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The first decade of the formerly-new millennium is coming to a close, so it’s natural that everyone wants to have a go at recollecting it. The biggest trend so far has been talking about some of your favorite, or otherwise all of the noteworthy shows you saw this decade. I thought about doing that, but I realized there was a bigger fish to fry. I’m not just going to talk about some shows I liked – instead, what I have done is compiled a list of every single worthwhile anime of the past decade. I will now take a few paragraphs to explain to you how this was possible.

The idea here is that there are about 200+ shows worth taking with us into the next decade. What does that mean? New fans, upon looking back on the anime they need to see, will often ask things like ‘what are the best 80s or 90s anime?’ When they look back on this decade, there will be an enormous expanse of shows that are not only worthwhile, but easy to find. Let’s take away the guesswork for those people (and many of ourselves, while we’re at it). Let’s create a definitive list of every show worth watching from the past decade and simply let the other shows all fade into the depth of time.

How did I create such a list? A lot of it comes from my own opinion, but I have also read literally hundreds of ‘favorites lists’ in my years as an otaku, and then I went back and looked back at many more for reference while making the list – the wealth of ‘top 50 of the past decade’ lists linked above helped a lot here, too. As such, I have a good sense of what people do or don’t like and what’s popular. Out of the 200 initial shows on this list there are about 70 that I have not seen personally, or have only seen a few episodes of and don’t really know well.

And I am not saying that this is a complete list. If you have more shows to add, by all means, comment and give us the reasons that show should be taken into the next generation, but please read the coming rules first and post your comments in the same format as I am listing the shows. In addition, if you feel that my write-up for a show I haven’t seen is inadequate or nonexistent, you may write one for me and I will edit the post with it. As for what shows to add, don’t just add any old show you ‘kind-of liked’. Add in shows that you honestly would see yourself rewatching years from now, and especially add in any of your favorites that I may have missed.

The initial list I created consisted of about 270 shows with the possibility of being taken with us. 20 of those shows were eliminated from the list (and you can see that original list here, though a great number of changes have been made as this post was being written). The remaining 50-or-so were added onto the list as ‘if-you-liked-this’ placements – in other words, shows that I might not fully recommend, but are still worth watching if you liked the show they are listed next to (you’ll understand when you see it.) I have done a lot of grouping, mostly of different seasons of the same show, but in some cases I combined shows of the same franchise.

THE ORDER OF THE LIST IS COMPLETELY INCONSEQUENTIAL. IT IS BASED ON HOW MUCH I ENJOYED THE SHOWS. Number 200-131 are all anime that I have not seen yet, and therefor are ordered randomly. You should not consider the order of the first 130 an indication of worth, because my tastes are totally varied from yours (you may also consider it a list of my ‘favorite 130 shows of the decade,’ but I still wouldn’t trust the organization.) Suffice it to say, every item on this list, numbered or otherwise, is worth watching for someone. (Incidentally, if you are reading this post in the name of entertainment and not as a contributor, you’ll probably want to skip straight to number 130.) To make it easier to decide if a show is something you want to watch (because even a decade from now, it’ll only be the sickos like me who actually try to watch all 200 shows) I have provided descriptions, genre approximations, and episode counts.

These are the comments I do not want to read: “Why isn’t X on the list?!” – If you want X on the list, do a comment wherein you talk about the show, and that comment will be considered ‘post canon.’ “Why did you put X ahead of X?!” or “Why is X numbered and not X?!” or even “Why is X listed under X?!” – once again, every show on the list is worth watching for someone, the numbers are just my personal feelings. Any comment with these messages will either be deleted or the text be replaced with something like ‘I am a pussy bitch’ or some other odd insult.

ONE MORE NOTE: For a show to be on this list, it must have begun post-1999 (meaning no One Piece, Infinite Ryvius, Turn A Gundam, or Now and Then, Here and There) – keep this rule in mind when adding to the list. I also am not counting Banner of the Stars, the Hunter X Hunter OVA, or anything else that is a direct sequel to something from the previous century. I will, however, include Rurouni Kenshin Tsuiokuhen, because it is such a huge gap and is enjoyable on it’s own.

Anyway, here is my list of the 200 + shows that I think we can bring with us into the next decade. A ‘canon’ if you will, a ‘recommendation database’ perhaps.

200. 30th Gundam Perfect Mission (2-min. short) + Gundam Evolve (15 shorts) + Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (25 eps.) (+ Second Season (25. eps)) + Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO (6 OVA eps) + Mobile Suit Gundam Seed (50 eps) (+Movies, specials, and Destiny (50 eps.)) + Mobile Suit Gundam Battlefield Record: Avant-Title (7-min. short) (Mecha, Action, Drama, Military) – Every decade is bound to give birth to a wealth of additions to the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, and this one is no exception. Unfortunately, the only additions to the ‘canon’ Gundam (Universal Century) were shorts, but some would say that side stories Gundam Seed and Gundam 00 are worth your time. The inclusion of every Gundam series in the past decade was important because, well, there’s no such thing as an insignificant Gundam anime.

- Overman King Gainer (26 eps.) (Mecha, Action, Military) - Another show from the creator of Gundam, Yoshiyuki Tomino. Overman King Gainer is confusing at best and messy at worst, but big fans of mech anime and especially fans of Yoshiyuki Tomino may find a lot to enjoy in this show. It’s got great production values, character designs, and an amazing opening video, so by all means, give it a try.

199. Macross Frontier (26 eps.) (+ Movie) + Macross Zero (5 eps.) (Mecha, Action, Romance, Drama) - Like Gundam, Macross is one of the most important franchises in anime, and it, too, has it’s fair share of incarnations (though far fewer.) This decade had the prequel OVA Macross Zero and the throwback new anime Macross Frontier which also has a movie in Japanese theaters at the time of this writing. Both series incarnations sport incredible production values and are worthwhile for newcomers and veterans to the franchise alike.

198. Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z-Hen on television (26 eps.) (Mecha, Action, Drama, Old-school) – An immensely epic new series in the long-running and precious Mazinger series started by Go Nagai in the 70s. It is directed by one of the greatest directors of our time, Yasuhiro Imagawa, and from what I’ve seen is an unforgettable experience. Fans of epic mech anime need look no further than this series. Also released this decade was the quite nice 7-episode OVA Mazinkaiser from the same franchise.

- Shin Getter Robo (13 eps.) (Mecha, Action, Old-School) – More epic, manly mecha action from a long-running Go Nagai series.

197. Saki (25 eps.) (School, Sports, Drama, Comedy, Fanservice, Yuri) – A show that is as much a sports-style anime as a fanservice series, it has excellent character designs, production values, and yuri overtones on the backdrop of a story about mahjong players moving up the ranks in the pure spirit of shounen sports stories. A good combination that works surprisingly well. Recommended especially to people who know how to play mahjong. Voted 3rd-best anime of 2009 by 2-channel.

- Kanamemo (13 eps.) (Comedy, Fanservice, Yuri) – Another very well-made fanservice show from the same year which had a bigger emphasis on comedy and a much bigger emphasis on yuri overtones (if you can even call them overtones.) Recommended for those who liked Saki mostly for the fanservice and yuri elements.

196. Interstella 5555 (Movie) (Sci-fi, Drama, Music Video) – One of the most unique projects of the decade, Interstella 5555 is like a music video, except it covers an entire album – specifically, the Discovery album by Daft Punk. The movie is also the brainchild of the magnificent Leiji Matsumoto, one of the most esteemed anime creators in history, known especially for the Captain Harlock, Space Battleship Yamato, and Galaxy Express 999 series. (The later of which had an incarnation this decade called The Galaxy Railways (26 eps.) (+ Second Season (24 eps.) + Movie) – your mileage may vary with that one.)

- Space Symphony Maetel (13 eps.), Cosmo Warrior Zero (13 eps.) (+ Gaiden (2 eps.)), and Gun Frontier (13 eps.) – More shows based on manga by Leiji Matsumoto. The first of which Matsumoto-fan Anime Kritik tells me is particularly great, and the third of which is the Wild-West version of the Harlock universe, the manga for which is quite amazing. All three series are included for similar reasons to the Macross and Gundam inclusions.

195. K-On! (13 eps) (+ OVA + 7 Short Specials) (School, Comedy, Slice-of-life, Music) – A hugely popular short series from Kyoto Animation, the dominant animation studio of the second half of the decade. Set a record in Japan for blu-ray DVD sales (which was taken months later by Bakemonogatari) and was rated 4th-best anime of 2009 by 2-channel. Recommended to fans of the ‘moe-style’ anime of the decade, especially for it’s high production values and the fact that it is done by Kyoto Animation.

194. Michiko to Hatchin (22 eps.) (Action, Adventure, Drama) - I don’t have a good summary – I will say that the show has excellent production values and is highly unique for being an action-adventure set in Brazil, but I dropped it, so someone else will have to share the plot.

- El Cazador de la Bruja (26 eps.) (Action, Adventure, Drama) - More fun south-of-the border. This show about 2 girls traveling Mexico and getting into lots of gunfights set to a nice soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura was the only show from studio Bee-Train that I could stand, even though it was still marred by the studio’s terrible production quality and tendency for painstakingly slow-moving stories. Many would consider the show’s sister-series Noir (26 eps.) and Madlax (26 eps.) to be noteworthy as well, but I personally found them intolerable.

193. Mars Daybreak (26 eps.) (Mecha, Action, Adventure, Romance, Comedy) – I don’t know much about this relatively unpopular mecha anime by Studio Bones, but I’ve been told that most people dropped it due to the first few episodes being rather poor and the rest picking up after that. I know some people who swear by the show – your mileage may vary.

192. Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo (26 eps.) (Sci-fi, Comedy, Adventure) – I’ve seen and greatly enjoyed the first two episodes of ‘Sora Kake Girl’, a super-nice-looking show by studio Sunrise that exists mostly as a parody of their other franchises such as Mobile Suit Gundam and Code Geass. It’s a hilarious and fun show with a lot of energy that backs up it’s parodical comedy with a dose of satisfaction.

191. GunParade March (12 eps.) (Mecha, School, Action, Comedy, Romance, Ensemble) – GunParade March is a very strange show with a confusing beginning and an enormous ensemble cast that, in the two episodes I saw, bounces a lot between frantic mecha action and character-driven school comedy/romance. Omo has had it batting around his favorites list claiming that it ‘perfectly captures the concept of ishin-denshin‘.

190. Time of Eve (6 15-minute eps) (Sci-fi, Drama) - An incredibly clever and well-animated short series that gives a fresh take on the robots-becoming-human story trope with the addition of the robot-discrimination trope. The amazing art and lightning-fast dialog bring a new and fresh feel to the table with lots of plot-twists to keep the viewer on their toes.

- Pale Cocoon (Short film) and Mizu no Kotoba (Short film) (Sci-fi, Drama) - Two more splendidly told and animated short stories by Yoshiura Yasuhiro. Both are better watched than explained, and watching both would take less than thirty minutes. The director has done other shorts worth researching while you’re at it.

189. Wolf’s Rain (26 eps.) (+ OVA (4 eps)) (Adventure, Mystery, Drama, Psychological, Romance) – A somewhat unique early project by studio Bones with a very original story and excellent soundtrack by Yoko Kanno. I haven’t really seen it myself, but I’ve read no shortage of emotional responses to it.

188. Kemonozume (13 eps.) (Action, Adventure, Psychological, Supernatural, Romance, Arthouse) – A highly artistic series by studio Madhouse, Kemonozume is a surefire hit for fans of arthouse anime and likely a hit for yakuza fans as well as it deals heavily with gangs. Hard to really describe less because I’ve only seen one episode and more because it’s such a trip.

- Windy Tales (13 eps.) (Slice-of-life, Drama, Fantasy, Supernatural) – Another less-than-heard-of arthouse show, this time by the amazing Production I.G. and directed by all-star master Junji Nishimura. High on my ‘must-see’ list, personally.

187. School Rumble (26 eps.) (+ Second Season (26 eps.) + OVAs (4 eps.)) (School, Comedy, Romance) – A very popular school comedy series about a love triangle – I know almost nothing about the show.

186. Moyashimon (11 eps.) (Comedy, College, Supernatural) – A very strange and hilarious show about a guy who can literally see microbes – they appear to him as adorable little creatures. The series revolves around this young man and the characters around him who are all very strange generally going about being strange – I unfortunately haven’t seen much of it myself, mostly just heard the good reviews from everyone else.

185. Jyu Oh Sei (11 eps.) (Sci-fi, Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller) – An excellent and fast-paced thriller with superb production values from studio BONES. It’s a lost-in-space adventure about two identical twins on the run who are hit by constant perils and plot twists that keep the viewer on their toes. I haven’t finished it, but what I saw lead me to believe that just about anyone would love this show.

184. Chrno Crusade (24 eps.) (Action, Romance, Supernatural) – Very popular but very average action series that is famous for it’s incredibly sad ending. I don’t know too much because I dropped it early on, but I know it is widely loved.

183. Kekkaishi (52 eps.) (Adventure, Comedy, Action, Romance, Fantasy) – Another show that I haven’t seen (but want to) that I’ve commonly seen referred to as ‘the only shounen action series that gets better the longer you go.’ The manga has also been praised by master translator Andrew Cunningham, which I see as a sure sign of quality. I’ve also seen the show referred to as one of the most overlooked shounen series of the decade.

182. Bokura ga Ita (26 eps) (Drama, Romance) – I really don’t know anything about this show except that it’s a shoujo romance directed by the great Akitaro Daichi and appears on a GREAT deal of favorites lists.

181. Fantastic Children (26 eps.) (Advenure, Sci-fi, Drama, Old-school) - I’ve read some divided opinions about this show, but many of the people who have seen it consider it amazing and worry that it is brutally overlooked and underrated. I read a review once saying that the characters call each-others’ names a lot and I’ve literally been avoiding it just for that reason, due to a massive personal peeve.

180. Akagi (26 eps.) (Thriller, Game, Old-school) – Akagi is the story of a young mahjong prodigy who descends into the seedy underbelly of crime betting and becomes a sort of dark lord of gambling. The show is extremely intense, keeping the viewer on the edge of your seat, especially if you know how to play mahjong. It also has very interesting and over-the-top visuals courtesy of studio Madhouse.

179. Shikabane Hime: Aka (13 eps.) (+ Kuro (12 eps) + Specials) (Action, Supernatural, Horror) – The last studio Gainax show of the decade, Shikabane Hime has been regarded for it’s sense of tone, visual style, and great action scenes characteristic of Gainax. I’ve liked what I’ve seen, though I haven’t seen much.

178. Shion no Ou (22 eps.) (Mystery, Drama, Game, Thriller) – Mystery-drama involving a mute girl who is a master of shougi and whose parents were murdered when she was five years old – if those things sound disassociated, then welcome to Shion no Ou, an over-the-top mystery drama that’s full of surprises. I never managed to finish it (want to), but my friends who did loved it.

177. Skip Beat! (25 eps.) (Comedy, Drama, Romance) - A very popular shoujo manga-cum-anime about a girl on a quest to take over the entertainment industry. I know little more than that.

176. Lovely Complex (24 eps.) (Comedy, Drama, Romance) - Another popular shoujo series, this one being a very nice-looking and incredibly fast-paced romantic comedy about the developing relationship between a very tall girl and a very short guy. Highly recommended to shoujo romance fans, but I couldn’t handle the fast pace.

175. Jubei-chan the Ninja Girl 2 (13 eps.) (Adventure, Action, Comedy, Samurai, Drama) – I’ve been trying to watch this damn show forever but never gotten around to it. From what I’ve been told, the first series was a rather unoriginal samurai comedy about the female version of Jubei Yagyuu, and the second season is a much better series with amazing fight choreography. I can’t get my damn hands on it, though. Both seasons also directed by the great Akitaro Daichi.

174. Hellsing (13 eps.) (+ Ultimate (6 eps. by the end of the decade)) (Action, Supernatural, Horror) – Hellsing was an amazingly popular dark supernatural show about vampires that was stylish and kicked a good bit of ass. The original anime, while excellent in terms of visual style, dragged the story too much and was made when the manga was fairly new, so it ended up having mostly anime-original content. The Hellsing Ultimate OVA series has better production values, gets to the point faster, and follows the manga’s plot, but due to very sporadic releases it is incomplete as of yet. Possibly the most notable aspect of the series in my opinion is the main character and his rival being voiced by Jouji Nakata and Norio Wakamoto respectively.

- Golgo 13 (50 eps.) (Action, Old-school) - For those who want more dark, pulpy action series, Golgo 13 is where to look. Based on the longest-running manga of all time, the story of a professional sniper who never, ever smiles, fucks a lot of women, and kills a lot of dudes. It’s very silly and very old-school, but it still kicks a lot of ass.

173. Gakuen Alice (26 eps.) (Mahou Shoujo, Comedy, School) – I admittedly know little about this show besides that it is cute and I want to watch it, and some people told me it’s good.

172. Chobits (26 eps.) (Comedy, Drama, Romance, Fanservice) – A wildly popular show based on a manga by CLAMP, who have a tendency to produce wildly popular shows. I’ve only ever seen a little bit and enjoyed it quite a lot, but I know that there is a lot to the plot I do not know. Easily one of the most widely loved shows of the decade.

- Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle (26 eps.) (+ Second Season (26 eps.) + Movie + OVAs (5 eps.)) and Angelic Layer (26 eps.) (Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance) – Two other CLAMP shows from this decade, sharing Chobits’ distinction of being very equally loved by girls and guys alike.

171. Hataraki Man (11 eps.) (Comedy, Drama, Romance, Slice-of-life) – Dude, I had seriously never even heard of this show until all those top 50 lists started and I saw it appear several times in fairly prominent positions. Guess I need to check it out!

170. Chi’s Sweet Home (104 3-minute eps) (+ New Address (104 3-minute eps)) (Comedy, Slice-of-life) – Ultra-short bites of life from a cute little kitten. While there are a lot of little cute shows like this put out like this in Japan, the Chi series was especially popular even in America and can even be watched free on Crunchyroll.

- Neko Ramen (12 5-minute eps.) (Comedy) – Another excellent series of short episodes about a talking cat, only this time the cat owns a ramen shop. Neko Ramen is particularly memorable for being made entirely in Flash and having a different animation style in each episode.

169. Gilgamesh (26 eps.) (Drama, Supernatural, Sci-fi) – Gilgamesh is a strange enigma of a show. It is a darker-than-dark urban fantasy that moves at an odd pace and doesn’t like to show it’s hand much to the viewer. In the few episodes I’ve seen, the only thing that was really clear was that nothing was really clear. It also has some very unique and interesting character designs that may make or break your viewing experience.

168. Mononoke (12 eps.) (Fantasy, Mystery, Horror, Arthouse) - Easily one of the best and most loved arthouse anime of the decade, Mononoke is a thrilling experience like no other with stunning experimental visuals that will knock you off your feet. It can take some getting used to the very odd designs, but when the intense experimental animation kicks in, it’s sure to take away any doubts you have. It’s also one of the only genuinely chilling horror anime I’ve seen.

167. Full Moon wo Sagashite (52 eps.) (Comedy, Drama, Romance, Supernatural, Music) – A popular shoujo tale of a 12-year-old girl dying of a particular throat illness that is crushing her dreams to become a singer and one day meet a boy she made a promise to years ago. She is told by angels of death that she only has a year to live, but they give her the power to transform into a 16-year-old singing diva so that she can follow her dreams before she dies. I’ve been told it’s a very touching story.

166. Eden of the East (11 eps.) (Thriller, Mystery, Comedy, Action, Romance, Sci-fi) - A man wakes up naked beside the white house with a gun in one hand, a cell phone in the other, and no memory. He encounters a young Japanese tourist and on their way back to Tokyo he becomes acquainted with the fact that his cell phone is tapped into a bank account with about 80 million dollars in it, and commands he makes to the phone are issued instantly. This is the crazy would-be-modern world of Eden of the East, a hugely popular show from studio Production I.G. and the director who worked on Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex and Seirei no Moribito (meaning, of course, that the production values are ungodly high.)

