Top 25 Animated Series · 5:41am Jan 2nd, 2013
I love animation in it's many forms, and I'll watch anything both eastern and western cartoons. I tend to pick things that both nostalgic and good from recent memory.
*Only one rule: One spot per franchise.*
25: M.A.S.K
^Good God, is that cheesy? Back when shows used to tell you everything you needed to know in the opening credits.
This one like most 80’s action shows directed towards kids is nothing but awesome sprinked with gimmick trying to get toys sold. The marketing must have been like this.
“Boys love transformers and G.I. Joe,” says ad man one
“Let’s, put them together,” says ad man two.
“Brilliant,” says Boss
Thus awesome sandwich that was this show was formed.
24: Bravestarr
You know when you watch an opening to a show where a Marshall and transforming cyborg horse beat the shit out of outlaws, you are in for a good time.
I love westerns and what kid at one point didn't love stories about cowboys and Outlaws. This isn’t an ordinary western it was set in the space colony of new Texas and had a rarity of a Native American protagonist with awesome animal powers who had a bipedal talking horse cyborg named Thirty Thirty and together with other friends most stop the evil skeleterrr… Tex Hex and his master Stampede. Okay, it’s just He-Man with a western skin thrown on it and just like He-Man it has god awful PSA’s, but doesn’t make any less fun or entertaining.
23: Shin Chan
Good god this one is dirty, if Rocko’s Modern life and Ren and Stimpy had a drunk Japanese cousin this show would be it. The best way I can describe it is as a functional dysfunctional family and stuff happens. Go watch their “Star Wars” parody.
22: Mobile Fighter G Gundam
^For, Neo-America!!!
I had a hard time choosing between Gundam Wing and G Gundam. I like the tournament style plot better, not to mention when comes down to it, G Gundam had an Apollo Creed Gundam: the Maxter Gundam and that sealed the deal.
21: The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo
This one is often over looked and it’s on the list because it’s different in a good way. The show has f@!king Vincent Price and stars Shaggy, Scooby, Flim Flam, Scrappy Doo and Daphne, that's right Daphne... trying to put 13 ghost back into a cursed chest from which Shaggy and Scooby accidentally released.
20: Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?
This is the perfect example of edutainment. What makes it work is that I didn’t feel like I was learning while watching this show. First, there’s the opening theme, which sounds and looks pretty epic, very high energy with a gospel, operatic quality to it and the animation unlike a lot of shows was close to its theme. Often cartoons would have these great opening themes and the in show animation would never live up to what was seen in the introduction. It was about two kids, brother and sister named Zack and Ivy as they hunted the dangerous Carmen Sandiego a thief that would steal stuff from across Earth and history. What separates it from other edutainment is the main villain was actually willing to straight up murder her teenage pursuers.
19: Samurai Pizza Cats
Oh, boy… some say it’s funny and others say it’s more painful than bleeding hemorrhoids. This show dubbed and reedited by Saban and yes the same Saban that brought super sentai over to the U.S, so therein lay the problems, Saban turned the show into what can be called nowadays as an abridged series. Even so, I loved it, the show was usually on before Power Rangers and was an awesome way to get pumped up for that show not only that but as an adult I can laugh at certain dub choices like the guy doing the voice of the Big Cheese was doing a Paul Lynde impression who was the rat in Charlotte’s Web. Last thing I will say is that the show had one of the best titles for anything in the history of forever.
18: The Big O
Confusing pseudo-philosophical film noir, sci-fi with giant mechs, that is pretty much this show in a nut shell. You have Rodger Smith the negotiator, his love interest/maid Dorothy (actually her role is never made 100% clear), his butler Norman and his friend Chief of the military police Dastun. Their roles are to protect Paradigm city from Giant robots and other strange relics of a past that no one can remember from an event that happened forty years ago. If you can’t remember that the show keeps bringing it up every episode. The series had great fight choreography, fantastic music and balls out shit your pants insane ending that made no god damn sense (like Lost, but even more confusing). Yeah, I’m one of those people who wanted a third season to clear things up.
17: Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends
You ever watch something was just fun and like cocaine for your eye holes. I loved Foster’s Home because of the premise alone. It’s a foster home for imaginary friends after their children move on and develop real friends, but a kid named Max can’t let his go imaginary friend Bloo go and spends damn near everyday at the home and adventures ensue. The series has a very Little Nemo quality to it as in it has child was deals with the things of dreams and thought. I mentioned earlier that the series is like drugs for the eyes, that’s because the series is awash in vibrant primary colors and inventive creature designs (I use the term very broadly to mean something that if far removed from the norm of kid shows, take of that what you will).
