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Our most exciting survey of the year has come to its final conclusion, and though it was an exhilerating ride, we, the Survey Staff and our helpers, are quite pleased with the overall results. This year, the voters of our Favorite Anime of the Year Survey proved that hype doesn't always go hand-in-hand with quality. In a contest in which many predicted would be a bloody, well-matched battle between the epic mecha awesomeness of powerhouse Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann versus the epic moe-comedy awesomeness of kingpin Lucky * Star, both were shown up by the epic ?????? awesomeness of indominable Claymore, a series that flew under the radar of many fans.
Though Lucky Star was lacking very much in story, its innocence and wackiness in poking fun in all that is Japanese helped carry it throughout the year. Riding on the coattails of sister-series Favorite Anime 2006 winner, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, surely contributed to its wriggling into the top 5. But then there are the story-concentrated series that really assisted in the successes of the other two top-rank contenders, the aforementioned Claymore and Gurren-Lagann. Of course, this is not to neglect our 3rd place finalist, the one series that achieved greatness through excellent uses of a compelling story with an overly-adorable moe cast, CLANNAD TV. Having the KyoAni credit undoubtedly helped this series excel and it ranked precisely where it deserved to be.
But Top 5 or not, many series were deserving of attention this year. Naruto had support from its loving fanbase, as did this year's installment of the Mobile Suit Gundam-series, MSG 00. A few highly-regarded series purported by our staff and community members, Darker Than Black, Nodame Cantabile, and Lovely Complex, all earned their respective placements galantly. In delight of many others, the sweetheart of the season, the romantic-comedy mermaid fantasy series, Seto no Hanayome, did not disappoint, and with a 10th place finish, it achieves a very reputable spot amoung our final results.
A few other well-hyped shows made some interesting marks, too. Probably the most-talked about anime of the summer was School Days TV. Much debate amoung critics and fans saw a waxing and waning argument over story-telling versus story-material. Many did not like what the show had to offer, but appreciated its willingness to do what it did and commended it for its style and development. Other fans chosen rather to focus their attention on happier stories and thus turned to extraordinary emotional tales like ef: A Tale of Memories and Makoto Shinkai's latest masterpiece, 5 Centimeters per Second.
A few sequels debutted this year, and though none seemed to match the exciting flair of their predecessors, they did manage to keep their existing fanbases content. The second seasons of Shakugan no Shana, Zero no Tsukaima, and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni may have dropped in overall popularity, but those who did labor through their rough starts were rewarded overall.
-xenocrisis0153
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