My top 10 (not really the greatest manga/anime of all time)
So I've been checking out a couple of people's top 10 list and now I'm in the mood to yak about mine, especially as I haven't posted in forever.
1. Hikaru no Go (Manga, Anime)
I still remember when I first saw HnG in a Japanese bookstore---for some reason the covers of Hikaru were just so colorful and dynamic and simply but beautifully done that I bought it and couldn't really care less about what was in it. Then the language was simple enough that I began to be able to follow it and what really clinched it was when I got a Japanese person to help me with the more technical terminology that I just can't use my electronic dictionary for. HnG was one of my very favourite Japanese manga because it's one of the very first that I was able to understand in the actual Japanese; having it English translated by one of the net groups only confirmed my love for it and the anime just sealed it forever. Everything about it is just captivating, but most especially the way time is presented---Hikaru actually grows up and the art reflects that.
2. HunterxHunter (Anime, manga)
I adore Gon and Killua. Seriously adore them---I watched it initially for these two as Leorio and Kurapika were more non-entities to me than characters. Then Kurapika had his little chains and he stole my heart too. And then the Illumi and the Spiders came. 'Nuff said.
3. Detective Conan (Anime, Manga)
This is one series I have loved forever. It is utterly, utterly ridiculous that for a series which episodes you can predict how it will go can still be so unpredictable between beginning and ending. I adore practically everyone in the series (with the exceptions of Mouri--who still shines at certain moments, Kazuha--who is the flattest character and has the most annoying voice, and the villains---odd how they're able to make you dislike the villains). I can rewatch movie after movie, episode after episode, but for some reason, I can't write fic for it. *sighs*
4. Initial D (Anime)
I still have this series on tape and it's the main reason I still have a VCR. I just rewatch the shows over and over and over again. I love anime about car racing and I think what I like about this is that it hits all my sweet spots: cute guys, dramatic racing, cool cars, laidback but ubertalented hero, and it's clean. I tried reading a series called Drift-X also on drifting and kinda anime-novelish, but by the second book, I found it a little too skeezy for my taste. Initial D, especially the first and second season, just kicks ass!
5. Glass Mask (Anime, Manga)
This is seriously an awesome, awesome series. I don't even really know why I like it so much, only that I do. I love Maya and Masumi (really, Masumi is a little too old for her, but his unrequired love just makes my heart melt---also, she won't be a teenager forever! ^_^) together and Maya's friends are just people I'd love to belong with. It really is too bad that the Japanese is too difficult for me to understand because there's over 40 books in this series and it's unfortunate it hasn't been picked up yet for translation. But it's one of the shoujo mangas I completely adore.
6. Prince of Tennis (Manga, Anime)
Like HnG, PoT drew me in because of the covers and the relatively easy to understand Japanese. In fact, there was a period I liked it better than HnG simply because I can understand it much, much better whereas HnG still frustrated the heck out of me because some of the terminology was just indecipherable (for a non-fluent reader). I adore Ryoma and I really like how he kicks ass in tennis---of course, after around volume 11, I quit reading it because unlike certain other shounen manga and anime, the mangaka is a little too repetitive. I think I like the manga much, much better than the anime.
7. Whistle! (Manga, Anime)
Another one of those I love because I can actually decipher the Japanese! Like HnG & PoT, I only have Japanese-language for these manga and I'm not in a hurry to add the English versions to them. I adore everyone in it and I really, really like the team spirit and the fact that, for a change, we have a hero who has to actually work to become good at his favourite game, who is actually the worst in his team in the beginning and who will perhaps never become more than professionally good. It's Like HnG, PoT, DC, & IniD, this is one of those series that's the equivalent of my favourite hot mushroom soup and buttered toast---lovely, heartwarming, and can have it endlessly.
8. Hana Yori Dango (Manga, Anime)
Okay, I hate the first few books of the series, but after a while it gets better and better. What can I say, I like the idea of a poor girl hobnobbing with the elite and I like the idea of a boy-harem for a change! ^_^ Seriously, I adore Tsukasa---just adore him. His simple-minded, determined, yet absolutely sincere love for Tsukushi just melts my heart and makes me want to smack Tsukushi for being such a blind, confused, and distrusting heroine. It took me a while to get back into it, but now I'm following the English version with bated breath.
9. Hajime no Ippo (Manga, Anime)
Okay, another sports anime/manga. What can I say? Oddly, I adore the anime over the manga (which used to be available in English by scanlation). I think this is one of those anime that really shows to me how different a men's manga is over the boys---the humor is way more adult and the entire feel of the manga is just different. I think you will either like it or hate it, but take it from me, the eye candy and the hilarious moments are worth it! ^_~
10. Cardcaptor Sakura (Manga, Anime)
Yes, I bought it for the cover---really is just height of the ubercute! I completely adore everyone in this series, especially Lee! It really is just too bad I haven't finished watching the entire series and that there hasn't been as much good fic as I like. Really, I should perhaps consider making this one of my fandoms. *thoughtful*
Hah, for a very definitively non-sports-person, my tastes are quite different huh! But this list is basically compiled of manga/anime that I adore like my comfort food. There's an enormous amount out there that I love for various other reasons too!
