, it’s so capable that it really makes viewers wonder if the show is completely fictional, or if it’s based on real life folklore. The colorful art design straddles the line between photorealism and expressionism, which enhances the show’s dreamy, otherworldly atmosphere, along with its ethereal and perfectly fitting music. The show also literally employs more frames of animation than standard for TV anime, which results in stunning, flowing animated movement. The story of a time just before science and technology have drained the world of magic, and a protagonist who’s wisdom, altruism, and childlike curiosity are almost godlike themselves, literally carry viewers away and envelop them in a unique, fascinating, morally ambiguous world that’s literally beautifully tragic.

In the vein of his previous charming shows Risky Safety and Kokoro Toshokan, director Koji Masunari delivered Kamichu!, the only mainstream anime title this year to be honored by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs. Like Mushishi, Kamichu! featured exceptional animation quality, amazingly detailed art design, and an emphasis on the comingling of mundane and supernatural. This uniquely Japanese show put an adorable face on Shinto traditions by turning a clumsy and nervous but good natured Japanese schoolgirl into a goddess, overnight, and with no explanation why. The set-up allowed for a wonderful, heartwarming, romantic situational comedy, as well as an opportunity to deeply delve into the Japanese philosophy of “kami” and their place in daily Japanese culture. This adorable, heartwarming series is a treat for devoted fans of Japanese animation because it’s uniquely Japanese, and it fully explores the cinematic potential of anime to stir a sense of wonder and imagination.

The first of Fuji TV’s “NOITAMINA” series anime was Honey & Clover, a series primarily targeted at adult mainstream Japanese women rather than hardcore anime fans. This unusual intended audience allowed the show to be appealing for anime fans, and at the same time very unusual and unique. I suspect that remaining conscious that its target audience wasn’t used to anime helped the show focus on being narrative and affective. Honey & Clover is a touching, charming, and funny romantic drama. It’s also gorgeous to look at because of its unusual watercolor design style, and its attractively rendered character designs. It’s impossible to look at Hagu-chan without wanting to pick her up and hug her. The characters are thoroughly personified, and their relationships involving and interesting. Honey & Clover is literally the visual equivilant of a book you a can’t put down, with a lovely soundtrack to go along with it.

I’m afraid that many American anime fans have overlooked or ignored Animal Yokocho because on first glance it appears to be a Disney-esque children’s cartoon about a little girl and her talking animal pals. That superficial impression doesn’t reveal that the show is, in fact, a black comedy deeply in the vein of Hare Nochi Guu. Animal Yokocho is literally gut-busting funny- filled with cruel and spiteful violence, death, disturbing situations, and an almost endless stream of bizarre, surreal gags that literally defy description. In fact, attempting to literally describe the gags in Animal Yokocho totally fails to do them justice. Viewers simply have to see a rabit excreting eggs from her ears, or a Christmas sack of fish in order for the jokes to have their full effect. There are few shows that better exemplify the principle that looks can be decieving.

The criticism of style over substance is often applied to anime. In some cases, it’s fitting because visually attractive or dynamic shows can leave behind no lasting memory or impact because they have no narrative impact. In the case of Karas, the style is the substance. The visual component of Karas is so rich, the action so dynamic, that the story is subserviant to the visual assault. Karas simply exudes stylistic chic; futuristic noir merged with a post-modern interpretation of conventional Japanese costumed tokusatsu heroes. It takes the nostalgic futuristic action of Gatchaman, Hurricane Polymer, and Kamen Rider, and actually makes that action electric and post-modern. Karas is literally so cool that it doesn’t matter if the story is confusing and jumbled.

There are three additional titles that I feel obligated to at least acknowledge. I know that there are a number of English speaking fans who adore the Victorian Romance Emma television series. I’ll admit that I’m not a fan of fiction set in the Victorian era, nor did I watch very much of the show. But I found Emma to be a straightforward romantic drama, and in a year of such brilliant shows, a unique setting alone isn’t enough to stand out. The Noein television series has been highly praised, but I haven’t watched enough of it to be fully convinced that it’s an outstanding work. Finally, I’m hesitant to recommend Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid without qualification. While the series finally fulfilled the franchise’s potential for well animated and good looking tense, violent and dramatic military action, the show is also so heavily dependant upon its first series that it may be daunting or inaccessible for viewers who haven’t watched the earlier series.

As a sort of mixed blessing, while the majority of this year’s shows haven’t been stellar, there have also been very few that were absolutely terrible. In my experience, Koi Koi 7 was the absolute worst anime series of 2005, but ironically it kept me watching to the end. Like a terrible train wreck, I couldn’t look away because I found myself compelled to see just how bad the show could get. Even now, I’m still not sure if Koi Koi 7 was an inelegant, poorly drawn and animated mess, or a brilliant, fully intentional satire. The only other show I feel necessary to name is Fighting Beauty Wulong. The current girl fighting genre of anime started in 2003 with the brilliant Air Master, then declined with Ikkitousen and Tenjho Tenge, and has now hit a new low with the poorly animated, ugly, and unappealing Fighting Beauty Wulong. (Allow me to explain that my picks are subjective and don’t reflect any criticism of particular anime fans or Japanese artists. Fans have every right to like any anime, and disagree with my opinions. Although I may dislike certain anime, I still have the utmost respect for the effort and devotion of animators and artists who create anime.)

