The Fantasy (2009 Anime Cool Down)

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The Winner: Eden of the East

Because some of us want to keep our Johnnies!

I almost named this category: I Read the Harry Potter Series 10 Times and this Show Keeps me from Going into Withdraw, but had to throw it out because I would hate to start a post by comparing something to Harry Potter. The show I was talking about would be doomed.

I mentioned in a comment before that this category is not fantasy as you typically think of it, but more of a best world building category. Fantasy to me is how real or creative the world we’re immersed into is. How well the characters are fleshed out and how cool the mechanics of the world are. You also get bonus points in my book if it’s somewhat original.

With that in mind Eden of the East was a shoe in. It kind of took a bunch of us by surprise as it stormed the Spring 2009 season leaving its competitors in the dust. The biggest draw for me though was how interesting the whole idea was. We had the Selecao who each had different ideas on how to save Japan and quite a bit of cash at their disposal to do it. Throw in the ever evanescent Juiz who could seemingly use this money to do anything and you have a potent formula for good fun.

I’m a big believer in vagueness when it comes to mantra’s like save Japan: How exactly do you save Japan? If it’s not on the brink of destruction why does it need to be saved? It was an interesting question that they all had to address and what’s really interesting is that just about everyone thought the problem was something different. Whoever put up the cash for the game is sure a crackpot though. Why would you blow all that money so the Selecao could go around fighting each other?

On a second level they also made the hero’s very likeable and very human. This isn’t something you see in anime often. When you’re drawing characters why bother making them ugly when you can make them beautiful? Why bother making them fat when you can make them disproportionately thin? I think Eden of the East wanted to portray these people as they are. With our problems and our vices. I honestly think Akira’s plan was the best, motivating the youth to go out and do something was probably a fantastic first step in turning around a troubled country. AND who can forget the angelitude that is Micchon, everyone’s favorite character (Yeah that’s right I just told you who your favorite character is).

I still think about the world and message in Eden of the East sometimes, and that to me makes it the best kind of fantasy.

Congratulations Eden of the East for winning Best Fantasy!

The runner up: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Season 2

I don’t think it’s possible for people to write about the second season of Haruhi without mentioning Endless Eight: So here it is: Endless Eight was too long. That should leave everyone satisfied.

Despite its “faults” Haruhi Season 2 delivered more of what I loved about the first season whether I was in the mood to realize it or not. When we talk about building worlds and then telling stories about those worlds it’s often very important to keep intrigue, and Haruhi does just that. The sometimes cryptic conversations with Itsuki and the apparent disagreements between the factions of the SOS brigade members. I love the way they make me question everything and everyone’s motives, that is, everyone except Haruhi.

Truthfully, naming the books things like “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” or “The Sighs” or “The Boredom” is quintessentially what attracts me to the show. As a viewer I often watch anime with the same disconnect that Kyon addresses in the first (chronological) episode. I loved Tengen Toppen Gurren Lagann and appreciated its writing but it was only a work of fiction that I couldn’t always relate to. Before we even discover Haruhi’s god like status we’re thrown a bunch of different theories of why she is the way she is. Truthfully she wouldn’t even need god like powers to be interesting. Her unwillingness to compromise for the normality of life is what drives the series.

I think this is hinted at rather pointedly throughout the series. Like Kyon’s “Just find a boyfriend and live normally” speeches and eventually when we reach the conclusion (broadcast order) we discover that Kyon actually really likes his new life and he wouldn’t trade it for anything. Personally I think Kyon and Haruhi anthropomorphize our desire to break outside the bounds placed on us by society and physical principals. I hope people don’t think of Haruhi as an egotist because she orders people around all the time. Although it’s possible you’d get annoyed with her eventually I would take Haruhi over someone with no ideas any day. Let’s face it there are people who make things happen and the larger percentage who don’t. Simply by being in Haruhi’s orbit the SOS brigade is living a far more eventful high school life than they would have ever experienced without her.

So I say “Let them eat cake” and when I say “cake” I mean Haruhi, and when I say “eat” I mean watch and when I say “them” I mean everyone.

Congratulations to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Season Two for being runner up for Best Fantasy!