The Top 30 Animé films according to 'Cut'

[Jacob T. Paschal]

The Top 30 Animé's according to 'Cut'. (http://patrickmacias.blogs.com/er/2006/11/mama_inai.html)


1. Nausicca
2. Gundam Trilogy
3. End of Evangelion
4. Ghost in the Shell
5. Laputa
6. AKIRA
7. Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro
8. Space Cruiser Yamato 1
9. Princess Mononoke
10. My Neighbor Totoro
11. Spirited Away
12. Grave of the Fireflies
13. Howl’s Boring Castle
14. Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer
15. Galaxy Express 999
16. Porco Rosso
17. Kiki’s Boring Delivery Service
18. Patlabor 1
19. Crayon Shin-chan (the "Natsukashi" one)
20. Girl who Leaped Through Time
21. Jin-roh
22. Wings of Honeamise
23. Perfect Blue
24. Mindgame
25. Night on the Galactic Railroad
26. Macross: Do You Remember Love?
27. Ashita no Joe 2
28. Memories
29. Full Metal Alchemist
30. Tekkon Kinreet (Black and White)

Uh...here's where I laugh...a little.

Props to them for Gundam...at least...

[Lord Dalek]

The guy who typed this thinks he's REAL clever. :rolleyes2:

[Classic Speedy]

The guy who typed this thinks he's REAL clever. :rolleyes2: Yeah, and he's not. Kiki's Boring Delivery Service? Yeah, that took a lot of wit to come up with. Plus he's 100% wrong.

[Lord Dalek]

Yeah, and he's not. Kiki's Boring Delivery Service? Yeah, that took a lot of wit to come up with. Plus he's 100% wrong.Indeed, Miyazaki? Boring? Does not compute...

[Co-op]

Do any of you think it's entirely possible that someone *might actually* have a different opinion than the rest of you? Just curious...

[Ragebot]

Indeed, Miyazaki? Boring? Does not compute...

Well, except for Nausicaa. :sweat: :ack:

Yeah, I realize that I just killed a bunch of baby Ohmus with that remark. But don't worry! All the Kodamas, Totoros and Sootballs are safe with me!

[Beat]

The fact that he mentioned Gundam and Ashita no Joe means automatically that he's full of win.

[HellCat]

To be fair, I still find Mononoke dull. Miyazaki can do incredible visuals but my first and only taste of his work left me feeling empty.

[Jon T]

Nice list. Good to see Galaxy Express 999, Macross: Do You Remember Love?, Wings of Honeamise and Space Cruiser Yamato 1 on the list in among some of the more 'usual suspects'. Sad to think that half of the incredibly short list of films I've cited are still currently unlicensed.

I do agree with one of those posts about Space Cruiser Yamato 1 however; it is an important film, but not really a totally effective one, even more so if you've already seen the first series. Far too many character-building moments and nuances were removed. It's still a decent science-fiction story that manages to take itself seriously without being too po-faced however, so it's still worth a glimpse! :)

[Lord Dalek]

Nice list. Good to see Galaxy Express 999, Macross: Do You Remember Love?, Wings of Honeamise and Space Cruiser Yamato 1 on the list in among some of the more 'usual suspects'. Sad to think that half of the incredibly short list of films I've cited are still currently unlicensed.
Actually it's just 1/4th.

[Kagetsu]

Yeah, and he's not. Kiki's Boring Delivery Service? Yeah, that took a lot of wit to come up with. Plus he's 100% wrong.That was my first thought too. Gundam? that show had everything I like, but still didn't like that show. End of Evangelion? I don't think I've heard anyone say much good about it. So many of the others I haven't seen, but Shin-Chan above Fullmetal Alchemist? That's a load of hooey

What? they haven't seen Last Exile or Cowboy Bebop or Noir or Azumanga Daioh or Angelic Layer?!

[Tay the Cat]

End of Evangelion? I don't think I've heard anyone say much good about it.
It's a good film (at least I think so), it's just... really freakin' strange.

[Jon T]

Actually it's just 1/4th.

