Ask John: What Where the Best TV Anime of 2012?

Question:
The year is almost finished, so I would like to know your recommendations for best series and movies of 2012.

Answer:
My personal interest and philosophy is in trying to sample the largest variety of anime that I can in order to develop a first-hand awareness of the scope of modern anime. That goal, combined with limited time, tends to result in my starting to watch far more anime series than I finish. That trend was especially prominent in 2012, as I was fortunate enough to watch at least one entire episode of all but nine of the roughly 161 new television anime series and specials to air this year. So with my ironically comprehensive and limited exposure, I can compile a list of only what struck me personally as the most exceptional anime of the year. With feature films and OVAs now being such a small category and TV anime being so prolific, I think that limiting my evaluation to just TV anime is more practical and useful than attempting to construct a complete “best anime of 2012” list. And for clarification, I define “new” TV anime as series which are distinguished by a new title, or new installments of franchises airing after at least a one-season hiatus.

The past year has been the most polarized year of anime that I can remember. The first half of 2012 was characterized by a predictable uniformity of anime genres and styles typical of recent years. However, among the conventional was an unexpectedly high percentage of unusually creative and dynamic anime. The second half of 2012 seemed promising as it revealed a stylistic variety of anime more diverse than typical of recent years. The second half of 2012 was especially noteworthy for resurrecting the sort of grim, hyper-stylized, post-modern action anime that had nearly become extinct in the 1990s, anime like K, Psycho-Pass, and Zetsuen no Tempest. But regrettably despite an encouraging diversity of visual styles, the narrative creativity of anime from the second half of the year failed to live up to the first half of the year.

I believe that only a small handfull of arguably “perfect” anime have appeared in recent years, shows that can be argued to have gotten everything right. Candidates, in my mind, include Mushishi, Seirei no Moribito, the first season of Natsume Yujincho, and Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai. So considering how rare “perfect” anime series are, the goal of a 2012 retrospective isn’t to identify the “perfect” anime but to identify the highlights of the year, the best among their peers from the year.

After the underwhelming and disappointing 2010 Black Rock Shooter OVA, viewers worldwide seemingly had valid reason to suspect the February 2012 television series. However, the viewers that gave the Black Rock Shooter television series a fair chance were rewarded with an unexpectedly nuanced, complex, dynamic, and even shocking narrative that pushed the envelope of anime conventions. The grim narrative dared to tackle themes including family disfunction, alienation, ostracism, psychological disorder, and adult endangerment and victimization of children in blunt, powerful strokes that anime usually avoids. The Black Rock Shooter TV series not only dared to peek at the dark, disturbing, and unpleasant psychological aspects of Japanese adolescent society, it threw the door wide open and fully embraced concepts that most anime seem scared to approach. The series also fully reveled in the visual dynamism of its fantasy dimension that the OVA only hinted at, removing viewers from the conventional schoolrooms and familiar locations that so much contemporary anime occurs in and instead showing viewers imaginative fantasy action scenes that only anime can effectively bring to life.

Ironically a thirty year-old franchise paralleled Black Rock Shooter’s efforts to jar viewers out of conventional expectations for predictable visual design and breath new, vital life into contemporary anime production. The Lupin the III ~Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna~ series resembles nothing more than Mushi Production’s 1973 feature Kanashimi no Belladonna, both in visual design and sensuality. Director Sayo Yamamoto’s and series writer Mari Okada’s effort to give sultry thief Fujiko Mine an origin story suffers a bit from jamming too much exposition into too little time at the very end of the series, but other groundbreaking anime including Evangelion, Utena, and Lain can be said to have done the same thing. As recent years have been characterized by anime designed to sell character merchandise and establish franchises, the Fujiko Mine TV series bucked convention by aiming to pure artistic spectacle. The goal of the show was seemingly first and foremost to experiment with the potential of anime and create a mini-series completely unlike anything else. Viewers that found this particular interpretation of Lupin III too outré could calm themselves with the year’s later enjoyable but very conventional “Toho Kenbunroku ~Another Page~” TV special.

