Board 8 > Mac Ranks 111+31 User-Nominated Anime - The Rankings!

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Mac Arrowny posted...

Reikenzan (both seasons)
https://myanimelist.cdn-dena.com/images/anime/11/78196l.jpg
@UF8

Oh hey, one of those Chinese animes. I think Centaurs Life is still the only one Ive seen. I dont think Ive really heard anyone talk about this? The premise seems alright, and that Oubu woman looks cool. I assume the animations really bad though?

Reikenzan's not really one of those chinese anime so much as an anime based off a clearly chinese source material. I'm not sure if it even has a chinese dub. DEEN were in charge of animation on it, so you'd be right in thinking it doesn't look too hot, but I do think it was still really overlooked, especially compared to the two other shows from them that aired at the same time (Konosuba and Rakugo). The show feels like some kind of shonen, but with the power metric actually being wisdom and spiritual enlightenment combined with actual zen superpower wizardry. It starts dabbling in politics later on too, since the protag's some kind of genius asshole who decides to form his own cult religion, amassing a nation's worth of followers. Long story short it does some interesting things.

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40. Chrono Crusade
https://myanimelist.cdn-dena.com/images/anime/7/2534l.jpg
@MartinFF7

Honestly, I dont remember a ton about this series. In the picture I just posted I only remember two of the characters. I barely know who the little girl is, but I have no clue about the woman. Most of the series is fairly standard (but good) modern fantasy action. The characters have good interactions, the fights are fun, and the villains are solid. IIRC, its mostly episodic, but theres a bigger story slowly building in the background. Around halfway through the series, that story takes over, and the show gets much better. Everything turns darker than before, building up to one of the greatest endings in any anime. Honestly, the ending is pretty much the entire reason the show is this high. I cried a lot when I watched it Though at least one of the endings for anime Ive yet to rank made me cry more, maybe two of them? Anyway, its awesome and perfect and I loved it. An amazing ending probably isnt enough for this show to deserve such a high ranking, but endings can make a huge difference for me in how I perceive a show.
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I can only name two characters in the picture. >_> I think I remember not really liking how the final boss was defeated but the very end of the anime was good. I usually to remember the anime I've seen really well. This topic is really hammering home how much my memories have faded.
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39. Monster
https://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/anime/10/18793l.jpg
@LordoftheMorons

Watch Monster? Maybe not. Monsters a very interesting show, of a type we havent really seen on TV for a long time. Outside of fighting shounen, we dont really get many long-running story based series, which is definitely a shame (I wouldve loved to see a 20th Century Boys anime of similar length). Watching it was a very cool experience (I think I watched it a few months after I started watching anime). Seeing all the plots develop over time was awesome, and while some of them didnt pay off as well as they couldve, pretty much everything still came together in a compelling way. The concept of a surgeon chasing the serial killer he saved across Europe is pretty great, and all the development both characters go through is super interesting. There are plenty of fantastic side characters along the way, too. Grimmer good times. Nina not handled quite as well. The number one flaw of Monster is the reason I said to maybe not watch it above. The pacing isnot so great. I think the show only adapts a couple chapters per episode, and it could definitely stand to go faster. Id much rather read the manga than rewatch the anime, though I did enjoy the series (as evidenced by its high rank), and the animation/music were quite solid. It can be tough to find the pacing balance, and Monster failed to do it perfectly.
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Yeah, its a bummer that 20CB never got an adaptation; I probably liked it even more than Monster.
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20CB was my favorite manga for years. An anime would be incredible, especially if it fixed the later parts up a bit.
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you can count me in the camp who found the Monster anime IMPOSSIBLE to watch, liked the manga quite a bit, and loved 20th Century Boys
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Instead we get a live action trilogy. What do you think of those?
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Watched Monster years (god maybe it's been a decade?) back. Well after Mumei's campaign for it but still a long time ago. I remember enjoying it. Your pacing comments are probably right though but the gaps in my memory are covering it up a bit.
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Simoun posted...

Instead we get a live action trilogy. What do you think of those?

