Top Ten Anime Lists for 2006

[MrWhat]

I've finally seen enough titles to expand to a Top Twenty List.  Sadly, Azumanga Daioh has finally wrested #1 away from El-Hazard (and OMG!).

01  Azumanga Daioh
02  Oh My Goddess! (tie)
02  El-Hazard (tie)
04  The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya
05  Fruits Basket
06  Tenchi Muyo! (tie)
06  You're Under Arrest! (tie)
08  Genshiken
09  Kodocha / Child's Toy
10  Photon

11  Hyper Police
12  Golden Boy
13  Magical Project S
14  All-Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku
15  NieA Under 7
16  Lupin III: Castle Of Cagliostro
17  Comic Party
18?  RahXephon (only sampled)
19  Please Teacher
20  Spirited Away

My 2005 list

My 2004 list

[smkviper]

Well, here's my top 10 for 06 (it's still really hard for me to rank them, or just stick with 10):

1. Mai HiME/Otome
2. El Hazzard
3. The Melencholy of Suzumiya Haruhi
4. Full Metal Panic
5. Azumanga Daioh
6. Ah! My Goddess
7. Kaleido Star
8. The Place Promised in Our Early Days
9. Air
10. Fate/Stay Night

And my top 10 from 05 (for reference):

1. Mai HiME
2. El Hazzard
3. Full Metal Panic
4. Azumanga Daioh
5. Ah! My Goddess
6. Elfen Lied
7. Tsubasa Chronicle
8. Place Promised in Our Early Days
9. Scrapped Princess
10. Noir

So... a decent amount of difference between the two years. But I'll chalk that up to being fickle and watching a lot of new anime this year.

Other series of note that I saw this year (in no particular order):

Godannar
Moon Phase
Karin
The Mars Daybreak
School Rumble
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha

[rowan_a._seven]

2006 List:
1. Revolutionary Girl Utena
2. El-Hazard
3. Tenchi (including Magical Project S)
4. Monster
5. Berserk
6. Ruroni Kenshin
7. The Vision of Escaflowne
8. The Big O
9. Sailor Moon
10. Slayers

2005 List
1. El-Hazard (tentatively)
2. Tenchi (including Magical Project S but not the two new series that I haven't seen yet)
3. Slayers
4. Revolutionary Girl Utena
5. Monster
6. Ruroni Kenshin (Seasons 1-2 and the 3 OAV episodes.  I haven't watched the rest)
7. Noir
8. The Big O
9. Vision of Escaflowne
10. Sailor Moon

2004 List:
1. El-Hazard
2. Tenchi (including Magical Project S)
3. Slayers
4. Shingetsutan Tsukihime
5. Noir
6. Revolutionary Girl Utena
7. Kare Kano
8. Inu-Yasha
9. Ruroni Kenshin
10. Sailor Moon

Not a whole lot has changed from 2005, probably because I haven't watched much new anime this past year.  Full Metal Alchemist and Full Metal Panic are on my list of series to watch eventually, and I hope to finish Azumanga Daioh, Kare Kano, and Inu-Yasha someday.  All five of them could conceivably find a place on this list.  Bleach exudes coolness up to a point but there was a precipitous drop in quality after the Soul Society arc, and I haven't picked the series up again.  

Anyway, as for what did change, Revolutionary Girl Utena toppled El-Hazard from the #1 spot because of its thought-provoking and inspiring story.  El-Hazard is great entertainment, but I find myself puzzling over and contemplating the characters and plot of Revolutionary Girl Utena more often.  Berserk earned a place on the list for being such a starkly different and surprisingly intelligent series, while Noir dropped off of the list from lack of staying power, despite being great fun to watch.  Sailor Moon manages to hang around probably from nostalgia and sentimental value (even after so many years I still find the Nephrite/Naru arc touching), and Slayers stays on the list because...well, maybe because it stars Lina Inverse and it's kind of hard for a human being to argue with a Dragon Slave?

Oh, and I happened to notice this...

13  Magical Project S

Woot!  I applaud your great taste, Mr. What, although knowing you this probably has something to do with Pixy Misa being a mini-Mara of sorts.

[MrWhat]

I applaud your great taste, Mr. What, although knowing you this probably has something to do with Pixy Misa being a mini-Mara of sorts.

One of my many EHOL Round Robin regrets is that I didn't know Pixy Misa when she first appeared.  At least I got her back in again, near the end, after I finally saw that anime.

Mara's Worst Nightmare is abandoned, HNA is still on indefinite hold, and any new writing projects are still at least several months out... but, at some point, an extended Mara & Pixy Misa cross-over adventure will be written out.

[lisa]

Whoa, what it was 10 years ago but the lists are still so actual and the anime movies and series never get old.