Animes to Watch: Cheerfulnuts’ Top 11 Favorites

Anime, or Japanese animation, usually refers to cartoons with large-eyed characters. Most anime (but not all) are based on manga or comics, some on videogames. Some people who are not familiar with anime assume that otakus (anime fans) are mostly children. However, anime is not limited to cute girl heroines or robot super heroes. There are diverse anime shows available in the market. Anime attracts just as much, if not more, adult viewers.

Unlike in most countries, the Japanese government requires filmmakers to ask for permit before they make use of the country's locations for shooting. This is a great hindrance to films requiring several different filming locations. Some foreign films that have stories set in Japan had been filmed in other countries. In response, the Japanese had created more films and TV shows in anime to resolve Japan’s strict filming rules and to cater to the taste of a wider audience. With anime, filmmakers can freely set the story in any location they want without going through the red tape.

I started watching anime since high school. Seeing an anime show on TV makes me feel nostalgic. In this hub, I’ve listed some of my favourite anime series. These are not in any particular order. All of them have been adapted from manga. Enjoy!

名探偵コナン

Also: Case Closed

Manga Creator: Gosho Aoyama

Genre: detective, comedy

Episodes: 626, still ongoing

Shinichi Kudo, a 17-year-old detective, had witnessed two suspicious-looking men making a deal with another person. Before the men left, they discovered Shinichi from his hiding place. They tried to kill him by forcing him to swallow a pill. Believing he was dead, the men left. Shinichi woke up, unharmed by the mysterious pill, but it had turned him into a boy instead of killing him. To protect himself and his loved ones, he disguised himself as a child and named himself Conan Edogawa. He ended up living with his childhood friend (and love interest) Ran Mouri with her father Kogoro Mouri who was also a detective. He kept his real identity hidden except to Professor Hiroshi Agasa, a scientist and a friend. Agasa invented some gadgets to aid Conan in his mission. Shinichi/Conan was determined to find the men who attacked him to bring himself back to his original body.

鋼の錬金術師

Manga Creator: Hiromu Arakawa

Genre: adventure, fantasy, action, comedy

Episodes: 51

Edward and Alphonse Elric were sons of an alchemist who was always away from home. They were practically raised by their mother alone. One day, the two got home and found their mother dead. Without their father around, the devastated children decided to revive their beloved mother with alchemy. They underwent intense training and had researched for months. After they’d collected all the ingredients needed, they performed the forbidden Human Transmutation. However, something went terribly wrong. Edward lost a leg and his younger brother Alphonse lost his entire body. To save Alphonse, Edward sacrificed his arm in exchange for his brother’s soul. Edward got his brother back and tied his soul to an armour. They were discovered by their neighbor Pinako Rockbell and were brought into her home to treat Edward's wounds. Pinako's granddaughter and the brothers' childhood friend Winry made Edward two automails, or prosthetic metal limbs, to replace his lost limbs. After their recovery, the Elric brothers set out to search for the Philosopher’s Stone, a treasure which they believe would turn them back to their original state.

モンスター

Manga Creator: Naoki Urasawa

Genre: psychological thriller, horror

Episodes: 74

Hikaru went to his grandfather’s home to pay him a visit. He went to the attic and found an old Wei Qi where a ghost was residing. The ghost came out and possessed Hikaru. Since then, the two had been inseparable. Sai, the ghost, was a great Go player. He begged Hikaru to play Go for him while in his mind, he would tell the boy how to play it. Slowly, Hikaru learned to love the board game.

モンスター

Manga Creator: Naoki Urasawa

Genre: psychological thriller, horror

Episodes: 74

Dr. Kenzo Tenma, an outstanding neurosurgeon, had a bright future ahead of him. His promotion would come any time soon. Also, he was engaged with Eva Heinemann, daughter of the director of the hospital he was working in. However, he grew frustrated with the hospital’s corruption. When he was about to operate Johan Liebert, a boy who was shot in the head, the director called him and told him to leave the boy to operate the mayor instead. A man with deep values and principles, Dr. Tenma made up his mind to operate the boy himself and to let another doctor handle the mayor. The boy survived, but the mayor didn’t. As a result, he lost his fiancé and a possible promotion. Then, mysterious things started to happen. The director, with some doctors, was killed, and the boy, together with his twin sister Nina Liebert, disappeared from the hospital. Dr. Tenma started to wonder whether he should have saved the boy or not.