Never watched 'em. I try to stay away from modern live action JP stuff in general. The acting and production values are always so bad...
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Mumei got me to start watching Monster way back when I finally started to watch a lot of anime. While I enjoyed it a lot, I didn't like it as much as Kenshin which Mumei was also peddling at the time.
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Since Monster was one of the first anime that I saw, the pacing never really bothered me. After every episode I always wanted to keep watching the next one. It's pretty rare for me to run into another series like that these days.
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I never really liked Johan nearly as much as other people seemed to but I remember liking Nina and especially Grimmer a lot.
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38. Psycho-Pass
https://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/anime/2/41995l.jpg
@PrinceKaro

Thisll just be the first season, since I never watched S2 or the movie (and heard they werent great anyway plus PP had a perfect ending). Anyway, I quite enjoyed it! The premise was a lot of fun, and I felt like they presented it in the way the better dystopias do (where you can see why some people would consider this to be a utopia). The episodic stories throughout the show were pretty much all great. I still remember some of them fairly clearly, even though I only saw the show once the year it came out. Art girl good times. The action had a unique feel to it, and the Dominators were a fabulous idea for a weapon, both visually and conceptually. The animation did fall apart for a while near the end unfortunately, but thankfully that wasnt for any important action scenes or anything. The main cast was all quite good. The whole group of good guys was made up of fascinating characters. If anything, it wouldve been cool to see more of the supporting cast, since they were all so interesting. Akane was a pretty cool protagonist too, with a philosophy of her own that made her more than just a self-insert, and a neat path throughout the series.

For me, the one problem with the series that kept it from being amazing was that I didnt like the main villain, Makishima. He had some great scenes (episode 12 (I think) was just insane), but the show showed us way too much of him, and all the parts where he talked about his philosophy or whatever just sucked. Some series benefit from giving the villains more development, but others really dont. Finally, Namae no Nai Kaibutsu is one of the greatest ED songs of all time, so I highly appreciate the the series gave us that.
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Mac Arrowny posted...

I never watched S2

I am so jealous. That was a...very special degree of bad imo.

Anyway yeah I liked Psycho Pass. The entire finale was fantastic imo.

I did like Makishima overall, but mostly from a more aesthetic standpoint. I like having his type of villain a lot in these types of stories, but I also think Makishima himself could have been written a bit better.
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Well I forgot this is still going. I still have a nom left and from what I know it would be pretty high up

I wasn't much of a fan of Makishima but Akane was great. I used to have season 2 on my to watch list but at this point I'll probably never get around to it
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Probably okay if you don't.
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37. Neon Genesis Evangelion
https://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/anime/12/21418l.jpg
@xp1337

In a lot of ways, you could consider NGE to be my first real anime. It was the first one I watched that wasnt broadcast on TV, and probably the first one that aired late-night in Japan? My cousin had the DVDs, and was a big fan of the show, so I borrowed them from him, and I quite enjoyed it. The DVDs had both dub and sub on them, so I got to try them both, and realized that Japanese voices are always superior to English voices. Despite its darkness, the anime felt pretty inspirational, too. I feel like it kinda made me for determined to persevere in general. I didnt actually start watching much anime until several years later, with Haruhi, but who knows if I wouldve gotten there without watching Eva first.

As for the show itself, its pretty much all good. Shinjis an annoying protagonist at times, but intentionally show, and he sometimes gets good development. I wish this aspect was more consistent, actually - sometimes it feels like Shinji or another character will get development within an episode, and then thatll be ignored later on. The show kinda feels like its stuck between having a serial plot and being episodic. Mostly thats not a detriment, since the overall plot is quite neat, and the episodes can be awesome. The dancing episode was the best one. I enjoy it a whole ton. The rest of the characters are cool, though I do somewhat dislike Gendo as a villain. Hes portrayed as super intelligent most of the time, but he does a lot of dumb things. Misato is great as a side character, Rei is super interesting as one of the first girls of her type, and Asukas generally awesome. The show gets pretty great once she arrives. Unfortunately, it falls apart at the end, once Gainax ran out of time and money, but thankfully we got End of Eva to fix that, which is great. Has awesome animation, fantastic music, excellent fights, and works as an excellent conclusion to the series. Kom, Susser Tod might be my favorite insert song?

