Random Curiosity Power Rankings – June 2007 June 13
In Random Curiosity’s endless pursuit to distract you from real-world productivity, we’ve devised another way to hopefully make your summer days a little less boring. Introducing…monthly power rankings! Pachi pachi pachi.
Those who follow sports will be familiar with these – sites like ESPN typically have weekly power rankings to track teams’ progress throughout the season. If anything, it’s just fun to compare things. The difference with the anime rankings and those in sports is that we’re trying to compare things that pretty much fall in completely different genres, and don’t even go head-to-head against each other any sort of way outside of TV ratings, which we don’t have access to nor really want to bother with, since Japanese people have strange tastes anyways (who the hell watches crayon shin-chan).
Some notes:
o Enjoyment: quite simply, is it…good? Make you go “zomgclicknow” when you see it pop up on the torrent list?
o Honesty/Morality: does the show try to be something it’s not?
o Technical Aspects: animation, music, voice acting (fits with the context of the show)
o Overall response from blog writers/readers
Ok, enough talk, here they are:
| June 2007 | Rank (LW) | Title | Comment |
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1 (1) | Gurren Lagann | Even (especially) with the unheralded loss of Kamina, GL grabs the top spot with its ability to maintain its distinct wackiness, feverish action, and likeable characters. The addition of flowery Nia to brighten up the gloom was a brilliant move – which begs the question, Yoko or Nia? Big guns are hot, but so are flower petal pupils. |
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2 (2) | Denno Coil | DC is a lovable series because it dares to dream, and yet doesn’t get greedy. A great premise coupled with solid animation and upbeat action, together with an uncertain yet anticipated ending – all the makings of a great show. After a strong showing in episodes 1-3, an epic episode 4 bumps it to the second spot. Who would’ve thought, such a special show came so late in the season. |
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3 (3) | Seto no Hanayome | I was a little surprised that the whole show moved to a generic school setting, but my doubts were cast aside as SetoHana keeps hitting us hard with uproarious humor and falling sakura petals, at the same time introducing several more interesting characters. Weird thing is, one of them is a Haruhi clone, the other an Akira-sama clone. Points for having the most unique beta-male character in recent memory. |
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4 (4) | Lucky Star | Scrutinized and polarized to hell in the early going, afk’s epic subs have muted much of the criticism to a hushed pout. Once people’s expectations were tossed out the window and they started watching LS for what it was, it actually became really fun and enjoyable. Considering the still-unintroduced girls from the OP and the endless supply of anime and manga references they can dip from, LS doesn’t seem to be letting up soon. |
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5 (5) | Hayate no Gotoku! | The sheer randomness of each episode (especially 10) was a good reminder as to why this show is more popular than Nagasarete. I don’t understand more than half the references in this show and yet I still think it’s great. It’s got a different brand of insanity from SetoHana and a more blatant form of referencing than Lucky Star, and yet by keeping consistent, it works well. Look for this show to move up in the standings with each Nagi “BAAAKA” |
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6 (6) | Claymore | First example of a show I have no idea about yet makes it on the ranking out of sheer viewer response. Upon further research, this show actually looks pretty cool – the type of shounen hack-and-slash OH SHI- type of show that’s easy to enjoy and hard to “Narutify” |
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7 (7) | Nodame Cantabile | The post count sucks but I’m guessing it’s just because everyone expects this show to deliver every week, and it does, every time. The frequent splashings of humor mixed with an easygoing drama is delightful. It feels quite different from Honey & Clover in that the drama is less hard-hitting but much more consistent. I almost wish it would never end – maybe it has to do with the Ayako Kawasumi factor. |
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8 (8) | Darker than BLACK | I’m still not too sure what’s going on, but whatever, it’s still cool. Might be a few notches lower if not for Primula. |
