Category: Monthly Summaries

The summer season was quite small, but it stood out. It had one of the best shows of the year, and it had creative premises and executions. It perhaps wasn’t the best summer season out there, but definitely worth watching. And really: there was only one show that I kept watching that really went and disappointed all the way. Apart from that, even the ones that didn’t live up to what I expected still had something interesting to redeem themselves with.

#19 (45) – Hiiro no Kakera – (4.1/10) – The biggest crime of this series is being bland. Way too bland. Have an interesting concept. Have charismatic characters. Have interesting plot twist. Have funny jokes, anything, for god’s sake! Dropped.
#18 (16) – Tari Tari – (7.5/10) – Tari Tari… you should have tried harder. I mean, it’s fine and all that you want to just be a random slice of life show, but you should have tried to use your characters a bit more. Wien remained a joke for the entire series, and the eventual pay-off: the final performance, turned out to be a lazy montage.
#17 (17) – Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon – (7.9/10) – Very over the top, but there still is something missing here. And don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely entertaining, but I just feel like this could have been much more considering the potential it had.
#16 (10) – Rinne no Lagrange – (8/10) – The problem with this month’s Rinne no Lagrange was that it was trying to be too epic. That didn’t really mix in with the other messages of the show, unfortunately and the characters kept bouncing a bit between two extremes. It had some nice moments, but I feel that it would have been better if they just focused on either of the two.
#15 (14) – Saint Seiya Omega – (8.1/10) – Yet again this show proves that you can be simple, yet effective. It all was basic action right now, but because of how consistent it has been for the past months it worked as the mid-climax for this series. I mean, I’m starting to grow a liking to the characters, which is a sign of good build-up.
#14 (13) – Sword Art Online – (8.1/10)I do want to get one thing straight: I don’t dislike this series, and it does some things fascinatingly well. But at others it’s unfortunately still a wasted potential, not to mention how it came with that bizarre plot twist involving Yui that just felt completely out of place.
#13 (9) – Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita – (8.25/10)

I feel like it would have been better for this series if the episodes of this month were shown a bit earlier, because that’s where we finally saw some depth on Watashi. Still, because of that this ending did have its charm, ending with the beginning and all.

#12 (12) – Moyashimon – (8.25/10)

Moyashimon was very entertaining, and after its dull in the middle it did manage to recover itself. The fact remains however that it had a bit of a bad premise for an entire sequel. I mean, the side plot of the wine brewing girl was much more interesting than Haruka’s arranged marriage. It’s the rest of the cast that really managed to save this series with their chemistry.

#11 (15) – Phi Brain – (8.25/10)

Aaaand the final month of Phi Brain’s second season was also its best. Who would have guessed? The thing is that everything came together, and it actually delivered what it promised: really good character-development. Sure, it was ridiculously silly, but the build-up actually paid off. And for that I’m willing to cut it a lot of slack.

#10 (6) – Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki – (8.4/10)

This show still is just consistently delightful. Every week it just manages to find so many relatable situations that are also just so funny to watch. The alien episode was the best one this month.

#9 (11) – Uta Koi – (8.4/10)

The best month for Uta Koi. It had a lot of interesting stories and it ended with a really neat ending that fitted this show really well. Having an episode dedicated both to Fujiwara no Teika and the writer of Genji Monogatari was really interesting to watch.

#8 (8) – Kokoro Connect – (8.5/10)

The third arc was better than the second, and not as good as the first. With three episodes the creators definitely managed to do some interesting things, and especially the character development was top-notch with the way the arc was set up.

#7 (7) – Shirokuma Cafe – (8.5/10)

There was one episode that had me completely in stitches. It’s been months since I laughed that hard, and that is really important for this series at this point: it shows that it still has more than enough material for its second half of 26 episodes. Really , that’s my biggest fear for this series: that 52 episodes will be too much for it to handle. That episode beyond being utterly hilarious was a big confidence boost.

#6 (new) – From the New World – (8.6/10)

What an opening episode! I mean, with the very first new episode of the season, From the New World set a damn high standard to live up to, with a fantastic directing style and an intriguing setting. On top of that A-1 pulled some top-notch animators out of its hat.

#5 (4) – Hyouka – (8.6/10)

The height of Hyouka was the Juumonji arc. The past number of episodes were still really good, but didn’t show the series at its best. Nevertheless, it definitely was a fitting way to close off the series with some very character-focused episodes.

#4 (3) – Eureka Seven Ao – (8.6/10)

We’re nearly at the climax, and Eureka Seven just continues to deliver its plot twists. It does so in a very good way though. There may have been a number of plotholes, but the twists themselves were fun and were very entertaining to watch.

#3 (5) – Hunter X Hunter – (8.75/10)

Yes! We’re nearly at the best part of Hunter X Hunter. The past month was already amazing, but I am so pumped for what’s coming. The only blemish is that the exposition is really boring to sit through, because I already watched the series and all. Because of that there was one dull episode this month, but at the very least Gon and Killua redeemed themselves really well with the episode that followed that.

#2 (1) – Natsuyuki Rendezvous – (9.25/10)

What an ending! It all went perfect, and after all the build up, Natsuyuki Rendezvous closed off with a perfect ending that flowed like water. Every character got some extra depth, it was still wonderfully produced, and it left a wonderful taste behind. Without a doubt the best show of the Summer Season.

#1 (2) – Uchuu Kyoudai – (9.25/10)

The characters in Uchuu Kyoudai already were amazing. And here this month came and made them even better. I mean holy crap, the episodes in this month were just stunning in how much charm every character had, and on top of that the newly introduced characters were also all incredibly interesting to watch.

I’m not going to recap the manga I read this month due to a lack of screenshots that I have for them, but rest assured that I am planning a sort-of compilation post at the end of the season, including my highlights and overall impressions. In the meantime we go further with the Summer season, which really showed itself as a season of creativity. I’m watching a bit less than usual with only 17 series at the same time, but seriously, with the exception of Tari Tari, Saint Seiya and perhaps Rinne no Lagrange, all these series here stand out with their imagination and that’s a much, much higher share than usual. Especially considering how next season will be incredibly different: Fall 2012 will really be about quantity, with a lot of series that look similar to each other instead.

#17 (14) – Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon – (7.9/10) – Horizon’s selling point still is its boundless creativity, combined with bizarre politics with strange premises. That part is still rock-solid. I have a few issues with the cast though: at this point in the story they should be getting more interesting and lively with development… but I’m still not really noticing anything here, and to be honest this drags the show down a bit for me.
#16 (15) – Tari Tari – (8/10) – Tari Tari is a well done drama series. It’s nothing special, and a bit forced in the way that it jumps from character to character to show their development and story, but these stories do their job to flesh them out.
#15 (20) – Phi Brain – (8/10) – After having my suspense of disbelief broken for a few months, I’m back to enjoying Phi Brain again as it heads into its conclusion as it finally brings in some good character-development and the themes of saving the villains finally get somewhere. The sequel definitely had some balancing issues, but I’m glad that it managed to come together.
#14 (18) – Saint Seiya Omega – (8.1/10) – Whoa, this show has become much better this month! After long string sof rather boring fights, they are getting much more exciting now that the sakes are getting higher. I alos like how this show keeps track of its characters, and how it’s willing to go against “the party must stick together”-syndrome that a lot of adventure series have.
#13 (16) – Sword Art Online – (8.1/10) – Ah, Sword Art Online: brilliant setting, great acting from the main cast… but the main cast definitely needs some better writing to make them more interesting because at the moment this show screams a bit of wasted potential for focusing too much on Kirito meeting cute girls. Show some variety dammit!
#12 (10) – Moyashimon – (8.25/10)

Moyashimon had a string of episodes in which it lost its magic. The school festival arc was dull and for a while I just missed the chemistry between the characters that made me originally like the show. Thankfully this has returned again in the recent episodes, in which the characters were really enjoyable to watch again.

#11 (12) – Uta Koi – (8.25/10)

If I had one criticism for Uta Koi, then it is the animation. I get that it’s really hard to animate character-designs of this scale, and the budget for this series definitely is low, but the still frames do stand out a little too much and interfere a bit with bringing the characters to life. It’s a good thing that the stories it tells are still just wonderful. There is a ton of historical background and detail in this series, and the balance is just perfect: no character is overexposed, yet there are a few characters who get a bit of extra time to show how they changed over the years. And yes, episode 06 was awesome.

#10 (11) – Rinne no Lagrange – (8.25/10)

This show is building up to something, I can feel it. In the meantime there is random comic relief and time to flesh out the characters some more. At this point the cast of Rinne no Lagrange has definitely matured and changed. Now all that’s left is to use this.

#9 (13) – Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita – (8.25/10)

Jinrui has improved nicely, in the way that the cast has become much more likable and the stories more interesting. This month also showed that the order of the arcs is completely random, which makes it also a challenge to puzzle together the real sequence of events. The setting with the fairies also is as strong as last month.

#8 (8) – Kokoro Connect – (8.4/10)

Kokoro Connect’s biggest flaw is that it sometimes focuses a bit too much on its drama, making it a bit one-sided. Said drama however, is really, really good and really aims to delve deep into the different characters. The characters clash wonderfully together.

#7 (6) – Shirokuma Cafe – (8.4/10)

While hilarious, this wasn’t the best month for Shirokuma Cafe. It had a few episodes which were too much about panda trolling, and the best moments weren’t as utterly hilarious as some of the earlier episodes. Still, there was enough to like, ranging from Polar Bear’s antics to the whole affair around Penko.

#6 (7) – Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki – (8.5/10)

It’s unbelievable, but I’m only liking this series more as it goes on. It’s already in its third season, and it still feels fresh despite all of the content it puts in, and the jokes that keep coming are all new and original. I hardly see anyone mention or talk about this series, but I really look forward to watch it every week.

#5 (5) – Hunter X Hunter – (8.6/10)

Oh yes! With this month, Hunter X Hunter has really set itself apart from the rest of the shounen series. The Yorkshin arc has finally fully started and it’s great to see Kurapika in the spotlight. It’s great to see people actually working on jobs and acting that way.

#4 (4) – Hyouka – (8.6/10)

This month featured the conclusion for the school festival arc, and I have to say that Hyouka surpassed itself there, making the best with its focus on mundane mysteries. The stories that followed were also really good, making great use of the character-development that has been established at this point.

#3 (3) – Eureka Seven Ao – (8.75/10)

This show is confusing, to the point where I often find myself forgetting important plot points of episodes ago, but I kindof like that about this series and how it doesn’t want to hold your hand along the way. It also still has the best action of the season and the characters still keep this one going really strong.

#2 (1) – Uchuu Kyoudai – (9.1/10)

The only fault of this show is that sometimes, it is paced a bit too slowly. But heck, with how incredible the cast of characters has become, I really don’t mind that at all. The conclusion of the third round worked incredibly well and managed to bring the entire cast together, only ending with the message that we haven’t even started yet.

