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« Popular Mechanics' Top 10 F/X Scenes in Movie History | Home | SF Tidbits for 1/26/07 »

« Popular Mechanics' Top 10 F/X Scenes in Movie History | Home | SF Tidbits for 1/26/07 »

After reading this news blurb on SciFi about a proposed live action Ghost In The Shell movie (which I thought was called The Matrix), I thought I'd list my personal favorite top 10 science fiction themed anime shows/movies (which you should watch before watching a remake...). Some notes before hand. First, if you're into anime, you'll noticed that one, maybe two popular anime series aren't on the list. I'll explain afterwards why. Second, this list is heavily weighted toward TV series, and newer series at that. Those are the ones I typically get from Netflix. If there are movies I've missed, then please enlighten me. I haven't been keeping up with the anime scene recently as I used to, I have too many other things to occupy my time. Third, if you don't see your favorites here, remember this is my list. Feel free to comment on what you like. Flames will be ruthlessly ridiculed. And last, I've rated them pretty much on the "Would I watch them again if I saw them on TV?" criteria. Hence the ordering. With that out of the way, on to the list!

10. Neon Genesis Evangelion - One of the most popular anime series, ever. Its got aliens, mechs, angst, interesting characters and a complex,some would say incomprehensible, plot. The Earth is being attacked, at regular intervals, by unknown alien entities. The Evangelion units, basically biological mech units, are sent out to fight the aliens and, hopefully, defeat them. Each Eva is piloted by a teenager who has his or her own personal problems to deal with. This leads to the angst. But of course, there is also a lot of action. As the series progresses, the plot becomes deeper and more complex, almost requiring multiple viewings. I placed Evangelion 10th almost exclusively because of the plot, which became a chore to try and figure out, and the way the creators handled the ending of the series (two nonsequiter episodes and two movies). Evangelion is basically filled with a mishmash of psuedo-Christian trappings mixed with the usual 'hubris of mankind' morality play. Still, it belongs on any Top 10 list, especially considering how it affected the anime watching public.
9. Akira - Akira is probably the one anime movie that introduced many American fans to anime in the late 1980's. I know it did for me. In the annals of anime, it is considered a classic. From its story to its striking, for the time, visuals, Akira is a standout movie. I haven't watched it recently, but I do remember re-watching it and thinking it didn't hold up so well the second time around, with the story being complicated to follow, whether this is due to translation issues or the writing I have no idea, and the visuals being inferior to much of what is out now. Still, for the time, it was an influential movie and is one I still like.
8. Full Metal Alchemist - OK, so FMA is pushing the bounds of SF, being basically fantasy, but there are quite a bit of SF ideas here, and its mix of fantasy and tech certainly fits. When I first started watching, there were a couple of early episodes that were decent, but it felt like the show was just wandering. Then, with about episode 20, things got kicked into high gear and the show rocked its way to its ending after 52 episodes. Surprisingly violent and gory, FMA is also filled with lots of humor, sibling rivalry and unexpected warmth, especially between brothers Alphonse and Edward. I wasn't expecting an action/adventure story to focus on the characters so much, but I am happy they did. The human elements add a deeper meaning to the actions that occur, and really ratchet up the suspense during the final episodes. I can't recommend this one enough.
7. Serial Experiments Lain - (SF Signal review) - SEL is a surreal, complex show, most closely resembling Ghost In The Shell or The Matrix. SEL forgoes the action in those two movies and instead focuses on the philosophical underpinnings of humanity, reality and living in a connected world. The visual serve this idea well, being sufficiently strange and using the power of animation to show us things that would be hard to do in a live-action show. While SEL is a slow moving anime, it is only 13 episodes long. But they pack quite a lot of interesting stuff into 13 episodes. And being a sucker for tech-centered, philosophical shows, SEL is placed at #7.
6. Scrapped Princess - (SF Signal review) - Yes, Scrapped Princess is SF, for reasons I can't really go into without major spoilage. Suffice it it say, Scrapped Princess relies heavily on its characters and their interactions to carry the story, and they do it well. I was pleasantly surprised at how the story progressed, as I was expecting a basic fantasy-themed show. I got something more. The visuals are clean and interesting, and the music, especially the opening and closing themes, are great. I'd definitely watch this one again if it were to ever make to American TV.
5. Castle In The Sky - Castle is another masterpiece from the Japanese animation guru, Hayao Miyazaki, best known for his films Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. Castle In The Sky is basically the tale of the long lost heir to a powerful empire discovering her identity and destiny. In other hands, this would be a cliche-ridden film (think Titan A.E.), but Miyazaki brings his talents for story and character to the table and produces a wonderful and fun movie anyone can enjoy. Full of interesting ideas and characters, Castle moves from scene to scene, to its ultimate, bittersweet ending. The one thing that pulled me out was that Mark Hamill's voicing of General Muska kept making me think he was the Joker, from the later Batman animated shows.
4. Last Exile - (SF Signal review) Everything about this anime is top notch: characters, worldbuilding, visuals, and story. It has a very steampunkish feel, but there is a heavy SF element lurking underneath everything. Again, this was another anime I wasn't sure about that sucked me in and made me want to watch all of the episodes right now. Definitely one anime fans shouldn't miss.
3. Cowboy Bebop - (SF Signal mini-review) Cowboy Bebop is an exceptional anime. Starting with its setting: a future, widely colonized Solar System. We see a colonized Mars and a ton of orbitals and space stations. But, at the same time, there is a tired, run-down feeling present. This is echoed in the main characters, Spike and Jet, down-on-their-luck bounty hunters just trying to get by till the next big mark. Bebop doesn't have a big, overarching plot, but there is a small one the runs throughout. Instead, it relies on each episode to extend our understanding of the characters. The visuals are very nice and the music works extremely well with the story. The one sticking point for American audiences may be the ending, which is very Japanese. Otherwise, an outstanding show.
2. Planetes - (SF Signal review) Planetes almost made it to #1. This fantastic anime show is a hard SF look at a near future Earth and is very character-centric. The creators have gone to great pains to show realism in their vision of the future, with no sound during space shots, rotating habitats for gravity, less gravity on the moon, and even to the chosen occupation of the main characters: earth orbit trashmen. Yes, they pick up trash in Earth orbit that may, or is, a danger to ships. And while an episode or two may be a bit slow, the characters are interesting to carry the show and it doesn't end up where you'd expect. I'd say anyone interested in SF in general should watch this show.
1. Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Season 1 - A long title for a very impressive anime show that's can go toe to toe with any anime out there. Not a remake of Ghost In The Shell, rather SAC is a re-imaging. It contains the same two major characters as the movie (Kusunagi and Bato), but in a more character focused format. Think of it as a police procedural drama, focusing on a special forces like group and tinged with the same themes of humanity, reality, AI and such as the movie. Everything here is a standout. The storyline, while a bit tough to follow, is very interesting, and seems to follow from the high level of integration between humanity and technology depicted. The characters also get more screen time and, as such, are much more interesting than in the movies. Plus there is more screen time for the minor characters. All this adds up to a cool SF anime every SF fan should watch.

