Update 10/28/13

Hello! こんにちは!

This page is dedicated 100% to rambling about all things ANIME! Yep, yep. I am one of those freaks. I will alert you before a paragraph if I am going to talk spoiler stuff. It will look like the warning above except it will say spoiler. Before I get into any deep discussions about anime. Let me tell you a little about my anime life. 

I got into anime back in 1997 with a little show called Sailor Moon. I would watch Sailor Moon, Digimon, Pokemon, and Power Rangers religiously at my Grandma's house after I got home from school. I can even remember wishing I could be Serena (though looking back now I can't even begin to guess why I would want to be the whiny Rabbit Princess < if you don't get this, you clearly only know the American version of the series).  Any way, after I moved into middle school, I sort of forgot ALL about that part of my life because I was so obsessed with Harry Potter and writing (I still am mind you). It wasn't until eighth grade that some friends of mine tried to get me into reading manga and watching anime. So we would watch Toonami on the weekends at a friend's house. The only show I really tolerated watching was probably Inuyasha. So another several anime-less years went by until one day my best friend handed me a manga and said, "You really need to read this. You like vampires so much that I believe you would love this. It is all about vampires." If you know manga and anime, I am sure you know which series was handed to me. I read Volume 1 of Vampire Knight. It wouldn't be unit I started college that I picked up the series again, but I did in fact enjoy reading the dark romance. During my second year of college I was watching a video of Strawburry17's on YouTube when I noticed that she was watching Sailor Moon. Here I am feeling like a kid again, hop onto my laptop and look up an anime streaming site to watch Sailor Moon. I finished every season as quickly as possible. Unable to quench my sudden thirst for this world, I perused the page until I found something that sounded awfully familiar. A little anime called Vampire Knight. I began to watch the show online and fell instantly in love with the unfinished story of my high school life. Still not satisfied I found myself applying for a free trial of Netflix where I found a gala of anime. The first one I picked was Fruits Basket. Then I moved into ones like Rosario + Vampire, D. Gray-Man, and Chrome Shelled Regios. The rest is then history. 

Now that I have bored you to death with that not-so-interesting story. Let's get into a very debatable and always changing list. My top ten favorite anime (of this current moment). I will even give a little reason why! Lucky you guys. You get to hear my rambling once more!

# 10: Karneval

- This is a new anime of 2013 that began streaming on Hulu thanks to Funimation. It was an instant favorite because it is so colorful and dark. Plus it has a great opening credit song by Granrodeo. Unfortunately for those who like to watch anime in English, there is no dub as of yet. However most Funimation streamed shows wind up with a dub if the demand is high enough. I don't care either way because personally getting to hear Mamoru Miyano be a goofball again is worth it. (If you don't know who Mamoru Miyano is look it up because he is in a LOT of great anime, he is actually in most of them on this list!) Anyhoo....this is definitely a top anime because it is so well put together. The reason it is so low on the list, is because it is only a 13-episode anime that could have gone on so much longer. *crossing my fingers for a second season*

#9: Sword Art Online

- I bet there are many people out there right now bitching me out for putting this anime so low on the list. I'm sorry. That is all I can say. It was really hard for me to put it here, but there are so many others that top this list that have elements that make them better. One factor that helped me make this decision is the feeling of incompleteness. There could be so much more they could do with this anime (like making an anime version of the visual novel continuations < visual novels are games that play out like a story). It would have made the story better. We shall see, it is a newer anime so they may have something up their sleeves. 

#8: 07-Ghost

- Yep, a non-mainstream anime is on this list. I stumbled across this one because I was looking for an anime similar to D. Gray-Man and this was recommended. It is a dark anime that I really wish could have been continued alongside the manga. Though I could speak high praise about this anime, I will say that it is slightly flawed. It probably has something to do with the unfinished anime. Who knows. At least the manga has yet to disappoint too much. 

#7: Pandora Hearts

- Absolutely love this anime. I actually sat and watched this entire anime in nearly one sitting. The only reason, and I truly mean only, this anime is at such a low spot is because of the fact that it does not follow the manga. I am VERY picky about things that don't follow the story line. It follows up until like the last five or so episodes and suddenly they change the story line completely. Oh well. At least it was great enough to make top ten. 

This is where it starts to get really touchy and I had a hard time selecting which anime went where. 

#6: Blue Exorcist

- This is a show that I just recently got into. I watched the entire Japanese dub in like a day. I absolutely loved it. I then went on to reading the manga, which made me fall even harder for it. Then they announced that they finished an English dub of the anime. That made me fall harder! Not only do they have a great cast, i.e. Bryce Papenbrook and Johnny Yong Bosch, I mean come on it's Johnny effing Yong Bosch! This anime without subtitles to read is a million times cooler. So far it is pretty secure in its number six spot, I don't think this series is going anywhere for a while. I can say though, I am highly excited to see the movie that was released recently. I can't decide which language I am going to watch it in. I am leaning towards English just because of Todd Haberkorn (who you will learn I have a huge love for). I will keep you posted on the movie issue. 

