{"id":30245,"date":"2012-12-31T17:51:46","date_gmt":"2012-12-31T21:51:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/?p=30245"},"modified":"2012-12-31T17:52:15","modified_gmt":"2012-12-31T21:52:15","slug":"30245","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/30245\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask John: What Where the Best TV Anime of 2012?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Question:<\/strong>
\nThe year is almost finished, so I would like to know your recommendations for best series and movies of 2012.<\/p>\n


\nAnswer:<\/strong>
\nMy personal interest and philosophy is in trying to sample the largest variety of anime that I can in order to develop a first-hand awareness of the scope of modern anime. That goal, combined with limited time, tends to result in my starting to watch far more anime series than I finish. That trend was especially prominent in 2012, as I was fortunate enough to watch at least one entire episode of all but nine of the roughly 161 new television anime series and specials to air this year. So with my ironically comprehensive and limited exposure, I can compile a list of only what struck me personally as the most exceptional anime of the year. With feature films and OVAs now being such a small category and TV anime being so prolific, I think that limiting my evaluation to just TV anime is more practical and useful than attempting to construct a complete “best anime of 2012” list. And for clarification, I define “new” TV anime as series which are distinguished by a new title, or new installments of franchises airing after at least a one-season hiatus.<\/p>\n

The past year has been the most polarized year of anime that I can remember. The first half of 2012 was characterized by a predictable uniformity of anime genres and styles typical of recent years. However, among the conventional was an unexpectedly high percentage of unusually creative and dynamic anime. The second half of 2012 seemed promising as it revealed a stylistic variety of anime more diverse than typical of recent years. The second half of 2012 was especially noteworthy for resurrecting the sort of grim, hyper-stylized, post-modern action anime that had nearly become extinct in the 1990s, anime like K, Psycho-Pass, and Zetsuen no Tempest. But regrettably despite an encouraging diversity of visual styles, the narrative creativity of anime from the second half of the year failed to live up to the first half of the year.<\/p>\n

I believe that only a small handfull of arguably “perfect” anime have appeared in recent years, shows that can be argued to have gotten everything right. Candidates, in my mind, include Mushishi, Seirei no Moribito, the first season of Natsume Yujincho, and Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai. So considering how rare “perfect” anime series are, the goal of a 2012 retrospective isn’t to identify the “perfect” anime but to identify the highlights of the year, the best among their peers from the year.<\/p>\n

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After the underwhelming and disappointing 2010 Black Rock Shooter OVA, viewers worldwide seemingly had valid reason to suspect the February 2012 television series. However, the viewers that gave the Black Rock Shooter television series a fair chance were rewarded with an unexpectedly nuanced, complex, dynamic, and even shocking narrative that pushed the envelope of anime conventions. The grim narrative dared to tackle themes including family disfunction, alienation, ostracism, psychological disorder, and adult endangerment and victimization of children in blunt, powerful strokes that anime usually avoids. The Black Rock Shooter TV series not only dared to peek at the dark, disturbing, and unpleasant psychological aspects of Japanese adolescent society, it threw the door wide open and fully embraced concepts that most anime seem scared to approach. The series also fully reveled in the visual dynamism of its fantasy dimension that the OVA only hinted at, removing viewers from the conventional schoolrooms and familiar locations that so much contemporary anime occurs in and instead showing viewers imaginative fantasy action scenes that only anime can effectively bring to life.<\/p>\n

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Ironically a thirty year-old franchise paralleled Black Rock Shooter’s efforts to jar viewers out of conventional expectations for predictable visual design and breath new, vital life into contemporary anime production. The Lupin the III ~Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna~ series resembles nothing more than Mushi Production’s 1973 feature Kanashimi no Belladonna, both in visual design and sensuality. Director Sayo Yamamoto’s and series writer Mari Okada’s effort to give sultry thief Fujiko Mine an origin story suffers a bit from jamming too much exposition into too little time at the very end of the series, but other groundbreaking anime including Evangelion, Utena, and Lain can be said to have done the same thing. As recent years have been characterized by anime designed to sell character merchandise and establish franchises, the Fujiko Mine TV series bucked convention by aiming to pure artistic spectacle. The goal of the show was seemingly first and foremost to experiment with the potential of anime and create a mini-series completely unlike anything else. Viewers that found this particular interpretation of Lupin III too outré could calm themselves with the year’s later enjoyable but very conventional “Toho Kenbunroku ~Another Page~” TV special.<\/p>\n

