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

(+) Yeah! (+)

good call not including Vivid. I literally dropped it LMAO. Not enough beamspam and not enough Nanoha.

Other than that, yeah, basically agree with everything you said there. I first tried to watch the series probably a decade ago when I was first getting heavily into anime (Haruhi 2009 never forget) and StrikerS was reasonably fresh on everybody's minds. I dropped it probably 5-6 episodes in because I didn't like/want the magical girl formula it provided and I didn't revisit it until about five or so years later where I watched it all start to finish in probably about a week (Which is vaguely impressive for me considering I was in grad school with the appropriate workload at the time)

14. Shiki
https://imgur.com/WricH
@Turnsniper

Shikis an interesting one. Before I watched it, I received a lot of mixed impressions on the series. Theres a fair-sized crowd out there who basically views the series as mostly buildup to a huge climax that (for some), makes it all worth it. However, my impressions were basically the opposite. I loved the buildup and wasnt as into the climax.

In anime (and other fiction in general), I often find the villains to be more sympathetic than the good guys, assuming its a morally grey series. Most of the time Im on the good guys side, but in a series like this, I was definitely with the villains. It was really cool seeing them come in and slowly take over the village, and I found a lot of the villains to be among the most likable/entertaining characters as well. Megumi is basically over the top ridiculously evil all the time, and every second shes on screen after she becomes a vampire is joyful, especially since her design is so good. Sunakos speeches are all great, and I liked her design quite a bit, too. The minor vampires are cool in general too, and I often found myself coming to like characters more after they became vampires. I dunno, they just didnt feel that evil to me? I mean, they werent super nice, but it felt mostly like they were just trying to get by (compared to something like Tokyo Ghoul, where most of the villains are super evil to humans - the vampires here a lot more like the good guy ghouls from that). Plus the good guys are kinda dicks in general. The slow way they take over the village is really interesting compared to a lot of other villain plans. Its not uncommon for villains to have plans that take a long time to come to fruition, but usually you dont get to see what those plans are until the end. Here we get to see it every step of the way. Salems Lot and Dracula have cool slow builds too, but we dont get to see as much from the villains perspective in those, and the villains feel more evil there, too.

The most interesting of the good guys here is Ozaki. Hes basically the one guy who realizes the truth, but no one believes him. He goes to all sorts of crazy extremes to discover the depths of the truth, and probably commits more acts of evil than anyone else in the show, but everything he does makes total sense, too. Hes kinda the star of the climax, which I did find mostly entertaining, despite what I said earlier. The spectacle of the villagers defeating the vampires is quite entertaining, and I do enjoy it thematically as well. Humans are the real monsters plots can sometimes feel silly, especially in fiction where the monsters are pretty damn evil, but it works here, since weve come to have so much affection for the vampires over the course of the anime (of course, Im sure some people enjoyed the ending purely for the catharsis of the vampires being slaughtered, which is fine, though its missing the point a bit). The kill scenes are often over the top and entertaining (Megumis death is hilarious), so that helps too, and Im glad that Sunako survived at least. Still, it wouldve been cool to have a bad guys win story instead, IMO. Anyway, the ending worked well enough for me that it didnt make me stop liking the series, but with an ending I liked more this couldve definitely been a good ten spots higher.

Also the hairstyles in the show are amazing I love em <3
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I definitely think the buildup in Shiki is "better" than the climax which felt lacking in some ways.

Not sure which part I'd actually say I like more though. I'm a fan of the whole thing more or less.
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Shiki is cool, just below the level of all time great status for me.
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13. Devilman Crybaby
https://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/anime/2/89973l.jpg
@NFUN

And so we reach the most recent anime in the top 75, I think? Before it came out, I didnt really know what this was. I thought itd be another Devilman spinoff, and weve had plenty of those. Seeing that it was a (relatively) faithful adaptation of the original Devilman manga ramped up my excitement, though. Some people find it silly (because it is), but I loved the Devilman manga. The pace is fast (its only 5 volumes), and pretty much every chapter has something awesome happen. Seeing Akira change from mostly an everyday average anime protagonist into an evil badass (who still fights for justice, just violently) is awesome, and they portrayed it excellently in the show with his added crybaby nature. They made the transition a bit smoother in the show, but its still good. Ryous great as his best friend/rival, and I think he gets more development too. The biggest change for the series is that the side characters get to do more, I think. In the manga, theyre often introduced and killed over the span of a chapter, but here lots of them get good development over the course of the series (the Mikis, for example).

