Hello people of "The Wired", my name is Quan, and for the first times in quite awhile, it's time for a new countdown. In no particular order, here are ten anime that whether you are in a stupor or just are looking for something to get you back in the swing of things, should get the ball rolling. These ten following entries aren't without their flaws, but acting as representatives of various genres and enjoyable stories, they should suit you just fine, and at the very least, remind you why anime is awesome, because a reminder of that every now and then can't hurt. I can't promise that everyone will have not seen anything on this list, or will like all ten of these anime(especially since I'm going out of my way to feature anime that I have yet to review), but I'm going to do my best to make sure that this list has a little something for any type of anime fan. So, here are 10 recommendations, for any fan to enjoy. Now then, let's get started.
The Seven Deadly Sins
Don't worry shounen fans, I've got your back. The Seven Deadly Sins, or Nanatsu no Taizai, is a 2014 shounen adventure series animated by A1 Pictures in 2014, and is one of the best examples I've come across of how the shounen genre is supposed to be. Following a group of disgraced knights attempting to clear their name from a crime they didn't commit and overthrow a corrupted kingdom, Sins has stupidly awesome power-ups, epic battles that stretch over many episodes, and plenty of personality to go around, and does all this while making sure that you, the viewer, are having plenty of fun. Admittedly, Sins is a little tasteless especially in the areas of fan-service, and is missing a few needed emotional beats, but it does its best to make you forget about all of that in its ever appealing mixture and brainless entertainment, and strings of episodes that seemingly watch themselves.
Shirobako
You ever wondered how anime is made? How a group of people that come from hundreds of different background that represent hugely varied specialties can all come together and create the moving pictures that we watch as nothing more than a hobby on the weekends? No? Well, prepare your mind to be changed.
Coming to us quite unexpectedly from the usually drama-focused studio P.A Works, Shirobako sometimes feels more like an animated documentary than a fictional story. Shirobako follows the trials and tribulation of five highschool graduates of an animation club, as they follow their passion for animation into working for the industry, only to find that the rose-colored existence they imagined is far from the harshness of actually making anime; an extremely stressful job plagued by creative differences on the production staff, stupidly short deadlines, and a bunch of other obstacles that none of them were prepared for. But despite that, as we follow our main character Aoi in her job as a production assistant at MusAni: a one-time big-name studio that has fallen on hard times, Shirobako reveals itself to be so much more. Fueled by great comedy from its extremely likable cast, Shirobako ends up being a hopeful take on the modern anime industry, that encourages all of its viewers to follow their dreams, becoming a funny, identifiable, and occasionally surprisingly tender experience that I promise will capture your heart by the end.
FLCL
I'm sure if you are even somewhat involved in the anime community, you've probably have had at least a dozen people tell you to go watch this show because apparently it is amazingballz, but just in case you haven't got around to watching this 6-episode OVA animated by a collaboration between Production I.G and Gainax, allow me to chip in with those squealing lambs. Though I have extremely mixed opinions of it, FLCL is an undoubtedly intelligent show that just happens to mask its true intention under a veil of insanity. FLCL thrives on chaos and randomness, exaggerating the classic story of a boy transiting from childhood to adolescence, and morphing it into something almost completely different thanks to its eccentricities. Whether or not you side with the fans who claim it to be a masterpiece, or the haters who dismiss as madness without method, FLCL is worthy of a viewing regardless.
Nagi no Asukara
P.A works return to this list, this time with something you would expect more from them. Now, I may have only finished watching all 26 episodes of Nagi no Asukara very recently, but that doesn't mean its place on this list is any less deserved. If you were someone who enjoyed such anime as Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, Clannad, or the such, then this anime should absolutely be next on your watch list. A sentimental story about a humanity split between those who live in the sea and those who live on land, Nagi no Asukara follows the tale of a group of students who need to transfer to a school on the land after their underwater middle-school closes down, as they confront the differences and similarities that this adjustment brings into focus. Simplistic? Maybe. But Nagi no Asukara is first and foremost a remarkably sentimental tale about love and change, that while might take a very long time to really get going, is undoubtedly some of the best the drama/romance/slice of life genre has going for it, thanks to its absolutely fantastic character development and gorgeous animation that makes its case for one of the best looking anime TV series of all time.
Sound of the Sky
No need to fear moe fans, I haven't forgotten you. We welcome back A1 Pictures to this list with what is arguably one of their best works(though the next entry on this list could make an argument for that position as well). Sound of the Sky transports us to a torn-apart world that, after decades of war and strife, is slowly coming to an end. At the end of the known world, in the lonely Clocktower Fortress sits the 1121st Platoon, a platoon of soldiers that, for whatever reason, is comprised almost entirely of young girls, with their newest recruit being our main character: 15yr old Kanata Sorami, who may have only enlisted in the first place so she could learn to play the bugle. While Sound of the Sky undoubtedly uses "moe" characters and humor, it's one of the only examples I've seen in the entire medium that actually uses the artsyle in an attempt to communicate a message, that is, in this case, that even in a world destroyed by war, happiness is still something that is attainable. It has a great plot, is unexpectedly subtle and profound occasionally, and is absolutely a hidden gem that more need to see.
