NeoGAF 2011 Anime of the Year Voting Thread - voting extended through January 22

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slaughterking said:
I'm not a close follower of AnimeGAF but I'm surprised I'm literally the only on to like Maria Holic S2. As a pretty solid Shaft show (well, that's how I see it!) I would think it would have at least gained the minimal amount of interest, but nobody else would lower themselves enough to even give a shit, haha.
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I enjoyed the first season, but I couldn't get into the second for some reason. Not that I disliked it, I just sort of forgot about it. It's in the pile with arakawa s2 of shows i want to finish but probably never will.
 
1. Gintama'
2. Tiger & Bunny
3. Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai
4. Level E
5. Usagi Drop
6. Gundam Unicorn
7. The Borrower Arrietty
8. Yondemasuyo, Azazel-san
9. Ben-to
10. The World God Only Knows II
 
Didn't take as long as I thought it would.

1 Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu!
2 Manyuu Hikenchou
3 Sengoku Otome: Momoiro Paradox
4 Working'!!
5 Fate/zero
6 Puella Magi Madoka Magica
7 Yuruyuri
8 Usagi Drop
9 Ben-To
10 Un-Go

Alright, this is the list narrowed down to what I actually watched. I'll edit it until a best of list later.

A-Channel
Bakuman. 2
Ben-To
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai
Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko
Fate/zero
Freezing
Hidan no Aria
Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi
Hourou Musuko
Kamisama Dolls
Kamisama no Memo-chou
Lotte no Omocha!
Manyuu Hikenchou
Mawaru Penguindrum
Mayo Chiki!
Mirai Nikki
Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu!
Moshidora
Nichijou
Onii-chan no Koto nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne!
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
R-15
Rio - Rainbow Gate!
Ro-Kyu-Bu!
Sacred Seven
Sengoku Otome: Momoiro Paradox
Softenni
Steins;Gate
The World God Only Knows II
Un-Go
Usagi Drop
Working'!!
Yuruyuri
 
There were more anime this year that was actually watchable (which was becoming rare recently) but not too many particularly great anime.

1. Colorful
2. Tiger & Bunny
3. Un-Go
4. Kaiji S2
5. Level-E
6. Hunter x Hunter
7. Hyouge Mono
8. Gundam Unicorn
9. Deadman Wonderland
10. Natsume Yuujinchou 3
 
#1 Mawaru Penguindrum

The most fun I've had watching a show from week to week since Code Geass probably. Fun characters and fun things happening usually.

#2 Idolmaster

In descending order, Makoto, Chihaya, Otonashi, Mami, Takane, Iori, Ami, Yayoi, Hibiki, Haruka, Azusa, Miki, Ritsuko, Yukiho.

The characters were pretty entertaining for what they are and the hijinks were pretty good and a lot of cute things happened. Enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting to.

#3 Chihayafuru

I think it's really well executed with nice characters besides Arata and it looks pretty.

#4 Usagi Drop

Super cute.

#5 Persona 4

I guess : ( It's basically just 'not bad enough' to quit watching. It has some genuinely entertaining moments amidst a lot of puzzling and disheartening moments.

Aaaand that's it.

Shows I will probably watch and most likely enjoy eventually-
Iroha
Fireball Charming
Ikoku Meiro no Croisee

Things I will probably watch and probably enjoy-
Steins:Gate
Infinite Stratos

Things I might watch and I don't even know-
Fate/Zero
Denpa Onna
Madoka
Nichijou
Tamayura
Working'!! + !
Redline
 
I wanted to make a list, but I saw that the deadline is January 8th, so I still have time (kinda) to watch Mawaru Penguindrum and Steins;Gate after I come back from my New Year celebration.

Fate/zero is number one though, and I'm sure it'll remain that way.
 
I am only listing shows that I have seen every episode that has been released this year, which turned out to be only 11 shows.

1. Steins;Gate
2. Fate/zero
3. Puella Magi Madoka Magica
4. Mawaru Penguindrum
5. Shinryaku!? Ika Musume
6. Working'!!
7. Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing
8. Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon
9. IS <Infinite Stratos>
10. Tiger & Bunny

The one other show that I watched that did not make this list is Guilty Crown. It is not horrible, but it was one of the few shows I had some expectations for and it has not met any of them.
 
Arcticfox said:
I am only listing shows that I have seen every episode that has been released this year, which turned out to be only 11 shows.

