Apr13
Meta Team’s Top 3 Winter ’12 Anime
Last Goodbye to Winter~
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OH NO! ALL MY SNOW MELTED…wait…I never got to see any snow this season! DAMN YOU FLORIDA! I guess I can always build a snowman out of sand right? So old man winter decided to close up shop and head home for a while, but the winter anime season was fantastic! There are a handful of shows I will miss and plenty of others I wish never saw the light of day. however that is to be expected with any season of fresh anime, so what three shows did I find enjoyable? Find out now… |
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{ Rinne no Lagrange } Hyper main lead girl check, giant alien robots check, amazing music CHECK! Seriously what more could I possibly wish for in a mecha series? Rinne no Lagrange started out as another one of those typical ecchi looking series we see with every season, however that was all just cleaver a trick to lure you into watching! After that you are thrown into several episodes where the producers decided to take a step back and remove any traces of fan service, but they did have some bath scenes towards the middle. Story wise I loved the overall mystery surrounding the legendary Vox machines and it really keeps you guessing with every episode and each character brings their own personalities to a few important episodes. Even the side characters like Moid, the trio of space bishies and Villagibro have plenty of moments to shine. |
| { Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou } BEST OPENING EVER! Every time it played it always brought a huge smile to my face I don’t know why I guess it has a really catchy tune. However the best and greatest part of this series has to be listening to Sugita Tomokazu! After I heard he was going to star in Nichibros; I got so excited because he voices Gintoki from Gintama another one of my favorite characters. What else is there to enjoy? Easy! Every end segment of the high school girls are funky! Those three girls deserve a spin off, besides those girls I really enjoyed watching Ringo-chan and every little sister! SO GO WATCH THIS ANIME! | |
| { Inu X Boku SS } What!? Yes I know what is this Fosh liked this random series? While it might not be filled with any giant robots blowing things up or characters running around with super powers, however it does have plenty of interesting characters to keep me watching. At first I really found Ririchiyo and Miketsukami to be so damn annoying, but closer to the end that feeling started to fade quickly. Besides the main cast I enjoyed watching Karuta and Watanuki together! And sure Karuta is either talking about food or eating food she always had these cute moments with Ririchiyo. Speaking of Karuta I can’t forget to mention her ending theme song, I swear I had that on a constant loop and that fantastic opening! So yes this was a slow series at the start, but I would say it was more character driven than anything else which is never a bad thing. |
| honorable-mentions: Brave 10 \\ Ano Natsu \\ Nisemonogatari |
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I keep a document of how many shows I complete/continue in an anime season. I don’t really think Winter is the greatest anime season since I started keeping track, but I completed/kept up with 10 shows this season, a personal record. Maybe because my hatred of the actual season of winter, I stayed inside and let my thermostat go up to 80 as I watched plenty of anime. Btw, Crunchyroll account + iPad + Apple TV made it so easy to watch on my big screen TV and rest on my comfy couch while doing so. |
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{ High School DxD } I love ecchi series, but even I can take a step back from time to time and go, “…yeah, this show is garbage… but I still like it!” DxD is an ecchi series that turned out better than even I thought it would. The uncensored TV airing is obviously a part of this, or else I’d never mention this show on a season list because I’d be waiting forever for BD’s to come out. Oppai a plenty (and a rare penis) in this series and also a funny Yuki Kaji lead that was a pervert to the max but had a pure heart. The funniest scene in the series was when he walked in on Asia and he was the one that screamed like a girl. I enjoyed what bit of the chess battle mechanic they utilized in the series, that end animation is golden, and considering there’s 10 volumes of LN’s, I want more DxD anime! |
| { Tantei Opera Milky Holmes 2 } This show has an IQ of 1.4 ^ -20000000000, but damn it can be fun to watch! The jokes do repeat themselves quite often, but little things like with the “Don’t call me Kokoro!” joke were given a bit of a twist when a bomb disposal robot argues with Kokoro about calling it Popo. Saku also had the joke of the series, but I won’t spoil here. The show has 4 stupid girls, but at least the show’s weird enough that you can enjoy their dumb antics. Twenty’s nipples were given much more powers this season, and that’s a great example of how bizarre the show went with its humor. Dude’s naked at a beauty pageant juggling apples with his nips (and I gotta assume sack); it’s ridiculous. All in all, you definitely should try out Milky Holmes. | |
| { Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou } Not since School Rumble have I enjoyed a comedy anime the way I did with Nichibros. I’m not the biggest comedy anime fan and I seldomly actually laugh at them, but the School Rumble/Gintama director made it work. I’ve mentioned on the ‘cast about how High School Girls are Funky is fantastic, but the Boys did a lot of heavy lifting and have some segments all always remember, such as the train bits with the big mole or the Yoshitake shaving his nipples. |
| honorable-mentions: Rinne no Lagrange \\ Aquarion Evol \\ more info Show ▼ |
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Good riddance, Winter. What a terrible cold streak in my anime-watching schedule. In the end, I only watched a few shows and completed even fewer. There were no shining gems, just some series that poked their heads up slightly higher than the others. I guess I should dash my negative views aside for now and give a round of applause to the handful of shows that I actually kind of enjoyed. |
