My Favorite Animes

 

Or should I say, Animes that I’ve liked, so far ?  My definition  of favorite is something that a person likes to do, read, and watch  ( and enjoy ) over and over again.   I have such favorites, actually.  Full Metal Alchemist, for one.  I watched it 3 times, and enjoyed watching it every time.  Hunter x Hunter is another.  Sadly , it’s not completed yet, and I doubt it ever will.  The author has a reputation of going on a looong hiatus, and more often than not, his works never get completed.   So, what else are my favorites, so far ?  Moribito,  Charlotte, Noragami…… oh, alright, I’ll list it down :

  1. Full Metal Alchemist
  2. . Hunter x Hunter
  3. Moribito
  4. Noragami
  5. Charlotte
  6. Hiiro no Kakera
  7. Akagami no Shiyaruki-hime ( Snow White with Red Hair )
  8. Aoi Exorcist ( Blue Exorcist )
  9. The Devil is a Part -Timer
  10. Attack on Titan
  11. Ghost Hunt
  12. Hell Girl
  13. Full Metal Panic
  14. Akatsuki no Yona ( Yona of the Dawn )
  15. Kamisama wo Hajimemashita  ( Kamisama Kiss)
  16. The Seven Deadly Sins (  a Netflix original )
  17. Kotoura -san ( so cute ! )

I’m  sure I have other favorites but those in the list are the only ones  that I remember watching at least 2 times.

There are more that I actually like, but due to personal bias , I don’t think I will ever watch it again, except those that are not yet complete, and therefore , redeemable.

  1. Sword Art Online.      I was liking this anime until Kirito, the main guy, formed a harem, and at one point, denied  he had a girlfriend ( Asuna )  when  asked  by the girl , who was his virtual reality video game partner,  if he had one. What’s worse, Asuna was right there, within hearing distance.  What a jerk.  I lost my admiration for this ” super” hero of video games, and though they did end up together, he’s a potential cheater. This is also the reason why I couldn’t like  Chapters 1, 2 and 3 of Star Wars.  I felt no empathy whatsoever for the young Darth Vader. Everyone knows  how he’s going to turn out  in the future. He is going  to blow up  planet Earth.  Does the comparison make sense ?  Or, is it over the top ?  In my book, they are comparable. It doesn’t matter that one devastates a planet, and  the other , just one human being.
  2. Inuyasha  .  I like this one very much.  The fight scenes are awesome.  I like all the characters, even Inuyasha’s older brother, but obviously,  not  the villains.  What is not to like in Inuyasha ?  Ironically,  it’s Inuyasha himself that I don’t like.  I’m not faulting his character,  but I totally sympathize with Kagome, the main character.  Inuyasha  rejects her for his dead lover, who , in this story, has been  resurrected  , entirely made of  clay, and  is only alive by  absorbing the spirits of dead people.  What hurts is that despite the fact that his former lover is a corpse, he still prefers to be with her instead of the very much alive sweet, kind, and lovely Kagome..  I was like  “ Good luck with that, Inuyasha.  And you,  sweet Kagome, should go back to your era, be with your family who loves you, and with that cute classmate who is head over heels for you.”   I find it almost tragic to have gone back  to an era where monsters exist, and to the person  who is probably 500 years old and half- monster, half human,to boot, and who , at one point, prefers a dead girl over a living one.

To be honest,  I  stopped watching animes years ago, when I was still in high school, for the simple reason that the only animes I could watch were the ones  we bought.  The cost wasn’t something to sneeze at. Just the same,  we managed to buy quite a few. I counted 123 titles, mostly box sets.  Code Geass,  Spice and Wolf, Gantz,  Evangelion, Ghost Hunt, Hell Girl, D-Gray man, Gantz, Aquarion, Bleach ( just 163 episodes ), Blood+, xxxHolic, Tsubasa Chronicles, Chobits,  Eureka Seven, Ergo Proxy, Baccano,  Full Metal Panic, Full Metal  Alchemist, Soul Eater, Death Note , Fate /Stay Night, Haruhi Suzumiya, Gunslinger Girl, Black Lagoon,  Black Butler, Berserk,  Elflen Lied, Rahxaphone, GundamOO ,  to name a few.  There was no anime channel available, and it was only two years ago when we subscribed to Netflix, (  few anime titles ), and Hulu Plus a few months ago. We got Hulu for the animes.

Anyway I hope you write a comment on what you think of Inuyasha and  SAO,  and am I unfair  on my assessment of  the characters of the main protagonists of these 2 animes ?  I’d love to read your take on it.

This is all for now, and thank you for reading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

36 thoughts on “My Favorite Animes”

  1. I’ve watched a few of those, and some are on my to-watch list. I realize some are incomplete as I’m only watching what’s on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

    I’m currently watching The Seven Deadly Sins, and I find it surprisingly good but still irritating in parts because of the inconsistencies in the characters. And by that, I mean both their powers and their motivation.