1. Steins;Gate
2. Fate/zero
3. Puella Magi Madoka Magica
4. Mawaru Penguindrum
5. Shinryaku!? Ika Musume
6. Working'!!
7. Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing
8. Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon
9. IS <Infinite Stratos>
10. Tiger & Bunny

.
Click to expand...

Nice to see horizon on lists.
 
1.) Steins;Gate- I'm not going to lie, I thought the plot of this show flowed much more coherently than Penguindrum. Although MPD was exhilarating, I felt that its conclusion did not live up to the mysteries it presented. I feel that

2.) Madoka

3.) Penguindrum

4.) Redline
 
  1. Un-Go
  2. Kamisama no Memo-chou
  3. Dantalian no Shoka
  4. Gosick
  5. Mardock Scramble: The First Compression
  6. Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail
  7. Tiger & Bunny
  8. Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?
  9. Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai.
  10. Hanasaku Iroha
 
Well there's still a few shows I'm catching up on but here's what I've got for now. (1-5 pretty much aren't changing as far as i'm concerned)

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10. Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing

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9. Persona 4 the Animation

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8. Gundam Unicorn

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7. Yondemasuyo, Azazel-san

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6. Hanasaku Iroha

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5. Fate/Zero

A very well done show even if I'm not a fan of the Fate/Stay stuff. The show started a bit slow with the first episode but it's definitely worth sticking around even just for Rider who's probably the manliest anime character of 2011. Definitely can't wait for this to continue in a few months.

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4. Mawaru Penguindrum

I loved this show even if it did have its flaws and it's usage of symbolism was a bit overbearing at times, in my opinion. Overall this was a ridiculous yet very enjoyable show that by the end I just got caught up so much in the characters and their story that the ending just got me good. It was beautiful. Also the music in this show is great.


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3. Steins;Gate

Okabe is probably my favorite protagonist in recent memory and he definitely helps carry the show. Dude is just a bundle of eccentric fun in a labcoat. I loved the characters, the setting and I just love time travel fiction in general.
I'm a sucker for a good romance and I thought the chemistry between Okabe and Kurisu was well done here especially since there's some closure at the end.
I'm almost kind of glad I waited so long to watch it since all the episodes are released and I wouldn't have to wait a week for a new one! I can't say there was a single episode I didn't like except for maybe the first which was just kinda a bit too much at once.

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2. Nichijou

This show is just pure genius. While it's definitely not gonna be everyone's cup of tea, some of the skits just worked perfectly for me. I haven't laughed so much in an anime for a long time and the great animation definitely helped out too. The absurdity of the show just works so great. And you gotta admit, the show is just soooo damn adorable at times.

dTpHM.png

1. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

This entire show was just one huge emotional rollercoaster for me. Okay yeah yeah while it doesn't necessarily bring anything new to the magical girl genre deconstruction but what this show does do, it does exceedingly well in my opinion. All of the characters introduced are just so memorable and how the show depicts their trials and experiences over the course of the show is really good. The end of the show is honestly one of my favorite endings in an anime ever. So great.


Also the series introduced Mami who's pretty much my like favorite designed character now.
i still <3 u headless mami


anyhow i'll edit this if i finish anything better before the 8th or whatevs
 
1. Gintama - I don't know how something can be so refreshing after 1000000 episode, but it is.
2. Puella Magi Madoka Magica
3. Level E
 
1) Hunter x Hunter
2) Freezing
3) Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai
4) Steins;Gate
5) SKET Dance
6) Tiger and Bunny
7) Fractale
8) Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi
9) Yumekui Merry
10) Cardfight!! Vanguard
 
This list feels very boring looking over it. Did I play it too safe by not securing a spot for Onii-chan no Koto?
No, that was probably a good decision.
I'm only including finished shows, stuff that's still running still has a lot to prove for the most part.


10. The iDOLM@STER - I feel strange putting this on the list at all. It is easily the most wildly inconsistent show of the year. Sometimes it's kind of funny. Sometimes it's kind of serious. In both settings, the show has hits and misses, but in the end the more dramatic parts were the higher highs of the series, but the series is simply marred by episodes that are outright bad, and humor that doesn't piece well into the rest of the series. Some of the jokes and exposition just feel outright lazy, but the show does enough right in other places to make me happy I stuck with the series.

