It’s time for the Second Annual Reader’s Choice Poll! There are a lot of good choices this year, and I’m still in the process of choosing my own favorites (having a hard time deciding between GEASS and Gurren Lagann, among others), but below, you can vote for your Favorite Anime of 2007 from a list of every single series that’s ended this past year.

If you voted in the first annual poll last year, you might remember that I had a somewhat complex set of criteria for shows that were included on the list. This year, I’ve decided to simply include every anime series (no OVAs or movies) that ended in 2007, with the only exceptions being the handful that ended last January. The general idea is that you can’t judge a series properly until it’s completely over. That means fans of Clannad or any of the other currently airing shows that are two seasons long will have to wait until next year’s poll (and that’s also why Kanon is on the list).

All together, there are 135 choices, plus “Other” in case there’s a relatively obscure anime series you really enjoyed that’s not on the list (or even something that I just neglected to add). Choose your favorite and the winner will get included in next week’s post!

This poll will close Wednesday, December 26th, 2007 at 11:59 PM.

[poll=351]

Note: there may be some caching problems. If you’re unable to vote for some reason, leave a comment or send me an email.

298 Comments

  1. It was between Gurren-Lagann, Kanon, Dennou Coil, and Code Geass for me. In the end however, Code Geass isn’t actually finished yet and the ending was a rather huge cliff hanger so while it was a good show that ‘ended’, I was still left unsatisfied. If it wasn’t for that though, I probably would have chosen Geass over Kanon.

    Naakay
  2. ahh! I can’t choose between Baccano!, Code Geass, Darker Than Black, or Gurren-Lagann!! But because I’m sure Baccano! will not get a lot of votes and because I simply love it, Baccano! it is!

    Hobo
  3. Between Lucky Star, Code Geass, Darker Than Black, Death Note, and Gurren Lagann, I opted to choose neither. While they were crazy fun, action packed, psychological thriller, and gainax craziness, respectively, I think that the underdogs should deserve some love.

    Heroic Age has my vote: I loved the show towards the end, especially as everything went to hell and back. It had me screaming at the cliffhangers and teary-eyed at the end.

    MaimeDaifuku
  4. Gurren Lagann for sure… I mean, while Lucky Star was popular and fun to watch, Gurren Lagann was a friggin’ adrenaline rush all the way. It was definitely a lot more fun to watch and follow week by week than any other series this year.

    Amethyst
  5. Shuffle! Memories FTW! Nothing beats 11 episode of clip show.

    But in honesty, I’m forecasting a toss-up between the KyoAni powerhouses (Kanon / Lucky Star) and the shonen stars (Gurren Lagann / Code Geass). I’m most interested in seeing how School Days clocks in; certainly it was a very influential anime but I don’t know how many would call it their ‘favorite’ considering the content…

    CCY
  6. There were a lot of good ones. Heroic age, Clannad, Kanon but i think that their ending was good and they end there. But the only series i felt was too little and not enough was Lucky Star.

    banzemanga
  7. Wow, this is going to be a huge 4way battle. Gurren lagann vs Lucky Star vs Death Note vs Code Geass.

    My vote goes to Code Geass because it’s been a long long time an anime got me to jumping at my seat screaming for the next episode.

    W-General
  8. Even though I voted for Gurren Lagann it was a tough choice. Seirei no Moribito, Oh! Edo Rocket, Baccano! Umisho, Darker than Black, the majority of Death Note, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, all of those were great. I think if Oh! edo Rocket had subs that were released on time it would have probably gotten my vote, the slow release schedule killed off alot of my excitement which went toward Gurren Lagann

    huh
  9. Man, I really hate polls like these because there were SO many great shows this year. About 3/4th of that list was on the very good range and at least 5 of them are some of my all time favorites now.

    I was torn between Minami-ke (funniest comedy I’ve seen in a LONG time), Sketchbook (easily the best slice of life, 4koma anime besting Potemayo a bit), Code Geass, Denno Coil and Seirei no Moribito.

