Renn’s 2011 Year In Review

2011 marks my first year of watching anime weekly. Looking at the lists for years past, I’m pretty lucky to have come to blogosphere this year because this was the best year for anime in a while.

According to MAL, I finished a little over 30 2011 TV series this year. I liked about twenty of them. I won’t waste much time on the other shows, but I want to talk about all the shows I did like. It’s too much of a pain to make a top 20 list, so, I’ve made a top 5 list of my favorite TV shows and divided the rest into two major categories: one-cour and two-cours.

Also, this post only covers shows that finished. Chihayafuru, Mirai Nikki, Last Exile – The Silver Wing, and Hunter x Hunter are a lot of fun, but this year is proof that any series may have an asspull ending in the works. And yes, I realize Fate/Zero technically “finished” its first season, but I’d rather grant it full accolades at the end of 2012. The best part of that series is yet to come.

No spoilers, no repeats. Hit it!

ONE COUR (11-13 EPISODES)

6: Level E kicked off a very good year for David Productions, and Ben-To sealed the deal. On my first try, I barely made it halfway through the first episode, but strong word-of-mouth convinced me to try it again. No regrets even though it derailed in the second half. This show is stupid, but the comedy caters completely to my tastes. Fighting shounen, food, and zettai ryouiki. Oh, yeah.

5: Ikoku Meiro no Croisee is the first of three dramas on this list. Drama is far from my favorite genre, but it was a great year for it. Anyway, Ikoku Meiro no Croisee is a sweet, cross-cultural charmer about a Japanese girl living in 18th-century France. It doesn’t do much besides develop its characters and show off its background art, but it does both of those things beautifully.

4: [C] The Money of Soul and Possibility of Control is an allegory for real-world economics by use of sublime action and adventure. Too bad it wasn’t sure if it wanted to be a serious discussion of economics or a sophisticated Yu-Gi-Oh knockoff. But it’s still an interesting show, and in hindsight, it should have embraced the knockoff route. The final fight is among the best of the year.

3: If I had one problem with Usagi Drop, it’d be the discrepancy between its realistic acting and its silly anime melodrama. The premise is dumb: a thirty-year-old man adopts a seven-year-old who is the child of his grandfather’s lover, so possibly his aunt? Yeah, okay. But then Daikichi and Rin interact, and all is right in this heartwarming world. This show is simple, but very relatable and moving.

2: Much like Ghost in the Shell, Un-Go is high-concept but still accessible. Every detail counts towards unraveling the mysteries: a girl puts on her dress, a man leans against thin air, and so on. But the best part is the social commentary, which encompasses everything from censorship to solitude to war. The pacing is a bit rushed at times, and the direction is awkward, but this is still the smartest show of 2011.

1: Hourou Musuko isn’t half as accessible as Usagi Drop, but it’s just as good, if not better. Like Usagi Drop, it’s a low-key anime drama, and even moreso than Usagi Drop, it transforms its characters, not just their circumstances but their core. If I were qualified to pick a “critic’s choice,” this would be a top contender.

Other: Level E, Tamayura ~hitotose~

TWO COURS (22-26 EPISODES)

3: There weren’t that many great longer series this year, and I missed Nichijou and the IdolM@ster. But as a fighting shounen fanboy, I feel compelled to put in Ao no Exorcist. Sure, it derailed into a cheesefest at the end, but it had a great animation and execution of the fighting shounen tropes I love.

2: Star Driver is clocking in second? Yeah, this was not a great year for double length shows. That said, I like Star Driver. It has top-notch production values, a lot of ambition, and a lot of fun. If it had cut its cast in half (and concentrated more on Mizuno, uh huh), it could have been a bonafide hit, but as is, it’s a supreme dose of fabulous max.

1: Were it not for Hanasaku Iroha, I would have skipped this two-cour section. But I really like that show and wanted to give it some recognition in my yearly review. It has too many dull episodes between its dramatic climaxes to land on my favorites list, but when it hits, it really hits. It has one of my favorite endings of the year (though this is the worst year for endings), and hey, the girls are always hot.

