This is the list of anime titles I've only watched parts of. I feel uncomfortable rating some of these titles for this reason, but I will be adding comments to explain why I only watched parts of a show and might not want to finish it.
I can't claim to be too objective with the stuff I love, but I will try to add comments to most of the titles to explain my view of things. Love & Peace.
| Seen all▲▼ | Rating▲▼ | Comment▲▼ |
| 5 Centimeters Per Second (movie) | Excellent | |
| Akira (movie) | | Way too many years ago. Need to watch again to phrase an opinion. |
| Alps no Shōjo Heidi (TV) | | Childhood nostalgia. I don't think there's any German kid of the 80s that didn't watch this show. |
| Baccano! (TV) | Very good | Pure, lighthearted (yet quite gory), mostly well paced fun. Like a ride on a roller coaster. Despite being quite dark at times, morally and in terms of brutality, it does not take itself too seriously (or at all), which contributes a lot to the enjoyment watching this anime. |
| Barefoot Gen (movie) | Excellent | An excellent, yet deeply disturbing film. I really don't want to watch it again any time soon, it was hard work to get the imagery of all the war horrors out of my mind. |
| Battle Angel (OAV) | | Way too many years ago. Would have to re-watch to phrase an opinion. |
| Battle Royale (live-action movie) | Good | |
| Castle in the Sky (movie) | Excellent | |
| (The) Cat Returns (movie) | Decent | |
| Chaos;HEAd (TV) | Decent | I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the first half of this series. I thought reality and delusions were blended very well, leaving me guessing and very interested. The pacing was also quite fine, rather slow, but even and well executed. However, it kind of fell apart for me around the middle somewhere, maybe at the point where we learn the source of the big conspiracy behind it all. That was rather anticlimactic and it went downwards from there in a spiral in every regard - plot, pacing, and animation as well. How sad, the first half would have ranked very good on my scale, now it's down to a weak decent. |
| Children Who Chase Lost Voices (movie) | Masterpiece | A moving and nature story about the understanding and acceptance of loss and death, beautifully animated and executed. It takes its time in all the right moments, the pacing is simply excellent. A quiet, intimate, deeply moving film. |
| Claymore (TV) | Very good | So much potential. So sad they didn't get to tell the whole story. |
| Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (TV) | Excellent | A perfectly made product of entertainment. It will not be for everyone, as it is absolutely over the top. Chances are, if you can deal with things like Wagnerian opera, you can deal with Code Geass. If you prefer a more subtle approach, you might want to reconsider watching. |
| Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 (TV) | Good | One of the best endings in the history of anime. Touching, thrilling, fascinating. Sadly, though, it seems like the creators, while knowing where the journey would end, did not really think it all the way through how we would get there, resulting in some rather frustrating over-uber-pseudo-epicness and annoying filler episodes full of irritating product placement and random teenie fanservice. The more-than-perfect ending makes up for a lot, though, IMO. |
| Cowboy Bebop (TV) | Masterpiece | The animation is beyond beautiful, the music wonderful, the characters unique and lovable. A symphony for the eyes and ears that makes up for the episodic nature of the series, something I usually dislike. And the ending - perfection. |
| Cowboy Bebop: The Movie | Good | An extended TV episode, a bit too long at times, but still beautiful to watch. |
| Darker than Black (TV) | Good | |
| Death Note (TV) | Excellent | Up to a certain character's death, this anime is a 10/10. It's clever, it keeps you on the edge of your seat, it's incredibly well scripted and made. It looses a lot of its appeal later on, which is a shame. The ending, though (although pretty much what you'd expect it to be after the first three or so episodes) and the last episodes leading up to it make up for some of the sillier things going on before that. Still, it is a must see for me. |
| (The) Devil is a Part-Timer! (TV) | Very good | |
| Durarara!! (TV) | Very good | Very entertaining and some really great characters I really cared about by the end. Great voice acting. Better paced than Baccano. Definitely worth seeing. |
| Elfen Lied (TV) | Good | |
| Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (movie) | Good | |
| Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (movie) | Not really good | |