    I don’t really care for the poll result other than that so many of these shows deserve recognition.

    Shippoyasha
  10. Hmmm, lots of good shows but definitely code geass for me. I tried to hold out and marathon the whole thing but I only lasted until episode 5-6 ish :(. Never happened to me before :/

    Disgradius
  11. I’ve not seen anything on Gingatetsudou Monogatari ~Eien e no Bunkiten~. I’ve been watching the first series of it but stopped because of shipping delays on the DVDs. So has anyone actually watched it? No one blogs about it, but maybe because it is old fashioned? Sci-fi drama with very little comedy maybe? Trains in Space?

    Ithekro
  12. I didn’t finish watching many series this year; only Death Note, Nodame Cantabile and School Days. Out of the three, Nodame Cantabile was my favourite.

    I have CODE GEASS on disc but I haven’t come round to watching it yet. It seems very popular…

    Kurisutiin
  13. Well, Darker than Black for me, I guess. The truth exist beyound the gates ^_~. P.S. On the side note – I thought that one should vote about completed series, so wtf with Code Geass?

    RavingRaven
  14. I got stuck between Death Note and Code Geass, but had to go with Geass on this even though it’s not complete yet. I didn’t even bother looking at the other titles, though I did consider a few others, but they just couldn’t beat out Geass in my mind. >.

    Final
  15. Well had to stand behind Higurashi on this one. Building off the first season and giving answers that had been much needed. Really was my favorite for this year and sad to see it ending.

    FlareKnight
  16. Am I the only one who voted for Darker Than Black? Sure the series could’ve gotten better closure but I felt that both the action and character development were handled extraordinarily well.

    Ah, I went back over the comments and found another person. Ah well, there were quite a number of groundbreaking shows this year, after all.

    SZ
  17. Wow,it is incredibly hard for me to choose one when i watched so many…………going to have to crack my brain for it and judge it based on character development,animation,plot and character design

    polar bear
  18. since there is no Shakugan no Shana II, CLANNAD and Dragonaut…

    i really like CODE GEASS, Baccano, Lucky Star, Kaze no Stigma, Moyashimon, Romeo x Juliet, Gurenn, Zero no Tsukaima and Zombie Loan though only 1 should be choose so

    i’ll vote CODE GEASS! well i thought you can choose multiple animes becoz they are many but i guess you just choose 1 oh well ehehe ^_^’

    zai_shana
  19. I know that most are going for Kyoto animations like Kanon/LuckyStar/Clannad so went for something else. Do not want to choose an anime that is still running like ef, clannad so I went and voted for Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.

    I know they wont win this poll but they were one of the most unique this year. Now I am in dispear but I am looking forward to their second season in a months time!

    I guess that it will probaly be code geass, kannon, lucky star or Gurren Lagann will win.

    shh227
  20. Threw the dice coz I couldn’t decide between my fav anime this year. Ended up with sola. Compared to the other anime I could have rolled it’s most definitely the weakest when it comes to popularity but in my humble opionion not that bad of a choice either.

  21. hmm if i could only see the list well as of now i cant but ill go ef (i think i overrated the game itself cause its soo good on all sides) and lucky star since i cant see the file @_@ CLANNAD i guess those are my sure ones

    Algester
  22. OMG! it was between Gurren-Lagann, Lucky Star and Code Geass… BUT GEASS WINS!! I LOOOOVED THAT ANIME SOO MUUUCCH that im even downloading it again before season 2 begins airing! XD!

    sunohara!
  23. So hard to choose…
    Omni, it would be better to use a point system and we could rank at least our top 3 favorites; something like 1st choice gets 5pts, 2nd gets 3pts, 3rd gets 1pt, something like that. I’m stuck between Geass and Kanon, these two shows got me the most excited and/or emotional this year.

    Then again even with this ranking system I’d still be hardpressed to decide which is 1st hahaha :D.

    CooKie
  24. Really hard choice this year between these three series… Code GEASS, Gurren Lagann and School Days.