Now, I know there are several anime fans out there screaming, "What?! Ghost In The Shell or Ghost In The Shell: Innocence isn't here??". Well, no. I remember GitS being somewhat of a letdown and Innocence, while visually amazing, wasn't anything we haven't seen story-wise before. That's not to say they aren't good, just not good enough to make my top 10. I'd probably put them at 11 and 12. As for the ordering here, I'd say that 5 - 10 are pretty close to each other, and I could have re-swizzled them and been happy. This is based on my recollection of how I felt after viewing them. So that means, that yes, in my opinion, 1 - 4 are that good, I'd say that anyone SF fan would enjoy watching them. The others would be more hit or miss depending on taste. Now I'm off to add the second season of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex to my Netflix queue!

Share: | Posted by JP on Thursday January 25, 2007 - 5:02 PM | Category: Anime | © 2007 SF Signal

What, no Project A-ko?

Posted by PapayaSF on Thursday January 25, 2007 at 7:56 PM

If you like Evagelion, I highly recommend "Aim for the Top" (aka Gunbuster) and the sequel "Aim for the Top 2" (aka Diebuster). They are both animated and directed by the same people behind Eva.

FYI - Gunbuster is going to be re-released on DVD on February 20. Gunbuster 2 was just announced to be released in April.

Posted by Bob on Thursday January 25, 2007 at 8:00 PM

I've got to preface this by admitting I'm not a big anime fan. The one show I really got into was FLCL. I loved the music, the writing, the dialogue, the weirdness and the creativity. I'm sure a lot of you will tell me I can find these things in other anime, but nothing has ever pulled me in like FLCL.

My wife is an anime fanatic and I do see one or two shows in your list that she may not have seen, so thanks for the recommendations.

Posted by Matthew Sanborn Smith on Friday January 26, 2007 at 12:11 AM

How you can go without mentioning Paranoia Agent is beyond me.

Personally, I never liked GitS: SAC.

Posted by Maromi on Friday January 26, 2007 at 4:27 AM

What about Crest of the Stars and Banner of the Stars I/II? Stellvia??

Posted by E_I on Friday January 26, 2007 at 6:24 AM

PapayaSF: "no Project A-ko?"

Nope. Saw, didn't like it. See here for a bit more info.

Bob, I'll keep an eye out. Looks like Netflix doesn't have either one listed.

