Anime Recommendations-Anime Critic #1

Anime is something I don't get to share my love for very often. But I love anime and want to do better at talking about it more as it is also animation and has a very big influence on the history of animation. It's also had a big impact on my life. In fact there was a good few years in my life where I would only watch anime. I want to share my love for it more. So welcome to Anime Critic. It's pretty much the Animated Critic just for anime. I'm going to be doing reviews of individual episodes, and sometimes full series reviews. The thing is I had no idea where to start so I decided I'd give you a few anime that I feel you should watch. That way you can get a feel for my taste of anime and you can discover a new anime if you haven't heard of any of these. This isn't a list of my all time favorite anime but just a few I feel you should watch if you haven't yet and are hankering for a good show or movie. So let's get going.This list is in no particular order by the way. 

And if your favorite anime isn't on here that does not mean I hate it or I feel you shouldn't watch it. It just didn't get on the list for whatever reason. 

So let's get going now. 

#1-Akira

 I'm starting with Akira as its one of the anime that made anime the powerhouse it is today. It was this movie that made western audiences look at anime in a whole new light. It's a very big part of anime history. Even if it doesn't seem like something you'd like I'd still give it a chance because of how much of an influence it is. That and it's just a good movie. It's a kinda complex story but it's easy to follow along and it's just so compelling. The characters are well developed and have great personalities. This is definitely one you need to see, or atleast give a chance. 

#2-Trigun

Heck yeah, I love this show. It's another one that helped make anime as popular as it is now. In fact it was actually more popular here in the west than it was in Japan. The story follows Vash the Stampede one of the most wanted criminals in the world of Trigun. He meets two girls who see that he's not that bad. He's a big goof ball. There's a whole mystery centered around Vash about his origins and just why he's a wanted criminal. It makes him a very compelling character. That and he's just a lot of fun, but he also has a lot of depth.  Same with the other characters. It also brings up a lot of deep stuff about life but I'm not going to tell you what exactly as I'm trying not to spoil anything. I will tell you when you do find out about Vash's past it may seem a bit like it's coming out of now where and that may alienate you, but besides that it's still a good show with a great deep story and awesome characters to boot.

#3-Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

There are many arguments about which show is better but personally I feel both go together as one. The original one released in 2003 and starts off following the Manga but since the manga wasn't finished at the time it starts telling it's own seperate story around the middle.
As for brotherhood it follows the manga's story line.
Both shows follow the Elric brothers two aspiring alchemist that try to bring their mother back to life  after she dies. Unfortunately as the iconic opening states human kind can not get anything without giving something up of equal value. What could equal the value of a human life though? Ed ends up losing both his arm and leg while Al loses his entire body, his soul being kept in a suit of armor.
The two go on a quest to find the philosophers stone ,which can bypass any alchemy law, in the hopes that they can get their bodies back to normal.
They both start of the same way (brotherhood skips a plot or two, like for example there's a train hostage situation in the manga and original anime but not here.)
Brotherhood goes a little fast in the beginning as they already went over these plot details in the original. So it may feel a little awkwardly paced for some but that's really no biggie. It's still a good story and the middle and end sections are just oh my god fantastic. As for the original it's paced fine throughout the whole thing. If you watch brotherhood first though the beginning segment might seem really slow to you. But I watched the original anime first. Even if you are adement about anime following the manga's storyline you should still check it out as the new story they create is still fascinating and fits in with the tone of the segments that do follow the manga.
To be honest this is one of the few anime I can watch over and over and still get hooked on. I can just watch any episode at random.
I love this show so so so much.
A great deep story, excellent colorful characters, and it showed me the real value of a human life.

#4-The Hayao Miyazaki Films

Hayao Miyazaki is an amazing director. The entire Studio Ghibli line up is good but I especially recommend Miyazaki's work. He's one of the biggest names in anime. Heck he's one of the biggest names in the animation industry in general. The characters he makes, the atmosphere, the worlds he's created, the stories. It's all fantastic and they are up there with some of my favorite movies of all time both anime and non anime.

Some of his works include Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle (one instance where I feel the movie is better than the book), Kiki's Delivery Service, Ponyo, Nausicaa, and Castle in the Sky. 