Shinsekai yori
Now an entry for those of you who consider yourself intellectuals. I think I can say that Shinsekai yori is one of the most thematically dense anime I have ever come across, but be warned, in order to achieve that effect, it touches on things that some could find uncomfortable. From sexuality to humanity, to free-will to fate, Shinsekai yori channels all of these ideas and more through a distant futuristic setting where man-kind have awakened to a great psychic power, and it never fails to be intelligent and fascinating with what it does. Unfortunately an extremely slow start and lackluster characters keep it from being something truly extraordinary, or at least something I can really get behind, but damn, if this isn't a rarity in the modern anime landscape. So, only go in if you've got your best thinking cap on, because your mind is going to challenged at every turn.
Hyouka
But if you don't want to commit to academically difficult anime or fluffy slice-of-life, Hyouka should fulfill your needs just fine. A quirky sort-of-mystery anime brought to us by those lovely folks at Kyoto Animation, Hyouka follows the experience of low-energy highschooler Oreki Houtarou, as he joins a Classic Literature Club against his wishes and ends up getting caught up in the bubbly walking epitome of enthusiasm known as Chitanda Eru, a girl whose desire to know everything will certainly put a screw in Oreki's minimalist life. Hyouka walks a fine line between normal and abnormal, putting the story in a typical highschool setting and gaining comfort with a cast of likable characters, but also shakes up the formula with its use of experimental animation and unique situations. A true winner by Kyoto Animation, and one that I urge you to check out right now. if you can handle slow pacing and an episodic format. A link to my somewhat downer first impression of Hyouka's first episode is here.
Shiki
Now, fans of the horror genre, I know you are more than a little desperate for a solid addition to your favorite genre in the anime medium that isn't Higurashi no naku koro ni, so here's my possible solution. I can't say that Shiki is particularly scary on its own merits, but this deeply psychological tale about a quiet Japanese village slowly but surely descending into anarchy as a mysterious sickness rampages through the inhabitants and kills them... then resurrects them as vampires, is great nonetheless. Shiki's slow but deliberate pacing allows for a sense of actual time passing as the gradual nightmare sweeps up villagers in its wake, and though its characters are bland, Shiki isn't completely brains-dead either, bringing up some interesting if not quite original themes, and allows for the viewer to decide for themselves in its heavily ambiguous ending.
Eureka Seven
Anime that represent the entirety of the medium well are very hard to find, mostly because anime as a medium is just so vast and varied. But Eureka Seven, a 2005 anime by acclaimed Studio Bones, may be the closest we'll ever get. I recommend Eureka Seven, not just because of its stellar plot and well-developed characters, but because this really is an anime that has something for pretty much everyone. Exciting robot battles, a mysterious plot, great world-building and hell, even a pretty good romance, and a whole 50 episodes to make it all work. Eureka Seven is also easy to recommend as a gate-way anime, for your friends who don't quite get your obsession with Chinese cartoons and why you call them "baka" and why you have posters with characters with eyes that seemingly take up their entire face and why you have such a long pillow in your closest and we're getting off topic. Point is, you've probably seen Eureka Seven hailed as a classic at least once, and in my personal opinion, yes, that's exactly what it is, an anime to be enjoyed by viewers now and viewers in the future. A good egg, this one. You can also see my first impression of the first 5 episodes of Eureka Seven(as well as Toradora), by navigating to this link here.
Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199
Honestly, it's pretty amazing that this anime even exists, and Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 seems to be well aware of this fact, relishing in everything it does in order to create one of the most "in-love-with-itself" anime to ever exist. A remake of the classic 70's anime Starblazers, Yamato was brought to us in 2012 by a collaboration of A.I.C and Xebec, and details the war between humanity and a hostile alien race that has left Earth a charred wasteland. In order to save the planet, the world launches the Yamato, a colossal spaceship armed with humanity's best to travel to Iscander, a distant planet that may hold the key to saving the Earth, but if the Yamato doesn't reach Iscander and return home within 1 year... it's pretty much game over for the entire human race. A love-letter to an era and genre gone by, Yamato combines bombastic passion and real care, to create what some anime fans call the "best remake of all time".
So, there you have it: ten recommendations for anime to go see right away. I hope you all find something on this list to your liking, and if not, my reviews also contain recommendations for what to watch, so if you're hazy with some of the choices here, you can navigate to them for more options. But for now, goodbye for now guys.
Navigate Elsewhere
Find Me At:
 |
| https://hummingbird.me/users/Quan |
 |
| https://twitter.com/QuanReviews |
 |
Email Me At: quanqreviews@gmail.com
|
No comments:
Post a Comment