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9 (9) | Romeo X Juliet | After getting rid of my original inhibitions of another anime-butchering of a legendary classic, this show is actually pretty good. The struggle between heart and mind of both Romeo and Juliet is a sight to behold – much of this might just be the power of the original story, but the anime does a good job of bringing it to life with its own unique twist. |
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10 (10) | DEATH NOTE | “Near” refers to his status when compared to L – he’s as screwed up and creepy as his predecessor, but just not as authentic. I don’t think anyone would have minded if the anime ended with L’s demise, and yet, I don’t think anyone minds that it kept going. Still, I just don’t care as much about this new arc. |
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11 (11) | Heroic Age | Originally thought there were only 13 episodes, but it seems that there’s at least 14 known episodes, with more coming. The story took an interesting turn with the return to their home planet - it looks like the struggle will not only be with the other tribes, but also a political one within their own. Here’s to hoping that improvement can continue. |
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12 (12) | Kaze no Stigma | Given the promo shots I thought the girl would be something epic but she’s not that at all…she’s cute and all but not likeable enough to carry the series. Good thing the story has picked up quite a bit since the early going, and Kazama remains a strong force for the show. |
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13 (13) | sola | Mamiko in what some have claimed to be her best role yet. Possibly so – Matsuri is a pretty moelicious character with that hat and those high socks, but is the rest of the show deserving of such an angel? It’s taken a long, long, time, but the wait seems to finally be paying off with lots of unexpected twists and plenty of action. |
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14 (14) | Gigantic Formula | Owen over at CAT writes that GF has a “combination of the new and old that isn’t weighed down by its genre’s shortcomings,” animation which “lean towards the Makoto Shinkai school” and music that “excels in bringing out the best of the show” – high praise for a show that nobody (me) has never heard of nor had the bandwidth for. |
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15 (15) | Seirei no Moribito | I haven’t watched this but I’m putting it here because the shows below it haven’t really given me reason to do otherwise. Possibly the best animation of any show this season, and with a solid story to go with it – it’s near the top of my to-watch list so look for this to be a mover by next time. |
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16 (16) | Nagasarete Airantou | I mean, it’s a nice show and fun to watch, the girls are great and Hocchan is the main girl, but man, it’s getting boring. Hayate mixes it up all the time to keep things fresh, while Nagasarete is still stuck in the dark ages where thrice-episodic nosebleeds are still funny. Still, people assure me that something will eventually happen (whatever that means). |
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17 (17) | Lovely Complex | Almost guaranteed to be ranked higher if I could get past the accent. The two main characters are absolutely great together and things seem to be moving on well. The sheer absurdity of it all is what makes this show special, but at the same time, could prevent it from reaching KareKano / Bokura levels. Then again, it’s not really trying to do that, so who cares. |
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18 (18) | Ookiku Furikabutte | I’ve always believed that the enjoyment level of sports animes is almost directly correlated with how many “special moves” one can bust out. Prince of Tennis and Ippo are therefore the best sports animes ever, and Ookiku has the potential to be good. But right now it’s just infuriatingly whiney. At least the rest of the show seems interesting enough…maybe. |
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19 (19) | Idolmaster XENOGLOSSIA | At least Hime and Otome were about something. This show is just retarded, and the girls are even less cute than the busu team of Arika and Nina. I refuse to believe it stays this bad, but for now, it gets the shaft at 19. Omni claims it gets better – I wish I had the same optimism. At the very least, short of Idolmaster Xwei Nudie Edition, this show isn’t going to be RandomC’s best show of 2007. |
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20 (20) | Nanoha StrikerS | So when do they stop training and start fighting? I could care less about the new recruits, the instructors are much cuter. Then again, nobody in this show is really that cute, considering the trashy art quality. How can you have a show about cute girls with crappy art? I say the Idolmaster team ditches that show and picks this one up instead. |
