Yesterday, I gave some serious thought as to what, exactly, my favorite anime series are. I haven't had a no.1 anime for the past three years, not since I watched RahXephon a whopping 3rd time through and realized that I liked figuring out the show more than I liked the show itself. And since then, I've found it difficult to rank anime; I often feel that the anime I like most are comparable in quality as well as in the enjoyment I felt while watching them. Thus I usually group anime into clusters instead of ranked lists... but after finishing Touch yesterday, I think the no.1 position is finally filled. For reasons I'll go into when I write about the show in greater length, I feel that Touch stands just a head taller than the other anime I like most both in terms of how much I respect what the show accomplished and how much I loved the sheer experience of watching it. (A balance of the two is more difficult than it may seem.)
So here are the lists. I decided to restrict the manga and anime movie lists to my fav. one or two, since my selection pool is admittedly small for both. ^^;
Manga
1. Berserk
2. Angel Sanctuary (Despite being a bottomless fanservice pit.)
Anime Movie
1. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (OMG IT'S NOT GHIBLI!!!!)
Anime Series
1. Touch
First Tier (*closer to the top of the list)
- *Berserk (Manga's better, absolute mindfuck that it is, but I think the anime still deserves this spot. And at least Griffith's voice is hot?)
- Claymore
- Gankutsuou
- Kaleido Star
- *Monster
- *Princess Tutu (Before Touch, this was closest to being on the top, period. But sometimes I feel that this show is almost too precise and carefully executed. And if only I liked Mytho and Rue more...)
- Rose of Versailles
- Twelve Kingdoms
Hon. Mentions because I'm weak (Second Tier, but worth mentioning.)
- Gurren Lagann (Almost got bumped up. I respect the hell out of this show, but the last arc was the only one I *loved* as much as I did any of the first-tier series. Case in point, I pressed the pause button on this show for a whole year b/c, after the bathhouse episode, I thought this anime was too Gainax-y for my apparently sensitive tastes.)
- Honey and Clover
- Ouran HSHC (I don't think this show is all that great on a technical level [the Kyouya-centric episodes are the only ones I rewatch for anything other than a good laugh], but there are few other series I enjoyed watching as much as this one.)
Oh. And my favorite live-action movie is The Dark Knight and my favorite video game is Resident Evil 4. (Haven't gotten around to playing the fifth one...) Factor in Berserk as the top manga and a baseball series as the top anime, and hey--I'm practically a guy!
I also started up an anime queue at the end of the school year, though turns out it's less of a queue and more like a randomized list of shows that I think I should check out eventually. Since summer began, I think I've added more shows than I've crossed off!
Anime
H2
Slam Dunk
Koko wa Greenwood
Maison Ikkoku
Marmalade Boy
Simoun
Daughter of Twenty Faces
Kanon
Kurenai
Big Windup!
Toradora
Baccano!
Victorian Romance Emma S2
Manga
Vinland Saga
Red Blinds the Foolish
The Key to the Kingdom
Sand Chronicles
20th Century Boys
If anyone has a fervent recommendation for any of the above, feel free to voice it. :)