165. Taishou Yakyuu Musume (12 eps.) (Slice-of-life, Sports, School) – A cute and interesting show set in 1920′s Japan about a group of girls who decide to do away with the old era’s ideas of femininity by learning to play baseball. With an all-star staff and cast, the show perfectly captures the chaotic ideas flying around in the Taishou era (the fusion of Japanese and Western culture looks almost hilarious in places) while providing a fun and cute experience.

164. Argento Soma (25 eps.) (+ OVA) (Mecha, Military, Sci-fi, Drama, Action, Adventure) – One of the early mecha anime of the decade, Argento Soma has largely flown under the radar but has been met with relatively high acclaim by many who have seen it. It is a tale of revenge and mecha with really wacked-out character designs – I haven’t managed to see it myself, though.

163. Cross Game (50 eps?) (Sports, Comedy, Drama, Romance, School, Old-school) – The latest baseball-centered masterpiece adaption of a Mitsuru Adachi manga (every decade seems to get one, starting with Touch, the anime with the highest TV ratings of all time). From the very first dramatic episode, it shows it’s teeth as yet another legendary great.

162. GA ~Geijutsuka Art Design Class~ (12 eps.) (Comedy, School) - Based on a 4-koma manga, GA is a semi-instructional comedy about cute girls in their art class with most of the jokes revolving around the study and practice of art. The anime makes interesting use of color and fun animation techniques as well with excellent comedic timing, no doubt thanks to being from the same director as Cromartie High School.

161. Yakitate!! Japan (72 eps.) (Comedy, Food) – A hilarious shounen manga adaption about a boy with ‘solar hands’ who aspires to create a legendary type of bread called the ‘Ja-pan’ (because ‘pan’ means bread in Japanese). Structured like a shounen tournament anime but with great jokes and some really trippy moments when people experience the euphoric effects of the character’s cooking.

160. Hikaru no Go (75 eps.) (Comedy, Drama, Game, Supernatural) – Yet another shounen adaption, this one from the popular manga by Takeshi Obata. It is about a young boy who gains an interest in Go thanks to a supernatural entity housed in a Go board that he finds. Recommended especially to people who know how to play Go.

159. Ga-Rei -Zero- (12 eps.) (Action, Drama) – A dark urban fantasy told in an out-of-order style with excellent animation and some truly badass fights, Ga-Rei is a real shocker with an opening episode that will knock your socks off. Plus has some very nice yuri overtones.

158. Basilik: Kouga Ninpou Chou (24 eps.) (Action, Drama, Samurai, Supernatural) – Based on the classic romeo and juliet-style romance between members of warring ninja clans that also inspired the live-action film ‘Shinobi’, Basilisk is a bloody tale of supernaturally-powered ninja fighters with well-animated and executed fights on the backdrop of a dramatic and sorrowful story of love.

157. Monster (74 eps.) (Thriller, Drama, Psychological, Mystery) – Based on the manga by the immensely popular master of suspense, Naoki Urusawa, Monster is an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride of twists, turns, and insanity though murder and intrigue. One of the most universally loved shows of the decade with an ultra-high ratio of ‘watched’ to ‘favorited’.

156. Aoi Bungaku Series (12 eps.) (Thriller, Drama, Psychological, Historical) – An interesting experiment by Madhouse where in they have adapted 6 classic Japanese novels into anime arcs, each with their own director and character designer. As a bonus, the stories tend to have a psychological tinge that lends to intense storytelling.

155. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 (11 eps.) (Drama, Disaster) - Studio Bones’s show about the event of a magnitude 8.0 earthquake hitting Tokyo and the journey of a young girl and her brother trying to get home in the post-disaster chaos. Bones’s idea was to create a realistic depiction of the post-disaster Tokyo, and the result was an extremely emotional tale that captured the hearts of many viewers during it’s run.

154. Aoi Hana (11 eps.) (Drama, Yuri, Romance, School) – A calm, quaint romance tale about two high school girls who fall in love. Known especially for it’s style, wherein animation and storytelling work together beautifully as brought about by the same team who created the splendid Honey and Clover.

- Sasameki Koto (13 eps.) (Drama, Comedy, Yuri, Romance, School) – Seen by many as a spiritual successor to Aoi Hana due to it’s airing directly afterward and keeping the excellence and drama represented in the other show. Sasameki Koto is also bolstered up by incredible directing and the unique aspect of some openly lesbian characters. The very first episode nearly brought me to tears.

153. Kemono no Souja Erin (50 eps.) (Drama, Fantasy) – A visually stunning Production I.G. anime about a young girl who can control beasts with a sort of musical instrument and finds herself involved in a war between countries. In spite of being based on a novel from the same author as Seirei no Moribito and being done by the same studio as well as largely being broadcast for free on Crunchyroll, the show always went nearly unnoticed by American audiences.

152. Bokurano (24 eps.) (Psychological, Drama, Mecha) – A horrifically brutal show about a class of kids who find themselves involved in a game to pilot an enormous mecha and save the world at the cost of each of them dying one by one in the process. Notorious for the fact that the anime director hated the original manga, it has some differences from the manga that promote fans to ask that both versions be viewed to decide which you enjoy more.

- Shadow Star Naru Taru (13 eps.) (Psychological, Drama, Sci-fi, Action, Horror) - Another horrifying kid-killing show adapted from a manga by Kitoh Mohiro, this one was even more unfortunate because the original manga was 13 volumes long and the anime only ran for 13 episodes before awkwardly cutting off. Even still, though, the anime has managed to garner a good deal of fans.

151. Terra e… (24 eps.) (Sci-fi, Adventure, Drama, Old-school) - An epic space drama based on a classic mange from the 70s. That is unfortunately all I really know.

150. Asatte no Houkou (12 eps.) (Slice-of-life, Drama, Supernatural) - From what I’ve heard, a very heartwarming show about a little girl and an older girl who change bodies, but I don’t really know much about this one either.

149. Le Chevalier d’Eon (24 eps.) (Mystery, Drama, Historical, Supernatural) - A strange tale from the 1800s of Europe involving demonic cults and political intrigue – however, I once more don’t know that much. It was highly critically acclaimed, having been picked as the ‘anime of the year’ once by Anime Insider back when they existed.

148. FLAG (13 eps.) (Mecha, Military) – FLAG takes the concept of a ‘real robot’ anime and makes it really real. Excellent production values bring the show to life, and the realistic character and mecha designs add to the feeling that this show is very perfectly feasible. It’s also got a pretty good modern-style war story with the interesting technique of being told entirely through camera lenses.

147. Ayakashi -Japanese Classic Horror- (11 eps.) (Horror, Arthouse, Fantasy) - Primo arthouse work that would later spawn the excellent spin-off series Mononoke. Ayakashi is tantalizing and eye-popping horror with intense and unique visual style.

146. Glass Mask (51 eps.) (Drama, Old-school) – Based on a classic 70s shoujo manga – that and the fact that it’s very well-liked are about all I can tell you I’m afraid.

145. Phoenix (13 eps.) (Adventure, Drama, Historical, Supernatural, Old-school) - Based on what is commonly considered Osamu Tezuka’s true masterpiece, the classic Hi no Tori manga, Phoenix is the most modern adaption and the longest. …And that’s all I know.

144. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (26 eps.) (+ Solid State Society (movie) + The Laughing Man (movie) + 2nd Gig (26 eps.) + Individual Eleven (movie) + Tachikomatic Days (about 50 shorts)) (Sci-fi, Action, Mecha, Military) – A series based on the classic GitS franchise, and one of the most critically acclaimed series of the decade by a long-shot. Taking the style of the original movie but removing the pretentiousness of Mamoru Oshii, the show creates a more accessible but equally intriguing sci-fi world of wonders. Is estimated to be one of the highest-budget TV anime ever made, with the amazing Production I.G. behind it’s wheels.

143. Natsume Yuujinchou (13 eps.) (+ Zoku- (13 eps.)) (Supernatural, Drama, Slice-of-life) - A very subdued and low-key show about an awkward and lonely boy who has been able to see spirits for his entire life. He finds out that his grandma was an uber-asshole and trapped the souls of a bunch of ghosts by stealing their names. Now it’s up to the guy to give all the names back to the ghosts and hopefully make some friends in the process. From the excellent director of Baccano! and Koi Kaze.

142. Victorian Romance Emma (12 eps.) (+ Molders Hen (12 eps.) + special) (Drama, Historical, Romance) – Set in the 1800s, it is a tale of a gentry man who falls in love with a lowly maid and has to fight against the shackles of class and wealth to be with her. A cult favorite.

141. Azumanga Daioh! (26 eps.) (+ The Very Short Movie + Web Daioh) (School, Comedy) – Easily one of, if not THE biggest comedy anime of the decade, AzuDai has been insanely popular and still retains much of that popularity to this day, largely for introducing the spastic and fun style of 4-koma manga to American viewers, and delivering the almighty comedy Goddess character, Osaka.

- Hyakko! (13 eps) (+ OVA) (School, Comedy) – Many shows of this decade have been compared to AzuDai and Hyakko! is no more or less similar than any of the others, but it certainly is part of the trend of school comedy shows that rely on their odd characters and wacky sense of humor.

140. Saikano (13 eps.) (+ Another Love Song (2 eps.)) (Sci-fi, Drama, Romance, School) - A guy falls in love with a girl who happens to be a WMD. I don’t know much about this show except that it’s supposed to be massively depressing and is pretty well-liked by those who were emotionally rocked by it.

139. Tentai Senshi Sunred (26 13-minute eps.) (+ Sequel (26 113-minute eps.)) (Comedy, Parody) – A parody of the old-school tokusatsu shows, only where the ‘hero’ is a complete jackass and the ‘villain’ is a totally nice guy. And there’s not really any fighting going on. Hilarity.

- Gyagu Manga Biyori (12 5-minute eps.) (+ Season 2 (12 5-minute eps.) + Season 3 (12 5-minute eps.)) (Comedy) – Very, VERY strange comedy short anime. The title. ‘a good day for gag manga’, really says it all. That and the opening video.

138. Beck (26 eps.) (Music, Comedy, Drama) – Part coming-of-age story and part coming-of-band story, it’s the tale of a high-school kid who doesn’t really know what he wants out of life until he meets a bad-ass band member who takes him under his wing and tries to teach him a thing or two about life. The band life, however, is always full of drama and as many pitfalls as uplifting moments, which this show excellently respects.

137. Fruits Basket (26 eps.) (Comedy, Drama, Romance, Supernatural, School) – Probably the most popular shoujo anime of the decade in the US and based off of the highest-selling corresponding shoujo-manga, this reverse-harem anime spawned an insane mass of fangirls and even a considerable number of male fans alike for it’s respectable female protagonist. The plot involves a bunch of boys who can turn into the animals of the zodiac and the drama, comedy, and turbulent romance surrounding their affairs.

- Kyou Kara Maou! (78 eps.) (+ R (5 eps.) + 3rd Series (38 eps.)) (Fantasy, Comedy, Adventure) - Another popular shoujo manga adaption as well as probably the longest of the decade, though it oddly didn’t catch on as well in the US as Fruits Basket did. A story about a (hot of course) guy who gets pulled through a toilet into a fantasy world where he is made king of a country on the brink of war, in spite of his being a pacifist. And apparently there’s lots of homoerotic overtones or something, but I haven’t seen it myself.

136. Kaiba (13 eps.) (Arthouse, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Sci-fi) – Probably the most insane and unique arthouse anime of the decade and certainly the most experimental, Kaiba wowed with it’s unequivocal visual style, shocked with it’s memorable moments and plot twists, and surprised with a story that was far deeper and more emotional than anyone would have expected from an arthouse production. It had very nice budget values by Madhouse, to boot!

- Hakaba Kitarou (11 eps.) (Horror, Supernatural, Arthouse) - Based on the classic manga GeGeGe no Kitarou who’s adaptions usually tend to be aimed more at kids, this far darker take on the story imbued into it many arthouse and devilishly creepy elements to make it all the more an exciting experience. Perhaps the only anime I’d dare call ‘Burton-esque’.

135. Souten Kouro (26 eps.) (Action, Historical, Adventure) - One of the most criminally overlooked shows of the decade to the point that I don’t even think it’s done getting subbed yet. Souten Kouro is the adaption of a long-running and popular manga about the legend of the 3 kingdoms as told from Cao Cao’s perspective. This show is probably one of the most manly ever created, giving stuff like Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and Hokuto no Ken a run for their money. It is also insanely turbo-violent and awesome. BUT IT STILL ISN’T FINISHED BEING SUBBED.

- Sengoku Basara (13 eps.) (Action, Historical) - Based on a popular game franchise, Sengoku Basara is an insanely over-the-top tale of the Sengoku era of Japanese history like you’ve never seen it before. Featuring amazing Production I.G. animation and a cast of awesome voice actors, SenBasa is a fun and crazy ride that thrives on manliness and pure action. Great for people who want something crazy, mindless, and manly.

134. Tokyo Godfathers (Movie) (Drama, Comedy) – A movie by legendary genius director Satoshi Kon about a group of homeless people in Tokyo who find and abandoned baby and try to use the clues left with it to bring it home. That is, sadly, all I know.

133. Paprika (Movie) (Sci-fi, Thriller, Psychological, Mystery) - Another movie from the great Satoshi Kon, this one about a machine that lets you enter the world of dreams, those who would use this for evil, and those trying to stop them. Once again, however, I unfortunately have not seen it.

132. Saiunkoku Monogatari (39 eps.) (+ Second Season (39 eps.) + Soushuuhen (4 eps.) + specials) (Adventure, Fantasy, Historical, Drama Romance) – I’m afraid that all I know about this show is that it is a very well-liked historical romance with reverse-harem qualities.

131. Summer Wars (Movie) (Comedy, Sci-fi) – Coming just at the end of the decade, it is the first true post-breakthrough work from one of the biggest up-and-coming directors, Mamoru Hosada. I’d tell you more, but I haven’t had the pleasure yet~

130. Desert Punk (26 eps.) (Comedy, Fanservice, Action , Adventure, Sci-fi) - Desert Punk may be the only show that I will freely admit is worth watching dubbed in spite of not being worth watching in Japanese. What Funimation basically did was take an incredibly mediocre Gonzo show about action, adventure, and tits, and transform it into a hilarious and raunchy adult comedy that totally scraps the original script in favor of a better one that still works just fine with the show.

129. Jungle wa Itsumo Hare Nochi Guu (26 eps.) (+ Deluxe (6 eps.) + Final (6 eps.)) (Comedy) – A fun, pure spaz comedy set in the Jungle where all kinds of weird shit happens. It’s a gag/parody comedy along the lines of Excel Saga or Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, though while the jokes can be a little edgey, the show has a lighter tone and broader appeal (I say because for a good while it was my youngest brother’s favorite show when he was about 10.) It’s very screwball but unique and worth checking out just to see something you probably haven’t quite seen before.

- Kyouran Kazoku Nikki (26 eps.) (Comedy) - Very much like Hare and Guu, it is an oddball comedy that could be enjoyed by everyone. Like Hare and Guu, Kyouran has a lot of strong themes about family, though it can be a little more dramatic with these themes than Hare and Guu tends to be.

128. La Maison en Petit Cubes (12-minute short) (Drama) - Won the 2008 Academy Award for best animated short! A very tight drama about a world that has been covered in water and an old man who, swimming down through the water, remembers fragments of his long past with the filling world. Surprisingly heart-string-pulling for a film so short.

- The Diary of Tortov Roddle (6 3-minute episodes) (Fantasy, Adventure) - A series of shorts from the same team that made Petit Cubes and done in the same unique art style, Tortov Roddle is a highly imaginative fantasy tale done in a very classic children’s-book style.

127. Rozen Maiden (12 eps.) (+Traumend (12 eps.) + Overture (2 eps.)) (Adventure, Drama, Comedy, Supernatural) - Based on a manga by the team-authors Peach Pit who were particularly popular in this decade, Rozen Maiden is an odd tale about a young hikkikomori who loves to order stuff in the mail and then return it for no real reason. When he orders a certain doll, it turns out to be alive, and is supposed to fight a bunch of other dolls in some sort of battle thing. Through the battles and his relationship with the dolls, the boy will slowly come out of his shell of being a really angsty hikkikomori. While the show is a little confused and not always great, it’s good entertainment and was wildly popular when it came out. It is also the directorial debut of one of my favorite directors, Matsuo Kou.

- Shakugan no Shana (24 eps) (+ II (25 eps.) + Movie + 9 special shorts + 5 OVA eps) (Action, Romance, Drama, Comedy) – Shakugan no Shana could hardly be called the pinnacle of quality, being the epitome of a late-night anime with poor pacing and directing on top of a story that seems to progressively get worse until bottoming out in the second season and then supposedly getting better again midway through it (I never got that far), however Shana caries a certain charm in it’s fun character(s) and somewhat interesting plot that are at least enough to trick you into watching the whole show. …Anyway, it was and still is extremely popular and there’s even a third season on the way, so it must have done something very right.

126. .hack//SIGN (26 eps.) (Mystery, Adventure, Drama) – The .hack franchise that began with a series of four games and this original anime has since become an overblown mass of ridiculous proportions with more games, anime, manga, and novels than I can easily believe were made for one series in just one decade. For hardcore fans of the franchise, there’s surely something to love about all of these alternate stories (most of which are pretty much clones of the original with a slight twist anyway), but none can quite match the ingenuity and intrigue that made the original so much more interesting than Bee-Train’s production quality would ordinarily allow. .hack//SIGN can widely be considered the setter of the ‘story inside of a game world’ trend that was left in it’s wake, and those who saw the show back when it was airing can surely tell you how in spite of how slow and meandering the plot was, the truly interesting mystery had then compelled to keep on going.

- Pandora Hearts (25 eps.) (Action, Adventure, Supernatural, Fantasy, Mystery) - Tonally similar to .hack and with another great Yuki Kajiura OST, Pandora Hearts is the strange tale of duke heir Oz Bezarius who, on the day of his coming-of-age ceremony, is abruptly taken into some kind of crazy shadow-world called the ‘abyss’ where he meets the mysterious Alice and begins a dark and trippy journey.

125. Death Note (37 eps.) (Thriller, Psychological, Drama) - Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s hugely popular Death Note manga took the world by storm with a truly unbelievable anti-hero and his epic web of plans and lies to hold a sort of war for the world’s soul against the ultimate detective and win. The Death Note anime was guaranteed for success with a huge-budget production and brilliant directing that pushed the insane drama of the series to the next level and, as expected, drew in a worldwide audience that is one of the decade’s largest. My only personal beef with Death Note is that once you’ve seen/read the story once, it looses a lot of it’s heavy dramatic impact, but it still certainly delivered on a number of truly unforgettable scenes.

124. Mind Game (movie) (Arthouse) – Mind Game is the Ultimate arthouse anime movie of the decade, maybe of all time. It’s a completely insane mindfuck of zany animation styles and absurd plots that can’t really be described – it can only be experienced for yourself.

- Ani*Kuri 15 (15 0ne-minute shorts) (arthouse) – Un-Abbreviated as ‘Anime Creators 15′, this is a series of shorts developed by every major anime studio (such as Madhouse, Production I.G., Gonzo, and Studio 4c) with directing from many of the biggest names in the field (such as Satoshi Kon, Mamoru Oshii, Renji Murata, Makoto Shinkai, and Shouji Kawamori) – mandatory viewing for any creator-fags like myself~

123. The Twelve Kingdoms (45 eps.) (Fantasy, Adventure, Drama, Political, Action) – Probably the most critically-acclaimed fantasy show of the decade, 12 Kingdoms is the tale of a very timid and awkward girl who gets taken to a fantasy world and is pretty much dropped in with little for support. We see her take to this world and gradually develop into a highly respectable and manly character who eventually becomes a great ruler in the fantasy land. The series is based on a series of novels that has not yet concluded, and due to budget problems, the anime also ended rather abruptly before it could finish it’s planned run. Still, many consider the show to be a fantasy classic already, and it’s relative lack of popularity has given it huge cult favorite status.

- Guin Saga (26 eps.) (Fantasy, Adventure, Action, Drama) – Another epic fantasy series based on an unfinished novel series, though this one is unfinished because at 127 volumes, it was the longest novel series of all time, and the author actually passed away this year, leaving the saga unconcluded. It’s kind of surprising that there wasn’t an anime adaption already, considering that the story of a lion-headed man who awakes without memories in the presence of a runaway young prince and princess from their defeated kingdom has been hugely influential not only to many other stories (such as Berserk) but to many characters modeled after Guin (like King from Tekken.)

