Pleasant anime surprises of 2012

[Ichuki]

Psycho Pass- I thought it would be some shallow generic cop like show and it turned out to have more in depth and sort of realistic than I thought.

[totoum]

Zetsuen no Tempest: I was going to give it a shot but wasn't very high on it coming in,and a couple episodes in I found it ok but nothing special, then the revelation at the end of ep 5 made me go "wait a minute,WHAT??" and from there on my interest in the show started growing exponentially to the point that the last couple episodes have had me on the edge of my seat and the episodes seem to go by really quickly and are over before I know it and I'm making this face in reaction to the cliffhangers.

The whole show is a bit over the top but in a good self aware way,it's got great visuals be it chara design or animation and a great soundtrack as well,the character Aika fascinates me,it's one of my favorite Hanazawa Kana performance to date.

[leokiko]

I would add Sakurasou, but it was just as awesome as I thought it would be.

Anyway.

Jojo: thought I would enjoy this from the start but the staff made interesting artistic choices to the product, making it as original and over-the-top as it should be, which I now know from reading the manga.

The Ambition of Oda Nobuna: I hate Sengoku Era stuff but, turns out it had amazing directing and animation....and insanely cute and sexy girls(Goemon!).

Hyou-ka: I expected it to be good, but it surpassed my expectations. The staff did an awesome job adaptating this, props for them.

High School DxD: I generally enjoy ecchi stuff, but they try to put in serious stuff which falls short 99% of the time. Here it was mostly the MC being an funny dude and a bunch of hot chicks round him(though it did add some serious stuff but the comedy itself never disappeared). Plus, it was mostly uncensored xD.

[Enjou]

In no particular order...

The Ambition of Oda Nobuna: Since it was yet another Sengoku Era gender bender I was expecting it to be rather mediocre. Turned out to be rather good.

Kingdom: The initial few episodes had a plot that was only just ok and the CG animation was jarring as all hell so I was tempted to drop it. I was pleasantly surprised that the animation team realized their mistakes and stopped relying on the CG gimmick so damn much. The plot and action improved quite a bit as well and the main character actually does experience character growth despite being uber hot blooded. Episode 18 and almost every episode after that all have at least one moment that I just have to watch over and over again and I always look forward to the next episode. If you dropped this in the early episodes I highly recommend picking it back up.

High School DxD: I enjoy ecchi series, but I still have only modest expectations for most of them. This one was so good it actually made me read the light novels.

Honorable mention...

Ixion Saga DT: Had very low expectations but it turned out to be a pretty amusing guilty pleasure. It's still something I'd only watch once, but certainly not a waste of time.

[Flower]

Hmm ... well, I guess for me the most pleasant surprises of 2012 for me were:

Bodacious Space Pirates and Girls und Panzer were prolly the biggest surprises for me.

Two other series I was a little curious about ahead of time but tried out and found I liked were Accel World, Acchi Kocchi and Tasogare Otome x Amnesia. Of these three Acchi Kocchi was prolly the biggest success for me....

[Hiroi Sekai]

Hyouka: Didn't exactly know what to expect because the first episode was straaaaaaaaange. I however was captivated by the stunning animation quality and the potential for a good mystery with what appeared to be an actually competent roster of characters. Ironically, Chitanda started off the most interesting, but in the end she ended up at the bottom for me. Overall, I really enjoyed all of the arcs, but I had the most fun actually laying out and trying to deduce the independent mystery murder film.

Psycho-Pass: Still airing, but there was very little mentioned about this series before its release, and that just made it that much cooler. Needless to say, I spot Hanazawa Kana within the first few moments, and I love how she can portray so many different types of characters with the flip of a switch. However, while Akane is the protagonist, I find myself more fascinated by the Enforcers and the criminals overall. They definitely don't hold back in how dangerous this battle is, and I'm all for it.

Kokoro Connect: It's interesting to see so much disappointment regarding this series, since technically it's still not even over. If one was to look at Kokoro Connect as a 13 episode series, then yes, it definitely ended poorly. However, the show itself links itself to the next 4 episodes where things will happen. As for everything before that, I read a rather simple synopsis on it and went in hoping it would be dark instead of "school-lifey" (which isn't a bad thing, I just hoped for the former in this case), and that's basically what I got. It's not a series that will blow others out of the water, but in no way do I see this as a bad show. The characters were rather believable and the premise shifted about enough to keep me interested. Will be able to make a full opinion once the last four episodes air.

