sara_tanaquil | Day 2 - Favorite anime you’ve watched so far

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30days,
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Day 2 - Favorite anime you’ve watched so far

I love this meme because I feel like it might make me start watching more anime again. For years now I've spent far more time studying and reading manga than actually watching anime, and there are so many things I haven't seen.

Favorite anime is a really tough call, but I think the award would have to go to

Rurouni Kenshin was one of the first series I properly saw when I went searching for anime in a major way (I always wanted to watch more anime, but it wasn't until I moved to CT that I found rental stores that carried it), and it's still one of the very best. I think my favorite part is how it kicks you in the gut with characters' backstories every.single.time. -- even and perhaps especially the villains. I prefer the lightness of the TV series to the darkness of the OVAs and movies, though.

Runners-up would be Escaflowne and Fushigi Yuugi, both of which I also watched very early in my anime-watching career -- hmm, something is wrong when all your favorites are the ones you saw 10 years ago. I love Escaflowne so much that it possibly ought to have got the award for favorite, but RK edged it out for epic awesome.

Hey, maybe now that I can sort of read Japanese, I should go back and read all those Rurouni Kenshin volumes I bought when I was still trying to decipher the difference between "ru" and "ro".

Everyone feel free to pile on with their nominations for favorite in the comments!

Now back to grading.

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The three you mention are definitely classic. They certainly inspired a lot of emotional investment. In fact, I was just recalling the firefly scene from RK a couple days ago; when I was in grad school, I tracked down a CD containing the piece of music that was in the background during that scene so I could buy it.

Escaflowne is the series that was responsible for getting me into anime fandom. I was only a casual viewer up until that point. Then I took a friend to the campus anime club showings, and she was so enthralled by the first episodes of Escaflowne that she tracked down a club officer to beg for copies of the rest of the series. (I would never have thought to do that. I was far too shy.) The rest is history.

I would be hard-pressed to name a favorite. I would probably go with Fushigi Yuugi due to the depth of emotion I felt for it, along with the quality of the art and the music. (It still has some of my absolute favorite character songs.) However, CardCaptor Sakura has a slight advantage in that it includes both great art and decent music AND a far less tragic ending for most of the characters. Then there's Yuu Yuu Hakusho, which is mainly responsible for getting me into anime fanfic writing...but that's a series where I actually liked the fandom more than the source material.

not Hunter x Hunter?

not Hunter x Hunter?

H×H has its good points, but my opinion of the anime is colored by the current awfulness that is the bug arc in the manga.

I considered listing a couple other series, such as Yami no Matsuei and Basara, but they are both far too short to capture the full drama of the manga. Also, the animation in the Basara anime was pretty bad, which is a shame.

And Kenshin has Saitoh and Hiko.

how it kicks you in the gut with characters' backstories every.single.time. -- even and perhaps especially the villains.

Geez, when did the Japanese uncover this formula (and how did George Lucas manage to screw it up so much in Star Wars)? I was watching Bleach on the Cartoon Network this weekend and we're killing bad guys, and they all have devastating emotional depth. And don't get me started on the first big external kill in Naruto. I mean, I know the tragic backstory and honorable character is what enables us to make former adversaries our best friends in the second season, but if we're just going to kill someone, dear GOD, let them just be EVIL.

Yeah, but for sheer emotional power, it's hard to beat that first Naruto scene - for me, that carried the series a long way (way past when I should have stopped watching :p)

One thing I think One Piece does really well is the balance of "villains who were decent people that got twisted by the messed up world" and "villains who did the twisting up" so you still can have the idea of redemption running through, but there are still the fights where you can freely scream "KILLLLL HIM!!!"

(Sorry, can't pass the opportunity to pimp One Piece by^^)

Back to RK for a moment - I still side with the author of the manga - he totally rejects the OVA's as cannon. There was an interview he did not too long ago (and darn it, I can't find it off hand) where he said something along the lines of "Kenshin really deserved to have some peace and happiness at the end of his life, so that's what I envision when I think about the story beyond where I stopped"

That would be a big problem with me in naming RK among my top anime series, although I really loved it up through the Kyoto arc (which was EPIC and AMAZING). All the filler at the end and the way the OAVs just dropped Kenshin's backstory out of nowhere, eh, not a fan.

Heh, I think the filler arc at the end and the OVAs just don't exist in my head canon.

This is giving me lots of great ideas for series I've always meant to watch and never got around to (*cough* Naruto, One Piece).

Heh, I think the filler arc at the end and the OVAs just don't exist in my head canon.

As it should be!

I don't know if One Piece would be too high in the wackiness content for you, but if you do watch (or read), I recommend giving it a little time to grow on you, because there is actually a lot of really amazing character development and story there behind all the funny.

+1 for really, really amazing character development^^ And the plot is really good too; if you like the shonen formula at all, this is pretty much the distillation of all that is good about it. Add that to an increasingly complex and well paced web of background mysteries and puzzles -

Well, it's no secret that it's my favorite show evar^^

I love One Piece to death, and during a phase of my life when I just don't have the time or energy for much, it is the one series I still follow stubbornly.

It has a wonderful balance of comedy, action and emotional depth. Plot and character development are fleshed out so well, and I have both shed tears and gotten goosebumps just watching certain arcs in the anime. It's an amazing series, and totally worth the watch!

Hey, stop making me want to get into Naruto again!

