Okay - I know that this may be a gargantuan task for some, but there are a few threads which may be of help:
I was not able to find a thread for Winter 2010 sadly....
Spring 2011 Impressions
Summer 2011 Impressions
Fall 2011 Impressions
Overall I think this thread may help some people to organize and evaluate their impressions not only to be able to better answer such threads as the Anime 2011: Looking back and looking ahead thread, but also to prepare a little for voting in the Animesuki Choice Awards of 2011 contest/thread that will eventually be showing up.
This thread also may help some people to add show evaluations that they watched after they aired during their season proper!
****
Here are my Winter 2010 Evaluations:
Here are my Spring 2011 Evaluations:
Here are my Summer 2011 Evaluations:
Here are my Autumn 2011 Evaluations:
****
So then ... looking through those impressions, my fave ten shows of the year, in order, would be:
1. Ikoku Meirio no Croise
2. Usagi Drop
3. Tamayura Hitotose
4. The iDOLM@STER
5. Kimi ni Todoke S2
6. Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai
7. The World God Only Knows S2
8. Mashiro-Iro Symphony
9. Mahou Shoujou Madoka Magica
10. Gosick
I was not able to find a thread for Winter 2010 sadly....
Spring 2011 Impressions
Summer 2011 Impressions
Fall 2011 Impressions
Overall I think this thread may help some people to organize and evaluate their impressions not only to be able to better answer such threads as the Anime 2011: Looking back and looking ahead thread, but also to prepare a little for voting in the Animesuki Choice Awards of 2011 contest/thread that will eventually be showing up.
This thread also may help some people to add show evaluations that they watched after they aired during their season proper!
****
Here are my Winter 2010 Evaluations:
Spoiler for Winter 2010 Evaluation:
My fave of the season, in order.
A List
Kimi ni Todoke S2 ... I really loved season one, and season two continued to be a wonderful and faithful adaptation of a great manga. Really enjoyed this one - best of the season for me.
Mahou Shoujou Madoka Magica ... a very well told series that had me on the edge of my chair every episode and constantly guessing (usually wrongly) at what was going to happen. While I personally don't think it was "earth shattering" or "ground breaking", I thought it was very well done, indeed.
B List
Gosick - Have really enjoyed this one. Sure it has problems and faults, but am thoroughly enjoying myself with this series.
C List
Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? - Okay, this was an odd story that I found myself both liking and disliking at the same time. I felt there was a lot of unneeded nonsense elements and fanservice that really didn't need to be there. Was rather taken with Eu's character though. Somehow very endearing. I can do without the violent tsunderes though. -_-
Houkago no Pleiades - What an odd little series.... Mahou Shoujo plus car bumpers and insignia. Not bad per se, I guess. Just ... weird.
Freezing - Fanservice anyone? Well, I guess it is consistent with the manga to a certain degree. Another interesting idea that is rife with what I felt were extraneous elements. Ah well.
Yumekui Merry - Now I am a big fan of the manga, mind you, and I thought the series was going along very nicely in the sense of being pretty faithful to the manga proper, but all of the sudden at the last few chapters they introduced somebody from out of nowhere and it felt like an obvious (and strained) attempt to come up with a finale for the season. Well ... I thought it failed ... and pretty miserably at that.
D List
Dragon Crisis - an interesting idea that was poorly executed (no pun intended). A pity as I kinda liked Rie Kugumiya in a non tsundere role for a change.
IS: Infinite Stratos - erm ... ok ... not much of a plot per se. In fact not much of ... well ... anything other than a few decent battle scenes and Charlotte.
Fractale - Two words - terribly disappointed. Such beautiful music, such potential for an interesting story, such a horrible and awkwardly bad ending. *sigh*
A List
Kimi ni Todoke S2 ... I really loved season one, and season two continued to be a wonderful and faithful adaptation of a great manga. Really enjoyed this one - best of the season for me.
Mahou Shoujou Madoka Magica ... a very well told series that had me on the edge of my chair every episode and constantly guessing (usually wrongly) at what was going to happen. While I personally don't think it was "earth shattering" or "ground breaking", I thought it was very well done, indeed.