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo: I was recommended this series by multiple people, so I went in without even reading a synopsis at all. The first few episodes worried me with just how much fanservice pandering they seemed to be attempting, but under it I found a rather enjoyable series with solid humour, fun characters and a lovely colour palette. Past all of the comedy there actually lies a layer of depth, and with it currently starting to expand, I'm very interested in seeing where things will go.

Robotics;Notes: Why are synopses dumbed down so much? I can think of a few ways to give a clearer overview of the plot without spoiling anything, so it's a little shaky when a synopsis makes a series sound less exciting than it really is. Either way, never judge a book by its cover. Robotics;Notes started off really slowly, and while it admittedly had quite a charming animation style, the protagonist began to seriously bug me whenever he said "I'll only do this if you beat me in a game". Truthfully, Kaito isn't a shut-in type, but the amount he said it to the most menial of tasks annoyed me. Aside from that, the robot competition was rather heavily built up, so I was under the influence that it would run much longer and maybe even be a huge focal point, but it was just a nice jump starter. When it gets down to it, Robotics;Notes is interesting, and it pays to watch closely. References to Steins;Gate have already started to appear, and connecting the two series together makes for one interesting experience.

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun: Once again didn't initially pick this up because of the bland synopsis. In cases like this, I rely on opinions a few episodes in, and as such I picked this up a bit later, and it has turned into probably my favourite show this season (and maybe even year). It's goofy, but on a level where it feels human and likable. The gags are of course inhuman at times, but you honestly end up not thinking about it. All of the characters are very likable, but nobody comes close to Shizuku and Haru. These two are so interesting, and ironically Shizuku is portrayed as a boring studybug, which is somewhat far from the absolute truth. Just an absolute charming shojo series, and I'm sad now remembering that it'll end soon.

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!: Again with the synopsis! I'll admit that since KyoAni doesn't exactly shove out many shows, I am always interested in something they release. As such, I caught this from the get-go, and after just one episode's worth of feeling unsure of it, I have grown to absolutely love it. The comedy is strong, and the characters are so damn cute. SO damn cute. I would have been absolutely content with these characters pulling jokes for 12 episodes, but it has recently adapted a serious tone as well, which was surprising but very appreciated. Basically this series and Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun come ridiculously close to each other in ranking, but there's just something about the latter that I prefer. That just means Chuunibyou gets a massive hug and lovingly placed next to Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun on the trophy list.

[Flower]

I say there papermario ... gotta do something about this anti-kyoani bias of yours!

[Hiroi Sekai]

Originally Posted by Flower

I say there papermario ... gotta do something about this anti-kyoani bias of yours!

Anti-KyoAni. Sorry, what?

[Flower]

Originally Posted by papermario13689

Anti-KyoAni. Sorry, what?

Just going all chuuni2 on you my good sir ... just ignore me as usual.

[larethian]

Shows that I thought would be boring or trash before watching it:

Oda Nobuna no Yabou
Started it only after 3 episodes had aired when I had nothing to do on a certain Monday. Thought this would be a mindless fan-service GB harem fest. Turns out to be nothing like that.

Hyouka
Not as boring as I thought. Just wow. Series composition was good and it felt better than reading the novel, which was simply boring to me.

Binbougami ga
Scantalator friend recommended it to me and it became a great stress reliever for me. Also made me buy the manga. *clap*

Daily Lives of High School Boys
Didn't know what to expect initially. But the LOL became a really good stress reliever, and the humongous legendary casting was a bonus. Too bad it didn't sell that well.

Joshiraku
Didn't know why I started watching this, but I realized into the first 10 minutes of the show that I can't watch this show without subs. Not as fantastic LOLs as the above 2 shows, but still LOLworthy.

Btooom!
I seldom read seinen manga but it made me read the manga.

Magi
I thought this was going to be a simple fantasy story for kids. Many times better than I thought and made me read the manga.

Sakura-sō no Pet na Kanojo
Thought it was just another love comedy. But alas, it's much more than that.