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Ostensibly a show cribbing defining elements from Pretty Cure & Macross F, the January 2012 Senki Zessho Symphogear bishoujo action series is another show that seemingly had no right to be as good as it was. Like 2008’S Kure-nai, Symphogear was a show with creative ambitions regrettably too big for its limited means. Symphogear had an unexpectedly epic story wrapped around engaging characters with involving personalities. The show dealt with big scenes in big ways, including massive concert scenes, massive monster army attacks, and literally planet shattering battles. The show dealt with powerful emotions and clearly tried its best to make every action scene tremendous, impactful, and exceptionally animated. The fact that the show sadly didn’t have the budget to support its grand vision does little to mitigate the respect it deserves for trying to be more epic, emotional, and impressive rather than just settling for ordinary.<\/p>\n

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The adaptation of Reki Kawahara’s Accel World novel series was adequate and enjoyable, but A-1 Pictures’ adaptation of his Sword Art Online novel series became one of the year’s favorite TV anime for good reason. Earlier anime including .Hack, Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu, and Prism Ark have dealt with the same narrative and genre concepts that Sword Art Online utilized, but well-developed, empathetic characterizations above all else made Sword Art Online consistently engaging and satisfying. Even when the series’ setting changed into not just one but two alternate settings in the second half of the anime series, viewers continued watching because the characters and their trials were so compelling. Despite being a very conventional action\/adventure series, the show excelled by sheer virtue of being well animated and, more importantly, interesting to watch.<\/p>\n

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Nisemonogatari sneaks into my top five almost surreptitously. The show feels very obviously like exactly what it is, a redundant add-on to Bakemonogatari. But what the show lacks in compelling narrative, it compensates for in abundance in style and technique. The “Karen Bee” story arc feels like a leftover chapter of Bakemonogatari, but the tension in scenes involving Deishuu Kaiki, Koyomi Araragi, and Hitagi Senjougahara is handled exceptionally well. The “Tsukihi Phoenix” story arc, particularly with its infamous toothbrush seduction, the memorable Kagenui Yozuru & Ononoki Yotsugi guest characters, and its spectacular fight between Karen & Koyomi still manages to be more dynamic and imaginative than nearly anything else in this year’s anime.<\/p>\n

The opposite end of 2012’s anime is divided between the bad and the disappointing. Despite stylish art design, Arcana Famiglia & Muv-luv Alternative: Total Eclipse are simply bad. Arcana Famiglia is terrible, idiotic bishonen pandering. Total Eclipse is insultingly stupid and aggravatingly racist. Despite heavy advance publicity and granted exceptional art design and animation quality, the first season of K suffered an unpleasant cast and especially weak and uninteresting narrative development. Psycho-Pass earned some notoriety for excluding moé. Regrettably it also excluded common sense and large swaths of narrative creativity. Natsuyuki Rendezvous began with the promise of continuing the positive tonal excellence of Ristorante Paradiso and Usagi Drop, and it featured arguably the year’s best ending theme song. Unfortuantely, Natsuyuki Rendezvous quickly declined into a fetid melodrama of childish tantrums & offensive sexism indulged as obsessive romance.<\/p>\n

This year’s new TV anime included the following titles. The nine in itallics are those that I was unable to watch any of. I’ve excluded “foreign” titles like the French animated series Minuscule ~Chiisana Mushi no Monogatari~ and the made-for-American boradcast Monsuno.<\/p>\n

