Best and Worst of 2012

[William K]

Disclaimer : Reusing most categories from last year. All rankings are personal. Your mileage may vary :)

Favourite Anime of 2012
There wasn't a blockbuster, genre-changing show like Madoka Magica in 2011 (Nisemonogatari sold as much but didn't have the same impact to me) but there were good shows including a couple of surprises and some nice sequels.

- Mouretsu Pirates
Stellvia is easily in my Top 10 all-time favourite anime, and coming from the same team, this didn't disappoint in producing an exciting, 'realistic' sci-fi adventure.
- Girls und Panzer
Not the most original sports anime, but the attention to small details mean that the show's staff clearly did their homework or are total tank otakus.
- Saki Achiga Hen
Less supernatural mahjong than the original Saki, but lots of fun characters and interaction between them makes you want to cheer every single one of them on. They even managed to make Teru more human!
- Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon II
Another sequel, but this one was even crazier than the original in terms of fights both martial and spacecraft. Musashi doing a loop was a sight to behold
- Tari Tari
Music, friendship and PA Works. Felt a bit short, but it featured some of the best supporting cast (especially the parents) in anime

Guilty Pleasure of the Year
High School DxD
Hikasa Youko voicing a sexy redhead = Heaven
Queen's Blade Rebellion
Annelotte was a much more interesting heroine than Reina, and had a nicer harem too :)

Most Disappointing Show that I completed
Sword Art Online
It wasn't the worst show I finished (Esthetica takes those honours) but from the plot SAO could have been a much better show than it was.

Best Ending
Horizon II
A non-ending ending to lead to Horizon III, but it wrapped things nicely with new couples joining the Musashi. Ok, so I'm a sucker for happy endings

Best OP (Song)
Hyouka - "Yasashisa no Riyuu" by Choucho
Been a good year for Choucho, singing the OP to hit series Hyouka and Girls und Panzer.
Honorable mention :
Nisemonogatari - "Platinum Disco" by Iguchi Yuka
Saki Achiga Hen - "Miracle Rush" by StylipS

Best OP (Animation)
Nisemonogatari - "Platinum Disco" by Iguchi Yuka
There's something hypnotic about Tsukihi's hand movements and her dancing... (puts the video in loop)

Best ED (Song)
Tari Tari - "Shiokaze no Harmony" by Shirohamazaka High Choir and Sometimes Badminton Club
Honorable mention :
Joshiraku - "Nippon Egao Hyakkei" by Momokurotei Ichimon

Best ED (Animation)
Joshiraku - Chibi dancing ftw!
Honorable mention :
K - Naked Neko, all you need to know

Best Insert Song
Tari Tari - "Kokoro no Senritsu"
Beautiful song. I think I like the duet version better than the choir version.

Song that deserved a better show
Aquarion Evol ED - "Gekkou Symphonia" by AKINO and AIKI from bless4
Could have said the same with the original Aquarion's OP :D
Honorable Mention :
Sword Art Online ED2 - "Overfly" by Haruna Runa

Best OST (Vocal)
Tari Tari
A show about a choir club would have lots of songs and most of them were great. I even like the school song and Amigo! Amigo!

Best OST (Instrumental)
Girls und Panzer
In addition to its details to tanks and tactics, Girls und Panzer also featured authentic military tunes for each of the teams. Ok, so it's easy to pick "Battle Hymn of the Republic" to represent Saunders, but Hamaguchi Shiro (who also did the Tari Tari OST) still had to arrange it with modern musical instruments. There is also the vocal version of Katyusha which is helped by the fact that Uesaka Sumire speaks Russian :) To top it off, the original compositions are fantastic too. The Ooarai Senshado theme that appears in multiple forms throughout the show is one of my favourite pieces of instrumental music.