#1 (2) – Natsuyuki Rendezvous – (9.1/10)

This show knows what it is. This month really showed that it makes perfect use of its length of only 11 episodes with how much focus it puts on just one plot twist. This was wonderfully acted once again, and it already had some amazing pay-off as of episode 09. Heck, at this point I’m pretty certain that this will be somewhere in my top 2 of 2012.

So, this season had a really tough job to live up to the previous season, that was just filled with really good series. It’s definitely much smaller, but on the flip-side it did deliver with a bunch of very interesting series. In particular the dramas are better than ever, but there are also quite a few series that overflow with creativity. I consider this a succeeded season at this point.

Manga Recap:
So, this month I finally started to get into manga. Unconsciously, this mostly turned into an exploration of various one-shots, one-shot compilation, or short manga. Most of what I’ve been able to read are just introductions, and there was some nice stuff amongst them, but there were three things that really managed to catch my attention with their excellent introductions, and carried them further with excellent storytelling.

#3: Hotel
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Hotel by Boichi. This is a mature Osamu Tezuka-esque take on science fiction and the apocalypse, all paired with the most crisp art I’ve encountered this month. Its first chapter shows an interesting portrayal of the apocalypse, but what really blew away was the Tuna story. That really was unique and unlike any other science fiction story I’ve read.

#2: Hito Hitori Futari
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Hotel really only let me down on one area: its characterization. This all felt a bit flat. Hito Hitori Futari however, packed a ton of charm in its two characters. This really was drawn with emotion, and together with the down to earth dialogue, it really managed to bring its cast to life. It’s also got a beautiful art style.

#1: A Million Pound Love
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This is an anthology by the same author of Himitsu the Revelation, and you can definitely see this. This is truly excellent mystery with brilliant character-development put in very short stories. Like Himitsu, she knows exactly how much to reveal at each page to keep you interested.

#33 (new) – Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru – (1,75/10) – Add some gender-swapped historical figures, and then this series would have been everything that is wrong with modern anime. I mean, Dakara Ecchi was bad, but this is one level beyond that: completely shameless and stupid without any hint of inspiration or effort.
#32 (new) – Hagare Yuusha no Estetica – (2,5/10) – This show was incredibly stupid and sexist, I just can’t remember why anymore.
#31 (new) – Dakara Boku wa H ga Dekinai – (2,9/10) – Why don’t these guys just make straight-up porn?
#30 (new) – Chitose Get You – (3,25/10) – This series was just cheap and poorly delivered. And I can understand lacking budget and all: but there is no excuse fo the completely uninspired writing and jokes.
#29 (new) – Oda Nobuna no Yabou – (3,5/10) – It’s one thing to gender-swap famous historical figures. But really: why does it always have to be with the same people? First there was the romance of the three kingdoms, now this.
#28 (new) – Campione – (4,5/10) – It looked like for a minute this series had potential to become an entertaining action series. But no, it had to focus on harem clichés instead. This show got quickly dropped once I found that out.
#27 (new) – La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia – (5,5/10) – Look, I used to be a huge fan of shoujo series. When good, they can deliver some of the most heartfelt stories out there. But it’s the series like Arcana Famiglia that make it really hard to remain a fan by reducing most of the cast to mere stereotypes who keep repeating one single gimmick. Chiaki Kon, you in particular should know better.
#26 (24) – Yuruyuri – (6/10) – Yuruyuri was very funny when it started with that gimmick of a first episode. When that ended though, it completely bored me. It’s still girls talking and making bad lesbian jokes. If that’s what you like, then by all means give this one a chance. I just tuned out immediately.
#25 (35) – Dog Days – (6/10) – I was hoping that Dog Days’ would improve on the formula of its predecessor. What I wasn’t prepared for however, was the end of that second episode. Just.. why? Why on earth would you want to do something like that in a series like this?
#24 (new) – Joshiraku – (6,5/10) – Joshiraku was too static: it entirely was about characters sitting in a room discussing wordplay. It got to the point where they weren’t characters anymore, but rather that this became an essay about wordplay from the author.
#23 (new) – Ebiten – (6,6/10) – Well, this one wasn’t the worst of this season, it had some nice jokes and all. But ultimately it’s just random fluff that has way too little potential. Also, those eyes!
#22 (27) – Hakuouki – (6,9/10) – I have to grant it to Hakuouki that out of all of the bishie-series to appear during the past few years, it has been the best. It at least tried something different from the usual cliches. But it just doesn’t seem to really try to stand out. It’s just there. I gave several seasons a try now, but never did I really encounter something that caught my attention.
#21 (new) – Binbou-Gami ga! – (7,4/10) – Comedy is incredibly subjective, but I do recommend watching the first episode of this series: that one was very well-balanced and quite funny. As for what happened afterwards, though: it just wasn’t funny enough for me, and the random references for the sake of references, stereotypical characters and lots and lots of yelling just didn’t do it for me.
#20 (24) – Phi Brain – (7,5/10) – I can live with Phi Brain being stupid, but what is a bit harder to accept is how this series has been systematically ignoring any good potential character-development. This month thankfully wasn’t as bad as the previous one, and there even was a very good episode with the Ana Gram episode, but can someone answer me why the single most pathetic villain of the first season was brought back?
#19 (new) – Tanken Drilland – (7,5/10) – Tanken Drilland has the makings of a really good kids show, but it really needs to try harder for that. It’s really quite charming, and the two leads work too good together, but the third main character is a bit too stupid. Yes, I know this is aimed at kids, but that is no excuse. What happened to the days of the World Masterpiece Theater in which kids series really took their audiences and their characters seriously?
#18 (22) – Saint Seiya Omega – (7,6/10) – Saint Seiya has been dabbling on like usual. Some episodes are a bit of a waste of time, while others are a bit more interesting, but it never really stood out, nor did it ever get annoying enough for me to drop it. Whether I’d recommend this show to others to marathon though… that’d be a different story. It’s good enough to watch weekly, but for now it doesn’t really have enough staying power to be worth it to marathon.
#17 (new) – Total Eclipse – (7,75/10) – Total Eclipse is a strange beast. I actually like that it took its first two episodes specifically to show the background of one of the main characters, but afterwards things went a bit wonky with strange nationalism and stereotypes, along with a lot of yelling and random fanservice. Seeing this, I can imagine that the director was about to break down, but the writing staff also is to blame for some of the strange design decisions.
#16 (new) – Sword Art Online – (7,9/10) – For me,the gist of Sword Art Online is: really interesting setting, gorgeous visuals, rather boring characters. At this point in the story, none of the characters really stand out yet: there were moments in the first episode in which they did, but in the episodes afterwards this series has been very gloomy and particularly bad in portraying its side-characters, on top of being surprisingly formulaic (Hello, girl of the week!).
#15 (new) – Tari Tari – (8/10) – Tari Tari is a charming slice of life series, that has yet to really stand out. The closest it has gotten is with episode two, but afterwards it really made clear that that was just a one-off issue. The blond lead girl in particular tends to get on my nerves, and is a bit too simplistic and clichéd. They still could make this work though, because there definitely is potential here.
#14 (14) – Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon – (8,1/10) – Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon makes no sense whatsoever. But the ideas it has really make up for it. It’s completely crazy this way, and that’s what I really appreciate from it. Now if only the characters themselves would get a bit better: in particular the male lead is trying too hard to be comic relief. And no, I don’t care if this is explained in the plot. This is Horizon, they can just pull something out of their asses to turn this down.
#13 (new) – Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita – (8,1/10) – Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita has one thing that makes it stand out, and it does that really well: its setting. There is so much interesting stuff going on in this series, and it’s all just so inspired. Beyond that though, it doesn’t really have anything that stands out: the graphics look pretty… and that’s it. The characters are… there I guess, but that’s all So yeah, it’s a one trick pony, but that trick it does is damn great.
#12 (new) – Uta Koi – (8,25/10)

Thank you, whoever made this show possible. This series shows that anime can still make series that have no commercial potential at all, and instead are there to teach their audience new things and show their own interpretations of a unique part of Japan’s history. The acting is a bit simplistic, but heck: the content, soundtrack and pacing make up for that.

#11 (13) – Moyashimon – (8,25/10)

Bizarrely enough, the central character of the past month changed to a germophobe. Because of this, the germs have turned into narrators. A bold move, and do the creators have enough to make up for that? I’d say yes: the lectures in this series are very interesting, and the characters all have a very good chemistry together.

#10 (9) – Rinne no Lagrange – (8,25/10)
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Rinne no Lagrange continues its strong formula of mechas and charming characters. With this, we’re heading into the real mysteries in this series, and the themes of reaching out to the enemy still remain, although the main villain of Ran’s brother could do with a bit of character-development at this point.

#9 (15) – AKB0048 – (8,4/10)

This month, AKB really won me over completely. The second season announcement, on top of the characters getting even more charming really did the trick for me. The finale was incredibly cheesy, but it worked due to the excellent direction and musical numbers. Definitely looking forward to that continuation.

#8 (25) – Kokoro Connect – (8,4/10)

This was by far the surprise of the season, after that first episode that left me woefully unimpressed. From out of nowhere, this series suddenly started delivering with excellent dialogue and voice acting, and the characters suddenly revealed complex issues that they all discussed with each other in great detail. This is one case in which my first impressions have been totally wrong.

#7 (18) – Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki – (8,5/10)

I love this show. It’s all just so down to earth. This month was entirely dedicated to Summer, and what followed were a TON of short sketches about the different characters living their daily lives while it’s too hot to really do anything. Seriously, the episodes are only 2 minutes long, and the creators still manage to stuff in enough content as if it was five times that length.

#6 (11) – Shirokuma Cafe – (8,5/10)

This show surpassed itself this month with a number of classic scenes. It’s still incredibly corny, but because of how true it is to itself it really doesn’t matter, and this actually becomes a selling point. Some of the characters, especially Penguin and Polar Bear, were just priceless.

#5 (10) – Hunter X Hunter – (8,6/10)

Yes! Yes! Yes! Finally Hunter X Hunter has arrived at the point that I’ve been looking forward to ever since it got announced (nearly a freaking year!): the Yorkshin arc. This is where the original series really went: “Shounen conventions?” Who cares about these bloody shounen conventions! I’ve got a story to tell!”, and it would be wonderful if this new season would also be able to achieve this. The early signs are all good: sure, the acting is a tad more over the top, but they can really make this work. They really nailed the introductions of the key characters in their own way.

#4 (9) – Hyouka – (8,6/10)

The school festival arc is really big. For how many episodes has it been going on now? 4? Because of that though, it really as been able to put in an attention to detail for the small things, That was great build-up.

#3 (4) – Eureka Seven Ao – (8,75/10)

To those who were planning to check out Eureka Seven Ao without having seen the original Eureka Seven: don’t. You really need to have seen the first Eureka Seven in order to be able to enjoy this to the fullest, that definitely became clear this month. And how! This month just delivered twist after twist after twist, and it all works together. The big ones in particular were just amazing, and this series doesn’t even show signs that it played all of its trumps already.