B List
Gosick - Have really enjoyed this one. Sure it has problems and faults, but am thoroughly enjoying myself with this series.
C List
Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? - Okay, this was an odd story that I found myself both liking and disliking at the same time. I felt there was a lot of unneeded nonsense elements and fanservice that really didn't need to be there. Was rather taken with Eu's character though. Somehow very endearing. I can do without the violent tsunderes though. -_-
Houkago no Pleiades - What an odd little series.... Mahou Shoujo plus car bumpers and insignia. Not bad per se, I guess. Just ... weird.
Freezing - Fanservice anyone? Well, I guess it is consistent with the manga to a certain degree. Another interesting idea that is rife with what I felt were extraneous elements. Ah well.
Yumekui Merry - Now I am a big fan of the manga, mind you, and I thought the series was going along very nicely in the sense of being pretty faithful to the manga proper, but all of the sudden at the last few chapters they introduced somebody from out of nowhere and it felt like an obvious (and strained) attempt to come up with a finale for the season. Well ... I thought it failed ... and pretty miserably at that.
D List
Dragon Crisis - an interesting idea that was poorly executed (no pun intended). A pity as I kinda liked Rie Kugumiya in a non tsundere role for a change.
IS: Infinite Stratos - erm ... ok ... not much of a plot per se. In fact not much of ... well ... anything other than a few decent battle scenes and Charlotte.
Fractale - Two words - terribly disappointed. Such beautiful music, such potential for an interesting story, such a horrible and awkwardly bad ending. *sigh*
Here are my Spring 2011 Evaluations:
Spoiler for Spring 2011 Evaluations:
...My top anime of the season, in order:
A List
Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai ... definitely my favorite, although I thought the conclusion was a little too fast paced for me. They could have done okay with stretching the anime to 12 eps and I don't think anything would have been lost. But still my fave of the season without a doubt.
The World God Only Knows S2 ... stupendous adaptation of the manga. Although I wished they had eased into the series a little slower, the storywriters did an amazing job of making the heroines of Chihiro and Jun come more alive (as they did with Kanon in S1).
B List
Hanasaku Iroha ... I am still watching this one. I really, REALLY like this one too, and in the past 4 episodes it seems the story has turned up a notch. The coming of age storyline works very well for me, and the other characters in the story are very engaging for me as well. Ohana's growth thus far has been very "real" and convincing. And the animation is plain gorgeous.
Gosick ... my only carryover from Winter season. I really enjoyed the storyline and the relationship of Victorique and Kujo. For me the mysteries in the first half felt a bit rushed at times, but they were never my main focus. Kujo in the second half became gradually more loud/annoying a bit at times, too.
Nichijou ... I really have enjoyed this surreal 4 koma comedy series and find myself laughing out loud at almost every episode, although the ones who "steal the show" for me are almost always Nano, Hakase and especially Sakamoto. But I can definitely see how it would not be to everyone's tastes.
C List
Denpa Onna ... this was my first "surprise" watch (i.e. I did not intend to watch it when the season began). The characters and the story were engaging and a good watch. A pity that ep 13 did not air during the season itself ... kinda left me hanging with ep 12.
Dog Days ... A light hearted series without a lot of substance that I found I enjoyed. Horie Yui's VA and singing stole the show entirely for me.
A-Channel ... what can I say? I like this sort of slice of life/comedy/fluff. Did not enjoy it as much as I did K-On seasons or Lucky Star (my fave of this general genre), but it was good. I did not follow this one during the season, though, I watched it after season 11 aired and followed it through to ep 12.
Tried and Dropped:
Hidan no Aria
A List
Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai ... definitely my favorite, although I thought the conclusion was a little too fast paced for me. They could have done okay with stretching the anime to 12 eps and I don't think anything would have been lost. But still my fave of the season without a doubt.
The World God Only Knows S2 ... stupendous adaptation of the manga. Although I wished they had eased into the series a little slower, the storywriters did an amazing job of making the heroines of Chihiro and Jun come more alive (as they did with Kanon in S1).