| Fate/stay night (TV) | Good | I adored Fate/Zero and am considering it to be one of my favorites. I did not know the original Fate/stay night series before watching Fate/Zero, so I wanted to check it out. While it is clearly not as dark and mature as its prequel and there was way too much cooking, eating, and chit-chatting going on for my taste, I am happy I kept on watching, because I really liked the last couple of episodes and consider the ending to be a very nice one indeed. I was able to enjoy Fate/Zero even more the second time, especially the ending, which disappointed me the first time, but now it all makes perfect sense (obviously). While I think Fate/Zero is superior to the original Fate series in every aspect, I am absolutely not regretting watching Fate/stay night, it was fun and sweet and adds even more depth to Fate/Zero. |
| Fate/Zero (TV) | Masterpiece | There aren't many things out there entertainment-wise that can beat King Arthur and Alexander the Great having a drink while philosophizing about what it takes to be a king and lead people into their last battle. I mean, seriously. It looks and sounds spectacular. The way they throw around morals and ideologies, only to step upon them five minutes later with all their might, crushing the character's dreams, hopes, and the characters with them (sometimes quite literally). If you haven't seen the original series, Fate/Zero might suffer from being a prequel and not a stand alone project. But if a show can be called epic, it's this one. There are at least a dozen more than perfect moments/scenes in this anime that left me gasping breathlessly "see, and that's why I love anime". For me, this is definitely a favorite. |
| Fate/Zero (TV 2) | Masterpiece | See comment for the first season. |
| Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (movie) | Decent | Well, let's start with the good parts. There's Takahiro Sakurai. The visuals and characters look gorgeous, the animation is spectacular. Let me quote the ANN review: "If you ever wanted to know what it'd look like to watch The Matrix, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Fast and the Furious, Star Wars, and their brethren all at once, it's right here. Square even contributes a new technique to the visual language of action films: the use of vertical space. In a world where gravity is optional, Cloud walks on air (getting the occasional boost from his friends) and scales walls at dizzying camera angles that could only be possible in animation." Yes. Pretty much that. In the story department, however, the movie has less things going for it. Since I am not familiar with the game franchise, some things were a bit confusing, and I could also not join in on the enjoyment game fans probably feel when seeing old or favorite characters be brought back for cameos and such. There were some interesting, even touching moments in this, but rather scattered. All in all, I kept on watching because it just looked so freaking gorgeous. |
| Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (US CG movie) | So-so | |
| First Squad - The Moment Of Truth (OAV) | | |
| From Up On Poppy Hill (movie) | Decent | |
| Fullmetal Alchemist (TV) | Very good | My main point of criticism would be that it was too long and took too much time to make some of the points it wanted to make. You could smell them coming, and they just got stuck somewhere along the line, leaving me annoyed and frustrated from time to time. Besides the pacing (which, at times, could also be quite the opposite and to the point), I really liked the characters and found their journey to be touching and their fates moving. |
| Ghost in the Shell (movie) | | Too long ago. Need to re-watch. |
| Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (movie) | | Too long ago. Need to re-watch. |
| (The) Girl Who Leapt Through Time (movie) | Excellent | A wonderful movie about growing up and taking responsibility for yourself. Beautifully told and executed. |
| Grave of the Fireflies (movie) | Masterpiece | One of the most touching films I've seen in my life. I don't think it is possible to not be deeply moved by this masterpiece. |
| Howl's Moving Castle (movie) | Decent | Not Ghibli's best, but still entertaining. What I was missing the most was the usual strong Ghibli heroine. |
| Jin-Roh - The Wolf Brigade (movie) | Excellent | A grimly realistic glimpse into an alternate future and a tragic love story. |
| K (TV) | So-so | A beautiful, stylish package. Yet, it lacks profoundly in terms of plot development. Since it's only 13 episodes, filled with beautiful images, even more beautiful guys, fantastic voice actors, a very nice and chilly soundtrack - it's not a waste of time, though. Heard there's going to be a second season. Maybe that one will get more plot? |
| Kids on the Slope (TV) | Excellent | Oh, the melancholy ... This show was absolutely wonderful, a gentle and engaging reminder of how beautiful and yet how sad growing up was like. All those emotions - thanks for reviving them, even just for a little while ...
The characters are simply adorable, what a beautifully portrayed friendship. Watanabe knows how to present his stories in just the right pictures, not a single frame was wasted, so much beauty in the details, what a delight. The soundtrack is, of course, enchanting, contributing to and shaping the melancholic feel of the series.