#2 (new) – Natsuyuki Rendezvous – (9,25/10)

This show is just amazing in every single way. It’s been a long while since in a season there was just one show that immediately blew away all other series that debuted that season so massively. Its voice acting is just fantastic, the characters and their chemistry is just amazing, the soundtrack rocks, the animation is incredibly detailed, the story doesn’t beat around the bush. It really is refreshing to see such a mature romance, in which the main female character actually is in her thirties: these characters are even rarer than male leads of that age.

#1 (1) – Uchuu Kyoudai – (9,25/10)

The thing with Uchuu Kyoudai is that the only criticism I might have for it is that its pacing is a tad slow: it really takes a while to get from A to B. But dammit, it brilliantly makes use of this, by using this time in order to flesh out its cast to the fullest. Mutta has become a classic character at this point, but the rest of the cast members are also awesome at this point. Everyone just feels so real and down to earth, and on top of that they all pack a ton of charm in their own way.

Apologies, this entry is slightly shorter than usual. I’ve basically been writing up entries all day now, because there is way too much ending at the same time. With this, I’ve finally caught up with everything aside from the movies and Mouretsu Pirates (which I’ll cover tomorrow).

In any case though: this season rocked. It may not have had a series like Ano Hana, Yojou-Han Shinwa Taikei, Phantom, FMA, Himitsu or Kaiba, but what it did have was quantity: a huge amount of diverse and worthwhile series. There was a ton of stuff worth watching here, much more compared to the seasons of recent years, and I had a lot of fun following it.

#26 (new) – Kingdom – (4/10) – I still can’t believe how much melodrama there was in this series. I mean, there is bad acting, and then there is this series that seems to believe that the harder you scream the more impact it makes.
#25 (new) – Kokoro Connect – (4,5/10) – The episode started off all-right, but as soon as the characters opened their mouths, I knew that watching this series was going to be incredibly difficult. Filled with bad fanservice jokes and characters who can’t shut up talking yet ultimately hardly say anything worthwhile.
#24 (20) – Phi Brain – (6,5/10) – Phi Brain… what the hell did you do this month? I mean, we’ve seen a string of six or so episodes that completely failed their purpose and destroyed my suspense of disbelief. Instead of developing, the characters actually regressed back, the main motivation for the villains is really stupid and forced and in particular Nonoha completely got her chance to shine wrong (“I’ll just remain in the kitchen while you boys be cool and solve puzzles”)
#23 (new) – Campione! – (7/10) – Again the fanservice is really bad, but not a complete disaster. Could make for some good action fodder if it heads into the right direction.
#22 (22) – Saint Seiya Omega – (7,75/10) – There was one really good episode of Saint Seiya. Apart from that, it has been mostly forgettable, but things can change with its second half.
#21 (21) – Sankarea – (7,75/10) – Ultimately, Sankarea needed more to do. These final episodes really felt like they were struggling to fill in their time, and the annoying characters didn’t really help its case. Which is a shame, because in terms of acting it really had a lot to like.
#20 (19) – Jormungand – (8/10) – It’s a shame that Jormungand’s problem was that it couldn’t come up with interesting villains. It showed several attempts at creating them this month, but quickly abandoned mot of them, or left them for the second season to use. It’s a shame: Black Lagoon shined because of how different all the arcs were, but here they end up feeling just too similar to each other.
#19 (9) – Legend of Korra – (8,1/10) – Yes, that ending. I’m not so much bothered by the fact that it felt like a deus ex machina for someone not familiar with the first Avatar series, but rather how it canceled out a lot of the most memorable moments of the Television-series, and removed a lot of the tension from the series. A shame, because this really had potential.
#18 (10) – Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki – (8,25/10)

Poyopoyo is still dabbling along with its unique charm of combining slice of life with a round cat and huge laughs. And that’s the thing: every character here is full of life, not just the animals.

#17 (23) – Medaka Box – (8,25/10)

Well, this month definitely was the best month for Medaka Box: the plot finally got interesting and it finally got the chance to use all of the build-up. The battles were interesting, now let’s hope that the second season won’t take this too far.

#16 (15) – Nazo no Kanojo X – (8,25/10)

This has always been a series about a young couple, but in this month the two of them really started getting horny, and the pas month has been chock full of teenaged hormones running wild. The chemistry between the lead couple still is quite strong.

#15 (13) – AKB0048 – (8,25/10)

AKB0048 was slightly weaker this month because it spent a lot of time building up, but it still was quite impressive how it managed to get away with such a bleak setting for a show that’s supposed to be about this idol promotion. There is a lot of interesting drama between the characters as well and I like so far how this series is both energetic and depressing as hell. It still makes no bloody sense though.

#14 (14) – Zetman – (8,25/10)

Here is the thing: Zetman actually wrapped up right. Amidst all of the rushed series out there, this was a breath of fresh air. They did have to derail Kouga’s character for this to happen, but overall I’m really satisfied with how this show turned out considering the restraints it had.

#13 (18) – Aquarion Evol – (8,4/10)

Well if anything, the past month has been really fun to watch. It’s been totally over the top mecha action with a ton of plot twists along the way, and it worked. A worthy finale for the first of the big sci-fi series this year to end.

#12 (8) – Kimi to Boku – (8,4/10)

Kimi to Boku went with the “life goes on”-ending, but in the meantime it did have a bunch of very interesting and well delivered episodes that have been typical of the second season. I’m glad I stuck with this one.

#11 (16) – Shirokuma Cafe – (8,4/10)

Panda turned into a complete and utter troll this week, but that made him so much fun to watch. The highlight however, was the episode about the date with Penko. That was the single funniest episode of the entire season and made me nearly fall off my chair laughing.

#10 (17) – Hunter X Hunter – (8,4/10)

The fight between Gon and Hisoka: that’s the first time in which the animation team really impressed me here. They dropped all of the still frames and yelling out attacks, and instead delivered some excellent fight scenes. I’m getting psyched because we’re just one arc removed from where the story gets really, really good.

#9 (12) – Hyouka – (8,5/10)

Hyouka is definitely interesting. Now that we’re near the end of tis second arc, it still consistently well animated and acted with mysteries that are down to earth, rather than overly complicated. This series definitely stands out in how it’s able to flesh out the small things.

#8 (5) – Natsuiro Kiseki – (8,5/10)

Natsuiro Kiseki closed off with a very heart-warming finale and overall it has been as strong as it has ever been with a lot of great character-development to close off.

#7 (11) – Tsuritama – (8,5/10)

the final month was definitely the best month for Tsuritama so far. This is where things got really fun and whimsical with a lot of very creative twists thrown at the screen. The final episode was not was creative as what I’d hoped, but still it was a very entertaining finale.

#6 (6) – Lupin the Third – (8,5/10)

The ending was weird, but for me, it worked really well, and was the second-best ending of the past season due to the balls that the creators had to pull it off. Overall the final third of Lupin has been the best, with a lot of interesting scripts and twists.

#5 (3) – Fate/Zero – (8,6/10)

Ultimately, it’s a shame that I wasn’t familiar with the rest of the fate franchise, because I feel that this has held back my enjoyment for this finale, as it suddenly introduced a lot of concepts that can only be understood if you have seen Fate/Stay Night. Nevertheless though, the actual ending on hindsight was really good. Third best ending of the season.

#4 (7) – Eureka Seven Ao – (8,6/10)

Eureka Seven went completely crazy this month. This was chock full of mind games and the creators playing tricks on you, filled to the brink with all kinds of plot twists that are deliberately vague and hard to understand, and I loved it.

#3 (4) – Mouretsu Pirates – (8,75/10)

Hell yeah, this show is awesome! The past month let loose of all the brakes and this show surpassed itself many times with a ton of fun and interesting twists and a cast of characters that seems to have a ton of trump cards hidden in their sleeves that they decided to reveal all at the same time. This show completely exceeded my expectations here.

#2 (1) – Sakamichi no Apollon – (8,75/10)

I personally loved the ending for Sakamichi no Apollon. And how it said so much with so little. It definitely was the best ending of the season.

#1 (2) – Uchuu Kyoudai – (9/10)

Uchuu Kyoudai pulled an amazing new direction here: introducing fifteen new characters, all with their won characteristics, strengths and weaknesses and forcing them to live together for two weks in an attempt to become an astronaut. This month was full of great moments for both Mutta and the rest of the cast, and everyone plays off each other wonderfully.

What sets this season apart: the sheer amount of great series out there. Seriously, the amount of interesting shows that push boundaries is the best in at lest two years. Now all that’s left is a bunch of great finales: a lot of the series in this seasons will end next month, and a lot of them have quite a bit of potential to end wonderfully.

#23 (25) – Medaka Box – (7/10) – Medaka Box is dangerously close to being one of those “meh” series. What I mean by that is that it’s going to end within one month, even though it hasn’t really done much so far. It has introduced plenty of things with potential, but those were just introductions: it hasn’t really done anything with them because these will very likely be used later on in the series. So yeah, this show is mostly building up to parts that aren’t going to be animated. This is why I really dislike shounen jump series.
#22 (22) – Saint Seiya Omega – (7,4/10) – I’m on the verge of dropping this show, and then episode eight came and was slightly interesting. My main problem with this show is its characterization: it’s all too wooden and one-sided, especially that main character is a one-sided hot blooded idiot and the villains other than that golden saint are all terribly uninspired and stereotypical.
#21 (23) – Sankarea – (7,6/10) – Sankarea is that really annoying series of the season, that has flashes of brilliance, intermixed with flashes of incredible annoyance. Pretty much what Nisemonogatari was last season. Sanka Rea is a pretty interesting character to watch, especially considering the state she’s in. Shenever she takes up the center of attention, this show is great. The cousin however, is annoying. The classmates are annoying. This show also wastes too much time on random fluff. I understand that characters need to get fleshed out, but the balance of these scenes feels missing.
#20 (12) – Phi Brain – (7,75/10) – Oh boy, Phi Brain surely took a hit to the suspension of disbelief this month. I mean, it’s the series nature to be over the top and rather stupid at times, however what it pulled this time is so vital to the overall storyline and characters that it’s really hard to overlook. I really hope that there is more to it, because Freecell, you’re very close to becoming a very pathetic villain here.
#19 (21) – Jormungand – (7,9/10) – If I had to point out one point at which Jormungand, it’s the characterization. I still can’t exactly point out what it is, but most characters fail to capture my interest, there are a lot of very similar characters walking around, or characters who are carbon-copies of other characters or who just try too hard. It’s strange, but for a show that’s supposed to be about gun delaying, I miss this lack of tension.
#18 (20) – Aquarion Evol – (8,25/10)

Aquarion Evol continues to balance between a tense storyline and a heap of cliches, in a pretty bizarre way. It’s over the top and some of the twists are great entertainment to watch. There are characters who really shine here, but on the other hand we have Mikono: the main female character… who didn’t really do anything over the series other than get kidnapped.

