Hello fellow Otaku & Metal Heads!
As you can obviously, my blog is dedicated to two of my favorite things in life, not to mention two things that are big in pop culture, and that’s anime & Heavy Metal. Last year I put up my first “Top 10” list, covering my top 10 singers & bands. This one will cover my 10 favorite anime. To be more specific, this list covers my top 10 “Old-School” anime. How am I defining old-school, you might ask? Well, anything from 1960 all the way to 1999, is old-school to me. With that out of the way, here are my top 10 favorite old-school anime. Enjoy!
10) Cowboy Bebop (Sample Clip: Link)
Right now some of you are lighting torches, sharpening pitchforks, and oddly enough going down to the local hardware store to buy a chainsaw to use on me. You’re probably saying right now: “Cowboy Bebop!? Number 10!? Disgraceful!!”. To which I say.......you’re not necessarily wrong.
Let me put it to you here.....I don’t hate this show in the slightest! God no! This is arguably one of the best anime put out in the late 90s! Great story, fantastic characters, awesome voice acting, animation that still looks incredible, and a soundtrack that’s just perfect...and I don’t even like Jazz & Blues! But, I got a problem with Cowboy Bebop. A big problem, to be exact. I’ll talk about it when I get to my number 4 show, as it’ll make more sense then. Suffice it to say, Cowboy Bebop is a classic show that deserves all the respect it gets. See you later, space cowboy!
9) Devil Hunter Yohko (Sample Clip: Link)
If you want a piece of cheesecake with your action & fantasy, then you’re in the right place!
Sure, Devil Hunter Yohko is a flawed show. A very flawed show, in fact! Characters can be annoying, animation seems strange sometimes (1st episode looks okay, then it slowly changes over time, and looks fantastic by the 6th episode), and the voice acting hasn’t completely aged well, but there are some positives. It was the first series that the now-defunct ADV Films produced, it was a fun story, it knew how & when to be dirty, the characters had some charm, and overall it was a series you could easily get into. Granted, this show can be incredibly difficult to find (Trust me, it was expensive when I bought it the first two times, and I was gonna buy the 2008 edition, but I can’t find it now), but if you manage to locate it, you’ll have a gem that’s been lost to the sands of time. A flawed gem, but a gem regardless.
8) Bubblegum Crisis (Sample Clip: Link)
Want some more cheesecake?
While Devil Hunter Yohko is more comedic, Bubblegum Crisis is more serious. The world that BC takes place in is cyberpunky, gritty, and downright dirty. It’s also filled with some of the most kickass ladies in anime! They not only know how to have an attitude (And use it), they’re cute & sexy, and they have some interesting personal backgrounds as well. Hell, there’s even times where the girls know how to make you laugh (The humor is good & well-placed). Coupled with some nice animation that still looks good today, as well as some relatively decent voice acting (It’s got some hiccup moments, but it’s alright for the most part), and you have a series that’s still a fondly remembered cult classic to this day.
7) La Blue Girl (Sample Clip: Link)
I wanted to include at least one hentai on this list, and if there was ever a series in this genre in the 90s that gained & deserved it’s fame & infamy, it’s definitely La Blue Girl!
La Blue Girl...certainly deserves it’s reputation. Voice acting is meh at best, animation has seen better days (Trust me, there’s scenes where you might want to stab your eyes because of how ugly it can be), and some of the sexual content is rather disturbing to watch. Despite that, La Blue Girl has some things that most other hentai don’t have, and that’s substance. There’s actually a story, the characters actually have some depth, and there’s sex that doesn’t make you want to drink jet fuel & drop a match down your throat. Granted, this is a hentai, so there isn’t a grand story or deep character backgrounds, but considering the time frame that La Blue Girl came out, this is an impressive feat!
La Blue Girl: A hentai series that deserves it fair share of praise & criticism, and one that is certainly worth your time if you like classic hentai.
6) Kimba the White Lion (Sample Clip: Link)
Weird placement, isn’t it?
Not only is Kimba The White Lion a great old-school series, but it’s also one of the smartest kids shows ever made. Anime made for kids today is nowhere near as intelligent, clever, or charming as shows like this. Yeah, Kimba has plenty of moments where there was humor & silliness, but there was an equal amount of moments (Maybe even more) where things were serious, even sad & tragic. The characters are great, the animation is charming (But very archaic), the voice acting has managed to age surprisingly well, and there’s a quality that you can’t find in anime today (Kids shows or not). If you’re a parent and you want to introduce your child to anime, or if you’re interested in anime from the previous generation, you won’t find a better series than Kimba the White Lion!
