Apparently, you just can’t top Kanya Festa.
Interesting results from the reader poll for 2012. The top 10 series were all on my personal Top 13, though in different order. I would call Hyouka coming out on top a mild surprise, but as I said on my list this was the hardest show to rank – at its best it was as good as any series of 2012, but it wasn’t at its best as often as the other shows in the list.
I’m mildly surprised that Nazo no Kanojo X fared as poorly as it did (1.36%, fewer votes than Kamisama Hajimemashita and K, among others) and that Kimi to Boku II got as many votes as Tari Tari. It’ll be interesting to compare these results to the RC list when that comes out, especially as regards shows like SAO, Horizon and Nisemonogatari.
tenshi no hone
January 13, 2013 at 1:30 am62 people ranked SAO in their top 5? That makes me sad…
fantasticmemes
January 13, 2013 at 1:35 amFrom what I remember, SAO was second on the RC poll and Fate Zero was first.
I'm surprised by the results on this poll, too. I personally voted for Hyouka and Kimi to Boku II, so maybe I had a hand in these surprising results for you? hahahaha.
I just wanted to comment that even though Hyouka might not have been the best anime, it touched me the most deeply. But more than that, I think your coverage of it at the time contributed to that. The beautiful words you used to describe the series at its best were elegant, much like the series itself. It gave me so much more appreciation when I read your reviews after each episode. I would have loved to see Hyouka being covered fully in RC, but since it wasn't, that's why I came here. You really did the anime justice.
admin
January 13, 2013 at 1:43 amWow, thank you – that's very very kind of you.
There were certain series that because of their depth and complexity became very easy to blog – Hyouka was one, MGX was another. Hyouka was elegant, as you say, and it was arguably the deepest of any 2012 series and as such, it definitely inspired me. Ironically, as first I thought it would be just the opposite, because it seemed to lackadaisical. Part of that was the fact that it didn't open with its best material, and part of it was that it was so subtle that I didn't realize at first that there was as much going on under the surface as their was.
Karmafan
January 13, 2013 at 2:41 amFate Zero was my favorite series this year. Glad to see it ranked high on the list.
Anonymous
January 13, 2013 at 2:58 amI'm not surprised that Nazo no Kanojo X was low. Don't get me wrong, it deserves to be in the top 10 or at the very least the top 15, but let's face it… It was the drool. It was probably the drool. What surprised me really was Chu-2 getting number 11 and K getting number 20. Chu-2 was very enjoyable, but I didn't think that most people would really love it. And while I did like K, I thought many people found it unambitious. Guess people really like Moe and Bishies.
I know this is probably the wrong post to ask, but what would you rate your number 20 (KoiChoco) on a scale of 0-10? Just curious.
admin
January 13, 2013 at 4:20 amI never really think of anime in a 1-10 scale. Maybe a 7, 7.5?
ShuA
January 13, 2013 at 2:59 amGlad Hyouka top the list, it's my favorite 2012 series, along with Tsuritama and Chihayafuru which are also in top 10
SAO is not as high as I expected. It's not a bad show, it's just overrated and overhated imo.
Regarding Fate/Zero, idk why so many people like it. I just can't connect with the characters and story…
Anyway, great result from voters
Divine Divinity
January 13, 2013 at 3:38 amHorizon, hands down. The combination of excellent characters, animation, a beautiful soundtrack and a loving use of history and fantasy concepts that mixed into an amazing show.
The duel between Macbeth, the God of Literature and King Lear was absolutely fantastic. Hell, every single setpiece was fantastic. It managed to top S1's paralell argument debate and Summit Dance logical masterworks, too.
Karmafan
January 13, 2013 at 3:49 amI like Horizon too but it kinda has too many characters. It has so many that they get little or no time for character development so we are not as invested in them as we could be.
I also can't stand the leader. He is such a moron I don't get why everyone loves the guy so much. Hell he spent most of the 2nd season buck naked.
Precarion
January 13, 2013 at 3:56 amThe reason that some haven't gotten character development is because it's an adaptation of an enormous novel series. They all have their relevant places it's just that each volume is constructed around different groups. Even so, they still managed to get some good character moments in even for minor characters. For example, Tenzou doesn't do much in S1 but he's a hero in S2, Noriki has fought in both S1 and S2 but his past isn't revealed until volume 4, Ulquiaga gets a girlfriend in Vol 4, Neito has focus in Vol 3, etc. It's a grand adventure but everyone will have their day in the sun.