122. Amatsuki (13 eps.) (Fantasy, Historical, Supernatural, Slice-of-life) – Amatsuki is an interesting take on the sent-back-to-alternate-history story in that the main character is neither desperate to get back home nor really over-reactant in any way. He pretty much just sees this as a chance to start over and starts enjoying his new life in the past with few questions asked. The guy is so chill and nice that he’s hard not to love and the story seems to take his philosophies as it’s own as it moves along pretty slowly and just kind of does as it pleases rather than trying to adhere to the usual fantasy tropes. Amatsuki’s only real weakness is that it is so short that it doesn’t give you time to really get into it – a second season was planned for the show, but the first one was so completely overlooked that the second one just kind of never happened and only the tiniest handful of people who remembered the first were left scratching their heads and wondering what happened.

121. Bakemonogatari (15 eps.) (Mystery, Romance, Supernatural, Parody, Arthouse) - The best way I can think to descibe Bakemonogatari is that it is an ‘omni-subversion’. It’s like if you took all of the moe anime, all the moe parody anime, all the self-aware moe anime, and all of the shows that subvert moe on purpose, combine them all, and subvert the whole lot of them into something that simultaneously is and isn’t as well as is beyond moe itself. This, my friends, is the essence of Nisioisin, and made double when combined with Akiyuki Shinbo and Shaft. The show is mostly conversation – long and winding conversations about the strangest things wherein the characters will say exactly what you expect them to say, but still in the context that makes it all feel wrong. Okay, I fail, I can’t explain this shit – it’s artsy and brilliant, so go watch it yourself!

120. Brigadoon (26 eps.) (Mecha, Comedy, Action, Drama) – Brigadoon is definitely one of the most offbeat mecha anime I’ve seen, combining wacky slapstick comedy with a dramatic tale of giant robot action. It’s one of those shows that feels kind of off and makes you raise an eyebrow, but is enjoyable for that very strangeness.

119. Uchuu no Stellvia (26 eps.) (Sci-fi, Romance, Action) – Stellvia is a lot like all of those series that take place in a ‘magic academy’ that eventually ends up with the academy joining into some kind of big war, only this time the academy is in space, hundreds of years in the future. It’s not exactly the most unique series, but it is very well done and is notable for featuring one of those rare teen romances that actually makes progress throughout the series.

118. Elfen Lied (13 eps.) (Action, Fanservice, Drama, Romance) – (In)Famous for it’s unparalleled turbo-violence and frequently-nude female characters, Elfen Lied is a show that plays a lot for shock value and is no doubt an answer to the guro and violent sides to the moe trend. It’s half a show about cute young girls bonding together and some kind of strange romance between a feral girl and her caretaker, and half a tale of insane turbo-violence as the girl is an advanced and highly murderous species whose powers and personality issues lead her to mass murder. No, it’s not the classiest affair, but there is surprisingly a lot to like about Elfen Lied, and for all of it’s near-camp levels of shock value, it still manages to be an interesting and at times emotional story with some genuinely likable characters.

117. Kanon 2006 (26 eps.) (Drama, Romance, Comedy, School) – One of Kyoto Animation’s insanely popular adaptions of Key’s visual novels, Kanon was a massive success with incredible production values and a story that took the basics of ‘moe’ storytelling and simply told them in a much better way than any of the other moe anime of the time. It’s nothing particularly unique at all, but the solid writing, directing, acting, and presentation make it worthwhile, more so than many of it’s kin.

- Kanon 2002 (13 eps.) (Drama, Romance, School) – The first Kanon anime made, regarded by some as up to par with or even better than the remake, though also very criticized fro trying to cram a long story into a short series and having far lower production values than it’s remake. Worth checking out for comparison’s sake if you’re a big Kanon fan.

116. Canaan (13 eps.) (Action, Thriller) – Canaan first wowed with it’s amazing production values and fight direction, and then stumped many by suddenly showing that it didn’t take itself very seriously with over-the-top action scenes and a ridiculous plot – however, many fans (such as myself) loved it for these very reasons, as well as for it’s cast of lovable characters (particularly the lovely Canaan).

115. Loveless (12 eps.) (+ 6 specials) (Boy’s Love, Drama, Action, Mystery, Supernatural) – Based on the hugely critically acclaimed boy’s love manga of the same title, Loveless is a tale of drama and fighting for love in some kind of strange war between a bunch of couples, the main one of which is famously gay. The show features excellent directing, animation, and character designs on top of a grabbing drama that even has people like myself with no interest in BL watching it and getting drawn in.

114. Voices of a Distant Star (movie) (Sci-fi, Romance, Drama, Mecha) – The immensely acclaimed breakthrough work by one-man-team Makoto Shikai that instantly put him on the map as one of anime’s big names to look out for. It is a tale of romance during a sci-fi war wherein a couple is put to the emotional test by time and distance. The pair can only communicate by cell phone, but as the girl travels the space-time continuum in her mech, her time is becoming separate from the guy’s and soon text messages that arrive in just days for her are taking years to get to him. A heartbreaking and imaginative modern tale like no other with utterly stunning visuals.

- The Place Promised in Our Early Days (movie) (Sci-fi, Romance, Drama) – The second major work of Makoto Shinkai and in many ways a spiritual sequel to Hoshi no Koe, ‘Beyond the Clouds’ (as it is also known) is a tale of three childhood friends, two of which try to use their knowledge of rocket science to save the dying third. It is the least acclaimed of Shinkai’s three films due to it’s odd pacing, but there are many fans who swear by it as his best film.

113. Dokkoida?! (12 eps.) (Comedy, Action, Sci-fi, Super Sentai) – A cult hit from genius studio UFO Table, who produced so many cult hits in this decade that they could pretty much be called a ‘cult studio.’ Dokkoida?! is about a guy who really needs a job and ends up working for ‘the biggest toy company in the universe’ who want him to be the spokesman/test subject for their new battle armor toy for kids. Donning his armor, he finds himself against a variety of wacky villains, none of whom realizes that the entire lot of them are living in the same apartment building thanks to their hidden identities! Hilarity and ingenuity ensues.

- 2×2=Shinobuden (12 eps.) (Comedy) - Also known as ‘Ninja Nonsense’, another cult hit from UFO Table, this one that plays up the gag comedy a lot more. Shinobuden is an odd show about a girl who is a ninja in training, the random high school girl she essentially kidnaps as her best friend, the infinite ‘Sasuke’ clones who work in the dojo with her, and the perverted yellow blob Onsokamaru who is the instructor, played by Norio Wakamoto. That’s about all you need to know, the rest is just really strange and perverse comedy that very much relies on it’s crazy voice acting.

112. Koi Kaze (13 eps.) (Drama, Romance) - Before I tell you the plot of Koi Kaze, you must understand that this is a dead serious drama/romance. It is superbly written and directed and completely realistic to the point of brilliance. It is the tale of a man in his 20s who is down on his luck in terms of relationships, despite being a wedding planner. His parents divorced when he was very young, and he went with his father, his baby sister going with their mother, and never keeping in contact with him. One day, the man happens to meet a young high school girl who he finds himself having… dangerous feelings toward. He later finds out that this is actually his sister who has come to live with he and his father and, well… it’s a romance. The show is at times extremely unsettling and even hard to watch but at the same time amazing and plausible – probably the best sibling romance anime ever made.

111. Mouryou no Hako (13 eps.) (+ Special) (Mystery, Drama, Supernatural) – Even though I had the nerve to put this in the ‘seen’ section, I can’t tell you shit about Mouryou no Hako. It was getting subbed at the slowest speed possible when it was airing and I only saw the first four episodes, and throughout the plot made pretty much zero sense whatsoever. It was a complete mindfucking trip through hell and back, but my god was it a great one. Directing and production were utterly brilliant, with the show sporting probably my single favorite opening episode of all time, including one of my favorite anime moments ever. I don’t know where this show went, but I know it was a damn crazy journey.

110. Sketchbook ~Full Color’S~ (13 eps) (+ 6 shorts) (Slice-of-life, Comedy, School) - A very slow, quiet, and cute slice-of-life show about the various strange people in one school’s art club. The main character, Sora, is a quiet girl who is so unused to talking that she’d rather write out her thoughts and show them to people. she loves to sketch the world around her, especially cats. Her classmates include such weirdos as a girl who communicates through sock puppets and a deadpan girl who is obsessed with insects. There are also a few episodes focused on the lives and interactions of the neighborhood cats, which are always a complete blast.

109. Shingetsutan Tsukihime (12 eps.) (Supernatural, Drama, Thriller, Romance) – This adaption of one of the popular games in the Type-Moon universe has been highly controversial due to the fact that it crams an incredibly long game into a very short series and as a result severs most of the game’s plot. Fans of the game often try to deny the existence of the Tsukihime anime, which is kind of sad because it really is a very well-done show. It has a very thick, dark tone, a maturely handled romance, and plenty of interesting scenes that, while not the most unique or brilliant things around, are still a very fulfilling experience.

108. Kuuchuu Buranko (11 eps.) (Psychological, Comedy, Arthouse) – As of this writing there are still some episodes left in ‘Trapeze’, but I am more than willing to let it into this list now because I adore the show – it’s my personal favorite arthouse show of the decade because it is one that has real heart and tells some ingenious psychological tales in it’s episodes. Between the show’s amazing visual style and the awesomeness of it’s lead character, the eccentric Dr. Irabu Ichiroh, it’s a jolly good time that manages to tell some serious stories without ever loosing it’s light-hearted nature.

- Ghost Hound (22 eps.) (Psychological, Supernatural, Mystery) - While a lot more sober and streamlined than Trapeze, Ghost Hound shares the exploratory elements of the psychological and is pretty artsy and experimental without flaunting it as much (being in line with the other shows by the director, Serial Experiments Lain and Kino’s Journey). Ghost Hound is a pretty complex mystery tale about the exploration of sleep paralysis and lucid dreams as well as auditory hallucinations with an excellent animation job by Production I.G. and plenty of big names behind it (original creator: Masamune Shirow.)

107. Birdy the Mighty Decode (13 eps.) (+ 02 (12 eps.) + OVA) (Action, Adventure, Romance, Comedy) - Beginning as a classically-styled sci-fi pulp series, then gradually evolving into some kind of 90s romantic comedy, and then into some kind of Hollywood-style big action series, Birdy can be a little tonally confused, but it still manages to be a consistently fun and cool ride through a universe that I think was just a little bigger than a show this short could handle (which is I guess why there are 2 seasons, the second of which I’ve yet to see myself.) What really sells the series is excellent animation and brilliant fight direction that lead to some really memorable encounters throughout and the utterly strange story which involves a woman who fights crime throughout the universe accidentally merging bodies with an unsuspecting high-school boy who she has to try not to completely ruin the life of.

106. Starship Operators (13 eps.) (Sci-fi, Drama, Military, Action) - Starship Operators is an interesting tale of a shipfull of space cadets who are on their way to graduation when their planet is suddenly taken over without putting up a fight. The cadets, on the most state-of-the-art battleship, decide to launch a war against the enemy by themselves and they get funding from a TV network by agreeing to let them film their entire war as a reality TV show. It’s a very interesting and dramatic show with a refreshing cast of sensible adults and a penchant for killing characters when you least expect it. I, for one, enjoyed it the most for it’s intense and ingenious tactical battles between space cruisers. I think it says something for the show’s ingenuity that it won me over in spite of my general distaste for sci-fi and military-driven shows.

105. Shugo Chara! (51 eps.) (+ Doki! (51 eps.) + Party (51 eps)) (Magical Girl, Comedy, Romance, Action) - One of the biggest and best magical girl shows of the decade, Shugo Chara is a charming tale of a very cool girl who is trying to learn how to express her true feelings and understand herself on a deeper level. It’s certainly one of the few magical girl shows with a pretty good amount of accessibility for fans outside of it’s demographic, although the third and currently airing season is aimed a lot younger and as such has alienated a lot of the older fans. Still, I’d say the show is more than worth watching at least the first season of.

- Pretty Cure (49 eps.) (+ Max Heart (47 eps.) + Fresh Precure (51 eps.) + Splash Star (49 eps.) + Yes! (49 eps.) + 4 Movies)) (Magical Girl, Adventure, Comedy) - THE biggest magical girl show of the decade, recommended to mahou shoujo fans and probably no one else, seeing as braving it’s full length is nearly suicidal. I personally have never really tried.

104. Yomigaeru Sora (12 eps.) (+ Special) (Drama, Slice-of-life) – Yomigaeru sora (or Rescue Wings) is a rare breed in that it is a very mature, adult drama, and is also very sober. It’s really quite slice-of-life in that there is no overblown or out-of-the-ordinary drama – it is a simple and very real tale of a young man who comes into the job of being on a rescue helicopter and learns more about himself and the world than he may have thought – subtly, but ever-so-emotionally. A must-see for older fans, but it’ll put the yung’un’s right to sleep.

103. To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (24 eps.) (Slice-of-life, Action, Comedy, School) – Set to air through the end of the decade, Railgun is based on a manga side-story to a light novel series to be mentioned below, but the anime ended up taking it’s own life and by many accounts, being a lot better than it’s predecessor. Railgun perfectly captures the sort of moe, girls-only comedy show that is popular towards the end of the decade with the additional element of great action scenes and a somewhat interesting but never intrusive plot. Directed by one of my favorite new directors, Tatsuyaki Nagai (Toradora, Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angel.)

- To Aru Majutsu no Index (24 eps.) (Action, Comedy, Drama, School) – Index had the makings of a great show – excellent animation, character designs, and some surprisingly outstanding directing made the show almost worthwhile, but it was marred by an incredibly awkward pace, long scenes of boring exposition, and an at times confusing plot. Still, though, many fans do swear by it.

102. End of the World (Short film) (Arthouse) – It’s only 10 minutes long. Why not watch it yourself!

- First Squad (Short film + music video) (Arthouse, Action, Music video) – More short-film greatness from studio 4c!

101. Touka Gettan (26 eps.) (Drama, Comedy, Action, Fanservice, Everything) - Touka Gettan is a VERY strange show, owing this a lot to the fact that director Yuuji Yamaguchi is a fucking nutcase. The show is actually aired in backward episode order, meaning that nothing really makes sense the first time you watch it, and then there’s the fact that it’s impossible to tell at any given time if the show is a serious drama (as it will be one episode), a supernatural fighting show (as it will be the next), or a random-ass spastic comedy full of extremely overt sexual references (as it will be the remainder of the time.) What the show has going for it is great production values, awesome character designs, some of the funniest episodes of anime I’ve ever seen, and the overall cumulative experience that hits you in such an odd way you can’t help but think you must have enjoyed it.

100. Kodomo no Jikan (12 eps.) (+ 2 OVA eps. + Ni Gakki (3 eps.) + Ni Gakki OVA) (Comedy, Drama, Fanservice, School) - Kodomo no Jikan was easily one of the most controversial series of the decade, from the manga to the anime and beyond. It’s easy to see why – the series blatantly sexually objectifies characters who it admits are no older than 3rd graders, but also because the story actually does tell a deep and dramatic tale that quite frankly takes a lot of balls to be willing to tell. There has been nothing but controversy surrounding and the anime adaption even had huge, hideous censors that covered up most of the scenes, in spite of no real action ever happening (which in turn caused a lot of prospective watchers such as myself to quit watching and wait for DVD subs that took a year to come). Still, to those in the so-called would-be ‘lolicon community’, Kodomo no Jikan will always be held as a classic, and so even if the manga is stronger, the anime stays listed.

99. Nodame Cantabile (23 eps.) (+ Paris Chapter (11 eps.) + OVA + Special) (Drama, Romance, Comedy, Music) – An excellent romantic comedy about an arrogant college guy who is obsessed with his musicianship that meets a very silly girl who is unreasonably talented in piano. These two slowly find themselves falling in love amidst much other chaos and other eclectic cast members. Very notable for it’s high respect for the classical music performed by most of the characters, even going so far as to lend 7 minutes of one episode to a concert performance of part of Rachmaninoff.

98. Hitohira (12 eps.) (Drama, Comedy, School) - A highly overlooked show about a girl who is a freshman in high school and is so shy that except for in front of her best friend, she can’t even use her voice. However, when she does use her voice, it turn out to be exceptionally loud and beautiful, which catches the attention of a drama club. As it turns out, the three-member drama club is trying to recruit members to perform a play that will decide whether or not they will continue to exist in light of the existence of a theater club in the same school. So begins an incredibly dramatic tale of the main character’s fight to open up and use her voice to save the struggling group. Particularly notable for it’s powerful closing episodes and generally having some of the most melodrama I think I’ve ever seen in a show, lol.

97. Scrapped Princess (24 eps.) (Adventure, Fantasy, Action, Drama, Sci-fi) - An interesting mix of sci-fi and high fantasy adventure that tells the tale of a young princess who was told from birth that her 17th birthday would bring about the end of the world. She was supposedly killed as a baby, but has been living with her substitute family – now down to an older brother and sister whose aim is to get her out of the country as fast as possible. The show excellently tells of the strong bonds of family while providing a plot full of twists and turns as well as creating an interesting world in a short time.

96. Bartender (11 eps.) (Slice-of-life, Drama) – One of the most overlooked shows of the decade, Bartender is a peaceful, slow-moving anime that tells a number of touching stories through each episode’s customers at a famous yet mysterious bar. The bartender is a master of all drinks who can conjure up any kind of drink to soothe the souls of his patrons through almost magical ways. It has often been referred to as ‘the slice-of-life show for men’, though I think Bartender has a universal appeal for it’s great storytelling and enriching plot.

95. Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angel (2 eps.) (Action, Drama, Magical Girl) - An excellent but little-known OVA from the director of Toradora and To Aru Kagaku no Railgun, Twin Angel is an interesting take on the magical girl story in that it is darker without loosing any of the defining characteristics of the magical girl genre and is excellently produced and acted. In many ways, I would say that it is to magical girl anime what Batman is to superhero comics.

94. Cromartie High School (26 12-minute eps.) (Comedy) - The manliest show ever created! Cromartie is a hilarious gag comedy about a school for delinquent boys to which a non-delinquent is accidentally sent and subsequently becomes somewhat the leader of. The show is full of hilarious characters, brilliant jokes, and superb voice acting (especially from the legendary Norio Wakamoto who gives one of his greatest performances ever in the form of Mechazawa.)

93. Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro (25 eps.) (Mystery, Action, Comedy) - Another of the most criminally overlooked series of the decade, Nougami Neuro is also one of the most bizarre shounen anime I’ve ever seen and probably the biggest mindfuck. It’s about a young girl who’s father is murdered in the most horrific and mysterious way imaginable, and when she decides she wants to find the murderer, a demon from hell comes up and tells her that she WILL become a detective so that she can find the mysteries he feeds on. What we get after that is one of the most violent and insane kids shows around with a protagonist voiced very creepily by Takehito Koyasu that takes no pity on the young girl hosting him and will not hesitate to physically abuse her. And the show is definitely a comedy. I don’t even know what else to say. It’s high octane nightmare fuel.

92. Minami-ke (13 eps.) (+ Okawari (13 eps.) + Okaeri (13 eps.) + OVA) (Comedy) – an excellent character-driven comedy known for playfully tossing up all kinds of strange and hilarious characters and plot points all taken as lightly as possible and written splendidly. The first season had amazing production values, but they, along with the overall quality, began to fluctuate when the studio was changed for the second and third season. Some of the characters, such as the legendary Hosaka and the epic trap Mako-chan, will live on in the annals of history forever.

91. Clannad (23 eps.) (+ After Story (24 eps.) + 2 OVAs + Movie) (Drama, Comedy, School, Romance) - One of the three intensely famous shows from the combo team of Kyoto Animation and the game developers Key. Clannad is a surprisingly wholesome, family-worthy bit of moe entertainment that made many fans from the sheer emotion it evokes from viewers due to it’s manic-depressive plot. The show made me cry the hardest I’ve ever cried while watching anime within the span of just 9 episodes. It is also my 12 year-old little brother’s favorite anime of all time.