Unfortunately he his retired but his works will go down in history as some of the greatest pieces of animation of all time.

#5-Cowboy Bebop

This is considered the anime that got the rock rolling. The one that made people's head turn and see how great anime can be.

What can I say that hasn't already been said. The characters, the stories they are all amazing. It's also just a generally really fun show. It's more episodic than most anime but that doesn't matter. I recommend you give it a try. 

#6-Blood Lad 

This anime I feel is extremely underrated. Probably as it aired during the same time as Attack on Titan (which I also recommend). The story follows Staz, an otaku vampire, that meets a human girl. The Girl soon dies and Staz promises to bring her back to life. 

It's not a perfect anime but it is a lot of fun . Staz is such an amazing character. He's just so awesome and a lot of fun to watch. I also really like his development. The other characters are fun as well. It's one of the few anime I actually watched as it was still airing (I usually wait till it ends it's original run before watching it as I have a tendency to want to binge watch anime). 

It's only 10 episodes plus and OVA so it won't take much time at all. 

It does end on a cliffhanger and a pretty bad one at that and as of right now a second season has not been announced but the people who have watched it are really hoping for a new season. And I'm right there with them. 

#7-Madoka Magica

I love this anime. The sad thing is I only watched it a couple of months ago. I know shame on me. I should've watched this way sooner. The characters, the storyline, the topics it delves into. I love it all. It's kinda like Neon Genesis Evangelion as its a complete deconstruction of an already well established anime genre, the magical girl genre. As I said earlier I plan to do full series, individual episode recaps. This is going be the first show I do that with so I don't wanna talk to much about for fear of repeating myself later on. But if you haven't yet I highly recommend this anime.

#8-Death Note 

I don't even know where to begin with this show. The show follows Light Yagami as he stumbles upon a notebook that can be used to kill anyone he pleases. He decided to use it for criminals. 

It's a very tense anime with great, interesting, colorful, and deep characters. 

It also delves into topics like what would you do with an all powerful notebook that can kill anyone. Is Light right for killing criminals.

It's a deep anime with a focus on black and white morality. It's a fun watch and I highly recommend it.

#9-Clannad/Clannad After Story

Man is this anime sad. Like really sad. Like I've never had any other piece of media make me sadder. Even when I think about the happy moments in this anime I still get depressed. 

The thing that makes this anime so sad is that there are happy moments in there that give you time to get attached to the characters and then BOOM your in the corner with a box of tissues crying your eyes out. 

The characters and the relationships they share are just so well made. You just can't help but get invested into the show. It makes the sad moments just that much sadder. 

I love these two anime. I really do. I've never had anything make me so emotional. 

This anime was made by a company known as key. They are known for making really sad anime like this but personally Clannad is my personal favorite. Their other ones are good to though. 

#10-Rainbow: Nisha Rokubō no Shichinin

Man what a long name. To make things easy let's just call it Rainbow. 

This is probably the most underrated anime I've seen. It follows a group of guys who are all placed in the same jail cell and and have to deal with things like officers constantly harassing them and other jail mates wanting to fight. 

You really get attached to these characters and the relationship they share and along the way you learn their tragic back stories. 

I have to warn you this anime is not afraid to get gruesome so be warned. 

But it's still a heart tugging anime that definetly deserves more attention. 

Oh yeah the opening theme is also awesome as all heck.

And that was the first episodes of Anime Crtiic. I hope to do this at least once or twice a month. 

Hope you enjoyed this episode and if you haven't seen any of these anime then I hope you check them out. You won't be dissapointed. 

Thank you for reading. See you guys later.

Peace.

Next Anime Critic-Madoka Magica episode 1

Next Animated Critic-Gorilla (Teen Titans Go)

Next Quick Thoughts-???

 The first episode of Evan Vs. Disney well also premiere this month with a review over Snow White

Other Future Reviews

Every Man's Dream (The Simpsons) (Animated Critic)

Soul Eater episode 3 (Anime Critic)

The Legend of the Titanic (Animated Critic) 

Powerpuff Girls Z (Anime Critic)

Any other anime you feel I should review? Let me know.