5) Plastic Little: The Adventures of Captain Tita (Sample Clip: Link)
Okay, I’ll admit it: the reason that Plastic Little is at number 5 is because of the fan-service. 3 & ½ minutes of some of the most well animated & glorious fan service around, thanks in no small part to Satoshi Urushihara. The man has a way of drawing women that only a select few can even dream of getting close too. Apart from that, Plastic Little is one of my many go-to anime where I sit down, turn my brain off, and just enjoy myself. This isn’t the deepest OVA, nor is it a perfect OVA. It’s got some problems to be sure, but what it lacks in substance, it gains in style & pure unadulterated fun. There’s sci-fi action, sappy drama, humor, and some violence to boot. In my opinion, if you want a quick fix that isn’t too taxing on the brain, then Plastic Little is definitely for you!
4) Outlaw Star (Sample Clip: Link)
As I was saying earlier when I was talking about Cowboy Bebop, I’ve got some beef with it, despite enjoying it. My beef with it is that so many people have watched, and have enjoyed it so profusely, that they’ve put it on a pedestal. A pedestal that’s so high in the sky, so mighty, and so grand, to even mention it in a slightly bad light would be considered blasphemy. No show can compare to it. Cowboy Bebop is so golden, that anything else is inferior in some way. This has damaged certain shows when they’ve compared to Bebop, with two in particular that immediately come to mind for me: Gunsmith Cats, and my number 4 anime, Outlaw Star.
The way I see things, trying to compare Outlaw Star to Cowboy Bebop is ridiculous! The two shows are completely different: the way I see it, Cowboy Bebop is an examination of people, and the interactions between people. On the other hand, Outlaw Star is nothing more than a fantastic space adventure, full of technology, aliens, and wonderful spectacle. On top of that, Outlaw Star is rather reminiscent of Firefly....just longer, and not quite as overrated (Sorry Firefly fans, but the show is incredibly overrated in my eyes). It might not have as well-developed characters or story as Bebop, but it has a world that’s just as fascinating, and a more laid back kind of fun.
Simply put: Outlaw Star is pure, simplistic, unadulterated, sci-fi fun!
3) Princess Knight (Sample Clip: Link)
As much as I enjoy Kimba The White Lion, I wouldn’t be lying if I said It might not be for everyone. More specifically, it might not be for girls. Don’t get me wrong, I think girls can watch Kimba for sure. There’s enough cutesy charm from the characters that girls can definitely get into things, but it’s masculine nature might be a turn-off for some members of the opposite sex. Enter Princess Knight: created by the same individual as Kimba (Osamu Tezuka), Princess Knight is considered by many anime experts to be the first Shojo series. While I don’t know all of the details, I can certainly say that this was a sleeper hit for me.
Right away, I could tell that it was geared far more for girls/women than boys/men. There’s far more emphasis on emotion & feelings than the typical Shonen series, the story has depth (Shonen shows don’t always have the greatest story), and the main character is a girl. That said, for a show being geared towards female anime fans, there is absolutely nothing wrong with guys watching this. In fact, I encourage all male anime fans to watch this. Yeah it’s more feminine than shows that guys typically watch, but it has a rich story, surprisingly deep characters, and an even mix between male-oriented action & female-oriented ideas. I don’t think a show in this modern age has been able to even remotely able to do this!
Princess Knight, one of the best old-school series ever made, animated by one of the most legendary of anime masters. You’re doing yourself a disservice by not watching this!
2) Tenchi Muyo (Sample Clip: Link)
Only two things prevent me from putting this series in my number 1 spot. For starters, this was yet another show that I missed back in the day. I simply didn’t have the time to watch it on a constant basis, thanks in part to my ridiculous work load in high school at that point (A potential story for another day). Secondly, and more oriented towards the story, is the sheer amount of political dickery. Trust me, if you manage to look deeper into the story of the franchise, you’ll find a horde of political maneuvering, double standards, and backdoor moments I’ve ever watched. This isn’t the primary theme of Tenchi, but it’s definitely an obvious theme, depending on the episode/series in question.