The animation and style of the series are also fantastic. Im not always into what Masaaki Yuaki does, but here he seemed to have a bigger budget to work with, so his style didnt feel like a money-saving technique in any way. I love the art, and the music is also outstanding. The rappers are both silly and very fun. Some people dislike the ending, but I feel like it fits the series well enough. Its kinda too bad they didnt just straight adapt what the manga did, but people probably wouldve been even more annoyed at the ending without all the parts they added, and it fits better with the rest of the series this way. Lots of cool imagery here as well that you can see with deeper analysis. Easily the greatest Netflix original anime of all time.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNbnuwqP46Y" data-time="
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12. Kill La Kill
https://d1vr6n66ssr06c.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Kill-la-Kill-IF.jpg
@swordz9

While its a bit unfortunate that KLK is literally just worse TTGL, TTGL is great enough that KLK still manages to be one of the best anime, and it does have a few cool unique things about it. Perhaps chief amongst those things is its protagonist. Ryuko is mostly supremely entertaining. Its awesome how angry at everything she is all the time. I suppose there are a few series out there with angry protagonists, but Ryuko mostly pulls it off extremely well. Im not as much of a fan of her development later in the series, but she still manages to entertain. Satsuki works out real well as the villain/rival too. Logic vs. emotion is always a fun conflict for a series, and all their battles are great. The twist of it all being Satsukis plan was pulled off really well, but I didnt like the episodes immediately following that twist all that much. The twist of her and Ryuko being sisters I wasnt as much of a fan of, since having the two of them hook up wouldve made for a much better ending. The rest of the cast is mostly pretty colorful and entertaining as well. Satsukis subordinates are a lot of fun, particularly Gamagoori/Nonon/Nui. I know a bunch of people didnt like Nui that much, but her antics were maybe my favorite part of the second half of the series. Extra villain Ragyo was alright, but I didnt find her to be super interesting in general. Mako had some good stuff and some not so good stuff. Senketsu was mediocre, and Nude Beach guy felt like a plot device rather than an interesting person.

The other main thing to talk about with KLK is the animation/action. It was an intentional style, but I often found myself wishing for more detailed standard animation. The fights with a lot of frames looked great, and even the fights with a (seemingly) budget-saving style were entertaining, but I wanted more. Also wasnt a fan of some of the fanservice, particularly the weird bouncing breasts during the transformation sequences (the transformation sequences were pretty shitty in general. I know Imaishi can do cool transformations, like in Panty & Stocking, so its a shame we didnt get something that creative and good-looking here). The last couple episodes felt like they tried a bit harder in that respect.

Theres not much story, and its not that great in general, but it mostly facilitates the series well enough. I did like the true nature of the threat at the end of the series, and the last episode was great. The OVA managed to be surprisingly awesome too (not really just fanservice, more of a true final episode thingy). My favorite part of the show was probably the second quarter, where Ryuko had to fight the four kings or whatever they were called. Every fight was interesting and unique, and there was a bunch of development for cool characters like Gamagoori. The show kinda felt like it wasnt sure where it was supposed to be going at some points, so this arc was a nice highlight. Very cool show overall. Wonder if Promare will give me the same sort of feeling.
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Oh ya go my Kill la Kill. One of the very few anime I watched in Japanese and then again in English.

Outside of the animation style, I didn't really find Kill la Kill to be that much like TTGL at all. That being said, I felt like TTGL "lived up to the hype" better.
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<3 Nui
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11. Made in Abyss
https://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/anime/5/86732l.jpg
@FL81

Unfortunately, Crybaby gets to beat this as the newest anime up top, but I do definitely like this one more. MIA started out as a bit of a slow burn for me. I did like it at first, mainly for Rikos amazing curiosity and the fantastic art design/music, but it doesnt get great until the expedition to the Abyss begins in earnest (namely when they meet Ozen). After that I was all-in. MIA is probably better than anything Ive seen at giving the setting itself a personality. The Abyss feels almost like a character. You get to know it throughout the series, and youre always thinking about its presence. Settings usually arent that big a deal to me. They exist to facilitate good development or action or whatever, and a cool setting is obviously a plus, but its not something Id generally think of as a main draw. MIA is one of the only exceptions (along with the Xenoblade series). Im always curious to learn more about the nature of the Abyss, and it was generally my main reason for watching the show. No matter what else was going on, I always wanted to know more about it. Ill probably read the manga whenever that finishes, even if more anime is coming, just to learn more about the Abyss itself.

