Introductions
This concept has been on my mind for ‘years’! However, I had always been too this or that to tackle it. Namely that being of embarrassment winning in the end and claiming victory over my conscience. It is only in recent days that I’d been thinking how much of a fool I am to continue starving the part of me that knows sharing is caring.
I’d found a home in anime that other nerds/otaku found before me, and what was it that some of them were able to do? Find respite, family, and satisfaction, among other things – of which you, the reader, whoever you are, also hold dear.
Simply, there will forever (and into the future) be aspects of the medium of animated cartoon that allow for the exploration of greatness and what that means. It isn’t to ignore the vision of the author, but to capitalize on his or her spirit. And when so many fine individuals come together to give life to that spark of vision, greatness can repeat itself again with fresh eyes.
Art is what brings us together and simultaneously places obstacles in between you and me, making our hearts beat out of time. For this reason, I cherish art in all its forms, because there is a charm to be found that you can only see when you quit playing the game.
Anime has left me speechless, mouth agape, hurt, betrayed, excited, uncomfortable, rolling-on-the-floor laughing… and much more over and over! And while I don’t quite have the whole answer to this question, it is apparent the conclusion of emotion is life as a human being—life as a human being in the 21st century.
Thanks to the beauty and transformative powers of these Japanese stories, I feel as though I’d lived many lives. And if it is true feeling in the 21st century is a pathway to life and meaning, then perhaps, in the end, the Holy Grail will be mine!
Anime’s Greatest Hits, pt. I: Straight Through the Heart
I have prepared for you, here, a selection of titles that are amazing:
Here we have:
• Renai Boukun (aka ‘Love Tyrant‘) / 恋愛暴君
• Golden Time / ゴールデンタイム
• Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru (aka ‘Oreshura‘) / 俺の彼女と幼なじみが修羅場すぎる
• Shinchou Yuusha: Kono Yuusha ga Ore TUEEE Kuse ni Shinchou Sugiru (aka ‘Shinchou Yuusha‘ or ‘Cautious Hero‘) / 慎重勇者～この勇者が俺ＴＵＥＥＥくせに慎重すぎる～
• Slime Taoshite 300-nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level MAX ni Nattemashita: Sono ni (aka ‘Slime 300 2nd Season’) / スライム倒して300年、知らないうちにレベルMAXになってました ～そのに～
• Saijaku Tamer wa Gomi Hiroi no Tabi wo Hajimemashita. (aka ‘Weakest Tamer‘(?)) / 最弱テイマーはゴミ拾いの旅を始めました。
• SHOW BY ROCK!! / ＳＨＯＷ ＢＹ ＲＯＣＫ!!
• Tensei Shitara Ken Deshita (or ‘Reincarnated as a Sword’) / 転生したら剣でした
• Fantasy Bishoujo Juniku Oji-san to (aka ‘Fantasy Knockout‘(?)) / 異世界美少女受肉おじさんと
It is about here that I’ll have to come clean: There are three parts to this ‘greatest hits’ list! Relating to this part, these titles are among the works that I think are amazing; however, it should be noted that this is not an exhaustive bunch for which I feel, more or less, the same attraction.
You’re probably familiar with a feeling of admiration and respect and appreciation for certain things, yes? Well, the titles found in this grouping are a handful of the ones that give off a kind of glow and resonance that hits you straight through the heart. Without that all so necessary whoop and oomph, these stories couldn’t be what they are! And that’s clearly certain!
Bottom line is, if you don’t like three or more of these stories, you’re likely better off going someplace else than to continue! I base this skepticism on a little of this and that!
Take Love Tyrant, for instance: It is a parody on the harem genre, and it accomplishes this feat with grace and tact! That’s why it’s here! Cautious Hero and Fantasy Knockout are amazing comedies too! If you’re anything like me, finding yourself out of your chair, on the floor, and dead multiple times throughout these stories’ runtimes will not be out of the ordinary!
Honestly, I was a little surprised to find six of these stories were isekai when I was putting together my lists, but that just be the way it is sometimes!
I stopped at nine entries here for a rather real reason: I came to realize that there were anime that shared the same jang and wow as these, but to include each and every one of them would have meant taking on a greater responsibility: trying to lump and categorize the plaw with other plaw and cream with other cream, despite most of the titles all containing faint traces of these elements. I, simply, don’t quite have it in me to do that!
