Hey there fellow anime-watching robots – Happy New Year! I hope your 2012 is filled with lots of fun adventures and great anime! Without further ado, I present to you my must-see anime picks that aired (and/or released on Blu-ray/DVD) in North America in 2011. If you haven’t checked these out, you might want to give them a chance soon – many of them will be back with more episodes in 2012:
Baka and Test – Summon the Beast (Series) – This series tries to break the mold of high school drama by adding in some innovative twists – namely, the fact that the students summon their respective knowledge as little cute avatars that battle it out for top scores (and a better class rank). The show is a crazy blend of high school comedy and drama; rpg-esque, summoning-based video game themes; and mayhem. It’s a fun series and though it falls prey to many over-used anime conventions (boys + girls = nosebleeds abound), it’s a good watch and I really enjoyed the first and second seasons. The protagonist is hilarious to watch (as he fails and fails again) and his counterparts in class F are equally amusing in their own way. Watch as Class F tries to battle their way from the bottom to the top – and attempt to earn the best classroom in the school with a private snackbar, lounge, air conditioners and laptops.
Season one of Baka and Test released on DVD and Blu-ray in the US in early 2011, and season two is soon to follow. You can still catch episodes on several streaming sites around the internet including Funimation’s site and Hulu.
Bunny Drop (also called Usagi Drop) (Series) -based on the beautifully written manga by Yumi Unita, this heartfelt story really stood out amongst the other series of the year (you can read my review here). When Daikichi learns that his grandfather had an illegitimate child, Rin, he ends up being the only one in the family with the heart and will to take care of her (despite being a single Tokyo salaryman with no time and absolutely no knowledge of how to raise a kindergarten aged child). The series is grounded in true-to-life locations and characters that breathe life into this well crafted story. Even little things like Daikichi’s long daily commute on the trains and the Japanese system of “Emergency Daycare/Nursery School” are addressed with a remarkable amount of accuracy and straight-forwardness. The animation is stunning and I give this series my highest marks.
Season one was Simulcast by Crunchyroll and Anime News Network. You can probably still find Usagi Drop streaming somewhere on the net, and it should be releasing on DVD and Blu-ray soon. There’s also a live action film for those interested in seeing the story told in another medium.
Dragon Ball Z: Kai (Series) – the classic series returns with an entirely new edit and all new dubbing (for those of us watching the English version). Kai cuts out all the filler and focuses on the action of the series. As much as I love the original series, I found Kai to be really enjoyable and honestly refreshing since it allowed a whole new generation to enjoy the Dragon Ball universe in its most concise format. Also, I have to admit, it’s kind of nice to skip over some of the really unnecessary filler like Gohan wandering around the forest alone for two episodes (Was it really necessary to the story anyways? Probably not). Kai follows the manga much more closely, giving die hard fans of the original story a satisfying watch.
The entire run of Kai aired on Nickelodeon from May 24, 2010 to December 23, 2011, and can now be found on Broadcast TV, streaming online, and on Blu-ray and DVD.
Eden of the East ( Series and two movies: 2010/2011) and Eden of the East Movie 2: Paradise Lost (2011) –
Eden of the East was arguably the breakout series of 2010/2011, and it was definitely stood out to me as one of the more original series to come out in many years. It didn’t get a whole lot of hype before it came out, but became extremely popular after its release. The concept behind the show – that a rich, anonymous individual can force 12 people to become “saviors of the world” or die by his hand – makes it one of the best series to come out in many years. Some people call it a Bourne Identity rip-off, but I say look a little closer and you’ll really enjoy this series.
Eden of the East: Complete Collection just came out on Blu-ray and DVD on December 27th, 2011.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Series/Re-imagining) – fans of the original manga should be sure to check this one out – it’s a re-telling of Fullmetal Alchemist with focus on telling Hiromu Arakawa’s story. Those who didn’t read the manga may not know that the first Fullmetal series had a lot of story added in that was quite different from the manga. I think everyone should give this series a chance because it’s just as excellent (if not more) than the first series. You can still find Brotherhood streaming around the net and it’s also available on Netflix Instant streaming.
Hetalia: Axis Powers (2010) and Hetalia: World Series (2011) – What can I say – Hetalia is one of those shows that has to be seen to be believed. What started as little shorts for cell phone subscribers turned into one of the most inexplicably popular anime around the world. Called racist by some and idiotic by others, Hetalia is one of those shows you either love or hate – and I just can’t get enough of it. I first watched the show in Japanese and then gave the English dub a chance – to my surprise I found the English dub even more hilarious and far more funny considering the English voice actors were doing their best to portray stereotypical versions of their characters (accents and all). Keep in mind, folks, that this show is insensitive to everyone…so it’s not really discriminating, right? Check out this scene from the first season:
You can find both series streaming on Hulu and Funimation’s website. It’s also available on Blu-ray and DVD. If you’re attending any anime conventions this year, you’re bound to see hundreds of Hetalia cosplayers and lots of fun meet-ups / photo shoots. Which reminds me, I’ve got to get to sewing my Hungary dress for this year’s Anime Boston!
High School of the Dead – High School of the Dead is fun zombie mayhem mashed up with anime high school antics. (You can read my review here.) The story surrounds a group of high school students who manage to escape when a zombie apocalypse comes crashing through the gates of their Fujimi campus. I can only assume that the writers have included a lot of stereotypical, high-school-drama characters in hopes of making this show somewhat comical for anyone that’s watched a lot of teen drama anime. You’ve got a badass girl who was captain of her Kendo team, a military-fanboy otaku who manages to fashion himself a nail gun to fend off zombies, a fairly average guy and girl who are set up to be the “romantic couple” right from the start, and a wide array of other characters who seem almost too much like ones we’ve seen from other series. Overall, I’d say give this one a watch if you enjoy anything zombie related, but don’t expect it to follow ” Romero zombie cannon” …it breaks the “rules” and I’m okay with that. Definitely give it a watch if you feel like you’ve seen too many high-school anime and need to see some of your favorite (or least favorite) character types fight off zombies! That aspect of the show is just plain fun!
https://youtu.be/IDcQc5NG-Ho
You can find the series streaming on both Hulu and Funimation’s website. High School of the Dead is also available on Blu-ray and DVD.
Summer Wars (Film) – Summer Wars first premiered in Japan in 2009, and was an overnight success. Since its Japanese premier, it has won several awards including the coveted 2010 Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. The film is directed by Mamoru Hosoda, who is well known from his prior award-winning film “The Girl Who Leapt through Time.” The film is awesome – definitely my favorite anime feature film of 2011. I picked it up on Blu-ray and was hooked in the first ten minutes.
The story centers around mathematical genius Kenji and his geeky friend Takashi, who spend their time working as the maintenance “code monkeys” for the OZ virtual realm. Their friend Natsuki comes into the story when she asks Kenji if he wants a job, and subsequently drags him off to her home in Ueda (near Nagano) to pretend to be her fiancé. Once there, Kenji solves a mega math problem on his cell phone that frames him as a criminal hacker who brings chaos to the virtual space known as OZ. You can read the rest of my review of Summer Wars here.
Summer Wars can be found on Blu-ray and DVD.
X-Men ( Series) – a fantastic series done by Madhouse Animation Studios and Marvel. Fans of X-Men and Anime alike seemed to really dig this series in 2011. I thought it was a great crossover and you can read my review here.