Now that 2013 has begun, it’s time for me to talk about my favorite aspect of anime: the characters, specifically ones from 2012.
I can’t stress this enough. The quality of storytelling in an anime and its originality are crucial aspects in making an anime memorable, but I always believed that whether or not a series had good characterization and likable characters is what makes or breaks an anime, in terms of deciding it it’s watchable to you. At the very least, that’s how an anime really leaves an impression on me. No matter how well-built the story is or how original it is, if it has boring characters, it won’t leave much of a lasting effect on me. Or, you know, it can have characters that I absolutely loathe and it’ll also leave an effect on me, albeit a bad one. It works conversely!
I suppose a good example would be just from looking at a dozen of classic anime out there, the ones that aren’t too old but are considered retro in the present times. Those gems from the 80’s to 90’s probably don’t have stories that we’d consider to be unique concepts today, but the characterization and character dynamics were so good that they were able to hold the show/story up enough for people to remember them decades later. And obviously, characters are crucial in deciding whether a slice-of-life anime with no overarching plot is enjoyable.
This is a list of my personal favorite characters from 2012.
竜国の戦場 ~オタクSPOT~ 