Winter 2012 capsule reviews

Scores are out of 10.

• Thermae Romae didn’t get the treatment it deserved, especially given the other offerings in noitaminA this season, but it still manages to charm even with just three episodes. Just try to ignore the low-budget animation. 7

• Nisemonogatari doesn’t quite live up to the standard set by its predecessor; the series spends a little too much time on quirks that were already established in Bakemonogatari, and leaves the main story a little compressed. Still, given such a high bar, that hardly condemns it to failure, and the show is still outrageous fun nonetheless. The new characters are solid and the dialogue retains that trademark Nisio Isin wit. It’s plenty to whet the appetite before Kizumonogatari lands later this year. 8

• Black Rock Shooter’s characters seem to have the psychological resilience of a house of cards, and I don’t even know how to react to the story and pacing, which are some of the messiest I’ve ever seen in anime. The creators may have had only eight episodes to work with, but from the evidence I don’t think giving them another four or five would have helped at all. Maybe they should have let Thermae Romae have them instead. 3

• Guilty Crown hasn’t gotten any better since I wrote my last review. In fairness, though, I’ll mention that Hiroyuki Sawano’s soundtrack is pretty good as long as you pretend that the non-Japanese lyrics really are just gibberish. 4

• Amagami SS+ is just as hopelessly awkward as the first season, and even fluffier because it doesn’t have to really bother with that whole “plot” thing, but I can live with that. 6

• Chihayafuru… wow. Simply amazing from top to bottom. I hope the rumors of a second season are true. 9