Top 10 (or 11) Anime of 2011

[Avvesione]

Just finished up a post with my top 11 anime of 2011 and thought I'd ask the same here, just to see what everyone else thought of the past year.

http://avvesione.wordpress.com/2012/...-final-review/

Just curious to see what people thought of this past year and where they rank their favorites compared to me. For an easier version to see, here's mine:

11 Persona 4
10 Shinryaku!? Ika Musume
9 Working'!!
8 AnoHana
7 Mawaru Penguindrum
6 Wandering Son
5 C The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
4 UN-Go
3 Usagi Drop
2 Steins;Gate
1 Puella Magi Madoka Magica

What are the top anime of 2011 for you?

[Gulkeeva]

hmmm

1. boku wa tomodachi ga sukuna
1. Mirai Nikki
2. Fate Zero
3. Puella Magi Madoka Magica
3. Tiger & Bunny
4. Ben-To
5. Mayo CHiki
5. Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?
6. Hen Semi
7. R-15

[meeeeeep]

I'm not sure how I would rank them aside from my favourite this year, so in no particular order:

Ben-To
Fate/Zero
Steins;Gate
Tiger & Bunny
UN-GO
Madoka
Dantalian no Shoka

Favourite this year goes to Horizon.

[Silenka]

Depends too much on what you've watched, man I can't even remember what was in 2011.

Included are definitely Madoka, Tiger & Bunny, Usagi Drop, fate/zero and Penguindrum for me. I haven't seen a lot of the good anime this year yet so I can't comment on those =/ none of the others had quite the impact on me that those 5 did though unless I'm forgetting a big one.

[Zilong]

Madoka's definitely on top, but the other memorable anime in no particular order are as followed

Stein's Gate, Un-Go, Haganai, C, Denpa Onna, Penguin Drum, F/Z, Baka S2, P4

Gonna pre-empt Nisemonogatari for 2012 if SHAFT doesn't drop the ball, because everything about it so far seem to be nothing short of fucking amazing

[Pharaun]

Didn't watch a ton of shows this year, but my top 5 would be

1. Steins;Gate
2. Usagi Drop
3. Tiger & Bunny
4. Un-Go
5. Ben-To

Honorable Mentions for Fate/Zero and Dantalian no Shoka.

[Elcura]

Hard to put a number on these.

Madoka
Steins;Gate
Tiger and Bunny
UN-GO
Usagi Drop
Mawaru Penguindrum
P4
AnoHana
Haganai
Working!!

Too lazy to do honourable mentions. But it's been a great year.

[Silenka]

Oh damn I forgot about Ano Hana...yeah that one deserves a spot

[Judai]

Still catching up on shows but so far:

1. Steins;Gate
2. Madoka
3. AnoHana
4. Fate/Zero
5. Mirai Nikki
6. Tiger & Bunny
7. C
8. Last Exile Fam
9. Kore wa Zombie desu ka?
10. Denpa Onna

Still catching up on Persona 4, Working!!, Penguindrum, Nichijou but it looks like from these lists there are others I need to watch too. Probably non-stop anime for the month until classes start again. Have like 15 shows on my list atm, including stuff I missed the last couple years.

[Rivero]

1. Usagi Drop
2. Ano Hana
3. Chihayafuru
4. Madoka
5. Working!
6. C
7. Mawaru Penguindrum
8. Mirai Nikki

Rest has been pretty meh.

[Man0warr]

1. Usagi Drop
2. Haganai
3. Ano Hana
4. Working 2
5. Chihayafuru
6. Fate/Zero
7. Mayo Chiki
8. Hanasaku Iroha

[hey]

In general order of best-ish, to not best-ish, +/- 3 spots:

usagi drop
ano hana
madoka
hanasaku iroha
nichijou
kore ha zombie desuka
haganai
gosick
a-channel
yuru yuri
denpa onna

edit: forgot nichijou.

