My favourite anime and manga of all time

10. Attack on Titan/ Shingeki no Kyojin

Like many I hopped straight on the hype train with this anime last year and my love for it may have calmed down now, but certainly not receded in the slightest. I generally consider myself to have a well rounded love for genres, but my soft spot will always be intense action paired with a hard hitting dramatic story. For me Attack on Titan nails so many good points: originality, well written characters, etc, etc. In the first episode we were hit with absolute destruction and devastation all the while creating the questions that became the premise to the story and what kept us all intently interested throughout the series. To top this off we have the fantastic animation. For the most part this only really applies to the action scenes, as general scenes where people are sitting around talking, or landscape scenes are not bad, but they are nothing special either.

A classic scene that I will never forget is Eren scraping on buildings and the ground as he uses his semi-working 3DMG on his way to fix the hole in the wall (sounds more exciting if you’ve seen it). That scene for me was one of the best pieces of action animation I had ever seen, a truly unforgettable experience.

Attack on Titan is not flawless but it is an example of how good action anime can be in the modern industry.

9. Black Lagoon

Black Lagoon was an anime I watched early on and was I first anime I watched that did not involve super natural powers. Black Lagoon has a strong fan base in the west and Japan and for good reason. The show has a vey interesting story that is driven by the interesting and unique characters. The two main characters Rock and Revy both come from very different situations and its fascinating watching how they carry out the same situation differently but still work together. Out side of the main characters is a small army of morally questionable side characters. It is never really clear who is on whose side. You don’t feel the typical, he’s a good guy because he’s a main characters. This is mainly because they are no good people in this show and that makes everything incredibly unpredictable. Everyone does terrible things for their own selfish reasons and watching how they react deal with their actions is equally interesting. The dubbed version for this anime is also very good, and for that reason is well suited for someone just starting to watch anime. However I must warn you, some of the scenes and topics in this anime may be confronting to those who are not expecting it. Overall I love this anime and its manga. It has a simple story line with no real ‘goal’ but because of the strong characters and their constant development, I will never tire from watching this anime.

8. One Piece

When it comes to top ten lists One Piece is always a given to be on the list. One Piece simply covers so many bases when it comes to anime, action, story, comedy and other less specific sub categories. The best thing about One Piece is that you don’t have to pay any attention when watching it, making it a fantastic ‘chill’ anime to marathon when you’re perhaps not feeling the best or just want to have a good time. It also has a simple yet interesting story and epic moments to keep you fanboying. Unfortunately One Piece does have problem with its overly simplistic animation and slow pacing, nevertheless One Piece is a fantastic anime experience that will entertain many including myself for years to come.

7. Naruto

Naruto is no doubt one of the best Shounen mangas ever written and that’s not just my personal opinion. Naruto is a two part series that has been going for over 10 years now. The strengths of Naruto come from its technical fighting, well written characters and story. The series noticeably increases in quality as it develops to a point where it is almost an entirely different show than it was in episode/chapter 1. The show also matures and darkens as the main character grows older making you feel almost like you’re growing up with the main character. Naruto has similar problems with One Piece, it is a victim of its own popularity. The animation in Naruto is either really good, or really bad. Filler is also an issue as almost half of the total episodes are filler, but people will keep watching despite this and the studio knows this well. Naruto is overall, a fantastic series that is slowly coming to an end after many, many years in the spot light, it has been a fantastic ride, but it’s not over just yet.

6. Full Metal Alchemist

Full Metal Alchemist was the first anime I ever watched and since then I have re-watched it numerous times since. The series has two animes, the original was made when the manga was yet to be completed with an original ending and Brotherhood was the remake once the manga was completed. FMA performs well in many areas making it a great series overall. The characters are very relatable and the story is just the right length with a satisfying resolution in a brilliant ending. The series is commonly acknowledged as being university loved, sitting at no1 on MyAnimeList.net for quite a while now, with an average rating of 9.23. Full Metal Alchemist is a good anime for those who have never watched anime before. The dub as won many international awards and it’s not too long of show that it will seem different from watching a regular tv show.

5. Hajime no Ippo

Hajime no Ippo has been going since 1989! Making it the oldest manga that is still publishing chapters weekly. It has nearly 1100 chapters and is most likely not going to finish anytime soon. Unfortunately the anime has not covered much of the manga, with the third series reaching the 550 chapter mark. Nevertheless it is still a series I love to death. Hajime no Ippo has brilliant intensity that I have only ever seen in the likes of Initial D and a few other series’. The author is knowledgeable on boxing, has nice art, easy readability all of which adapts well into the anime. The series is funny, intense, loveable containg well written characters and above all, is a classic Shounen story of a hopeless good for nothing kid proving to everyone one by one that he has what it takes to beat the worlds best. Hajime no Ippo is in my opinion (and many others) the best written sports series in existence and it’s a series I will always love.