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{ Nisemonogatari } 100% pretentious dialogue and SHAFT-y animation make up this light novel adaptation. Most of the series consists of conversations, which sounds dull on paper, but it’s a lot more magical to actually watch. The actual writing is meandering and long-winded, but always carries a very thought-provoking point at the end. SHAFT makes sitting through all this talking very interesting, using artsy and dynamic animation choices to keep things fresh. The story itself kind of wanders and doesn’t ever have a true climax, but that’s fine, I’m just here to watch a bunch of characters I love have deep conversations. Even the trivial conversations about donuts are good! What really makes this shoot to number one though? Toothbrushing. |
| { Mirai Nikki } There are a lot of ups and downs with this show in terms of both animation and what it thinks qualifies for a good joke (give up on humour, Mirai Nikki. Forever. Please). Thing can get cheesy and sometimes things don’t make sense either when you try and logically explain it. However, at the heart of it all, you have a completely bonkers story about the most captivating yandere I’ve seen in anime. Everyone in the show is a different flavour of crazy and seeing them all try to claw their way to the path of becoming a God has been very satisfying. It’s not a perfect show, but it sure as hell brings the thrills. The revelations in the past few episodes have been so utterly insane, that Mirai Nikki will likely stand out as one of this season’s most unforgettable anime. | |
| { Persona 4 } This is another show with a lot of flaws, but it still comes out on top given the crop of Winter shows out there. No, it’s not bad, but it’s really an average or “good” anime as a whole. However, looking at it as a video game adaptation, this is top notch stuff. Rarely does the original spirit of the game shine through in an adaptation even with changes being made to the story. In fact, the changes often made things even better and more compelling. Very impressive given the many failed adaptations in the past. As a huge fan of the Persona franchise, of course this goes in my top 3. I’m biased and I had a whole lot of hype from racing to finish the game the summer before this started airing! |
| honorable-mentions: Rinne no Lagrange \\ Phi Brain \\ Another |
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Winter anime season has never really been my favorite, no matter what year. There’s always only a very, very, VERY few select shows that I watch until Spring begins. At least this year I managed to find two that I liked…! |
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{ Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou } UGH, I AM SO SAD THAT THIS IS OVER. My daily source of nonsense comedy is gone! I was pretty skeptical at just how funny it would be when it came to watching the first episode, but it won me over in a matter of minutes. The comedy did seem to flat out as it got more towards the end and repeated more of the same jokes. Yet, my love for it burned strong and I managed to find at least some laughs in the duller episodes. Overall I just loved the ridiculousness that it had, from wearing Tadakuni’s younger sister’s underthings to playing Kick-the-Can with a Gundam figurine to the ordinary-turned-extraordinary events that had me raising my eyebrows at such high levels I didn’t know they could reach. The only complaint I really have is that they didn’t put enough Funky High School Girls, and that their segments were at the end. Where Kimi to Boku currently gives me cute, fuzzy comedy to fangirl over, Nichibros gives me that stupid, nonsense comedy to soothe that immature side of me. In short, I’m practically praying for a second season. |
| { Black★Rock Shooter } I will never understand my feelings for this show. Black Rock Shooter literally stands on the border of ‘Like’ and ‘Dislike’. It was unforgettable in a way, and at the same time forgettable. Its good points were obviously the brutal, badass, CG animated action scenes that definitely trumped the original OVA’s action scenes (in my opinion), its adorable yuri vibes that had me swooning, and its stunning analogy of the tiny bird that gave out a beautiful message I strongly believe in. However, the whole ‘FRIENDSHIP’, over ooey-gooey-cheesy storylines had me cover my face in shame at some points. All in all, I have grown to like it, but as I said in my review, it’s definitely not something I’d put on a ‘Must Watch’ or ‘Favorites’ list. I do not regret watching it though, not one bit~. | |
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The winter season was pretty quiet for me since I found it really hard to get into a lot of shows; my weekly watch list was very modest. Thankfully the shows that I did follow were strong enough to keep me from going into anime withdrawal. |
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{ Natsume Yuujinchou Shi } By far the crowning jewel of the Winter season for me, Natsume came back with a vengeance for it’s 4th season. After the somewhat lackluster 3rd season, I was a bit nervous about this one, but my fears were completely swept away. This has turned out to be one of the stronger seasons, not just in story but in emotional impact. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house when the final episode aired, I know I was in bits! And it takes a lot to wrangle that kind of response, well, it does for me. So for that reason Natsume Shi can only be my top choice. |
| { Mirai Nikki } The second half of Mirai Nikki has been a mixed bag, but in the run up to the climax I can only say the story has got smarter, darker and incredibly good. I found the same kind of excitement and anticipation watching the last few episodes of Mirai Nikki as I did when Ao no Exorcist was finishing. Mirai Nikki is also everything Deadman should have been, so it gets my love on being manic and blood-crazed while knowing what angles to play to and what to avoid when going over the top. | |
| { Ai no Kusabi } I thought this OVA had a lot of good ideas, and it was more what fanservice shows for girls should be. That being, it exploits the hell of of the sexuality of the cast without actually being sexually graphic. My only complaint was that it was too tame compared to the original. They could get away with a lot more back then, but for such a long awaited remake of what is one of the most graphic yaois out there, it was disappointing. That being said, if you take it for what it is instead of what it’s meant to be then you’ll get a slick, futuristic anime with music to die for. |
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Gah. Winter. I didn’t even get to watch much because I was so frickin’ busy. College is depleting my livelihood, mind, body and soul. It’s seriously going to be the death of me. Really, the only show I finished was Another. I did enjoy some other shows, from what I watched of them… |
