JREF’s Anime Hall Of Fame

[Flashjeff]

Just for fun, boys and girls, let's create a JREF Anime Hall of Fame where we rap about and nominate the best of the best in this medium which we all dearly love. The way it will work is like this: Everyone nominates a series from as many of the different genres which I've listed below and explain the reasoning for your choice(s). Because the JREF community is varied and knowledgeable when it comes to anime, coming from so many different backgrounds, I'm sure you'll all come up with some interesting candidates that we can all debate over, and I'm sure some of you will want to debate your favorites. I'll keep a running tally of the candidates from the categories and run from there, so let's have lots of fun with this post. I'll start the ball rolling with my choices from all the anime I've watched.

MAGICAL GIRLS
Sailor Moon: Magical girl anime didn't start with Sailor Moon, but the show is perhaps more associated with the genre than any series that came before it or any that's come after. Fourteen years after its debut, SM remains the benchmark for cute teenage girls in colorful costumes using magical powers to smite the obligatory monster of the week. Also, when the anime craze in America took off in the late 90's, it was SM who led the way, thanks to the show's exposure on Cartoon Network and it's original Toonami programming block.

GIRLS WITH GUNS
Dirty Pair: What's more fun for anime fans than watching hot chicks (usually scantily clad hot chicks) happily blasting away with all sorts of weapons, everything from pistols to submachine guns to freaking bazookas. And the NRA's poster queens also happen to be the originators of the ﾂ"girls with gunsﾂ" genre, Kei and Yuri, a.k.a. The Dirty Pair. From the first time I watched the DP shooting first and taking prisoners later (if at all), I was hooked, thinking this was mondo cool, and led to my love for watching babes blowing away bad guys.

GIANT ROBOTS
Neon Genesis Evangelion: I'll admit that originally, I was never a fan of giant robots and the often angst ridden or emotionally damaged teenagers who piloted them. But, that opinion slowly changed after watching Evangelion. The EVA's blew my mind as they were much more than mere machines which Shinji, Asuka and Rei controlled. The battles against the Angels were breathtaking, and despite the crappy ending to the series, NGE is well deserving of being called an anime classic. While I'm a newcomer to mecha, even I can see that.

SCI-FI
Ghost in the Shell: It was a tad difficult to come up with a candidate because I had some really good shows to choose from, but GitS is the leader in the sci-fi clubhouse. The futuristic exploits of Major Kusanagi and her ***-kicking cyber-commandos (plus the way cool Tachikomas) from Section 9 through the two movies, Stand Alone Complex and 2nd Gig have been nothing short of fascinating and remarkable and kept me on the edge of my seat from the word go. Without any space opera typical of sci-fi, GitS is definitely top notch stuff.

HUMOR
Excel Saga: I sure do enjoy comedic anime, and good parody works even better. That's why I picked Excel Saga, the most insane series I've ever seen. When you combine a certifiable lunatic (Excel Excel), her pet dog who doubles as her emergency food supply, her alien partner with a propensity for croaking (Hyatt), a cool 70's styled dude who pulls weapons out of his afro (Nabeshin), a cliched Mexican immigrant with more bad luck than any ten men (Pedro) and lots more loopy characters, you've got a recipe for purely delightful madness.

FANTASY
Fushigi Yugi: In terms of scope, drama, intrigue and adventure, Fushigi Yugi is head and shoulders above everything else in this genre. The incredible exploits of Miaka and Tamahome along with the rest of the Suzaku Seven in the world of the Universe of the Four Gods is nothing short of breathtaking. Great story, imperfect but likeable heroes (and heroines if you add crossdressing Nuriko), truly dastardly villains like the menacing Nakago and the Seiryu Seven, it all adds up to a tremendous epic that I fell in love with from the first episode.

SHOJO
Boys Over Flowers: Yes, folks, I'm in touch enough with my feminine side to enjoy slice of life anime as long as the story is well crafted and the characters can grasp and hold my attention. With that in mind, anime's answer to the afternoon soap opera, Boys Over Flowers fills the prescription. The struggles of reluctant heroine Tsukushi against Eitoku Academy's notorious clique, the F4 and her off and on relationship with the school's chief bad boy Tsubasa made for damn great theater over the course of 52 episodes, just like any soap opera.

FAN SERVICE
Agent Aika: While precious few people will admit to this, the simple truth is that people enjoy fan service anime, and I won't deny being one of those folks. The winner in this category is Agent Aika, perhaps the most outrageous show of its type anywhere. The Moonraker like plot of this OAV takes a major back seat to the insane number of panty shots shown throughout this two hour romp, and that's not counting the star of the show who, in times of great danger, uses a sentient bustier to transform into a scantily clad superheroine. Yowsa!

