best of 2009: #2
Categories: best of 2009
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#2: Eden of the East
“Noblesse oblige. Please continue being a messiah.”
Also wins for 2009:
- Best Johnny
BestWorst Use of A Cigar Cutter- Most Frumpy Heroine
- Best App Phone
- Best App
- Most Awesome Backgrounds
- The Morgan Freeman/Red Memorial “A Reputation for Getting It Done” Award
- Best Run Through a Mall Filled With Nakkid Hikikomori
Jokes about Johnnies aside, Eden of the East does it all. The animation is one of the recent best with sharp, clean character designs and top tier backgrounds that just shine on a nice HDTV. The music hits to all corners with an excellent OP/ED bookend (though using Oasis is like popping HGH) and having excellent BGM throughout, especially during the crucial final episode. Seiyuu work isn’t flashy but solid with Sakiko Tamagawa as an excellent Juiz. The characters are all likable with their own believable complexities and motivations. The story… well… this is the way to do suspense and thriller. (You hearin’ me, Dan Brown? And Sunrise?!) Plus, any series worth its salt leaves an imprint on the community… and let’s just say there’s plenty of memorable moments in Eden of the East. I mean… the whole Johnny thing was a stroke of genius.
Another aspect of Kenji Kamiyama’s work is that it’s not far-fetched. As mobile computer power and mobile connections get better and more ubiquitous, augment reality will become a killer app. But the core of Eden of the East isn’t the Eden of the East augment reality app– it’s how that app helps Taki overcome the limitations imposed by the Seleção app and shows how the crowd can beat the individual. I like not only how Eden of the East is a standalone great series but how it incorporates a moral message hidden within its technology. Kamiyama did a great job with this with Stand Alone Complex, and I’m glad to see it with a bit more human qualities in this anime. Eden of the East is a worthy spiritual successor to GitS and is blog好ã’s #2 show of 2009.
10 Responses to “best of 2009: #2”
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Also, Best op of 2009. At least in my book. My lists would suck though. Discotheque gets number two. One of the best choruses.
When I first started watching, I thought it was going to be mediocre, but the show grows on you. About the only complaint I have at this point about the show is the guy who is in love with saki who is not takizawa (I can’t recall his name off the top of my head) needs to wander off into the sunset, unless he’s going to be made more useful.
¿Most awesome king?
Yeah! EotE on spot #2! very good :]
Wonder what your #1 is though I may have a hunch..
EOTE was a great show, can’t wait for the final movie to air! I don’t think we have to wait for the Eden killer app to appear, it already exists in Europe…
Since I refuse to believe that you’d leave out either Seitokai no Ichizon or Bakemonogatari off your top 10, they must be tied for #1? Oh my!
First time I actually enjoyed a ENG Op.
we all know which anime got number one :D
Thank Chica Umino for her character designs, even if the characters look a bit like they’re recycled from Honey and Clover.
Also, I wish I could’ve gotten that Eden of the East limited edition phone…
don’t tell me it’s that 4 girls + guy in a classroom thingymajig!
Personally, i’d make EotE co-#1 with Bakemono. Both have flaws, but both are still very watchable and enjoyable. The only two proper anime of 2009 that will be remembered by me for overall quality.
I’d give this the top spot over Bakemonogatari. They’re both head and shoulders above anything else to have come out this year, but Production IG executed Eden of the East beautifully, whereas Shaft is just too prone to…being Shaft.