Forum - View topicYour Top 10 / Worst 5 things. Why? (w/ index).
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Sanosuke_Inara
 Posts: 1662 |
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Hey, I saw the Eureka 7 movie in theatres, and I actually really liked it.
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meeyyaa
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Sorry, I don't mean to offend anyone. I'm actually kinda interested though, why did you like it so much? Should probably talk about that in another thread though, I think... Here's one: animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=24659&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=270
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Toucanbird
Posts: 126 Location: Winona, Minnesota |
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Did you see the show by any chance or just the movie? To me, the plot of the was so far different from the show that it turned me off. I thought Eureka Seven was a beautiful anime so for the movie to change it that much was a big detractor for me. |
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Kenikki
 Posts: 11 |
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Since movies and series are so vastly different, I'll just make a list containing series.
20. Lucky Star 19. Toradora 18. xxxHOLiC 17. Ookiku Furikabutte 16. Hikaru no Go 15. Trigun 14. Gintama 13. Naruto 12. Legend of the Galactic Heroes 11. Ouran High School Host Club #10. Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoiyo!! Masaru-san This is a somewhat unique comedy in anime. It doesn't contain any standard "cardboard cutout" characters, nor does it attempt to be moe or even some sort of satire or parody. Nope, this is just craziness and weirdness to the max, and I love every second of it. Plus, the episodes are merely 8 minutes long, making them even easier to watch and rewatch. #9. Baccano! Incredibly fast tempo added with a narrative form which jumps between several different story- and timelines, which are all engrossing, merging together in some form at the end. Not to mention a cast overflowing with fun and interesting characters #8. Nodame Cantabile One of the greatest romantic comedies within anime. It's more mature than the majority of it's kin and just about completely avoids the overly re-hashed stereotypical characters and cliché situations. In the end it manages to be downright hilarious and quite moving, alot of it because of the two charismatic leading characters, especially Nodame. #7. Aria The Origination The Aria franchise is relaxing, heartwarming and one of the best examples of a Slice of Life series done right. But Aria The Animation is kinda boring and Aria The Natural isn't all that emotionally moving. As for Origination however, not only doesn't it have those problems, but it really excels in those aspects. So on top of being the most heartwarming series I have ever seen (beating even Kamichu and Chi's Sweet Home), it's also emotionally beautiful and captivating. #6. Azumanga Daioh The series which started the anime phenomenon of "group of girls in school" I've lately come to hate. But as with most of these popular trends; the original is the best. And man is it good. Not only is it hilarious, but it's also super cute without feeling as if it's trying too hard. #5. Cowboy Bebop This is - imo - probably the greatest directed anime series ever. It's cool, funny, beautiful and mature. And despite being over a decade old and being a TV series, it's animation still holds up great today. Hell, visually, it even beats most series released today. Both in animation, and how the animation is used. If I were to suggest an anime series to someone new to this particular animated world, this would be the one. #4. Evangelion While I do love works with this kind of deconstruction of a known genre, mentally troubled characters, kickass action and an overall dark atmosphere, the reason Evangelion is so high on my list has alot to do with nostalgia. This is one of the first anime I watched and one the main reasons why I ventured deeper into this form of media, so it's resting close to my heart. I do of course think it's a terrific show, and to be honest, Shinji is one of my favorite male leads in anime. #3. Fullmetal Alchemist/Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood I know they're vastly different by the end, but they're still based on the same source and I love them both the same, for different reasons. Brotherhood is better in terms of excitement and explosive entertainment while the original anime sets a more serious and sombre tone, adds a greater focus on the characters and their development and growth, and follows the theme "to gain something, you have to give up something of equal value" more closely. Both of these versions are still the greatest forms of the shounen battle story and I doubt they'll ever lose that position. #2. Mushishi If I were asked which anime I think is the most mature of the ones I've seen I'd have to say either Kino's Journey, or this one. You'd have a hard time imagining something this slow paced and calm could be so entertaining, but Mushishi pulls it off. Someone might say it's too repetetive since nearly every episode is about Ginko appearing somewhere where problems have occurred because of some Mushi and in some way, fixes it. But this is becuse it is an episodic series which is built on this form of content. And yet, there are episodes which are different from this formula, and those that aren't are still exceptionally captivating. Mainly because there is never a complete win-win situation, so you never know exactly what the characters at hand will have to do to fix their current problem. Also, learning about a portion of the different Mushi in this world is very interesting. #1. Honey & Clover Absolutely hilarious at times and extremely moving at times. I nearly constantly either laughed or cried while watching this. I have never been as emotionally invested in a series or movie as I am with this. Which most likely have something to do with the fact that I have never, ever related to another character as much as I do with Takemoto. In the first season that is, because I feel as if he has outgrown me in the second season. This demonstrates another great aspect of this show; the characters' development and growth. Not only is this my favorite anime series, but it probably beats Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen as my all time favorite anime overall. |