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{ Another } Despite my extreme dislike of all things horror, I do believe that we all need a bit of an adrenaline rush here and there. Another definitely did this for me. Until the shitstorm that was the final two episodes, it had the perfect mix of suspense and gore. Seriously, the manner with which all these different characters died was absolutely terrifying. I can never look at my umbrella the same away again. And there’s an elevator in my building that shakes when it gets up to my floor and I avoid it whenever I can! Stairs baby! But seriously, Another absolutely freaked me out! And, for once, I loved that. Not to mention the mystery aspect of it, which was a lot of fun to puzzle out. You never could predict what was going to happen and it was one of the most engaging shows I’ve ever watched. I’m sad that it’s over, but it was a good ride while it lasted! |
| { Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou } I LOVED this show. It reminded me of Arakawa Under the Bridge in its presentation which was awesome. It never failed to make me laugh because, seriously, these kids were just too much. They wore girl panties, my god! I seriously almost pee myself from laughing so hard. Seriously, the kids in this show are just TOO funny. It makes me miss the shenanigans that my friends and I would get ourselves into in high school. Good times, man. Luckily I haven’t finished the show yet, so I still have a good dosage of hilarious brobro times left! *fistpump* | |
| { Chihayafuru } I actually… did not… watch this… the whole way through. I dropped it at Episode 8. Not because I didn’t like it, but because I had no time for it. It was super good though and I can tell, just from skimming through the episodics that Kara and Kyo did, that it only got better. Chihaya was a compelling protagonist and I loved that she was so far from your typical heroine in anime. She was passionate and excited and put her all into everything. It was great! I’m definitely going to be catching up with this show, real soon. |
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I kinda forgot about Winter anime already… But no worries! Some of them I do remember. Actually, I do remember them, but it’s just that I had a hard time choosing my top three because winter anime were surprisingly enjoyable and entertaining. So yeah, if there’s an anime I don’t have here, it’s not because I don’t like it. |
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{ Gintama } This aired one year ago, but it ended this winter. YUP, IT’S STILL IN THE WINTER ANIME LIST. Nothing can beat Gintama from the number one spot in my list. I’m not trying to say that Gintama is flawless; thinking with logic, Gintama doesn’t make sense at all. Cutting a pillar with a wooden sword? Characters that don’t age? Vomit everywhere? Out-of-nowhere ridiculous background story of a character? Gintama sounds like any other Shounen Jump anime, but why is it so different? Obviously it’s the characters. Obviously it’s the puns. Obviously it’s the toilet jokes. Obviously it’s Gintoki being voiced by fucking Sugita Tomokazu with his fucking sexy voice. Yeah, Gintama doesn’t make sense; it’s pretty lame. But that’s why I love it. It filled my weeks with laughter and memorable moments. I mean, who doesn’t need laughs on Mondays? |
| { Natsume Yuujinchou Shi } Ah, Natsume. Who doesn’t love Natsume? Everybody effing loves Natsume. Even guys love Natsume. But of course, people love him more now thanks to the Past Arc in Shi. Nothing can beat the feeling of being able to understand the character one loves so much, being able to relate self to that character’s past. And that’s how I felt after I watched about Natsume’s past. Not to mention Natsume’s character developed the most in this season. The awkward moment between the two friends, the ups and downs during the exploration of his childhood, Natsume went through all of that and survived. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a character developed naturally like this. Natsume is slowly transcending from a mere character into a perfect being. He’s great. Everything everything about this season’s Natsume was great. | |
| { Chihayafuru } I never thought that I would end up loving this when I saw the summary. Seriously, card game with gazillion poems (hundred) in it!? My motto is “No Kaiba No card game.” Gosh, I don’t even play games. What the hell is Mass Effect? But dang, I ended up enjoying every second of it. The characters are likeable, and their interactions are fun as they slowly deeper the bond among themselves. While karuta is not a game I want to play, the representation of karuta here is so great to the point where I actually thought of playing karuta for a second. Karuta looks so fun here instead of boring. Oh, and best of all? NO ROMANCE WOOT! I love how the characters here solely focus on karuta only. And I can ship Taichi with Arata thanks to that. |
| honorable-mentions: Inu X Boku SS \\ more info Show ▼ |
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Winter was… Surprisingly good. I was busy for most of it, but I can honestly say that I enjoyed everything I watched more than I thought I would. Sure there weren’t any real surprises or dark horses that I found (Chihayafuru doesn’t count. It started in fall.), but it was enjoyable nonetheless. …Which is why I had a hell of a time picking out my top three and why ever show ever this season is in my honourable mentions. |
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{ Chihayafuru } Me liking this anime can as a huge shock to me. Normally the very thought of me sitting and watching a card-based anime that doesn’t involve Egyptian pharohs and holographic monsters is unthinkable, but Madhouse definitely caught my attention with this one. Sure I liked it mostly because of the shoujo-ish feel to it, but Chihayafuru definitely had a ton going for it. The characters were likable (…for the most part. You know who I’m talking about.), it had a great storyline to it, and it went way in depth to make a card game that’s somewhat obscure to the west interesting and easy enough for me to follow along. Simply everything (…minus the romance aspect) went above and beyond my expectations. That’s why this is number one. |
