I hope those of you in the United States are having (or had) a very nice Thanksgiving. Holiday or not, it is still a Thursday, so that means it is time for Part 5 of ArizUtaku's "Top 50 Anime of the 2000s" series.
Seizing the #30 slot is one of the greatest anime comedies of all time, and easily the best season of the Full Metal Panic series: Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu.
Plot summary (from ANN): It's back-to-school mayhem with Kaname Chidori and her war-freak classmate Sousuke Sagara as they encounter more misadventures in and out of Jindai High School. But when Kaname gets into some serious trouble, Sousuke takes the guise of Bonta-kun - the gun-wielding, butt-kicking mascot. And while he struggles to continue living as a normal teenager, Sousuke also has to deal with protecting his superior officer Teletha Testarossa, who has decided to take a vacation from Mithril and spend a couple of weeks as his and Kaname's classmate.
For starters, this was Kyoto Animation's first foray into FMP, and you've got to give them props for deciding to throw all that is serious out the window and doing a parody of itself. This doesn't always work, mind you; but Fumoffu sets the bar very high for self-parody (and comedy in general) done right.
Most of the series is split up into half-episode vignettes, which works beautifully. Not to mention ADV's English dub is one of the best ever produced. Sousuke is Chris Patton's career role. He captures the deadpan, socially clueless nature of the character brilliantly. The writing is fearless, throwing all kinds of hilarity at you, with nearly all of it causing gut-busting, roll-on-the-floor laughter. If you've never seen FMP, start with Fumoffu. The other two series pale in comparison.
At #29 is studio Gonzo's last truly great production: Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo. Wait, didn't I already say that about Last Exile? No, not quite. Last Exile is Gonzo's last truly great ORIGINAL production. Gankutsuou came later, and it is an adaptation to boot.
Plot summary (from ANN): Trying to escape his uneventful life, Albert, the son of a renowned general from Paris, makes a journey with his friend Franz. During his travels, he meets an immensely wealthy nobleman named The Count of Monte Cristo. Living in luxurious hotels, surrounded by beautiful women and strong bodyguards, the charming but enigmatic count fascinates Albert. Albert invites the count to join the high society of Paris. However, unknown to Albert, his father had once framed the count and took the Count's fiancee as his own.
Many people should know why this anime got so much attention. Its revolutionary, experimental art style is a feast for the eyes. Plus, it's a novel twist on a classic story. Setting "The Count of Monte Cristo" in the future with supernatural and even solar elements is a pretty big undertaking, and Gonzo does an admirable job with it. Yes, the story is a melodrama, but its a melodrama done extremely well. The characters are fascinating, the storyline is gripping, the music is great, etc.
This is a series that had me hooked from start to finish. It's too bad Romeo x Juliet didn't turn out nearly as well as Gankutsuou.
At #28 is the fantastic fantasy anime: The Twelve Kingdoms.
Plot summary (from ANN): Yoko Nakajima, an unhappy high school student, is one day suddenly faced with a strange man who swears allegiance to her. After a battle with demon-like beasts, he then takes her to another world along with two of her classmates. There, her appearance has changed and she can understand the language even though her classmates cannot. But their status as "Kaikyaku" (people who come from Earth) makes them hunted fugitives, so they wander the land of the 12 countries, simply trying to survive and to figure out the reason why they were brought to this world.
This one of the many unfortunate anime that badly need a sequel, but will probably never get one. Still, this is one of those series that is required viewing in spite of the terrible ending. The production values are top notch (especially the breathtaking artistry) and the writing is great. Of course, much of the writing can be attributed to Fuyumi Ono's original novels; but the changes that were made in the anime do work very well on their own. The world building and political upheaval are both fascinating, and the musical scoring is gorgeous.
After viewing the anime, be sure to read the novels. It's probably the only way we'll be able to continue the story.
At #27 Dennō Coil is one of my most-wanted licenses. I mean, why hasn't this been picked up? It's science fiction, and it was animated by Madhouse. Maybe Sentai Filmworks will pick this up eventually. They seem to pick up what you least expect.
Plot summary (from ANN): Eleven years after the introduction of internet-connected, augmented reality eyeglasses and visors, Yūko Okonogi moves with her family to Daikoku City, the technological center of the emerging half-virtual world. Yūko joins her grandmother's "investigation agency" comprised of children equipped with virtual tools and powerful metatags. She quickly crosses paths with Yūko Amasawa, an expert hacker of the virtual environment, as Amasawa relentlessly seeks to "unlock" the mystery of a computer virus that emerges from an inaccessible corrupted space.
This show is just so much fun. The plot that kicks in later on in the series leaves a bit to be desired, but the episodic stories that make up most of the series are just so creative and delightful to watch. Perhaps my favorite is the one with those "facial hair people." Man, that episode was just so funny. Of course, there's also the concept of the digital world and the glasses. Mitsuo Iso definitely has great talent, he just needs to work on his writing a little bit when it comes to plots -- he's great with more aimless, episodic stuff, and laying a very believable sci-fi foundation. Not to mention Kyoko is perhaps the most delightful, realistically portrayed little girl you'll see in anime. Hope Iso gets more chances to write/direct an anime.
Gurren Lagann at #26 is considered by many as the greatest anime of all time. I don't think it deserves such acclaim, but it is still a mighty fine series. Mighty enough to make it into the middle of this list.
Plot summary (from ANN): In their closed-off underground village, Kamina and Simon chafe at the limits imposed by the village elder. Yet all this will change, when Simon stumbles across a fantastic device - just as the village's peace is broken by a violent intrusion.
This is another show that is just so much fun. So much energy! When I first watched this, I stopped watching after episode seven. Once I saw the terrible, spoiler-filled preview for episode eight, I gave up. They killed off my favorite character, and I was very mad about it. But, I later decided to continue and got hooked. I loved it all the way to the end. The series has its share of flaws (mostly writing-related and also the many times when the series gets too serious), but since its cup runneth over with energy most of the time, that helps things even out. Too bad the English dub leaves a little to be desired. I'm not saying it isn't worth watching in English, but it's a fact that the Japanese is much better. Still, this series is a terrific homage to old school mecha shows. Plus, Yoko is one of the most attractive female anime characters around and she actually has a (very fiery) personality to boot.
With part 5 now being considered complete, this project is now officially halfway to the finish line. With her warm and friendly smile, Aoi Sakuraba invites you to check out part 6 next week!
4 comments:
Oh good, I was hoping Gurren Lagann would get a spot on this list! :D Certainly far from being the best anime series ever made, I can agree to that, but more than well enough deserving to be on a list like this, not to mention one of my top 3 all time favorites.
I definitely have to agree with Deno Coil as one of the most desireable licenses though. No reason why it shouldn't be by any measure. In fact I can actually see it having quite a bit of sucess in the States.
Well, I am one of the few that don't consider TTGL to be that good (tried watching it, but it bored me). I'm following this closely. I wonder what'll be #1.
Gurren Lagann was okay, I admit it had lots of action, but not my cup of tea. Still, it's one of my favorite mecha animes, despite me not liking the genre.
Looks like two shows that I hold in very high esteem made the list. Fumoffu? is one of the funniest things I've ever watched, anime or otherwise and has a standout first rate ENG dub. I dare say it is up there with FLCL's & maybe Cowboy Bebop's.
And I am one of those rabid mecha fans that thinks TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN is the best, if not one of the best, series ever created Yoko is love, Simon is hope and Kamina is GUTS!
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