best of 2006, day 1: best harem series of 2006
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Since 2002, AoMM has posted its “Best of” awards during the holiday season. This year will be a slightly different format yet again with seven primary categories spanning the next week, and each post will also feature subcategories relating to the main category. Every day from now until the new year, a new category will be revealed, with “Best Anime Series of 2006” being the last category. Of course, these are subjective to this site’s tastes (but not as fixed as any NBA game featuring Dwayne Wade), so expect a good dose of Pizza Hut, melonpan, and emo ramen.
Past awards: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005.
Sound confusing? Maybe I am over-complicating things… oh well, let’s get this started.
We lead off with AoMM’s Best Harem Series of 2006. Harem Series of the Year is normally culled from any anime featuring a typical harem setup and can be either be dramatic, slice-of-life, comedy, giant mecha, or any other sub-genre. Besides overall quality and enjoyability, integration of the harem into the series is also of importance. But first, some warm-up awards.
Best Meido of 2006
Winner: Mikuru Asahina, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Game. Set. Match.
Runner Ups: Mad Dog Meido, Black Lagoon; Yukari, Gift; Ayumi, Magikano; Nadeshiko, Inukami; Siesta, Zero no Tsukaima
Diverse group to say the least… though all of them beat out Mikuru in combat prowess. Why are there so many meido in anime that can cause so much pain anyway? Still, it’s quite a crop of meido… Mad Dog and Siesta are first tier with Ayumi and Nadeshiko debatable for first tier. Has it really been six months since the last Meido Power Rankings?™.
Most Moe of 2006
Winner: Mikuru Asahina, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Mine is the Kingdom of Moe
I’m stuck with friends who bring me woe
And don’t try to lend me a hand
Or else the world might end
Mine is the Kingdom of Moe
I’m a monumentally meek loli dough
My meido outfit I hold dear
That crazy tsundere I fear
(+10 musical appreciation points if you know what was the original song.)
Runner Ups: Jessica, Zero no Tsukaima; Drunk Miki, Muteki Kanban Musume; Hild, Sorezore no Tsubasa; Nayuki, Kanon; Mizuho, Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru
Why, I maybe drunk on eggnog right now.
Best Harem of 2006
Winner: SOS Brigade
Best harem is for which typical harem loser male has the best buffet of choices at his disposal… nothing to do with the anime per say. Tough call this year… it’s a melee between:
- Yuki, Haruhi, Mikuru, Ryoko, LOL FANG-TAN, and Itsuki
- C.C., Karen, Shirley, Ashford, Euphie, and Suzaku
- Eruru, Touka, Karura, Kamyu, Kuuya, and Oboro
- Rika, Rena, Mion, Shion, Sayoko, and Ooishi
- Tabitha, Louise, Kirshe, Jessica, Siesta, and ???
- Ayumi, Maika, Yuri, Marin, Fuyuno, and himself
- Makoto, Mai, Nayuki, Ayu, Wife Material Sayuri, and Jun
(Though it’s funny how these harems can be broken up into: Mysterious Girl, Tsundere Tease, Fanservice Machine, Slighty Crazy Chix0r, Dark Horse, and Itsuki.)
Best Harem Series of 2006
Winner: Kanon
I had a tough, tough, tough time deciding. I felt in many ways 2006 was a down year for harem series if something like Kage Kara Mamoru could be considered above average– just too many clones and too many shows that were just terrible (Crescent Love or Lovely Idol anyone?) and too many shows cheaped out (Sorezore no Tsubasa or Otome wa Boku anyone?). This award could have gone many different ways: Magikano was great for ten episodes and fell off a cliff with the ending, just like the 2006 Detroit Tigers. Inukami had oodles of potential with a near-pantheon-class meido and a solid “A” performance from Horie Yui… yet… featured one too many gay jokes. Not one too many… try ten per episode too many. Gift was fantastic with Rinku’s lesbian friend and Kirino pulling a Kaede and tricking poor Riko out of her memories, but not having a Yukari scenario was unforgivable. By process of elimination, if the worst thing that I can say about a series is, “It brings back memories of wasted hours chatting about this series on #elite-fansubs four years ago,” Kanon wins Best Harem Series of 2006.
