Click here for the 2008 Year-End Recap.

2008 is the fourth straight year of a solid performance from the anime sector. A second streak of anime at No. 1 came to an end in November when the year’s biggest grossing show Countdown with Keith Olbermann surged to the top of the heap on the Top 25 Shows chart. The second streak ended at 15 months.

The anime complex also saw another record year on the Top 10 Shows of the Week chart. Of the 31 different shows (ties 2007 record) that hit No. 1 this year, 27 (also tying 2007’s record) were anime leading the tally for 48 out of 52 weeks. That bests 2007’s record of 46 out of 52 weeks. For a second straight year, all the animated shows that hit No. 1 on that tally were anime.

Another record was also set on that tally. During the fourth quarter, the Top 10 Shows of the Week No. 1 changed hands a record 11 consecutive times. The first five (Aishiteru ze Baby, Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori, Witchblade, Moribito, and Bill Nye, the Science Guy) were all first career No. 1’s, also a record. A total of nine of the 11 were first career No. 1’s.

Blue Drop is 2008’s Show of the Year. This was pretty much a given, considering the fact that it was No. 1 for three months in Top 25 Shows (February, March & October), and it was known as early as late September, that this anime pretty much had it in the bag. Blue Drop’s Show of the Year win was the first where it wasn’t even remotely close since 2003. Blue Drop was the 2^nd biggest grossing show of 2008, moving 8.89 billion grosses. Blue Drop logged six weeks at No. 1 this year on the Top 10 Shows of the Week chart, the most of any show.

Blue Drop also makes history becoming the first unlicensed anime to be named Show of the Year. All the anime that has been Show of the Year were licensed by a licensor by the time it became Show of the Year.

Countdown with Keith Olbermann is No. 2 on the Year-End Chart. As previously mentioned, Countdown was the year’s biggest grossing show, grossing 10.41 billion grosses. It also led November’s Top 25 Shows chart. It is the highest finish from a live action show since Days of Our Lives finished in the runner-up spot in 2001.

Bleach finishes 3^rd in 2008, an improvement from its 12^th place finish in 2007. Bleach led the Top 10 Shows of the Week tally for four weeks -- tied for the second most of the year -- and led the Top 25 Shows chart in August. Bleach was the year’s 4^th biggest grossing show, grossing just over 7 billion grosses. Tactics finishes 4^th. Tactics the Top 10 Shows of the Week chart 5 times this year, most recently on November 22. It also led April’s Top 25 Shows chart. It was the 3^rd biggest grossing show of 2008, moving 8.05 billion grosses. Vampire Princess Miyu ends the year in 5^th place. Miyu led the Top 10 Shows of the Week chart the week of January 19 and also led January’s Top 25 Shows chart. Miyu was also the 5^th biggest grossing show of 2008.

Witch Hunter Robin finishes 6^th in 2008. Robin led the Top 25 Shows chart for two months, was the 9^th biggest grossing show of 2008, and led the weekly tally for two weeks during May. Cardcaptor Sakura finished 7^th. Cardcaptor Sakura is the highest ranking No. 1 debut on the Year-End chart. Sakura debuted at No. 1 in September. It also nabbed two No. 1’s on the weekly tally.

Witchblade finished 8^th. Witchblade is the best showing from the FUNimation imprint’s five appearances in this year’s Year-End tally, the most of any imprint. Going as high as No. 2 in the month of March in Top 25 Shows, it didn’t nab its first career No. 1 on the weekly tally until the week of October 11. Speed Grapher ends 2008 in 9^th place. Speed Grapher spent two consecutive weeks at No. 1 the weeks of June 7 and 14, and stopped at No. 2 on July’s Top 25 Shows chart. Speed Grapher was the 16^th biggest grossing show of 2008. Vampire Knight rounds out the top-10. Knight was No. 3 in Top 25 Shows in October, and headed the Top 10 Shows of the Week chart the week of September 13. Vampire Knight is the 8^th biggest grossing show of 2008, grossing 4.34 billion grosses this year.

Murder Princess finishes 11^th, Emily of New Moon finishes 12^th, Real Time with Bill Maher, last year’s 4^th place finisher, ends 2008 13^th. Code Geass, the year’s first Top 25 Shows No. 1 debut, finishes 14^th, and Shrine of the Morning Mist ends 15^th. Noein rounds out the year finishing 16^th.

Bill Nye, the Science Guy makes its first Year-End chart appearance in nine years finishing 18^th. Bill Nye’s last appearance on the tally was an 11^th place finish on the 1999 Year-End chart.

Storm Chasers, which became the first live-action show to debut at No. 1 in Top 25 Shows history in December, finishes 19^th becoming the lowest ranked No. 1 debut ever on a Year-End chart. Black Cat ends the year 20^th and Fruits Basket, which failed to make the Year-End list in 2007, re-makes the list finishing 21^st, the last two appearances from the FUNimation imprint on this list.

Last year’s Show of the Year, Blood+, finished 28^th.