5th through 1st

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Fifth Place

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

October * 17+ Episodes * Sunrise Studios

XCMeijin
Not your typical Mecha anime. CLAMP's well-designed characters are placed in a story that mixes elements of fantasy and technology. Characterization is also a winner, with cold, calculating types, insane types, cute types, mysterious types and funny characters altogether. Definitely a winner for 2006!

Evangelion_unit3
Sunrise is known for spewing out mech animes all the time and they're usually the standard mecha affair. However, Code Geass is a step above the rest, as it doesn't follow the norm. Instead of an angsty teen finding a superpowered mech, it's about an intelligent determined teen who gains the power to take on a nation. Just the freshness and originality of this series makes it a prime candidate for the best of 2006.

deaf_mute
What other TV show could get away with shameless promotions of Pizza Hut, bring mecha combat to supernatural powers, sport an Emperor in a powdered wig, create a buzz about oranges, use the words Lancelot, Ragnarok, and Mark II in the same show and have me watch episodes repeatedly throughout the week in anticipation for next Thursday? I don't know if I love this because it's hilarious what they're getting away with... or because it has connected to my stupidity on some subliminal level, but cheers to the show for getting away with all the quirks!

Cavalier
Ok this was hard, it was between Ouran High School Host Club or this, and even though it's still incomplete, I'm more entranced by this than I ever was of Ouran. At first I thought it would be just another mech anime, but its quite different and focuses more on Lelouche's amazing strategic abilities and politics. At the same time there is a duality that is absurdly ironic. Lelouch, a Britannian, fights on the Japanese side and uses his brains and underhanded means and his new "ability" to control the bodies of others to get his way, while Suzaku, a Japanese boy, converted to aBritannian honorary citizen, fights for the Britannians and mostly relies on his extremely high abilities in combat. The catch? They're childhood friends and they even go to the same school! Oh the drama . Needless to say, Lelouch's alter ego as "Zero" is a secret to everyone, thus why they can be in the same school and class and continue their friendship, for now...

jackie__chow
This anime showed great potential from the start and it just keeps on grabbing the viewer's attention with unexpected and expected twists (executed in a perfect manner). The main character is particularly captivating and unlike the conventional hero in other anime. This anime simply has me on the tip of my chair waiting for it every week.

Fourth Place

Fate/stay Night

January * 24 Episodes * Studio DEEN

avid
Ever wonder what would happen if heroes and villians throughout time fought? Well this anime shows you, and it even works in some magic to boot. This anime was awesome almost just because of its fight scenes, but with its deep plot and interesting characters it is definitely one of the best in 2006.

Anonymous
Although it certainly doesn't bring anything new to anime as a whole, F/SN combines many genre conventions into one satisfying and likable package. Not the best of the year, but slick production values and interesting characters makes it heads and shoulders above most of what this year provided.

greydark
Interesting to watch, fairly good action. It was well drawn and had some good ideas, although at times you wish you could smack the characters in the head... but that's only because you care.

Ikuzou
Very entertaining. Its rewarding to see Saber's and Shirou's changes over the series and the animation is great. Though people may disagree, the story is rich and deep, but only if you take the time to think out the small details. Plus, the music is great, whether it be an OP, End, or background music.

Shay
Forget that this anime is based on a Galge. The only traces of a dating sim LEFT in this anime are the number of prominent female characters surrounding the protaganist. Adding the fact that the creators managed to not only make a knight's armor look battle ready while being distinctly FEMININE (without being impractically sexy, i.e. chainmail bikini or cleavage plate), the concept behind magic, and the battle for the Holy Grail (in a non-cliche'd fashion, I thought), and this anime definitely stands out among the rest.

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