Your favorite Anime

[Julius Terrell]

I see the favs are kind of all over the place. I'm just a bit suprised that a few titles keep popping up on everyone's lists. There is just soooo much content out there that finding good titles could be like trying to find an island in the middle of the ocean. I think a lot of U.S. fans aren't really exposed to sheer volume of titles that come out on an annual bases(not to mention the back-log). I don't think the U.S. gets that many titles liscensed. I wouldn't be surprised if the percentage of titles is around 10-15%. Even that figure might be too generous.

Just an observation.

I also agree whole heartedly agree about Legend of Galactic Heroes. It's a shame it never got liscensed here in the U.S.

 

[Dansen]

I've had fun with Monster [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_%28manga%29]. It's one of the few titles that comes to mind when I'm recommending an anime to someone who is new to the medium, but is turned off by the shounen/sailor scout stereotypes and preoccupation with the lives of high school students of other more prolific animes. It has a fairly grounded story set in pre and post-reunification Germany, following a Japanese doctor framed for murder amidst cold war intrigue. It deals with such themes as the quest for redemption, obsession, how childhood experiences can shape a person's adult life for better or for worse, whether or not everyone is truly equal as well as capable of redemption, and how the consequences of someone's past actions/inaction will inevitably return to haunt them in the future. Not to mention it has one of the better anime openings I've ever seen, complete with a haunting musical score.


On the other end of the spectrum is Tiger & Bunny [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_%26_Bunny], a Japanese take on American superheroes where the act of crime fighting is akin to a televised game show, superheroes are celebrities with their own lines of products and talk show appearances, and every hero has their own corporate sponsors complete with logos emblazoned on their costumes like in NASCAR.



They're both available for free on Hulu, I recommend checking them out if anyone is interested. Of course, feel free to buy the episodes and support the creators if you decide you like them and wish to continue watching them.

Monster [http://www.hulu.com/naoki-urasawas-monster]

Tiger & Bunny [http://www.hulu.com/tiger-and-bunny]

...eh. Tiger and Bunny is okay. I kind of get depressed thinking about it because it wasted so much potential for meaningful social commentary. Still a solid show.

 

[Amberella]

Sailor Moon
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
Black Lagoon
Darker Than Black
Sword Art Online

I'm a huge Mustang+Hawkeye fan and definitely a Ed+Winry fan! Usagi+Mamo-chan as well obviously. lol. And I haven't been watching anime lately. The weather is getting nice so been out a lot with the boyfriend.

 

[StormShaun]

Snip

A long time huh. Well hopefully I will still remember when it comes out. XD

Though to be honest Naruto and One Piece were big in my childhood. But even back then I got into things like Full Metal Alchemist and Gundam Seed.


I'll put Welcome to the NHK on my list then.
And I loved Elfen Lied for it's combination of gore moments and non-gore moments.



For me it was worth it.
It is apparently more connected with the manga, though I'm not going to spoil anything.

Clannad made me cry, that should be enough.
Though I played the Visual Novel (Which is 50 hours and above of time you need. XD), the anime does it justice.
I'd suggest it for people who like drama and romance.

 

[Dr. Cakey]

I see the favs are kind of all over the place. I'm just a bit suprised that a few titles keep popping up on everyone's lists. There is just soooo much content out there that finding good titles could be like trying to find an island in the middle of the ocean. I think a lot of U.S. fans aren't really exposed to sheer volume of titles that come out on an annual bases(not to mention the back-log). I don't think the U.S. gets that many titles liscensed. I wouldn't be surprised if the percentage of titles is around 10-15%. Even that figure might be too generous.

Just an observation.

Closer to 50-75%, I think, although I don't have any hard numbers. Crunchyroll alone, for example, is streaming twenty titles from the current season (Spring 2012), with more on the way. The titles that get skipped over are usually low-profile releases anyway - with exceptions, of course. Aside from that, the number of OVAs and movies that get licensed are pretty low. Also, there's a wide gap between what gets licensed and what gets released on physical media.