| { Inu X Boku SS } This one is closely behind my number one pick and really, the only reason Chihayafuru is ahead is because it had more episodes to develop the side characters. Other than that, Inu x Boku was another thing that went above my expectations in every possible department. The animation was pretty, the music was also amazing and I loved the fact that the ending changed based on the episode. On the character side, Ririchiyo and Soushi were only THE CUTEST COUPLE EVER and they transferred all of the characters from the manga to the anime successfully and without ruining anything about them for me. Since I’m extremely picky, I’d say that was a success in itself. | |
| { Another } … I like watching people die. I don’t think there’s anything too deep there. However, what really got me was the feeling of tension and suspense that this anime managed to pull off. Like, I knew that she was going to fall on the umbrella and I knew that the other guy was going to get streamrolled by the boat, but thanks to the music and such, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The atmosphere was intense. …Sure, I laughed my way through the ending when things just got ridiculous, but up until that point, I think they handled the deaths really well. I cringed. I normally don’t cringe. |
| honorable-mentions: Nichibros \\ Rinne no Lagrange \\ Persona 4 \\ Nisemonogatari \\ BRS \\ Milky Holmes (lolol Jrow, “IQ of 1.4^-20000000000”) \\ TOO MANY TO COUNT. Just assume that if it finished in winter, I saw it and it’s on this list. |
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Truth be told, I’m still having withdrawal symptoms from having to bid farewell to my beloved winter anime. (゜´Д｀゜) Woe is me, as although Winter 2012 wasn’t one of the best seasons we’ve had, but it did bring quite a few surprises that will continue to stay close to my heart. I started off with watching about 9 series weekly, and ended with 7 – and those 7 were good enough to keep me highly entertained for the whole season. Top 3, you say? I can just about them them off my head :3 |
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{ Inu X Boku SS } Okay I might be biased because I blogged this, but still, this is the anime that completely proved my first impression of it just being a fluffy, light fangirl/fanboy bait of the season to be wrong! IT IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ANIME I HAVE EVER SEEN ＼（Ｔ∇Ｔ）／ I loved the carefully-crafted characters as so much more depth to them was revealed to us as the series progressed, and the way the bonds between the characters formed over time was beautiful. Ah, I shouldn’t get too caught up in expressing my love for this wonderful anime, but I’d really say that this was the gem of the Winter season for me, and it’s definitely earned its place in my all-time favorites. <3 |
| { Another } At first I didn’t really know what to expect — I had absolutely no experience in horror anime, but the prospect of it looked interesting and I like mysteries 8D Although Another eased in with a rather slow pace, it eventually picked up speed and threw us into a whirlwind of assumptions and accusations – who is the dead person? ψ(｀∇´)ψ By the end of the series, I’d come to have a strong fondness for the two main character and that final twist, just- woah. I like how the entire mystery eventually played out and it’s given me a great first impression of the horror genre. Now I’m looking forward to moar next season >D | |
| { Persona 4 } This show is so adorable!! I was completely new to Persona, never having played any of the games before, but this was a great introduction to the series and now I’m really interested in it – prolly gonna check the games out soon. The anime had so much LULZ and cheesy bromance! The characters are really endearing and they really grow on you after awhile – yes, even Yu who appeared to have 0 facial expressions at the start of the anime – and I loved the crime-solving team they eventually formed and their.. combined weirdness in general. xD The idea of having another world in the TV was genius from the start, and I think the way they touched on both sides of being human, through Shadows and Persona, was really interesting and thought-provoking, in a sense. Although this show did have some dark themes, what I like most about it is the relationships and interactions (SOCIAL LINKS!) between the characters, and that’s what allowed me to enjoy it the most. (*´・ｖ・) |
| honorable-mentions: Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou \\ Black*Rock Shooter \\ Guilty Crown \\ Bleach |
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I originally told myself that I would focus on school and only get involved in 3-4 anime for the Winter season … as if that was actually going to happen! （´▽｀）3-4 turned into 7-8 and before I knew it I was swamped in amazing series to keep me busy as I made refuge from the cold weather. (Unfortunately InuxBoku and Brave 10 didn’t survive …) Overall, this has been one of the most enjoyable seasons I’ve experienced since I started watching anime, and I’m definitely going to miss a lot of these shows! (Even though my physics grade suffered because of them …) |
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{ Rinne no Lagrange } I probably would have died a little inside if it weren’t for the fact that a second season and an OVA were announced, Langrange without a doubt was my most loved show of Winter 2012. Honestly, there isn’t a single thing that I can look back on and say I didn’t like, the characters were perfect, the mecha action was superb, and there wasn’t a single moment that bored me. I’m not sure if Lagrange will ever cross into shoujo-ai territory, but there are some truly unforgettable relationships that develop. Madoka, Lan, and Muginami are three of my most admired characters from this season with good reason, all you have to do is watch to see why! •◡ • |
| { Nisemonogatari } After finishing Bakemonogatari halfway through the season and falling completely in love with it, I obviously had to jump right into Nise. The most addicting quality of the monogatari series for me has to be the characters, they’re witty, quirky, and almost always hilarious in their own unique interactions with Araragi, himself being my favorite male lead since I started watching anime. Although I missed not having different storylines for each character this season (especially Nadeko who got so little airtime), every week left me dying for more. Following along with lvlln’s posts made it even more enjoyable, getting all the ins and outs of what I didn’t get to see in the move from novel to anime, which turned out to be a lot sometimes! | |
