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As some of you might know, I am a huge anime fan. I love anime from a wide variety of genres and I greatly prefer it to the vast majority of western television - animated or otherwise. The list below, which is in descending order since the series are in a rough order, are of my personal favourite anime.
In Btooom! a large number of people have been more or less sentenced to death by someone close to them. They end up on what appears to be a tropical island and are forced to battle it out in the style of a popular MMORPG fighting to escape from the hell they have been thrust in using only a selection of special explosives and their minds. A lot of people don't like Btooom! because of the fanservice, however if you look past it there is a cast of extremely interesting characters, intricate and strategic combat and in some cases relatability we would rather not acknowledge. I personally think this is a great anime and far better than many with similar concepts.
Okay, so there are a lot of anime out there like this. This is honestly just your typical slice of life/comedy anime with a group of female high-schoolers as the lead characters. However this anime has earned its place on the list in my books, it has a cast of hilariously loveable characters and the (admittedly outlandish in many cases) comedy is very well crafted. I never expected that I would be the kind of person to enjoy this kind of anime but this show changed that opened me up to a wide variety of genres that I'd never considered before. Plus Osaka is the funniest character ever.
Once my horizons were broader by the previous entry on this list, I was finally able experience stories like this one. In this anime a boy is forced to repeatedly befriend a girl who loses her memories at the end of the weak and attempts to help her stabilise her memory. This anime is honestly a beautiful and heartfelt story and I love watching the bonds between these characters grow and enjoyed the drama produced by the premise. I also really enjoyed the artwork, it seems quite different from other series.
This is a masterpiece in the romance genre - again not something I expected I would ever find myself saying. It primarily focuses on the strong friendship between the bright, upbeat and caring Akira Okudaira and her close friend Fumi Manjōme who is an emotional crybaby and recently outed lesbian. The story focuses on the development of the relationship between the two as Okudaira supports Manjōme and the struggles she faces. The reason I love this anime is that there is a lot realism in it not found in others (and not seen often in Western media either) in which characters are believable and relatable and the problems they run into are in the same vein.
Yes, a typical shonen anime. This anime is on my list for good reason though, not only are the action scenes (of which there are plenty) extremely entertaining to watch but I really love the diverse and often surprisingly deep cast of characters and the story that also contains a lot of depth absent in other shonen anime. This anime is the perfect mix of action, drama and comedy.
This is another anime masterpiece, this time one of suspense. There's not much in the way of action in this anime but it's intense in the same way that old school horror movies are. There's always a tension in this anime, you never know what is going to happen next and sometimes you find you don't even know who you're supposed to root for. In Death Note, a young man finds the magical notebook of a shinigami (death god) and discovers that by writing a name in it he can cause a person to die. This discovery leads to an attempt to kill of criminals and create a utopia, however this action whilst noble in intent is also heinous and leads to a struggle between geniuses as Light (who has the notebook) tries to arrange the mysterious detective, L's, death before the latter can discover his identity. If you have any interest in anime or the thriller genre, you definitely need to watch this.
Good luck finding an anime more messed up than this one. In the world of this anime, a type of human-like creature with a tendency towards extreme violence and "telekinetic" abilities exists. The government is trying to eradicate these people however one of the most dangerous of them escapes, getting wounded in the process and forgetting her identity. This anime not only has some of the most brutal gore I have ever seen and the most beautiful opening theme song I have heard but also a surprisingly deep plot exploring the sad pasts of characters as well as the bleak present. If you can stomach the gore and excessive nudity, I highly recommend this.
This is possibly one of the most unique drama anime I have seen. It follows a group of students in the Cultural Research Club, who like most of us all have their problems. When a bored supernatural entity begins subjecting these people to strange phenomenon however these problems are all brought to the forefront of their lives causing all kinds of drama between the student of the CRC. This description doesn't do this incredible work justice however if you like supernatural elements, comedy and drama this anime is definitely for you.
Just look at that adorable artwork, this is clearly just another cute magical anime right? Haha no. Appearances are very deceiving, this anime might appear to be just your typical magical girl anime but it is much deeper and darker than that. It is actually an extremely twisted anime. The premise is simple enough, a group of school girls are given the option to become a magical girl and fight witches in exchange for a wish. However, this seemingly simple plot hides within a web of deceit, cruelty and sadness that forces characters to make impossible decisions and destroys their lives.
Well if Madoka is messed up, surely an anime with a normal-looking picture like that is fine? Nope. In Higurashi there is a series of intricately connecting alternate timelines (I won't say too much it will give part of the anime away). Each of these timelines begins innocently enough, but as they progress we get to watch as people become subjected to the mysterious curse plaguing the village they live in, gradually becoming in tangled in dark, twisted and deadly series of events. This is anime is a little hard to explain but it is an incredible watch. It contains brilliant characters and relationships between characters, a convoluted and dark but ultimately extremely enjoyable story line and cottons suspenseful thriller and horror moments that will leave you on the edge of your seat.
Well those are my pics, what do you think? What are some of yours? If you haven't seen any of these, are considering doing so now?
-Gimmepie
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Top Ten Anime Series
As some of you might know, I am a huge anime fan. I love anime from a wide variety of genres and I greatly prefer it to the vast majority of western television - animated or otherwise. The list below, which is in descending order since the series are in a rough order, are of my personal favourite anime.
