Favorite Anime

[Lord Il]

And I thought people disliked RWBY?

From what I gather, it has a strong following and seems to be very popular.

It does seem to have a following.
From our RWBY thread, the general opinion of it is being a mediocre series at best.
It had some fun moments here and there but was too riddled with anime clichés out the yin yang.. like it was trying too hard to be something it wasn't - an anime.

[gunswordfist]

i really wonder if vampire hunter d bloodlust could top my list upon a rewatch.

[goody2shoes]

So I finished Giant Robo recently, and it fell just short of being another favorite of mine.

Now, this series had its weaknesses (as all shows do), but my real problem was with the ending. I saw a perfect conclusion coming from a mile away, and then... it didn't really happen. I'd give some more detail in abstract, but suffice to say I thought it held itself back in the final episode story arc-wise. And to top it off you get an unnecessary tease for a sequel, which never became a reality.

In spite of this, I can't help but recommend this series wholeheartedly, especially if you're a fan of Astro Boy, super sentai, and grandiose epics with humanity's future on the line. The animation is some of the best I've ever seen, and the ensemble cast of characters are larger-than-life and so charmingly expressive and well designed. Not to mention the soundtrack. It did so much to heighten the whole experience, and it even pulled at my heart-strings at times. The overarching story, while again, it could have concluded better, tackled surprisingly mature and thought-provoking themes. It really brought Osamu Tezuka to mind for me. It's something I think I would've loved as a kid, because it's fun and action packed without coddling the audience (for the most part).

I could go on and on, but I hope this is enough to make some of you check it out. For me, it's been an experience unlike any other.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Due to a lack of really watching anything new in the past few months, my list has not changed. That said, I thought it would be an interesting endeavor for me to find my favorite episodes of my favorite anime, listed below.

10. Hajime no Ippo
9. Digimon Tamers
8. Kids on the Slope
7. Hunter X Hunter (1999)
6. Trigun
5. Great Teacher Onizuka
4. Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
3. Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid
2. Ashita no Joe 2
1. Yu Yu Hakusho

10. "Heartbroken" Reason: This is the aftermath to Ippo's first major defeat, and it takes his character to an emotional state that we haven't previously seen him in. As I said on my recent battle shonen list, I actually love to see characters deal with failure, and this is a good example of that.

9. "Shadow of the Beast King" Reason: If ever one moment has made an episode for me, it's this one. Any Digimon fan knows that Beelzemon summoning up the strength to use the Fist of the Beast King leads to one of the most heart-wrenching scenes to ever be aired on a kids show.

8. "Lullabys of Birdland" Reason: It's hard to explain my love of this show in general, let alone this episode, but let's just say that it appeals to me so much because I can relate to it on a personal level.

7. "Feelings X Hopelessness X The Spider's Downfall" Reason: This is just an excellent character piece, and really shows how masterful Togashi is at writing interesting, complex villains.

6. "Sin" Reason: It was no easy choice picking a favorite episode of this show, but Sin won out for essentially delving into the core of what makes Vash such a great hero....and then smashes it in his face. It brings him to a head with the greatest villain of the series, and yes, this delves into the core of Legato's character as well. This comes off the heels of an already amazing and tragic episode, and it brings the characters down to their lowest point. Legato actually wins the encounter. He gets Vash to kill him. He gets Vash to take a life. While the end of the series proves that Vash is still a great person and can uphold the morals that Rem taught him, it would not have been nearly as rewarding to see without this episode sending him into a huge pit to climb up and out of.

5. "Compromising Positions" Reason: As far as stand-alone episodes go, this is my personal favorite. Uchiyamada is a really entertaining character, and his interactions with Onizuka produce some of the funniest moments on the show.

4. "War in the Pocket" Reason: Really a no-brainer here. As a 6-episode miniseries, this is the culmination of our two protagonists' character arcs, and it leads up to an excellent climax.

3. "Her Problem" Reason: This is my personal favorite because it took a relatively irritating and underdeveloped character and made them independent and actually showed them to be a lot more competent than I previously knew. It was also intense, very different from the rest of the series, and worked beautifully as a character piece. Now, "His Problem" would've been my favorite had it not been for a single scene that nearly botched the whole episode for me.

2. "The Christmas Eve Gift" Reason: To be honest, this isn't so much my favorite part of the series as much as it is my favorite stand-alone piece in a series where episodes mostly blend together. Despite their intense rivalry, this episode shows us how similar Joe Yabuki and Carlos Rivera really are, and in turn says a lot about Joe's character through their interactions, in subtle ways without the constant need for dialogue. That makes a for a really good piece of animation in its own right.