An absolute delight, that's what this anime is. |
| Kiki's Delivery Service (movie) | Good | |
| Kill Bill Chapter 3: The Origin of O-Ren (movie segment) | | |
| Last Exile (TV) | Excellent | I loved this show, despite some flaws it certainly had. I love steam punk. The soundtrack is beautiful. The characters are lovable, and despite the protagonists being children, the anime itself is actually rather mature. The setting and story feel a bit like a Studio Ghibli movie, so I would recommend Last Exile to anyone who can enjoy Miyazaki's films. |
| Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (movie) | Very good | Lighthearted, entertaining, and fun. |
| Maya the Bee (TV) | | Childhood nostalgia... |
| Mononoke (TV) | Masterpiece | I just love it when something truly makes use of the medium it's told in, and this show truly does. This is one beautiful, haunting, and impressive piece of visual art. |
| Monster (TV) | Excellent | Once upon a time, there was a nameless monster ... A fantastic, epic story about responsibility and how everything you do will have consequences that, one day, will come back to haunt you. Due to its slow pacing, this show is probably not everyone's cup of tea (and, to be honest, it might not have suffered from having 10 episodes less or so), but I still find it to be a fascinating, thrilling and sometimes incredibly painful journey into the dark abyss that is human nature. No super powered teenagers, no mecha fights, no fanservice. I would not recommend it for children under the age of 16 due to the psychologically disturbing themes. |
| My Neighbor Totoro (movie) | Excellent | The perfect movie to watch on a rainy Sunday morning. Again, and again. Pure innocence and feel good guaranty. |
| Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (movie) | Excellent | |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion (TV) | Masterpiece | The very first anime series I ever watched. And the one that made me fall in love with anime as a whole. After 3 watches, I still consider it to be one of the few true masterpieces out there. It's clever, it's deep, it's beautiful, it's twisted and evil, it's funny, silly, and mature (and sometimes all at the same time) and it can make you (well, me, at least) think and talk about it for days after finishing it, weeks even. The English dub is unwatchable for me, though, as I get this urge to strangle the protagonist 5 minutes into the first episode, a problem non-existing in the Japanese version. Personally, I don't think this classic needs to be retold in a different way for current generations because the original series is about as fantastic as it can get and perfectly able to fascinate viewers today as it was back in the 90s. So far, I've been avoiding the rebuild movies after the first one left me rather disappointed (it just felt kind of shallow), but I know I will have to watch them some day. I love this show from the first time Shogoki goes berserk to the crayon drawn finale, and with all my heart. |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth (movie) | Decent | ... because why NOT make all the money you can, releasing the same stuff in a different format and call it a "movie". Great. Because I'm a huge Evangelion fan, I feel obliged to at least give a decent rating, but this movie is a really ridiculous affair. |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (movie) | Masterpiece | A grim and epic conclusion (some say alternate ending) to the original TV series. It still looks and sounds fantastic today. Better not to be watched in a fragile state of mind, though. |
| No. 6 (TV) | Good | I rated it “good”, although I felt it was a mixed bag with some very powerful (and much better than just “good”) moments and a very beautiful mood throughout, but it lacked in terms of plot building and execution.
Positive: The general setting being of my favourite (utopian/dystopian) kind; the relationship of the main characters, its development and the sensitivity and sincerity it was being told with, making me care about the characters a lot; the general melancholic mood the series carried throughout, full of atmosphere; Nezumi, who added a fresh sensitivity and wittiness to the aloofness his (very pleasant) character design obviously requires (isn’t that right, Kanda?)
Negative:
There’s a whole lot of talking going on between Nezumi and Shion of how they want to destroy No.6 and/or save the people within from the moment on when Nezumi helps Shion escape in ep. 2. Then, for several episodes (equating to several months time within the story), they aren’t really doing all that much in terms of preparing themselves or doing anything to achieve their goals. Only when Shion’s friend Safu is in sudden need of being rescued the moment arrives there when they actually start doing things. There might be some things happening off screen, since they do tell each other about their progress and setbacks, but we don’t actually see it happening. This kind of storytelling might work a lot better in a novel, and since this anime is based on a series of novels, it makes sense, but it would still have been nice to actually see them trying to come closer to achieving their goals. The same goes for the emotional confessions about how important they are for each other and shaped each other’s lives, made them who they are. All very moving because beautifully worded and staged with the atmospheric melancholy this series breathed throughout, but less powerful than it could have been had we actually seen Shion develop any form of interest in … anything before we see and hear him thanking Nezumi for giving him the freedom to do so. Again, this might work better in a novel, but in a visual medium, I kind of want to see things happening, not just being told.
