-{A1}- [Best Storyline & Plot] There is a lot of people who absolutely have no idea about this series, and I'm not surprised considering it flew under the radar of many, doubled with several unfair quick judgment based on the first 3 episodes of the first season. And unfortunately, Horizon franchise starts with a very confusing and slow part, but necessary for the rest of the plot. That being said, going through S1 paid off, considering how every dots were connected very nicely in S2, leading to an epic full force arc, and promising more epic stuff (assuming if there is any other seasons in the future).
Whereas Fate Zero was indeed engaging, the interesting points of the series were rather the interactions of the characters, as "surprising" as it may be and in the end, the plot is rather complimenting the rest than really the main factor of the series for me.
-{A2}- [Best Visuals & Animation]- Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!
I frankly have no idea why Nisemono has even been in there considering how nowhere close in term of design consistency and animation it is compared to the other 4.
Fate/Zero was smooth for the fights, but had noticeable design consistency issue at times, and various stillframe tricks used left and right (Tokiyomi "cave" is the prominent example of that).
Now between Chuunibyou and Hyouka, I favored Chuunibyou due to how consistent and energic it was, whereas Hyouka was more stylish and photographic, which were quite good, but I appreciated Chuunibyou much more on the visual aspect, exactly because it was quirky, regardless if it was during an intensive sakuga portion, or even casuals parts.
-{B0}- [Best Action-Adventure]I can't really say for Jormungand, since I didn't watch the series, but Fate/Zero is the best contendant in the lot, even if there were much more "calm" periods in this series than the others.
-{B1}- [Best Fantasy]
- Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
I frankly lost track of Natsume franchise, so didn't follow the fourth season.
As for the rest, Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita delivers the genre way better than the rest.
-{B2}- [Best Science Fiction]Well most likely an issue in term of what really people see as "sci fi" or "fantasy" for a series, but I frankly think Jinrui is only a fantasy series (even involving sci fi concept), so leaving that in the aforementioned category.
Accel World had a very good setup, but had some identity crisis in term of exposure, where Mouretsu Pirates had challenged my suspension of disbelief way too much for my liking.
Meanwhile, Horizon was rich (maybe too much?) and had a lot of concept and points straight from sci fi, with little twist added in there (history reenactment etc).
-{B4}- [Best Mystery]
Another could have been the Best Mystery winner for its mood, it wasn't for its atrociously bad chain of events past the first episodes, and the very annoying persisting plot device of hiding the "truth" from the protagonist by having characters being hardly credible.
TOxA is hardly anything "mysterious" if you ask me.
Meanwhile, while Hyouka is hardly anything close to a serious collection of mystery stories and the likes, the appealing fashion in presenting the "mysteries" at end and the solutions are quite good, however mundane the initial problem was. In fact, it was quite interesting and refreshing that the series didn't rely on overly complicated situations to pick the interest of the audiance.
-{B7}- [Best Comedy]
- Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou
It was a hard call, but I have to give props to Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou. While I surely enjoyed Chuunibyou explosive humor, DKnN pushed more buttons with so many "I know that feel!" moments, with some witty stuff and the likes.
-{C1}- [Best TV Series] The series really has many aspects that lead to a very enjoyable ride: an excellent and balanced mix of epic, comedy, serious business, associated with solid and consistent sakuga/animation, topped by a ridiculously insane cast of big shot seiyuu and enthralling OST.
-{D1}- [Best Female Lead]Witty and adorable lead. nuff said (that and bias due to Nakahara
)
-{D2}- [Best Male Lead]Well, a bit hard to compare Houtarou and Kiritsugu, but due to Houtarou's prowess and actual character development, I think he sure has the edge over Kiritsugu regarding "best male lead" role, especially that Kiritsugu had the unfortunate circunstance of having a ghost like presence due to the plot.
-{D3}- [Best Antagonist]A clash between Kotomine and Gilgamesh, but whereas both are quite interesting, the show has portrayed a very appealing deconstruction of a character who -does- have a sense of good and evil, and even despite knowing he should stay on the good side, he can't help but do the exact opposite of what he is supposed to be.
-{D4}- [Best Side-Character]
Inspiring, amusing and charismatic Rider for sure.
-{D5}- [Best World Setting]A category filled with serious contendants, but really, regardless of my bias, I think Horizon has really the most intricate and thorough world setting among the list. Even if the anime had to skip various explanations, it was self sufficient to have a very rich lore, associated with geography, politics, economy and the likes.
-{D6}- [Best Credits Theme]Kalafina is enough for me to pick it in a heartbeat.
-{D7}- [Best Soundtrack]Fate Zero had interesting tracks, but unfortunately, I'm starting to think that Kajiura is really stuck at some points: a lot of her tracks sounds way too similar to each other, or even with others series (such like with Kara no Kyoukai). Granted, I know it is part of her style, but I think she lost her flair compared to the ol' days such like .Hack//Sign.
Sawano's work in Guilty Crown was the saving grace of the series along with the visuals, yet a good bunch of the tracks are a tad unbalanced, and some chorus are a bit tedious.
I unfortunately didn't watch Sakamichi no Apollon.
Meanwhile (I guess I'm already branded as a fanboy already
), Katou's work in Horizon is really astonishing and complements quite well the various mood of the series: distincts tunes depending of the faction (stark difference between Musashi and England tracks), on spot ambiant BGM, and a lot of epic tracks (my favorite are:
Jud.,
Save you from Anything,
Yuuki Motetachimukau,
Semaru Unmei no Ashioto yo)
So really, a godlike OST with various tracks, with hardly anything repetitive (even compared to S1 ost) and complimenting quite well the events ongoing in S2.
Categories I didn't vote for: