A fan of Anime:
I never thought I would be here but here is where I am. For years my husband has waited for me to enjoy the genre of television and I refused. I didn’t want to like it. Don’t ask me why! I was a fool. I’ll admit it. My biggest hang up was that I thought it would be childish. It’s a cartoon (my old thoughts. I no longer feel this way, don’t worry). I thought it was nerdy growing up, I didn’t know many black kids who watched it other than Dragonball and that certainly didn’t interest me (still doesn’t), and I just thought it was lame.
My first introduction my husband carefully thought out. He suggested Death Note. It was the perfect starter for me. I am into psychological thrillers and it didn’t disappoint. The cat mouse aspect was amazing. The dynamic between Light and L was mind blowing and I forgot that it was animated. I even got my mom to watch it and she enjoyed it. She hasn’t watched anything since and that’s ok. I didn’t expect her to watch it in the first place. It took another year to really grasp onto anime. I watched Made in Abyss a little after Death Note and that was where I stopped. As I said, a year and a half later, I’ve now considered myself a fan this year. I’ve seen more new shows than than classics, but here is my top 10 faves in no particular order except #1.
My Top 10:
Death Note. It’s pretty self explanatory as to why. It was my first and no one forgets their first. As I mentioned before, I loved the cat mouse chase. The levels to the strategies and plans of Light and the fact that L was evenly matched in thinking. It was amazing. I was sucked in from start to finish. DELETE, DELETE, DELETE.
Demon Slayer. The art on this show was out of this world. It had a story that I felt invested in and characters that I fell in love with. The extent that Tanjiro would go to save his sister and the bond that couldn’t be severed by the supernatural is heart warming. Plus, this is one MC that didn’t annoy me at any point. It is rare, for me at least. I never cared too much for comedic anime but it was a soft into to it for me.
The Promised Neverland. This was the most unexpected storyline with a first episode that made my jaw drop. It fit my psychological thriller genre and had complexities that I, too, did not expect. For the stakes in this show, it is high, life and death. It also makes you fall in love with the characters and they are children. Emma begin the heart of the story along with Norman and Ray. It has a few great twists and the character development is amazing. The only thing I don’t like about this anime, as a black woman is sister Krone. I felt uncomfortable with her character because it felt unnecessary to draw her in such a way. “Ugh”, was exactly what I said when she came on screen.
Re:Zero. This story hooked me after a few episodes. There were set-ups and payoffs that I received quickly and some I had to wait for. There is a likable aspect of Subaru, his loyalty and how he grows to care for the others in the world his is teleported to. I also found him impulsive to a fault. It’s unclear to me why he of all people was teleported to this place, but I overlooked it. The stakes are high for the characters within that world and I was pleased to know that some casualties would in fact happen.
The Rising of the Shield Hero. I found this through a podcast and wasn’t disappointed in giving it a try. It involves the summoning of four heroes from different parallel universes to a world plagued by waves and randomly selected as a specific hero. Immediately Naofumi is shunned as the Shield Hero and has to rough it in this unknown world with the least amount of information about how it works. He his a complicated character who wants to do what’s right but also doesn’t like anyone because they turned their backs on him over a false accusation. He does make some allies and grows to care for them as did I. He isn’t easy to like as a MC, but he had some big likable moments. I even enjoyed some of the comedic moments. It wasn’t overkill. It too has good set-up and payoffs that keep you in the story. Myne is deplorable and Motoyasu is annoying to the max.
Tower of God. I enjoy watching this with my husband (we watched most of these together, though this one he suggested). The comedy is ok, but I’m more interested in the sub characters and their motivations to reach the top of the tower and the lengths they will go to do so. Reaching the top to grant you whatever you desire and everyones desires are very different. The MC, Bam, is a bit annoying to me. He is only motivated to fulfill one persons desire and that is his goal. It’s not enough for me. Mostly because he doesn’t have much depth as of right now. Hopefully that will change. Regardless, the sub characters and their storylines have me enticed.
Attack on Titan. My first binge series. A friend tried to introduce me to this before I was willing to give it a try and I’m glad I circled back around to it. By far my favorite characters are Levi and Mikasa, along with the rest of the world. Eren is a hotheaded character who’s actions are motivated by his emotions and for me it isn’t likable. This is another series that the sub characters are who I invested into. To be a little fair to Eren, I do like that he wants to protect the ones he love and the people of the cities. He is determined and that makes it so I don’t hate him as an MC, but that doesn’t mean I like him. He yells too much for me. I know you are wondering why this made my top 10 and my answer is action. I love the fighting, the blood, the fact that people die. Morbid, yet true.
Parasyte. I accidentally stumbled into this show. It was a happy accident. My intentions were to watch the movie Parasite, but saw it come up as an anime in my search, assuming it was the same story. We decided to watch the anime first and then later opted out of watching the movie because it wasn’t a live action retelling of what we just watched (LOL). Migi was the best part and Shinichi’s character development was unexpected, for me at least. I enjoyed this entire series from start to finish. The action was pretty good as well.
Erased. Talk about a short series that tied up well. I watched the live action first and the stories line was almost exact to the anime, though I thought the anime was better. The ending made more sense and fit better to everything else. The aspect of time travel with the purpose to change the future was nice. Most stories shy against it. It was dark (not as dark as The Promised Neverland) and suspenseful and I liked the dynamics between mother and son. Without spoiling the story, you will care about all the characters.
Future Diary. Action mixed with toxicity and mystery. Aside from the weird turn in the last couple episodes, I was all in. I wish the MC got a grasp on things a little sooner, but what development and twists. To have to depend on someone you don’t trust is scary and the storyline pulled me in different directions throughout the show. The very end was satisfying enough. Yukiteru was very likable and you wanted him to succeed. Yuno was someone you didn’t know if you wanted on your side, but she made kept things spicy. My husband has yet to watch this and it will be the next we watch together.
That makes up my top 10 and ones I would be willing to rewatch (some I already have. A couple of honorable mentions, simply because I wouldn’t watch them again, even though I enjoyed them. Tokyo Ghoul, Gantz, Wolf’s Rain, Deadman’s Wonderland, The Lost Village, and Seven Deadly Sins.
Let me know which shows made your top or if you have any suggestions of shows I may like. Leave me a like, comment, and subscribe. I encourage everyone who hasn’t seen any of the above to give them a try. Action and fantasy are my go-to’s.
Thanks for chilling with me!
Gala Serks 