| { Chihayafuru } ALL MY SHIPS!! (°□°) Apart from my complete fanboying over the characters, Chihayafuru was an outstanding sport (can I say sport?) show. The matches were consistently intense and exciting to watch, and if a show can do that with a card game for 24 episodes then you know you have a good show on your hands! Chihaya was by far my favorite female character of the season, leads like her don’t come around often. The only real disappointment with this one was the lack of sales, I’m desperate for a second season! |
| honorable-mentions: Ano Natsu de Matteru // Nichibros // Another // BRS // Mouretsu Pirates // more info Show ▼ |
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I watched something like 12 series in the fall of last year, and I promised myself that I’d scale back, but I don’t think I did such a good job, as I followed 11 this season. Yeah, not much of an improvement, though, to be fair, a good chunk of them were continuations of the previous season, e.g. Guilty Crown, Shakugan no Shana Final, Persona 4, Chihayafuru. I’ve seen a lot of people disparage this season as being disappointing, but I’ve always believed that you only need one truly great show to make a season/year/decade great, and this season had at least 2, so I’m quite satisfied. |
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{ Nisemonogatari } Were you expecting something else? This was a sequel proper to Bakemonogatari, and Shinbo’s trademark visual style and attention to detail shone through, creating a show that was wondrous to watch. The music was quite phenomenal as well, both the 4 OP/EDs and the background music, and with episode 8 it provided something that will stay with us for a long time. The story themes played out wonderfully culminating in a statement about family, and fit in nicely with the Monogatari series’s central idea of hopeful cynicism. |
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{Mirai Nikki } Were it any other season, Future Diary would have taken the top spot by far. Its crazy turns and twists were a joy to watch unfold, even as it kept throwing logic out the window. It is truly a show that is unapologetically itself, sucking me in and letting me gloss over whatever little issues it had. I knew that the manga was well received, but I had no expectations that the anime adaptation would be any good. The cast of psychotic but lovable characters, the increasingly insane and convoluted survival game and mythos, I’ll miss them all. |
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| { Chhayafuru } At the beginning, I saw Chihayafuru like I saw Steins;Gate: a show that did all the technical things right but that had no heart. Indeed, it had beautiful art both in direction and production quality, the music was top notch, and the pacing was solid. But the characters felt wooden, soulless. Until well into the 2nd half, when things started clicking, and our trio of Chihaya, Taichi, and Arata became real characters that I could love. It’s a shame it had no true story arc to end it, and it would be a crying shame if no sequel were produced, but this ended up being one hell of a fun and funny show that I’m glad I watched. |
| honorable-mentions: Persona 4 \\ Amagami SS+ Plus \\ more info Show ▼
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Oh Winter, where have you gone leaving me behind melting with this hotness? At least it helps that we get rain here and the weather cools down for a few days. Winter was not so cool but it was made cooler with the giant two-cour/long-running shows, making it pretty entertaining. With the new year, lots of experiments were done; some of whom failed like Guilty Crown, while series like Nichibros became a comedy hit. Even if Winter was very happening, the long running shows made it at least good. |
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{ Nisemonogatari } I loved Bakemonogatari and literally have been waiting for more than a year for Kizumonogatari, only for it to be delayed even further. Though, Nisemonogatari came as a surprise bonus and now with the official announcement of Shaft producing all Monogatari series, things are pretty much set for both NisiOisin and Shaft. Lots of monies to be made and more hentai boundaries to be broken. However, this is not good just because of its borderline eroticism but hell-interesting characters. Where have you seen such an interesting harem anime that plays on deep stuff but is actually quite wacky. Overall, this was a refreshing change from Bakemonogatari with gorgeous animation and shafty goodness. Need MOAR RAWR! |
| { Natsume Yuujinchou Shi } One of the most successful non-shounen show of current times and it’s not because it’s filled with jiggly boobs or extra footage minus white-beam-chan and death-beam-kun. This is an atmospheric anime that has developed a brand of its own with time, making Natsume a very much loved character; not just because he’s bishie but is a special boy who has a knack for making supernatural friends. The many connection that Natsume builds, the ever jumpy plushie aka bodyguard of Natsume and the barrage of likeable supporting cast is what makes things fresh. This also dishes out many heartfelt one to even three episode stories. My favourite of this season was about his parents, showcasing how raw his childhood had been. With the manga still continuing, let’s bring out another season! | |
| { Chihayafuru } This has been the wondrous return of Madhouse from the hellhole called Marvel. I have nothing against comics but damn, those Japan-centric stories were so ughhh… We got to know about a game that we had only slightly heard of on other anime. And along with that, wonderful characters with whom we built a rapport instantly. Don’t you just love Chihaya and her determination to do the best? Her giving it all? Things do spice up when there’s Taichi and Arata looking for her attention but the influence is mild and all character have a likeable streak that even makes you like the opposing party like Shinobu, Sudo and Suo. In short, watch this! |
| honorable-mentions: Phi Brain \\ Mirai Nikki \\ Nichibros \\ Persona 4 \\ |
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Like usual, we did another team poll of our Top 5 anime that ended in Winter season. resulting in a mix of one and two cour series. Our honourable mentions to make a top 10 includes: Rinne no Lagrange, Inu x Boku SS, Another, Persona 4 and Gintama. I hope you enjoyed this post and from below let us know your own top seven and reason for choosing so. Till next time, ja ne~ |
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About Team Meta
We are the deadly team of Metanorn. When together, we usually come up with long, informative reviews and commentary. After all, we take fangirling seriously!