9. Lupin III: Blood Seal - Eternal Mermaid - I guess I'm the only person who had much interest in this. I don't have much of a background with Lupin outside of Castle of Cagliostro, so I wasn't really expecting much here outside of Lupin being Lupin, and that's pretty much exactly what I got. There's a lot of well animated thievery antics here that are fun to follow and keep a snappy pace. There's a lot of double and triple crossing to keep things at least a little unpredictable, but the thing that surprised me the most was how many people just die. Dudes straight up get stabbed through the chest, shot, exploded, and the movie isn't afraid to show that stuff at all. For how comedic and charmingly campy it can sometimes be there's an underlying edge because of how straight the movie plays to the overwhelming amount of action and violence. This movie would probably be higher on my list, but the made for TV format can hurt the pace here at times, and the show can fall back on relying on the established nature of the characters that are so stock to the Lupin franchise. The ending also feels rather drawn out, but it's a strange necessity to wrap up some of the loose ends and justify the weird and crazy places the story goes, so that I find easier to forgive.

8. Dororon Enma-kun Meeramera - This show is unabashedly absurd on all fronts. It's so earnest in its personality that even its vulgarity often feels completely endearing, and the jokes managed to hit on a pretty consistent basis for me in part to how hard it was to imagine where the show would go next. Somehow the show spirals further and further into insanity through the entire course of the twenty-four episode series, climaxing in an unimaginably strange finale. Inexplicably, I feel like what would help this show most is a Spanish dub (but I don't speak any Spanish).

7. Yuruyuri - I feel bad for liking this show, so maybe the less said the better. It's sweet and heartwarming, funny, and feels more like it panders by presenting lesbianism rather than ever showing anything graphic. Well done for what it set out to do, and enjoyable throughout.

6. Kaiji Season Two - The premise of this show just works so well for me. Kaiji is just a down on his like guy pushed into taking extraordinary risks (often for those around him). I feel like the opening arc of season two is just the show hitting a perfect stride. Kaiji has descended into hell, plummets even further, and works to claw his way back out against stacked odds. The villain is a near and present threat who feels more human than the rest of the show's evil cast, and the problem solving at work here feels smart inside a small and logical boundary. Were that all of Kaiji S2 it would probably be my top show of 2011, but the Bog scenario is just wholly uninteresting to me. Kaiji is at it's best when the egos and psyches of the gamblers meet in combat, and the Bog serves as an inanimate device that disrupts this formula. Ichijo also just feels like a rather underwheling opponent for Kaiji this far into the series, and he never seems particularly dangerous or competent.

5. Madoka - Not necessarily the strongest execution here, but tonally Madoka really succeeds. It is intensely foreboding, and haunting in spite of its relative restraint when it comes to shock and horror. That's a pretty impressive accomplishment, particularly when the budget works to betray the show's potential. I wasn't particularly impressed with the later episodes, including the Homura and ending stuff, but conceptually and tonally the show appealed to me enough to overlook a lot of that stuff Madoka tried to do without really earning at the end.

4. REDLINE - I found it really easy to get into this movie. It's just packed with detail that all feels like a very unique product of passion. Each frame is so packed with stuff that it's one of the few things on this list I felt eager to watch again because I felt like I could walk away having seen a bunch of things I'd missed the first time around. It's pretty much everything I expect an action film to be, and it provides enough backstory to make things interesting without ever really getting caught up or bogged down in the specifics. What bugged me most though was that Redline just doesn't have a soundtrack that really packs the punch it needs to. Redline is an obscenely stimulating experience visually, but its audio just can't keep pace with it. Even though the arrangements seem fine, it feels more like background audio than something that has a life of its own, which is a real shame in respect to the rest of the product. Also, the ending kind of sucks and feels like they just had to cut things off when they ran out of money, but hey, I'm mostly just glad this thing ever got made and exists.

3. Usagi Drop - It's hard not to enjoy the themes at play here. Usagi Drop deftly handles the happiness that can come with sacrifice, particularly in regards to taking care of children. It's smart, mature, and a pleasure to watch. There are times when I wish it tried to reach for more, because in many ways I think the show plays things very safe, but I guess the worry there is that some of the charm might be tarnished. The ending kind of plays to this, where there isn't much of a resolution that can be reached because there is simply so much more that is left to be done. Still, the growth of the characters is enough to prove the worth of the story being told here, and because UD avoids taking any particularly risky strides it also never trips up.

