RECOMMENDED TITLES

Pictures soon.

THE GOOD

30 Genshiken

Who knew a comedy about Otakus gathering and talking about their geeky hobbies can be scarily entertaining and funny. Genshiken proved it with some of the funniest antics I have ever seen, of course thanks to Saki getting irritated every time. Also it explored the hardships on society a bit without getting too emotional. This is a series very recommendable to anyone who wants to watch comedy with a little bit of brain into it.

29 Arakawa under the Bridge

Another comedy, this time about one of the higher ups of the economic world, go down into a bridge full of lunatics and get a girlfriend. This is a gag show first and foremost but there is a message being passed on with this series. Society is cruel and the gags here show how people who have become outcasts, gather in this bridge and completely destroyed any norm society has built. It’s hard to say what I like about this series so much but like Genshiken above, it is also a thought provoking comedy with a little bit of brain into it (or lack thereof which is genius). Just don’t mind the flaws of the second season a bit and you’ll be fine.

28 Great Teacher Onizuka

A story about a teacher who tries to change a class full of people who want to kill him. Again, this is a comedy with a bit of brain into it. It’s a little bit of everything actually because it analyzes a lot of things in a school we tend to overlook. It’s hard to explain the awesomeness of this series but really it’s all about Onizuka being awesome.

27 Code Geass

This show’s goal is to entertain everyone. Its plot twists galore. It’s something I doubt anyone would hate unless they are elitists. It’s mecha with lots of politics injected into it. You’ll be in the edge of your seat in each episode as you watch what Lelouch will do with his Geass and what the outcome will be. The Euphemia incident still etches my mind.

26 Darker than Black

This is a very fun action series with very fun characters. The series run in a bi-episode format, introduction in the first episode and conclusion in the next. The story is basically about Tokyo being covered with a wall. There’s contractors out there, good and bad, and Hei defeats them. . . somehow. I appreciated this series more on the characters and how Hei’s cool (also the best of both worlds type of setting) and while not as deep, it has a cool plot. It has enough going for me to put it here.

25 Kimi ni Todoke

Another shoujo, this time for full guilty pleasure. I have a big explanation on why I like this series so much in this post.

24 Kanon

Uncurrency Post here

23 Xxx Holic

I would consider this CLAMP’s best work up to date. It’s a bit different from what they usually write, they even changed the artistry. I truly loved the manga and while the anime had issues (production mainly) it showed how this series can stand in its own two feet (and not some Tsubasa servant which most people assume). Its mostly about modern folklore, different people come to the shop everyday and we see the different emotions that reflect on us humans. There’s also the spirits side, which creates a lot of plot. It’s a nice laidback series, one can say this is a funnier, less darker version Mushishi but it works in itself and a nicely done CLAMP animu.

22 Prince of Tennis

DragonBall Z of Tennis. Very crazy but I ate all 200+ episodes of it, even the OVAs. It also got me to play tennis. It’s mainstream shounen though so even non-anime fans can enjoy this. It’s very long though.

21 Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai

A very long name to a rightfully respected anime. After the godly Toradora and the awesomely fun Railgun, Nagai decided to make an original anime. Ano Hana is the result of this and while it wasn’t Toradora tier, it served its own purpose on being a drama one will not forget. You’d think with a plot of your best friend coming back to life would be a winner for tearjerkers, the series didn’t concentrate on that for the first few episodes. It mostly concentrated on the world without Menma, what changed and what didn’t changed and how the characters coped with it. We did get some teary moments in the beginning, but it really was all a story about friendship. The second half ramped up the drama causing a lot of imperfection and character conflict, and it blossomed the series into something I would say, very worthwhile watching. While memory-lasting wise, this series would have definitely benefited a 2-cour, nonetheless the ending was great, a nice conclusion to a series about friendship and loss.

THE GREAT

20 Full Metal Panic

The thing that sold me here was the characters. Chidori was the first tsundere I liked and Sosuke is a very great male lead with his mecha otaku-ness. Fumoffu sold me into loving this series and TSR made me care for them more.

19 Gurren Laggan

FIGHT THE POWAH. EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPICEPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC

18 To Aru Kagaku No Railgun

Biribiri is the first Tsundere I’ve ever fagged about. My Animesuki posts on To Aru Majutsu no Index proves it. It was like a dream come true that the character that I love and I thought didn’t get enough screen time, get a fully budgeted 24 episode series all about her. Without considering me fagging about Mikoto, this series is great. It fleshed out a city we knew to not like in Index and gave more meaning to Levels. All the characters where fleshed out nicely especially Saten. I will always be there when someone disses this show. Admittedly though, I would not have liked this as much without watching Index.