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Pirate King with 1048 comments
It’s interesting to note that, of the characters highlighted in my top 3, only the boy is wearing a bra. XD
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
That was kinda intentional… xD
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Ahahahah I saw that Jrow! Good photoshop skillz
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Oh the irony!
POWUH: iLurker with 2 comments
My top 5 of this season are:
1: Another
2: Persona 4
3: Inu X Boku
4: Black Rock Shooter
5: Guilty Crown
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Ooooh fancy list! I probably would have picked Guilty Crown because I had sooooo much fun reviewing it! Even though my reviews were more like lol-parody-mode for the entire thing <3
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Lol-parody-mode? Surely you undersell yourself. I call it survival mechanics in the face of overwhelming derp.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 323 comments
nice ~~
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
So many great animes last season. They were all so good that naming just 3 alone hardly seems to do it justice but here goes nothing. My top three Winter animes would be:
Another:
I recommend this to anyone who’s totally into horror or who just wants a scare every now and then. For those who can handle it, I dare you to marathon the entire series at night time. The story started off a little like Shiki, slow while unfolding the important parts and then later, picks up speed while still being good with all well thought out and graphic deaths leaving you to guess what will happen next and who’s responsible. Not to mention that there was an insane angry mob at the end. I still think of that kid crushed by the bulldozer while he was at his computer and the cute nurse who was dropped to her demise. The concept was really good! There were some twists in the plot that made it more interesting!
Nisemonogatari:
The dialog is the best part abort this series. It’s so much fun to watch the interaction between the characters. Every episode was unique and hilarious to watch. The best ones were the Kanbaru discipline scene from episode 2 and the notorious sibling/incest toothbrush scene from episode 8 (Damn, that was unforgettable, LOL). It wasn’t necessary to be picky about which character was the best because all of them were great, even the villains like Kaiki and Yozoru. Though my top five goes to Koyomi, Shinobu (Loli or teenager), Senjougahara, Karen and Kanbaru.
Rinne no Lagrange:
This was a really fun and dramatic mecha anime and with so many yuri vibes, I couldn’t help but love it. Once everyone got together, the three lead ladies were inseperable (They even went skinny dipping on a beach alone at night). There’s no telling how many times they were holding hands or were concerned for each other. Each of them had something that didn’t dull the other. The Mecha side of the anime series also played a huge role in the story along with sweet mentoring characters like Yoko, the funny anti-hero types like Villaguilio and the three Ovid pilots (Mainly the crossdressing Array) and the devious, untrusting ones like Moid (I still can’t trust that guy). I can’t wait for the other half to come along.
Honorable Mentions:
Persona 4: The Animation
Mirai Nikki
Guilty Crown
Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle
Ano Natsu de Matteru
Black Rock Shooter
Mouretsu Pirates
Senki Zesshou Symphogear
High School DxD
Inu x Boku SS
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
I know right? It is always tough to just name three and then have some honorable mentions after ahaha
Another: That series started out slow and dull for me until BAM! People started to drop like flies every other episode, but damn did ever get so intense at the end!? GOOD LORD! I loved every minute of it. Sadly I can’t say much for the story because “horror” anime turns into “comedy” for me, but I can see why certain people love it, LOL YES!! The elevator death and the bulldozer were by far the most graphic deaths.
Nisemonogatari: Agreed! Dialog for that series is great, but I found myself focused on the subs I missed the omg action scenes…or I read it first and then went back to drool over the visuals. EPISODE EIGHT! Ohhhh yes that will go down in history thanks to what you said! Incest and lol wut toothbrush fetish?! WOOOO! I can’t pick my favorite girl maybe Shinobu? She did have some hngggg scenes and a few NSFW >.>
Rinne no Lagrange: Yeah there is so much yuri keeping that series going, but I loved it and found it so addictive! Even the mecha fights were great and I loved the color schemes for each Vox machine. Not to mention killer OST!? I LOVE IT! Anyway yeah great cast of good guys and “bad guys” I can’t wait for the second half in the summer.
Nice honorable mentions list! I probably should have thrown Guilty Crown and BRS on mine, while those anime failed to impress most I found the battles in both to be so entertaining! Story thou yeah we won’t get into that <3
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 207 comments
1. Persona 4: The Animation – Haven’t played the game this was all new to me, so I now see the fablousness in Persona *w*
2. Nisemonogatari – This show was just HNNNNNNNN -w-
3. Black Rock Shooter – Loved the production value in this.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
P4: That series had lots of hilarious moments and plenty of OMG! FIGHTING! well on the side of the persona summons, but I was one of many non p4 gamers out there and I can say it honestly feels like the best video game to anime so far.
