So after the best 2011 anime lists I posted a few days back, I guess it's time to make the customary entry about my top 10 anime of 2011, ranked solely on how much I enjoyed the show as a whole. To be honest it was rather hard for me to rank some of this year's contenders because there are so many series that I love and I couldn't fit all into my top 10 ranking, while some others gave me about the same watching pleasure. I might even say that those ranked no.3 to 7 in the list below are equally entertaining to me, and in other day could well be a few place above or below the others.
Honorable mention: Gosick
MAL/Official site
Season: Winter 2010/2011
Studio Production: Bones
Genre: mystery, drama
Number of Episodes: 24
Comments: Of all series with "mild" detective elements that I've watched last year (Gosick, Kamisama Memochou, Dantalian no Shoka, Un-Go), Gosick was the one that I enjoyed the most, although I wouldn't really call it a deep detective show because most of the cases revolved around logic rather than technical complexity posed (eg tricks to commit crime and create alibi etc), plus near the end of the series, there's barely any detective play involved. The good thing I could say about the series though is the way most previous cases (Seyrun village, the African alchemist Leviathan, the King’s murder…) eventually came together in the final arc, ending the series nicely and most importantly, a happy ending. Really love it, especially the scenes after the final credit rolled. A silver-haired Victorique looked strange though. Barely missed out on my top 10 spot.
10.Yondemasu yo Azazel-san
MAL/Official site
Season: Spring 2011
Studio Production: Production I.G.
Genre: comedy, supernatural
Number of Episodes: 12
Comments: Actually I had a hard time deciding whether to pick Yondemasuyo Azazelsan, Gosick or Ikoku Meiro no Croisee into my top 10 ranking because I definitely enjoyed all three and thought all of them deserved a spot. In the end, I decided to choose Yondemasuyo Azazelsan simply because I haven't watched a series as shit funny as this in a long time. Mitsudomoe and its sequel were funny, but Azazelsan gave something different - something you'd expect from a gag show. I had a crazy laugh in each and every episode no thanks to the stupid-looking demons in the series and their antics. Seriously one the best comedy show I’ve ever watched since Mitsudomoe and Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan.
9. Denpa Onna to Seishhun Otoko
MAL/Official site
Season: Spring 2011
Studio Production: SHAFT
Genre: comedy, seinen
Number of Episodes: 12
Comments: Denpa Onna is one of the only two SHAFT show that I've watched in 2011 (the other being Maria Holic Alive), and the studio delivered again, that time with a world of strangeness attached to the story. The main premise of the show is simple - youth, weird girls and youth point; and throughout the show we were mostly treated with loads moeness, enhanced by SHAFT's great animation. I wish the final episode (technically episode 12, aired on tv) would be more meaningful though, and although it didn't matter much, I did feel intrigued by Erio's disappearance and Meme's life before Niwa arrived, which in the end weren’t touched as much in the anime.
p/s: one of those few series that took me more than half an hour to finish each episode (rather than the usual 20+ minutes) because of the constant pausing...
8. Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai
MAL/Official site
Season: Spring 2011
Studio Production: A-1 Pictures
Genre: drama
Number of Episodes: 11
Comments: The series started out rather flat (literally and figuratively), with decent animation and modest drama. But then the plot started to pick itself midway through which saw all those 5 friends (Jintan, Anaru, Poppo, Yukiatsu and Tsurumi) tried their best to grant the unknown wish of their long lost friend Menma, and finally ended with the most touching way possible. What a beautiful story, the ending made me cry for real. For under-average number of episodes (11 eps), the series did really well to convey the story to the viewers. Some of the supernatural stuff were unexplainable (well duh, logic), like Menma's reappearance to everyone shortly before she disappears, but overall, it was a wonderful anime, worth watching for the final episode alone.
p/s: to this day, I still can't remember the full name of this series.
