Best Drama Anime of 2011

Inventive scientist Rintarou Okabe possesses an unquenchable drive for scientific discovery. Alongside his scatterbrained yet good-hearted friend Mayuri Shiina and his roommate Itaru Hashida, Okabe establishes the Future Gadget Laboratory, aiming to create technological breakthroughs that defy human understanding. Despite lofty ambitions, the team's only noteworthy invention so far is a microwave with the peculiar ability to turn bananas into a green sludge. When Okabe attends a time travel conference, he encounters a chain of odd occurrences that suggest the "Phone Microwave" gadget hides far more potential than initially assumed. Capable of sending text messages to the past via the microwave, Okabe delves deeper into this makeshift time machine, drawing the hostile attention of the shadowy organization SERN. This groundbreaking discovery plunges Okabe and his friends into constant peril. As he struggles to repair the damage his invention has inflicted on the timeline, Okabe fights not only to protect those he cares about but also to hold onto his own unraveling sanity.

Jinta Yadomi has retreated from society, spending his days avoiding school and immersing himself in video games at home. During a sweltering summer, his childhood friend Meiko "Menma" Honma appears to demand that he fulfill a wish he had forgotten. Although her persistence irritates her, Jinta initially ignores her, dismissing the encounter because Menma passed away years ago. While he initially suspects the vision is a heat-induced hallucination, he eventually accepts that he is truly seeing her ghost. The death of Menma had caused their group of childhood friends to drift apart, but they are reunited as they attempt to lay her spirit to rest. As they confront their shared pain and guilt, they must find the strength to help Menma move on, while also healing themselves.

Ordinary middle school students Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki have their lives turned upside down after meeting Kyuubey, a cat-like magical being, and Homura Akemi, a transfer student new to their school. Kyuubey proposes a deal: in exchange for granting any one wish they desire, the girls will become magical girls, gaining the power to realize their dreams. However, Homura Akemi, who is herself a magical girl, warns them not to accept, insisting that things are not as they appear. Exploring themes of hope, despair, and friendship, Puella Magi Madoka Magica delves into the harsh realities of being a magical girl and the sacrifices required to make a wish come true.

On December 24, 2029—a date that came to be known as "Lost Christmas"—the Apocalypse Virus swept across Japan, causing widespread death and throwing the entire nation into complete disarray. To restore order, the United Nations dispatches the GHQ to manage the crisis by containing the outbreak, but in doing so, strips Japan of all its political independence. A decade later, the country remains under GHQ's authority, unable to escape their harsh rule. Discontented with the nation's situation, a rebel faction called the Funeral Parlor seeks to free Japan from GHQ's control. Under the command of the charismatic Gai Tsutsugami, the group plans to steal a vial containing the "Void Genome" to advance their cause. The vial ends up in the possession of internet singer Inori Yuzuriha, who is then pursued by the GHQ's Anti-Bodies forces. With no place to escape, she takes shelter in a warehouse, where she encounters Shuu Ouma—an awkward high school student who is an avid fan of her music. Shuu is pulled into the turmoil the moment he comes to Inori's aid, and the Void Genome breaks in his hand, granting him the "Power of the Kings." As he struggles to master this formidable new ability, Shuu must now fight to free Japan from its cruel oppressors.

During a summer holiday stay at her grandfather's place, six-year-old Hotaru Takegawa becomes lost in a forest said to be haunted by spirits. As she cries out in distress, a mysterious masked boy named Gin appears and offers to guide her. Overjoyed to see another person, Hotaru rushes toward Gin with open arms, only to be sharply pushed away. She soon discovers the harsh reason for his reaction: Gin is under a terrible curse—if a human ever touches him, he will vanish forever. Although Gin tells her never to come back, Hotaru does the opposite, and before long the two form a close bond despite his fragile condition. Yet as the years go by and their feelings deepen, Hotaru and Gin begin to struggle with the barriers that fate has placed between them.