90. True Tears (13 eps.) (Drama, Romance, School, Love Triangle) - An intelligent and well-made romantic drama from legendary director Junji Nishimura, True Tears was a massively divisive love triangle because of the sheer difference in it’s female leads and the entirely different audiences each one attracted. Many, many fans found themselves pissed off by one character or the other, or otherwise any of the events in the show, but in spite of their being pissed, none could deny that the show was a great experience and no doubt notable for being able to stir up such emotions in it’s viewers.

89. Planetes (26 eps.) (Sci-fi, Slice-of-life, Drama, Comedy) - Planetes is the tale of a team of trash collectors in space (debris collectors more accurately) and their mis/adventures. The show has a decidedly more grown-up feel than most anime (likely from the adult cast) and tells a lot of stories that I think people of any age could appreciate. The story deals with all kinds of themes from loss to discrimination (people pick on trash collectors even in space) and can be quite powerful in it’s delivery. Helps too that the director is the amazing Taniguchi Goro. As omo always says when describing his love for the show, “No man is an island, and no man should go without seeing Planetes.”

88. Kaleido Star (51 eps.) (+3 OVAs) (Magical Girl, Comedy, Drama) - From the master of magical girl directors, Junichi Sato, Kaleido star actually isn’t quite a magical girl show but is written like one: the main character, Sora, is a girl who’s wanted to join the circus every since she was a kid – more specifically, the Kaleido Stage, a legendary circus that is sort of like cirque du soleil but in LA. Sora is faced with constant hardships as she tries to join the Kaleido Stage and gradually rise up to be it’s greatest star, and along the way she’ll meet many friends and help them with their problems through her natural good nature. It’s a very fun and cute show, but perhaps most notable of it’s features is that the circus performances are breathtaking and splendidly animated to the point that many rival the excitement of anime’s greatest fight scenes.

87. Ghost Hunt (25 eps.) (Supernatural, Horror, Comedy) – Ghost Hunt is an interesting take on the ‘ghost hunter’ genre in that the show is about the real kind of ghost hunters – a team who comes in with machines, mediums, and other such characters to try and detect and exorcise ghosts that they can’t actually see. Besides the plot being different from most anime, though, what sells the show is excellent control of tone and great directing as well as a cast of not-so-average characters who interact splendidly.

86. Futakoi Alternative (13 eps.) (Comedy, Action, Drama) - FutaAlt is often considered ‘THE’ cult hit of the decade. Spin-off of an embarassingly bad harem anime called Futakoi, Alternative is UFOTable’s utterly wacked-out re-interpretation of the plot about a town wherein an abnormal amount of twin girls are born that is at times any genre you can think of. The first episode is a high-octane thrill ride filled with wacky comedy and zany action that leads to massive collateral damage and big explosions. The show then evolves into a moe comedy, a depressing drama, and finally, an epic fantasy tale that never gets boring. It tops every ‘shows that should get licensed’ list, but with the history of UFOTable shows in the US, it will probably never happen.

- Coyote Ragtime Show (12 eps.) (Sci-fi, Action, Comedy) - The least-highly regarded of UFOTable’s original shows – I haven’t finished Ragtime myself, and therefor can’t tell you why it gets less recognition, but I will say that it is worth watching just for the first few episodes that I have seen if nothing else. It’s a hyper-fun UFOTable take on the sci-fi pulp genre with crazy violence and twisted characters such as a team of 12 robot gothloli assassins and the main characters who are all members of a rowdy space-pirate crew. Yeah, it’s like that.

85. Mai-HiME (26 eps.) (Drama, Action, Comedy, Parody, Fanservice, School) – Mai-HiME is an interesting show in that it is essentially Studio Sunrise’s way of subverting the kind of anime being made at the time while simultaneously defining it. What begins as a generic but well-made action-comedy romp then starts to become more of a parody that, had it ended with it’s first climax at episode 15, would probably have been considered nothing more than average, but it’s after that when things suddenly turn highly dramatic and intense that the show really came into it’s own and became unforgettable. The ending was highly controversial, but the show was still incredibly popular and some of it’s characters have had great lasting fanbases. Thee were a number of alternate-universe sequels made as well, and while they are popular and liked by some, none quite matches with the impact of the first. (For reference, though, the alt-universe sequel and it’s subsequent OVAs go by the name ‘Mai-Otome‘).

84. Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu (6 eps.) (Drama, Romance, Sci-fi) – Iriya is a lesser-known OVA with a classic boy-meets-moe-girl type of situation, only the girl is a living UMD and part of some kind of massive government conspiracy. The cute and funny elements of a new couple are quickly thrown out the window when things get horribly depressing and crazy leading up to a tragic climax. I admittedly don’t remember much of the details of Iriya largely because watching it made me so emo that I remember more of my own reaction than the actual show except that I really enjoyed it.

83. Pani Poni Dash! (26 eps.) (Comedy, School) - From the Usual Suspects, studio SHAFT and Akiyuki shinbo, PPD! is a slapstick school comedy like no other. The basic idea of the show is to be the most all-encompassing referential comedy ever, with so many references to so many things that at times what you are seeing on screen is one reference, what is happening in the background is another reference, and what the characters are saying is yet a third reference. The show is full of bizarre, eclectic, and hilarious characters and situations that are always sure to bring a smile to the viewer’s face – doubly so if you actually get the references.

82. Nana (47 eps.) (Drama, Romance, Comedy) – Based on an extremely popular shoujo manga and animated by Madhouse, Nana is a roller coaster ride through the years in the life of two girls named Nana, one who is a very normal (and by that I mean realistic) recent high school graduate who’s interested in love and boys above all else, and the other who is a punk-rock chick from the scene who’s trying to hit it big with her band. Nana is, I must say, brutally depressing. The first 22 episodes or so are fairly normal and well-done romance-drama-comedy with a high point at which things seem very empowering and emotionally uplifting. Then, around episode 23 or so, it enters a period of non-stop depressing episodes that relentlessly pound on the characters. It only picks up lightly before the abrupt end of the series due to the fact that the manga is still running, leaving you utterly destroyed in the process.

- Paradise Kiss (12 eps) (Drama, Romance, Comedy) - From the same creators as Nana, ParaKiss is in many ways a sort of ‘Nana-lite.’ It has similar themes of a girl trying to reach some kind of goal in life and her drama along the way, as well as a similar cast of punk type stylish kids. It also has a Franz Ferdinand song for it’s ending theme, which is just awesome.

81. Potemayo (12 eps.) (+ 6 Specials) (Comedy, School) - Potemayo is the story of a guy who opens his fridge and finds a little tiny girl… thing that he names ‘Potemayo’ after the ‘Potato Mayonnaise’ container that she was inside of. Potemayo is quickly the talk of his class, though he is too bored and unflinching to really care or pay mind. There’s another one of these little creatures, too, but it’s a tsundere with a scythe and little worm hair ornaments that shoot enormous laser blasts. Most of the cast is in love with other cast members, often homosexually. It’s… just one of those shows.

- Macademi WAsshoi! (12 eps.) (Comedy, Fanservice) - At first glance (i.e. the first episode) Macademi WAsshoi seems like total trash – the same moe fanservice show that you can get a dime a dozen of, but if you keep watching you get a highly subversive and often hilarious romp full of laughs and cute girls as well as… huge burly and disturbing gay men. The biggest reason to watch, though, is for Nobuyuki Hiyama effectively reprising his roles as Hironobu Madarame and Guy Shishio AT THE SAME TIME.

80. Seirei no Moribito (26 eps.) (Historical, Drama, Action) - While Moribito can be very slow at times, the show is a very interesting tale of an older woman (at 30 she most be one of the oldest main characters in anime ever) who is an extremely efficient spear-wielder on a mission to save the lives of eight people in repentance for eight that she killed in the past. She is tasked with taking in a young prince and keeping him on the run from his father whom is trying to have him killed. In spite of the slow pace of the series, it has some of the most well-choreographed and animated fights in the history of TV anime, courtesy of the amazing Production I.G., and the background art is consistently gorgeous.

79. Diesbuster (6 eps.) (Action, Mecha, Sci-fi, Drama, Comedy) - As much a sequel as it is a throwback to the classic 80s OVA Gunbuster, Diebuster is an epic and powerful story from the geniuses at GAINAX with amazing and spastic animation and a plot that is… well, kind of all over the place. The series has a bit of a flaw in that it is very awkwardly paced, as if it should have been a full 13-episode series, however it makes up for this flaw by being large-scale beyond the ordinary boundaries of reason and full of PASSION, HARD WORK, AND GUTS!

- Shinkon Gattai Godannar (13 eps.) (+ Season Two (13 eps.)) (Mecha, Action, Fanservice, Romance) - Godannar is a high-energy thrill ride that throws back to the old-school super robot anime with a special emphasis on ‘GATTAI!’ (or combination). The main characters are a newlywed couple who pilot mechs to fight evil aliens – they quickly realize, too, that their mechs can combine, unleashing a greater force than ever before! Simultaneously cute, hot (lots of huge tits bouncing everywhere), and HOT-BLOODED, Godannar is a true man’s feast of an anime.

78. Hatenkou Yuugi (10 eps.) (Adventure, Action, Fantasy, Comedy) - Hatenkou Yuugi begins with the young lady main character being abruptly kicked out of her home by her father who tells her to ‘go explore the world.’ And so Rahzel sets out with her infinitely-sharp wit and strange magical powers to enjoy the world. She quickly becomes travel partners with a gun-toting albino hitman and a buff guy who can summon a sword from his hand. These three adventure about not so much in the name of justice or combat, but more out of boredom and flighty fancies as they joke around and test their wits against each-other. Has probably some of the best dialog of any anime I’ve seen and some unforgettable characters that the meager 10 episodes don’t do justice (the original manga is ten volumes long!)

77. Hayate the Combat Butler! (52 eps.) (+ !! (25 eps.) + OVA) (Comedy) – Hayate is a very, very poor young man who is left alone by his parents that try to sell his organs to the yakuza to pay off their debt. Honest and hardworking Hayate finds his poor self trying to kidnap a young rich-looking girl on Christmas in hopes of holding her for ransom. However, when he tries to kidnap her, she mistakes it as a confession of love from a cute guy, and one thing leads to another wherein Hayate ends up becoming her butler and she pays off his debt so that he can work it off for her. Hayate is a hilarious slapstick and frequently referential comedy wherein the characters are constantly caught up in an infinite web of misunderstandings and confusion by way of most of them being totally dense. That said, most of the cast is quite lovable and Hayate’s mock harem is made of nothing but win. Prepare to become a factionist.

76. Kino no Tabi (13 eps.) (+ 2 Movies + OVA) (Adventure) - Kino’s Journey is the tale of a young girl named Kino who travels the many countries of the world on her talking motorcycle, Hermes. Her rule is to stay in one country for three days – no more, no less. Kino’s explorations bring her into all kinds of interesting and odd situations, often that play tricks with morals and ethics to create situations of unthinkable horror or even mystifying beauty depending on the event. The general idea is that ‘the world is not beautiful, and therefor it is’, and Kino is just a silent observer along for the ride that is the world. Kino’s Journey will satiate the tastes of all adventure-lovers and tells many outright brilliant tales that may have you questioning your own morals.

75. Sword of the Stranger (Movie) (Action, Adventure, Historical, Samurai) – Sword of the Stranger is a classic lone-wolf-and-cub style story about a nameless samurai who finds himself protecting a young parent-less boy from a bunch of evil Chinese dudes who are after him. While the story is fine, what really matters is that this movie from the amazing Studio Bones has the outright most superbly animated and choreographed sword fights in anime history – PERIOD. It’s something you really have to see to believe.

- Karas (6 eps.) (Action, Supernatural) - While we’re on the subject of fight scenes, Karas has to come up. This gorgeously-animated OVA (CG skeptics eat your heart out) features many long and amazing combat scenes on the backdrop of a story that… well, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but you don’t come for that anyway!

74. FullMetal Alchemist (51 eps.) (+ Brotherhood (51 eps.) + 4 OVAs + Movie) (Aventure, Drama, Action, Comedy) - FullMetal Alchemist is a massively popular anime, the original of which is rather loosely based on the original manga while Brotherhood is a retelling of the story that follows the manga to the letter. I, and many other fans, prefer the original which is the story of two young boys who had everything taken from them when they tried to resurrect their dead mother using the forbidden art of human alchemy. The older brother lost an arm and a leg, while the younger lost his entire body, causing the brother to merge his soul into a walking suit of armor. The series is a very dramatic adventure through these boys’ life in search of the philosopher’s stone and the power to return their bodies to normal. With unforgettable characters and a splendid production from Studio Bones, the series is an interesting and often powerful emotional ride.

73. Dennou Coil (26 eps.) (Sci-fi, Adventure, Comedy, Drama) - In the not-so-distant future, the internet has become essentially a virtual overlay of the real world, visible through the use of cyber-glasses. This is the concept upon which Dennou Coil is built, a tale of children who get caught up in a virtual mystery and have to try and piece together what it all means through cyber detective work. Dennou Coil is a brilliant, interesting, and very feasible-feeling vision of the future’s technology as well as a fun and adventurous children’s tale that will appeal to anyone’s sense of awe. In addition, it’s one of the outright best-looking TV anime of the decade with Madhouse putting almost movie-level detail into every episode.

72. Aria the Animation (13 eps.) (+ Natural (26 eps.) + Origination (13 eps.) + OVA + Special) (Slice-of-life, Adventure) – On the planet Aqua lies the watery city of Neo Venezia, a tourist hub in which people travel around in gondolas. Professional gondoliers known as Undines are well-revered as they act as tour guides for the people. Akari Mizunashi is a gondolier in training and also an employee of Aria Company. She gets to meet all sorts of people as she takes them on the gondola rides, from friendly mentors to special individuals, all this amidst the beautiful scenic backdrop of the entire city. – The reason I stole this plot description from MAL is that this is pretty much the entire story of Aria – what you watch for in Aria is not so much the ‘plot’ but simply the adventure of the characters as they discover the beauty of Neo Venzsia and generally just enjoy life as gondoliers – it’s a thoroughly peaceful show that one can relax, enjoy, and smile about, and you will no doubt fall in love with it’s entire cast of sweet and charming girls as they guide you through their wonderful world.

- Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (2 eps.) (+ Quiet Country Cafe (2 eps.)) (Slice-of-life) - Although the YKK OVAs only cover the tiniest potion of the 14-volume manga they are based on, they are still well worth watching for their stunning visuals and well-defined tone of utter peace. YKK takes place long after the ‘end of the world’ and humanity has decided that instead of building massive civilizations like the ones that ended the world, they’d rather live peaceful country lives. Alpha is a robot girl who lives alone in a cafe in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, and the OVAs tell her quiet tales of life out in nowhereland.

71. REC (9 9-minute eps.) (Romance, Comedy) – REC is a criminally unknown short romantic comedy about a salaryman and a cute young woman with an aspiration to be a voice actress (specifically, she wants to be the dub voice of Audrey Hepburn) who find themselves accidentally thrown together after a series of events leave the girl somehow homeless and the two to sleep together on the first night of their meeting. However, the two are not quite lovers, having only just met, and this leads into an awkward and often hilarious romance story that very much takes it’s cues from western romantic-comedy movies the likes of which Audrey Hepburn might have stared in. It also has a theme song so addictive that just thinking ‘REC’ gets it in my noggin.

- Candy Boy (a total of 10 confusingly-named 7-minute eps.) (Romance, Comedy) - Admittedly only alike in tone and shortness to REC, Candy Boy is a cute tale about a pair of sisters who have a particularly close relationship (if you know what I mean.) The show excells in visuals, writing, and directing and manages to create some really endearing characters in it’s short run.

70. Xam’d: Lost Memories (26 eps.) (Adventure, Action, Fantasy, Thriller) - Xam’d is a very odd show in that is is set in a fantasy world and looks like a fantasy series, but is written like a suspense thriller. Instead of spending time on developing the world and revealing the lives and ambitions of the characters, the series purposefully hides things from the viewer to create a more alien and strange story. There are tons of shocking moments and plot twists that keep you on your toes and at times may blow your mind. What’s more, the show is INSANELY well-animated, looking easily as great as most movies thanks to an amazing effort by Studio Bones. This is one fantasy show to walk into with no expectations and just be blown the hell away.

69. Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji (26 eps.) (Thriller, Psychological, Game, Old-school) - Kaiji is the most edge-of-your-seat thriller of an anime that I’ve ever seen – it is the tale of Kaiji, a man who finds himself in massive debt by no fault of his own and walks his way into the underground world of yakuza gambling that he never could have known would be so brutal. Through several long arcs the viewer is introduced to several new games that Kaiji and the other gamblers will be playing to try and get out of the hole, with loosing often leading to slavery and death. The battles are intense, insane, and brutal with the minds of the characters always full of all sorts of crazy plans and over-the-top revelations. This one’s a real nail-biter right down to the thrilling finish.

68. Figure 17 (13 45-minute eps.) (Slice-of-life, Drama, Action) - Figure 17 is very strange in that it is almost like two entirely different shows. Set in the northernmost part of Japan, the show follows the quiet life of an 8-year-old girl who is very quiet and easily walked over. In this countryside, a space vessel happens to crash and an alien being comes out and transforms the girl into a battle mode with which to fight an alien monster that appears. As a result of her being alien transformed, the little girl is spawned a clone who is like her but a lot more outgoing. The show’s strange 45-minute episodes tend to vary between a long part of the quiet life of these new twins and then an action-packed battle of them transformed against alien villains. I really wish I could tell you more – getting my hands on Figure 17 has been the biggest pain in the ass ever and I’ve only ever managed to watch three episodes – one day I swear to god I’ll finish this goddamn cult classic.

67. NieA_7 (13 eps.) (Comedy, Drama, Slice-of-life) - Most notable for being one of the few and always amazing anime based on the art and stories of Yoshitoshi ABe, NieA_7 is a very strange tale set in the backwater countryside of Japan where for years now the existence of aliens has been very evident seeing as they crash landedhere in a giant space ship and are now regulated to their own little community. NieA is an alien who is pretty much a worthless asshole of a young girl who rooms with a high school girl on her way to college that simply cannot afford neither to put up with her nor to generally deal with her own life. NieA_7 starts as a comedy and gradually mellows out, sobers up, and tells a very down-to-earth tale about a girl who is trying to find her direction in life and mostly having a tough time of it. Though NieA_7 isn’t emotional in an overt sense, it is very reflective, which can be even more emotional for the viewer.

66. Air TV (13 eps.) (Drama, Comedy, Romance, Supernatural) - The first of the Key adaptions by Kyoto Animation, some would say that Air is flawed simply in it’s being way too short for the size of the story it wants to tell, but many others would also call it the best of the Key adaptions because of it’s ability to tell an incredibly emotional tale in a short time and to actually focus less on the romance of the characters and more on some seriously intense family drama that moves many to tears. In addition to the emotional story, the show is also unbelievably well-animated, a property that would prove prevalent in Kyoto Animation’s work.

65. Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo (movie) (Comedy, Drama, Sci-fi) - The breakthrough hit from the latest big-name director, Mamoru Hosada, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is an instant classic with it’s almost-too-fun plot about a high school girl who stumbles upon the power to teleport back through time in short distances. She immediately starts abusing this power Groundhog’s Day style, but thing start to get strange as a bigger plot evolves around her. Tokikake is a gorgeous film with excellent character designs by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and a marvelous production by Studio Madhouse. It should definitely be considered one of the must-see films of the decade for all anime fans.

64. Mahou Shuojo Tai Arusu (40 5-minute eps.) (Adventure, Action, Comedy, Drama, Suspense, Mahou Shoujo, Arthouse) - In a rare case of arthouse Studio 4c making a full series, Mahu Shuojo Tai Arusu is a breathtaking adventure story about a young girl named Alice who finds herself in a strange world of witches and magic like she has dreamed of her whole life. Alice takes the orderly witch world by storm with her ideals of freedom and merriment as she speeds through an intense and super-fast-paced series of infinite wonder. I promise that not since The Nightmare Before Christmas have you watched such an imaginative and breathtaking children’s series.