Still, the good outweighed the bad for me here by far. |
| Oldboy (Korean movie) | Excellent | One deeply disturbing movie for sure. The psychological violence surpasses the actual one by far. Some images will stay with me for years to come, I am sure. |
| Outlaw Star (TV) | Good | |
| (The) Place Promised in Our Early Days (movie) | Very good | |
| Pom Poko (movie) | Good | |
| Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (movie) | Good | |
| Princess Mononoke (movie) | Masterpiece | A fantastic movie with a compelling story, complex characters, and beautifully executed. Probably the Ghibli movie least suited to watch in the company of children because of the brutality and mature themes. |
| Princess Tutu (TV) | Excellent | So, I finally decided to watch Princess Tutu, after all the praise it gets in this forum. I went in completely clueless and was slightly irritated by the silliness and (supposedly) lack of maturity the series exhales – at first. I continued watching because I wanted to know what the buzz was about, despite the initial feeling that this was meant to be watched by a target audience not quite my own age. I quickly let go of my reluctance when the characters and feel of the series started to grow on me, though.
I really loved the first season, especially the switching between hilarious comedy and mystic seriousness. The animation was quite limited at times, and yes, it might be targeting an age group below the one I belong to, but I found it to be rich in atmosphere and especially in heart.
The setting appealed to me enormously, as I was reminded of various vacations in Bavaria from my own childhood, which blended nicely with the fairytale like intro and theme of the episodes and made me feel like a child again on several levels. It was almost like revisiting a childhood favorite, although I never watched this show as a child, yet still I was getting some lovely and melancholic nostalgia vibes from it.
The first episodes of season two were a bit repetitive (Kraehe having to steal yet another person’s heart for the raven over and over again), but it really started to pick itself up again for me with the ghost knight episode and the following discovery of Fakir’s true power and the consequent all out fight against fate.
Ahiru and Fakir were incredibly lovely and layered characters, I rooted for them (and a happy ending) more than I usually tend to root for most fictional characters. I really wished for them to get a happy ending, although the feeling of the show indicated a bittersweet ending throughout, at best. The finale was thrilling, touching, and full of heart and left me all teary, yet hopeful, and with a feeling of empowerment. What a wonderful message for kids and adolescents watching this show! I am already thinking whom I could give the DVDs to for birthdays or Christmas.
I am not sure if I want to rate Princess Tutu very good or excellent at the moment, I guess I have to see how my feelings toward it develop over the next few days. But I took a very powerful message with me that touched my heart and soul, and I am grateful for that.
Edit: Excellent it is, since it's lingering beautifully in my mind and won't go away. |
| Psycho-Pass (TV) | Excellent | An cleverly written cop story set within a dystopian future. The setting itself already has my full attention. And it's written by Urobuchi who is responsible for 2 of my top 10 anime titles. I am intrigued. After watching this, I can say that Psycho-Pass, for me, is another Urobuchi favourite. The man just knows how to surprise and challenge me and is not afraid of not taking the easy way out. And Makishima, well … another favourite character of Takahiro Sakurai. I guess there are some things even Urobuchi can’t change. SPOILERS to follow ... At first I felt a bit underwhelmed after watching the finale. But it grew quickly on me. After watching the last couple of episodes a second time, I am now absolutely and wholeheartedly in love with the ending. The longer I though about it, the more I thought it was a very mature ending. When the protagonist first found out about the true nature of the system she is living in (and working for), she already made her resolution. While admitting to the antagonist how she could now understand his motivation a bit better, she was not willing to sacrifice the (fake, but working) peace and harmony this society had found through the very same system. It moved me quite a lot when she stated something along the lines of how the law was the accumulation of people’s dreams and no one had the right to take those dreams away from them by force. When the series goes full (but slightly modified) circle in the end, it’s like they didn’t manage to get past the divergence rate, but they did manage to jump world lines, so to speak. There is hope, and not just a glimpse of it, that, in a not so distant future, society might change sufficiently and become ready to embrace free will again, rendering the system obsolete. Urobuchi is a genius, having the antagonist state how everyone is replaceable right before the end, which is exactly what happens. But while they all take on different roles in the end and continue to play a part within a system they no longer believe in, things have shifted, shown in the protagonist’s introduction of the enforcers to the new inspector. The old guys are gone, time for a new era. Maybe a better one. It’s up to us. Instead of being ruled over or driven into chaos and anarchy, we are being empowered to maybe take fate into our own hands once again someday. When we’re ready for it. I love it. |