Kazuya Kujou is a foreign student at Saint Marguerite Academy, a luxurious boarding school located in the Southern European country of Sauville. Originally from Japan, his jet-black hair and dark brown eyes cause his peers to shun him and give him the nickname "Black Reaper," based on a popular urban legend about the traveler who brings death in the spring. On a day like any other, Kujou visits the school's extravagant library in search of ghost stories. However, his focus soon changes as he becomes curious about a golden strand of hair on the stairs. The steps lead him to a large garden and a beautiful doll-like girl known as Victorique de Blois, whose complex and imaginative foresight allows her to predict their futures, now intertwined. With more mysteries quickly developing—including the appearance of a ghost ship and an alchemist with the power of transmutation—Victorique and Kujou, bound by fate and their unique skills, have no choice but to rely on each other.

Following a momentous New Year's break and with Valentine's Day just around the corner, Sawako Kuronuma is starting to feel more comfortable with her classmates. But now that she's become aware of her romantic feelings for the popular Shouta Kazehaya, she grows reluctant about giving him obligatory chocolates and decides not to give him any. Meanwhile, Kazehaya, who also has feelings for Sawako, senses a growing distance between them. As February draws to a close and April arrives, Sawako begins her second year of high school. Fortunately, she ends up in the same class as her friends Ayane Yano and Chizuru Yoshida, along with Kazehaya and his friend Ryuu Sanada, as well as a new student named Kento Miura. When Kento takes an interest in Sawako, the feelings between Sawako and Kazehaya are truly put to the test.

Young Chihaya Ayase once dreamed of making her older sister Chitose a top model, but her life changed when she defended Arata Wataya from Taichi Mashima, her childhood friend and a school bully. This incident introduced her to competitive karuta, a card game based on the Ogura Hundred Poets anthology that demands sharp memory, agility, and stamina. Enchanted by the sport, Chihaya forms the Shiranami Society with Arata and Taichi, pursuing the prestigious title of Queen of Karuta. After drifting apart from Taichi and losing touch with Arata during middle school, Chihaya reunites with them in high school to establish the Mizusawa Karuta Club. Teaming up with Taichi’s expertise and energetic new members, the club strives to claim victory at the national championship held at the Omi Shrine.

Long ago, after a brutal world war ended, humanity sought refuge in six city-states that appeared peaceful and ideal—at least outwardly. Shion, an elite inhabitant of No. 6, had his view of this world transformed by a chance meeting with a mysterious boy called Nezumi. Nezumi was one of many who dwelled in the desolate wasteland beyond the city's walls, far from the so-called utopia. Despite knowing that Nezumi was a fugitive, Shion decided to let him stay for the night and offered him protection, which brought about severe consequences: due to his actions, Shion and his mother lost their elite standing and were sent elsewhere, and the city's darker side began to reveal itself. Now, a long time after that life-changing first encounter, Shion and Nezumi are finally reunited. The former elite and the boy on the run are about to set out on an adventure that will, in due course, expose the devastating truths hidden within No. 6.

Akito Takagi and Moritaka Mashiro, who work together under the pen name Muto Ashirogi, have achieved the serialization of their new manga "Detective Trap," bringing them closer to their goal of becoming famous mangaka. For Mashiro, this is only the beginning—he made a promise to marry his childhood friend and aspiring voice actress Azuki Miho once his work receives an anime adaptation, so he must keep pushing Ashirogi's series to gain popularity. A fierce group of talented rivals surrounds them, including the wild genius Eiji Niizuma, the elegant student Yuriko Aoki and her older admirer and partner Takurou Nakai, the lazy prodigy Kazuya Hiramaru, and the abrasive artist Shinta Fukuda. These mangaka both support and compete against Muto Ashirogi in the race to create the next major hit. While adapting to their new, young, and seemingly inexperienced editor, the duo works hard to maintain their current serialization, climb to the top of Shounen Jack, and ultimately secure an anime adaptation for their manga. With new rivals and allies, Bakuman. 2nd Season follows Takagi and Mashiro's uplifting journey of dedication and youthful romance.