Best Eyecatch
Sengoku Collection
Lots of eye candy :D

Most Shocking Scene aka "Did they really do THAT?"
Girls und Panzer Ep 1 when the camera moves back and we see where the school and town is located
Even after watching anime for over 20 years, that still managed to raise my eyebrows a little

Best Fight Sequence
Futayo vs Gin - Horizon II ep 12
Could have also picked other duels from the show like Neito vs Walsingham
Honorable mention :
Kiritsugu vs Kayneth - Fate/Zero ep 8

Favourite Male Character
Otonashi Io - Acchi Kocchi
Nosebleed inducer extraordinaire!
Honorable mention :
Crossunite Tenzou - Horizon II

Favourite Female Character
Katou Marika - Mouretsu Pirates
Honorable mention :
Watashi - Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
Nakahara Mai at her snarkiest best

Favourite Hetero Couple
Io Otonashi and Tsumiki Miniwa - Acchi Kocchi
Honorable mention :
Tenzou Crossunite and Mary - Horizon II

Favourite Yuri Couple
Jenny Dolittle and Lynn Lambretta - Mouretsu Pirates
Honorable mention :
Margot and Malga - Horizon II
Toki and Ryuuka - Saki Achiga Hen

Favourite Supporting Character
Fairies - Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
Hilariously morbid at times while keeping their happy grins.
Honorable mention :
Tachibana Gin - Horizon II
Almost every non-major character in Saki Achiga-hen

Favourite Character Quirk
Hanada Kirame's Subara! - Saki Achiga-hen
For a minor character, Kirame's Subara and super-optimism was a joy to watch when facing the monster Teru. And the back-story where she finds out she was meant to be a sacrifice and perfectly OK with it was touching

Most Impressive New Seiyuu
Komatsu Mikako - Katou Marika (Mouretsu Pirates), Wagahai-san (K)

[mitamaking]

Biggest Surprise of the Year
Campione: turned into quite the awesome fighting show, dang near won my show of the year. Plus the lead of a harem became a bad a** when was the last time was saw that.
Runner Up: The answer to the mystery in Another

Biggest Disappointment
Phi-Brain season 2: took out all the humor and made Kaito way to much of a focus. Do anyone remember living through the Naruto fillers, Phi Brain's second season was like that

Opening of the year
Kids on the Slope: Not a big surprise the show is based off of music.

Episode 3 is when anime change tone "shocker"
Another: Turned into quite the violent sick show didn't it

Best scene of the year
Humanity has Declined: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42u4ytkzAWw

Sequel and series of the year!!!!
Natsume Yuujinchou Shi: Natsume has never failed to deliver and season 4 was more of the same. I am glad to see this show somehow get 4 seasons and 52 episodes. I know I am greedy but I do want more.

Best show I bought this year
Anohana: Favorite show of the last 5 years came out thanks to NIS America, and I did not have to pay 225 dollars to buy iy unlike my second favorite show of the last 5 years that also came out this past year.

Prediction for best show of 2013
Chihayafuru season 2 has the inside track but keep an eye out for some unannounced sequel that will shock me, most likely Infinite Stratos season 2, dark horse, Haruhi season 3.

[FUNiOP]