Lastly, to comment a bit on the movies: The first is basically just a high quality remake of the first few episodes of the series, and its quite good. The second goes its own way, still following the series to some extent, but has Asuka doing all sorts of awesome stuff, and its amazing. One of my favorite anime movies period. The third is its own thing completely, and while it has some compelling sequences, it makes some strange choices, and has a frustrating ending (I was okay with it, but it still rubbed me the wrong way a bit). More unfortunately, it was really boring. I feel like theres a 45 minute sequence in the middle (of this 96 minute movie) where basically nothing happens. Kaworu was never my favorite character in the original series, but he was alright, and he didnt do that much. Here, hes just terrible, because he does absolutely nothing and takes up a ton of screentime. It was a really frustrating movie after that greatness of 2.0. When it does have action scenes its good, and Asukas scenes are good, but there arent enough of those. Also Mari always seems like such a cool character, but after three movies shes still done basically nothing. Blah.
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36 spots too low. >_>

Evangelion was probably the anime that had the biggest impact on me. I forget the exact time I watched it, but it was back when I was a teenager and in a bad place so I identified a lot with the themes of the show and with Shinji perhaps more than I wanted to. Like you mentioned, the takeaway the me-back-then had was to persevere and also to be less like Shinji. How well I actually succeeded at those goals is debatable!

My favorite character is probably Asuka or Kaworu, with Shinji close behind. Favorite episode was 24 (Kaworu ep) just felt it was extremely powerful. End of Eva is great like you said, and as time has passed (and with rewatches) I've come to terms with/like the original/budget ending even though I am so glad we got EoE. >_>

As for Rebuild, 1 is a solid adaptation of Eps 1-6 and the Ramiel fight is incredible. 2 really starts to diverge but it's still great. Watched 3 for the first time a few months ago and yeah. I'm good with it but yeah it's kinda weird. Really not sure what they're doing with Mari other than giving Asuka someone to bounce off of in 3 I guess? Excited for 4 when it comes out in 2101 or whenever.
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Eva was my #1 anime for years!

Until I watched my third anime after I started watching anime for real <_<

EoE and 2.0 would both be in a top 10 for anime movies I think.
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Evangelion was okay. It's another series that I liked but not nearly as much as other people seemed to. Rei is <3, though.
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On the other hand, Cruel Angel's Thesis absolutely is as good as people say it is. It is still one of my favourite anime opening themes.
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It is indeed one of the greats. Rebuild's ending themes are also incredible. Sakura Nagashi is amazing. Beautiful World is good too, especially taking the lyrics into account.
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It's not an original song, but Eva 2.0 is the first time I heard Tsubasa wo Kudasai, and I loved it. Have heard one or two other versions, but that one's still my favorite.
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one day I'll watch Evangelion
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It's a pretty cool show!
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Evangelion was one of the first anime I saw that wasn't just something that was airing on TV. However, I don't really remember exactly when I first watched it. I don't even really remember if I watched it dubbed or subbed the first time. I'm trying to think of what my favourite scene was but the only ones that are coming to mind are scenes where things end badly for the characters involved.

Like I'm remembering a scene where Asuka is actually happy and wrecking enemies but I believe that scene ends with her get run through by a bunch of spears. >_>
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that scene is super memorable, yes, and super frustrating
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I swear I'll get back to this at some point...
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For the new movies, I've only ever watched 1.0. I believe Mari wasn't in that one so while I recognize the character and know the name, I know pretty much nothing else about her or what her personality is like.

Maybe I should watch all the movies whenever the 4th one comes out.
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She was in a post-credits sequence for about 5 seconds IIRC
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I don't I ever really disliked Shinji as much as other peopled seemed to. I wouldn't really put him on a favorite character list either, though. I hear he is a lot better in some of the SRW games he shows up in.
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I've run out of things to say about Evangelion so... bump.
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36. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
https://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/anime/11/51465l.jpg
@Xp1337
I have quite fond memories of SAC. The best thing about it is how consistent it is, and what a quality product it is in every way. Having a solid cast helps (though Motoko is head and shoulders above everyone else), and the format is genius. It dedicates itself to having both standalone episodes and continuing story episodes, woven together rather than having a bunch of one followed by a series of the other. It works well to keep you interested in the main story while also developing all the characters. S2 is (mostly) better at this, due to having more serious developments for the MCs in the standalone episodes, most notably the one about young Motoko. I preferred the main story for S1 over S2s though. The Laughing Man was awesome, and S2s main plot wasnt as interesting, though it did lead to a few excellent moments for our main characters.

