LaughingTarget's 10 Must See AnimeJul 24 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line These are the best, bar none. They have depth, which is what we all need. Also, because I said so. ^_^
First off, this little article is a part of kenshin-guy's Anime write-off today in honor of the Akira re-release. Mine is on hold right now, and after writing this, a wait of a couple of hours, my Akira DVD Tin Collector's Edition will be in my grimy little hands for some enjoyin'. Here are the other write-off participants (in the order listed on kenshin-guy's page): Orestes84 WretchedPyro Xeno3998 Crazy3237 LaughingTarget MachKick 32_Footsteps Cartman_2k Purplewiz Pika312 JadeRabbit PatAch Chris_Billings eBrown2 Read them, enjoy them, and they should broaden your anime horizons. If they don't, please e-mail me your complete anime knowledge because, you must be one MAJOR anime GOD. Second, I know the section says movies, but I am going to include television series as well. Since my experience with anime has left me watching series that all tie together, I can easily classify them as extremely long movies. Thirdly, a couple of these shows have yet to be released in the United States, or are even being planned on such. Don't write me long, nasty e-mails about why it wasn't at the local Best Buy or Sam Goody's. The show just ISN'T here yet, but when it DOES arrive, it will definitely be a best bet. Finally, my main point of interest in an anime is NOT the stereotypical kind. You know, the overly violent ones, sci-fi, or fantasy. I am more into the drama and comedy aspect of anime. This list is intended to give you the REAL greats, not just a compilation of the best ones that you occasionally see on the sci-fi channel or Cartoon Network. If comedy/drama is not your thing, then your obviously lying since that stuff is never shown on television. Now, to the list, this time, in order of preference: 10. Dragon Ball: Hey, you said you hated violence, and even wrote a scathing review of Dragon Ball Z! What gives? Well, fine folks, this is the series that proceeded the whole Z era. The 200+ episodes of goodness that didn't suck the life away the potential the DBZ world could have had. The original Dragon Ball takes place well before Raditz and friends showed up on Earth. These were the days when Goku was a child and still fought with the Demon King Piccolo, not side-by-side buddy buddy like. It had it all; especially the characters we grew to love before the next series tore the whole thing down by making the characters empty lumps off nothing-ness. Lucky for us, Dragon Ball is now being released, slowly, on DVD in the U.S. for our enjoyment. Watch it in Japanese, because, even though it is the best out there, the English dub sucks. 9. The Vision of Escaflowne: This series is possibly the only one I like that has the regular inclusion of overly large body mechs. The main reason is that the show is not based around combat and actually includes a story and developed characters. The story revolves around Hitomi, a somewhat clairvoyant back on Earth, who is suddenly transported off to a copy world called Gaea. Along the way to getting off Gaea and back to the "Mystic Moon" (what the local yokels call Earth), she gets stuck in a love triangle of sorts, being stuck with her main squeeze (sorta) back on Earth and two newcomers on Gaea who constantly are saving her behind, Van (who can be seen in my profile pic) and Allen. She also inadvertently discovers why Gaea is there and why they couldn't see it from Earth. Finally, a few shocking revelations on who the main bad guys are is tossed in to make this a wholly interesting show. 8. Mononoke Hime: Also known as Princess Mononoke in the United States. If you avoid the English version of the movie, which turns it into a strictly environmental schtick, you will be treated to a bit more depth. What is evil? Is the opposition evil or is it you? Is evil unique, or can evil have qualms against other evil? Is the opposition entirely evil, or are there good individuals in their ranks? Mononoke Hime is a great philosophical masterpiece that deserves a place in history. As long as it's not the dubbed over version that is almost as a liberal ad campaign. 7. Sailor Moon: "Hold on a second! I've seen this one, and it sucks badly. It’s just some poorly done girly show on Cartoon Network! Why are you recommending this!?" Well, you are seeing what happens when things are edited for television and marketing and regional culture. What I have seen is the unmolested, uncut version of the show. If you still insist on calling it a show for girls only, I'll be forced to stick a fork in your eye. Anyway, the show is about Usagi (yes, its Usagi, not that Serena garbage), the clumsiest middle school girl in history. Usagi saves a cat from being harassed by a bunch of kids and removes some band-aids from its head to reveal a crescent moon mark. Little does Usagi know, the cat is from a long dead civilization that thrived on the surface of the moon and that Usagi herself is a reincarnation of one of its inhabitants. Usagi along with four other Sailor Seishi (warriors) team up to destroy Queen Beryl in her bid to take over all existence. 6. The Slayers: This includes the subsequent series, Next and Try, as well. The Slayers is a cross between Monty Python and Dungeons&Dragons. The Slayers is about Lina, a red headed teen sorceress with a temper to match, and her eternal quest for money and good food. Her partner, Gourrey, is a swordsman with amoebae intelligence yet with strength on the opposite end of the spectrum. Also following along is Zelgadis, a somber golem who is searching a way to be human, and possibly the funniest character being stuck with an energetic group. The final regular is Amelia Wil Tesla Seyroon, a princess of the most powerful nation who also has read just a few too many superhero comic books. Their adventures tend to be very silly, but still offer a strong storyline and lovable characters. 