Best Sci-Fi Anime of 2012

Justice and its enforcement have evolved. In the 22nd century, Japan operates under the Sibyl System, an objective method to assess each citizen's threat level by analyzing their mental state for criminal intent, known as their Psycho-Pass. Inspectors enforce the law by subduing—often lethally—anyone showing the slightest ill will; alongside them work Enforcers, citizens who have become latent criminals, given limited freedom in return for carrying out the Inspectors' grim tasks. Into this world enters Akane Tsunemori, a young woman with a sincere wish to uphold justice. But as she collaborates with veteran Enforcer Shinya Kougami, she soon discovers that the Sibyl System's verdicts are not as flawless as her fellow Inspectors believe. With everything she once trusted turned upside down, Akane struggles with the nature of true justice and whether it can be achieved through a system that might already be flawed.

Around the year 2011, a small portion of humanity began awakening psychokinetic abilities known as Cantus. Over a thousand years later, in the village of Kamisu 66, Saki Watanabe is the last among her friends to manifest her powers and enroll at the Sage Academy, a school for psychics. Although all students there possess Cantus, they are not treated equally; soon after Saki starts, a classmate considered weaker than the rest suddenly disappears. One day while walking home with her friends—the determined Maria Akizuki, the intelligent Shun Aonuma, the observant Satoru Asahina, and the timid Mamoru Itou—she encounters two unfamiliar creatures called Monster Rats. These mole-like beings worship those who wield Cantus as gods. When Saki uses her ability to help one of them out of a predicament, she is met with profound gratitude. Now questioning the Monster Rats' place in society, Saki and her companions discover another disappearance. As time passes, they gradually seek answers to the mysteries surrounding them and begin to realize that this seemingly perfect new world conceals humanity's dark history.

Haruyuki Arita is an overweight, frequently bullied middle schooler who finds solace in online games. His daily life is upended when he realizes the top scores in his favorite game have been overtaken by Kuroyukihime, the popular vice president of the student council. She calls him to the student lounge and reveals Brain Burst, a program that speeds up brain waves to make time seem to freeze. This software functions as an augmented reality fighting game, where players gain acceleration points by winning battles. Losing all points means permanent removal from Brain Burst. Kuroyukihime explains she chose Haruyuki because she needs help finding the creator to uncover the program's true purpose. This quest is tough, as it demands she defeat the Six Kings of Pure Color, strong faction leaders, and reach level 10, the highest rank. After Kuroyukihime aids Haruyuki in overcoming his bullies, he vows to support her ambition, beginning their shared climb to the top.

Several months after the events of Steins;Gate, Rintarou Okabe and his circle of friends are invited to accompany their acquaintance Faris NyanNyan, who is taking part in a Rai-Net battle event in the United States. While there, they reconnect with an old colleague: Kurisu Makise, who has been experiencing fragmented memories of events from other world lines in the form of dreams. She confronts Okabe and asks him whether these events—especially the incidents between the two of them—truly occurred.

One summer night, Kaito Kirishima is testing his camera on a bridge when he spots a blue light shooting across the sky. Seconds later, he is knocked off the railing. Just before losing consciousness, a hand reaches down and grabs his. Confused and disoriented, Kaito wakes up the next morning in his own room with no injuries and no memory of the previous night. As he returns to his normal school routine, Kaito and his friends discuss what to do with his camera and decide to make a film over the upcoming summer break. Noticing Kaito's interest in the new upperclassman Ichika Takatsuki, his friend Tetsurou Ishigaki invites her and her friend Remon Yamano to join their movie project. What follows becomes one of the most entertaining and exciting summers of their lives. Kaito and his friends discover that their time together is about more than just making a film—it leads to something far more meaningful, forcing them to confront their true feelings and each other.

The bizarre encounters between the residents of Planet Deviluke (led by the royal family's female members) and the people of Earth (chiefly represented by the perpetually exhausted Rito Yuuki) continue to intensify, pushing the situation further into chaos. After younger princesses Nana and Momo transfer to Earth School, where big sister Lala can theoretically keep an eye on them, things should be smooth sailing. However, when Momo decides to add a dash of sisterly affection to supplement Rito and Lala's relationship, Lala wastes no time dismantling any harem ambitions. Just then, Yami, the Golden Darkness, arrives with all the subtlety of a supernova, accompanied by an army of brainwashed high school students. This ensures Rito's life becomes more miserable than a black hole at a family picnic—unless a certain half-demonic princess applies a dose of Devilukean whoop-ass to exactly those celestial bodies.