Ohana Matsumae is a lively and spirited teenager living in Tokyo with her carefree single mother. Suddenly, her mother decides to flee with her new boyfriend to escape debt collectors, leaving the young girl to look after herself—following her mother's motto of "only rely on yourself"—in the rural countryside, where her stern grandmother runs a small inn. Forced to adjust to the quiet pace of country life, Ohana faces the struggles of working as a maid, while also meeting and forming bonds with captivating people at both her new school and the inn.

Decades from now, humanity faces a relentless threat from an alien species called the Novas. Wherever they emerge, these inhuman creatures leave destruction in their wake, and the battles to repel them are known as Nova Clashes. To fight back, young women—dubbed "Pandoras"—and young men—called "Limiters"—are implanted with stigmata granting them superhuman abilities. They train at military academies, learning to cooperate if humanity hopes to survive. Freezing follows Kazuya Aoi on his first day at West Genetics military academy, which coincides with a Pandora battle royale. There, he mistakes Satellizer el Bridget—a formidable Pandora known as the "Untouchable Queen"—for his deceased sister and embraces her. Although his action costs her the match, she discovers that his touch does not repel her and decides to take him as her Limiter. The question remains whether their partnership can endure the schemes of their upperclassmen and the looming conflict with the Novas.

The Takakura family lives under a destiny that turns like an unending wheel, swinging between joy and sorrow before moving on to the next person who makes a wish. Without their parents, twin brothers Kanba and Shouma care for their beloved younger sister Himari, whose fragile health cannot afford any more decline. When Himari is finally allowed a temporary leave from the hospital, her brothers take her to the aquarium to celebrate. There, the family's supposed fate arrives with her sudden collapse. But when Himari is mysteriously revived by a penguin-shaped hat from the aquarium gift shop, the hand of fate keeps ticking faithfully onward. Her miracle recovery comes with a price: a new presence now resides inside her body, and its condition for holding off her doom sends the brothers on a frantic search for the enigmatic "Penguin Drum." As they hunt, they must follow the threads of fate emerging from their own shocking past and into the lives of other wishmakers who also seek the Penguin Drum, each hoping to land upon their chosen destiny.

Narumi Fujishima appears to be an ordinary high school student, but deep down he is a cynical loner. Because of his father's job, he has moved between schools so often that he never truly fit in anywhere. After his cheerful classmate Ayaka Shinozaki forces him to join the gardening club, Narumi meets Alice, a brilliant hacker who lives secluded above Hanamaru, the ramen shop where Ayaka works part-time. He learns that Alice runs a private detective agency, and her colleagues all call themselves "NEETs"—Not in Education, Employment, or Training. When Narumi gets involved in a criminal case that hits close to home, he joins the NEET detective agency. Soon he is pulled into a series of dangerous investigations led by this mismatched group of sleuths, all while trying to uncover the crime syndicate that seems to have mysterious links to Alice.

On the night he was supposed to choose between fighting evil at Shana's side or living as a normal teenager, Yuji vanished. Returning from the brink of death, he now leads the Crimson Denizens in a suspicious plan to bring peace to the universe—but Shana is not deceived. In a fiery reunion, the blazing warrior confronts her most unlikely opponent, while Flame Hazes from around the world band together to ignite a war that will decide the fate of all supernatural beings.

When boys suddenly find themselves in areas they've never been permitted to enter before, some girls tend to react negatively. So when the decision is made to merge the elite Yuihime Girls' Private Academy with the coeducational Kagamidai Private Academy, everyone is determined to be extra cautious in preventing problems while uniting the two schools. Instead of bringing all the Kagamidai boys into Yuihime at once, a plan is devised where a small group of test males will be introduced to the Girls' Academy first. As a result, poor young Shingo is thrown in as a sacrificial lamb to the lionesses of Yuihime, who are not exactly welcoming him with open arms. Will Shingo manage to survive the estrogen-soaked pit of death that is Yuihime? Can the girls learn to be more accepting of boys? And just how long will it be until an incident involving panties ignites emotions, sparks fly, and the battle of the sexes explodes?