HAREM ANIME
Tenchi Muyo: What redblooded American teenager doesn't dream about living in a house full of hot babes? That's the fantasy harem anime fulfills and Tenchi Muyo is the best of the bunch. Imagine being Tenchi Masaki, shacked up with a racy space pirate (Ryoko), a temperamental princess (Ayeka), her precocious kid sister (Sasame), a wacky scientist (Washu), an inept galaxy police officer (Mihoshi) and a cute cat/rabbit creature (Ryo-Okhi) that morphs into a spaceship, resulting in all the comedic chaos they create. Now THAT'S fun!

ANIME LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Akira: Akira is to anime what Citizen Kane is to motion pictures, the ultimate example of excellence in its craft. Akira is so spectacular, there was just no way to pigeonhole it into any of the categories previously mentioned because it's as far above everything else in anime like the 747 is above the Wright brothers' airplane. Even though the animation is almost twenty years old, it still looks as good now as it did in 1988 while the story, set in a futuristic, post apocalyptic Tokyo is gripping and highly intriguing. This is a classic in every since of the word.

Well, there's my categories and my choices for the JREF Anime Hall of Fame, something I've put a lot of time and thought into creating. I hope everyone will talk it up, discuss what I've written and, more importantly, add to this prestigious list. So, let's get this party started!

 

[Satorian]

Interesting. Let's see what I can come up with. I'll try to stick to finished ones.

MAGICAL GIRLS
My vote would go to Mahou Tsukai
It accompanies a girl as it sets out to learn mahic in a modern Tokyo setting and learns about the trials and tribulations, lessons and morals of using magic while having to manage her own life and paying attention to the people around here. Been a while since I've seen it, but I liked it.

GIANT ROBOTS
Here I'd have to agree with the almost canonical Neon Genesis Evangelion. While Shinji's angsty emo drama can get too much at times, it's still a worthwhile anime and set the style and tone for others to come.

SCI-FI
Here I'd have to go with Hoshi No Koe. A short but sweet OVA about a boy and a girl seperated by time, space and war that shows mostly their communication with almost meditative gravitas.
A nod would also go to Cowboy Bebop, the jazzy and stylish space opera with one of the most moving finales in anime and one of the greatest songs to deliver the two-ton hammer of impact: Call me, call me.

HUMOR
School Rumble. Fast paced, quirky, brilliant school comedy with fun, loveable characters and their antics in a merry-go-round of affection. Definitely a good time to be had with that one.

FANTASY
That's going to be the well-developed, 40 episode world of 12 Kingdoms. In this entertaining, but quite serious, yet very humane fantasy drama a school girl learns of her second (or true) nature as future ruling royalty of one of the kingdoms in this fantasy parallel world she is drawn into and has to learn the history, customs, problems of a strange country and its people, where little of the rules she knew apply.

SHOJO
I'm interpreting this more as a 'romance' category now and append 'slice of life' as category of its own. As for romance, it's the well known and highly rated Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien for me. Drama, tension, sweet uncertainty, teenage awkwardness and conflict in this anime that has some lighter touches but delivers a heavy emotional payload if you get into it as teenagers struggle with the more involving aspects of, well, being teenagers.
A tip of the hat to Peach Girl. If you want to broaden your horizons and want to dig deeper in this genre, give it a try.

LIFETIME ACHIEVMENT
Of course Akira among them. The imagery and visual design is still as stunning and evocative as it was back then. Same for Ghost In The Shell, with followed years later, but can be seen in a similar tradition. Naming another OVA, I'd have to drop Vampire Hunter D - Bloodlust here: Furious action, fantastic pictures and an overall presentation that makes most other movies feel stale and boring. Must sees.


I'm adding some other categories for animes that really deserve a mention in my opinion.

SPORTS ANIME
I feel like this is usually a very high-quality category of anime as sports narrative lends itself very easily to life allegories and can touch upon many issues that concern everyone of us: purpose, meaning, determination, will, relationships, happiness. You find all of those, and I think the most rounded one is Hajime No Ippo. Ippo is a poor school boy that has to help out with family fishing business and gets bullied at school, but despite being beatdown, hangs in there and does what needs to be done to help the ones around him. And then he discovers boxing, and with it he grows. Every single of the 75 episodes is great and it never slows down or becomes tiresome with well placed comedic relief and some great rivalries in this tale of a kid growing up and growing stronger. Inspring.
Also deserving a mention and as much worth seeing are Tennis No Ouji-sama, Major (in second season, not finished yet), Capeta (not finished yet) and Hikaru No Go.

