My Top Ten Animes Review

While not everything in my personal list is a technical masterpiece, they were the ones that I have enjoyed the most over all of my years watching anime. These are not in particular order though; I gave up a long time ago on trying to rank my top ten in order because it always made my brain hurt. So, without further adieu, my personal top ten:

1. Princess Nine (ADV) – One of the most underrated titles in history, this baseball anime is about nine girls trying to become the very first all girl high school team to play at the national championships. The real story however belongs to the much deeper character relationships on and off the field. With characters that you genuinely feel for and a constantly moving story, this was a title that still has yet to get the attention that it deserves.

2. Azumanga Daioh (ADV) – This slice of life comedy came out of nowhere in 2005 and took the anime community by storm. With its unusual storytelling and completely over the top characters, this quickly became a staple in the collections of fans. While the very high number of cultural jokes went over the head of many casual fans, they were still able to get hours of enjoyment from the slapstick and deadpan moments that quickly became this series signature.

3. Fate/Stay Night (Geneon) – Ironically, this was one of the final series to be released by Geneon in their final months of 2007. Almost not completed (the final volume was almost not released due to the company going under at almost the same time), this series easily ranked among the top series of everything released in 2007. Filled with a deeply engaging plot and mysterious characters, this action series won me over almost right away.

4. When They Cry (Geneon) – Another one of the final series to be released by Geneon in 2007, this one unfortunately wasn’t as lucky only seeing half of the first season released in this country before Geneon went under. If fans had gotten to see the end of this series, they would’ve been taken on a psychological thrill ride that ends in a completely unforeseen twist ending that takes them right into an equally spell binding second season. Fans should pray that this series gets a second chance in this country someday as the huge fan base it has gained in Japan does not come from nothing.

5. Petite Princess Yucie (ADV) – 2005 was a good year for anime as ADV released yet another gem with this title. Based on a game never released in this country by Gainax, this sweet fantasy anime got almost zero promotion by ADV and was largely ignored by fans until the small percentage of fans who did watch it started spreading the word. While it never became a huge hit, this sweet title about a girl competing with four other girls in attempt to obtain the eternal tiara which can grant them any wish is still a great series enjoyable by adults and children alike.

6. Madlax (ADV) – From the makers of the hit series, Noir, this series might’ve gotten only a fraction of its attention if it weren’t for the hilarious extras packaged with each volume. Getting past though, the staff behind this series created an amazing thrill ride of action and mystery that earned high praise from almost all who watched it. Easily among the top five anime released in 2005.

7. Grave of the Fireflies (Central Park Media) – Before I even started this list, I knew that I wanted to include at least one title from world renowned Studio Ghibli. After much though, I finally decided that this was the title that deserved to on the list. Telling the story of young sibling orphans in Japan during the closing weeks of WWII, this heart breaking tale tells of their struggles to survive until ultimately succumbing to the horrors of war. I’ll be perfectly honest; I’ve only watched this title once and was so heartbroken that I’ve yet to find the courage to watch it again. This is a title that everyone must see once.

8. Interlude (Toei) – Because of the absolutely terrible way that this release was handled by Toei, this was another title that went largely ignored upon its original release. In this story though, the hero is a teenager trapped in a world where there is no one else but he and a girl that he finds in a neighboring town. With absolutely no clue on where everyone went, the hero teams up with the mysterious woman to solve the mystery of where everyone is and what his recurring nightmares have to do with it. A haunting story that will completely throw you in its last act. It has since gone out of print but if you can find a copy, you won’t want to miss out on the chance to watch it… just make sure to watch it dubbed.

9. Le Portrait de Petite Cossette (Geneon) – One of the most original and unique titles to see release in this country, this title is about a young man who works in an antique shop and discovers one day the image of a young girl trapped in one of the wine glasses. Through the glass, the man is able to see the horrible murder that the girl suffered in her life and becomes obsessed with helping the young Cossette. Brilliantly animated and complete with an absolutely beautiful musical score from Yuki Kajiura, I couldn’t stop talking about this release when it first hit shelves and will still readily recommend this one to anyone who is looking for something out of the ordinary.