[Correction]

Kinda wish people would list their reasons behind their picks. I can guess at Gulk's but...I was hoping for more substantial recommendations out of this thread since I tend to go on anime binges rather than keep up with regular fansub releases. I only watched two anime start-finish this year and only one of them came out in 2011. Nichijou certainly delivered on the comedy and was fun for its most offbeat moments. Wound up hating certain characters though for their complete lack of a development arc.

[Judai]

A little more info without any massive spoilers for you, hopefully it helps a little.

Spoiler: show

1. Steins;Gate - Loved the characters, development and story. Just fantastic story and twists.
2. Madoka - I was a little iffy on this show tbh until we found out Homura's secret, and then it was amazing.
3. AnoHana - Funny/cute show and again, great character development and fantastic ending.
4. Fate/Zero - Good action so far and I just have a love for mythology so the entire premise of amazing heros/adventurers/villians fighting each other is great.
5. Mirai Nikki - Yuno is the reason I watch it, she is so adorable and then turns super psycho, it's just fun to watch. Yuki is a little annoying so far though.
6. Tiger & Bunny - Good action and Kotetsu was great, the other characters were a little boring though, I wish they had more with Lunatic though and I didn't care for the ending.
7. C - Interesting anime with some cool fights and it made you think a little.
8. Last Exile Fam - Enjoying it so far but it's been pretty light-hearted even though it's during a war.
9. Kore wa Zombie desu ka? - Thought it was going to be terrible but it was a fun action anime
10. Denpa Onna - cute story but will probably drop off the list once I watch some of the other anime I haven't caught up on.

watching Nichijou atm and it's fun even though I don't see any real story arc yet, only 5 episodes in though.

[Kaylia]

My brain doesn't allow me to order items that have no clear numerical value associated to them, so I'm just going to post a list of 10 animes I don't regret watching.


- Madoka: My love for stories that take a particular genre and spin it around is considerable. Madoka achieved that by taking the Magical Girl genre and turning it into some psychological horror...or something like this. I'm still not quite sure what genre describe it the best, but there is one thing I'm certain of, it delivered one of most interesting and clever story of 2011. On top of this, Shaft's animation team was on fire and produced some of the best visual candies I've seen (Sayaka's 2D battle come to mind as one of my favorite action sequences ever). And did I mention Yuki Kajiura? That alone would have been a valid reason to endure 12 episodes of the worst animes ever.

-Stein's Gate: Being a mad physicist myself, I couldn't help it but fall in love with the show! While I could nitpick a few elements or decisions, it delivered a very satisfying time traveling story that doesn't leave any significant plot holes (something that can't be said about this genre usually). The suspense was great, especially when things start to pickup around the halfway point.


-Penguindrum: Like Stein;Gates and Madoka, this show gave me a great deal of contents to think over every weeks. I wasn't just watching a normal story, I was looking at a puzzle slowly unfolding in front of me, and the challenge was to solve it before it end. That kind of show that are heavy on symbolism aren't for everyone, but in my case, they always rank up very high. There is a reason why Lost is my favorite TV show, and Xenosaga is my favorite rpg. I wouldn't say Penguindrum is my favorite animes, but damn, if more animes could be like this, I wouldn't complain. Other than that, Penguindrum had some of the best visual I've seenthis year, and the music was pretty damn good as well. I couldn't really ask for more.

-UN-GO: When it started, I said something along the line "interesting concept, but poorly used". When it ended, I was crying for more. Most animes tend to have great first episode, but fail somewhere along the way after resorting to anime tropes and cliches. Un-go did not fall in that trap, and provided us with some of the most interesting "detective story" I've seen since Death Notes. If this show had a single flaw, it would be its slow start, because I enjoyed about everything else.


-Ano Hana: Bittersweet tears...what else could I say? If this story doesn't make you warm inside, you must be a terrible person or something. The plot isn't particularly original (wasn't really the point of the show either), but it's very well done drama.

-Usagi Drop : Remember when animes weren't about fanservice? I don't, but if such time existed, it probably looked like this. Usagi Drop defines the word "slice of life" for me, even if that label often means something different. Unlike other show of the genre, it actually took meaningful "slices" of a kid's life and presented them in a very heartwarming way. If you're looking for a solid story, it might not be for you (even if the narrative are still solid and believable), but it had to be one of the most relaxing show I watched.