Could you tell me where I can get my R1 DVDs of Macross: DYRL and Galaxy Express 999? ;)

[Nin-Nin69]

"ZOMG THEY HAD STUPID HOWL'S MOVIE CASTLE ON THE LIST! THAT MOVIE IS GAY LOL! WELL I'LL FIX THAT!" http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v251/Nin-Nin69/emot-v.gif

[Zeonic Freak]

Good to see FMA at the bottem, bout time its below a top ten.

But no BGC or Riding Bean... But they did put up Kenichi Sonoda Wings of Honeamise, thats some credit there.... oh, these are movies, NM.

At least Macross and Patlabor made it.

[Lord Dalek]

What? they haven't seen Last Exile or Cowboy Bebop or Noir or Azumanga Daioh or Angelic Layer?!Those are tv series and the Bebop movie isn't as good.

[Rancid1988]

Where is Ninja Scroll in that list? Why isn't Ghost in the Shell and Akira higher and where is Cowboy Bebeop knockin on heavens door

[Jowy Blight]

The fact that the End of Evangelion (#3!?) is even on the list is enough to destory his credibility.

[Lutochris]

Why? Eva is at or near the top of every single one of these lists that ever comes out, because it deserves to be. And this list was published by a film magazine, in other words legitimate film critics, not fanboys. The only thing that makes the list lose any credibility is that it's not at #1. Everything else is about right.

[HellCat]

Why? Eva is at or near the top of every single one of these lists that ever comes out, because it deserves to be. And this list was published by a film magazine, in other words legitimate film critics, not fanboys. The only thing that makes the list lose any credibility is that it's not at #1. Everything else is about right.

Obviously Jowy Blight feels differently.

[Vu Man]

Why? Eva is at or near the top of every single one of these lists that ever comes out, because it deserves to be. And this list was published by a film magazine, in other words legitimate film critics, not fanboys. The only thing that makes the list lose any credibility is that it's not at #1. Everything else is about right.
You win an Internet for giving me my daily rofl. Maybe the new Evangelion project will be the push the series needs to propel the movie into new heights and claim the intercontinental heavy weight champion title of film magazines everywhere.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

You win an Internet for giving me my daily rofl. Maybe the new Evangelion project will be the push the series needs to propel the movie into new heights and claim the intercontinental heavy weight champion title of film magazines everywhere.

And the second it does a Peter Jackson directed/written Gundam movie adaption'll shoot it out of the sky.

[Tay the Cat]

The fact that the End of Evangelion (#3!?) is even on the list is enough to destory his credibility.

You're misunderstanding.

The list wasn't made by the guy with the blog linked in the original post. It was made by a magazine.

[Lutochris]

I'm not saying you're stupid if you don't like Eva, but every time these lists come out, and Eva is always inevitably in the top 3, a slew of people reply with the obligatory "LOLZ watt!?? Eva is #2!! ZOMG tat is total BS it should be Fullmetul Alkamist!!" or something along those lines. People need to stop being surprised and upset about it. Whether or not you like it is fine, but it's not ridiculous for it to be thought of on the same level as the best works of Miyazaki, Tezuka, Tomino, etc. Obviously enough people (not just fanboys) think highly enough of it for it to be.

[HellCat]

I'm not saying you're stupid if you don't like Eva, but every time these lists come out, and Eva is always inevitably in the top 3, a slew of people reply with the obligatory "LOLZ watt!?? Eva is #2!! ZOMG tat is total BS it should be Fullmetul Alkamist!!" or something along those lines. People need to stop being surprised and upset about it. Whether or not you like it is fine, but it's not ridiculous for it to be thought of on the same level as the best works of Miyazaki, Tezuka, Tomino, etc. Obviously enough people (not just fanboys) think highly enough of it for it to be.

I once again say the problem is the fans and to be fair that includes you. Every time Eva is criticised, the more obsessive fans have to pull the "You just don't understand it!" spiel. And before you say it, I'm not anti-Eva. One of my best friends is a HUGE fan of the show. Difference is, he doesn't shove it in my face and act like I'm some uncultured twit for not liking it. No doubt Eva was/is highly influentual but at the end of the day it's the result of a director hijacking his current project to work out his own bout of depression.

