Once more, with feeling: Finding the Best Anime of 2012

[Maokun]

A bit late on this so I'll keep it open until tomorrow. Hopefully we'll get a few more votes in.

[Maokun]

Results for Day 2 of the second round:

Zetsuen no Tempest 2
Kids on the Slope 4


and

Humanity has Declined 3
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun 4

Surprisingly, both of the titles to advance as second of their group defeated the head-of-group they faced! Let's see if there are any surprises in today's matches:

Natsume Yuujinchou Shi

VS

Shin Sekai Yori

Kokoro Connect

VS

Library Wars: Wings of the Revolution

I'm suspecting that the sharply reduced amount of voters is due to the demand for explanation, so I'm going to make it optional. Please, if possible, do share with us why you love the series you are voting for (or dislike the one you're voting against), but more importantly, please vote.

[ForeverInspired]

Shin Sekai Yori
I have watched one episode from the first Natsume series and one episode from Shin Sekai Yori. Since I find them both really good in their own way, I decided to go with the latter since I have watched an actual episode from it and not one from the newest series of Natsume. Plus, I think that Shin Sekai Yori is the underdog.

Library Wars: Wings of the Revolution
I've seen the Library Wars movie and one episode of Kokoro Connect. This was a very hard decision. Just by watching the first episode, I immediately fell in love with the vice-president (she voice acted Celty in Durarara!). The voice and personality are perfect. Also, the plot seems quite interesting. However, I'm going to give this vote to Library Wars in the end. Coincidentally, one of my favorite characters in this movie is also voiced by the person who did Celty. However, I really think that this movie was well done because it brought war (without any mecha), books (I fall for animes centering on this every time), romance, and comedy all together beautifully. I never thought Full Metal Panic! could be topped in this respect, but now I know that I am wrong.

[MangaRocks!]

@Maokun: I tend to have a pretty succinct reviewing/recommending style, even when I'm writing about my most favorite things, and this fact can sometimes work against me in these rounds ; but as difficult as it can occasionally be for me to keep on finding new ways to praise even my favorite shows as they continue through, I like the fact that in these later matches we've always had to explain why we're voting for them. It helps keep the voting fair, it's a good exercise for our own benefit to pin down exactly why we like things and think they deserve to be voted for/watched (and also to promote them to others), and it's also great for people who are just reading the thread (I myself have added several shows to my to-watch list over the past few days just from what others have said about them in this contest). So I'd say to keep it a requirement, if you can.


Anyway, my votes:


Natsume Yuujinchou Shi

Aside from my personal feelings on both of the shows in this particular match (SSY was certainly intriguing, but Natsume has a very special place in my heart, and there's no way the former can compare to the latter for me personally ), the additional reasons that I'm going with Natsume here are recommendability and mood. The former in that, as interesting as SSY was, some of its content makes it *very* difficult (read: near impossible) for me to personally recommend to... well, literally anyone that I know, actually -- whereas Natsume is quite clean, and I can (and do!) recommend it to anyone and everyone. And secondly, the mood-- Natsume is an iyashikei (healing genre) series, so despite how melancholy some of its individual stories are, or the rather real danger that the characters occasionally find themselves in, the entire show is actually really warm and soothing and refreshing and, well, healing to you as you watch it. Natsume is truly a gem, and I love it dearly.


Library Wars: Wings of the Revolution

In full disclosure, I haven't yet seen Kokoro Connect; however, I feel pretty confident that I'd be voting for the Library Wars movie regardless. I like the premise of the Library Wars series (along with how well it's executed), I love the main characters (and their friendships/teamwork and eventual romance ), and this movie provides all of that and more wrapped up in a great finale. (Plus-- from the few pages I've skimmed of the novels while waiting for their translation to finish-- it appears to be a pretty darn good adaptation, too! )

[blkmage]

natsume 4:



ssy was pretty moe but natsume is more moe

kokoroco:



dereban is miyukichi of the year two thousand twelve no question

[skreyola]

Shin Sekai Yori
I haven't seen either of these, but while I found Nutsume season 1 fairly relaxing, it wasn't wonderful.
And SSY is the underdog, so far, from what I can tell.

Kokoro Connect
I've seen this one. The conceit is a bit odd, the early jokes are predictable, and the theology behind the reason for the swapping is disturbing, but it is an interesting exploration of identity, friendship, and responsibility.