But of course, if that was all the series had going for it, I wouldnt have it ranked this high. The animation and art design are top tier from start to finish. Theres so much detail everywhere. IT really brings the Abyss to life. The music is great and also unique. Its neat that they got a non-Japanese composer who still composes somewhat anime-style music. It uses music in the way I like anime using music, but with a fresh sound. And of course, the characters are what draw us in the most in general. Rikos spirit and curious personality are awesome. Id be happy watching her do fun stuff all her life. It does stretch credulity sometimes that a powerless girl like her can survive the descent into the Abyss, but she does run into her fair share of difficulties, so that helps a bit. Reg isnt as interesting as the rest of the cast, and its unfortunate how the series seems to focus on him over Riko more as time goes on, but his Mega Man powers are fun and hes almost more a weapon than a character. Nanachi steals the show despite only being in a few episodes, and Ozen is amazing. I love her design and voice acting so much. She feels so intimidating! Lyzas great in all her flashbacks too.

The last few episodes were my favorite part of the show. Theyre full of amazing animation, and Nanachis story is super heartbreaking. Its incredible how much the show made me care about Mitty. It also made me anxious for the next season, though. While Bondrewd managed to create some good drama, hes also pretty incredibly despicable. The next arc seems like itll focus on him (I think this is what the movies going to be about?) and it feels like it could be too much. I dunno. Hopefully it works out, because MIA at its finest is peak anime.
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I can't wait for the movie
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Bump
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The top ten and their nominators:

Angel Beats - NBIceman
Baccano! - Shonen Bat
ef - Zea
Gurren Lagann - Zea
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - FL81
Humanity Has Declined - Swordz9
Kamichu! - Team Rocket Elite
Madoka Magica - Shonen Bat
Monogatari - Menji
No Game No Life - PrinceKaro

Congrats to zea and Shonen Bat for being the only two to get multiple noms into the top ten!

also congrats to Raka for correctly predicting three of the top ten <_<
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Aw yes my lowest rated anime of all time made the top 10.
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there are several good shows in that top ten

The top ten has a lot of my favourite anime and Baccano.
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pyresword posted...

Aw yes my lowest rated anime of all time made the top 10.

wait what anime is that?
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I've only seen TTGL and Madoka. =(

good shows though
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That's a decent list, although there's a few which I'm surprised made it this high up given the quality of some lower things. Madoka and Monogatari would probably make my top 10 too, and I'm glad you introduced me to Kamichu.
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Mac Arrowny posted...

pyresword posted...

Aw yes my lowest rated anime of all time made the top 10.

wait what anime is that?

ef

Madoka is in my top 10 and Monogatari is in my top 15 though so I guess it evens out.
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Very glad to see 2/3rds of my top 3 in the top 10.
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Definitely some good ones in the top 10. Humanity has Declined would make my overall top 10, I think, and maybe Monogatari too.
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oh hey I still have one in here
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10. Humanity Has Declined
@swordz9
https://nick3137.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/commie-jinrui-wa-suitai-shimashita-09-53eb287c-mkv_snapshot_00-30_2012-09-03_21-25-37.jpg

Of all my top series, this is probably the one I feel least passionate about. Its more of a comedy than any of the others, and theres not much for huge emotional scenes. But in return, we get some super special things that it does better than any other series - the main character in particular. She doesnt have a name, but her personality is well-defined nonetheless. Shes amazing sarcastic and snarky about everything she sees, but still courageous, and you can feel that she loves life. Shes kinda like Kyon, but turned way up and female. Shes basically the entire series. Seeing how she reacts to stuff is always a treat in every single arc. Ive wanted to read the novels for a while, since Im sure we get even more snarky narration there. I could watch her reacting to stuff forever, because its always awesome. The rest of the cast is mostly excellent too. Y, the yaoi lover, is always a treat, and the flashbacks to school days are good times too, with a colorful cast and the MC in a different type of environment. The fairies are a lot of fun in general, with amazing designs, and the episode where the MC becomes queen of the fairies or whatever is excellent. The show is bright and colorful, so the fairies fit well with the aesthetic.

