Day 2 - Favorite anime you’ve watched so far

[sara_tanaquil]

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.

Comments

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

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.

[mangaroo.livejournal.com]

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.

[nokiirat.livejournal.com]

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

[wednesday-10-00.livejournal.com]

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

[gnine.livejournal.com]

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..?

look who's late to the meme!

[collarnojutsu.livejournal.com]

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. ♥