Board 8 > Best Animated Series Ever 2022 - Bracket and Discussion!

(+) Yeah! (+)

Ouch Batman losing to Looney Tunes that's rough

GenesisSaga posted...

Noooo RIP Batman TAS and KotH. 50% terrible outcomes (I like South Park but King of the Hill is the better adult comedy don't @ me).

100% agree with this assessment, btw. South Park isn't "bad" but there are a bunch of episodes that are super cringey in retrospect (for me at least) and even at its best it never felt as good as KotH to me. Closer result than I was expecting, at least!

Day 27 Results:

(1) Gravity Falls: 15 (5)
(5) Samurai Jack: 15 (4)

(2) Teen Titans: 19
(6) Pokemon: 13

(8) Dragonball Z: 21
(5) Attack On Titan: 11

(2) Neon Genesis Evangelion: 15
(11) Space Ghost: Coast To Coast: 14

Damn if I hadn't missed the day Samurai Jack would have won.

Day 28:

(4) Futurama: 16 (5)
(1) Over The Garden Wall: 16 (1)

(2) Rick And Morty: 17
(11) Arthur: 16

(8) Animaniacs: 17
(4) X-Men: The Animated Series: 16

(11) DuckTales (1980s): 20
(10) Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers: 10

Some great matches there. Only one that doesnt make sense to me is how Arthur is so popular.

I've read some of the complaints about the tiebreaker system, and I can understand why it would make people upset. I will say that for the rest of the tournament, any tiebreakers will be first to 10 rather than first to 5, and then for future tournaments I'll consider just doing full-day tiebreakers rather than the first to system.

I think for future tournaments you could do an overtime tiebreaker where everyone is given 24 hours to vote again and you (the host) hold off from voting in the event of another tie, to where you decide who goes through. I doubt anyone will accuse you of biasy since you aren't actually voting in the initial tiebreaker so you breaking any further ties is fair.

Im fine with the current system but its up to you. I like that tie breakers are different since you have to whole day to decide it at first.

Also I voted Avatar but I really hope Paranoia Agent wins by a single vote with Johnbobbs sympathy vote being the deciding factor haha. Its a solid show anyway.

Day 29:

(1) Avatar: The Last Airbender: 21
(10) Paranoia Agent: 10

(9) Death Note: 15
(2) Infinity Train: 14

Oh wow, nice for Death Note, probably getting fed to the Avatar juggernaut next round anyways but still. Anything's possible.

I was thinking recently how interesting it is, looking at anime vs. typical U.S. television productions. If a tv show's successful they'll run it into the ground for 6, 7, 8 or more seasons, milking it for whatever they can until the product at the end is so degraded in quality vs. the earlier glory years. Hardly anybody fondly remembers tv shows cancelled after 1 season with 13 or 22 episodes, only Firefly comes to mind? Same "declining returns" principle could apply to animation too though maybe there's more longevity room there.

Meanwhile the anime world is replete with these 1 or 2 cour series that remain legendary for years if not decades later. Was thinking about that with Paranoia Agent and its very unexpected but very nice run here, we're a long way from 2004. Though I guess the contest is heavy on 90s/early 2000s representation so I shouldn't be too surprised.

Day 30 Results:

(2) Cowboy Bebop: 17
(1) South Park: 13

(4) Looney Tunes: 17
(2) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987): 12

Day 31 Results

(1) Gravity Falls: 21
(2) Teen Titans: 18

(2) Neon Genesis Evangelion: 21
(8) Dragonball Z: 20

For the third time, Neon Genesis Evangelion takes down Dragonball Z in an instant classic.

Day 32 Results:

(4) Futurama: 29
(2) Rick And Morty: 10

(8) Animaniacs: 20
(11) DuckTales (1980s): 13

Quarterfinal 1 Results:

Death Note: 20
Avatar: The Last Airbender: 18

Oh my goodness. I love Avatar too, but I adore a good underdog story so that is a wonderful result. Let's go Death Note!

Already had an out-of-the-blue underdog winner last time -_-

Why is it when I finally watched Avatar in the past year, this board's boner for it suddenly died?

Who won last time? Moreover, is there a list of all past winners somewhere?

Definitely an upset of a result, wow...

MartinFF7 posted...

Who won last time?

Yu-Gi-Oh

Pokewars posted...

Already had an out-of-the-blue underdog winner last time -_-

Why is it when I finally watched Avatar in the past year, this board's boner for it suddenly died?

To be fair, Death Note has always been a lot stronger than Yu-Gi-Oh on average, it's been one of the most consistent performers in the tournament (it's made the third round in its last five appearances), it's just never been past the sweet sixteen before this year. It's been a strong midcarder/upper midcarder, whereas Yu-Gi-Oh was more of a lower midcarder.

MartinFF7 posted...

Who won last time? Moreover, is there a list of all past winners somewhere?

Definitely an upset of a result, wow...

2002: The Simpsons (https://docs.google.com/document
/d/175H8CKWwASEWTg8jiWg6kg2ebPa87WWr0D9SwQCFJIw)

2003: Cowboy Bebop

2004: Futurama

2005: Tom And Jerry

2007: Monster

2009: Futurama (https://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=329482)

2014: Dragonball Z (https://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=454404)

2016: Avatar: The Last Airbender (https://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=463538)

2018: Batman: The Animated Series (https://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=470636)

2020: Yu-Gi-Oh (https://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=473952)

Thanks! So maybe that was also part of the Yu-Gi-Oh appeal last year, to prevent a 3-time Futurama champ, or maybe just coincidental? It + Bebop today the only past champs still alive in the quarterfinals.

Monster in 2007, so good...