Other than that, I dont have too much to say about the show. I watched it quite a while ago, and its broken up into short arcs, usually two episodes, so I dont have super strong memories, other than fun stuff like bread committing suicide and a two episode arc that exists solely for the point of a single incredibly dumb pun. I believe all the arcs were consistently excellent, as far as I recall. I should watch this again someday
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That suicidal bread was the single greatest bread since Powdered Toast Man

9. ef
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/x1fV9Vdl_ok/maxresdefault.jpg
@TexasZea
AKA ef ~ a tale of memories and ef ~ a tale of melodies. This is one of the first anime romances I watched, and it remains the best to this day. There are a whole bunch of things I like about the series, starting with the visuals. Outside of action series, this might be my favorite anime visuall period (yes, I like it better than Monogatari in that respect, though NGNL is on the same level)? The neat visual SHAFT-isms have a cohesive pattern to them here, and theyre pretty much always used to enhance scenes and make them better than they wouldve ordinarily been. I also played the VN, and the coolest visual scenes are definitely better in the anime. The answering machine scene is just legendary, and the visuals are half the picture there. Both seasons are visually inspired in general.

But of course, you cant have a good series with just good visuals. The show follows four (kind of five) romances, and while they arent all equally good, I do like all of them, and the best ones are great. Chihiro x Renji is probably my favorite of the bunch. They did the memory loss thing in a really compelling way, and the way it ends is just amazing. One of the most romantic lines in anime ever. The Miyako/Kei/Hiro love triangle is consistently entertaining, and I love how the stakes just keep getting higher as it goes along. Kuze x Mizuki is probably the weirdest of the bunch, but the individual scenes are generally great, and theres some cool music stuff. And Yuu x Yuuko works as a perfect capstone on the series, since weve been seeing the two of them all throughout (though the change to how Yuuko died in the anime was dumb). Yuukos story has a lot of neat stuff to it visually too. One of the things that makes the anime feel unique is how serious it is. I mean, there are definitely jokes here and there, but its not a romantic comedy, its a romantic drama, and those are pretty rare in anime (especially good ones). ef really opened my eyes to what anime could be. I doubt I wouldve watched nearly as many anime without it.
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Mac Arrowny posted...

They did the memory loss thing in a really compelling way, and the way it ends is just amazing.

This is still one of my favourite scenes ever. I really should rewatch ef someday.
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One day I will force myself to watch ef
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Bump
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8. Puella Magi Madoka Magica
https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/1*aY5OzkUm_bfO9I8jltR9DA.jpeg
@Shonen_Bat

Madokas hype was like nothing Ive ever seen in the anime world. It was announced quite a while before it came out as a sort of dream team collaboration. You had SHAFT, which was becoming one of the most acclaimed studios in the industry, since this was released only a couple years after Monogatari. You had Yuki Kajiura, one of the mediums most legendary composers, and she brought Kalafina with her from Kara no Kyoukai. You had Gen Urobuchi, writer of Saya no Uta/Sayas Song, one of the greatest visual novels ever written. And finally, the character designs were being done by Ume Aoki, who was kind of a weird fit, but gave the project a sense of novelty at least. And when it came out, it didnt disappoint. Even early on when its a bit more of a typical magical girl series, it has a neat atmosphere and style to it that are totally unique, and the ED theme is one of the best out there in terms of establishing a mood for a show. Of course, the twists (and the introduction of Kyoko) all serve to make the show so much better.