(Rock Lee 4EVA)

just recently got escaflowne on dvd years and years after having it on vhs. (ack, i'm really dating myself). it's still one anime you can rewatch and still enjoy. even though i liked fushigi yuugi when it was out, i don't think i could watch 'miaaakaaa, tamahoooomee' again. hey, did you read that rurouni kenshin is getting a new anime? <3

I don't remember hearing about the new anime! Think they'll finally do the revenge arc?

that's what fans are speculating. i wouldn't mind seeing a full remake. :)

I was considering this after I saw the topics yesterday, and I thought about Fushigi Yuugi (if I saw it now I'm not sure how I would feel about it, but at the time it really blew me its characters and story), but I think I would have to say Princess Tutu. It's got great characters, drama, humor, and an amazingly epic ending.

Also, I ♥ Fakir

I agree with what several people have said about FY -- it owned my soul at the time I was first watching it, and it's still a favorite, but I don't think it has worn as well. It's harder to rewatch all the way through without getting exasperated with the series' weaknesses. (Miaka may show up on my "most annoying anime character" nomination list later.)

I really need to bump Princess Tutu up higher on my watch list, so many people speak highly of it.

I am one of those weirdos who actually likes Miaka, haha. I love her for sticking by Yui and wanting to help her, no matter how crappy Yui (and the other Seiryuu dudes) treated her. (Though, from Yui's POV, I can also see why she would be mad at Miaki, so.)

You should DEFINITELY watch Tutu! Look, you can get the entire series for 30 bucks, how cheap is that? (Or it's on Netflix, if you want to go an even cheaper route.)

I love her for sticking by Yui and wanting to help her

Oh, I agree, Miaka is a very sweet character at heart, that's probably why I won't name her most annoying in the end. There was just so much screeching, and it got really annoying when every single character had to end up falling in love with her (granted, not really her fault).

One of the things I loved about the Another Story fanfic saga is that it preserved all of Miaka's sweetness and genki-ness without any of the annoyingness.

I might jump on that Tutu box set, that's super cheap, and given the people who've recommended it to me, it's almost a given that I'll want to own it once I've seen it.

I hate ballet, but I love ducks. I'm so conflicted.

But her ballet instructor is a CAT! How can you go wrong?

(Also, just like you don't need to like go to like Hikaru no Go, you don't need to like ballet to like Princess Tutu.)

I'm with you on that...neechan and I actually both rather liked Miaka, for exactly the reasons you name.

Also, FAKIR! <3 Hmm, nother anime I should totally rewatch! (I second your rec! Such a great series!)

Yay, Miaki fans unite! (

collarnojutsu is with us in spirit.)

(I also do not hate Meiling or Chibiusa, lol.)

And Chibiusa was going to be next on my annoying list. You must have high tolerance. ^_^ (It took me a sec to figure out who she was because I mostly know Sailor Moon through the English dubs.)

Oh, ugh, if we are talking about "Rini" it's a different story entirely.

Wow, was she that different in the dub? Another series I need to re-watch (or watch properly, I never did see any of the later episodes). But I'll be having more to say about Sailor Moon soon.

Well, it's partly because her dub voice is so freaking annoying. And partly because my opinion of her character is colored by later episodes, which the dub didn't get to (or rather, by the time the dub got to those episodes, I was no longer interested in the dub).

Heee, I love your top choices! They were all some of my firsts as well (FY was my gateway, aww, happy memories! ^__^), and remain some of my favorites! (My mom and I have both talked of rewatching Kenshin, it's been a while, and I do love that series ever so much!)

Also, randomly, been meaning to contact you for a while now, but um...I suck? Aaaanyway,I'm in MA for the next few months and was wondering, if at some point you have plans to head up towards Boston, if you'd like to hang/fangirl out..?

Ooh, I'd love to! But I'm about to head out of town myself for the next month or so. I'll be back in mid-June, so let's definitely plan to get together after that!

You're also welcome to come down to Hartford and spend a night or two, in the unlikely event you wanted to... the neighborhood doesn't offer much, but I have a big tv, a lot of anime, and a manga room!

head out of town

Latin grading boot camp or the beach?

Both! Beach, then boot camp, which is early this year -- I'll have to fly there directly from DC after the beach.

You know my schedule so well!

Well, I envy half your schedule. Nah, I envy both. I need to find a nice little income boost like boot camp.

I think anyone who has been in my house, or who knows my tastes even a little at all, already knows what my favorite anime HAS to be.

No matter how much I want to pick something new(er) - because there HAVE been other great shows since 1997 - and no matter how many other shows in the same era contributed to my becoming an anime fan for life... it's gotta be Escaflowne. For everything. Everything that made Escaflowne Escaflowne. ♥

I swear 1997 was the annus mirabilis for all things Jafannish. (See how I portmanteau'd Japanese and fannish there? Okay, stop retching.)

1997 is when I was introduced to anime and manga.
1997 - the Odoru Daisousasen TV series aired.
1997 - Hana yori Dango aired
1997 - the second volume of Love Mode was originally published (which, yes, is more important than the first).

I am frozen in 1997.

I've been re-reading lists of when X anime came out, and I am amazed by the sheer quantity of classics that appeared between 1997 and 1999. I guess I didn't realize how close to the peak the genre was when I got into it, around 1999 (somehow, it seemed like I was late to the party where everyone else had already known about the good stuff for years).

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Day 2 - Favorite anime you’ve watched so far

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look who's late to the meme!

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