Mahiro Yasaka is an ordinary high school student whose routine life is shattered when a monstrous creature suddenly attacks him. Just in time, he is saved by Nyaruko, a silver-haired girl who reveals herself to be Nyarlathotep, a shape-shifting deity from H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. She claims the Space Defense Agency sent her to Earth because the attacker, a Nightgaunt alien, intended to abduct and enslave Mahiro. Though she rescues him, the Lovecraftian entity instantly becomes deeply infatuated with Mahiro and forces her way into his home, much to his irritation. Soon, two more figures from the same fictional lore join her: Cthuko, a girl who is obsessively in love with Nyaruko, and Hasuta, a young boy often mistaken for a beautiful girl. These three eccentric aliens constantly protect Mahiro from various extraterrestrial threats to Earth and himself, while simultaneously wreaking havoc on his daily life and turning his existence into a living nightmare.

During Gintoki Sakata's absence, the Yorozuya gang found a new leader in Kintoki, his golden-haired double. To reclaim his former role, Gintoki must rely on those around him—a difficult task when nobody remembers him at all! Between Kintoki and Gintoki, who will ultimately seize the position of main character? Later, the Yorozuya travel back to the red-light district of Yoshiwara to help an elderly courtesan search for her long-lost lover. Though the district is no longer chained beneath the earth's surface, the trio soon uncover the tragic pasts of Yoshiwara's residents that still linger. Through a series of flashbacks, this mission sees the Yorozuya witness everlasting love and protect it with all their hearts and souls.

Over many decades, steadily falling birth rates have driven human civilization nearly to extinction. The few remaining people scrape by in a post-apocalyptic world, using whatever the previous generations left behind. Fairies now rule the Earth—tiny beings armed with ultra-advanced technology, an insatiable craving for sweets, and zero concern for human well-being. A young woman who has just completed her education returns to her hometown and is appointed an official United Nations arbitrator. Her job is to act as a bridge between humans and fairies, convincing both sides that peaceful coexistence is possible. She expects the role to be straightforward, but reining in the disasters caused by the oblivious fairies as they chase after candy proves far more challenging than she ever anticipated.

The Central Tanegashima High School Robotics Research Club has long dreamed of building the GunPro1, a fully operational giant robot. Over the years, successive club members have contributed to its development, and now Akiho Senomiya is determined to turn that long-held ambition into reality. Yet the club struggles with insufficient funding for such an enormous project, and the sole other member, Kaito Yashio, shows no enthusiasm for helping his childhood friend, preferring to spend his time playing mecha-fighting games on his "PokeCom." While idling away his days, Kaito receives an unreadable message and hears a voice muffled by static. Tracing the source, he discovers it belongs to Airi Yukifune, an AI that exists only within the augmented reality system accessible through the PokeCom. Robotics;Notes follows Kaito as he uncovers a strange report in Airi's database—one that will lead to disastrous consequences in the future.

Yuki Sanada has never quite belonged. Plagued by social awkwardness and anxiety, he moves from place to place with his grandmother, always struggling to fit in. When they settle into the peaceful coastal town of Enoshima, Yuki hopes for a new beginning. But his plans are thrown into chaos by the arrival of another transfer student, Haru. This eccentric boy immediately causes a stir, loudly proclaiming himself an alien and declaring Yuki his friend. Pairing the reluctant Yuki with their classmate and skilled fisherman Natsuki Usami, Haru assigns them both the absurd task of saving the world from a mysterious oceanic threat. Mischief and mayhem follow as the three set off on a whimsical journey filled with laughter, emotion, and self-discovery.

The narrative begins with a confrontation between two opposing heroes, ZET and ALPHAS, before delving into their backstories—Jin Kanzaki, a youth possessing the power to become the superhuman entity called ZET, and Kouga Amagi, a young man driven by a powerful sense of justice who employs technology to battle as ALPHAS. The destinies of these two individuals and the people connected to them become intertwined as they struggle to safeguard humanity and eliminate monstrous horrors referred to as Players.

Tsubasa Kazanari and Kanade Amou perform as the idol duo Zwei Wing, using their singing to power ancient weapons called symphogears in their fight against the alien menace known as the Noise. The public knows about the Noise, but the existence of the symphogears remains hidden. During one of Zwei Wing's concerts, the Noise attack, and Kanade sacrifices herself to save a young girl named Hibiki Tachibana, leaving Tsubasa heartbroken and a piece of Kanade's symphogear embedded in Hibiki. Two years later, Hibiki is caught in another Noise attack. While rescuing a young girl left behind during the evacuation, she awakens the power of Kanade's symphogear inside her. Though Tsubasa still mourns Kanade, both girls must learn to cooperate and use their abilities to protect humanity from the Noise.

