Favourite animes of 2006

Although I've watched quite a number of animes in 2006, I found that when it comes to naming my favourites, only two titles come to mind i.e. Hachimitsu to Clover II & Death Note. I have issues with the rest of the titles I watched and there were a siginificant number of animes which I even dropped halfway. As such, I'm not sure whether it is the quality of the animes which has gone downhill or my expectations have gone higher which is leading to this situation.

First of all, let me talk about Hachimitsu to Clover II which should be my No.1 series for the year.

After watching the first season in 2005, it got me so interested in the story that I went to buy the manga once the series had ended its run. The bittersweet tone in the story makes it very engaging and anyone who has gone through friendship, school life, separation from friends or even one-sided love could easily relate to the circumstances of the characters. I think that's the power of Hachikuro which is drawing many to read the manga and watch the anime. I'm not sure how the real-life adaptation movie fares when compared to these two versions though because I've not watched it yet.

Anyway, coming to the second season, it's more like a resolution to the situation trapping these characters and how it appears that they have finally found a way out of the seemingly hopeless state which their lives are stuck in. The love triangle between Takemoto, Hagu and Morita did not have a conclusion though but it's rather obvious that Hagu feels something different for Morita and vice versa as compared to her views of Takemoto. On the other hand, Mayama has shown his conviction to stick with Rika while there seems to be some hope for Yamada and Nomiya to work things out one day. What was a bit surprising would be the fact that Hanamoto's feelings for Hagu which appeared out of the blue although it was obvious that his love for Hagu had already seemed overboard for an uncle and niece.

Since the manga has already ended, it doesn't seem likely that there will be a continuation of the series or even a spinoff. I feel that it's better to leave things as it is instead of spoiling the wonderful impression which viewers have of Hachikuro. It's important to know when to stop just as it is important to know when to let go.

The other series which has got me very interested would be Death Note. The situation for this title is slightly different from Hachikuro where I watched the anime before reading the manga. In Death Note's case, I've already read the manga before watching the anime so I'm very familiar with the story and knows what to expect.

I'm glad to see that the anime is following the manga's story closely instead of putting in nonsensical filler episodes like what NANA has been doing at times (the Junko no Heya recap SPs which get on my nerves). Even though there may be some developments which seem to be simplified to ensure that there is sufficient time to cover everything, the essence of the story is still very much intact. I also like the voice acting by Miyano Mamoru (Light) and Yamaguchi Kappei (L) and hope that the anime can cover up at least till the Yotsuba arc.

With the start of the new season coming soon, I can only hope for better works to come our way in 2007 so that I will have more titles to write about when the end of the year approaches.