The countdown to 2015 is beginning. People are already planning their trips to Times Square to watch the infamous ball drop. And inevitably, critics are releasing their "best of lists."

Anime is no exception to the "Best of" lists, and the latest fan poll for the best anime of 2014 reveals some surprising results, mainly due to the criteria for the anime to be voted for.

Kotaku polled its readers on the best anime of 2014, excluding series that will not be complete until next year. As a result, previously named top anime "Parasyte the Maxim" and "Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works" were both excluded, resulting in "Kill La Kill," "Sword Art Online" season 2, and "Tokyo Ghoul" being named the top series' of 2014.

While some anime watchers may believe "Kill La Kill" contains too much "fan-service," most of the reviews for the series on Crunchyroll are overly positive:

"Don't listen to all this 'too much fan-service' crap, the anime is great, very action packed, funny when the times are right, and overall an epic experience," commented MissDiaryHolder.

"The art and animation is awesome. The art is probably one of the best I've ever seen in any anime. Its style is unique and it fits well with the story. Speaking of fitting well, the music is GREAT for the animation. It has its flaws but is still top notch nonetheless," wrote 3DMG.

Following "Kill La Kill," was the follow up season of "Sword Art Online," which grabbed a positive review for its first arc of the season, "Gun Gale Online" from Kotaku reviewer Richard Eisenbeis. The third highest ranked anime among the fans polled was "Tokyo Ghoul."

It's notable that "Tokyo Ghoul" has been ranked highly on quite a few 'Best Anime of 2014' including Anime News Network's own fan poll, which included incomplete series like "Parasyte the Maxim" and "Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works."

While fans will like argue about the best series of this year until well into 2015, it's probably a safe bet to check out anime series' that keep popping up.