Best anime of 2012?

My list of tope 10 anime for 2012:

1^st: Uchuu Kyoudai (Space Brothers)

Set in the near future, the story of two brothers who promised each other to go into space is both realistic AND engaging at the same time. The protagonist, who is the older brother, lost his job after defending the honor of the younger brother, who was slated to be the first Japanese to step on the moon and help set up a permanent moon-base. The older brother then begins his journey as an astronaut; the testing and exploration of the other candidates personalities makes this anime a well-rounded and family friendly show. It shows that a show can be engaging and well done without the need for shock tactics or whatnot.

2^nd: Psycho-pass

Set in a future where the "Sybil" system not only acts as a "Big Brother" analog, but determines what jobs you are considered suitable to. This system also monitors mental health and the main protagonist is a naive young recruit who's job it is to stop people whose "criminal" quotient is deemed high enough by capturing or even killing them on the spot, even though they have not yet committed any crime yet. She leads people with high criminal quotients who act as "hunting dogs" to do the dirty work. But she and the entire "Sybil" system face the challenge of bizarre crimes and dark flaws in the system that it was not designed to handle. Written by the same writer that brought us Puella Magi Madoka Magica, it is a dark and engaging future.

3^rd: Shin Sekai Yori (From The New World)

Set in a future world hundreds of years from when psychics first violently exploded onto civilization, a strangely primitive society sees young children trained in a rural school in their own "protected" areas to harness their psychic powers properly. The dark truth behind this society and the disappearance of incompetent or evilly minded youths without apparent notice is at first only hinted at, but revelations are made, and then seemingly forgotten in this world that has become alien to what humans once knew.

4^th: Joshiraku

Stories about five young female rakugo comedians. The show doesn't have an ongoing plot or much depth, but it is a pleasant and mentally relaxing comedy one can watch at the end of a long day to relax.

5^th: Robotics;Notes

In the near future, a high school robotics club, is struggling to keep going and keep the dream of building a giant robot designed by the protagonists older sister. While the begining of the show comes across as a slice of life show, it quickly becomes serious and dark with conspiracies and the potential death of billions of humans becoming increasingly possible.

6^th: Another

In rural Japan, a certain middle-school class once acted as if a girl who had died was still there. A boy whose family used to live in the town moves back in with his grandparents and ends up joining the class, and meets a girl that the rest of the class doesn't even recognize as existing. His inquiries are met with horror and attempts to stop him. The unraveling of what is going on is met with death after death. Good horror show of the supernatural.

7^th: Binbou-gami ga!

A comedy about a girl with far too much luck, and the poverty god who has been charged with trying to take away her unnatural luckiness because it is drawing the luck from all those around her. Openly ridiculous and quite enjoyable.

8^th: Nazo no Kanojo X (Mysterious Girlfriend X)

The story of a boy who falls in love with and ends up dating a girl with "magical drool." Unlike many harem anime or other "love stories," this show focuses in on a boy and girl who are already a couple and how they discover who they, and each other, really are. The retro-designs help with the old-school story that stands of the type that stands the test of time.

9^th: Jinrui wa Suitai Chimashita (Humanity is in Decline)

Set in the far future when mankind is facing extinction, and an "ambassador" from the humans to bizarre fairies that do not function according to human logic. Inexplicable and absolutely crazy at times, it is the one anime where you can see mechanical bread commit seppuku.

10^th: Kill Me Baby

Comedy based on a 4-koma about a dippy high school girl who befriends here classmate, who just happens to be an assassin, and also a ninja girl who seems to like making a buck. Silly and without depth, its simplicity helps keep it enjoyable.

Runner-ups:

Recorder to Ranoseru: Enjoyable 3 min. short episodes of a grade-schooler who looks like an adult, and his older sister who looks like a grade-schooler.

Haiyore! Nyaruko-san: A harem anime where the harem consists of elder gods from the Cthulhu mythos. Best when making Lovecraft references.

Kore wa Zombie desu ka? OF THE DEAD: Second season of an undead high-school boy and his harem of vampire ninjas, magiclad girls, and a necromancer. The humor is uneven, but the scenes of the undead boy becoming a transvestite chain-saw wielding magical "girl" (complete with stripped pantsu) make the show worth it.

Upotte!: Forget girls with guns, this show has girls who ARE guns. You will never think of a guns (or girls) "hammer" the same way again...

Yuru Yuri (2nd season); Yet more lesbianic comedy.

Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb: More SHAFT goodness with a lighthearted slice-of-life feel to it (and also the expected SHAFT visual take on things)

Busou Shinki: Foot tall robot fighting girls who will do anything to serve their master. Silly premise, but enjoyable for what it is.

Girls und Panzer: Set in a world where pitched tank battles are considered a girlish art and the paragon of womenhood. High school girls must fight tank battles against each other to save their school!

Teekyuu: Short vignettes allegedly having something to do with tennis but more with wonderfully unrealistic craziness of high school girls.

No Bodacious Space Pirates? Son, I am disappoint.

That said, Uchuu Kyodai gets my vote. Space Brothers is fantastic, and I am on the edge of my seat to see how each new installment plays out

Best Show: Bodacious Space Pirates

Best Movie: K-On!

Best Horror: Another

Best Drama: Space Brothers

Best Comedy: Kamisama Kiss

Best Romantic Comedy: Suki-tte Ii na yo.

Favorite Character: Eru Chitanda from Hyōka

Honorable Mention (shows that secured an A grade):
Chūnibyō Demo Koi ga Shitai!
Dusk Maiden of Amnesia
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
Usagi Drop


As for Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199, since it will come out on TV in 2013, I'll just give it Best Show then.

This isn't an overly easy decision for me. Not everything I've watched this year is equally fresh in my mind. Also there were a lot of shows this year that I liked but was ultimately disappointed by. Examples include Bodacious Space Pirates, Jormungand, Kids on the Slope, Rinne no Lagrange, and Sword Art Online. Others like Zetsuen no Tempest and Robotics;Notes haven't finished yet so they're hard to properly judge. And then there's stuff I've heard good things about but haven't seen yet like Humanity Has Declined and Space Battleship Yamato 2199.

Despite that I've managed to choose two shows as my top picks for the year.

Muv Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse: This is military science fiction with a strong human element. I liked the characters, I liked their conflicts and interactions, I liked the action scenes, and I liked the emotional impact among other things. Sure the fan service and romantic competition aspects could be rather jarring at times given the setting, the production values could be described as "variable" and I had some reservations about some of the characters early on. But the cast grew on me, and overall I ended up really liking this series. Plus that brutal anime original second episode still qualifies as one of the most memorable of the year for me.
Tari Tari: The ending was a little disappointing and if was a bit difficult to tell some of the characters apart at first (not the most distinctive designs ever), but overall this was a nice little relatively down to earth drama series. It was good at being funny and it had emotional impact. The gorgeous artwork didn't hurt either.

Actually I would consider Total Eclipse in particular to be far from perfect, but my favorite shows usually aren't perfect.