Forum - View topicYour Top 10 / Worst 5 things. Why? (w/ index).
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Ggultra2764
 Subscriber Posts: 3871 Location: New York state. |
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Haven't done this in a while:
Top 10 Best: 10. Cowboy Bebop- Still sticks out as both a great gateway drug for new anime fans and being willing to take risks dipping into different styles of storytelling focused on the Bebop crew. The Western-inspired soundtrack from Yoko Kanno for the series is still one of my personal all-time favorites. 9. Aoi Bungaku Series- Cerebral and often tragic anthology anime series looking into aspects of the human condition through a collection of well-known titles in Japanese literature. 8. RahXephon- All-time favorite mecha title. Nuff said. 7. Legend of the Galactic Heroes- Has the most elaborate and complex developments I've come across for an anime dabbling into enough detail on its characters, history, background and ideologies. Yang and Reinhard made for some of the best tactical geniuses I've seen in an anime title. 6. Perfect Blue- Favorite Satoshi Kon movie. Does enough to mess with your perceptions of events with Mima's sanity slipping from her stalker. 5. Kiki's Delivery Service- One of my personal favorite Ghibli films. Family-friendly and has a touching coming-of-age story focused on Kiki's ordeals living on her own. 4. Serial Experiments Lain- Favorite mind-screw title. Ahead of its time in exploring man's increasing reliance on the Internet and leaving one guessing on the nature of Lain's existence. 3. Grave of the Fireflies- Emotionally powerful movie exploring the struggles of two orphaned Japanese children in the final days of World War II. 2. Monster- An engaging long-running mystery/ thriller title that delves into the limitations of human morality and leaves you guessing over aspects of its main baddie (being my all-time favorite anime foe) in the form of one Johan Liebert. 1. Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal- A more darker and serious take to the Rurouni Kenshin franchise exploring Kenshin Himura's bloody and tragic past as the Hitokiri Battousai. Features detailed scenery and character designs plus fluid and intense battle scenes. Top 5 Worst: 5. Harlock Saga- Not exactly the best introduction I had to the Captain Harlock mythos. Features some inconsistent and lazy animation methods, some of the most deadpan voice acting I've heard in an anime and a nice number of inconsistencies and holes with its plot. 4. Tekken- Worst adaptation of a video game series I've come across thus far. Too many characters from the series appearing in the OAV greatly limits any focus that can be given to them, takes enough liberties on Kazuya and Jun's story from the video game and is a very bad demonstration of the early use of cel-shaded animation in the late 1990s. 3. Battle Royale High School- A mess of an 80s anime that tosses in anything but the kitchen sink for its action premise with elements like a time traveler, martial arts enthusiasts, supernatural creatures and high school comedic antics not meshing together effectively at all. 2. KissxSis TV- Tasteless otaku pandering ecchi trash that dabbles into incest with its "we're step-siblings, so it's okay" plot device. 1. Eiken- Ridiculous-sized boobs aren't sexy! Who in their right mind would be turned on by this trash, especially when it tries way too hard pandering to its intended audience with the monstrous freaks of nature on display? |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23740 |
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sigh. I guess I'm not in a "right mind" then. Eiken is definitely trashy, but that's kind of the point. It's way over the top and it's meant to be. I completely understand why someone would not like a show like this. I do not understand why I must inherently not be in a "right mind" to get some guilty pleasure, trashy good fun out of this. But yeah, thanks for letting us know how all good, "right minded" people should think. 
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Ggultra2764
Subscriber Posts: 3871 Location: New York state. |
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You misinterpreted what I said. I don't mean "right-minded" if you only see it to get laughs at how bad and over-the-top it is. I meant "right-minded" as in if you actually get aroused by it considering Japan tends to think up of enough subjects to try creating fetish ecchi anime for. Still, it's not my cup of tea to get any laughs with considering the comedy is mostly cheap innuendo gags you would see done to death in other perverted comedy titles. |
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Bento-Box
 Posts: 1049 Location: Florida |
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I've often debated what constitutes "best". Is it something that is my "favorite" or just something that is a great work, my personal feelings entirely aside? My lists vary greatly depending on how that's defined as nostalgia and personal attachments tend to skew my perception of a show.
 I've therefore listed two best categories: one for personal favorites and one for "classics" that I think are good representations of anime as a whole. Stupid, yes, I'm aware.  As for bad... well, bad is still bad, no matter which was you slice the pie. 
I put some honorable mentions because my list seems to change depending on mood sometimes. LOL Personal Favorites - Top Ten 1) Card Captor Sakura - I love the themes, art style, story, characters, and music. My husband showed this to me when we first met. The darker elements and adult themes are tackled well for what is perceived as a children's show. A child can watch this and perceive something entirely different than an adult. Charming, delightful, humorous, and touching. 2) Neon Genesis Evangelion - I love all renditions. I think the series is intriguing, entertaining, funny, and disturbing. Fun to watch. The latest reboots are incredible. 3) Code Geass - Specifically Seasons 1 and 2. Amazing animation, voice acting, story, characters, and execution. It paces itself well. There is never too much of any one element to distract from the main plot. Lelouch's evolution is entertaining to watch. 4) Slayers - I love the new and the old. It's an epic tale of adventure, love, comedy, and fantasy. It balances all of its elements well, the stories are entertaining and the action scenes are exciting. Season 2 and Book of Spells are my favorites. 5) Full Metal Panic - The first season was the weakest by far but still a good story. Fumoffu is the most hilarious compilation of short stories I have ever seen and The Second Raid is a gripping roller coaster. I can never get enough of Sousuke's antics. 6) FLCL - High energy, explosive, funny, touching, gripping... I could go on... This show has it all, if you can keep up. Love the soundtrack and all of the characters. I think I catch something new every time I watch it which has to be at least 6 times a year for the past 7 years.