The dark drama of the show is pretty much all awesome. The twist in ep 3 didnt really move me (especially since I was already familiar with some of Urobuchis works), but everything after that was fantastic, and of course it was necessary for setting things up later on. Basically every single episode is fantastic. The arts cool, the animations cool, and the character interaction is excellent. The main five are all good characters, though I didnt like Mami that much, and Homura/Kyoko are clearly the greatest of the lot. I also liked the shows ending. It mightve been a little too happy, but it kind of had bad-ish ends for Homura/Madoka/Sayaka, so I was okay with that level of happiness. Rebellions ending is much less compelling. Rebellion itself is pretty cool, with some amazing fights, though its not quite as good as the series overall. But the ending was a little too happy for real this time, since it basically erased all the bad ends from before and made everyone happy. Even Homura being the devil or whatever isnt portrayed negatively in the slightest. Led to some good doujins at least...
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Bump
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One of the best things to come out of Rebellion was when all 5 main magical girls finally team up with transformation sequences and all.

Also the witch's domains were all very trippy in a good way.
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I thought Madoka was okay, but it definitely didnt live up to the hype for me

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Happy birthday topic!

Madoka absolutely lived up to the hype for me. One of my regrets is not watching it as it aired.
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Madoka's pretty good. Rebellion is also pretty fun, but agreed it isn't as good as the main series. I think my opinion of it could be improved with a continuation of the story (which I keep hearing about but never see anything substantial) to build on it but without it =/
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The phone game is getting an anime, but I'm not sure how related that is to the main plot or if it will be canon or whatever.
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Bump
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Miracles and magic, they both exist.
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I won't regret anything anymore.
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7. Angel Beats
https://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/anime/10/22061l.jpg
@Kateee

Angel Beats gets a bit of a bad rap, but personally I was really into just about everything about it. The production values are just awesome - it looks great, has a fantastic soundtrack, and some of the best OPs and EDs out there. The cast is colorful and memorable, and I like most of them (Iwasawa being the exception. She kinda sucks, and her episode is lame). The shows pretty fast-paced, so it never really gets boring. It has a good style where it basically focuses every episode on a different character, giving them development while still advancing the main plot. It always feels like somethings happening, and pretty much every episode has some sort of climactic setpiece (or even more than one). The shows full of mysteries, and they resolve in pretty much the best way possible.

What makes AB really stand out to me is how emotional it is. Its full of humor at the start, and the humor is good (the death montage in ep 1, TK, and CHRISTO are all hilarious), but the sad parts are where its at. Most of the cast has pretty tragic backstories, which are usually good in their own right (I think Yuis was the best), and the show does a great job connecting them to the rest. Otonashis backstory is where the show really started getting amazing for me. Its cool for an anime to have a real message to it, especially one thats so positive. When you think about it, Angel Beats has probably saved more lives than any other TV show (or at least more than any other anime). The way Angels story ties into everything works perfectly, from the mystery at the start to who she is at the end. The last episode made me cry a lot. One of the best endings Ive ever seen in an anime, and the new ED sequence with Ichiban no Takaramono (The Greatest Treasure) destroyed me. The visuals and the lyrics worked together so perfectly with what was going on. I felt so sad for Otonashi, knowing what he was going through alone. I wish more shows knew how to be sad like this. Plastic Memories is the only recent one I can think of that even tried.
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I found it very strange that I had supposedly nommed Angel Beats given that I thought the bit I watched was pretty stupid so i checked the noms and I was right.

I did not nom Angel Beats but Angel Blade, a 2001 futanari hentai OVA series, that I frankly consider at least 17 times better than Angel Beats.

don't @ me

wow, sounds like this entire project needs to be restarted from the beginning
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Whoops that was @NBIceman sorry <_<
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rebuild of mac ranks 111+31 user-nominated anime
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Angel Beats is incredibly rushed, clumsily executed, and kind of silly all around.

And I fucking adore it anyway. Maybe you just have to have had a certain kind of experience with life for it to resonate with you like it's supposed to.
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Angel Beats is fantastic. Although, I do remember feeling it was a bit rushed. Like when I rewatched it a while back I remember being surprised that one of the story arcs was only and episode or two long since in my head I remembered it being longer.

Angel Beats spoilers
It would be cool if Angel Beats really does help Maeda Jun get the heart transplant he needs someday.
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https://giphy.com/gifs/angel-beats-tk-a9yXzCqkfCrbG
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