1. "Sensui's Fall" Reason: I've already explained this one in-depth before. Just look for my top 10 favorite episodes on the YYH thread. No further explanation is necessary.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Okay, then. I would probably do my own, but almost all of my favorites are the final episodes (except YYH, but everyone already knows my favorite episode of that) so it would be fairly boring.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Here's my YYH piece from the thread if anyone wants to read my reasoning for this episode being my favorite:

1. Sensui's Fall (Episode #077)



If you know me, it really shouldn't surprise you that this is my favorite episode. I was considering whether I should put an episode that had a bit more of everything the series had to offer, like its humor and the great characterization and chemistry among the main characters of the series, but really I just can't deny that this is the episode I re-watch the most, and its basically my favorite of the entire series. Why is that? Well, it exemplifies what Togashi excels at, and that's writing great villains. And YYH always stood out to me from the beginning for how well crafted its villains were. This episode itself was a real turning point of the Chapter Black arc, as well, as it cements in how psychologically disturbed Sensui is, and at the time when I was used to the typical villains who followed nothing more than DBZ logic of wanting to be the strongest or taking over planets or whatnot, this was really something special that I honestly hadn't seen before. I know it has been done before, but it holds a special place for me since it was the first time I saw in an animated show how there could be so much more to a villain. This kind of stuff was true in Batman: The Animated Series, Gargoyles, and other older cartoons, but I didn't discover that about either of those series until I watched them back just a few years ago, so YYH is the first time I really got exposed to this kind of thing.

Either way, Sensui was and still is an excellent villain, and this episode explains why he's such a fascinating character. The episode features Koenma coming down to Earth to finally spill the beans about Sensui's identity as Yusuke's predecessor as Spirit Detective, which was a detail that he had been hiding until that point until he was absolutely sure of who they were dealing with (they hadn't confirmed that Sensui was Black Angel until just now by this point in the series). The majority of the episode then features Koenma narrating Sensui's basic back-story, and you get to learn about how he was recruited for his rare spiritual gifts since he was just a boy. The problem, as Koenma points out, were just how strong his "righteous" beliefs were. He gladly accepted his duty as Spirit Detective and he was a damn talented agent, being very physically fit and highly skilled, not to mention far more sophisticated and intelligent than Yusuke ever was. The interesting thing here is that this came with a price. Sensui believed strongly in black and white principles. There was either good or evil, Clear right or clear wrong, with absolutely nothing in-between. In a way I can't help but feel that this was sort of Togashi's way of pointing out how shallow many shonen villains AND heroes were at the time, even if they were awesome and classic characters.

Once again, without spoiling anything, Sensui's beliefs and perception of good and evil became totally distorted during a certain incident where, as Koenma put it, he was exposed to "truckloads of gray," during a certain mission. Suddenly Sensui came to the realization that the humans he had sworn to protect could be just as dirty and underhanded as the demons he killed on a daily basis, if not more so. To any normal person they could sort out for themselves that there are good people in this world and there are bad people, and seeing some bad people doesn't mean that all people are bad, and vice versa. They would also have realized that in the world of YYH, not all demons have to be evil just because they are of a different species that were just labeled with that stereotypical connotation. But if you didn't get it by now, without having to flat-out tell you like some other anime would, Koenma is basically telling you that Sensui is and always was fucking crazy. His ideologies were flat-out unrealistic, the type a young kid who has yet to experience the world would have. His beliefs were the only thing that kept him mentally stable, and once those were shattered, he of course had a complete psychological breakdown, which lead to his eventual disappearance, but as Koenma points out, mysteriously the Chapter Black tape disappeared with him as well, leaving a constant worry that he would eventually return for the worse in the back of Koenma's mind (which of course bothers Koenma because Sensui and his consequent breakdown and turn to the dark side were all his responsibility as the one who recruited him).

Another great thing about this episode is that it tells you so much about Yusuke as well. Watch it again and think about it. Why would Koenma pick a punk like Yusuke to be the next Spirit Detective when it was clearly shown very early on in the series that there were plenty of other humans with spirit powers, many of who were more intelligent than Yusuke and even more skilled at the time who very well could have been likely candidates to fill in the role. The thing is, Yusuke has a heart and all that mushy shit, but he also doesn't think too much. This was never established as a reason for picking Yusuke in the beginning of the series, but this episode is so damn good that it manages to make sense of that anyways and it doesn't feel like a plot-hole or written out of nowhere at all. Yusuke himself was always sort of a morally gray character. Sure, he'd do what was right most of the time, and he was a bit weary of taking a human life himself as seen in the episode "Sleep, Doctor, Sleep," but it was also established that he'd kill if he had to, and that he realized from early on that their are slimy and sleezy humans and that not all demons were evil. He's the type of character who would also do what it takes to win even if it was not in the noblest of ways, though he would prefer the honorable way if he had a choice. The point is, Yusuke was a street punk before he became a Spirit Detective. He himself was seen as a delinquent by society and partook in fights and took pride in the fact that he wasn't a typical goody-goody like mostly everyone else his age was. In other words, he was a good guy with a MUCH more mentally stable state of mind than Sensui ever was, and thus was a better candidate. This episode is so damn good that it tells you so much about the hero in contrast to the villain without directly comparing either of them and just being a back-story for the villain.

