Anime plays a very important role in my life. When I was young, in middle school, I was a very lonely child with shallow friendships and no one to talk to. My family was not very receptive to my feelings nor were they loving, so I was left on my own to myself.
Anime opened a portal for me. I first watched English dubbed anime on television. It was fascinating, wonderful, amazing! When that became insufficient, I pursued further portals and found myself a plethora of amazing works of the Japanese society at my disposal. I remember my first anime was Sailor Moon. Then it was Dragon Ball Z and Tenchi Muyo!. I started reading Fruits Basket and then it was Naruto. There was so much that was open to me, I immersed myself completely in the anime culture.
Once I had opened that door, I could not force it shut. I met many people, friends that are important to the development of the person I am today, through my love of anime. Those friendships are long lasting and much deeper than other friendships I have had. I was the space pirate. I was born a kunoichi. I destroy as a dragon slayer. I have found myself!
I know that I shall never “grow out of” watching anime or reading manga. It is an integral part of who I am. Anime is my family. Anime is my best friend. That is why, I can say without a doubt, that anime will forever rule in my heart.
Want to know the anime that makes me tick? Read on and find out!
5. Tsuyokiss
- Episodes: 12
- Aired: July 2006 – September 2006
Based on an erotic video game, this anime is surprisingly not erotic. The story revolves around a girl named Sunao, who has moved to a new town and starts going to a new school with one goal in mind: to establish a drama club! She happens to run into an old crush from her childhood who had destroyed her when he called her a daikon (which also implies a bad actress)!
Despite being based on an ero-game, this anime does not even touch the border of overly ecchi. The main character is surprisingly female, but till, it is a “harem” around Leo even if the girls are not technically obsessed with him. I enjoy the comradery between all of the characters and the light hearted atmosphere of this anime.
4. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
- Episodes: 25
- Aired: October 2006 – July 2007
Code Geass takes place in an era when the Holy Empire of Britannia attempts to take over the world, starting with Japan which is stripped of its name and renamed Area 11. A brilliant boy named Lelouch, who turns out to be an exiled Prince of Britannia, dreams of destroying Britannia as revenge for the atrocities committed against him. When he receives the power of Geass, he realizes his dream is about to come true.
Code Geass is truly a great anime if you love action, military power, fantasy, and politics. There is never a dull moment when you watch this anime! Prior to watching this anime, Lelouch can be merely recognized as a bishounen, but after watching both seasons of Code Geass, you can come to realize that Lelouch is a great leader and genius manipulator who, for the most part, knows how to control the strings.
3. Chobits
- Episodes: 26
- Aired: April 2002 – September 2002
Chobits is the story about Motosuwa Hideki who has failed to get into a university, so he attends cram school in Tokyo. Everyone in Tokyo has a persocom, which is an android that can act as a personal computer, but they are too expensive for him to afford. One day, he discovers a persocom wrapped in bandages laying out in the trash to be disposed of. He takes it home, finds a way to start it up, and soon realizes that his life is anything but ordinary. The persocom, Chi, may seem like a simple minded machine, but there is so much to her than meets the eye.
Aside from the cute characters in this anime, I enjoy the plot of this anime very much. You are drawn in by the story and you can’t let go of this anime until you know everything. CLAMP really outdid themselves when they released this anime. It has its funny moments, but there are many emotional moments that tug your heart strings and other intense moments that have you asking many questions. There is no doubt that this is one of my favorite anime of all time.
2. Naruto
- Episodes: 220
- Aired: October 2002 – February 2007
Naruto is an anime that revolves around the life of Uzumaki Naruto, a young boy scorned by his village who merely wants to become a strong shinobi to be acknowledged by his peers. He spent his entire life alone, but that hasn’t stopped him from wanting to strive for a better future as the next hokage of konohagakure! As he discovers the dark secret behind his birth, Naruto works hard to prove everyone wrong. Along the way, he makes many lasting friendships and we see him and the other characters grow.
While some may just describe this anime as being amongst the “mainstream,” this anime does have a great plot and character development compared to other shounen anime. This is an anime where you can learn more about the side characters and actually grow to care for them. This anime has been criticized for following the usual shounen anime plot structure and character descriptions, but the mangaka took the stereotypical shounen characters and made him his own.
While some characters can be vile, there is still a side of them that makes you truly enjoy them. Can you truly say you don’t enjoy even just a second of this anime?
1. Ouran High School Host Club
- Episodes: 26
- Aired: April 2006 – September 2006
Ouran High School Host Club revolves around the story of Fujioka Haruhi, a scholarship student attending Ouran High School which is a prestigious school for rich kids. She finds herself stumbling into a host club where the rich students at this school go to kill time. Mistaken as a boy, she is pulled in to be a host after breaking an expensive vase.
Now, how will she ever be able to live a normal high school life?
If you have seen Ouran High School Host Club, you would not question why this is #1 on this list. The characters are all very fun with great energy despite what their backgrounds are. Although it is technically a reverse harem, there is no focus on romance in this anime. Instead, it is about the hijinks of rich characters who wish to pass the time.
There are a lot of costumes, allusion to yaoi and yuri, and fun events in this anime so you will never find yourself feeling bored.
Anime is not just something you watch in your spare time, it is a portal to many different worlds. I have never considered myself as an outcast for watching anime or liking anime. Actually, I really enjoy discussing aspects of different anime with many different people and I feel truly blessed for being able to write about something that brings me so much joy.
I hope to continue watching different anime to make friends and be able to continue discussing my passions with other people.
Yoroshiku!
Author: Jenangelx3