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Your Top 10 / Worst 5 things. Why? (w/ index).

Top Five Favorites

1: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Geez, where to start?

I was first attracted to MGLN by a music video I stumbled across on Anime Music Videos.org. Some of you may have seen 'Resonance' on Youtube, and I caught it right in the middle of a brief fascination with Bleach; what I saw was a Bleach/Sailor Moon/Negima! love child, and I can safely say it was love at first sight.

It was for MGLN that I first sat down and dedicated time to figuring out how to use Bittorrent, which had the added effect of helping to introduce me to all the other shows on this list.

As for specific reasons why I love the show so much... well I've always had a weakness for happy endings, and Nanoha has perhaps the most touching ending I've ever seen, never mind the awesome story, spectacular combat, and absolutely lovable characters. Fate Testarossa has more depth to her than almost any other antagonist I've ever run across, and Nanoha's desperate attempts to get Fate to open up to her struck a chord with me.

There are other shows that I will freely admit are better than MGLN--several of them are on this list--but Nanoha Classic will always have a special place in my heart. Fate x Nanoha forever!

2: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's
Yay for sequels that are better than the originals! Virtually everything that Nanoha Classic did, A's did better. Now if only the same could be said for StrikerS...

Anywho, with Fate firmly on Nanoha's side, Seven Arcs had to come up with new antagonists, and they really hit the motherload with Hayate and the Wolkenritter. "Sick Girl" Hayate rings of Tomoe Hotaru without the tragic 'woe is me' overtones, making her, if anything, even more sympathetic than Fate was without allowing her scenes to turn into a pity parade. The Wolkenritter are believable antagonists with just as much depth to them as Fate, and the introduction of the cartridge system provides a believable way for the cast to experience a dramatic power up without going the way of the Super Saiyan.

3: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Years from now, when we are dead and gone and a new age of anime fans have taken our place, Neon Genesis Evangelion will be lost to the sands of time, and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann will stand as Gainax's crowning achievement, the brightest moment in its' history.

The editor of the TV Tropes Wiki calls TTGL "What happens when you ask Gainax to make a Saturday morning cartoon." If it is such a cartoon, then it stands as the most epic cartoon ever concieved, if not the most epic story ever told period. Eat your heart out, Homer; Ulysses has nothing on Simon, Yoko or Viral. And don't even get me started on He-Who-Redefines-Badass.

Like the characters themselves, TTGL shattered every expectation I ever placed on it. Every time I thought this series couldn't get any better, it flipped me off and did so anyways. Simon is everything that Shinji Ikari should've been, and Gurren-Lagann makes EVA-01 look like a Ganmen's chew toy. How can you not love a robot that wears its' own sunglasses?

If I didn't love Nanoha so much as I do, TTGL would take the top spot on this list and never ever give it up.

4: Fate/Stay Night
I am the bone of my sword.

Y'know, the funny thing is that I almost dropped this series after watching six episodes and being pretty damn bored for most of them. Then I started watching again after several weeks away from the series, and before I knew it I was watching Archer face down Berserker in the Einzberg mansion... and my concept of Epic was turned completely on its' head. From that point onwards, I was hooked. The ending may have been somewhat disappointing and Sakura might not have gotten anywhere near enough screentime, but hey, that's what the game is for!

F/SN's awesomeness has since been trumped by TTGL, and Kamina's GARness is exponentially greater than Archer's, but I won't be forgetting this one anytime soon.

5: Zero no Tsukaima
This one is actually kinda weird for me in that I can't identify why exactly I like it so much. Its' relatively episodic plot structure irritates me, I loathe Louise and cheer every time Saito gets a bit closer to Siesta or Henrietta, and the story just isn't all that special throughout both of the first two seasons.

So why the heck is it on this list? Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe it's because Saito's living out my fondest fantasy, or because he reminds me so much of myself. Maybe it's because I love Henrietta, Siesta, Giche, and Tabitha. Or maybe it's because the magic system reminds me of Harry Potter.

Whatever, I don't know and I don't plan to spend too much time thinking about it, but call me when season 3 comes out.

Ah...this is a difficult task that has fallen into my lap; nonetheless, I shall deliver my best.

Worst 5 Anime

1. Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino- (TV)
What a repulsive knee jerk reaction I had to this anime! It was absolute torture to sit and watch even 10 minutes of this garbage; I was so upset by this disappointing sequel that I didn't even get to the end of episode one. Horrible animation, dull music, and not to mention the absolute, overkill on cliches! I was venting to my roommates about this one, as I expected better because of the outstanding first season it was based off of.

2. Naruto
Yawn. This anime appears to cater to a younger audience, but it is beyond my comprehension how this anime continues to be a gold mine for the industry. The story telling of this anime is so slow it makes Homer look like the Flash; I would assert that a typical fight scene in this series takes about 2-3 episodes with a flashback to something you just saw (flashbacks last 1-5 minutes). SO MANY FLASHBACKS ZOMG STOP! Not to mention, it has an overabundance of anime cliches riddled in it.

3. Bleach
Yeah I know, this is a surprise for me too, but I have my reasons for it. I was hugely addicted to this series up until the filler series was over....and then it began again. I don't like it when I predict the fight scene of a series minute by minute and then do it again the next episode...and then the next and the next...GAH! There's no interest left and I must say it's a let down; if writers condensed the series and made it LESS predictable I'd probably appreciate Bleach much more.

4. .hack//Legend of the Twilight
Yet another sequel that failed to deliver; after viewing the scrumptous .hack//Sign, I was eager for more. Instead, I get a kiddie's only playpen that felt like it was designed for the 12 and under age group. Completely failed to capture my attention without any sense of mystery or drama; got up to about episode six on this one and then cried NO MORE!

5. Claymore
To be honest, had this series stayed faithful with the manga until then end and had a similar distasteful ending (like Inuyasha) there's no way in hell this series would be on this list. However, this isn't what happened; instead, the writers decided to rush a bullshit story in the last 4 episodes of the series and train wrecked everything. Cliche, uninteresting, and a very boring conclusion. I was begging throughout those last four episodes that they throw in some kind of curve; my pleas were left unanswered.