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AnchoO
Posts: 1 |
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I have only just started watching anime ,but my favourites are
1)death note During just another normal day, Light Yagami stumbles upon a black notebook known as the Death Note. This notebook belongs to a shinigami, Ryuk, having the ability to kill anyone who has their name written in it. As the new owner of the Death Note, Light's true desires surface, yearning to cleanse the world of evil by murdering a large number of criminals. When the world begins to notice the existence of this unknown killer, legendary detective L is brought onto the case; starting a war between "Kira" and L. Whoever is able to find out the other's identity first will be the one to survive. 2)code geass Lelouch, an exiled Imperial Prince of Britannia posing as a student, finds himself in the heart of the ongoing conflict for the island nation. Through a chance meeting with a mysterious girl named C.C., Lelouch gains his Geass, the power of the king. Now endowed with absolute dominance over any person, Lelouch may finally realize his goal of bringing down Britannia from within! 3)cowboy bebop 4)Kuroshitsuji 5)Clannad Okazaki Tomoya is a delinquent who finds life dull and believes he'll never amount to anything. Along with his friend Sunohara, he skips school and plans to waste his high school days away. One day while walking to school, Tomoya passes a young girl muttering quietly to herself. Without warning she exclaims "Anpan!" (a popular Japanese food) which catches Tomoya's attention. He soon discovers the girl's name is Furukawa Nagisa and that she exclaims things she likes in order to motivate herself. Nagisa claims they are now friends, but Tomoya walks away passing the encounter off as nothing. However, Tomoya finds he is noticing Nagisa more and more around school. Eventually he concedes and befriends her. Tomoya learns Nagisa has been held back a year due to a severe illness and that her dream is to revive the school's drama club. Claiming he has nothing better to do, he decides to help her achieve this goal along with the help of four other girls. As Tomoya spends more time with the girls, he learns more about them and their problems. As he attempts to help each girl overcome her respective obstacle, he begins to realise life isn't as dull as he once thought. 6)one piece 7)wolfs'rain In some distant future, it's common knowledge that all wolves have been extinct for 200 years. However, it seems this is false as wolves have not disappeared but rather have taken human form. Kiba, a lone wolf, wanders into a city, trying to sniff out the Lunar Flowers that are supposed to lead whoever follows the scent to paradise. The source of the smell is Cheza, a girl who sleeps in what appears to be suspended animation in a lab. She and the wolves are drawn to each other, and Kiba hopes to find paradise once he finds the source of the scent of Lunar Flowers. However, once Kiba finds Cheza, she is kidnapped by a mysterious person called Darcia, and his search begins anew. Before he leaves the city, he meets 3 other wolves, Tsume, Hige and Toboe. All four wolves have very different personalities and ideas, and their friendliness towards each other is a little rough around the edges. However, they soon band together to continue to search for paradise. 8)GTO Onizuka is a reformed biker gang leader who has his sights set on an honorable new ambition: to become the world's greatest teacher … for the purpose of meeting sexy high school girls. Okay, so he's mostly reformed. However, strict administrators and a class of ruthless delinquents stand between Onizuka and his goal and they will use any means, however illegal or low, to drive the new teacher away. Perfect, because Onizuka's methods won't be found in any teaching manual; he cares about the difference between legal and illegal activities about as much as he cares for the age difference between himself and a high school girl. So get ready for math that doesn't add up, language you'd be slapped for using, and biology that would make a grown man blush … unless of course, you're the Great Teacher Onizuka. 9)Howl's Moving Castle Sophie, a quiet girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl. The vain and vengeful Witch of the Waste, jealous of their friendship, puts a spell on Sophie. In a life-changing adventure, Sophie climbs aboard Howl's magnificent flying castle and enters a magical world on a quest to break the spell. 10)Kaichou wa Maid-sama! |
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uguu
Posts: 220 |
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I very rarely finish stuff I absolutely can't stand so I won't bother with "worst". Plus I never even bother with stuff that looks absolutely, irredeemably horrid.
