You are now entering the Nine Days of GLORIO, our non-stop year in review. Each day for the rest of 2013, a member of the Glorio crew will share some of their highlights from the past 12 months, all culminating in our Top 10 Anime of the Year. For Day 2, the hot blooded Gee-man punches year end awards in the face with the most excellent characters, music, and moments of 2013.

2013 was quite a year. We had some highly anticipated adaptations, including Part 2 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Attack on Titan, along with a whole slew of other manga and LN adaptations that both surprised and disappointed. We were introduced some great new characters who touched our hearts, made us laugh, and cried manly tears for their struggles. And sure, while there were some disappointments, I think the number of pleasant surprises and new faces made for a fun year. I won’t deny that I can be picky and judgmental at times, but I can recognize quality and great moments if they’re obvious enough. Here’s an arbitrary list of some of the things I ended up liking a lot over the course of 2013.

The Gee-Man Award for Cast Excellence

Nominees: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Yozakura Quartet, Kill la Kill

A story is often only as good as its characters, and these are shows that stood on the quality of their ensemble casts.

Mayan vampires, robot nazis, and crazy golden kung fu warriors makes JoJo’s cast a fun and undeniably memorable set of characters. One of Yozakura Quartet’s greatest strengths is its ensemble cast, full of fun and interesting characters, ranging from demonic clerks to reality breaking high school girls. Kill la Kill has a similarly oddball cast, and while the sheer range of characters that appear in it would seem to threaten its very foundation, they somehow come together in a perfect storm of enthusiasm and energy.

This was a really tough category for me. All three shows’ casts are a delightful mix of crazy, unique, and most importantly, memorable. In the end however, I have to give this award to the eclectic characters that inhabit the world of Kill la Kill. Ryuko Matoi proves to be the right mix of cute and badass, proving you don’t have to go to extremes to be a fun main character. I’ve already said enough about her right hand woman Mako. Throw in Satsuki Kiryuin along with her cohort of loyal and equally distinctive lieutenants, the flamboyant Nudist Beach, Mako’s crazy family, and every other individual who shows up, and you have a cast of characters that will be remembered for years to come.

The Gee-Man Award for Bromanship Excellence

Nominees: Mako Mankanshoku (Kill la Kill), Caesar Zeppeli (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure), Naotsugu (Log Horizon)

This is the award for the best friend that goes the extra mile. Everyone can appreciate a good hero, but we often forget that beside every good hero is an equally good bro by their side. The one who will always be there for them, will always carry the weight, and sometimes, give up everything for the sake of their friends.

This year, we saw some fine bromanship from across the board and genders. Mako is an indisputable source of comfort for Ryuko’s heart. Caesar Zeppeli fought to his dying breath for the friend and rival he loved like a brother. And Naotsugu, through thick and thin, has been the reliable tank to Shiroe’s caster.

Naotsugu and the late Zeppeli both put up fine efforts of bromanship, but in the end, I have to give the award to the peppy 4th wall breaking girl from Honnouji Academy. She’s been an endless source of enthusiasm and spirit at Ryuko’s side, and while Caesar and Naotsugu have been dependable best men for their respective heroes, both their Joseph Joestar and Shiroe managed alone when the situation called for it. I can’t imagine Ryuko Matoi without Mako Mankanshoku. They’re inseparable, and that’s why I think she deserves to be called the best bro of the year.

The Gee-Man Award for Usage of Insert Song Excellence

Nominees: Kill la Kill episode 3 (Sanbika by Eir Aoi), Attack on Titan episode 13 (Call Your Name by Hiroyuki Sawano), JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure episode 25 (Overdrive by Lotus Juice)

This award is for that one moment where that one song showed up, and it just blew you away. The hero was in dire straits, or things were about to get crazy, and then suddenly the music gets going, and you’re jumping on your seat and hooting like crazy. Never underestimate the power of the insert song, it can take a great moment and turn it into a legendary one.

