Anime's Best of 2006

Correct. Suzumiya Haruhi would just sweep all the awards this year. Why lie.

Actually, I do feel the need to keep things up to date so I'll give it a shot. Since unbiased and fair awards lead to boring and predictable results, mine will be completely biased and completely unfair, which will be more controversial, and as such, more fun. Without further ado:

Best Show: Ouran High School Host Club

Spoiler:

Sorry to all of those who wanted Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu as #1, but this show managed to one-up it. TheFrenchLlama managed to sum it up well in his opening post, describing the series as a show "full of pretty boys looking gay, and often times acting gay too." Or as I prefer it, the premise of a bunch of bishies getting together to make a Bishie club so that they can act like bishies. I never thought such an idea could work so well but it has. In addition to all the bishie-ISM comedy, there are plenty of angsty moments for those of you who prefer DORAMA (mostly in dealing with each Host's past) which works really well combined with the comedy. The classical soundtrack also doesn't hurt it in nudging it over the the SOS-DAN either.

Best Show I haven't seen: Aria the Natural

Spoiler:

I've been watching Aria the Animation and so far, it's been a really awesome treat for something so laid back and well-done. All of the characters are brought out to life, each with their own personality quirks and the plot takes a leisurely pace with spectacular results. I'm expecting more of the same from the sequel since there's just no need to tamper with Aria's formula

Best Show that no one else has talked about: Le Chevalier D'Eon

Spoiler:

You'd think a series that revolves around a guy who's searching for his sister's killer in a history-laden time period (France under Louis XV) would get more attention. Especially if they threw in mystical alchemists. Especially if they threw in zombies. Especially if they threw in well-animated swordfights. Add to that an awesome plotline and an interesting cast of characters and you're pretty much guaranteed a top-notch show. Unfortunately, none of that was enough to generate much discussion on anime forums and catch the attention of most anime viewers. There is a topic on this show somewhere in GFF, but where its fans have run off to, no one knows.

Most overrated: Ergo Proxy

Spoiler:

So the series is dark, both in the setting and in the visuals. You can't see a damn thing about what's going on. It's also really confusing and mind boggling in some parts and insulting to my intelligence in others. The character designs look really cool and the premise showed a lot of promise in the beginning, but the crappy execution really took a lot from it and made a show that could have been awesome in the vein of the first Matrix movie into something so incomprehensible that a whole bunch of monkeys sitting at a typewriter banging away could come up with a better script.

Best ED: Suzumiya Haruhi no Yutsu

Spoiler:

Is Hare Hare Yukai have any serious competition for this award? You're talking a well-animated dance scene that grabs your attention after you see it and hooks you to the point of wanting to watch it over and over again. The fact that it spawned a Gundam stop-motion (I think that's what they're called) video and a load of live amateurs trying to recreate it's awesomeness is a testament to the sheer power of this show's ED.

Best Anime meme:UnderwaterRayRomano

Spoiler:

A picture is worth a thousand words:
Second place probably goes to Aruru saying "WRONG!" but since it's from the same EPIC series anyway, we can only say that UnderwaterRayRomano's ascent into meme-ism faces no challenges.

Worst Anime Season: Fall 2006

Spoiler:

When the best show of the season is just a remake, you know you're in for a load of trouble. That's not to say that Kanon (2006) isn't good; it totally is. However, that's the only show I can honestly look forwards to getting every week. Maybe it's the subbers for other shows like Le Chevalier D'Eon and Asatte no Houkou that are slow in getting stuff out as opposed to the actual quality of the series that are out right now. Either way, this has been a good time for me to watch older series that are awesome but that I haven't gotten around to yet.

Good Premise, Poor Execution: Fate/Stay Night

Spoiler:

So the idea revolves around a War of the Magi where mages duke it out with their summoned servants to obtain the Holy Grail that can grant anyone whatever he/she/it wishes. Add to that plenty of episodes to tell the story and you've got the groundwork for a series that can stand the test of time. Unfortunately, Tsukihime was able to do more with 12 episodes than F/SN was able to do with its 24. The storytelling could have been better and the mage vs. mage / servant vs. servant battles left a lot to be desired. The story's problem fell apart in that characters lacked the sort of motivation that someone partaking in a Royal Rumble should possess. I'm under the impression that these may be game-related impediments, but still, it could have been a lot better.

Best Unfinished Series: Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni

Spoiler:

We are still not privy to who is the killer and why the events happened the way it did. Who is this Oyashiro-sama and what does he/she want with Rika? Why does the asphyxiation incident happen in some arcs and not others? Aside from the yet-to-be-broadcasted answer arcs, this series has been nothing short of awesome with its creepy intro and leads the viewer to try to figure who or what is behind the incident. Oh yeah. Play the game. Everyone says it's better than the anime.

Before people start converging in with their tl;drs, I'll end it now. Congratulations to my list of winners and losers.

Jam it back in, in the dark.