Other: Gosick

A TALE OF TWO, ER THREE, SEQUELS

Since this was my first year of watching anime weekly, I only watched two sequels, and they were both worth powering through the original for. Kimi ni Todoke 2 is a sweet, if silly, shoujo. The main pair are endearing enough that they can continually try your patience. Natsume Yuujinchou San is as good as anything else that aired this year. Looking forward to the fourth season, coming in about two weeks or so. Also want to mention that the only sequel I regret missing is Kaiji’s. I’ve watched the first few episodes and like it, but dang, it’s painful to watch.

5 SHOWS OF YEAR

I think all the above anime are good, but only five made my year. I wouldn’t say these shows are the “best” of the year; IMO, that list wouldn’t be complete with Natsume Yuujinchou San, Usagi Drop, Un-Go, and Hourou Musuko. But the following shows were the most involving for me. These are the shows where I waited, with great anticipation, for the release of the next episode. These are the shows I spent hours searching on Pixiv for. These are the shows where I got emotionally invested in the characters and plot. And yeah, I’d still argue most of these are very good.

5: In a way, Tiger & Bunny is Hanasaku Iroha’s opposite: T&B nails the build-up “filler” episodes, but falters on its climaxes. But unlike Hanasaku Iroha, the majority of Tiger & Bunny’s episodes are a blast. Sure, this is the type of show where a father will save his daughter from a shrine that’s going to slide down a cliff in a thunderstorm just when his superhero power runs out and just when the batteries in her phone die, but I live for that colorful, bombastic camp. I’m looking forward to the trilogy movies and am relieved Sunrise didn’t pursue the second season route (for now).

4: Ano Hi Mita Hana wo Bokutachi ga Mada Shiranai touched my soul, and those who hate it are heartless. That’s what I’d like to say, but yeah, those last two episodes are a directorial mess. Still, AnoHana has all the elements of classic, juicy dramas: a colorful cast, ridiculous romantic entanglements, a sublime angle, and the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Stellar production values also help. No, it doesn’t have the finesse of Usagi Drop nor the playfulness of Hanasaku Iroha, but I was never bored with AnoHana, and I’m only slightly ashamed to proclaim it my favorite drama of the year.

3: Steins;Gate is what I think of when I think “typical good anime.” That doesn’t meant it’s your average anime. So many anime want to be Steins;Gate, but they never achieve that witty dialogue, those likable characters, that rewarding level of planning. Steins;Gate never tries to be art, but it takes all those cliche anime elements–the accessibility, the hair colors, the drama, the talking heads, the harem set-up, the moe–and makes them work. Steins;Gate can walk proud with anime like Code Geass, Toradora, and Higurashi as one of those typical good anime that’s anything but typical.

2: Mawaru PenguinDrum came close to usurping my number one show. Up to episode 13, I considered it my favorite show of the year with its intrigue, social commentary, and top-notch direction. Then Ikuhara realized he was making too much sense and pulled a “shocking” asspull after another “shocking” asspull, until even I got sick of the she’s-dead-no-she’s-not, he’s-bad-no-he’s-not, she’s-a-man-no-she’s-not, INCEST FOR THE WIN. But Mawaru Penguindrum never stops trying to be different. It never stops trying to astound you. The ambition doesn’t quite pay-off, but in this case, the ambition is rewarding in-and-of itself. And fabulous max, those penguins are awesome.

1: But in the end, nothing beats Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. It’s the first show I watched weekly, and I doubt I would still be watching anime weekly if my first hadn’t been such a gripping one. Now, I’ve watched Madoka Magica three times at this point, and I do think it’s a bit overhyped. I don’t like the ending, and Urobuchi’s dialogue can be dull and a bit pretentious (Shinbo’s artistic direction, however, is spot-on). Still, I remember all the memes and fanart and the speculation. I remember staying up all night, waiting for spoilers on the final episodes, and the episodes aired noon, my time. Even if I’ll never re-live those moments, I’ll never forget that feeling.

