Yeah guys, sorry for the lack of content recently. I’ve been up to my ass in midterms. But no fear, I’m back! The next anime I’m going to review will likely be Madoka, since I’m watching it right now and so far under the impression that it’s not nearly as good as the fans hype it to be. In the meantime, I’ll amuse you all by compiling a list of my own top forty anime:
40. Akira: cult-classic movie that gets more praise than it should. Still, its influence on succeeding anime is evident.
39. Hellsing Ultimate: one word–badass motherfucker.
38. Fruits Basket: one of the first anime I watched, and I still need to read the manga. Seemingly lighthearted in the first few episodes, it explores some interesting themes and is quite sad. It has some obvious flaws, like poor character design and some bad filler episodes, but otherwise it (almost) made me cry.
37. Dennou Coil: very interesting anime that’s basically like a kid’s version of Serial Experiments Lain. One of the only anime that follows prepubescent girls and doesn’t have any fanservice whatsoever. Innocent and charming, much like a Miyazaki film.
36. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: one of the few comedic anime that I actually found comedic. This anime will put you in despair.
35. Puella Magi Madoka Magica: A pretty over-rated show that honestly gets more hype than it should, I still found it to be better than I thought it was going to be.
34. Cat Soup: avant-garde story about a cat and her brother (or sister, I forget now). Very surreal, very dark, and very good.
33. Millennium Actress: great Satoshi Kon film, with a distinct narrative device (Kon’s trademark by now), funny dialogue, and a sad ending.
32. Baccano!: one of those love or hate animes that I happened to love. Not for everybody, for sure. The only reason why I ranked this lower was because I found almost none of the characters to be interesting.
31. Ultimate Fighter Kaiji: one of those anime that will always keep you on your feet. Gets a little bit silly with all the games later on, but still worthwhile.
30. The Girl who Leapt Through Time: title is self-explanatory.
29. Gungrave: the ultimate story of betrayal, and basically a modern telling of Macbeth. Has badass characters, great animation, a great soundtrack, and a solid story.
28. Genius Party: a compilation of shorts from various directors, with varying quality. Still, the art in all of them is very good and the stories are well done.
27. Planetes: space janitors. A mix of slice of life, philosophy, and interesting speculation about the future of space exploration.
26. Princess Tutu: the only reason I picked this up was after watching an AMV of it. Before I thought it would be some generic shoujo series, but nope. This is an interesting twist on a modern fairy tale gone horribly wrong.
25. Macross Plus: the only Macross show I’ve actually watched so far, it’s incredibly well-done for a mere 4 episode OVA. The characters are sufficiently explored, and there is quite a bit of philosophy intertwined.
24. Perfect Blue: the first of Satoshi Kon’s films that I watched–this show will fuck with your mind. It’s basically Alfred Hitchcock but an anime instead.
23. 5cm Per Second: Makoto Shinkai movie about a distant romance. Beautiful animation and evokes an emotion that I rarely feel nowadays.
22. Death Note: a Faustian anime that is another example of awesome plot twists and moral battles. A must see.
21. Samurai Champloo: stylish, sleek, and very entertaining. Gave me a whole new perspective of the Edo era of Japan.
20. Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage: although the first season had its merits, the second ramped the tragedy up to “11” and ruined any of Rock’s hopes to become a savior. Great mix of fast-paced action, philosophy, and tragedy.
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18. Jin Roh: an experimental movie about madness and military politics. Also had some of the best animation for its time.
17. Revolutionary Girl Utena: the pinnacle of the shoujo genre. A paragon of anime, only dulled by the numerous filler episodes and somewhat repetitive nature of the show. Still, it has an amazing art style, fantastic characters, and an interesting plot. The last few episodes are largely experimental and may leave some viewers disappointed.
16. Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal: I was never a big fan of Rurouni Kenshin. This is not Rurouni Kenshin though. This is dark, ruthless, and absolutely depressing.
15. Kaiba: a strange art style mixed with adult themes. Again, not for everybody.
14. Haibane Renmei: slow-paced and introspective, Renmei is definitely not for everybody. For the people who do like slice of life shows without ridiculous humour and moeblob characters–this show is for you.
13. The Big O: neo-noir, basically “if batman were an anime.” Apparently there was supposed to be a third season, which probably would have explained the ridiculously hard to understand ending. Still, very good.
12. Mind Game: silly and hilarious. Impossible to describe or summarize.
11. Welcome to the NHK: a comedic gem that any shut in will empathize with. Though the first half is relatively light-hearted, it takes a dark turn at the latter half.
10. Gurren Lagann: epic, manly, and filled with awesome. I would recommend this to anybody
9. Fooly Cooly: another one of those impossible-to-summarize shows; a true cumming of age (lol get it?)
8. Honey and Clover Season 1 & 2: the best Slice of Life series I’ve watched thus far. The first season has some pacing issues, but overall it has great animation, characters, plot, and music.
7. Now and Then, Here and There: this show is absolutely depressing. The first episode may give the impression that it’s some lighthearted shounen series, but it is anything but that. This is tragedy, filled with heart-wrenching scenes and dark themes, this is definitely not a show that I would recommend to everybody.
6. Mawaru Penguindrum: while definite opinion of the show has yet to form itself, Penguindrum will always be remembered by me as something tragic, yet fulfilling. While objectively speaking, the show is pretty mediocre, there was something that struck me about it that made me want to watch more, and also feel connected to the characters. The plot, while very surreal, was filled with philosophical qualms that few anime dare to tread upon.
5. Legend of the Galactic Heroes: watched the first few episodes two years ago and I hated it. Then I started watching it again, and I thought it was epic. The anime equivalent of Homer’s Odyssey.
4. The Tatami Galaxy: the first time I watched this I thought it was pretty good. And then I watched it again and thought it was amazing. It’ll probably be my favourite anime by the time I watch it next. Funny, meaningful, and a plot that will either drive you mad or will cause you to reflect on your own life.
3. Serial Experiments Lain: the most confusing anime I’ve watched yet. Understood it a little better after watching it a second time, but some parts still confuse the hell out of me. Very obscure, very surreal, and a stunningly accurate portrayal of what was to come in the decade succeeding its creation.
2. Neon Genesis Evangelion/The End of Evangelion: oh yes, this one. You either love it or hate it. I loved it, mostly because I associated with Shinji at the time I watched it. After that, I watched it twice more and it quickly became one of my favourites.
1. Cowboy Bebop: perfection in every sense of the word, Bebop does not falter once. There is not a single episode that is not meaningful, funny, sad, or interesting. One of the best soundtracks I’ve ever heard in an anime, an amazing voice cast, a great story told mostly in episodic form, and outstanding characters. Cowboy Bebop does not do a single thing wrong in my opinion, and yet does so much right. The movie is also quite good, but not as good as the anime.