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21 (21) | Bleach | People still watch this, right? |
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22 (22) | Bokurano | I don’t think anyone will disagree that this is a “good show,” and yet it fails to deliver on so many other levels, like uh…being interesting. Some may swear by it, personally I find it a tad bit too emo. |
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23 (23) | Terra e… | Fans of the show will have to cheer a bit harder. |
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24 (24) | Hitohira | See Bokurano, substitute “emo” with…uh…”emo”…but at least it has Ayako Kawasumi in a seductress onee-sama role |
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25 (25) | Touka Gettan | I have no idea what this show is about outside that it has some raunchy fanservice, so that instantly makes it better than the next several. Can’t really give it a definitive rank until the whole thing finishes airing, considering it’s being shown in reverse order… |
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26 (26) | D.Gray-man | I didn’t know anybody watched this show to start with? Omni tells me that the manga is awesome, but the anime hasn’t been following the manga…so it sucks now. And will probably continue sucking. |
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27 (27) | Overdrive | It could be a good show, but it’s not. It’s just bad. Really bad. I can’t really describe it either… and I don’t really want to make anybody else watch it to find out. With the exception of the blazing hot chick and her horny brother, what’s to like about this show? |
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28 (28) | Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku wo | One of the few shows to actually get its first episode blogged on RC, this show made quick work of any sort of feelings such as “hope” or “anticipation.” |
Unranked:
Naruto, Oh!-EDO ROCKET, Saint Beast, Skull Man, Polyphonica, Shining Tears x Wind, Wellber, El Cazador, Blue Dragon, Kissdum, Kaibutsu Oujo
Edit: Just for this first time, I’ll probably post an update within a week or two after I gauge the initial response, as well as add the new shows like Wangan Midnight (and Devil May Cry?)
Omni at 2:53 am on June 13th, 2007
Just for the record, these rankings reflect jaalin’s opinion and not my own. My top 3 shows at the moment are Gurren Lagann, sola, and Romeo X Juliet (in that order).
regt at 2:57 am on June 13th, 2007
where’s Code Geass?
Fuhrer at 2:58 am on June 13th, 2007
Interesting list. For the most part it similar to my own opinions.
My top 5
1.Gurren Lagann
2.Seto no Hanayome
3.Lucky Star
4.Darker than Black
5.Lovely Complex.
Claymore and Romeo x Juliet may move into that list depending on how the season progresses.
Unlike most people I dont much care for Sola. I enjoyed it in the beginning but the last few episodes had me bored to tears. It really hasnt grabbed me like it has most other people. Not sure why.
Anonymooo at 3:01 am on June 13th, 2007
Having only read the (scanlated) manga for Lovely Complex, I was completely blown away that the entire thing was done in Kansai-ben. That made it a lot more endearing to me as a whole.
I was surprised to see Lucky Star only at #4. XD
Fuhrer at 3:03 am on June 13th, 2007
Oh and in your blurb about Seto no Hanayome you mention a character being a Haruhi clone. Who are you talking about exactly. Obviously the Akira clone would be Luna, but I cant think of anyone who would fit the description of Haruhi.
Anonymooo at 3:04 am on June 13th, 2007
Actually, Fuhrer had a great idea.
The newbie’s top five:
1. Gurren-Lagann
2. Ookiku Furikabutte
3. Lucky Star
4. Lovely Complex
5. Murder Princess OAV
xcswmboy at 3:07 am on June 13th, 2007
i think touka gettan should rank higher, but i guess its kinda male-biased. you can’t complain about the animation quality though.
i can’t bring myself to watch nodame or deathnote(which i vowed to stop after L’s death)
no complaints about the other orders, thinking about picking up denno coil now. =P
xcswmboy at 3:09 am on June 13th, 2007
fuhrer, i think he might refer to san as the ouran haruhi.
ben at 3:19 am on June 13th, 2007
Those are great choices but for me my fav anime has to be Kaze no Stigma, because they portray the main character (male) as something unique unlike any of the previous animes’ I have watch. He’s not a character that’s just all goodie like all the other animes, but a more realistic character with not just emotions that’s either all good or all bad. The animation done on this project is also superb and is full of many surprises. Also this anime has lots of lovable characters its surly deserves to be a must watch that’s why it is not just my favorite anime, but also most of my friends favorite anime too.