Enough of the bad, let's list some of the reasons why I love anime.

Top 5 Anime

1. Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
From the very beginning, the anime style grasped my attention because I hadn't seen anything like it before. Each episode had meaning behind it, as well as managing to keep me up in good spirits and guessing at what will happen in the next episode. What really won me over, was the story; when all was said and done- I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with passion for this series. Original, meaningful, dramatic, and (most importantly) conclusive! This one is a must for those of you who haven't had the pleasure yet.

2 Moribito - Guardian of the Sacred Spirit
Outstanding medieval, fantasy animes are far and few IMO and this is the gem of the genre. Off the top of my head, I can recall the amazingly fluid fight scenes which I can watch multiple times and still be in awe. The writers successfully sucked me into this world; each interaction had meaning behind it even if it may have had none to begin with. If we are lucky enough to be blessed with a second season, I will surely be the first one in line.

To be continued...

Since I am sorta new to the forums, I thought that it was a good idea to give my top 10 shows. The list is by when I first saw the shows, not by number.

1. Dragon Ball Z: Pure action and a total rush of adrenaline. This is the first show that I actually went out of my way to buy on VHS and now on DVD and I love everything about it. While DB and GT have their moments, DBZ is just the best incarnation of DB in my opinion. I loved that the fights took many episodes and had twists and turns (like Goku vs. Freiza). The characters and artwork are just fantastic since I am a fan of Toryiama's art since Chrono Trigger for the SNES (it's my favorite game of all time period). I can never get enougth of it.

2. Tenchi Muyo: I fell in love with this show when I first saw the OVA series on TV and this show is one of the reasons that I first got a DVD player since I wanted to get the complete collection really badly. I love all of the characters and some of it is truly LOL funny. The other incarnations of Tenchi are fun and have their moments also, but, I prefer the original OVA series overall.

3. Outlaw Star/Angel Links: These shows are together on my list because buying the first made me want to get the second. I first saw Outlaw Star on TV and it was the first show that I completed on DVD when I got my first player. The first episode is one of the best openers ever in Anime and catches you immediately. I believe that people are either OS people or Bebop people and while I love both shows, I am definitely a OS person. Angel Links on the other hand starts out slow but reaches a powerful and moving climax at the end of the series. OS is one of the few shows that I really would love to see a 2nd season for. Why didn't CN try to push for this when they had the chance is beyond me.

4. Vandread: My favorite show from Gonzo (and I am a fan of many of their shows). I first noticed this show when I was watching Gatekeepers and saw a trailer for it and decided to get it for myself. I love absolutely everything about this show and would love to see a 3rd stage someday. The story and characters are all fantastic and the opening episode is another excellent one that hooks fans in immediately. Those propoganda videos that the men's military showed during the first episode were just comic gold. It's sad that the only way that this show could air on TV was on Starz since CN or any other network would never be able to air the show due to some people's potential complaints about it's sexuality. This show truly deserves wider recognition from the casual fans as well as from hardcore fans.

5. Neon Genesis Evangelion: The greatest show of all time, period. A true masterpiece of character and story that builds from a slow start to a brilliant cresendo at the end. And both endings leave viewers thinking which is great. I first saw EVA over a weekend almost 6 years ago and saw Death and Rebirth at the same time. And End of EVA is the best animated film that I have ever seen. It is the only movie that can take me on an emotional roller coaster ride from start to finish each time I see it. This show is also the first time that I really paid attention to the english dub since it was so great. I could see myself in so many characters especially Shinji, Asuka, and Misato and I ended up truly hating Gendo with a passion and even thought of him as a @#$%^^&. A rare thing for an animated series. I can't wait for the new movies to finally come to the states and I would be the first person in line if they appear in theaters in my area. But please keep the english cast intact. No one else could work in those roles except them.

6. Rahxephon: The true spirtual successor to EVA. Beautiful and mystifying at the same time. This was a show where I said "what the @#$%" a few times and that was exciting. I love everything about the show from the characters and the art to the music and the story. I can see the comparisions to EVA but this show is more positive than EVA is towards its characters. And Yoko Kanno's theme music is fantastic.

7. Please Teacher/Please Twins: Another pair of shows that I could watch over and over again. I loved everything about both shows from the characters to the music to the stories. I also loved that there were no villians and no forced conflict within the stories and all of the characters were allowed to be genuine and fully realized, thus, making them all endearing to the audience. I also wept openly when I saw the ending of the 12th episode of Please Teacher. I can only hope that Please! will come out with another show eventually so I can fall in love with it too. I wish that both shows got the chance to air on TV here in the USA but I understand why that couldn't happen.

8. Inifinite Ryvius: The most underrated show on my list. I love the style and rythym of the entire series and there were so many interesting characters to get involved in throughout the series. I also loved the show because unlike all of the Star Trek shows that I love watching, we had no clue who the real captain of the Ryvius should have been. All of the candiates were seriously flawed and frankly the only person who should have been captain in the long run would never be picked or would want the job (Koji Abia). Since it was a more serious scifi show than S-Cryed or Witch Hunter Robin, it never got the chance to appear on TV here in the US on CN or G4(back when they aired anime). And this is a shame since the show diserved to find a larger audience.

9. Last Exile: The most beautiful show that Gonzo (or anyone else) has ever created. The art style and direction was fantastic and the animation was beyond beautiful. I also loved the characters, the music, and the story. A truly beautiful show from beginning to end and a true visual masterpiece. I was so jealous that G4 aired the show and I couldn't get the network because it was only on the higher channel ranges.

