Why I love anime: Top 10 coolest scenes!

[Maokun]

Another list by me! Anime is well know for having its good share of really awesome moments, not only for what it is actually happening but for the way they orchestrate all elements (music, animation effects, dialogue, etc) for a biggest wow, so here is my top 10, let me know yours!

#10. InuYasha
[spoiler]InuYasha's sword is split in two and he goes feral. The animation and pacing of this scene is really good. The way the wind suddenly started blowing the opposite way was a very dramatic effect and InuYasha losing his mind like that was quite unexpected.[/spoiler]

#9. Evangelion
[spoiler]Shinji blinded by fury attempts to destroy Nerv HQ with the Eva 01 after the horrible incident with Eva 04. It was the first time Shinji showed so much determination and backbone and the irony of the situation made it even cooler. Too bad that his one time to shine was both misguided and shortlived.[/spoiler]

#8. Naruto
[spoiler]Naruto stops with ease the giant snake that was about to eat Sasuke and quips back the remark Sasuke had made to him some time ago: "Are you hurt, scaredicat?" Or also when Sasuke woke up from his sickness after being bitten by Orochimaru to find Sakura wounded from protecting him and Naruto, and as the cursed mark spreads over his body he demands from her "who did this to you?"[/spoiler]

#7. Ranma 1/2
[spoiler]Ryoga finally defeats Ranma by sacrificing his heart. I believe it was a stroke of genius to have Ryoga learn a technique powered by his own sadness and frustration t made for very dramatic effects, especially after Ranma countered with a technique powered by his own cheerfulness and Ryoga finally had to make up his mind and renounce to Akane, making her despise him. That victory he has been pursuing through all the series in the end gave him no satisfaction whatsoever, which is a great cautionary tale. And after that things started looking better for Ryoga anyway (at least in the manga)[/spoiler]

#6. Slayers Next
[spoiler]Lina casts the Giga Slave for a last time in a vain attempt to destroy Phibrizzo and save her dying friends. Having to choose between the chance of destroying the whole universe or losing her friends, she chose the latter, hoping against hope that she could manage to have her cake and eat it too. However, Phibrizzo's plan was diabolical (that's it, immensely practical) and he killed her in response leaving the Giga Slave out of control. Cue in what's probably the best Deus Ex Machina in an anime series.[/spoiler]

#5. Saint Seiya
[spoiler]Blind, exhausted and mortally wounded Seiya manages to hold up the shield of Athena, even withholding the ultimate attack of Saga, long enough to cast its reflection on Athena, saving her life from the cursed arrow in the brink of time. Seiya is not my favourite character in the series, but he steals what's probable the coolest moment of the series as his role as the main character could make you expect.[/spoiler]

#4. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
[spoiler]Kyon kisses Haruhi. Yeah, that might be the coolest kiss in an anime series. The pacing was amazing with the sense urgency as reality as we know it was falling apart, Haruhi's eyes shining with emotion and awe, oblivious of the sorrow she was causing and then all of a sudden Kyon realizes what he has to do and it's the very same thing we had been waiting for the whole series.[/spoiler]

#3. Dragon Ball Z
[spoiler]Gohan goes super saiyan 2. This was at my top for a long time and I still believe it was amazingly created. No. 16's last speech, filled with love for the world and faith in Gohan, knowing fully that Cell would kill him but that it would be the only way to shake up Gohan from his self-doubt, followed by the slow motion scene as his shredded chip goes off and Gohan sees it as a bird that flies away... a couple seconds of silent and terrified disbelief...BAM incredible explosion of energy and Gohan stands there, his tears being carried upwards by the upwelling of his own vast power.[/spoiler]

#2. Cowboy Bebop
[spoiler]There are a number of really amazing moments in Cowboy Bebop. One of the would be the famous "bang" scene of the last episode. But my favourite would have to be the Sword vs Gun fight of Spike and Vicius inside the cathedral. The music, the pacing, the slow motion as it is shown that Spike managed to throw a hand grenade as he was tossed through the stained-glass window, the rain of tinted glass as he falls and then the explosion.... masterful.[/spoiler]

#1. FLCL
[spoiler]Canti absorbs Naota for first time and stops effortlessly with a single hand the attack of a giant robot. This is number 1 by far and altough the motions per-se have been made into anime many times, this is the one to put to shame all the others. All the elements, movement, sound, music, plot, conspired togueter in an spiraling crescendo and you are so masterfully caught by it that when it resolves it is simply awesome by the full meaning of the word. I had to hold myself not to applaud and jump on my seat giggling like a shcoolgirl, such was my glee and awe. I doubt I'll feel like that ever again.[/spoiler]

[Makachop^^128]

ah love cowboy bebop and flcl and of course naruto

[ShiroiHikari]

Yeah, that part in Cowboy Bebop was fricking awesome.