Thanks for reading, everyone, and sincerely hope you all have very happy holidays. This won’t be the last 2011 review you’ll see on this site–we have a few group projects planned, and I know at least Tofu will do a top 10–but this is it from just me. Let’s hope for an even better 2012!

For more thoughts on this year as a whole, here’s the directory for my Twelve Moments in Anime project. Moments 1, 4, and 6 (and to an extent, 8) are series specific, but the rest cover my favorite movies/OVAs, episodes, relationships, characters, staff, and OP/ED sequences for the year.

1 Franchise
2 Movies and 3 OVAs
4 Fight Scenes
5 ED Sequences
6 Survival Strategies
7 Ships
8 Noitamina
9 OP Sequences
10 Episodes
11 Studios
12 Characters

On a final note, what were your favorite anime this year? Feel free to plug yourself. Yearly reviews are my favorite kinds of posts.

Image Credit: Header, Tiger & Bunny, AnoHana, Steins;Gate, Mawaru Penguindrum, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, Ender

/ 8 Commentsleave a comment /

• Gene says:

  December 28, 2011

  Props for mentioning Hourou Musuko as your drama pick. One of my top shows of the year.
  My recent post The 2012 Winter Season Preview

  Reply
  • Renn says:

    December 29, 2011

    Thanks! :D It's definitely one of the best shows this year.

    Reply
• foomafoo says:

  December 28, 2011

  We share the same opinion about Aoex. It was such a trainwreck. I am criticizing it regardless of the manga, and yet it really feels weak. I'd have to say that Denpa Onna is also one of those nice one cour anime (despite the weak finale).

  I agree with your top 4, haha but I just don't like T&B. I wasn't that enticed by the plot nor to its characters.

  Where's Fate/Zero btw? haha

  Reply
  • Renn says:

    December 29, 2011

    The good thing about Ao no Exorcist is that we'll likely see a faithful manga remake of it when the manga finishes (I'm very fond of the manga). That seems to be the rage these days. :)

    Fate/Zero would be three or four on the list, but I don't consider it finished. It'll definitely be in the top five next year, unless 2012 is the best year for anime ever.

    Reply
• jGLZA says:

  December 29, 2011

  Gosh I really love the images that you find your posts.
  Happy you gave Hanasaku Iroha some love too, was milestone show for me as I don’t normally watch slice-of-life shows, I’m more of a Mecha/Sports person but I really loved that show.

  Shameful plug: Year in Pictures/Screenshots – http://brianandrew.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/12-days-of-anime-final-year-in-pictures/

  Reply
  • Renn says:

    December 30, 2011

    Thank you!! I spend a lot of time looking for them, so I'm glad someone likes them. xD

    Hanasaku Iroha is a neat one. It's a great "starter" drama for the not so drama inclined.

    Reply
• trzr23 says:

  December 30, 2011

  Yea, seriously, where do you find these images…

  Waiting for the final two episodes of Madoka to air was definitely a great experience. People shut themselves off Twitter, didn't go to forums and didn't read blog posts of the last two episodes because they didn't want to get even the faintest hint of a spoiler. Regardless of how much I enjoyed the show, the 'sphere was buzzing and there was excitement all around. There was an explosion of posts right after episode 3 and things didn't die down well until 3 weeks after the final episodes airing. Great time to be an anime blogger.

  Steins;Gate can walk proud with anime like Code Geass, Toradora, and Higurashi as one of those typical good anime that’s anything but typical.
  Well said, mate :)

  My recent post Anime Awards 2011: Best Female Character

  Reply
  • Renn says:

    December 31, 2011

    Pixiv! I was thinking of writing a guide to navigating Pixiv and posting it here. Although most of the good stuff can be found on danbooru or zerochan.

    I was the opposite–I had to know what happened immediately (I'm a spoiler whore). I looked everywhere for instant summaries while I watched it live because I had no idea what they were saying. But the aftermath was awesome. All those posts really made my year, anime wise.

    Merci! :)

    Reply