Yeah I had to follow through with this one, it wouldn't feel right if I didn't, so lets go. *Updated 30th August 2014 - New picture, honorable mentions and new entry*
Honorable Mentions
Professor Layton & the Eternal Diva: This film was surprisingly good and mixes in the video game elements surprisingly well.
Fatal Fury: Somehow manages to be half decent despite being extremely cheesy
Variable Geo: An anime about fighting waitresses, nuff said. Still too cheesy for an actual place in the top ten.
10. Sakura Wars
This would've been so much higher if the dubs weren't so terrible. Steampunk mecha with a set of lovely ladies in the most fashionable military outfits ever made, stay tuned later on as reviews of the OVAs, Film & Series are to come.
9. Viewtiful Joe
The animation style is very Americanized yet it works like a charm very much in the same way as Gainax do with Panty & Stocking. It wasn't perfect but offered new art direction than the typical anime style used since the 90s & 00s.
8. Final Fantasy Unlimited
Sadly Advent Children is disqualified for technically not being an anime, sorry I just don't count it as one; however Final Fantasy Unlimited makes up for it being missing. It makes a change to see a Final Fantasy that doesn't involve pretty boys or a link to Final Fantasy VII, it deserves to stand on it's own. Now if I can just find a boxset, I'll be in business.
7. Anything by Key
Not my cup of tea but every series adapted from the games is still a beautiful watch and highly emotional and will leave a mark on your heart for years to come.
6. Inazuma Eleven
I never thought an RPG based on Soccer would do so well as an anime series, I still really enjoy watching those killer moves and if I see one I usually see all of them. This series is a good lesson in spectacle.
5. Fate/Stay Night
Apart from a few lines of terrible dialogue, Fate/Stay Night can definitely stand up to the big wigs of anime. With a host of memorable characters and some interesting bits of history it's more than enough to satisfy the shonen crowd.
4. Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
Never has a franchise gone through so many changes in fortune, but Street Fighter's animated film is the best were ever going to see for a fighting game adaption, it gives us exactly what we expect and it only takes the first few minutes of Ryu & Sagat's battle to get us hooked.
3. Persona 4
New entry for this old list, an array of intense story telling with equally intense character writing mixed with one of the finest art styles in recent years makes for a near perfect anime.
2. Sengoku Basara
Capcom has far too many awful habits for my liking but Sengoku Basara was the dark horse of my anime watching last year, it's over the top, historically skewed and awesome, enough to make you want to cry "Your Lordship!"
1. Pokemon: The 1st season & the Diamond & Pearl series
How can I not put Pokemon down, it's anime perfection and built the lives of so many otaku. A natural blend of endless art set in a universe of unique creatures; Pokemon will remain with anime fans until the end of time. A lot of people will argue that Pokemon has not been good since Johto, but Diamond & Pearl was the only saga that came close to the original formula.
So that's your lot, some surprises and some no surprises, you be the judge.