10. Mobile Suit Gundam Seed/Seed Destiny: I love, love, love Seed and Seed Destiny completely and utterly. I was hooked from the first episode of Seed. I remember having to record the first episode when it aired on CN because I couldn't watch it and wanted to see it without interruption. I ended watching the first episode 20 times during that week before the 2nd episode aired. I love everything about both shows from the art to the music and the characters and the story. And I love all of the Gundams (especially the original Strike, the Freedom, the Strike Freedom and the Strike Noir which never ended up on the series proper). I couldn't wait to get each DVD of both series and I went nuts when the final episode of Seed Destiny didn't play and I had to exchange it for a working DVD. I love so many characters that I almost couldn't mention all of them but I especially loved the entire crew of the Archangel. Hey, I even love the Archangel itself and the Minerva as well. The only character that I ended up hating (with a real passion) was Rau Le Creuset since he was such a bastard for the entire first series and spoiler[I was so mad when he killed Flay (who I absolutely loved) at the end of Seed. ]. Now that both shows are over (on DVD) I will miss the excitment of buying each volume of Seed and then Seed Destiny. And I can't wait for the Seed Destiny final plus, the specials, and the new Seed big screen movie.

Now for some honorable mentions:

1. Burst Angel: Sexy and cool as hell. I really want that 2nd season, Gonzo.

2. Fafner: Intersting from start to finish.

3. R.O.D. (OVA and TV): Both were truly original and exciting with fantastic animation and characters.

4. Stellvia/Shingu/This Ugly yet Beautiful World: I love all 3 shows but they are tied since they are from the same director. All 3 are great but totally different from one another in style and tone.

5. The Melody of Oblivion: Truly underrated and a great colaboration between JC Staff and Gainax. I hope that there is a second season one day.

6. Spiral: Loved everything about the series except the fact that it ended in the middle of the story. Sequel, please!

7. Haruhi: I am a loyal member of the SOS Brigade and can't wait for the 2nd season. This show is just pure joy.

8. My-Hime: The one time where the magical girl show is put on its head with realistic characters and a more mature storytelling style. And the artwork was fantastic. I'm not sure about My-Otome as of yet compared to the first, but, please Sunrise, finish and release the My-Hime movie, please?

9. Shakugan no Shana: A total suprise for me since I had no idea what to expect from it and I now just love it. I can't wait for season 2 and please someone pick up the OVA (with the artbox) and season 2 as soon as possible.

10. Fate/Stay Night: Fantastic from beginning to end. Everything just works throughout the series from the characters to the story. Nothing short of fantastic. If they do a sequel, I hope that the show can only measure up to the quality of the original.

11. Zegapain: My favorite show that I am buying right now. It just works for me in every way. Not a total surprise since it came from Takehito Ito (whose Outlaw Star is one of my all time faves).

Hello, since this is my first post I would like to include a small introduction about myself. I am currently a college age student. Unlike most anime fans, my age I have only recently starting watching anime and reading manga on my own in the last 9 months. Ironically, all throughout highs school the majority of my friends watched anime, but I could never really find myself interested in it. Looking back, I realized why I never found anime appealing back then. It is not that my preferences have changed drastically, but it was the fact that the genres of the anime they watched did not meet my likes. They tended to watch action-focused shonens, soft-core adult anime (ecchi sp?), or video-game based animes. To this very day, I still don’t like these types of anime. However, it is true that without them I wouldn’t be able to put any anime in my bottom 5 list. Ha!



Top 5 (In no order)

Monster
Strong character development first captures your attention. Your attention is the maintained by a complex story line that evokes strong psychological responses from the audience. The story makes excellent use of the slow pacing. The slow pacing allows the anime to not only be deliberate but flesh out the elements of the story well enough to invoke a sense of realism in a surreal environment. It is also a series that truly grows on you as much as the characters themselves change within the anime. It has a real organic quality that is really appealing to me. The anime continues its psychological toil of the viewer to the very end with a very appropriate ending.

Azumanga Daioh

This show can be summarized as witty, wildly addictive, over-the-top hilarious, insanity bottled in anime form. Personally, I find this anime as a breath a fresh air from anime’s typical obsession with giant robots, ninjas, and idealized love stories. Instead of fiction that seems obviously fiction you are rewarded with a realistic slice of life drama. Although, this is a typical growing up high school journey story, the anime manages to distinguish itself with zany tangents that don’t really seem that far fetched. Thankfully, the realism is broken when the imaginations of the students are visualized. On top of all that, Osaka really sealed the deal for me. I loved it how she breaks the mold of the typical tsundre, emotional, hyper, cute, or spunky character. Instead, you get a female character that is an air head that entertains us with her “wisdom” and zaniness. Lastly, I loved the feeling of progression as each year passed.


Cowboy Bebop

Breath-taking Noir inspired animation combined with well developed stories are really what make this anime enjoyable to me. This anime also is able to maintain its grounded to reality quality despite its sci-fi genre. The daily struggle of these bounty hunters really interests me. Instead of many of its derivatives, Cowboy Bebop resists the urge for an idealized story. While possibly depressing to some I found the story very gritty, down-to-business and the ending though disappointing, feels fitting.

Excel Saga

Unrestrained, chaotic, but strangely calculated, this anime is very entertaining but is definitely an acquired taste. Its mix of Looney Toons meets Monty Python style humor was a pefect match for me. Truly addictive. Even for those not familiar with every anime reference found within the show, will still find something of value within this anime. Despite, its absurdness the anime seemed like commentary and criticism on all anime itself. Excel Saga does this by taking a buffet approach of all the genres and exploiting each genre for its inherent weakness. A true find for anyone well learned in anime and its defining tropes. Sardonic wit is never in short supply in this anime. I have always had a weak spot for this type of humor and I would love to see a similar newer anime able to accomplish the same thing in its own unique way. I suppose Lucky Star tries to do this, but it seems sedated in comparison.


Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

A perfect mix of sci-fi, comedy and slice of drama, I find MHS appealing mix of genres for me. It also manages to capture a concept so intriguing that it instantly captured my attention and my interest. MHS’s flag ship character, Kyon, really is what makes this anime even better than most others of the same genre. Kyon is the sole voice of region in a world where he feels he is the only one that is normal. His sarcastic but down-to-earth commentary is really what , at least for me, enables a large portion of what is funny in the anime. While I found the characters strong, they (with the possible exception of Kyon) are not what make this anime great. It is its unique concepts, unforgettable comedic value, which is complemented by stunning visuals and equally amazing sound.

