Ace wo Nerae! Final Stage

Akio Sugino is hailed as one of the most prominent animation directors and character designers in the industry, known in Japan as one half of anime's "golden combo" alongside Osamu Dezaki. Their frequent collaborations led to many of the early defining works in the medium, and are iconic masterpieces that have significantly held up over time. Sugino's output was integral to legitimizing anime as an art form and turning itself more distinct from Western animation, evolving and reimagining his Mushi Pro, Tezuka-inspired roots.

Sugino's character art replicates Greek sculptures of the old, appropriating its design philosophy to Japanese animation by paying heed to anatomical correctness. Sugino's characters have imposing presences that are accentuated by their long limbs, broad shoulders, and chiseled facial features. Upon seeing a Sugino-designed character you are immediately given the impression of a walking legend, an almost mythical feeling to their appearance on the screen.

This interest stack tracks down his iconic career and features a selection of his most valuable contributions as a character designer. Works are in chronological order.

Additional Sugino sources:
A 6-part interview that focuses on his career: https://karageko.com/2019/07/14/the-other-half-of-the-golden-combo-akio-sugino-interview-mushi-production-era-part-1/
A shorter interview that also talks about Dezaki: https://karageko.com/2022/02/16/akio-suginos-brief-reflections-on-a-long-career/

Series that emphasise the presentation of struggle and dramatic event(s) through culminating the portrayal of the experience to that point visually or by some other means.

Anime that are heavily overlooked on MAL (at the time of writing, under 20k members). Most, if not all of them are also underrated. Will likely add stuff in the future as I watch them.

Anime series that covers all of the original source they're based on, with some notes.

Part 2: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/19939
Part 3: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/20122
Part 4: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/20258
Part 5: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/20709
Part 6: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/20940
Part 7: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/21451
Part 8: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/21523
Part 9: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/29835
Part 10: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/35847
Part 11: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/39870
Part 12: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/41719
Part 13: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/42460

Rayo Confuso is a channel in Spanish that focuses mostly on Shoujo and retro anime.

For most series the score is falling over time, however some special series it is rising over time.

This is the list of these series that used to be scored lower on MAL but have been rising in score over the years, excludes currently airing series and series where the score rise happened when the series was airing or within 5 years of its airing.

Source: Wayback Machine

Last Updated: 29th March 2024