Ostensibly a show cribbing defining elements from Pretty Cure & Macross F, the January 2012 Senki Zessho Symphogear bishoujo action series is another show that seemingly had no right to be as good as it was. Like 2008’S Kure-nai, Symphogear was a show with creative ambitions regrettably too big for its limited means. Symphogear had an unexpectedly epic story wrapped around engaging characters with involving personalities. The show dealt with big scenes in big ways, including massive concert scenes, massive monster army attacks, and literally planet shattering battles. The show dealt with powerful emotions and clearly tried its best to make every action scene tremendous, impactful, and exceptionally animated. The fact that the show sadly didn’t have the budget to support its grand vision does little to mitigate the respect it deserves for trying to be more epic, emotional, and impressive rather than just settling for ordinary.

The adaptation of Reki Kawahara’s Accel World novel series was adequate and enjoyable, but A-1 Pictures’ adaptation of his Sword Art Online novel series became one of the year’s favorite TV anime for good reason. Earlier anime including .Hack, Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu, and Prism Ark have dealt with the same narrative and genre concepts that Sword Art Online utilized, but well-developed, empathetic characterizations above all else made Sword Art Online consistently engaging and satisfying. Even when the series’ setting changed into not just one but two alternate settings in the second half of the anime series, viewers continued watching because the characters and their trials were so compelling. Despite being a very conventional action/adventure series, the show excelled by sheer virtue of being well animated and, more importantly, interesting to watch.

Nisemonogatari sneaks into my top five almost surreptitously. The show feels very obviously like exactly what it is, a redundant add-on to Bakemonogatari. But what the show lacks in compelling narrative, it compensates for in abundance in style and technique. The “Karen Bee” story arc feels like a leftover chapter of Bakemonogatari, but the tension in scenes involving Deishuu Kaiki, Koyomi Araragi, and Hitagi Senjougahara is handled exceptionally well. The “Tsukihi Phoenix” story arc, particularly with its infamous toothbrush seduction, the memorable Kagenui Yozuru & Ononoki Yotsugi guest characters, and its spectacular fight between Karen & Koyomi still manages to be more dynamic and imaginative than nearly anything else in this year’s anime.

The opposite end of 2012’s anime is divided between the bad and the disappointing. Despite stylish art design, Arcana Famiglia & Muv-luv Alternative: Total Eclipse are simply bad. Arcana Famiglia is terrible, idiotic bishonen pandering. Total Eclipse is insultingly stupid and aggravatingly racist. Despite heavy advance publicity and granted exceptional art design and animation quality, the first season of K suffered an unpleasant cast and especially weak and uninteresting narrative development. Psycho-Pass earned some notoriety for excluding moé. Regrettably it also excluded common sense and large swaths of narrative creativity. Natsuyuki Rendezvous began with the promise of continuing the positive tonal excellence of Ristorante Paradiso and Usagi Drop, and it featured arguably the year’s best ending theme song. Unfortuantely, Natsuyuki Rendezvous quickly declined into a fetid melodrama of childish tantrums & offensive sexism indulged as obsessive romance.

This year’s new TV anime included the following titles. The nine in itallics are those that I was unable to watch any of. I’ve excluded “foreign” titles like the French animated series Minuscule ~Chiisana Mushi no Monogatari~ and the made-for-American boradcast Monsuno.