    Gurren Lagann is an EPIC. A grand scale battle that start from underground to the heaven is just SUPERB!
    School Days is a real shocked. The story just keep getting better & better, then come an ending that make me press a delete button of the whole series out of my computer straight away. Damned.
    Code GEASS brings me a great joy from the beginning to an end. The plot that’s so exceptional, the character cast that’s so charming. An artwork in every aspect… so this is a winner for me this year, Code GEASS.

    suckoja
  25. Ah, there it goes. I think I gotta go with Code Geass, although there a bunch of favorites for me in the list. Bokurano, Dennou Coil, Claymore, Manabi, etc. Yea, I have a hard time picking one of anything…

    Mighty Mouse
  26. hubiera votado por school days , por que el final es contrario a todo tipo de historias de ese genero . donde se arreglan las cosas .

    pero cuando vi higurashi estubo dificil la decicion .

    pero mi voto es para Higurashi

    Artanis
  27. How am I suposed to choose only one?
    School Days, Lucky Star, Higurashi, Death Note, Kanon, El Cazador, Blue Drop, Nodame Cantabile, Venus Versus Virus, Doujin Work, to name a few. Man and the list goes on and on.

    Maxmilian
  28. This is so unfair. Im like Gurren Lagann & Geass, but in the end I voted for Baccano. Excellent story, action and nice (romantic) ending despite a lot of violence and blood (not that im complaining :p ). But the main thing is the story is unique.

    How come ongoing anime like Blue Drop and Minami-ke in there but not Clannad?

    avex|mode
  29. Well,for me,I didn’t choose Lucky Star,Gurren Lagann,Code Geass or Darker than Black.Even though they were full of thrillers and action-packed,I think Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei deserves the vote.

    Nothing
  30. This leaves me with headache, so much of my favourite anime is on the list, yet I can only pick ONE….(T_T). Eventually I pick Dennou Coil….Out of Minami-Ke, Lucky Star, Code Geass, Seirei No Moribito, Darker Than Black, Idolmaster Xenoglossia, and Claymore. Just want to ask, is Bamboo Blade doesn’t count as this year anime??

    Himeya
  31. There was only one choice, and that made it easy. Put away all the hype that was made over certain series. Put away all the reviews, and all the folks screaming “YOU MUST WATCH THIS ONE AND LIKE IT OR YOU ARE STUPID”, and the like. THEN vote.

    Baka
  32. Where’s the love for Sumomo mo Momo mo? That show was classic, especially in episode 4 when Momoko tries give Koushi subliminal messages while he sleeps. I had never cracked up as much when watching an anime as I did during that episode 😉

    Orbitzz83
  33. Code Geass!
    I read most of death note so that killed it for me when it came out. Watched it all over the last few days with my brother tho.
    Anyway Code Geass still, I think it was the only series I enjoyed all the way to the end this year.

    Senefen
  34. Hardest part is I haven’t actually watched most of these shows. Tentatively, I’d vote for Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. (I’m gonna think about it a few days first)

    Pardon the self-promotion, but I’m hosting my own poll, where you can vote for OP/ED songs. (link in the name)

  35. This was massively difficult with Lucky*Star, Kanon, Minami-ke, Sketchbook, Gurren-Lagann and the like….

    I ended up throwing Lovely*Complex a vote because it actually is that rare creature in romantic comedy that does not trainwreck at the end – and all the characters and couples were nicely developed characterizations. … and the great dialog and voice acting.

    vexx
  36. I just noticed that Nagasarette Airantou got like no votes from the people who comment.
    What a shame. All the production money was for the last episodes and the ending was such a crappy one…

    SUZU, WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST GRAB IKUTO AND JUST TAKE HIM?!?!?!?!

    MaimeDaifuku
  37. It’s gotta be either Darker than Black, Code Geass, ef, or Higurashi. I would have added Death Note on my top list but I didn’t particularly liked the second half with the inclusion of Nero and Mell. Since Code Geass will probably get the majority of the votes in my group of favorites, it will have to be between Darker than Black (heads) and ef (tails). Let’s flip a coin. And the results are….
    Heads! Okay, Darker than Black it is.