Plus, I don't want to skip out on all the rounds, especially since the voting pool seems to have gone down a bit.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

I don't get what the obsession with voting for the underdog is here. WOW THIS SHOW ISN'T AS WELL LOVED SO I'M GOING TO TRY AND LET IT WIN

Anyways, Shin Sekai Yori is going to get my vote because I really love Natsumesay like everyone else but SSY was fascinating and awesome and reaaaaally well-animated at times, which I think gives it an edge over Natsume which never looks bad but just kind of adequate. It also got me to write a blog post, making it one of only two anime to do so.

Much less of a contest is that the Library War movie is clearly superior to Kokoro Connect. I've gone over why I love Library War many times, but if nothing else INSTRUCTOR DOJO >>>>>>> Dereban

[skreyola]

Well, for example, in this round, we have the SECOND season (I'm beginning to think tourneys shouldn't include sequels, but that's a topic for another time) of a well-known show that I've only seen the first season of, and if I just vote for the one that I'm more familiar with solely because more people have been talking about it, then I'm just perpetuating that bias toward the well-known, and if we all did that, all the shows that are already popular and well-known will win the tournaments, and the lesser-known gems will not place highly, and they'll continue to languish. So, it's kind of like wanting the more obscure shows to have a chance, and then maybe more people will go watch them, and maybe, if they're better than the more widely known show (I feel this was the case in a previous tournament), it'll have a better chance in a future tourney.

Maybe it's silly and baseless, but as I said, if I voted only in rounds where I'd seen both shows, I'd be out of the voting for most of the tourney, and Mao would have fewer votes to tally.

I love seeing people's reasoning for voting on a particular show, but there's always the chance someone will disagree with that reasoning. Y'know, it would be great if we voted solely on the basis of show merit, but then we'd all need to have seen all the shows. I don't have time for that (and am not interested in all the shows that made it into the brackets), so I'd be out of the voting entirely. So... as lame as it might be, I guess I'm using game theory like lots of other people.

[ForeverInspired]

I've been really enjoying this vote for the best anime of the year. I've found so many new and great titles through it and have been able to get rid of others. This made me start thinking, and I was wondering whether it would be possible to see results from previous years side by side so that we don't have to search the forum and maybe provide links to the particular contest. Also, I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but maybe we could put in the reviews that the anime was a finalist/winner for the year. Just a thought. It might help other people out when looking for good anime. I know that it probably would be a lot of work, but I just thought that it might be nice to put the idea out there.

[GeneD]

Wow, I was really surprised that Tempest lost, but I guess it should be taken into account that a lot of people didn't vote.

Shin Sekai Yori
Although I really love Natsume, I haven't actually seen this season, so I'd rather give my vote to something I saw all of. Although SSY definitely isn't perfect and I have some reservations about the direction taken with the second half of the story, overall it was pretty excellent. The social and moral commentary it makes is very interesting and I couldn't help but think how I would do things, differently or not, if I was in charge of a society like that in the show. The sheer "something is wrong here" atmosphere was also a big draw for me.

Library Wars: Wings of the Revolution
If you're tired of unsatisfying romantic subplots in anime, this is the movie for you (assuming you watch the series first of course, which is mighty good too so you should anyway). Also handbrake turns. I guess that same argument could be used in favour of Kokoro Connect (the romance thing, not the handbrake turn thing), but I had other issues with that series, mostly concerning the ending so SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Heartseed stopping both the last phenomenon in the series and the one in the special episodes felt so abrupt to me it was kind of jarring and left a bit of a bad aftertaste. Also none of the other phenomenon were as interesting to me as the body swapping one.

@ForeverInspired, most of the previous Best Of threads got lost in the move to the revamped forums unfortunately, but the Best of 2000s thread has all the first and second place titles listed in the first post: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=63512

[goldenspines]

Man, I missed two days (real life busy) and it's all gone down the drain. Both Humanity has Declined AND Tempest gone in one fell swoop? It's a sad day.

Anyway, all we can do is press on and keep fighting!