4. Chuunibyou demo Kai ga Shita (Love, Chuunibyou and other delusions)

Now at this point you may be reading this thinking that I am a real he-man who craves action and hates the colour pink or anything remotely feminine immensely. For the most part you would be right, however it does not change the fact that I have an embarrassing soft spot for a good romance, and Chuunibyou is all that and more.

I first discovered Chuunibyou about 2 years ago and instantly began to love it. The original storyline combined with Rikka’s multi layered interesting backstory played a vital role in giving Chuunibyou individuality. Distancing it from the hordes of boy-meets-girl romances or harems that we see year after year. It takes a while but as Yuuta begins to understand Rikka’s unusual nature better and learns of her reasons for doing so, everything comes together. Chuunibyou also doesn’t just end as soon as the two get together, although the second season was not as good as the first, it was still amazing and delivered everything Chuunibyou is about.

Chuunibyou is an anime that ticks all the boxes, is extremely adorable and a truly fantastic anime.

3. Fairy Tail

To honest, until about May last year Fairy Tail was sitting around 7th-8th position on my top ten, but ever since the story entered the Sun village arc and the anime returned, it has been a really good time to be a Fairy Tail fan. Hiro Mashima is a fantastic artist and it shows in his artwork, which at times can be staggeringly good. The detail, the features and the consistency are some of the best you can find in manga and yet he is renowned for his incredible drawing speed.

Hiro has spent the last three years fixing everything that was wrong or lacking in Fairy Tail and it has taken his series to another level. Fairy Tail is not a series to be taken seriously. It has it’s moments of darkness and tragedy, but for the most part Fairy Tail is a series filled with fanservice, friendship and truly, truly epic fights that I can only pray will be adapted well in the anime. Overall Fairy Tail is a long running series that is just generally a good time. I won’t pretend the series is without fault,  but I have had a really great time watching this series.

2. Bleach

Bleach was the first long running anime I ever watched and it instantly loved it. Bleach’s strength is in its fights and it doesn’t pretend otherwise and as a hot blooded teenager and now adult, this ticked all my boxes. The fighting in Bleach is simply unparalleled with moments that have quite literally had me gawking at my screen for extended periods of time like I had dislocated my jaw.  It also helps that Ichigo Kurosaki is also one of my personal favourite protagonists. He is relatable, humble, more mature than most protagonists and most importantly, fights for completely selfless reasons. Ichigo doesn’t really want to do anything but live a happy and easy life but he also understands that he has a responsibility and fulfils this responsibility time after time without questioning it. For a long, long time Bleach has been my favourite series and even though it has had its ups and down, I will still fanboy this great series to everyone I know.

1. Gintama

Gintama is one of those series that people either love or simply don’t understand. The first 25 episodes of Gintama are rather bland, they provide an interesting premises, characters and setting however the story never really goes past that. Once you get past these episodes you will understand why Gintama is so universally loved. There is something about Gintama that feels so different from any other anime. The characters almost feel like they are real people the way they act and react to situations. Almost everyone in the show has experienced some hardship in someway, yet they still live their lives how they want to and that, is the true message of Gintama.

The action while generally short is truly amazing. The fights are fast, skilful, filled with emotion and character driven purpose. It is truly a testament to Sorachi to write in a Shounen magazine dominated by powers and magic and yet can still write fight scenes that are on par with the highest level of anime fights.

Yet, this isn’t even the best part of Gintama, The real strength of Gintama is its comedy. Shinpachi plays the perfect straight man to Gintoki, with constant parodying off of other animes, Japanese companies, celebrities, you name it they parody it.  A key reasons for the hilarity is much of the humour is character based resulting in the series just getting even funnier as the series progresses. I have often cried with laughter while watching it or had jokes stuck in my mind for days sending me into laughing fits on the bus, making me look like a complete psychopath.

Gintoki is a fantastic protagonist, he is on the surface a total waste of a human being but once you see past the initial shell you see a totally different person and begin to understand the reason why he acts the way he does. Although fictional, he is a character I have legitimate respect for, and for a fictional work to do that is quite amazing.

Gintama in my opinion is a solid anime in every respect. The author himself was laughed at by his peers and family in his initial attempts to draw manga and this cycle of living the way you want to live, not the way others tell you should live is heavily reflected into Gintama. That is why Gintama is my no.1 favourite anime and manga of all time.

-PandaSlayer