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Well it's time we begin with the top 15 now. This time it's only three entries.

I think I can definitely say that by now, every series is a favorite of mine, one of those series that pretty much changes my view on anime for the better, series I'll probably be rewatching my whole life.

Now without further ado, let's go with the top:




15. The Tatami Galaxy



Tatami Galaxy really is an anime like no other. A very thought-provoking series that might just be about life itself.

Decisions. Life is full of decisions, some of them might seem very big and some might seem trivial to the point we forget them a minute after making them, but every single decision forges the path we take, and sometimes, the most trivial of decisions might actually become one of the most important in your life. For example, choosing to eat fish instead of pasta will probably end in you eating fish and resuming life, but sometimes, that fish might be bad for you, cause sickness, make you not go to work and just that day there could be an explosion were you work and you could be saved because you were sick. We can't just say that the fish saved your life, but definitely we can say that the decision of eating fish led to you not being caught up in the explosion. Maybe it's a stupid example, but you get the point (or maybe not so much, as something like that did happen to my mother, except it was with an airplane crashing).

Tatami Galaxy is about this, and in each episodes it shows us the infinite possibilites of our main characters that can change with each decisions. Because of this, the series uses a lot of iterations, to the point that there are events that repeat every single episode, but while it might seem, well, repetitive, Tatami Galaxy never comes off as repetitive, it's an absolutely engaging story, even while having the quickest dialogues you'll ever see (you better not be doing anything while you watch this, because even blinking can make you miss something).

Madhouse went completely experimental while doing this anime, using a style of animation that I've never seen anywhere else... and I have to say the experiment was a complete success. The weird animation works extremely well with this series, it's not there just for the sake of aesthetics, but it does helps telling the story, as well as it helps the comical aspect of the series (which is incredibly good).

The main character "Watashi" ("Me" in japanese) is a very relatable character, and it was clearly never given a name for reason, as the viewer is supposed to put himself in the shoes of this character. The story is always told through him, and everything in this series goes according what he sees. Then there's Ozu, the best friend and worse enemy. The biggest troll anime has ever seen, in my opinion. Ozu is like that devil that's always between you and your happiness. He's evil, he's manipulative... he's pretty much the antithesis of Watashi, and the one always ruins things for him. Yet, he's his best friend.

Every little detail in this series has some meaning (and there's a lot of them), every little thing can change the story completely, and Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei makes sure you understand this. The infinite possibilites are there, within our grasp (but we can't actually go back once we chose a road). So think very well about what you do, no matter how small, do what you think is right, because there is no going back afterwards, and you might end up regretting it. That which might seem small today, might be enormous tomorrow. Make use of your oportunities.

This is a series that gives you just way too much in just 11 episodes. I never would've though a series would be capable of so much with so little framework. But Tatami Galaxy does it. Tatami Galaxy is a unique experience, and while it might seem like those kind of anime difficult to get, it's actually not. Tatami Galaxy is actually pretty clear relaying it's message, the direction must've really make a point of emphasis to make sure this is a story people can easily understand, even if it looks like it's not. And that's what makes Tatami Galaxy so good. It's thought-provoking, but at the same time it's a very clear series, not something abstract were many people will get different opinions. I'm sure if you read or talk to another person about this series, he'll tell you something in the lines of what I'm writing.

Oh, and yes, at the beginning, the speed of the dialogues can be hard to follow, but I couldn't help but wonder how impressive the human brain is, because after a few minutes into the first episode, my brain was completely used to the dialogue speed, what seemed ridiculously quick at the very beginning, was pretty normal just after a few minutes. Was that actually made on purpose? If so, I can only tip my hat (again) to this series.


