Last time, I rambled and tried to play historian. This time, I just skip to personal opinion.
There's no actual order here, just things that have made a good lasting impression.
-- Tenchi Muyo! (OAV Pts 1&2)/Tenchi Universe/Tenchi Muyo GXP - Tenchi is quintessential 'harem anime' - a story about a teenage boy who normally possesses amazing untapped power and quickly becomes surrounded by a throng of women all of whom are passionately in love with the hero. It's teenage male escapist fantasy at its most basic, and most shows of the kind never really rise above the sophomoric staples that come with the setting. Tenchi, on the other hand, grapples with some broader issues, including the death of a parent, coming of age, and the responsibilities of power. In a lot of ways, Tenchi Masaki is the Peter Parker of anime. Just with a lot more Mary Janes and Gwen Stacys running around.
-- Martian Successor Nadesico - Almost a parody of the entire spectrum on anime, MSN has a lot of layers. Ostensibly, Nadesico is about the Earth's fight against the evil Jovians, but in reality it's meta-commentary on many of the cliches and stereotypes common throughout the genre, including the fandom. This is best illustrated by the cartoon-within-the-cartoon, Gekiganger, that many of the characters are obsessed with. The best thing about Nadesico is that while it does hold up a pretty large mirror to the inane nature of a lot of anime conventions, it also revels in the insanity of those very same conventions. And the 'splosions are pretty too. (Of course, they went and ruined it with Nadesico: Prince of Darkness, which went emo to such a degree that even Hayden Christensen would be hard pressed to compete.)
-- Outlaw Star - Joss Whedon swears up and down that he'd never seen an episode of Outlaw Star when he came up with the idea for Firefly/Serenity, and I'd like to believe him. But when you look at the similarities in the setting (Space Western vs... Space Western), characters (Gruff but decent outlaw vs... gruff but decent outlaw) and even plot points in the first episode (mysterious package contains naked girl vs... mysterious package contains naked girl) it's kind of hard to hold onto the faith. Outlaw Star doesn't have a genius doctor, mysterious preacher or the cutest engineer in three galaxies, though, so that's all in Joss's favor.
-- 08th MS Gundam Team. Lord, but there are a lot of Gundam shows. Mobile Suit Gundam. Zeta Gundam. Gundam Wing. G-Gundam. Gundam SEED. Gundam SD. And probably a half dozen more I've forgotten. All are decent, but the best one was a short direct to video series called The 08th MS Gundam Team. Set during the One Year War that took place in the original Gundam series, 08th is a side story that focuses more on the reality of war. Or at least as real as a war with giant white robots fighting with lightsabers in the jungle can get. The characterizations are a little thin, since there's not much time to focus on individuals, but because of that it doesn't feel nearly as interminable as some of the other installments in the franchise.
-- Love Hina - Another entry in the 'harem anime' column, sort of. Instead of the standard one guy/lots of infatuated girls paradigm, this is more of a love triangle from a romantic comedy deal. And there are no super powers. It's not typically the sort of thing I'd confess to watching, but it's got such a winningly lighthearted charm to it that you can't help but like it.
-- Noir - Thriller/Drama series about two female assassins for hire, trying to uncover the hidden connection that brought them together. Great music and excellent pacing, one of the series that I recommend to people interested in testing the waters of the genre.
-- Neon Genesis Evangelion. I have a love/hate relationship with Eva, as does most everyone that really got into it, I suspect. On the positive side, it sparked so much interest into the symbolism behind the organizations, lore and mythology on the show, which is a good thing. It's too bad that the series fell apart at the end, mirroring the meltdown of the show's brilliant but troubled creator. The subsequent "this is what REALLY happened" movies were emotionally disturbing as well. I remember having to get up and walk outside after seeing a 3 minute clip of End of Evangelion strung together to Rod Zombie's "Dragula".
-- Last Exile - Still my personal favorite. Last Exile has everything I look for in a scifi series. Solid characterization, dense plotting, action and plenty of 'splosions. The first few episodes of Last Exile feature a homage to the pod racing scene in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace that simply blows the movie version out of the air. And the midpoint and endgame airship battles in the series are spectacular. My only complaint is that the ending may be a little bit too ambiguous unless you were really paying attention throughout the entire series.
Next Time: Anime that bugged me.
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