1. FLCL - Clever coming of age story delivered in a unique way, amazing, creative animation, generally flawless 2. Mind Game - A "socially awkward self-insert character grows a spine and eventually learns to truly appreciate the people around him" story but delivered in the most fun and sincere way possible. Switches art & animation styles even more than FLCL depending on the mood of the scene, something the director hasn't done to such an extent in a while which makes for some scenes that range from beautiful to hilariously cartoony and nonsensical acid trips. 3. Gurren Lagann - Everything that's been said about the action and visuals, action and "HELL YES" moments so I'll just say that I think its writing is also clever as hell and seriously underrated. 4. Dead Leaves - 40 minutes of stylish action and immature comedy, executed as well as you could possibly deliver such a concept 5. Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt - about as charming as a series about fanboyish references to both American and Asian pop culture, ridiculous cartoony slapstick, piss, dick and shit jokes and stylish action could possibly get, with the added bonus of female characters that aren't written in a horribly misogynistic way despite said characters being oddly enough a rude sweets-obsessed glutton and a total, literal slut. Despite this the show never bothers with serious messages (except maybe Osamu Kobayashi's token sad epsiode) and is just about having fun, and if your inner 13 year old is still alive you will definitely have fun. 6. Tatami Galaxy - from the director of Mind Game, a little less cartoony and more standard anime fan-friendly but the story is a bit more clever I think. The character designs are a lot closer to anime idealism as opposed to Mind Game's realistic yet oddly charming cartoony ugliness. 6. Trava Fist Planet - A fun, stylish and witty OVA from the guy behind Redline, sadly unfinished (they were going to make a part 2 but I'm pretty sure it was canceled). Still very good and unique as it is. Shows off Takeshi Koike's unique "cartoony yet realistic" drawing & movement style just as well as his Animatrix short and Redline do, though episode 2 looks simpler because Hiroyuki Imaishi had a lot of say in it. 7. Princess Mononoke - probably the Miyazaki film that impacted me the most because I expected it to be preachy nonsense and it ended up being amazingly clever. 8. Animal Treasure Island - 1971 Toei film with heavy Miyazaki involvement. The story may seem like a bit of an oddity in this day and age since it's non-stop relentless cartoony fun without the somewhat self aware tone that something like Dead Leaves has, but holy crap the animation aged wonderfully. Not all of Miyazaki's animation work from that era blew me away but this certainly does, and if you don't have any fun watching this clip perhaps cartoons aren't your thing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Mtt62WIoHI 9. Chie the Brat - 80s Isao Takahata movie based on an old seinen manga, attempts to balance immature comedy with dead serious family drama and somehow succeeds beautifully. 10. Gauche the Cellist - ANOTHER Isao Takahata movie, this time based on an old Japanese fable about a cello player learning to better himself as a musician and a person with the aid of talking animal spirits that he initially thinks are annoying or malicious. Way more cleverly written and beautifully animated than you'd expect - the lead animator actually took cello lessons so he could make everything look as accurate as possible. |
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TheSwedishElf
Posts: 300 |
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My top 10 best and 5 worst series and OVAs {in-depth descriptions and reasonings will be added gradually}:
Best 10. Trigun 9. Magical Pokaan Four beautiful monster girls + genuinely funny storylines + a deceptive opening that makes it look like a grimdark magical girl show + endless parodies of common ecchi and hentai tropes + wonderful voice acting + catchy-as-hell music + top-notch animation = gold. 8. Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge 7. Black Butler 6. Azumanga Daioh 5. Vision of Escaflowne 4. Tokyo Mew Mew 3. One Piece 2. Fullmetal Alchemist/Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood 1. Death Note This series is a thought-provoking epic that really screws around with your perception of good and evil. You never know who you're supposed to love or hate, everyone does something horrible to someone else at some point or another, the entire main cast is a collection of sicknesses and neurological disorders {Light has a messiah complex, L has Asperger's Syndrome, Misa is a narcissist, Ryuk is an addict and a sadist, Soichiro is an overly dedicated workoholic, etc}, even the artwork and music are finely-worked to mess with you. Worst 5. Queen's Blade Might as well be called "Unbelievable Misogyny: The Animated Series". 4. Hanaukyo Maids This was the first anime to make me feel less human for watching it, and I curse the friend of mine who suggested I check it out. 3. Fight Ippatsu! Juuden-chan This show is a truly horrifying display of misogyny and creepiness. Even scarier is that this was created by the same guy responsible for Kiss x Sis and Mahoromatic, making me wonder if he's okay in the head. 2. Kiss x Sis I could only endure roughly 10 minutes of this shit. Ten. And from what I've read online about it, things only get worse. Way goddamn worse. 1. Onii-chan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne~!! Why won't these shows just die already? 0. Kodomo no Jikan FGSFDS Last edited by TheSwedishElf on Mon Jul 04, 2011 10:11 am; edited 2 times in total |
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jomy
 Posts: 90 |
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My 10 best:
