Best of Anime / Miscellaneous

The Best of Anime 2012


Now that 2012 is over, it’s time for our yearly diversion into the ranking of things, the Best of Anime 2012 post! This year we’re doing things a little different, not the least because it’s not Divine’s name at the top of this post. As with the season previews, where once one man was enough, now multiple writers are teaming up. Divine was legendary for completing upwards to 3/4ths of the anime airing in a year by himself, which left him uniquely able to identify the best that year had to offer. Alas, his hiatus from blogging also hit his time for watching anime, so the three active writers who watched the most anime this past year are stepping in to take up the torch.

…more after the jump

Disclaimer: As always, disclaimers abound! Please keep in mind that “best” is subjective. What’s best for us isn’t necessarily best for you, and that’s okay. This list shouldn’t be taken as some kind of inviolable truth, but rather the opinions of three guys after a lot of anime watching and about eight hours of arguing, which are naturally influenced by our own tastes, experiences, and personal impressions. Before you go bashing one of our choices, please make sure that you’ve at least seen it and know where we’re coming from. Finally, all we ask is that you respect our opinions, just like we respect yours. Thank you.

Disclaimer #2: The choices in this post are not necessarily reflective of the opinions of all RandomC writers. They are solely the opinions of Moomba, Zephyr, and I (Stilts), and no one else. Thank you for your understanding.

* This post will be kept at the top for the next while, so be sure to scroll past it or check the Recent Entries on your right for new posts.

Best of Anime / Miscellaneous

The Best of Anime 2011


Now that 2011 is over, here’s a look back at some of my favorite shows from the past year. Due to the subjective nature of it all and the fact that I’m constrained to what I’ve seen, I’m not trying to pick series that the vast majority finds agreeable. Instead, I’m here to convey my personal favorites for 2011, after which you’re more than welcome to chime in with your respective choices.

Continuing from last year, there are numerous categories in the following areas: Production, Miscellaneous (fun stuff), Genre, and Notable Others. This year, I’ve also added some new genres and divided the seiyuu category into male and female. Included at the end are the final results to the Reader’s Choice Poll.

 

Please Read: I got a bit of flack last year for some of my choices despite providing more justification than necessary for an opinion, so please keep in mind that “best” is subjective. What’s best for me is not necessarily the best for you. I did manage to finish 72 of the 99 shows included in the poll (complete list here), so before you go knocking one of my choices, please make sure that you’ve at least seen it and know where I’m coming from. Finally, all I ask is that you respect my opinion, just like I respect yours. If you happened to watch more series than me in the past year, I’d love to hear what your favorites were.

Best of Anime / Miscellaneous

The Best of Anime 2010


Now that 2010 is over, here’s a look back at some of the best series the year had to offer. Due to the subjective nature of it all and the fact that I’m constrained to what I’ve seen, I’m not trying to pick series that the vast majority finds agreeable. Instead, I’m here to convey my personal favorites for 2010, after which you’re more than welcome to chime in with your respective choices. Carrying over from last year, there’s an increased number of categories separated into corresponding areas, namely Production, Miscellaneous (fun stuff), Genre, and Notable Others. Also included at the end are the final results to the Reader’s Choice Poll.

 

Disclaimer: These are purely my personal opinions based on the shows that we’ve seen in the past year. While I’ve watched a lot of series (56 this past year), please keep in mind that I haven’t watched everything. For a show to even qualify for consideration, it had to have met the requirements outlined in the Reader’s Choice Poll. For OVAs/movies, the additional requirement is that it’s been either released on DVD/BD so that viewers outside of Japan have had a chance to watch it.

Best of Anime / Miscellaneous

The Best of Anime 2009


Now that 2009 is over, here’s a look back at some of the best series the year had to offer. Due to the subjective nature of it all and the fact that we’re constrained to what we’ve seen, we won’t be trying to pick series that everyone finds agreeable this year. Instead, we’re here to convey our personal favorites for 2009, after which you’re more than welcome to chime in with your respective choices. To make things more interesting, we’ve increased the number of categories and separated them into corresponding areas — namely Production, Miscellaneous (fun stuff), Genre, and Notable Others. Also included at the end are the final results to the Reader’s Choice Poll.

New as well this year are my picks as a standalone opinion alongside Omni’s. Previously, I helped him pick a comedy series but the rest of the choices were solely his. This time around, you get both sides of the coin. Under each category, I’ve provided a brief description of what our criteria are. Immediately below that are Omni’s picks along with his comments followed by my own.

 

Disclaimer:
These are purely our personal opinions based on the shows that we’ve seen in the past year. For a show to even qualify for consideration, it had to have met the requirements outlined in the Reader’s Choice Poll. For OVAs/ONAs/movies, the additional requirement is that it’s been either released on DVD/Blu-ray or online so that viewers outside of Japan have had a chance to watch it. This means that series like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Summer Wars (not officially released) are not up for awards this year; they’ll be saved for 2010.

Best of Anime / Miscellaneous

The Best of Anime 2008

Now that 2008 is over, here’s a look back at some of the best series the year had to offer. Also included at the end are the final results to the Reader’s Choice Poll.

Disclaimer: These are purely my personal opinions based on the shows that I saw in the past year (and in the case of Best Comedy, the shows that Divine has seen). For a show to even qualify for consideration, it had to have met the requirements outlined in the Reader’s Choice Poll. That means that series like Toradora! and Soul Eater are not up for awards this year – they’ll be saved for 2009.

Best of Anime / Miscellaneous

The Best of Anime 2007

With the end of 2007 almost upon us, here’s a look back at some of the best series this year had to offer. Also included at the end are the final results to the Reader’s Choice Poll.

Disclaimer: These are purely my personal opinion based on the shows that I saw in the past year. You could argue that I’m ignoring some of the less popular but equally good shows like Seirei no Moribito or BACCANO!, but I unfortunately don’t have the time to watch everything and can only talk about what I’ve seen. For a show to even qualify for consideration, it had to have met the requirements outlined in the Reader’s Choice Poll. That means that series like CLANNAD, Shakugan no Shana II, and Gundam 00 are not up for awards this year – they’ll be saved for 2008. There is also a big spoiler in here for those of you who haven’t seen School Days and still plan to do so, but hopefully that’s not too many people.

Best of Anime / Miscellaneous

The Best of Anime 2006


With the end of 2006 almost upon us, here’s a look back at some of the best series this year had to offer. Also included at the end are the final results to the Reader’s Choice Poll.

Disclaimer: These are purely my personal opinion based on the shows that I saw in the past year. For a show to qualify for consideration, it had to have met the requirements I outlined in the Reader’s Choice Poll. There is also a big spoiler for those of you who haven’t seen Canvas2 and still plan to do so, but hopefully that’s not many people.