WARNING MINOR SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT. MY TOP FIVE I JUST CAN'T KEEP COMPLETELY QUIET ABOUT. SORRY.

#5: Hakkenden

-This anime made its way into the number five spot regardless of the fact that it is a brand new anime series (Started 2012, Finished 2013). There is nothing that can deny this anime deserves its spot in the top five anime. Something that could push this anime into the top three would be an amazing ending to the series (by this I mean like a third season or even a movie I mean), and maybe even an awesome English dub. However it isn't just the actors that pull this amazing story together, it is the characters themselves. I really enjoy watching the different characters drawn together for a common cause. Plus there is a weird triangle going on between the main character and his best friend (who is split in two). So much goodness and it isn't even finished. 

#4: Naruto Shippuden

- Yeah I bet I can tell what some are thinking. "Why is a big three anime only number four?" I will tell you it is because this show is still running. My top three are all anime that are finished (unfortunately) and this one is still going. Plus it may just stay here depending on how this war that the characters are in ends. Plus the emotional show is really hard to watch some times. I mean when you watch someone you absolutely love get killed, it hurts. Another note that I think should be thrown out there is that this is EXCLUSIVELY for Naruto Shippuden, I really do not like the original Naruto series and that could be purely because of the quality of the work. Let's hope that Naruto ends whenever it does on a good note. 

#3: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

- Brotherhood has made top three where its original anime didn't even make top 10 purely for the fact that the anime stuck to the manga. Plus the character development was a million times better. With this anime it dove in depth into each of the characters and helped you better understand each one. Now like the one and two spots, FMA while guaranteed a top 10 spot is teetering on the edge of losing the number three spot. Shippuden which falls in number four may knock this completed series out of its seat. This series has one thing that Shippuden doesn't, Todd Haberkorn (okay so he might be in it at some point as like a movie perhaps, the third Shippuden movie to be exact, but who really watches Naruto in English < If you do I apologize for bashing the English dub, I just can't handle Naruto's English voice). Also another series that sounds awesome in either language. 

#2: Bleach

- Here it is the big one. A big three anime in the top three. I will say this is the only big three that made it this high. One Piece just doesn't really do it for me. Any way back to Bleach. Bleach is an amazing anime. If I hadn't seen the number one first, this would be at the top of my list. It could very well find its way to that number one spot pending the ending of the series. The lengthy anime holds so much emotion and action. Tite Kubo really did start something amazing when he wrote the first chapter. Like with the number one, there are a few things that could secure this anime the number one spot. If the last few chapters of this anime go out with a bang and if they do a final season of the anime. I mean they are only a few volumes shy of completing the series in the anime. It would be awesome, plus they have the fan base. In the fact that the series is still continuing in the US and additional season from Japan would not hurt one bit. Another reason this series is neck and neck with the number one is because it sounds freaking amazing in Japanese and English. 

- RANT TIME (WARNING SPOILERS OF THE LATEST CHAPTERS): So is anyone else pissed off that Ichigo has been in the Soul Kingdom for too long? I mean I get it, he's super powerful and needs to try out the new Zangetsu, but does that really warrant taking away the strongest fighter in the entire soul society away in the middle of war?? NO it doesn't. Plus if this war is almost coming to an end don't you think the Soul King would think "Hey let's send him back" in order to protect his people? At least in this new chapter that was released last week Ichigo made contact with Urahara, so we at least know he is alive. Now if only we could see him. Especially since with the newest revelation about Bankai and Hollows, which leads everyone (or at least me) to realize that Ichigo can still turn into a hollow. *screams like a fan girl* I have mad love for Hollow Ichigo. Anyway rant over, you probably are sick of listening to me now. 

SPOILERS OVER KEEP READING

#1: D. Gray-Man

No surprise here, this was the fourth full anime I completed. (Sailor Moon, Vampire Knight, and Fruits Basket being the first three). D. Gray-Man has held this spot since I started watching anime. It took over Vampire Knight's spot when I finished the second stage of the anime, which would be seasons 3 and 4 of the anime. Of course it is just barely holding onto the spot because of Bleach which is my number 2. Luckily it is still holding strong. There are two things that will guarantee this spot for the anime. An English dub of the second stage and the most epic ending of the manga. That is a reason why Vampire Knight no longer holds a top ten spot, because of the grasping for straws ending of the manga. D. Gray-Man while it is highly religious holds some of my favorite elements of anime. Action, great characters, a good story line, a little romance, comedy, and great actors. This is the anime that had me falling in love with Todd Haberkorn's voice. Plus it sounds great in English and Japanese. It is really hard to find anime's that sound good in both languages. 

Question Time!

1. What are your favorite anime?

2. Any recommendations? 

3. What's a request you would like to see in my next page update? 

Leave your comments below. I will certainly read them and incorporate them into the next post. 

See ya soon! 

=^.^= Kat