Favorite Anime of 2012
01. Kuroko's Basketball
A sports show? Really? Yeah, as much as I generally don't care all that much about sports, this was actually amazingly good in every way. And this isn't counting sequels or anything like that, or else this would be beat by at least the new seasons of Gintama, Natsume, and Fate/Zero. So given that, this... wasn't a very good year for new anime. Especially compared to the year directly before it!
02. Kids on the Slope
Watanabe and Kanno jazzin' it up. It couldn't not be good.
03. Sword Art Online
Definitely headed downhill more and more throughout the entire second half, but the high points it reached were engaging enough that it still deserves to be called one of my favorites of the year.
04. Chūnibyō demo Koi ga Shitai!
A new KyoAni/Ishihara series is similarly guaranteed to be of a certain level of quality, and this did not disappoint.
05. Space Brothers
Still going, but such a down-to-earth (so to speak) story needs its time to really feel out its story naturally, and this is definitely showing that the slow builds are more than worth it.
06. The Pet Girl of Sakurasou
I was honestly going to skip this at first, but I am extremely glad I decided not to. This show is getting so damn good. It's nothing out of the ordinary, it's just a nice little slice-of-life high school romance, but it's got enough heart and emotional oomph to really carry that and make you care. Plus there's a lot more focus on personal endeavors than you generally get to see in this kind of story, and that's done equally realistically and well.
07. My Little Monster
I had said this was my favorite of the season, but... yeah, after reflecting on it, I decided that it didn't really deliver like I thought it would. But hey, it was still a really enjoyable half an hour every week, and I just want to spend many more with all of these great characters.
08. Jormungand
White Fox had a lot to live up to after Steins;Gate, and obviously they didn't, but they continue to show a commitment to quality that still made this a very well-constructed piece that only got better as it went along, especially in the second season.
09. Magi - The Labyrinth of Magic
Like Blue Exorcist before it, an interesting blend of age-old mythology brought to new life with tried-and-true shounen tropes, then turned up to eleven with Aniplex and A-1 giving it top-notch production values.
10. Psycho-Pass
Urobuchi is at it again, making my screen as bloody as you could imagine, and fortunately, the storytelling behind it is finally starting to hit its stride in a major way, which leads me to greatly anticipate the second half.
11. Kamisama Kiss
A cute little shoujo show that ends up in some pretty emotional and beautiful places at times, while never taking itself too seriously, and resulting in a lot of smiles and chuckles if nothing else.
12. Binbogami ga!
Sunrise and the current Gintama director ensure a certain level of fun referential humor, and I got about what I hoped for. Unfortunately, it was only one cour, and likely won't get any additional seasons, since Japan didn't seem too keen on it.
13. Kokoro Connect
I haven't seen Michi Random since Crunchyroll didn't get it, but the TV series was pretty good on its own. It had its definite ups and downs, but the second arc in particular offered some really amazing moments that made up for some unfortunate missteps elsewhere.
14. Humanity Has Declined
I had no idea what to think of this with the way it starts you off, but I think that works to its benefit pretty well. It's weird as hell all the way, but the nameless protagonist's commentary on the events really makes the series for me.
15. Waiting in the Summer
Considering it's got Nagai behind it and he's brought Tanaka along again to make it look just like his previous masterpieces, this was a bit of a disappointment, but alas, it didn't have the essential third piece of the puzzle in Okada, and was essentially a successor to a previous franchise I was never a big fan of. Still, Nagai can't exactly make a bad show, so this was still enjoyable enough once I accepted it for what it really was.

Guilty Pleasure of the Year
I want to say something like Polar Bear's Cafe, but it's really not all that pleasant. Campione! was surprisingly good, but my favorite parts weren't the parts you'd consider it a guilty pleasure for.

Most Disappointing Show that I completed
Obviously I try to focus more on the good stuff and probably end up blocking out some of the earlier bad stuff, and as a result I find myself thinking of shows from the past season. Whether or not it was the absolute worst, the new Hayate show was definitely up there.

Best Ending
A lot of my favorites either weren't that great at the end or are still going. Hmm... I guess Kamisama Kiss was pretty damn good. There was probably something better, though.

Best OP (Song)
Sword Art Online - "crossing field" by LiSA
Love me some LiSA. The Kids on the Slope OP was damn good as well, but it bothered me a little that it had absolutely nothing to do with jazz. I didn't include sequels for most categories, but since this OP only aired in 2012, I think it's safe to include Fate/Zero's second season OP, "To the Beginning" by Kalafina, at least as an honorable mention. I may not have liked it quite as much as oath sign, because, again, LiSA, but Kalafina is still constantly amazing. Oh, and Kokoro Connect had eufonius, but that kinda got screwed anyway, so... I don't even know if I should include that.

Best OP (Animation)
Now in this case, Kids on the Slope probably does have a chance, since it did give some taste of that amazing music-playing animation that the series excels at so much. Both the Sword Art Online OPs had great animation, and Fate/Zero gets another mention as its animation was similarly consistent in its beauty. And... you know... KyoAni. Kinda the prettiest shit ever, as always. Hard to compete.

Best ED (Song)
Gintama' Enchousen - "Moonwalk" by monobright
I really like monobright, and although I'm surely forgetting some really notable ones, this is the only one that really sticks out in my mind right now as an ED that I particularly cared about on the level of a good OP. Inside Identity was pretty epic in its own right, I suppose.

