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Anime

My Ten Favorite Anime Series

At work I like to organize some fun times at the end of every week — I even have a name for it, the “Friday Fluke.” Part of it is getting a drink, relaxing a bit with colleagues, and playing some games (our go-to tends to be various forms of Werewolf). Last week I introduced a new part to it, and that’s to encourage everyone to do a presentation about something they’re passionate about using the PechaKucha format. The idea is to have fun and get to know each other better, so it can be about anything, like your favorite albums, a trip you took, etc. I kicked it off with a round-up of my 10 favorite anime series (not including movies), and so here’s what I came up with, in alphabetical order.

Captain Harlock
Or to me, Albator, as he is known in French, which is the language I watched it as a kid. I believe it was the 1978 series, and it’s my favorite cartoon from my childhood. It’s a bit surprising in a way, because I’m sure so much of it went over my head, but I was obsessed with Harlock’s ship, and my go-to building project with my LEGO blocks was to create giant ships that looked like it.

Cowboy Bebop
I always consider this as one of my very favorite series, and I think it’s as close to perfect as a series gets for me. Great characters, an awesome soundtrack, and fun space adventures. What else do you need?

Future Boy Conan
Another series from the 70s (and in fact, 1978 as well), I only watched it a couple of years ago, and found it to be hugely enjoyable. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, you do get a lot of proto-Ghibli feels, despite the admittedly crude animation (standard for the time).

Junji Ito Collection
I’m a huge fan of Junji Ito’s horror manga — favorites include Tomie and Uzumaki — and this is a fantastic adaptation of his short stories (each episode is made up of a few shorts). It was produced last year, but I already consider it a favorite.

Lupin III
I’m a longtime Lupin fan, and I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything I’ve seen, which includes various TV series, TV movies, and movies (Miyazaki’s Castle of Cagliostro is a fave). Most recently we got the Part V series, and it’s just as fun as any other Lupin series.

Monster
Based on the manga by Naoki Urasawa — one of my favorite mangaka — this anime adaptation is massive (over 70 episodes), and riveting. I absolutely loved watching it as it was airing, anxious to see where it would end up going (I had never read the manga, strangely).

Neon Genesis Evangelion
Well, it is a classic, and not for being a giant mech show, but rather for everything it did to deconstruct the mech genre, and mess with everyone’s expectations. I haven’t re-watched it since back in the day, but I am excited to revisit it when it shows up on Netflix this summer.

Paranoia Agent
I’m a huge fan of Satoshi Kon’s films, and loved this series — the only one he created — just as much. Psychologically daring and visually aggressive, same as with his movies.

Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter
Goro Miyazaki — Hayao Miyazaki’s son — doesn’t get a lot of love, but I quite enjoyed this series he directed a few years ago, the only Ghibli TV production. The use of CG was criticized, but I thought he managed to create a lovely series, with a lot of fun character moments.

Samurai Champloo
I usually consider my top 3 series to be this, Cowboy Bebop, and Monster. Just like Bebop, you get the fantastic soundtrack (here hip-hop instead of jazz), the great characters, and the fun adventure. Even better is how the hip-hop influences the aesthetics and pacing of the show.

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Anime Debaser TV

Sherlock Hound

I was in the mood to start watching another old anime series, and remembering how much I enjoyed watching Future Boy Conan last year, I dug up another old Hayao Miyazaki series in the form of Sherlock Hound (or Meitantei Holmes). Miyazaki only wrote/directed the first 6 episodes before moving on (because of issues with the Doyle estate that halted production for a while), but I’m looking forward to going through all 26 episodes. I just watched the first episode this morning, and it’s deliciously Miyazaki in style and tone.

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Anime Art Film

Miyazaki, An Art Show Tribute

“Miyazaki – An Art Show Tribute” was an exhibition held at San Francisco’s Spoke Art gallery this past month, and luckily we can browse through all of the pieces (and even buy them) on the gallery’s site. Pictured, Justin Hillgrove’s “Miyazaki Totems.” Found via Booooooom.

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Anime Film

Miyazaki Is Back (Again)

It’s not the first time he “retires,” and who knows if we’ll see the same thing happen again, but it was officially confirmed by Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki that Hayao Miyazaki is working on a new feature film for the studio. To be honest, I’m much more interested in hearing about other future plans for Ghibli, as I would certainly love to see other creators continue to make films for the studio.

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Anime Film TV

Till He Dies

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If you’ve watched the excellent documentary about Studio Ghibli, The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, then you already know that director Hayao Miyazaki isn’t the easiest of people to work with/for, and a recent NHK documentary shows that, well, he hasn’t changed much. This Kotaku article does a great job of sharing some of the highlights from the program, which also includes Miyazaki learning to use a computer for animation, and some talk on a new feature film he’d like to make.

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Anime Film

The Castle of Cagliostro

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Continuing with my 80s anime run, last night I watched the Lupin the Third movie The Castle of Calgiostro. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, I’ve seen this movie countless times (and my wife even more), but it had been a while since the last time I watched it, and so it made for a fun revisit (and my wife ended up watching it too). It’s such a fantastic film, and feels like a perfect blend of Lupin and Ghibli (while being a proto Ghibli film). I had so much fun watching it that I was still in the mood to watch some more Lupin after, so went and watched the first episode of the original Lupin the Third series, that aired in the early seventies (and I believe Miyazaki was involved with the second half of that series). Tonight I discovered that a new Lupin series had aired last year, so started watching that as well (the first 2 episodes).

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Debaser Uncategorized

The Wind Rises

As I mentioned the other day, I’ve decided to catch up on recent Ghibli releases I’m embarrassed to say I hadn’t watched. Following From Up on Poppy Hill, I watched The Wind Rises, which at the time was possibly going to be Miyazaki’s final film – something he’s said a few times though, and already it seems like he’s ready to work on a new project, although I’m not sure if it’s a film. Although not enjoyable or delightful in the way that most Ghibli films are – because of its subject matter and strong dramatic elements – it is indeed quite a good film, with some terrific imagery. If this is to be his cinematic swan song, then it’s a great one to leave on.

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Debaser Uncategorized

Porco Rosso

Porco Rosso is awesome through and through. Really love this film, and all of the dogfighting sequences are truly thrilling to watch. Even though it won’t be directed by Miyazaki, I’m still really excited that a sequel is coming our way soon. I want to experience this world again, with a new story.