[EricTheFred]

Jubei-chan 2
[SPOILER]Considering the comic tone and general low level of seriousness of this anime, it seems ridiculous to claim this, but Jubei-chan 2 had some of the most awesome sword-battles I have seen in all of anime. Seriously well animated, tightly choreographed and over-the-top in so many ways yet still somehow remaining a sword-battle rather than a Bleachesque chi battle (as normally happens when sword stories get supernatural). I'm not sure which to nominate, but the two best are the final Jubei-vs.-Freesia battle and the battle where they continue while they are tumbling down the side of a steep mountain together. [/SPOILER]

#1. FLCL
[spoiler]Canti absorbs Naota for first time and stops effortlessly with a single hand the attack of a giant robot. This is number 1 by far and altough the motions per-se have been made into anime many times, this is the one to put to shame all the others. All the elements, movement, sound, music, plot, conspired togueter in an spiraling crescendo and you are so masterfully caught by it that when it resolves it is simply awesome by the full meaning of the word. I had to hold myself not to applaud and jump on my seat giggling like a shcoolgirl, such was my glee and awe. I doubt I'll feel like that ever again.[/spoiler]

There are so many scenes you could have picked from FLCL, but,
[Spoiler]For me, the scene where Haruko is on the attack dressed in a bunny-girl suit is the best. Stop rolling your eyes, folks, it's because of the sheer detail of animation and action. My son and I once paced through the whole scene frame-by-frame to catch all of the crazy details they threw into it. It all flies past you so fast in real-time, it's amazing they put so much effort into it.[/Spoiler]

Finally, somewhere on my top-ten list would be scenes from Paprika, Noein, Spirited Away, and The Place Promised In Our Early Days.

[LadyRushia]

I don't know what anime this is from, but I think this scene is funny and awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO5hx_CauHE

[Davidizer13]

No mention of this scene from F-Zero: Falcon Densetsu(GP Legend) yet?

Well, now there is.

[Makachop^^128]

I think if I picked my fav scences from animes it would have to be from, Tengen toppa gureen lagann, Naruto Cowboy bebop, Azumanga diaoh, and soul eater and paprika

[EricTheFred]

I don't know what anime this is from, but I think this scene is funny and awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO5hx_CauHE

This came from Dai Mahou Touge ('Great Magical Gap'). You can't really tell it from this scene (mostly because Punie isn't in her Magical Girl outfit in this scene), but it is one of the greatest spoofs of the Magical Girl genre ever.

[Doubleshadow]

I don't know what anime this is from, but I think this scene is funny and awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO5hx_CauHE

Ah! Punie-chan! It's out in English.

I couldn't find it, but you should see the clip of her vegetable servants committing harakiri to make curry.

[EricTheFred]

Ah! Punie-chan! It's out in English.

I couldn't find it, but you should see the clip of her vegetable servants committing harakiri to make curry.

Did not know it had been released over here. I'll have to go find a copy now. I probably would have noticed if they hadn't renamed it!

(I hate it when they do that! Like calling 'Amaenaideyo!' "Ah My Buddha", a perfectly stupid name. The Japanese translates roughly as "Behave yourself!", which is a much better title for the series.)

[Maokun]

There are so many scenes you could have picked from FLCL, but,
[spoiler]For me, the scene where Haruko is on the attack dressed in a bunny-girl suit is the best. Stop rolling your eyes, folks, it's because of the sheer detail of animation and action. My son and I once paced through the whole scene frame-by-frame to catch all of the crazy details they through into it. It all flies past you so fast in real-time, it's amazing they put so much effort into it.[/spoiler]

I trust, then that you have seen DAICON III and IV which is the original conception of that idea and probably, even awesomest! (though the production values are considerable lower, understandably) And now I'm kicking myself for not having remembered it before and put it in the list.

[EricTheFred]

I trust, then that you have seen DAICON III and IV which is the original conception of that idea and probably, even awesomest! (though the production values are considerable lower, understandably) And now I'm kicking myself for not having remembered it before and put it in the list.