[Zeonic Freak]

I once again say the problem is the fans and to be fair that includes you. Every time Eva is criticised, the more obsessive fans have to pull the "You just don't understand it!" spiel. And before you say it, I'm not anti-Eva. One of my best friends is a HUGE fan of the show. Difference is, he doesn't shove it in my face and act like I'm some uncultured twit for not liking it. No doubt Eva was/is highly influentual but at the end of the day it's the result of a director hijacking his current project to work out his own bout of depression.

Its kinda sad to say that Eva is the norm of this list, or any list.

Top Food Courts in America:
1. Nerv HQ in the fictional Evangelion
2. blah blah
3. your mom...
and so forth.

I just learn to deal with it, nothing i can do about it unless i had some power over a list.

Yea, i wish Cowboy Bebop movie was on that list, i have to say thats one of my fav movies, and even did a report in HS about this film for some class or something. It probably didnt make it because they never watched a CB episode and they were compleltly lost what is going on.

[Ragebot]

No doubt Eva was/is highly influentual but at the end of the day it's the result of a director hijacking his current project to work out his own bout of depression.

Umm, I don't really understand. Are you saying that any work of art is intrinsically weakened just because it is only an attempt for an author to work out his or her personal issues? If so, that would exclude everything from Chinatown to Harry Potter.

(Also, Anno didn't 'hijack' the series because he was depressed. It's been well reported that his depression happened sometime after Nadia, and that the basic premise of the show was as a response to his depression.)

[HellCat]

Umm, I don't really understand. Are you saying that any work of art is intrinsically weakened just because it is only an attempt for an author to work out his or her personal issues? If so, that would exclude everything from Chinatown to Harry Potter.

(Also, Anno didn't 'hijack' the series because he was depressed. It's been well reported that his depression happened sometime after Nadia, and that the basic premise of the show was as a response to his depression.)

No, I'm saying it's not the be all and end all so many want us to believe it is.

[Lutochris]

I once again say the problem is the fans and to be fair that includes you. Every time Eva is criticised, the more obsessive fans have to pull the "You just don't understand it!" spiel. And before you say it, I'm not anti-Eva. One of my best friends is a HUGE fan of the show. Difference is, he doesn't shove it in my face and act like I'm some uncultured twit for not liking it.

As I specifically said, you're NOT stupid for not liking Eva. Yes there are fanboys who act like that, but that's true for just about everything. Yet it's unreasonable to think it's not worthy of it's status. When enough people are this passionate about it, and it has stood the test of time, you cannot deny it's power, even if you aren't personally moved by it.


No doubt Eva was/is highly influentual but at the end of the day it's the result of a director hijacking his current project to work out his own bout of depression.

The greatest art is made from suffering.

[HellCat]

As I specifically said, you're NOT stupid for not liking Eva. Yes there are fanboys who act like that, but that's true for just about everything. Yet it's unreasonable to think it's not worthy of it's status. When enough people are this passionate about it, and it has stood the test of time, you cannot deny it's power, even if you aren't personally moved by it.


Who said Eva had no effect on me? I'm just annoyed with anyone who acts like their interests should be liked as standard.

[Ragebot]

When enough people are this passionate about it, and it has stood the test of time, you cannot deny it's power, even if you aren't personally moved by it.

I do agree with most you've written, Lutochris. Personally, Evangelion was an extraoardinary emotional and intellectual experience for myself. But I'm not sure I agree with this general statement.

For example, I'm watching Zeta Gundam, one of the true Holy Grails of anime as considered by everyone. Well, to be blunt, I'm currently find the show almost completely mediocre and uninspired. Now, I could just sit passively by eating the show up, convincing myself that the show has a signifigance that goes beyond my enjoyment of the show (which, again, I'm not seeing), and also be too intimidated to form any personal opinions because it would go against the show's reputation.

However, to do that would be far too intellectually dishonest with myself, nor would I be doing the show any favours either. So, I do see where Hellcat and others are coming from, and I do respect anyone who tries to share conflicting or minority opinions.

Naturally, there are limits. Trolling an Eva or Zeta forum would not be a reasonable action just because you hate the show.

