My Top 5 *❥* favourite anime of 2011 - 2012 *❥*

I struggled to order these so much so please don't in any way view this as my be all and end all favourite animes of 2011-2012
2011 and 2012 were abundantly good years for anime and i've barely scratched the surface with the series i've watched so again, this is not a be all and end all!!

Number 5

Guilty Crown

Guilty Crown kind of became the Marmite anime of 2012! People either really liked it or thought it so awful it should be erased from their memories. I was one of the people who really liked it ^-^

I went in expecting to absolutely despise it because of all the terrible things i'd heard about it and after the first episode i was ready to drop it. I was pleasantly surprised though how quickly it developed its own vibe and i ended up watching the whole thing in a couple of days.  

The story follows Shu, a young boy who accidently finds himself with 'the kings mark' which allows him to extract peoples souls/hearts and manifest them as weapons or items reflective of said person's personality.

The soundtrack is easily the best thing about this anime, it may even be considered it's redeeming feature!

I must stress that this anime is greatly flawed, the female lead is one of the most dull characters to exist in anime and although i like a little bit of a chaotic break down toward the end of my anime i know others prefer to keep it a bit more structured. The action is awesome, in particular the 'anti-gravity' scene in one of the earlier episodes! I know A LOT of people really hated this anime and i feel a little like Joey in that episode of friends where Rachael tried to make a trifle. The giant robots: good. The music: Good. The action: Gooood!! 

The only thing i really hated about it was the lack of character development for some of the side characters and how mind numbingly boring Inori was but that's about it, everything else was great.

Number 4

Mirai Nikki

Can i just have the first 20 or so episodes on here please?? seriously the ending was so stupid i nearly ripped my hair out but up until then A+ 

Where Guilty Crown lacks in the female lead area, Mirai Nikki excels. Although she's some what unorthodox she's definitely interesting. Yuno Gasai is so desperately in love that she's willing to go on as many murderous rampages as necessary and she'll be laughing all the way!

I feel like everyone has seen this anime so there's not much point in me explaining it but i will! We follow Yuki, a painfully average high school boy, as he is thrust into a game of 'last one standing gets to be God' There's a lot of stupid crap in this anime but all the gratuitous violence and 'yandereness' really do make up for it. I feel like thanks to this anime we finally have a 'yandere' queen. 

The twists are actually pretty great in this one too and i definitely felt satisfied with the 'big reveal' which is becoming rare in most anime.

Side not: My favourite bit has got to be the Ninth 'dart scene' in fact that whole episode was great!

Number 3

Yuru Yuri

Recently i've gotten really into comedy anime and Yuru Yuri had me in stitches!! It was so surreal but also really, painfully cute. I've never watched something before where i've shipped every character with every character and other than Strawberry panic i've never watched an anime with an entirely female cast!

I'm not even sure what Yuru Yuri is meant to be a parody of, i want to say Yuri, but it's kind of a parody of the entire cute sub genre.

At first you assume Akari is going to be our protagonist but her position is quickly usurped by all the other female characters who have a much stronger presence than her! Eventually it's proclaimed that her only outstanding trait is her hair! I couldn't help feeling this was a subtle dig at the magical girl genre and how dull the leading lady often is in comparison to the supporting cast. This anime is really, really funny and i found that i not only loved all the characters but that it was very easy to get through and i can't wait to watch the next series!

Number 2

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun

Literally who came up with this? And i seriously hope they will be making a series 2

Tonari is the story of apathetic, book-worm Shizuku Mizutani's romantic journey with a borderline sociopath with 0 self-preservation skills. I feel like Haru is one of the most unique characters i've ever come accross in anything ever!He's completely blunt and actually a little bit scary but he's kept in check by the girl he's decided he's in love with.

I loved, LOVED how he was continuously, accidently punching Shizu in the face while usually trying to defend her honour in some way. and all the side characters were so well mapped out, and quite amazingly, i was interested in ALL of their stories.

The only thing i would fault this series with is that it must have a second, it was left in such a way that we have to assume that's the plan andi'm sure we're all dying to find out a little more about Haru's past and what's to become of the romantic endeavours of (our blogging soul mate ) Asako!!

Number 1

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Urgh! How much more obvious could i be!! Madoka exceeded my expectations in a big way, i knew the gist of it but i was so sure that all the hype would mean it was bitterly disappointing, i was wrong.

Madoka is to the magical girl genre what Neon Genesis Evangelion is to the mecha genre! and it managed to achieve that in just twelve twenty five minute episodes. If you have managed to go this long without seeing it and are lucky enough not to have been exposed to any spoilers then quickly, GO AND WATCH IT!! I am amazed i was fortunate enough to watch it without too many spoilers, all i knew was that people were saying it 'ruined there life' and that 'it was not a happy show' 

I also want to point out how freakin' amazing the sound track is, they have all this fake angsty celtic music which doesn't actually mean anything (something i think was intended to be a clever little reflection of the music often used in mahou shoujo) but it sounds fantastic, you'll be listening to it for days after!

Madoka really got me thinking, a lot, about the magical girl concept, and how it's kind of fucked up! You could literally discuss this show and all the sneaky little tid bits for hours! There's just so much crammed in to those 12 episodes and it definitely deserves it's seat in the anime hall of legends.

Now who's excited about the up coming movies and the second series??

or are you as apprehensive about them as i am?

