Day 3 - Animation of 2006. Well, I think that we'll all agree that this year was full of quality, not only in OVAs and movied; as well as QUALITY, with at least few shows made of anything but good. In my today's list I'll concentrate not only on the animation itself. We'll also see some remarcable (or not) character designs, SDs and CGs. Whooping eight categories today, so there's lot to read - and today we'll start with...

Best OP/ED Animation of 2006
Here are the nominees:
- Hare Hare Yukai (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya ED)
- 1000%SPARKING! (Negima?! OP1)
- I''s ~I will follow you~ (I''s Pure OP)
- This is Love (Freedom OP)
- The World (Death Note OP)
We had a music OP/ED category last time, this one's for the animation. Not only the level of it. Those sequences can be great even when consisting of still images, when's there an idea for the whole thing. Why do you think that the summary screen for the Star Wars movies is so famous? ;d Anyways, let's take a look at the nominated sequences. Hare Hare Yukai was a sure one here, from the moment I first saw the 'crazy dance', I knew that it'll be big. Well, it did become big. Negima's OP is all about originality and artism, on the other hand. Just like I''s OP. See? It IS consisted nearly whole of still images, and how great is it? The Freedom OP is probably the one that the least people saw. The concept of mixing cel-shaded characters, photos, CGs and blurred manga-like panels is indeed great. Check it. Last is Death Note's OP - an example of a high-quality animation sequence that leaves your mind numb.
So, which one left me breathless in 2006?


Quite a distance before all the others. As I stated yesterday, I really have a thing for originality, but 1000%SPARKING! really hit me hard. The whole idea with the desks (while the school in the anime is an academy and has no desks) and those numbers... really great, SHAFT-like idea. The scene which i capped into the above banner nearly moved me to tears. Really. I'm speechless. Though, I don't know if it's because of the OP or am I just that sleepy. Either way, WATCH IT. With sound, because the 'song' is also great. Oh yeah, if you wonder - the runner up would be I''s, with Haruhi at 4th. That means something.

Best Artistic Animation of 2006
No nominees again. And not because I'm lazy. Too bad that the producers don't do so many experimental anime these days. Last year, there was at least Gankutsuou, this year, nothing much. And just to warn you. This year's award for the best artistic animation will go to not-so-artistic-at all anime. Sigh.
Should I tell you what anime was it in 2006?


Kemono Zume. Nothing great about the design, expect it's somewhat dadaistic and infantile. Or some other clever word to describe a child's crayon play. Well, it kinda looks gorgeous sometimes too. Like Mind Game. The backgrounds seem to be blurred photos, which in addition to non-shaded characters makes a nice blend. Mindscrewing, though.

Best Animation of 2006
Here are the nominees:
- Ergo Proxy
- Kanon
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
This category resolves itselfs really, I'm sure all of you know who wins. Well, anyway, the two of the titles were made by Kyoto Animation, the studio who made the impossible possible - their full-length series look better than many of high budget OVA's (BALDR EXE anyone?). The third title is a manglobe production, of Samurai Champloo fame. Not only a good anime (somewhat boring, though), but the quality of animation is superior. And it even got better in the DVD releases.
But there can be only one winner. Who?


Right. Why am I, you, the whole world not surprised? That's right. When speaking about the best animation of 2006, the moment people saw this title, they knew. 'That's the one.' Yes. It is. Heck, not only the show is a shiny gem among the others. Even the opening and ending credits are pimped out so much that you'll have to pick up your jaw from the floor after seeing them. But I'm sure all of you already did. I wonder how the second season will be?

Favorite Animation of 2006
Here are the nominees:
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Kemono Zume
- Kanon
- Freedom
- Negima!?
This is probably the most personal category of all presented today. I do not care about the quality so much, but it's welcomed. When you see an indie movie (or one meant to be a masterpiece), you can see some brilliant tricks used - blurring, desaturating, short takes, wide takes, playing with lights. The thing is, that anime is also affected by those kind of tricks. In short - originality + artism + even a bit of quality = my perfectly animated anime. There were some of these in 2006 - like Haruhi. Of course, the quality was overflowing from it. But many great things were added. Like shots from the above, unexpected 'camera moves', those things. I really liked it. Same goes to Kanon, which goes head to head in this with Haruhi. No wonder - they're both KyoAni work. Freedom, on the other hand, chamed me with almost full-CG animation of the characters with the same chara design as Akira. Though it's not Appleseed 2004, and the models are lacking something at times, it's bound to be good. And it's the future of animation. Probably. Negima kicks in with the dose of SHAFT's randomness and crazyness in animation and it's really enjoyable for it's non-seriousness. And as I said before, Kemono Zume has it's moments. So much of those, that it had got the chance to catch this year's prize.
But did it?


I love SHAFT for what they did with Akamatsu's Negima. It's crazy. The quality is bad at times. But it's totally fantastic, no matter what. The things that got me the most hooked on Negima!? are those ultra-short 'camera takes'. A second to show a character expression. Slowly animated cycle around the character. Quick scene change. SD. Dynamic action for few seconds. Calming. A dialogue. The colors of the surroundings change with the mood. Isn't that brilliant? Isn't that fantastic? It is. Go watch Negima!?. I wonder, after Moon Phase, Pani Poni Dash and this goodness, what will the magicians from SHAFT do next?