Honorable mentions.
Welcome to the NHK and Lucky Star.

Others that I have watched.
Genshiken, Mushishi, Death Note, Ghost Stories (english dub), and unfortunately bits of pokemon, ramna 1/2 , sgt frog, yugioh, Prince of Tennis and Inuyahsa.

The bottom 5

Bleach

While some of the characters in the series are well developed, it is unable to compensate for its misused slow placed and formulaic and cyclical story arcs. Additionally, saying that Bleach has a lot of filler is an understatement. Bleach has entire arcs that are filler. This would not be a problem if the quality of this filler wasn’t substantially lower quality than the content of the main story. Sadly, this is not the case. Bleach also falls victim to “It’s only a flesh wound syndrome” . No matter how much abuse they take, they seem to handle it. There are exceptions but I don’t want to go into any details for spoiler reasons.

Naruto

Ninjas that wear orange, annoying main characters, an obsession with ramen gags and even more filler than Bleach, makes the list of Naruto’s offenses very long. To a lesser extent than Bleach, the series misuses its at times slow pacing. Instead of using the slow pacing to develop a more complex story line or explore physiological facets, Naurto uses its slow pacing as excuse to put off an exciting part to the next episode. It’s truly disappointing.

Dragon Ball Z

Notorious offender of the “Let’s spend a whole episode charging up syndrome”. Dragon Ball Z also suffers from inconsistent pacing. I also found some of it Shonen elements a bit too childish for me as well. Although, it is true that some of the dialogue is so bad that it is able to be used as comedic gold. I suppose that this is its redeeming quality.

Girls Bravo

Personally, I did not like its portrayal of women. This is probably because I do not like the genre This anime treats women as a means of infinite source of fanservice. Personally, I found the anime as a bit disturbing at times. What makes it even worse is that it seems like the anime’s main purpose is to give fanservice to the audience. The story is weak and the humor flounders often and is rarely even mediocre. Additionally, I only did watch one episode of this and countless glimpses of other episodes when other were viewing it. I did read summaries to help get a gist of the story in search of redeeming qualities. >< Sadly, none were found.

Dear S

This anime offended my values to a much greater degree than Girls Bravo. At least to me, the offenses of the anime were so great that I actually challenged my friends to stop watching this stuff. While not as bad as hentai obviously, this anime depicts women as nothing other than sex slaves. Why else do they wear collars? I can’t comment much on the story since I couldn’t stomach to watch more than an episode. The images shown in this series were truly offensive to my senses.

If you want to watch this genre please try to watch something more reasonable like Chobits, even Girls Bravo or almost anything else from the genre. Then again i'm not your mom, so do as you please. If you like this stuff, go for it. It's just not for me

And that being said, I am not even a conservative viewer, I did enjoy Welcome to the NHK and the MHS.

Please take these reviews with a grain of salt. I have not watched a great deal of anime.

With my preferences in mind, please recommend some anime that I may enjoy. I will only consider them if you give a thoughtful justification.


Apologies for my essay.

Slight edit: For grammar and sensitivity for the last two reviews only.

Last edited by Olliff on Fri Feb 29, 2008 9:59 am; edited 2 times in total

Welcome to ANN and thanks for contributing your top list to this thread, but I have to take issue with a few things...

Olliff wrote:

If you enjoyed [Girls Bravo], what little respect you had for the female is now extinguished.

No, it means you enjoy animated depictions of attractive, fictional females. It has nothing to do with one's respect for women in real life.

Quote:

This anime treats women as objects of pleasure, nothing more.

I don't know, considering how much abuse the men in the series suffer, I can't think of it as an "all females are subservient" anime.

Quote:

Personally, I found the anime as a whole truly disgusting.

You're welcome to think that way about the series, but please don't insult people just because they happen to like something you don't like.

Quote:

What makes it even worse is that it seems like the anime’s main purpose is to give fanservice to the audience.

You're pretty much right about that, but not everything has to be "high art."

I would like to apologize for some of the insensitivity in my last post. In hindsight, I probably should have not been as harsh on my bottom two reviews. It was wrong for me to be so judgmental, especially when I was trying to make a good first impression. I am well aware that you can respect women and love the show. Some of my best friends who love the show have steady relationships and sometimes they even watch it together. The show is fiction and just art. This is what you would call entertainment and if you enjoy for whatever value as art or other value it has, go for it.

I believe that I let some of my frustration of my friends being obsessed with this stuff get the best with me. Everyone should be able to watch what they like. The point I was trying to make is that these shows were really not for me. Even though I haven't seen much of Girls Bravo, I have seen enough to know that you are right that the male leads can be abused as much if not way more than the females. As an ecchi, it isn't bad because of its one strong female character and its vilification of the biggest pervert.

Additionally, you are right about the subservient part, this show does not at all show women (that one woman lead would not stand for it ) as subservient, thats more the latter one I reviewed, but heck its only fiction I suppose . Heck, I even admit I do enjoy watching the occasional fan service from time to time, such as depicted in MHS.

I apologize again for letting my holier than thou attitude get the best of me on my latter two views, it was meant more as of a justification of why I don't like ecchi. I hope that this post can save myself from alienating or offending everyone who happens to like this genre. I don't want to start off the wrong foot with a large group of people disliking me. =P

Hello all, I've only been here barely two weeks but I'm putting stuff like this on because this seems to be a good way of meeting people, however I find it weird that the guy (or girl I don't know) who wrote the first comment and all those ratings only made 8 posts. Hmm.