[Gokou Ruri]

I don't know about Eva being a good series or not since it's up to the individual if they like it or not (I didn't like it myself), but it is indeed influential (all the copycat mecha series like Dual and Rahxephon, for example.) It is also the turning point in anime history that made Japan crack down on censorship and make it so anime is extremely tame and can't show such graphic violence on basic TV in this day and age compared to 80's stuff like Fist of the North Star or DBZ.

[Jowy Blight]

Why? Eva is at or near the top of every single one of these lists that ever comes out, because it deserves to be. And this list was published by a film magazine, in other words legitimate film critics, not fanboys. The only thing that makes the list lose any credibility is that it's not at #1. Everything else is about right.
Personally, it's because I found the film to be a whole lot of nothing. It made no sense at all and just shoved religious references around in a attempt to look deep. I could at least follow the other films on that list, but it felt like Eva just gave up on plot halfway through. Doesn't help that it contains maybe the worst main character in anything I've ever seen.

What is this "power" and "effect" that many of you speak of?

[Eno the Red Guy]

I enjoyed the EVA series, but I found End of Evangelion needlessly depressing and bizarre. I actually like the series' ending, as abstract as it is, mainly because I was actually able to derive some meaning and purpose from it.

The whole two final episodes are basically looks into the minds of the main characters and how they act, raising the questions of why they do so and if it is really what they want, as well as how we all appear different to those around us even if our own views on how we are seem so clearly defined. It ends with Shinji realising that he is an individual and doesn't really need the EVA as his crutch to gain acceptance and love. I think if it was to be shown in a more physical way, it would've ended with Shinji just up and leaving NERV now that he wasn't needed and starting up a new life to rebuild himself.

Plus it ended somewhat positively. End of Evangelion is just a gorefest followed by an acid trip and then a punch in the gut for an ending... Or at least that's how I saw it.

[J'onn J'onzz]

I once again say the problem is the fans and to be fair that includes you. Every time Eva is criticised, the more obsessive fans have to pull the "You just don't understand it!" spiel. And before you say it, I'm not anti-Eva. One of my best friends is a HUGE fan of the show. Difference is, he doesn't shove it in my face and act like I'm some uncultured twit for not liking it. No doubt Eva was/is highly influentual but at the end of the day it's the result of a director hijacking his current project to work out his own bout of depression.

The thing is, at least half of its haters either don't have a reason for hating it or they just say "WTF this dusnt make since? WTF? This is such dumb animee csu I dont get it lolol STFU." I'm pretty sure a lot anti-Evangelion people hate it because they don't get it. I'm not saying all, but quite a few of them do.

[Zeonic Freak]

The thing is, at least half of its haters either don't have a reason for hating it or they just say "WTF this dusnt make since? WTF? This is such dumb animee csu I dont get it lolol STFU." I'm pretty sure a lot anti-Evangelion people hate it because they don't get it. I'm not saying all, but quite a few of them do.

In an ironic case, my brother behind me is watching the end of the 6th ep on dvd he bought yesterday, and clapping... very loudly...

But yea, cant help but to agree there with you J'onn. But it human nature it seems to hate something you dont understand...

[Ragebot]

I enjoyed the EVA series, but I found End of Evangelion needlessly depressing and bizarre.

One could make the case that the original ending to episode 26 is needlessly simpleminded and optimistic.

[Chris Wood]

Nice list. Good to see Galaxy Express 999, Macross: Do You Remember Love?, Wings of Honeamise and Space Cruiser Yamato 1 on the list in among some of the more 'usual suspects'. Sad to think that half of the incredibly short list of films I've cited are still currently unlicensed.

I've got to say, it's a pretty cool old school list. These days you never see people mention something like Ashita no Joe.



I do agree with one of those posts about Space Cruiser Yamato 1 however; it is an important film, but not really a totally effective one, even more so if you've already seen the first series. Far too many character-building moments and nuances were removed. It's still a decent science-fiction story that manages to take itself seriously without being too po-faced however, so it's still worth a glimpse! :)

I suspect a typo here. The tearjerker second Yamato film is almost surely the most popular in Japan. The first film is just a chopped up highlight reel of the far superior TV series.