7) Higurashi/Umineko no Naku Koro Ni - I've grouped these two for obvious reasons (if you've seen them). Horrific, unexpectedly charming, twisted, unsettling, and mysterious. I love how the stories are told. I'm always on the edge of my seat. 8) Toradora - Tsundere-cliche-lead-female aside, it's a beautiful slice-of-life love story told incredibly well. Characters are believable, funny, heart-warming, and interact well together. Though the series is laden with tropes, all the pieces fit perfectly together. I love watching the characters "grow". 9) Hana-Saku Iroha - A little slow, but incredibly delightful and rewarding. Beautifully animated with splendid voice acting and characters. It's another show that brings forth characters and lets them live and breathe. An absolute pleasure to watch. I think I cried at least once in each episode. 10) Waiting in The Summer - An entertaining sci-fi slice-of-life show. It's another one with great characterization, good voice acting, and excellent story telling. It is animated well and a good watch for a nice balance of laughs, love, and sci-fi elements. Honorable Mentions: Princess TuTu, Angelic Layer, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, Elfen Lied, Shakugan no Shana (Season 1 only), Another, Working!!, Baka To Test, Usagi Drop, Golden Boy, Read or Die (TV), and Wandering Son. Top Ten - Unbiased FYI - these are things I just consider to be great for anyone. Most are perfect entry level shows as well as just fun watches. 1) Code Geass - Great story telling, great balance of all elements, beautiful animation, great characterization. It's a great watch for anyone. 2) Death Note - Gripping and thrilling. Excellent characters. Just about anyone can get into this. 3) Samurai X OVAs - A little slower paced, but emotionally gripping. Well animated for the time. Beautiful, heart-wrenching story. 4) 5 Centimeters Per Second - Short and bittersweet. Believable characters, splendid animation, and a touching, relate-able story. 5) Tenchi Muyo - A tad episodic and a little lengthy. Not the prettiest show but has the perfect balance of harem, sci-fi, love, and comedy. I actually prefer this over Love Hina for a top ten simply because it does a great job incorporating so many elements. 6) Toradora - everything I said before. 7) FLCL - Not something I would recommend for someone new to anime. It belongs in any top ten. Total classic. Oh yeah, and everything I said before. 8) Gundam Wing & Endless Waltz - A great mecha show with exciting characters. It is animated well for the time and the movie is the perfect finishing touch. An excellent balance of love, action, friendship, and paranormal. 9) The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - A high-energy romp filled with fan service, paranormal elements, entertaining characters, and other fun elements that just make this a nice bundle of excitement and mystery. Watching it in the original order the first time around can be confusing, but is definitely more rewarding in the end. 10) Neon Genesis Evangelion - Only the new stuff. Sadly, I don't think the old releases are anywhere near on par with the reboots. It's action-packed but also offers complex stories and interesting characters. Honorable Mentions: Princess TuTu, Slayers, Elfen Lied, Majou Shoujo Madoka Magica, Golden Boy, Read or Die (TV), and Angelic Layer. The BAD 1) Melody of Oblivion - Starts off great and then just *bleeps* itself in the end. The animation looks nice but all the over-sexualized faces, themes, and characters grow more disturbing in the final episodes. I'll never watch it again. And, for anyone who's seen it: I find it amusing that you can abbreviate the title as "MOO".
2) The World God Only Knows - I like the concept, I like the animation, I like the voice acting, I like some of the music (especially the introduction). What ruined this show (for me anyways) was the pacing. They spent way too much time on filler. The concept of having "filler" in an already short show is mind boggling in the first place. 3) Naruto, Bleach, Once Piece and the like - too long, too much filler. Interesting concepts for the most part but I just can't stomach all of the bad for what little good exists here. Naruto is obnoxious. I watched vastly less Naruto than I did of One Piece or Bleach. 4) Maburaho - The concept isn't even good for this show. The running gags are cliche and grow old quickly. It is, quite possibly, the worst harem I've ever watched. 5) X The Movie - Luckily, I was forewarned about this one. A friend told me to watch the series and then watch the movie so that I would, at least, understand what was happening. I can honestly say that, had I not seen the TV Series first, I would have been completely lost. The reasons people are fighting makes no sense given what information is provided. The animation isn't that great. The music is terrible. It's just ugly, poorly written, poorly constructed, and sounds bad too! It rapes all senses aside from taste. And, if it could rape your taste buds, I imagine it would taste like earwax encrusted elephant boogers deep-fried in oily sweat collected from professional rugby players served over moldy, hardened macaroni and cheese drenched in cat urine. If anyone is wondering... I didn't list Sailor Moon at all even though I love it. Why? Length, episodic nature. I know it sounds really nit-picky, but the really memorable and enjoyable moments were far and few between to the point that I actually don't think I could re-watch the show. I loved the ending and I love the series but I think it's more of a nostalgia thing at this point. I want to let it live the way I remember it and not how I would perceive it now on a re-watch. And, yeah. No Cowboy BeBop recommendations from me. I love the music - not the show so much. It was good for its time and very iconic. But, like many others, the good moments are far and few between for me. The same can be said for Trigun. |
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ArsenicSteel
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Then why not just add Trigun, BeBop, and Sailor Moon to your honorable mentions like you did with RoD, Golden Boy, and Angelic Layer? It makes me wonder what criteria you're using for your "Top Ten - Unbiased " list if it allows you to completely exclude shows that greatly impacted our domestic anime industry and are still looked at as major gateways into the world of anime.
