The top 50 anime series of all time!

[Rocketshipper]

The new issue of Anime Insider made a list of what they think are the top 50 must own anime series of all time. They rated their selections not just on the content of the anime but also the DVD istelf, like cover art, menues, and extras. If the series was over 26 episodes then they tried to chose a single DVd release to represent it, so that us poor anime otaku can make sure we only buy the best stuff ^^. So here it is, the 50 best anime series/DVDs, according to Anime Insider.

50. Haibane Renmei
49. Excel Saga
48. Gravitation
47. Love Hina Christmas Special
46. Saikano
45. Project A-Ko
44. Fushigi Yugi season 1
43. Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack
42. Saiyuki season 2
41. Cardcaptor Sakura (YAY!) second movie DVD
40. Inuyasha DVD 12
39. Animatrix
38. GTO box 1
37. Heat Guy J
36. Sailor Moon S
35. Dragon Ball Z Perfect Cell Saga
34. Ghost in the Shell, the movie
33. Azumanga Daioh
32. Witch Hunter Robin
31. Ranma 1/2 season 1
30. Macross Plus, the movie
29. Trigun
28. Interstella 5555
27. Hellsing
26. Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer
25. Castel of Cagliostro
24. Wolf's Rain
23. Perfect Blue
22. Tenchi Muyo OVA
21. Revolutionary Girl Utena, the movie
20. Ninja Scroll
19. Castle in the Sky
18. Rahxephon
17. Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
16. Escaflowne
15. The End of Evangelion
14. Gundam SEED
13. Grave of the Fireflies
12. Berserk
11. Cowboy Bebop
10. Fruits Basket
9. Read or Die
8. Robotech Legacy: The Macross Saga
7. FLCL
6. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
5. His and Her Circumstances
4. Akira
3. Rurouni Kenshin: Legends of Kyoto
2. Spirited Away




And the number one anime series on DVD that every otaku must have is..*drum roll please*.......... (I'll give you three guesses what it is, and the first two don't count )





#1. Evangelion!!!!!!

and that's it. If I had made the list Cardcaptor Sakura would have been number 1, and Sailor Moon would have been in the top 10 at least.

[Godly Paladin]

WHAT??? Gundam Wing didn't even make it into the top 50??? And Gundam Seed, that horrible mess and dishonor to the Gundam name, made it into the top 15?

This is sickening.

[Chichiri]

That's because Gundam Wing sucks, and most gundam fans acknowledge that.

in GW, the Gundams are nothing short of Gods. They can't be scratched by almost anything BUT another gundam. It's annoying. It's like the other mobile suits are just cardboard cut outs and can't do anything. it's stupid.

And the pilots.. don't get me started. 14 year old kids that are almost like superhumans? There are a lot of things in the story that's just ridiculous.

I do, however, enjoy the music. It's quite good.

[Godly Paladin]

That's because Gundam Wing sucks, and most gundam fans acknowledge that.

I dispute that claim. There are thousands of fan sites, tens of thousands of fanfics, and hundreds of thousands of people who love it. It is one of the most popular Gundam shows out there.

in GW, the Gundams are nothing short of Gods. They can't be scratched by almost anything BUT another gundam. It's annoying. It's like the other mobile suits are just cardboard cut outs and can't do anything. it's stupid.

I will admit that the way GW Gundams mow competition down is a bit unrealistic, (but how unrealistic is the Gundam universe, anyway?) but I won't call it stupid. At least in GW they make it obvious that the Gundams have a technological advantage, as opposed to other Gundam shows in which the main characters magically escape harm in battle after battle.

And the pilots.. don't get me started. 14 year old kids that are almost like superhumans? There are a lot of things in the story that's just ridiculous.

And I suppose the setup in Gundam Seed is better? Having to listen to a bunch of angst ridden teenagers make pathetically sappy statements to each other and whine about war?

I do, however, enjoy the music. It's quite good.

I'll second that.

[agasfas]

#38 GTO box 1.... Now I beg to differ....

I know it's not my place, but I would suggest not to argue about series placement. It's only personal opinion. Plus if it gets bad enough, a mod may close it.... so...anyways.

