Forum - View topicProfessor Nihil's favorites and discussion (spoilers possible)
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Professor Nihil
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I've been consuming manga, anime and film in depth for over a decade and have a desire to address and discuss my favorites and why I prefer them.
#1 Monster My all-time favorite anime isn't just my favorite for anime, it's literally the best thing I've ever seen. I cannot think of anything I have ever seen that I appreciate more than Monster. It isn't often that a story come along and addresses the problem of evil in a philosophical exploration of human nature and ethics, and often enough those that touch upon these subjects, like the marvelous Death Note, entertain the viewer but without teaching them about themselves. Monster however is one of the few series that I believe is capable of making the viewer a better person for having watched it. Monster does this expertly however in such a precise manner that upon translation of the manga to anime that not one line or character was able to be omitted, rather this profound work of art that transcends typical anime achieves such perfection that if ever it was made into a live action series that even then the omission of even a single scene, line or character would be like trying to improve Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel by erasing it. It cannot be done. My time special favorite; Monster is produced by Mad House. My rating is 11/10. This is the only anime past 10 on my scale. |
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Professor Nihil
Posts: 27 |
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The next entry for me isn't an anime, it's the Butcher, better known as Gen Urobuchi .
So many of my favorite amines are written by or involve this man that rather than discuss them individually one by one I would like to address many of the works of Urobuchi here. Puella Madoka Magicka 10/10 Have you ever read Faust by Goethe? And how about Faust part 2 by Goethe? It is next to impossible to address the Madoka series succinctly so I will share an anecdote of how it came to be among my favorites. Years ago, when the first Madoka episodes were still being released I was spending time with my 13 year old daughter who asked me if I would like to see what she had been watching. Naturally as a parent I take an active interest in what my children are paying attention to and my daughter, who is very artistic, has a taste for spectacular art and the anime she showed me that day was no exception. After less than 5 minutes of the 1st episode of Puella Madoka Magicka I was a fan of Gen Urobuchi. Having read English translations of Faust 1 and 2 by Goethe I recognised the story soon enough, but it isn't a presentation of Faust but rather a retelling of one of mankind's most ancient stories with modernized aspects and of course Magical Girls. Urobuchi also does something with his version that the author of the Sorrows of Young Werther did as well, he wove into the story commentary about the ethics of humanities exploitation of itself and the world around it including other species. I could write serious exposition about the Madoka series but let's move on. After Madoka I began seeking out Urobuchi's anime works and watched the majority of them. In my scale of 1-10 none of the anime Urobuchi writes for or is strongly involved in has rated below 8/10. I don't want to list them there but I strongly encourage others to explore the works of the Butcher, so named for killing off often beloved characters. The themes in Urobuchi's work are often very intense and are not for everyone but his unforgiving writing style is extremely entertaining. I have a strong distaste for the new CGI dependant works Urobuchi is involved in at present and despite starting episodes I have never been able to sit and watch them. Surely this is my loss insofar as the writing of Urobuchi goes, but I find the format to be visually unpleasant. Lastly Urobuchi reminds me strongly of my favorite movie director of all time; Takashi Miike. I've seen over a thousand movies easily, probably twice that, in the last 20 years and in my opinion Urobuchi is to anime what Miike is to live action; a master of the art. Gen Urobuchi's writing and storytelling 10/10 Last edited by Professor Nihil on Fri Jul 09, 2021 9:17 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Professor Nihil
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As a person with chaotic neutral alignment it wouldn't do for me to just present a typical list or overly repetitive format so let's change things up again.
The Universe of Leiji Matsumoto. Like many people who grew up in the 80s I grew up watching sci-fi shows and as a kid some of my earliest memories of anime are from Space Battleship Yamato and Captain Harlock and more. Matsumoto created a universe in which numerous stories are told, even to this day, and even though he is not writing everything that occurs in it, it is his universe. From the dark comedic western of Gun Frontier to the decks of spaceships in all out galactic war in Space Batttle Yamoto the universe of Matsumoto is a place that will bring both you laughter and tears. So much takes place in this universe that it is likely impossible to present it as a coherent list. I find myself returning again and again to this universe and feeling as if I never left. The incorporation of Wagner into the Harlock Saga deserves special mention here, it is absolutely marvelous and reminds me of the tale of the skull in the autobiography of Berlioz himself, which also not only relates to Wagner but the foundation of the use of musical association to conditioned emotional response in modern cinema. Matsumoto Universe 10/10 |
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