Also, Toori's stupidity is part of his character. He's actually very clever and uses his silly personality to both encourage and challenge people. Toori pushes the boundaries of the world they live in, he's always there for them, and he's put his very life on the line for Musashi for the rest of his life just to support his comrades. Dude may be a nudist pervert but he's a big damn hero as well.
Karmafan
January 13, 2013 at 5:02 amYou speak as someone that has read the series. Imagine being an anime fan and ONLY having access to the anime that we have seen and thats all you have to go on.
Slipper
January 13, 2013 at 5:18 amIMO recognizing that the story isn't over and that it's an ongoing series is something that is plainly obvious even for TV audiences. It's a well-made show.
Anonymous
January 13, 2013 at 4:04 pmYeah, it's a shame that some people just dropped it without giving it some chance or thinking because first sight (believing that this was some fanservice or harem…) opinions or that the beginning episodes were just building. Horizon really turned into a very fun, emotive and well-made anime with a decent mix of politics, fights and camaraderie.
Justinnnnnn
January 13, 2013 at 4:09 amThe funniest thing from that list was Guilty Crown got 18 votes. Death to you GC trollers, death to *you*!
Thatguy3331
January 13, 2013 at 4:54 amas far as MGX is concerned I'll have to build up a mental block to get over the drool before checking it out offically, heck I can get over the pathetic scribbles Togashi will use for his chapters sometime so if there really is a gem under there I'll attempt to look for it.
As for Hyouka, I have to admit I have more of a soft spot for it for not only surpising me but telling an excellent character narrative. I personally would rank it high, but like many others not #1.
Highway
January 13, 2013 at 5:46 amIn a multiple choice equal popularity list, a wide appeal show like Hyouka is going to show well. It did so many things well, and was a great experience, so everyone will click that box (can you tell what percentage of voters voted for Hyouka?). It may not have been everyone's #1 show, but if it was in everyone's top 5, then it would get everyone's vote.
I was one of the disappointingly few voters for MGX. I guess people did have a problem with the various aspects of it, not just the drool (I would imagine that a lot of people were also less than enthused by the retro art style, the relatively slow pace, and the lack of what most people would think of as significant relationship progress), and that's a shame, because it told the story so well, and also exhibited a emotional reserve that you rarely see in anime. The lack of crazy emotional reactions at the beginning of the series gave the show a greater emotional headroom for later in the series. I'd love to see more of it.
admin
January 13, 2013 at 6:48 amIf you assume everyone made 5 choices, then Hyouka was named by about 40% of the voters. In reality it's probably somewhat less as not everyone will have made 5 clicks, so I'd guess around 30%.
Karmafan
January 13, 2013 at 12:56 pmI liked the series but if you think about it, over the course of the whole anime series their relationship barely moved forward and we still know next to nothing about the "Mysterious Girlfriend". To me thats not good plot development/storytelling.
admin
January 13, 2013 at 1:29 pmI wholly disagree that their relationship barely moved forward – I think it moved forward emotionally by leaps and bounds. Ifyou were looking for more physical stuff yeah, that didn't advance so much.
Slice
January 13, 2013 at 1:06 pmHorizon was definitely my favourite last year. Hell, it was the year before as well. It managed to tick every fun box from purely visual to purely intellectual. Truly a masterpiece, I want a season 3!
Stöt
January 14, 2013 at 2:44 amRegarding Kanojo X etc. Purely statistically speaking you shouldn't really make a "The readers top 10 list" analysis when the question on the poll is "which was your favourite anime (choose up to 5)". The only reliable answer you'll get out from that is only the most favourited show. Even the #2 will be slightly skewed since some only chose their favourite, and not their top 5. As for anything at Rank #6 and below would be akin to garbage data. I mean. Kanojo X was greatly appreciated, but maybe only made it to #6 on most people's list and therefore got almost no votes. Had you asked for the top 10 list, you might have gotten a totally different lay-out.
Anyway, enough of that. For me Ano Natsu was #1. Without a doubt. I have heard nothing but praise about the show from others, but I guess most people thought it was outshone by other shows, and I don't feel bad about it's position in this list.