Originally I wanted to expand this further for more genres but due to wanting to include all the authors we will stay limited for this year. We are still a bit too unorganized lately, hopefully we can have more categories for the future. Hopefully this blog will still be alive a few years down the road to have a large archive of these.
So it will be very limited this year, it probably won't be hard to guess mine though. So I guess I'll start with my top anime of the year!
Pearz' anime pick for 2011
Not hard to guess my favourite anime this year was Madoka Magica. It was the first time I had to give a score greater then 10. Being strongly routed on everything logical, a to have an impossible 11/10 rating shows how much I liked it. It has also spurred me to have my first anime related purchase which is probably a slippery slope as now I want more. By far the best anime this year and probably be one of my top recommended for quite some time. Funny how I dropped this anime originally only to pick it back up when everyone was saying how awesome it was.
I guess Homura's plight was just to powerful, combined with a bit of understanding on how to make the world "work" in a more logical sense was what really captivated me. It is rare that time travel plots are done well as most people don't understand it well enough to write a story about it. I was just satisfied to see it done well, much better then Stiens;Gate. It has been a while since I was so mesmerized by an anime, definitely the top pick of 2011 for me.
Bern's anime picks
Sleeper of the year: Mashiro Iro Symphony
2011 was a really great year for anime. There were some that defied expectations, some that severely dissappointed, and some that float by. Mashiro Iro Symphony is one I feel that falls into that final category. Once you see the label "eroge adaption," you sort of know what to expect. After having seen Hoshizora the previous season, you think it'll be just the same sort of feel to it. I went in watching with these expectations.
However, it turned out very differently from Hoshizora. The main character was pretty suave, and the girls were quite good as well. It also gets credit for not picking the main girl; it's not revolutionizing by any means, but it's not the norm. Outside of that bathtub scene with Sena, I felt that everything proceeded quite smoothly. The pacing was really mellow in the beginning, but speeds up a bit when it gets dramatic. Ultimately, it made me care about the characters were feeling, especially with Sana.
I think Mashiphony did as well as any eroge adaption could really hope for. Not only did it come out pleasing, I think they did what they set out to do: sell more copies of the game. From the anime, we saw that Sena wasn't just a typical tsundere, but an observant and a caring friend. Well, if you want to see her get a copy of the game! Sana on the other hand really garnered major sympathy points along the way. If you want to give her happiness, you better by the psp game! It's simple yet brilliant.
In the end, it isn't the greatest romcom ever, but I think a lot of people might overlook the show as a simple eroge adaption. In fact, it's not a bad watch at all, and I would recommend it to anyone who eats up this genre.
Best of comedy of the year: Level E
Initially, what surprised me the most was that a manga from the late '90s got the green light for an anime adaption. Because it was from over a decade ago, it was free of the moe, the fanservice, and the unfunny misunderstandings. I enjoyed Prince Baka's intricately planned trolling and laughed at Yukitaka and Kraft getting the butt end of it. Ultimately, what did it for me was that he got a taste of his own medicine as the actual plot came around. It was a very funny show with a retro feel to it.
Djr7’s Anime pick of 2011
There were only a handful of shows I enjoyed this year, and while some were better than others and were surprisingly entertaining, nothing caught my attention like Steins;Gate.
At the end of each episode I was begging for more and couldn’t wait for the next episode to come out. While Madoka was the most shockingly good show, Steins;Gate was my favorite. The way they handled the element of time was awesome, although the ending was rather disappointing, but not a complete train wreck, it was the best show in my mind overall.
I’d like to recommend some other categories.
BEST ENDING, I loved Un-Go’s ending, the entire series lead up to Kaisho’s mystery and everything came together and was made clear with a rather unsuspecting villain at the end, the best part was that nothing changed all that much between Kaisho and Shinjurou which is a good thing because their characters are defined by their differences to each other and I think it was an awesome way to end the show, but I’m still hoping for more.
MOST SUPRISINGLY GOOD SHOW - mebe change name but Madoka was realllyyy good after thinking it was some sort of loli kid magical girl show.
OkamiSans anime pick for 2011
If you've seen my top list then you would've noticed that Steins;Gate comes in second. And it's there because it’s got everything I could ask for in an anime. It would've been my top 1 if I had seen this series before Code Geass. But Code Geass was one of the first anime series I've watched and appealed to my anti-hero side.
Anyway, Steins;gate's got an AWESOME story revolving around the complex concept of time travel. Now it's quite daunting to make an effective story around such a concept. But this series just simplifies it, works it, and builds it upon the viewer, slowly making things more complex but still keeping it easy for us to understand. Time travel is not the only main focus of the story, it’s about ordinary people (they are generally normal, right?) and how they deal with such power, and responsibility. Other works out there revolve around the main character and the storyline is set in stone. Then the other pieces (i.e.: characters, sets, etc.) work around to make that main character or storyline work out. But not in Steins;gate, here each character has a mind of their own, a goal to contribute and a twist to form leaving the story for better or worse.
In the end, Steins;gate has got a flawless story with lovable and understandable characters, beautiful art and designs, and most of all, a perfectly written storyline. It’s a series that will keep you craving for more but dreading for what will happen next. The series is a perfectly orchestrated melody and noise of emotions. I give the series a 101/10.
