Top 5 Favorite Anime... and Why?

[Kazekun]

Okay, so I went through all 16 pages of this section and was really surprised to see no one had done this yet.
So, let's start this off simple, list your Top 5 favorite and why:

For me:

1. Eureka Seven


Why: There are only good things I can say about this series, it's sophisticated, it takes it's characters and story seriously, it talks about scientific things, and it's a romantic story. For one, I really like romantic stories about fighting for the love you believe in. And to see Renton grow, and Eureka grow, to become an adult and to become human... by the end of the series there's nothing else to do but cheer them on and that ending... that ending just blew my mind away. This is what I hold all romantic stories up to now, if you can't go to the lengths all of the characters in this story did to be with the ones they love, then you may not be in love. And I think love is the most powerful thing in creation.

I just hope the sequel, Eureka Seven: Astral Ocean can live up to it.

2. Paprika


Why: This is your brain on anime! And it's so true. Because this is simply a pure joy to watch, it has become my favorite overall movie. Not just anime, but overall movie (a spot originally held by Flight Plan and Rudy) and I don't think anything will overtake this one, it is so layered that it takes multiple rewatchings of it just to understand all of it. I am always catching new things when I watch it, and I feel like I did a good job of understanding it's entirety the first time i watched it. I love movies that pull you in and go "hey! pay attention to me!" and this does it in spades. I like that it makes you think, instead of simply being a popcorn flick that lets you shut off your brain (i mean.. that's what sleep is for right? but then... even dreams won't let your mind shut off.... wait a minute...).

3. Sailor Moon


Why: I am a big sucker for things being special, and this happened to end up being my very first anime ever. I discovered alongside Dragonball Z, Gundam, Tenchi Muyo, Rourouni Kenshin, Pokemon, Digimon, and Cardcaptor Sakura. But this was the very first. And that keeps it sitting nicely in a very special place in my heart. This was such a fun series to watch as a kid, and still is today.

4. s-CRY-ed


Why: Well, around the time I started watching this, I was still only seeing long-running anime, this is one of the first short-running anime (at 26 episodes) that I had ever seen, it helped show me that anime could be short, sweet, and to the point without being so long-winded and drawing things out. I instantly fell in love with the alter ability and had wished so hard I could have alter powers. The rivalry between Kazuma (or Kazekun as Kanami called him) & Ryuho was one to rival that of Vegeta and Goku from DBZ and definitely one of the most intense. Seeing that final fight between them made perfect sense, and the ending was even left open to interpretation, even though it was fairly obvious who won. I like that it was left open for possible continuation and would love to see a sequel to this series. Also, [spoiler=]Cougar's death[/spoiler] really tore at my heartstrings, and now that I remember back... realizing that had happened made me cry. One of the very first anime to do that. The dvd collection of this series is kind of hard to find, and if you do it's super-expensive at almost $70 a box. But I managed it! And now have this whole series to watch over and over again at my pleasure.

5. NOEIN: To Your Other Self


Why: Okay... I have debated long and hard for ages about what my 5th fave anime is. And for a long time I could not decide. But, after long amounts of thought I finally decided on Noein, because it was really good. It was high sci-fi mixed with romance, mixed with everyday joes, mixed with interdimensional sea horses and the freakin oroborialis! True, the mix of cgi and 2-D animation wasn't perfect, but it hardly ever is. So you take what you can, and this series offered up inter-dimensional time travel, parallel worlds, a villain who was really freaking crazy and love story that literally branched beyond time and space. My one REAL complaint about this series was the ending... it wrapped to fast in a single episode. It should have given itself more time to breath. Maybe defeat the villain in episode 23 and then see the final 24th episode to wrap everything up. That would have been better.

[Grisly Bear]

hasn't a topic like this been posted several times? go find one of those ones.

[Kazekun]

hasn't a topic like this been posted several times? go find one of those ones.

I did. I looked at all 16 pages of the anime discussion area and could not find it. If someone does I will gladly take this one down and repost all my stuff there.