-Nichijou: Because I'm not a great fan of pure comedy, adding Nichijou to a "top X animes" list say a lot about its quality. I don't believe this kind of absurd and random humors is for everyone, many anime fans prefer "otaku humor" (fast paced slapstick humor that revolve around anime trope and fanservice), but I just can't get tired of it. In the end, Nichijou made me smiles more than any other animes, and it did that while maintaining some of the best animations this years.

Ran out of time to write, I will complete this post later

-Kyousogiga: If animes could be diagnosed with ADD, this one would most definitively have it. It was beautiful, it was crazy and fast paced (FLCL style), and there was a ton of small details to pick on the way. It was only one episode, and we could consider it a 2012 animes since it aired so late in the year, but it's easily one of my favorite

Break Blade: I wrote about it not too long ago, but it's easily one of my favorite series that ended this year. The animation was beautiful, the music was great, the fights were fun to watch. It's not particularly original (typical medieval mecha anime), but the story was well done regardless. It also get bonus point from reminding me of Xenogears (mostly the part in Aveh kingdom).


I realize that I have 10 series, but Chihayafuru, Persona 4, and C: money and soul could have made it to that list as well. It really just depends what mood I'm in.

[Elcura]

Madoka: At first it seems like a typical magical girl series, but it has a nice darkness to it that takes a while to fully develop. The characters are good considering the genre, and even if the main character is the most typical aspect of the show, it's actually a good thing because of the contrast. The rest of the characters are fun and interesting to watch, and I never got bored of watching them. The visuals are amazing, the music is great and the story develops nicely after the half way point.

Steins;Gate: I was entirely apprehensive because of how much I hated Chaos;Head, but luckily this had nothing to do with that show. It starts off with an interesting concept, and while time travel stories tend to be really confusing, this one was pretty straight forward and easy to understand. The characters are great and work well together, the thing I loved most was seeing the state of the main character over the course of the series. He really changes and it's refreshing to see such growth and believable determination.

Tiger and Bunny: I loved the concept from the start. It's an interesting twist on superheroes, and feels a lot more like an American show than a Japanese one (though obviously, it's not). The main characters really work together and while the side/extra characters don't get much development, they usually get enough to not make them irrelevant. The story picks up around episode 8 and continues until the end with little divergence and it ends well enough. The fighting and animation is better than I expected and it's pretty clever too, definitely not boring and it's never too easy. There's a season 2 coming or so I heard, so I look forward to that. I loved the hell out of this anime despite it not being perfect.

UN-GO: Started off as a nice watch with a flawed concept and failed storytelling (at least the first episode failed to draw me in, but luckily I rarely drop anything after 1 episode). Something about the show rubbed me wrong, but the design and characters were interesting enough to keep me watching until Kazamori joined. And holy shit, did things get so much better when it did. Storytelling got a lot more interesting and suddenly the concept started getting good (or making more sense with how the show was going on).

Usagi Drop: Heart warming story about a guy who adopts a 6 year old girl. There isn't much to say, but if you like touching stories this is one of the best. Great characters and beautiful art style.

Mawaru Penguindrum: I said a bit about this in other topic, but I loved the art style in this, along with the crazy animation and weird music. The characters are more or less annoying depending on the situation, but it's nothing that ever made me want to stop watching. Certain characters become a lot more likeable over the course and some become less etc. It's a very, very strange story that makes no sense when you start, but sooner or later things fall into place and everything becomes clear. There's a lot of direction and symbolism in this series, along with humour and some fucked up scenes, but it's all so stylish and interesting to see.

P4: If you liked the game, chances are you'll like the anime (though I'm pretty sure Correction has played P4). If not, it's a good murder mystery with some action, humour and slice of life. Music is fantastic, the pacing is more or less good (more good than less), and the throwbacks to the game are a lovely touch. It's still on-going though, but bias put it on the list anyway.