63. Princess Tutu (13 regular-length eps and 25 15-minute eps.) (Mahou Shoujo, Drama, Comedy, Music) - Often considered the spiritual successor to the shoujo classic Revolutionary Girl Utena, Princess Tutu is a captivating story of interwoven fairy tales and a girl who is also a duck and then is also a magical girl. In spite of being definitively aimed at young girls, Princess Tutu is an often dramatic and even tragic tale of immense artistic beauty – the music is all classical and rather than fighting her enemies, the magical girl protagonist will dance with them to solve their problems in some truly stunning sequences. The show is unfortunately very divisive when it comes to it’s second half, which is notably darker and all-around different-feeling from the first half. Many will swear by either half individually.

62. Full Metal Panic! (24 eps.) (+ The Second Raid (13 eps.) + OVA + Special) (Action, Military, Comedy, Drama, School) - Full Metal Panic is a story about the young Seargent Sousuke Sagara who is appointed to watch a beautiful girl named Kaname Chidori who is the target of a terrorist force. Sousuke is clueless about the life of an average teenager, leading to many hilarious situations between him and Chidori, but when things get serious, Sousuke shows his insane Solid Snake-level badass skills and saves the day. The series toggles flawlessly between hilarious comedy and brutal, effective drama, all with production values that start off great with Gonzo’s first season, and then jump up a rung to AMAZING a couple of years later with Kyoto Animation’s season. The world of FMP is quite engrossing, and it’s worth mentioning as well that the voice acting is superb across the board.

- Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu (12 eps.) (Comedy, Military, School) – Before they produced the Second Raid, Kyoto Animation produced the hilarious FMP offshoot series, Fumoffu, which takes the school comedy elements from the series and plays with them as if they were the real point of the show. What results is one of the most hilarious and widely-loved anime comedies ever made with some truly unforgettable episodes that will go into some kind of hall of fame at the end of time.

61. Strike Witches (12 eps.) (+ OVA) (Action, Fanservice, Historical, Sci-fi, Comedy) - Strike Witches was a fairly controversial series mostly because it was done by studio Gonzo in a period where they had put out some really bad shows all really close together, as well as for the fact that none of the mostly-female cast wears pants. Mecha musume fans could have told them that mech girls never wear pants, but regardless it was a hard sell for those who couldn’t watch a show where a lot of suspiciously young girls run around pantsless. However, in truth, Strike Witches was a surprisingly well-written, well-acted, and entertaining action-comedy with memorable characters and really high production values. It’s pretty much impossible to convince people that they are going to like the show if they give up on it right from the pantslessness (and the admittedly fanservice-heavy first episode) but if those things don’t turn you off, you’ll find a true gem here.

- Rocket Girls (12 eps.) and Sky Girls (26 eps.) (+ OVA + 9 specials) (Action, Mecha, Sci-fi, Comedy) - The two spiritual successors to Strike Witches, both decent in their own rights but less memorable and certainly less outrageous than their offspring. If you still want the moe-girls-in-mechs with at least a decent amount more pants, then these shows may be worth looking at, or just if you want more girls in mechs in general.

60. Fushigiboshi no Futago Hime (51 eps.) (+ Gyu! (52 eps.)) (Magical Girl, Comedy) - Futago Hime is outright the cutest anime I’ve ever seen, bar none. I warn that unless you have a very high tolerance for things that are meant for absolutely no one besides little girls, then you probably won’t make it through this show – it’s unabashedly cute and mindless to a degree where most people who aren’t little girls (or don’t have the minds of one) probably won’t even know what the hell is going on. That all said, I consider this to be yet another masterpiece from the genius god of mahou shoujo, Junichi Sato, complete with excellent visuals and superb voice work. Mahou Shoujo fans, this is a must-watch!

59. Soul Eater (51 eps.) (Action, Adventure, Psychological, Comedy) - Based on one of my alltime favorite manga and animated by the amazing Studio Bones, Soul Eater is a stylistic masterpiece of a shounen action series. The style is like a fusion of hip-hop and Tim Burton to create a trippy urban feel where the ‘black’ of afro-America is the same as the ‘black’ of goth-punk. The actual story involves a school for Meisters and Weapons – that is kids who turn into weapons and the other kids who wield them in the name of fighting evil. What really makes Soul Eater great, though, is it’s huge cast of unique and brilliant characters, it’s intense visual style, epic combat scenes, and trippy psychological accents on an otherwise classic shounen plot. The only major disappointment of the anime is that it ends just before the best arc of the manga (which would have pushed the show WAY up this list) and makes up it’s own horribly rushed ending for the anime, I guess because they didn’t think they’d get a second season. Sad.

58. Code Geass – Lelouche of the Rebellion (25 eps.) (+ R2 (25 eps.) + tons of recap OVAs and specials) (Action, Mecha, Thriller, Drama, Comedy, School, Fanservice) - One of the biggest, baddest, most talked about, most controversial, most memetic, and most legendary shows of the decade. Code Geass was the show that everyone either loved or loved to hate as it spiraled out of control through insane plot twists that happened constantly, characters who you could love with all your heart one minute and hate with all of it the next, a production that was at times stellar and at others just flat-out weird, every great voice actor you can shake a stick at, a humongous, epic plot, directing by the amazing Taniguchi Goro, and most of all, a badass anti-hero of a main character that rode through the center of the whirlwind like Sleepy Fucking Hollow and took the world by storm. It was the talk of 4chan for it’s entire air and was so explosively popular that you couldn’t even avoid spoilers without just ignoring any anime-related site for days. I didn’t even have to watch most of R2 – I experienced it vicariously through 4chan. Code Geass is quite the experience even without the carnival of it’s original airing, so it’s a must-see in my book.

57. Blood the Last Vampire (movie) (+ Blood+ (50 eps.)) (Action, Horror, Drama) - The Blood franchise is very strange because none of the works in it are anything alike. The original movie was a 40-minute test of Production I.G.’s insane animation quality (you’ll shit yourself when you realize it came out in 2000) that was pretty much just a dark and gritty excuse to have a vampire chick spray lots of blood by cutting people up. After that came some trippy manga with lesbian sex in it and then a novel written by Mamoru Fucking Oshii that is mostly consumed by random philosophical conversation. Then we have Blood+, a 50-episode series about Saya having lost her memories and being raised by a family as their daughter – it’s a much more average anime, though well done and entertaining until around episode 39 where a shitty time skip occurs and the rest is only saved by a very satisfying ending to make up for the quality dip. The only real similarity in all of the Blood stories is that while none of them are totally stellar works, all are interesting and worth your time to whatever extent.

56. s-CRY-ed (26 eps.) (Action, Adventure, Supernatural) – My personal favorite work from the great Taniguchi Goro, s-CRY-ed is the most hot-blooded anime I think ever created, and it is in fact the one that inspired my blog’s title (as well as TheBigN‘s). s-CRY-ed is a story in which a huge section of Japan suddenly rose a mile from the surface of the water about 7 years ago and many of the island’s natives have gained crazy powers. There’s an interesting plot about caste systems and social commentary in there somewhere, but the real draw of the series is an epic rivalry between main character Kazuma and his rival Ryuho that really drives all of the action. Their epic standoffs make the show and there’s always a shitton of yelling involved. Usually yelling of the word ‘FUZAKENNA!!!’

- Gun X Sword (26 eps.) (Action, Adventure, Drama, Comedy) – Gun X Sword is my least favorite Taniguchi Goro show, mostly because it kind of falls appart as it gets towards the end. The series has often been referred to as ‘the lovechild of Cowboy Bebop and Trigun’ which is really quite accurate with the series’ blend of sci-fi and old western worlds to create a really wacky countryside full of action and thrills. While the show was never anything too spectacular, it’s at least a very fun ride with some undeniably cool characters up until the end where stuff got weird and I found myself feeling like the bad guys deserved to win more than the good guys.

55. Paranoia Agent (13 eps.) (Psychological, Thriller) - CUE YUME NO SHIMA SHINEN KOUEN! Paranoia Agent was the first TV series from legendary director Satoshi Kon. It’s a mindfuck roller coaster that was pretty much created by Kon saying ‘I’m gunna do a lot of weird shit, I don’t particularly care if it makes a whole lot of sense.’ Paranoia Agent is a spectacular psychological exploration that delves right into the minds of it’s ensemble cast of characters and while it’s there, proceeds to fuck around. Madhouse provides one of their amazing-looking production jobs and some trippy music is included – BAM! instant classic!

54. RahXephon (26 eps.) (+ Movie + OVA + 2 Specials) (Mecha, Psychological, Drama, Action, Adventure) - RahXephon was the first full series production from studio Bones and the series can be best described as ‘an enigma’. It’s sort of this patchwork tapestry of different ideas and directions that is really hard to wrap your brain around as a complete series but rocks hard ass when looked at as individual episodes. There are a lot of episode directors, and it’s really kind of like Bones told them to do whatever they wanted with their own episodes with no regards to the rest of the series. As a result, no, the plot does not make any fucking sense, and the ending had me scratching the hell out of my head, but nonetheless, it was a damn good time. I strongly believe that RahXephon has some of the strongest stand-alone episodes of anime that there are. Mecha fans, especially those who like their mecha with some trippy psychological bonus, are highly recommended to watch this series.

53. 5 Centimeters Per Second (technically three short films, though everyone views them as one hour-long movie) (Drama, Romance) - 5cmps is largely considered the masterpiece of rising big-name director Makoto Shinkai. The third of his movies about relationships fatalized by distance (though the first not to include some sci-fi element), 5cmps is not only the best looking (especially from a cinematography standpoint) but the most resonant with it’s audience. Most accounts of the film involve some mention of crying hysterically by it’s legendary and emotional ending. An instant classic.

52. Last Exile (26 eps.) (Adventure, Action, Steampunk, Drama) - Last Exile is a highly visual adventure series about a pair of airship pilots in the midst of a massive steampunk war. While the characters and plot are not particularly memorable for the most part, the excellent art and designs courtesy of the great Range Murata and the excellent visual style merged with great directing and a fast pace make this an experience worth going through again and again.

51. Samurai Champloo (26 eps.) (Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Samurai, Historical) – The second brainchild of Shinichiro Watanabe (famous for Cowboy Bebop), Samurai Champloo is a funkadelic fusion of eastern styles and classic Japanese samurai storytelling. Taking place in the Edo period, it stars a very serious former samurai named Jin, a very off-the-chain brawler named Mugen, and a young sly girl named Fu who saves the other two’s lives in exchange for their assisting her to find ‘the man who smells like sunflowers.’ The largely episodic journey can be dramatic at times and utterly hilarious at others, brilliantly blending classic samurai stories with wacked-out western hip-hop cultural influences. The rap intro and hip-hop soundtrack are genius and lay down the last layer of style to solidify this as a stylistic masterpiece.

50. Gankutsuou ~Le Compte de Monte Cristo~ (26 eps.) (Thriller, Drama, Sci-fi, Action) - Gankutsuou is studio Gonzo’s genious re-telling of the classic novel The Count of Monte Cristo, only set about 5000 years in the future in a bizarro sci-fi world. The show is a visual feast, utilizing all sorts of experimental techniques such as patterns, CG, and extremely flashy colors. Behind all the flair lies the grounds of the story as set up by the original told oh-so-well that it hurts. The show was so suspenseful that in spite of my love for both the opening and ending songs, I found myself burning through them, anxious to see what happens next. The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the most genius characters I’ve had the pleasure of watching and Jouji Nakata is the man with the voice for the role. Couple all that with a stellar soundtrack and you’ve got yourself one tight package.

- Romeo X Juliet (26 eps.) and Samurai 7 (26 eps.) (Action, Adventure, Sci-fi, Drama, Romance) – For a while, Gonzo seemed to be really into the whole idea of sci-fi adaptions of old works, since they did it for Romeo and Juliet and Seven Samurai as well. While neither series has quite the strength and brilliance nor the artistic fortitude of Gankutsuou, they are no doubt worthwhile anime that will either entice open-minded fans of the original or just piss them right the hell off.

49. Read or Die (3 eps.) (+ R.O.D. the TV (26 eps.)) (Action, Adventure, Thriller, Comedy, Drama) – The original Read or Die OVA was a brilliant James Bond-style action story about a woman with the power to control paper and the crazy-ass villains she has to take down before they destroy the world. It was a pulpy good time with amazing animation and direction alongside a superb jazz soundtrack. The TV series is a bit more on the normal side, being as it is a full-length series, but it also brings in the element of very endearing characters and a more developed plot that make it more than worth watching. I love them both, but I really never get tired of that original OVA.

48. Comedy (Short Film) (Fairy Tale, Gothic) - This beautiful little 10-minute gothic fairy tale really deserves to speak for itself.

47. Kanokon (12 eps.) (+ 2 OVAs + 12 2-minute specials) (Fanservice, Comedy, Action) – Kanokon was one of the most overt and risque fanservice shows to go on TV without ever going full nipple, which combined with it’s excellent character designs could get some attention, but the series really sells on it’s stellar production values and surprisingly fun story with some decent action scenes and some really hilarious episodes. All of that might have gotten it on this list, but what really makes Kanokon so incredibly memorable for me is it’s ending that has been one of my alltime favorites and most unforgettable anime moments since I saw it for the first time.

46. Spirited Away (Movie) (Fantasy, Adventure) - The magical film from anime legend Hayao Miyazaki that was the first anime to ever win the Best Animated Film at the Academy Awards. I’m sure you’ve already seen this movie, so I’ll spare you the plot synopsis and just say that this was a magical and thoroughly enthralling film whose ungodly amazing animation really pops your brain right open.

- Howl’s Moving Castle (Movie) and Ponyo (Movie) (Fantasy, Adventure) - The other two Hayao Miyazaki films of the decade. I personally was not a big fan of Howl’s – I thought it was a bit messy, which probably has something to do with the fact that Mamoru Hosada was supposed to direct it and then suddenly left studio Ghibli, forcing it into the hands of Master Commander Miyazaki. However, there are a number of Howl’s fans who swear by the movie on the grave of Spirited Away. Ponyo, on the other hand, I haven’t actually seen myself yet, but have heard great things about.

45. Metropolis (Movie) (Action, Adventure, Sci-fi, Drama, Old-school) - A godly masterwork of titan creators (original manga by Osamu Tezuka, based on a legendary 1930s silent film, script by Katsuhiro Otomo and directing by Rintaro. Oh. My. GOD.) Metropolis is an epic tale of boy-meets-robot-girl rife with social commentary, breathtaking art and animation, and sumptuous sci-fi action. The movie gives me a massive hard-on for it’s metropolitan artwork and for the fact that it has Norio Fuckwin Wakamoto playing a badass android detective. And the ending is magnifique.

44. Detroit Metal City (12 12-minute episodes) (Comedy) - The hilarious tale of Negishi, a fashionable boy who wants to play folk music and sweet talk the girl he likes, but is constantly thwarted by his alter-ego JOHANNES KRASUSER II, THE DARK GOD OF METAL! Krauser is a stage persona singing and playing guitar for the biggest underground metal band in Japan, Detroit Metal City. His legions of fans treat him like a god for his infamous streak of rape and murder (that, of course, doesn’t actually exist.) The hilarious situations that Negishi/Krauser finds himself in never cease to amaze and provide some truly brilliant black comedy. I personally consider DMC to be the most laugh-out-loud-hilarious comedy of the decade.

43. Kara no Kyoukai (7 50-minute-to-1-hour movies with one 2 hour movie) (Supernatural, Thriller, Action) – I will admit that I have only seen the first Kara no Kyoukai film, having decided to wait for the rest to come out before watching them all (7 should be out on DVD soon…?) but the first was enough to solidify it as one of my favorite anime movies of the decade. The super-thick dark urban tone, amazing UFOTable production, awesome Yuki Kajiura soundtrack, and the sheer badassery of Shiki Ryougi, one of my favorite characters ever from that film alone, solidify this as a classic to me. It’d be worth watching anyway for being such a uniquely produced film and for being an adaption of Type-Moon’s legendary first novel, but besides that it’s a must see for stunning presentation and style.

42. Ichigo Mashimaro (12 eps.) (+ 5 OVAs + Special) (Comedy, Slice-of-life) - The penultimate ‘cute girls doing cute things’ show, IchiMaro is about the local escapades of four elementary-school girls and their never-ending cuteness. It is also about the older sister of one of the girls, Nobue Ito, who is surrogate big sister to the rest of the girls by proxy. Nobue Ito is one of my favorite anime characters ever and the one I most would solidify into real life and marry chill and hang out with. None of that is really here nor there – it’s funny and cute show about cute girls, take it or leave it.

41. Ouran High School Host Club (26 eps.) (Comedy, Parody, School) - The penultimate ‘cute guys doing cute things’ show? (lol) Ouran is a show about young Haruhi, who stumbles into the club room of the eponymous club full of pretty boys who cure the incredible boredom of being absurdly rich by playing host to the young ladies in the school for the hell of it. Haruhi, who is the only poor person in the school, having gotten in on amazing grades, accidentally breaks an expensive vase in this room and so is forced to become a host to pay for it. Haruhi goes along with it, though it’s not until she’s already been introduced to most of the school as a host that the other members realize that Haruhi is, in fact, a girl. Ouran is a hilarious reverse-harem comedy that flips all of the usual tropes of shoujo stories on their heads all while carrying a unique style and flair bolstered further by the excellent directing and production jobs from studio Bones.

40. Mushi-shi (26 eps.) (Supernatural, Fantasy, Adventure) – Mushi-shi is a tale of a silver-haired man named Ginko who travels the world as a sort of medicine man called a ‘mushi-shi’ – he deals with microorganisms called ‘mushi’ that create all kinds of strange situations which Ginko tries to remedy. Some mushi are parasites, some are simple animals, and some are in harms way by humans – Ginko’s job is simply to keep the equilibrium of humans and mushi in check. Mushishi is a very haunting and sober episodic adventure that travels through utterly beautiful locales (I daresay this show has the best art I’ve seen in any anime) and tells intriguing little stories that will wow the viewer as well as make them think.

- xXxHolic (24 eps.) (+ Kei (13 eps.) + OVA (2 eps.) + Movie) (Supernatural, Mystery, Comedy) - If Mushishi is a sober episodic show about people dealing with the paranormal, then xxxholic lives up to it’s title as the drunken mistress of the genre. Based on a highly popular manga by CLAMP, xXxholic is about the usual guy who can see ghosts who finds himself in the employ of a very powerful magic-using woman. Together they help people with their paranormal problems – for a price. xXxholic is far from the most original anime around, but it has some fun characters and the slick CLAMP style makes it worth giving a look-see (though the animation is hideously inconsistent.)

39. Boogiepop Phantom (12 eps.) (Psychological, Thriller, Supernatural) – Darkness. A big city soaked in blood. Supernatural threads that operate in the background of everyday life. A light splits the sky, and the people with powers are on the prowl. Based on the Boogiepop franchise of novels, which began with my favorite story of all time, Boogiepop and Others, the Boogiepop anime is a dark and claustrophobic tale of psychotic horrors and brutal misfortune. Psychological mischief with great visuals, a legendary soundtrack, and a thick tonal experience that will take your breath away – quite literally.

- Shigofumi (12 eps.) (+ OVA) (Supernatural, Thriller) - Cut from a similar cloth as Boogiepop but with decidedly less psychological and stylistic edge, Shigofumi is a series of short stories involving a girl who is a letter carrier of the dead – she takes letters written by people post-mortem and delivers them to the living who may need the information. Most of the episodes have some kind of surprising dark twist and there is an interesting plot that comes along to tie the package up nicely. Not quite as good nor memorable as many of it’s ilk, but a fine enough watch nonetheless.

38. One Piece: Omatsuri Danshaku to Himitsu no Shima (Movie) (Adventure, Action, Drama, Comedy) – One Piece is long and by far the biggest series in Japan right now, and for good reason – a huge, epic adventure rife with unforgettable heroes and an infinity of fun villains. The series itself didn’t qualify for this list, being as it started in 1997, but the stand-alone sixth movie is one I could not ignore. You can enjoy this movie with only a base knowledge of the series, and there’s a very good reason for you to do so – it’s directed by the biggest up-and-coming director of the decade’s later-half, Mamoru Hosada, and is a huge showcase of his style. It’s also a fun, brilliantly written, and godly well-animated adventure (with a large amount of Key Animation from Hiroyuki Imaishi, the genius who does all the zany scenes in GAINAX shows) Even if you don’t like One Piece, watch this.

