Before I go overboard with video games and completely forget about the year-end post, I may as well do it now so I can bring in the next year on a high note.
Although 2011 was a very eventual year with a big Earthquake in Japan that occurred in March of this year and some disasters that hit close to home like Hurricane Irene and the October Snow Storm, it was a very good year for Anime. While noitaminA had many disappointments, there have been some great shows, most notably Madoka Magica, which aired earlier this year. So for a further ado, I’ll share my thoughts about the year as a whole and some accomplishments. (Image Source)
Anime Overview and Top 10 Anime
As a whole, the Anime in 2011 was better than last year despite the massive fails with noitaminA losing it’s ways with nonsensical shows like Fractale and [C] that just bombed. Aside from that, I only dropped two shows that I blogged about, which are Rio Rainbow Gate (No, it’s pure crap) and Ore-tachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai (biggest fanservice mindscrew ever) which holds the record of me watching it for the longest time before I gave up on it.
Aside from that, here are the top 10 shows from this year that I completed with a few comments for each:
- Puella Magi Madoka Magica – Perhaps the best magical girl show that recently aired, mostly for it’s deconstructive approach opposed to the usual.
- Hourou Musuko – Touching and great story. I liked how well they took the Transgenderism issue seriously at such a young age.
- The iDOLM@STER – Unsuspected surprise of the year and I really enjoyed it, especially with the second half. Also, it convinced me to play the game, which is very enjoyable by the way.
- Ikoku Meiro no Croiseè – This was a very charming show not only for Yune’s cuteness, but the scenery and the gradual development with all the characters.
- Fate/zero – Way better than Fate/stay night and I appreciated the character development in this one. Can’t wait for the second part to air.
- Working’!! – It’s more of the same, but with better jokes than last time. Not only that, Inami is a lot cuter in this season.
- Shinryaku!? Ika Musume – More of the same squid girl antics, so there isn’t much to say.
- Nichijou – Although it’s not the best from Kyoto Animation, some of the jokes were hilarious, especially the scenes that has Nano and Hakase.
- Hanasaku Iroha – Perhaps the prettiest animation I saw in a long time, although the story wasn’t quite up there with everything else.
- Gosick – The second half was exciting with better mysteries, discovering Victorique’s mom and Albert de Blois’s evil plan to drive Sauville into war. Still, the first half was still kind of disappointing, but thankfully it evened out in the end.
Honorable mentions (shows I didn’t complete, but worth a mention)
Ano Hana – This is probably one of the better dramas this year as it’s far more emotional, especially at the end.
Personal Accomplishments
Compared to last year, I made fewer posts because of my Hyperthyroidism, which lowered my motivation to blog. Nevertheless, I focused more on quality posts rather than hastily publishing it and hope for the best. On a long run, it greatly benefited the blog and better writing.
Out of the resolutions I made earlier this year, I have achieved over 50 subscribers and written reviews of all shows except for Hourou Musuko, as I’m still waiting to watch the full versions of Episodes 10 and 11. It’s not too shabby and hopefully this trend continues when I hit my third year of blogging.
To end things off, I wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year! Now you excuse me, I’m going to go back and play some more Idolm@ster 2…
Lots of great shows this year, and I’m still trying to finish up a few more before I try any kind of list like this. But glad to see the likes of Nichijou and Ikoku Meiro no Croisee in yours! Those will definitely be favorites of mine, and probably Fate/Zero and Gosick as well. Great year for anime–looking forward to 2012 now!
Not sure about 2012 because the Winter offerings are somewhat week, but hopefully it turn out fine… Also, I’m curious of what Okada Mari is planning with another season of Hanasaku Iroha and her new project with the AKB anime… we just have to wait and see…
Anyways, have a happy new year.
NICHIJOU IS THE BEST FROM KYOTO ANIMATION AND THE BEST OVERALL EVER
ANIME OF THE CENTURY
Although I can’t say it’s the best, I do admit that it had a more creative direction compared to their other works, especially Lucky Star which is nothing but anime references and stuff, which made it really enjoyable at the end. Not to mention, I did enjoy the jokes in that a whole lot more and the ending was rather heartwarming.
NICHIJOU!!! <3 <3 <3 That series made me draw a lot more in 2011 I guess I fell in love with the character designs and over the top comedy, I miss my trio of Mio,Yuuko and Mai! But yeah Nano, Sakamoto and Hakase are my other favorites.
Ika Musume?!– Yep goood stuff right there more of the same from season one…And The Idolmaster! I would say the biggest surprise for me and it exploded over Twitter every week, and that first opening? AMAZING! I had it on a loop for a good two days….
Take care next year! Wooooo!!
Happy new year to you to… and I have to plan out my new banner theme as well…
(Also, planning to get the first Idolmaster game for the PSP sometime next year, but that will need to study more Japanese since they have the dreaded Lyrics lessons. :/)