Best ED (Animation)
Similarly, I really can't think of anything here. Many EDs don't have much in the way of actual animation at all, so I guess when one is especially good on that level, it's pretty remarkable, but again, I just can't think of what exactly that would be right now. Again, because KyoAni, Inside Identity was pretty damn snazzy.

Best Insert Song
A good chunk of Kids on the Slope.
Series based around music have a natural advantage here, so Tari Tari gets a nod as well. Sword Art Online had some really epic Kalafina pieces to go with some of the best fights. Iwasaki's bizarre soundtrack for Jormungand almost blurred the line between BGM and insert song at times, similar to how his soundtrack for Gurren Lagann did, but far less prominently. K showed a surprisingly impressive use of insert songs throughout its run.

Song that deserved a better show
There are so many choices here, since I love so many songs and not necessary the anime they come from, but I guess I'll go with the Btooom! OP for now. Honestly, I don't think it even compares to some of the other OPs even of just that one season now, but it definitely made an impression here, and the show didn't quite live up. But really, I just love so many anime songs so much that most of the songs I heard this year belongs in this category on some level.

Best OST (Vocal)
It almost has to be Tari Tari, although any of my choices for insert song qualify equally, I suppose. I wasn't sure whether or not to put this under the insert song category, and I'm not even sure if it belongs here, but because there's usually a chorus present, I guess so: Psycho-Pass and its use of classical music really accentuates the most epic moments brilliantly.

Best OST (Instrumental)
If insert songs count, Kids on the Slope still uses mostly instrumental songs, so that would probably take it. Sword Art Online and Fate/Zero if you count it are pretty easy choices since Kajiura is always perfect.

Best Eyecatch
Kids on the Slope
A lot of my favorite shows didn't have eyecatches at all, now that I think about it, but Kids on the Slope really made them special, showing "before and after" shots of certain things pertaining to each episode. I seem to recall Binbogami ga! having particularly humorous eyecatches, but I can't quite remember any of them in detail right now.

Most Shocking Scene aka "Did they really do THAT?"
Most of the second half of the last new episode of Gintama, and the final episode of Medaka Box Abnormal.
Good trolling all around.

Best Fight Sequence
Most of Fate/Zero and much of Sword Art Online
I don't care if it was only the second season of Fate/Zero, goddamn those were some amazing fights. And if nothing else, Sword Art Online had some really amazing moments during those scenes as well.

Favorite Male Character
Tough call. Kirito was actually a pretty good character through all of Sword Art Online. Mutta may take it because of how much Space Brothers is a reflection of his likeability as a character. And I've really been loving Makishima in Psycho-Pass. A giant bastard, and the most fascinating part of the series so far.

Favourite Female Character
Nameless Protagonist - Humanity Has Declined
Easy choice, but there were loads of honorable mentions: Rikka, Dekomori, and Nibutani were all fantastic, Misaki from Sakurasou is always an absolute delight, Shizuku and Natsume make for a duality that makes My Little Monster a really fun show. Koko is a fascinating and a big part of what makes Jormungand interesting. And Remon in Waiting for the Summer is awesome as hell. But yeah, the choice is still pretty clear.

Favorite Hetero Couple
Kirito and Asuna - Sword Art Online
The fights were great, but this relationship made for the best of Sword Art Online. There were plenty of other great options, but that has to take it.

Favorite Yuri Couple
Jenny Dolittle and Lynn Lambretta - Bodacious Space Pirates
The obvious choice.

Favorite Supporting Character
I always have trouble deciding what constitutes a "supporting" character, so I'm not sure I have an answer here yet.

Favourite Character Quirk
Everything Rikka and Dekomori do.

Most Impressive New Seiyuu
Well I guess I did know her from Heroman, but yeah, it's gotta be Komatsu.

I'm sure I'll have more to add later on...

[pianocello]

I used to do a lot of these polls as I normally would watch over 70+ anime annually but sadly in 2012, the number of anime I have watched has declined drastically by more than half. I'll get back to this thread in a few days but I need to think first about the small list of anime I watched in 2012 so I can answer this thread properly. Hopefully I will still be around in 2013 when the 2013 thread shows up and that it won't mean after 3 decades of anime watching that I am starting to wind down as far as anime is concerned.

