HomeAnimeThe Otaku's Study - Game and Australian Anime Release of the Year...

The Otaku’s Study – Game and Australian Anime Release of the Year 2011!

-

The Otaku's Study - Game and Australian Anime Release of the Year 2011! 1

While it isn’t going to be anything overly fancy, I would like to welcome you to tonights celebration of my personal Game of the Year and Australian Anime Release for 2011. Now, first of all I would like to make special mention to my ordinary anime of the year which was announced in my post for the AniBlogger Choice Awards 2011 in which the anime series Usagi Drop was chosen as the winner. The following is my comment on why this series was picked as my first pick for Japanese anime release of the year:

Usagi Drop
What is there to say about Usagi Drop…. I could go on for hours about how the storyline is both well thought out and heartwarming, following 30 year old Daikichi who decides to adopt his six year old aunt Rin who is believed to be the illegitimate daughter of his grandfather. It is a brilliant story focusing on her days in nursery school and in the early years of elementary school as not only she learns to come out of her shell – but Daikichi who is single and has decided to become a parent figure to Rin, learns how to be the role-model father to her while also searching for her mother and seeking advice from others. I could also go on about the at times simplistic and at times detailed design which also works well with the series. Simply put, it is one of the best noitaminA series that has been released and is well deserving of  my Rank #1 Japan-released anime for 2011.

For the first award tonight, the Australian Anime Release of 2011 will be going to the anime release from either Madman Entertainment or Siren Visual that was released between January and December 2011 which proved to be the most rewarding watch regardless of its original release date in Japan or anywhere else. The reason why I cannot hold an international one is that I don’t have the luxury of having finances to import all internationally released titles, however over the last year Australia has proven to see many more simultaneous, soon after or even Aussie exclusive anime releases showing that the industry is without a doubt growing in both demand and popularity. First, a reminder of the criteria to be eligible for nomination:

  1. The anime must have been released in Australia between the 1st January 2011 and Christmas Day 2011.
  2. The anime must be reviewed on this site by Christmas Day 2011.
  3. Simulcast titles will not be considered, a physical DVD or Blu-ray release will be required to qualify.
  4. Collections of previous released titles are permitted (Provided the collection is released in 2011), but need either an A or S Grade to be nominated.
  5. The minimum overall score considered for inclusion will be an A-. All anime with S-grades will automatically qualify.
  6. There will of course, only be one winner and will be determined by contribution to genre and quality.
  7. The determining party shall consist of myself.

There were overall a total of nine series nominated which include: Angel Beats, Black Butler, Dennou Coil, DuRaRaRa!!, Eden of the East, Ga-Rei-Zero, Ghost Hound, Summer Wars and The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. Each of these were more than deserving of the award but as I said… there can only be one winner. The winner is…

*Pretends to open up an envelope*

*Cliche moment of Silence*

*Insert controversy over votes here*

vlcsnap 2011 09 25 01h43m24s51 Dennou Coil Part 1   Review
Live Imagery from Siren Visual Headquarters

Rank #1
Dennou Coil

This series has been released as an Australian exclusive title thanks to the folks at Siren Visual, and at least in my opinion has proved to be their best release of the year! Taking place in the 2020’s in a world where the world essentially has the internet overlapped with reality, it is not only a world where people can access information from virtually anywhere but a playground for elementary school hackers, urban legends and mysteries a plenty. While it is one of the most perhaps overlooked anime titles, it is without a doubt one of my favourites and I encourage everyone to check it out when they get the chance.

Rank #2
Eden of the East 

Rank #3
DuRaRara!!

Congratulations to Dennou Coil which has the opportunity of calling itself The Otaku’s Study Australian Anime Release of the Year! However there were a number of stellar titles released this year and I highly recommend checking them all out if possible! Their publisher information can be found on the nomination page HERE.

 —————————–

For the second and final award of tonight, I am here to present The Otaku’s Study Game of the Year 2011! Unlike the previous one which was limited to just Australian releases, any game released in English will be eligible for inclusion thanks for North American and Australian game releases being more in sync with release dates, and the fact I seem to have imported those that I have not been able to acquire over here. To me, it has been one of the better years of gaming, with new consoles and innovative games being both announced and released it has provided hundreds of potentially award winning titles from the creative minds in the development studios worldwide. However, it has been my duty to look through my collection from this year to determine what titles deserve this award. First off however, a quick look at the nomination criteria:

  1. The game must have been released in English OR received an original release this year.
  2. The game must have been reviewed on this site by Christmas Day 2011. Therefore this list may be amended in the line up to Christmas.
  3. The minimum overall score considered for inclusion will be an A-. All games with S-Grades will automatically qualify.
  4. There will of course, only be one winner and this will be determined by its contribution to the genre (So for example, platforming game X has equal chance as open world game Y).
  5. The determining party shall consist of yours truly!

So yes, unlike most I have instead added the extra little rule about its contribution to the genre, because lets face it… it will help spice things up a bit and will not favour one genre over the other. There were a total of nine titles up for nomination which included: Assassin’s Creed Revelations, Catherine, Corpse Party, Dark Souls, Deus Machina Demonbane, Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten, Persona 2: Innocent Sin, Rayman Origins and Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception. The winner of The Otaku’s Study Game of the Year 2011 is….

*Pretends the seal on the envelope will not open*

*Rips open envelope while ripping the paper inside*

*Cryptically puts back together said paper*

rcm 9 2 Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten   ReviewLive Imagery from Nippon Ichi Software America Headquarters

Rank #1
Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten (Tactical RPG)

Let me be honest, it was very hard to sort between the nominees as there were so many pros to each of them and they all provided something to their genre – but it was difficult for Disgaea 4 to not keep coming to the top of the pile. You would think a game series that has used the same gameplay system for four numbered titles would get old…. but with every game providing something new it shows that the game genre is far from dead. This time, Nippon Ichi showed that they could retain a winning system while improving their classic sprite designs, implement several types of online functionality and add hundreds to thousands of hours of gameplay with their Item Worlds, 9,999 level cap, engaging cast of characters and much more… a well deserved win!

Rank #2
Catherine (Puzzle)

Rank #3
Rayman Origins (Platformer)

Once again, to all those titles that did not get in the Top 3, they were all well deserving of a nominated place and I highly recommend you check them out! Their respective companies and consoles can be found on the nomination page HERE.

 —————————–

Once again, congratulations to all the titles who were nominated, recieved awards or heck, even released this year as it has proved to be one of the best years to be both a gamer and a fan of anime!… I look foward to bringing you more news and reviews of similar titles next year and I hope you will continue to consider The Otaku’s Study as a great choice for your gaming and anime decisions and information. Now feel free to leave this imaginary but spacious and immaculate presentation hall before the robotic ninja zombies comes and attacks everyone still remaining in the room!

Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Advertisment

Recent Posts