The very best anime you have watched.

[Forsaken_Infinity]

Just list the very best anime you have watched, if its already recommended, choose the next best etc. And if you must mention some other show as well, go for it. Please include a short introduction and the reason why you like it so much, anything is fine and the length is up to you. I am kinda out of anime and I don't really have any specific requirements in mind. I do go through the best of decade/2009/whatever threads and try to dig up animes that way but I would still like hearing from the people here.

[JRendell]

Very tough question. I'd say the best that I've seen in the past 6 months would be;

Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ - I thought the plot was brilliant, combined with great characters, deeply moving scenes at the right times and awesome gun fights to boot.

There are some that are airing now that I'm extremely enjoying, but to list them when they havn't even finished isn't fair.

[CeDeR]

Ghost Hound - Three high school boys who have their own traumatic encounters in their childhood, learns about the strange occurrences happening at their town. Together, they investigate the strange happenings by having out of body experiences(Astral projections, how cool is that?).

If that doesnt appeal to you perhaps the people involved in this anime will.

Created by Production I.G and Shirow Masamune, noted for being the creator of the Ghost in the Shell series.
The series is staffed by director Ryūtarō Nakamura (Serial Experiments Lain, Kino's Journey), scriptwriter Chiaki J. Konaka (Serial Experiments Lain, Texhnolyze, The Big O), character designer and chief animation director Mariko Oka (Hell Girl) and art director Hiromasa Ogura (Spirit of Wonder, Jin-Roh, Ghost in the Shell).

[DragoonKain3]

Juuni Kokki/Twelve Kingdoms - You start with a very annoying lead for 7 episodes or so, but by then, her change of paradigm would trigger a change of heart in you. I also love the imaginative setting, real life themes, and its unforgettable characters. I would give a synopsis, but honestly, it wouldn't do it justice as it only starts getting really good after aforementioned episodes have been viewed.

From the authour of Ghost Hunt, btw, another very good anime.

[Guardian Enzo]

Some good recs on there, but for overall best I will go back to Seirei no Moribito. Incredible writing and cinema-quality animation and music. Absolutely brilliant voice acting as well.

[james0246]

Millennium Actress. Beautifully designed evocative tale of a constant search for love over the course of a 1000 years...kind of. A docudrama about a famous film actress and her reflection on the closing of the Production House she made famous...kind of. A story of a woman constantly struggling to define herself via the lens of history and society...kind of. Millennium Actress represents the best that the animated medium has to offer. Amazing visuals, impressive pacing, beautiful usage of mise en scene, and superb editing. Outstanding use of colours, stupendous use of sound and music, and, of course deft direction and provocative acting. In other words, nearly perfect.

[Kafriel]

Blood+: lots of action and drama, a fair share of mystery, no filler moments through 51 episodes and best of all, a sad ending. It's about vampire-like creatures and monsters, the protagonist is a high school girl without the weaknesses of a casual heroine.

[ash0ka]

Personally, I'm a fan of romace/harem/comedy type anime. So these are a few I've considered to be the best over time.

Suzuka: A pretty realistic story about a guy who falls for a girl, but can't help but make the wrong impression on her regardless of how hard he tries.
It's my personal favorite. The story was very similar to my life at the time when I was watching it. So there is a lot of personal reason. However, I believe the plot is well done and the development is pretty great between the two characters.

Ouran High School Host Club: A rather ridiculous story of a girl who transfers to a very rich private school based on her grades. She doesn't fit in right off the bat and ends up destroying an item that will her down the path of pretending to be a boy to make the money back.
It's cute and romantic, but most importantly, HILARIOUS. It doesn't have the strongest plot, but it's fun enough to just continue watching anyway.

Black Lagoon: Story of a Japanese businessman who gets caught up in some trouble, and joins a group of smugglers.
Lots of action, gun fights, chases, mafia stuff, etc... It's a great series for anyone. The plot is magnificent, the character development is great, the animation is great, and they leave each episode with you wanting more.

If you don't mind movies: Anything from Hayao Miyazaki is beyond this world in greatness. He's done, Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Ponyo, Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service, Nausicaa, Princess Mononoke, and many more.

Aside from Miyazaki films, a few I would recommend:
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Akira, Blood: The Last Vampire, Ghost in the Shell, and Paprika.

Some runner-up series would include: Toradora!, Shakugan no Shana, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and Air.

