On the cusp: Nichijou, Tiger & Bunny, Hanasaku Iroha, Natsume Yuujin-chou San, Level E

Been a pretty great year for anime though, definitely a step up from 2009 and 2010. Visual Novels produced an anime that had focus on actual story and memorable unique characters instead of nakige moeblobs or just plain old porn. Shaft finally stopped fucking around and made the anime I’ve always wanted them to make. For all the scorn heaped on Noitamina this year, 2 out of my top 5 still came from that timeslot. Plus there was real strength in depth, with a fairly wide variety of anime of all sorts of different genres, although fighting against fate seems to be a fairly common theme this year. Looking forward to the totally inevitable victory by Madoka in these year end power rankings =P

Scamp (The Cart Driver)

Back in late July, the Anime Power Rankings started off as a pet project of mine that I doubted would get off the ground. Yet now, less than six months later, more than 40 bloggers are involved every week! I decided to end this year with a look back at the best anime of 2011. Yet my year in review is a little different, because it belongs not only to me, but all of my fellow anime bloggers. Without further ado, this is the best shows of the year, chosen by the best of the best.

Voters and former voters in the Anime Power Rankings were given a ballot to list their top 10 shows of 2011. For a show to qualify, it must be a TV anime that aired one episode in the year 2011. A first place vote is worth 10 points, second place is worth 9, etc., except 8th-10th place are each worth 3 points.

2011 was a strong year for anime, with several noteworthy anime series that rocked the anime blogging community. Most notable were Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Mawaru Penguindrum, The iDOLM@STER, and Fate/zero, all big names that stirred up quite a ruckus. Puella Magi Madoka Magica is sure to leave a big mark on anime history with its unique, shock factors that make you look at this magical girl show very differently, and Mawaru Penguindrum, directed by Ikuhara, delivers a strong story with tantalizing symbolism and allusions. The iDOLM@STER was by far the most entertaining with its 13 charming idols, delivering wonderful music, dancing, and star personalities. Although not yet finished, Fate/zero has delivered some very powerful dialogue and movie-quality animation, and the story is superb as expected from famed TYPE-MOON. Also worth mentioning would be Steins;Gate and Usagi Drop based on the community’s reactions, but I have not yet watched them and thus cannot offer my take on them. I could not have asked for a much better year, and I look forward to seeing some more big names next year, such as Nisemonogatari and the second half of Fate/zero. Happy holidays!

Ephemeral Dreamer (Ephemeral Dreams)

(more…)