2005 Anime Debuts (partial list)

TV Series
A-kuei to Gacchinpoo
Ah! Megami-sama
Air
Akahori Gedou Rabuge Hour
Amaenaideyo!!
Angel Heart
Animal Yokocho
Aria the Animation
B-Densetsu! Battle Beadman Enkon
Basilisk
Beet the Vandel Buster Excelion
Black Cat
Blood+
Buzzer Beater
Canvas 2
Capeta
Chou Positive! Fighters Moeruze Yakeruze! Series
Cluster Edge
Comic Party Revolution
Da Capo Second Season
Damekko Doubutsu
Dinobreaker
Doraemon (2005 series)
Erementar Gerad
Eureka 7
Eyeshield 21
Fighting Beauty Wulong
Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid
Fushigiboshi no Futago Hime
Futakoi Alternative
Futari wa Precure Max Heart
Gaiking -Legend of Daiku Maryu-
Gallery Fake
Ginban Kaleidoscope
Ginga Densetsu Weed
Girls Bravo Second Season
Glass Mask
Gokiburi-chan
Gokujo Seitokai
Gunparade Orchestra
GUNxSWORD
Guyver the Bioboosted Armor
Happy Seven the TV Manga
He Is My Master
Honey & Clover
Ichigo 100%
Ichigo Marshmallow
Idaten Jump
IGPX
Izumo ~ Takeki Ken no Hirameki
Jigoku Shoujo
Jinki:Extend
Kabutomushi Ouji Mushiking
Kamichu!
Karin
Kido Shinsengumi Moeyoken
Koi Koi 7
Kotenkotenko
Lamune
Law of Ueki
Loveless
Magical Canan
Mahoroba ~ Heartful Days
Mahou Sensei Negima
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s
Majimeni Fumajime Kaiketsu Zorori
Mar Heaven – Marchen Awakens Romance
Masuda Kousuke Gekijou Gag Manga Hiyori
Mato Kaidan Pandalian
Mushishi
My Otome
Nanami-chan no Waku Waku Doubutsuen
Nintama Rantaro (13th series)
Noein ~ Mo Hitori no Kimi e
Oden-kun
Ojarumaru (8th series)
Okusama wa Joshikosei
Okusama wa Mahou Shoujo
Onegai My Melody
Paniponi Dash!
Paradise Kiss
Patalliro Saiyuki
Peach Girl
Petopeto-san
Play Ball
Raimuiro Ryukitan X
Rockman.exe Beast
Rozen Maiden Traumend
Shakugan no Shana
Shinshaku Sanada Juyushi
Shuffle
Snow Queen
Solty Rei
Sousei no Aquarion
Speed Grapher
Starship Operators
Sugar Sugar Rune
Sukinamono wa Suki Dakara Shouganai
Suzuka
Tide-Line Blue
To Heart 2
Tohai Densetu Akagi ~ Yamini Maiorita Tensai
Transformers Galaxy Force
Trinity Blood
Tsubasa Chronicle
Ultimate Girl
Victorian Romance Emma
Wagamama Fairy Mirumo de Pon Charming
Witch Village Story
Xenosaga the Animation
Zettai Shonen
Zoids Genesis

TV Specials
DIGITAL MONSTER X-evolution
Shinshaku Sanada Juyushi Special
Lupin the Third: Angel Tactics
Hotori – Tada Saiwai wo Koinegau

OVAs
Akane Maniax
Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru
Bokusatu Tenshi Dokuro-chan
Eien no Aseria – Spirit of Eternity Sword
Final Fantasy VII: Last Order
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – The Laughing Man
Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu
Karas
King of Fighters: Another Day
Kirameki Project
Majokko Tsukune-chan
OVAL X OVER
Papa to KISS IN THE DARK
Prayers
St. Seiya: Meiou Hades Meikai Hen
Saishuheiki Kanojo: Another Love Song
Seikai no Senki III
Sentou Yousei Shoujo Tasukete! Mave-chan
Super Robot Taisen Original Generation
Tenchi Muyo! 3rd Season + 1
UFO Princess Valkyrie: Seiretsu no Hanayome
Wings of Rean
Yuusha Ou Gaogaiger FINAL Grand Glorious Gathering

Movies
A-Kuei to Mahou no Hammer & Chelsea no Gyakushu
Air
Arashi no Yoruni
Ashita Genki ni Na~re!
Crayon Shin-chan: Densetsu wo Yobu Buriburi Sanpun Pokkiri Daishingeki
Detective Conan: Strategy Above the Depths
Dual Masters movie
Fullmetal Alchemist: Shambala wo Iku Mono
Futari wa Precure Max Heart
Glass no Usagi
Kino no Tabi: Nanika wo Suru Tameni – Life goes on
Kakurenbo
Konjiki no Gash Bell movie 2
Mobile Suit Z Gundam movies 1 & 2
Naruto movie 2: Maboroshi no Chiteiiseki Dattebayo!
One Piece: Omatsuri Danshaku to Himitsu no Shima
Pocket Monster Advance Generation: Mew to Hadou no Yuusha
Prince of Tennis: Futari no Samurai The First Game
Rockaman.exe: Hikari to Yami no Isan
Soreike! Anpanman: Happy no Daibouken
Soreike! Anpanman: Kuroyukihime to Motemote Baikinman
Tsubasa Chronicle ~Nendaiki Torikago no Kuni no Himegimi~
xxxHolic ~Manatsu no Yoru no Yume~