7.Fate/Zero
MAL/Official site
Season: Fall 2011
Studio Production: ufotable
Genre: action, fantasy
Number of Episodes: 12
Comments: Fate/Zero was miles ahead of Fate/Stay Night in every aspect that the two shouldn’t really be put in the same bracket. Better fighting scenes and story overall, I’m especially in awe with the servant and masters involved this time around, even though some of them barely appeared (eg Kariya and Berserker). While Kirei/Tokiomi/Emiya confrontation and Saber/Lancer fights highlights the series, others that I thought were merely comic relief (Violet and Rider) had quite a role in the story so far and looked immensely powerful as a pair. I guess the only disappointment I had with the series is the ending and how Caster and Ryuunosuke emerged as the biggest threat amidst the Holy Grail War that had just started. While it is understood that 2nd season will come this April, I was wondering why they had not just made it into a 24 episodes-long series that can run until spring. Had people not known that ep13 was the last of season 1, they wouldn’t even see it coming that it was the final episode, right when the battle was about to ensue.
6.Persona 4 the Animation
MAL/Official site
Season: Fall 2011
Studio Production: AIC ASTA
Genre: comedy, drama, fantasy, horror, mystery
Number of Episodes: 24
Comments: P4 really epitomes what I want a VIDEO GAME adaptation to be – an anime catered toward the gamers with so many elements from the game featured in the anime, from the big stuff (TV World, Shadows, Personas, Shoji Meguro’s music), to the insignificant bits (calendar, social links, player status, FFFSSTEAK, TRIAL OF THE DRAGON). There are some weakness in the story (eg little time for character introduction, rushed and missing plot), but I can forgive that because as I mentioned, the anime was more or less directed toward those who’ve played the game and assumed we had the basic of the story. The only thing I wish the anime would have is the leveled up Social Links (and the more powerful Personas that unlocked with it), but nonetheless, P4 the Animation was great and I really enjoyed the way it is presented.
5.Usagi Drop
MAL/Official site
Season: Summer 2011
Studio Production: Production I.G.
Genre: comedy, drama
Number of Episodes: 12
Comments: My favourite Summer 2011 show, and I certainly love the fact that the show ended at the right time before it were dragged for too long. Nevermind the sequel (if any), I personally like the story when Rin is still a grade schooler than those 10 years later in the manga. The anime did well in adapting the original manga by mixing around the chapters, although I kinda want to see the full early manga chapter of Rin wetting her bed being included in the anime. It’s fun and refreshing to watch the daily life of Daikichi trying hard to raise his “aunt”, Rin Kaga despite having zero experience in raising a child, coping with various kind of problem he had never faced.
4.Boku ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai
MAL/Official site
Season: Fall 2011
Studio Production: AIC Build
Genre: comedy, romance
Number of Episodes: 12
Comments: Haganai actually kinda gave me about the same impression as Denpa Onna, but what exactly made this series so high on my list compared to Denpa Onna? Maybe because Haganai was more amusing and actually had some good messages to deliver to the viewers, while Denpa Onna is mostly is just that - moe and strangeness. The story went from trying to establishing a club for the sake of finding friends, to the often-failed club activities, and at the same time, the constant bickering of the 2 main girls in the club and in the end, we got the message on how wonderful a friendship is (although I'm not really satisfied with the final episode). A thoroughly entertaining show to say the least.
3.Bakuman 2
MAL/Official site
Season: Fall 2011
Studio Production: J.C. Staff
Genre: comedy, drama
Number of Episodes: 25
Comments: Last year Bakuman Season 1 ranked 2nd on my top 10 list, and this year although the sequel falls 1 place (thanks to the sublime Mirai Nikki and Steins;Gate), it still deliver the same exact feeling and excitement from season 1. The comedy, romance, drama, touching scenes, the feeling and spirit in each episode always reached me, always made me pumped up when Mashiro and Takagi were in high spirit, always gave me some sort of depression when they're down. I guess I don't have much to say about Bakuman 2, except the fact that I enjoyed the show a lot.