17 Nodame Cantabile

This had a purpose for me because it got me into playing the piano. This series wanted to point out the hardships of playing music and also questions the reason why creativity has to be controlled. Of course this is a romance series first and foremost which the 2^nd and 3^rd seasons concentrated more of but I like Chiaki and Nodame and they’re awesome together. Their hardships in France is also something to be applauded. GYABO MUKYA!

16 Revolutionary Girl Utena

An old series that uses symbolisms, artistry and creativity that can trump a lot of anime shown today. Being the gay mother of STAR DRIVER, it is not afraid to show its flambouyancy and the relationship taboos it tackles. Adding the awesome plot, action, stair-walking, elevator-rising, Utena has a lot to like and to be called a masterpiece. “We are all trapped in our own coffins.” Ahh I love you Utena, you’re such an awesome anime.

15 Death Note

Like Code Geass, this is very entertaining but the plot of this one is a lot more credible. I personally thought the idea of writing people’s names in a notebook and them getting killed is very genious and how this show handled the whole series with that in mind was a masterpiece. Yagami Light also started the trend of me loving evil characters. I just can’t help but laugh when he laughs and go OHHHYEAH when he successfully kills someone.

14 SOUL EATER

A hot-blooded shounen action series at heart, SOUL EATER appeals to me so much because of the different aesthetics of a shounen series it polished. The characters are very diverse with very cool designs, the weapons are OHYEAHAWESOME, the plot might have been rehashed but never failed to entertain me, the setting is imaginative, one can say this is SHOUNEN DONE RIGHT.

13 Ouran High School Host Club

This series is a shoujo comedy. There are antics that run through every episode and it gets more amusing each time. It’s a perfect adaptation of the manga that I love. Everything about it is polished with characters that are well developed, gags that get funnier as the series progresses, relationships and bonds that grow tightly through the experiences this club gets, and Fujioka Haruhi (not God) who is a very awesome female lead. One can say this is SHOUJO DONE RIGHT. Not the romantic kind but more of the romantic comedy type.

12 School Rumble

It started out as pure comedy of high school students. It then went to the romantic comedy section once Harima started being braindead and realize Tenma likes someone. The inclusion of many romance aspects made this series a lot more interesting, tasty and pure awesome. Also, Eri Sawachika is one of my most favourite tsundere, Mikoto Misaka aside.

11 Mushishi

Mushishi is about some bugs which you can’t see and each episode some expert of this bugs, Mushishi, come and fix the problem. Well this is probably the stupidest way to interpret the series, but all I can say is that it’s a masterpiece. Each episode is done with so much care, and you learn about this Mushi, slowly yet surely. We get new characters episode per episode, and the awesome part of it is that they never stand out too much yet they’re never uninteresting. I mean imagine if they keep making awesome characters, then you’ll have to say “Oh I miss this character” but if they’re uninteresting you’ll be bored. This series has an almost perfect balance with the way it handles its characters. To the story itself, some can be very lighthearted, some inspirational, and some brutally honest. Ginko, our awesome white-haired, green-eyed main character, usually solves the problems, but when there’s nothing that can be done, it’s shown in a way that there’s something to take in from it. The great part about this series is that every episode is great. There’s never a boring episode or a lacking episode. It has some bar which can go up, but never goes down from it.

10 Honey and Clover

Romantic dramas tend to be over melodramatic but this series shined through its realism. Characters we grew to love in early episodes are thrown into a love cycle and stuff like the meaning of life, the worthiness of oneself, and the frustration of not achieving something are all clonked there. With more emotions running through by the second season, I can’t help but love this series. It’s the pain that’s very real and relatable to me that made this series for me.

9 Suzumiya Haruhi

This series is very fresh (the first season that is) with a plot that one will not see when they look at the promo art. One of the most popular anime to date (‘cept for EVA) this series has the right to be. The series revolves around Haruhi Suzumiya and her daily antics with her SOS Brigade. The cast of awesome characters like Kyon make this series more colourful and when this series got serious, it really brought it out with a lot to think about for the viewer. Even the non-plot episodes that are put in the middle of the six major episodes of the first season gave full characterization of the characters of Haruhi. The second season might have sucked with Endless Eight but even more characterization was created there. Then the recent Disappearance movie really hits hard and made me realize how much I like this series. It’s hard to explain really how this series works and why it’s so fanboy’d so watch it for yourself and you’ll know what I mean.