Natsume Yuujinchou Shi

Goodness, is these even a contest, though? Maybe it's because Shin Sekai never really interested me. But, I haven't heard anything to sell me on it yet. What separates it from a much better post apocalyptic story like Humanity Has Declined?
One thing that could be noted about Natsume is that, unlike a lot of other series, it kept getting better and better each season and Shi was probably the peak of excellence for this beautiful and heart warming anime. It's a relaxing and soft looking series, but it's also easy to watch because of that. The story telling is contained to one or two episodes each arc, yet there is a still strong story that intertwines in it all that finally comes to a dramatic and beautiful conclusion at the end of this season. No spoilers, but what Natsume does extremely well is story telling.

Kokoro Connect

I can't with a clear mind even hope to vote for Library Wars anything, sadly. Hat has tried to sell it to me many times, but I still can't appreciate it as much as he or others do. It's a good concept, but it's not interesting enough for me to keep watching (I only got past the first two episodes 8( )

I think I already gave a short reason why I voted for Kokoro Connect last time it came up, but let's reiterate why it's a great series. I suppose I could be biased because the series really did catch me off guard. I thought it was going to be a B anime with a semi thought out story and meh characters. I came in expecting that and was blown away at the brilliant and lovable characters. There are rare shows where my opinion of a character changes over the course of a series, but this was one of them (Princess Tutu was another one). The show was about human nature, but more importantly, it was about wearing a mask versus being yourself.
Going out on a cultural limb here, the series explores a very important concept in Japanese culture, one's "facade" and one's "true feelings". The US culture does this to an extent, but it's extremely important in Japanese culture to hide your true feelings in order to be polite to others. In Kokoro Connect, these barriers, this concept ingrained in their very culture was shattered into pieces. That is the most frightening thing that could possibly happen, I think. Yet, these fantastic characters in Kokoro Connect suffered and fought through it; banding together even though the brutal truth was often too much for all of them.

Anyways, a pretty awesome series that cuts to the heart of some pretty deep stuff, but it also has one of the best endings in an anime, I think. (I count the 4 extra specials as well, but yeah)

[Maokun]

I've been really enjoying this vote for the best anime of the year. I've found so many new and great titles through it and have been able to get rid of others. This made me start thinking, and I was wondering whether it would be possible to see results from previous years side by side so that we don't have to search the forum and maybe provide links to the particular contest. Also, I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but maybe we could put in the reviews that the anime was a finalist/winner for the year. Just a thought. It might help other people out when looking for good anime. I know that it probably would be a lot of work, but I just thought that it might be nice to put the idea out there.

Unfortunately, there was a board transition a while ago and the threads for the competitions of the years 2001 to 2011 were lost. It's pretty sad because as you say, they were great tools to find and hear about old and new titles. Luckily, the latest thread, in which the top titles of each year competed managed to remain around: http://www.christiananime.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=63512 Also, I believe that the image uploading site I use has all the images I've made, meaning that potentially, I could post the placement of the top 16 anime of each year, if someone is interested.

As for my votes, I'm only going to vote for Shin Sekai Yori. I just learnt about it when making this thread and looks right up my alley. On the other hand, I've already expressed my weariness with Natsume. (if it gets a 5th season, do not expect me including it in the 2013 competition; at that, we might as well start including Naruto and One Piece as well.) I haven't seen either of the titles in the other match and both seem equally good, so I'll withhold judgement.

Results going up soon!

[Vii]

Natsume Yuujinchou Shi -
I love this show. It's such a good mix of heartwarming and bittersweet, and Natsume is just adorable.
Shin Sekai Yori has a good story and very interesting visuals, and I love the atmosphere and world it's set in, but it's...I'm not sure. I can see that it's a unique anime, but I guess it just doesn't click with me.
I think the bottom line is that I can't ignore the moe that is Natsume.

Can't really decide between Kokoroco and Library War. I've seen both but there's nothing making me choose one above the other.

Well, for example, in this round, we have the SECOND season

Fourth, actually.

[MangaRocks!]

...Also, I believe that the image uploading site I use has all the images I've made, meaning that potentially, I could post the placement of the top 16 anime of each year, if someone is interested.

Well, I for one would definitely be interested.

[skreyola]

...Also, I believe that the image uploading site I use has all the images I've made, meaning that potentially, I could post the placement of the top 16 anime of each year, if someone is interested.

Well, I for one would definitely be interested.