Nisemonogatari: Lots of HNNNGGG all over the place xDDD
BRS: Agreed production was high while the story suffers T___T I loved the battles and SUPER CANNON to the face with the ending? AMAZING.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 304 comments
Great choices everyone~ My top three:
1. Chihayafuru
2. Mirai Nikki
3. Another
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Chihayafuru: Loved the opening song, but I have yet to finish it off…I have the final five episodes burning a hole on my desktop! Maybe I should finish those? Ahahah
Mirai Nikki: What can I say? Just kidding! Just one name comes to mind! Yuno, Yuno and oh yes YUNO!? She was the highlight of the series and we finally know the truth about her…other than that I really enjoyed the idea of cell phones used as tools in this series.
Another: DEATH AND MORE DEATH?! I loved every moment…yeah some deaths were a bit uhh random while the final two episodes smacks you in the face with all that blood! For a horror series I really enjoyed that.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Nisemonogatari > Inu x Boku > Chihayafuru.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Good order! But is that order of which loli girls you liked? kukuku…
in that case id go with the sameeee order or Inu x Boku first thanks to HANAZAWA KANAAAAA~ then again Nisemonogatari is filled with lots of wonderful characters.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Chihayafura had no loli girls (I watched it many times, I would have noticed!…you aught to finish for the sake of your desktop). If we include Bodacious Space
LolisPirates, then we have some clay to mold.So: Nisemonogatari > Bodacious Space
LolisPirates > Inu x Boku.With mentions going to Rinne No La
LoliGrange and AquarionLOLILOVEEVOL.There, my mininum daily Metanorn gags in one post.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 99 comments
My top five would’ve been 5) Daily Dudes, 4) Nisemonogatari, 3) Mirai Nikki, 2) Natsume Yuujinchou Shi, 1) Chihayafuru, so no arguments here. B) Nice job on the post, team; it reads great and looks great as usual! 😀
POWUH: Meta Resident and Yōko Fanboy with 1246 comments
Inu X Boku needs more luv~ But I guess the polls show that ey? ;D Those who haven’t seen it should give it a try.
My picks are:
Inu X Boku SS
Mirai Nikki
Chihayafuru
Natsume Yuujinchou Shi
Nisemonogatari
Like Miya, I had also blogged Inu X Boku SS but that doesn’t necessarily mean I will love it more. Inu X Boku was quite different to the rest of the series. It had it’s bad parts here and there but what lead up to the great stuff made you enjoy those minor negative parts of the story. TRUST ME, those last 2 episodes proves that Inu X Boku has the best finale in the season but I don’t want to brag about this too much ^^;
Mirai Nikki was the anime that got me into dark and gore. I haven’t seen such a show or read such a story that was that dark and I actually enjoyed it. Surprisingly, I’m itching for more dark stories like Mirai Nikki or maybe even darker (without the horror stuff). I didn’t expect much at first so you can tell how much I was surprised to see how well it turned out to be.
Natsume, Nisemono and Chihayafuru… how should I put it… it was hard arranging their orders because I have mix feelings for all. Each of them had their good points and some had some not so great points. I adore Natsume heaps. Shaft’s work on Nisemono is brilliant. Chihayafuru showed me how awesome playing karuta is, but these 3 shows are different to each other, you can’t exactly compare who’s better. I was itching to throw in Ano Natsu into the mix and even BRS or Persona 4 if it was Top 7 or something.
Loving those snow flakes very much~ <3
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
Yeah! I like the way you’re doing this: shows that ended in Winter. I don’t approve of “technically it was a Fall show because it started back then,” since we need to see the end to know how we feel about it.
My Picks:
#1 Chihayafuru ~ for obvious reasons.
#2
ChihayafuruInu X Boku ~ because they pulled it off.#3
ChihayafuruPhi Brain ~ because I listened to the heart of the puzzles, and they told me to vote this way.POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
“Heart of the Puzzles”? LOL Nice one!! I’ll take that as a Yu-Gi-Oh! parody. Still, Phi Brain is one of the best shows we have right now. It’s a good thing that it’s still ongoing.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
This. All of this.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 338 comments
1. Black Rock Shooter: Always love a good mind **** anime!
2. Natsume <—- no questions there, seriously!
3. Chihayafuru: Because I wasn't expect anything from it and it amazed it! Totally loved it!
POWUH: 400-499 with 489 comments
1. Dashi Koukusai no nichijou
2. Black rock shooter
3. Mirai Nikki
comedy, action, and just plain mind FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
1. Inuxboku.
Everything else… was just “eh” or I dropped it (Moretsu, that other one, Guilty Crown.) I feel disappointed by this winter, but really, it’s probably good, since school needs to be more important for me…
Anyways, nice graphics guys!
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
What, no Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai! anywhere? Blasphemy!
Winter is hard for me, since there were so many great shows (unlike Spring, which has 3-4 that I’m actually really enjoying).
After some serious head-scratching (and some internal arguments) my three would have to be:
1) Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai! – sleeper hit for me, cute, endearing, and just fun to watch. This was one of the shows where I was “Tuesday, come faster!!!”