Also, yes, the early tournaments had some weird rules. In 2002 I had only 64 slots for non-anime shows and 64 slots for anime, and in 2002 and I think in 2003/2004, anime movies like Spirited Away were also allowed in.

Simpsons was STRONG in 2002, no show will ever be that strong again.

Understandable, that was still close enough to the glory years (or still in the glory years from some viewers' perspectives, I can imagine)

Scanning those past brackets, puts current year results a bit more in context. Death Note squeaking by two contest legends (and Infinity Train), Animaniacs/Looney Tunes/Bebop making similar depth runs in the past.

I guess Gravity Run/Evangelion is more of an outlier here, feels like they get fed to the Futurama/Animaniacs winner, but that's what I thought Death Note's fate would be so I guess anything's possible...

Death note getting the tree house of horror bump

Wow those are some fantastic past winners. Except YuGiOh. That show is not great.

Quarterfinal 2 Results:

Looney Tunes: 22
Cowboy Bebop: 16

Quarterfinal 3 Results:

Gravity Falls: 20
Neon Genesis Evangelion: 15

Futurama is the only past winner standing now? Woo, go Fry.

Quarterfinal 4 Results:

Futurama: 27
Animaniacs: 12

Good lord, I think Futurama heard all the people upset about that tiebreaker with Over The Garden Wall and now it's on a mission to prove it deserved to win that match XD

Death Note: 25
Looney Tunes: 24

Death Note punches its ticket to the finals with another nailbiter finish. It'll face the winner of Gravity Falls/Futurama for the championship on Election Day.

Futurama: 25
Gravity Falls: 21

Just one match to go... the finals are set.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS77mSwHAkU

Let's do this!

So I've never watched or read any iteration of death note, but I know what it is about and it really doesn't strike me as something that would make the best of anything, is my uninformed opinion really that far off.

It's a very exciting thriller.

I don't know exactly what impression you have of it but it plays out more like a high-stakes detective show than anything else I think.

To be clear I wouldn't call it the best anime ever or anything but I do think it's high tier for sure.

pyresword posted...

It's a very exciting thriller.

I don't know exactly what impression you have of it but it plays out more like a high-stakes detective show than anything else I think.

To be clear I wouldn't call it the best anime ever or anything but I do think it's high tier for sure.

My impression of it is that it was just very average, which is why I haven't been too interested in watching it. Like I know the plot and the story seems very meh, does the anime offer anything to make it interesting or stand out?

Like I'm just trying to figure out if there is any reason for someone that knows the plot to watch it or if this has gotten to a final for best animated series ever as a joke.

Death Note is very good, yes, especially in the first half. The overarching plot is pretty straightforward I guess but what makes it good is 99% watching how Light and L both try to outplay each other constantly and go to just ridiculous stretches of logic to try prove/disprove that Light is Kira (while they're also forming a weird sort of friendship given that one is a sociopath and the other is obsessive and robotic)

It's also weirdly funny at times, and just really engrossing to watch

IfGodCouldDie posted...

this has gotten to a final for best animated series ever as a joke.

This isn't like Yu-Gi-Oh. Death Note is definitely weaker than the average BASE finalist, but it's not completely out of the blue. It's a strong midcarder that got a Treehouse of Horror boost and some momentum after winning a few close upsets.

YGOA would in all seriousness be a much more deserving winner than Yu-Gi-Oh itself.

I disagree with the notion that you can generally tell how good a story is by reading a synopsis, but regardless I think the strength of Death Note is in the directing and the presentation. It's good because it's able to maintain a suspenseful and tense atmosphere which keeps the viewer invested.

Hmm, maybe I will give it a watch.

2nd attempt, right topic.

I can't say I have ever seen someone suggest Death Note could possibly have reached something out of joke strength. I'm pretty sure it is a former champion of Save My Anime Series on this very board with presumably a comparable number of people participating... and you know, not to mention like one of the most well known and regarded animes of all time in general. Very strange.

Both L and Light Yagami did very well in the Best New Character 2007 contest as well

Death Note's previous contest results...

2014:
Beat Regular Show 17-6
Beat Bleach 19-5
Lost to South Park 17-10

2016:
Beat Daria 11-8
Beat Recess 10-7
Lost to Rick and Morty 11-9

2018:
Beat The Loud House 25-1
Beat Star vs. The Forces Of Evil 17-4
Beat From The New World 17-6
Lost to Cowboy Bebop 17-14

2020:
Beat The Fairly Oddparents 26-5
Beat Scooby Doo, Where Are You? 15-13
Lost to Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated 17-13

So... yeah, I wouldn't call that a joke at all. Coming into this match, it's 15-4 all time.

RySenkari posted...

Beat Scooby Doo, Where Are You? 15-13
Lost to Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated 17-13

what a weird result

v_charon posted...

I can't say I have ever seen someone suggest Death Note could possibly have reached something out of joke strength. I'm pretty sure it is a former champion of Save My Anime Series on this very board with presumably a comparable number of people participating... and you know, not to mention like one of the most well known and regarded animes of all time in general. Very strange.

Considering I am not too involved in contests in voting or following them in anyway quite often I had no idea what it has done previously. I also just didn't realize how popular Death Note was, it wasn't a dig at Death Note in anyway I just was a little surprised it was going this far in a contest for best animation based on what I do know about it.

IfGodCouldDie posted...

I also just didn't realize how popular Death Note was,

I mean it was popular enough to be part of a Simpsons Halloween episode, what does that tell you lol

redrocket posted...

I mean it was popular enough to be part of a Simpsons Halloween episode, what does that tell you lol

Honestly not much, I thought it had more to do with Netflix having made an adaptation already. I'm pretty sure I remember most people that talk about the Netflix live action adaptation saying it sucks pretty bad.