2.Mirai Nikki
MAL/Official site
Season: Fall 2011
Studio Production: asread
Genre: action, drama, romance, thriller
Number of Episodes: 26
Comments: The best Fall show for me, though if only I didn't read the manga that much, I would have probably enjoyed the plot a lot more. But that's not trying to take anything away from the anime, because it did a whole lot better than I would expect. The animation was really well done, it successfully convey the dark feeling the story had, seeing the characters now in motion also gave a better experience. And I didn't even have to tell how much I love the songs, in particular the OP songs. Nevertheless, above all it is the thrilling, psychologically stimulating story that really attract me toward Mirai Nikki. And of course, I've said times and times again how much I love Gasai Yuno's absolute insanity that she totally overwhelm any other characters in the story.
1. Steins;Gate
MAL/Official site
Season: Spring 2011
Studio Production: WHITE FOX
Genre: sci-fi, thriller
Number of Episodes: 24
Comments: Not so long after I just finished watching the final episode of Steins;Gate, I tweeted that unless some miraculously amazing anime was aired at Fall 2011, Steins;Gate will definitely, certainly, 100% tops my top 10 2011 anime ranking. And having watched most Fall 2011 Series, I can now safely said that Steins;Gate is definitely the Anime of the Year for me. Mirai Nikki came really close of beating Steins;Gate in my book, but the fact that I’ve read halfway through the manga kinda lessen the surprise I had for the anime, unlike Steins;Gate (which I never played the Visual Novel, although I did peek into the wikipedia entry). Steins;Gate has everything that I like in an anime. Drama, comedy, constant banter between the 2 main characters, real life SCIENCE application, thriller, everything. The animation was just perfect, the bgms suits well with the scenes, and the OP and ED songs were both worthy of my playlist. The story which revolves around time leap and all the paradox consequences were crafted finely, almost very little bit of thing you see in earlier episode have significant impact on later episodes, and in the end, everything tied up nicely, making perfect sense and logic to the viewers. Probably the only series where every episode always kept me on my seat, always amazed me, every episode was as great as the previous.
...................................
That's it for 2011 anime for me, although some Fall series are still underway. I was not surprised to see so many Spring and Fall series dominated my top 10 list, but I did notice the lack of Winter series there, the best of the bunch in my book (Gosick) almost made it into my top 10 but I’d settle for a honourable mention. And I guess I don’t even need to tell why a certain overtalked magical girl anime aired on Winter 2011 was not in my list.
Honorable mention: Gosick
MAL/Official site
Season: Winter 2010/2011
Studio Production: Bones
Genre: mystery, drama
Number of Episodes: 24
Comments: Of all series with "mild" detective elements that I've watched last year (Gosick, Kamisama Memochou, Dantalian no Shoka, Un-Go), Gosick was the one that I enjoyed the most, although I wouldn't really call it a deep detective show because most of the cases revolved around logic rather than technical complexity posed (eg tricks to commit crime and create alibi etc), plus near the end of the series, there's barely any detective play involved. The good thing I could say about the series though is the way most previous cases (Seyrun village, the African alchemist Leviathan, the King’s murder…) eventually came together in the final arc, ending the series nicely and most importantly, a happy ending. Really love it, especially the scenes after the final credit rolled. A silver-haired Victorique looked strange though. Barely missed out on my top 10 spot.
10.Yondemasu yo Azazel-san
MAL/Official site
Season: Spring 2011
Studio Production: Production I.G.
Genre: comedy, supernatural
Number of Episodes: 12
Comments: Actually I had a hard time deciding whether to pick Yondemasuyo Azazelsan, Gosick or Ikoku Meiro no Croisee into my top 10 ranking because I definitely enjoyed all three and thought all of them deserved a spot. In the end, I decided to choose Yondemasuyo Azazelsan simply because I haven't watched a series as shit funny as this in a long time. Mitsudomoe and its sequel were funny, but Azazelsan gave something different - something you'd expect from a gag show. I had a crazy laugh in each and every episode no thanks to the stupid-looking demons in the series and their antics. Seriously one the best comedy show I’ve ever watched since Mitsudomoe and Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan.
