Top 5 Anime Favourites

[qtipbrit]

Originally Posted by MereAlias

1. Byousoku 5 Centimeter - It is truly sad that so many "anime fans" have not seen this yet. Although, I know the fact it lacks mecha, harsh in your face comedy, fan service shots, and fictional things means that already many anime fans wouldn't enjoy it.

The rest I don't know. Byousoku 5 Centimeter just demolished what I think of when I think of my favorite anime. Before I saw Byousoku 5 Centimeter I could have easily listed my top 5 animes that I enjoyed the most but after watching it, I really can't even think of a single anime that seems like such a work of art visually and in regards to the plot, dialogue, and narration.

Have you seen Kanon (2006, of course)? Air? Sola (To some extent)?
These former two almost match the animation of 5 Centimetres per Second, though it's in part because they required 12/6 hours of animation as opposed to one. The latter may not be as good visually, but it's still stunning at times.
All three lack the mecha, "harsh in your face comedy", and fanservice shots you've described, and less fictional elements than several other anime series.
5 Centimetres per Second is a great production, but it's not something you can use as a basis for anime quality (except for animation quality, where it probably has no equal.)

As for my favourites:
1. Kanon 2006
2. Ef - A Tale of Memories
3. 5 Centimeters per Second
4. Air
5. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
This is according to my ANN ratings, as I'm too lazy to really give it much thought at the moment.
And yes, I obviously value animation quality.

[Gotank]

1. Rozen Maiden - Quite hilarious, but also very original, and able to have a good mix of humor and moments of sadness. Music is amazing too
2. Code Geass - Absolutely terrific character depth, admirable personalities. I haven't finished the series yet, but Lelouch is awesome =)
3. Full Metal Alchemist - Amazing plot, genuine likable main character.
4. Shakugan no Shana - Shana, Shana, Shana; oh, and good originality, art, etc. Season 2 is picking up now.
5. Fate/Stay Night - References to heroes are nice; flashy fight scenes, good character depth, nice music.

[Amray]

X Clamp
Cowboy Bebop
Chrno Crusade
Gunslinger Girl
Hell Girl

[esfir]

in no particular order~

o1. tenkuu no escaflowne
o2. rahxephon
o3. hunter x hunter
o4. .hack//sign
o5. shoujo kakumei utena

there is another anime that i watched many years ago and loved very much but i no longer remember the name.

i love nausicaa as well, but as that's a movie i don't count it.

[King Lycan]

there not un order
D Gray Man
Clannad
Fate/Stay Night
Black Lagoon
One Piece

[Chiron_Basileus]

Berserk
Akira
X/1999
Gantz
Cowboy Bebop

[mystic210]

Full Metal Panic Series
Clannad
Kanon '06
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu
Code Geass

[qtipbrit]

Originally Posted by Gotank

1. Rozen Maiden - Quite hilarious, but also very original, and able to have a good mix of humor and moments of sadness. Music is amazing too
2. Code Geass - Absolutely terrific character depth, admirable personalities. I haven't finished the series yet, but Lelouch is awesome =)
3. Full Metal Alchemist - Amazing plot, genuine likable main character.
4. Shakugan no Shana - Shana, Shana, Shana; oh, and good originality, art, etc. Season 2 is picking up now.

Four things:
1. You forgot about Suiseiseki in your reasons why Rozen Maiden is good.
2. This is only on your list because you haven't finished it.
(This is somewhat a joke. For you Code Geass fanatics, don't flame me, because you know the ending sucked. It's still a great show, though, so even if the ending was sub-sub-sub-par, it could easily make many top 5's, and is in my top 5 for action series.)
Looking forward to the second season though.
3. Amazing plot? Likable main character? Lies.
4. You forgot Hecate. And it needs more Shana.
I also think we're quite aware by now that a third season of Shana is imminent. That makes me quite happy, if not only for the fact that she'll be able to compete in future SaiMoe tournaments.

Originally Posted by Misuzu-chan

1. Air
2. Higurashi no naku koro ni/ kai
3. Clannad
4. Kanon 2006
And number five....eeeh...I don't know XD These are my most favourite )

I think I already mentioned this elsewhere, but I spot a Key-Kyoto follower.

[jariten]

UY, KOR, Macross, MI, BGC

[qtipbrit]

Originally Posted by jariten

UY, KOR, Macross, MI, BGC

Ah, I would have expected you to like DW, JEV, GJSERGV, JC, and AJGEFICEFGVASGGJDVEMI as your favourties.

[Gotank]

Four things:
1. You forgot about Suiseiseki in your reasons why Rozen Maiden is good.
2. This is only on your list because you haven't finished it.
(This is somewhat a joke. For you Code Geass fanatics, don't flame me, because you know the ending sucked. It's still a great show, though, so even if the ending was sub-sub-sub-par, it could easily make many top 5's, and is in my top 5 for action series.)
Looking forward to the second season though.
3. Amazing plot? Likable main character? Lies.
4. You forgot Hecate. And it needs more Shana.
I also think we're quite aware by now that a third season of Shana is imminent. That makes me quite happy, if not only for the fact that she'll be able to compete in future SaiMoe tournaments.

1. Definitely, desu =)
2. Yeah... Just finished Code Geass... and it has to be the king of all cliffhanger endings I've ever seen... I mean seriously, do we know anything about anything at the end? I'm not quite sure how season 2 will continue on the finale of season 1, because as far as I can see, there isn't too many options left for Lelouch.
3. Ehh, a matter of opinion I guess. The ending + movie atleast offered some closure, which is good. I liked how all the little bits of information during the season combined at the end to present a true picture of what happened with everything.
4. Wohoo 3rd season =D How far are the novels progressing?

