Click here for the 2009 Year-End Chart.

The anime complex completes a fifth consecutive solid year in Top 25 Shows. For the third time in the last five years, and for the first time since 2006, the sector locked down No. 1 every month of the year.

Even though it was a very strong performance from the anime sector in Top 25 Shows in 2009, it didn’t quite match last year’s record setting performance on the Top 10 Shows of the Week chart. There were 29 different No. 1 this year. Of those 29 different No. 1, twenty-five were anime leading the weekly tally for 47 of 52 weeks. For a third straight year, all the animated shows that hit No. 1 this year were anime.

Show of the Year will go to an anime for a fifth straight year.

Sister Princess is the 2009 Top 25 Shows Show of the Year. Sister debuted on the Top 10 Shows of the Week chart the week of April 11 and never looked back. Sister Princess led the Top 25 Shows chart during the months of June, August, and September. It also secured five No. 1’s (including a hat trick) on the T10SW chart during 2009. It was also the biggest grossing show of the year, grossing 10.95 billion grosses in 2009. Sister broke the single-week No. 1 grossing record on August 15 when it grossed 446.8 million grosses. The record still holds to this day.

The now-defunct ADVFilms-imprint captures its first Show of the Year title. ADV shut down on September 1 after selling off most of its titles and assets to other licensing companies. This is the first time a defunct imprint captures a Show of the Year title. ADV, as you recall, had a fairly solid year back in 2006 when two of their titles, Chrono Crusade and Peacemaker Kurogane, combined spent a total of five consecutive months at No. 1. The two anime finished 3^rd and 4^th, respectively, on that year’s Year-End chart.

Lucky Star finishes 2^nd on the Year-End chart. Lucky Star logged one of the most dominant Top 10 Shows of the Week performances in the chart’s history. Between August 22 and November 14, Lucky Star was No. 1 on the weekly tally for all but three weeks! That includes a seven consecutive week reign at No. 1 from October 3 to November 14. It’s ten career No. 1’s is the first time a show won 10 or more No. 1’s in a single year since Negima logged all 11 of its No. 1’s in 2006.

Lucky Star was also the 2^nd biggest grossing show of the year grossing nearly 10 billion grosses. It is the best ever performance from the Bandai Entertainment and Kyoto Animation imprints. Bandai beats its previous best: a 14^th place finish from Code Geass in 2008.

XxxHOLiC: Kei, the show that clinched the Show of the Year berth back in July, finishes 3^rd. XxxHOLiC was the darling of Top 25 Shows (pertaining to the Year-End Chart) for much of this year. XxxHOLiC: Kei was the Top 25 Shows No. 1 show during the months of February and March. XxxHOLiC was the 3^rd biggest grossing show of the year grossing just over 9 billion grosses. It won just one Top 10 Shows of the Week No. 1 this year, on Week 500: February 7.

Red Garden finishes 4^th. Red Garden’s No. 1 debut in April was the lone No. 1 debut in Top 25 Shows this year, making 2009 the first year since 2005 where there was just one No. 1 debut. After its No. 1 debut in April, it went on to win another month at No. 1 in May. It scored four Top 10 Shows of the Week No. 1’s (including a hat trick) in 2009. This was the FUNimation-imprint’s best showing of the year.

FUNimation made eight appearances on this year’s Year-End tally, the most of any imprint.

Another FUNimation-imprint show Mushishi rounds out the top-5. Mushishi debuted at No. 1 the week of February 28 breaking a more than two-year-old No. 1 debut grossing record (and held it until May 16). It went on to win two more No. 1’s the weeks of April 11 and May 9, and peaked at No. 2 on the April, 2009 Top 25 Shows chart. Mushishi was the 5^th biggest grossing show of the year moving 8.27 billion grosses.

R.O.D the TV finishes 6^th. R.O.D the TV broke a record back in June after it spent six consecutive weeks at No. 1 from May 16 to June 20. It was the first time a show spent its first six weeks on the chart at No. 1. It is also the current No. 1 debut grossing record holder, breaking the record the week of May 16. Due to its No. 1 reign, it was named July’s No. 1 show, interrupting Sister Princess’ reign at the summit. Last year’s 2^nd place finisher, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, drops to No. 7. Countdown was rather stable on the Top 25 Shows chart in the first half of the year, and was all over the place during the second half.

Bill Nye the Science Guy finishes 8^th. It was Bill Nye’s best Year-End tally showing since it was named 1997 Top 25 Shows Show of the Year. Code-E finishes 9^th. Code-E was January’s No. 1 show and won one Top 10 Shows of the Week No. 1 the week of March 7. It was the highest showing from Japanese animation studio Studio DEEN’s five appearances on this year‘s Year-End tally. Scrapped Princess finishes 10^th. Scrapped twice peaked at No. 5 on the September and December Top 25 Shows charts. It won one Top 10 Shows of the Week No. 1 the week of November 21, snapping Lucky Star’s seven-consecutive week turn at No. 1.

The Young and the Restless finished 11^th. Y&R was the 9^th biggest grossing show of the year and won one No. 1 on the weekly chart the week of July 4. Soul Eater finishes 12^th. Mobile Suit Gundam 00 finished 13^th. Gundam 00 won a No. 1 -- that resulted in a No. 1 grossing record -- the week of January 3. Seraphim Call finishes 14^th while Moon Phase finished 15^th.

Last year’s Show of the Year, Blue Drop, finishes 22^nd. At the time it won Show of the Year last year, it was the first unlicensed anime to be named Show of the Year. Blue Drop was licensed by brand new licensor Sentai Filmworks on September 2.