Number Ten - Btooom!
In Btooom! a large number of people have been more or less sentenced to death by someone close to them. They end up on what appears to be a tropical island and are forced to battle it out in the style of a popular MMORPG fighting to escape from the hell they have been thrust in using only a selection of special explosives and their minds. A lot of people don't like Btooom! because of the fanservice, however if you look past it there is a cast of extremely interesting characters, intricate and strategic combat and in some cases relatability we would rather not acknowledge. I personally think this is a great anime and far better than many with similar concepts.
Number Nine - Azumanga Daioh
Okay, so there are a lot of anime out there like this. This is honestly just your typical slice of life/comedy anime with a group of female high-schoolers as the lead characters. However this anime has earned its place on the list in my books, it has a cast of hilariously loveable characters and the (admittedly outlandish in many cases) comedy is very well crafted. I never expected that I would be the kind of person to enjoy this kind of anime but this show changed that opened me up to a wide variety of genres that I'd never considered before. Plus Osaka is the funniest character ever.
Number Eight - Isshuukan Friends
Once my horizons were broader by the previous entry on this list, I was finally able experience stories like this one. In this anime a boy is forced to repeatedly befriend a girl who loses her memories at the end of the weak and attempts to help her stabilise her memory. This anime is honestly a beautiful and heartfelt story and I love watching the bonds between these characters grow and enjoyed the drama produced by the premise. I also really enjoyed the artwork, it seems quite different from other series.
Number Seven - Aoi Hana
This is a masterpiece in the romance genre - again not something I expected I would ever find myself saying. It primarily focuses on the strong friendship between the bright, upbeat and caring Akira Okudaira and her close friend Fumi Manjōme who is an emotional crybaby and recently outed lesbian. The story focuses on the development of the relationship between the two as Okudaira supports Manjōme and the struggles she faces. The reason I love this anime is that there is a lot realism in it not found in others (and not seen often in Western media either) in which characters are believable and relatable and the problems they run into are in the same vein.
Number Six - Naruto Shippuden
Yes, a typical shonen anime. This anime is on my list for good reason though, not only are the action scenes (of which there are plenty) extremely entertaining to watch but I really love the diverse and often surprisingly deep cast of characters and the story that also contains a lot of depth absent in other shonen anime. This anime is the perfect mix of action, drama and comedy.
Number Five - Death Note
This is another anime masterpiece, this time one of suspense. There's not much in the way of action in this anime but it's intense in the same way that old school horror movies are. There's always a tension in this anime, you never know what is going to happen next and sometimes you find you don't even know who you're supposed to root for. In Death Note, a young man finds the magical notebook of a shinigami (death god) and discovers that by writing a name in it he can cause a person to die. This discovery leads to an attempt to kill of criminals and create a utopia, however this action whilst noble in intent is also heinous and leads to a struggle between geniuses as Light (who has the notebook) tries to arrange the mysterious detective, L's, death before the latter can discover his identity. If you have any interest in anime or the thriller genre, you definitely need to watch this.
Number Four - Elfen Lied
Good luck finding an anime more messed up than this one. In the world of this anime, a type of human-like creature with a tendency towards extreme violence and "telekinetic" abilities exists. The government is trying to eradicate these people however one of the most dangerous of them escapes, getting wounded in the process and forgetting her identity. This anime not only has some of the most brutal gore I have ever seen and the most beautiful opening theme song I have heard but also a surprisingly deep plot exploring the sad pasts of characters as well as the bleak present. If you can stomach the gore and excessive nudity, I highly recommend this.
Number Three - Kokoro Connect
This is possibly one of the most unique drama anime I have seen. It follows a group of students in the Cultural Research Club, who like most of us all have their problems. When a bored supernatural entity begins subjecting these people to strange phenomenon however these problems are all brought to the forefront of their lives causing all kinds of drama between the student of the CRC. This description doesn't do this incredible work justice however if you like supernatural elements, comedy and drama this anime is definitely for you.
Number Two - Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika
Just look at that adorable artwork, this is clearly just another cute magical anime right? Haha no. Appearances are very deceiving, this anime might appear to be just your typical magical girl anime but it is much deeper and darker than that. It is actually an extremely twisted anime. The premise is simple enough, a group of school girls are given the option to become a magical girl and fight witches in exchange for a wish. However, this seemingly simple plot hides within a web of deceit, cruelty and sadness that forces characters to make impossible decisions and destroys their lives.
Number One - Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Well if Madoka is messed up, surely an anime with a normal-looking picture like that is fine? Nope. In Higurashi there is a series of intricately connecting alternate timelines (I won't say too much it will give part of the anime away). Each of these timelines begins innocently enough, but as they progress we get to watch as people become subjected to the mysterious curse plaguing the village they live in, gradually becoming in tangled in dark, twisted and deadly series of events. This is anime is a little hard to explain but it is an incredible watch. It contains brilliant characters and relationships between characters, a convoluted and dark but ultimately extremely enjoyable story line and cottons suspenseful thriller and horror moments that will leave you on the edge of your seat.
Well those are my pics, what do you think? What are some of yours? If you haven't seen any of these, are considering doing so now?
-Gimmepie
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