2. Mawaru Penguindrum - I find my feelings about this show fairly conflicted. When it's firing on all cylinders it is, in fact, completely electrifying. It is doing other things amazingly well that most other animes don't give any thought to. In most other shows the backgrounds sit in a simple scenery, but here there is a remarkable attention to detail that makes the world feel like it matters. It probably helps that the shot composition is completely stunning most of the time. The plot is ambitious, the characters delightful, and there is a call for the viewer to get the gears in their head turning, and the show is conceptually deep enough to support that. I am completely enamored with the show just for these things, but I also find myself a little underwhelmed with some of the later episodes of the show. When things shift from being more personal stories to the abstract presentation of higher level concepts I find my investment in the story to diminish. It feels like an easy way out to deal with these more complex ideas rather than to have them simply integrated into the narrative. Still, I adore MPD completely. It satisfies me in ways no other anime has this year, so maybe I'm just being needy by wanting more.

1. Steins;Gate - This show kind of stands above everything else this year. Story is always the most important thing to me, and Steins;Gate consistently delivered in this area across its entire run. It is ambitious, but also knows its limits, and the scope of the story is well contained into what matters, and most everything touched on feels relevant or important. This can make it easier to trace where the story is going sometimes, but the way things play out is always logical and entertaining, and there are certainly still a number of surprises that the show delivers along the way. Strong characters also help carry the series along, who all play well to both the serious nature of the show and it's occasional lighthearted side.
 
Enjoyed quite a lot of shows. Kind of gotten back into anime this year so I spent some part of it watching old shows as well.

(Might shuffle this around a bit)

1. Yuru Yuri - My moé moment.
2. Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu! - More of one of my favourite 2010 shows. Cut short sadly. Find myself going back to it and noticing lots of little extra touches.
3. Yondemasuyo, Azazel-san - It was funny and felt fresh. Can't really fault it. Marshmallow DJ is the song in a show of the year.
4. iDOLM@STER - Only went in because GAF was making a big kerfuffle about it and was presented with a pleasant show. READY!! was my OP of the year.
5. Working'!! - Watched the first series as well this year so I guess this is a ranking for both.
6. Nichijou - A few dry moments knock this down. Gorgeous animation and energetic voice acting wee reason to keep watching.
7. Gintama' - This is only so low because it's been going for so long and I wanted to give some other shows a chance. A weekly treat.
8. Kaiji - Certainly gripping but dragged a bit too long for my taste. Preferred the pacing of underground arc.
9. Shinryaku!? Ika Musume - Not quite as good as the first series but fun none the less.
10. Usagi Drop - Something nice to end this list of cheap and cheerful comedies.

Honourable Mentions
Ben-To - Fun concept, plot of a bit iffy.
Mawaru Penguindrum - I kept me hooked I guess but I never really looked forward to each episode, I just kind of watched it to see what would happen.
Steins;Gate - Same as the above.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Well I watched this after it was broadcast so I missed all the speculation and what not.

Guess I was in a mood for light hearted shows this year.

Also watched
Blood-C - I should have listened to all the criticism. Thought it really couldn't be as bad as people said it was and I knew my friend had watched it so I wanted to see what he considered the "only show worth watching" of that season. Gave the impression that it was written as they went along with no one checking if they were keeping the fact straight.
C3: CubexCursedxCurious - I liked the visual style of it. That's about it.
Chihayafuru - Still going but I see this as being one of my favourites of 2012.
Double-J - Not even in OP's list. ED of the year at least.
Mirai Nikki - Well it's still going so it could be in my 2012 list. Already read the manga so I know how it ends.
Hyouge Mono - Only watched the first few episodes. Basically hoarding them since gaps between each release are unpredictable.
Nyanpire The Animation - Well it certainly was an entertaining way to waste five minutes each week. Used flash animation better than Double-J.
Seikon no Qwaser II - Much better than the first series if only because it threw away the ridiculous plot and simply focused on the only reason people would watch this show, tits. Also more Hana.

Thanks to this thread I've noted down a few shows I should get round to watching.
 
1. Kamisama Dolls - Kamisama Dolls was an incredibly well directed and produced show with funny, sad, and thrilling moments perfectly woven into its story. The sleeper and best anime of 2011 for me.

2. Puella Magi Madoka Magica - One of the best told stories in 2011.

3. Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai - There were good and bad moments, but the good ones were absolutely incredible.

4. Ao no Exorcist - It slowly started to lose momentum in the end, but the first 2/3rds were very entertaining and kept me involved until the end.

5. Hanasaku Iroha
6. Mawaru Penguindrum
7. Tiger & Bunny
8. Beelzebub
9. Working'!!
10. Freezing

Edit: I'm surprised at the lack of kamisama dolls votes, I guess the big tits girl must have turned a few people off?
 
1. Ben-to
2. Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere
3. Redline
4. Tiger & Bunny
5. Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail
6. Hellsing Ultimate VIII
7. Mayo Chiki
8. Mawaru Penguindrum
9. Fireball Charming
10. Beelzebub

Mardock Scramble was 2010? Don't know when the Blu-ray was released...
 