Runner Ups: Gift; Magikano; Inukami; Zero no Tsukaima
A group with flaws but for an off-year in the harem department, they make a solid group. Magikano has fanservice, emo facial distortions, and comedy while Inukami has Nadeshiko and comedy, Zero no Tsukaima has emo facial distortions and Siesta, and Gift has Kirino’s “Moshi moshi.”
23 Responses to “best of 2006, day 1: best harem series of 2006”
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“Ahahaha~”
“Uguu~”
“Auuu~”
> (Though it’s funny how these harems can be broken up into: Mysterious Girl, Tsundere Tease, Fanservice Machine, Slighty Crazy Chix0r, Dark Horse, and Itsuki.)
hahahahaha, so funny and sooo true. That was incredible.
I agree with everything. Wait, I forget was Code Geass considered a real harem as well?
Code Geass wasn’t originally meant to be harem, and it caught us by surprise.
Anyway, i do agree Kanon is a good show, but i still believe Haruhi deserved every single award this year.
Also, it seems like a fantastic year for Kyoto.
Also
“Mine is the Kingdom of Moe
I’m stuck with friends who bring me woe”
You pronounce it like the name Moe? Because it’s Mo-eh. Took me forever to get used to it, and now you come and make me do it again.
“I’m struck with friends who give me wo-eh.”
^ Fixed.
Does this seem a little one-sided? =)
Not that I’m complaining of course…!
Out of the available harem anime this year, the SOS Brigade has the most likable cast of female personalities bar none. Even Mikuru and her spineless attitude is likable as she doesn’t come off as annoying as other ‘cute and whiny’ female characters.
I was watching Lamune last night and I felt like stabbing my eardrums after listening to 10+ episodes of Nanami in her cutey whiney voice. Even though they share the same voice actor and similar voice style, the characters are soooooo different.
Underwater Ray Romano has a stellar harem cast that are both mighty powerful in looks and skills, while Kanon has a stellar harem cast that are mighty powerful in moe and monosyllabic sounds. “Uguu~!” “Hoeee~” “Aauuu~” Hmm, tough choice.
OF all the places I could be Christams night, i’m on the internet checking an anime blog… I guess just the fact that i’m posting here says something about my life and my priorites.
>insert punchline, i got lost on the way here
Doesn’t Strawberry Panic count as a harem anime?
The thing about Haruhi is that the characters feel completely original and not recycled even though they really aren’t. Same thing with Kanon. Maybe it’s just Kyoto’s magic.
Kanon, all the way! But Code Geass is fine too…
Damn it! After episode 11 of Geass we can say for sure that Lulu is a bastard. Not only he aim to destroy Britannia, he has alongside him two of the hottest chicks for that and doesn’t make any moves. At least C. C. is a little more open with him. And Karen was jealous? Pizza Hut supports the rebellion, remember that
As Onmi said, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was a greatest hit of the year, and if you consider all the elements around, it makes much better. Kyon, that bastard, has one of the best harems ever (except Itsuki) and yet he was unable to enjoy it. Well, maybe in the 2do season.
For now, my loyalty is with Kanon.
>>typical harem loser male
I’d still like to say that Kyon is the only likeable harem male lead I’ve seen (perhaps next to Harima Kenji). If Kyon was replaced by…say, that Suguru from Mahoromatic, MoSH probably wouldn’t have been half as humorous as it is now.
>>>(Though it’s funny how these harems can be broken up into: Mysterious Girl, Tsundere Tease, Fanservice Machine, Slighty Crazy Chix0r, Dark Horse, and Itsuki.)
