Submitted 8 months ago by mo_lave@reddthat.com to anime@ani.social
Takopi’s Original Sin unsat Violet Evergarden series + 2020 movie as my top 1 when I finished it last week. It’s not perfect perfect, yet I fail to think of any other non-movie anime that is as consistent and complete in its overall quality as this.
For me it was Big O until Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans released. Now, Big O is my favorite 16:9 anime and IBO is my favorite widescreen anime.
Silent Voice replaced Death Note
When?
Probably when I got back into anime again.
Previously, I was more of a casual anime viewer, just watching anime that are highly popular (e.g. SAO), those that my friends recommended (e.g. Infinite Stratos) or just the few that caught my attention (e.g. Gundam 00). That most memorable one from that period is Toradora!, so I shall consider it my previous top one. I haven’t seriously thought about it back then TBH.
What got me back into anime was Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, around the time season 2 was airing (and not long before joining Lemmy).
My initial impression - based on the synopsis and pictures - was: man, how far has Gundam fallen to pander to its audience, focusing on cute girls in their school life instead of its core themes of war and politics. I picked it up just to pass time, with the intention of dropping it at the drop of a hat once I lose interest. But I never did.
The prologue immediately had me reevaluating my preconceived notions and biases. It reminded me that I should not judge a book by its cover; that I should probably try more anime out instead of being so selective.
The main criteria for determining if an anime belongs in my top 10 / favourites are
I enjoyed WfM a lot, I replayed various scenes and episodes (and sometimes whole episodes or even seasons) many times, and most importantly, it got me to check out around 300 anime between then and now.
Naturally, it has to be my top one anime.
WIP
WfM just wasn’t for me. Give me my giant robots beating the shit out of one another with some war stories and politics sprinkled in. And since I’ve never been a high school girl with a budding relationship with another girl that part also didn’t interest me.
But WfM biggest offense for me and makes it an anime that I actually dislike instead of one that just isn’t for me; it’s more loudly vocal fans. The ones who try and snub old school Gundam, IBO, and Thunderbolts. Are all of WfM fans that way? No, of course not. My wife loved WfM and sat with me through IBO and not once did she say IBO was worse.
When Frieren came out. Before that my top was AoT.
I don’t really have a number 1. I love Gurren Lagann and Skip and Loafer equally, but for very different reasons. It’s impossible to compare the two. I guess the most recently I’ve rated an anime 10/10 would be LOOK BACK though. Very emotional movie.
I’ve never had a hard #1. It feels almost vulgar to hold Evangelion, Samurai Champloo, and Golden Boy to the same standard.
But there are definitely shows I pick up on that bring the whole artistic style into a new light. The style and pacing of Frieren, especially early on, left me wondering why I haven’t found an anime like this sooner. The outro music mix in Chainsaw Man sets it apart even beyond the story. Miyazaki’s Spirited Away put all those hack Disney movies in the dust bin.
I don’t think I can pry Full Metal Alchemist out of my brain just to make room for One Piece in the top spot. So much of the appeal of the genre is in the invention and the artistry. It’s a space that still feels fresh and bold and weird in a way American media struggles to compete. But who can rate a Van Gogh against a Rafael or a Picaso? Who would dare to try?
I feel like mine might be odd, because it’s more an emotional response than anything else, but it’s been probably close to 20 years.
Wolfs Rain has flaws, and I’ll be the first to admit that, but nothing manages to hit me in the same way as it does every time. I will binge the whole thing in a night with no regrets.
It was nebulous until I watched Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and that took the top spot. This remained unchanged until it started sharing top spot with Steins;Gate. It hasn’t budged since.
AceFuzzLord@lemmy.zip 8 months ago
I haven’t been watching nearly as much as I used to ( which even then was only a fair amount ), so my favorite hasn’t changed in a few years. My top went from FMA ( which I’m gonna say the most heretic thing according to a subset of rabid MAL users: I like it more than Brotherhood ) to Beastars when season 1 came to netflix outside of Japan.