While researching, I've come across anime that never followed the trends at the time of their release, this could be a number of reasons, they were ahead of their time, they missed their time, can't be described as matching any trend or missed the point entirely.
10. Sakura Wars
The Steampunk genre never actually caught on as an anime trend despite many fans liking the aesthetic for costume design. Period piece anime often covered drama, romance or popular masterpiece stories and even those stories set in Britain were more based on British myths and legends. Sakura Wars was popular but didn't last.
9. Saiyuki
Journey to the West has been covered dozens of times but not in the way Kazuya Minekura did, the band of four males led by a disgruntled priest more resembling Final Fantasy 15 than anime. Way ahead of it's time.
8. Fancy Lala
Adapted from the prototype Fashion Lala, Fancy Lala is a magical girl series where the lead character uses a magical item to become a young adult to either solve problems or become a star, they were very popular in the 80s but died off thanks to Sailor Moon, Fancy Lala missed the boat by a decade.
7. Yokai Watch
Much like Fancy Lala, it arrived a decade after it's trend had passed, for Yokai Watch it's the Pokemon clones, although it had reasonable popularity, it was really short lived.
6. G Gundam
While every Gundam series is an epic war space opera, G Gundam is a testosterone fueled robot battle tournament, as I consider Gundam it's own trend, this one really feels out of place.
5. Angelic Layer
You make an anime about fighting toy dolls but don't make it an actual toyline at a time where toy anime was in fashion. Another poor decision from Clamp.
4. Stop Hibari Kun
The anime itself was trendy as a romantic comedy in the early 80s when Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku were king. It's themes on Gender Identity were 40 years ahead of it's time.
3. Tenchi Muyo
More of a Western perspective on this one, why introduce a sci-fi romcom that popularised the harem genre on Toonami among shows like Gundam Wing and Dragonballz? Yeah it had action but not that much, most episodes of Tenchi were very sitcom like in presentation, it's alternate name No Need For Tenchi is a quip on lead character Tenchi's lack of presence despite being the lead.
2. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is an 80s manga franchise that took 20 years to see an anime adaption that came in as a force of nature no one saw coming that ignored all the trends and could never be imitated, only one older series surpasses it.
1. Lupin the 3rd
Lupin the 3rd has been in every era of anime since 1967 and has never had to change anything, it's never been imitated, it's never followed trends, it's the most original IP in all of Anime next to only Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
There will be one more review after this and trust me, that one will be hilarious.
Misaki is a young girl with not much confidence, upon arriving in Tokyo she witnesses a fight between dolls on the big screen, this is Angelic Layer, a combat sport where dolls controlled with a special helmet allows them to move freely on an arena known as a Layer through mind link.
Interested and persuaded by the eccentric scientist Icchan, Misaki gets drawn into the sport and quickly becomes the miracle rookie of the tournament with her doll Hikaru, yes that one from Rayearth. But Misaki may yet be reunited with someone unexpected as she continues her progress in the tournament.
We meet again Clamp, but this time you done good, kind of. The manga was awful, so it's left to the anime to fix the issues and it did so in a good way, giving a proper insight as to why the sport of Angelic Layer came to be what it is and why, showing the complexity of Shuko's dilemma when facing up to Misaki with her neurological condition reducing her to a wheelchair and why she's so good at Angelic Layer.
On the other hand, Misaki created my favourite trope to take the piss out of, the "Miracle Rookie" someone who clearly has never done this before yet manages to battle their way to the top usually relying on dumb luck or something seen earlier in the episode to win, another name for it is plot armor and Misaki is coated in it and it just makes everything laughably predictable even when Hikaru takes hits that knock out other dolls in one hit.
Clamp just can't give me anything without giving me a mountain of problems to spew about but at least the story was fixed in the anime so it's at least a better attempt than their other works.
Dub is fine but Misaki over acts a bit.
Final Verdict: It's good action and the story is a lot less degrading than the manga version but it's laughably predictable with Misaki's oh so thick plot armor.
Like any other reasonable adult in this day and age, I hold down a job, but what are the best jobs to have in anime? Well lets find out with this new Top Ten List.
Oh I'm not going to do a worst list because everyone knows that the worst job in Anime is a Soldier.
Honorable Mentions
Maids & Butlers: Has a tendency to deviate from the core principles of the whole maid thing, being a Butler also has the same issue. Best shown in Black Butler, Hayate the Combat Butler and He is My Master.
Yakuza/Mafia Member: A Yakuza in an anime is not as scary as the real thing but that's because everyone of these people seem to have an attractive daughter who gets involved in marriage. Best shown in My Bride is a Mermaid, Nisekoi and Arcana Famiglia
Scientist: The pursuit of Science is always a challenge especially in a world where that kind of stuff is everywhere but needless to say it's a respectful profession even if it does have it's evil side. Best shown in Steins Gate, Elfen Lied and within reason Neon Genesis Evangelion.