Sanbika was the Happily Ever After of Kill la Kill, and it showed up exactly when Ryuko needed it. Call Your Name was a rockin’ tune with the right degree of solemness to fit the desperation of the situation. Overdrive showed up when Joseph got into a dogfight with a Mayan vampire, there really isn’t much else to say.

Both Ryuko’s ability to overcome her shame and Eren finally picking up that goddamn rock are great moments, but in the end, I must give a shout out to that one time Joseph Joestar got into a dogfight with a Mayan vampire. Yes, Overdrive is used multiple times before this, but Sanbika and Call Your Name also ended up being featured a couple of times each. But in the end, it’s Joseph’s utterly absurd idea of stealing a German plane to buy time against the ridiculously overpowered Cars where the song truly shines.

The Gee-Man Award for Opening Sequence Excellence

Nominees: Attack on Titan (Gurren no Yumiya by Linked Horizon), Log Horizon (Database by Man with a Mission), JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (Bloody Stream by Coda), Yamato 2199 (Yamato Theme sung by Isao Sasaki)

Everyone knows that a great OP can make a good show even better, and a bad show at least worth slogging through three episodes of. This award is for the OPs that got the blood pumping and the viewers excited for the events and things that were about to go down. A great OP is one you’ll be willing to watch each and every week.

Gurren no Yumiya is going to go down in history as a legendary opener, its bombastic melodrama a perfect fit for Attack on Titan. Database is a crazy catchy ear worm of a song, and goddamn it gets me hyped for MMO politics and economic discussion. Bloody Stream is a ridiculous fun beat with wildly fantastic visuals, a perfect compliment to the craziness of JoJo. The Yamato Theme is a rousing anthem that embedded itself in the hearts of thousands when it was first heard, and its modern remake still sounds amazing.

There were a lot of good OPs this year, and I would love to say something about them all (in fact, you can find a post about some of them elsewhere on the blog), but I must give my award to Log Horizon’s bombastically ridiculous OP. Database is an absurdly fun song to listen to, and as a guy who grew up watching anime every Saturday morning, Database hearkens to that crazy flavor of 90s rock.

The Gee-Man Award for Opening Sequence From a Show He Didn’t Actually Watch Excellence

Nominees: Kyousigiga (Koko by Temurapan), Arpeggio of Blue Steel (Savior of Song by Nano), Coppelion (Angel by Angela)

I’m a guy who’s time is limited, and I can’t watch every show that’s airing at the time. This award is for those great OPs from shows I never got around to watching. Alternatively, they’re from shows that were so bad that the only thing worth watching was the opening.

Kyousigiga’s has a fun OP despite me having no clue what’s going on. Arpeggio had the benefit of me reading the manga beforehand, and with a great OP, the only thing that stopped me from watching it was the questionable CG. I tried so hard to like Coppelion, but it was obvious early on the only thing it had going for it was its rockin’ OP.

I wasn’t kidding when I said there were a lot of good OPs this year, and that includes shows I didn’t even bother to watch. For me, it’s gonna be the rocking opener to the show with the CG boats and girls, Arpeggio. While I’m a fan of the manga, I can’t really say much else since I didn’t bother with the anime, but hey, congrats on having a pretty great OP.

The Gee-Man Award for Overall Rocking Tunes Excellence

Nominees: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (Taku Iwasaki), Attack on Titan (Hiroyuki Sawano), Kill la Kill (Hiroyuki Sawano)

Some shows go above and beyond the bar of excellence, and give us a great soundtrack as well. A great show becomes legendary when it has a soundtrack that compliments it. These are the soundtracks that not only sound great, but are a perfect fit for the shows they accompany.

Iwasaki’s JoJo soundtrack is a joy to behold, and everything from the Mayan dubstep rap to the crazy chants is a glorious compliment to the bizarre world of JoJo. Titan is another show that had a stunning soundtrack that really emphasized the stark grimness of its universe while also creating tunes that made the special moments even better. Sawano knocked it out of the park twice this year, with Kill la Kill’s excellent soundtrack also being a highlight of the year.

