Favorites, eh… well, I suppose I can try my hand at writing down some of my favorites.空
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Movies
I honestly don’t watch movies that much, so this is going to be short.
Winner: Mononoke Hime. Easily, far and away, my most favorite movie of all time. Every now and then, I’ll go back and watch it again, and still enjoy it just as much as the first time. Studio Ghibli banzai!
Honorable mention: the Kara no Kyoukai movie series. Haven’t finished watching all of them (watched five or so, but have been meaning to sit down and watch all seven together), but definitely a great series. The one thing I truly regret about this series (moreso than Mononoke Hime) is the lack of 1080p. I mean, come on! It’s 2009, put out a Blu-ray compilation of this series already!
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Anime
Hey, I watch a good bit of anime… probably ~10 series a year. Maybe I can think of something here.
Except, unfortunately, I don’t believe I have any favorite anime. Sure, there are plenty of anime I think are good or even great, but none really make it to “favorite” status for me. The biggest problem is that, most of the time, the anime is second or third rendition of the series, and is almost never as fully realized as the first (usually manga or novel, both of which I enjoy more than anime, anyway). So, only honorable mentions of the past year or so here.
Honorable mention #1: Bakemonogatari. Certainly a unique approach. The entire series was focused more on the conversation between characters, which was a pleasant change of pace. Likable characters, excellent music, interesting plot. Not much to complain about. This might be the anime closest to being a favorite of mine.
Honorable mention #2: Higashi no Eden. An interesting anime. Mysterious main character starts out with a cellphone and a gun… not even clothes on his back. Sounds like an RPG to me, actually. He’s going to have to kill a lot of rats to afford some cloth armor… but, uh, returning to the description of why I like it. Doesn’t particularly stand out visually (good visuals when necessary, but nothing spectacular, from what I remember), only so-so music. The characters were above-average, and more importantly, the plot was very interesting. I recommend it.
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Manga
Unlike movies or anime, which I almost never watch, I actually have a decent amount of favorite manga. I think I’ll limit this one to three moments of the past year, else I might be writing for quite some time here…
Hayate no Gotoku! – chapter 252 – Honestly, there are so many highlights I can make for this series. Very, very good manga series. One of my favorites. This particular chapter was interesting enough for me to start writing about. Read the link for more on it.
Hayate no Gotoku! – chapter 239 – This was a great post. Hinagiku, my favorite character of the series, finally works up the courage to confess her feelings to Hayate… who, before she finishes saying she likes him, confesses his own feelings for Athena! Incidentally, it was at this time that I decided to use a happy Hinagiku avatar.
Mirai Nikki – Finding out Gasai Yuuno was not Gasai Yuuno. Enough spoiling there. If you haven’t read it, do so now.
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Characters
Doing top three, since the first two are immovable. Third place will be interesting.
Number 1: Len from Tsukihime/Kagetsu Tooya/Melty Blood. Has always been my favorite character since I first used her in a game of Melty Blood (at that time, I was not even familiar with Tsukihime). The strong, silent character.
Number 2: Fate Testarossa from Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha/Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s. Been at number 2 for as long as I’ve known her. Also a strong, quiet character. And she has a lightsaber! Always major bonus points in my book.
Number 3: Tough decision. For a long time, Kawasumi Mai from Kanon held this place, though it has been swapped by several characters recently. Namely, Nishizono Mio/Natsume Rin/Tokido Saya/Kurugaya Yuiko from Little Busters! (I’m quite partial to nearly all of the Little Busters! characters), Katsura Hinagiku/Tennousu Athena from Hayate no Gotoku!, and Toono Akiha from Tsukihime. For the time being, I’m going to claim Katsura Hinagiku as my number 3. Her rejected (unintentional as it was) confession and her attempts to show a strong front afterwards just make her that much more endearing to me. She’s a strong-willed, energetic character, in opposition to my other two favorite characters.
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Well, that pretty much sums up my favorites for the time being. If anyone requests any other categories, I may consider adding to this.