That's because Gundam Wing sucks, and most gundam fans acknowledge that.

I actually know quite a few people who love this series including a few mods.
AlThough I'm not a gundam fan myself, I do like Gundam 0080.
Also, I would rank Grave of the fireflies around #2 or #3.

Whenever I get the time, I'll post my top 10-20 titles.

[Godly Paladin]

I know it's not my place, but I would suggest not to argue about series placement. It's only personal opinion. Plus if it gets bad enough, a mod may close it.... so...anyways.

Yeah, I thought of that when I posted... I probably made my response too negative, anyway.

[Chichiri]

I dispute that claim. There are thousands of fan sites, tens of thousands of fanfics, and hundreds of thousands of people who love it. It is one of the most popular Gundam shows out there.

How many of those fanfics are yaoi? A lot Sure, there are a lot of people who like it. One reason is that GW is full of angsty teenagers, which teenagers themselves eat up. That's one of the reasons why it's so popular with teens (and the tough guy image the pilots have that practically every teenager would want to be like.)

I will admit that the way GW Gundams mow competition down is a bit unrealistic, (but how unrealistic is the Gundam universe, anyway?)

True, but i mean the logic in GW is beyond even what a normal gundam is.

as opposed to other Gundam shows in which the main characters magically escape harm in battle after battle.

Well, I have not seen every Gundam, so i can't verify the last part, but most of the ones I saw did not include this.

And I suppose the setup in Gundam Seed is better? Having to listen to a bunch of angst ridden teenagers make pathetically sappy statements to each other and whine about war?

Never said Seed was better. Never actually watched Seed myself.

[Azier the Swordsman]

Well, the truth is that that list is only based on the opinions of a small select group of people. And every other anime fan out there is not going to agree with us. If each of us individually were to compose our own top 50 lists, every single one would be different. Every single person is different.

Take me for example:

Many people rant and rave over anime like Martian Successor Nadesico, dubbing it as the "best anime ever." You know what? While I do enjoy watching Nadesico as light entertainment, I personally find it to vastly overrated and somewhat mediocre. (No offense to hardcore Nadeisco fans; this is my personal opinion)

While others are quick to label something like AD Police TV as "one of the worst anime ever made," I on the other hand found it fairly entertaining.

Nobody has the same interests as everybody else. It really gets on my nerves when others go around saying a certain series "sucks" just because they don't like it and speak it like it's law, criticizing others who may enjoy it.

Do I agree with everyting on the previous list? No. But all it even is in the first place is someone's opinion.

In the end, all it really boils down to is your personal interests. Don't like it? Don't have to watch it.

[YMHiK]

Well, the truth is that that list is only based on the opinions of a small select group of people. And every other anime fan out there is not going to agree with us. If each of us individually were to compose our own top 50 lists, every single one would be different. Every single person is different.

Exactly. However, there would still be some similar titles in each of our lists. That is why I believe they failed miserably on this one since they did not even try to include titles that would suit most of fans.

Besides, what is the point of this list anyway? Does it tell us something useful about anime or it is simply statistics?

IMHO, I hugely disagree with this list. It is just amusing why didn't they include some beautiful pieces of japanese anime such as Last Exile or Ai Yori Aoshi, Love Hina (series, not just single OVA), etc. Just because most series do not have an OVA or single DVD release it doesn't mean that they should be ignored.... Pathetic. Oh well...

[Rev. Doc]

These types of lists will always be disputed. The best top 50 anime list is your own personal favorites. I'm not really concerned with the opinion of others in regard to what they think. I'm more concerned with those titles and series that bring me enjoyment.

[Rocketshipper]

They chose the Love Hina christmas special because, in their opinion, that OVA was the best release to represent the series. The article said that when a series was longer than 26 episodes they chose what they thought would best represent the series. That's why they listed Perfect Cell instead of the entire DBZ series, or Sailor Moon S instead of all of Sailor Moon, or InuYasha DVD 12, etc. Although, since the Love Hina ultimate collection box thing has been released they could have chosen that for Love Hina ^^.