While the anime hasn’t finished, and theoretically, we haven’t even heard the entire OST, I must give this to Kill la Kill. Having listened to the soundtrack, it is simply something to behold. Only it and Iwasaki’s JoJo OST have I found soundtracks where every single song managed to knock it out of the park this year. While I’m not the biggest fan of Sawano, he’s done a great job tailoring Kill la Kill’s OST, and in the wake of my disappointment that Iwasaki wasn’t tasked with it, I think Sawano has done an admirable job of living up to my expectations.

The Gee-Man Award for Overall Artistic and Animated Excellence

Nominees: Yamato 2199, Kill la Kill, Yozakura Quartet

These are shows that either looked good or moved well. While it is the cardinal sin of an animator to lump both art direction and animation into the same category, these are the shows I believe deserved props for the visual worlds and aesthetics they created.

Yamato 2199 had the quality of a theatrical release, enough said. Kill la Kill, while lacking in animation, handily makes up with its excellent art direction and great character work by Gainax veteran Sushio. Yozakura Quartet came out of nowhere, but with a crew of animation veterans working on it, it’s no surprise it ended up looking so good.

While Yamato 2199 is a technical marvel to behold, that is basically a consequence of its theatrical budget. Anything with that much money behind it is going to look great. And while Kill la Kill has a wonderful aesthetic that suits the spastic nature of its show, the number of shortcuts Trigger has been forced to take shows what happens when you have the exact opposite kind of funding. Thus I must give props to Yozakura Quartet for having some of the most excellent animation I’ve see this year. With animation directed by none other than the famous animator Ryo-Timo of Birdy Decode fame, Yozakura Quartet is kinetic, spontaneous, and most importantly, fun to watch. While it lacks the fluidity of Yamato 2199 or KyoAni’s best works, Yozakura Quartet handily makes up for it with its excellently choreographed animation. It’s a great example of how to create something visually exciting while working with limited frames.

The Gee-Man Award for Defining Moment Excellence

Nominees: Shiroe calls his guild Log Horizon (Log Horizon), Hime powers up out of nowhere (Yozakura Quartet), Mako Mankanshoku’s Bizarre Adventure (Kill la Kill), Captain Okita doesn’t mess around and will shove a spaceship right down your goddamn throat if you dare him to (Yamato 2199)

This award is for those moments where you just smile, stand on your chair, and hoot like an idiot. The moments, both big and small, that have such an impact that they inevitably become some of the greatest defining moments of the show. As the years go by, I’ll inevitably forget certain things, but these moments are the ones that I’ll never forget for their impact, fun, or just plain awesomeness.

Shiroe’s naming of his guild is one of the ultimate title drops of the year, and while it’s somewhat understated compared to the other nominees, it was a ton of fun all the same. Hime’s magical power up in the face of adversity was a total asspull, but it was one accompanied by some excellent music and some truly top notch animation. Bancho Mako is still one of my personal highlights of Kill la Kill, in both its impact and its sheer absurdity. Captain Okita’s guts in the face of overwhelming odds was something to behold, as he rammed the dutiful Yamato directly into Lord Desler’s palace.

In the end, Mako’s crazy JoJo-inspired transformation is the winner of this one. While it wasn’t the most badass moment in the show or the one with the most impact, it’s the one that figures the strongest in my memory. Everything about that scene, from her transformation and introduction to the fight itself was an insanely fun experience. There is just something undeniably fun about watching the little go-getter utterly dominate a fight with JoJo style beatdowns, missiles, and random tools.

The Gee-Man Award for Overall Excellence

I was originally tempted to give this award to Kill la Kill, but after finishing Yamato 2199 about a month ago, I am compelled to give credit where it is due. As I said in my final impressions post for the show, Yamato 2199 gets as close to perfect as an anime can technically get in my eyes. On nearly every level, whether that be animation, music, characters, narrative, pacing, or whatever category you can imagine, Yamato 2199 hits it with ease. Yamato 2199 is the standard to which all remakes should be held to, and as years go by, I can easily seeing it becoming the new hallmark by which to judge the Yamato’s tale of survival against impossible odds.