Me, too.

@Vii: Sorry, fourth. All the moreso.

[ForeverInspired]

Thanks for the explanation, GeneD and Maokun. That's too bad that they were lost. Thanks for the link though!

...Also, I believe that the image uploading site I use has all the images I've made, meaning that potentially, I could post the placement of the top 16 anime of each year, if someone is interested.

Well, I for one would definitely be interested.

Me, too.

I'm all in!

[Maokun]

Heh, I just had a great time reading over that thread of the Best anime of the past decade. Some real good arguments for all series towards the end and it made me realise we're also missing ClosetOtaku in this competition. Alas. I'll look into posting all the top 16 images after we're done with this contest.

Anyhow, here are the results for the past matches:

Natsume Yuujinchou Shi 4
Shin Sekai Yori 5

Kokoro Connect 3
Library Wars: Wings of the Revolution 4


And so, the previous parity between Kokoro Connect and Shin Sekai Yori is resolved! Now for the last matches in this round:

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou

VS

Sukitte Ii na yo.

and

Hyouka

VS

Moyashimon Returns

I'll post the results and the updated table sometime during the weekend. Round 3 will start, as usual, the next Monday!

[blkmage]

hyouka

[MangaRocks!]

Kokoro Connect 3
Library Wars: Wings of the Revolution 4

If bolding the title indicates the winner there, I'm pretty sure the bold one should be Library War...


Anyway, abstaining from the first match because I have seen neither. As for the second match:

Hyouka

This is a lovely series that somehow takes small, mundane little things and turns them into fascinating mysteries (even including some little references to other famous mystery characters/writers on occasion); features great, intelligent, interesting characters (with equally-interesting interactions and development); and has absolutely beautiful visuals courtesy of KyoAni's top-tier animation. There's no way I wasn't going to love this.

[Vii]

Bye Natsume ;_;

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou
Sukitte Ii na yo.

Sukitte Ii na yo was decent, but I feel like I would have to watch Nichibros before I could make a call. I've seen some hilarious scenes from it, so there's a good possibility I'd like it more than Sukinayo.

Hyouka
Hyouka is all kinds of wonderful and everyone should watch it. The mysteries, the characters, the animation, the scenery... IT'S ALL SO GOOD.

[ForeverInspired]

I kind of thought Tempest would go sooner or later, but it still is a heartbreaker for me as a Shakespeare lover. Well, from the remaining titles, it looks like I might be able to swing (somehow) watching them all before I have to vote for them. Natsume would have been pretty difficult since it is the 4th season so that's sort of a relief (I really didn't want to see it go though - the competition is quite tough). I have watched Wolf Children, My Little Monster, and Library Wars. Also, I'm almost done with Tsuritama and Kids on the Slope. Thus, I just have to get around to Shin Sekai Yori and hope that the two titles below pass.

Sukitte Ii na yo.
I was able to get around to watching the first episode of Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou, and I have to admit that it is a very lively and entertaining show. Nonetheless, Sukitte Ii na yo. gets my vote because it gives so much more than just comedy. When I need a break, sure, I'll pull out an amusing title. However, I normally look for anime that can give me great characters, emotions, plots, romances, etc. I want to feel for the characters and have the story become real, and that happens with Sukitte Ii na yo. Finally, I have to promote every great series with socially inept high school characters after watching Tomoko in Watamote, which has been getting so much praise. I can't figure out why that show is so popular.

Sorry about that. Watamote was the end of me.

Hyouka
This is such a solid show. It's rare to find a good mystery series. You have character building, a hint of romance, interesting plot, surprising twists, and so much more. Oreki reflects the good qualities of a Holmes while having his own personality. This cannot be recommended enough.

[skreyola]

Sukitte Ii na yo.

Because it's a nice romance without a lot of fanservice.


I don't know anything much about the other pair.

[KazeShiki]

Sukitte Ii na yo.
Nichibros was a really great comedy, but comedies don't have anything else going for them (Jinsui is more satire than comedy). Sukitte has great characterization. The drama is done with a good balance of serious enough to be compelling and push characters forward yet subtle enough to not just be overblown drama.