#17 (19) – Hunter X Hunter – (8,25/10)

We are now at a point of explanation and exposition. It’s a point that also made me tired in the original 1999 series, so watching it in recap is… annoying. On the other hand though: the thing it’s building up to will be something really special. I usually hate remakes that do nothing but recapping, so it has to say something that I’m still stuck with this show after 30 episodes. Nen is very original, and I hope that this show’s success inspires future shounens to also put a lot of attention to detail and creativity in their settings.

#16 (14) – Shirokuma Cafe – (8,25/10)

The bizarre thing with this series is that the jokes are incredibly corny, yet consistently enjoyable. The Polar Bear and the Penguin are the standout characters here. The penguin is great to watch and gets great stuff out of the rest of the cast, while the Polar Bear has some awesome deadpan humour.

#15 (9) – Nazo no Kanojo X – (8,25/10)

In this day and age in which everything is just trying to get more and more fanservice in, it’s great to see a series that puts so much restraint in it. It’s a really good way to flesh out the characters, and I like how they grew closer together a lot here.

#14 (4) – Zetman – (8,25/10)

This month was not as impressive because the budget decreased, but the creators still are trying to make this show as expressive as they can with their limited means. The pacing also actually slowed down in order to have some mid-season build up and extra tension. It really depends on that ending whether this show will work or not.

#13 (24) – AKB0048 – (8,4/10)

Oh, AKB… I want to hate this show. I really do. But it’s such a charming series. It’s obviously pandering, but some scenes are played so straight that I wonder whether they are partially meant as a criticism as well. The cast of this series is huge, and what me impressed the most within these first five episodes is how well it gave every single one of these characters a bit of detail and info, keeping a great balance between all of the characters.

#12 (17) – Hyouka – (8,4/10)

What I like about Hyouka is that the long dialogues are about something. It’s well acted and consistently interesting, which really is a breath of fresh air after all those Shaft-series that attempted the same thing but couldn’t hold my attention. The animation still is very excellent and even though most mysteries are about mundane things, I do find myself drawn in.

#11 (8) – Tsuritama – (8,4/10)

Tsuritama is building up to something. I feel that that finale is going to be the major factor for me in evaluating this series, because it is clear that it has like a deck full of aces hidden in its sleeves and socks. There was one episode that really showed that potential and it was awesome. Now finish things properly!

#10 (18) – Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki – (8,4/10)

You know what? Poyopoyo actually is the best show about owning cats that I’ve seen. In fact, if you don’t count movies (Night on the Galactic Railroad, Tamala 2010 and the Cat Returns were awesome), this pretty much is the best cat chow I’ve ever seen. It’s all just so relatable, and the pacing is just perfect for five-minute episodes. I know it sounds weird and all, but I’m consistently enjoying this show.

#9 (15) – Legend of Korra – (8,4/10)

The romance in this series isn’t really that interesting. Everything apart from that though is really good. Especially since there are no anime about politics at the moment, this really fills my hunger for the Spring Politics Series. The villains are very credible and a great threat for Korra, and the creators made good use of how out of place she is.

#8 (11) – Kimi to Boku – (8,5/10)

Kimi to Boku really blossomed in its second season. Every episode is standalone, but they nearly all created some very impressive character-development, both for the main cast and for the cast of side-characters.

#7 (13) – Eureka Seven Ao – (8,5/10)

Eureka Seven Ao’s charms are hard to define. In any case they’re different from what made the first season great. It’s the great acting, along with some surreal parts and very good directing that makes it really entertaining to watch, but I think that it’s the acting that really put this series above most other mechas of the past few seasons: kids are treated like kids. There are tons of different parties active, all with their own goals.

#6 (5) – Lupin The Third – (8,5/10)

This show has class. I know it’s a bit weird to say that of a series with so much nudity, but what makes this show so interesting is how well Mine Fujiko is portrayed, along with the guys around her. It’s the storytelling here that really stands out with a great direction.

#5 (7) – Natsuiro Kiseki – (8,6/10)

Every episode of Natsuiro Kiseki so far has been dedicated to character development. We’re now at the point where the rock takes a step back, so that we can really focus on the four main characters, and this series still pushes them into situations in which they’re forced to grow. This show does an amazing job in showing their worries and despite that having them act believably.

#4 (6) – Mouretsu Pirates – (8,6/10)

You know, I’m really enjoying Mouretsu Pirates at the moment. I said it before, but with this, it’s pretty much the best non-sequel to have come out the past winter season. The past arc is especially fun and and this show also gets more and more creative with its storylines.

#3 (3) – Fate/Zero – (8,6/10)

This really has been a month of build-up for Fate/Zero, but what build-up there was was really, really dark. A ton of characters got extra backgrounds, changed, and moved into some really harsh plot twists. A few of these scenes were a bit too harsh (apparently they were better built up in the novels, but this is an anime first and adaptation second), but it nevertheless is excellent and dark stuff.

#2 (1) – Uchuu Kyoudai – (9/10)

Really, there are two stand-out series this season. Both of them rock because of their characterization, but both do this in completely different ways. Uchuu Kyoudai is briljant at fleshing out its characters: Mutta’s inner monologues are really sharp, and the rest of the side-cast all fits incredibly well with each other.

#1 (2) – Sakamichi no Apollon – (9/10)

Yes. To say that this show is good would be a huge understatement. This series manages to capture its characters in a unique way and it does it with so much detail and believability that is un-matched by only very few other series. The way this show plays with emotions and awkwardness is exquisite. Add that to the excellent animation (including the parts that aren’t rotoscoped but actually animated) and Yoko Kanno’s awesome soundtrack, and you’ve got a winner. Definitely the best Noitamina series since Ano Hana.

This season is massive! Seriously, do you know when the last time was that I ended up listing 49 or more series during my monthly summaries? October 2006. And back then I didn’t watch raws yet, and I included series from past seasons that hadn’t finished yet, along with a bunch of really old series. This season definitely is something special in terms of all of the series that have come out that are trying something interestingand trying to stand out.

Does that mean that we’ve got one of the best seasons ever? Well, no. There is a lot of mediocrity in this season, not to mention there are too many series of only 13 episodes for it to be really able to rival the major seasons like Spring 2006, Spring 2007 and Autumn 2008. I made the mistake in the past of announcing a season as awesome right at the start (did that to both Summer and Autumn 2011), so I’m not going to do that until this season is finished. But damn: things look good here.

#49 (new) – Sengoku Collection – (2,25/10) – Oda Nobunaga… what have they done to you? Dropped.
#48 (new) – Naruto SD – (2,75/10) – The forced attempts at comedy were horrible to watch. Dropped.
#47 (new) – Pretty Rythm – (3/10) – Even for a kids’ show, this one was bad. It was nothing but one girl whine over and over and over and she would just never shut up. Do kids really enjoy watching those kinds of characters?
#46 (new) – Queens Blade – (3/10) – Completely retarded. Also, boobs. Dropped.
#45 (23) – Hiiro no Kakera – (4,5/10) – I tried giving this a second chance, but bailed out immediately. This is an incredibly generic bishie show that is badly acted and has absolutely nothing that stands out whatsoever. Dropped
#44 (new) – Upotte – (5/10) – Wow. That first episode’s only sense of humour came from having random innuendo jokes about guns. Xebec, I really see that you’ve exerted yourself on this one… Dropped.
#43 (new) – Ginga he Kickoff – (5,75/10) – Very annoying lead character. Dropped.
#42 (new) – Recorder to Randsell – (6,25/10) – The gimmick of this series has worn off for me. It’s nice and all for one episode, but two entire seasons of this. It needs to try harder for me. Having “being a cute premise” as the only redeemable factor is not enough for me to keep watching. Dropped.
#41 (new) – Haiyore Nyaruko-San – (6,4/10) – This show also is a gimmick that’s a bit fun for just one episode, but not much more. Yeah, she is an insult to the works of Lovecraft, let’s have a laugh and then drop this to move on. Dropped.
#40 (20) – Ozuma – (6,6/10) – So in the end, what did Ozuma really do? This month brought in some of the background of this series, but that’s what it was: just background that that one girl read as from a script. It made no impact on the rest of the show whatsoever and could have been omitted without changing anything else about the show.
#39 (new) – Yurumates – (6,9/10) – 2 minutes of random college antics. It didn’t capture my interest. Dropped.
#38 (new) – Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? – (7/10) – I gave up on this show when it tried to recycle its gimmicks from the first season.
#37 (new) – Tasogare Otome X Amnesia – (7/10) – The guys over at Silver Link really need to learn about how to get characters to act properly. This is their umpth show of theirs that might have been interesting, if only it wasn’t so badly acted. Especially the female sidekick who can’t see ghosts was a pain to watch. I’d almost say: drop all the visual effects, and focus on your basics and priorities. Dropped.
#36 (new) – Gon – (7/10) – Another gimmick show: it’s fun to watch for one episode, but after that it dies off. Dropped.
#35 (new) – Accel World – (7,1/10) – Interesting premise, but the execution leaves things to be desired. Annoying main character who doesn’t belong in this series, Wastes too much time with boring exposition, has no interesting characters whatsoever. I see no potential for this one in the long run, unfortunately.
#34 (new) – Acchi Kocchi – (7,25/10) – Acchi Kocchi is… just there, I guess. It’s just a bunch of high schoolers doing random stuff with its annoying and cute moments. I could find nothing that really stood out or made it more than just random fluff, though. Dropped
#33 (new) – Folktales from Japan – (7,4/10) – Random Folk Tales. They were interesting from a cultural point of view, even though they really played on what a bitch Karma tends to be. It’s not interesting enough to continue watching, though. Dropped.
#32 (new) – Jewel Pet – (7,4/10) – Getting the director of Milky Holmes and Lilpri to do Jewel Pet. Whoever found that kind of madness a good idea? The result was a bizarre first episode that was funny as a gimmick, but unsustainable in the long run. Dropped
#31 (new) – Kuromajo-San ga Tooru – (7,5/10) – Cute, but not cute enough for me to spend my time on. Needs to try harder. Dropped
#30 (new) – Shining Hearts – Shiawase no Pan – (7,5/10) – I don’t care if you’ve got an interesting story. If you don’t try to show this off, then how am I supposed to know? This series really needs more ambition. Try to stand out like a lot of the other shows are trying to do, for god’s sake. Dropped.
#29 (new) – Saki Episode of Side A – (7,5/10) – The problem with Saki is that its characters are quite charming, but its mahjong is an insult. With the first two episodes, I saw no hints that this time it’ll be different, so I’m bailing out while I still can. Dropped.
#28 (new) – Arashi no Yoru ni – (7,6/10) – In the end, this series suffers from too much competition. I had to cut out some series, and I have already seen this story and it is overacted.
#27 (17) – Smile Precure – (7,75/10) – In the end I dropped this series. It’s a nice show and all, but this season has way too much competition.
#26 (new) – Kuroko no Basuke – (7,75/10) – This had some fun first episodes, but I see no future in this series as a shounen jump adaptation. There is no potential for the characters to improve, it probably will drag on with random opponents that also have shounen-like powers. I feel like I’ve seen all that’s good about this series in just the first episode. Dropped.
#25 (new) – Medaka Box – (7,75/10) – I can see potential in this series. The writing shows that it knows what it’s doing, but at other times it’s aggravating to watch and how everyone keeps going on about how perfect Medaka is. This is a show where it really stands out that it violates the “show, don’t tell”-principle, and it’s not like I’m often bothered by that.
#24 (new) – AKB0048 – (7,75/10) – The plot just makes no sense whatsoever! It has potential though, because at least the characters are bearable enough to continue past the first episode.
#23 (new) – Sankarea – (7,9/10) – Here is the thing: that third episode was really, really good. That’s the reason why I haven’t dropped this yet, and I have to admit that Rea is very well acted and interesting to watch. My big problem is that most of the rest of the cast isn’t, in particular that cousin and the other classmates of the lead character.
#22 (new) – Saint Seiya Omega – (8/10) – Saint Seiya’s problem is that it stays a bit in the shadows of everything. On one hand it’s still in the shadows of Heartcatch Precure and Casshern, who both were written much better and had much more interesting characters, and it’s overshadowed by the rest of this season being incredibly good and good-looking as well.
#21 (new) – Jormungand – (8,1/10) – Slick action in a gritty setting, with characters who can’t stop snarking. So yeah, that combination didn’t work in this show’s favor, but as a gun-slinging show it still is quite entertaining and holds a lot of potential.
#20 (7) – Aquarion Evol – (8,1/10) – Aquarion Evol is in the middle of a bunch of training arcs. To make up for this dull-sounding premise, it has made this some of the weirdest training arcs in a long while. This show has gotten completely bizarre at this point. Whether the character-development worked or not depends on the finale, though, because the character-development has been a bit unimpressive. Especially Zessica is in the danger zone.
#19 (8) – Hunter X Hunter – (8,25/10)

