Author Topic: Top anime shows and movies of this decade (Read 3614 times)

relic2279 · « **on:** December 15, 2009, 09:11:10 PM »

As this decade comes to a close, I thought I'd give my opinion of the top movie and shows of the decade.
I've seen quite a bit of crappy blogspam type lists over the last week or two, but nothing with a whole lot of substance. So this is my list of this decades best anime. (don't flame too hard). I focused on anime that either broke molds or raised the bar in their respective genres. Game changers... If you don't agree, or think I'm missing something, lets hear yours.
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Top Ten (no order) anime shows:

Clannad + ~After story~ - Clannad itself had very little drama, but was more a comedy/slice of life based show. The second season, "~after story~" reversed it and went mostly all drama with less focus on the slice of life/comedy. Top notch story telling, if not dragged out a bit. Could eventually become considered a classic, if not already.

Nodame Cantabile + 2nd season - This show has a perfect mix of everything. Comedy, drama, music, romance. Some would argue this to be 'the' best show of the decade. It would be hard to disagree.

Death Note - This show kind of broke some molds. Nothing really like it has come out before or since with the exception of possibly Code Geass.

Mushishi - This show has a bit of everything and was engaging. It didn't excel in any single one place, but it was good in almost every aspect. This show would take the congeniality award.

The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi - There really isn't much to say. The second season was a bit of a let down compared to the first, but the show pretty much solidified/created the definition of the word 'Tsundere'.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - It didn't just set the bar for the Horror/suspense genre. It became the bar.

Azumanga Daiou - This show set the bar of slice of life comedy genre. It's spawned countless internet meme's on 4chan and 2ch and it's quite well known. I had a hard time deciding between this and lucky star but Azumanga came first.

School days and Saikano - These two are tied for the tragedy/romance/wtf genre. If you've seen either, you know what I'm talking about.

12 Kingdoms - This show is raised the bar in the epic fantasy genre. Not many come close. Some do, but I decided to chose this one.

Macross Frontier - I know some Gundam or Gurren fans will kill me, but I thought Macross F was the top mecha show of this decade. The story line and character development were all of similar caliber, but the music is what sets Macross F apart. All one has to do is watch the live macross F concert to see the popularity of just the music.

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Top ten anime movies:

Kara no Kyoukai
Voices of a Distant Star
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Spirited Away
5cm Per Second
Paprika
Tokyo Godfathers
Tekkon Kinkreet
Gekijouban Clannad
(I know there are some Clannad purists out there who may crucify me for putting the Clannad movie on this list because the series is much better than the movie, but if someone were to watch this movie and never see the series, I still think it has enough staying power to stand on it's own as a top notch story.)
The Sky Crawlers

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Honorable mentions go to: Claymore, Rosario+Vampire, Code Geass, Lucky Star, Black Lagoon, Gurren Lagann, Bakemonogatari, Hajime no Ippo, GTO, Skip Beat!, Monster, GITS: SAC, Honey & Clover, Welcome to NHK and Kanon.

Edit: spelling

Carnivus · « **Reply #1 on:** December 16, 2009, 01:24:13 AM »

I was going to make a similar thread(calling it "Anime Oscars")but I see you beat me to it.I am OK with most of your choices,but I do believe that a graphic sections must be made,5cm per second has no other place.

I've not seen Mushishi,but I do trust your description of it,and all I have to say is that it doesn't really deserve a place in your top ten,more like in honorable mentions.

I have yet to heard of long-lasting animes such as Pokemons,Dragon Ball,Yu-Gi-Oh.If it weren't for them,many of us wouldn't even know about anime.And also,they're perfect for kids and pre-adolescents.Even Naruto deserves a place,maybe more than the other 3.It's actions is top-notch,only shadowed by fillers and flashbacks.

I also have to add Elfen lied to your list.It may not rise to Higurashi's place,but it's the only one that can.It also is close behind Clannad at drama if you ask me.

As for comedies and much more lighter stories,I do believe that Toradora and Spice&Wolf do deserve mentioning at least.

relic2279 · « **Reply #2 on:** December 16, 2009, 01:49:23 AM »

Dragonball and DBZ along with Pokemon are from the 80's-90's. So I didn't include them in this decades best. (Dragonball is actually from the mid 80's, and I've never seen Yu-Gi-Oh)

But Elfen Lied and Toradora are top notch shows. Probably should have given them a spot in the honorable mentions...