Thanks to having seen FLCL far before either of them, and the fact that Haruko just has a complely different vibe than the Daicon girl, I would think of FLCL first. Although, doing as much as they did on a low budget with cel animation truly was incredible.

Off-subject, though, (since I wouldn't put it in the Top 10 coolest scenes, even though it is awfully cool) are you aware that Daicon IV inspired another fine bit of animation (even to the point of using the same great old ELO tune)? Check out the OP to the Live-Action Densha Otoko sometime. It's great stuff.

However, if you do so and think "this would be a cool anime", and then find out that the animators of the OP later did an anime, and if you value your lunch, don't check out that anime. It is utterly awful.

[Maokun]

Thanks to having seen FLCL far before either of them, and the fact that Haruko just has a complely different vibe than the Daicon girl, I would think of FLCL first. Although, doing as much as they did on a low budget with cel animation truly was incredible.

Off-subject, though, (since I wouldn't put it in the Top 10 coolest scenes, even though it is awfully cool) are you aware that Daicon IV inspired another fine bit of animation (even to the point of using the same great old ELO tune)? Check out the OP to the Live-Action Densha Otoko sometime. It's great stuff.

However, if you do so and think "this would be a cool anime", and then find out that the animators of the OP later did an anime, and if you value your lunch, don't check out that anime. It is utterly awful.

Well, you have gone and done it and now I'm curious about both. Reading on Wikipedia about Densha Otoko, it sounds a lot like a rather old anime series called "If I see you In my Dreams". However I can't find much information on the OP beyond being made by Studio GONZO and indeed a homage to Daicon.

[EricTheFred]

Well, you have gone and done it and now I'm curious about both. Reading on Wikipedia about Densha Otoko, it sounds a lot like a rather old anime series called "If I see you In my Dreams". However I can't find much information on the OP beyond being made by Studio GONZO and indeed a homage to Daicon.

You may know 'Densha Otoko' as 'Train Man'.

I just checked and found multiple copies of the OP on Youtube. For any who are curious, looks like the Daicon shorts are there as well.

[the_wolfs_howl]

I'm having to restrain myself so I don't just put down ten scenes from FMA, so I'm going to try to find scenes from ten different animes. And "cool" is a very vague term, so I there is apt to be a variety of different kinds of "cool".

10. My Neighbor Totoro

[spoiler]Yes, My Neighbor Totoro. I think the scene where they're waiting for the bus is cool. Just a cool situation to be in, standing there normally with this big huge Totoro next to you who gets excited when raindrops hit his umbrella.[/spoiler]

9. Trigun

[spoiler]There are many cool moments in Trigun, but I think one of my favorites is when that huge giant guy is trying to kill Vash and endangering the townspeople in the process. Vash calmly rescues women from the wreckage, and when the giant shoots his fist at him, he shoots the fist several times and makes it veer off course. That's some pretty sweet skills right there.[/spoiler]

8. Vision of Escaflowne

[spoiler]No, I'm not going to talk about a Guymelef battle. If you ask me, one of the coolest scenes is actually not a battle at all. Towards the end, Hitomi manages to make it back home and relives her last day or so before she was taken away. She'd just had a lot of angsting and whining (and I'm pretty sure she'd already kissed Allen and everything), and basically wasn't at the top of her form when she left Gaia. Yet still, Van came after her and brought her back. The scene where they rush towards each other in joy was really powerful for me.[/spoiler]

7. Jin-Roh: Wolf Brigade

[spoiler]I think the coolest part is right at the end, where the final twist is revealed and the fairy tale comes true. It's so heartbreaking, and it's such a shock, but very cool how they used "Mother, what big eyes you have!" and all that.