It fact, it wasn’t until recent years that I’ve actually been able to watch Tenchi Muyo. Late 2012 (September if I remember correctly) I took part in a survey from Funimation, and I was one of the people that won! As a reward, I was given the choice of two free anime. I picked Girls Bravo (Don’t Judge Me), and the recently re-released Tenchi Muyo OVA (Recent at the time). All harem series in some way owe their existence in some way to Tenchi Muyo. Whether it’s their format, the cast, the story, or some combination of the previously mentioned items. I honestly regret waiting so long to watch this series, but now that I have, I’m totally content!
Before we get to my number 1 old-school anime, I wanted to give you some of my Honorable Mentions in this category. Shows that, while very enjoyable, just didn’t make the cut. Maybe it’s because of the story, or it’s voice acting, or whatever other reason comes to mind. With that said, here they are:
HM1) Moldiver (Sample Clip: Link)
- I noticed that when I was selecting my Honorable Mentions, the one thing that each of them have in common is an aspect of obscurity (With the exception of the last one). There definitely was a time that these series were popular (Namely when they first came out), but they’ve now fallen out of the spotlight. Case in point is Moldiver: A fun 6-episode OVA, Moldiver is one of those science fiction titles that’s has some kind of infectious charm to it. There’s just some strange thing about it that makes it likable, and I don’t quite know what it is. I couldn’t put it on the list because I thought that Moldiver took a turn for the weird at about the halfway mark, and I feel that at the end of the day, it just doesn’t have enough staying power for it to be memorable for all time. Still, it’s one of those quirky titles that should be given at least a single glance.
HM2) Burn Up Franchise (Burn Up/Burn Up W/Burn Up Excess) (Sample Clip: Link)
- Among the franchises that I enjoy that really don’t stand out anymore, the Burn Up franchise is right at the top. A group of shows & OVAs that are an equal mix of humor, fanservice, drama, and tragedy, Burn Up is simply one of those franchises that had a lot of potential. If there was anything that damaged it’s potential, it would be ADV Films’s infamous “Jiggle Counter”. For those who aren’t in the know, the Jiggle Counter basically counted how many times breasts would bounce in an episode. Although it was used in a select few other series (It first showed up in Plastic Little, ironically enough), it’s appearance in this franchise was probably a detriment rather than a booster. Still, if you’d like a look at a forgotten franchise that has some entertainment factor, then the Burn Up franchise should certainly be on your list!
HM3) Sailor Moon (Sample Clip: Link)
- Ahh, Sailor Moon! I think it’s safe to say that it had a lot of weight back in the 90s to early 2000s, and it still has weight today (Thanks in part to the re-release of the original series, and due to Sailor Moon Crystal). When it made it’s first run, I had cautiously watched episodes from time to time. I say cautiously, because whenever my parents say me watching it, I would always get picked on. Not maliciously, but enough that I stopped watching. I didn’t look at another episode again, locked that period of my mind in a closet, and developed something of a hate for Sailor Moon. Flash forward to Genericon & Connecticon 2013, and curiosity directed me to go to some Sailor Moon panels, and I’m finally a fan once again. A casual fan, but a fan regardless. It’s girly charm has claimed me, and I don’t think I’ll be dropping the ball again on this show.
1) Kekko Kamen (Sample Clip: Link)
Equal parts acid trip & warped charm, Kekko Kamen is just one of those series that could have only come from the 90s. 1992, to be exact. Kekko Kamen is also one of those anime that could have only been released in the United States by ADV Films. Trust me, any of the other companies out there would have done this show an incredible disservice. Only ADV Films could have worked on this title.
If you have ever seen this OVA and hated it, I can understand. It’s incredibly lacking in taste, doesn’t show women in a good light (Apart from the main hero, and even then that’s pushing it), animation quality was alright (It’s wasn’t ugly, but there were some inconsistencies), and the voice acting was incredibly hokey. For me, It’s been my number one old-school anime for personal reasons.
On the last day of Genericon 2009, I hadn’t yet bought a DVD. I had bought a couple things (Magic cards, manga, etc), but I hadn’t come across a show I wanted. Enter Kekko Kamen: I had watched the trailer just a couple months into my first semester at HVCC in 2005, and I was beginning to get into anime a little more seriously, thanks to having an easier work load/schedule. When I finally bought the series, I knew that I finally became a full-fledged anime fan. As for the rest....well, that’s history.
So that was my top 10 old-school anime. You’ll definitely see my top 10 new-school anime, but that’ll be some time down the line. Until then, see you soon!
***
Sorry for the slight delay. I have no excuse, other than I simply forgot to post this up yesterday.
No comments:
Post a Comment