A dozen millennia after the events of Genesis Aquarion, humanity dwells on the star Vega, constantly threatened by trans-dimensional raiders called Abductors. These enemies come from Altair, Vega’s sister star, and attack Vega to steal human lives. In response, the organization Neo-DEAVA was created to fight the Abductors. Its pilots use advanced mecha suits known as Aquaria, which are strictly divided by gender. Boys and girls are prohibited from interacting and are even kept from fighting on the same battlefield. But when an advanced Abductor mecha suit appears, everything changes. Two teenagers, Mikono and Amata, are swept into the conflict. Without realizing it, Amata commits a taboo by summoning an Aquaria and initiating the Forbidden Union between male and female Aquaria. Neo-DEAVA is horrified, and the consequences of Amata’s actions extend far beyond what he understands. How was he able to summon an Aquaria? Where did he learn to perform the Forbidden Union? And why could Mikono also pilot that mecha?

The story unfolds on Iwado, a remote island in Okinawa where a rising movement calls for a return to self-rule. Ao Fukai, a twelve-year-old boy whose father is absent, resides there with an elderly physician named Toshio and is set to begin middle school. A decade ago, unknown individuals took Ao's mother away. Naru Arata, Ao's twelve-year-old childhood friend and the story's heroine, lives with her father, older sister, and grandmother. An incident in her youth awakened a power within her called "Yuta." Suddenly, a mysterious entity known as "Secret" appears and attacks the Scub Coral lifeform on the island. Driven by a fierce desire to protect Iwado, Ao launches a certain military FP named "Nirvash" aboard a Japanese military transport.

After a brutal six-year conflict on the Moon concluded in 1973, the extraterrestrial invaders known as the BETA struck Earth, slaughtering billions and ravaging Eurasia. Although standard weaponry could eliminate these beings, their laser capabilities allowed them to annihilate entire air fleets, compelling humanity to engineer massive combat mechs called Tactical Surface Fighters, or TSFs. When the BETA reached Japan in 1998, military academy student and TSF pilot Yui Takamura was tasked with protecting Kyoto’s final defensive line alongside her classmates. The Japanese Imperial Army succeeded in repelling the assault, but only after enduring massive casualties and the loss of Yui’s friends, an experience that hardened her resolve to prevent such tragedies from ever happening again. Three years later, Lieutenant Yui joins the XFJ project, a joint Japan-American initiative based in Alaska aimed at developing the new Shiranui TSF. Working within an international squad that includes the difficult test pilot Yuuya Bridges and pilots from nations devastated by the BETA, Yui navigates political tensions stemming from the Cold War while Yuuya struggles to confront the ghosts of his past in this story of Yui’s delicate mission and Yuuya’s personal journey.

Using the chance created by the Mikawa Conflict, Tori and his allies try to rescue Horizon from the Testament Union. While the Floating City Musashi speeds toward its next destination, the Floating Island England, Tres España assembles its fleet for war with the British Islanders. As the search for Horizon's emotions reaches its peak, Tori's next fight is set to start in the land ruled by the Fairy Queen. The reenactment of the history recorded in the mysterious Testament goes on as the secret of the Armor of Deadly Sins is revealed in the stunning second season of Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere!

Madoka Kyouno is a spirited girl overflowing with enthusiasm. As the proud and sole member of the Kamogawa Girls' High School Jersey Club, she spends her time assisting those in need. Madoka's world is thrown into chaos when a mysterious girl named Lan unexpectedly asks her to pilot a robot. Driven by her wish to safeguard the people and city of Kamogawa, Madoka accepts the role of piloting the revived Vox robot to battle against extraterrestrials who have arrived to attack Earth.

In a future where traveling between stars is routine, high schooler Marika Katou juggles her activities in the space yacht club with a waitressing job. After a random meeting with two odd customers, she encounters them again and discovers that her absent father has died. During his lifetime, he was the legendary pirate "Gonzaemon." He has bequeathed his notorious vessel, the Bentenmaru, and its crew solely to Marika. Holding one of the few remaining Letters of Marque that authorize legal piracy, Marika must decide between staying a normal student or embracing a second life as a thrilling space pirate. As Marika weighs her options, the sensitive situation draws the attention of various government agencies and the mysterious transfer student Chiaki Kurihara, all eager to see if the would-be captain can match her father's legend. For the Bentenmaru's crew to preserve their standing, they must launch into the vast reaches of space and once more become a name that inspires fear.

