Although there are a lot of series' that i like, these are my top five all-time faves.
Robotech - War. What is it good for? Okay, for starters... totally awesome storylines and the most memorable anime-experience i have ever known. Remember the series G.I Joe, where fighter planes would get hit and the pilots would always parachute to safety? Well, they would never have lasted ten seconds against the Zentraedi. Encompassing a total of three, separate (but still closely-linked) story arcs spanning across three generations, Robotech was one of the first animes to coin the term "space opera" during the late 80's.
The Macross Saga, the first arc of the series, made the most profound impact, with realistic and believable characters like Rick Hunter, Lisa Hayes, Roy Fokker and the rest of the cast. Rick's personal life and interactions with Lisa and Minmay were even more interesting than his time in his Veritech's cockpit. Through the series, you could see Rick's development as he grows from an awkward young recruit to one of the most distinguished heroes of the first Robotech War. The grim realities of war was evident and showed the preciousness of the lives of the people aboard the SDF-1. The harsh reality of war jolted their fragile lives into focus as even major heroes like Roy Fokker and Ben Dixon died unheroically. Its stark detail illustrates the consequences and sometimes, the sheer pointlessness of violence during wartime, where even something as beautiful as music, would and could be used as a weapon.
Trust me on this: You don't know what you've been missing out on if you still haven't watch this series.
Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 - I've heard someone describe the original MSG as the "Citizen Kane" of Japanese animation. Besides the rich storyline, human drama, deep characterization and groundbreaking innovative technological designs, MSG had something that we otakus like to call non-stop, eyeball-burning action.
The premise is that, in the far future, mankind has almost exhausted all of Earth's natural resources and is now forced to move into space to allow the planet to heal itself. The Earth Federation had been waging an almost one-sided war against the forces of the Duchy of Zeon, controlled by the aristocratic Zabi family. Basically, the space colonies have had enough of the oppression of the Federation and have rebelled, although at this point in the war neither side has made any significant progress and the war is at a stalemate. Then Zeon brings out their trump cards: massive humanoid fighting machines known as mobile suits. For a while, it seemed as if the war would shift towards Zeon's favor. Enter Amuro Ray, the classic accidental hero and the secret prototype mobile suit the Federation has been developing called the RX-78 Gundam. Enter also Char Aznable, the classic masked and charismatic villain, whose loyalties and true motives are ever hidden. The two pilots clash in aa fight that ends in a rivalry that lasts through the years.
Since its debut in 1979, MSG has been followed by numerous, worthy (and not so worthy) sequels and side stories (The alternate universes), like Z Gundam, Char's Counterattack, Gunda Wing and Gundam SEED. However, it is the original that still holds a special place in my heart. The concepts weren't really all that new: giant robots, reluctant heroes and romantic intrigue. What was incredible were the new ideas it had spawned. Here, the villains weren't being evil for the sake of being evil, or destroying the world just for the hell of it. They were motivated by ideals that were just as noble as those of the heroes. Even the good guys had superior officers and comrades who would just as easily turn traitor if the price was right. It was all a simple matter of opposing ideals. The giant robots weren't invincible and unstoppable war machines: they were only as good as the pilot inside them. What MSG did, it did it best. Consider it as the torch-bearer for all mecha-anime that followed it and the final autority on design, story and heavy-metal clashes.
Neon Genesis Evangelion - Talk about psych-cases. If you didn't get to understand this series in all its bewildering, psychological, psychotropic glory, no need to worry: None of us never were supposed to. Set in a post-apocalyptic (or pre-apocalyptic, if you include Death and Rebirth and End of Evangelion) world, humanity is once again under attack as the Angels are bent on taking back what was once rightfully theirs. Expect lots of mind-numbing, edge-of-you-seat combat as the Evas square off against their heavenly counterparts.
Despite all the action, the series spends almost as much time concerning itself with internalized psychological conflicts as it does with the more stomach-churning physical ones. If you consider the fact that the three main characters are only 14 years old and are lonely, emotional and vulnerable, you can be sure that the series would eventually focus on exploring their fragile psyches and emotional problems. I came upon this series during a dark and difficult time in my own life when I was emotionally broken and had nothing to help me walk on, NGE was essentially my therapist as I struggled alongside Shinji to find the power to believe in myself and to look for acceptance.
However, to quote Bono from U2, "I still haven't found what i'm looking for."
Vision of Escaflowne - Hitomi (I really love that name) is your average high school girl. Well as average as a girl with a penchant for tarot card-reading and is a member of the track team can get. Her quiet, idyllic life is thrown into chaos when she is magically transported to the mystic world of Gaea, a world full of swords, sorcery, lost princes, dragons, villains and best of all....giant, battle suits known as Guymelefs. Hell yeah!
Escaflowne encompasses the best of sci-fi and fantasy worlds in one beautiful combination. Romance, action, suspense and silliness all combine to make one of the most memorable series in existence. Definitely one of my favorites.
Trigun - Steampunk technology meets the Wild West in an anime that shamelessly caters to any long-time anime fan's hunger for dangerous, past-shrouded-in-mystery, high-plains gunfighters. Yep, this one i really like. Vash the Stampede (The Humanoid Typhoon, as he's known to the generally luckless public) is framed for wrecking entire towns and a huge (And i mean huge, as in corporation-buying, court-settling, Bill Gates-sized HUGE) bounty reward is placed on his spiky pea-brained head. A bounty sung to the tune of $$60,000,000,000.
I did say it was huge, didn't i?
When the obligatory, equally past-shrouded-in-mystery villain shows with the requisite plan-to-destroy-the-world (Don't leave home without'em kids), you'd think that the near-invincible, unstoppable, goofy Vash would have no trouble taking him down, right? Wrong. That's because there's a bit of a problem: Vash absolutely refuses to kill.
Oh well, so much for said formula.
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