| Puella Magi Madoka Magica (TV) | Masterpiece | Beautiful beyond words. |
| RahXephon (TV) | Very good | The internet told me to watch this one when I was looking for "something like Evangelion". Other than the fact that there's a teenager piloting a mecha and some philosophical questions being asked, there weren't really a whole lot of similarities as the feel and story of the show were completely different. It made me care about the characters and their fates, the music and visuals were very pleasing as well. The love story at the center of it all was very sweet and felt quite special. The ending, though, had too many reset elements in it for me, which is something I don't appreciate of. |
| Ringu (live-action movie) | Decent | |
| Robotics;Notes (TV) | Decent | Nice characters, good first half, but then it got stuck somehow. Still not a bad show by far, but also not quite what I felt it could have been after the first couple of episodes. |
| Samurai Champloo (TV) | Excellent | Bebop's little brother. More focus on the fun, action, and comedic relief oriented side of things, but there are still some moments and episodes where you can't help but love the Bebop-feel that's being generated inside you. At least that's how I felt. Beautiful soundtrack, very nicely animated action sequences. |
| (The) Secret World of Arrietty (movie) | Good | |
| Sky Blue (Korean movie) | Decent | |
| (The) Sky Crawlers (movie) | Good | |
| Spirited Away (movie) | Excellent | |
| Steins;Gate (TV) | Excellent | A great idea and setting, lovely characters (to me the most lovable since Trigun) and some absolutely fantastic moments make this show as popular as it is, and rightfully so. It is not free of flaws, sometimes it takes so much time to get its lovely behind in motion that you want to give the characters (and writers) a "gentle" push, because they really created something beautiful here and could have created a true masterpiece. I still love it, it touches me, I care about the characters more than in most anime, and I really love the animation and character design, especially the eyes. And I am just such a huge fan of intelligent time travel stories. Definitely highly recommended. |
| Sword of the Stranger (movie) | Excellent | The ANN review pretty much reflects what I think about the film: Nothing really new story or character development wise, but gorgeously executed. The fight scenes draw you in and leave you breathless, and I am not easily pulled in by action alone. This might be a case of style over substance, but, Great Maker, does this have style (including plenty of blood and gore as well). There's just enough substance underneath it to keep me invested in the characters and story. This is what anime looks like in a Hollywood blockbuster disguise, but there are way to few blockbusters available nowadays that do not make me want to smash my head against the wall to kill off those otiose braincells begging me for seppuku because they feel violated by the awfulness they have been exposed to. This film does not invoke feelings like that, the story is coherent, stuff makes sense, and the final fight is what a visual orgasm feels like. The music is also epic as epic can be and does the action more than justice. |
| Tales from Earthsea (movie) | So-so | |
| Trigun (TV) | Masterpiece | A favourite of mine and very close to my heart. I might not be able to be too objective here, because I just love the characters of this anime to bits and want to marry them all, have them move in with me and do my best to protect them from all evils in the world so they will not have to suffer anymore. Seriously, it's the characters and their interactions that make this show so fantastic. Imagine a Joss Whedon show, only animated. It starts off with being the silliest thing imaginable with some absolutely hilarious goofing around by the protagonist until it gets dark so quickly that you don't know what hit you when morals start clashing, friends start hating each other, and people start dying. And when they start dying, it hurts me more than in most other anime, because they are just so incredibly lovable. It reminded me of the Italian movie "Life is beautiful" at times, how quickly it goes from lighthearted and hilarious to heartbreaking and bottomless. The animation is dated and limited, but the characters are so wonderful that you will quickly forgive all the flaws this anime might have that are not possible for me to see anymore because I just adore every single frame of it. |
| Trigun: Badlands Rumble (movie) | Good | It was nice to go back to planet Gunsmoke for a bit, see the old gang meet up again, some epic Wolfwood-coolnees and hilarious Vash-silliness. But it's just not the same. Vash and Wolfwood are more on the uber-cool than on the touching-my-heart side of things, which was fine, but, as I said - not the same. |
| (The) Unlimited - Hyōbu Kyōsuke (TV) | Decent | |
| Valvrave the Liberator (TV) | Good | There's something there that keeps me coming back for more. Maybe the possibility of a mecha can-can? |