I liked that you tried to do two separate top ten lists but I just find that I need a little more clarification on the unbiased list. |
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Bento-Box
Posts: 1049 Location: Florida |
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LOL Biased would be along these lines: Something that I love because of how I "feel" about it. There's a lot of emotional attachment to the shows on the list to the point that it's downright irrational. Why would CCS even BE on a top 10? It's not really that amazing of a show by any means. Yes, it has some delightful moments, but it's so darn long. Lots of scenes are very repetitive, situations are horrendously cliche, and the musical score really isn't anything to "write home about". But I freaking love it. I'm so emotionally attached to it. The series, in my very biased eyes, can do no wrong. Sailor Moon doesn't do that for me. Neither does Trigun or Cowboy BeBop. They are things to which I have little to no attachment. Thus, why they are not even on the Honorable Mention list. Yeah, I got teary eyed in each, but they didn't emotionally rock my world like the rest. None of them changed my perspective of the world. None of them did anything for me really other than being a nice way to pass the time. By Unbiased, I mean... These are things that I think are well done, without all the emotional attachment and irrationality. Notice, CCS isn't even listed here. That's because it's too long, slow, drug out, cliche, and sometimes a little boring. Sailor Moon is even longer, more drug out, substantially slower, and even more cliche. Regardless of what influence it had on the American market, I don't think it's that great of a show compared to others. The same can be said for Trigun and BeBop. Very episodic, stereo-typical situations and dialogue. There wasn't anything that particularly wow-ed me about these. They were good, don't get me wrong, but they weren't anything outstanding. |
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Infinite Freedom Machine
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The Best:
Kino no Tabi: This show is profound. I was reading a lot about zen philosophy, some Sartre, and Buddhist thought before watching it, and have always felt, regardless of all the personal growth and change that I've experienced, that there was one key to unlocking human potential. A trick to enjoying life, a loophole through the oblivion of death. I thought it was creating biological immortality, then I thought it was detaching yourself from worldly desires. Kino realizes that it is much simpler: to live a connected life with the powers of perception that you have been given is to empty yourself into the world around you. Kino is surrounded by tragedy, and is deeply aware of the beauty of it all. Kino kills people, but has not a shred of sadism, fear, anger or jealousy. After watching this, I started seeing the underlying theme of this show in everything else. Single lines of dialogue in other shows, views of landscapes, conversations I have with people, my own thoughts. Kino no Tabi is both deeply personal and universal, if not particularly entertaining. It is a celebration of life, and the most powerful kind of optimism there is. Samurai Champloo: The second chapter of Shinichiro Watanabe's worldwide double hitter that is Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. Both of these shows are defined by a combination of a very distinctive soundtrack, well animated action sequences, a seemingly typical cast of protagonists that becomes distinguished and complicated by their divergent pasts, and an episodic but chronologically sound plot. I prefer Samurai Champloo because I think it is more suited to this formula than Bebop is. The three protagonists are ostensibly completely different from one another. The young, eager and mildly wistful Fuu. The stoic, brooding and surprisingly aimless Jin. The hedonistic nobody Mugen, driven apparently solely by a desire to not die. The plot is started by a series of unlikely coincidences, but the point of this show is how these characters have their archetypes stripped down and elaborated upon, not the outcomes of their particular misadventures. At the end of the day, all three protagonists have wildly different pasts, marked by one similarity: the death of the personal infrastructure which surrounds them. Cut loose by tragedy, all three find that freedom is the power to assert your own will, and to choose with whom you associate with, and the audience begins to realize that they all have far more in common than the set up made it appear. Also the fight scenes are seriously amazing. spoiler[Jin vs Kariya, ohmygod.] Mushishi: Similar in many ways to Kino no Tabi. A wanderer literally in tune with the essence of life, in this show given physical form and made a plot element. The main difference between the two shows is that Ginko, our protagonist, is far more willing than Kino to get involved with the people he meets. The philosophy of these two shows is spelled out quite literally in the rainbow chasing episode of Mushishi, when a man driven to chase a rainbow shaped mushi all across the country finally catches up to it, only to have Ginko explain to him that it is impossible to contain, and that the Mushi is quite like a natural phenomenon, and barely qualifies as a form of life. The man replies to this revelation by comparing Ginko to the rainbow, and that is the point of the entire story. Ginko's consciousness is attuned to his position as a human being. He judges nothing, is changed by no one, and yet interacts quite broadly with life. The stories in this show are completely self-contained, and all tell basically the same parable in different forms. But it is a good story to tell. Aria: If you've seen a theme in my choices so far, I'd bet it's probably optimism, and revulsion to fatalistic media. I wouldn't call Aria optimisitic as much as I would...tranquil. There typically needs to be some potential for tragedy for optimism to exist. The reason I like this show so much is the way the relationship between Alicia, an experienced gondolier, and Akari, a character with levels of naivety and