Favorite Animes

[Redress]

Also, should be mentioned, the best anime of the last couple years is Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. Frieren, an elven mage, joins with a party if heroes to defeat the demon king. It takes them 10 years, but they do it. The anime starts with the party returning to the capital triumphant from that fight. 50 years later, Frieren returns to visit her friends, and discovers that they have all gotten old. Filled with melancholy, humor and high fantasy action, the show does everything really well. I simply cannot recommend it enough.

 

[bomberfox]

For like 3 seasons, Attack On Titan was fascinating, waiting to see where it was going to go, and great plot threads going all over. Then it jumped the shark, bigtime. But the ED for the second season was epic!

I guess to understand the logical progression from beginning to the jump the shark moment at the end one would have to understand the creator and the political themes behind it . Its not an anime thats all designed to inspire hope but futility.

 

[LittleNipper]

I'm going out on a limb and say that one of the best animi that I saw was the 1957 Russian version of THE SNOW QUEEN Russian: Снежная королева . Of course I was just 7 when I saw the movie and no one heard of anime back then. But the movie had a bit of a dark side with the queen and how she controlled the boy. Of course love always wins in the end...

 

[Geoist]

Also, should be mentioned, the best anime of the last couple years is Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. Frieren, an elven mage, joins with a party if heroes to defeat the demon king. It takes them 10 years, but they do it. The anime starts with the party returning to the capital triumphant from that fight. 50 years later, Frieren returns to visit her friends, and discovers that they have all gotten old. Filled with melancholy, humor and high fantasy action, the show does everything really well. I simply cannot recommend it enough.

Came to this thread to post about Frieren. I'm only 5 episodes in but wow, it is excellent.

 

[Dans La Lune]

One Piece. It's largely an anti-government anime. Although the government is run by affluent slave-owning white supremacists, sustained by a corrupt system where power is consolidated in the hands of elites. The white supremacists (Celestial Dragons) are often depicted in the worst possible way. Basically as lazy, useless people with snot dripping from their nose, who wear helmets that protect them from unclean (peasant) air. The Navy enforces this system and are often seen as the force for good, and the pirates the baddies. The truth is more nuanced, with there being good and bad actors on either side.

In later seasons, the main antagonist becomes Blackbeard, who I would argue is a stand-in for fascism. He seeks to usurp the World Government and replace it with his own brand of 'freedom', one that benefits the baddies, those who are loyal to him. He attained his status by allying himself with the Whitebeard Pirates, an otherwise benevolent group, but one that had sought balance rather than friction with the elites *cough centrists*. Blackbeard obtains power by betraying these pirates, then eventually usurps the power of Whitebeard himself -- after Whitebeard had decline with age and become largely ineffective.

Luffy and the Strawhat Pirates (the protagonists) go from island to island, and end up liberating each island from corrupt rule / oppressive rule. Often from other pirates, but these pirates often serve the government themselves. Whereas Luffy represents freedom and happiness, Blackbeard represents freedom from government and all that entails.

Besides that, it's a fun anime overall. Lots of humor, action, and themes that would appeal to a wide audience even without understanding the political themes. It's been thriving for over 20 years now.

(By the way, watch only the Japanese version with English Subs)