My Top 10 List
1. Please Save My Earth
This has always got to be my favorite manga and anime series. It's so beautiful, especially the animation as well as the story. It's a 21 volume manga series and a 6 OVA anime series along with the movie and gorgeous Music Image Video. If you go back to the main page I have a link that goes to my suggest page. There you can find my little (I really shouldn't say little, the word IMMENSE, more fits the category)summary of the story and a whole bunch of other junk. The OVA was only 6 episodes, so they left out a lot of the story in the manga. The movie was like a "trip back in time" of the OVA's with new footage. Unless you have knowledge of the rest of the manga series, you might not be able to understand what some of the scenes mean. Same goes with the Music Image Video, absolutely lovely. Since it was such a short OVA, it left fans with many questions, but it's still a very good story. The story has intricate characters and the music is wonderful with the story. The author of the manga was Hiwatari Saki, it ran in Hakuensha's Hana to Yume magazine. As for comparing the storyline of this show to another drama's like Hana Yori Dango, I like it a bit better, there is a downside though. Whereas HYD is a 51 episode series, PSME as a 6 OVA episode anime does not have enough time to bring out the full story. If it were longer it would be much better, if it had been made into a TV series instead, the animation quality might possibly have been a little lower. personally I find the anime characters look much prettier than the manga characters, but Hiwatari seems to have put a little more humor into the manga than what was brought into the OVA.
2. The Vision of Escaflowne
The Vision of Escaflowne is also another wonderful series. The story includes mecha, action, and romance. With a fabulous music done by Mizoguchi Hajime and Kanno Yokko (Kanno also did Please Save My Earth, not sure on Mizoguchi though) who could resist? The story sucks you in and the music definately helps to bring out the whole experience. New twists come around every corner, and things may get complicated at times, but this is one of the very best series you'll ever come across. Check my suggest page for more details on story and plot. There is two different Escaflowne mangas, a shounen and shoujo one. I've heard that both are not like the story and were made just to make a bit more money of Escaflowne's sucess. There is also an Escaflowne movie. It has even better animation, but the characters look very different and the story is also very different. The music is still done by Mizoguchi and Kanno, but has a bit of a different tone to it.
3. Hana Yori Dango (NEW!)
Just recently added to my list of top 10 favories. Hana Yori Dango is about a middle class 16-year-old girl who enters a super elite school for the rich. Her name is Makino Tsukushi and she hates her new school! The students run everything and the teachers have nothing to say about it. At the head of all the students are the "F4", the four most popular and richest boys at Eitoku Gakuen (Eitoku Academy). The leader of the F4 is the richest guy in the school named Doumyoji Tsukasa, and Tsukushi hates him with a vengence for his, and the F4's, cruelty. All four guys are great looking, but one guy, Hanazawa Rui (or Louis) seems a bit different from the rest. Tsukushi immediately is drawn into his marble eyes and his quiet deepness. The real story begins however when Tsukushi stands up to Doumyoji for her friend Makiko. After infuriating Doumyoji by defying him, she is soon "red tagged" by the F4. The red card is the symbol of war for the F4. Soon Tsukushi finds herself the target of the cruelty of the other students having her desk stolen and eggs chucked at her. She then resolves to fight back the rich prim people with her "weed power". The next day she comes prepared for the other students taunts and egg throwing and she then takes Doumyoji's red card and kicks him in the face! She then sticks his own red card on his forehead and declares war on him! Now does that sound interesting or what? There is much more to say, but let's just include the fact that this is a drama and pretty much like a soap opera. It is very addicting and emotional. When I first saw the opening sequence "Not an Ordinary Sunday" I immediately thought this was going to bad. The OP was set like a broadway musical, but the OP doesn't really relate much to the real and full storyline of the story.