- Konjiki no Gash Bell!! (150 eps.) (+ OVA + 2 Movies) (Action, Adventure, Comedy Drama) – Let’s say you are a One Piece fan and you have a really high tolerance for shounen action anime – Gash Bell may be up your alley. Admittedly, it’s a hard sell, because Gash Bell shoots REALLY young. My little brother was into this show when he was about 7 and it was airing as Zatch Bell on Cartoon Network. It’s a cute show about a genius high school boy who’s beginning to regress into hikkikomori-dom thanks to his bad attitude and the bullying of his classmates. That is, until his father in Europe sends him a young boy that he saved on his journeys and wants the guy to take care of. The kid is Gash and he’s a sunny, hyper little guy who happens to unwittingly be able to shoot massive lightning bolts from his mouth. You probably won’t be able to enjoy Gash Bell unless you can totally tolerate kids shows, but if you can, you’ll find a very fun adventure full of lots of heart.

37. Genshiken (12 eps.) (+ OVA (3 eps.) + 2 (12 eps.)) (Comedy, Slice-of-Life) - Genshiken is the show best described as ‘by otaku for otaku.’ It is about a college club that is not the anime club nor the manga club, but the ‘society for the study of modern visual culture.’ In other words, a club full of hardcore otaku. The show chronicles the lives of these otaku in their often hilarious anti-adventures and fully explores the culture of otaku. I consider this to be a great show to introduce new otaku to the culture, especially Americans. I, too, learned a lot about what it means to be otaku from the show. What really makes Genshiken spectacular, though, is the characters, all of whom are totally developed and real and whose interactions are brilliant. It helps, too, that all of them have classic voice actors that probably understand the culture themselves. A must-watch for otaku.

36. Spice and Wolf (13 eps.) (+ Season 2 (12 eps.) + OVA) (Adventure, Drama, Comedy, Economics) - Spicy Wolf is a tale of a traveling merchant in medieval Europe who happens to come into contact with a sexy Wolf Goddess. Horo is her name, and she’s been living in a small village for many years, helping them with their harvest, but they don’t really need her any more, so she asks the merchant, Lawrence, to allow her to accompany his travels. Spicy Wolf is mostly a pretty calm and heady adventure full of economic hijinks and the occasional excitement, but the real meat of the series is Horo. Horo is a brilliant and extremely multi-faceted character who always has more to show the viewer. Unlike so many anime characters that act on just a limited number of personality traits, Horo has very real emotions and a personality that can’t help but attract. Her interactions with Lawrence never get old.

35. Darker Than BLACK – Kuro no Keiyakusha (25 eps.) (+ OVA + Ryuusei no Gemini (12 eps.)) (Action, Thriller, Mystery) - Darker Than Black is the tale of a future wherein a pseudo-race of people have come into being called ‘contractors’ – people who have given up emotion in favor of murderous powers that, when used, require some form of renumeration (basically random OCD tasks they must perform afterword.) The story is a dark urban thriller that takes it’s cues from all sorts of pulp stories and mixes them with it’s own highly-realized world. The show is the brainchild masterwork of director Tensai Okamura, who has taken care to create as complete a work as imaginable. The second season, Ryuusei no Gemini, is still airing, but was already voted the number 2 anime of 2009 by 2channel.

34. Honey and Clover (24 eps.) (+ II (12 eps.) + 2 Specials) (Romance, Drama, Comedy) - One of the most well-loved shows of the decade and probably the widest-appealing adaption of a josei manga ever, Honey and Clover follow the lives of a group of college students through the good and incredibly hard times, through love and loss, and through the adventures of adolescence. Honey and Clover touched the hearts of many with it’s cast of highly relatable and fun characters, all who earn your respect even as you learn their flaws. The series has a thick and wonderful visual style as well as lots of licensed music used perfectly to create scenes of intense emotions, often which are unforgettable. Everyone who watches Honey and Clover has a story to tell about how they identified with it and, in many cases, how it even touched their lives.

33. Millennium Actress (Movie) (Drama, Psychological, Adventure) - Often considered Satoshi Kon’s masterpiece, Millennium Actress is a beautiful and wondrous journey through the life of an aging actress who tells her story by relating her own experiences through the filter of being experienced as the movies she’s made themselves, which also happen to have started with tales of ancient Japan and moved their way up through history. It’s one of the most masterfully-woven stories I’ve yet seen, and one that makes your jaw drop just in awe of it’s genius before you even drop it harder for the stellar plot and gorgeous animation. Truly a must-see masterwork.

32. Hajime no Ippo (76 eps.) (+ New Challenger (26 eps.) + OVA + Movie) (Action, Comedy, Drama) - Hajime no Ippo went largely overlooked for one simple reason – it’s a show about boxing, and anime fans don’t tend to care about boxing. However, if one looks past the boxing, you will find a show that is powerful, wildly entertaining, hilarious, and brilliant. It’s the tale of young Makunouchi Ippo who is immensely strong from always helping out on his mother’s fishing boat since the death of his father, but who is unaware of his own strength and lets himself get picked on a lot. When he is rescued from a group of bullies on the whim of a professional boxer, he is taken to a boxing gym and, after discovering the liberation of using his fists, becomes obsessed with the sport. The series follows Ippo’s journey to become the best boxer he can be and eventually start moving up the professional ranks. It’s a show full of passion and heart that should resonate with the souls of any man. There’s also a great Tsueno Imahori soundtrack and awesome openings.

31. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (12 eps.) (+ Zoku (13 eps.) + Zan (13 eps.) + Goku (3 eps.) + OVA + Special) (Comedy, Parody, School, Arthouse) - Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is the king of the ShaftXShinbo reference comedy works and one of the best dark comedies of the decade. Combining a MASSIVE cast of hilarious characters, all with amazing voice actors, crazy and often intense artistic visuals, more references than you could ever count, some of the most offbeat black comedy you’ll find in anime, and a truckload of incredible music (the OST is great, but the real money is in the heavy metal album collaborating the artist Kenji Ootsuki with most of the voice actresses to create the most unique anime songs around), Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is a true tour-de-force-to-be-reckoned-with. It’s a very ‘love it or hate it’ show, but everyone should at least give it a first chance.

- Maria+Holic (12 eps.) (Comedy, Gender Bender) - Another black comedy from SHAFTxShinbo, Maria Holic is the story of a hardcore lesbian who goes to a girl’s school in hope of meeting cute girls there, but the first and hottest girl she meets turns out to be a guy! And he’s an abusive asshole! Maria Holic is a strange and largely pointless show that I personally couldn’t get that into, but it had some pretty big fans and may be worth a shot if you enjoy shows like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. It also had one of the coolest opening videos ever, much like SZS always had.

30. Maria-sama ga Miteru (13 eps.) (+ ~Haru~ (13 eps.) + 3rd (5 40-minute eps.) + 4th (13 eps.) + Tons of Short Specials) (Drama, Romance) - Widely regarded as the greatest yuri anime of all time, Marimite is the tale of a Catholic girls school with a very odd student council setup and a general system wherein all of the girls in the school should have a ‘pair’ that refers to each-other as sisters and guides each-other along. Marimite is the turbo-dramatic tale of the relationships and daily lives of the girls at this school as they learn about each-other and about life. The series is most known for it’s brilliantly directed interactions full of subtlety and subtext that would set a trend for yuri shows in years to come and inspire many anime to take more careful storytelling efforts. In addition, it features a large cast of amazingly deep and interesting characters, all acted to perfection.

- Blue Drop ~Tenshi-Tachi no Gikyoku~ (13 eps.) (Drama, Sci-fi) - Blue Drop very much follows in Marimite’s footsteps with a subtlety and subtext-laden yuri story about a girls school; however, in this case, one of the girls at school turns out to be an alien and member of an all-female race who might be about to start some shit on earth. Visually pleasing and splendidly directed, it’s worth a look for any yuri fan.

29. Le Portait de Petit Cossette (3 eps.) (Supernatural, Horror, Drama, Psychological, Gothic, Arthouse) - This OVA is Akiyuki Shinbo’s gothic-lolita masterpiece – it is a trippy tale of a man who works in his uncle’s antiques shop and finds himself obsessed with a strange cup through which he can see an image of a young girl. When he finds a portrait of this girl, things start to get weird as she appears before him and asks him to consume the sins of her former possessions that wish to destroy him. It’s really not something I can easily describe – the OVA is a visual feast and the plot is an utter mindfuck, so it’s best to see for yourself. Sporting an amazing Yuki Kajiura soundtrack, stunning art and character designs, and probably the thickest application of Shinbo’s style (and perhaps his highest budget), Petit Cossette is truly a visionary masterpiece.

- Tsukuyomi ~Moon Phase~ (25 eps.) (+ Special) (Gothic, Comedy, Drama, Supernatural, Romance) – Yet another stylish gothic lolita anime from Akiyuki Shinbo, this time being his first work with Studio Shaft. Tsukuyomi is a story about a photographer who has a tendency to always accidentally capture ghosts on film who happens to meet a young vampire girl in an old mansion that he explores. She sucks his blood in hopes of making him her slave, only to find that he is a man who is impervious to vampirization and won’t do anything she says! The young vampire Hazuki finds herself in his care and romantic comedy ensues with occasional bouts of dramatic plot.

28. Texhnolyze (22 eps.) (Mystery, Drama, Action, Arthouse) - Texhnolyze is a truly unique experience – it is a claustrophobic, dark, gritty, and grinding show that guides you through an incredible world as imagined by master artist Yoshitoshi ABe and visionary director Hamazaki Hirotsugu. The show takes place in a huge, dark city located miles underground where the gangs run the streets and the rich use mechanical body parts to prolong their lives. The show’s strange mind-bender of a plot develops ever-so-slowly through the hell of silence and darkness that is the experience. Texhnolyze can actually be physically painful to watch sometimes as it eats on your mind and has you questioning what kind of insanity has you coming back for more, but once it captures you, it hold you in place until the amazing conclusion.

- Shigurui (11 eps.) (Action, Psychological, Drama, Samurai) - From the same director as Texhnolyze, Shigurui is a similarly dark, grinding, and repulsive anime. This one is about samurai and tells the truth about samurai life (which is that all samurai were murderous assholes) – it’s ultra-violent and unsettling with no real respectable characters, leading to many of the same conclusions about your own sanity for enjoying it as Texhnolyze does.

27. The Sky Crawlers (Movie) (Psychological, Fatasy, Drama) – The latest and, in my opinion, greatest from visionary legend Mamoru Oshii. The Sky Crawlers is a bit of a difficult film in that it is very slow and subtle, not showing you much that you will see the significance of on your first viewing. However, it tides you over with stunning visuals and intense aerial dogfights courtesy of the team behind the Ace Combat games. What unfolds is an offbeat psychological fantasy drama about kids who have grown up too fast and thrown away their cares as well as the world that allows them to keep doing it. There’s a lot to love in this movie if you give it the time to show you, and it’s even got one of my favorite characters to have sprung from a stand-alone film.

26. Red Garden (22 eps.) (+ Dead Girls OVA) (Drama, Thriller, Action, Mystery, Horror) - Set inexplicably in New York and being far closer to an American drama than any kind of Japanese cartoon, Red Garden is the brainchild of Matsuo Kou, a man who loves to fuse western and eastern influence into something unforgettable and, well, bloody strange. Red Garden is about 4 girls who find out that they are dead, now have super-strength, and have to fight zombie-like enemies for a company who is currently holding their real bodies. Meanwhile, we explore each of the girls’ lives and how they all are totally different but must emotionally come together. It’s a weird show full of people randomly bursting into song, midnight fights with the undead, scenes of a woman’s adolescence alongside scenes of intense violence – it’s all over the place, and yet a tight collective that never ceases to amaze and surprise. The only thing that makes it hard to get started with are the unusual character designs, but the visual feast of Gonzo’s production make them work.

25. Bamboo Blade (26 eps.) (Slice-of-life, Comedy, Action) – I have a theory that Bamboo Blade is the modern reincarnation of the classic anime Martian Successor Nadesico. The story is about a team of girls who are recruited by a kendo instructor to help him beat a friend of his in a five-on-five match with the promise of a year’s supply of free sushi on the line (the teacher being broke, of course.) What unfolds is a funny and heartwarming tale of five genuinely interesting girls who learn about life, themselves, and the world through kendo. For the main character, Tama-chan (one of my alltime favorites), it is very much a coming-of-age story as she learns what it means to have friends and to have passion in life.

24. Black Lagoon (12 eps.) (+ The Second Barrage (12 eps.)) (Action, Adventure) – Black Lagoon is a no-holds-barred balls-to-the-wall pulp action thrill ride through the criminal life in the south-Asian seas. Based on a manga that was heavily influenced by John Woo films, Black Lagoon features constant shoot-em-up action and thrills with it’s main characters being a ‘delivery service’ on a PT-boat taking odd jobs from the Russian mob and other contractors. The main character, Rock, was just an ordinary Japanese salaryman named Rokuro Okajima until he got caught up in the Black Lagoon’s business thanks to an illegal package his company execs had sent with him. When the execs abandon his life, he decides that he can’t go back to his old job and joins the Lagoon under the name Rock. Here he meets the female lead Revy who is a badass guns-blazing sadist with unparalleled fighting power who might have a thing for him somewhere deep down. The two are definitely changing one another, and their interactions and emotional development provide the extra meat to back up the exciting action and create a truly fulfilling experience.

- Gungrave (26 eps.) (Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-fi, Supernatural) – Taken from ANN: “After a tragic scene with the murder of his friends, Brandon Heat follows his only friend Harry McDowel into Millennion, the largest mafia syndicate. While Harry McDowel is striving for power, Brandon is only staying in Millennion to see the girl he loves whose custody was gained by the leader of Millennion, Big Daddy. But as the years pass and Brandon proves loyal to Millennion, Brandon learns the true purpose and passion of Millennion, and that’s when true conflict arises.” – I haven’t really seen Gungrave, but I’ve read tons of fans speak of it’s greatness as a dark, character-driven tragedy.

23. The SoulTaker (13 eps.) (+ Omake) (Arthouse, Action, Drama, Gothic) - Akiyuki Shinbo’s gothic ultra-arthouse classic. The SoulTaker is a series about Kyousuke Date who was stabbed in the heart by his mother on her deathbed. Days after his burial, he is dug up by a cute young girl who seems to be in love with him. As it would turn out, she is a ‘flicker’, or a clone of his lost sister whom he has never met. None of that really matters, though – what matters is that Kyousuke can transform into a badass supehero called The Soultaker that looks like Devilman and fight all kinds of insane bad guys. The plot is all the hell over the place, which is because the creators were probably making it up as they went, and the real purpose of the series is to look as visually insane as possible. It works.

- Nurse Witch Komugi-chan (5 eps.) (+ Magikarte Z) (Magical Girl, Parody, Comedy) – Komugi-chan is a strange little OVA that spawned from The SoulTaker – the random loli girl whose place in the series was always quite strange gets her own magical girl parody anime that totally subverts the darkness of The SoulTaker with it’s bright and sunny palette. I suspect that this is the OVA for those who understand Shinbo’s ‘true intentions’, hehehe.

22. Kamichu! (12 eps.) (+ 4 DVD Specials) (Comedy, Slice-of-Life, Supernatural, Drama) - Kamichu! is a show about a middle-school girl named Yurie Hitotsubashi who wakes up morning to realize that she has become a god. Fun ensues. The best way to describe Kamichu! is that it’s pretty much Spirited Away: The Series. (I might also call it Miyazaki meets Ichigo Mashimaro.) It’s a very creative fantasy series with lots of interesting creatures and gods and stuff, but all contained within a very realistic world in a quiet little Japanese town. Kamichu! is a really cute show, with most of it’s episodes being sort of calm, low-tempo, feel-good stuff. And then there are a couple of really strange, whacked-out fantasy episodes as well. This is definitely a show that you should watch with family. I showed it to my little bothers and they loved it, and it can appeal to both boys and girls of really any age, so definitely get your parents and siblings to watch it with you. It also must be mentioned that everything about this production is great, from music to designs to acting, but the animation is fucking nuts. It’s probably one of the best-looking TV anime ever made.

21. Earth Maiden Arjuna (13 eps.) (Supernatural, Action, Drama) – Arjuna is pretty much directing legend Shoji Kawamori’s personal message to the world about how they are abusing it. Taking cues from spiritualist messages of Indian culture, Arjuna is the story of the world on the brink of death and humanity on a similar brink of demise. Juna is given special powers but isn’t really sure who’s side she’s on – humanity’s, or the planet’s. Her coming to grips with humanity’s many flaws creates friction in her personal relationships, especially with her boyfriend, and all sorts of drama ensues. It’s really difficult to try and classify Arjuna into a genre since it is really all about it’s message, and if you can’t appreciate the message, you probably won’t enjoy the show. However, if you can, you’ll find an enthralling spiritualist story with superb animation, one of Yoko Kanno’s best soundtracks, and lots of imaginative scenarios.

- Noein (24 eps.) (Sci-fi, Action, Drama) - A spectacularly designed and animated series about time travel, quantum mechanics, trippy action, and character drama. I haven’t had the pleasure of finishing it myself, but I’ve liked what I’ve seen, and that it is a work which Akane Kazuki crated, directed, wrote, and story-boarded all himself.

20. Gunslinger Girl (13 eps.) (Drama, Action, Psychological) - Based on my alltime favorite manga, Gunslinger Girl is an incredibly dark and threatening tale that will tear your heart right out and give it a hard squeeze. As MAL describes it: “In the heart of Italy, the Social Welfare Agency rescues young girls from hospital beds and gives them a second chance at life using the latest in cybernetic advancements. With their artificially enhanced bodies, the girls are brainwashed and trained as assassins to carry out the dirty work of the Italian Government. Despite all the modifications, they are still just children at heart, struggling for recognition from those they love, even knowing the love they feel is manufactured. This tragic tale unfolds as these girls grapple with their emotions in an agency that treats them as nothing but ruthless killers.” And that’s how it is – five girls that you can’t help but love and fear for their very survival are put through utter hell in this tonal directing masterpiece. Unfortunately, when they decided to adapt more of the manga in a second season, they had a whole different studio with none of the same staff or cast working on it, resulting in Gunslinger Girl ~Il Treano~, the botched abortion of the franchise. Some people claim that it’s worth watching if you get over the disappointment. I can’t fucking get over the disappointment.

19. Kure-nai (12 eps.) (Drama, Comedy, Action) – From the mind of Kou Matsuo, Kurenai is a strange show about a boy named Kurenai Shinkurou who is in high school and living alone, working his nights as a ‘dispute mediator’ for the yakuza. One day his boss, with whom he is very close, tasks him with protecting a 7-year-old girl named Kuhouin Murasaki who has been taken from her closed-off home inside of a massive mansion with no knowledge of the outside world. The show chronicles Shinkurou’s essentially rearing Murasaki and turning her into a respectable, intelligent young lady. Along the way is all kinds of drama, comedy, and action with some memorable characters and truly incredible dialog all coupled with the series’ ultra-high production values. What really gives Kure-nai a huge place in my heart, though, is the sixth episode, which is long and by far my favorite anime episode ever.

18. Welcome to the NHK (24 eps.) (Psychological, Comedy, Drama) - I could write giant papers about what NHK is about, but the bottom line is that it’s a story about hikkikomori. It’s not nearly as poignant as the novel it is based on, but it is definitely a show about what it is to be a hikkikomori, the bad, the worse, and the ugly. NHK is at times hilarious, at times depressing, and if it’s reflective in any way for you, it can be life-affirming or even life-changing. Satou Tatsuhiro is the ultimate figurehead for hikkikomori in that the series will relentlessly pound you with his pitiful nature, and he is fully aware of it. Similarly, Yamazaki is a figurehead for the worst kind of otaku, and as much as otaku love the show, they know they fear it – so does the show. You can enjoy Welcome to the NHK as simple, well written, and unique entertainment, but the social commentary is where the series hits hard as hell.

17. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (14 eps.) (+ 2009 (14 eps.) + Haruhi-chan (25 5-minute eps.) + Nyoro~n churuya-san (13 2-minute eps.)) (Comedy, Supernatural, Slice-of-life, Action, Sci-fi, Everything) – Here it is, folks – THE anime of the decade. For otaku, it was no doubt the biggest and most talked about show and the one that ensured the boundless success of every Kyoto Animation show thereafter. There is no explanation needed for Haruhi – you’ve either seen it already, or you need to, period – just to see what the hell the buzz is all about. It was a genius and huge-budget production that spawned endless merchandise and marketing and later, much controversy when the second season was delayed again and again and then when aired, contained the infamous Endless Eight arc which retold the same episode 8 times with only different visuals and ever-so-slight script changes. Haruhi is a beast, but what matters is that it’s a great beast and essential for understanding the trends in anime for the later half of the decade.

- Kannagi (13 eps.) (+ Special) (Comedy, Supernatural) – Directed by Yutaka Yamamoto, one of the big names who worked on Haruhi and directed the first four episodes of Lucky Star before defecting from Kyoto Animation with a portion of it’s staff to start his own A-1 Studios, Kannagi is cut very much from the same cloth as the Kyoto Animation shows in that it is a high-budget moe comedy with cute girls doing funny and fun things.

16. Hidamari Sketch (12 eps.) (+ x365 (13 eps.) + 4 Specials + OVA) (Comedy, Slice-of-life, School) – Hidamari Sketch is ‘yet another’ 4-koma-based school comedy about four girls and their daily lives, with the setting being an art boarding school. While the original story is good with very fun characters and good comedy, the anime adaption’s true strength lies in that of it’s production from the all-star SHAFTxShinbo team. The show has a very distinct visual edge that permeates every moment and seamlessly blends with the comedy and characters to push them all to a higher level of genius. This combined with perfect voice talent and great writing created a slice-of-life tale not quite like any other and so fun that, if you’re like me, you’ll never want it to end.

15. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (27 eps.) (+ 2 Movies + 3 OVA Shorts + 9 Music Videos) (Mecha, Fantasy, Action, Adventure) - Gurren Lagann is an over-the-top mecha adventure like no other that is made of pure manhood and fuckwin. The epic journey follows the young Simon who is a driller working in an underground village that has never seen the surface. His manly older friend Kamina decides that he and Simon are going to break free from the village, and they do, only to find that the surface world is under the rule of evil beastmen – and so they seek to break free from the beast men as well. Gurren Lagann is a powerful and inspiring show full of unforgettable characters, insanely epic and spastic visuals courtesy of studio GAINAX and series director Hiroyuki Imaishi, and one of the coolest soundtracks in anime history, which combine to create an adventure like no other that will have all passionate souls brimming with inspiration and vigor.

- Re: Cutie Honey (3 eps.) (Action, Old-school) – Much like Gurren Lagann is GAINAX’s throwback to the great old mecha shows, Re: Cutie Honey is actually a story in the classic Go Nagai franchise Cutie Honey that is credited with giving birth to the magical girl genre in spite of being totally violent and nudity-heavy. Re: Cutie Honey is just that and a bundle of fun with GAINAX going as full-throttle as they can every minute of the way.

14. Haibane Renmei (13 eps.) (Drama, Slice-of-life, Fantasy) – One of the shows that always makes it’s way onto the high ranks of it’s viewers’ favorites lists, Haibane Renmei is the most personal creation of master artist Yoshitoshi ABe and weaves a story as whimsical as it is mysterious, full of timeless characters who capture the viewer’s heart and at times can really put the pressure on it. I don’t know if it’s in spite of or because of the series’ short length, but the world and mysteries and characters have piqued the interest and interpretations of many, many fans since the show’s airing.

13. Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s (13 eps.) (Magical Girl, Action, Drama) - Okay, so this is actually the second season of a longer-running series. Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha (13 eps.) was a hugely popular magical girl show aimed at an otaku audience that I personally could not stand. Then Seven Arcs studio decided to create a second season, and with a new director and a far more realized story, they produced what I would call a masterpiece. Nanoha A’s chronicles the lives of two different sects in conflict – one group surrounding a powerful and evil book, and one group surrounding the magical girl Nanoha and the space-time police. These two sides are in conflict, but as we see their personal lives, we realize that every character in the show is a respectable and great person who is only fighting out of their desire to protect their friends. It’s as brilliant as any war story that humanizes both sides of the conflict and pulls on the heartstrings as well as providing some truly amazing characters. After Nanoha A’s there was another sequel called Nanoha StrikerS (26 eps.) that I haven’t seen yet but know was considerably less well-received by fans.

12. Casshern Sins (24 eps.) (Action, Adventure, Psychological, Drama, Old-school) – Based on the classic transforming super-hero story, Casshern Sins is a dark and wholly beautiful tale of a post-apocalyptic future wherein robots, who were formerly immortal beings, are now rusting and dying, and humans are falling from the simple lack of resources. Casshern is a human-like android who has no memories, but is told that he was the one who destroyed the world and is being hunted by robots who were promised that they could have immortality again if they consume Casshern. Casshern travels the world through episodic adventures and sees it for all it’s beauty as well as it’s ugliness with some of the best art I’ve ever seen in anime and stellar animation by studio Madhouse. That alongside one of my favorite anime soundtracks creates a very thick tone of hopeless despair for Casshern’s dying world, his lonely journey, and the corruption of man and machine that surrounds him.

- Claymore (26 eps.) (Action, Adventure) – Claymore is admittedly similar to Casshern mostly in tone, general visual style (having come from the same studio), and in it’s intense action scenes, though these are also the best parts of the series. It is the tale of Clare, a Claymore, meaning a half-demon who works to slay full-demons for her company in exchange for profit from the various townspeople who need help from the demons. The basic plot of Claymore is almost laughably generic, but it is presented very nicely and features a cool enough leading lady with a great backstory to warrant watching.

11. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (26 eps.) (+ Kai (24 eps.) + Rei (5 eps.) + Specials) (Horror, Supernatural, Thriller, Drama, Comedy) – Higurashi is a dark, violent, and frightening show at times, and a cute and funny show at others – it is a show about pure madness and the murderous intent brought about by pure love. It is an incredible mystery and nail-biting thriller that takes it’s time in showing it’s hand, and when it does, it consistently pulls out game-changers that will shock and awe the audience and make rewatches that much more awesome when you realize how everything fits together. What really holds the show together is it’s amazing characters, every one of which will show you their darkest sides even as they win you over with their heart and great personalities. It also has Keiichi, the single greatest harem lead of all time. I would say more, but you can’t be spoiled for Higurashi – just give it a watch and be amazed.

10. Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen (4 eps.) (Action, Drama, Romance, Samurai) – Also known as Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal, this OVA prequel to the popular shounen series Rurouni Kenshin takes a decidedly darker and more mature tone and creates an unforgettable masterpiece of work. Viewed as a movie, it is comparable to any of history’s greatest films – it chronicles the tale of young Kenshin who knows nothing but violence and bloodshed as he works as a manslayer for the rebel army that brought in Japan’s imperial era. Kenshin finds himself thrown accidentally into a relationship with a woman who witnesses him murdering someone and who he doesn’t know is the widow of a man he recently killed. The OVA is rife with subtlety and brilliant artistic nuance even as it is striking and violent and is astoundingly directed to weave animation, music, and art together perfectly. The definition of a ‘masterpiece’ and probably the greatest samurai anime ever made.

9. Baccano! (13 eps.) (+ OVA (3 eps.)) (Action, Supernatural, Thriller, Historical) - Set in 1930s New York and written as an ensemble film, Baccano! is the literal definition of the phrase ‘non-stop thrill ride.’ It’s a pulp action romp the likes of which would make Quentin Tarantino and Guy Richie proud as it bounces back and forth through it’s own timeline, managing a ton of fun characters and their encounters involving much turbo-violence and many strange situations. It’d be way too much of a pain to summarize the plot – suffice it to say there are immortals, murderers, cannibals, terrorists, hitmen, and many, many mobsters involved to create an always fun, always energetic good time that will knock your socks clean off.

- Mnemosyne (6 45-minute eps.) (Action, Supernatural) – Being another turbo-violent story involving immortals, Mnemosyne is like Baccano but turned up to eleven – it’s full of sex, violence, intense gore, and heavy fucking metal courtesy of an amazing opening song by Galneryus. Mnemosyne unfortunately never lives up to it’s amazing first episode through the rest of it’s run, but would be worth seeing for that episode alone. Gore? Lesbians? Zombies? A shotgun glove? It’s got it all.

8. Simoun (26 eps.) (Steampunk, Drama, Action, Adventure) - Simoun is a brilliant, beautifully imagined, and huge series in spite of it’s relatively low episode count. It’s a show that the creators really put all of their heart and soul into, especially director and creator Junji Nishimura. Dominating on all fronts such as art, music, and writing, Simoun is a forced to be reckoned with, but most importantly it delves into it’s large cast and gets deep into all of their thoughts and actions to create a very personal experience. I can’t even really talk about the plot – Simoun is the must-watch cult hit of the decade, so you’ll just have to check it out yourself. Bonus points for being decidedly yuri.

7. Lucky Star (24 eps.) (+ OVA) (Comedy, Parody, Slice-of-life, School) - This show is good, clean otaku fun, and I appreciate it. I can pick it up any time and watch it with friends and family who are fellow otaku. I can bring it up any time – it’s presence is never unwelcome. And it’s everywhere. It’s got memorable characters who worm their way into my conscience and never go away. It’s a show that may not fill me with emotion or inspiration, but it will always work for me, always be a good time, and it reminds me why I’m an otaku. Besides, it’s a damn gorgeous production by Kyoto Animation, who are almost always a must-watch studio anyway. I can’t say Lucky Star is a must-watch, and it certainly shouldn’t have been seen by as many people as it was because it had no place for many of them, but it is nonetheless a genuinely great show.

6. ef ~a tale of memories~ (12 eps.) (Drama, Romance) - The first thing that ef does to grab the viewer is provide a uniquely intense visual experience courtesy of studio SHAFT. Then it pours on a heart-wrenching romance drama full of great characters who are all trying as hard as they can to get their lives on track and experiencing all sorts of drama on the way. The series is brilliantly directed with some of the most memorable scenes you’ll likely ever see in a series and themes that resonate greatly with anyone whose ever wondered about their place in life. The best way I can describe my love for this show – the emotion I get when the story, characters, music, directing, and dialog combine is with the lyrics from the opening theme. “Be alive – take it – promise to find, yes I will – shining wings filled with wishes – Fly high – make it – get to the new world that I seek – someday, so I believe” – Euphoric Field. There was a second season of ef called ef ~a tale of melodies~ (12 eps.) that some people liked a lot but I found very disappointing.

5. FLCL (6 eps.) (Comedy, Action, Parody, Sci-fi, Romance, Psychological) – “FLCL is an all-time classic if there ever was one. Eternally memorable music, visual style, and themes. A plot that’s so messy and convoluted one wouldn’t think it was possible to make heads or tails of it, but the narrative challenges its viewers to cut though all the WTFery of space pirates and conspiracies and wild animated cues to find at its core a simpler, relatable, down-to-earth story. It’s an anime that can be enjoyed on so many different levels, its no wonder so many love it to this day.” – a great description by Kadian1364 on this crazy classic from the brilliant minds at studio GAINAX and the hard work and guts of director Kazuya Tsurumaki.

- Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (13 eps.) (Comedy, Parody) – Visually and tonally very similar to FLCL, Abenobashi is a story about a young boy and girl from the Abenobashi shopping district in Osaka wherein the fabric of reality is shattered one day, causing the entire area to transform into one bizzaro-world after the other, each hilariously parodying a different genre of anime.

4. Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight (12 eps.) (+ OVA) (Comedy, Drama, School) - The story of a near future wherein schools have pretty much fallen apart with no one really interested in attending anymore and an unenthused student body. Amamiya Manami sets out to change all of that by becoming the student council president with her passionate motto, ‘MASSUGU GO!’ Manabi revolutionizes the lives of her friends one by one even as she revolutionizes school life altogether. Manabi is hilarious and heartwarming and full of superb characters, and it has a heart bigger than the sun itself. But more importantly, it is empowering. It is unilaterally positive, while not naive. It is a show that says ‘we aren’t saying you can do it blindly. We really mean that you can do anything, even if it looks all wrong.’ Has my single favorite ending of all time.

3. Toradora (25 eps.) (+ 4 Special Shorts) (Romance, Comedy, Drama, School) - Ryuuji is a man who was born with a constant scowl on his face, so in spite of his unilaterally good nature, everyone is afraid of him. Taiga is a girl with a kind heart who is misunderstood as having a bad attitude which only makes her attitude worse. No one understands them, so there’s no one better than them to understand each-other. Meanwhile there’s no shortage of comedy and drama as they and their friends experience fun times, hard falls, and a whirlwind of love and emotion. Toradora in the context of it’s appearance and the time that it was made looks like what you would call ‘just another moe romance’, but as you can see, in reality, it is so much more. It is a deep and thoughtful tale of love between two of – no, THE two greatest characters that I have ever had the pleasure of watching and filled me with boundless emotions as I watched it’s warm and heartfelt story play out. <- And you have no idea how long I’ve been trying to properly define my love for this show. I finally did it!!!

2. Eureka Seven (50 eps.) (+ Movie) (Mecha, Action, Romance, Drama, Fantasy, Comedy, Psychological) - The tale of young Renton Thurston, whose father died saving the world, leaving him with a boring life in a no name town. It just so happens one day that he meets his greatest hero and the girl of his dreams all at once, and so he leaves home to go on an epic coming-of-age journey. Of all the anime I’ve seen, this is the most well-constructed in every way, and no other show has made me care about everything in it so much. Every character is memorable, and Renton and Eureka are spectacular. Possibly the only show that I can’t say anything negative about. I never wanted it to end, though the ending was beautiful. Studio Bones really pulled through on everything from art and animation to music, writing, and organizing a massive staff of directors, actors, and animators to create a consistent and fully realized masterpiece.

1. Gintama (187 eps. and Counting!) (+ OVA) (Comedy, Action, Drama, Adventure, Fantasy, Historical, Sci-fi, Samurai, Parody, And Anything Else You Can Think Of) - What would have happened if aliens had invaded Japan during the Edo period? Gintama is the story of a silver-haired man named Gintoki who runs an odd-jobs shop in the middle of alien-invaded Edo and the ever-growing massive cast of characters that surround him. What has happened with Gintama is that by making a story set in a cross-section of history and sci-fi with a character whose place in life is totally undefined, literally ANYTHING can happen in the series – and it damn well will. Gintama is a fucking hilarious parody comedy series whose success is precisely in it’s incredible length. It’s not just that every kind of story ever made has been parodied and referenced in Gintama – Gintama has literally BEEN every kind of series. It can be a pure comedy in one episode, a drama in the next, a shounen action series for one, a gag comedy, a sit-com, a character-driven adventure – it can be anything and it WILL. And it handles each and every story to perfection. What’s more, it is without flaw – the production quality is a non-issue as a high or low budget can become the actual plot of the episode. Just about every great voice actor that I can name has a place in the series. Every member of the massive cast of characters is memorable and great and there are more of them than you can count. The soundtrack is superb, the opening and endings are great, the writing is gold, and in spite of being a kids show, it can literally get away with ANYTHING from good portions of the show taking place in the red light district to themes of drug addiction and turbo-violence. What makes Gintama my favorite anime of the decade? It. Is. Everything.

And there you have it.

If you read the ENTIRE list and there was a show that I DID NOT MENTION that you think should be on the list PLEASE ADD IT IN A COMMENT USING THE FORMAT I USED ABOVE: Title (episode count) (other seasons, episodes, or movies) (genre approximations) – description. DO NOT JUST ADD ANY ANIME THAT YOU KIND OF LIKED. ONLY ADD SHOWS THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE YOURSELF REWATCHING YEARS INTO THE FUTURE, AND ESPECIALLY YOUR FAVORITES. I know there are some shows that I left off that someone will probably want to add.

I WILL ACCEPT RE-WRITES OF THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOLLOWING ANIME: Numbers 131-200 with the exception of Gundam(s), Macross(es), Hellsing, Neko Ramen, Shadow Star NaruTaru – and the following: Bakemonogatari, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki, Kanon 2006, Loveless, Beyond the Clouds, Pretty Cure, Ponyo, Noein, Gungrave, and Kannagi

Please note that I will edit your descriptions slightly to include certain information that helps to match the consistency of the post.

LET’S CREATE THE ULTIMATE CANON FOR THE DECADE!

Every blog needs a Mai Waifu post, and ever since Ghostlightning delivered one of the best I’ve read a couple months ago, I’ve been wanting to do my own. I wanted to make sure it was a very perfect and specific post. Not just about women I find attractive (would take millions of words) but true women that I really think would make good wives. I know I’ll have fun with this, so lets roll!

(NOTE: This is not a “top seven” list, I just had exactly seven candidates, but they are in order of how much I want to marry them.)

7. Allenby Beardsley from Mobile Fighter G Gundam

I’ve done a lot of fanboying over Allenby on this blog (including godawful fanart), and for good reason. You will see a very common theme on this list being ‘independence’ and perhaps ‘individuality’ which are both things that Allenby exhibits quite well. Allenby is a person with very specific goals that come first and foremost in her life, and she is extremely passionate about what she loves. In her interactions with Domon, Allenby shows that she would be a ton of fun to hang out with, especially if you could connect in the passion for fighting. I admit that as I am currently, I wouldn’t be able to connect with Allenby, but if I applied my personality to a love of fighting, or applied her personality to a love of anime, we might be a perfect match.

Alleby’s only problem is that she can be a little awkward. In G Gundam, she didn’t really come to terms with her feelings until it was too late, though I’d like to think that she learned and grew from her experience. If that is true, I think she’d make an excellent wife.

6. Ukyo Kuonji from Ranma 1/2

Admittedly, Ukyo is a LOT like Allenby, and I like them for a lot of similar reasons. Ukyo is an extremely passionate chef and fighter with headstrong goals that take precedence over everything else in her life. However, as Ukyo is able to show us in her time with Ranma, she treats relationships a little more firmly. Ukyo is openly in love with and engaged to Ranma, and shows us what kind of wife she would be. Ukyo is the type who doesn’t even mind if she ends up being the provider for her household – she just wants to do what she loves, regardless of living conditions or anything. Her fantasy is actually to just run her Okonomiyaki stand on the road with Ranma, and I have to say, I cannot think of a fantasy I’d rather be a part of!

Ukyo really has everything – the right attitude, the passion, and she’s a cool and fun person. She can get a little competitive, and I think she likes for her lover to be the same, and I am definitely competitive lol. But most importantly, the thing she’s so passionate about is making okonomiyaki! There’s nothing I love to see more than a woman with a strong passion for cooking, especially if it’s cooking for a loved one~~~

5. Miyako Miyamura from ef ~a tale of memories~

MiyaMiya is independent but oh so lonely. She’s been alone for a very long time, and when she finds someone she connects with, she doesn’t want to leave his side. Miya is great because she really understands herself and those around her. She isn’t lost or confused, she’s just hurt, and she knows exactly how to fix it. You could say that even in the fact that she finds someone to rely on, she is showing her independence, knowing exactly what she needs and being willing to reciprocate the needs of the other. Her relationship with Hiro was perfect to me, and spoke to me strongly at a time in my life where Hiro felt like the spitting image of myself. I feel like if I had a Miyako, I’d be able to do what I want out of myself in life.

Miya gave Hiro the confidence to do what he knew in his heart was right. She was his support when the world didn’t approve of him, and it was with his approval of himself that she was able to feel as though her own existence was approved. But beyond all that spiritual mumbo-jumbo, she can cook, she likes to chill out and hang around town, she isn’t pushy, and she’s a great lay. What else could you want in a wife?

4. Konata Izumi from Lucky Star

You may accuse me of cheating, seeing as these words didn’t come out of my own mouth, but this post has now become somewhat famous among Konata fans everywhere. It was a statement by Carlos Santos of ANN in one of his “Right Turn Only!” articles:

“I’d like to think that the ideal partner is someone with strength and individualism, who can take care of herself when left alone, yet fills the room with laughter when in the company of friends. A girl who is sympathetic to a guy’s interests and hobbies, but won’t be a doormat for just anyone and freely expresses her opinions on any subject. Someone who’s open to a wide range of pursuits and often succeeds at them, yet also has a cool, laid-back perspective on life.