Before I begin, I would like to state my opinion that in general, most anime fit into five categories: kiddy shonen with cute characters and magic spells or something of the like (e.g. DBZ); high-school comedy (sometimes shojo) (e.g. AzuManga Daioh, The Melancholy of SH, Negima); mythical fantasy-land or feudal/medieval anime (Bleach; InuYasha, Fushigi Yugi) urban or underworld horror anime (e.g. Death Note) and futuristic sci-fi (e.g. Evangelion). I generally like anime that push or exceed these genre boundaries.

Ok, my top 5

#5 - Jigoku Shoujo. Heck, it scared me more than a horror movie. Being kinda religious, the idea of binding someone to hell is scary as. It's the sort of thing when you see them holding that straw doll and you keep thinking "Don't pull the string, Don't pull the string!" Other than that, the truly spooky bit is the events co-ordinated before their ultimate delivery. Freaky in every way.

#4 - Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. Hey! How come 3-D animation like Toy Story and Finding Nemo get all this publicity and all this, brilliance, artistic, BEAUTY isn't event heard of outside anime fandom? While the story and plot seem to be nothing new (a typical "good-vs-evil" thing), the film deserves praise for its animation and technical exellence and visual design (always love the cities, forests, mountains, deserts, coasts of FF games). Cloud is so cool too. You owe it to yourself to see it if you like FF in general.

#3 - Madlax. This is the first real girls-with-guns anime I've seen. Characterisation is brilliant. Unlike action sci-fi, it's set virtually in the present. Also, it is incredibly realistic (apart from the fact that spoiler[Margaret can "split herself into three personalities - that's kinda over-the-top.] Anyway, the emotional connections between make it almost tear-jerking spoiler[to know that both Vanessa and Elenore die. So sad, it almost brings me to tears.] A good must-watch anime.

#2 - Read or Die OVA and R.O.D the TV. Paper? Who'd a thought it. That's original. Very funny and quirky characters too. Yomiko is so cool, because of her the series needs some fanservice lol. Then again, of all things, paper is the last superpower you'd expect from a superhero.

#1 - Elfen Lied. Kohta is my avatar for a reason!! It's bold! It's different!! It's mysterious!! It's got mystery, suspense, horror, sentimentality, and has several plot devices like several stories coming together, psychological themes etc. If you can stomach the first 7 minutes of episode 1, you'll see a story which has several twists and turns, fanservice, and characterisation involving very different however tragic pasts which all come together in the end. If you are showing this to someone for the first time, start them from episode 2. They'll get most of the plot they missed from episode 1. It's a thriller which can be comparable to several blockbusters, and contains deep-meaning themes too. A must watch...if you can stomach it all. Never mind that!! Must watch!

In that sense, I guess if anyone has an avatar from an anime series it must be their favourite anime, isn't it?

A note about my most hated before I start:

Anime are created for two reasons - to be artistic or to get rich. Those who turn mainstream are obviously CAPITALIST and are there for the latter. Note that aside from FFVII, my 5 favourite are generally arthouse or different in some way. I also hate it when people claim to be big anime fans and all they've heard of is Pokemon, DBZ, Yu-Gi-Oh, Bleach and Naruto. Ugh.

Most hated:

#5 - Ranma 1/2. It might be unfair seeing as I only watch fragments of episodes, but seeing as whenever I turn on Animax in Asia it's often on, so I've seen countless fragments of episodes. The fact that I only see fragments shows how intersting it is.

#4 - Yu-Gi-Oh. Check my staement at the top. Too conformist.

#3 - InuYasha. Yawn.

#2 - Fruits Basket. Tell Tohru Honda to get a job with Disney or something. She's too perfect-in-every-way, all smiles all the time, and in that way, just too pretentious.

#1 - Naruto. No comments needed.

Quote:

#1 - Elfen Lied. Kohta is my avatar for a reason!! It's bold! It's different!! It's mysterious!! It's got mystery, suspense, horror, sentimentality, and has several plot devices like several stories coming together, psychological themes etc. If you can stomach the first 7 minutes of episode 1, you'll see a story which has several twists and turns, fanservice, and characterisation involving very different however tragic pasts which all come together in the end. If you are showing this to someone for the first time, start them from episode 2. They'll get most of the plot they missed from episode 1. It's a thriller which can be comparable to several blockbusters, and contains deep-meaning themes too. A must watch...if you can stomach it all. Never mind that!! Must watch!

Nice Elfen Lied... which reminds i missed the last episode ><. How can they say Lucy is evil spoiler[she had a hard childhood her dog was beat to death in front her and her so called friend betrayed her so she just snapped and the heads went flying. Plus she had those evil voices in her head. When will people learn not to listen to those voices in their head?]
[EDIT: Spoiler tags added, title corrected. ~Zalis]

Hiya'll, this is my first post here... I've been watching this site for a couple of months, and I've liked the discussion here. So I've decided to post my top 10 top anime (and top 5 worst) as well. As you may notice on this one, I got an awful amount of comedies on my top 10, but that's because I rather watch funny things than series that makes me feel sad.

Top 10 Best Anime

10 Fullmetal Alchemist
I'm currently watching this one, but it has a real special feeling about it. Even though I see it as an action anime like One Piece and Dragonball everything just feels dark all of the time, with there being conflicts consistently and so. But the story's simply amazing.

9Neon Genesis Evangelion
I didn't like the manga too much, but I really like the anime version. It's got an intense feeling about it, a feeling that tells you that this is among the best things ever made - like fifteen episodes before it's finished. But I still haven't finished this one, so I have a hard time judging it.


8Tenshi na Konamaiki
One of the most funny things I've ever seen. This series really uses the idea of a guy turning into a girl to 100%, and manages to make up all kinds of situations out of it. It's combined with a character set-up that really fits perfectly as well, and everytime I watch this I just have a constant smile on my face.

7Prince of Tennis
This one was probably the first +100 episodes that I watched. It's also the only +100 episdoes series that I've watched three times. Simply because Prince of Tennis really follows every rule in the book of how to compell the viewer. The scenario in the matches is so that you almost always now who'll win, but you still want to watch it to the end. Also, it's also intruiging to watch the main character Ryoma evolve both as a tennis player and as a human being, with the help of his team-mates.