[Lutochris]

I do agree with most you've written, Lutochris. Personally, Evangelion was an extraoardinary emotional and intellectual experience for myself. But I'm not sure I agree with this general statement.

For example, I'm watching Zeta Gundam, one of the true Holy Grails of anime as considered by everyone. Well, to be blunt, I'm currently find the show almost completely mediocre and uninspired. Now, I could just sit passively by eating the show up, convincing myself that the show has a signifigance that goes beyond my enjoyment of the show (which, again, I'm not seeing), and also be too intimidated to form any personal opinions because it would go against the show's reputation.

However, to do that would be far too intellectually dishonest with myself, nor would I be doing the show any favours either. So, I do see where Hellcat and others are coming from, and I do respect anyone who tries to share conflicting or minority opinions.

Naturally, there are limits. Trolling an Eva or Zeta forum would not be a reasonable action just because you hate the show.

This is true, and you absolutely shouldn't base your personal opinion of a show on it's reputation, or a need to be able to enjoy a popular show. What I was trying to say in that sentence was that, since so many people DO find it powerful, then essentially it IS powerful. If something can have so much of an effect on so many people, then it has power to move people. Not everybody, but it does move a lot of people. The fact that it does, and to such a degree, proves that it has this ability. Now if you see it and aren't moved by it, there's nothing wrong with you (although there are some who dislike it for the wrong reasons). It's not powerful to you, but it is powerful to millions.

Citizen Kane is the best movie ever made, according to most reputable film scholars. It's certainly not MY favorite movie, but I am at least able to recognize that it did have a powerful effect on a large number of people, and that therefore Orson Welles was able to achieve something big, even if I wasn't very moved by it. So for that reason, I don't have a problem with it being at or near the top of most "Best Movies Ever" lists.

[Jon T]

I suspect a typo here. The tearjerker second Yamato film is almost surely the most popular in Japan. The first film is just a chopped up highlight reel of the far superior TV series.

Yeah, that's possible - the second film works because...it's actually a film, not a highlights package. The only reason I could think of including Yamato 1 over Yamato 2 was that the first movie has been considered by some to be the beginning of a 'Golden Age' of anime, since Yamato 1's popularity allowed the production of numerous sequels to Yamato, as well as ushering in more anime series with a mature outlook.

This especially applies to SF series; witness Captain Future, Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express 999, MS Gundam... and so on. Before the first Yamato movie, only the original Yamato series could be considered to be the first serious science fiction anime after the comparatively unrealistic (but enjoyable!) super-robot and super-hero series like Mazinger Z or Gatchaman.

[Chum]

Very nice list, it's nice to see the older titles didn't get ignored like they usually do.

I would have included the following in the list:

Robot Carnival
Project A-ko
Angel's Egg
Windaria
Weathering Continent
Dagger of Kumi
Barefoot Gen
Dirty Pair : Project Eden

[Tash]

1. Nausicca

To this day, I've never understood the appeal of this movie. It bored me to no end, and I felt that they could have fit a lot more story into it.

2. Gundam Trilogy

Never cared for Gundam, so I can't comment.

3. End of Evangelion

This one has already been torn apart.

4. Ghost in the Shell

Another standard on lists. Sometimes I wonder if these lists were based on what anime were avalible 7 years ago, and not what what the best ones are.

5. Laputa

This is my favorite Miyazaki Movie. (besides Porco Rosso) I'm glad to see it getting some respect.

6. AKIRA

See my GitS comment.

7. Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro

Personally, I never really understood why people love this one. It's a great movie, but I don't think it's something I'd put on a list of greatest anime movies.

9. Princess Mononoke

I'm going to come out and say it: I hated this movie. It moved slowly, was full of excess violence, and just wasn't very interesting. It did look nice, though. (although Spirited Away looks much better)

10. My Neighbor Totoro

This is, by far, the most overrated anime movie ever created. (in my opinion) It wasn't a bad movie, but it wasn't very good either. It was just... there.

