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February 29, 2012

Top 10 Anime of 2011

Posted in: Thoughts

As the saying goes, better late then never! So here is the very delayed post for the Top 10 Anime of 2011!

Keep in mind that the list only consists of series or episodes that were aired in 2011, and only if the series hasn’t made it during previous listing. New seasons are considered different and can be featured here, unless of course the season has been running continuously without breaks.

That means you won’t be seeing series like Detective Conan (because it was featured last year and there are no breaks between seasons – and also because it will probably be listed as the top 3 every year), and To Aru Majutsu no Index II (because it was already listed last year).

Special Mention

Before we head to the top 10, here are some series which I feel deserved a special mention and is worth watching if you haven’t done so already:

Ao no Exorcist

While the ending was a disappointment, a majority of the series followed the manga close enough to keep it entertaining. Hopefully, we’ll get a re-make once the manga has gone further ahead, something like FMA Brotherhood.

Ben-To

A battle anime where the fight for discounted bento set is as serious as it gets. When you think about it, it can be pretty silly to fight the way they do over food in a supermarket, but that’s also exactly why it’s interesting – because they’re so serious about it!

C3 – Cube x Cursed x Curious

It actually took a few episodes to figure out what C3 is all about. The first 30 seconds oozed darkness, while the next couple of episodes screamed loli and fluff, only to suddenly return to a bloody world. The true strength of C3 lies is the story surrounding Fear, the torture cube turned human and the many organizations out to get her.

And now.. the Top 10 Anime of 2011!

Usagi Drop

If you’re looking for cute and heart warming, it doesn’t really get any better than this. The art style may take a while to get used to, but it also becomes one the strongest points to the series.

Sacred Seven


I have to admit, I find the rather cheesy settings and plot of Sacred Seven kinda interesting. It could be due to the awesome awesome OP, and also the nostalgic feeling that reminds me a lot of old monster of the week series like Power Rangers and Masked Rider.

Working’!!

Working is back with a new season, and thankfully the series is sticking to its tried and true formula with even more new characters. And that can only lead to one thing – more mishaps!

Baka to Test to Shokanju Ni!

BakaTest returns for a second season with a strong start. The first few eps left my stitches in stitches with some of the best gags the series has to offer so far. The only thing that held BakaTest from being at the top is the rather boring background stories that took place during most of the episodes at the middle of the season.

Gosick

A detective series set in a medieval period surrounded with supernatural phenomenons gave Gosick a really interesting stage. The first episode and throughout the entire first case, Gosick tried to set itself apart from other series in the genre. The biggest problem with it is the ending which felt like it belonged to a totally different story.

Gundam AGE

Gundam AGE is probably Sunrise’s way of trying to get a new wave of viewers to the franchise. The latest Gundam isn’t full of shiny suits or complex politics but a rather straight forward and simple one, much like older Gundam series. Don’t let the rather awkward looking art and animation, or even the rather silly theory of evolution fool you. This is still Gundam at heart, and so far I think it’s looking a lot better than Gundam 00.

Kami-sama no Memo-chou

Kami-sama no Memo-chou is like a present day version of Gosick (minus crappy ending), but have a more realistic approach to it like Conan. Since each arc spans across 2 or more episodes, there were really only a few cases that happened in the entire show. With any luck, there will be a season 2.

Shakugan no Shana III Final

The first season of Shakugan no Shana was awesome. The second season had a bad start which lasted for half a season. Many were afraid that the third season would end up doing the same, but fortunately, Shana came back in the most epic way possible.

The first few episodes were slow but it was necessary to show what had happened in the short time gap and to propel the story from just a simple battle to a full scale world war between Flame Haze and Tomogara.

Tiger & Bunny

Who would have thought a series with a suspicious title like Tiger & Bunny could end up being one of the best mecha series of 2011?

It’s a refreshing twist on superhero storytelling, with a cast of likeable heroes and even an anti-hero that slowly grabs your sympathy as his story slowly unfolded.

With 2 movies coming out, we can definitely expect more great stuff from Tiger & Bunny.

Bakuman 2

The best anime for 2011 to me is Bakuman 2. I loved the first season but it’s during the second season that Bakuman really began to shine with some of its best arcs from the manga series so far. Hopefully there will be many more seasons following this, since there are still a ton of great arcs ahead.

It’s not every day you will find that you’re enjoying both the manga and anime at the same time, but Bakuman is definitely on of those series. It’s interesting enough to get a glimpse of how it’s like to be a manga-ka, and sometimes I wish some of the fictional manga series shown in Bakuman were real especially PCP.

That’s it for the top 10 anime of 2011, and hopefully I’ll be able to get it done earlier for next year’s edition 😀

If you’re interested to check out past year list of the top 10 anime of the year, check out the following posts:

Top 10 Anime 2010

Top 10 Anime 2009

Top 10 Anime 2008

Top 10 Anime 2007

Top 10 Anime 2006

And of course, the Top 10 Funniest Anime of All Times, if you haven’t done so already!

Related posts:

  1. Top 10 Funniest Anime
  2. Top 10 Anime of 2006
  3. Top 10 Favourite Anime 2010
  4. Top 7 Favourite Anime OST
  5. Summer Anime 2011: What’s Looking Good?

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