Friday, November 30, 2012

From Multiply 097: List of Anime to Watch


Last night the monkey turned the channel to Hero and it was showing Hunter X Hunter Greed Island Arc. I suddenly missed anime. Lately, all I have been watching are movies, mostly Western, following my conversion to a movie buff. Yes, before I regarded movies shallow and uninteresting but last year, I realized that there is more to look out for in film than the plot. One has to judge the cinematic effects, the animation style and HOW the story is narrated. I have a lot to learn in the film discipline, having watched few movies in my life, but what the heck, I'm learning.

The only anime I watch from time to time is "House of Five Leaves" about a very shy and timid samurai who can fight only when people are not watching. He's regarded as a shame to the ronin class because of this. He was unthinkingly included as a member in the Five Leaves group which kidnaps people for ransom. The group is not all that bad. There's Ume for example, who acts as the group's carrier and who runs a sake house in order to go legit and raise his daughter.

There are more anime I would like to watch. I especially would like to check out new titles since I don't know anything new about the anime world now... except for "Blood C" which is a CLAMP retelling of the hit anime "Blood +". I've seen the first episode and the art and animation was good, except I might have a hard time liking the super clumsy heroine. (And yes, I rarely like a CLAMP heroine.) There's also "Chaos; Head" which is about a male student who is so addicted to video games that he becomes paranoid as he cannot seem to distinguish between illusions and reality. In the end, it was not clear if everything was just in his head or indeed there was a serial killer out to get him.

Alongside the desire to check new anime series, I also have this urge to rewatch old titles. Here is my list of anime to wwatch after I free myself from bondage called ACADS.

1. Hunter X Hunter
Yes, I miss the whole system thought of by Yoshihiro Togashi. This anime is more complex than Yuyu Hakusho in that it is more than tournaments. The concept of Greed Island is nice, with everything revolving around cards for survival. Another thing I like is the second arc which involves the Gineiryodan and Kurapika's thirst for revenge.

2. Shaman King
This is one anime series which I've watched twice but NEVER got to watch the last 20 episodes or so either due to change of schedule or lack of time or whatever. I like the concept of shamans here. I think the anime is well-researched and it mostly derived from the American Indian cosmology. The humor never fails to make me laugh out loud.

3. One Piece
Hands down one of the greatest fantasy-adventure anime series ever. Eichiro Oda has effectively and wonderfully created a world where being a pirate is everything. The major reason why i like this is because of the dynamism of characters. Oda has certainly a profound understanding of humans.

4. Naruto
Yes I gave up on this anime even before Shippuden came out. But nowadays with Naruto merchandise all over the city, I have a longing to watch this from the start. I especially like the different ninja abilities. I like the fight scenes. I like the combination of weapons and special jutsu in fighting.

5. Cat's Eye
Not many people know about this anime. So far none has talked to me about this in UP. A friend in HS was hooked to it, I was not. Later on I realized this might be a good anime to familiarize one with works of art.

6. Getbackers
I was not able to watch the entire series, just the first 20 episodes or so. Simple as that.

7. Kekkaishi
I've been meaning to watch this ever since I saw it on Hero but I never got the chance to buy a DVD copy.

8. Air
This is one slow-paced anime that had me crying in the final episode. Yes the final episode is a surprise and it is really unexpected. It is simply amazing. I don't mean the death of the girl.

9. Futari no Spica
This is also another anime that has me crying in almost all episodes. It inspires viewers to follow their dreams despite the odds. Also whenever I hear Mr. Lion playing the harmonica, I just have to reach for the tissue paper. SNIFF.

10. Jester the Adventurer
The main hero is an anti-hero. He's greedy, has no manners, and really selfish. But he's funny.

11. Magic Knight Rayearth
Probably the first CLAMP series I liked and just one of the few. Yes I am biased AGAINST CLAMP hehe. Cute girls manning robots and fighting to save an alternate world is well, cute.

12. BT'X
All I remember is that people in this anime ride robot horses. And there's Teepee and Karen and the twins. Yes, I need to refresh my memory.

13. Yaiba
Who doesn't like a high pitched young samurai? I do. The English dub was lousy. I'm planning to watch the entire series again in Japanese.

14. Now and Then Here and There
Dystopia, child exploitation and such. Really a dark series.

15. Strange Dawn
Strange indeed with all the chibi characters and the males turn out bald. Stranger still is when what they consider as nude is a shoeless foot.

16. NieA under 7
That energetic, always hungry alien is just lovable. And you always guess what will happen to Mayu as she goes to cram school, work, and think of other problems... like how to wrestle piece of meat from a freeloader alien.

17. Angel Sanctuary
I was asking for more after watching the OAV. I guess they don't have plans of doing a series for the manga. (Yes I had to read the manga to know what came next.)

18. Gundam saga
Need to watch again Gundam Wing, Gundam X After War, and Turn a Gundam. And am looking forward to exploring other Gundam worlds in different time settings.

19. Macross
A classic which I never got to watch.

20. Fairy Tail
From the creator of Rave (speaking of the devil, whatever happened to Rave?) and equally humorous, though I like this one better. It reminds me a lot of One Piece. Luffy and Natsu have a lot in common.

That's about it. A message to myself: Finish that site report, paper and permatraces!!!

Oct 30, '11 9:15 AM
for Miracle's friends and Miracle's family


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