Following an interplanetary conflict in the early twenty-first century, Earth’s ecosystem lies in ruins, forcing its survivors to migrate to other worlds in search of habitable conditions. The totalitarian Deep Galactic Trade Organization, which governs numerous newly settled planets, has declared music to be a source of evil, mandating its complete eradication. In response, the idol group AKB0048 is established, modeled after the original AKB48 members who once resided on Earth. Despite their art being universally outlawed, the group dedicates itself to reviving music by traveling across the galaxy and performing as many concerts as possible. To survive the constant threat of arrest and excel in their craft, they must endure rigorous new training regimens. Follow the intergalactic popstars of AKB0048 as they risk everything to save the world through the power of song.

Mars, the war god and guardian of his namesake planet, was previously sealed away by Seiya, but as time moves forward, his resurrection approaches. In the meantime, Saori Kido (Athena) is raising Kouga, a boy whose life Seiya had spared, and he trains daily to become a Saint in preparation for the impending disaster. Ignorant of his fate, Kouga awakens to the hidden power of his Cosmo, unveiling the legend of a new Saint.

Toushirou Hijikata, the demonic vice-commander of the Shinsengumi, comes into possession of a cursed blade that completely alters his personality, transforming him from a tough, no-nonsense officer into a hopeless otaku. While he fights to break the curse, a ambitious new police recruit named Itou Kamotarou seizes the chance to oust Hijikata in his quest for power within the organization. Yet Itou's plan proves far more sinister than anyone expects, and the very survival of the Shinsengumi is placed in jeopardy. Elsewhere in a different time and place, the Yorozuya team is unexpectedly approached by a potential new member. They meet a mysterious young woman named Pirako Doromizu, who hides a tendency for extreme brutality beneath her smiling and enthusiastic demeanor. However, unknown to Gintoki and his friends, Pirako has strong connections to one of the ruling figures of Edo's Kabuki district, and her appearance triggers a series of events that plunges the district's inhabitants into civil war.

The narrative follows a slice-of-life battle story set in a plausible future where neither World War III nor alien invasions have occurred. In this world, robots are integrated into daily society, with "Shinki" serving as 15-centimeter-tall (approximately 6 inches) cute partners endowed with intelligence and emotions. These Shinki are designed to assist humans and dedicate themselves to serving their "Masters." Some Shinki can be equipped with weapons and armor to engage in combat, earning the title "Busou Shinki," which literally translates to "armed divine princesses." Specifically, the Shinki Ann (Arnval), Aines (Altines), and Lene (Altlene) serve Masato, a high school freshman. The dynamic shifts when the aggressive new Shinki, Strarf, joins their group.

Several months after Lan and Muginami left Earth, Madoka is in her last year of high school, spending most of her days thinking about her friends. Then Lan unexpectedly returns to Kamogawa City.

Months after the Jewel Seed incident, Nanoha Takamachi prepares to welcome Fate Testarossa back from her trial with the Administrative Bureau. Fate received conditional clemency for her role in stopping the crisis and has been permitted to attend school alongside Nanoha. But before the two girls can settle into their routine together, a band of dark mages suddenly attacks. Overwhelmed by the unknown assailants, Nanoha and Fate have their mana drained into a sinister grimoire, and both Raising Heart and Bardiche are damaged. The attackers are the Wolkenritter, a group of four—Vita, Signum, Shamal, and the familiar Zafila—summoned by the Book of Darkness to carry out its evil agenda. The book's current owner is a young girl named Hayate Yagami, who remains unaware of its true nature while the Wolkenritter, compelled to charge its power with forcibly stolen mana, are bound to complete the tome. Left exhausted and without their Devices, Nanoha and Fate must quickly regain their strength and face the Wolkenritter, hoping to stop them from finishing the Book of Darkness and unleashing its devastating magic upon the world.

In a distant future, the Earth's environment has been devastated by heightened solar radiation, leading to a drastic decline in human birth rates. Society is controlled by the government through an army of cloned soldiers known as "Ideal Children (IC)." Sam Coyne, a trader operating in the desert, comes across a beautiful woman named Maya who is being pursued by Theseus, a unit of IC. He offers her refuge aboard his trade ship, but soon, destroyers from Theseus close in on both Sam and Maya.

The Arms Microns goof around in their Tokyo living room.