6School Rumble
When I read the first books of the manga, I didn't get School Rumble. It was supposed to be one of the most funny things ever made, but I never laughed. Then I watched the anime, and... The difference is enormous, I'd say. The voice-acting, the background music and everything around it makes this series really evolve as an anime. Espescially in the second season - the first 8 episodes there are probably among my most precious moments in life. I've never laughed non-stop like I did there before. Brilliant.

5Slam Dunk
After watching Prince of Tennis, I needed some more sports action (since I liked PoT so much). I found Slam Dunk in a book store and bought the first four books, and then I was hooked. I then had to watch the anime because my import store in Stockholm only had the first four of the series, but even though the anime version is of pretty poor visual quality (duh, it's old ^^) so was it a joy to watch. It's really epic, everything about it. Watching Sakuragi Hanamichi evolve is fantastic and it's really exciting to watch him surprise his opponents time after time. Also, you could say that this show is more social than PoT, and maybe it's because of that that Slam Dunk's better, according to me. But the end of Slam Dunk... It's those kind of things that make you happy to be alive. I cried during the whole last book (I downloaded the last 10 books due to the anime ending before the nationals - I guess that's why Slam Dunk isn't higher up...).

4Yakitate Japan
Well... Watching Yakitate Japan was amazing. It's a living proof of the power of anime and manga; everythings possible. Even though everything's rather silly in the series, the jokes that are made are among the best ever, and aren't always easy to get, but when you do get them, you understand the greatness of this anime. Also, there's tournaments involved, and that always makes anime's so much more interesting. Watching bread battles turned out to be almost as interesting as watching football.

[3/b] One Piece
I decided to start watching the anime version of this version after the swedish publisher decided to start publishing one book every two months, instead for 12 a year. This was too much for me, so I watched the first 300 episodes in 17 days. I still don't understand how I achieved that... But nevertheless, with One Piece, everything's possible. It got everything that I want, and I can honestly not understand how Naruto's more popular than One Piece. It just feels like you get all emotions in the package of one, along with a compelling story that still sees no end. And unlike other long-time running shows, the fillers in One Piece hardly takes up a big place and are usually alright to watch.

[b]2 Elfen Lied
My biggest mistake this far in life got to be when I watched the last six episodes of Elfen Lied non-stop starting half past twelve at a thursday night two years ago. I was devastated. C'mon, what is this? How can somebody make up something as horrible as this? I just felt sad the whole time. I dreamt nightmares about disclonouses for a month after that. Nonetheless, I have to say that it really touched me and few other things in life have affected me as much as this.

1 Death Note
In my opinion, this is the only anime I've seen that I'd like to recommend to every living human being to watch as well. It's just brilliant, perfect, fantastic and every superlative in the world. When watching this (and reading the manga) I never stop to get amazed by how perfect everything is; not even once did I feel that something was wrong, didn't fit or seemed weird. It was a series that just flowed on, never got boring and compelled for every second. This is also, according to me, the best ever good vs. evil contest ever - because, who really is good and who really is evil - Light/Kira or L and his descendants? It really makes you think and I'd say that everybody can learn something out of Death Note.

Others worth mentioning includes DearS, Lucky Star, Koi Kaze, hack Roots and Basilisk

Top 5 Worst Anime
5 Naruto
Well... I do like Naruto, I watch it weekly and all, but I have it here because it simply doesn't live up to it's potential as a show. I often feel more bugged about things than just enjoying it. I don't feel like I get to know the characters either - if you are going to have as much fillers as Naruto do, why don't you have character specials as well? - and the drama about Sasuke feels kinda plastic to me. During the show, I never felt like the bond between Sasuke and Naruto was so awfully big and I almost laugh when they show recaps of whats happened between them. It's always the same thing; when they eat together after training, when they climbed trees together, when they fought like two enemies together... What is that, really? Well, I could go on forever about how much it bugs me sometimes. Shippuudens better than the first series though.

Here, I understood that I have no other problems with any other anime whatsoever. Except for one, which is really the only anime that I've watched and disliked.

[/b]1[b] Boys Be
Ugh. If you've watched it, you understand me. It's just... To obvious. I actually made it through ten episodes and everything was like playing an easy game of chess - you always knew what was to come five minutes ahead of you. No surprises ever. Talk about following the book without questioning anything. And then we have the opening and ending themes... Talk about being more USA than Japan, double ugh.

legendfunk wrote:

Totally Spies isn't really an anime, since it's not from Japan, and the theme and backdrop is Los Angeles (sure, you can have anime from different corners of the world, but not really in America).

Totally Spies isn't anime at all by the official definition. However, it is because and only because it is not from Japan. I'm not sure where you get that being set in America disqualifies something as anime but all I can say is that Red Garden would beg to differ.

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Nice Elfen Lied... which reminds i missed the last episode ><. How can they say Lucy is evil spoiler[she had a hard childhood her dog was beat to death in front her and her so called friend betrayed her so she just snapped and the heads went flying. Plus she had those evil voices in her head. When will people learn not to listen to those voices in their head?]

You're right, because spoiler[she had a messed up childhood it excuses all the innocent people she brutally murdered. ]

I'm a tad bit hesitant to post in this thread, as I've always had problems trying to rank my favorite animes when it comes to lists such as these. However, for the sake of... well, I've got nothing better to do, so I might as well give it a whirl, eh? Also, my "Top 10" list in this thread will differ a tiny bit from my public "top 10" anime list, since I've decided to combine two separate entries... since, ya know, they're the same show.

-=TOP 10=- (Keep in mind that my top 10 is, of course, purely subjective.)

10. Princess Mononoke - My favorite Miyazaki film (that I've seen in its entirety, anyway). I rather liked the overall plot, and the man encroaching on nature theme I picked up throughout the film. The actual animation was good, of course. Unfortunately, none of the characters really 'clicked' with me, and I don't really recall becoming all that interested in the audio component of the movie, either. Hence, it is relegated to the #10 spot.

9. Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust - The animation was pretty good, I found D himself to be interesting (which is more than I can say for most of the other characters...), and the ending was touching in a bittersweet way. The music & sound wasn't all that remarkable, though. Anyway, those factors, combined with the fact that the original Vampire Hunter D was my first experience with anime (albeit in a censored form), and my soft spot for Vampires, give it the #9 spot.

8. Air TV - Although there was something about the way the characters were drawn that... bothered me, I'm giving the #8 spot to the Air TV series. Animation-wise, other than the wierdness factor of the drawing style, I found it satisfactory, the audio component was very well done IMO, and character-wise... well, Yukito reminds me of myself in some ways, so he's my favorite. Most importantly, the series managed to provoke an emotional response in me at several points and... I really like the OP theme and a certain song that plays in the last EP of the series. I believe it's named "Aozora". If not for that wierd feeling I get whenever I see the artstyle, it would be ranked MUCH higher. Gaooo~

7. Scrapped Princess - The animation was good, I liked the OP/ED, and I liked (not loved) most of the main cast. However, several things relegate this to the #7 spot. First of all, I don't particularly care for european-medieval settings (even with thespoiler[ 'ancient advanced civilization'] backdrop of the series). Secondly, Pacifica somehow managed to be simultaneously useful and useless throughout the series. And finally, although I liked most of the cast, I didn't really 'feel' for them.

6. Fullmetal Alchemist - The animation was good, as was the audio... and the cast was also good. I liked most of the characters and loved a few (Maes Hughes, Roy Mustang, and Izumi Curtus being those few). I also found the whole 'alchemy' aspect of the series interesting. The steampunk setting was also more interesting (to me) than ScraPrin's medieval-with-a-hint-of-of-deeper-things setting... so that's why it's in the #6 spot.

5. Death Note - The animation was good, the audio was great, and the way Light and L played games with eachother kept me on the edge of my seat. But, other than Light, L, Ryuk, and to a much lesser extent, Near... none of the characters really interested me. If the last 1/3 of the series (more or less) were as awesome as the first 2/3, it might have claimed the #4 spot. The 1st OP/ED are also great.

4. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (Kai) - In my public top 10 list, I have the two seasons of this series as separate entries... but I decided to combine 'em for this one. Anyway, I found the animation fairly unremarkable... but the story, characters, and audio were all great. Also, the spectacular OP themes for both seasons help secure its place as #4

2. (Tie) Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal - The first anime that actually made me tear up. Great animation/art style, good audio, fairly interesting characters (specifically Kenshin and Tomoe), plus the whole emotional response aspect.

2 (Tie) Cowboy Bebop - Great animation, great sound, and awesome characters... but, despite the underlying plot present in the series, the episodic nature of the series was a bit of a turn-off for me. Also, other than a few certain scenes near the end of the series, it didn't really touch me all that much.

1. Elfen Lied - The animation itself is fairly good, but what struck me about this series, from a visual standpoint was the backgrounds art. The characters are... well, I 'like' most of the cast but I really only 'love' Lucy/Nyuu/Kaede and Kurama... and I absolutely HATE Yuka. Dear non-descript generic deity I hate Yuka. Uh, anyway, EL claims my #1 spot for three main reasons... the audio, although rather limited in quantity, is my favorite of any anime, the emotional response it evoked in me, and the sheer contrast between the cute and macabre present in the series.

-=BOTTOM 5=- (In no particular order...)
Zatch Bell - Egads, it reminds me of pokemon... except with child-like creature... things. And less Team Rocket.
Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals - I'm not exactly a huge Final Fantasy fan in the first place... and this series was below 'mediocre' in every conceivable way.
X (Movie) - The art was great... but the other aspects of the movie were just sub-par IMO. Plus, I missed the ending because I blinked. 'Rushed' is the best word I can think of to describe this. I've heard the series is much, better, so I'll have to check it out.
Samurai Deeper Kyo - It actually started out somewhat decent... then it just got retarded. Yet I kept watching, because it was sort of those "so bad it's good" things.
Pilot Candidate- This series... *immediately falls asleep on his keyboard upon thinking about this snorefest*

Edit: Corrected my #9 entry... heh, forgot to add the "bloodlust" part of the title. Silly me.

[Edit: Added a spoiler tag to your Scrapped Princess entry as many consider that to be a spoiler since it is not initially revealed and is a key plot development. - Keonyn]

Daiyoukai Ramza wrote:

The animation itself is fairly good, but what struck me about this series, from a visual standpoint was the backgrounds art. The characters are... well, I 'like' most of the cast but I really only 'love' Lucy/Nyuu/Kaede and Kurama... and I absolutely HATE Yuka. Dear non-descript generic deity I hate Yuka. Uh, anyway, EL claims my #1 spot for three main reasons... the audio, although rather limited in quantity, is my favorite of any anime, the emotional response it evoked in me, and the sheer contrast between the cute and macabre present in the series.

Thank you! Someone agrees! (Heh - seen my avatar before?!) I was wondering, isn't "Kaede" the name of the house? See someone agrees with the contrast and emotional/psychological themes in it. And yes, Yuka is a, well, not very likeable person...

legendfunk wrote:

Daiyoukai Ramza wrote: The animation itself is fairly good, but what struck me about this series, from a visual standpoint was the backgrounds art. The characters are... well, I 'like' most of the cast but I really only 'love' Lucy/Nyuu/Kaede and Kurama... and I absolutely HATE Yuka. Dear non-descript generic deity I hate Yuka. Uh, anyway, EL claims my #1 spot for three main reasons... the audio, although rather limited in quantity, is my favorite of any anime, the emotional response it evoked in me, and the sheer contrast between the cute and macabre present in the series. Thank you! Someone agrees! (Heh - seen my avatar before?!) I was wondering, isn't "Kaede" the name of the house? See someone agrees with the contrast and emotional/psychological themes in it. And yes, Yuka is a, well, not very likeable person...