[something]

Late like always (it's still January... barely!), and trimmed back in size from last year, but here it is! TV series only, except for the #1 top moment in 2012.

Top 4 moments of 2012
I could list many more, but it's either keep it to the absolute top tier, or end up with a list dozens long. They're spoiler tagged for a reason, don't read if you don't want spoilers.
1. K-ON! Movie, HTT's final live in their classroom with their biggest fans - and absoluetly everything from then until the credits roll.
2. Mouretsu Pirates 17, After the damsel in distress Jenny un-distresses herself with total badassery, she is reunited with Lynne and they kiss (twice!) in front of the whole Yacht club, to everyone's squeals of delight.
3. Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! 11, Confronted with the sudden loss of her Master, a deeply distraught Mjolnir Hammer can only be consoled by her eternal rival, crying her eyes out in the embrace of Mori Summer.
4. Girls und Panzer 12, The entire match against Kuromorimine, especially student council team's heroics and the Miho/Maho showdown
5. Yuru Yuri♪♪ 11, Kyouko's crying face when time-traveler Akarin suddenly returns. (Even if it was just Kyouko's story...)
---
Honorable mention: Nisemonogatari 8, ...that tooth brushing. Teeth brushing? Whatever, sexy incestuous dental hygiene.

Top 10 shows of 2012
Full list in the 2012 Year in Review (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showthread.php?p=2012497#post2012497).
1. Mouretsu Pirates
2. Hyouka
3. Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb
T4. Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
T4. Girls und Panzer
T6. Dog Days'
T6. Yuru Yuri♪♪
8. Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A
9. Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
10. Ano Natsu de Matteru

Favorite seiyuu (individual performances)
I actually started to add quite a bit more, but the top three are such utterly superlative performances that I decided it was best to let them stand apart from everything else. (And maybe I'm lazy.)
1) Sawashiro Miyuki - Inaba Himeko - Kokoro Connect - Put very simply, she is the greatest there ever has been, and this role is a particularly beautiful jewel in the crown.
2) Komatsu Mikako - Katou Marika - Mouretsu Pirates - The sort of mind-blowing and overwhelming performance that I desperately hope launches a hugely successful and very very long career.
3) Nakahara Mai - Watashi - Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita - Nakahara Mai's spectacular delivery of Watashi's bitingly sarcastic, delightfully quick wit singlehandedly defined this show.

Favorite female characters, new only
No long honorable mention list this year. I'm also only counting new characters, though characters that were in a first season but only started playing a significant role in the sequel count. Also, one character per show because it just gets way too hard to organize otherwise.
1. Katou Marika - Mouretsu Pirates - One of my all-time favorites, not just in 2012. There are other Mouretsu characters I want to mention, particularly Gruiere, but I'll let Marika stand in for them because much of what made them great was how they interacted with Marika.
2. Dekomori Sanae - Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! - I liked Kumin best initially, and still do like her, but Dekomori being the center of the best drama shot her near the top of my rankings. Dekomori was truly the soul of this show most every step of the way.
3. Ibara Mayaka - Hyouka - While I spent more time thinking about Eru in the later eps where Mayaka didn't play as much of a role, overall I still have to choose her. Every episode that focused on Mayaka illustrated her various sides. Quick temper, hard worker, deeply self-critical, strong sense of duty, snarky wit. She's so many different things simultaneously and Hyouka did a beautiful job showing them to us.
4. Watashi - Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita - Snarky lovely jaded Watashi was quite simply the best possible guide through the surreal world of Jintai. It takes a pretty impressive character to tsukkomi pretty much the world itself.
5. Rebecca Anderson - Dog Days' - Yuusha Becky is best Yuusha! I always wanted her to have a significant role in the sequel but never once did I imagine she would be so. god. damn. awesome. With the help of Cou-sama, she totally stole the second season.
6. Uryuu Minene - Mirai Nikki - Just barely edging out Yuno. Minene-sama is amazing because it takes some incredibly character development to turn a brutal child-murdering school-bomber into the most sympathetic character in the entire show by a country mile.
7. Kyouno Madoka - Rinne no Lagrange - Satou Tatsuo gave us two great protagonists at once back in winter.
8. Shirakiin Ririchiyo - Inu x Boku SS - Best tsundere of 2012. Her constant struggle to express her feelings honestly is easily one of my biggest triggers for feeling moe towards a character and Ririchiyo was the master of this.
9. Yamano Remon - Ano Natsu de Matteru - Totally not Ichigo. I debated Remon vs Mio, or even Kanna - this show had some great characters. But Remon really stands out the most once the show did done, even if Mio and Kanna took most of my emotional investment at the time.
10. Akiyama Yukari - Girls und Panzer - The most lovable tank otaku ever. I really did not expect her to top my list of GirlPan girls, but there's no denying her infectious enthusiasm and utter dedication to the team. Her crushing on Miho (second favorite) doesn't hurt either.
11. Matsumi Kuro - Saki Achiga-hen - Say what you want about the lack of development for the Achiga girls (it'd probably all be true), but I love love love Kuro, so very much. I love a lot of new characters introduced or given major on-screen roles for the first time in Achiga-hen (Subara!, Teru, Toki for example), but Kuro really tugged those heartstrings.

