Winter 2012 Halfway Point Rankings

I had this list ready to go two weeks ago, but I decided to hold off a week in hopes of making better informed judgments. A week passed, I forgot to update the list and here we are. It’s actually fortunate that I allowed the two weeks to pass as the rankings changed a lot in that timeframe.

While no show has really stood out head and shoulders above the rest, I am happy to see many more have made it into the Pretty Good tier. As work is picking back up again, I’m starting to jettison some dead weight that I may have otherwise watched.

Pretty Good Tier

1. Another - I haven’t anticipated the next episode of a series this much since Madoka Magica. I’m not saying it will be as successful as Madoka, but I must recognize its ability to captivate me every week. I’ve been successfully avoiding spoilers and I’m hoping I will be rewarded with a satisfying conclusion.
   Preliminary Rank: #1, Watched: 7 eps.
2. Nisemonogatari - It feels like there’s been more fanservice than actual substance so far, but the characters have always been the strong point of the series and that holds true this season. Episode 7 was an anticlimactic—and, personally, disappointing—end to an arc, but I have to respect the fact they fittingly concluded their dealings with a conman with WORDS. I’m hoping for a strong latter half, but who knows at this point.
   Preliminary Rank: #2, Watched: 7 eps.
3. Daily Lives of High School Boys - Perhaps there’s a bit more “Why High Schoool Girls are Bitches and Whores” than I initially expected, but it’s still funny as hell. Karasawa and Hidenori are my heroes.
   Preliminary Rank: #3, Watched: 6 eps.
4. Ano Natsu de Matteru - AnoNatsu has been coming on strong lately, which has helped me put most of my concerns—most of them involving tasteless Onegai Teacher tie-ins—to rest. I guess that concern can still turn to reality if you consider the spaceship we saw in ep. 7. However, I’m optimistic that whomever is in that ship will present a meaningful obstacle to Kaito and Ichika’s love which will make the conclusion all the more worthwhile. If you didn’t already, you really have to respect Nagai’s skill at creating high school romance anime.
   Preliminary Rank: #5 (+1), Watched: 7 eps.
5. Aquarion Evol - Perhaps the most purely entertaining show behind only High School Boys. I do wish they would take a few moments to develop the characters a bit, but this isn’t that type of show. I’ll keep watching it for the visually stunning characters, crazy gattai-ing and more of sexy Amata flying for anyone.
   Preliminary Rank: #10 (+5), Watched: 8 eps.
6. Mouretsu Pirates - Probably the biggest positive jump I’ve ever had on one of these lists. It’s still a bit on the bland side, but the battle on the Odette reminded me that well thought out sequences can be exciting even if they aren’t visually flashy. Now that Marika has finally decided to lead the Bentenmaru, hopefully things will continue to be as engaging. It looks like we will get SPACE POLITICS in the coming episodes; I don’t expect it to fill the void Banner of the Stars left in my heart, but it’s a nice stop gap. Has a good shot of finishing in the top 5 at season’s end, I think.
   Preliminary Rank: #21 (+15), Watched: 7 eps.
7. Inu × Boku SS - I’m still watching the show primarily for the cute female characters, but it helps that there is actual substance too. This show is not afraid to address all aspects of its characters. The biggest surprise for me this season. Also, that Hanazawa Kana ending song was too cute…
   Preliminary Rank: #9 (+2), Watched: 6 eps.
8. Natsume Yuujinchou Shi - It’s easy to take this show for granted since it’s been so good for so long. While I’d like to rank this one higher, it’s hard to put it above the newer titles. It’s still a wonderful show that hasn’t missed a step in 3.5+ cours; I expect that to continue as long as it’s animated.
   Preliminary Rank: #3 (-5), Watched: 8 eps.