6. Spirited Away

[spoiler]Predictably, the train scene. That's one of the most beautifully-animated scenes I've ever seen, wonderfully lit, wonderful colors, beautiful music, perfect symbolism.... It's truly a work of art.[/spoiler]

5. Wolf's Rain

[spoiler]All the events leading up to the very end are cool and dramatic, but it all comes to a head when Kiba and Darcia have their final duel. They're probably the only living things left in the whole world at that point (other than Cheza, of course), and they're locked in a battle to the death. It's very bloody and realistic, and it's very cool to see two wolves going at each other like that.[/spoiler]

4. Monster

[spoiler]I haven't seen the anime yet, but there was a scene in the manga that was particularly powerful for me. When Nina/Anna finally gets all her memories back, she is so shocked and stricken that she's about to kill herself, but then Tenma rushes in and stops her. He says, "What would I do if you died?" That was just a really cool, emotional moment.[/spoiler]

3. Haibane Renmei

[spoiler]When Rakka saves Reki. The whole sequence, from when Rakka realizes something's wrong to when Reki finally takes her Day of Flight, is so emotional and just cool. The revelation that Reki has been nice just so she would feel needed, and Rakka's selflessness in helping her even so.... Wow.[/spoiler]

2. Death Note

[spoiler]The coolest moment of this anime was actually when L died, I think. Sure, I was devastated. Sure, I wish it didn't have to happen. But it was really well done. The agitation before L's name gets written, and then the frozen, shocked slowness as L has a heart attack...the bell tolling and the flashes of the orphanage where L grew up.... Everything was just perfect. L was an amazing character, and his death scene was correspondingly amazing.[/spoiler]

1. Full Metal Alchemist

[spoiler]There are so many cool scenes in FMA that it's really hard to choose just one. All the fight scenes are really cool, and then there are all sorts of cool emotional scenes, especially between the brothers. But what I think is the coolest, most powerful scene in the whole anime, in any anime I've ever seen, is in Episode 51. The bad guys are gone. Roze is no longer hypnotized. Al has given himself up, used up all the power of the Philosopher's Stone, to bring Ed back with his human body. Ed has woken up with tears in his eyes and realized what's happened. He is whole once more, and he could leave that place and learn to live his own life. But what does he do? He makes the most complex transmutation circle in the whole series, writes more transmutation circles on his chest, arms, and forehead, and stands in the middle of the circle. He says he's not sure if this will work, if it will bring Al back or if something will go wrong. But, "I have to try...for you, Al." And then he quietly transmutes himself, body and soul, he sacrifices everything he has left, all to bring his little brother back. That is the most selfless action I've ever seen in any anime, and it brings me to tears every time I see it. Edward Elric makes all the other anime heroes look lame, because none of them have given up this much.[/spoiler]

[Maokun]

You may know 'Densha Otoko' as 'Train Man'.

I just checked and found multiple copies of the OP on Youtube. For any who are curious, looks like the Daicon shorts are there as well.

yeah, I went and checked it in youtube right away. It was certainly cool, but Daicon still wins. Also, I found the series based in that opening and yeah, you are right, it seems like something I shouldn't waste my time with.

Trigun

[spoiler]There are many cool moments in Trigun, but I think one of my favorites is when that huge giant guy is trying to kill Vash and endangering the townspeople in the process. Vash calmly rescues women from the wreckage, and when the giant shoots his fist at him, he shoots the fist several times and makes it veer off course. That's some pretty sweet skills right there.[/spoiler]

YES. Definitely this. I cannot believe I forgot about this one, which is easily among the very top 5 for me. Thanks for reminding me of it.

I also agree with your mentions of Jin-Roh (you need to fix the spoiler tag for that one, btw) and Haibane Renmei, but those sit, in my judgement just below the top 10.

[Fish and Chips]

10. Baccano![spoiler]While I've always thought the dinning car standoff in episodes 2 and 3 was pretty cool, all the scenes in episode 12 and 13 where everything aboard the train clicks into place through a series of coincidences really shines in this regard, though it helped that it ended with Jacuzzi headbutting a guy with a flamethrower off a moving train.[/spoiler]9. Ultimate Survivor Kaiji [spoiler]So the whole show Tonegawa's been a huge jerk, consuming the money and lives of foolish men, a true devil of the gambling world. Then he blows it, and the people he answers to demand his "Apologies." Business custom demands apologies be accompanied by humbling oneself at the foot of the one you have wronged, but Tonegawa's boss has seen so many men prostrate themselves effortlessly just to live one more day that he doubts their sincerity, so he orders them to do so on a heated plate, and hold their temples to it for a full minute as proof of their true sincerity while being nearly burned alive. No one has ever lasted the full minute.