The ideal anime wife, of course, is Konata Izumi.”

3. Kamakishiro Naoko from Boogiepop and Others

Naoko was originally going to be my number one choice, but I think she’s just a little too eccentric for that. Naoko is a girl who is extremely open and honest with herself and extremely good at falling in love. This does, however, lead to her hurting herself a number of times. Her relationship with Kimura Akio was, in a lot of ways, ideal for me. Both of them were certainly in love with one another, but they didn’t have a real ‘relationship’. They merely took what they needed from each-other and were happy enough with their time together, not restricting themselves with any formal burdens or traditional values. I support all of that, though I admit that I don’t know how much my heart could have agreed with me. I think Kouhei Kadono was aware of this, and that’s why he killed her.

2. Nobue Itoh from Strawberry Marshmallow

The common thread so far has been individualism and a laid-back nature, which are things Nobue has, but we get some more important things in here. Leaving aside the fetishistic reasons (she’s a smoker and a drinker~~) Nobue is great with kids. She may even be a kid magnet. For me, it is nearly imperative that a woman be good with kids, because I happen to be great with kids. I spend more time than my 11-year old brother probably than anyone else, always playing pretend and the like. I am known for the fact that whenever little kids are around me, they always make me the center of their attention and want to play with me. Nobue has the same kind of charm that attracts children.

I almost couldn’t imagine a better girlfriend than Nobue in this regard, as well as in her general cuteness, but I do fear a little that Nobue might be just a little bit too lazy. I am lazy, and being around other lazy people would only mean that nothing ever got done in our household. Also, she’d totally steal my money to buy booze and cigarettes >_<.

1. Reki from Haibane Renmei

In yet another case of definite similarity between my choices, Reki is a lot like Nobue, with only a few defining differences. Like Nobue, she is a laid-back person who smokes and doesn’t ever get high-strung, plus she’s excellent with kids and has strong motherly tendencies. What Reki has that puts her higher up, though, is a greater sobriety and down-to-earth personality. Yes, this also means that she has more personal demons than Nobue does, but Reki’s problems are also the kind that relationships are formed for the sake of tackling. Reki would be a great wife to live a quiet life with, and hopefully raise children with.

Purposefully Exempt Candidates:

Lain Iwakura: I love Lain. I love her personality, and I think she is a person who greatly needs someone, because she is dreadfully lonely. However, I also fear that she could completely rip my mind apart.

Kino: Great a girl as Kino is, and as much as I’d like to be friends with her, I think she’s too closed off to enter a real relationship. It’s hard enough just to become her companion, and I think she has too strong a sense of betrayal.

Noe Isurugi from True Tears: There is a very specific kind of person who would be right for Noe, and as much as someone like me wishes they could be there for her, I know I could never handle her and may just make her worse.

Revy from Black Lagoon: I like Revy a lot, but she needs to make a lot of progress before she can become personable. I think that the Revy that will come at the end of her development is one I would love, but by then, she’ll be all to the one who got her that way.

I think it’s pretty obvious I’ve been putting a lot of thought into this for a very long time XD

It has come to my attention that I get way more comments when I talk about something negative or controversial. Therefor, I’ve decided to straight-up post about 10 shows I violently hate. I am not picking obviously bad shows like Legend of Duo or Ninja Ressurection. These are shows that people like. Shows that you probably like. They are shows that I hate so much, their mere mention fills me with unspeakable rage. For the record, there are probably a few shows on this list that I still have feelings for, would watch again, or perhaps even own. However, all of them are enough to fill me with unending rage.

1. Escaflowne – We could have been friends, man. We could have been brothers. And you fucked it up. The first 13 episodes of Escaflowne were gold. It was super-fun adventure with interesting characters, a great world, spectacular animation, the coolest close-quarter mech fights around, and one of the greatest villains in anime history. And what happens? The whole thing gets fucked to shit.

First, Dilandau gets taken away, not to reappear till episode 21 with a fucking stupid ass plot twist that made him nothing of his former self. Next, we have useless side characters introduced and explored just to die episodes later after totally derailing the plot. The politics made no fucking sense, and we had characters just dawdling around for upwards of 5 episodes right after they’d just been all ready to go into battle. One of the villains uses a retarded-ass mind altering thing on the main characters that turns them into douchebags and it is never reversed. Cool-headed and awesome Van becomes just another hot-headed fucktard. Hitomi degrades herself and looses my respect.

Episodes 17 and 18 are two of the worst fucking exposition episodes I’ve ever seen. The whole thing gets rushed into a ridiculous and half-assed ending where Kawamori splooges philosophical bullshit all over the place out of nowhere. A romance springs up in the last 2 eps for no fucking reason and then results in nothing. The final villain is a pussy, the final battle, like everything after ep 13, was way less awesome than anything prior to 13. The only interesting character dies 2 episodes after coming into his own. The whole thing was just a fucking mess. I know it’s because the show was meant to be 39 episodes and got cut short, but it results in a total hack-job that doesn’t deserve it’s ridiculous praise and legendary status.

2. Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha – Remains one of the shittiest anime I’ve ever completed. The first 5 episodes sucked a fat cock, and then a plot gets pulled out of it’s ass that is everywhere at once. Because it’s ‘dark’ for a magical girl show it gets treated like it’s unique even though the plot is the same tired ass shit you’ve seen in every pseudo-dark story this side of Elfen Lied. The animation and character designs are fucking ungodly hideous and the beamspam lameass fight scenes are an eyesore and a half. Nanoha’s voice is like a fucking icepick being repeatedly flogged into my earhole. Watching this show gave me a gastrointestinal disease. Watching this show made me want to kill myself.

3. Shakugan no Shana - This show toyed with my emotions and led me on with it’s baffling bullshit. I was drawn in by it’s dark urban setting, cool style, awesome lead female, and a romance that, at first, seemed to be progressing swiftly. By episode 6, Shana was having emotions resembling love, and there were some interesting characters and cool shit in the mix. Then we start the slow road to shittiness.

The first things that bothered me about the next arc were the ungodly shitty fight direction and writing. Enemies just stand there long enough to either die or for someone to be rescued, and it was quickly becoming apparent that Shana’s fucking personality sucked and her relationship was going nowhere. As the series progressed, the plot become more and more overly complicated and unbearable until somewhere in the late teens it just stopped making any f-cking sense. none of the emotions of the characters were realistic at all and the whole thing was just going in circles until an unmiraculous conclusion. At least, though, Shana said ‘I love you’ at the end of the first season (like 18 eps overdue) so things seemed alright.

BUT THEN THERE WAS SEASON 2! And rather than their relationship finally fucking progressing beyond courtship, there’s some bullshit plot device where the guy didn’t hear what she said and she’s too fucking pussy to repeat it, so they are RIGHT BACK AT SQUARE FUCKING ONE. Fuck that shit, show dropped.

4. True Tears – I actually have nothing negative to say about True Tears, I JUST FUCKING HATE IT!

5. Ergo Proxy - This anime might as well be wearing a fucking beret and referring to itself as ‘monsieur Ergo Proxy the Great’. the show is so fucking pompous and full of itself that it oozes out of the fucking screen. Oooooo look at me, I’ve got fucking talking statues representing my government heads and they’re all symbolic and shit, oh fuck you. This show didn’t say ‘hey, lets make a really interesting story and enhance it with symbolism’, it said ‘hey lets rack a show with pretentious bullshit and slap a plot on that can go with them.’ It’s supposed to be a mystery but it goes absolutely fucking nowhere, slowly plodding along and smirking at your puzzled face as you wonder where the fuck this is all going. It skips out on things like ‘being interesting’ and ‘making me give a shit.’

6. Noir - It’s like Ergo Proxy but with really shitty animation. And it’s less pretentious and more just boring. I didn’t put this in here for Noir specifically, but more for Bee Train on the whole. Fuck you, bee train.

7. Mind Game – FUCK MIND GAME, ALRIGHT?!

8. 12 Kingdoms – I’m not going to go as hard on this one because it really is a fine, recommendable show and I respect it. However, I don’t enjoy it at all and I’m tired of it being forced down my fucking throat. People seem to think that if a character is well developed they are automatically the best fucking character ever and the show is a magical god for having them. However, just being well developed does not equate to being interesting or entertaining. I love that they made such a real and truly moving character, but she’s boring and I don’t find a lot of reason to watch her other than to marvel at how well-developed she is… and not even in the fun way :p.

9. The Place Promised in Our Early Days – Makoto Shinkai is a great film maker, no doubt, and his stories are touching. There were a lot of things about this movie I loved. The first 30-40 minutes or so were great, and I really liked the ending. But I could do without the thirty fucking minutes of random technobabble smack dab in the center of the movie. I like combining genres and all, but what’s with the complete heel-turn from a touching, nostalgic romance into assloads of totally fucking boring technological jibberish? At least make it consistent and not just a blindside out of nowhere concentrated all at once dead in one spot of the film. And lighten the fucking load. Also, in spite of the great art, the cinematography mostly sucked. glad to see it improved in 5cm.

10. Crusher Joe – I had to take a stab at potential oldfags in the audience. I don’t care if it has great animation and a couple of superb dogfights, the movie is too long, very boring, and the writing sucks hard, wet, giant whale dick.

Thank you for your time. Please leave your angry comments about how I’m an idiot and act like a 3 year old below. Or agree with me, whatever floats your boat.

Baka-Raptor posted recently about 10 heterosexual relationships that he supports to prove that he doesn’t only support lesbians (just primarily). I, as a person with similar tendencies toward lesbians, decided I also wanted to post about relationships I support (heterosexual or otherwise.) This list is all-inclusive. If a pairing is missing from the list it means one of a few things. A. I don’t like both characters  B. I don’t think they go well together, or C. I just don’t give a damn. So here’s a list of every single relationship I actively support (i.e. would write fanfiction/porn about) and why. In no order.

NOTE: There are kind of spoilers. If you’re reading a ship, expect there to be spoilers as to how that ship ends up.

NOTE 2: There were a couple of relationships that I really wanted to put in here, such as Arima and Yukino from Kare Kano, which I didn’t because their relationships aren’t explored enough by the anime they are in (that particular one is hitting major turbulence jsut as the anime ends.) I couldn’t include them without knowing where things go. Also I still need to finish Gundam X.

Eureka x Renton Thurston – Eureka Seven – Aside from being the cutest couple in anime, Eureka x Renton is probably the easiest for me to support. Both of them lead each-other’s development and are driven to the point of dependance on their love for one another. Renton’s love makes him grow up and become a man who can protect his family. Eureka’s love lets her discover happiness and learn to live. The two come a long way, and while it takes some time, they become perfect for each-other by the end. Easily my favorite couple.

Miyamura Miyako x Hirono Hiro – ef ~a tale of memories~ – What makes this couple perfect for me is probably that it represents how I wish my life was. Hiro is a young artist who already has his plot in life staked out and is doing what he loves. Miyako is his sort of pseudo-housewife who needs nothing more than the love from another. To me, they are the ultimate modern non-traditional couple even as they embody traditional romance. They aren’t governed by how society perceives a relationship, just by their own ways of life and their love.

Peppo – Gankutsuou - IT’S A TRAP! Peppo is a god-level trap, getting in ‘her’ fair share of alluring uber-moe moments before revealing her secret. What makes ‘her’ the best, though, is that ‘she’ can still seduce Albert even after he knows it’s a trap!!! I don’t care who peppo is with, I support ‘her’ mad trap skillz!

Rail Tracer x Chane Laforet - Baccano! – As you probably know, Rail Tracer (formerly ‘Vino’, formerly ‘Claire Stanfield’) is my favorite anime character. He meets Chane, the mute girl with a father complex, atop the train called the ‘Flying Pussyfoot.’ Mid-knife fight, Rail Tracer tells Chane that he is in love with her and promises that when they meet again in New York he will marry her. This ends up being a hilarious and in every way adorable relationship. Rail Tracer, a mass murderer and self-processed ‘god’ giggles, blushes, and makes silly jokes while he thinks about his undying love for Chane (all of which is just creepy) while she doesn’t know what to think as she receives gifts and promises of love from the guy who is literally introducing himself as fucking ‘RAIL TRACER’. In any event, this is probably the most simultaneously badass and adorable couple ever.

Tatsuhiro Satou x Misaki Nakahara – Welcome to the NHK - Both of these two definitely need someone, and finding one another is as lucky as they’ve ever been. Satou is able to help Misaki get her life together, and through seeing that she was struggling so much, Satou was able to reality check himself a bit and take some responsibility. I think that they could develop deeper feelings for each-other and I could see the relationship working. It would be complicated and realistic, but it would work.

Sae x Hiro – Hidamari Sketch - One of those yuri ships that goes just a bit further than subtext. Hiro takes care of Sae as the ultimate waifu, which is perfect considering Sae’s boyish nature and lack of self-preservation skills. Sae is terrible at pretending to be straight, which makes it all the more fun when Hiro teases and makes passes at her. They really make a perfect couple which they may as well be already… and might!

Keiichi Maebara x The Young Female Populace of Hinamizawa – Higurashi no Naku Koro ni – Keiichi Maebara fucking deserves to shag every single girl in Higurashi at the same fucking time, and I would not at all be surprised if they obliged. There has never been a manlier harem lead in the history of anime. Take your mountain of pussy and titties, Keiichi. You fucking deserve it.

Lawrence Kraft x Horo – Spice and Wolf - I don’t think there have been many more obvious relationships in anime. What makes this relationship the most surprising is simply how little progress it’s made. I can’t help but feel like the author had planned the relationship to move slower without realizing how perfect they’d made the couple. I’d hate to be trapped in a room with them, though. The sheer wit flying around and bouncing off the walls might explode my face off or something. Plus, these two are legal! WHY HAVEN’T THEY FUCKED YET?! (maybe they have in the novels? Maybe they did in ep 6?)

Haruhi Fujioka x Tamaki Suou – Ouran high School Host Club - Cuteness overload, fun overload, development overload.

Rock x Revy – Black Lagoon – Now you have to ask if it’s Rock x Revy or Rock vs. Revy, lol. This is a relationship that needs to happen and is developing perfectly so far. They are truly the right combination, both of them being just the kind of person that the other cannot ignore nor confront. They are from two different worlds, but both of them tap into that one part of the other’s mind that can validate their own world and way of life in the other’s eyes. It gets off to a ‘rock’y start (lol) but I think these two learn so much from each other that their bond becomes incomparably strong. This also deserves credit for being one of the most well-developed relationships around.

Akira Okuzaki x Takumi Tokiha – Mai-HiME – A nice, laid back relationship that progresses totally naturally. There’s an interesting roll reversal here, what with Akira being a tomboy (and actually pretending to be male) and Takumi being completely effeminate. They are incredibly cute together, and as said it feels so natural. Takumi has the total waifu quality that sees right through Akira’s front of toughness and turns her into a caring and laid-back friend and lover.

Neviril x Aer – Simoun – To quote my simoun post: “Neviril and Aer, the main characters, are kind of opposites with their similarity (Neviril: “There is exactly one thing that makes us the same.”) being what they want out of life. Aer begins the show totally sure of what she wants, struggling to keep that sureness, while Neviril struggles to become sure of anything, and seeing these emotions juxtaposed in one another is what starts to pull them along in finding themselves.” The two not only lead each-other’s development, but they totally fall in love, which they say themselves. And they kind of went off to live together eternally.

Kouta Oyamada x Chizuru Minamoto x Nozomu Ezomori – Kanokon – Best. Threesome. Ever.

Anemone x Dominic – Eureka Seven – Who doesn’t love these guys? Dominic is completely driven by his love and desire to protect Anemone at all costs. He may be a fool, but he can do anything in the name of his completely one-sided love. Once his love finally reaches her, Anemone even manages to escape her pain and find life and happiness in Dominic. This is probably how every couple should be. Dominic is a true manly man.

Guts x Casca – Berserk - Casca is the first thing that ever gives Guts direction in his life. He’s dedicated himself to swinging his sword around until he finally finds a reason to keep up that swinging. The two literally see hell together and the relationship faces greater turmoil and furious opposition than any other. Post-Golden Age, Guts’ dedication is tried and tested again and again and his life is always at stake to protect his love even after she’s forgotten all about him. Truly a cruel relationship, but one that makes Guts just that much easier to love as a character.

Anita King x Hisami Hishiishi – R.O.D. the TV – Anita was totally gay for this little shy girl in her class and the fucking writers ruined it by never showing her again after episode 8 or so! What the fuck!! They were the cutest fucking couple ever!!! This was actually the couple that got me into yuri I think. Damn the writers!!!

Takasu Ryuuji x Aisaka Taiga – Toradora – This one is really pretty obvious since the characters were definitely written to be perfect for one another. Taiga is in need and Ryuuji is just the man to suit her. Meanwhile, Taiga is everything Ryuuji could have asked for. They take a minute to see it, but it’s certainly clear. Perfect.

Noe Isurugi x Myself – True Tears/real life Crossover - Some people were pissed because Shinichiro didn’t pick Noe. These people are idiots because Shinichiro is a worthless piece of shit and I would have been more pissed if Noe were stuck with him. What pissed me off in True Tears was that Noe ended up almost killing herself because literally everyone abandoned her like fucking idiots and left the unstable girl alone. Noe deserves someone to care for her. I propose that I do it >.>

Fujino Shion x Fukaya – Hatsu Inu – Canon sex! Honestly, I’m not sure Fukaya is even anything special, but their relationship is a ton of fun. The conflict between fukaya and Fujino’s dildo is hilarious and surprisingly well-written, and the couple manages to be wholly cute. Best hentai pairing ever by far.

Izumi Konata x Hiiragi Kagami – Lucky Star – : 3 You know it’s canon. You know it.

Isaac Dian x Miria Harvent – Baccano! – If you don’t love Isaac and Miria, you are cold and dead inside. These two are simply the most fun couple ever, no debate, no exceptions. They are wholly dumb, totally lucky, and hopelessly in love. God knows where they came from or how they met each other, but thank god they did. The duo is inseparable, proven by the fact that their up to the same old antics 50 years later!

Shin Okazaki x Reira Serizawa – Nana – I’ll admit, you probably couldn’t call this a healthy relationship. After all, the thing starts with Reira paying Shin for sex. However, for the bit of exposition it gets in the span of the show, it seems to be the only woking relationship the story over. Shin cures Reira’s loneliness, and Reira may offer Shin some stability and give him a reason to take better care of himself. Plus, they are both characters that are fun to watch, especially together.

Haruhi Suzumiya x Kyon – The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Some relationships just work, and I think this is one of them. It’s a matter of two characters who work well together and go together naturally. Kyon is tough enough not to take shit from Haruhi, but interested enough to follow along with her. Haruhi hates pushovers and puppy dogs and would definitely need someone with a strong personality like Kyon. I don’t doubt that there would be some turbulance in the beginning, but I think the support they would offer each other would overcome the obstacles.

Miyako x Yunocchi – Hidamari Sketch – Sure, this one takes a bit stronger goggles to put together, but lines like ‘will we end up being close like them?’ and seeing the two bathe and sleep together raise my yuri flags. Miyako relieves Yunocchi’s stress and makes her happy, and Yunocchi is a great friend and companion. It could work. It WILL work if I have anything to say about it, kukuku.

The Shiznat – Mai-HiME – One of the most famous yuri couples ever and baka-raptor’s favorite. Contains lolikit’s favorite plot device. Made of win and awesome fanart. Has one of the best climaxes ever (bowchickawowow).

Guragief x Anubituf – Simoun – Simply put, these are the most awesome gay dudes ever. I love the director’s proposed backstory for them where both of them became men thinking the other would become a girl (which the designer wouldn’t let him use since she’d thought up her own backstory for them. ‘three OVAs worth’ to be exact.) The icing on the cake is seeing them at the end of the series looking all bishounen together.

Rentarou Futaba x Sara Shirogane x Souju Shirogane – Futakoi Alternative – BEST. TWIN. THREESOME. EVER. Also, see Maebara Keiichi. MAN.

Every Good Yuri Ship Ever – Come on man, it’s yuri. It’s fundamentally awesome. See the collective works of Morinaga Milk, Mnemosyne, Candy Boy, Shoujo Sect, etc.

How do you feel about these choices and what are some of your favorite ships? Inb4clannad