#1: Yoroiden Samurai Troopers. Very unique shounen series with a great plot, good development and lovable characters. The drama CDs and OAVs only add dimension to these characters. The animation style is also quite unique and prettily realistic. Will never stop loving this series. #2: D.Gray-Man. Great protagonist, the supporting cast is also not too numerous, has made me cry and/or moved me several times. I only wish it had lasted as long as the manga. #3: .hack//SIGN. Far better than Roots, developed Tsukasa beautifully and is still my favorite part of the entire .hack franchise, though the first series of games and Kite come close as favorites. #4: Soukyuu no Fafner. Frankly, I have no interest in seeing Evangelion, and it is very similar to it, but only at the very base. To me its concept is more interesting, more original, and much more touching. Has a relatively small cast of great characters. #5: Dragon Ball, both series. Ever a classic, and a damn good one at that. Love the main characters and love to hate the villains. Fans may deny loving it, but it is the origin of most shounen series and very well done. #6: Fushigi Yuugi. Some people may not like it because of Miaka, but I think the series is only enriched from having such an unusual heroine, and the supporting characters are all fascinating. Even though I've heard of Twelve Kingdoms, it hasn't captured my interest in the same way. #7: Terra E..., both the 1980 movie and the more recent 2006 TV series. Takemiya Keiko was one of the pioneers of shoujo and shounen-ai manga, and though I haven't read her other series, have only heard good things about them. This is an excellent space drama with more emotion than most and a very intelligent sci-fi element. #8: Yuu Yuu Hakusho. For a long series, it has a very good development despite being typical shounen fare in terms of the fights. Hate Keiko but love the rest of the characters. #9: Yugioh. For this series, it was mostly the mythological elements that I liked, therefore I loved the final arc. The card battles themselves were nothing special, but the characters and certain specific cards were quite fascinating. The relationships were extremely well developed, especially between the two main characters, and the ending was very moving as well as satisfying. #10: Taiyou no Ko Esteban. Better known as Mysterious Cities of Gold. Didn't know it was anime at the time, and I watched it in french, but loved every minute of it. Great adventure series with lots of fascinating information. My 5 worst: #1: Excel Saga. Godawful, stupid series, I never saw the humor in it. #2: Urusei Yatsura. Was shown to me by an old friend who's also into anime, he loved it, I hated it. Stereotypical, girl is annoying, and is not funny. #3: Azumanga Daioh. Boring, its humor was not my style at all, and I'm not at all into slice-of-life school series. #4: Sensei no Ojikan: Same reasons as the above, a very boring type of humor. Really, I don't think I can list a fifth, most anime that are my worst usually just slip out of my mind and are forever forgotten. |
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cuckundu
 Posts: 28 |
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Now that I've read the whole thread, I guess it's my turn. I've been watching anime for less than a year, so I only barely have enough to pull together a top-10. Anyway, as follows:
10. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood I didn't think this one would make it on, but when I actually pulled together the list, I realized I hadn't watched 10 different anime that I really loved, so this one kinda snuck on as a default. It wasn't a bad anime at all, it had a really neat mythos and certainly a gripping story. But I don't find myself loving it, nor am I really attached to any of the characters (other than Riza, I suppose). It was a very entertaining series, but I wouldn't call it fantastic. 9. Martian Successor Nadesico + Prince of Darkness One of my friends spent several weeks goading me into watching this one, so during spring break I made my way though it. The dub (which was the only torrent I could find) deterred me at first, as I am an ardent sub watcher, but I stuck with it and enjoyed it a lot more than I had first expected. It was funny, it was interesting, it was thrilling, and most of all, the characters were very likeable. The big focus on the Gekiganger anime-within-an-anime was icing on the cake that made me love the series even more. Oh, and the movie was simply incredible. 8. Negima! + Negima!? I believe I saw a comment earlier on in the thread that mentioned how almost no one likes both of these, only one. The two are very different, but I found myself liking both of them. Negima! stood out, for me, in the way that it put more time and effort into developing nearly all 31 girls in the class (admittedly, they still aren't the deepest or most interesting characters, but I couldn't call them two-dimensional either). The biggest let downs for Negima! were the lack of action, which was something I think I went into the series expecting, and the awful, awful ending. spoiler[I cannot stand cop-out endings that bring dead characters back to life. If the character wasn't supposed to die, then don't kill them in the first place.] Negima!? took a different route, glossing over the detailed character development that Negima! indulged in, and skipping straight to the action, which made it something more fun to watch. The comedy, as well, was just fantastic, especially when Motsu was around. His antics with the cat thing (forgot its name...), with Makie (I think I collapsed a lung laughing at those scenes), and even by himself were wonderful. He will always be one of my favorite anime characters. 7. Baka and Test This one was also suggested by a friend, and I went into it with a little trepidation, which was intensified as I started watching. The goofy visuals, the cheesy, see-through romantic subplot, and the fact that it almost instantly jumps into the action with no explanation or preface whatsoever... I'm a little amazed I stuck it out. But by the end of the short 13-episode run, I had done a complete 180. The entire show is a joke, a parody of shounen, school-life anime and manga, but it goes beyond that. It creates a cast of characters that are goofy, ridiculous, and best of all, entirely loveable. The show almost seems to make fun of itself as it pulls on a plethora of cliches and hackneyed plot devices into a single colorful, wacky story. I have yet to see any work of fiction, Eastern or Western, that is funnier than this. 6. The World God Only Knows + The World God Only Knows II This was one that I watched completely on a whim, despite the synopsis that should have driven me far, far away. If you haven't heard of this one, and you're looking it up in the encyclopedia right now, then you're probably going to wonder how in the world it could possibly be so good, as it sounds all like a very bad excuse to create yet another harem anime. But there's an undeniable charm to the series that makes it far greater than that. I wouldn't call many of the characters deep or interesting save for a few, but they're likeable and the chemistry on-screen is incredible. What's especially incredible about this show is how closely it follows the manga - in many parts, almost word-for-word. If you give the manga a read, you will recognize many situations from the anime, recreated near-perfectly. It's fantastic, and it can only go up from here. The manga has long-since evolved past the formulaic sort of story that the anime has covered so far, so I can't wait to see when things get really interesting. 