jaalin at 3:24 am on June 13th, 2007
before speculations of my haruhi comment get out of hand, let me explain - mawari has all the tsundere qualities together with the arm band - lol
we can discuss semantics at another time xD
shuffee at 3:29 am on June 13th, 2007
It’s great to see Dennou Coil so high up there. It’s definitely my favourite so far this season. I am however surprised that Nodame is so high up, and Bleach is so far down. Bleach needs more love
random passerby at 3:31 am on June 13th, 2007
My 5:
1. Gurren Lagann
2. sola
3. Lucky Star
4. Claymore
5. Kaze no Stigma
It reads like this because these are the only shows that I regularly watch week to week. Everything else from this season gets pushed into a temporary backlog until I get more time to watch. =P
Fuhrer at 3:33 am on June 13th, 2007
Heh, thats quite a stretch, but whatever you say.
As to what ben said, Kaze no Stigma was one of my pre-season picks but I never started watching since I didnt really hear anything good about it and from the screenshots it didnt seem like the art or animation was all that great either. Anyone else back ben’s opinion on this? I might have to try it out, though I do have a lot of shows on my plate at the moment.
Also regarding jaalins Nia vs Yoko question. Its Nia no contest. Yoko is such a bitch, I can hardly stand to look at her ugly face.
Kris at 3:35 am on June 13th, 2007
I’m not really a fan of GL… I think it’s the heads that put me off. Big fan of lucky star, romeo X juliet and lovely complex though. Kudos Jaalin… kudos.
kamikaze at 3:42 am on June 13th, 2007
1. Romeo x Juliet
2. Gurren Lagann
3. Dennou Coil
4. Nodame Cantabile
5. Lovely Complex
Seirei no Moribito would prolly be next with Hayate no Gotoku. RxJ has been pretty great all around. Gurren’s wackyness is hilarious(Yoko ftw! btw). Dennou just attracts me for some reason, maybe its the cyber dog. Nodame is humorous plus i love classical music. ovin Lovely Complex, i was also amazed its all in Kansai-ben, must be a bitch for subbers.
DrmChsr0 at 3:42 am on June 13th, 2007
:V
This is made of fail and lose :V
MInks at 3:59 am on June 13th, 2007
you missed alot of good shows like code geass and death note which are current season shows. I think alot of ppl would agree that they are both very good shows and should have been somewhere on the ranking although i do believe this ranking is kinda bad. Each anime is different and each is biased to his or hers own genre in anime.
Hachimaki at 4:00 am on June 13th, 2007
I think it’s a great idea! =D
maccro at 4:02 am on June 13th, 2007
I’m ‘watching’ about 4 series, of the anime listed, being Lucky Star, Hayate no Gotoku, Nodame Cantabile and Gurren-Lagann. The only one I seem to be watching ‘religiously’ is Lucky Star…maybe its something to do with my short attention span and unwillingness to take a liking towards series that don’t have a set continuous storyline?
Lucky Star i love because of its random musings of references, “meaningless banter” and of course the wonderful voice acting of Aya Hirano. Overall i find it hugely amusing, a nice series to relax to.
Nodame Cantabile is alright to me i suppose. But i will have a bias on this issue because i watched the Japanese Drama beforehand. I loved the the drama and in my opinion, the anime is inferior. It’s nice to watch and note the differences between the drama and anime in terms of how they adapted the manga though…
Hayate: love the background narration aspect of this series, though i find the storyline a bit *yawn*. Hopefully with recent developments in the series it’ll pick up? Enjoyed the op and ed music.
Gurren-Lagann; to be honest i don’t feel drawn to this anime…maybe its a series which ill have to force myself to watch and compel myself to like; which is what i did with Gankutsuou and Eureka Seven [which turned out to be rather good]. (the only reason i started to watch this series is probably because of i heard the OP first + all the hype).
1. Lucky-Star
2. Nodame
3. Hayate
4. Gurren
-yeah, I’m a bit different aren’t i..heh
MushroomSamba at 4:06 am on June 13th, 2007
It’s amazing how many people aren’t watching the best series of the season, Seirei no Moribito.