Culture news After watching 650 animes and 5000 episodes, I can say this without trembling. This anime is the best ever
I grew up watching TF1, France 5 and M6. In many ways, the shows Club Dorothée, Midi Les zouzous and M6 Kid were attentive babysitters, always quick to brighten up my Wednesdays from the comfort of my sofa. I was particularly marked, like many toddlers my age, by Japanese animated series, and even if I retain an almost numb love for Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, Sailor Moon and Captain Tsubasa, I made up my mind. After 650 animes and 5000 episodes, I can say this without trembling. These aren’t the best anime of all time.
My life in anime
I’ve been watching anime since I was 6, give or take a few months, my memories being necessarily vague about this period of my life. So it’s been 32 years (I was born in 1986) that I’ve been following anime news more or less assiduously. Since my arrival at JV, my passion for japanimation has only strengthened and gained strength, and the figures from MyAnimeList speak for me. According to this social network specializing in anime, I spent 98.1 days of my life watching a Japanese (or Chinese) animated series or animated film.
My MAL profile claims on March 13, 2024 nearly 5000 episodes watched (4893 to be precise) spread over 386 completed animated series, 28 in progress, 20 on pause and 215 abandoned. I therefore have a vision, certainly not exhaustive, but quite precise of Japanimation between the mid-80s and today (March 2024). My heart is torn between several animes that rocked my childhood and those more recent ones that have marked the history of this media. However, I must confess one thing to you. I am an eternal nostalgic person and my choice reflects this trend. My favorite animated series and animated film are from 1995 and 1988 respectively.
MyAnimeList Stats and Ranking (March 13, 2024)
My best animated series ever
The TOP 3 of the best animated series of all time is occupied on MyAnimeList by Frieren (Sousou no Frieren), Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and Steins;Gate. Although I understand the excitement around these anime that I really enjoy, I disagree with this ranking. My favorite anime barely climbs to 213th place even though it revolutionized Japanese animation when it was released in 1995. I of course want to talk about Neon Genesis Evangelion directed by Hideaki Anno and produced by Gainax Studios.
It must be understood that this anime created a precedent within a still young Japanese industry. First difference and not the least with the competition, Shinseiki Evangelion from its Japanese title is an original creation and not the adaptation of a pre-existing manga. Then Neon Genesis Evangelion was released at a pivotal period in Japanese animation, which was experiencing a significant slowdown following the economic crash that hit Japan in the 1980s. Hideaki Anno’s creation then proved that an anime can be lucrative while being deeply personal. and done with talent.
Neon Genesis Evangelion above all installs several character archetypes which still populate modern Japanese productions today. For example, Asuka is the first tsundere in the history of Japanese animation. Moreover, the famous love triangle sanded to the bone over the past three decades was born from the complex relationships woven between Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu throughout the 26 episodes of the animated series. Moreover, this structure has been adopted by all the studios to the point of becoming a standard across the archipelago.
Evangelion is the reason why many anime develop their plot over 24 episodes (or 12 episodes) while their broadcast coincides with the “seasons” (winter, spring, summer, fall). Beyond these purely factual reasons, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a pure masterpiece, proving that animation has nothing to envy of live-action productions. On the contrary, it transcends the limits of a physical world constrained by laws. Shinji is crying tears and I am facing an anime that is the perfect synthesis of everything that science fiction has to offer, and much more.
The Neon Genesis Evangelion saga is available on Netflix:
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- The End of Evangelion
- Evangelion Death (True)2
The Rebuild of Evangelion remake is available on Prime Video:
- Evangelion: 1.11 You are (not) alone
- Evangelion: 2.22 You can (not) advance
- Evangelion: 3.33 You can (not) redo
- Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.01 Thrice Upon a Time
Watch Rebuild of Evangelion on Amazon Prime Video
My best animated film of all time
The first Japanese animated film (not linked to a series) rises to 17th place in the MyAnimeList ranking of the best anime of all time, which seems very surprising to me. I understand fans’ attraction to an animated series which, due to its format, requires much more time from them and therefore creates a stronger attachment. However, seeing A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi) so low is heartbreaking, not even mentioning the 412th place anime feature I consider to be the best of all time.
Adapted from the eponymous manga written and illustrated by Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira was released in 1988 in Japan and de facto marked a major turning point in Japanese animation and in the film industry in the broad sense. This is an undeniable fact. There is a before and after Akira. The science fiction genre itself is forever transformed as cyberpunk becomes a worldwide phenomenon. This movement, still in its infancy, established itself as a major subgenre of SF introduced in the West by Blade Runner by Ridley Scott in 1982 and Neuromancer by William Gibson in 1984, and in Japan by Akira in 1988.
Akira is a visual and technical feat which even today puts a fine on certain films produced with modern tools, computer assistance in the lead. In 1988, it was simply “never seen before”, and this feeling still remains alive 36 years after its cinema release. The staging is unparalleled in 2024 and serves a timeless story. The themes addressed in Akira echo those of a 21st century entangled in class struggles, politicians’ quest for power and the blind race for technological progress.
The film directed by mangaka Katsuhiro Otomo himself is at the origin of the expansion in the West, and particularly in France, of Japanese culture and paved the way for the arrival of anime in force. The influence of the adventures of Shōtarō Kaneda and Tetsuo Shima is well established. Akira was one of the most important science fiction visions of its time along with Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1986). Without Akira, the film Ghost in the Shell directed by Mamoru Oshii in 1995 would never have seen the light of day… at least not in the form we know it.
The Akira movie is available on Netflix
Take a Netflix subscription card on Micromania
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