5. Soul Eater I would mark Soul Eater as my official induction into real anime-viewing. It was the second anime I ever saw, the first being FMA:B, and FMA:B is one that's very easy for a Western viewer to watch and follow. It's a mostly serious story, that actually uses a lot of Western-style names, and abstains from some of the things that anime uses so much (fanservice being a good example of this). Soul Eater, however, is completely and utterly Japanese, not to mention totally wacky. It took several episodes for me to get used to it, but by the time I did I was instead trying to wrap my mind around how an utterly bizarre, off-the-wall show like Soul Eater could STILL be so good. The characters are decidedly larger-than-life, but that doesn't make them distant or unlikeable at all. Even Kidd, who is on an entirely different level of power when compared to Maka or BlackStar, still has his goofy moments that endear him to you. Shinigami is a classic character, who acts goofy almost all of the time but gets serious when he needs to. Factor in some crazy witches and spoiler[a zombie/assassin/teacher], and you have a fantastic cast that is, as far as I've seen, unrivaled. There's an amazing story to go along with them (glossing over the hacked-together ending), and I could probably go on about that for ages, but I'll leave it at this. 4. Stellvia I'm still not sure why I love this series like I do. It's a silly anime about teenagers who go to a school in space, complete with spoiler[teen romance] and wangst oozing out of every orifice available. In fact, I think I'd call this more wangsty than your average teen story, and that's saying something. On top of that, the characters, while definitely not poorly designed, aren't anything to write home about. I think the only characters that really intrigued me were Shima, Yayoi, and Kouta, and I never really got attached to any of them (which is something I have a bad habit of doing with anime). And yet, the way that the story progresses, the way that the characters interact with each other and react to their various situations, all of it just rolls into one and really struck a chord with me. If I had to make a complaint about this one (besides the WAAAAAAAAAAANGST) it would have to be the ending. The ending wasn't bad, but it was obscenely sudden. I think this was probably because the team making the show split up at the end, and had to hack this one together instead. It would have been a satisfying ending if they had given it the proper amount of screentime, but instead I was left on the edge of my seat, wondering to myself if that was REALLY it. 3. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya + The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya This was one that blew my expectations sky-high. When I heard about how popular it was on Japanese networks, in my naivete I assumed that it was probably something akin to Naruto or Bleach. When I sat down and watched it, however, I was totally surprised to find that it was an incredibly charming, incredibly exciting and incredibly fun-to-watch show. The story has an odd quality of being fragmented, but still unified by an overreaching plot and premise that keeps it from seeming too fragmented. spoiler[The mythos that it creates is fascinating simply because the entire universe exists within Haruhi's mind. The aliens, time travellers, and espers are obviously horribly hackneyed, but when you take into account that they exist because Haruhi created them, they instead take on a charming appeal that lends an informative glance into the madness within Haruhi's mind. The only really major issue I had with the show was, as you can probably guess, Endless Eight. I watched every episode of it in one night, afraid to miss any important details that might have occurred, and was rewarded with an utterly pointless and totally unsatisfying conclusion to the entire fiasco.] However, it's not for the story that I watch this show - it's for the characters. Four out of the five members of the SOS-dan are so beautifully designed and varied, and they all fit together perfectly. Asahina, of course, is an utterly useless moeblob, spoiler[but at least she proved to be a few levels above deadweight later in the story.] But the brilliance of the show (which, by itself, would most likely have found itself below Stellvia and Soul Eater) is totally eclipsed by Disappearance - without a doubt, the greatest movie I've ever seen, hands-down (I haven't seen any Miyazaki films yet, but they're on my list, don't worry). Not only did it have a really fascinating plot that the show hasn't yet come close to matching, it also provided some BADLY needed character development for three of the SOS-dan members. spoiler[I think one of the major reasons this movie stands out as so exceptional for me is that it FINALLY made Yuki, my all-time favorite anime character, into something more than a background prop. She finally was able to express everything that had been brewing inside her for the two season in the show, and the result is truly beautiful. I almost never do any shipping for non-canon pairings, but I'll admit that by the end of this movie, a small, hopeful part of me really thought that Kyon was going to fall for Yuki. Needless to say he didn't, but even if he had I couldn't have loved this movie more.] 2. Clannad + Clannad After Story I just finished AS last night, and got through the extra episodes this morning. Wow. This was my first foray into truly serious anime (Death Note doesn't count -_-), and I think it was an emotional