Honorable mention 

Mawaru Penguindrum

This would most definitely have been on my list if not for my strong aversion to over the top symbolism, metaphors and allegory and every other bit of pretence this show had!! It was a wonderful show and i'm sure many people were not bothered by all the symbols but for me, plot should always come first and i felt the story was completely over powered by the writer's desperation to present a deeper meaning.

This being said! I would still recommend it!

Please feel free to leave your favourite anime of 2011/2012 below or any recommendations 

Ly ～❤

✧ Top 5 - non Ghibli- Japanese animated films ✧

I get this question A LOT on my tumblog along with the 'top five favourite anime' questions and i always feel it's a little unfair as Ghibli movies always seem to take up all the room! so here it is for you, my top 5 favourite anime movies which are not Ghibli!!

Number 5

Paprika

It's an absolute tragedy that we lost Satoshi Kon a few years back but thankfully his outstanding library of movies are here for us to remember him by. I remember watching the trailer for this one and thinking 'Holy anime Jesus!! this looks amazing' It's believed that Paprika had a role in the inspiration for Christopher Nolan's Inception and yet I find the psychedelic charm of dreamy chaos that Paprika presents to be a much closer resemblance of my own dreams.
The story follows three scientists who have created a device (the D.C. Mini) which allows people to both record and observe the dreams of others.
and that's all i'm going to say because i don't want to spoil anything.
The animations style is beautiful and even if you are not keen on anime it's worth watching for the opening sequence alone.

Number 4

Adolescence of Utena

It's a bit of a cheek putting this up here as it can't really be enjoyed properly if you haven't watched the anime but anyway. Revolutionary Girl Utena is up there as one of my all time favourite anime and i feel like i watched it at just the right time in my life, before I was too cynical for the over the top symbolism but old enough to understand and relate to it. I must stress, no matter what you've heard, it is not yuri. I spent a long time after finishing it desperate for another fix and then hallelujah!! there's a movie! Utena deals with, well, adolescence and the symbolism is so obvious sometimes it's almost painful, with the huge erect buildings and floods of red roses spilling off the platforms, not to mention the swords protruding from peoples chests. And yet there is something wonderful about Utena. As a child she is rescued by a prince but instead of vowing to grow up and marry him, she wants to grow up and be a heroic prince herself! There's much in here about empowerment, and at one point Utena literally transforms into a car for Anthi to ride. The movie feels more like an 'add on' to the anime and some fans have even speculated that it takes place in the land of the dead (though i am not keen on this interpretation) This film will leave you confused and possibly disorientated, but hopefully in a good way.

Number 3

Metropolis

I cried! (queue Ray Charles) Metropolis is the first movie that ever made me cry. My dad rented it from blockbuster when i was 8, i sat, i watched it, i took it out, gave it back to him and said 'that movie was awful, take it back'

I then proceeded to watch it 6 more times until the due date! My poor little 8 year old self couldn't quite take it all in and it remained for years 'that magical, mystical, sad film about the robot girl having an existential crisis' I rediscovered this film 2 years ago as it was showing on Film 4! By that time i'd forgotten almost everything about it except that there was a robot girl who glowed! I thought to myself, this animation style is a lot more cartoony than i remember and was preparing for the whole thing to be a bit pants but instead i reverted back to my 8 year old self and sat glued to the screen! The film is good, really, really good but really it's the last 20 minutes that are so amazing, it almost feels like the whole film is there just for the last 20 or so minutes. PLEASE PLEASE WATCH THIS!! It's a wonderful movie and i really wish more people had seen it, it's beautiful and tragic and thoughtful and needs to be seen.

Number 2

Perfect Blue

Another brilliant Satoshi Kon. As a big fan of Asian pop music and 'idol' culture this movie made me really uncomfortable!

What this film really succeeds in doing, is making you feel desperately concerned for the main character Mima. At the start of the film she breaks away from her idol, music group to pursue a career as an actress. The movie gets weird and scary fast! The concept of multiple personalities plays a key factor but it is handles so subtly that you will often find yourself thinking 'did that actually just happen?' or 'did she just say what i think she did?'

I would say the most uncomfortable scene (without giving to much away) is the staged rape scene which her managers must watch! There's a moment where it's hinted that Mami is exchanging real life traumatic events for scenarios that happen to her character but i won't say any more  it is a must watch film, regardless whether you have an interest in anime. Movie fans will also appreciate the 'screaming bath' scene which is almost copied frame for frame in Requiem For a Dream.

Number 1

Akira

I must ask, Is there really an anime better than Akira? I know it is the most obvious choice but i feel it is perfectly justified! There's little for me to say about Akira as most of you have probably seen it, it's set in a dystopian Tokyo named 'Neo-Tokyo' in which our protagonist Kaneda leads a gang of motorcycle riding youths. The destruction of Tokyo turns out to have been the responsibility of a young esper named 'Akira' who's cryonically stored remains are being kept below Neo-Tokyo!! Sounds ridiculous and yet it's perfect! It's so brilliantly told and it simply looks incredible! I really can't think of any reason for someone not to watch this film, other than maybe a terrible attention span or lack of appreciation for good cinema!

So there you have it, my top 5 NON Ghibli anime movies!

Hopefully you guys will check out the ones you haven't seen and enjoy them as much as i did!

I'd love to hear about some of your favs as well so feel free to comment below

Ly ～❤