youthfulness I previously thought impossible, is interwoven into the plot. Although the setting of this show is ridiculously pristine, and no substantial problems ever seem to arise, its relevance to our reality is revealed in the short, bookending dialogues that Akari and Alicia share. Alicia provides us with the psychological image of the kind of person required to create a reality as beautiful as the one presented in Aria. She gives humanity to the eerily pristine setting, and in this way Akari becomes a gateway for the viewer, receiving and making use of the wisdom. Aria is beautiful to watch, and very good for your brain. Serial Experiments Lain: The imagery in this show is very unique, and very powerful. The classic image is of a lonely schoolgirl, features distant and indecipherable, in a stark white sea, lined with shadows so deep they seem to be alive. A hum seems to deafen all thought. The art in this show seems quite like the perspective of its main antagonist, Eiri Masami. From this perspective the world is desolate, meaningless and limited. And humans are stuck within it, powerless but aware of the potential for power, without direction but distracting themselves until the fact becomes irrelevant. Lain is introduced as the logical extension of this worldview: a barely human little girl, with no way to reach out to others, to the world. Two solutions to this view are presented, one from the antagonist and one from the protagonist: Change the world, or change yourself, respectively. One is megalomaniacal, forceful and mildly insane. One is essentially contrived introspection. The plot makes it quite clear which is the more viable option, and in doing so illustrates the sanctity of humankind. FLCL: Killer soundtrack, deeply human, and very fun to look at. There is a lot of emotion running through this show, but it is always understated, and the show thus never devolves into melodrama. It gives a feeling of slowly swelling hope and tranquility, and the soundtrack I think is very key to this. This process is quite similar to how we change in real life, in little emotional increments, and thus makes the pacing and design of the show a perfect reflection of its protagonist's psyche. Very well assembled, and a pleasure to watch on pretty much every level. I don't watch things I don't think I'll like, so I haven't seen anything that I think is bad. |
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ArsenicSteel
Posts: 2370 |
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I don't care about your biased list and have made no comment about it. So don't know why you're dragging that into this discussion.
Since you are still using how those shows personally made you feel and ignoring their influence in a market to support their ranking just further makes me question the bias in your unbiased list. SM being longer than CCS is a fact but being drug out, slower, and more cliche are all personal opinions that rely on your personal preferences to how a story unfolds. Your criteria doesn't seem unbiased at all. I am not even talking about rankings but questioning how such shows like Bebop or Trigun only warranted mentions come from why you won't give them an honorable mention in your unbiased list. |
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Bento-Box
Posts: 1049 Location: Florida |
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Not sure why I have to repeat myself...
But, they aren't even on the list because they aren't that good. They aren't that exciting and the list has nothing to do with cultural relevance or significance on the American market. It has more to do with series composition and style than anything else. Biased means that I'm a screaming, irrational fan girl over something. Unbiased means I'm actually looking at something for the merit it has on its own. Those shows weren't worth it. Shouldn't have even brought it up. Only did because I usually do get asked about why I don't think they're noteworthy shows. I feel special knowing that you're picking apart my posts so closely and paying me so much attention though.
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rheiders
 Posts: 1137 Location: Colorful Colorado :) |
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I don't like being a Negative Nellie, and since I'm a lot pickier about anime than manga, I haven't really seen all that many truly bad anime. So I'll just list my Top Ten, and not my Bottom Five. Mostly, the series I really hate are series that I'll acknowledge are somewhat decent or even good shows that I just despise on a personal or ideological level. (Eva, for example, would fall into this category--it's a good show with a lot of interesting ideas that had a profound impact on anime as a whole, but I personally find it deplorable.) So, I'm just going to list my favorites. This isn't a list of the shows I think are critically the "best" that I've seen; they're the ones that I, personally, connected with the most. Though, naturally, there is some crossover.
 (Also, I put anime movies kind of on a different scale, so I'll just put series here. There's plenty of anime movies that I love, though.)
1. Baccano!: As my avatar might suggest, this is my favorite anime. Mainly, it's for shallow reasons. See, I generally separate in my brain the series I enjoy mainly because they make me think on a mature level, and the series I enjoy mainly because I can fangirl them like no other. This show falls firmly into the latter category. I love the rough animation and detailed but cartoony art style, and I think the writers are brilliant people for having been able to craft a coherent story that is completely out of order but only follows the rising-action/climax/falling-action structure when it is out of order. Mainly, though, I love this series because somehow, despite the M rating, it makes me feel like a little kid watching Saturday morning cartoons again. I've had friends over to marathon it on multiple occasions, and I have to conclude that it is one of the most fun series to watch with friends that I have ever encountered (as long as they aren't squeamish). Also, as a straight woman, the men in this show are dapper as hell. 
