The last one about anime TV series from me.
Unless I find a new one that blows my brains out.
To recap, there are IMO three anime series I believe everyone should watch before dying:
- Fullmetal Alchemist / Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
- Cowboy Bebop
- Death Note
They're completely different from each other, first one is steampunk fantasy, second is a sci-fi adventure and the third one is a thriller with horror elements.
Others mentioned a few more anime series worth checking and I'm not gonna repeat them (except Hellsing Ultimate, it's light horror, I didn't like it, a style over substance show, awsome looking anime with no real "juice" to feed your grey cells).
There are a few unmentioned shows that are very good and only an inch away from being a masterpiece or have a flaw.
Sci-fi setting. From outer space a huge spaceshiplike being is coming to wipe out all life. Your hero and his party have to stop it. You'll succeed, but it's not the end, more of such entities are coming. The show will end as a psychological mindfuck.
No, it's not Mass Effect trilogy but a show they copied a style from thinking it'd be cool. It's
Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Elsewhere I've mentioned this show is so complicated and impossible to get on just one watch. Because of it's complexity, there is no consensus about it, to some it's the biggest masterpiece when it comes to TV shows, to others it's an utter crap not worth wasting time on. To me it's a well made study on lonelyness, detachment and alienation in modern Japan presented as a sci-fi show and as such should not be skipped. Also this show is a sort of a blueprint to many other similar shows, but none of them managed to reach it's level or move further.
More sci-fi, and more mechs, but with numerous story twists, more action and better looks? There is such show, it's called
Code Geass. There seems nothing really wrong with it, everything is on the top level. Except… First flaw is that characters are too cute. All of them without a difference are like animated modern Holywood plastics. Another flaw is going too far and too unreal with psychological profiles. Nevertheless, it's fun, exciting and never boring show, a flawed gem what we'd say in RPGs.
Usually anime shows start fast then go very slow in the second part. A completely different approach was used in
Steins;Gate. First few episodes are about a group who is roleplaying a laboratory. Since it's practically an initial character development phase, it's very slow and some people could be turned off because of that. But it's needed as if it wasn't like that, the rest of the show would feel like a mess!
What happens later? These people make a working timemachine. The world starts turning upside down in ways you can't even imagine, the show becomes a festival of twists and turns without falling into a plothole anywhere and with it's take on time travel is far superior than Back to the Future or Butterfly Effect.
But except the main character, all others remain underdeveloped, there are some very annoying repeatables (probably not annoying in Japan as they adore grinding) and for whatever reason too much of time was given to "dating sidequest(s)". This doesn't mean you should miss this show, it's wellmade, unique and just a step from being unbeatable.
Cuteness of anime and horror? Two things you can't mix together, right? Not quite. There is a let's turn all those cute drawings into a gore mess with a proper story anime series. It's
Another and I won't be talking much about it as less you know about it, more you'll enjoy. Sadly, the show suffers from exactly the same thing many other do. Many major characters are undeveloped while the anime style is perfect or almost perfect. The good thing here is that the story is awsome compared to usual Holywood horrors. Not flawless though.
Undeveloped characters is the reason I'll mention one more show as worth watching and not a masterpiece. The show jumps between a few years, forward, backward, in the middle, back, forth, here, there… But you never get dizzy. This unique construction of the story is perfectly polished in
Baccano! and from what I've read characters remained on unsatisfactory level because of the lack of funds (there is manga this show is based on). Still, if you watch it (and I hope you will), first you won't believe noone dared to try this way of storytelling before as it's amazing. It's like solving a puzzle without a puzzle and it feels good!
AC. Does that count?
