blog好き

Apr 02 2009

Categories: best of 2008

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A musician. A thief. And a maid.

#4: Detroit Metal City

“Satsugai satsugai se yo!”

Also wins for 2008:

• Most Repressed Personality
• Catchiest Chant
• Best Use Of Vulgar Language
• Most Metal
• Most Abusive Of The Pig Of Capitalism
• Best Contrast Between OP/ED
• Best Raping Of A 4,000 Ton Tokyo Landmark
• Most Fucking Awesome Drummer

Don’t let the crude animation fucking fool you. Detroit Metal City violates its way to #4. There’s a lot to like about DMC… and let’s start with the lead, Negishi, who is fucking fantastic on all levels: he’s one part loser wannabe sappy songwriter, yet, on the other hand, he’s also Krauser II, the ultimate demon spawn slash death metal god from hell. His own internal battle between who he wants to be (Negishi) and who he needs to be (Krauser) is a solid A+ conflict.

Beyond Negi, the supporting characters are as awesome as fuck too from Camus the drummer to DMC’s continuously in heat manager to Negishi’s innocent love interest. And that’s not even counting the fucked up movie director, the fucked up enemies of DMC, and all the fucked up fans of DMC. “Yep… these are my fans” don’t even begin to describe DMC’s loyal followers.

And did I mention the fucking? There’s a lot of it… and not in a fucking normal sense. I mean, everything from animals to buildings are involved– nothing escapes Krauser’s demonic groin. DMC also has some memorable lines, from the classic “GO TO DMC!” chant to lyrics like “All you need is the lower body” to “Satsugai.” It just all adds to the appeal and mystique of Krauser– just everything comes together in a comedic firestorm.

Just ridiculous amounts of over-the-top humor, and DMC was the most intentionally funniest anime of 2008. I’m terrified to write ill of this anime for fear that Krauser would raise from hell and hunt me down– what am I saying? That’ll be awesome! This show was too fucking short! Give us more! GO TO DMC! GO TO DMC!

#3: Daughter of Twenty Faces

“They make wine from grapes / They make fire from coal / They make men from kisses”

Also wins for 2008:

• Best Theft
• Best Smile
• Best Underaged Detective
• Most Doting Meido
• Most Expected Non-Gundam-Related Revival After Death
• Most Awesome Posse
• Most Exploding Blimps
• Most Debonair

Daughter of Twenty Faces was really three shows in one, with the first part being Chiko learning as Twenty Faces’ understudy. This portion was definitely one of the best for this series, with Chiko and Twenty Faces teaming up and up-ending everyone who came in their way in a series of great pulp adventures. Honestly, I would watch a whole season of just Chiko doing Chiko things. But it didn’t last with Twenty Faces’ first (of many!) “deaths.” The show adjusted to Chiko trying to live a normal life again, and this portion introduced Tome, a reason any meido connoisseur should watch this show. Tome quickly became a reason to watch the show– almost surpassing Chiko’s appeal– and Chiko’s no slouch.

However, the show continued with a weird sci-fi bent that didn’t come together until the end. It wasn’t obvious while Chiko was fighting cyborgs and mutants, but, eventually, that portion got tied into Twenty Faces’ backstory. The final payoff wasn’t Chiko stopping the bad guy or meeting Twenty Faces again– it was Chiko resolving to live by herself without Twenty Faces. It was a coming-of-age story for Chiko, not a demons-of-the-past for Twenty Faces. I enjoyed that; I’m not sure if a lot of people got that from the show.

Another aspect of the show that I liked was that while Chiko was a very good gymnast, she was always outgunned in the fights. She has to use her wits and smarts instead of brute force, which was always entertaining to see how she dealt with each attacker. I liked seeing how Chiko would foil her opponents, and it’s pretty much the opposite of how 00 Gundam does it.

Decent animation, another solid Aya Hirano performance, busty and doting meido, an evil aunt (and who doesn’t enjoy a good evil aunt once in a while?), the palatable sexual tension between Chiko and Tome, the awkward sexual tension between Chiko and Twenty Faces, and all the great capers rounds out Daughter of Twenty Faces.

#2: Kamen no Maid Guy

“You’ve earned a Maid Guy Badge!”

Also wins for 2008:

• Most Awesome Kogarashi Moments
• Most Fubuki Embarrassment Scenes
• Most Violations of Naeka
• Best Guttural Sounds
• The Umisho Memorial Needs More Episodes Award
• Most Invincible
• Best Cow-Meido Scene
• Most Gar

Kamen no Maid Guy had it all– the quintessential five tool star– a Torii Hunter or a Derek Jeter type. Comedy, fanservice, action, drama, and meido. What else could you ask for? A well deserved #2 ranking.

The show is carried by the masked maid, Kogarashi. He overflows with gar to the point that unless he wore the maid outfit, he’ll cause the universe to collapse into another big bang. I’m convinced that’s why he’s a maid because the maid outfit is the least gar outfit possible, and the only way possible containment field for his gar. Just two rankings ago, I praised how fucking bad-ass Krauser II was? Kogarashi trumps Krauser.

To put things in another perspective, Kamen no Maid Guy is a fanservice comedy, and it delivers fanservice in spades. Most of the fanservice was provided by the more than capable tag-team of Naeka and Fubuki. Both are fantastic talents, and both continuously put up tremendous fanservice stats and have ridiculously high VORM (Value Over Replacement Moe). Fubuki herself is a top tier meido but is definitely overshadowed by Kogarashi. Let me put that in a way that better showcases how ridiculous how that sounds: a muscle-bound freak wearing a maid uniform takes the stage completely from a meido on par with Siesta, Wilhelmenia, and Mariel. Doesn’t that sound ridiculous, but it’s true! Towards the end of Kamen no Maid Guy, a few of my readers were complaining that Naeka’s melonpan were distracting them from the Awesome Kogarashi Moments (AKMs). I mean… wow. But well deserved.

And… AKMs… there were many. Like Maid Guy Illusion! Maid Guy Ravens! Maid Guy Radar! It was even fun trying to talk like Kogarashi… “Kukuku… shitty master is being lazy again. But Maid Guy will cure that!” Who doesn’t enjoy that? Kukuku.

Mostly what I enjoyed most from Maid Guy was that there weren’t any dull moments, and just when you think it might be dull, it’s actually Kogarashi laying a trap that’s ready to spring. He’s just waiting to envelope you in his Maid Guy Hair Sensors or Maid Guy Voice. If you haven’t watched this series yet, go and watch it. Or at least check out my twittered episode-by-episode coverage of this series.

(Today must be gar day. Kogarashi… Twenty Faces… and Krauser. That’s like the anti-Mako-cakes, Lulu, and Tieira.)

As a quick recap, so far in the top ten, we have had Shigofumi, Minami-ke Okawari, Macross Frontier, Gundam 00 S2, Code Geass R2, Toradora, Detroit Metal City, Daughter of Twenty Faces, and Kamen no Maid Guy. #1 will be revealed tomorrow.