2. Mushishi: Kind of on the opposite end of the spectrum from Baccano. First of all, this series is absolutely gorgeous. There are few series I have seen that are as beautiful as this one. The backgrounds in particular are so full of atmosphere and life that they almost outshine the people (which I think is kind of the point, honestly). But luckily, the stories are pretty wonderful too. "One-Eyed Fish", "The One-Night Bridge", "Inside the Cage", "Raindrops and Rainbows", and "Tender Horns" are among my favorites. 3. Princess Tutu: Magical girls, ballet, and German fairy tales? Sign me up! The atmosphere in this series is wonderful. I love all the little touches that really make it feel like you're watching a ballet on a stage. I especially like the spotlights that appear whenever Princess Tutu shows up and how the Raven's minions are portrayed as dancers dressed as crows. Also, the finale is beyond perfect, and it's rare to find a series that only gets better as it goes along. The first few episodes are a bit formulaic, but seriously, I encourage you to give it a try. This is a brilliant show, and the fact that someone cared enough to put this much love and thought and effort into a show for little girls makes me want to cry tears of joy. (Entertainment-wise, let's face it, little girls tend to get the short end of the stick.)
4. Wolf's Rain: Another series with a perfect ending! I adore how this series ends. It's the kind of ending, much like Keiko Nobumoto's previous series, Cowboy Bebop, that you don't see coming, but that nonetheless feels strangely inevitable, like that was the only way it could have, and should have ended. The part where spoiler[Paradise is opened and the cycle begins anew] is just beautiful. Of course, the whole series is beautiful. As far as animation goes, I'm a bit of a BONES fangirl, and this is probably the most beautiful series I've seen from them. In particular, I love the way the wolves are animated. There's a lot of emotion there, even though they kept them as realistic as possible. Also, Toboe is the most adorable character ever. spoiler[And, dangit, little bastard made me cry...  ]
5. Trigun: I was too young to have seen this one on TV, so I only just watched it recently, with Funimation's rerelease of the show. But I really enjoyed it! Vash is one of the most fascinating characters I have seen in any anime, and the concept behind him is incredibly interesting. The humor in the first half of the show is great, and the drama in the second half is truly heart-wrenching at times. And none of it would have worked if Vash wasn't such a great character. Also, I have a bit of a personal connection to the series in that Nightow, the original mangaka, had converted to Catholicism a few years prior to starting Trigun. As a Catholic myself, it's cool to notice some of the Christian messages and biblical references within the show. (References that actually mean something, which is rare in anime. I'm looking at you, Eva.)
6. Ouran High School Host Club: Another series I like because I can fangirl over it with friends. I'll admit it: sometimes it's fun to just pop in a silly reverse harem show, sit back, and ogle. But it's not just that. There's a reason this series is on my top ten when no other reverse harems come close. I honestly love the comedy in these series. I think it's sharp, mean, and smartly-written. And it's got pretty much everything, from biting parody, to witty satire, to stupid slapstick. And even on the rare occasion that it does try to pull on your heartstrings a little bit, more often than not, it actually works. (Of course, I like a bit of cheese in my life, so your mileage may vary on that.) It’s another BONES series, which means the animation is also lovely, particularly rare for a shoujo anime. Incidentally, Kyouya is my favorite host.
7. Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit: I was one of the few people who actually watched this one on Adult Swim. I bought it shortly after it finished. It's rare to find a strong, believable, well-rounded female character in an anime, and in my opinion, Balsa is one of the few. She reminds me a lot of the Major, but I think (and it's largely because of Chagum) that she has more of a feminine edge to her, which in my opinion makes her more believable. Chagum's a great character too, and they play off each other wonderfully. The scene towards the end where spoiler[Chagum almost runs a spear through her] gives me chills every time. The action scenes in this series are few and far between, but the ones it does have are breathtaking. The animation is beyond gorgeous. The backgrounds are pretty as well. 8. Princess Jellyfish: Another series I watched only recently. I watched it on Funimation's Youtube channel, and immediately preordered it upon finishing it. I can relate to Tsukimi in a lot of ways, and I know people just like each of her roommates. Kuranosuke and Shu are both immensely likeable, and I love the show's quirky, over-the-top sense of humor. Though I watched the show first in Japanese, I have to say, the dub is brilliant. It's nice to hear Maxey finally voicing a girl. The only other thing I can think to say is: Second season? Pretty please?
9. Usagi Drop: Yay, more josei! There really needs to be more josei anime. I read the first four volumes of the manga first (yes, I know what happens at the end and no, it doesn't keep me from recognizing how good the first half of the manga and, by extension, the anime, are), and I fell in love. So when they announced an anime version (with actual kids voicing the kid characters), I was ecstatic. And...the anime blew my expectations out of the water. This may be one of the few examples of an anime that is actually better than the manga it's based off of. I just feel that the artistry and execution are handled much better in the anime. They adapted Unita's art style, which looks a bit odd in the manga, in a very beautiful and unique way. I love Daikichi, but Rin steals the show. It’s nice to see a little-girl character who isn’t just another lolita. She actually talks and acts like a real six-year-old girl, and it’s really refreshing. I love that even though she’s too young to understand a lot of the things that have happened to her, there’s still a lot of dimension to her character. I never thought it would get licensed in a million years, and I'm still reeling from NIS America's announcement that they will be releasing it. Needless to say, I preordered it immediately. -w-d And finally, 10. Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex: Specifically, the first season. I've only seen the second season once all the way through, and that was a while ago. I really need to re-watch it, but for now, I'm just basing my love off of the first season. (I do remember liking the stand-alone episodes from the second season better than the ones from the first season overall. I liked the overarching plot from the first season better, though.) The show looks gorgeous, for one thing. When I.G wants to, they can pull off some spectacular art and animation. I love the Laughing Man as an antagonist, and I love the political issues they explore through him. Though many of the characters are difficult to connect with on a personal level, I adore Togusa, as well as Batou and Saitou. I like the Major well enough, but she's too, well, robotic, and if I'm being honest with you, I think she's secretly a man. She's a fine character, but there's more to writing female characters than "Forget gender completely and just write a character". That's only the first step. I think this review explains it rather nicely: http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/ir/jo/jar/35097-paradise-kiss Anyhow, I don't know why I'm complaining. I guess that just explains why it's my number 10 and not higher on the list. Still, the fact that it's on here at all shows that despite my gripes about the main character, I still love this show a lot. I mean, look at all the Salinger references! Since Catcher in the Rye is one of my favorite books, I couldn't be a happier camper.