    Alastor
  38. Oh god…such a difficult choice.
    But between the very original and enjoyable Dennou Coil, the amazing but still unfinished story of Nodame Cantabile(I really want another season!!) and the impressive Gurren Laggan, i’ll stick with the last one just because it really is an epic.

    kamira
  39. Ookiku Furikabutte, definitely. Too bad the series’ popularity is close to non-existent here.
    Kekkaishi would be a close second, but it doesn’t fit the criteria for the poll anyway, so the choice was easy.

    Katapan
  40. I can’t pick i would go crazy to pick one but these are definitely my top:
    Ghost Hunt, Heroic Age, Seto no Hanayome and Minami-ke.

    Average: Code Geass, Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun, Lovely Complex, Myself;Yourself, Mushi-Uta, Claymore, Kishin Taisen Gigantic Formula, Shounen Onmyouji, and Tokimeki Memorial ~Only Love~.

    Bad: School Days, Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei, and probably everything else

    My idea of a good anime is one that I am willing to sit down and watch from beginning to the end, some of these anime series like Sumomo mo Momo mo, Shining Tears X Wind, and many others i only watch the first few episode then stop.

    But I am surprise Clannad is not there, that definitely go to my top.

    Tom
  41. I predict it will be a showdown between the KyoAni-Halo-Effect duo, Death Note, Code Geass, and like…a shared 20% of the pie for every other series people pick >DD

    My personal pick was RomeoxJuliet. Original re-take, well animated, and the pace was very appropriate.

    starcaptor
  42. So many contenders! I can’t pick one! Although I would like to pick Death note, but I also liked Code geass! AWWWW!!!!! I don’t know which one to pick! Can I pick all? lol

    But Death note is on top of my list!

    RIP KIRA……

    heavenANDhell
  43. Gurren Lagann. Most memorable lines, characters, the battles were amazing, nothing I couldn’t love about that show. Dennou Coil, Code Geass and Baccano! tie for a close second though.

    lady_varg
  44. Great year overall. Personally, I retain:
    -From Fall: DEATH NOTE, Kanon and CODE GEASS.
    -From Winter: Hidamri Sketch and Nodame Cantabile.
    -From Spring: Gurren Lagann, Lucky Star, Bokurano and Darker Than Black
    and from Summer: Zetsubou Sensei and NICE BOAT!
    Overally, lucky star is the best imo

    41nano
  45. Ugh… I used to really like Romeo x Juliet but once it hit somewhere beyond the middle it became less interesting to watch… And I was disappointed that they went the supernatural route with the series. =/

    It didn’t seem like a lot of anime kept me interested this year, not Code Geass or Gurren Lagann…. I wanted a good romance series but we got stuck with School Days. Wow, I really wanna know where that one stands. (Almost voted for it, too.)

    Using spoiler tags because I don’t want others to see my vote unless they’re curious.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    MiraNai
  46. Gurren Lagann for me, but if I had to pick who the winner will ultimately be, I would suspect it will end up being Lucky Star because of the Kyoani effect alone. It’s very hard to break through that level of rabidity and fans these days who just probably won’t watch Gurren Lagann or anything else non-Kyoani/Romance/Slice of Life, because of it’s genre to see how fun it is. Plus Lucky Star made frequent references to Haruhi (something everyone and their mom has heard of), while Gurren Lagann’s treats were for fans of old Super Robot anime that most in the west have probably never even heard of, so few will get the refs. Maybe next year the trend will end and just by being in the right genre or by the right studio won’t carry the day. Even still it was refreshing to see a unique series “make a breakthrough” in an increasingly one tone form of art.

    Though I could easily end up being wrong this year, and if so it would be quite a tremendous surprise.

    Kaioshin Sama
  47. Is Death Note bolded for anyone else? Does bolded signal what we voted for?

    I ask because I voted for Minami-ke, and was really letdown when it stopped being covered here at eight episodes in!

    SkyLark

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