[ranman]

1. Gintama - 200+ episodes, laughed my ass off for every single one of them.
2. One Piece - Don't care what people say, this is a great show. Has action, gives a great sense of adventure (like you're actually there), does dramatic moments really well, and avoids most of the traps other long-running shows like Naruto have fallen into.
3. Slayer (all seasons) - Classic comedy series. Again, kept me laughing every time, and you can't give a comedy show higher (or more) praise than that.
4. Code Geass (both seasons) - Damn, but this had drama.
5. Lovely Complex - Speaking of drama, this had a great combination of drama and comedy. A very touching story about living with insecurities.

[TheBlackTiger]

I'll give my top 5 favorite TV series, because I consider movies to be a whole separate thing, and IMO they shouldn't be in the same playing field.

1. Sorcerous Stabber Orphen


This show is classic 90's Fantasy at it's best. It's got a great story, great characters, sorcery, Dragons, magical swords, you name it. It brings me back to my childhood. I've always loved fantasy, and this show just hits all the right notes for me. The animation is good, and the artwork is absolutely beautiful. The backgrounds and character design have that great 90's feel to them. Favorite Show of all time.

2. School Rumble

By far the funniest show I've ever seen. All the characters are likable. The jokes come at a rapid pace, and they play off the established characters very well. I see myself in one of the main characters (Harima) so I have a personal connection with it. I've seen it at least 3-4 times, and it's still funny every single time. Some of the best writing in comedy IMO.

3. Black Lagoon

Best action series, hands down. Feels like a Hollywood action movie. It's got lots of guns, explosions, and actual pirates (the real pirates. Assault rifles and speed boats, not the lame hook hand pirates.) The characters are actually really wekk written for a show that focused on action. Some of the more ****ed up stories illicit an emotional response, which is always good.

4. Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

What can I say? I love this show. Watch it at least once a year. The story is deep, yet simple to follow. The characters are all interesting, and they develop a surprising amount of complexity as the series goes along. Animation is great. Music is great. It deserves the praise it gets.

5. Fist of the North Star

This is the show that got me into anime. It's the first anime I've ever seen, and it still holds up today. It's easily the manliest show out there, and it's just pure entertainment. Post apocalyptic martial arts where people's heads explode. Great stuff. Sure the animation can be poor at times, but this show's got soul.

[The Green Gentleman]

1. One piece - you can't watch 530 episodes of a show and not love every character to ridiculous depths. The ever changing scenery and the sideplots that dont necessrily differ from the main goal means that it won't go stale, and I will always love it.

2. Code Geass - a great story of political intrigue with great haracters and an intricate storyline.

3. Baccano - the story of immortals with lots of blood, and Isaac and Miria, what more is there to want?

4. Clannad - the family stories will always get me. Clannad broke my heart, and After story spat on the remains. I must be a masochist, because I loved every second of it.

5. Higurashi - blood, confusion, answers. Bricks were shat, and again, I loved every second.

[Rage McKage]

Good thing I have an extra Phoenix down for this thread!

5. Cowboy Bebop
This is a classic. Excellent to show someone new to anime. The action is cool. The animation holds up well today.

4. Trigun
Another classic. Great action, coupled with constant antics by the hero. Good story and very strong and narrow morality codes for the main character, yet he always finds a way to do the impossible. Even though we can't see how everything can turn out well, when Vash steps up, we are able to feel at ease and always get a really cool scene.

3. Mushi Shi
Very episodic. The only character present from one episode to the next is the hero, Ginko. We can jump in on any episode and thoroughly enjoy it, whether or not we saw the past 11 episodes in order. Very serene series with good music and beautiful scenery. This is a great anime for all ages and doesn't take much thought or time investment.

2. Angel Beats
I love this anime! Great animation. Great music. Great story. I don't cry... Ever. This anime came extremely close to making me shed a tear. Believe me, that is really saying something for me. So that I'm not completely biased here, I'll say this: I made my wife watch it after I finished it and she liked it, but said it wasn't long enough for her to really come to care about the characters enough to cry (but I was sure she would cry!). That said, I still recommend this anime to nearly anyone who watches anime and hasn't seen it.

