Here's my top 10 anime from 2003-2004. This list is mostly redundant, but what the hell. In alphabetical order:
Gankutsuoh - PUNK OPERA OF REVENGE~! Gonzo overcomes their standard difficulty (i.e. the shows look great but the writing tends to fall apart in the end) by adapting The Count of Monte Cristo in a science ficition setting. The visual style - lots of pattern fill backgrounds that sit still while everything else is moving - is a love it or hate it affair, but you can't argue with the epic revenge saga plot. One of the best new shows of the past season. This is still airing, but I belive it's set to go 24 episodes. Digisubs abound and it's guaranteed to be licensed sometime this summer.
Genshiken - Also known as My Anime Club: The Animated Series. A small group of geeks get together to watch cartoons, play video games, read comics, and revel in otaku interpersonal dynamics. I realize this sounds like as much fun as watching paint dry, but trust me, it's a hoot and a half. If you're involved with anime fandom you'll get more of the jokes, but even if you're completely oblivious to fandom the wonderful characters carry the show. Sharp, witty, and at it's best positively hysterical. A mere 12 episodes, alas, fully fansubbed and likely to have a US DVD release.
Last Exile - Remember what I said above about Studio Gonzo? Last Exile is a mostly wonderful show that really could have used a few extra episodes to wrap up the ending. That said, it still holds together fairly well and is entirely badass. Flying machines, massive air ships, and the steampunk equivalent of Captain Harlock will have you completely rocking out with every episode. 26 episodes, all of which have been released on R1 DVD. Hell, I think it's been shown on television from time to time.
Monster - Naoki (Yawara, Master Keaton) Urasawa's dark, brooding story of a brain surgeon in Germany trying to track down a serial killer gets the deluxe treatment for it's television adaptation. Each episode positively drips atomsphere and follows the manga storyline very faithfully. Monster is the sort of story that didn't strictly need to be animated but looks so damn good with it's serious animated style that you have trouble imagining it as a live-action adaptation. I dunno the exact number of episodes, but it looks like it'll reach up into the 70+ episode range, with 42 already out and fansubers keeping up with it very nicely.
Paranoia Agent - Let me get this out of the way right now: I'm an absolute whore for Satoshi (Perfect Blue, Millenium Actress) Kon's anime. His work is quirky, beautifully crafted, and the most interesting cartoons to come out of Japan in ages. Paranoia Agent is Kon's first attempt at TV anime and he knocks it out of the ballpark...so to speak. The mysterious Shounen Bat is rollerblading around Japan, beating the hell out of people with his golden baseball bat, ramping up the general level of anxiety in an already tense urban society, and involving himself in the lives of a wide range of utterly neurotic characters. The end result is blistering, surreal satire as Kon gleefully goes after a wide variety of targets in an even wider variety of styles. You have to admire anyone who takes internet suicide pacts and turns them into an excuse for wacky hijinx. You also have to admire anyone who turns excessively cute plush dolls and turns them into a vehicle for horror. 13 episodes, half of which are out on DVD in the US.
Planetes - If I had to pick a favorite out of all of the titles I'm listing, this would be the winner. Planetes is set in the near future, where mankind has established firm footholds in orbit and on the moon and is looking towards the outer solar system. While space travel has become commonplace, there's still opportunities for adventure and glory...and then there's the lowest job of them all: picking up the debris that's accumulated in orbit. Our misfit group of heroes are essentially garbage collectors, and they proceed to have goofy adventures, run-ins with space ecoterrorists, and rocky personal lives. I'm reminded strongly of Patlabor, which also combined off-beat characters with a generous helping of humor and positively tons of heart. The ending is, quite simply, lovely. 26 glorious episodes, all digisubbed, with a deluxe US DVD release (double-disc sets dripping with extra features) en route from Bandai later this year.
Sakigake!! Cromartie High School - You may be familar with the show Azumanga Daioh, a series of 4-panel gag strips about a gaggle of high school girls. The humor was wacky, the tone was gentle, and the storylines very slice of life. Take the humor and make it as surreal as you possibly can, then replace the schoolgirls with male high school thugs: that's Cromartie. Freddy Mercury! Mechazawa-kun! A very large gorilla! Teenage bruisers crippled by carsickness! And not a single fight in the entire series. 26 beautifully non-sequiter 12-minute episodes, with fansubs ranging from "quite good" to "you dumb shits didn't realize that the characters were using excessively polite language for a reason and then added in the word 'fuck' a few times, thus ruining the joke". Stick with The ADV's US DVD release; the first volume is due out any day now.
Samurai Champloo - The Cowboy Bebop team returns with a hip-hop samurai show. No, really. Funky beats, flashing swords, beatboxing retainers, low-riding palanquins, and general Meiji Restoration hell raising. So far the series is an excellent example of style over substance...but, what style! And, while the plot is bare-bones (Fuu wants to find "the samurai who smells like sunflowers"; thug Mugen and sophiticated thug Jin are drafted to help her), the characters are terrific fun, the atmosphere and animation are astounding, the hip-hop pastiche gags are a hoot, and the soundtrack is just fucking awesome. 26 episodes, 22 of which have aired, with fansubbers frantically completing each episode as they're released. Alternately, the first US DVD came out a few weeks ago and is well worth your hard-earned.
Tokyo Godfathers - Satoshi Kon's third feature film isn't quite as strong as his previous two, but that means it's still head and shoulders above anyone besides Studio Ghibli - and, even then, he can give 'em a run for their money. This is a re-telling of the old John Wayne western Three Godfathers (a standard Hollywood storyline by this point), where three misfits find a baby and take care of it. Cue wacky, heartwarming hijinx. In this case, we've got three bums on the streets of Tokyo: an alcoholic, a transvestite, and runaway teenage girl, all of whom are determined to return the infant to it's rightful parents. At the same time this is a Christmas movie, complete with the occasional miracle. However, instead of devolving into sacherine, Kon's cast of misfits are alternatingly scathing, reflecting, and occasionally heroic, and the film is heart-warming without being sappy. You're a few months late to enjoy it for the holidays, but this is still highly recommended; the US DVD is readily available, and there was even a brief theatrical run.
Yakitate!! Japan - Finally, a show about a young man striving to be the best bread maker in Japan by achieving his dream of a uniquely Japanese style of bread. No, really. The plot is the bog-standard "best in Japan" routine, dripping work ethic, technical detail about the profession or sport involved, and with energentic characters overcoming obsticles to achieve their dream. However, if the plot isn't anything new, the execution is top-notch, with fun characters, bizzare humor (in particular, vivid hallucinations reminiscent of the breads origin plague one character every time he eats our hero's latest experiments), and delicious bread in every episode.
Delicious bread. What more could you ask for? This hasn't been licensed for the US just yet, and may not make it over here anytime soon. In the meantime, the fansubbers are making a valiant effort to keep up with episodes as they're broadcast, with over a dozen already released and many more on the way.
FnordChan
Edit: Woo! Pictures!