B List
Hanasaku Iroha ... I am still watching this one. I really, REALLY like this one too, and in the past 4 episodes it seems the story has turned up a notch. The coming of age storyline works very well for me, and the other characters in the story are very engaging for me as well. Ohana's growth thus far has been very "real" and convincing. And the animation is plain gorgeous.
Gosick ... my only carryover from Winter season. I really enjoyed the storyline and the relationship of Victorique and Kujo. For me the mysteries in the first half felt a bit rushed at times, but they were never my main focus. Kujo in the second half became gradually more loud/annoying a bit at times, too.
Nichijou ... I really have enjoyed this surreal 4 koma comedy series and find myself laughing out loud at almost every episode, although the ones who "steal the show" for me are almost always Nano, Hakase and especially Sakamoto. But I can definitely see how it would not be to everyone's tastes.
C List
Denpa Onna ... this was my first "surprise" watch (i.e. I did not intend to watch it when the season began). The characters and the story were engaging and a good watch. A pity that ep 13 did not air during the season itself ... kinda left me hanging with ep 12.
Dog Days ... A light hearted series without a lot of substance that I found I enjoyed. Horie Yui's VA and singing stole the show entirely for me.
A-Channel ... what can I say? I like this sort of slice of life/comedy/fluff. Did not enjoy it as much as I did K-On seasons or Lucky Star (my fave of this general genre), but it was good. I did not follow this one during the season, though, I watched it after season 11 aired and followed it through to ep 12.
Tried and Dropped:
Hidan no Aria
Here are my Summer 2011 Evaluations:
Spoiler for Summer 2011 Evaluations:
And here is the final wrap up evaluation.
A List
Ikoku Meiro no Croisee. My favorite series of the season - beautiful and well done in every single facet for me. So much so that it is going on my "all time favorites" list. Stupendous and highly recommended.
Usagi Drop. For a long time it was a "neck and neck" race between Ikoku Meiro and Usagi Drop for favorite series, but towards the end Ikoku stepped up the pace a bit content wise and with the beautiful ep 4.5 OVA release.... Even so Usagi Drop was very well done.
The iDOLM@STER. Biggest surprise of the season for me and a really good slice of life show depicting the day to day struggles of individual "idols" who are just starting out and trying to make it big. This series is ongoing through
B List
Hanasaku Iroha. Finally dropped down to the B List, but it is at the top of the list. I really enjoyed this series, and even though it was frustratingly bad at times when it was "on" it was stupendous.
Kamisama no Memo-chou. Thoroughly enjoyed this one - a solid story with solid characters, for me it was good from the get go.
Dantalian no Shoka. Beautiful and thought provoking series for me - even though it was strangely ... hmm ... detached from the viewer somehow. The OP is hands down my fave of the year.
Nichijou. I am one of the fans of this series, and enjoyed the crazy, wacky, off-hand humor it shouldered from the get go. For me the highlight were always Nano, Hakase and Sakamoto. :)
C List
Busou Shinko: Moon Angel. Just began this one, having only watched 1 ep. But for all that it looks interesting. A sort of more ... umm ... militaristic version of the old anime Angelic Layer, which I really enjoyed. Will try this one out.
Morita-san wa Makuchi. Have watched up to ep 12 of this one. Really did not seem to have much else to offer from the OVA, but I enjoyed the OVA, and this was simple 4-5 minute clips of light hearted, humorous fluff.
Copihan. After 3 eps I still do not have an idea of what the series is about. But I am enjoying it - kinda in the same "league" as Morita-san wa Makuchi.
D List
Nekogami Yaoyorozu. Not bad, just not particularly engaging for me - kinda a waste of great VA's imo. Ah well. Not terrible, I guess.
Yuriyuri. A lot of people really enjoyed this series, but for me I found it kinda ... well ... limp, to be frank. It had a few funny moments for me, but in all honesty I found it kinda boring. At least it was better than No.6! :D
No. 6. Well, this series more than anything else frustrated me. It's strength was the story setting and the plot. It's weakness were the two main characters. I heartily disliked them - especially Shion, at least Nezumi had some really lovely singing solos. Still, I was willing to watch it to the end, for all that. But I would neither watch it again nor recommend it to anyone else.