Matthew, FLCL almost made the list, but ultimately, I felt it was too short and just a bit to obtuse to break the top 10. That said, it sure is funny and a lot of fun to watch. And the music rocks, even if I don't speak Japanese (and I don't).

Maromi: "How you can go without mentioning Paranoia Agent is beyond me."
Ooooo, that's easy. I've never seen it! I can't list what I've never seen. I'll add it to my Netflix queue. (We should be getting some sort of love from Netflix, considering all the mentions here...). Actually, upon further review, I do have the first volume of PA in my queue. At #19. I'll get to it in a couple of months.

E_I: "What about Crest of the Stars and Banner of the Stars I/II? Stellvia??"
I found Crest Of The Stars to be boring beyond belief. I just couldn't watch it and I gave up after episode 12. As you can imagine, I've never seen Banner. As for Stellvia, I liked it, I thought it was decent enough, but not good enough to crack my top 10.

Posted by jp on Friday January 26, 2007 at 9:09 AM

Call it heresy, but I like RahXephon better than Evagelion.

But I'm glad to see Scrapped Princess in there. It managed its genre transition surprisingly well.

Personally I'd put Stellvia higher than you (actually on the list), but while I like A-Ko is doesn't really fit per se.

And I'd probably have Outlaw Star and Patlabor in there.

And out of curiosity, if you found Crest boring (I really like Crest and Banner) what did you think of 2001?

Posted by mwb on Friday January 26, 2007 at 1:35 PM

10. NGE (this reminds me of the recent comment of Steven Brust about books and food, this one is IMHO celery)
09. Akira (great movie, and despite some heavy changes compared to the manga it's excellent in its own right)
08. FMA (the first half of the series is brilliant, the second half of the series went nowhere and became worse with each episode)
07. Lain (another celery series like NGE)
06. Scrapped Princess (not bad, but I thought the ending was too rushed)
05. Laputa (brilliant like most Ghibli movies)
04. Last Exile (I liked the begin, but somehow never really connected to the characters, overall it was okay)
03. Cowboy Bebop (I liked this one, but the ending was a letdown)
02. Planetes (this one was brilliant)
01. GitS SAC Season 1 (not bad, but at times too convoluted for its own good, excellent world building thought)

My own list would look like this:
10. Ghost in the Shell SAC S1
09. Patlabor 2
08. Laputa
07. Nausicaä
06. Patlabor OVA
05. Armitage III OVA
04. Ghost in the Shell 1
03. Akira
02. Planetes
01. Wings of Honneamise

Posted by Jörn on Saturday January 27, 2007 at 10:14 AM

I'm halfway through the series Gantz, which I'm really enjoying.

Posted by Steve on Sunday January 28, 2007 at 6:29 PM

The anime show that left an indelible and incalculable influence on me is Robotech the Macros Saga. I was surprised not to see it included.

Posted by General X on Thursday August 16, 2007 at 3:35 AM

I feel sorry for you having to get all this through netflix when you could just spend a day downloading every season of every anime or tv show you want. But hey not like i care, its your loss.

Posted by on Saturday January 05, 2008 at 10:48 AM

That's funny... I've seen an awful lot of anime, and while your picks aren't bad (they are all great shows) I don't know if i would pick them as the best scifi anime. It's more like you picked popular shows that have scifi elements to them, then the best of the scifi shows.

I would really recommend some of the lesser known ones that never really caught on to the anime community, but are fantastic. Noein (first few eps are confusing but it's worth it), Juuousei, and the sadly underrated Fantastic Children (if you don't mind the art)

Posted by on Monday February 04, 2008 at 11:28 AM

what about Outlaw Star???

Posted by Corey on Tuesday March 04, 2008 at 3:02 AM

No Naruto, no gundam wing, no Rama... jeeez!!! While I am not a major anime fan ( I still love it though) you should be grateful a real anime fan hasn't seen this list yet, they'd rip it apart. Then again maybe they have and decided it's not worth the effort.

Posted by Milander on Tuesday March 04, 2008 at 12:10 PM

Ranma, Naruto and Gundam Wing are three of the most widely publicized anime series in existance. Naruto isn't sci-fi and neither is Ranma, Gundam Wing is generally held to be bowhere near as good as other gundam series.

I'm more dissapointed theres no Outlaw Star, since though it is very very popular, its also very very good. Along with that theres an argument to be made that Hellsing is sci-fi, Escaflowne, and a heap of others.

This list is basically a top ten scifi anime that are overpublicised. GITS never grabbed me, Evangelion is painfully badly made further into the series as the budget tightened, Akira is excellent but makes no sense compared to the manga, FMA I'm not buying as a sci-fi show, Bebop is incredibly well done and deserves first place of the series you've listed here.

Posted by GuitarBizarre on Friday April 04, 2008 at 11:44 AM