学園黙示録

Also: Academy Apocalypse

Manga Creator: Daisuke Sato

Genre: action, horror, bishojo

Episodes: 12

A group of high school students found themselves surrounded by teachers and classmates who had turned into zombies. The survivors formed a group and made a plan on their escape before getting themselves trapped in school. With the telephone system not working, the group decided to set out to check out their families. Throughout their journey, their friendship grew, and they struggled to survive despite the countless encounters with the living dead.

デスノート

Manga Creator: Tsugumi Ohba

Genre: psychological, horror

Episodes: 37

Light Yagami was a gifted high school student who was bored with his life. Then, he found a “Death Note” notebook with instructions written on it. According to it, writing down a person’s name on the book will cause that person to die. After conducting a few experiments with criminals and meeting shinigami (death god) Ryuk who was the previous owner of the Death Note, Light realized that the notebook was real. Being disgusted with the crimes and corruption going on, he decided to make use of the book and become a “god” by killing all the evil people. He called himself Kira. The police realized that a “mastermind” was behind all the mysterious deaths of the criminals, which put Light face to face with an eccentric yet intelligent detective L. The two met, and L believed that Light was Kira, but he had to prove it before Light kills him.

地獄少女

Also: Hell Girl, Girl From Hell

Manga Creator: Hiroshi Watanabe

Genre: horror

Episodes: 26

Ai Enma, or the “Hell Girl”, has the power to take people to hell. She appears in front of anyone who visits a mysterious website that could only appear on exactly 12 midnight. After a person enters the name of his hated individual into the website, the Hell Girl will show up to hand out a voodoo doll with a red ribbon tied around it. By pulling the ribbon, the person could send his nemesis to hell in exchange with his own soul. Each time a person pulls a ribbon, Ai, together with her crew, will punish the enemy before dragging him to hell.

ちびまる子ちゃん

Also: Little Miss Maruko

Manga Creator: Sakura Momoko

Genre: slice of life, comedy

Episodes: 142

The story revolves around Momoko Sakura, a typical Japanese girl who resides in the suburban Shimizu in the 1970’s. The third-grader, nicknamed Maruko because of her round face, is living with her grandparents, her parents, and an older sister. She is lazy, disorganized, loves to read manga, and a procrastinator. Her bestfriend is Tamae Honami, a studious girl with eyeglasses who is also Maruko’s seatmate.

あたしンち

Genre: slice of life, comedy

Episodes: 330, manga is still ongoing

The story is about the everyday life of the Tachibanas, a typical Japanese family of four. The family consists of the quiet and poker-faced Father, the frugal and clumsy Mother, the fun-loving and outgoing Mikan, and the intelligent and adult-like Yuzuhiko.

幽★遊★白書

Also: Ghost Fighter, Ghost Files, Poltergeist Report

Manga Creator: Yoshihiro Togashi

Genre: fantasy, action

Episodes: 112

Yusuke Urameshi, a delinquent high school student, found himself alive in the Underworld after getting fatally hit by a car for saving a boy. He was faced with Koenma, the prince of the Underworld. Because of Yusuke’s heroic act, the prince gave him a chance to return to earth. But in exchange, he will give his service to the Underworld by becoming an Underworld Detective. He acquired a power called Rei Gun, which works by pointing his finger to a target, just like a gun. He formed a group with Kazuma Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei, with Genkai as his trainer.

るろうに剣心

Also: Samurai X

Manga Creator: Nobuhiro Watsuki

Genre: action, adventure

Episodes: 95

Kenshin Himura, a man with a striking x mark on his face, was being haunted by his dark past. He was a former assassin known as Hitokiri Battosai. After the Bakumatsu war, he turned over a new leaf and became a wanderer. Armed with a reversed-edge sword, he fights the wicked people to protect the weak. He encountered Kamiya Kaoru during his travels and saved her from a man claiming to be the legendary Hitokiri Battosai. Upon realizing that Kenshin was the real Hitokiri Battosai and being filled with gratitude, Kaoru let him stay in her dojo. Kenshin formed a bond with Kaoru and had made some friends.

© cheerfulnuts 2011. All Rights Reserved.

Cheerfulnuts' Note: While I was looking for videos to add to this hub, I've stumbled upon this video on Youtube (see below). It's a video filmed by softypapa showing what's inside the Chibi Maruko Museum in Japan. It's amazing! I would love to go there someday! Don't miss this video!