Lists like this are very opininated, but remember that Anime Insider chose these titles not just for their content but ALSO for their DVD presentations, which is a little bit more objective. They rated the menues, the cover art, and extras, such as interviews, commentaries, artwork, etc.

[Rogie]

I'M SO HAPPY! Interstella 5555 actually made the list! I thought that one had just been ignored and forgotten by everyone.

It's far from my fave anime, but it deserves on a list of the top 50 because it's cool and original (and pretty cheap when you can find it!). And I agree with many of their choices, but a few I don't agree with. That's the beauty of a top 50 countdown!

[true_noir_chloe]

Noir didn't make the list... ah well.

Hey, I own 25 of the top 50 from their list. I'm curious about Interstella 5555, now. I keep hearing about this. I may have to try and rent it some time.

I'm more concerned with those titles and series that bring me enjoyment.

so, so true

[Rocketshipper]

I've own 17, but there are more that I've seen but havn't bothered to buy.

[Kireihana]

I really don't have much regard for Anime Insider... nontheless, I'm happy Azumanga and Wolf's Rain made the list. ^^

[Kaligraphic]

And the number one anime series... Yu-Gi-Oh! (j/k, don't skin me alive!)

[ShiroiHikari]

Kare Kano got a higher spot on the list than Fruits Basket???? WHAAAAAAT. no way. Furuba was only 10 million times better than Kare Kano. *random keysmashing of frustration*

[Rocketshipper]

no way! Kare Kano rocks!! *grins evily*

[true_noir_chloe]

Kare Kano got a higher spot on the list than Fruits Basket???? WHAAAAAAT. no way.

Whoa, I've just realized, their top picks were all.... Gainax!!! Ah, conspiracy!Gainax must have paid off Anime Insider. -___- hmm

I've seen Kare Kano to its... um, usual (I don't want to use LOUSY)... Gainax type ending, with lots of lights at railroad crossings, live footage of Tokyo street scenes, and tons, and tons, and tons, of commentary - very little animation, and must say, "I'm with you Shiroi, Kare Kano over Fruits Basket?":eyebrow:

Anyways, that's my two cents, plus a free review of every Gainax show ending, unless it's Furi Kuri, which also mixed in a ton of explosions.

[Rocketshipper]

Gainax endings are somewhat lacking (glares at Evangelion TV) but for Kare Kano it wasn't totally their fault. They were only making a 26 episode TV series but the manga was still going at the time, so their wasn't a pre-existing ending for them to use, they had to make one up, and, from my expierence, I've seen that endings created exclusivly for an anime series usally suck, especially compared to the eventual real ending of the manga.

[Falco53]

Hmm... Rurouni Kenshin: Legend of Kyoto made #3. It definitely deserves it. It is currently my favorite anime. The entire series would be my favorite anime, but the last season brought the whole series down a bit. The last season, in my opinion, was not bad per se; it was just mediocre, thus not living up to the phenominal standards of the Kyoto arc.

In regards to Gundam Wing: I'm watching it right now, and I love it. But I'm not the least bit surprised that it didn't make the list. It is much hated by critics.

Honestly, I find it disturbing that Gundam SEED made number #14, beating out the likes of Trigun, Escaflowne, Heat Guy J, and countless other anime that are more deserving.

What the heck is anything with the name DBZ doing on this list?

[rocklobster]

Man they needed to redo that list big time. I can't believe they left out .Hack//sign! And why oh why, do people keep thinking FLCL is so cool? I HATED THAT ANIME!

[Kokhiri Sojourn]

I think that there must have been some sort of rating standards for this - the critics had to have something to go by, except for personal opinion - of course this is speculation. I've hardly come accross people who know of Haibane Renmei, and they have it on the list, whereas some favorites aren't around, like .Hack//SIGN.

Excluding the placement of things on the list, I think that Anime Insider did a fairly good job with it. We all will have our disputes about overlooked titles, and we all have definitely different standards - Voices of a Distant Star is one of my all time favorites for so many different reasons, and that didn't make it. I guess all of us will have differences, but it would be nice if we all could see our favorites recognized...