And now, to wrap it up, have some Honorable Mentions: Eden of the East, Kino's Journey, Durarara!!, Honey and Clover, Axis Powers Hetalia (oh, shaddup! xD) |
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WEL
Posts: 14 |
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I'm no good with English so I just ask a bit of compassion from the grammar police! I'm gonna do what I can to make it the most clear possible.
My personal Top 10 in no specific order: 1. Ghost in the Shell: SAC I love this anime because I love the way it represents the cyberpunk genre and its many controversies generated by the new wave of technology. It has its fare share of action but this anime has a much more deeper meaning than that like: having a completely prosthetic body makes you less human than one that is 100% flesh and bones? can an AI become so advanced that it creates a soul of its own? Man I love these kind of themes and the way this anime handles them is so convincingly realistic that is creepy just to think that something like that could be possible in real life. The anime is hard to get into though, so it's not for everyone. You need to pay attention to it to understand its many symbolism and philosophies to finally be able to understand its greatness. There is too much talking which you will ignore at first and then you'll lose interest because you don't know what the hell is going on anymore. I've seen that to hook people up with an anime you have to show them tons of action and then they will get hooked up with the story like it happens with Naruto and the many people discussing stuff like when was the sharingan created and crap. But once you pick up the pace you'll love every characters and every second of Ghost in the Shell. Maybe watch the movies first to create some kind expectations first and then watch the anime (there is no relation between them BTW). 2. Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam This anime was the one that opened my eyes and made me realize how overrated Evangelion and every other anime that mixes psychological drama and mecha (like Rahxephon) are. This is easily the best mecha anime I've seen in all my life. Seriously, I just watched this last year and it blew my mind to pieces. I even became obsessed with the Gundam Universe for a while until I realized that this anime was one of a kind. In this universe no one is safe and nobody's what appear to be. There is betrayal for very human reasons like love and not just out of pure evilness. The protagonist starts like an ***hole but you see his transformation episode by episode until he becomes a great gundam pilot. The bad guys have their own twisted reason to go to war just like Hitler (in fact, they are just like nazi's in space). But not all of them are bad people like that, they just been brain-washed like the US government does with its citizens into making them believe that America is the only rightful country in the world despite all the people they have killed in wars and in the Middle East after the 9/11 incident. Zeta Gundam is one anime that has no fear to explore the darkest side of human nature and to make an ending where everything is not all happiness forever after. War is no joke. 3. Puella Magi Madoka Magica This anime was a surprise to me because based on its art-style this anime looks just like another generic mahou shoujo anime but it isn't. There is tons of killing and graphic violence and the story itself and characters were masterfully executed. Not much can be said about this recent masterpiece of an anime without spoiling it beside that is one of my most favorite ever and between a sea of low quality anime is easy to miss. The anime became very popular and due to that now it has quite the fanbase of haters calling it overrated and stuff but don't believe that crap. This anime is one of the greatest in the last 10 years. 4. Rumbling Hearts When it comes to love stories with a slight undertone of sadness Clannad seems to be the favorite but I find it so unrealistically corny that I just can't stand it. But anyway, Rumbling Hearts is more realistic and it present things just how they are. The premise is a bit cliche alright: "friend ask another friend which is friend's with her love interest to fix a date for her. Then they fall for each other but then the middle man realizes that she too was in love with him and so a love triangle is created", but the way is a executed is what makes me love this anime so much. If I go beyond this I would only spoil everything so I'm just going to say that what happens later is no pretty stuff. This is no School Days mind you but they share many traits... A bit of NTR here and there. 5. Toradora! This is another romantic anime but this one is more lighthearted and because of that it has comedy by default (no tragedies here). But what exactly makes this anime stand out between the gazillion of other romantic/comedy anime that we get every month? That this one takes itself seriously when the time is right. Toradora somehow blends realistic personal issues, comedy and romance, and this blend creates something that is totally unique. To be honest, there is no other romantic/comedy as good as Toradora. Period. You want the best then this is the best. 6. Berserk This one is just another anime full of 90's cliches but what makes it good is that is not afraid of the gore and to show off other disturbing stuff like rape, etc. But is not just for the sake of it, all that stuff is there to set up the mood of the series, to make you understand that the anime is set in a real Dark Age. The story despite all of its cliches is really good. So good that even an anime hater can enjoy it because this anime is so much not like an anime. Is more like an American cartoon with a sprinkle of Japanese inspiration like for example: the big swords and the rivalry between Guts and Griffith. But their rivalry is not just like your usual shallow rivalry you'd see in a shonen like DBZ, Naruto or Slam Dunk. Their rivalry goes beyond mere skills and it becomes something really sick; more than just envy it ends up as pure hate for each other. And the circumstances that leads to all this were all really well written and very interesting indeed. It lets you see the human side of Griffith and to what extend a person with so much envy and sadness in his heart goes to make the other hate him just as bad. This is something that an anime that cater to kids like "Naruto" will never be able to achieve. 7. You're Under Arrest 