Watched and Dropped List
Mawaru Penguin Drum. I watched something like 9 eps of this before finally dropping it. For me the ultimate deciding factor was the character of Ringo. I disliked her extremes quite a bit - especially her cruel actions towards Shouma. I really dislike the "genre" of nasty, abusive people being passed off as humorous to begin with (esp tsundere young women to young males). Top that off with a dislike for what I felt to be pretentious artsy visuals (which I also dislike) and they contributed to finally pushing the series over the edge for me and dropping it from my "weekly following" list. I will likely steamroll the series when it finishes completely airing (it is a 24 ep series).
All the ones listed below I watched 1 or 2 eps of before dropping them
Mayo Chiki
Ryo-kyo-bo
Appleseed XIII
Blood-C
R-15
Kamisama Dolls
Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi
A List
Ikoku Meiro no Croisee. My favorite series of the season - beautiful and well done in every single facet for me. So much so that it is going on my "all time favorites" list. Stupendous and highly recommended.
Usagi Drop. For a long time it was a "neck and neck" race between Ikoku Meiro and Usagi Drop for favorite series, but towards the end Ikoku stepped up the pace a bit content wise and with the beautiful ep 4.5 OVA release.... Even so Usagi Drop was very well done.
The iDOLM@STER. Biggest surprise of the season for me and a really good slice of life show depicting the day to day struggles of individual "idols" who are just starting out and trying to make it big. This series is ongoing through
B List
Hanasaku Iroha. Finally dropped down to the B List, but it is at the top of the list. I really enjoyed this series, and even though it was frustratingly bad at times when it was "on" it was stupendous.
Kamisama no Memo-chou. Thoroughly enjoyed this one - a solid story with solid characters, for me it was good from the get go.
Dantalian no Shoka. Beautiful and thought provoking series for me - even though it was strangely ... hmm ... detached from the viewer somehow. The OP is hands down my fave of the year.
Nichijou. I am one of the fans of this series, and enjoyed the crazy, wacky, off-hand humor it shouldered from the get go. For me the highlight were always Nano, Hakase and Sakamoto. :)
C List
Busou Shinko: Moon Angel. Just began this one, having only watched 1 ep. But for all that it looks interesting. A sort of more ... umm ... militaristic version of the old anime Angelic Layer, which I really enjoyed. Will try this one out.
Morita-san wa Makuchi. Have watched up to ep 12 of this one. Really did not seem to have much else to offer from the OVA, but I enjoyed the OVA, and this was simple 4-5 minute clips of light hearted, humorous fluff.
Copihan. After 3 eps I still do not have an idea of what the series is about. But I am enjoying it - kinda in the same "league" as Morita-san wa Makuchi.
D List
Nekogami Yaoyorozu. Not bad, just not particularly engaging for me - kinda a waste of great VA's imo. Ah well. Not terrible, I guess.
Yuriyuri. A lot of people really enjoyed this series, but for me I found it kinda ... well ... limp, to be frank. It had a few funny moments for me, but in all honesty I found it kinda boring. At least it was better than No.6! :D
No. 6. Well, this series more than anything else frustrated me. It's strength was the story setting and the plot. It's weakness were the two main characters. I heartily disliked them - especially Shion, at least Nezumi had some really lovely singing solos. Still, I was willing to watch it to the end, for all that. But I would neither watch it again nor recommend it to anyone else.
Watched and Dropped List
Mawaru Penguin Drum. I watched something like 9 eps of this before finally dropping it. For me the ultimate deciding factor was the character of Ringo. I disliked her extremes quite a bit - especially her cruel actions towards Shouma. I really dislike the "genre" of nasty, abusive people being passed off as humorous to begin with (esp tsundere young women to young males). Top that off with a dislike for what I felt to be pretentious artsy visuals (which I also dislike) and they contributed to finally pushing the series over the edge for me and dropping it from my "weekly following" list. I will likely steamroll the series when it finishes completely airing (it is a 24 ep series).
