The greatest anime of all time

[fantasy noob]

also dragon ball, dbz and dbgt rock more then all of those mentioned here except for elfenlied and cowboy bebop, im sorry to say this but naruto is kind of not good . . at all

[DeepThought]

Originally Posted by Talysia

...Ghost in the Shell, followed by Akira, simply because of the groundbreaking ideas.

I concur, exactly the pair I had in mind , though an almost impossible task to choose between the two...

Cheer's, DeepThought

[Armadillo-002]

Probably louie the rune solider that made me laugh so much, cardcaptor Sakura, Gundam wing, Tenchi Muyo/universe, Yugi-oh, Nadesco. To many to say.

[Thadlerian]

I think Spirited Away is very easily the best movie (of those that I have seen, of course). Both Akira and Ghost in the Shell have too many points detracting to even compete with the Ghibli movies. Howl's Moving Castle was deeply flawed (especially the ending), and the protagonist of Princess Mononoke is too boring. Whisper of the Heart and Porco Rosso are both brilliant, but a little too narrow. Spirited Away, on the other hand, is perfection.

As for series, the question is slightly more difficult. There would be a contest between Haibane Renmei and Wolf's Rain.

[Overread]

hmm having seen wolf's rain I will agree that it is a great series (ava ) but Cowboy Bebop really does deserve a mention as well - all round great anime series!

Interstingly, I don't think anyone has mentioned Grave of the Fire Flys - not seen it myself but it is supposed to be the most moving of the Ghibli productions. As for spirited away being the best - I disagree - Naussica and Mononoke stand out as been better to me.

Akira and Ghost I love not only for thier storylines and characters - but also because of the notasgic feeling that older style animation has - it seems to carry more with it than much of the newer productions.

[Talysia]

I've only recently seen Wolf's Rain, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I would class it as one of my favourites. I haven't seen all of Haibane Renmei yet, but what I have seen was beautiful and well thought out.

And OR, I know what you mean about the older style animation.

[Xwing Mom]

Personally, I like the Ruoroni Kenshin series best...the movies were okay, but not as great as the series. I think the producers hurried the ending just a bit...I had to read the manga to get a real feel for the ending. I also think the Gundam animes are awesome.

[Quokka]

I'd like to watch Naussicaa right through, it was on TV the other night (english version) and I saw about half an hour of it, looked interesting. I really haven't seen enough Anime to be able to say what's best but Grave of the Fireflys was very good and I love some of the imagery from Spirited Away with Princess Mononoke another on the to be watched list.

As I posted on another thread the 80's Astroboy is being shown on tv at the moment and although I've only seen a few episodes I've been really impressed with how well it holds up.

One question, I watched Full Metal Alchemist a while back and enjoyed a lot of it but one thing I'm not a fan of is the over the top/ cartoonish reactions that characters sometimes do. It seems to be a fairly standard technique in anime but can anyone recommend any anime that don't use it? It's the realism of the artwork that's always been a big part of what I've liked about anime.

[Overread]

hmm I have a simlar taste Quokka:
try some of these for no overthetop animations:
Ghost in the Shell - start with the films and then see the TV series - good sci-fi series with well written plotlines

Ghibli - but then you aready know about those (Naussica certainly a great film!)

Wolf's Rain - newer anime, but very well animated and presented - good story line (and its got wolves!!)

Cowboy Bebop -- possbily the greatest anime ever made - think Firefly - its cowboys in space! Wonderful anime and a must see

Witch Hunter Robin - a good series to watch, but I would say its the "weakest" of my recomendations. Not to say that it is bad, but its below the others (who are rather at the very very top!)

[Quokka]

Thanks for the suggestions Overread,

That really is an impressive resume for Ghibli isn't it. Kiki's Delivery Service is another one I missed recently on tv. I'll have to start checking the tv guide, I'm always changing channels and noticing stuff like this, unfortunately I'm also always finding it with half and hour left to go .

I've seen the Cowboy Bebop movie (terrorist on Mars?) and enjoyed it a lot but have only ever seen a couple of random episodes of the series so I think I'll go back to episode 1 and maybe grab the Ghost in the Shell movie as well for starters .

Not to take over the thread but anyone remember an anime about a hospital with fully automated beds? I've a vague memory something along the lines of one turning into a robot and escaping with an elderly lady? It may have just been an episode of something rather than a movie.

[Reading_fanatic]

I don't know about the best ever but my favourite animes are.....
Ghost in the shell:Great take on a possible future.
Inuyasha:Beginning was really good but the end was kinda disappointing.
Naruto:I like it its fun and enjoyable
Gundam seed: Simple but compelling plot with good characters
FMA:Good plot and characters make this a fun anime
and my all time favorite
Trinity Blood:Incredible detail with new and intriguing characters and plot makes this a stand out Anime

[JFLewis]

Right Now? Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Previous faves: Death Note, Bleach, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (I know! I know! It's a magical girl transformation series, but it was still very good), The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, .hack//SIGNS (but not .hack//Root), Tenchi Muyo OVA, Anything by Studio Ghibli, Kenshin, GITS: Stand Alone Complex, and Combattler V.

[Talysia]

Originally Posted by Quokka

Not to take over the thread but anyone remember an anime about a hospital with fully automated beds? I've a vague memory something along the lines of one turning into a robot and escaping with an elderly lady? It may have just been an episode of something rather than a movie.

I can remember something very similar, Quokka, but it was a film, rather than a series - Roujin Z (at least, that's what it was called over here). It featured a hospital that made automated beds specifically to take care of the elderly, only one became mixed up with the old woman who was in it and broke out of the hospital to find her husband.

I don't know if that's the one you're referring to, though. I haven't seen it in years.

[Yamagata]

I'm reall fond of Samurai 7. It is such a deep and colorful anime, with a new take on an old idea.

It's based off of the great Akira Kurosawa's Samurai Seven. The struggle of the common people is expressed through the protective samurai. I really enjoyed it.

[sarakoth]

God, there've been so many good ones through the years. I think it'd be much easier for some of our more avid anime watchers to name say top five or top ten in no particular order.