Aaro and Envy are too kool to join in this post T_T
So it will be very limited this year, it probably won't be hard to guess mine though. So I guess I'll start with my top anime of the year!
Pearz' anime pick for 2011
Not hard to guess my favourite anime this year was Madoka Magica. It was the first time I had to give a score greater then 10. Being strongly routed on everything logical, a to have an impossible 11/10 rating shows how much I liked it. It has also spurred me to have my first anime related purchase which is probably a slippery slope as now I want more. By far the best anime this year and probably be one of my top recommended for quite some time. Funny how I dropped this anime originally only to pick it back up when everyone was saying how awesome it was.
I guess Homura's plight was just to powerful, combined with a bit of understanding on how to make the world "work" in a more logical sense was what really captivated me. It is rare that time travel plots are done well as most people don't understand it well enough to write a story about it. I was just satisfied to see it done well, much better then Stiens;Gate. It has been a while since I was so mesmerized by an anime, definitely the top pick of 2011 for me.
Bern's anime picks
Sleeper of the year: Mashiro Iro Symphony
2011 was a really great year for anime. There were some that defied expectations, some that severely dissappointed, and some that float by. Mashiro Iro Symphony is one I feel that falls into that final category. Once you see the label "eroge adaption," you sort of know what to expect. After having seen Hoshizora the previous season, you think it'll be just the same sort of feel to it. I went in watching with these expectations.
However, it turned out very differently from Hoshizora. The main character was pretty suave, and the girls were quite good as well. It also gets credit for not picking the main girl; it's not revolutionizing by any means, but it's not the norm. Outside of that bathtub scene with Sena, I felt that everything proceeded quite smoothly. The pacing was really mellow in the beginning, but speeds up a bit when it gets dramatic. Ultimately, it made me care about the characters were feeling, especially with Sana.
I think Mashiphony did as well as any eroge adaption could really hope for. Not only did it come out pleasing, I think they did what they set out to do: sell more copies of the game. From the anime, we saw that Sena wasn't just a typical tsundere, but an observant and a caring friend. Well, if you want to see her get a copy of the game! Sana on the other hand really garnered major sympathy points along the way. If you want to give her happiness, you better by the psp game! It's simple yet brilliant.
In the end, it isn't the greatest romcom ever, but I think a lot of people might overlook the show as a simple eroge adaption. In fact, it's not a bad watch at all, and I would recommend it to anyone who eats up this genre.
Best of comedy of the year: Level E
Initially, what surprised me the most was that a manga from the late '90s got the green light for an anime adaption. Because it was from over a decade ago, it was free of the moe, the fanservice, and the unfunny misunderstandings. I enjoyed Prince Baka's intricately planned trolling and laughed at Yukitaka and Kraft getting the butt end of it. Ultimately, what did it for me was that he got a taste of his own medicine as the actual plot came around. It was a very funny show with a retro feel to it.
Djr7’s Anime pick of 2011
There were only a handful of shows I enjoyed this year, and while some were better than others and were surprisingly entertaining, nothing caught my attention like Steins;Gate.
At the end of each episode I was begging for more and couldn’t wait for the next episode to come out. While Madoka was the most shockingly good show, Steins;Gate was my favorite. The way they handled the element of time was awesome, although the ending was rather disappointing, but not a complete train wreck, it was the best show in my mind overall.
I’d like to recommend some other categories.
BEST ENDING, I loved Un-Go’s ending, the entire series lead up to Kaisho’s mystery and everything came together and was made clear with a rather unsuspecting villain at the end, the best part was that nothing changed all that much between Kaisho and Shinjurou which is a good thing because their characters are defined by their differences to each other and I think it was an awesome way to end the show, but I’m still hoping for more.
MOST SUPRISINGLY GOOD SHOW - mebe change name but Madoka was realllyyy good after thinking it was some sort of loli kid magical girl show.
OkamiSans anime pick for 2011
If you've seen my top list then you would've noticed that Steins;Gate comes in second. And it's there because it’s got everything I could ask for in an anime. It would've been my top 1 if I had seen this series before Code Geass. But Code Geass was one of the first anime series I've watched and appealed to my anti-hero side.
Anyway, Steins;gate's got an AWESOME story revolving around the complex concept of time travel. Now it's quite daunting to make an effective story around such a concept. But this series just simplifies it, works it, and builds it upon the viewer, slowly making things more complex but still keeping it easy for us to understand. Time travel is not the only main focus of the story, it’s about ordinary people (they are generally normal, right?) and how they deal with such power, and responsibility. Other works out there revolve around the main character and the storyline is set in stone. Then the other pieces (i.e.: characters, sets, etc.) work around to make that main character or storyline work out. But not in Steins;gate, here each character has a mind of their own, a goal to contribute and a twist to form leaving the story for better or worse.
In the end, Steins;gate has got a flawless story with lovable and understandable characters, beautiful art and designs, and most of all, a perfectly written storyline. It’s a series that will keep you craving for more but dreading for what will happen next. The series is a perfectly orchestrated melody and noise of emotions. I give the series a 101/10.
Aaro and Envy are too kool to join in this post T_T
