Before I go too specific into the details, here's my list of the my top ten anime series of 2008 (note, except for SOUL EATER, this pertains only to anime that have finished airing in Japan in 2008; the order is sort of ranked, though only roughly):

1. Daughter of Twenty Faces: top notch character development
2. CODE GEASS R2: extravagantly over the top, yet with surprising emotional resonance
3. Macross FRONTIER: inconsistent episode quality but superb music and visuals
4. Nodame Cantabile Paris: yes classical music still rocks, even in Paris
5. True Tears: great storytelling, believable premise, high production values
6. SOUL EATER: massive amounts of pure awesomeness
7. Nabari no Ou: a more mature take on the classical ninja tale
8. Special A: the second coming of Ouran High School Host Club
9. Koihime Musou: masterful combo of fanservice and more fanservice
10. SEKIREI: see above, but add more fan service as well as interesting plot and characters

The following series are disqualified since they will not finish airing in 2008 (and unlike SOUL EATER started airing in Fall 2008) but deserve special mention

Tales of the Abyss: what a video game based anime SHOULD be
ToraDora!: hilarious, spontaneous, random, and highly entertaining
CLANNAD ~After Story: beautiful animation, great storytelling, likable characters
Chaos; Head: gory anime is great anime
Gundam 00 Season 2: deserves mention for being a much improved, albeit still deeply flawed, sequel

More to come on this later!

P.S. GTA IV finally works in Vista. Apparently running the game from the XP install worked flawlessly. Who the hell would have guessed huh?