Favorite male characters, new only
New or newly-important only again. If it weren't new only, Rider would of course be #1 but he already got #1 for 2011 thanks to the first season of F/Z.
1. Oreki Houtarou - Hyouka
2. Tenzou Crossunite - Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon II
3. Togashi Yuuta - Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
4. Nanba Mutta - Uchuu Kyoudai
5. Mashima Taichi - Chihayafuru

Most adorable characters
Limited to a few so I'm not here all day. Looking only at pure cuteness.
1. Takanashi Hina - Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai!
2. Yuno - Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb
3. Akaza Akari - Yuru Yuri♪♪
4. Dekomori Sanae - Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
5. Hoshimiya Ai - Mouretsu Pirates
6. Miniwa Tsumiki - Acchi Kocchi

Most beautiful characters
This is a hard category to define so the list is short.
1. Chitanda Eru - Hyouka
2. Shirakiin Ririchiyo - Inu x Boku SS
3. Ayase Chihaya - Chihayafuru

Most attractive characters
Strictly sex appeal for this category.
1. Lucy Heartfilia - Fairy Tail
2. Yukikaze Panettone - Dog Days'
3. Gasai Yuno - Mirai Nikki
4. Himenokouji Akiko - Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne!
5. Kanoe Yuuko - Tasogare Otome x Amnesia
6. Millhiore Filianno Biscotti - Dog Days'
7. Neko - K
8. Xiao-Mei - Shining Hearts ~Shiawae no Pan~
9. Matsumi Kuro - Saki Achiga-hen
• Basically the whole female cast of Nisemonogatari

Best yuri pairings
There's almost no canon yuri so I'll make up what I need to! I'm not putting them in any ranked order this year, just alphabetical by show title.
• Dekomori Sanae & Nibutani Shinka - Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
• Akiyama Yukari & Nishizumi Miho - Girls und Panzer
• Kyouno Madoka & Fin E Ld Si Laffinty - Rinne no Lagrange
• Katou Marika & Chiaki Kurihara - Mouretsu Pirates
• Katou Marika & Gruier Serenity - Mouretsu Pirates
• Jenny Dolittle & Lynne Lambretta - Mouretsu Pirates
• Tachibana Hibiki & Kohinata Miku - Senki Zesshou Symphogear
--------------------------
A lot of the good stuff comes from sequels and total too many possible combinations to add to the list above: Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb (the three main pairings plus Natsume/Sae), Yuru Yuri♪♪ (EVERYTHING), Horizon (Margot/Gacchan), Saki (EVERYTHING). Sengoku Collection had an overall decent yuri vibe in some stories, though I don't have a standout couple in mind.

Best hetero pairings
There were some good ones in 2012.
1. Chitanda Eru & Oreki Houtarou - Hyouka
2. Kizuari & Tenzou Crossunite - Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon
3. Shirakiin Ririchiyo & Miketsukami Soushi - Inu x Boku SS
4. Takanashi Rikka & Togashi Yuuta - Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
5. Miniwa Tsumiki & Otonashi Io - Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
--------------------------
As for pairings returning for sequels, the ones that still stand out are Horizon/Toori again from Horizon II, and Millhiore/Cinque (Dog Days'). I like Hitagi/Koyomi in the Monogatari series too of course, for what parts of Nise it was relevant.

Best ending
2012 was not a bad year for endings, but also did not have an ending on par with, say, Madoka from 2011. So this is a short list.
1. Yuri Yuri♪♪ - The whole bowing sequence was very meta. It felt like the end of a real-life seiyuu event rather than an anime, and I think that's the effect they were going for. I also loved seeing Akari given a place of honor for once.
2. Hyouka - For as far as we were able to take the story it was as perfect as it was bittersweet. However, it just drives home how sad it is that we'll never see the full Kotenbu series animated.

Best character art/designs
Characters only, no other considerations. A mix of technical quality and subjective style. Top 5 only.
1. Hyouka
2. Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
3. Nisemonogatari
4. Ano Natsu de Matteru
5. Yuru Yuri♪♪

Imported anime, first aired in 2011
Includes 2-cour Fall'12 shows not otherwise eligible for this post (i.e. Little Busters). Only TV series listed.
Winter
• Mouretsu Pirates
• Ano Natsu de Matteru
• Inu x Boku SS
• Rinne no Lagrange
• Natsume Yuujin-chou Shi
• Nisemonogatari
• Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai!
Spring
• Hyouka
• Saki Achiga-hen
• Acchi Kocchi
Summer
• Dog Days'
• Yuru Yuri♪♪
• Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
• Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon II
• Rinne no Lagrange season 2
Fall
• Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb
• Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
• Girls und Panzer
• Little Busters!


2013-03-28: Updated for Girls und Panzer, moving it up to a tie with Chuunibyou and adding the final episode in best moments.

[tytan88]

Wow....its been such a full year with Hyouka, Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai!, Yuru Yuri(my guilty pleasure anime), Ano Natsu de Matteru.

This was the year of complex shows, really. I liked having a year with a bunch of off the wall, different sort of anime. Stuff that is not 'like' something else, but tries do be something different.

[tytan88]

My top list:

1. Hyouka--No contest here.
2. Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai!--....because....Hina
3. Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!--powerful and impacting on my psyche
4. Yuru Yuri♪♪--Most favorite guilty pleasure anime
5. Ano Natsu de Matteru

***Special Category*****
The K-On Movie. The best anime of the year that was not a series. I just want more K-On. I need a 2 cour focusing on them in college, getting married and getting careers and such......really! I just need more cake and tea and fabulous looking girls with great legs and funny personalities.

p.s. I want Hakase from Nichijou to be their first professor.....

The theme of this year was fabulous character development. lots of new characters in interesting shows. Lots of complexity and subtlety and things you don't expect. Not shallow and overpowering, but subtle, complex and deep. We really need years like this to lay groundwork for what is ahead.

[pianocello]

My rather belated reply as this past year was probably the one year in almost two decades which I watched the least anime so my lists will probably omit many notable anime that I haven't seen:

Top 5 anime of 2012
1. Rinne no Lagrange
2. Strike Witches movie
3. Sora no Otoshimono movie: Tokeijikake no Angeloid
4. Natsuiro Kiseki
5. High School DxD

5 worst anime of 2012
1. Tantei Opera Milky Holmes 2nd season
2. Zero no Tsukaima season 4
3. Achi Kochi
4. Joshiraku
5. Tari Tari

Favorite yuri couple of 2012
1. Madoka X Lan (Rinne no Lagrange)
2. Saki Mizukoshi x Natsumi Aizawa (Natsuiro Kiseki)
3. Hibiki Tachibana x Miku Kohinata (Senki Zesshou Symphogear)
On the yuri front, the strike witches movie and yuru yuri didn't quite deliver enough.