5. Marmalade Boy: Remember when I said there would be a couple of series on the list that aren't available in the U.S.? Well, this is one of them. Marmalade Boy is the anime equivalent of the daytime soap. What makes it a good show, unlike the daytime soaps, is that the story is complete and not overly campy. The story is also VERY interesting. The two main characters, Miki and Yuu (which causes problems when he goes to America, for obvious reasons). When they receive the shocking news that their parents are divorcing, though strangely enough they are happy about it, they receive even MORE shocking news. They had met a couple in Hawaii on vacation and decided to swap partners. To make things more interesting, the two families, citing that child separation from natural parents is a bad idea, decide to all move into the same house. Talk about strange. Fortunately, this strangeness leads to a VERY interesting story line. After a long bout, Miki and Yuu begin go grow fond of each other, but stress to keep their parents from knowing about it. There are enough love triangles in this series that if you tried to sketch it out on paper, you would end up covering all the white space with lines. Needless to say, this is a series that needs to be brought over to these shores in DVD format. 4. Card Captor Sakura: Familiar with the show Cardcaptors on the WB? Well, that one stinks, having been hacked and cut, with episode 1 consisting of Japanese a hack of Japanese episodes 1-7, U.S. episodes 2 and 3 are episodes 11 and 13. Luckily, there was a large enough hubbub over an uncut version that Nelvana released it on DVD, and did one helluvah job on it, too. So good in fact, it almost looks like the televised dub is going under while the DVDs are going to continue being released. Anyway, Card Captor Sakura is about a somewhat ordinary girl who gets stuck with a very weird problem. After opening a strange book in her father's basement study, she releases a whole lot of magical cards called the Clow. Each card has a special power and Sakura's job is to chase them down and capture them, hence the name of the show. This is classic anime, having one of the largest episode totals behind the Dragon Ball universe, Pokemon, and maybe Sailor Moon. 3. Saber Marionette J: Imagine a planet of all men. That is what happened on Terra II. 300 years before the series timeframe, the Mesopotamia, a colonization ship, had a major malfunction. The only survivors were six men. To procreate and settle the planet, they were forced to cloning and gene manipulation to populate the planet. The six men and their direct clone descendants went on to create six nations on the planet. The series takes place in two of those nations, Japoness (Japan) and Gartlant (a rip-off of Nazi Germany). Our hero, Otaru, is just another poor Japoness citizen. Average in every way. That is until he wanders into the Japoness Pioneer Museum. Before I go on, a little more back history. To replace the loss of the human female, the people of Terra II came up with a robot female called the Marionette. Needless to say, they were just mindless servants, totally lacking what real people have, emotion. That is where Otaru went from ordinary to just plain different. In the museum, Otaru stumbles on a Marionette (Lime) that can express emotion, has a free will, and for some reason or another, deeply loves Otaru. Otaru eventually finds two more (Cherry and Bloodberry) of these marionettes and later discovers a little secret they hold. 2. Aa! Megami-sama: Also known as Oh! My Goddess. This is a relatively short series, taking up about six episodes total. The story starts with the main character, Keiichi looking for something to crave his mid-day college munchies. Finding that most of the restaurants are either closed until the evening or won't deliver, he bangs the phone in desperation. What Keiichi gets is not a fast food delivery joint, but the Goddess Help Hotline, who promptly says they will be right there. Seconds later, an absolutely gorgeous goddess comes out of the mirror and will grant Keiichi a single wish. Forgetting the food, Keiichi wishes for a girlfriend like her, since he is a shorty and can't get one himself. What he gets IS the goddess from the mirror. Introducing herself as Belldandy, they go on their little adventures, and even meet her sisters, the older Urd who is next in line to be El Diablo, and Skuld, the younger goddess who is in charge of hitting rabbit things with a mallet. And now, LaughingTarget's #1 Anime of All Time 1. Nurse Angel Ririka: This is the other show that is not available for purchase in the U.S. as of yet. Yeah, just your luck that the finest show this guy has seen is still in Japan only. Nurse Angel Ririka is about a girl, Ririka, that gets a little box from a guy named Kanou on her 10th birthday. Little does she know, she is the legendary Nurse Angel who is sworn to protect Earth and the ravaged Queen Earth from the evil entity called Dark Joker. Where this series sets itself apart from the other is the story execution. The characters are just loveable. So much in fact, that this is the first time, and only time, that I have openly cried at the end of the series. It’s just such a sad ending. Anyway, that’s my list. If it’s available for purchase and you don't have it, get it. If not, just wait or find a fansub of it. All the above series, plus many more I could not fit because I only did 10, are all must haves for any anime lover's video collection. Please read the others in the write-off, that’s what this stuff is all about. Thanks and enjoy!  |
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