2) Nisemonogatari – Awesome dialogue. Shaft being Shaft. Awesome visuals. Has Ararararagi and awesome haremettes. And Awesome Dialogue. Orgasmic for a Bakemonogatari-fan.
3) Amagami SS+ Plus – Haruka! Ai! Haruka! Ai! Nishishishi!
Duking it out in my head but just got pushed a mm out of the ring:
Rinne no Lagrange/Aquarion EVOL/
Ano Natsu de Matteru
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
That was only considering shows that began airing in Winter. If I include shows that were still airing when Winter season started, I would add in Persona 4. Only because I love the game and this is just awesome fanservice. I’m sure if I didn’t like the game the ranking would be lower.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I spent so long just staring at the snowflakes…So pretty…
Slowly catching up to Natsume Yuujinchou! I just have to be careful of going over my bandwidth limit…but I’m getting there!
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
How do you like it? I was convinced to try the series, but I’ve yet to start on season 1. I have the first two episodes sitting there (behind my huge backlog of shows).
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Well, most of the Meta team (or so it feels like) was raving about the show so I started it, and their hype has been pretty accurate. It’s a very good show that knows how to tug at heartstrings. Did you ever watch Hotarubi no mori e? It’s full of stories like that in every episode.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
No I haven’t, when it came out I had no idea what it was about so I never bothered to check it out. I’m gonna go check it out this weekend and report back ^^
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 199 comments
Check it, Natsume and Hotarubi are based on the work from the same mangaka. It’s like one bigger Natsume episode (without the MC ;p)
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
We talked about it during our season review and hope to cover it soon! :3
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Hmm, it wasn’t too bad. I didn’t tear up (and I’m the type who is easily moved) though I did come close at one point. But the whole connection felt a little forced, it didn’t feel genuine enough to me. But I had high expectations coming in, so that might have skewed my perspective.
It kind of reminded me of Musashi, which I really liked.
Well, I’ll get around to starting Natsume Yuujinchou (eventually).
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Well, now you know what to expect from Natsume since they’re both from the same manga-ka (as Snowley said. Hence why I suggested it). I didn’t cry, but I found it awfully touching, and I’m more on the pokerface side. It all depends on what you find to be sad, of course. Just try Natsume whenever you have time, I guess. No rush since you were pretty lukewarm with the movie XD
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
SO I just realized I never watched Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou (I thought I had checked out at least one episode). Thinking back, I had previewed Kimi to Boku and was incredibly bored. This came out right after and I thought it was more of the same so I skipped it.
But in another thread Rakuen mentioned Nichijou (thought he was probably referring to the Nichijou (My Ordinary Life) and not Nichibros. And after reading Jrow’s comment re: School Rumble, I definitely had to check this out.
How on earth did I miss such a gem? This totally reminded me of SR (the burst out laughing and get weird looks).
Thanks to all of you! Definitely would have missed this and wouldn’t have known better.
Oh, and great post (even if you snubbed Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai!) ｡･ﾟ(ノД`)ﾟ・。
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
I’m just glad you checked it out because damn, NICHIBROS was awesome! And avoiding Papa Kiki was not intentional; the list was already too long when I was making that poll. (ノД`)
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Pirate King with 1048 comments
Papakiki is somewhat good, I just think it’s bland in a number of spots. The concept is interesting and some episodes are good. I also think Nimura ended up being my favorite character after the Miu episode; that’s the kind of best friend I’d want watching over the kids. Raika was great, too.
POWUH: 400-499 with 428 comments
Argh, it’s so hard to choose just three animes that were so good from last season, since they’re all so great but somehow I felt there was something lacking as well; may be it’s just me but I think the season lacked a bit of ‘character development’. Ano Natsu definitely wins in that category, Persona close after and I have yet to catch up on my Mirai Nikki (since death/power-centre anime are my thing too) but as for the others sure they were great but I find myself less invested in them compared to Ano Natsu. Probably being a bit picky but I would like to see more ‘serious’ anime aimed at the more older audience than children…unfortunately, I’ve grown up from the Pokemon stage… 🙁
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 116 comments
My Top 3 Picks
1. Danshi Koukousei ni Nichijou (Thanks to Hidenori, I tried – and finally managed to talk to a girl on a riverside during a sunset. She’s ain’t a Literature Girl, though. Hidenori x Literature Girl forever!)
2. Mirai Nikki (Yandere love is the PUREST LOVE)
3. Amagami SS+ Plus (Ayatsuji-san can “check my soul” any time she wants)
POWUH: 400-499 with 406 comments
Ughhh its impossible to pick my top three ;_; but here I go anyway…
1. Mirai Nikki (amazing adaption!)
2. Nisemonogatari (enough said hehe)
3. Another (surprisingly enjoyed it a lot!)
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
@Jrow. High School DxD ED. dat scissor kick!
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Pirate King with 1048 comments
That and the booty shake, best end theme of 2012, I’m quite certain of this! 😀
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
We shall have to make sure it has a spot in the Best ED category of 2012. Hot contention right now with Sankarea’s.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Both High School DxD’s OP and ED were great but the ED was definitely the best. Rias Gremory and the other girls are totally hot and Issei’s one lucky bastard to have their company.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Also, in the interest of alternate OS’. Crunchyroll + Laptop running Ubuntu and Myth TV + HDMI cable + 24 HDTV + My lazy arse = Hotness.