    At least to where I’m at now, that whole relationship between Elizabeth and Meliodas is weird because he’s obviously much older (shades of Twilight). Also, to your complaint about Inuyasha, there is the same element here. Meliodas and Diane have a much longer relationship, one where he ignores her (she, in turn, ignores King – because he made her forget – but I’m hoping to see something develop there). It’s poignant when she asks if the captain would care as much if she were kidnapped (the answer is ‘no’ as was evident during the attack on the city and he did nothing to go help despite knowing there was a battle going on and “feeling” her power wane).

    BUT . . . that’s the kind of emotional conflicts that arise in real life. Someone caring for another while the other cares more for someone else is a common theme in fiction, but that’s because it’s reflecting real life. Now, I’m with you on the fact that I lost track of movies, books, and TV shows where I want to reach in and slap the hero or heroine around while I point and yell out “That One! Go with that one!”

    There is one other aspect you describe . . . that of wanting to stay with his first love as opposed to moving on. That’s a difficult one to call. I don’t know what I would do if I lost my wife, but my guess is I’d move to Alaska, and no one would ever see me again. Certainly, I’d have no interest in anyone as a replacement. Of that, I’m fairly certain.

    As for your complaint with Sword Art Online, yup, I’m dropping it from mythe lineup.

    One more thing about Meliodas . . . he’s awfully gropy . . . now, I get the humor element in it, but Elizabeth’s reaction is one of total passivity. In that respect, she’s completely objectified because there is no sexual attraction component to it on her part. She might as well be a loaf of bread. Maybe Meliodas is only “kidding” but that too points to creepiness in the character . . . essentially, an older more mature man groping a young, timid, immature girl.

    . . . perhaps the norm in Japan, but still, I see nothing relating to the plot that warrants that, and all it does is diminish any potential relationship between the two (don’t know where the show is going with that, but I’m hoping they part as friends).

    I don’t often try to figure out what’s coming up next as I watch or read anything; I prefer letting authors or directors surprise me. But . . . I’m not liking some of the direction the show is heading, and I fear I will not like the ending. This could be due to different cultural cues (Japanese/Oriental vs. mine). A lot of Chinese and Japanese offerings are very good but ultimately not satisfying because they tend for a different resolution to their heroes stories (personal sacrifice ending in tragedy, the futility of fighting destiny, the fact there is destiny and in fighting it you pay the ultimate price, and a few other memes that are, basically, crap).

    Thanks for the list.

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    1. We do get to learn about Japanese /Asian culture, and most of it are quite familiar to me, being an Asian, too. But the animators obsession on big breasts and big eyes is a sign they fantasize on these physical characteristics which sadly most Asian girls lack. In Korea, for example, getting a double eyelid and big eyes is as as common as getting a haircut. It’s common to read dialogues in mahnwas ( Korean mangas ) like, ” oh she’s such a beauty with those double eyelids and big eyes.” Say what ?

      Yes, I don’t like this fate/destiny aspect of some of their plotlines. But, more often than not, this destiny thing doesn’t happen ( remember Harry Potter ). A good example is Hiiro no Kakera , which is on my list. One thing though, fate and destiny play an important role in Asian culture. ” So be it ” is a common Philippine phrase.

      Going back to Elizabeth and Meliodas…… I don’t see any chemistry between the two o first season, and then , comes Meliodas’ ” love ” on second season. So, I don’t know….. maybe this girl is the one, and Elizabeth and Melodias will part as friends.

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  2. Re Inuyasha/ Kagome and the ex….. The ex ” killed’ him, and attached him to a tree, and there he stayed for 50 years , until, for some magical reason, Kagome fell into an old well in their backyard, and found herself in another era, and saw Inuyasha, and took out the arrows that kept him attached to the tree for 50 years. By then, the ex was already deceased. It was due to deceit by an evil person that the ex thought Inuyasha wanted to get the magical crystal from her. The magical crystal is a thing that will give the possessor incredible power and strength. They were not biological lovers…. they liked each other for a while before that incident happened. So, in other words, Inuyasha and this girl ‘s relationship was nothing more than close friendship with feelings. What pssed me off about Inuyasha was his attitude toward Kagome. He liked her, got terribly jealous when he found out about Kagome’s classmate, he ‘d go to Kagome’s era if she was late ( she was after all, a high school student and could ill- afford to take long absences ) , blah blah. Then when he found out it was all a misunderstanding that that girl ” killed him, his feelings for that girl came back, and when that girl asked him to go with her to wherever she was dead, he agreed. Only the image of Kagome stopped him from going with her. Ahhh, it’s almost a 200 episode anime…. but it broke my heart watching kagome getting hurt in the story and despite that, continued to join him and his friends in their dangerous journey t orecover the shards of the magical crystal.