But Tonegawa takes it like a man and perserveres through the entire grueling 60 seconds. He was a villain for most of the season, but that one scene felt like it elevated him to a whole new level. Which is why it's in here.[/spoiler]8. Rurouni Kenshin[spoiler]Kenshin vs. Saito Hajime. Actually, probably anything Saito Hajime does could qualify for this list. If there was a scene where he work up in the middle of the night to get a snack it would be on here, but this battle in particular is worthy of note. Mood lighting and fight choreography plus Saito's parting words, "The ronin Hinamura Kenshin is useless to us...but the Battosai can still fight."[/spoiler]7. The Animatrix[spoiler]As a general rule, my three favorite Animatrix shorts were Detective Story, Beyond, and World Record (though I'm fond of Second Renaissance as well), but of those three Detective Story had the best feel. And that whole scene from catching the train to the ending where he's sitting in the empty booth with a gunshot wound and a lighter, pure noir and I love it.[/spoiler]6. Samurai Champloo[spoiler]Say what you must about Samurai Champloo. Say it's derivative of older samurai epics (you're right), or that the hiphop stylings don't mix with the tone (you're wrong), or that the plot is pretty loose only until the 11th hour when you suddenly realize all the stuff in previous episodes has been slowly accumulating (except the zombie episode), whatever. But those last three episodes, I hold them on par with anything in samurai cinema. Simply perfect. You could almost just watch those last three episodes by themselves without the rest of the series and walk away satisfied.[/spoiler]5. Trigun[spoiler]Wolfwood's confession, which needs no further explanation and shall recieve none.[/spoiler]4. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann [spoiler]Episode 15 as a whole could probably fit compactly in here, but specifically I'm going to highlight the fact that when Lord Genome's and Simon's are locked in combat with no decisive moves being made, Lord Genome climbs OUT OF HIS COCKPIT, walks across the arms of the entertwined mecha and proceeds to beat the crap out of Simon WITH HIS BARE HANDS WHILE HIS HEAD IS ON FIRE.[/spoiler]3. FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood[spoiler]Okay, so it's the cliff notes version of FullMetal Alchemist. However, seeing Greed vs. Wrath fully realized, like it should have been in the original Anime adaption, warms my heart.[/spoiler]2. There is no number 2. Maybe Cowboy Bebop?

1. Giant Robo[spoiler]Absolutely everything that happens.[/spoiler]

[Maokun]

10. Baccano![spoiler]While I've always thought the dinning car standoff in episodes 2 and 3 was pretty cool, all the scenes in episode 12 and 13 where everything aboard the train clicks into place through a series of coincidences really shines in this regard, though it helped that it ended with Jacuzzi headbutting a guy with a flamethrower off a moving train.

8. Rurouni Kenshin[spoiler]Kenshin vs. Saito Hajime. Actually, probably anything Saito Hajime does could qualify for this list. If there was a scene where he work up in the middle of the night to get a snack it would be on here, but this battle in particular is worthy of note. Mood lighting and fight choreography plus Saito's parting words, "The ronin Hinamura Kenshin is useless to us...but the Battosai can still fight."[/spoiler]

I agree with these two. Kenshin's one should've made my 8th too.

7. The Animatrix[spoiler]As a general rule, my three favorite Animatrix shorts were Detective Story, Beyond, and World Record (though I'm fond of Second Renaissance as well), but of those three Detective Story had the best feel. And that whole scene from catching the train to the ending where he's sitting in the empty booth with a gunshot wound and a lighter, pure noir and I love it.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]

I particularly liked Beyond.

[/spoiler]

6. Samurai Champloo[spoiler]Say what you must about Samurai Champloo. Say it's derivative of older samurai epics (you're right), or that the hiphop stylings don't mix with the tone (you're wrong), or that the plot is pretty loose only until the 11th hour when you suddenly realize all the stuff in previous episodes has been slowly accumulating (except the zombie episode), whatever. But those last three episodes, I hold them on par with anything in samurai cinema. Simply perfect. You could almost just watch those last three episodes by themselves without the rest of the series and walk away satisfied.[/spoiler]

I wasn't aware that this series got some bad rap. I totally loved it, but I couldn't say there was this one amazing extra cool scene. It was a continuous tream of cool, yes, but it rarely peaked.

Also, another I forgot:

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
[spoiler]The climactic scene. That desperate race downhill to vainly try to save her friends was really dramatic and extremelly well animated. Then slow down until time stops and we get the big twist revelation of the movie. Simply amazing. The scene when she discovers she regained her last leap and can save Chiaki and leaps happily and filled with purpose is great too.[/spoiler]