1. Yu Yu Hakusho
YU YU HAKUSHO!!! Nostalgia makes this my favorite anime. If you haven't seen it, but are thinking of watching it, I suggest only watching through the Dark Tournament (roughly through season 2). My favorite scene in anime is when Yusuke's power erupts in the form of a phoenix during the Dark Tournament. I get chills every time I watch it! Yusuke's a bamf when he reveals he's been fighting with a huge handicap due to his spirit cuffs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7EmE3NV ... ata_player

[bobobobobobobobotGo!]

1.Serial Experiments Lain. It's the first anime that seriously got me into anime, and it melts my brain. Also, every time I feel that I'm losing interest in anime, it gives me hope, as long as Yoshitoshi ABe is alive. Oh, the OST and the animation, in my opinion, are exceptionally good. I have both the OST, SE Lain Cyberia and the artbook. <3 I wish I had the desire to buy the limited edition of the SE Lain box set since includes the game. But it requires you have have to buy the Japanese version of the PS2.
2. Ghost of the Shell Stand Alone Complex. There's Yoko Kono music. The political corruptions from the plot line is interesting. And the tachikomas are sooo cute!!
3. Captain Captain Tsubasa. Best sports anime in my opinion. I've marathoned this anime at least 5-6 times already, it is still awesome! Unlike the animes now a days, the main characters grow up!
4. Hellsing. Pure delicious delicacy.
5. Black Lagoon. Hot girls, psychos with guns, ultra blood lust and corruption to the cores mixed with Bacardi rum. What more do you want?

[plixik]

I think it's fine that this top was made again. There are always new members and people's favorites change with time.

1: Welcome to the NHK - It's dark, funny, commentary on different types of people, and I can relate to the main character quite a bit.
2: Hikaru no go - I just love everything about this show. I love the heart of it, the characters, and for a slow-paced board game it's the most engaging sports anime I've ever watched. It also got me into playing Go which is the deepest, most strategic board game, and most timeless board game I've ever played. It's amazing how similar it is to playing games like Starcraft and how many of the same principles apply both games. I almost feel like this should be my number one anime because I love it so much, but they didn't finish it to the end of the manga.
3: Gantz - Another dark and funny anime. This anime is fucking crazy and doesn't pull any punches. It does whatever the fuck it wants whenever the fuck it wants. It has great action and the characters are great as well. They ended the anime way early, but the manga is still going and its the only manga I read.
4: Mushishi - I usually don't like self contained episodes, but each little story is just so interesting to watch and has something to say. I've always loved wanderers and Ginko is a great character overall. This show is magical, relaxing, and engaging without fail.
5: FMA: Brotherhood - This entire story was just so well crafted. I always had to watch the next episode and couldn't stop watching it until it was over. It epic beyond epic with a huge cast of fantastic characters. Everything from the opening of the anime to the very end of the anime was outstanding. I could call this the best anime ever made without a problem.

This list isn't in exact order because almost all of these are interchangeable. I love them all enough to put them in almost any order.

[nelli1876]

Ok i kno wthat im not the only one here whose favorites change constantly so this is a bit hard for me but my current favorites are
5. Kuroko no Basuke
WHY: I love and play basketball, and I love sports anime! Not only that, I could never seem to find a good basketball anime of the very few out.....cough Ro-Kyu-BU cough... and the characters just caught my eye as well as the story.
4. Uchuu Kyoudai
WHY: Even though it didn't look good to me I kept hearing good things about it and i LOVE it!! Every episode I watch just makes me happy and I'm able to smile throughout the whole series!
3. Gintama
WHY: Who doesn't love Gintama? It's hilarious and easily loveable! The characters are great too!
2. Katekyo Hitman Reborn
WHY: I finished this whole series in about a month. All 203 episodes kept me wanting more and when i finally got to the end, I still wanted more! When that happens to me with a series I loved it the whole way through.
1. SKET DANCE!!
WHY: Although i seem to be the only person who likes this anime it just has me laughing every time i watch it! Yeah sure, its full of cliches but I love it none the less. Every week i just can't wait for the next episode to come out because i never know what to expect out of it. The characters are loveable, there lots of comedy, and the general concept is pretty good. What more can I ask for?