[Ice Block]

1. Suzumiya Haruhi - the anime that shook the world. That is all I have to say .
   
2. School Rumble - revived my love for anime which was lost for 3 years. It had lots of potential, and it still has, as the manga is finally starting to pick up.
   
3. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - OMG EPIC. Gave my urinary system problems for a week when I marathoned it . Strangely enough, I first heard of this in the WoW OT forums. Raw Raw, fight the POWAH!
   
4. Byousoku 5 cm - beautiful animation, sad/bittersweet story, beautiful animation, "One more time, One more chance"... oh, and did I forget to mention it's beautiful animation?
   
5. Clannad - although it hasn't finished airing yet, each episode just keeps getting better and better. Feel sorry for Kyou and Tomoyo though.

Honorable mentions:
Code Geass, Shana, and Seto no Hanayome

[qtipbrit]

Originally Posted by Gotank

1. Definitely, desu =)
2. Yeah... Just finished Code Geass... and it has to be the king of all cliffhanger endings I've ever seen... I mean seriously, do we know anything about anything at the end? I'm not quite sure how season 2 will continue on the finale of season 1, because as far as I can see, there isn't too many options left for Lelouch.
3. Ehh, a matter of opinion I guess. The ending + movie atleast offered some closure, which is good. I liked how all the little bits of information during the season combined at the end to present a true picture of what happened with everything.
4. Wohoo 3rd season =D How far are the novels progressing?

1. Yeah, Suiseiseki is probably the reason why it has half the fanbase it does.
2. I was also referring to the many deus ex machina brought about in the last few episodes, but the last-minute cliffhanger (four months and he gives us an epic cliffhanger). I'm here hoping the second season will measure up to pre-episode 18 Code Geass (except the Mao arc. That, too, was quite crappy.)
3. Well, that's not really the "plot" persay, and nothing of the main character. I agree that it's not a bad series, but the main character isn't one you could really imaginatively "look up to", nor is he manly.
4. I'm only following the light novels as they're translated by Viz, so I don't know how far they've progressed in Japan. I would ask someone who's read fantranslations or are fluent in Japanese, but I would estimate that they've covered 10+ of the 16 current novels.

Originally Posted by Ice Block

1. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - OMG EPIC. Gave my urinary system problems for a week when I marathoned it . Strangely enough, I first heard of this in the WoW OT forums. Raw Raw, fight the POWAH!
   
2. Byousoku 5 cm - beautiful animation, sad/bittersweet story, beautiful animation, "One more time, One more chance"... oh, and did I forget to mention it's beautiful animation?

Wow, you don't understand how funny what you said about Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann was. Or maybe I have a unique sense of humour (probably the latter). Seriously, though, urinary problems?
Makoto Shinkai + Tenmon = , though (no, just no.) His music is quite amazing, apparent in Ef - A Tale of Memories, which is a shameless dump on my part.

[GomuBlade]

1. Kanon (2006) - My favourite genres* packed with a good story, likable characters and an outstanding animation. It's first place is a given.
2. Shuffle! - It's among the first anime series I watched. And I still love it.
3. Clannad - Give me a good ending and this just might take Shuffle's 2nd place. Though it's nowhere near as good as Kanon, in my opinion.
4. Texhnolyze - Truly a masterpiece, from beginning to end. A bit dark compared to the rest of the list
5. Aria - Calm, relaxing and slow-paced. Just how I like it.

* Being Comedy/Drama/Romance with a touch of supernatural.

[Phantasmagoria]

My revised, Top 5(6) Anime Favourites: (Completed Series)

1) Kimi ga Nozomu Eien
2) Elfen Lied
3) Seto no Hanayome/Kekkaishi
4) Rozen Maiden
5) M.G.L.Nanoha

Top 5+ Yuri Anime:

1) Kannazuki no Miko [My first stepping stone to yuri, it will always be my No.1]
2) Strawberry Panic!
2) Maria-sama ga Miteru (Yes, both SP! and M-sGM share No.2)
4) Blue Drop ~Tenshitachi no Gikyoku~
5) Simoun + [Insert all others here.]

Top 5(6) Recent Anime:

1) H2O ~Footprints in the Sand~
1) Spice and Wolf [Have a hard time deciding, so they share No.1]
3) Clannad
4) Shigofumi: Letters from the Departed
5) Kimiaru: They are my Noble Masters/Hayate no Gotoku

Notable mentions:

Bleach - Will be in my Top 5 Manga Favourites
Naruto - Will be in my Top 5 Manga Favourites
Rosario+Vampire - Will be in my Top 5 Manga Favourites
Welcome to the N.H.K - I got its novel, and casually reading during rides, really entertaining

[Liddo-kun]

New list:

1. True Tears
2. Higurashi (both seasons)
3. Full Moon wo Sagashite
4. Sola (after watching episode 15)
5. Lucky Star

Others:

6. Clannad TV
7. Shana (both seasons)

[KnightSpirit]

1) Gurren Lagann
2) Haruhi Suzumiya
3) Evangelion
4) Samurai Champoo
5) Ouran High School Host Club

[Anysia824]

Seto no hanayome- awesome I love the violence! lol its acutally pretty funny
Naruto- just so actiony ;D
Mermaid melody- .... I don't know why I watch it so much..
Full moon- so cute but sad !!
Haruhi Suzumiya - its just awesome...

[SidVicious]

In no particular order:

Maison Ikkoku
Kimagure Orange Road
Elfen Lied
Maria-sama ga Miteru
Cardcaptor Sakura

[Maakasu]

I don't really watch anime but here is what my favotrites are

Kenkō Zenrakei Suieibu Umishō
Love Hina
Naruto
School days ( it scared me really bad)
Negima