[klare]

Eureka Seven AO
just joking^^

Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
had no expectations at all and just wanna give it a try, turned out to be a nice surprise, especially impressed with its style and likable characters

Psycho-Pass
the name sounds silly, tried it due to it is made by I.G, and found it is a very good show that totally exceeded my expectations

Ixion Saga DT
altho the animation looks old, it is surprisingly funny and well done

Zetman
the surprise is that i actually enjoy the show even it seems to be badly received by most viewers, oh it also has excellent OP and ED

[Last Sinner]

Natsuyuki Rendezvous - I've rarely liked how romance is done in any medium, let alone anime. I didn't expect to like this so much I'd finish it in one night, but I did.

[Vladrave]

Kokoro Connect - I thought it's some another shallow generic MOE series but god i'm wrong.

Jormungand - Don't expecting anything from this show until there the gun fights showed up. Also, koko!!

Zetsuen no tempest - When i first seen the artwork of the anime, i thought it's some shounen-ai shit but it proved me wrong again. I love the storytelling in this show.
God i should have learn my lesson to Elfen lied and Higurashi to not judge an anime with it's cover.

Psycho pass - Production I.G. made very disappointed because of Guilty crown so i decided not to give this a try. But when i heard this show is written by Gen urobucher and art style of akira amano, i decided to give it a try and loved episode 1.

[Bern-san]

Tsuritama- When I looked at the promo images I thought it was going to be another boring version of Kimi to Boku with fishing and bland characters. So glad I was wrong and decided to try it out, one of my favorite anime of the year. Liked the characters, the comedy and the plot was really curious. Even all the extra information and drama CD are wonderful. And let's not forget the dance!

Hiiro no Kakera S2- Despite its boring 1st season and that most of its characters make me rage (especially certain character who probably all watchers hate), I'm really enjoying this second season. The romance between the two main characters is really great and it made me somewhat forgive the other flaws of the anime.

Thermae Romae- The premise sounded crazy already and it's a shame how short it was, still it was very enjoyable.

Kamisama Kiss- I never expected this to get an adaptation in first place so it was a pleasant surprise. Out of the 3 current shojos (I really like them all and they have likable heroines) this one is the best one adapted imo.

Psycho-Pass- Again, didn't expect this type of show and while I don't like to put it in this list because we still have many episodes left and they can change my opinion, it's good to see a cop anime with a bit of gore.

This is my list for now (there's still some anime which I put on-hold or plan to watch which could be added on the list).

[Ithekro]

I will ammend my earlier mention of just Space Battleship Yamato 2199 with the addition of Bodacious Space Pirates and Girls und Panzer.

Bodacious Space Pirates I forgot was this year as well, but I enjoyed it as it was a more old fashioned sci-fi space opera-ish show with space ships instead of robot mecha.

And Girls und Panzer seemed like such a silly idea I was going to ignore it completely. It surprized me at how well done the tanks are shows (the problems the models had in real life are shown) and how well the battles are handled. That and the characters aren't that bad either.

Yamato 2199 is getting better all the time with the PV of Chapter 4 having just come out and the drool is pooling for those that watched it. They want February to come faster so we can get the BD with English subtitles already.

[Zeroryoko1974]

Chuunibyou- didn't no what to expect, but the show is one of my favorites all year.
Mouretsu Pirates- expected moe moe pirates, got a pretty good scifi show and some moe moe pirates.
Chihayafuru- Expected some shoujo, got some pretty good card games is serious business with the shoujo.
Kokoro Connect- regardless of what was expected it was one of the best shows of the year. Heartseed is a vile bastard

[aly_angelflight]

Another vote for Girls und Panzer here. I've never been remotely interested in tanks or any other sort of weaponry, and honestly I only decided to watch it since Ueda Kana was on the cast list and I figured at the very least it wouldn't be boring, though nothing special. Instead, I got an extremely enjoyable series that runs close to being the most "fun" series this year.

...and that's really the only surprise for me this year.

[KholdStare]

Girls und Panzer: This anime sucks. But it's incredibly entertaining. Will want more.

AKB0048: This is probably the best anime of 2012 in my opinion. I'm looking forward to season 2.

Acchi Kocchi: I hate pure slice of life. Therefore, if I like such an anime, then it must be amazing.

Kuroko no Basket: People were saying something about how this is catered to the fujoshi audience. I don't...really see it. I thought of this anime as a nice sports anime that makes you want to find out what happens next. That's...good, right?

Honorable Mentions: Mouretsu Pirates, Sword Art Online (cour 1),