Favorite hetero couple of 2012
1. Yuki Ojima x Chisato Sumiyoshi (Koi to Senkyou to Chocolate)
2. Issei Hyodo x Rias Gremory (High School DxD)

Worst character of 2012
1. Danichiro Sanka (Sankarea)
2. Rito Yuki (To-love-ru darkness)

Best OP or ED (song and animation) of 2012
1. High School DxD ED

Most shocking scenes of 2012
1. The end of episode 3 of Another
2. To-love-ru Darkness episode 2 (vagina stretching - no matter how perverted this show was, I didn't think they'd go that far)
3. Killing such an important character so early in Senki Zesshou Symphogear.

Favorite moments of 2012
1. The 3-way yuri kiss in Rinne no Lagrange season 2.
2. "Bye bye" - last episode of Rinne no Lagrange season 1.
3. "We three need to get naked together" - Rinne no Lagrange season 1.

[Buckeye]

Alright, I have been meaning to submit my best and worst for the year, but never got around to it (though I did post it as a series of blogs over on The Fandom Post, but pertaining to all shows watched rather than limiting to just shows airing in 2012). In any case, here are my best and worst of 2012.


Best Anime of 2012
1. Kids on the Slope
2. Kokoro Connect
3. Fate/Zero
4. Sword Art Online
5. Accel World

Worst Anime of 2012
1. So, I Can't Play H?
2. Mysterious Girlfriend X
3. Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero
4. OniAi
5. Ixion Saga DT

Best Ending
Familiar of Zero F (Just about the only thing done right in this season)

Best OP (Song)
Fate/Zero - To the Beginning by Kalafina

Best OP (Animation)
Humanity Has Declined - Real World by Nano Ripe

Best ED (Song)
Accel World - Unfinished by KOTOKO

Best ED (Animation)
Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere II - Side Sunset by Airi Yuhki

Best OST (Vocal)
Accel World

Best OST (Instrumental)
Kids on the Slope

Best Fight Sequence
Godou vs. Metis, Campione episode 13 (Athena's role made it great)

Favourite Male Character
1. Kirito, Sword Art Online
2. Judar, Magi
3. Cinque Izumi, Dog Days'
4. Tenzo Crossunite, Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere
5. Soushi Miketsukani, Inu x Boku SS

Least Favourite Male Character
1. Akatsuki Ousawa, Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero
2. Twenty, Milky Holmes II
3. Seiji Nomi, Accel World
4. Ryosuke Kaga, So, I Can't Play H?
5. Tori Aoi, Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere

Favourite Female Character
1. Kuroyukihime, Accel World
2. Millhiore F. Biscotti, Dog Days'
3. Remon Yamano, Ano Natsu de Matteru
4. Ririchiyo Shikariin, Inu x Boku SS
5. Kimi Aoi, Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere

Least Favourite Female Character
1. Anastasia Nasuhara, OniAi
2. Fam Fan Fan, Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing
3. Ecarlate, Ixion Saga DT
4. Ena Seishuin, Campione!
5. Mio Kitahara, Ano Natsu de Matteru

Favourite Hetero Couple
Cinque Izumi and Millhiore F. Biscotti, Dog Days'

Favourite Yuri Couple
Margot and Malga, Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere

Best Character Designs
1. Guilty Crown
2. Accel World
3. Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere
4. Sword Art Online
5. Magi

Best Animation Quality
1. Guilty Crown
2. Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing
3. Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere
4. Accel World
5. Sword Art Online

Deserving Shows in Need of a Second Season
1. Accel World
2. Girls und Panzer (at least if the last two episodes are what I think it will be)
3. Kokoro Connect
4. Inu x Boku SS
5. Campione!

Best Episode
Accel World episode 5

Worst Episode
OniAi episode 4

Best Characters Deserving of a Better Show (call it the Sora Asuka label)
1. All four Milky Holmes main characters
2. Akiko Himenokoji, OniAi
3. Quele Sellier, So, I Can't Play H?
4. The Scarlet Twins, Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse
5. Godou Kusanagi, Campione!

So that pretty much is my 2012 in a nutshell.