Carnivus · « **Reply #3 on:** December 16, 2009, 01:59:08 AM »

Quote from: relic2279 on December 16, 2009, 01:49:23 AM

Dragonball and DBZ along with Pokemon are from the 80's-90's. So I didn't include them in this decades best. (Dragonball is actually from the mid 80's, and I've never seen Yu-Gi-Oh)

Well,Pokemon as an anime started broadcasting in '98,as for DB,I do acknowledge my mistake.You didn't see Yu-Gi-Oh?Wow,that's something coming from you.It's a show about adolescents battling with card-games originating from Ancient Egyptian rituals,with the obligatory villains who want to rule the world.It's decent.

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But Elfen Lied and Toradora are top notch shows. Probably should have given them a spot in the honorable mentions...

I strongly do believe they deserve a bit more than that,especially Elfen Lied.

Scudworth · « **Reply #4 on:** December 16, 2009, 02:03:23 AM »

you left out ponyo

AceD · « **Reply #5 on:** December 16, 2009, 02:03:41 AM »

Out of everything you listed, the only one i havent seen is Nodame Cantabile...which you say is possibly the best of the last decade? o,o should watch i guess...

School days is fun to watch, and it's one of my fav school life anime...but top10 of the decade? hell no.

ant900 · « **Reply #6 on:** December 16, 2009, 02:13:16 AM »

overall a very good list IMO, however I have yet to see Mushishi (on my todo list), but the fact that you said it was good at everything but excellent at nothing makes me wonder if it should be on that list. I personally would switch it with GitS: SAC.

beyond that I would probably argue that the Clannad movie shouldn't be there since I didn't really enjoy how it showed the chain of events (switching between present and past). Also he spends all of this time away from his daughter and then all of the sudden he gets off his ass and meets his girl without any actual bonding in between. If it had something like the show did with his trip to his parents then I might agree with you, but the length of a movie just does not have the time to show all of the events needed for the story.

But all that just might be me nitpicking

AceD · « **Reply #7 on:** December 16, 2009, 02:25:33 AM »

I can safely say Sword of the Stranger > Clannad movie aswell...well thats me, SotS is the bomb.

relic2279 · « **Reply #8 on:** December 16, 2009, 02:36:42 AM »

Quote from: AceD on December 16, 2009, 02:03:41 AM

Out of everything you listed, the only one i havent seen is Nodame Cantabile...which you say is possibly the best of the last decade? o,o should watch i guess...

"Arugably" the best... On anidb.com, the only higher ranked anime series is Clannad ~after story~... I do agree with it though. I thought Nodame was absolutely amazing. One of the best I've seen. But that's just one mans opinion

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School days is fun to watch, and it's one of my fav school life anime...but top10 of the decade? hell no.

I really wasn't specific, but what I was shooting for, was a semi-genre specific top ten list. And as far as drama/romance tragedy type shows go, saikano and school days are the best. (In my opinion anywhow)

Scudworth · « **Reply #9 on:** December 16, 2009, 02:46:33 AM »

So what do you have against Ghibli?

relic2279 · « **Reply #10 on:** December 16, 2009, 03:01:28 AM »

Quote from: Scudworth on December 16, 2009, 02:46:33 AM

So what do you have against Ghibli?

Ghibli is alright. Fantastic studio. I didn't include Ponyo because it seemed like a little mermaid ripoff to me. It didn't raise the bar or break molds, which is 'kind of' what my list was shooting for. It was a good movie, but I think the ones I listed were better. (In my opinion)

erious · « **Reply #11 on:** December 16, 2009, 03:07:07 AM »

Quote from: relic2279 on December 16, 2009, 03:01:28 AM

Ghibli is alright. Fantastic studio. I didn't include Ponyo because it seemed like a little mermaid ripoff to me. It didn't raise the bar or break molds, which is 'kind of' what my list was shooting for. It was a good movie, but I think the ones I listed were better. (In my opinion)

Right, because Ponyo is the only Ghibli movie from last decade

Also, pointless list is pointless. So are those top anime? Best? Most popular? Game changers? Or just the ones you liked the most?

relic2279 · « **Reply #12 on:** December 16, 2009, 03:17:53 AM »

Quote from: erious on December 16, 2009, 03:07:07 AM

Right, because Ponyo is the only Ghibli movie from last decade
Also, pointless list is pointless. So are those top anime? Best? Most popular? Game changers? Or just the ones you liked the most?