THE GODLY

8 Nabari no Ou

I’m a bit biased towards this one because it’s one of the first series I watched while airing. It brought me to the world of anime. A great way to start because this one has a great plot well developed characters and nice production values. The premise of having a modern take on ninjas is very refreshing and while a bit dialogue heavy, one can consider this a masterpiece the way it was made. Character relationships felt very real; something only a few series ever achieve.

7 CLANNAD

The reason CLANNAD is in this list is because of the emotions it delivered from me. No other series has made me cry more than this. The build-up of this series really pays off ones Tomoya and Nagisa are out of school and the hardships of having a family ensues. I don’t really want to spoil anything so just watch this one.

6 Puella Magi Madoka Magica

This is story at its finest. Every part of it made sense in the end. No minute is wasted in this twelve episode series. Each character is put to test and tortured by being a Mahou Shoujo. Hope does not exist. Or at least that what the series tries to make us believe until it ends. Again, the beauty of this series is how everything makes sense. It’s the perfect story. With twelve episodes to work on, Madoka Magica is a masterpiece. I fanboy’d it a lot and here is my post on why I like this series so much. Puella Magi Madoka Magica is the greatest story ever told in an anime and you’d be damned by the overflowing fans it has if you said it doesn’t.

5 Cross Game

This is a story of Kitamura Kou go through life after the death of her childhood sweetheart Tsukishima Wakaba. It really is a baseball series but the power of the drama that they inject here is emotional enough to shed a few tears. The whole series revolved around wanting to achieve Wakaba’s dream and it’s just so inspiring watching the cast of characters do their best to fulfil it. The mix of drama, romance and surprisingly baseball makes the perfect ingredients for a show to always be remembered if you have watched it.

4 Fullmetal Alchemist

This is an epic adventure of two brothers and their goal to find the philosopher’s stone and get their bodies back after failing in an experiment to bring their mother back which caused them to lose their bodies. It’s very mature for a shounen series which shows determination even in the darkest of times. The main draw of this series of course is the plot itself and the way the story was told was so excellent, even I could not notice the series was veering off the manga. The second iteration of this series, Brotherhood, was just as good but where characterization lessens because of the fast-paced nature of this series, epicostiy of plot kicks in. I am pretty sure this is very easy to enjoy which is why I’m recommending this especially to those who are just starting to watch anime.

THE BIG TRIO

3 Toradora

One would say this is just melodrama and I’d agree to some extent. But these are teenagers for goodness sake and teenagers always tend to make melodrama. This is the realism of this series. A very clichéd premise of a girl living next door/practically living in the guy’s house, one might skip this series. But I beg you not to do so because this has a lot of substance into it. The beauty of this series is the honesty it gives (or lack thereof with Minori) and the enjoyment comes from the different characters having a hard time reaching out their feelings. Also melodrama is not bad. I LOVE THIS SERIES.

2 BAMBOO BLADE

This is my first experience on a Sports/Slice of Life genre. I love this series to death because I love everything about it. It really showed how Kendo is treated or how a sport is really treated for that matter. It’s not some Prince of Tennis rehash wherein that certain sport is the only way to live, frankly in Tamaki’s case; she wants to experience Kendo with friends. Her opening up to the Kendo team slowly was the big catch of this series. I try to make this high and mighty but I’m really just biased towards it. It’s because this is the first show that I watch while airing and I’d be lying if I said I did not enjoy it.  I LOVE THIS SERIES. YOU WILL SEE A TEN IN MY MAL.

1 Bakemonogatari

Okay time to say something about Bakemonogatari. It’s very hard to talk about your favorite series, yet moreso justify why it is your favorite series, but nonetheless I will try. The story is about Koyomi, a vampire, meeting Senjougahara Hitagi, a girl with no weight. Senjougahara starts threatening Koyomi and even staples his mouth just to make sure that no one knows her secret. Koyomi shows her his powers then helps her get rid of her apparently curse of not having weight. He introduces her to Oshino Meme and she gets help getting her weight back .This is the introduction; the first two episodes. It’s mostly about Koyomi helping different girls, getting to know them and solving their mysteries. Senjougahara is the female character, and by far she’s my favorite character all-time (in contest with Mikoto Misaka of Railgun) not to say the other characters weren’t interesting, because the other girls are well-fleshed and colorized. One of the strong points, as everyone know, of this series is the art. It’s unique, SHAFT really did their best here. Different styles, different textures, different shades, this is what the series thrives on. The use of the color pallette is amazing already, and adding the symbolism of the different additions put in the series, it’s quite a marvel to watch. So yeah. . . Basically this is my favorite series all time, no contest near in sight yet. I LOVE BAKEMONOGATARI; I LOVE ANIME.