My God, Jason, you’ve stumbled upon the Golden Ratio, the Pythagorean Theorem, and the Quadratic Equation of harem anime, all rolled up into one–the Theory of Harem Relativity, if you will. Just doing a slight bit of research, I’ve found that this formula translates not only to any harem anime that meets the requirements (six possible harem members), but also any normal anime that meets the requirements! You’ve found the formula that makes all anime into harem anime! Behold…
Mois, Natsumi, Aki, Momoko, Koyuki, Tamama…
Eda, Revy, Shenhua, Roberta, Balalaika, Benny…
Hell’s Bunny, Miki, Sensei, Megumi, Makiko, Kankuro…
Ichijo, Miyako, Rei, Himeko, Kurumi, Saotome…
The list goes on…
Wow KyoAni won every category.
I wanted to see Maika on this list. :(
Ayu is Slightly Crazy Chix0r??? =/ (related note: What’s “Dark Horse”?)
Dark Horse would be the quiet type (sometimes creepy) that are also quite strong, but more in a backround way IE: Nagato Yuki. Other Dark Horses include: Balalaika, Ichijo, Akira(from SR), and others who escape my mind.
Its hard to choose a favorite Category. Dark Horse is Cool, but Slightly crazy Chix0rs make me smile(and are my prefered date material), of course Mysterious Girls are cool, and are often kinda crazy too..(Haruhi, Ryoko, Revy, ect.)hm, choices…Ny0r0~n…
Kanon is a series I wanted to dislike due to the hype, and have found myself rewatching every episode due to its story, characters and Kyotos brilliance.
Looking back, the average number of comments for your past awards is like 2.5. Your blog’s popularity really exploded this year, huh?
Speaking of our favorite Busti Loli Maid, on ANN they posted this link that was apparently hidden on the ASOS American Haruhi adaptation page. Guess what, the public gets to decide who Mikuru will be! They have 4 different choices, unamed actresses, and all sound clips could be taken verbatim from a hentai, so speakers be down.
http://asosbrigade.com/auditions/a.php
I vote for 1.
>> Mizuho, Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru
>> Why, I maybe drunk on eggnog right now.
Woah that’s some eggnog you’ve got there. O_O
While Kanon is good and I enjoyed Ms. Auuuuu… going kaput and sleepy Nayuki I think that Kanon should have been given its own category. It is after all a remake of something that came out a few years ago hence it’s not exclusively 2006 as its the same story essentially. Well enjoy that eggnog.
Beowulf:
“Looking back, the average number of comments for your past awards is like 2.5.”
It might also have a lot to do with the fact that just between SHnY and Kanon 2K6, it’s been a damn good year for harem anime. But yeah, the blog has gotten a lot more popular.
Blade-mun:
“Dark Horse would be the quiet type (sometimes creepy) that are also quite strong, but more in a backround way…”
Actually, the best definition for a “Dark Horse,” when taken into context with this blog and anime harems in general, is “(Prospective) harem member who conventional wisdom states will not win, but still has an inordinate amount of support.” The proper term for dark horse, describes unlikely political victors, who basically “come out of nowhere” to win, like a previously unseen horse in a race. A good harem example would be Tsuruya-san (LOL FANG-TAN) from SHnY, who is never “really” in the running from a harem standpoint, but who is easily as popular (if not more so) than the “big three.”
I think where some confusion sets in, is that when fans try to categorize harem characters, as harem fans are wont to do, many characters fall under multiple categories. Tsuruya-san, for example, could easily qualify as Slightly Crazy Chix0r, except that Ryoko is even more qualified. Similarly, Yuki could also be considered a Dark Horse, when compared to the much more harem-traditional Haruhi and Mikuru. Yet she is even more so a Mysterious Girl. A lot of it just has to do with who fits the roles best.
Nyoro~n
When I try to post a comment, I am greeted with an error. I am not banned by any chance, am I