Best SD of 2006
Here are the nominees:
- Negima?!
- Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru
- Sumomomo Momomo
- Yoake Mae yori Ruri Iro na
- Muteki Kanban Musume
SD. Super-deformed. While the animation these days allows for more and more of this craziness, the instances that you'll remember for long are seen so rarely, that it's really good to know that there are still anime like those five below that still can make us smile. It's another category where Negima appears. No wonder. An anime this crazy, with all those crazy faces (look at the first cap below the favorite animation award) it's bound to be here. Otoboku, on the other hand, gives it all on classical (maybe not so much) chibis. Just like Sumomomo Momomo. Tiny Momoko waving her hands frenzily, shouting 'Koushi-dono! Koushi-dono! Koushi-dono!' is cuteness. Crescent Love (I'm not joking) randomly gives us some old-school SD quarrels and such. The last is Muteki Kanban Musume. All of those fantastic expressions stay in our mind for a long time. Plus it's not a conventional SD.
How conventional is the winner?


Yes. No contest. Those chibis win without a doubt. Not only they are SDs. They are SUPER DEFORMED SDs! Isn't that awesome? Awesome, but also scary. Really, those chins are no better than Kanon 2002 mega-chins. But isn't that what makes them so charming? Awww, I want a Mariya-chan SD doll. ;_;

Best Character Design of 2006
Here are the nominees:
- Shakugan no Shana
- Negima!?
- Kanon
- Diebuster
- NHK ni Youkoso!
This is also a category that would've been tight long, long ago. It's hard to get a good and original character desing these days. From rise from the ocean of generic and 'normal-looking' characters, you must do something really great-looking or something very fancy. GAINAX's Tadashi Hiramatsu and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto were great at this a couple of years age. Well, that what was cool and new in '95, today is perfectly normal, so it takes more to make something original. You can of course also make some gorgeous characters and don't mind originality. Just like Navel's Shuffle! and it's adaptation. The girls look really great, to this extent that I'm keeping a eye open for all other Navel adaptation / this artist works. Sadly, that is so far Soul Link and Lovedol, so... Anyway, let's get this long introduction over and briefly introduce the nominees. First, Shana. When I first saw, the promo picture, I felt I fell in love with the beautiful, burning eyes girl. While the anime design was slightly worse, I'm now a great fan of Noizi Itoh's work. Negima and Diebuster are those unconventional, crazy designs (nomen omen, Diebuster is from Sadamoto-sama). And both Kanon and NHK are just very preety (at least to me). While NHK tries to be somewhat realistic, Kanon charms me with nice clothes and such.
Who took 2006 chara design to another level?


Yes. Take a look at the screens and you'll understand why i made sucha decision. Remember AIR? Another KyoAni's Key game adaptation? The really beautifull one? With splendid uniforms and those magical eyes? These cute faces that have something special to them? Now imagine fusing that design with some of Haruhi greatness and that's what you get. If you don't agree with me, go away and never come back, please. Still, I want KyoAni to make Clannad. Too bad that Toei will do it. Just like the first Kanon and the Air movie. Does it means that there's a chance?

Worst Animation of 2006
Here are the nominees:
- Musashi Gundoh
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- Love dol: Lovely Idol
- Yoake Mae yori Ruri Iro na
- Soul Link
That's an award you wouldn't like to get. Really. There were some hideous animes this year. Not all were bad on all fields - Higurashi is a very good anime after all. Sadly, the poor animation made this show much harder to enjoy. Well, at least we didn't get the boxing glove hands, like in the game. The absolute sure show in this category was Musashi. With three frames per character, pistols firing lasers and so, you get a QUALITY legend. Just like Crescent Love. The change from the game is so ennormous, you'll cry. As for Soul Link and Lovedol, as I said earlier. I was so sorely disappointed, I'm speechless. Do not watch. Or you'll sing for revenge. Or something.
A revenge of course, for making 2006 worse with:


Surprising? Not really. SL and Lovedol are bad, but not so repulsive as Yoake. Musashi is plain ugly, but not as atrocious as Yoake. And Higurashi looks like a full-budget hollywood BBC series in comparision with Yoake. While the first episode was so-so, the second was bad. The third was so ugly, I couldn't even look more. Plus, it introduced the Cabbage. And it all went even more downhill from there. Very, very bad. Do not touch with a ten foot pole. Rather, play the game. Even I can draw better.

Most Memorable CG of 2006
Here are the nominees:
- Fate/Stay Night
- Sumomomo Momomo
- Demonbane
- Freedom
- Gin'iro no Kami no Agito
Memorable. In both ways. The most beautiful rendered computer graphics, as well as those who look plain stupid. Like a surprise dragon in F/SN during the infamous mana recharge scene. Just as stupid looked the mech from Demonbane (the anime was not much more clever than the mech). Also Sumomomomomomo would like something to say. Yikes. The CGed Zodiacs are really repulsive. On the other hand, we have the cool cel-shading and CGed vehicles from Freedom. And the breathstopping opening sequence from Gin'iro no Kami no Agito (also, the anime is not much more clever than the Demonbane mech, but the sequence was really beautiful).
So, what will I be unable to cleanse from my mind anymore?


Yuck. Not only the dragons, snakes and dogs look like made by an amateur in a free 3d modelling software, they are animated badly, look RETARDED and don't really fulfill any purpose. It's like - pow, an attack. Power up. Special technique. The RETARDED dragon flies somewhere behind of the heroine's back. He flies lazily, slowly in the direction of the enemy. Then he disappears and pow, the foe is defeated. Scratched or something. WHAT. THE. HELL. Yes, the anime is funny and great, but I'd rather paste clips of Goku's Dragon Fist or something into this scenes.

This concludes todays summary.The next part will be Epics of 2006 and surely will not be out tomorrow. Maybe rather Sunday. Or something. Maybe I'll make another post with something until then.

Don't forget to comment!

best op - Negima!?
best animation - Kanon
favourite series - SHnY
best SD - Otoboku
best character design - shakugan no shana
worst animation - yoake mae yori
most memorable cg - dunno

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