This one is hard for me to explain why I like it so much but anybody that doesn't has a heart made of stone will understand right away why this anime is so special after seeing a few episodes. Lighthearted to the extreme and charming to no end, it never takes itself seriously and man, I just love it so much I feel like watching it right now again after so many years. 8. Gurren Lagann Mecha and battles so epic that it redefines epic. Do I need to say more? The story is a bit crazy and that only make things even better. The closest thing to this would be FLCL but is not as shallow and senseless. 9. Tekkaman Blade This one is here just out of pure nostalgia. I used to watch it when I was a kid before going to school and while my brain knows from fact that the anime is crap my heart still says that is great. I love the art-style and the story and everything. Slade/Blade is a cocky loner just like Cloud was at the beginning of FFVII, you know this is how they used to make most protagonists during the 90's and in certain way I became like that too. The 90's animes brainwashed me... lol Anyway, then Slade opens up and become nicer and joins the team and blah blah blah. You know, one cliche after the other until they defeat the ultimate bad guy, Darkon. 10. no #10 but it'll probably be a tie between: Evangelion, Rahxephon, Black Lagoon, Gantz, Darker than Black, Code Geass, Gungrave, Genshiken, School Days, Welcome to the NHK and Perfect Blue. And while some of these are superior to some of the anime I listed above based on universal reception this list is about my personal favorites. And believe it or not I enjoyed those above way much more. My Personal Top 5 worst anime: 1. Kanokon pure senseless ecchi with no plot whatsoever. Not even slightly funny. 2. Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ hahahahaha, where to begin with this one. Being a sequel to a masterpiece like Zeta Gundam one would only expect another amazing ride, right? But no. If I start to write every complain I have about this sequel it would never end. The thing about it is that is not just slightly worse than Zeta Gundam, the anime is simply worthless crap. They ruined everything by trying to turn a series with such a moody and dark plot into something lighthearted. They even tried to add comedy to it too. Comedy in an anime about war where many people dies and replaced an entire cast of amazing characters with a bunch of 13 years old kids. But let me go straight to the main problem. This anime is about 5 kids that hijacked a ship from the Earth Federation with 5 Gundams in it. And by themselves they took down the entire Zeon Empire. Can things get more ridiculous than this?
3. You're Under Arrest: Full Throttle It totally ruined what made the series so special by turning it into an action anime. The protagonists went though a personality transformation and all the cuteness and warm feelings that the original series made you feel are all gone for some crappy plot that no ones care about. The super cute and kind Miyuki was turned into the female counterpart of Bruce Willis in Die Hard. Simply ridiculous. And no, this is no reboot, it is a straight up sequel. 4. Zero no Tsukaima Final (season) tacky ecchi that gets in the way, plot moves at snails pace and then they rush the ending. The first 2 season were pretty decent though and that's why I continued watching until this abomination. 5. don't have a fifth one. For me to truly think that an anime is bad I have to hate it with all my might. And I pretty much evade most moe garbage like K-On which I don't like. And since I haven't seen much of it then I can't comment anything beside the fact that I hate moe and tacked on senseless ecchi. I like Ecchi mind you, but when it has a decent story or it is at least funny and not completely idiotic like Kanokon or the Final season of Zero no Tsukaima. The ecchi in the 2nd season was actually pretty exciting, for the 3rd season was still nice but the writing quality was starting to lack but for the Final season everything fell apart. Writing was bad, every female character became super annoying and the plot was non-existent until the end when they rushed to the ending. And the thing is that the light novel of Zero no Tsukaima had a really good story but they scrapped it for the ecchi.... |
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Metaflux
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Very interesting interpretation of SEL. "Change the world, or change yourself." I like that. |
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Kure11
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Been watching anime for about 8 years (100-150 full series) and found few good series from this forum so I'll post my opinions about best/worst animes I have seen so far. English is not my main language so try to bear with me
Best series 10. Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo I have always loved concept of betrayal and revenge and Gankutsuou is very good example how to do it right. Artwork is very original and beautiful. Count is very intresting and cool character and its pretty easy to sympathize with him and his motives. 9. Berserk Berserk is the reason I started to read manga because anime was very short compared to manga  . Its very brutal anime which I like and I generaly like animes which storys are told in middle ages. Story is very good and Gatsu/Griffith are awesome characters. Music/animation is nothing special but theres just something Im not sure how to say that makes Berserk such a awesome anime.
8. Twelve Kingdoms I tried to start watching this serie about 2-3 years ago but I quited after first 3 episodes or so because I was thinking its boring and main character is pretty annoying. Im glad that I gave this anime another chance about half a year ago and ended up marathoning this in 1-2 days after first 15 episodes . Story is pretty amazing and having somewhat deep focus on politics is a nice change. Yoko's (main) character development is one of best I have seen in any anime and after hating her at start of anime I fell in
"love" with her . Only bad thing comes to mind is that it kinda ends too fast and there was few stories which were left untold.