16: Rurouni Kenskin
^ The ending theme feels like it should be the opening theme.
I wish Heart of the Sword was the opening instead we get f@!king Freckles. Hell, Toonami rarely used that horrible song. Kenshin stands out because of how it creatively it handles the theme of pacifism. Our protagonist is a ronin who is tired of killing going as far to use a reverse blade sword just so it won’t deal out death when he has to defend himself and others. It’s fantastic in that regard, but the show itself has great action, entertaining characters like that bloke Sano with the huge buster sword, smooth pacing and the filler is actually filing. It’s just a shame the anime never had a proper ending.
15: Men in Black: The Series
This mostly a mixture of the movie and the comic book from which it was named after, but since I know nothing about the comic, I’ll only be making comparisons if any to the 1997 film. It was done by the same people who did Extreme Ghostbusters and as such creature design was pretty awesome if not really creepy. The series was also great because it features a positive African American lead that that is competent and isn’t bogged down as a walking stereotype. The two main characters themselves act pretty much as they did in the movie: Kay is Stern and experienced, Jay is inexperienced and makes brash decisions. The series had four seasons and was a hell of a lot more fun that the crappy second movie. If you can I suggest you give this one a revisit, because you won’t want to forget this one existed.
14: Transformers Beast Wars
I could have gone with any Transformers incarnation, but this one is the one from my generation. The thing I like most is that it gets rid of any and all human characters!!! That’s right no more useless whining morons to distract from the action. The series is also great because it actually created drama like Megatron is out to kill the Original Optimus Prime and kill all the protohumans before the generation one series can start. Oh, yeah this show is a sequel/prequel to the 86’ transformers. It was fun, you wanted Transformers and series delivered, then it was followed by that god awful series “Beast Machines.”
13: Midori Days
^ This sums it up.
This may look like a typical romance anime, but it’s a little on the raunchy side. The big joke about the series is “hand relief” as the protagonist: Seiji is so powerful (punches holes through concrete) and kicks so much ass that he scares everyone away from him, and he claims he’s tired of having his right hand be his only girlfriend, meanwhile his stalker a shy girl named Midori makes a similar wish she ends up in miniature form attached to his right arm and then hilarity ensues. The big issue is hiding the fact that a human being is now attached to Seiji’s arm. It’s a short series with only 13 episodes and a satisfying feel good ending. Oh and the cat needs his own show.
12: Fist of the North Star
If you’re wondering why you won’t see “Dragon Ball Z” on this list then here’s your F@!KING reason. One of the most testosterone laden shonen animes/mangas; this one makes you’re balls drop. The show takes the peanut butter that is Bruce Lee and combines it with the chocolate that is Mad Max: the Road Warrior. Our hero Kenshiro knows a martial art that literal makes people’s limbs and head explode in a violent wave of delayed gore and combine that with his awesome catch phrase of “You are already dead” then you have a show that’s designed to please on every level. The story isn’t bogged down with a lot of exposition, but does have memorable characters that grow over time like my personal favorite the potato thief Bart/Bat who goes from punk to a guy willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for his friends.
11: Reboot
I wish computers were this cool, especially since I’m a computer science major. The series was about Bob who is essentially your anti-virus program and along with his friends most stop Megabyte and Hexadecimal all while the user inputs games which temporarily take our protagonist randomly into another world. At the time this series was impressive with its use of CGI, it’s a good thing it came out when computers were still innocent and before the advent of pirated media, porn and really violent videogames. To be fair, it would be fun to see how the crew of Reboot deals with those topics and it’d be nice to see them again. I would like to mention that it was one of first kid shows I saw with an actual ending even the characters take their final bows and curtains close, which is important because it meant the writers took it serious.
10: Freakazoid
This was another show in long list of great comedies that kids and adults could watch on the Kids WB. The funny thing was, that it was supposed to be a serious super heroes cartoon done by Bruce Timm (DCAU). Through a series of changes from the higher ups including Spielberg, it was changed and became a send up of the super hero genre that destroyed the forth wall and made light of pop culture, but didn’t rely on it to the point where the humor is dated.
"I have a bowl, good for me."
09: Techi Universe
First off, I know what some of you are thinking. Isn’t it just a stupid harem anime? Well, you’d be wrong because only two of the six actually fight over our protagonist. Besides the opening which has a refined 80’s American pop sound to it, this incarnation of the series has everything a good show needs: action, romance, comedy, drama, adventure and smooth pacing. The great thing is that while most animes with any type of innuendo were heavily censored, Tenchi Universe came here largely intact minus one or two episodes. My favorite story arc is the alternative dimensions story arc in which the series plays off in “what if” scenarios.