I haven't seen many of the popularly chosen "best anime ever" (Cowboy Bebop, Elfen Lied, Baccano!, Durarara, etc. )

Wait, people say Durarara!! is the "best anime ever"? I mean, I liked it - I liked it a lot, actually - but I thought most people just thought of it as Baccano!, but set in Tokyo and not as good. As for Elfen Lied...it has a fairly vocal fanbase, but if "Best Anime Ever" was an election, it would be a write-in candidate.

But Baccano! is awesome. Go watch that.

As for pairings, I'm a big fan of Kowaru x Shinji, especially in Rebuild, which handled their relationship much more openly than in the original, which made it clear that "it's not gay, because he's an angel", to a certain degree and barely had any actual romance at all.

Kaworu x Shinji is clearly more emphasized in Rebuild only because Kaworu was ridiculously popular in the series despite his <20 minutes of screen-time...but I don't care because Kaworu.

Not that I'm gay or anything...

Speaking of Nichijou ,does anyone know if it will eventually be on Netflix?

The number of anime on Netflix does not increase, it only decreases.

I'm really dissapointed to see more and more people put Elfen Lied and Mirai Nikki as their favourite animes...even in their top 10.

It's funny you mention them together, because one of those shows I really liked (although I wouldn't put it in my Top 10 by any means), and one of them bored me to tears. I'll give you a hint: I liked the good one.

Er, by which I mean Mirai Nikki.

That aside, the interest in Elfen Lied has cooled down just in the two years or so I've known it existed, so I think your fears are unfounded.

 

[JagermanXcell]

1.Trigun: Not a single flaw. I can't even stress how much I. LOVE. THIS. SHOW. The morals, the inner struggles, the love, the peace, the hate, the violence. And Vash...

Spoiler

Not a single day goes by where I wish I can be as pure at heart and cartoony as this comedic gunslinger.

2.Cowboy Bebop. Its great: I was shocked when I came to the realization that Trigun was slightly better then this show, but dayum this show is just great anyways. No doubt about it. Music, setting, story, and characters are all great.

3.Persona 4 The Animation: Its an adaptation of a groundbreaking masterpiece of a game, whats not to love? Sure it has a ton of flaws, and so what if its fan service, revisiting the memories I had with this game coupled with some of the most well written characters ever... yeah, I can roll with that. Plus the added/new OST is drop dead beautiful.

OT: I'm hoping to start watching Gurren Lagann soon, lets see if its as perfect as everyone says it is.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

In no real order.

1. Bakemonogatari
2. Puella Magi Madoka Magika
3. Denpa teki na Kanoujo (OVA)
4. Kure-nai
5. Shiki
6. Tatami Galaxy
7. Ef ~a tale of memories~
8. Berserk
9. Cencoroll (OVA/Film)
10. Sasami-san@Ganbaranai

 

[Akatsuki]

I have a very short/sort of anime as my personal favourite: It's Papa no Iukoto o Kikiknasi! (Stylised as listen to me girls I am your farther!)

It's short, at only 12 episodes, but the story is brilliant. You see a , if i'm honest, massive idiot of a man deal with being a farther suddenly after his sister goes missing and her three daughters left with being separated (Even though they will still be in the same country right?!?!?!?!). In all, it makes for good viewing.


There's a Manga or two and the Light novels, that it started from, as well... I'd read them but my current ability to read Japanese's is limited to rivers and rice fields!


Oh and now that I think about it, Gundam is also my favourite. It is realistic and kind of depressing yet able to tell you something about you/everyone. From watching it I realised a lot of things and probably made me a better person.

Plus who doesn't want to shout "IT'S A GUNDAM!!!!"

