Well the new year of shows are upon on us and thus it's time for a recap of our top picks for last year!
Top 5 picks from our writers Djr7 and Ouroboros
Top 5 picks from our writers Djr7 and Ouroboros
Sword Art Online (Summer 2012)
Sword Art's first arc was my personal favorite. What really got me into Sword Art was how well they portrayed the emotions of being trapped within a game, where death in the game means death in real life. The emotions portraying how the players come to deal with living inside a game is wonderfully written giving a gloomy look on many childhood dreams of living in a game. Reflecting on the terror of how the player's real bodies are slowly weakening is well delivered as Kirito is able to find some happiness among the deaths of players around him. If you've ever played an MMO or other RPG you will definitely enjoy this show. - Djr7
Nisemonogatari (Winter 2011/12)
Bakemonogatari was an amazing show, with Nisemonogatari being the sequel, it was a theme of "fakes". While I can't say this sequel surpasses its predecessor, it was an enjoyable experience that continued off the work of Bakemonogatari. The show follows closely around Araragi's sisters and touches on the subject of different fetishes. In a way the show is more of a "I-do-what-I-want" sequel that somehow mixes extremely ridiculous events with plot driven serious characters. -Djr7
One of the few memorable shows of 2012 and definitely one of the ones that I enjoyed the most of that year. Similar to what Djr7 said: the show doesn't surpass Bakemonogatari but it keeps up with how good the original was. Nisemonogatari followed through with the bizarre humor that Bakemonogatari had and in some cases went past it as well, I’m sure everyone remembers the “toothbrush scene.” The show also develops some of the characters pretty well, such as Shinobu, a mysterious character in the original that ended up being quite the character in the second. The characters of Nisemonogatari, both old and new, played a large role in making this show one of the more memorable ones of 2012. -Ouros
Fate Zero part 2 (Spring 2012)
I've never been a huge Fate fan, but the show was pretty awesome, hosting a great many of conflicts that ultimately lead to the beginning of Fate Stay Night. The action was impressive as the quality was bar none. Overall if you enjoyed Fate Stay Night, this show easily surpasses it in my mind. - Djr7
Sakamichi no Apollon (Spring 2012)
I picked up this show after it aired, and I’m glad that my friend convinced me to watch it. The show was a really good watch for many reasons. The characters of Sakamichi no Apollon are one the main reasons that I put this in my top. All of the main characters had a lot of depth to them which allowed the show to be the drama that it is. It also has everything that makes a good drama, well developed characters, an engaging plot that draws in the viewers, and even multiple themes that viewers can relate to. And finally, the jazz music is like the icing on the cake to the well made drama. -Ouros
Guilty Crown (Winter 2011/2012)
Guilty Crown. Best show. Not really. But in all seriousness, no other shows that come up to mind that is worth mentioning... maybe Jormungand just because Koko Hekmatyar is so damn cool. Besides that, there were no other shows that really “stuck” to me to be put in my top 3. -Ouros
Most Disappointing
Guilty Crown had so much hype and was backed with its gorgeous visuals from its large budget. Guilty Crown presented itself as a show similar to Code Geass, it even replicated some similar themes towards CG. Unfortunately visuals were the only decent thing about it, as it became a sad attempt to portray a serious atmosphere with poor characters. I felt as if the show itself was trolling me, the only good character was a minor antagonist villain who carefully became the only one with an interesting personality as he tried to save the series and give some importance and interesting twists. Guilty Crown was a show that tried too hard and stumbled over its poor characters.
-The writing was awful, the writers tried to do everything but ended up accomplishing nothing. Too many plot holes in the show due to the fact that the show wanted to “be everything” at the same time. The characters were just as bad, they were one dimensional (lacking depth) and as many others said, they would change personalities from episode to episode. And they killed the best girl, Hare! Aside from that, the show looked great, and there was good music, but in the end.. the show was bullshit. -Ouros
Most Surprising
A quick glance at High School DxD and you could quickly dismiss it as being an over the top ecchi filled silly adventure about a boy joining a group of vampires and supernatural events with plenty of bare skin. Surprisingly I found myself continuing to watch DxD as the characters were well developed deep below their appearance and silly first impressions. The plot was well written and the characters are interesting enough to look past the ridiculous nudity. I recommend taking a look at this show if you passed on it.
Additionally this is the list of shows we both watched from last year
Mirai Nikki (WInter 2011/12)
Haiyore Nyaruka San (Spring 2012)
[K] (Fall 2012)
Sankarea (Spring 2012)
Another (Winter 2011/12)
Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka of the dead (Spring 2012)
High School DxD (Winter 2011/12)
Tasogare Otome X Amnesia (Spring 2012)
Guilty Crown (?)
Medaka Box (Spring 2012)
Aquarion Evol (Winter 2011/12)
BRS (Winter 2011/12)
Natsuiro Kiseki (Spring 2012)
Hyouka (Spring 2012)
Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate (Summer 2012)
Symphogear (Winter 2011/12)
Jormungand (Spring 2012)
Chuunibyou demo (Fall 2012)
Brave 10 (Winter 2011/12)
Zetman (Spring 2012)
Moretsu Pirates (Winter 2011/12)