pummelling that I wasn't entirely prepared for. The original run was emotional enough, with some very moving story arcs (that were, admittedly, a little more discrete than this anime really needed). spoiler[Even though I had developed a pretty severe dislike for Nagisa within the first couple episodes, the story managed to somewhat turn that around, so that I could still enjoy the final episode. I can't go so far as to think that Nagisa and Tomoya made anywhere near as good a pair as Tomoya and Tomoyo in the first OAV (yet another one of my rare shipping moments), but I admit that the story centering on Nagisa was far more interesting, developed, and emotional than anything that Tomoyo could have achieved.] Note that the following spoiler is for After Story. spoiler[As After Story shifted focus off of the other girls and onto Nagisa, I think I grew to like her a lot more, even though I still think she was pretty much useless and probably designed for the sole purpose of being attractive to viewers. After Story was beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time, but the ending is where I felt most uncomfortable. (MESSAGE FROM THE FUTURE: A NOT-REALLY-ON-TOPIC RANT/DIATRIBE FOLLOWS) The night that I finished it, I was pretty pissed off. Cop-out endings are terrible, especially those that suddenly revive characters who were supposed to die. I could rant on and on about things like the permanence of death and such, but I'm hoping that most of you will already know what I mean. I was also pretty angry that all of what Tomoya achieved in those last five or six episodes - pulling himself out of the depths of despair, reconciling with his estranged daughter in the most moving scene I've ever seen in any show ever, and finally starting to make himself into a lively, happy human being again - was completely erased. All of what he built and accomplished was totally reset. Needless to say, I wasn't happy. But this morning I started to go think through the story again (that recap episodes helped the process along), and I realized that the entire anime, from the very first scene, had built up the ending. I think the real meaning behind all that time Tomoya spent pulling himself onto his own feet again was intended as a way for Hidden-World-Ushio to teach him not to regret what he'd done, and instead embrace the happy times he had. Once he finally did, she forgave him his regret and granted him his wish - to be happy with his wife and daughter again. In the sense of the doll metaphor, she led him back to the world that was warm and made his heart jump with happiness. Once I finally realized that, I realized that it was actually a very beautiful ending to a very beautiful show. A job supremely well-done.] Sorry about the huge, not-really-on-topic rant. It's not often I get to articulate my thoughts like this. I'll just move on to my top pick. 1. Shakugan no Shana + Shakugan no Shana Second I've seen a few people put this in their lists, but I think most of them weren't exactly this high. I've also seen a lot of people criticize it, calling it generic or boring. I understand that there are many things that make the story and its characters rather lacklustre, especially compared to other anime that are out there, but it doesn't matter to me. Something about this anime strikes a chord in me everytime I watch it, and since this was the third anime I ever watched (the first that I found by actually browsing ANN based on my interests, without having a friend recommend it to me), it just managed to be in the right place at the right time for me. First and foremost was the cast of characters. Since I was new to anime at the time, I had never seen the tsundere that Shana exemplifies, and she fascinated me. Yuuji, too, was a great character, and even with hindsight I think he was a very well made character. He's not totally helpless deadweight, nor is he overconfident and headstrong, both of which are common character types for the situation that Yuuji's in. Instead, he's accepting of his situation, spoiler[even before he learns of the Reiji Maigo,] and usually keeps a cool head, which is pretty remarkable for a protagonist. Beyond the characters is the entire mythos, which is something that I fell in love with from the very start. It takes a while to really understand everything about Guze and Tomagara and Flame Hazes, (and even longer to memorize all the names ~_~) but what you're rewarded with is a really detailed, fascinating fantasy universe. Finally, the story itself. The story is probably the worst part of the show as a whole, but since the other parts are so great that's not really saying much. The first season is probably the better of the two in terms of storytelling, spoiler[besides the cop-out-esque ending]. The second season definitely has its advantages as well, most notably the grander scale of the conflict. However, the second season is a little bogged down with filler episodes and spoiler[that drawn out war between Shana and Yoshida over Yuuji]. Personally, I didn't mind the fillers, spoiler[and the love triangle only slightly irked me,] because the rest of the series is so good. I can see why people would be bothered with it, but I think it's worth getting through the side stories so as to fully enjoy the real meat of the story.[/spoiler] If you're familiar with Shakugan no Shana, then you'll probably notice that I didn't mention the movie or Shakugan no Shana S in the title. The movie, although not necessarily bad, did a decidedly poorer job of telling the same story that the show already did. SnSS was half gimmick episodes which, although somewhat entertaining, were not entirely worth watching. The other half was a two-part story that was definitely good, but, for me, was rather heartbreaking. spoiler[Seeing Shana's cold abrasiveness towards a mother that was suffering for her sake was almost unwatchable for me.] It was a good story, and obviously very moving, but I don't think I could bring myself to watch it again, so I didn't include it here. As for least favorites, I can really only list one that I watched fully despite being bad, since I usually drop anime that I don't like. Granted, it is a movie, so watching the whole thing through wasn't terribly difficult, but there's no denying... it's bad. 2. Clannad: The Movie At the time of typing this, I literally just