by Jayden Leggett, Editor

Well, it seems “that time of year” has once again crept up on me much quicker than I thought it would. If you are anything like me (and may God have mercy on your soul if you are) and have left your gift purchasing until the last minute, then fear not! I have thoroughly sorted the wheat from the chaff in order to present to you, dear reader, my list of the top five animation titles that were released this year (well, released in Australia anyway). So grab a pen and jot down the following titles, and your loved ones will be sure to have a very geeky Christmas!

5. Another
This is one hell of a twisted anime series. Set in a mysterious school, new student Kouichi is slowly discovering that things aren’t at all how they should be, when a mysterious curse results in many gruesome deaths of its students. Slightly slow moving to begin with, but once that action ramps up and the madness unfolds, you will be glued to your screen in this violent, gory, but oh-so-good series.

4. Robot Chicken DC Comics Special
While it only has a short feature run time, this fantastic special has got it all. Action figures, stop motion animation and skit after hilarious skit set primarily in the DC Universe, with an overarching Aquaman-central storyline that links almost all of the skits together at the very end. What’s not to love?

3. Adventure Time: The Complete First Season
While Americans have been able to own the first season of this kooky cartoon for quite a while now, Aussies had to wait until earlier this year, but boy was that wait worth it. Join Finn the human and Jake the dog as they go on endless fun and bizarre adventures and encounter a large cast of crazy characters in the magical Land of Ooo.

2. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Based on Frank Miller’s iconic interpretation of the future of Batman, The Dark Knight Returns follows the exploits of a significantly older Bruce Wayne as he once again dons his cowl when it is clear that Gotham City is falling victim to crime once more. Immensely enjoyable.

1. Wolverine and the X-Men: The Complete Series
An oldie but a goodie, this show has proved to be the best X-Men series released so far. Featuring a brilliant storyline and stellar fight sequences, the show follows Wolverine (voiced by the legendary Steve Blum) as he sets out to reform the X-Men in order to prevent an event of apocalyptic proportions. A show that truly deserved another season which it never got.

Let your heroes draw you to ComicsOnline.com and Weird-Girls.com for all your gift idea needs and for everything geek pop culture!