All the ones listed below I watched 1 or 2 eps of before dropping them
Mayo Chiki
Ryo-kyo-bo
Appleseed XIII
Blood-C
R-15
Kamisama Dolls
Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi
Here are my Autumn 2011 Evaluations:
Spoiler for Autumn 2011 Evaluations:
And now final impressions.
A List
Tamayura Hitotose (absolute favorite of the season).
The iDOLM@STER (continued "stupendousness"! - carryover from last season).
B List
Mashiro-iro Symphony (excellent, solid adaptation that is extremely enjoyable - almost, almost made it to the A List).
Morita-san wa Makuchi S2 (much more interesting now that it has new material - enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would).
Chihayafuru (biggest surprise of the season for me).
Towa no Quon (reminds me of the X-men back in the early 80's for some reason)
Busou Shinku: Moon Angel (wish more eps would show up) - carryover from last season.
C List
C3 Cube x Cursed x Curious (reminds me of the good and bad of "Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka" - this is prolly my "guilty pleasure" of the season ... not sure why I like it as much as I do, but I do).
Drop List
- Ben-To (that violence on the main male protagonist was too much to stomach).
- Un-Go (lead male character gave a agonizingly pretentious "manifesto" at the end of ep 2 that was SO bad I dropped it).
- Maken-ki (plain awful - nuff said).
- Guilty Crown (kinda clumsily executed with gorgeous visuals and music, but not enough to hold my interest).
- Boku wa Tomodachi (wish that there was less focus on fanservice and stupid jokes and more on character development ... feel bad for Yozora, but she is just plain mean when it comes down to it).
- Copihan (is this even airing anymore? ... still not sure what it is about after 5 eps, so dropped).
- Working 2 (not bad, but not enough to move me to actively follow it).
- Mirai Nikki (dropped not b/c of anything bad - I read the manga and am short on time).
- Ika Musume 2 (was not really a fan of S1, it's ok, but for me only ok).
****
Overall, the biggest surprise of the season for me still remains Mashiro-Iro Symphony.
To be honest I thought that the season was a disappointment. I dropped a LOT of shows.
A List
Tamayura Hitotose (absolute favorite of the season).
The iDOLM@STER (continued "stupendousness"! - carryover from last season).
B List
Mashiro-iro Symphony (excellent, solid adaptation that is extremely enjoyable - almost, almost made it to the A List).
Morita-san wa Makuchi S2 (much more interesting now that it has new material - enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would).
Chihayafuru (biggest surprise of the season for me).
Towa no Quon (reminds me of the X-men back in the early 80's for some reason)
Busou Shinku: Moon Angel (wish more eps would show up) - carryover from last season.
C List
C3 Cube x Cursed x Curious (reminds me of the good and bad of "Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka" - this is prolly my "guilty pleasure" of the season ... not sure why I like it as much as I do, but I do).
Drop List
- Ben-To (that violence on the main male protagonist was too much to stomach).
- Un-Go (lead male character gave a agonizingly pretentious "manifesto" at the end of ep 2 that was SO bad I dropped it).
- Maken-ki (plain awful - nuff said).
- Guilty Crown (kinda clumsily executed with gorgeous visuals and music, but not enough to hold my interest).
- Boku wa Tomodachi (wish that there was less focus on fanservice and stupid jokes and more on character development ... feel bad for Yozora, but she is just plain mean when it comes down to it).
- Copihan (is this even airing anymore? ... still not sure what it is about after 5 eps, so dropped).
- Working 2 (not bad, but not enough to move me to actively follow it).
- Mirai Nikki (dropped not b/c of anything bad - I read the manga and am short on time).
- Ika Musume 2 (was not really a fan of S1, it's ok, but for me only ok).
****
Overall, the biggest surprise of the season for me still remains Mashiro-Iro Symphony.
To be honest I thought that the season was a disappointment. I dropped a LOT of shows.
****
So then ... looking through those impressions, my fave ten shows of the year, in order, would be:
1. Ikoku Meirio no Croise
2. Usagi Drop
3. Tamayura Hitotose
4. The iDOLM@STER
5. Kimi ni Todoke S2
6. Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai
7. The World God Only Knows S2
8. Mashiro-Iro Symphony
9. Mahou Shoujou Madoka Magica
10. Gosick