[Dawnstorm]

Carryovers:

Ixion Saga DT: Most episodes are extremely fun to watch; some aren't. The show is surprisingly consistent with the I'm-no-hero-trope. I have yet to see the final episode. 8/10

Kuro Majo san ga Tooru: Every now and then an episode of this charming 7-minute anime pops up. What can I say? It's just fun to watch. Is anybody else still watching it? There weren't too many viewers to begin with. Pity. Deserves more recognition. (Yes, I know, it's a children's anime...) 7/10

Little Busters: Decent entertainment. I like that they focus on friendship over romance; that gives the show a more intersting social structure than the harem-star-with-male-at-centre. The is chronically incapable of portraying a character's meaner side, I feel. 7/10

Magi:I have yet to watch the last two episodes (but I will). People who know the manga are disappointed with recent developments; I'm not. It was fun to begin with, but it's been wearing thin for a while now. Decent entertainment, but nothing more. 7/10

Psycho Pass: To be honest, I enjoyed it more when it was episodic. The ending was... servicable. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it; and since I didn't really care for Makishima vs. Kougami, the whole ending fell flat for me. Makishima was more interesting as a crime sponsor than as a criminal. Still, the show was very good when it came to character decisions, which is the episode with the worst animation where characters did nothing but talk is among my favourites in the show. 8/10

Robotics;Notes: I like the show. It's - at heart - a sentimental celebration of robot shows (which I'm not interested), and it does that well. People were disappointed with the ending, and I can see why: important aspects are simply forgotten, only major characters get a clear resolution, etc. But the ending works well enough for me. People keep comparing it to Steins;Gate but to me it feels more like Summer Wars. A thoroughly enjoyable watch. 9/10

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo: Uneven. I found the main character thoroughly annoying, but liked almost all other characters. They were distinct and believable, despite their quirks. Some of the comedy didn't work on me, some of the drama illicited an eye-roll rather than empathy, but when the show was good it was very good. Ep23, the penultimate episode: that's how you do unapologetic sentimental drama. With ep24, we have a decent wind-down episode, so the over-all impression is positive. 8/10

Shin Sekai Yori: Great SF. When it comes to character, to me it's a tragedy with Squealer as the protagonist (and Saki as the PoV). But it's not a character show; it's a setting show. The atmosphere is great; there are so many breathtaking shots (that more than make up for some of the less inspired animation and art), and the designs are wonderful. Although almost no episode was a 10/10, that would be my final verdict. It's a great example of "the whole is more than the sum of is parts". 10/10

Shirokuma Café: This show is a wonderful feel-good anime. The best thing to watch when I'm down. Very likable characters. 9/10

Zetsuen no Tempest: The second half was a lot more enjoyable than the first half. It was actually funny. The shows greatest strength was character; the mains were very well defined, and although some of the supporting cast were a bit one-note, they generally made a decent impression. I found the Shakespear references too in-your-face, and the SF/F aspect was rather... dull. All in all, more entertaining than I would have thought in fall 2012. 7/10

Continuations:

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT: This is how do you a sequel. Plot developments in the first season are picked up an dealt with (no return to the status quo). The characterisation outside of the three main characters has improved, too; the show seems like an ensemble cast. I've enjoyed this run more than the first season (although: too little Yozora). 8/10

Chihayafuru 2: There's little to say. I'm enjoying it, but not as much as season 1. It's more of the same, without the benefit of early characterisation. I'm getting diminishing returns. 7/10

Minami Ke Tadaima: The Minami-ke feeling is there; it's very funny at times, but when its allusions to the first season usually don't work that well for me. It's more fanservicy than earlier seasons (I haven't gotten far into 2, so I can't tell), but not too much. Entertaining. 7/10

New shows:

Ai Mai Mi: This must have been the most random anime I've seen. Axolotl licking must have been involved in the making of the show. Don't ask. Also: this sort of stuff is what the 0-5 minute format was made for. 7/10

Amnesia: All the worst aspects of a shoujo romance, with little to redeem it. Best thing about the show was Orion. It wasn't a complete disaster, but... 5/10.

Bakumatsu Ginjindan Roman: Did anyone watch this? It's no masterpiece, but if you enjoy the Lupin III animes, you should enjoy this one. Good, straightforward entertainment. 7/10

Boku no Imoute Osaka Okan: Heh. Good fun. I loved the ending songs. 7/10

Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun: I enjoyed some arcs, others not so much. Some of the standalone episodes were fun. This one suffers mostly from lack of focus; a more episodic approach might have been better. 6/10

GJ bu: Surprisingly fun. There are harem anime, and there are anime about cute-girls-doing-cute-things. This is a hybrid: it's the only anime I can think of where the girls are friends and seem to keep the boy as some sort of attraction. Also, I didn't expect the show to have a proper ending, but it did. Impressed. 8/10

Kotoura-san: I love this show. It's basically a comedy. Anyone should watch the first 10 minutes of episode one, if nothing else. It's pure, concentrated drama, but it works for two reasons: (a) they stay consistently in the comedy aesthetics and (b) they don't demonise society (people may disagree). Sometimes, the comedy gets repetitive (and while I was never actually annoyed, I came close), and this made me worry they might have dropped the ball, but they're always good where it counts. It's a comedy based romp through the major mind-reading clichés (drama, sexual jokes, mystery...). Thourouly sold on this one. 9/10

Mangirl: Cute show about manga-magazine-editing girls. Fun and well-suited for the 5 minute format. Nice wrap-up episode. 7/10

Mondaji Tachi ga Isekai kara kuru Sou Desu Yo?: I don't much like this sort of show (shounen fighter), but that one was entertaining. The last ark didn't grab me, but overall it was a fun watch. 7/10

Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru: This show grew on me. I was ready to drop it after ep2, but to my surprise the show was more interested than it seemed at the outset. Also, I thought it treated the topic of chuunibyou with more respect than Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai. A pretty good harem show, actually. 7/10

Sasami-san @ Ganbaranai: Underwhelming in the beginning; great in the middle; decent near the end (I have yet to see the final episode). There is a reason the annoying brother doesn't show his face, and (given the appropriate knowledge) it's obvious from the beginning. Shame on me for not getting it. 7/10

Senyuu: From the concept to the execution: hilarious. 7/10

Tamako Market: I enjoyed it better than K-on (which I dropped) or Chuunibyou (which I finished). Mostly, I loved the way the portrayed the market. That, and Kana. 7/10

Yama no Susume: This one could have been a lesser Tamayura, but it didn't even manage that. The biggest problem is that the show isn't really compatible with the 5 minute format. You simply need more time (and perhaps more impressive art) to set up the mood. What it did, it did well, though. I'd like to see its full potential realised in a regular series. The characters and concept certainly support that. 7/10

Dropped:

Maoyuu Mao Yuusha: At some point I just lost interest. The romance felt forced to begin with, I didn't like many characters, the plot was hard to follow, the economics a matter of mostly info-dump... I can see the potential, but it's not for me.

Cuticle Detective Inaba: I actually thought it was funny, but it had the misfortune to air on a busy, busy day. Maybe I'll come back to it one day, but there are already tons of anime on that list with a higher priority, so...

Most of the best shows were carryovers from last season, but the season's new shows often turned out to be better than expected (Sasami san; Oreshura). On the flipside, Maoyuu Mao Yuusha was a terrible disapointment (I actually braced myself for a disappointment, but I was disappointed at just how disappointing the show was). I might have forgotten some show, who knows.