1. Hikaru no Go (Manga, Anime)
I still remember when I first saw HnG in a Japanese bookstore---for some reason the covers of Hikaru were just so colorful and dynamic and simply but beautifully done that I bought it and couldn't really care less about what was in it. Then the language was simple enough that I began to be able to follow it and what really clinched it was when I got a Japanese person to help me with the more technical terminology that I just can't use my electronic dictionary for. HnG was one of my very favourite Japanese manga because it's one of the very first that I was able to understand in the actual Japanese; having it English translated by one of the net groups only confirmed my love for it and the anime just sealed it forever. Everything about it is just captivating, but most especially the way time is presented---Hikaru actually grows up and the art reflects that.
2. HunterxHunter (Anime, manga)
I adore Gon and Killua. Seriously adore them---I watched it initially for these two as Leorio and Kurapika were more non-entities to me than characters. Then Kurapika had his little chains and he stole my heart too. And then the Illumi and the Spiders came. 'Nuff said.
3. Detective Conan (Anime, Manga)
This is one series I have loved forever. It is utterly, utterly ridiculous that for a series which episodes you can predict how it will go can still be so unpredictable between beginning and ending. I adore practically everyone in the series (with the exceptions of Mouri--who still shines at certain moments, Kazuha--who is the flattest character and has the most annoying voice, and the villains---odd how they're able to make you dislike the villains). I can rewatch movie after movie, episode after episode, but for some reason, I can't write fic for it. *sighs*
4. Initial D (Anime)
I still have this series on tape and it's the main reason I still have a VCR. I just rewatch the shows over and over and over again. I love anime about car racing and I think what I like about this is that it hits all my sweet spots: cute guys, dramatic racing, cool cars, laidback but ubertalented hero, and it's clean. I tried reading a series called Drift-X also on drifting and kinda anime-novelish, but by the second book, I found it a little too skeezy for my taste. Initial D, especially the first and second season, just kicks ass!
5. Glass Mask (Anime, Manga)
This is seriously an awesome, awesome series. I don't even really know why I like it so much, only that I do. I love Maya and Masumi (really, Masumi is a little too old for her, but his unrequired love just makes my heart melt---also, she won't be a teenager forever! ^_^) together and Maya's friends are just people I'd love to belong with. It really is too bad that the Japanese is too difficult for me to understand because there's over 40 books in this series and it's unfortunate it hasn't been picked up yet for translation. But it's one of the shoujo mangas I completely adore.
6. Prince of Tennis (Manga, Anime)
Like HnG, PoT drew me in because of the covers and the relatively easy to understand Japanese. In fact, there was a period I liked it better than HnG simply because I can understand it much, much better whereas HnG still frustrated the heck out of me because some of the terminology was just indecipherable (for a non-fluent reader). I adore Ryoma and I really like how he kicks ass in tennis---of course, after around volume 11, I quit reading it because unlike certain other shounen manga and anime, the mangaka is a little too repetitive. I think I like the manga much, much better than the anime.
7. Whistle! (Manga, Anime)
Another one of those I love because I can actually decipher the Japanese! Like HnG & PoT, I only have Japanese-language for these manga and I'm not in a hurry to add the English versions to them. I adore everyone in it and I really, really like the team spirit and the fact that, for a change, we have a hero who has to actually work to become good at his favourite game, who is actually the worst in his team in the beginning and who will perhaps never become more than professionally good. It's Like HnG, PoT, DC, & IniD, this is one of those series that's the equivalent of my favourite hot mushroom soup and buttered toast---lovely, heartwarming, and can have it endlessly.
8. Hana Yori Dango (Manga, Anime)
Okay, I hate the first few books of the series, but after a while it gets better and better. What can I say, I like the idea of a poor girl hobnobbing with the elite and I like the idea of a boy-harem for a change! ^_^ Seriously, I adore Tsukasa---just adore him. His simple-minded, determined, yet absolutely sincere love for Tsukushi just melts my heart and makes me want to smack Tsukushi for being such a blind, confused, and distrusting heroine. It took me a while to get back into it, but now I'm following the English version with bated breath.
9. Hajime no Ippo (Manga, Anime)
Okay, another sports anime/manga. What can I say? Oddly, I adore the anime over the manga (which used to be available in English by scanlation). I think this is one of those anime that really shows to me how different a men's manga is over the boys---the humor is way more adult and the entire feel of the manga is just different. I think you will either like it or hate it, but take it from me, the eye candy and the hilarious moments are worth it! ^_~
10. Cardcaptor Sakura (Manga, Anime)
Yes, I bought it for the cover---really is just height of the ubercute! I completely adore everyone in this series, especially Lee! It really is just too bad I haven't finished watching the entire series and that there hasn't been as much good fic as I like. Really, I should perhaps consider making this one of my fandoms. *thoughtful*
Hah, for a very definitively non-sports-person, my tastes are quite different huh! But this list is basically compiled of manga/anime that I adore like my comfort food. There's an enormous amount out there that I love for various other reasons too!