11. Spirited Away

This is one of the only "standard choices" that I approve of.

12. Grave of the Fireflies

This was a good movie. I'd have put it a bit lower, myself, though.

14. Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer

See my comment on GitS. This isn't a bad movie at all, but it's not something that should be regarded as one of the best anime movies.

16. Porco Rosso

I'm glad that this movie is on here. A lot of people don't appreciate this one. (however, this probably isn't a popular opinion)

17. Kiki’s Boring Delivery Service

I liked this one, too.

23. Perfect Blue

This movie should have been MUCH higher. This is one of the few "Standard choices" that doesn't feel like "well, it's all we had back then".

29. Full Metal Alchemist

Well, it's 29, so I won't argue with them.


Honestly, I don't think that I'd be able to put together a list, but I really don't like how the anime that were avalible as it was becoming popular tend to be so overrated. The Love Hina anime is a good example of this.

[HellCat]

For FMA, I'll be interested to see how it rates in a few years. It looks good from what I've seen (certainly something the hacks behind SEED/SEED Destiny need to see) but it definetly feels like it's scoring so well due to hype. Hopefully as time passes it'll get more realistic and fair ratings.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

I honestly haven't seen many anime movies I really loved. One problem I notice is that anime films largely tend to be a: summaries of TV anime series or b: just a glorified, extended episode of an anime TV show. As for ORIGINAL anime films, only Ghibli stuff is the most satisfying.

I'm intrigued by Satoshi Kon's films, and I have guilty pleasures of course (Dagger of Kamui) but very few films outside of Ghibli I would confidently recommend as being accessible to anyone and everyone.

[Beans]

I am deeply troubled by the lack of Tokyo Godfathers and Whispers of the Heart on this list. I suppose the list coulda been much worse though, and I'm amazed that I've seen 22 of these films (and this reminds me that I really oughta see Jin-Roh already).

Anyway, to the guy who made this thread, unless you're talking about French animation, anime is not spelled with an accent over the e. I'm sorry, and don't take it personally, but I really find it irritating when people spell it that way. There are no accent symbols in romanji and even if there were that spelling would not accurately reflect the way anime is pronounced (the emphasis is on the first syllable).

EDIT: Also, a strong case could probably be made for Barefoot Gen, even with the crappy production values.

[Eno the Red Guy]

One could make the case that the original ending to episode 26 is needlessly simpleminded and optimistic.
I'd certainly prefer an optimistic ending that actually seems like an ending (the whole congratulatory scene) to one that ends on an exceedingly low note after you've just seen all your favourite characters get tortured and murdered mercilessly. The series got quite depressing later on anyway, so I think for all the characters have been through they deserve to at least be seen in a positive light when the curtain goes down.

[Chris Wood]

There are no accent symbols in romanji and even if there were that spelling would not accurately reflect the way anime is pronounced (the emphasis is on the first syllable).

Actually in Japanese emphasis is equal on all syllables. Or so they say.

[Sheamon]

I actually don't have all that many complaints about the list :P Gundam Movie Trilogy, End of Eva, Nausicaa, Galaxy Express 999, etc... all deserve to be high up there. Am happy to see Akira not number one, as I consider that movie highly overrated after finally seeing it for the first time a few weeks ago. Would have liked to see Ideon: Be Invoked there (another unlicensed gem), but outside of that, don't have too many complaints about it.


Could you tell me where I can get my R1 DVDs of Macross: DYRL and Galaxy Express 999?

You can get GE999 and its sequel movie on VHS. They're licensed, just not on R1 DVD :P


I don't know about Eva being a good series or not since it's up to the individual if they like it or not (I didn't like it myself), but it is indeed influential (all the copycat mecha series like Dual and Rahxephon, for example.) It is also the turning point in anime history that made Japan crack down on censorship and make it so anime is extremely tame and can't show such graphic violence on basic TV in this day and age compared to 80's stuff like Fist of the North Star or DBZ.