10. Sister Princess (ADV) – Hardcore anime fans reading this list are likely readying pitchforks and torches to hunt me down with for adding this title to my list. Almost universally torn apart by fans of the franchise, this series was met with huge amounts of protest because of how far it strayed from the original story in the manga. Having said that though, this title remains a guilty pleasure title for me. Since I’ve never read the manga, I was able to enjoy this title purely on its own merits and what I found was a harem series with heart. A young man who discovers that he has 12 sisters he knew nothing about and must learn to live with them and love them. With such a large cast, it only would’ve worked if each of the girls had a unique enough personality and this series manages to accomplish just that. While most fans won’t agree with me on this title, it remains one of my favorites.

Honorable Mentions:

I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to make it through this list and only choose ten. As I went through all my reviews, I kept coming across titles that I knew deserved to be on this list but I couldn’t justify putting into my top ten so here is a very quick recap of some of my honorable mentions:

~ Animation Runner Kuromi/Animation Runner Kuromi 2 (Central Park Media): Released by the now extinct Central Park Media in 2003 and 2006 respectively, these two releases introduce fans to Kuromi. Kuromi is a young girl who thinks she’s going to be hired as an ‘animation runner’ but instead gets made into a producer on her first assignment. Filled with great comedy and a loveable lead character, these two are winners.

~ Samurai 7 (Funimation): When you have the name ‘Akira Kurosawa’ attached to anything, you’re sure to have a gold mine on your hands and in this case Funimation scored huge. Based on the original story written by Kurosawa, this futuristic samurai story will take fans through a gauntlet of trials and emotion. If you like samurai stories, this is one for you.

~ Chrono Crusade (ADV): A series that still gets mentioned from time to time, this unique story has Sister Rosette Christopher taking on an army of demons and devils in an effort to save her long lost younger brother, Joshua, who happens to be an apostle of god. The writing is what made this series so stellar, having absolutely no fear when it came to exploring some darker religious themes and ideas.

~ Sakura Wars/Taisen (ADV, Funimation, Manga Entertainment): One of the most franchises to come out of Japan, this is another series about a band of girls coming together to fight off demons with their spiritual power inside steam powered suits of armor. The premise may sound odd but the action and characters won me over way back when I was first getting into anime thus remaining a sentimental favorite no matter how much time psses.

~ Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X (Media Blasters, ADV): It wasn’t the first samurai story told, not by a long shot, but this series and character remains one of the most iconic in the history of the genre. Kenshin Himura is a character that just about every anime fan can name because of the epic tale that is told about him trying to repent for his war sins in the peaceful Meiji restoration of Japan. I combine the two because while the TV series could be hit or miss, the Samurai X story added so much to the story that the two will forever be linked together. I don’t think it’s even possible to watch one without eventually watching the other.

~ Please Teacher/Please Twins (Bandai): Speaking of two series being tied together, the next one on the list is the adorable sci-fi romantic comedy, Please Teacher, along with it’s more popular (and less sci-fi orientated) sequel series Please Twins. In the first season, Kei finds out his teacher is an alien and after a bad misunderstanding, the two must get married to protect her secret. In the sequel, a teenage boy living alone in the same town has two beautiful girls show up on his doorstep one day each claiming to be his twin sister. Both were beautifully done with wonderful writing and very emotional stories that will wrap you up before you even realize it.

~ Sailor Moon (Geneon, ADV): Ah, the classic series that started it all for me. This was the first title that I got obsessed with back in high school and thus you can thank the staff behind this classic magic girl title for this list. Nine girls saving the world from various villains, one week at a time. Not the greatest magical girl anime ever but over the course of 200 episodes (give or take a dozen or two), the characters in this series had evolved far beyond what they had started as and had become mainstays in Japanese pop culture.

So there they are, my all time favorite anime titles. Every year this list changes so look for my new "top 10" in early 2009 when I'll have viewed plenty of more series.