    I hope you can continue to watch SAO. That I dislike Kiriko doesn’t mean the plotline is bad. I just wish the author didn’t add that scene of Kiriko denying he had a girlfriend, just because that other girl was cute. ( Asuna is, in fact, hot, and the best warrior , sometimes even exceeding Kiriko )

    Re SEven Deadly Sins…… have you watched the very last scene of the final episode of the first season ? Meliodas actually has a girl he liked, and the last scene shows her like she’s fatally wounded, but I don’t think so. I bet we’ll see her at second season. Rival cliché. Ugh.

    Disperser, Moribito is on Netflix. I think that’s one of the best I’ve watched so far.

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  3. Hey Ren : D. A very good list, I also enjoyed watching HxH – yeah the author does that which kind of sucks, the irony is that he is married to the creator of sailor moon xDD. The journey though, man was that worth it. My fav arc in that series is the York New city arc with Kurapika being my fav character. Charlotte is a so-so for me. Keys and P.A works don’t miss on the animation at all though. I’m not sure if that is Norigami the first season – I haven’t seen it, the second though. Enjoyed that a lot, can’t wait for the third season.

    There are other reasons as to why SAO & Kirito gets a lot of heat, his “god” (or administrative) like skills in the second half of SAO (ALO, the fairy arc) pretty much did it. His harem gets a fair stick, I think xDD. I haven’t seen Inuyasha so I can’t comment on that.

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    1. Come to think of it, Charlotte is a so-so for me, too. But I did plan on re watching it, so I guess that ‘s the reason I included it. I don’t know if you have noticed this… I didn’t include One Piece, Bleach and Naruto. We have mangas of these 3 animes, but they are soooo long that we just stopped buying the mangas and the animes. So what we have are incomplete mangas and animes in our collection and that sux. I feel it’s a waste of money. The same thing happened with Fairy Tale and Soul Eater.

      Ha ha I know. His harem gets a fair stick. I guess they just enjoy hanging out with the gang because of shared experiences…. although I’m wary about that cousin of his. She makes a move on him when they are alone , in Kiriko’s bedroom , at that. It’s an intimate situation, and though the scene stops at some point, it does make us think does it continue off the screen ? It seems Kiriko doesn’t really avoid such situations. Remember that scene with that girl in the cave ? She was almost on top of him, a very compromising situation, but he didn’t bother shift and change his position, and in fact , the girl made a remark about it. ” I hope no one can see us lying together like this. “

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    2. Oh, wait…. you haven’t watched Inuyasha yet. Ha ha I kind of wrote the synopsis here. But I did warn readers they’d read a ton of spoilers here. I can’t rant without saying what exactly I’m ranting about. ha ha

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  4. I just started watching riddle story of devil 💕🙌.
    Oh you know I love Inu-yasha!
    I can never get enough of inu!
    I watched hellgirl before Christmas. I liked it. I loved blue exorcist!
    I tried watching soul eater but reminded me of Bleach.ugh.
    I loved Bleach!!!
    I prefer anime over cartoons. I get so involved with the characters, and o cry every time someone dies or breaks up!

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  5. Oh, yes, I know you love Inuyasha. In fact, I just started re-watching it, vowing to watch it again without prejudice. I don’t know if I can though without breaking my kokoro, and wishing I could jump into the story and slap the hell out of this idiot. Ha ha ha

    I love Hell Girl too, but, it’s depressing, isn’t it ?

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  6. Which Full Metal Alchemist series have you watched? The original, Brotherhood or both?

    The anime studio adapting Sword Art does seem to be frustrated that Kirito has a girlfriend, because they definitely want to turn the franchise into a harem show. Have you watched season 2? It ends with a Asuna focused story arc you may enjoy, as Kirito doesn’t feature much in it.

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    1. I’ve watched both. If I had to recommend FMA, I’d say to watch FMA first and ignore the ending, then watch Brotherhood.

      Yes, I’ve watched all, and I loved that arc. I bawled my heart out. That Rosario arc is so moving.

      The anime studio wants to turn it into a cliché harem ? Hmmm, that figures . There does seem to be an attempt to do that, but it just makes Kirito look like a doosh. Maybe that’s the reason why I feel Kirito seems insincere toward Asuna .When they are together, I don’t feel any warmth nor chemistry emanating from him, I don’t know. I can’t put my finger on it.

      Also, to me, the fact that he’s a Beta player who knows how to win the game but does not help others whose lives are on the line ( at least, at the start of the game ) makes Kirito a cold – hearted person who does not care about other people, at all, just himself. I mean , doesn’t he realize the gravity of the situation ?