Accel World
Acchi Kocchi
Aikatsu!
AKB0048
Amagami SS+
Ano Natsu de Matteru
Another
Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de
Aquarion Evol
Arashi no Yori ni ~ Himitsu no Tomodachi
Arcana Famiglia
Area no Kishi
Backstage Idol Story
Bakuman 3rd series
BakuTECH! Bakuman
Battle Spirits Sword Eyes
Binbougami ga
Black Rock Shooter
Boku no Imouto wa Osaka Okan
Brave 10
BTOOOM!
Buso Shinki
Campione!
Cardfight!! Vanguard: Asia Circuit
Chiisana Ojisan
Chitose Get You!!
Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter
Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi
Chuunibyo Demo Koi ga Shitai!
CODE:BREAKER
Computer Kakumei: Saikyo x Saisoku no Zuno Tanjo [TV special]
Cross Fight B-Daman eS
Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai
Danboru Senki W
Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou
DOG DAYS´
Duel Masters Victory V
Ebiten: Kouritsu Ebisugawa Koukou Tenmon-Bu
Eureka Seven AO
Furusato Saisei Nippon no Mukashi Banashi
Gakkatsu!
Ginga e Kickoff!!
Gintama
Girls und Panzer
Gokujo: Gokurakuin Joshi Koryo Monogatari
Hagure Yuusha no Estetica
Haitai Nanafa
Haiyore! Nyaruko-san
Hakuouki Reimeiroku
Hayate no Gotoku! CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU
Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb
High School DxD
Hiiro no Kakera
Hiiro no Kakera Dai-ni-sho
Himitsu Kessha Taka no Tsume Gaiden Mukashi no Yoshida-kun
Hyouka
Inazuma Eleven Go 2: Chrono Stone
Inu x Boku SS
Ixion Saga DT
Jewelpet Kira Deco
Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
JoJo no Kimyo na Boken
Jormungand
Jormungand: Perfect Order
Joshiraku
K
Kamisama Hajimemashita
Kill Me Baby
Kimi to Boku 2
Kingdom
Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate
Kokoro Connect
Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru!
Kore wa Zombie desu ka? Of The Dead
Kremlin [web anime]
Kuroko no Basuke
Kuromajo-san ga Toru!!
Kyoukai Senjo no Horizon II
Little Busters
Little Charo: Tohoku-hen
Lupin III: Toho Kenbunroku ~Another Page~
LUPIN the Third ~Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna~
Magi
Maji de Otaku na English! Ribbon-chan: Eigo de Tatakau Mahou Shoujo
MAJOR: World Series Hen – Yume no Shunkan e Special Edition
Medaka Box
Medaka Box Abnormal
Metal Fight Beyblade ZEROG
Moeretsu Uchu Kaizoku
Moyashimon Returns
Muv-luv Alternative: Total Eclipse
Natsuiro Kiseki
Natsume Yujincho Shi
Natsuyuki Rendezvous
Nazo no Kanojo X
Neko no Sumu Jima [TV special]
Nisemonogatari
Nukko.
Oda Nobuna no Yabou
Oniichan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne
Oshiri Kajiri Mushi
Ozma
Pabu & Mojie
Panda no Tapu Tapu
Papa no Iu Koto o Kikinasai!
PSYCHO-PASS
Picchipichi Shizuku-chan
Pocket Monster Best Wishes Season 2
Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki
Pretty Rhythm ~ Dear My Future
Queen’s Blade Rebellion
Recorder to Randsell
Recorder to Randsell Re
Ribbon-chan
Rinne no Lagrange
Rinne no Lagrange Season 2
ROBOTICS;NOTES
Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden
Saint Seiya Omega
Sakamichi no Apollon
Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A
Sakura-sou no Pet na Kanojo
Sankarea
Seitokai no Ichizon Lv.2 [web anime]
Sekiei Ayakashi Mangatan [web anime]
Sengoku Collection
Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Shiba Inuko-san
Shimajiro no Wow!
Shin Prince of Tennis
Shin Sekai Yori
Shining Hearts ~Shiawase no Pan~
Shirokuma Café
Smile Precure
Stitch to Suna no Wakusei (TV special)
Suki-tte Ii na yo
Sword Art Online
Taka no Tsume NEO
Tamagotchi! Yume Kira Dream
Tanken Driland
Tantei Opera Milky Holmes 2
TARI TARI
Tasogare Otome x Amnesia
Teekyuu
Thermae Romae
To Love-ru Darkness
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
Train Hero
Tsuritama
Uchuu Kyodai
Upotte!! [web anime]
Wooser no Sono Higurashi
Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal II
Yurumates 3D
Yurumates 3D Plus
Yuruyuri♪♪
Zero no Tsukaima F
ZETMAN
Zetsuen no Tempest
Zumomo to Nupepe