The thing with Nen is that in order to realize how amazing it is, you first need to sit through a bit of explanation about how it works. It’s gonna be worth it, though. I’d also like to say something about the animation in this series: it does have Madhouse’s trademark CG and the inbetween animation can be quite smooth at times. But it’s all feels too much like manga panels that move around. It misses some dynamic movement. Some extra touches on the animation, and I mean more than once in a while showing a character who is shaded really well. Give me interesting movement.

#18 (new) – Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki – (8,25/10)

The peculiar thing about this season is that in terms of pure comedies, there isn’t a lot noteworthy, if you ignore series like Uchuu Kyoudai, where the comedy isn’t the main focus. I could only find two good comedy shows this season, one of which is Poyopoyo which carried over from the previous season. Still, it’s a genre that is over-saturated, so I don’t mind. Poyopoyo still is awesome in how it consistently manages to take everyday situations for cat owners and make them fun. It’s also surprisingly sadistic at times.

#17 (new) – Hyouka – (8,25/10)

A Kyoani series I care about for once! Great animation and dialogue. The big potential pitfall of this series will be taking too long to build up; something that plagues a lot of Kyoani series.

#16 (new) – Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 – (8,25/10)

They actually gave a new coat over the original Yamato series. The first episode followed the plot of the first episode of the TV-series, but a lot was added to it, and the creators still nailed the epic feeling of the good Matsumoto Leiji series. I’m keeping my eye on this.

#15 (new) – Legend of Korra – (8,25/10)

This really is an exception. I am not going to watch Avatar. I do not have the time for that and there are too many other things that I want to spend my time on. Nevertheless, to keep track of this every week is just enough. What I really like about this is how it subverts Korra’s status as a hero and plays with it.

#14 (new) – Shirokuma Cafe – (8,25/10)

This series has no business being as good as it is, and yet, I love it. It’s just about a cafe run by a polar bear that has a penguin and a panda among its regular guests. The panda in particular is very annoying. But this show completely nailed all of these characters and their random conversations. It’s brilliant in how it uses the fact that the characters are nearly all animals and how they behave.

#13 (new) – Eureka Seven Ao – (8,25/10)

Interesting setting, completely different from Eureka Seven’s setting. The action is very solid as well, and the characters also are well acted. I like how there are many different parties with all their own interests. This show is building up to something very interesting here.

#12 (5) – Phi Brain – (8,25/10)

The new season has a ton of potential… IF the creators use it. If not, then it can also come crashing down horribly. That’s the kind of double-sided sword that brainwashing is. So far though, things are looking good with some nice side-character development. The visuals also look prettier compared to the first season.

#11 (new) – Kimi to Boku – (8,4/10)

The advantage this season has over the first: we already know the cast, and they’re already a bit developed. That has made this season much more bearable, and even though the blond kid still is annoying, it’s much less apparent compared to how he was in the past. The result is a very charming slice of life series that really knows its drama.

#10 (10) – Mirai Nikki – (8,4/10)

A fun and exciting ending to conclude the series with. This show really went over the top and delivered some very unexpected plot twists. It had some humps along the way, but with the finale I am still glad to have kept up with it.

#9 (new) – Nazo no Kanojo X – (8,4/10)

A very weird show, but I must say that the interplay between the two main characters is very entertaining to watch. It’s also got a terrific soundtrack.

#8 (new) – Tsuritama – (8,4/10)

This is the most grounded work of Kenji Nakamura to date: it’s just a show about a bunch of guys and fishing. It’s still really fun and uplifting, with a lot of quirky and fun characters to watch, on top of quite an artistic look. Can it live up to his other works in terms of depth, though?

#7 (new) – Natsuiro Kiseki – (8,5/10)

Natsurio Kiseki is forced. But considering its premise, it’s no wonder, and the creators make perfect use of this. Every episode had the girls find out something new about themselves, or come to terms with something,resulting into them growing as a character. This show loves to play around with its cast and put them into interesting situations. And really: the four of them work really well together.

#6 (6) – Mouretsu Pirates – (8,5/10)

Mouretsu Pirates has actually gotten better over the past month. The most recent developments are a bit forced to get all of the characters at the right places, but the result of this is incredibly fun and interesting science fiction.

#5 (new) – Lupin The Third – (8,5/10)

Very artistic and mature. You can really see that the creators are trying to turn this into a fun adventure, while also emphasizing on how incredibly feminine Mine Fujiko is. The result has style, and it’s quite fun, even for someone who isn’t a fan of the Lupin franchise. It’s in any case the most unique series of the season.

#4 (new) – Zetman – (8,5/10)

Having not read the manga, I have no idea how good that was, and I don’t care. Zetman is a very fine show with a lot of heart put into it. The animation really knows how to accentuate the characters’ faces, and the acting is bold and gripping. This show stands out, and it has really grabbed my attention, and for that I’m willing to overlook some pacing issues. In fact, I’d say that despite these issues, it still manages to know which scenes to focus on, instead of trying to rush through everything equally.

#3 (new) – Fate/Zero – (8,75/10)

Fate/Zero has really been fired off in this new season, wasting no time and showing huge developments in nearly all of its episodes. The wait after all of this build up was definitely worth it. Episode 2 also was a visual orgasm.

#2 (new) – Sakamichi no Apollon – (9/10)

The star of this season. I can’t believe how well this show is executed. The animation when the characters are playing instruments is incredible, and the best that any television series has ever been in portraying musicians. The drama between the characters is also amazingly well acted. The creators managed to put so much emotion into this series. Oh, and Yoko Kanno… she really delivers on the soundtrack for this one.

#1 (new) – Uchuu Kyoudai – (9/10)

In a season with so much competition, Uchuu Kyoudai stands very confidently at the top with pretty much the best characters of the season. No other show comes close to the amount of development that these guys have already had, and Mutta is an absolutely wonderful character to watch. It’s all just so down to earth and incredibly fun to watch. Now let the rumour that this will have 51 episodes be true!

Okay, so during the summer season of 2011, I remember how I kept saying that modern anime are too short, and how more series should try to be longer. Well, the past half year showed the other side of that extreme when a large amount of the big flops were… series that went on for longer than 13 episodes: Bakuman dragged, Persona was terribly paced, Guilty Crown was terribly written, Last Exile had a bit of a bad main character syndrome and Squid Girl II was a pointless sequel.

And at the same time, the three best endings of this season… all were from series based on manga that are still on-going. Hmm…

#23 (new) – Hiiro no Kakera – (4,5/10) – Yet again Studio Deen keeps making the same bloody show that is as lazily executed as ever. Yet again we have a really dull bishie show with cardboard cut-outs. And what I really don’t get is why this show has the character designer of Ergo Proxy. I mean, the characters in this series look utterly terrible. What was the need to bring a guy like him around if you’re not going to use him?
#22 (new) – Gakkatsu – (6/10) – A random flash show, thankfully better executed than usual. It still was very dull and gimmicky, though.
#21 (20) – Guilty Crown – (7/10) – I… guess that this month wasn’t the worst month in terms of plot, but it was the month that convinced me what a huge waste of time it was to keep up with this series. I really got nothing out of it, other than bragging rights that I managed to finish such a dull and badly written series. And heck, even the ending was full of the most stupid plot twists. I am not looking forward to Accel World, considering how it shares the same scriptwriter.
#20 (new) – Ozuma – (7,6/10) – Considering Ryousuke Takahashi’s involvement, this was a bit of a disappointment in how sloppy it was, and how annoying the main character is. I like the idea of a sand submarine though, and with that the creators played a nice homage to the likes of Das Boot and other submarine flicks. There is way too much techno-babble, though. You can really see that this is a story from the early 1980s that got adapted almost page to page, without any attempt to give it a modern edge aside from the graphics.
#19 (18) – Black Rock Shooter – (7,75/10) – Thankfully Black Rock Shooter redeemed itself in its second half. Finally there was a bit of a link between the two worlds beyond both having similar characters. Having Mari Okada as the scriptwriter really helped in making everything come together, even though it also lead to perhaps a bit too much sappiness at times. Still, the action was awesome as well and while it’s definitely among the least interesting Noitamina series, it wasn’t the disaster that Guilty Crown turned out to be.
#18 (17) – Papa no Iukoto ni Kikinasai – (7,9/10) – I disliked the open ended nature of this series, because there still is some stuff that really needs to be tackled for the main characters. Still, I can’t deny that it was a very heart-warming month for this series, that really put emphasis the situation that they’re in. This also was the least annoying month for Papa and I’m glad that I kept watching it, despite the very obvious flaws it has.
#17 (19) – Smile Precure – (8/10) – Heartcatch Precure was immediately awesome: right from the start you knew that you were watching something special, so you didn’t have to sit through a string of really boring episodes, just to know whether it was worth it or not. With Smile Precure, this was not the case: the introduction episodes were really boring. I kept watching because of how it wasn’t entirely stupid, unlike Fresh Precure and Suite Precure. The patience was rewarded when this show actually immediately after the introductions got significantly better. The main character is still really annoying, but the characters are actually getting some very good development already.
#16 (15) – Last Exile – Ginyoku no Fam – (8/10) – Thankfully this series didn’t fall apart with its ending. Everyone thankfully stayed true to his or her character, and that’s what made this ending work. The plan of the final villain still was a bit flimsy, and he definitely should have been better fleshed out, but at least he did close off the series well. The final action scenes were again beautifully rendered, but this wasn’t the amazing comeback that Gonzo hoped for. For that, they needed to put more creativity in the plot and characters, beyond the world building.
#15 (16) – Ano Natsu de Matteru – (8/10) – That final twist with Lemon… urgh. The final episode overall was interesting in how it was completely different from the rest of the series. It worked, but the ending was nowhere near the best of the season, nor the highlights of the series itself. Still, it’s a solid ending.
#14 (11) – Nisemonogatari – (8/10) – The strongest point of this series for me was probably last month. The final arc of this series still was pretty good though, and the time that this show was side-tracked was thankfully rather short compared to Shaft’s other series. The pointless incest wasn’t necessary in the slightest, but the creators got a good story out of the characters when it actually tried to be on topic. The gorgeous animation also helped.
#13 (14) – Danshi Koukousei ni Nichijou – (8,25/10)

The ending was pretty good. The final episode in particular had a lot of sketches that worked really well. Overall the abusive girls parts definitely got annoying and repetitive, but once again this month had a number of great jokes.