RahXephon isn't a copycat series of Eva. RahXephon was
1) Based heavily on Brave Raideen, a giant robot show from 1975.
2) Made by old Sunrise staff members. Sunrise was the company that made many of the shows that influenced Eva in the first place, thats where the similarities came from.
I won't argue that there are some Eva homages in there, but to call it a copycat series is absurd. Eva did not have much of a conceptual impact on the medium because it was extremely unoriginal and contained many cliches. Eva's real impact was popularizing the genre more and dealing heavy damage to shows like Cowboy Bebop by making the censorship environment quite tough.



The thing is, at least half of its haters either don't have a reason for hating it or they just say "WTF this dusnt make since? WTF? This is such dumb animee csu I dont get it lolol STFU." I'm pretty sure a lot anti-Evangelion people hate it because they don't get it. I'm not saying all, but quite a few of them do.

Ah, the typical "if you don't like Eva, you don't get it". There are plenty of legitimate reasons out there to dislike Eva. I personally enjoy the show quite a lot and would put it in my top 3, but I would NEVER claim that anti-Eva people don't get it. There are plenty of critiques of Eva out there:

1) The characters are extremely unlikable. Outside of Misato, who out of the main characters is there to like? Shinji's pathetic, Asuka is too arrogant and cruel, Rei is a lifeless puppet, Gendou is a bastard to his son, etc...
2) The original TV ending is the worst ending in anime history. Even I as an Eva fan admit that.
3) Regardless of the ending, the show really collapsed towards the end anyway. Rei's death, the Kaworu situation, the narrative style of episode 21, all heavy flaws. Eva peaked with eps 18 & 19 and didn't reach that peak again, in the TV series anyway.
4) Although I disagree with them, many found the movie quite over the top.
5) The series doesn't truly know what it wants to be. At times it is too goofy and others way too serious.
6) There is a fair amount of filler early on in the series. They had way too many angels, and that Jet Alone episode was a complete waste.

See? There are many critiques to the show. "You don't get it" is a garbage response.

[Chris Wood]

RahXephon isn't a copycat series of Eva. RahXephon was
1) Based heavily on Brave Raideen, a giant robot show from 1975..

??? The Rahxephon movie was completely incomprehensible and light on action. I'm sure Raideen was nothing like that.

[Ragebot]

??? The Rahxephon movie was completely incomprehensible and light on action. I'm sure Raideen was nothing like that.

Oh, come on, Sheamon was obviously just talking in terms of plot and subject matter. Besides, the Rahexephon movie was just a brief condensation of the television series anyway.

[purplehairedwonder]

My enojyment level is more along the lines of:

Spirited Away > Princess Mononoke = Howl's Moving Castle = Fullmetal Alchemist > Laputa = Pom Poko > Nausicaa = Kiki's Delivery Service

I had a hard enough time sitting through the Eva series. I'm thinking I'd probably be just as hard pressed to do it with End of Eva. I've got to say though, there are a number of films on the list that I really do need to see. *coughAkiracough*

[Jon T]

You can get GE999 and its sequel movie on VHS. They're licensed, just not on R1 DVD :P

Well, you could undeniably get them on VHS (and the same goes for Macross: DYRL too), but technically speaking both GE films are unfortunately currently unlicensed.

Someone over at AnimeOnDVD finally got a confirmation out of Viz that they no longer held the license. Although the films' conspicuous absence on DVD almost 10 years after their VHS release, coupled with the fact that Viz never mentions them were quite compelling pieces of circumstantial evidence! :)

Plus, have you seen the prices those tapes go for these days, especially if any one of them ends up on eBay!

[Sheamon]

Well, you could undeniably get them on VHS (and the same goes for Macross: DYRL too), but technically speaking both GE films are unfortunately currently unlicensed.

Someone over at AnimeOnDVD finally got a confirmation out of Viz that they no longer held the license. Although the films' conspicuous absence on DVD almost 10 years after their VHS release, coupled with the fact that Viz never mentions them were quite compelling pieces of circumstantial evidence! :)


One of the great tragedies that the GE999 movies were never released here in R1 on DVD. Especially when considering that the hard word (translating and dubbing) were already done. Its not like they'd have to spend all that money in production.



Plus, have you seen the prices those tapes go for these days, especially if any one of them ends up on eBay!

