10. Oda Nobuna No Yabou
A guy thrown into Japan's Sengoku period where all of the warlords are cute girls? Sounds generic right? Sounds like a typical ecchi fest with no interesting story or characters right? Well shockingly enough you'd be wrong, Ont he surface Oda Nobuna seems like a typical throwaway anime with no discernible qualities, but it does a fantastic job of crafting an intricate and engaging story with a colorful cast of characters that had me on the edge of my seat from week to week.
9. Tari Tari
The latest venture from one of my favorite studios PA Works makes it's way onto this list. It's honestly your typical "girl wants to do something and collects people to help her do it" show, but it finds a way to hit that sweet emotional chord that few shows manage to hit these days, the ending was also very good for an anime original, and manages to both conclude the story and leave the door open for more. The only thing holding this back from being higher on the list is the hilariously forgettable cast of characters, you could replace the cast of Tari Tari and nobody would even think about missing them.
8. Fate/Zero
You knew it was coming. Fate/Zero is the latest anime entry in the Fate series. All of the characters are engaging the dialogue and plot are all very well done, and the animation is among the best in the history of anime. But Fate/Zero suffers from something called too much plot, even for a 2 cour show, there's just too much going on, each episode focuses on roughly 69 different things, and keeping track of all of those things can get somewhat tedious, even for the most hardened anime veteran still, despite it's story flaws, Fate/Zero manages to weave an engaging tale sure to leave you wanting, it just has too much to do and not nearly enough time.
7. Natsuiro Kiseki
Natsuiro Kiseki snags the 7 spot simply because it does something different, you have 4 girls who want to be idols, even to the point of having an audition around the end, this is normally the point where they pass the audition and become idols, but NatsuIro didn't do that, instead they fail the audition, and don't get another shot, they don't become idols. This isn't a story about achieving your dreams through perseverance but instead it's a story about maturity, and instead of sending the message that all dreams can come true with enough hard work, it sends the much more realistic message that not all dreams in this world can be obtained.
6. Binbougami Ga
Binbougami Ga grabs the number 6 spot because it does absolutely everything correctly, the drama and character development feel real, the comedy is everywhere and it's hilarious, the animation and voice acting are top notch, even the bitch main character slowly becomes more and more likable (take notes, OreImo) this really is a hidden gem, and it's something that everybody needs to see.
5. AKB0048
An idol show being on this list isn't really a shock for anyone who knows me, but what gets AKB0048 on this list is not just the original story (though that's the main thing) but how well it's executed. They easily could've just given us another Idolm@ster but instead they went with an original concept and it came across very well, obviously there wasn't a ton of action in season 1 because it's a 2 cour show, but it was surprisingly entertaining and one of the better shows of the year.
4. Kokoro Connect
I expected this show to be good, but not nearly this good, this might sound weird but I don't think this should be marathoned at all, maybe it's just me but I think the week to week tension really took this show from great to marvelous, their friendship being twisted and stretched to it's absolute limits was entertaining to watch, everything here meshes into an unforgettable experience, except for Aoki who really should move over to the forgettable cast of Tari Tari, he'd fit in well there.
3. Kill Me Baby
Kill Me Baby truly is the evolution of comedy anime, in all my years of watching anime I have never encountered a show that has had me giggling, choking on whatever I happened to be eating, and pounding my desk as much as Kill Me Baby, but for everyone who adores this show, there are even more that hate it, and that's simply because comedy is very hit or miss, slapstick comedy even more, you either like it or you don't and most people tend to fall on the latter side, however that's not a detriment to the show at all, Kill Me Baby does what it does very well, it's a 4koma adaptation that doesn't try to be anything more, the dynamic between Sonya and Yasuna is ridiculously entertaining, even had a very touching final scene, Kill Me Baby gave me everything I could possibly ask for, and it's proof that you don't need a large budget to be entertaining. Plus it had Rie Kugimiya on helium, can't beat that.
2. Jinrui Wa Sutai Shimashita
Jinrui Wa Sutai Shimashita manages to grab the number 2 spot because...it left me confused, I mean that in the best way possible, it was certainly a fantastic series, but it left me confused as to whether I fully grasped the message it was trying to send, and that's a great thing, the multiple layers of this are truly what makes it unique. Everything has some sort of parallel to real life. Is it admiring the mass consumption attitude of humanity? Or is it condemning it? Are the fairies a parallel of humanity, causing unnecessary problems, worshiping non deities as their god, and ruining everything they touch? Either way Jinrui had a very interesting premise and it came across well in the anime, certainly one of the more entertaining shows of the year if you don't mind a bit more dialogue.
1. Chihayafuru
Chihayafuru, also known as that show you have to search really hard to find haters of, has the number 1 spot simply because it's perfect. I don't throw that word around a lot, but this show truly deserves that adjective, the atmosphere is beautiful, every single karuta game, even the ones that have no overall importance, is engaging, the characters are colorful and varied, the drama and the emotion feels real. People slapping cards somehow manages to become an experience that sometimes transcends words. Chihaya's slow climb to the top has been a wonderful roller coaster of emotions, hopefully season 2 doesn't disappoint.
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