End of Year Reviw 2012

So that time has come again, and again it was a light year for me. Ive taken a look at divine's year end review, and i havent watched a single show that he had awarded. So what that means is this years awards are going to be pretty bad, and i felt overall the shows ive watched this season havent wowed me. That being said, its not like there isnt anything to like. There were still plenty of good shows this year especially near the end. With that, these are my awards for 2012

Best Comedy: Infinite Stratos
Honerable mentions (HM): phi brain, Rio rainbow gate
This one is kinda a throwaway because i havent really seen anything i would consider a comedy this season. With infinite Stratos being the closest, it takes the award

Romance: Hanasaku Iroha
Again, this comes down to i havent seen very many romances this season. However unlike the comedy section, i still thought HanaIro was a decent show all around. The major problem it has is pacing and keeping the audience interested in the show. I wanted to see where the plot was going, but it just didnt move fast enough to keep me thinking about the show to come back and watch it. Overall, still decent and the subversion on the standard cliches this show throws is pretty cool

Action: Guilty Crown
HM: Fate Zero
So i've hyped up Fate Zero, why didnt it win. Well the major problem with Fate Zero is pacing. When its good, its damn good. one of the top shows ive ever watched. However when its slow, its painful. And i dont mean just the action parts. When the three kings sat around and drank, that was super tense. When Loli rin ran around... that was boring (sorry rin fans). Guilty Crown doesnt have that. Its never really outstanding, but its solid throughout. Also Fate is going to win a bunch more so im tossing Guilty crown a bit of a bone here.

Soundtrack: Fate Zero
If we go by instrumentals and insert music, guilty crown would win, however the OP and ED for guilty crown are somewhat weak. Fate on the other hand had an OP and ED that i knew from the first moment was going to be in my Ipod. the songs are great and the sounds really give it an epic, yet dignified tone that really matches the story. The OP is addictive and fast paced. The ED shows nice insight into the lives of the servants and shows what they were when they could be themselves. Phi brain had a decent OP but not on the same level

Fanservice: Infinite Stratos
HM: Rio Rainbow Gate
Again, a win based on being the only decent show in the category i saw.

Best Visual:Fate Zero
HM: Guilty Crown
Like i said before, when Fate is good, its damn good. that fight episode with Berserker is still ringing in my head. the characters look great, the scenes look great and the fights look absolutely stunning. Words cannot do it justice. Just go back and watch episode 4-5 for some of the best fight choreography ever made for anime.

Best Male: Rider (Fate Zero)

Rider is just a fun character all around. hes loud, hes obnoxious, hes full of himself, yet the way he goes about it all with such a grandiose fashion, you cant help but root for him. Hes like... take any role Norio Wakamoto has played and you cant help but love his hammyness. thats rider in a nutshell and by god is he great.

Best Female: Nanoha (Phi Brain)
HM: Inori (Guilty Crown), Saber (Fate Zero)
typically the female lead of an action show is there only to be rescued. While Nanoha sometimes falls into that trap, shes also been helpful and the main reason they group stays alive just as often. Her photographic memory really comes in handy when certain clues and such need to recalled or were destroyed. Aside from that, her goofyness and hatred of the "puzzle freaks" is funny enough. also: NONOHA SWEETS

Best Mecha: Infinite Stratos
HM: Guilty Crown
with all the awards you'd thing infinite stratos is a great show and a competitor for best of the year. nope, it just filled in a lot of niche anime types i didnt get around to. with gundam age being well... for kids and not a real gundam show. this one takes another free win.

Best Villain: Rook (Phi Brain)
Rook is the villain all other villains should be. He hits Kaito on an emotional level. taking him to places he cant handle and forcing him to walk through the worst moments of his life. He can do what no one else can do and that's hit him where it really hurts. At the same time, the show and the challenges is about the puzzles. He has refuses to use underhanded and unfair methods like, just killing him off, and instead is confident enough that he can beat him straight up without tricks, and god damn is he really good at that. The fools puzzle while using physical strain to induce mental strain, while not exactly fair is still possible. That earns him major respect in my books.

Special Biggest asshole Award: Zoken Matou (Fate Zero)
What this bastard does to sakura is unforgivable. there is no way to describe what an asshole this guy is. Ive never wanted to puch out an old man as much as i do now. Being able to generate that kind of emotion from the viewers earns fate zero writers this special award.

Worst Character: Kouichi Tanemura (Iroha)
Ko-chan reminds me of the classic Disney prince. they are perfect and yet cant seem to do anything. their only purpose is to motivate the female leads. And ive felt this way about him since the second time he was ever shown on screen. However he also shares the biggest weakness of Disney princes. hes bland. Hes two dimensional. he doesnt have any character or emotion or anything to keep me interested. as a side character in the role he was given, he fulfills it, but other than that, hes completely forgettable.

Best show: Fate Zero
HM: Guilty Crown

All i need to say about this show has been said. The show when it is good is amazing. Through the entire first half one out of seven servants has died. just by the numbers that means we should be seeing a whole lot more action in the second half and that's where this show really shines. If it can pick up the pace, i wouldn't be surprised if it won again next year.