I do have a Ghibli flick listed in my list. "Spirited Away". (scudworth asked about ponyo earlier, so I was addressing it)

I listed my opinion of the top ten movies and shows of this decade. The ones I thought set the bar higher in their respective genres. Of course they're ones I've liked. How about instead of harshly critiquing my list, you offer up one of your own? I asked for others opinions in my first paragraph. Not sure why you are getting all hot an bothered. I just wanted to start a discussion.

erious · « **Reply #13 on:** December 16, 2009, 03:46:24 AM »

There's a difference between the shows that were game changers, and shows that just set the bar higher for their respective genres for one; a show that I consider the best anime I've ever seen(and coincidently the best anime of the decade) isn't particularly innovative - it's just flawlessly executed.
I want to know what are the criteria you wish to use for choosing the best? The story? There's also direction, art, animation, music, many many different things that form the whole experience of anime. We can try to find anime that perfectly balances all that, or we can also simply choose what creates most enjoyable result, even if some of the elements are glaringly inferior to the whole.
Or we can just abandon trying to judge the objective quality of the piece, and try to find those series that were a subject to subsequent imitation - those that even if they weren't all that good, still introduced interesting and important things, or just proven to be succesful enough to copy.
I do agree with big parts of your list, in some cases the shows you posted would fit on the list no matter what criteria we would chose - but what I really don't agree with are your descriptions. It's not enough to say "it's the best of its genre" - you need to say what are the reasons you consider it the best, for your list to have any merit. Not to mention leaving out the reasons for the movies is just lazy.

but really I'm just babbling incoherently since it's 5:40 in the morning and I can't sleep

Scudworth · « **Reply #14 on:** December 16, 2009, 04:00:45 AM »

I feel that Chobits set the bar for robotic cutie anime.
but I'm far too lazy to say why

relic2279 · « **Reply #15 on:** December 16, 2009, 04:19:49 AM »

Quote from: erious on December 16, 2009, 03:46:24 AM

There's a difference between the shows that were game changers, and shows that just set the bar higher for their respective genres for one

Well, I'll be quite clear. All the shows I listed above set or raise the bar in some way, or did some game changing, or both. I really wasn't differentiating between the two. I really wasn't trying to be specific and didn't go into depth in my post because I didn't want to come across as a pretentious asshole. (to late, huh?) I just gave my list of best shows in contrast to the current crop of "best of decade" blogshit posts that have been cropping up. If you want me to be specific, and detailed, ask me which show/genre your curious about. I'll be happy to oblige, but not without you posting your list for me to critique in the same manner.

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I want to know what are the criteria you wish to use for choosing the best? The story? There's also direction, art, animation, music, many many different things that form the whole experience of anime. We can try to find anime that perfectly balances all that

My opinion is the criteria. Shows I think other series should live up to. It's pretty subjective. I don't dispute that my entire list is subjective. Some people might hate the show Clannad or Higurashi for instance. But both shows to me, are the bar that others need to cross in their genres for them to excel.

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or we can also simply choose what creates most enjoyable result, even if some of the elements are glaringly inferior to the whole.
Or we can just abandon trying to judge the objective quality of the piece, and try to find those series that were a subject to subsequent imitation - It's not enough to say "it's the best of its genre" - you need to say what are the reasons you consider it the best, for your list to have any merit.[/b] Not to mention leaving out the reasons for the movies is just lazy.

Oh, I am lazy. That is one thing I cannot deny. I ripped the movie list of my previous post on reddit.

But my anime list is all still subjective. It's all an opinion. There is no right or wrong. I never claimed that. That's perhaps where our wires got crossed. What I want is others opinions on the top shows/movies of the decade. What do you guys think the best shows of this decade are?

Scudworth · « **Reply #16 on:** December 16, 2009, 04:32:40 AM »

I LOVE YURI !

agbaba · « **Reply #17 on:** December 16, 2009, 05:22:39 AM »

On the note of Ghiblies,
surprisingly these are the only films made in the last decade.
My Neighbors the Yamadas*
Spirited Away
The Cat Returns
Howl's Moving Castle
Tales from Earthsea*
Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
*=i haven't watched it yet.
Of these spirited away is worthy of a top 10 place.
Personally the others were good but not outstanding. Having said that I've only watched a few non ghibli movies, so by default probably all the ghibli's i've watched would appear on my top 10 movies list. lol

+1 for the girl who leapt through time - very nice movie.

Drew · « **Reply #18 on:** December 16, 2009, 05:27:50 AM »

Toradora deserves a spot at or near the top, IMO.

dbml · « **Reply #19 on:** December 16, 2009, 05:49:40 AM »

Quote from: Drew on December 16, 2009, 05:27:50 AM

Toradora deserves a spot at or near the top, IMO.

+1

Same goes for GTO. I've yet to see a comedy that rivals it in terms of hilarity or story.