I immediately recognized your avatar when I read through the most recent 2 or 3 pages of the thread before I posted. Yeah, the name of the house they live in is "Kaede"...spoiler[ and it's also Lucy/Nyuu's true name.] But that fact is only revealed at the very end of the Manga. In that respect, I probably should have put a spoiler tag there. [EDIT: So why didn't you? ~Zalis]

As for the contrast... well, as I said, that was one of my major reasons for liking it. I liked how it could go from being relatively light-hearted to depressing and/or serious in a relatively short amount of time. Incidentally, that's also one of the reasons I enjoyed Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (Kai)... although, in that series, the change between moods didn't happen quite as suddenly most of the time.

To be fair, Yuka is a fairly nice person. A bit prone to fits of jealousy, but nice nonetheless. It's mainly the whole 'cousin-love' thing that makes me dislike her. As one can imagine, certain parts of episode six really bothered me. Cultural difference between the US and Japan usually don't matter to me when it comes to Anime/Manga... but this is one of those rare exceptions where it DOES cause a problem for me. *shrugs*

Mmm, sure, why not.

Top 10:

1. Neon Genesis Evangelion. I like giant robots, I like character studies, I like mind#[email protected]'s pretty much tailor-made for me. I realize that it has some serious flaws, including the grandfather of all hard-to-like protagonists and some hilarious cost-cutting measures, but neither of those managed to impact the experience.

2. Revolutionary Girl Utena. An absolute masterpiece of characters, style and drug-addled symbolism. I find it hard to talk about why it's so damned good without devolving into a three-page rant, so let's just say I love the show irrationally and call it a day. If you really want to read said rant, I authored the recommendation page for the show at Anime On DVD a few years back.

3. The Ghost in the Shell franchise. To be precise, everything except Innocence, which was good but not stellar. The movie's hard SF that's still got an accessible plot, the show's got a great plot and some of the best single-episode stories I've seen in a serious anime even if it's not as good at ruminating on the nature of technology as it wishes it were.

4. Azumanga Daioh. Just a really, really good slice of life/comedy that has yet to get old. Which is an achievement, given how much I've watched it.

5. Berserk. Just a really solid dark fantasy that does a great job on all aspects of the show. It doesn't have all-time-favorite plot, characters, action or setting, but it's still damned good at each of them, even if it isn't the best. The treatment of Guts and Griffith in particular stands out - Guts' sociopathy and Griffith's selfish ambition are developed in considerable depth without getting so much emphasis that I end up disliking either character (well, until the ending, of course). Speaking of which, I like the ending.

6. Castle of Cagliostro. I am an immense Lupin the Third fanboy. It's just a fun series that manages to keep its formula entertaining no matter how many movies and episodes I watch. And even though Miyazaki cleaned up a lot of the gang's more unsavory characteristics when he made Cagliostro, the fun is still there, and it's a fantastic adventure movie on its own terms.

7. Read or Die OVA. Pound for pound the pinnacle of action anime as far as I'm concerned. Every fight is creative, unique, fast-moving, and has the annual budget of a small country poured into the animation. Toss in fun characters and a hilariously absurd premise and story, mix with my favorite dub of all time (Especially the over-the-top accents for the villains), and you get a classic.

8. The Big O. I already mentioned that I like giant robots. So how can I not love a show that combines giant robots with key elements of Batman, for Pete's sake? It's just not possible. The great dub and creative world-building help too, even if the ending doesn't. It also has my single favorite anime episode ever, "The Greatest Villain." Beck rules.

9. Haibane-Renmei. A unique achievement, at least among the shows I've seen (which doesn't include much ABe, although NieA and Texhnolyze are sitting on my shelf waiting for me to get around to them). The characters and world are engrossing as all hell, and good God are the aesthetics awesome. Perfectly paced, too.

10. King of Braves GaoGaiGar. "I'm a super-robot fan," part three. This show is pretty much compressed essence of the SR genre, and it's over-the-top and awesome. Why aren't there DVDs I can purchase of the second half? This makes me sad.

Bottom 5:

5. Rurouni Kenshin (TV and movie). Embodies everything that can possibly be wrong with a shonen action series - flat characters, a messianic hero who makes everyone he touches realize the error of their ways by pure osmosis, stupid superpowers, constant narration in the fight scenes, total disregard for logic, etc, etc, with the exception of one episode (Kenshin vs. Saito) that's actually really damned good and keeps the show from being any lower on the list. I do like the OAVs, although not enough to put them on the top 10.

4. Love Hina Again. Call me crazy, but I liked the Love Hina TV series a lot more than the manga, and LHA draws almost all of its humor from the manga, which combined with the OVA format means it's basically 90 minutes of the girls in their underwear and/or groping each other. Granted, on its own that might not be such a bad thing, but not so much when it features characters I already liked, and replaces genuinely funny (if not exactly highbrow) absurdist/slapstick comedy. This is the only show on the list I didn't actually finish - I got midway through episode 2 before quitting in disgust.

3. Dagger of Kamui. The animation is actually quite good! Sadly, everything else tends is just hilariously bad, from the nonsensical core plot to the shoehorned appearances from historical figures (including totally random Samuel Clemens) and events to most of the fight scenes. That it's also about half an hour too long and that the "(random character X) is really the main character's close relative!" plot twist used about four times too many is just gravy. The only time I watched this was in my college anime club, and we ended up temporarily suspending the "no talking during a viewing" rule so we could MST the thing and stay sane.

2. X: The Movie. There's nothing to say about this that people on the other 72 pages of the topic haven't said already - It's a terrible movie and an insult to the manga it's based on, and cringingly pretentious to boot. Between this and Dagger of Kamui, I am completely amazed that Rintaro is capable of anything as non-bad as Metropolis or his entries in the Leijiverse.

1. Golgo 13: Queen Bee. Totally without redeeming qualities in every possible respect.

Last edited by Shale on Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:31 pm; edited 1 time in total