#12 (5) – Another – (8,25/10)

Another’s ending was not as good as what I hoped. It put a lot of build-up into it, but the finale was full of strange leaps in logic. Still, the revelation of the ghost was very good, the aftermath was well done, and as a gory horror series, it definitely did its job.

#11 (9) – Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki – (8,25/10)

Akitarou Daichi for god’s sake: stop doing these small comedy series. Don’t get me wrong, Poyopoyo is awesome and hilarious, but a guy of your caliber deserves to work on an actual ambitious full series. Go and have tea with the people from Noitamina or something, because I really do miss that brilliant serious side of yours.

#10 (10) – Mirai Nikki – (8,25/10)

It took a while to get there, and being spoiled in the process definitely wasn’t fun, but now that we’re getting near the end I have to say that the plot took quite a number of entertaining and intriguing turns. In a way, the second half of this series is everything that Guilty Crown should have been, save perhaps from the production values.

#9 (12) – Rinne no Lagrange – (8,25/10)

Overall this was a very solid midway climax. It actually closed a few things off, while giving a hook for the second season and there was a nice amount of character growth. Overall its first half was probably the weakest of the three sci-fi series of Winter 2012, but still the witty direction also was very enjoyable to watch during its final episodes.

#8 (6) – Hunter X Hunter – (8,25/10)

The most annoying thing about watching this series is my patience. I mean, with Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, the recap just took 15 episodes. It was a bit annoying, but it was manageable. Hunter X Hunter has been going on for 25 episodes and we’re still nowhere near any new material, and to this point while there are some minute differences. At this point, I do not feel like it’s worth it to watch this series. Sure, there are hints here and there to later on in the series and all, and when we get to them it will probably be awesome. But still: 25 episodes. Still, at the very least this series goes at a faster pace, which really helps during the building up arcs. This month also delivered the background of Killua, which also again was quite good. What I currently like most about it is how it still keeps changing with every episode. It’s not as strong as when the series first started out, but it’s still very much there. That’s exactly what a shounen jump series needs to prevent itself from dragging on horribly.

#7 (8) – Aquarion Evol – (8,25/10)

Aquarion Evol still is consistently enjoyable. It’s over the top romance action, but it combines them all so well that along with the action and the best soundtrack of the season it remains a ton of fun to watch. The past month spent a lot of time on its characters, which also really helps for the second half of this series.

#6 (7) – Mourestu Pirates – (8,4/10)

The conclusion of the Serenity arc was above all very interesting science fiction. Seriously, the promotional material for this series looked very silly, but the creators did deliver some really good ideas, and twelve episodes in they still take their audiences seriously and they don’t just spoon-feed everything on a silver plate. Overall, out of the three big sci-fi series this season, this one turned out to be the most solid.

#5 (4) – Phi Brain – (8,5/10)

The annoying thing about finales that schedule them on April 1st is that I can’t comment on them in these compilation entries. Damn you, high school basketball for delaying that finale one week! Seriously though, everything so far is heading into the direction that we’re going to get a very good midway climax. I still have no clue how on earth the second season will be able to top this, but this is Sato Junichi: he did this before. Seriously, this month has shown some really good twists that fit in perfectly with the story and characters who keep developing. The focus on solving puzzles has gone to the background now: the creators turned them into very creative action-scenes instead, while at the same time the concept of puzzle solving remains the central theme of the series.

#4 (3) – Tantei Opera Milky Holmes – (8,5/10)

Bizarre. Just completely bizarre. The finale of the first season took its ending with a lot of grains of salt, but at least it still was a bit comprehensible. The finale of this season, made no complete sense. Oh, it still followed the general conventions of what a finale should be. But the context was just.. completely weird. The intentional cheese was particularly hilarious.

#3 (13) – Inu X Boku SS – (8,6/10)

And so, out of bloody nowhere, Inu X Boku suddenly got 10 times better in its final two episodes. I did not expect that, but the finale of this show was really well written, and everything just came together wonderfully. This show really is weird. There were long strings of episodes where it felt like it could have been so much better… and here the finale comes and delivers with a great character study. It consistently put a smile on my face, and Miketsukami was the first time in a long while where a show actually did justice to a bishie, and actually portrayed one well, rather than making him a walking stereotype. This still is David Production’s worst series, but damn: this made up for a lot here.

#2 (1) – Chihayafuru – (8,75/10)

One of the most difficult parts about compiling this month’s ranking is deciding my favorite series of the season. Usually I have a clear winner: Penguin Drum, Ano Hana and Level E were obviously the best for me in 2011. Here though, I have no idea: my number 1 and 2 are both awesome. Both were by far the best of the past three months, yet lacked that extra oomph to really give them a rating of 90/100. With Chihayafuru, it’s the lost potential of not having a second season. But really,despite such an obvious disadvantage, this series still delivered an amazing ending that managed to push the characters forward. Yes, all of them. Really, the creators should not have bothered with that sequel hook at all. Without that, this really would have topped this montly list.

#1 (2) – Natsume Yuujin-Chou – (8,9/10)

This month however, I really have to give the edge to Natsume Yuujin-Chou. Here is the thing with the fourth season: when compared to the other seasons, its middle arc isn’t as good in comparison. The beginning and end however, are the best so far. The arc with which the creators decided to end was just wonderful. It was an arc that we’ve been waiting for ages now, and really: if it turns out that no more sequels of Natsume Yuujinchou will be made, then I’ll be happy with this as an end. The third season already developed Natsume incredibly well. With this, he got even better.

At first I thought that this would be a season that would at least be exciting. In the end, what stood out about the most is how many series make me go wtf this time. And they just keep increasing. And really: while there aren’t any absolute classics here, it does make this season really fun to watch and keep up with.

#20 (24) – Guilty Crown – (6,25/10) – In its first half, Guilty crown was offensively boring. Right now however, it’s just plain offensively bad. The plot twists it pulls just are consistently pulled out of its ass, and yet at the same time it’s not really going anywhere. It’s not fun; the characters are obnoxious and Shu is still a terrible character who randomly changes every episode, yet remains consistently obnoxious. Please Noitamina, don’t make writing of this level to be the new standard for your new shows. I know it sold well and all, but for god’s sake this should never become the norm!
#19 (new) – Smile Precure – (7/10) – Here is the thing, Smile Precure: I know you’ve got a big audience who will watch you no matter what, but that’s no excuse to just be completely boring at the start. You can be amazing halfway through, but if you don’t give us a reason to keep watching, then that’s all for naught. All I’ve seen so far are a bunch of dull introduction episodes. There are no major side-characters whatsoever other than the Precure, the standard bad guys and that mascot thing. This show is nowhere near as bad as Suite Precure’s opening, but at the same time I also see no hints that it’ll get better later on.
#18 (new) – Black Rock Shooter – (7/10) – Halfway in, and I’m not very impressed by this series. The biggest reason is because of how incredibly forced the drama and angst is. I could have lived with relatively little focus on the Black Rock Shooter world (because really: that one has even less depth), but the angst is way too forced, and just there for the sake to create drama. It’s gotten very annoying now. Mari Okada, you disappoint me.
#17 (17) – Listen Girls, I am Your Father – (7,5/10) – This show is not like Kimi to Boku. That show used it annoyance to somehow become good. Papa however, is annoying, only to become heart-warming afterwards. It’s nowhere as neatly meshed, especially when the girls take a bath for the umpth time. This show is worth it for the small moments that really are heart-warming, but the rest of the airtime tends to be rather boring.
#16 (15) – Ano Natsu de Matteru – (7,75/10) – Ano Natsu got dominated this month with that cliche-filled beach arc. Sure, the characters developed a bit, but it was all predictable and the fanservice was pointless and obnoxious, not to mention that the annoying harem subplot also didn’t really steer this show into a good direction. I will have to say though that I am at least glad that this show is heading somewhere.
#15 (11) – Last Exile – Ginyoku no Fam – (7,75/10) – I’m very iffy about Last Exile at the moment: it’s not like Fam is badly developed or anything, and I want to like her, but most of the time she just doesn’t belong in this series. Overall the “war is bad themes” of this series are starting to get a bit boring, and the world building isn’t really bringing anything new to the table at this point. I really fear whether this show would be able to deliver a solid climax.
#14 (19) – Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou – (8/10) – This show is a hit and miss comedy: it’s cringe-worthy when a joke falls flat, but it’s also hilarious and very creative when it actually works. The ration at the moment seems to hang steady around 50:50, and at the very least I admire it for this creativity here. It’s not the best comedy of the season, though.
#13 (14) – Inu X Boku SS – (8/10) – Inu X Boku is nothing special, especially for David Production’s standards. And yet, it’s consistently able to put a smile on my face. Even though the characters are simplistic, they are also heart-warming in a way. It’s a bit shallow, but very charming.
#12 (7) – Rinne no Lagrange – (8/10) – Out of the three big mecha/sci-fi shows this season, Rinne no Lagrange is the only one who dulled in a bit this month. This is mostly due to time spent on building up, but the fact remains that lately it hasn’t been as sharp as it used to, though it did offer solid character building. Now all that’s left is to use it.
#11 (18) – Nisemonogatari – (8,25/10)

I actually really liked this month for Nisemonogatari. Fially the plot was about something meaningful other than mostly fanservice, and the animation really is gorgeous as well. I also really liked the way in which the Karen arc ended. And then there was the toothbrush scene. Just… wtf.