10. Medical Doctor or Nurse
Someone has to fix Shonen Jump heroes and their unbelievable injuries, while in other cases you have the hands that can save anyone from death. Best shown in Blackjack with honorable mentions to the unseen doctors and nurses who actually have to heal Shonen Heroes.
9. Shrine Maiden
Guaranteed a Shrine Maiden has played a role in some sort of anime, those spirits can do some damage, and in other cases they are your most trusted allies. Best shown in Shaman King along with equal roles in spiritualism and I recommend any other series that has a Shrine Maiden as it's lead or main cast character.
8. Police Officer
The best thing about being a Police Officer is that you can get away with collateral damage, you can even be a specialist police officer with your own mecha and special weapons. Best shown in AD Police, Patlabor and Burn Up Franchise, Dirty Pair Franchise also gets a tentative nod for being similar to a future Interpol.
7. Weapon Smith
If you've ever seen an iconic weapon on screen, then someone has to have made it at some point. Alucard's guns, Gourry's Sword of Light, Son Goku's Extendable Pole, Guts' Dragon Slayer Sword, pretty much every weapon has a name attached to it and you've got some pretty sick weapons on display. Best shown in The Sacred Blacksmith & Berserk but any fantasy anime can qualify if it has an awesome weapon.
6. Idol Singer
It's a popular job for all aspiring young girls as Idol Singing pretty much makes up the core of shojo anime and is still insanely popular along with number 5 on this list. Best shown in Super Sonico and all Mainstream Idol shows and honorable mention to Vocaloid.
5. Fashion Designer
All those amazing costumes need a designer, they don't make themselves. Any Magical Girl show, Idol show, in fact pretty much any anime with awesome clothing will have a designer behind them. Best shown in Fancy Lala, Aikatsu and PriPara for specific stuff but general rule any anime with awesome clothing counts and lets not forget Kill La Kill.
4. Chef
Food is big business in Japan and attached to every food anime is a quest to make the tastiest food around, remember that Food Wars is literally Food Porn and don't get me started on the solar hands that can make the legendary breads. Best shown in Yakitate Japan, Food Wars and Toriko.
3. Toy Shop Owner
Is your product a Beyblade, a set of trading cards, a Bakugan or even a fighting toy robot or doll? Chances are your either a billionaire or paying off tons of legal fees for all the injured children. Best shown in Angelic Layer, Medabots, Beyblade and pretty much any anime with a children's toy.
2. Teacher
If you are in the teaching profession, you get away with a lot of things and even in the worst schools you still get students to listen, watch an episode of Kill La Kill or Tenjo Tenge and see how much the students get away with murder yet still take lessons. Saying that being a teacher has it's perks as well, you can even qualify as early as 10 years old, attractive teachers tend to get closer to their students, literally and even Gym Teachers can raise world beating sports teams. Best shown in Great Teacher Onizuka, Happy Lesson and Onegai Teacher, quick mention to most school anime with named teachers, sports anime that start in school and any teacher brave enough to teach students who can probably kill them with one punch.
1. Engineer
But the only thing that can top being a teacher is being an Engineer, you don't get much thanks for it unless you are named specifically but guarantee that the marvel that you brought into the world has saved more lives than anything regular armed forces can come up with. Every Giant Robot, Every Space Battle Ship, Every Human Like Robot has an Engineer attached to it. Best shown in Gundam, most Mecha and Sci Fi Anime along with anyone who has built such a realistic robot.
The term "Miracle Rookie" refers to a character who suddenly becomes an instant expert at anything despite having no training or any experience in the task they are doing, a lot of them are annoying Mary Sue types who usually have the added bonus of being the show's main problem solver. So on to the list, I have a few choice words about these characters as well.
Dishonorable Mentions
Yui Hirasawa from K-On
Most of her so called Guitar work maybe from Autism as Yui demonstrates symptoms of Hyper Focus where she can focus and master anything at the cost of forgetting something else. Autism is not an excuse to go on this list.
Kazuya Aoi from Freezing
Can somehow control Satellizer after meeting her once, justified as he's the brother of a stronger character.
Ichika Orimura from Infinite Stratos
The same can be said for Ichika who also has a more famous sister who is a master of her craft.
10. Ash Ketchum from Pokemon
Rated low as he never wins the Pokemon League but it doesn't excuse the fact that he seems to make friends with everyone he meets and somehow wins respect of all legendary Pokemon. For a normal trainer that doesn't happen.
9. Negi Springfield from Negima
Doesn't seem limited by the fact that he's only ten, in fact he spends so much time acting out of age that you don't see the same character you started with and he seemingly achieves all this without any effort.
8. Uzumaki Naruto from Naruto
From Mastering clone jutsu after reading one scroll to being Ninja Jesus, Naruto seems to do an Ash and befriend everyone he meets and seems to be stronger than even the strongest characters in the anime.