08: Rocko's Modern Life
Now, from a series that was like a drug to a series in which the creators were mostly likely baked out of their ass either that or drunk to the verge of death. Whereas Foster’s home was innocent, this one is as guilty as charged. Rocko’s Modern Life is the daily life of a wallaby named Rocko who works at a comic store, whose best friends are a steer and Woody Allen and has to avoid destruction, mutilation and degradation on a regular basis. This one was on Nickelodeon and was NOT for KIDS, because of the shear amount of adult humor like racist jokes, innuendo, and a super hero with nipples of the future and the running gag where Rocko is launched into the cleavage of an Angry Hippo who then proceeds to beat him into pulp.
07: Cowboy BeBop
What do I say about the series that hasn’t been said already? It takes some the best elements of sci fi like Blade Runner and Star Wars and married it with over the top anime action. This for many is the ultimate space western, for others it may come as slow at times and pretentious. The weird thing is that for a Japanese production it feels the most American in terms of music and the characters themselves, which is probably why it did so well over here. My favorite thing about the series is the music, hell I love the use of the underrated music style of jazz and the way its use of saxophone and trumpet mixes well with chase scenes adding a bit of tension and because it’s an anime aimed at an older audience, you just don’t know whether or not the protagonist will escape the impending danger.
06: Outlaw Star
This was another show introduced to us in the U.S by Toonami and to quote Shao Khan from Mortal Kombat: Annihilation,”it is glorious!” The space ship designs look unique, the fight scenes are amazing and the pace is always is really even. The show takes your basic space western stereotypes like: the thief with a heart of gold and daddy issues, the innocent naïve android, the boy genus, the cat girl and the cold assassin. Then proceeds to have fun with it and proves that it’s the Journey, not the destination that matters. This is only above Bebop because the pacing is better.
05: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
^ I love this fandom, because I can find a ponified version of the Outlaw theme.
What began as a show for girls under the age of eight with the intent of their fathers not wanting to blow their brains out against the wall now has a primary audience of adult men between the ages of 16 and 40 (Bronies). The answer to that is the writing and top tier animation and overall quality of the show mostly thanks to Lauren Faust who has worked on Power Puff Girls, Codename: The kids Next Door and Foster’s Home. It has tons of in-jokes pertaining to nerd culture like Lord of Rings, Benny Hill and Dr. Who. Yes, the show can be sweet enough to give you diabetes and some fans are very creepy, but the characters are fun and humor translates well from kids to adults.
04: Samurai Jack
Yeah, you've probably found the pattern. The second and best Genndy Tartakovsky animated production is the story of a ronin named Jack (Phil LaMarr) and his battle with the evil demon named Aku (Mako) in the future, basically as stated as in the theme song. Speaking of music that was actually my favorite part of this series was the sound editing and soundtrack itself composed by James L. Venable and the opening theme was done by Will.i.am I loved how it married traditional Japanese instruments and hip hop. Oh and it was extremely violent, but Jack wasn’t a gun ho hero and only fought to defend himself and others.
03: Golden Boy
^ The animation on this is amazing. This was made in the early 90's
I won't be ashamed to admit this is one of my favorite shows. Yes, it's almost porn, but it's so damn funny. Yes, for an OVA that came out in 1993, it has a decent English dub, that even holds up by today's standards. The cell drawn animation looks amazing and character movement are fluid. This is basically the prototypical Harem Anime. It stars Kintaro who is an extremely likeable protagonist, who pursues several women, but never takes advantage of them and his goal in life isn't the conquest of his female counterparts, but rather to learn from the world around him as he travels from town to town learning a new skill and using that skill to solve his problems. It's one of those shows that a non-anime fan would watch and enjoy.
02: Megas XLR
It’s a parody of everything I love and like all good parodies it has its own story, characters and can stand on its own. The series parodies Evangelion, Guran Lagann, Sailor Moon, Transformers, Army of Darkness, M.O.D.O.K, and H.P Lovecraft plus countless others. There was even an episode in which Megas was piloted using a DDR dance pad. Half to the fun was trying to see what they were referencing throughout the show. The series is about a guy raised on videogames and Pro wrestling gets a robot and fights evil while causing as much damage as possible to his own city. It’s just a shame this ended too soon.