#10 (10) – Mirai Nikki – (8,25/10)

It’s about bloody time, but the character development has finally kicked in. And indeed: this show has become a lot more entertaining compared to the first half. In particular Yukiteru has become much more interesting to watch now. It’s nothing deep and it’s still full of plotholes and bad twists and all, but it’s just so over the top entertainment that at this point, I don’t mind.

#9 (13) – Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki – (8,25/10)

I love this show. In only five minutes it consistently tells fun little stories about the entire cast, and really brings them alive. The creative jokes just keep coming, but on top of that: it also fleshes out who the characters are in a really fun way by showing a very good look at their everyday lives. half of the jokes don’t even involve Poyopoyo but instead are about how they live their lives.

#8 (8) – Aquarion Evol – (8,25/10)

The romantic comedy really is not a genre that I’m often into, and I find the vast majority of these series to be dull and trite. Aquarion Evol is a major exception though. It just has this energy, on top of its just bizarre context and sexual undertones. This month has continued to explore the “males versus females”-themes and it did so with some solid character-building arcs that made the collective cast very enjoyable to watch. The music still is completely awesome, and the graphics still look incredibly flashy.

#7 (9) – Mouretsu Pirates – (8,25/10)

This really is the stand-out series in terms of characters feeling real. In this series, there are hardly any stereotypes, and the acting is very believable, and this only solidified more this month. It’s clear that Tatsuo Sato is behind the helm of this series, because it really takes its time to let everything play out. Because of that it’s not the most exciting series yet, but in terms of character and world building it really is excellent. This month also put a lot of focus on politics and really took its audience seriously when it discussed everything involved in being a pirate.

#6 (6) – Hunter X Hunter – (8,5/10)

This month featured the conclusion of the Hunter Exam arc. As usual there were things that I liked and things that I liked a little less when comparing it to the 1999 series, but the things I liked are getting better and better. I am disappointed that this adaptation didn’t spend the same amount of care to Gon’s final fight (an episode that I considered in the 1999 version to be absolutely fantastic), and the cast of side characters is noticeably weaker and less interesting, but the character development on the main cast is still really, really good.

#5 (12) – Another – (8,5/10)

What really makes Another stand out as a horror series is how down to earth the characters are. The acting here is top-notch, and because of that the contrast with the brutal gore really stands out. This show has some very interesting build-up and the atmosphere is still excellent. \

#4 (5) – Phi Brain – (8,5/10)

Phi Brain has yet again just gotten better and better this month. I’m really surprised at how engaging this show has gotten, but the character development just continues to push the characters forward. I just have to wonder: how on earth are the creator planning to top this for the second season?

#3 (4) – Tantei Opera Milky Holmes – (8,5/10)

This month had both the most and least entertaining episode of the second season, so it’s a bit hard to judge. When at its stride though, it was absolutely hilarious and without a doubt the biggest WTF of the entire season (and with this season, that has to say something). In particular the train episode was just glorious.

#2 (2) – Natsume Yuujin-Chou – (8,75/10)

Not as strong as the previous month, but this series still stands on top of the season with its well thought out stories about youkai. The fourth season is really dedicated to develop everyone around Natsume, and it’s doing a great job at that. My one complaint is that some parts (like Nyanko-sensei) are getting a bit repetitive.

#1 (3) – Chihayafuru – (8,75/10)

This series has been as solid as ever. Where it lacks in varietyk it more than makes up in character development, giving every major character enough time to play out, and it always finds something meaningful for every character in every episode. Now that’s good writing, especially considering how it’s been doing that throughout the entire series now.

It’s a solid season. There are few series that really stand out as amazing, but there really are a lot of solid stories this time, and there’s actually surprisingly little crap. It’s definitely an untypical winter season with a lot of series focused either on summer, or just being completely upbeat contrary to the kinds of series you usually see released at this time of the year.

#31 (new) – Senki Zesshou Symphogear – (4,75/10) – I was very surprised to see how many people actually liked this, so with that I at least tried to give this series a few more episodes just in case I really was wrong. But after four episodes, I can’t take it anymore. The amount of stupidity and fake shock factor here is just way too much. The characters do nothing to make themselves more engaging, the entire cast is just painful to watch. This is one of those shows that feels made by people who want to make something epic, but have no idea what it really takes to actually do that beyond explosions.
#30 (19) – Amagami SS+ – (5/10) – I refuse to spend more time on this crap. Especially now that it also started to introduce completely stupid and pointless drama.
#29 (new) – High School DxD – (5/10) – Want some boobs but don’t want to watch porn? Well, then this show is for you. Otherwise, stay away at all costs!
#28 (new) – The New Prince of Tennis – (5,5/10) – This is just completely stupid. I gave this until the second episode, but that was just too much. Why would you bother to give someone a completely stupid power as having a tennis racquet with only two strings… if you don’t even use this?
#27 (18) – Persona 4 The Animation – (5,75/10) – I give up. I can’t take it anymore, I don’t want to watch this. This show moves way too fast, and yet at the end of the day it doesn’t really accomplish anything. The summer holiday arc in particular stands out: that could actually have been a good story with a good concept behind it, but things moved at such a rate that they were impossible to properly follow unless you’ve played the games. AIC was already one of my least favorite production companies out there, and seeing how they treated what could have been an interesting story doesn’t really make that better.
#26 (new) – Zero no Tsukaima – (6/10) – Thank god that this is the final one. There are just too many bad points about this show that it’s seemingly impossible for it to redeem itself to me at this point.
#25 (new) – Brave10 – (6/10) – I lasted about two and a half episodes for this one. This series is just crap: bishies fighting each other who are way too busy trying to look cool, amongst a female lead who grows exponentially more annoying with every single episode.
#24 (16) – Guilty Crown – (6,75/10) – I realized something this month: the creators are making up this story as they go along, don’t they? I mean, previously this series was just bland. This month however, something changed. What caught my attention above all is how incredibly convenient everything that Shu pulled out of his ass was. Never before were the things he did here hinted at all, and all of them turned out to be exactly what he needed at exactly the right time. I mean, this is even worse than Code Geass:at least that series realized it made no sense and just went to hell with it. This show is actually trying to take itself seriously at the same time. It’s very jarring to see the entire cast suddenly make a 180 degree leap in personality while crap like this goes on at the same time. I mean, Mirai Nikki may have plotholes, but even they aren’t as blatant as the stuff that this series pulls.
#23 (new) – Recorder to Randoseru – (7/10) – I can’t get anything out of this series. It’s just a collection of pointless skits that are all just forced. Once in a while it gets a good joke, but most of them are just badly delivered or just don’t work n the first place. It’s also just too short to just build up for anything, really.
#22 (new) – Kill me Baby – (7,25/10) – I’ve also dropped this series. It’s better than I expected, but in the end it’s just a collection of random gags that fall flat more often than not. Over the course of four episode, there is nothing that really progressed or changed, so I see no point in continuing this thing.
#21 (new) – Area no Kishi – (7,5/10) – The problem with this series is that it’s really inspired by Adachi. Sure, it’s about football techniques while Adachi’s series are more about slice of life, but this month was entirely centered around the big Adachi inspired twist. And sorry, but with that in mind, I just can’t help but compare and realize how bloody melodramatic that was.
#20 (15) – Bakuman – (7,5/10) – It’s getting harder and harder to watch this series. I thought that things were missing, and that the first season could be more exciting. I did not expect the creators to turn this into a bloody soap opera. The drama between the characters is just completely annoying and uninteresting. And the bad twists just keep coming. It’s still interesting to see these characters evolve, but I don’t want to watch 40 more episodes of this thing. Because it’s going to be so goddamn long, this one’s on the verge of being dropped.
#19 (new) – Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou – (7,75/10) – Danshi Koukousei is a hit and miss comedy. When it misses, it’s very awkward. When it hits, it’s awesome. There are times when the characters aren’t really sure what personality they’re supposed to have, but the skits that work totally make up for it.
#18 (26) – Nisemonogatari – (7,75/10) – Don’t get me wrong: I really want to like this series. This series has a really good artistic direction. Heck, it’s actually more toned down than Bakemonogatari, and actually focuses on the characters instead of random scenery, eyeballs or blank screens. The story for once isn’t formulaic (or at least so far) and it actually devotes a lot of time to flesh out the characters. But seriously. This show has the most fanserivce of the entire season, and with High School DxD that’s really saying something here! It’s all incredibly pointless and grating. I mean, I understand that there’s functional nude: if nudity fits in this storyline, go ahead and show it. This show though is just showing episodes where characters randomly walk around naked for no particular reason, for the largest amount of their airtime! I mean, why bother giving the characters clothes at all if you’re going this route anyway?
#17 (new) – Listen Girls, I am your Father – (7,75/10) – I think that this one is the surprise of the season. It started off incredibly bad and generic, but there was a surprising amount of heart in the later episodes. Now please don’t turn this into another Astarotte no Omocha, because I like how down to earth this show has been so far. And drop the obvious fanservice, please.
#16 (new) – Thermae Romae – (7,75/10) – The best episode was episode 4. Episode3s 5 and 6 were a bit less interesting,but still it’s a very solid comedy overall. Also, I’m not asking for terrific animation. Heck, I’m just asking for animation on the level of Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki, where things actually do not feel like a bunch of cardboard cutouts sliding across the screen.
#15 (new) – Ano Natsu de Matteru – (7,75/10) – Look, I fully understand why this series gets its praises. The characters are well acted. It’s full of cliches, but everything about this series is well written and delivered. I still consider it a very good series. But the main cast just gets on my nerves too much. The lead character still is too much like the same annoying harem lead, and the romantic cliches in the scenario are just things of which I’ve seen too many to really enjoy at this point.
#14 (new) – Inu X Boku SS – (7,75/10) – This show has the potential to go into really interesting directions. With 3 episodes its themes are already quite engaging, but its big problem is that it’s too one-sided at the moment. This both goes for the drama, and the characters. The rest of the series will need more variety.
#13 (new) – Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki – (8/10) – This turned out to be a very charming series with only five-minute episodes. It makes great use of its time (all skits re about 30 seconds long; compare that to Recorder to Randoseru which drags on its scenes beyond belief)and every skit has a lot of energy and well done punchlines to remain funny.
#12 (new) – Another – (8/10) – Another doesn’t seem to offer anything new, nor will it end up as one of the better horror series out there. Still, it is one thing: very solid. The dialogue is natural and detailed, outside of a few points here and there where it’s trying a bit too hard, and it already delivered a pretty solid atmosphere so far with some good build-up.
#11 (9) – Last Exile – Ginyoku no Fam – (8/10) – The big problem with Ginyoku no Fam is, well, Fam. Fifteen episodes in, and it still doesn’t really feel like she belongs in this series. Apart from that though, I still am really drawn into this series. The setting is still rock-solid and the series continues to expand upon it, the action is just amazing and the side characters are also growing more on me.
#10 (13) – Mirai Nikki – (8,25/10)

Mirai Nikki has improved a lot over the past month. It’s gotten more fun to watch, the characters have become more interesting and especially the dynamics between Yukiteru and Yuno improved here. The show still is full of plotholes, but something tells me that the author wasn’t particular on avoiding these things.