Hyouka
Moyashimon never returned. It was a fake. It shouldn't exist. Okay maybe not that bad but it was very disappointing. Hyouka had kininaru and Kyoanimation.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Nichibros - one of my absolute favorite comedies, I've watched some episodes as many as four times. Not only hilarious but it's kind like Nichijou in how it includes you in the wonderful crazy world and you get much more invested in the characters than I do from say, Maou-sama or Sayonara Zetsbou Sensei.

Hyouka - I actually liked Moyashimon Returns but this is probably the biggest noncontest of the tourney.

[drill]

I have yet to watch either Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou or Sukitte Ii na yo.

Hyouka - this is a great show that remains interesting throughout, and has excellent character development. Definite recommendation to anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

[goldenspines]

Wow, Sukitte is winning so far? ;A; Be still, my beating heart.

Sukitte Ii na yo.

Nichibros was one of the greatest comedy anime since Nichijou and still remains on my list of favorite anime (fun fact, they are apparently making a live action of it to come out soon, in October or November, I believe!). I gave a mini reason why Nichibros was great in one of my past posts, so you can go find that along with the Fight Club parody. XD
Now, if this was Nichijou up here against Sukitte, Nichijou would win in a heartbeat, but somehow this sweet shoujo series made it all the way here. I'm so happy. ;u;
Sukitte Ii na yo was a solid series with well developed characters and a more of a live action drama feel rather than an anime. No insane or crazy characters that you may see in other series like this. It seemed a bit more down to earth in a lot of respects, in how the characters interacted, the issues they faced, etc.

Hyouka

KIMI GA MYSTERYYYYYYYY!

Hyouka has appeal on various levels, hence why you've seen it win by landslides thus far. Now that some of the strong competitors for it (like Humanity Has Declined, for example), have been knocked out, it will probably climb its way to the top with ease. But who knows, it's still a mystery. ;D

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Forgot to reply to this~

Well, for example, in this round, we have the SECOND season (I'm beginning to think tourneys shouldn't include sequels, but that's a topic for another time) of a well-known show that I've only seen the first season of, and if I just vote for the one that I'm more familiar with solely because more people have been talking about it, then I'm just perpetuating that bias toward the well-known, and if we all did that, all the shows that are already popular and well-known will win the tournaments, and the lesser-known gems will not place highly, and they'll continue to languish. So, it's kind of like wanting the more obscure shows to have a chance, and then maybe more people will go watch them, and maybe, if they're better than the more widely known show (I feel this was the case in a previous tournament), it'll have a better chance in a future tourney.

Maybe it's silly and baseless, but as I said, if I voted only in rounds where I'd seen both shows, I'd be out of the voting for most of the tourney, and Mao would have fewer votes to tally.

I love seeing people's reasoning for voting on a particular show, but there's always the chance someone will disagree with that reasoning. Y'know, it would be great if we voted solely on the basis of show merit, but then we'd all need to have seen all the shows. I don't have time for that (and am not interested in all the shows that made it into the brackets), so I'd be out of the voting entirely. So... as lame as it might be, I guess I'm using game theory like lots of other people.

The problem with your logic is that you assume the only scenarios are "vote for rounds where you've seen both" and "vote for rounds where you've seen neither." I've voted in most rounds because I've usually seen at least one of the shows, or I've specifically been trying to game it like blkmage or other people.

You seem to think promoting obscure shows is desirable, but if you haven't actually seen those shows you have no way of knowing whether or not you've just pushed a show that is worth your time. If a show makes it far because no one's seen it, you've essentially just recommended a show to people even though if you saw it you might find it garbage.

[GeneD]

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou

Because I can't say the title without singing it, it's hilarious and has one of the greatest EDs ever. I watched only the first episode of Sukitte Ii na yo. and read a bit in the manga but it didn't grab me. The premise of shy, friendless girl suddenly attracts the attention of popular guy for no real reason just seems really generic wish-fulfillment and Twilight-y to me, but based on the comments here I might be willing to give it another try sometime in the future.


Hyouka

Because everyone's said why already and I'm too lazy to repeat it and also I haven't seen Moyashimon Returns.

[MomentOfInertia]

Bye Natsume ;_;

He'll be back.


Hyouka:
For being a beautifully produced show about good people finding excitement in a few of life's small mysteries. ...man that sounds cheesy.

[blkmage]

If the show made it this far, it's probably not bad or obscure.