Anime’s Greatest Hits, pt. II: Special is a Special Word
I have prepared for you, here, a selection of titles that are amazing + a certain quality that dazzles and bewitches (found in alphabetical order):
• Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou 3rd Season (aka ‘Arifureta 3rd Season’) / ありふれた職業で世界最強
• C³ (aka ‘CubexCursedxCurious‘) / シーキューブ
• Dance In the Vampire Bund / ダンスインザヴァンパイアバンド
• Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu / フルメタル・パニック? ふもっふ
Note: It may be possible to watch Fumoffu as a standalone item. If in doubt, just watch it all! But keep in mind, Fumoffu is a great departure from the mood of other installments!
• Hacka Doll: THE Animation / ハッカドール THE あにめーしょん
• Hige wo Soru. Soshite Joshikousei wo Hirou. (aka ‘Higehiro‘) / ひげを剃る。そして女子高生を拾う。
• Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha. (aka ‘Inari Kon Kon‘) / いなり、こんこん、恋いろは。
• Koharu Biyori (or ‘Indian Summer’) / こはるびより
• Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta? (aka ‘Netoge‘(?)) / ネトゲの嫁は女の子じゃないと思った?
• Ore ga Ojou-sama Gakkou ni “Shomin Sample” Toshite Gets-Sareta Ken (aka ‘Shomin Sample‘) / 俺がお嬢様学校に「庶民サンプル」としてゲッツされた件
• Plastic Memories / プラスティックメモリーズ
• Re-Kan! / レーカン!
• Saki / 咲-Saki-
• Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records (aka ‘RokuAka‘) / ロクでなし魔術講師と禁忌教典
• Seiken Tsukai no World Break (aka ‘World Break‘) / 聖剣使いの禁呪詠唱＜ワールドブレイク＞
• selector infected WIXOSS (aka ‘ワィクロス‘; pronounced: wicross)
• Shigofumi / シゴフミ
• Shinmai Renkinjutsushi no Tenpo Keiei (or ‘Management of a Novice Alchemist’) / 新米錬金術師の店舗経営
• Softenni / そふてにっ
• Tsukimonogatari (aka ‘Possession Tale’) / 憑物語
• Uma Musume: Pretty Derby / ウマ娘 プリティーダービー
It may be about now that you’re wondering why some anime are represented by sequels and such. For this there is a bit of reading between the lines:
• Where sequels are present, it is a guarantee that it is not possible for the anime to be any better.
• Where a prequel is present, it is a guarantee that it will have you hooked, and you will love the story as much as I do.
• Where Tsukimonogatari is present, it is a guarantee that Ononoki is the greatest of all time.
And that about covers that!
Before we get into part three, it does make sense to me to express how much I’d like to properly review those in the next section: I want to! Instead, you’ll be treated to something else for various reasons that I haven’t thought up yet. 😀
Anime’s Greatest Hits, pt. III: A Complement to Existence – The Greatest of the Greats
I have prepared for you, here, the stories that have a vim and luster that I struggle to put into words. Somehow, they are masterful works that weave a tale so enchanting, you ought not blink.
• Mayoi Neko Overrun! (or ‘Stray Cats Overrun!’) / 迷い猫オーバーラン!
• Omamori Himari / おまもりひまり
Whether you struggle to peer over the wall of a cardboard box or want to comprehend the compulsory sacrifice made by your ancestors, so that you can live the life you want to live, consider these two titles a rung above!
• xxxHOLIC / XXX ホリック
• Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni. (aka ‘IseSuma‘) / 異世界はスマートフォンとともに。
Despite the hand I was given, I just want things to work out! Also, squeaky toys are great because they don’t require batteries upon purchase!
• Rosario to Vampire / ロザリオとバンパイア
• Ojou-sama☆Yomeiri Kousou! / お嬢様☆嫁入り抗争!
I heard the manga was better, though I wouldn’t know…
• Grenadier: Hohoemi no Senshi (aka ‘Grenadier‘) / グレネーダー 〜ほほえみの閃士〜
• Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii (or ‘The World is Still Beautiful’) / それでも世界は美しい
Guns are implicitly dangerous; respect that or pay the price! —’I love the rain. Here she comes again. Here comes the rain’—*record skip*—’Here comes the sun again. You know it’s knocking me upside my head’—
• Gakkou Gurashi! (aka ‘SCHOOL-LIVE!‘) / がっこうぐらし!