14. Akage no Anne



The World Masterpiece Theater really is one of the best ideas an anime studio has ever had. There’s a lot of great material there (though sadly, a lot of them lacks subtitles yet). Akage no Anne is actually the first series that was released under the “World Masterpiece Theater” (there are others that came before, but not officially as part of the WMT) in 1979, and we can only say thank you for that, as Anne of Green Gables is a big classic in literature, and even in anime, as it is a highly appreciated series in Japan (both rightfully so). Also, at least both Akage no Anne and Konnichiwa Anne have subtitles now (admittedly, Konnichiwa Anne’s are not really good).

Anne of Green Gables was a book that was written at the beginnings of the 20th Century, even before WWI, and since then it has been adapted into multiple movies and animated series (and by multiple, I mean 8 movies, 5 series and an upcoming movie in 2016, besides several other medium adaptions). This is a classic that should really be known by pretty much everyone. But let’s keep talking about the anime only.

Want it or not, for human beings, the first thing to cause an impression is always looks, and that’s definitely one of the fortes of Akage no Anne. While it’s obviously quite an old show, which can be seen through the series in some inconsistencies in character design (things like sometimes having a forehead a little bit too big at times), backgrounds are absolutely fantastic. Obviously drawn in detail by some clearly talented people, all the sceneries in Anne look gorgeous, which is an immediate help to immerse in this world that takes place in the final years of the 19th Century, just by the time when electricity was first coming to Prince Edwards island (through the series they’ll talk about “these new electric lamps” which are the time were only found at a luxury hotel. People didn’t have them in their homes yet (unless they had a lot of money, that is). Because this was actually written at the times the series takes place, everything about the daily lives of the characters look extremely realistic, you really get a peek on how people used to live at that time. You get to see how things were built, how schools worked, and even details like the water tap, clothes, etc. Anne is superb at the slice of life genre, so you probably won’t get anything better to really learn how people lived their daily lives at the time.

Also, one of the best possible ideas Nippon Animation could have was put Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies, Kaguya-hime no Monogatari, Lupin III) in charge of the series, one of the most renowned anime directors, and particularly famous for creating really realistic characters, which happens to be probably the biggest strength of this series. Takahata was also extremely faithful to the original source. He knew Montgomery’s work really didn’t need any changes for going into the anime format, and his work was reproducing the story well and do a good job at giving life to every single character in the series. Mission accomplished.

Akage no Anne’s character are all very realistic, starting with Anne, who even with her difficult background, is a character I think everyone should be able to relate to some degree. In my personal case it was actually quite a lot. I’m no orphan, but I am an only child... and well, when we’re little, only children tend to have A LOT of imagination, probably more than most of the people, as we pretty much play by ourselves a lot (sounds sad… but it’s honestly not. I feel I had a beautiful childhood). A lot of the thing Anne did were things I did at that age, or maybe while being a bit younger: Trying to use big words, exaggerating, being extremely talkative, having quite a temper, etc. While it’s not the same as before, I actually still consider myself as someone with quite an imagination to be honest. At one point in my life, I was almost ashamed of that imagination and often hid it… Now I’m actually quite proud of it.

Because of these realistic characters, interactions between the characters are so much more interesting, and combining Anne’s view of the world with the daily life, made every day in the series quite interesting. This is not a series full of dramas and hardship and anything of the sort. It really I just watching this little girl grow each episode, and go through many things that look quite big, but that most people go through at some point in life. Anne makes a full world out of simplicity, and makes the normal things seem outstanding, and that’s a message that I think gets across to viewer quite well. This is a series that might actually help you appreciate life and all your good moments even more.

At the very beginning, I actually considered Anne to be a little bit annoying with all her exaggeration, her way of talking… and how much she talked. But just like Marilla, there was a point (and that came pretty early) when instead of finding it annoying, I was actually interested in seeing what kind of thing she was going to say next, and by the end of the series, Anne had become one of those few characters I’ve actually got attached to. One of those characters you just want to see what her life will be.

Then, you also have Konnichiwa Anne: Before Green Gable, which is the last work that has been released so far under the WMT (in 2009), which is based on, well, Before Green Gables, which was written by Budge Wilson, a children’s author, in 2008. This is a prequel to Akage no Anne or Anne of Green Gables, and tells the story about Anne before getting to Green Gables, based on what Anne tells Marilla about her past almost at the beginning of the series.