(Even if i must add that Gundam handels realationships really badly: Gundam wing shows someone practically stalking an other person and gundam seed has soooooooooooooooooooooooooo much potnetual it could have used to supre on the story. Which is one of the many reaosn i dislike gundam seed... Mostly because Kira is a arse hole and left Cagalli, to run a country by herself and eventually screw up kind of badly, when he should have been helping her as she was his only living family member!)

 

[ZehMadScientist]

Steins;Gate is the one for me.

I followed this as it was airing. The first few episodes were kind of strange. Not much going on, very eccentric characters and it was actually pretty fun so I decided to stick with it.
Around episode 7 is were I got hooked because it actually got interesting. Characters are very likable and comedy gold. I was now actively looking forward to the next episode every week.

Now, it was around the halfway point in the series that that happened. I was shocked. I couldn't believe it. There was no way this was happening. My emotional investment had been turned against me. The week I had to wait for the next episode was pure agony.

The next episodes were riveting. I could hear my heart beating as I clicked the play button and my eyes would be glued to the screen as twist after twist was revealed.

At the time the final episode was due, it no longer mattered to me how it ended, as long as the conclusion was a happy one. I would've been fine with any ass pull, so long the characters I've come to hold so dear got out alright.

That... was the choice of the Steins;Gate.

El Psy Congroo

*Stares off into the distant sky in hopes that people think that was really deep*

 

[Benpasko]

The new JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series is incredible. Gurren Lagann is also spectacular. I find I don't really have big long-standing favorites, becaue anime tends to be a one-shot kinda deal with me though.

 

[MammothBlade]

Serial Experiments Lain, an uncontended masterpiece. But that's just my no 1, I like too many anime to count.

Monster is always one of my top picks along with Serial Experiments Lain and Haibane Renmei. I don't really have a clear favorite, nor do I like the categorization as my preference is always in flux.

I'm watching Haibane Renmei now *high five*

 

[Sarah Kerrigan]

I'm not into anime as I was a few years ago, but I started watching some again and I recently have gotten into Sword Art Online, Tiger & Bunny, and I really do love Persona 4 the Animation.

I also loved that OVA they put out for Zero Escape Virtues Last Reward. Wish they made that game an anime too

 

[morrie man]

Bleach is by far the most I have enjoyed an anime so it goes top for me, a the same time I have recently just started watching Sword Art Online and am loving it! I am not really one for paring but in this case it would definitely be Kirito and Asuna fro SAO.

So favorite anime is: Bleach

 

[Talaris]

I'm really dissapointed to see more and more people put Elfen Lied and Mirai Nikki as their favourite animes...even in their top 10.

Please explain?

As for the reason I rank Mirai Nikki as my 5th favourite, I guess it firstly has to do with the personal reason that it was the first psychological horror anime I watched, and knowing nothing about the premise or manga before diving in, it made the intense violence and mind games the characters inflict on each other leave a big impression on me. The premise made me feel that same way for the main character that Battle Royale did when I first saw it, utter helplessness (yes I know the plots are similar, but they deviate from one another enough that it feels fresh).

As for Yuno's dual personality that constantly shifts from sweet to psychotic, it's frankly disturbing. But in my opinion that is what brings the intrigue and suspense that the show does best above many; her mysterious past and unpredictable nature really brings you to the edge of your seat to find out what will happen next. The fact she is voiced and drawn/animated so well only adds to the joy she is to watch on screen.

The plot is paced in such a way that you're never left feeling bored, and the main characters have actual arcs which prevent them from being stuck as stereotypes. Example: Shinji in NGE only changes personality at the last second of the series/EoE film in a way I felt was never plausible for someone suffering from acute depression. Yuuki on the other hand is more realistically affected by the traumatic issues that occur around him, and though his confidence rises, his personality gradually becomes a lot more cold as a result.

On top of all this, it's the shocking plot twist towards the end that sealed it as a favourite for me. In my opinion it ranks not far behind Bioshock Infinite's twist. The actual ending itself leaves a bit to be desired, but there's an OVA coming out in June that is looking to rectify this.