School
Nothing beats Great Teacher Onizuka here. Ex-gang leader and warm-hearted punk in spirit Onizuka shows his students how to live. Amidst school trouble, family issues and problems life throws at everyone, he shows them how to be honest, true to oneself and do the right thing, no matter the costs. Along the way there is fighting, skirt-ogling and the gang idiosyncracies of Onizuka. Despite my heavy-handed introduction to this, it's a very funny anime, a comedy really, but it doesn't skimp on having a message either. One of the best animes ever.
Also worth a mention again would have been School Rumble.

SLICE OF LIFE
Now this would be a pretty extensive category and there are lots of animes one could mention, but I'll go with Honey & Clover. It follows a handful of teenage/early-twens art students as they comically struggle to get something to eat, do their studies, find a place in life and become friends (or more) in this heartwarming anime. It may sometimes feel a bit slow, but it all fits very well and never forgets to bring teh funny when things would get too slow or unrealistically emotionally ladden and tiring. Not a brash, but rather quiet anime with characters well worth following.
Runner-ups: Initial D (yes, I see it as SoL rather than racing/sports anime), Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien, Air, Beck.

MOST MEDITATIVE
Mushishi. Mushi are life forms somewhere between insects, amoeba and ghosts. not quite on our plane, but sometimes influencing our lifes as they try to live theirs. Mushishi tells the story of Ginko who travels through rural Japan and helps people that have trouble with Mushi in some form. Beautiful scenes, tranquil music and touching (and sometimes troubling) stories in artful scenes makes this a very special anime, for which you should set aside a quiet and dim place, a fresh cup of tea and a serene mindset. If you are looking for an anime that is a bit different and like inspired artwork, look it up.

TEARJERKER
KIMI GA NOZOMU EIEN.
Ending of Bebop.
Ending of Beck.
OTHERS/MISC
Yakitate Japan - Brilliantly funny and zany. Never a slow second in this fun romp.
X TV - Highly underrated in my opinion. Action, drama, intrigue, mind twisting - all in one package.


That was of the top of my head and I'm sure I forgot some and I know I didn't mention some genre favorites (of which I know that I haven't seen them yet), so it might be that I come back to revise this or add to it at some point.

 

[Flashjeff]

To Satorian: Great entries! I enjoyed reading them. Sports anime! That never occured to me because very little of that genre came over here. The only series which had sports as a central theme that made it over to the U.S. was Princess Nine, a series about a fledgling girls baseball team at a private school and their struggles to be taken seriously by a culture that says only boys play baseball as they play in the country's most prestigious high school baseball championship. The story was well crafted, the characters believable and easy to root for and the baseball action was as real as it got. Heck in one episode, the girls even pulled off the old "hidden ball' trick against an opponent during a game which got a laugh out of me.

 

[Mycernius]

Just a few of mine. Probably not as extensive as Jeffs, but I haven't got such a large collection

GIANT ROBOTS
It has to Evangelion, though strictly speaking they are not giant robots, but an organic lifeform covered by plates to keep its shape. Personally mecha is not a genre of anime I'm really into, so I'd normally avoid it.

SCI-FI
It has to be GITS. I have been a big fan of GITS since I saw the film on BBC2 years ago during one of these anime special nights. Good storylines and believable characters. IMHO it is one of the best animes ever.

HUMOUR(not humor, dang US spelling )
Azumanga Diaoh. When I first saw this I laughed out loud. I love the girls and humour. It is one of the few anime I would happily watch several times without it getting old.

JUST TOO DAMN WEIRD
Serial experiment lain. I love this, but I'm not sure which genre to put it in hence the "just damn weird tag"

GIRLS WITH GUNS
I'd agree with Jeff. The dirty pair are the ultimate girls with guns, even if they are so destructive with them

TEARJERKER
There is only one for me and that is Gunslinger girl. 'Nuff said, although Grave of the Fireflies is a close second

MOST STYLISH
This is a tie between Cowboy Bebop and Gunslinger Girl. Both are distinctive with their imagary. Bebop with its rough and ready style and Gunslinger with it attention to detail.

BEST MUSIC
Anything Yoko Kanno has done. She is consitantly good with her music and with the mixing of styles with easliy remembered themes.

ANIME LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Akira and Ghost in the Shell. Both of these films have had such an effect on western film such as the Matrix. Another would be Nausicaa because with it Miyazaki went on to create Studio Ghibli

 

[Satorian]

@Myc: If you liked Azumanga Daioh, you should check out School Rumble. It should be right up your alley.