While Konnichiwa Anne is a pretty nice series by itself, I can’t quite connect it with Akage no Anne, as it actually doesn’t quite fit, considering Anne says nobody’s ever wanted her. While she did have a difficult childhood in this anime, there were a whole lot of persons who loved her AND wanted her, and she perfectly knew it and appreciated it. Also, it’s a bit of too much of a causality that Anne suddenly dreamt of going to Prince Edwards Island, which takes a lot of the realism you find in the original series. That said, the story does great at what’s most important, which is capturing Anne as a character perfectly, and the anime also did a great job in that regard. Her personality was just as it was supposed to be, character design was key here. They did an excellent job capturing Anne’s expressions and made Anne grow little by little through the series in a way it went almost unnoticed (Akage no Anne did this quite well also, by the way), and by the end of the series, without even realizing it, you had Anne looking just like she looked at the very beginning of Akage no Anne.

Anne is a very unique series, and there really isn’t much I can say against it. For some people it might be a little too slow-paced, but then again, that’s rarely a problem for me, and I actually appreciated moments where “nothing really happened” in this series, as mere interactions were a joy.


13. Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo



When talking about Gankutsuou, we're talking about a piece of art in the anime world, the best anime studio Gonzo has to offer, and easily one of the best things I've ever seen. Gankutsuou is one heck of a thriller.

I actually haven't read the original book from Alexandre Dumas, but no matter how faithful or (unfaithful) to it this story might be, this anime ended up being one of the best things I've seen. And a very unique one.

First, lets talk about the setting. The original book by Dumas mainly uses a France from the Bourbon restoration period, just after the french revolution. In the case of the anime, it uses a futuristic world which is strangely, but very effectively, combined with the France from those years. While it might sound really weird, the combination worked excellent, and while it's clearly futuristic, it doesn't lose the atmosphere of the old France (those who've watched Legend of the Galactic Heroes might compare it a little bit with the Empire in that regard).

The artstyle of this series is kind of a hit-or-miss, and its weird, that is pretty much a fact. But as it is weird, it is definitely original and very well made. Had a lot of great ideas, and even had some effective use of CGI (which is pretty rare in my book). That combines with an excellent OST that really captures the essence of this story.

One of the best things in this anime comes with it's pacing, which is never slow, but never seems to hasty. We're talking about a thriller anime here, so this is pretty key, and one of the things that makes Gankutsuou one of the best thrillers out there. This is another of those anime that makes you want to keep watching every episode, one of those series with some great, well though, plot twists that keep you in the edge of the seat.

This is a story about revenge, the best anime about it, and one of the best stories about revenge overall, no matter the medium. The story centers around the Count of Monte Cristo (though it's told from the perspective of Albert de Morcef), a very intelligent characters and a very cunning one. He's what makes this series great, the guy who manipulates everyone so that he can achieve his goals.

There's some huge character development throughout the story, and that goes for lots of characters, of course, mainly Albert and the Count. But even the rest of the cast go through some major changes. Everything beautifully written.

The continous development of the plot and character makes Gankutsuou one of the most interesting series I've ever watched, being captivating from start to finish, never failing to be interesting and finally finishing with an amazing conclusion to the story that's just fitting to the whole ride.

This is a piece of art in the anime world.



And we're done with this entry. Now there's only 12 left, so starting next entry, we'll get into the top 10!

Next entry will also cover three spots, so we'll get 12, 11 and 10.

Let's give a reminder here that this top is constantly changing. I plan to be constantly releasing updates to add things I've recently watched, things I've might forgotten, maybe add something to the text of different series or simply move up and/or down some series.

Feel free to leave a comment in my profile or in this entry, it would actually be appreciated, as it's always nice to see that someone's reading what you write (at least when you put some effort in it).

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