| Vampire Knight (TV) | Good | I'm biased rating this. I'm just really not into vampire stories. All the suffering, lusting, and sucking each other's blood - really not my thing. This anime did not change my opinion. It is very! well made, beautiful to look at, the backgrounds especially, and it has Mamoru Miyano as one of the leads, so I was entertained enough to keep watching. And there's a whole lot of bishonen eye candy for the ladies everywhere. But, personally, I think it was sad to see how the heroine and protagonist of an anime mainly targeted at girls can be so dependable on the guys around her. OK, so they're all hot and into her, good for her, but is this, an incompetent object of desire, really all she should be? While she tries running around and "protecting" (yeah...not so much) her friends, despite giving it all she's got, some guy always ends up having to rescue her, leading to emotional confusion on her part which one she might really love now: manipulative-yet-oh-so-mysterious-bastard-guy or self-loathing-needs-to-be-saved-angry-puppy-god-guy. I preferred Buffy as my vampire-loving heroine (and role model for young females), at least she was able to kick some bad guy's butt and didn't need to be rescued every 5 seconds. |
| Vampire Knight Guilty (TV) | Decent | See comment for first season, same applies here. It offered more plot, but since all the suffering and lusting for one another got a bit stale for me already, it gets less points. The heroine of the story still has no clue about what's going on for the most part, still being my main point of criticism. To quote the encyclopedia on this matter: "Yuki suffers from a startling lack of self-preservation instinct throughout; she needs two tough, hunky guys looking out for her just to assure her own fragile existence. Granted, some of that is necessary to give the hunky guys something to do besides just walk around and look pretty or despair at becoming a vampire, but any attempts to give Yuki any semblance of strength as a character get washed away by her repeated lack of common sense." Pretty much sums it up. |
| (The) Vision of Escaflowne (TV) | Excellent | I absolutely loved the first half or so. It was like a homage to The Neverending Story, a protagonist spirited away into a magical world where his/her dreams, hopes and despairs hold power over the events happening. That's a setting alone that I can enjoy with all my heart, and the multilayered, interesting characters and their interactions made this magical world all the more real and interesting.
I really liked Hitomi as a protagonist, she felt very balanced and real, there were no spoiler unbelievable over the top heroics, but she wasn't the helpless damsel in distress either.
The first half of the show was written so fell, there wasn't a single second spent on unnecessary things. Extraordinarily well paced. Later on this pacing felt out of balance every once in a while, some things got rushed that should not have been rushed, which made me loose my attachment to the main characters a bit at times. It almost seemed as if they had to cut some crucial moments, since there was no time wasted anywhere else on other things.
Luckily, there were some really wonderful supporting characters whose journeys were no less interesting than the one of the protagonist. I am thinking of Millerna especially, such a well written character, starting of as your typical love struck, naive little princess who spends her time daydreaming and being more in love with the idea of being in love (unrequited, of course) than considering her or her loved one's actual feelings. Her growing into a responsible, caring adult, overcoming (some of) her childhood fantasies without sacrificing her identity or happiness, it was just fascinating to watch. I wish there were more supporting characters who get such development and depth in other shows instead of just serving as tropes or plot points.
All in all, this was a wonderful, mature coming of age story with a fitting and mature ending that reflected the growth of basically all of the main and supporting characters throughout their journey.
The character designs are unique, it took me a bit to get used to those noses at first, but one cannot say this isn't a spectacular looking anime. Both story and design manage to keep a wonderful balance between romance, adventure, mecha battles, supernatural, heroics, and yet real and complex characters who have flaws and are still loveable. And the music is, of course, brilliant.
Another classic off my list, one that could be recommended to basically everyone - teenagers, adults, men, women, because it is just so well balanced. |
| Voices of a Distant Star (OAV) | Excellent | |
| Welcome to the NHK (TV) | Excellent | A grim, cynical look into some of the social problems and phenomena Japan is dealing with these days. A hikikomori, an otaku, and two suicidal young people are struggling, failing, and coping with their lives. Grimly entertaining, and, luckily, also quite touching at times. |
| Whisper of the Heart (movie) | Excellent | A wonderful, innocent story about first love. Makes you feel like you're 16 again. Absolutely lovely. |
| Wolf's Rain (TV) | Excellent | The last wolves, whose mystical existence has been forgotten by mankind, travelling through a cold and dying world, looking for their last dream: paradise. The tagline practically screamed at me: This is the anime for you, and it was right. The atmosphere and feel of this anime is fantastic, the soundtrack (by Yoko Kanno) as beautiful as one could possibly hope for, the story deeply moving. Luckily, the OAV provided a wonderful ending to a beautiful piece of art. |
| Wolf's Rain (OAV) | Masterpiece | One of my favourite endings ever. I can think and talk about it for days. Tragic yet beautiful, epic yet intimate, sad yet hopeful. A wonderful conclusion to a great anime. |
| (The) Wonderful Adventures of Nils (TV) | | Childhood nostalgia. Oh, how I wanted to fly with the geese ... |
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