finished this movie, and I would very much like my ninety minutes back. The story is rushed beyond any logic, the characters are two-dimensional and unsympathetic, the visuals are just plain ugly... everything about this movie reeks, especially the ending. spoiler[Ninety minutes of story (badly-told story, but story nonetheless) culminating in a five-second change-of-heart from Tomoya? Ridiculous.] If you've seen the show but not the movie, I suggest you keep it that way. All you'll miss is seeing a fantastic anime butchered beyond recognition. EDIT: 1. School Days Just finished this one this afternoon. I had heard plenty of things about it, like I should never watch it and that the ending was disturbing, so I felt compelled to see it for myself. The first eleven episodes were bad enough - starting with a somewhat-awkward generic love story, then devolving as spoiler[Makoto becomes increasingly obsessed with sex.] By about episode 6 or so, I had totally lost the little bit of sympathy I had for Makoto. Even further in I developed a strong loathing of him, spoiler[as he freely had sex with eight different girls, without feeling the slightest bit of guild about it. Hell, even if he hadn't felt guilty he could have at least manned up and committed to one of them, rather than continue being an utter douchebag.] Finally, I watched the twelfth episode, and boy did it blow my expectations away. I understand that some people may have been fine with an ending like that, but it was hardly a very satisfying ending to what was already a train wreck of a show, and was downright disturbing. spoiler[Maybe I don't watch enough horror movies, but I was not at all prepared to see Katsura cut Sekai open just to find out if she was really pregnant. I don't think I ever will be prepared for something that horrible again.] I should probably mention, for fairness, that the visuals were gorgeous and the voice acting solid, but I found myself not caring by the end. This anime was not at all fun to watch, and disturbing beyond imagination. I hope that one day I can just erase it from my mind somehow. |
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cicano
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[EDIT: Put actual reasons. -TK]
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ArsenicSteel
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From what I saw, School Days separated itself from generic love stories rather effectively. Not liking Makoto is not much of a slight since well he was not written to be liked or sympathized with. Also the anime was meant to be disturbing and not a happy, happy, joy, joy experience. So mentioning that it disturbed you means the creators accomplished their intent. You are just repeating what the show is which is like saying 5-chili pepper chili is hot - some people like it hot while people that don't like hot things should keep it mild. |
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cuckundu
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I agree, School Days did a pretty damned good job of NOT being generic. But it didn't do that until past the first episode or two, which was kinda the point I was making. Not really an important point for me to make, but I was just making a passing remark. As for the anime being disturbing, I think you're right that it was supposed to be that way, but the truth is that I didn't enjoy it, so it went on my least-favorites list. |
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jonespaker
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[EDIT: No listing. Put reasons. -TK]
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rapidfire21
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My anime list isn't as large as some people's. Instead of doing a list of 10, I have smaller lists of 5 in different categories.
Some of these may seem odd choices, but remember, limited knowledge 
TOP 5 DISSAPOINTMENTS I don't have a "worst" list, but here are 5 anime that had a great premise or lead up, but never delivered. 5. Naruto/Bleach/One Piece When most people say anime, these three come to mind. They are not the usual child TV anime like DBZ, Pokemon etc, yet they have a HUGE number of episodes and a massive following. I have tried all three and just cannot see the point in any of them. They just bore me. 4. To Aru Majutsu No Index What could have been an amazing setting turns to dribble faster than you can say the title. In a near future, Japanese scientists have been able to augment special abilities into young children. However they need special education on their abilities, and some will never develop them no matter how much science and education helps. This could have been a great setting for a social-political based story and cool sci-fi powers. Instead it shifts to Christianity having unexplained magical powers too. Boring talk-fests, one dimensional characters, vampires and...then I gave up. 3. Cowboy Bebop Yes I know, blasphemy you cry! I promise I will try this again in the future, but I got bored so quickly within the first 5 episodes I stopped and have yet to come back. This is a disappointment due to it having such high praise, but I was probably too young at the time. 2. Aoi Hana I went into Aoi Hana looking for a love story that delt with homosexuality as well as heterosexuality. I thought I had found it in Aoi Hana. We have a great set up with well developed characters (and let's face it, all romance stories have are the characters) but somehow it fails to do anything with them. Yes, there is a lesbian relationship in it, making this a Yuri anime. But from what I had heard about this anime before hand, dealing with homosexuality in society, dealing with peers, learning about yourself, learning to overcome fears and doubts. All these were touched on, then it ended. Disappointment followed. 1. Haruhi Suzumiya: Endless Eight Enough said really. Who can sit through eight episodes of the same thing, especially when I knew the outcome from the beginning. My most beloved anime ever, and one of my favourite story arcs of the novels, turned into a torture technique. TOP 5 FAVOURITE SERIES While they may not be the best out there, these 5 have definitely made a huge impression on me. 5. Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Higurashi is definitely not for everyone. But hell was it for me! Taking place during June 1983 in a small mountain town called Hinamizawa, we are introduced a usual set of characters who go about a daily school life. However, the tranquility abruptly ends and we are thrown into a series of arcs that revolve around murder and mystery, with some pretty horrific moments and cuteness thrown in the mix. The first season's plot sets the board with clues and plenty of WTF moments, and the second season nicely ties up the arcs to a good conclusion. While there may be a few small plot holes, and the animation is sub-par, the ride the viewer takes certainly negates the shortfalls. 4. Clannad/After Story Clannad at first seems like your typical harem, especially if you have watched Air or Kanon. Set in modern Japan, Tomoya Okazaki is a teenage delinquent who does not look at life in a very good life. He comes into contact with a variety of girls including Nagisa Furukawa, who changes his life. Each arc has a satisfying conclusion, and there are some hilarious moments through out the first season. After Story focuses on Tomoya's life after high school and his relationship with Nagisa. Clannad does not hold back on the emotional punches. This one will make you laugh, cry, or at least send shivers down your spine. Awesome animation too. 3. Card Captor Sakura I don't think I need to say much about Sakura. This is the finest magical-girl anime out there. It's probable most people have seen the edited English version when they were younger. Do yourself a favour and get the complete series in it's original Japanese. The plot may feel a bit dragged out at times, but there really is nothing that compares to the quality of it's characters and setting. 2. Full Metal Alchemist/Brotherhood Full Metal Alchemist is one of the only anime I can recommend watching in the English dub. I usually love watching anime in Japanese, especially since I can understand the language, but the setting and story makes this anime feel more real when spoken in English. Now that that's out of the way, FMA is set in England in an alternate past where the science (although it's very much depicted as a magic) of Alchemy has largely become the center of many people's lives. Alchemy is the creation of something through other materials as long as the exchange is equal. Ed and Al are brothers, who after loosing their mother to an illness, they try to recreate her through Alchemy. Things go very, very wrong, and thanks to the equality law, Ed looses his arm and leg and Al looses his whole body. They set out to recover their lost bodies and return to a normal life. Brotherhood is a re-make of the series but sticks to the manga's plot. It has more characters, more episodes and a much tidier plot than the original. I consider it above FMA, but both are amazing and both should be watched. 1. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Ah Haruhi, some people will say how cliche this is to be put at number 1, and i'll probably be labelled a crazed fan. All good because I am. Haruhi is the anime that got me back into anime. I watched a lot of kid's anime during my childhood thanks to it being shown during morning TV everyday, but this was the first anime I saw that was aimed at my then 16yo self. Since watching the first season, I have read all the light novels in Japanese (teaching myself the language along the way), learned how to play most of the soundtrack on my guitar, created 5 AMV's to it, was tortured through Endless Eight (I knew the plot anyway from the books) and was blown away by the movie. I fell back in love with anime, which is why I am here and am able to write lists of different shows. It may not be the best, it's not for a lot of people. But my god I love it. Special mentions go to xxxHolic, Lucky Star, Tokyo Magnitude (check this one out), and Angel Beats. TOP 5 MOVIES Movies are different as they have to contain a whole story in usually under 2 hours, with the same impact as a whole series. Yet this is where I believe the diamonds are. 5. The Girl Who Lept Through Time/Summer Wars Am I allowed to put 2 movies under one? Well both these movies are by the same director and the art and visual style shows. Both Girl Who Lept Through Time and Summer Wars have fantastic plots and brilliant character development. No really, the character development is what makes these two movies stand out and unfortunately tie at 5th. 4. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya Why is this not higher if I'm such a Haruhi fan? Well, as I stated, anime movies should be able to contain a whole story within themselves, and unfortunately, Disappearance is a continuation of the Haruhi series, so I cannot recommend it without first having watched both seasons of Haruhi (including *shudder* Endless Eight) . The animation is mind blowing and the story takes a more serious edge, especially with it's characters. 3. Naussica: Valley of the Wind The first Miyazaki film I watched. There is nothing that can topple this off my top 5. This movie is what made me aware of the amazing talent that is Hayao Miyazaki. I have now watched every Ghibli film to date and while Naussica may not be Miyazaki's best, it's certainly up there. The setting is the most unique aspect. 2. Voices of a Distant Star/5 Centimetres Per Second Two loves stories made by Makoto Shinkai. They sit par at number two because they share the same story of distance and love, but while Voices is a one-man developed, crudely drawn, 30 minute hearbreaker, 5 Centimetres is a full movie with the MOST beautiful art and animation I have ever seen in any animation, western or Japanese. These two cannot be missed. The music settles the deal. 1. My Neighbour Totoro Miyazaki again, and while I really could have picked any of his masterpieces to place in this prestige spot, I give it to Totoro for the way it took me back to my childhood and innocence. For a 21 year old man to feel so caring and immersed in a story about two children playing in the woods with forest creatures, Miyazaki has done something amazing that I cannot even describe. My full praise to Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli and Totoro. |
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Ness_Success
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[EDIT: No listing. Put reasons. -TK]
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