[termyt]

The list seems kind of random to me. I don't know, but both Evangelion and End of Evangelion make the list? Why? And only Sailor Moon S. Just that, the rest of the series isn't worthy - just that one movie? But Project A-ko is mentioned - is that the whole series or just the first movie?

Why not make slots 1-8 the various DVD's that make up the Evangelion series?

I would think one would wrap up the entire "Evangelion Experience" into one option, especially since fans of one are likely to be fans of the other.

[Rocketshipper]

They had End of Eva and the Evangelion TV series seperate because they rated their DVD releases seperatly. The End of Evangelion DVD from Manga Entertainment, and the Platinum remastered edition Evangelion box set from ADV. The Project A-ko DVD on their list was the Project A-ko special edition that contains all the episodes/movies/OVA/whatever they are (I havn't seen A-ko). They don't mean the Sailor Moon S movie, they meant the S season, 38 episodes. They chose it because they thought the whole SM series ws too long, and the S season would best represent it.

[Jeikobu]

What a lousy list. I could rant on and on about the things they did wrong. But Evangelion is first? My most hated anime gets 1st?! What are these people thinking...

[Ren_sama]

O_O Why would FLCL be on the top 10? It was okay, but I didn't think it deserved to be on the top 10...

Hmm, what I'm wondering is, who determined what places each anime was to be placed?

Well, Evangelion is acctually one of the most popular anime...I have never watched it myself, though it's hard to find an anime fan who has not watched--or even heard--of that anime.

[Debitt]

I don't see what the big deal about Eva is personally. xD; It's good, but it isn't THAT great. It's deep, but I don't see how it differs from some other insightful series. (discussion ends here as Kokoro gets shot) I'm glad to see some of my personal favorites, like Gravitation, Azumanga Daioh, Wolf's Rain, Fruits Basket, and Cowboy Bebop made the list, but overall I disagree. I mean, come on, I don't see Saiyuki OR Matantei Loki Ragnarok OR Tactics!

[Arnobius]

The list seems to be top heavy with late 90's, early 00's anime and leaving out some real classics. I'd put Sailor Moon, Urusei Yatsura (TV), Cowboy Bebop, MS Gundam (original) and Wings of Honneamise as the top 5 because these were the series that either spawned a genre or were defining titles in them. They were original works and not clones. Macross should be on the list, since it was a seminal work for US anime (as Robotech). I can see Evangelion being high on the list because like it or hate it, it did have a big impact.

Azumanga Daioh belongs near the middle of the list, since it showed that a series that didn't have giant robots or naked ladies or transgendered martial artists could be popular here. Spirited Away rates, because it showed the world that anime could be recognized as a serious medium when it won the Oscar.

Many of the other series, even ones popular here don't deserve the all-time list (including Kenshin, sorry) because while they were good, they didn't bring anything new, or set new standards. They were series that were popular and then faded away (Urusei Yatsura in contrast is still fondly remembered in Japan 13 years after the last OVA aired and 23 years after the series began). Inu Yasha might be popular with the younger audiences in Japan, but it's nothing that hasn't been done before (see Mermaid's Scar for the progenitor).

Unfortunately, the list that AI did and similar lists are done not to promote the best but to sell what's popular. Most of the titles were released within the last year or so and most will be forgotten by this time next year.

[Jeikobu]

O_O Why would FLCL be on the top 10? It was okay, but I didn't think it deserved to be on the top 10...

Hmm, what I'm wondering is, who determined what places each anime was to be placed?

Well, Evangelion is acctually one of the most popular anime...I have never watched it myself, though it's hard to find an anime fan who has not watched--or even heard--of that anime.

Agreed, I saw all but the last ep or two I think (of FLCL), and it was nothing special.
Eva is very, very popular in anime terms., Also very, very overrated. Granted, it has good music and animation, complex characters, and an even more complex story. There are so many things in that series that anime fans still debate today. It is a weird, deep, complex show. My problem with it is how new age it is. I think it's slap in God's face (but you'd probably have to see it to know). I don't think it's a good anime for Christians, or anyone. I used to like it until I saw how spiritually bad it was. Stay away from it, there are much, much better anime out there.