Day Two wants to know the favorite anime you’ve watched so far. This… this is a toughie. There are two series that are basically 1a and 1b, and a two more that are very, very close. So I’m just gonna cop-out and speak the praises of all of them (get used to that, btw), since I’m not sure that any of them are particularly popular stateside. I watched them all in the mid-to-late aughts, back when I had digital cable. All but the one I’ll discuss first were up in the high numbers, the International Channel/AZN, Encore (mainly Encore Action), G4, and the like. Feels good, man.
Yeah!
Anyway, first up is Coyote Ragtime Show. I saw this one on the Anime Network On Demand back in the day, and as far as anime series go, it watches like a damn good popcorn flick. It’s a short, fast-paced joyride that gets from point A to point B quickly and never feels the need to stop and sniff its own farts along the way. If it helps, think of it as Outlaw Star‘s uncomplicated, fun-loving country cousin (with higher production values).
Abenobashi’s merry band of weirdos..
Moving on from analogies that are bizarre even by my standards, we have Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi. This is another shorter series. If I recall correctly, it kinda blows its own premise at the end, but it’s still a whole lotta dimension-hopping fun, looks nice, and has tons of heart (arguably the reason for the screw the rules ending). You’ll be seeing this one again on down the line.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Section 2, Division 2..
Now we’re at the ones that are 1a or 1b, depending on the day. We’ll start with the entirety of the Patlabor series. Love both the serious, darker movies and the lighter, goofier series, and you’ll be seeing it pop up with a fair amount of regularity over the course of my challenge. Basically, it is the most realistic, down-to-earth mecha anime ever made. The movies exist in their own continuity, and the plots go progressively more grandiose, as movie versions of things are wont to do, but they’re still more-or-less grounded in their version of reality. Err, maybe not Wasted XIII.
Your Vandread pilots..
Finally, we’ll close it out with mecha space opera-ish harem adventure series Vandread. Some elements of the series may call to mind (mainly old school) Battlestar Galactica. Like all of my choices, this series is arguably here more for its heart and sense of fun than its brains. Not that any of them are dumb, it’s just the the fun and heart are more important than any pretensions they might have.
To me, it’s important that one not lose their sense of humor or wonder to the inevitable cynicism being of an above average intelligence causes. I guess that’s pretty much the unifying theme of my life, and my choices in entertainment tend to reflect that.
Thanks for stopping by!
See you Space Cowboy…
Life and Baseball Cards 