@jeff: You should definitely give some sports anime a try. As I said before, I think they are some of the best around and most have a strong slice-of-life influence or are coupled with a coming-of-age story and well worth watching. Hajime No Ippo would be a definite recommendation. The first two seasons at least of Initial D are also recommended.

 

[Flashjeff]

Mycernius: Some nice choices there. Regarding Most Stylish Anime, that was a good idea, my choice for this category would Revolutionary Girl Utena which had style and elegance up the proverbial wazoo. The characters (most notably, Utena, Anthy and all those prettty boys!), the settings, the sword fights, the series just oozes style from start to finish!

Satorian: Well, I'd like to try out more sports anime, especially since I'm a sports fan, but with the exception of Princess Nine (which some might look at as being more shojo than sports), nothing else in that category has made it to the States.

 

[Satorian]

Hmmm, what are the forum (and your personal) policies on fansubs? And I mean real fansubs, i.e. of animes that haven't been picked up for distribution outside of Asia and without any western language tracks.

 

[Flashjeff]

Hmmm, what are the forum (and your personal) policies on fansubs? And I mean real fansubs, i.e. of animes that haven't been picked up for distribution outside of Asia and without any western language tracks.

A good question! Well, for the purpose of this thread, let's stick with the established, mainstream anime.

 

[Flashjeff]

Here's another entry for the shojo category, a show that I like a lot: Kaleido Star.

The show centers around Sora Naegino, a relentlessly spunky and cheerful Japanese girl who comes to America, determined to become a star at Kaleido Stage, anime's answer to Cirque du Soleil which features performers doing incredible stunts in themed shows. During the course of the series, Sora struggles to fulfill her dream of making it to the stage while earning her keep, dealing with a slavedriver of a boss and Layla, the Stage's star performer, an ice queen diva who early on does everything she can to crush Sora's dream but comes to acknowledge Sora's amazing talent and eventually becomes her partner in a death defying stunt at the end of the series. The show also has a goodly amount of comedic moments that keeps things light, thanks to the Stage's quirky characters, chief among them, Fool, the pint-sized and lecherous spirit of the stage whom only Sora can see as he dispenses advice and wisdom while trying to catch her naked. With nary a giant robot, superpowered magical girl, sword wielding samurai or tentacled space alien in sight, I found Kaleido Star thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable.

 

[AmiraHime]

Nostalgia
Saint Seiya was my first anime, the one anime I still can see over and over again. Part of why I love it is spelled nostalgia. However, that does not mean the series is not loveable in itself. Based on different greek, nordic and other mythologies and gods apalenty, the story circulates around the reincarnation of Athena (16 year old Saori) and her Knights (13-14 year old orphans with various rough childhood backgrounds). They aim to fight evil, and somehow, Athena despite all her powers always manages to get herself kidnapped ...
I love the drama, the strong emotions, the theme of the series -to never give up despite the hopelessness of the situation. The ideal of the series, somehow, has formed that young Amiras mind ...

Shonen-ai
Ah yes, cute guys i love ^_~
Yami No Matsuei and Mirage Of Blaze take the lead in this category though the first mentioned is the better of the two.
Cute guys, and thoching stories made alive by beautiful manga drwings; skilled mangakas create magic I say. Both series almost made me cry ... almost. They both left me with a sense of unease, of unfullfillment. No Hollywood endings here.

Humor
As mentioned earlier, Excel Saga is a blast. I laughed till I alsmot choked when they showed a secene where Excel ingages in a Saint Seiya-like fight! Excentricism and drugged down humor is fun ...
I must mention the Slayers series and Mahoijin Guru Guru, two animes wich ironises over RPGs in general.
It requeires a ceratin background in old school RPG games and anime to understand the two.

Teary
Grave of the fireflies ... I was but a child when I frist saw it, and cried floods of tears. I could not comprehend the injustice and creulty depicted in the movie; could people really be this cruel? I thought. I think I grew up a bit ny watching that movie ...

More to come, I am tired and at my workingplace

 

[Mrjones]

personal favourites
1. berserk
2. ninja scroll
3. devilman: first ova
4. princess mononoke
5. serial experiements lain

 

[AmiraHime]

Ah, Devilman .. tell us a few words about that series; heard, about it, read a review but ... never bothered to see it ^_^;;

 

[Dekamaster]

Girls with Guns
Noir. Who could top the bullseye accuracy of Kirika...or the drop dead beauty of Mireille ? Backed up with a thrilling plot and an even coller OST, Noir is the way to go...