AnoHana: Basically the opposite of Usagi Drop, it's heart warming in some sense, but it's mostly just a tear jerker and sad. Still a great story though it is more of a drama than Usagi Drop. Probably not fair to compare the two, but I do anyway.

Haganai: I liked the manga already, but the show was a great adaptation with enough comedy in it to make me smile. It's fresh on my mind though, so this will probably get replaced. Either way, funny story with ecchi elements and good characters.

Working!!: A lot funnier than the last season and the characters have grown on me even more. The dynamics are perfect and each character has their own share of funny scenes to have with other characters. It's basically how I felt about School Rumble, where it isn't funny unless you like the characters, and season 2 certainly did that (though really they only had to try with Inami).

Can't believe I forgot Nichijou.

[Maguspk]

If you haven't seen Nichijou or Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, you need to download them, disconnect your internet, and watch them, right now.

[Gulkeeva]

hmmm

(1)1. boku wa tomodachi ga sukuna
(2)1. Mirai Nikki
(3)2. Fate Zero
(4)3. Puella Magi Madoka Magica
(5)3. Tiger & Bunny
(6)4. Ben-To
(7)5. Mayo CHiki
(8)5. Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?
(9)6. Hen Semi
(10)7. R-15

Why I chose the above anime (and not just because its all ecchi!)

Spoiler: show

1. Reminded me of when I lived in japan, when I was young, I used to play with the girl next door, at a local park, we went to the same school for several years. My grand parents were friends with the them. We made some promise long ago... but one day I had to move, and could never tell her. Years later going back, the house she was in was gone ;/

2. Great action and different from most anime I've seen. Its like code geass where you "know" somethings going to happen... because you can read it but its changed at the last min to give you a surprise. having psycho girl in there is a nice touch.

3. Great action series, it sort of reminds me of hunter X hunter how they explain some stuff. Liking the "psycho" guy thing too (i blame mirai nikki) for random violence .

4. This one surprised me. I almost didn't watch it at first since most of the beginning was "school girl life" type thing, but the dark side of the anime really picked up. Really kept you on the edge at times to what may happen next.

5. Great mystery anime. The special powers really played out well in making a great mystery type anime, instead of just an all out "who can overpower who" it came down to thinking things out. Theirs no "WTF you killed my parents.. BANKAI" *obliterates everyone*

6. Surprise action anime. Seemed like a ikkitousen duplicate but it went more storyline mode then people needing to beat the crap out of each other just because they were there for the most part. The ecchi scenes were pretty awesome too

7. Other then great fanservice... I like catgirls, I could not resist! *ahem* The guy sort of reminds me of me, as I am irl, pretty shy around new people and till I get to know them somewhat avoid them also or try to!

8. Girls trying to get with him, girls trying to kill him and the off the wall random funny moments make this great. Although it may take a bit to get used to, its pretty hilarious at some parts. Although the guy wearing a mahou shojo costume was kinda wtf O_o

9. Even if you see it all... always something new and creative "ecchi things" to see. Hen Semi really takes it to a whole new level of ecchi things to be doing and detailing it out. The do's and don't s of ecchiness!

10. R-15... pretty close to R-18 if you ask me! Pretty good decent passtime ecchi anime. Hey gotta have "one of those" on the list!

[xElipsis]

I didn't really watch many shows in 2011 but I was able to count up 11 lol

Anyway here is my list:

11. Madoka
10. Kimi ni Todoke s2
9. Mawaru Penguindrum
8. Kami Nomi s2
7. AnoHana
6. Baka Test s2
5. Boku wa Tomodachi
4. Steins;Gate
3. Usagi Drop
2. Working'!!
1. Fate/Zero

I figured everyone was including Anime that finished in 2011. If not, Gintama' would probably be number 1 and Chihayafuru would be on there somewhere as well. Both really great shows.

[SamanosukeShiva]

havent even watch 10 different anime during 2012 lol..

So far only watched 3 and i like them a lot

1. Steins;gate
2. Ao no Exorcist
3. Chihayafuru