[synaesthetic]

Summer Wars. For real.

Also Kara no Kyoukai.

[Albafica]

Versailles No Bara (Lady Oscar): If you want interesting characters, plot with conspiracy etc., good romance, tragedy, historical context (Monarchy/Revolution), deep soundtrack; just watch this masterpiece . It's a shojo, but what a shojo!

One of my best show ever.

[DragoZERO]

Originally Posted by JRendell

Very tough question. I'd say the best that I've seen in the past 6 months would be;

Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ - I thought the plot was brilliant, combined with great characters, deeply moving scenes at the right times and awesome gun fights to boot.

There are some that are airing now that I'm extremely enjoying, but to list them when they havn't even finished isn't fair.

Seconded. Quite a few people dropped it in the beginning since it was a little slow at the start and didn't look to have any potential, but boy oh boy were they wrong.

I plan to watch it again one day but it is still too soon for me.

[CeDeR]

Originally Posted by DragoZERO

Seconded. Quite a few people dropped it in the beginning since it was a little slow at the start and didn't look to have any potential, but boy oh boy were they wrong.

I plan to watch it again one day but it is still too soon for me.

i want to watch it..does it have anything to do with phantom the animation?if so which one should i watch first?

[DragoZERO]

Originally Posted by CeDeR

i want to watch it..does it have anything to do with phantom the animation?if so which one should i watch first?

They are two different versions, both based on the same VN. I have not seen Phantom the Animation, but from what I know of it, it looks like it's roughly part of of the first arc of Requiem. from what I am told, Requiem follows the VN much better and is better too.

[Zwei]

Originally Posted by CeDeR

i want to watch it..does it have anything to do with phantom the animation?if so which one should i watch first?

Just pretend 'Phantom - The Animation' doesn't exist, and watch the TV series 'Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~', and you're all good.

[DragoZERO]

Originally Posted by Zwei

Just pretend 'Phantom - The Animation' doesn't exist, and watch the TV series 'Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~', and you're all good.

Haha, that is a better way of putting it. Certainly is faster to type and read.

What's with the tildes (~) though...it ruins the title if you ask me.

Anyway, it's licensed by Funimation so you can find it streaming on their website. Just ignore the episode titles and screenshots for the episodes you haven't seen. It's really stupid how they have the final ones show up first and their summaries are stupid too. Don't tell me what the episode is about before I watch it. They really need to release the box set for this series, lol.

[CeDeR]

Originally Posted by Zwei

Just pretend 'Phantom - The Animation' doesn't exist, and watch the TV series 'Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~', and you're all good.

lol i saw the first episode of phantom the animation a time ago and thats why i stayed away from requiem i thought it was the same.

[Zwei]

Originally Posted by DragoZERO

Haha, that is a better way of putting it. Certainly is faster to type and read.

What's with the tildes (~) though...it ruins the title if you ask me.

I agree, but that's the original title and also the first one I saw, so I got used to it.

Originally Posted by CeDeR

lol i saw the first episode of phantom the animation a time ago and thats why i stayed away from requiem i thought it was the same.

I still watched it because I'm a big fan of the 'Phantom' series, but it was pretty meh (at least compared to the TV series). There were also certain scenes that kinda disturbed me that were not present in the TV series.

[DragoZERO]

Originally Posted by Zwei

I still watched it because I'm a big fan of the 'Phantom' series, but it was pretty meh (at least compared to the TV series). There were also certain scenes that kinda disturbed me that were not present in the TV series.

It disturbed you!? Glad I didn't watch it then, it'd scar me.

And as I was editing my previous post I was interrupted so I couldn't hit the submit button until after you guys replied, so read it if you didn't yet...I even added a link.

[fertygo]

Not of a "best" anime I ever seen, but R.O.D really give me wonderful experience. The anime is plot-packed from the very beginning until the end, sometime it slow down and became "Slice of Life" titles but the pace really enjoyable. Even now I'm still search show with similar mood, lightweight but still not make you feel losing any I.Q watching it.

[CeDeR]

Originally Posted by Zwei

I agree, but that's the original title and also the first one I saw, so I got used to it.



I still watched it because I'm a big fan of the 'Phantom' series, but it was pretty meh (at least compared to the TV series). There were also certain scenes that kinda disturbed me that were not present in the TV series.

mnnnn...i like disturbing stuff looks like i will have to see requiem and then the animation.