Theron: Welcome, ladies, gentlemen, and other random critters, to this year's edition of our annual end-of-the-year wrap-up! Although my regular job for ANN is doing reviews and seasonal previews, I always look forward to doing this piece because it gives me a chance to look back at the year as a whole, savor that which is good, lambaste that which is bad, and maybe even call attention to some titles, characters, and moments that some may have overlooked. (It also gives me a chance to publicly tease Carl for his habit of always playing Magical Girls in our online anime-themed RPGs, but I digress.) And here to join me, for the fourth year in a row, is my reviewing compatriot.
Carl: Being a gentleman, I won't tease Theron for getting his rear repeatedly handed to him by a Magical Girl. Regardless, I'll be joining Theron on this little jaunt down short-term-memory lane. As we speak, another year of anime lies deceased at our feet, awaiting our autopsy, so with no further ado let us begin. Welcome to Anime in America: The Best (and Most Notable) of 2010.
Theron: And one special note: those of you who have read this feature in past years may note that we aren't doing a Movie of the Year this year. That's because neither of us felt that there were any significant (much less award-worthy) anime movies that got a wide release in the American market in 2010; most of what came out were recap movies or series spin-off movies (and yes, Redline, Summer Wars and Evangelion 2.22 are all 2011 R1 releases, kids).
THE STANDARDS
Theron: In general, only content which saw an official, widespread release in the U.S. market during 2010 – whether on TV, in movie theaters, on DVD, or via legal downloads or streaming video – is eligible for consideration here; titles which have only officially been shown at conventions or in a handful of theaters, or which are rereleases, do not count as a 2010 title unless that rerelease offers a new feature, such as a new or added-on English dub. Titles which came out in Japan during 2010 but did not become available in the U.S. by official (i.e. legal) means are only eligible for the Unlicensed Gem award, which goes to the title or titles which we feel are most deserving of being licensed. In the cases of series split over two years, we usually consider only the part of the series which became available in 2010. For Series of the Year and Character of the Year, a minimum of eight episodes or the entire series run (whichever is lesser) has to be available during the calendar year for consideration; in all other cases, the content just has to appear in some release during the year.