9. Denpa Onna to Seishhun Otoko
MAL/Official site
Season: Spring 2011
Studio Production: SHAFT
Genre: comedy, seinen
Number of Episodes: 12
Comments: Denpa Onna is one of the only two SHAFT show that I've watched in 2011 (the other being Maria Holic Alive), and the studio delivered again, that time with a world of strangeness attached to the story. The main premise of the show is simple - youth, weird girls and youth point; and throughout the show we were mostly treated with loads moeness, enhanced by SHAFT's great animation. I wish the final episode (technically episode 12, aired on tv) would be more meaningful though, and although it didn't matter much, I did feel intrigued by Erio's disappearance and Meme's life before Niwa arrived, which in the end weren’t touched as much in the anime.
p/s: one of those few series that took me more than half an hour to finish each episode (rather than the usual 20+ minutes) because of the constant pausing...
8. Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai
MAL/Official site
Season: Spring 2011
Studio Production: A-1 Pictures
Genre: drama
Number of Episodes: 11
Comments: The series started out rather flat (literally and figuratively), with decent animation and modest drama. But then the plot started to pick itself midway through which saw all those 5 friends (Jintan, Anaru, Poppo, Yukiatsu and Tsurumi) tried their best to grant the unknown wish of their long lost friend Menma, and finally ended with the most touching way possible. What a beautiful story, the ending made me cry for real. For under-average number of episodes (11 eps), the series did really well to convey the story to the viewers. Some of the supernatural stuff were unexplainable (well duh, logic), like Menma's reappearance to everyone shortly before she disappears, but overall, it was a wonderful anime, worth watching for the final episode alone.
p/s: to this day, I still can't remember the full name of this series.
7.Fate/Zero
MAL/Official site
Season: Fall 2011
Studio Production: ufotable
Genre: action, fantasy
Number of Episodes: 12
Comments: Fate/Zero was miles ahead of Fate/Stay Night in every aspect that the two shouldn’t really be put in the same bracket. Better fighting scenes and story overall, I’m especially in awe with the servant and masters involved this time around, even though some of them barely appeared (eg Kariya and Berserker). While Kirei/Tokiomi/Emiya confrontation and Saber/Lancer fights highlights the series, others that I thought were merely comic relief (Violet and Rider) had quite a role in the story so far and looked immensely powerful as a pair. I guess the only disappointment I had with the series is the ending and how Caster and Ryuunosuke emerged as the biggest threat amidst the Holy Grail War that had just started. While it is understood that 2nd season will come this April, I was wondering why they had not just made it into a 24 episodes-long series that can run until spring. Had people not known that ep13 was the last of season 1, they wouldn’t even see it coming that it was the final episode, right when the battle was about to ensue.
6.Persona 4 the Animation
MAL/Official site
Season: Fall 2011
Studio Production: AIC ASTA
Genre: comedy, drama, fantasy, horror, mystery
Number of Episodes: 24
Comments: P4 really epitomes what I want a VIDEO GAME adaptation to be – an anime catered toward the gamers with so many elements from the game featured in the anime, from the big stuff (TV World, Shadows, Personas, Shoji Meguro’s music), to the insignificant bits (calendar, social links, player status, FFFSSTEAK, TRIAL OF THE DRAGON). There are some weakness in the story (eg little time for character introduction, rushed and missing plot), but I can forgive that because as I mentioned, the anime was more or less directed toward those who’ve played the game and assumed we had the basic of the story. The only thing I wish the anime would have is the leveled up Social Links (and the more powerful Personas that unlocked with it), but nonetheless, P4 the Animation was great and I really enjoyed the way it is presented.
5.Usagi Drop
MAL/Official site
Season: Summer 2011
Studio Production: Production I.G.
Genre: comedy, drama
Number of Episodes: 12
Comments: My favourite Summer 2011 show, and I certainly love the fact that the show ended at the right time before it were dragged for too long. Nevermind the sequel (if any), I personally like the story when Rin is still a grade schooler than those 10 years later in the manga. The anime did well in adapting the original manga by mixing around the chapters, although I kinda want to see the full early manga chapter of Rin wetting her bed being included in the anime. It’s fun and refreshing to watch the daily life of Daikichi trying hard to raise his “aunt”, Rin Kaga despite having zero experience in raising a child, coping with various kind of problem he had never faced.