7. Minato Sahashi from Sekirei
Gets dragged into the whole Sekirei story by accident and suddenly commands a harem of super powered girls. Then starts being all high and mighty about saving all the Sekirei.
6. Saito Hiraga from Familiar of Zero
Gets sucked into a new world and suddenly masters everything from swords to piloting World War II fighter jets and turns the nobility cycle upside down in the process, the only reason he's not higher is because I actually feel sorry for him having to spend his days with Louise.
5. Madoka Kaname from Madoka Magica
Much of the story is about preventing her from becoming a Magical Girl but no matter how you look at it, she's still insufferable as a character and her final form makes Naruto's achievements look like nothing.
4. Akane Isshiki from Vividred Operation
I do like this series but I find Akane annoying, she seems to command everything with ease and makes friends instantly without even trying, if the series were a bit longer and had some development it would be excused but the rush in getting to the climax makes Akane too perfect as a character and it's irritating.
3. Misaki Suzuhara from Angelic Layer
She invented the term Miracle Rookie, Misaki somehow gets dragged into the Angelic Layer game but somehow manages to win nearly all her battles by a mixture of luck or convenient wrestling moves she saw her friend perform. It doesn't help that her angel Hikaru can take a huge pounding and still stand and counter with something stronger that finishes off her opponent in one hit. The balance of powers in this anime is like a fighting character with a million cheat codes.
2. Kamille Bidan from Zeta Gundam
All he had to do was shrug off an insult from a Titans Pilot and we could've avoided the whole Zeta Gundam series. While most Gundam pilots starting out, find themselves in this position, Kamille is the worst offender of this. Unlike the other people on this list who are kind and pariahs of benevolence, Kamille is a complete utter ass hole who thinks he has the god given right to preach to everyone, no wonder people punch him so much.
1. Yoshika Miyafuji from Strike Witches
But this girl almost made Strike Witches unwatchable. Yoshika seems to defy logic in this series, how is it that a young girl whose only talent is healing and creating barriers somehow seems to do better than veteran witches in this war going to the point of solving every problem and effectively leading the 501st Strike Witches despite not being an actual leader and then seemingly smiles all the time thinking everything is okay and cheery when countries are being destroyed by rogue aliens. Seriously it's irritating.
Choreographing a fight scene takes some effort on the animators part to do especially when said show has high standards but sadly these ten fall flat. Today I present the Top 10 Worst Anime Fights
10. Needless - The Endless Fight Against the Girl Squad
Midway through the anime, Adam Blade and co. fight against the girl squad and a number of other entrants in what resembles a bedroom. For a series that prides itself on a lack of commonsense and manly testosterone, they waste most of it on this one very long fight that throws in too many lame twists.
9. Bleach - Everyone Against Aizen
Speaking of endless fights, this one takes the piss in terms of length. I've never been so desperate to see someone die and the way Bleach extends itself to make sure Ichigo has some hidden superpower drawn out of nowhere, pretty much killed off any interest I had in this series.
8. Yu-Gi-Oh - Any of Mai Valentine's Duels
Summed up with this.
Although the Abridged Series does a better job.
7. Naruto - Kabuto vs Sasuke
This isn't even a fight, it's just dialogue and flashbacks which are boring as hell. Naruto likes flashbacks a little too much and spoiled what was a very good story arc.
6. Tekken - All the Fights
It baffles me that an Anime film based on a fighting game has such lousy fight scenes. I don't even think the Street Fighter American Cartoon was this bad.
5. Digimon - WarGraymon vs MachineDramon
I'm not a fan of the one slash duel but I understand the significance in most cases, in Digimon considering that more effort was made on the other fight scenes and considering that MachineDramon was curb stomping most of the cast, it came as a disappointment when he was taken out by one slash.
4. Angelic Layer - Anyone of Hikaru's battles in the Layer
While I do enjoy Angelic Layer, I can't stand the logic behind this universe's rules. Hikaru was made a light weight type but seems to have no problem toppling foes twice her size in one hit and seems to take thousands of hits before seeing real damage. No one that small can take so much damage and defeat a foe in one hit!
3. Soul Eater - The Final Battle
Soul Eater is awesome but has one of the most Anti Climatic endings in Anime history when the final boss is defeated by "Being Brave"
2. Sailor Moon - Most Regular Episode Fights
The Monster of the Week shows up and is defeated by a bunch of special moves followed by a thrown tiara or an over the top Moon Scepter attack sequence, rinse and repeat next episode. This is why Pretty Cure is beating you! They actually fight!
1. Pokemon the 1st Movie - Mewtwo Army vs Human & Pokemon Army
When this kicks off, Mewtwo blocks the special moves of the Pokemon so it descends into a painful to watch fist fight/body fight/wing fight, whatever the Pokemon is, then we have the biggest hypocrisy in history when the human characters start saying that fighting is wrong, then Ash does the stupid thing by getting himself killed while the tears of the Pokemon bring him back to life. For a movie that sets itself up so well only for that to happen is just plain wrong.