#9 (new) – Mouretsu Pirates – (8,25/10)

The great thing about the three big sci-fi shows this season is that they’re all completely different, and yet none is inferior to the other. Mouretsu Pirates stands out with its slow execution, really allowing the characters to play themselves out. In the meantime it mixes this with hard sci-fi and interesting theories behind this setting. This series is laid-back, yet very interesting to watch. It’s definitely not what you’d expect based on the title and promo material.

#8 (new) – Aquarion Evol – (8,25/10)

This is another surprisingly fun series to watch. On paper a show that explores males versus females seems very dull, but this show actually made it a very fun series to watch. It also has the biggest production values of the season, and it really leads to a series with gorgeous visuals and music. The direction also is very good here and it’s a very engaging series so far.

#7 (new) – Rinne no Lagrange – (8,25/10)

Rinne no Lagrange has very sharp direction. The chemistry between the characters is quite witty, and it’s also taking care to subtly flesh out the setting it takes place in. It’s got characters who at first sight are annoying cliches, and yet turns out to be completely different. Like the other two big sci-fi shows, it’s consistently fun to watch.

#6 (8) – Hunter X Hunter – (8,25/10)

As the series goes on more and more, ti also gets better and better. This was pretty much as expected though, because at this time this series still is very nearly the equivalent of just rewatching the first season. There are a few differences here and there, but I still don’t feel like they’re big enough to warrant this complete remake. The big difference between this series and Full Metal Alchemist – Brotherhood is that Brotherhood just took 15 episodes to get to the new content. At what point can we start to expect this series to reach new material? Episode 40 or something? The good news however is that the series has been a huge success, and Hunter X Hunter has actually managed to conquer a place in the top 10 of TV-ratings. So when we’ll finally get to the point where we’ll get new content, it’s pretty certain that they’ll extend this past the original 45 episodes that were promised. Of course, that brings along other problems of long running shounen, but let’s not worry about that one for now.

#5 (11) – Phi Brain – (8,25/10)

Phi Brain really surprised me in how good it became. Ever since Rook appeared, there hasn’t been a wasted moment, and it delivered some really good character development here, both on the side cast and the main cast. These people actually succeeded in making a show about solving puzzles.

#4 (10) – Tantei Opera Milki Holmes – (8,5/10)

This show is madness! Seriously, this is even crazier than the first season. Every episode so far has been completely hilarious and delivered some of the wtf-like scenarios. The acting and performances are also completely hyperactive and full of energy, and the animation is also really well done. If you’re looking for something with a ton of energy, then look no further. This show thrives on being completely stupid and crazy, and I really like how it’s being delivered so far.

#3 (4) – Chihayafuru – (8,75/10)

Chihayafuru has surpassed itself this month. There was so much emotion put into just this one tournament, and the creators perfectly went into the heads of the lead characters. It was everything that a mid-climax should be. The big question now is: how the heck are they going to finish it?

#2 (2) – Natsume Yuujin-Chou – (9/10)

This season started with a rock-solid set of episodes. In fact, it’s had the best opening episodes of any season of Natsume so far. Where the third season was all about Natsume’s development, this is more varied, and has a bit of everything here. And somehow, all of them work really well. This show is both heart-warming as tense, and this series is still happily adding all kinds of details to Natsume’s character, as if it’s far from done yet.

#1 (3) – Hyouge Mono – (9/10)

Well, it took a while, but in this month we finally got to see the finale of Hyouge Mono. And it really was worth the wait. The way in which this series decided to close off was really well chosen, and it set a really high standard for the other endings for the rest of the year. We can only hope that they’ll make more series like this.

As usual, my December summary is a bit earlier than usual so that I have time to work on my 2011 summary (I’ve got 4 more posts for that planned; what the hell am I doing?), but it’s not like we’re getting any more episodes after this.

Overall, I will definitely remember this month due to all the things that happened here. I suddenly had to pull a rush job, moving this site to another domain after Blogsome suddenly announced that it was going down (which by the way, it still hasn’t), having to come up with a new design in less than a week. On top of that, it was also a really busy month for me in real life due to me finally moving out of my parents’ house and buying my own place to live.

In terms of anime, this was very consistent with last month: pretty much every series performed like I expected it to do, with only a few minor exceptions. It definitely wasn’t the strongest season we’ve had. In fact, when looking at the shows that debuted this season, this season at this point ties with Autumn 2010 as the least impressive Autumn Season since 2001. It mostly stood out because it broke some nasty trends of the past few years and for that I can say that it headed into the right direction again. And because of this, there are still plenty of series that still need to finish, so let’s find out if it can make me come back to these words in three months time.

#18 (18) – Persona 4 The Animation – (6,5/10) – The pacing in this show is still terrible. Sometimes it tells you which days it skips, at others the change into another day is completely random and unnanounced. I mean, what’s the point of this date system if you don’t use it consistently? Overall, this month this series had some nice ideas, which in the end didn’t really amount to anything. The bear? Cool, I guess, but he’s still bloody annoying. The thing with the killer also is nice and all, if we actually knew something about his character. This show spends so many times on random dialogue, and yet it doesn’t even flesh its characters out well.
#17 (17) – Shinryaku! Ika-Musume – (6,75/10) – That final episode was horrendous. Why on earth did the creators find it a good idea to YET AGAIN abandon all comedy for a serious story in this series? There is no way for that to suddenly work. Apart from that, this month was much of the same, but overall this sequel was a waste of time. I really hope that Milky Holmes avoids this next season, but that show is based on a Pachinko Game instead of a manga, so anything can happen there.
#16 (16) – Guilty Crown – (7/10) – I have watched every Noitamina series except for one. And yet, I can easily say that Guilty Crown has the worst characters compared to any other show from that timeslot. Fractale? The character s there at least were likable. Library Wars? the cast at least was engaging. In this show, no single character is interesting. Everyone is just a tool to make Shu look awesome, even though Shu is a whining protagonists who just keeps changing character depending on what the plot demands. Holy crap he was annoying this month.
#15 (15) – Bakuman – (7,5/10) – Oh for god’s sake, the whole issue with the angry Miura was hard to sit through. I mean, I get the point that they tried to made, but it was just so dragged on. Miura isn’t the best acted anyway so it was rather hard to buy him. I liked Yuriko’s subplot though. It’s short and to the point, and yet in much less time it also gets a lot out of her character. Take an example of that, Bakuman.
#14 (10) – Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon – (8/10) – I have very mixed feelings with this series, but in the end I do have to praise it. Sure, it makes no sense with the creators consistently pulling all kinds of rules out of their asses, but these rules were inspired and imaginative, and they actually got some neat things out of the characters this way.
#13 (13) – Mirai Nikki – (8/10) – One of Mirai Nikki’s biggest problems was that most of its villains were dull. They were badly developed, not fleshed out well enough, and just not interesting to watch. A show that’s as crazy as this really needs good and enjoyable characters to make the most out of this. That is what I realized after watching the latest arc, which did have an interesting antagonist. The show suddenly got a lot more enjoyable when that guy took the center stage.
#12 (14) – Kimi to Boku – (8/10) – The final episode of this first half of Kimi To Boku was also the best episode so far. I like that. Overall, the final month only cemented the characters even more as well written. Compared to the first episodes, the characters have gotten less annoying. Yes, even Chizuru. But that guy still gets on my nerves.
#11 (12) – Phi Brain – (8/10) – In this month, Phi Brain finally got to business. And it worked. It remembered to develop the main villain well, and because of this the episodes involving him were a bit cheesy, yet had some solid drama as well. The puzzles also continue to get larger and more dangerous, which is a good sign for 2012
#10 (9) – Nurarihyon no Mago – (8,25/10)

It’s a shame that Nurarihyon ended with a sequel hook, because that ending would have been the perfect time to close off this series. Overall, the last month of this series was really well done. Finally this show got to what it actually was about: a war between small armies. Finally it got down to business. Finally the characters came together, and the graphics looked really solid in the process. It took way too bloody long to get here, but it’s still good to see that amidst an ocean of shounen shows that end on a bad note, this one didn’t.

#9 (5) – Last Exile – Ginyoku no Fam – (8,25/10)

Overall the strongest month for Last Exile was the first month. Right now it’s still very solid, but there are a few too many inconsistencies for my tastes. Shangri-La had this too, but to make up for it it had a crazy plot that kept moving, whereas Last Exile is much slower. The build-up still is pretty solid though, and the characters still are pretty good and well acted. Bring on that second half!

#8 (8) – Hunter X Hunter – (8,25/10)

The thing with this show s that it’s just too similar to the first season. The surprise and suspense is gone because of that. Those who haven’t seen the first season however, are in for something awesome here. This does remain as one of the best shounens out there.

#7 (7) – Tamayura Hitotose – (8,25/10)

Tamayura ended with a very solid note. The character development really stood out in these final episodes, plus it ended with a heart-warming finale. Perhaps it wasn’t th best slice of life series I’ve seen, but nevertheless it was a very solid attempt.

#6 (11) – Ben-To – (8,5/10)

What I especially liked about the finale is how well built up it was. This lead to a few episodes without food battles, but the pay off in the end was really worth it. The characters all were interesting to watch, and everything came together wonderfully for the ending. This definitely was what I expect an action comedy to be.

#5 (6) – Fate/Zero – (8,5/10)

This was the month in which Rider really showed what an awesome character he can be. Things are definitely slowly getting better and better, and even though we have to wait three months for the next episode, it overall was one of the most solid shows of the past three months.

#4 (4) – Chihayafuru – (8,5/10)

This was the month of the first Karuta tournament, and I love how short and to the point it was. This show has a wonderful balance: it makes sure to spend enough time on everything, yet it also never drags on or feels padded out. By far its biggest virtue here was how in every episode, it involved every character, and added a bit to every one of them. Now that’s some solid writing to nail consistently.

#3 (3) – Hyouge Mono – (8,75/10)

It is really impossible to find episode 36 anywhere. This is a bloody shame for a show that consistently ranked among my top 3 this past season. Especially Rikyuu’s development over the past episodes was memorable here, with a few misers involved, though. When this ends, I can only hope that Koichi Mawshimo will continue make many more series, despite his age (he’ll be turning 60 this year).

#2 (2) – Un-Go – (8,75/10)

This month, Un-Go ended pretty much as solid as how it’s ever been. The plot twists it came with were really well done, and it still left no moment wasted. I like how you really needed to pay attention to this series in order to be able to follow it. This show just kept throwing you for a loop with some really plausible scenarios, only to turn things around completely.

#1 (1) – Mawaru Penguin Drum – (9,25/10)

The ending may not have explained everything, but who cares? It did give conclusion to the things it should have. It all fitted wonderfully and it did push the characters to new levels. It was a very sad ending that worked really well as the conclusion of this series.