Friday, September 30, 2011

Pirate's Anime Favorites

I just wanna say that this is completely subjective and as such, your mileage may vary and any differences of opinion are completely understandable..... First I wanna start off by stating that as a young kid, I was sucked into the fascination of japanese animation art form and how they told stories that weren't commonplace on US television. Some of my formative memories come from being a latchkey kid in the late 60's and early 70's and watching such landmark shows like Ultraman, AstroBoy, Kimba the White Lion and naturally.... Speed Racer. So now you know where I am grounded and I have to say that I didn't really get back into the genre until The Dirty Pair came along. Sure I watched other cartoons as a kid, Jonny Quest and George of the Jungle were favorites. I cut my teeth on Rocky and Bullwinkle as well as the usual collection of Tom and Jerry, Warner Brothers staples of Yosemite Sam and Bugs and the gang. I watched the Pink Panther (and secretly enjoyed both The Inspector and the Ant and the Aardvark more) and The Flintstones, the Jetsons and was fascinated by the blending of music and montage that made Scooby Doo different. First, I should go ahead and come clean and state that I haven't watched every anime series ever, but I have seen quite a few and I have to admit, that my tastes definitely cross genres and I am not an elitist, but I am a sucker for a good story. Second, I should state that without a decent story, just about any series falls flat on its ass, despite how good the voice actors are or how well drawn the story is. There are also certain series that I've enjoyed to a point where they somehow either jump the shark or have grown stale with repetition, I'll do my best to account for that as well. I may try and make this an ongoing project as I determine what I really want to do with this, but remember, this is solely the opinion of a 50 year old, middle class fat guy, meaning that I am a parent and I am a male (so yeah, I've seen a few harem series in my day), Next, I should tell ya what I have seen and perhaps then we can decide where to go from there: Some of these are partials, where I was interested enough to take a test drive but haven't always finished but watched enough to either come to the conclusion that the story wasn't strong enough for me to follow, or the characters and situations were so formulaic that I couldn't be bothered to stay with it. Once in a while, I just don't like something and I haven't taken the time to examine it more closely to figure out why.