On top of that, the show looks and sounds amazing. Yoko Kanno soundtracks are a little bit hit or miss for me, but this one is by far the best of them all. All three SAC OPs are fantastic, and the insert songs are the best. I Cant Be Cool, I Do, Run Rabbit Junk, Living Inside the Shell, and many others are all excellent. The animation is consistently great through each season. The series is kind of the epitome of anime in some ways. Every element just comes together somehow, and it seems so natural. Enough to make me a bit interested in those young Motoko OVAs (though Ive still never watched them), and also interested in that Netflix SAC S3 (really hope itll actually be good!). On a last note, I did actually enjoy the first movie a bit more than the TV shows, though I watched it so long ago I dont quite remember why. It was just a really neat experience. Not that that makes the TV series bad, of course. Theyre great shows that everyone can enjoy.
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Mac Arrowny posted...

S2 is (mostly) better at this, due to having more serious developments for the MCs in the standalone episodes, most notably the one about young Motoko. I preferred the main story for S1 over S2s though. The Laughing Man was awesome, and S2s main plot wasnt as interesting, though it did lead to a few excellent moments for our main characters.

Completely agreed. S1's main story is definitely better than S2's, but S2 has the stronger standalone episodes. Poker Face in particular is one of my favorite standalone episodes. And as far as the main story goes, The Laughing Man is just far above anything S2 provides on that front.

Mac Arrowny posted...

also interested in that Netflix SAC S3 (really hope itll actually be good!)

please be good

SAC's OST is amazing, yeah. Aside from some of the ones you mentioned, I really like Torukia and Where Does This Ocean Go. And Rise goes without saying.
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I'll also echo that. Season 2 is good but I liked The Laughing Man stuff from season 1 more.
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35. Sabagebu
https://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/anime/13/60207l.jpg
@swordz9

Oh hey, another relatively recent series! Havent had one of these in a while. Sabagebu is one of those series that you think is going to be a generic cute girls doing cute things show, and I do like those so thats not necessarily a bad thing, but then you watch it and its completely different (kind of like Asobi Asobase, for those who have watched that). The main thing that makes the show different (and great) is its main character, Momoka. Shes basically just a huge piece of shit who thinks shes pretty and elegant, but is actually evil and merciless. Whenever she perceives a slight from someone, shell take revenge in disproportionate measures, and completely annihilates them. Shes incredibly greedy, and she insults pretty much everyone around her. The other characters arent pieces of shit to the level of Momoka, but most of them are insane in some way or another, and its generally hilarious watching Momoka being mean to them regardless. The show doesnt focus a whole ton on the airsoft/survival games element, but its still quite fun when it does, like when Momoka randomly has an epic battle in her house against her mom. The other battles are often full of Momoka cheating and generally being the worst kind of player to play against. Its hilarious, and in a really refreshing way. If you liked the twist Asobi Asobase brought to the genre (or just like comedy anime in general), its definitely worth checking out. I wonder how the manga turned out...
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Sabagebu is another series I might watch some day but I'm not really sure when I'll get to it.
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Bump.
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34. Maria Watches Over Us
https://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/anime/7/25391l.jpg
@pyresword

Been a long time since I watched Marimite. This ones kinda unique among list entries, since I actually went and read the entire LN series in Japanese too all 39 volumes. Its an easy read, but it was still something of an undertaking. Regardless, I wouldnt have done that if I didnt enjoy the series! The quality fluctuates a bit between seasons, but its mostly good stuff. Yumi is a great protagonist, and seeing her development is one of the highlights of the series. The rest of the main cast is all very good too, though I dont think the third year girls (other than Sei) were particularly compelling. Sei herself was great, at least. The new girls are really good too. I wasnt super fond of Touko at first, but her development is right up there with Yumis. And Kanako was just awesome (I watched a few of the comedy shorts, which were mostly mediocre, but the ones with giant Kanako were great). Its nice seeing all the developing drama across the series, running into and solving all these little problems. The character interactions are just plain good. I feel like Ive never really seen something else like Marimite, for whatever reason. Or maybe I have, and it just didnt seem similar since it wasnt as good? I dunno. Its a little sad we didnt get an adaptation of the final parts of the story, since there wasnt much left that takes place after S4 (a lot of the books are side stories and flashbacks), but S4s conclusion was excellent regardless. Its disappointing there isnt much for actual yuri in this (the one couple we did get was presented in sort of a negative way, too), but it worked for the series regardless.
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And Mizuryu Kei's series just keeps going
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