765 Production Studio oversees the unique talents of 13 professional idols as they gradually climb their way to the top and achieve nationwide fame. However, the girls' journey is far from simple enjoyment: hard work, sweat, and tears are essential requirements for success in this industry—and for 765 Pro specifically, they must keep a vigilant eye on their rival, the notorious 961 Production. As the girls' popularity increases, their time together as a family decreases, and the very fame they sought now risks tearing them apart. They must find a delicate balance between work and bonding, or they may end up going their separate ways. The personal and professional challenges these idols face cannot be overcome alone, but with each other's loving support, any obstacle or hardship can be conquered!

Effeminate fifth grader Shuuichi Nitori is widely seen as one of the prettiest girls in school, but to her own dismay, she is biologically male. Fortunately, Shuuichi has a childhood friend who shares similar feelings of gender discomfort: the lanky tomboy Yoshino Takatsuki, who is biologically female but does not identify as a girl. The two friends share this secret and find comfort in each other, but their lives grow more complicated as they navigate a new school, try to make new friends, and hold on to old ones. Faced with daunting challenges, they must learn to cope with the harsh realities of growing up, being transgender, relationships, and acceptance. Praised as a serious exploration of gender identity and LGBT struggles, Takako Shimura's Hourou Musuko follows Shuuichi and Yoshino as they seek their true selves through puberty, making friends, falling in love, and confronting very real and difficult decisions.

Haneda Takashi harbors a secret he must keep to himself. He had intended to flee his mundane school life by escaping into another world, but certain emotional bonds pull him back. Among these are his socially awkward younger sister Kobato and his inattentive girlfriend Watarai Asuka. Chitose Shuusuke lives as a destitute moocher, spending his days juggling multiple part-time jobs. One day, he has a calamitous first meeting with Tamaizumi Hiyoko. Upon their next encounter, Shuusuke realizes they are coworkers at his part-time workplace. Narita Hayato fancies himself a "hard-boiled" individual, unfazed by grueling labor. He avoids ordinary social interaction, yet at night he gathers with troublemakers and other nocturnal figures. On one such night, he encounters the cheerful and unaware Otori Naru. The connections these three young men form with these girls will profoundly impact their lives. But what, precisely, is the bond that ties these young men to one another?

The narrative centers on Blade, a "Daywalker" vampire hunter born from both vampire and human lineage after a vampire assault on his mother. During a mission in Japan, Blade pursues Deacon Frost, the vampire responsible for his mother's death. Blade then faces "Existence," an enigmatic group of vampires altered by Frost.

After a teammate's death, the X-Men reunite and are summoned by Charles Xavier to Japan following the kidnapping of Hisako Ichiki (Armor). There, they face the U-Men, a deranged cult that steals mutant organs and transplants them to strengthen their own army, and the struggle for justice begins.

Logan discovers that his girlfriend Mariko Yashida, who vanished a year earlier, was taken to Tokyo by her father Shingen—the leader of a Japanese crime syndicate and an AIM supplier. He resolves to go to Japan and bring her back, whatever it takes.

After learning that her best friend Yuuki is hospitalized and can no longer serve as the team manager, Minami steps in to take over the role for her high school baseball team. Wanting to do her best to support the team, she sets out to find a book on baseball management. However, she accidentally purchases Peter Drucker's "Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices," a book actually focused on business management. Unable to return it, she decides to read it anyway and attempts to apply the business management principles to the baseball team, hoping to lead them to victory at the national championships.

Dramatic story of the Yamazaki family during the year Showa 39 (1964), the year that Tokyo hosted the Summer Olympics.