4.Boku ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai
MAL/Official site
Season: Fall 2011
Studio Production: AIC Build
Genre: comedy, romance
Number of Episodes: 12
Comments: Haganai actually kinda gave me about the same impression as Denpa Onna, but what exactly made this series so high on my list compared to Denpa Onna? Maybe because Haganai was more amusing and actually had some good messages to deliver to the viewers, while Denpa Onna is mostly is just that - moe and strangeness. The story went from trying to establishing a club for the sake of finding friends, to the often-failed club activities, and at the same time, the constant bickering of the 2 main girls in the club and in the end, we got the message on how wonderful a friendship is (although I'm not really satisfied with the final episode). A thoroughly entertaining show to say the least.
3.Bakuman 2
MAL/Official site
Season: Fall 2011
Studio Production: J.C. Staff
Genre: comedy, drama
Number of Episodes: 25
Comments: Last year Bakuman Season 1 ranked 2nd on my top 10 list, and this year although the sequel falls 1 place (thanks to the sublime Mirai Nikki and Steins;Gate), it still deliver the same exact feeling and excitement from season 1. The comedy, romance, drama, touching scenes, the feeling and spirit in each episode always reached me, always made me pumped up when Mashiro and Takagi were in high spirit, always gave me some sort of depression when they're down. I guess I don't have much to say about Bakuman 2, except the fact that I enjoyed the show a lot.
2.Mirai Nikki
MAL/Official site
Season: Fall 2011
Studio Production: asread
Genre: action, drama, romance, thriller
Number of Episodes: 26
Comments: The best Fall show for me, though if only I didn't read the manga that much, I would have probably enjoyed the plot a lot more. But that's not trying to take anything away from the anime, because it did a whole lot better than I would expect. The animation was really well done, it successfully convey the dark feeling the story had, seeing the characters now in motion also gave a better experience. And I didn't even have to tell how much I love the songs, in particular the OP songs. Nevertheless, above all it is the thrilling, psychologically stimulating story that really attract me toward Mirai Nikki. And of course, I've said times and times again how much I love Gasai Yuno's absolute insanity that she totally overwhelm any other characters in the story.
1. Steins;Gate
MAL/Official site
Season: Spring 2011
Studio Production: WHITE FOX
Genre: sci-fi, thriller
Number of Episodes: 24
Comments: Not so long after I just finished watching the final episode of Steins;Gate, I tweeted that unless some miraculously amazing anime was aired at Fall 2011, Steins;Gate will definitely, certainly, 100% tops my top 10 2011 anime ranking. And having watched most Fall 2011 Series, I can now safely said that Steins;Gate is definitely the Anime of the Year for me. Mirai Nikki came really close of beating Steins;Gate in my book, but the fact that I’ve read halfway through the manga kinda lessen the surprise I had for the anime, unlike Steins;Gate (which I never played the Visual Novel, although I did peek into the wikipedia entry). Steins;Gate has everything that I like in an anime. Drama, comedy, constant banter between the 2 main characters, real life SCIENCE application, thriller, everything. The animation was just perfect, the bgms suits well with the scenes, and the OP and ED songs were both worthy of my playlist. The story which revolves around time leap and all the paradox consequences were crafted finely, almost very little bit of thing you see in earlier episode have significant impact on later episodes, and in the end, everything tied up nicely, making perfect sense and logic to the viewers. Probably the only series where every episode always kept me on my seat, always amazed me, every episode was as great as the previous.
...................................
That's it for 2011 anime for me, although some Fall series are still underway. I was not surprised to see so many Spring and Fall series dominated my top 10 list, but I did notice the lack of Winter series there, the best of the bunch in my book (Gosick) almost made it into my top 10 but I’d settle for a honourable mention. And I guess I don’t even need to tell why a certain overtalked magical girl anime aired on Winter 2011 was not in my list.
Tales of Grace F
Warrior Orochi 3
FFXIII-2