Accel World
\nAcchi Kocchi
\nAikatsu!
\nAKB0048
\nAmagami SS+
\nAno Natsu de Matteru
\nAnother
\nAoi Sekai no Chuushin de
\nAquarion Evol
\nArashi no Yori ni ~ Himitsu no Tomodachi
\nArcana Famiglia
\nArea no Kishi
\nBackstage Idol Story
\nBakuman 3rd series
\nBakuTECH! Bakuman
\nBattle Spirits Sword Eyes
\nBinbougami ga
\nBlack Rock Shooter
\nBoku no Imouto wa Osaka Okan
\nBrave 10
\nBTOOOM!
\nBuso Shinki
\nCampione!
\nCardfight!! Vanguard: Asia Circuit
\nChiisana Ojisan
\nChitose Get You!!
\nChousoku Henkei Gyrozetter
\nChouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi
\nChuunibyo Demo Koi ga Shitai!
\nCODE:BREAKER
\nComputer Kakumei: Saikyo x Saisoku no Zuno Tanjo [TV special]
\nCross Fight B-Daman eS
\nDakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai
\nDanboru Senki W
\nDanshi Koukousei no Nichijou
\nDOG DAYS\u00b4
\nDuel Masters Victory V
\nEbiten: Kouritsu Ebisugawa Koukou Tenmon-Bu
\nEureka Seven AO
\nFurusato Saisei Nippon no Mukashi Banashi
\nGakkatsu!
\nGinga e Kickoff!!
\nGintama
\nGirls und Panzer
\nGokujo: Gokurakuin Joshi Koryo Monogatari
\nHagure Yuusha no Estetica
\nHaitai Nanafa<\/i>
\nHaiyore! Nyaruko-san
\nHakuouki Reimeiroku
\nHayate no Gotoku! CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU
\nHidamari Sketch x Honeycomb
\nHigh School DxD
\nHiiro no Kakera
\nHiiro no Kakera Dai-ni-sho
\nHimitsu Kessha Taka no Tsume Gaiden Mukashi no Yoshida-kun
\nHyouka
\nInazuma Eleven Go 2: Chrono Stone
\nInu x Boku SS
\nIxion Saga DT
\nJewelpet Kira Deco
\nJinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
\nJoJo no Kimyo na Boken
\nJormungand
\nJormungand: Perfect Order
\nJoshiraku
\nK
\nKamisama Hajimemashita
\nKill Me Baby
\nKimi to Boku 2
\nKingdom
\nKoi to Senkyo to Chocolate
\nKokoro Connect
\nKono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru!
\nKore wa Zombie desu ka? Of The Dead
\nKremlin [web anime]
\nKuroko no Basuke
\nKuromajo-san ga Toru!!
\nKyoukai Senjo no Horizon II
\nLittle Busters
\nLittle Charo: Tohoku-hen<\/i>
\nLupin III: Toho Kenbunroku ~Another Page~
\nLUPIN the Third ~Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna~
\nMagi
\nMaji de Otaku na English! Ribbon-chan: Eigo de Tatakau Mahou Shoujo
\nMAJOR: World Series Hen – Yume no Shunkan e Special Edition<\/i>
\nMedaka Box
\nMedaka Box Abnormal
\nMetal Fight Beyblade ZEROG
\nMoeretsu Uchu Kaizoku
\nMoyashimon Returns
\nMuv-luv Alternative: Total Eclipse
\nNatsuiro Kiseki
\nNatsume Yujincho Shi
\nNatsuyuki Rendezvous
\nNazo no Kanojo X
\nNeko no Sumu Jima<\/i> [TV special]
\nNisemonogatari
\nNukko.
\nOda Nobuna no Yabou
\nOniichan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne
\nOshiri Kajiri Mushi
\nOzma
\nPabu & Mojie
\nPanda no Tapu Tapu
\nPapa no Iu Koto o Kikinasai!
\nPSYCHO-PASS
\nPicchipichi Shizuku-chan
\nPocket Monster Best Wishes Season 2
\nPoyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki
\nPretty Rhythm ~ Dear My Future
\nQueen’s Blade Rebellion
\nRecorder to Randsell
\nRecorder to Randsell Re
\nRibbon-chan<\/i>
\nRinne no Lagrange
\nRinne no Lagrange Season 2
\nROBOTICS;NOTES
\nRock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden
\nSaint Seiya Omega
\nSakamichi no Apollon
\nSaki Achiga-hen episode of side-A
\nSakura-sou no Pet na Kanojo
\nSankarea
\nSeitokai no Ichizon Lv.2 [web anime]
\nSekiei Ayakashi Mangatan [web anime]
\nSengoku Collection
\nSenki Zesshou Symphogear
\nShiba Inuko-san
\nShimajiro no Wow!<\/i>
\nShin Prince of Tennis
\nShin Sekai Yori
\nShining Hearts ~Shiawase no Pan~
\nShirokuma Café
\nSmile Precure
\nStitch to Suna no Wakusei<\/i> (TV special)
\nSuki-tte Ii na yo
\nSword Art Online
\nTaka no Tsume NEO
\nTamagotchi! Yume Kira Dream<\/i>
\nTanken Driland
\nTantei Opera Milky Holmes 2
\nTARI TARI
\nTasogare Otome x Amnesia
\nTeekyuu
\nThermae Romae
\nTo Love-ru Darkness
\nTonari no Kaibutsu-kun
\nTrain Hero<\/i>
\nTsuritama
\nUchuu Kyodai
\nUpotte!! [web anime]
\nWooser no Sono Higurashi
\nYu-Gi-Oh Zexal II
\nYurumates 3D
\nYurumates 3D Plus
\nYuruyuri♪♪
\nZero no Tsukaima F
\nZETMAN
\nZetsuen no Tempest
\nZumomo to Nupepe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: The year is almost finished, so I would like to know your recommendations for best series and movies of 2012.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ask-john"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30245"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30254,"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30245\/revisions\/30254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}