• Maria-sama ga Miteru (or ‘Maria Watches Over Us’; aka ‘MariMite‘) / マリア様がみてる
That moment in 1945’s The Picture of Dorian Gray when the camera cuts to his face… —Itou Miki. Need I say more? Also, I offer up my first unborn child to the one who can explain—Never mind! Here: https://marimite.fandom.com/wiki/Yamayurikai
• Astarotte no Omocha! (or ‘Astarotte’s Toy’) / アスタロッテのおもちゃ！
• Kanojo mo Kanojo Season 2 (or ‘Girlfriend, Girlfriend Season 2’) / カノジョも彼女 Season 2
I promise at a future calendar day, I will return with my favourite of Olaf’s haiku! —In Kanojo mo Kanojo, Hiroyuki explores what constitutes a healthy polyamorous relationship, and, in so doing, reveals coincidences merely appear coincidences because of the vast spaces we inhabit in the sandbox of life.
• Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de (aka ‘Kimiaru‘ or ‘They Are My Noble Masters’) / 君が主で執事が俺で
• Koutetsujou no Kabaneri / 甲鉄城のカバネリ
With the right mentorship and dedication, you, too, can become something great! Then, if it takes a pressurized rod through the heart to break your will, I do believe you stand a chance!
• Koukaku no Pandora (aka ‘Ghost Urn‘(?)) / 紅殻のパンドラ
• Murenase! Seton Gakuen / 群れなせ！シートン学園
Sometimes I wonder if our world hangs in the balance! Sometimes I think educating the kemonomimi of the world is a supreme asset to ensuring our society prospers now and into the future!
• Magikano / マジカノ
• Juubei-chan: Lovely Gantai no Himitsu / 十兵衛ちゃん -ラブリー眼帯の秘密-
When someone tells you a secret, it doesn’t necessarily connote the same linear makeup present in storing times tables for future use.
• Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii desu ka? Sukutte Moratte Ii desu ka? (aka ‘Sukasuka‘ or ‘WorldEnd‘) / 終末なにしてますか? 忙しいですか? 救ってもらっていいですか?
• Gaikotsu Kishi-sama, Tadaima Isekai e Odekakechuu (aka ‘Skeleton Knight In Another World‘) / 骸骨騎士様、只今異世界へお出掛け中
Is a curse often conflated with destiny because of its finality?
• Momochi-san Chi no Ayakashi Ouji / 百千さん家のあやかし王子
• Kill la Kill / キルラキル
The stories to come out of Japan make me consider what the rest of the world is lacking. It doesn’t even make sense! Naturally, this led me to contemplate other countries’ storytellers—those I’d not had the pleasure of encountering… And really, there are so many!
• Rozen Maiden: Träumend / ローゼンメイデン ~ トロイメント
• Medaka Box / めだかボックス
I’m currently in a conference call with two friends, and I asked if there are any similarities between these two… ‘No! It would be strange if there was!’ Yea, I’m not even going to try!
Conclusions
The opportunity to experience the handful of prior eras in anime has been absent for this glimpse into the universe. How many stories are there in novels? How many stories are there in music? To my knowledge, in both sectors, well over multiple lifetimes-worth! When push comes to shove, the one story I am able to tell is my own in the way I see fit. It’s possible that the formula is flawed, but if the jig truly is so ill-prepared, perhaps it is better to be found another use and utilized there instead.
Be sure that, even now, there is a desire to create another section to this article! It isn’t clear what it would be for… How about we discard that thought for now and talk about—
Anime’s Greatest Hits, pt. IV: Grazed By a Moment In Time
I have prepared for you, here, the most stressful story ever put to paper:
This anime is a heart attack! I’ve made it to episode six of season one, and it is NOT getting easier! In fact, it is so stressful, I am unsure that I will survive coming out the other side!
What is this story’s name? Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid, also known as, The Duke of Death and His Maid. AND IT HAS THREE SEASONS-WORTH OF STRESS AND HEART ATTACKS! The third season is airing right now, and if you read the synopsis, you’ll have probably figured out the significance of that.
But it’s crazy to think about how drawn I am to the premise and that it has wonderful pacing, character design, voice acting—and if I could relax at all when watching it, I’d probably notice the OST is excellent too—yet, there doesn’t seem to be any conceivable way for me to watch it unfold.
Truly, this brings me to quite the dilemma: I really dislike the idea of resorting to spoilers! No doubt, at the conclusion of the work, bocchan’s curse is broken, and he and Alice live happily ever after, right? The fact that it isn’t satisfying to just say out loud suggests something is at hand! Somehow, I MUST bring myself to the table!
Conclusions II
Wowzers! We’re here!
Check out the assortment of anime songs I left you with last installment!