  • A Channel
  • Abenobashi 
  • Aeon Flux
  • Ah! My Goddess 
  • Air Gear 
  • Air TV 
  • Amaenaideyo 
  • Amagami SS 
  • AnoHana 
  • Azumanga Daioh 
  • Baccano! 
  • Bakugan: Battle Brawlers 
  • Bakuman. 
  • Bamboo Blade 
  • Banner of the Stars 
  • Basilisk 
  • Beck 
  • Beelzebub 
  • Beet The Vandel Buster 
  • Ben 10 
  • Berserk 
  • Beyblade 
  • Black Blood Brothers 
  • Black Cat 
  • Black Lagoon 
  • Blassreiter 
  • Bleach 
  • Blood+ 
  • Blood-C 
  • Blue Gender 
  • Blue Submarine No. 6 
  • Bobobo-bo bo-bobo 
  • Boogiepop Phantom 
  • Boys Be… 
  • Break Blade 
  • Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 
  • Burn Up W 
  • Burst Angel 
  • Buso Renkin 
  • Candidate For Goddess 
  • Card Captor Sakura 
  • Cardfight!! Vanguard 
  • Carnival Phantasm 
  • Cat Shit One 
  • Chrono Crusade 
  • Chu-Bra!! 
  • Claymore 
  • Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion 
  • Code-E 
  • Colorful 
  • Cowboy Bebop 
  • Crayon Shin Chan 
  • Crest of the Stars 
  • Cromartie High School 
  • Cross Game 
  • Dai-guard 
  • Dance in the Vampire Bund 
  • Danny Phantom 
  • Darker Than Black 
  • Darker than Black 2: Gemini of the Meteor 
  • Darker Than Black Gaiden 
  • Deadman Wonderland 
  • Dear Boys 
  • Death Note 
  • Demashitaa! Powerpuff Girls Z 
  • Desert Punk 
  • Detective Conan 
  • Devil May Cry 
  • Digimon Adventure 
  • Digimon Xros Wars 
  • Dirty Pair 
  • DN Angel 
  • Double-J 
  • Dragon Ball Kai 
  • Dragon Crisis! 
  • Dragonball 
  • Dragonball GT 
  • Dragonball Z 
  • Dragonball Z The Abridged Series 
  • Durarara!! 
  • Eiken 
  • El Cazador de la Bruja 
  • Elemental Gelade 
  • Elfen Lied 
  • Ergo Proxy 
  • Eureka 7 
  • Excel Saga 
  • Eyeshield 21 
  • Family Guy 
  • Fate Stay Night 
  • Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals 
  • Final Fantasy: Unlimited 
  • Fist of the North Star 
  • FLAG 
  • Fooly Cooly 
  • Fortune Arterial 
  • Fractale 
  • Freezing 
  • Fruits Basket 
  • Full Metal Panic 
  • Full Moon o Sagashite 
  • Fullmetal Alchemist 
  • Fullmetal Alchemist Blind Alchemist 
  • Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood 
  • Fushigi Yuugi 
  • Futakoi 
  • Futakoi Alternative 
  • Futurama 
  • G Gundam 
  • Genshiken 
  • Get Backers 
  • Ghost in the Shell SAC 
  • Gintama 
  • Girls Bravo 
  • Glass Fleet 
  • Gokujou Seitokai 
  • Gokusen 
  • Golden Boy 
  • Gosick 
  • Gravitation 
  • Great Teacher Onizuka 
  • Green Green 
  • Gundam 00 
  • Gundam Seed 
  • Gundam Seed Destiny 
  • Gundam Unicorn 
  • Gundam Wing 
  • Gundam X 
  • Gundam ZZ 
  • GunGrave 
  • Gunslinger Girl 
  • Gunsmith Cats 
  • Hanamaru Kindergarten 
  • Hanasakeru Seishounen 
  • Hanasaku Iroha 
  • Hanaukyo Maid Team 
  • Hand Maid May 
  • Happy Lesson 
  • Hayate No Gotoku 
  • Hayate no Gotoku!! Season 2 
  • He is My Master 
  • Hellsing 
  • Hellsing Ultimate 
  • Hen Zemi 
  • Hetalia: Axis Powers 
  • High School Girls 
  • Highschool of the Dead 
  • Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni 
  • Hikaru No Go 
  • Honey and Clover 
  • Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi 
  • House of Five Leaves 
  • Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls 
  • Hyouge Mono 
  • Ikki Tousen 
  • Ikkitousen: Xtreme Xecutor 
  • Inazuma Eleven 
  • Infinite Stratos 
  • Initial D 
  • Inukami 
  • Inuyasha 
  • InuYasha Kanketsu-hen 
  • Inuyasha The Final Act 
  • Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari 
  • Itsuka Tenma no Kuro-Usagi 
  • Jackie Chan Adventures 
  • Jigoku Shoujo (Hell Girl) 
  • Jigoku Shoujo: Mitsuganae 
  • Johnny Bravo 
  • Jungle de Ikou! ova 
  • Justice League 
  • K-ON! 
  • Kampfer 
  • Kanokon 
  • Kare Kano 
  • Kaze no Stigma 
  • Kekkaishi 
  • KenIchi the Mightiest Disciple 
  • Kiba 
  • Kim Possible 
  • Kimagure Orange Road 
  • Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien 
  • Kimi ni Todoke 
  • Kimi ni Todoke 2nd Season 
  • King of Bandit Jing 
  • Kino No Tabi The Beautiful World 
  • Kiss x sis 
  • Kiss x sis OVA 
  • Kodocha 
  • Kodomo No Jikan
  • Koi Kaze 
  • Kore wa Zombie Desu ka 
  • Kujibiki Unbalance 
  • Ladies Versus Butlers! 
  • Last Exile 
  • Law of Ueki 
  • Level E 
  • Love Hina 
  • Love Love? 
  • Lovely Complex 
  • Maburaho 
  • Macademi Wasshoi 
  • Macross Frontier 
