Like the title says, with my revival from the abyss comes an anime review thread. Part 1 will be top 10 from the last time I did this, which was.... god September 2011. Will be broken up into the 2 halves, 1 for 2011 (5 shows), 1 for 2012 (10 shows for the 2 seasons). Part 2 (a different thread) will be previews of Summer 2012. So.....
2011 top 5 (Fall only):
5. Shakugan no Shana 3: They royally screwed up on the story (and China didn't get destroyed) but it was still pretty and the ending was close, so it gets on the list... barely. No synopsys, it's the third season, so if you don't know it, go watch the first 2.
4. Un-Go: A... weird detective show. It's follows a detective and his supernatural sidekicks solving cases. Decent story, good art and a couple really weird characters (specifically Inga) made this show a cool sleeper for me.
3. Persona 4: Surprisingly true to the game, which means tons of character development! Screwed this up in my last thread by confusing it with 3 (for some unknown reason) so no kids shooting themselves in the head, but awesome regardless. If you don't know what this is about, play the game, it's good (and long as hell).
2. Mirai Nikki: Blood, guts, murder, insane characters, decent art, fairly faithful adaptation and of course YUNO! Very good show. I summed this up in my last thread, but it's about 12 people participating in a battle to the death to become god (with future predicting phones!).
1. Fate Zero (Part 1): Art is amazing, story is.... typical Fate fair but that in and of itself is awesome! Easily the best show of the season. For those unfamiliar with the Nasuverse, the story revolves around 7 mages, who summon 7 heroic spirits (split into 7 classes, Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Beserker, Assassin and Caster) to fight to the death (usually of the mages). Last man standing get their hands on the ultimate prize, the wish granting Holy Grail (oh if things were that simple lol). I will spoil which hero is represented by each class if asked, but just watch it and learn for yourselves.
2012 Top 1 (Winter and Spring):
10. Saki - Achiga-hen, Episode of Side A: Ok only on the list cause I'm a huge Saki fanboy and can't leave it off the list. This is a side-story to the 2009 Saki anime, following the Achiga Girls School trying to reach the interhighschool finals in team mahjong. Essentially, it's got moe characters taking a game way too seriously for reasons such as friendship... but it's somehow VERY addicting.
9. Tasogare Otome x Amnesia: Supernatural ecchi comedy about a guy who meets his highschool's resident school ghost Yuuko. Follows the (often pointless) escapades to find Yuuko's lost memories of her life. It gets on the list because the theme song (Choir Jail) is awesome.
8. Tantei Opera Milky Holmes Season 2: CUTE!!!!! This show is overloaded with cuteness and for that reason alone it gets on the list. Watch season 1 to get what the show's about, mostly (loli moe) detectives being CUTE!
7. Highschool DxD: Don't judge me... this is a contender for the most peverted show this year (the other will be documented in the other thread). About a guy who dies, and is resurrected as a devil. Because this is peverted, every other devil in his troup is female, leading to the predictable. It's funny as hell.
6. Black Rock Shooter (TV): If it was longer than 8 episodes it would have been 2 or 3, but it's TOO SHORT!! Not going to bother with a description, BRS is pretty well known in anime circles.
5. Acchi Kocchi: Funny as all hell. It's based on a 4 koma manga about a group of friends and their (often comical) misadventures in highschool. Said misadventures are bloody hilarious.
4. Another: Horror anime following a guy who transfers into a new school, only to have calamity come to his class due to a curse that has wrecked havoc for 20 years. Very gory at times, especially with how some of the "accidents" are portrayed. Quite good, although sometimes predictable (especially near the end).
3. Nisemonogatari: Sequel to Bakemonogatari, if you want to know what that's about, watch it cause it's awesome. Covers the Karen Bee and Tsukihi Phoenix arcs. The sometimes off art style and random stories make this show a worthy successor to the first series.
2. AKB0048: The show I had the least hope for, which I only watched cause I give everything a chance turned out to be the biggest shock of the Spring, and probably this year. Given it's based, albeit VERY loosly, on real life idol group AKB48, this show got overlook by just about everyone. But Idols, mechas and SPACE somehow combined to make a pretty powerful drama with a ton of character development. Only drawback is the HORRENDOUS CG used for dancing scenes.
1. Fate/Zero (Second Part): Cop-out on this one. Fate/Zero was split into 2 seasons, one in the Fall of 2011, the other in the Spring of 2012. As such, it tops BOTH lists. Part 2 has the more memorable scenes, and contains all the good things from part 1. Just watch both, they're awesome!
Random shoutouts:
Haiyore! Nyarlko-san: HP Lovecraft would have a heart attack if he were alive and saw this. Takes his Ctuthulu (I'm sure I spelt that wrong) mythos and turns it into.... MOE and comedy! Funny, but not enough to make the list.