Really, for anyone who says that YYH is nothing but DBZ-style fights and just another generic shonen, they just don't know what the hell they are talking about. I can fully admit that this show is far from the perfect masterpiece that I used to think it was, but I also know that its still a legitimately great show and that I don't just love it out of nostalgia. To me, its the quint-essential shonen anime to watch and no other episode exemplifies its brilliance more than this one for me.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Dragon Ball Opening 2 with the English theme

How come Funi never used the second OP? It would have been like them ignoring the second and third openings for YYH. Just strange.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Great list, E-K! Those are all great episodes. I especially appreciate you choosing "The Christmas Gift" for AnJ2, since that's also my favorite standalone episode from the series, and a great example of expanding on a scene/moment from the manga and making it even better, which is no easy feat considering the excellency of the AnJ manga. Your 0080 and TSR choices also happen to be my favorites from those respective series as well. 

I did a top 11 episodes list two years back, I think, but not that many of my current top ten were represented on there and my opinions have changed on some things anyway, so I'll post my own list of top favorite episodes from my top favorite anime sometime this weekend when I have the time.

Dragon Ball Opening 2 with the English theme

How come Funi never used the second OP? It would have been like them ignoring the second and third openings for YYH. Just strange.

They never used any other versions of "Romantic Ageruyo" besides the first one either, I believe. It's just one of those bizarre decisions FUNi has made involving the DB franchise over the years, like not keeping the original OPs for DBZ on the Orange Brick sets even though they still used the original ED's, for instance. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Thanks, CX. AnJ was incredibly hard to choose for because I could pick almost any episode from the series and it would be great. But something about TCEG really did strike me in particular, and it helps that it's sort of self-contained as its own mini-story within the grand scheme of things.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Favorite Anime Per Studio:

A-1 Pictures: Magi: The Labyrinth/Kingdom Of Magic (Honorable Mention- Space Brothers)
Bones: Ouran High School Host Club
Gainax: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Gonzo: Gankutsuou: The Count Of Monte Cristo
Kyoto Animation: Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid
MadHouse: Trigun; Movies- Summer Wars, Ninja Scroll
Mappa: Kids on the Slope
Nippon Animation: Hunter X Hunter 1999
Pierrot: Yu Yu Hakusho (Honorable Mention- Level E)
Production IG: Eden of the East (TV)
Shaft: Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Sunrise: Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
TMS Entertainment: Ashita no Joe 2
Toei Animation: Digimon Tamers
Trigger: Kill La Kill
Ufotable: Fate/Zero
Xebec: Zoids: Chaotic Century/Guardian Force

[gunswordfist]

I didn't even know Madhouse did Trigun.

[LumRanmaYasha]

4*C: Mind Game
A-1 Pictures: Silver Spoon
A.C.G.T.: Kino's Journey
Ajia-do: Maison Ikkoku: The Final Chapter
Artland: Mushi-shi
Bones: Space Dandy
Brain's Base: Princess Jellyfish
Comet: School Rumble
David Production: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (2012)
Deen: Maison Ikkoku
Gainax: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Gallop: Rurouni Kenshin
Ghibli: The Wind Rises
Gonzo: Welcome to the NHK
Group TAC: Area 88 (2004)
J.C. Staff: Revolutionary Girl Utena
Khara: Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance
Kyoto Animation: Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid
Lerche: Carnival Phantasm
MadHouse: Trigun
Magic Bus: Urusei Yatsura 5: The Final Chapter
Manglobe: Samurai Champloo
Mappa: Kids on the Slope
Nippon Animation: Hunter X Hunter (1999)
OLM: Berserk
Pierrot: Urusei Yatsura
Polygon Pictures: Knights of Sidonia
Production IG: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Shaft: Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Shin-Ei: Shin-chan
Sunrise: Cowboy Bebop
TMS Entertainment: Ashita no Joe 2
Toei Animation: Dragon Ball
Topcraft: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Triangle Staff: Serial Experiments Lain
Trigger: Kill La Kill
Ufotable: Fate/Zero
White Fox: Jormungand
Xebec: Martian Successor Nadesico

[Spark Of Spirit]

I didn't even know Madhouse did Trigun.

Madhouse did a lot of good stuff. I'm surprised with a lot of their best stuff, actually.

[gunswordfist]

They are actually my favorite anime animation studio.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

They aren't perfect, though. Nippon has the superior version of HXH, IMO.