  • Macross Zero 
  • Magikano 
  • Mahou Sensei Negima! 
  • Mahou Shoujo 
  • Madoka Magica 
  • Mai HiME 
  • Mai Otome 
  • Major 
  • Manyuu Hikenchou 
  • Marmalade Boy 
  • Mezzo DSA 
  • Minami-ke Mitsudomoe 
  • MM! 
  • Moetan 
  • Mokke 
  • Monster 
  • Monster Rancher 
  • Morita-san wa Mukuchi 
  • Moshidora 
  • Mushishi 
  • My Wife is a High School Girl 
  • Nabari no Ou 
  • Nagasarete Airantou 
  • NANA 
  • Naruto 
  • Naruto Shippuuden 
  • Natsu no Arashi! 
  • Natsume Yuujinchou 
  • Negima!? 
  • Nekogami Yaoyorozu 
  • Neon Genesis Evangelion 
  • Nichijou 
  • Ninja Nonsense 
  • Ninja Scroll 
  • Oban Star-Racers 
  • One Outs 
  • One Piece 
  • Onegai Teacher 
  • Onii-chan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne!! 
  • Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi 
  • Ookiku Furikabutte – Big Windup! Season 2 
  • Ookiku Furikabutte – Big Windup! 
  • Oreimo 
  • Ouran High School Host Club 
  • Outlaw Star 
  • Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt 
  • Paranoia Agent 
  • Patlabor 
  • Peach Girl Piano 
  • Pilot Candidate 
  • Pokemon Season 01: Indigo League 
  • Pokemon Season 02: Adventures on the Orange Islands 
  • Pokemon Season 03: The Johto Journeys 
  • Pokemon Season 04: Johto League Champions 
  • Pokemon Season 02: Adventures on the Orange Islands 
  • Pokemon Season 03: The Johto Journeys 
  • Pokemon Season 04: Johto League Champions 
  • Pokemon Season 05: Master Quest 
  • Pokemon Season 06: Advanced 
  • Pokemon Season 07: Advanced Challenge 
  • Pokemon Season 08: Advanced Battle 
  • Pokemon Season 09: Battle Frontier 
  • Pokemon Season 10: Diamond and Pearl 
  • Pokemon Season 11: Battle Dimension 
  • Pokemon Season 12: Galactic Battles 
  • Pokemon Season 13:Sinnoh League Victors 
  • Pokemon Season 14: Black and White 
  • Pokemon: Best Wishes! 
  • Popotan 
  • Prism Ark 
  • Psychic Detective Yakumo 
  • RahXephon 
  • Ranma 1/2 
  • Rave Master 
  • Read or Die 
  • Record of Lodoss War 
  • Revolutionary Girl Utena 
  • Rio – Rainbow Gate! 
  • Rurouni Kenshin 
  • s-CRY-ed 
  • Saber Marionette J 
  • Sailor Moon 
  • Saiunkoku Monogatari 
  • Saiyuki 
  • Saiyuki Gaiden 
  • Saiyuki Reload 
  • Saiyuki Reload Gunlock 
  • Saki 
  • Samurai 7 
  • Samurai Champloo 
  • School Days 
  • School Rumble 
  • Seitokai Yakuindomo 
  • Sekirei 
  • Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~ 
  • Serial Experiments Lain 
  • Shigofumi: Letters from the Departed 
  • Shingetsutan Tsukihime 
  • Shinryaku! Ika Musume 
  • Shion No Ou 
  • Showa Monogatari 
  • Shuffle! Shukufuku no Campanella 
  • Sket Dance 
  • Slayers 
  • Sofuteni 
  • Solty Rei 
  • Sora no Otoshimono 
  • Sora no Otoshimono Forte 
  • Sora no Woto 
  • Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru 
  • Starry Sky 
  • Steins Gate 
  • Suzuka 
  • Teen Titans 
  • Tenchi in Tokyo 
  • Tenchi Muyo GXP 
  • Tenchi Muyo Ryo Ohki 
  • Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann 
  • Tenjou Tenge 
  • Texhnolyze 
  • The Big O 
  • The Galaxy Railways 
  • The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 
  • The Twelve Kingdoms 
  • The World God Only Knows 
  • The World God Only Knows 2 
  • The World of Narue 
  • They Are My Noble Masters 
  • This Ugly Yet Beautiful World 
  • To Heart 
  • To Love-Ru 
  • Tokko 
  • Toradora! 
  • Trigun 
  • True Tears 
  • Tsukuyomi Moon Phase 
  • Un-Go 
  • Urusei Yatsura 
  • Usagi Drop 
  • Vandread 
  • Vision of Escaflowne 
  • Voltron 
  • Winter Sonata 
  • Witch Hunter Robin 
  • Witchblade 
  • Wolf's Rain 
  • Working!! 
  • Xiaolin Showdown 
  • XxxHolic 

  • Azazel-san Yosuga no Sora 
  • You're Under Arrest 
  • Yu Yu Hakusho 
  • Yumekui Merry 
  • Zatch Bell 
  • Zoids Zoids Genesis 
  • Zoids New Century Zero 
  • Zoids: Fuzors 
  • Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou 

Obviously, I've wasted my life away... granted I'm not an expert on many of these, just an observer and as time allows, I'll try and point out the ones, imho, that are worth seeing, as always, your mileage may vary and my tastes may very well not coincide with your own, but at least, you can see that I have some background in the genre and at least I know what I like ;-). So look for a follow up posting that delves deeper into the genres as we attempt to sort wheat from chaff.