Moretsu Pirates: Based on the light novel Miniskirt Pirates, follows a highschool girl who becomes captain of a space pirate ship. Pretty funny, but serious when it needs to be. Good overall show.
2011 top 5 (Fall only):
5. Shakugan no Shana 3: They royally screwed up on the story (and China didn't get destroyed) but it was still pretty and the ending was close, so it gets on the list... barely. No synopsys, it's the third season, so if you don't know it, go watch the first 2.
4. Un-Go: A... weird detective show. It's follows a detective and his supernatural sidekicks solving cases. Decent story, good art and a couple really weird characters (specifically Inga) made this show a cool sleeper for me.
3. Persona 4: Surprisingly true to the game, which means tons of character development! Screwed this up in my last thread by confusing it with 3 (for some unknown reason) so no kids shooting themselves in the head, but awesome regardless. If you don't know what this is about, play the game, it's good (and long as hell).
2. Mirai Nikki: Blood, guts, murder, insane characters, decent art, fairly faithful adaptation and of course YUNO! Very good show. I summed this up in my last thread, but it's about 12 people participating in a battle to the death to become god (with future predicting phones!).
1. Fate Zero (Part 1): Art is amazing, story is.... typical Fate fair but that in and of itself is awesome! Easily the best show of the season. For those unfamiliar with the Nasuverse, the story revolves around 7 mages, who summon 7 heroic spirits (split into 7 classes, Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Beserker, Assassin and Caster) to fight to the death (usually of the mages). Last man standing get their hands on the ultimate prize, the wish granting Holy Grail (oh if things were that simple lol). I will spoil which hero is represented by each class if asked, but just watch it and learn for yourselves.
2012 Top 1 (Winter and Spring):
10. Saki - Achiga-hen, Episode of Side A: Ok only on the list cause I'm a huge Saki fanboy and can't leave it off the list. This is a side-story to the 2009 Saki anime, following the Achiga Girls School trying to reach the interhighschool finals in team mahjong. Essentially, it's got moe characters taking a game way too seriously for reasons such as friendship... but it's somehow VERY addicting.
9. Tasogare Otome x Amnesia: Supernatural ecchi comedy about a guy who meets his highschool's resident school ghost Yuuko. Follows the (often pointless) escapades to find Yuuko's lost memories of her life. It gets on the list because the theme song (Choir Jail) is awesome.
8. Tantei Opera Milky Holmes Season 2: CUTE!!!!! This show is overloaded with cuteness and for that reason alone it gets on the list. Watch season 1 to get what the show's about, mostly (loli moe) detectives being CUTE!
7. Highschool DxD: Don't judge me... this is a contender for the most peverted show this year (the other will be documented in the other thread). About a guy who dies, and is resurrected as a devil. Because this is peverted, every other devil in his troup is female, leading to the predictable. It's funny as hell.
6. Black Rock Shooter (TV): If it was longer than 8 episodes it would have been 2 or 3, but it's TOO SHORT!! Not going to bother with a description, BRS is pretty well known in anime circles.
5. Acchi Kocchi: Funny as all hell. It's based on a 4 koma manga about a group of friends and their (often comical) misadventures in highschool. Said misadventures are bloody hilarious.
4. Another: Horror anime following a guy who transfers into a new school, only to have calamity come to his class due to a curse that has wrecked havoc for 20 years. Very gory at times, especially with how some of the "accidents" are portrayed. Quite good, although sometimes predictable (especially near the end).
3. Nisemonogatari: Sequel to Bakemonogatari, if you want to know what that's about, watch it cause it's awesome. Covers the Karen Bee and Tsukihi Phoenix arcs. The sometimes off art style and random stories make this show a worthy successor to the first series.
2. AKB0048: The show I had the least hope for, which I only watched cause I give everything a chance turned out to be the biggest shock of the Spring, and probably this year. Given it's based, albeit VERY loosly, on real life idol group AKB48, this show got overlook by just about everyone. But Idols, mechas and SPACE somehow combined to make a pretty powerful drama with a ton of character development. Only drawback is the HORRENDOUS CG used for dancing scenes.
1. Fate/Zero (Second Part): Cop-out on this one. Fate/Zero was split into 2 seasons, one in the Fall of 2011, the other in the Spring of 2012. As such, it tops BOTH lists. Part 2 has the more memorable scenes, and contains all the good things from part 1. Just watch both, they're awesome!
Random shoutouts:
Haiyore! Nyarlko-san: HP Lovecraft would have a heart attack if he were alive and saw this. Takes his Ctuthulu (I'm sure I spelt that wrong) mythos and turns it into.... MOE and comedy! Funny, but not enough to make the list.
Moretsu Pirates: Based on the light novel Miniskirt Pirates, follows a highschool girl who becomes captain of a space pirate ship. Pretty funny, but serious when it needs to be. Good overall show.