Well then, glad to know that I already own them! :P

[Chum]

One of the great tragedies that the GE999 movies were never released here in R1 on DVD. Especially when considering that the hard word (translating and dubbing) were already done. Its not like they'd have to spend all that money in production.

Viz never released Grey: Digital Target or Mermaid Scar either.

It could be Viz couldn't re-negotiate their contracted license to include a release on to dvd. Sadly this very reason has stopped ADV and Rightstuf from releasing the rest of their back catalogue.

[RAINMAN]

I was really let down by the FMA movie. The ending just really left a bad taste in my mouth.:yawn:

[Lutochris]

I am deeply troubled by the lack of Tokyo Godfathers and Whispers of the Heart on this list.

I just saw Whisper, and you're totally right. It's probably my favorite non-Miyazaki Ghibli film (Fireflies is a close 2nd), and I'd even say it's better than all but maybe 2-3 of Miyazaki's films. I really love that movie. Godfather's should probably be on there as well.



Eva did not have much of a conceptual impact on the medium because it was extremely unoriginal and contained many cliches.

As far as the mech-related stuff goes, true. But that's as far as the cliches go in Eva. But that was intentional because Anno was a student of Tomino, and the mechs really just provided the background of the story. Everything else is pretty much anti-cliche.



Ah, the typical "if you don't like Eva, you don't get it". There are plenty of legitimate reasons out there to dislike Eva. I personally enjoy the show quite a lot and would put it in my top 3, but I would NEVER claim that anti-Eva people don't get it.

I'm sure there are plenty of anti-Eva people out there with legitimate criticism. There's also quite a lot of them that simply don't want to put forth the effort to understand it's themes and ideas. And that's fine, if you're not intrigued by something, you shouldn't have to put effort into it.



There are plenty of critiques of Eva out there:

1) The characters are extremely unlikable. Outside of Misato, who out of the main characters is there to like? Shinji's pathetic, Asuka is too arrogant and cruel, Rei is a lifeless puppet, Gendou is a bastard to his son, etc...

I would argue that a strong narrative need not neccessarily have characters that are strong and likeable. Tony Montana (Scarface) was a cold, merciless, murderous mob boss, yet he was also sympathetic. Eric Cartman is a selfish, sociopathic racist, yet he too is sympathetic. I would argue that most of the Eva characters are sympathetic, even if they're thoroughly pitiful human beings.



2) The original TV ending is the worst ending in anime history. Even I as an Eva fan admit that.


Remedied by the fact that we have End of Eva. And even though they suck as endings, in hindsight they're actually pretty good episodes. They just don't make satisfactory conclusions.



3) Regardless of the ending, the show really collapsed towards the end anyway. Rei's death, the Kaworu situation, the narrative style of episode 21, all heavy flaws. Eva peaked with eps 18 & 19 and didn't reach that peak again, in the TV series anyway.


Well that's your opinion, I thought 21-24 was spectacular buildup towards the film's ending.



4) Although I disagree with them, many found the movie quite over the top.


This is understandable, though I think it was an appropriate ending for the story. Again, this show requires a lot of effort to truly appreciate, not everyone would be willing to put forth that effort (which is fine).



5) The series doesn't truly know what it wants to be. At times it is too goofy and others way too serious.

6) There is a fair amount of filler early on in the series. They had way too many angels, and that Jet Alone episode was a complete waste.


I would argue that this is why the show towards the end is so powerful. It started out as light-hearted, standard sci-fi/mecha stuff. As the series became progressively darker, the emotional impact was reinforced by the playfulness the characters experienced in the early episodes. The essence of great tragedy is when characters are given a taste of happiness, and have it ripped away from them by the unfairness of the world.

I think the early episodes, while very episodic, served this purpose by providing the more simple type of stories that made up Shinji's happier times, before everything went to hell.

Furthermore the series never backtracked, it went from lighthearted to progressively darker and darker. It didn't go back and forth.

[Chrono1995]

Where's Ideon: Be Invoked? That's all I got to say.

[Joker1238]

I would have put Vampire Hunter D, 1 or Bloodlust, either will do in the top 30. Some were.