Dance In My Blood said:
8. Dororon Enma-kun Meeramera - This show is unabashedly absurd on all fronts. It's so earnest in its personality that even its vulgarity often feels completely endearing, and the jokes managed to hit on a pretty consistent basis for me in part to how hard it was to imagine where the show would go next. Somehow the show spirals further and further into insanity through the entire course of the twenty-four episode series, climaxing in an unimaginably strange finale. Inexplicably, I feel like what would help this show most is a Spanish dub (but I don't speak any Spanish).
Click to expand...

Oh shit, they made 12 more episodes!?
 
They didn't. I just did a quick list check and it turned out to be the original run from the 1970s. My bad, memory must just be failing me.
 
Infernodash said:
Edit: I'm surprised at the lack of kamisama dolls votes, I guess the big tits girl must have turned a few people off?
Click to expand...

I liked Kamisama Dolls, but it had several issues even besides Hibino's chest tumor. There was awkward direction at times, particularly in the first half, with forced out-of-place humor and fanservice, as well as inconsistent character art and a "read the manga" non-ending. What it had going for it was well-executed flashbacks and action, as well as a story and characters interesting enough to make me want to pick up the manga.
 
1. Fate/zero
2. Steins;Gate
3. Puella Magi Madoka Magica
4. Mawaru Penguindrum
5. Usagi Drop
6. The iDOLM@STER
7. Tiger & Bunny
8. Hanasaku Iroha
9. Tamayura ~Hitotose~
10. Sket Dance

HM:
Nichijou
Boku wa Tomodachi
Arrietty
Ben-To (first half only)
Ikoku Meiro
AnoHana
 
wsippel said:
1. Ben-to
2. Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere
3. Redline
4. Tiger & Bunny
5. Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail
6. Hellsing Ultimate VIII
7. Mayo Chiki
8. Mawaru Penguindrum
9. Fireball Charming
10. Beelzebub

Mardock Scramble was 2010? Don't know when the Blu-ray was released...
Click to expand...

It was in Japanese theatres Nov 2010 and the DVD/BD wasn't released in Japan until 9 months later in August 2011, the wait is going to be just as long for the second combustion and the third exhaust.
 
1. Steins gate
2. Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san
3.Level E
4.Toriko
5.Redline
6.kaji
7.hunter x hunter( not as good as the original but it&#8217;s hunter x hunter baby!)
8.fate zero( great show when it wants to be)
9.blacklagoon Roberta blood trail( 3 amazing episodes 1 good, the last one didn&#8217;t happen)
10.nichijo (so much charm love the art and animation)
 
wsippel said:
1. Ben-to
2. Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere
3. Redline
4. Tiger & Bunny
5. Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail
6. Hellsing Ultimate VIII
7. Mayo Chiki
8. Mawaru Penguindrum
9. Fireball Charming
10. Beelzebub

Mardock Scramble was 2010? Don't know when the Blu-ray was released...
Click to expand...

What the fuck at number 2. I am only at ep 5 but still man. So far that anime has been a mind fuck of garbge. Its like someone shit on a pice of paper and went "well there's the plot. Now someone draw the story board."
 
icarus-daedelus said:
1. ~We Without Wings~
2. Aria season 4 - the Scarlet Ammo
3. Lotte no Omocha
4. Yuru Yuri
5. Manyuu Hikenchou
6. Fractale
7. Infinite Stratos
8. Seikon no Qwaser II
9. A-Channel
10. THE 1D0LM@S7ER
11. Fractale
12. Infinite Stratos
13. Sengoku Otome

Had a hard time narrowing it down to 10 this year DX
Click to expand...

Maybe if you only put Fractale down once it would help! ;p

Interesting to see We Without Wings at #1. I probably should have put it on my list in retrospect, but just so many shows... ~.~
 
icarus-daedelus said:
1. ~We Without Wings~
2. Aria season 4 - the Scarlet Ammo
3. Lotte no Omocha
4. Yuru Yuri
5. Manyuu Hikenchou
6. Fractale
7. Infinite Stratos
8. Seikon no Qwaser II
9. A-Channel
10. THE 1D0LM@S7ER
11. Fractale
12. Infinite Stratos
13. Sengoku Otome

Had a hard time narrowing it down to 10 this year DX
Click to expand...

Seikon no Qwaser II? Maybe if 5 or so episodes are not counted.
 
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