01: Batman Beyond
This is probably the best 20 minutes you can spend in front of a television. It borrows a lot of aspects from Yu Yu Hakusho. They both star former juvenile delinquents in high school, though some revelation become champions of justice albeit in two different ways under the guidance of an old, but wise master. That’s kind of where the comparisons stop. Batman beyond is the continuation of Batman: The animated series in which Bruce Wayne trains his replacement a teenager named Terry McGinnis whose out to avenge his father’s death. The big difference between Terry and Bruce’s Batman is that Terry’s rouges galley have a very short life span as he ends up accidentally or on purpose getting most of them killed. Also Terry isn't mopey like Wayne, his reason for putting on the suit isn't out of guilt, but his sense of self worth. There's more to it than that, It's such a deep show and characters grow and mature as the series goes and you grow attached to these characters. It also successfully turned Batman into a legacy character, much like the Flash or Green Lantern. What else is there to say, it was awesome seeing Batman in a “Blade Runner” Style future.
No FoolyCooly?
671713
I haven't gotten around to watching it.
I would add: Hetalia, Digimon seasons 1-3, Dragon Ball, Teen Titans, Hellsing Ultimate, Ren and Stimpy and Kare Kanto on there as well.
671720
It's a pretty good show, even if it only has six episodes.
No Drawn Together?
671735
Not really a fan. I laughed here and there... but I was kinda indifferent to it.
My band's senior concert's theme this year is anime music. We're going to have the jazz band (which I'm in) play the theme for Cowboy BeBop.
Edit: And this list is made in very good taste, I can tell. Those who can appreciate a large variety of media, especially outside the normal demographic, I consider cultured.
Hmm, surprised that I haven't seen Batman: TAS being on the list, yet instead Batman Beyond takes its place, good choice I have to say. Pretty much plays a realistic dark future where Bruce were to get old, had no family, lost his head position in his family company, his ever-declining heath, and have no heirs to leave his Batman Legacy... talk about making a nice setting for the show huh? Nice too about the character Terry, as you stated, him being Batman for a sense of self-worth and as well as being mouthy. An interesting note that this is the only character in the Batman universe ever to not only humiliate The Joker in his own game of mocking, but to use it towards Terry's advantage where he used Joker's crazed mind to be his undoing (or in my thoughts anyways).
Anyhow, what are your thought in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue", which sets 15 years after Batman Beyond, the unofficial series finale reveals that Bruce Wayne is actually Terry's biological father (though gene manipulation)?
Link to the episode
671905
Yeah, while I loved Batman: TAS, top 5 favorite episodes being:
Like I said I loved the first series, but the sequel had a little more depth, plus like I said Terry wasn't all mopey like Wayne, probably because with him being middle class he wasn't sheltered and has friends and majority of his immediate family is still alive. Plus it never got rid of Bruce and Barbra, it just gave them new roles. Though the thought of Bruce dating her was a little creepy. It also went to great lengths to explain things. The future we are shown feels like a feasible future of the DCAU, even the school's futuristic sport wasn't hard to understand (jai alai mixed with hockey).
As for Epilogue
It was always hinted at in the show, that Terry might have some connection to Bruce, because in one episode he has to defend an old Amanda Waller and she says, "we're gonna gonna have to talk about you during tea." He ends up having two fathers and that means his younger brother: Mat, would end up growing up to look like a carbon copy of Terry. The part where Ace dies was really sad. We get to see Andrea Beaumont from Mask of the Phantasm. I like that at the end, our protagonist excepts the truth, plans on marrying Danna and Bruce shows that he cares (the soup).
Fuck yeah
Megas is your #2
672435
Nice list, one of my personal favorites is "Heart of Ice", featuring Mr.Freeze. Usually most top personal favorite would involved Batman: TAS nearly at the top of their list, you'd be the first to not only not have it but have its successor; Batman Beyond.
I love the atmosphere the series made and I recall some of my "not-so-nerdy" friends that they didn't like it since Batman was old and had no kids :< But I digress, really good show, I would hope that one day that someone makes a movie or a game (in the style of Arkham City) based on this universe. It came to my attention recently that they launch the comic book series called, "Batman Beyond: Unlimited" it would focus on Terry and the new JL crew from the universe.
As for the Epilogue, it would be feasible, as you said, that Mat will look like Terry when he becomes that time of age, makes me wonder what would happened if someone gets a whiff of this and abducts him for nefarious purposes. It has a good tie in with having Andrea in there and as well as provide a possible origin as how The Joker reincarnation was possible in the BB Movie: Return of The Joker.
Ahh, "Mask of the Phantasm", One my favorite animated movies of all time (second to "The Secret of NIMH") and is without a doubt one of the most under-appreciated movies of all time.