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    1. Whoa ! You watch animes, too ? Oh, I’m glad. At least you can understand my fascination for animes. People think they are cartoons, but I feel they are more than that.

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      4. I did attend one. the one in LA many moons ago. I was with my brother, my little cousin and her bestie, all expenses paid , including hotels , by my brother. But we didn’t cosplay. We just went and watched and oooohed and aaahhhed. I was in HS, and didn’t have a phone camera or even a regular camera. But my brother did bring one, but he only took pics of the cosplayers. I have them in my puter.

        Were you the one in polka dots ?

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      5. Yep! That’s me as Minnie Mouse. I had to go as a good person because of the kids but that’s also me in the black threatening to bite Baymax – my generic vampire. The kids and I had a ball laughing it up with Michael Rooker from Guardians of the Galaxy. I’d love to go to the San Diego or NYC con now. Tickets are ridiculous to get!

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  8. Wow, I didn”t know you like Anime 🙂 I used to watch inuyasha and enjoyed it very much but ever since I started One Piece I am kinda addicted to it for more than a decade now 🙂 I like the whole concept, how it builds up during the journey, how it’s reflecting life and growing up in general,… I also read the Manga though because there it is challenging the own imagination which I prefer. One Punch seems so be interesting and funny too, I can recommend. Happy new year 🙂

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  9. RE: SAO, “one point, denied he had a girlfriend ( Asuna ) when asked by the girl , who was his virtual reality video game partner, if he had one. What’s worse, Asuna was right there, within hearing distance.”

    I loved the series, but I’m having a hard time placing this episode, or point in the episode. I don’t recall any denial after they became a couple. In my book, they were only a couple after the rabbit stew dinner.

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    1. Let me recall………..

      Okay, I don’t remember exactly where that scene happened………. most of the side characters were present, and if I remember correctly, it was after Kirito had gotten that important sword, and everyone was safe, including that girl what’s her name who was Kirito’s partner in a video game that he was investigating. Then while this girl was openly flirting with Kirito, he was asked if he had a girl, and before he got to respond , one of the guys said something like, no, he can’t , he has a girlfriend. Kirito ran to him and punched him before that guy said more.

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      1. Well that sounds like a different situation.
        Otherwise did you like the series? I think that it was one of the best and I always list SAO as one of the reasons I like anime. Many dramatic moments, many funny moments, and many heartwarming moments. (I wish I could say that about anything Hollywood produces.)

        I never thought Kirito was a serial womanizer, in fact he seemed very the opposite, especially considering his multiple opportunities. The “harem” label may be because other female characters had a crush on him, but he was always too clueless to realize it.
        Even with Asuna, he was very unassuming for a long time. After the rabbit dinner, it was Asuna who started taking off her clothes, much to Kiritos surprise. She seemed disappointed that he did not realize all that time that she was interested.

        Of course, a good series is one you can have good in-depth discussions late at night with friends at Starbucks or your favorite pub.
        : )

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    2. Yes, I liked it Except the ” romance ” part.

      I started to consider them a ” couple ” when they got ” married” and lived together in the cabin, and we all assumed it was biological , as well.

      But out of the game, I didn’t detect any chemistry between the two. Thinking back, ( and Otaku Judge said the developers of the anime did want to make this a harem genre ) maybe the developers didn’t want the couple to have an intense chemistry or relationship , hoping they might be able to put in other women in his ” real ” life, and making his relationship with Asuna outside of their virtual reality lives almost platonic or merely friendly, and they can therefore rationalize whatever other relationships he might have with other girls. Like, his relationship in the game doesn’t count. That’s just a game. It’s not real.

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  11. Nice list of anime. I have seen some of them. I usually watch them in English Dub. On the list of what I seen, I seen Blue Exorcist, Attack on Titan, Sword Art Online, Inuyasha.
    I love watching Inuyasha. I remember watching it on Adult Swim back in Middle School. I finished Final Act last year on Toonami. Both were good. As for SAO, I am probably biased, I enjoy the series. I will admit, there are some flaws that makes the series a fall back but I still think it’s great.

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  12. I love Inuyasha and SAO, as well. It’s just that I sympathize with the female protagonists so much ( especially Kagome of Inuyasha ). Inuyasha has broken Kagome’s heart so many times that I want to jump into the story and slap the heck out of him, and shake some sense into Kagome’s head and tell her to walk away and go back to her own world. Same with Kirito, after that stunt he pulled .

    Other than that, yes, I like both animes.

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  13. I’m sorry for being so late but the three best anime series of all times are 1. Naruto/Naruto Shippuden 2. Bleach 3. Full Metal alchemists/ all of them movies included. Sorry for the brief interruption… You may resume to your regularly scheduled program.. (Seacrest out!)

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