Worth a Watch Tier

9. Rinne no Lagrange - I’m still a bit skeptical, but this show has demonstrated that it can remain entertaining. For me, Lan is the main reason to watch the show as she has the most room for growth. Muginami is somewhat annoying, but her character was necessary to prevent the show from stagnating. I still think Madoka is annoying as hell. She showed the ability to reflect on her actions in ep. 7, which is good, but isn’t enough to change my mind about her.
   Preliminary Rank: #8 (-1), Watched: 7 eps.
10. Kill Me Baby - The recent lack of Agiri is saddening, but I still find the show to be enjoyable. None of the jokes reach the highs of High School Boys, but I won’t underrate the value of consistent chuckles, even if they do come from pretty bad gags.
    Preliminary Rank: #12 (+2), Watched: 7 eps.
11. Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing - The story and politics have taken a turn for the worse, but hopefully a return of the Anatoray characters will spice things up again. One of the things that made the original Last Exile engaging was Claus’s decision to fight; Fam hasn’t had to make any such decision and has pretty much remained the same since the first episode.
    Preliminary Rank: #7 (-4), Watched: 16 eps.
12. Chihayafuru - I compared this to Saki without yuri fanservice (and superpowers…yuri superpowers?). But without that, what are you left with?: a show about a boring, foreign game that doesn’t have all that much room to grow. The show is still good, it’s just getting more difficult to stay engaged. I will likely hold off watching this on a weekly basis and marathon the rest at a later date.
    Preliminary Rank: #6 (-6), Watched: 18 eps.
13. Shakugan no Shana III (Final) - I love character designs like Chiara’s (sp?). Hopefully they’ve waded through most of the bullshit and can end on a high note.
    Preliminary Rank: #14 (-1), Watched: 19 eps.
14. Black★Rock Shooter - Certainly wasn’t what I was expecting if the OVA was any indicator. I didn’t have much hope for this after the first episode, but after three I’m willing to commit to the entire show. This is mainly due to the fact that I’m curious about Black Gold Saw.
    Preliminary Rank: N/A, Watched: 3 eps.
15. The Knight in the Area - We are approaching dropped status soon. I have to give the show credit, though, as it takes a fairly special sports anime to keep me engaged for even this long. Even more so if you consider it’s about soccer.
    Preliminary Rank: #11 (-4), Watched: 7 eps.

Kinda Bad Tier

16. Tantei Opera Milky Holmes - Pretty much the same as the first season: a pointless show that is dragged down by somewhat inconsistent subbing. I’m not sure why, but Milky Holmes’s brand of nonsense has grown on me (like a fungus).
    Preliminary Rank: #22 (+6), Watched: 6 eps.
17. Persona 4 The Animation - I knew this wouldn’t make a good anime. I know there are many that like this show; perhaps I just don’t get it, or knowing the game’s plot ruined it for me.
    Preliminary Rank: #15 (-2), Watched: 18 eps.
18. High School D×D - Still a bad fanservice show, but the conclusion of the Reynelle arc gave me some hope.
    Preliminary Rank: #23 (+5), Watched: 7 eps.
19. New Prince of Tennis - I enjoyed how the high schoolers fucked up their supermove-using asses by just playing straight up tennis. I enjoyed this show the first time around, but it appears my tastes have changed since then. Approaching dropped status.
    Preliminary Rank: #16 (-3), Watched: 6 eps.

Shit Tier

20. Guilty Crown - In the past, I kept giving this a middling rank in spite of Shoe, but god damn this shit is getting out of control. Character development initiated by character death is difficult to execute gracefully and Guilty Crown pulled off a splendid hack job. Not quite a trainwreck yet, but I’ll admit I’m watching more to see if they can do anything to redeem Shoe at this point.
    Preliminary Rank: #13 (-7), Watched: 17 eps.

Dropped

• Familiar of Zero F - This show is so bad. Saito has one of the worst harems ever. It amazes me that he can confess his love for Louise, then still let that stupid slut Siesta and all the other bitches fuck around with them. When I consider how terrible the story was, I really have no idea why I watched this series this far (although more scenes of Louise slapping some bitches would change my mind).
• Brave10 - The show seems fine, but I’ve lost all interest in it for now. Perhaps it’s too much of a sausagefest, which is sad because it makes realize how much fanservice and moe have become desirable traits for my anime.
• Amagami SS+ - Hmm, why is this show so bad? Even Ai’s arc isn’t doing anything for me. I loved the original, but I guess two episodes for each heroine isn’t enough time to build anything substantial.
• Recorder and Randsell - I knew the short episode format would kill the show for me.
• Thermae Romae - Done!