I'll try to get an image up soon
4. Hime-chan's Ribbon
When I first saw pictures of this series, I immediately regretted requesting it, but it turned out to be one of my very favorites. The animation isn't the sleakist or smooth, but is rather more like "old" style. It's not meant to be flashy like most of the new series are. One of the many reasons I love this show is because it's a magical girl series with out a real "evil" entity. It's very pure and innocent. The young charcters are so cute and funny, you'll really have fun with this series. Now it may sound really childish, but it does have it's mature and serious moments that come in at just the right time. The anime also has a lot of good messages, like being yourself is the best way, the consequences of breaking the rules, you should think before you act, and not to use magic carelessly ^_^. It also shows the great friendship between Daici and Hime-chan. I also have a little speel on this show on my suggest page.
5. Key the Metal Idol
Key was one of my very first "real" anime series. The best thing about this series has got to be it's music. They took real live idols for voice actors, so they actually sung the parts where there were singing. The whole series has an eerie and mysterious quality to it. New secrets are uncovered which you must string together to realize the truth (and if you can't do that, there's an episode that explains it all. It's awfully long for an OVA series, 16 long episodes. One of the cons of this series is that things get very confusing at times. Part of the story suggest one thing at the begininng, but at the end it tells another. Whichever is the real truth, I'm not sure, but it's still a cool series. After all, who can resist idol singers and great music? For a summary of the plot, go to my suggest page.
6. Neon Genesis Evangelion
EVA takes a dive into the pyschological world of the human race. We get glimpses of the many different characters and their problems, whether they hate themself, can't stop running away, can't find self-worth, hating your parent, or feeling emotions for the first time. Don't expect to ever understand everything. There is a site that has a lot of information on it, but I don't have the url. The show combines mecha action, Christian beliefs, instrumentality, and delves into the dephs of the human mind. Read my summary of it at my suggest page.
7. Kiki's Delivery Service
Another great Miyazaki-Ghibli film. As usual the colors are so smooth and crisp and the animation has realism incorporated into it. The story is light-hearted and consist of a 10 year-old witch who must venture out on her own for training. Along with her talking cat Jiji, Kiki moves to a city by the sea and starts her own flying delivery service. When she begins to doubt herself, strange things start to happen... Anyway it's a very good story with above par animation. If you liked any of the Miyazaki films, then your bound to like this one.
8. Fruits Basket
Fruits Basket is based on the manga of the same name by Takaya Natsuki. It is a funny and sweet story about a girl named Honda Tohru who comes to live with the "prince" of her school, Sohma Yuki, and his cousin. The thing is, the Sohma's share a shocking secret, whenever a they are hugged by a member of the opposite sex, the turn into one of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. The director, Daichi Akitaroh, who also directed Jubei-chan, does a great job in bringing out the humor and love from the original manga.
9. Fushigi Yuugi
One of my very favorite dramas. It's filled with fantasy and magic, along with romance and rivalry. The story can be very heart wretching at times, but also absolutely hilarous the next. People who started off as friends turn into enemies while secrets and hardships are revealed along the way. It really is a romantic-drama, so if you're not into that, you might not like it. Another summary can be found here.
10. Kareshi Kanojo no Jijyou (Kare Kano) - His and Her Circumstances
From Studio Gainax, the same people who made Evangelion comes a shoujo anime based on the popular manga by Tsuda Masami. This is one of the best animes I have seen yet, it is very contemplative and interspective. The music goes fantastically with the feel of it and it's hard not to get addicted. This is extremely hilarious, but it's full of drama, plot, and beauty. The story is thus, Miyazawa Yukino, the self-professed queen of vanity who wears the mask of a model student was planning to enter high school as the top student and rack up all the praise for being the smartest and cutest girl in school, unfortunately, she's been beaten... by a guy who's just as handsome and smart as she is! Yukino then goes on an all-out mission to beat Arima Soichiriou, but what happens when he finds out her secret? The answer is touching and hilarious, this is an extremely deep anime.
I created this list for anyone who wanted to try new anime, but weren't sure what was good out there. These are my personal favorites, and the list is always changing as I watch more and reconsider, any questions feel free to e-mail me.
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