Top 5 Anime of 2011

The end of the year is close, and that means it's time for a top 5 of the year post.  As before, I'll decide what I feel were the 5 best series of the year.  And I saw quite a lot of anime this year, so this will be tougher than it was last year.  Well, while I have the Bakacast crew in my ears, it's time to do this thing.

#5: Ben-To

Picture for a second, that you're in a super market.  Suddenly, a massive brawl breaks out in the back of the store. People are bleeding. No one is calling the cops. That's Ben-To in a nutshell.  No-holds-barred fights over half-priced bento boxes. The male lead almost DIES in the first episode.  It's a concept stupid enough to work, and I love it.  The only thing that keeps this from being above #5 is how repetitive the fight scenes get, as after about 7 episodes, it stopped being absolutely awesome.

#4: Moshidora

It's not exactly a secret that I'm a huge baseball fan, so when I saw Moshidora on the season chart this Spring, I was kinda thrilled, especially since the start date was timed to coincide with Major League Baseball's Opening Day.  Then the Japan earthquake happened, putting pretty much everything on hold until things in Japan got straightened out.  I must admit that managing a baseball team using business management ideas is somewhat unique, yet Moshidora's novelty quickly ran its course.

#3: Level E

Imagine, if you will, that Earth is not just inhabited by humans, but by many alien races disguising themselves so they blend in.  One of these aliens, the Prince, is a rather big troublemaker/troll.  His antics cause stress for his bodyguards/caretakers, not the mention the owner of the apartment he arbitrarily freeloads at.  In short, Level E was absolutely hilarious, and should be on the list of anyone who wants a good laugh.

#2: Steins;Gate

The world is made up of several "world lines", each one, stemming from another.  That is one premise behind Steins;Gate, an adaptation of a visual novel of the same name. Rintarou Okabe lives in his apartment Future Gadget Laboratory with his friends hostages Mayushii and Daru.  Together, along with Makise Kurisutina, they develop what amounts to a time machine, and go on wild shenanigans. Of course, these shenanigans come with a cost...

#1: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Yeah, yeah, call me a hypocrite for ragging on this show when I was reviewing it.  Honestly, I went back and watched it again, and I saw how fantastically written this show is.  I loved it enough to buy a Homura Akemi figma.  The combonation of director Akiyuki Shinbo and writer Gen Urobuchi makes for a surreally entertaining deconstruction of the magical girl genre, with a show that could easily be considered the Evangelion of the magical girl genre of anime.  With only early animation flaws hindering the show, it easily takes #1 on my 2011 anime list.