7. Basilisk Romeo x juliet + Kenshin = awesome. Story between 2 clans which start to kill each other because reason x and every character is unique and possess own powers and weaknesses which is really cool. I changed my opinion which clan to root for depending on history that was told till then and clan members different motives made me nearly to puke some of time. Also last episode once again made me cry really great but sad ending . Oh yeah and opening is nearly best 1 I have heard go check it out!
6. Great teacher onizuka Definitely the most funny anime I have ever seen Its also kinda strange that even when its such a funny show it still manages to talk about sad topics like bullying / suicide ect and its somewhat deep some of time. Onizuka is in my top 5 favorite characters he is such a nobrainer good guy and fun to watch. Last 7-10 episodes or so quality dropped quite alot but still it a wonderful show.
5. Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien I generaly dont like slice of life / romantic animes but this anime does those categories so well that it deserves my 6:th spot in my list. Few first episodes are pretty standard but after event x happens it gets really intresting and I had to marathon this anime and skip school because I just could not stop watching. Animation is good and characters are lovely (<3 Haruha) and OP is neat. I think theres only been 3 anime episodes I have cried in the past 8 years and ending episode spoiler[where haruha and Takayuki says goodbye] I shed tears for over an hour .
4. Code geass (1&2) All hail britannia! Pretty much everyone knows this anime so I just say what I liked about it. Music is wonderful, Lelouch is very intresting person to watch and plot keeps holding viewer from first episode to last 1 (yes I pretty much marathoned every top 10 anime I have on my list  ). 1 of the best endings I have seen in anime and I hope they dont ruin it with making a third season
3. Kino no tabi ~the Beautiful World~ Traveller + talking motorcycle sounded pretty bad for me but after I saw how good reviews this anime had I gave it a shot and fell in love with this anime. Its very mature and filosofical anime which dont really give right answers in a silver plate but gives a viewer a change to make own opinions what is right and wrong. Kino is very mysterious character at start but when story goes on you learn about her past. Its very hard for me to describe more deeply about this anime because my vocabulary is not that wide but I would recommend this anime to nearly everyone who is intrested in other anime than brainless shounen. Deep and wonderful anime. Last 2 animes I consider best are hard to put in right order because it depense on my mood which I prefer more but now it goes like this: 2. Mushishi Another mature and original anime. Artwork is amazing and it dont really matter which episode you pick because each one is a different story (but every one of em is amazing). Very calm and slowpaced anime which sometimes feels like a dream kinda similiar anime with my number 3. Ginko (main character) can seems to be very cold person some of time but he is once again very mysterious and logical person which I love. Artwork/music is amazing and this anime gives a viewer unforgottable experience. 1. Monster Crunch Crunch! Munch Munch! Chomp Chomp! Gulp. Dark and psychological, complex and well developed anime which I consider a masterpiece. Development of the Dr. Tenma is amazing and its easy to reason with him. Johann is probably my favorite villain ever. Only bad thing I have to about this anime is that I really dislike ending song Best story hands down I have ever seen in anime.
Honorable mentions: Hunter x Hunter/Shaman king/Hajime no ippo (fu naruto this is how to do shounen) Galaxy express 999 (my first anime which is so underrated. Very deep anime which is considered at over 100 different stories. Maetel is my fav woman character ever) Gundam seed (fun anime to watch and music is really really great) Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit Great story great fights overly underrated anime Hikaru no Go: I still dont understand rules but it was so fun/intresting anime that I got instantly hooked. Battles are cool and Sai is pretty epic character. Worst Animes (theres quite few but I focus on anime which I think are way too overrated. Im tired so I just write worst 2) 2. gurren lagann I tried to watch this anime 3 times but after seeing 1-2 episode I always wanted to quit. After I reached 8 episode I was so fed up and stop trying. I hate whiny main character I found story unintresting and in generaly it just looked so childish anime overall so Im probably too old for this anime. Also mechas were super boring compared to Gundam seed for example. 1. Kaiji 1-2 (rant) whole thing is pretty much spoiler so dont read if u wanna watch it spoiler spoiler As a professional pokerplayer/gambler I was so angry how stupid main character / professional casinostaff are in this anime. And considering how violent this anime is some of time its not mainly focused on kids who are really clueless about everyting related to gambling. Kaiji is being angleshooted nonstop by gamblingaddicted people and he keeps giving them another chance so they can angleshoot him again. His ideas are generaly really bad and unlogical and if his "enemies" were not such a braindead bunch he would be eaten alive in second (rock paper scissor game, Bog game, paper game pretty much every game). I could rant about this anime for long time but it would be pretty unintresting for readers to hear me talk about odds and stuff like that so I leave it be. But the ending of second season where bog machine is practicaly broken and casinomanager live is on line he wont close machine (like every casino in the world would obviously do) and practicaly kills himself because of that is just so ridiculous and let main character win by obvious cheating. I might upgrade my list by movies/ more worst animes but no1 probably dont care so I leave as it is now for a while 
Last edited by Kure11 on Mon Jul 23, 2012 4:33 am; edited 2 times in total |
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rheiders
Posts: 1137 Location: Colorful Colorado :) |
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@Kure11
You have some good taste there^^ (Especially Monster and Mushishi ) By the way, if you liked the art in Gankutsuou, you might give Mononoke a try. It's a horror anime, but it does some really interesting things with that "bright, unmoving patterns" style.
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Kure11
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I tried to watch it but I did not like it that much only saw first 4 episodes. Maybe I should give it another try
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