Average
801 TTS Airbats
It looks like another harem anime, but due to the date it was produced it's more of the Tenchi formula with a lot of girls around, but only two are involved in a love triangle. Reasonably charming, but not very deep and doesn't get too far with its story.
Ai Yori Aoshi
Kauru lives in a small apartment and finds a girl he was arranged to marry on his doorstep. A good idea for a nice romance if it weren't for the rest of the cast of females that basically get in the way of a fair story.
Ai Yori Aoshi: Enishi
The second series for Ai Yori Aoshi, Enishi has slightly different strengths and weaknesses compared to the original series, but unfortunately doesn't manage to improve on the formula that only gained mediocre results in the first series. Aoi is still miss perfect. Tina still a serial boob grabber.
Aika R16
This is a prequel to the original Agent Aika, but manages to get a good balance between excessive panty shots and a decent story. Wait, there's a story? It's easy to forget that between the pro wrestling moves, girls wearing short skirts sprawled out everywhere and the epic bathing suit fight scene, but yes there is a story in there somewhere.
Air - movie
Air was a visual novel, turned into a TV series that didn't go in the right direction. The Air movie takes the basic story and reworks it into something that is worth watching.
Angel Beats
Hanging out all day only going to class if you want to. Having gun battles at night, with resident girl band: I wish my high school were like this. If it weren't for everyone being dead that is.
Armitage III
Ross is a cop who gets a new assignment on Mars. His first assignment is to figure out who killed the last country music singer. His new partner is known as the "badge toting terror in hot pants". Is there ever a normal day on Mars?
Azumanga Daioh
Azumanga Daioh is an unusual comedy that doesn't have a plot, but instead is all about characters in different situations. This series is often praised as being one of the best anime comedies out there, but personally wasn't my thing.
Baccano
A very violent anime, set in 1930s America. It's not exactly an anime does a mobster movie, but it gets close to that feel. I didn't find this one anywhere near as good as many claim, but the unique setting might make it worth checking into.
Baka and Test
Usually a show which has a dumb premise, and unorigonal characters like this is a disaster, but as a comedy it's not too bad. It says 'baka' (idiot) right in the title, so it's at least honest about that.
Black Magic M-66
If you've ever seen the movie The Terminator, this is the same thing. I wouldn't say that makes it bad, but the lack of originality factor plays heavily against this one.
Bleach
Another shounen fighting power up series. It has a decent concept, and a large cast of characters. Unfortunately it gets so caught up in filler that I eventually found it unwatchable. Not bad when it starts though.
Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan
So over the top with how weird it is, I couldn't help but like it. It's sure to freak out anyone who is unprepared for the strangeness the Japanese can think up and has more violence than you'd ever expect (or ever want) in a comedy.
Burn Up W
Burn Up W takes the Burn Up concept of girls and action, but this time mixes in a lot of comedy and fun. A decent title that has always been one I liked, it features police babes, big boobs and guns.
Call Me Tonight
While it's not that anime about phone sex you've always been waiting for, this OVA proved to be a quirky interesting piece all the same. Old school weirdness at its best.
Canaan
I could try to describe Canaan, but the more I think about this title the more I think about how things don't make sense. It's a very attractive show with some fantastic fight scenes, but unremarkable at its core.
Champion Joe
Ashita no Joe was a pioneer in what would eventually evolve into sports anime. Even today Joe is considered a well known icon in Japan. This movie is assembled from an earlier TV series and very raw, but interesting from a historical perspective. Only recommended for those looking for a classic title.
Chobits
What does a single guy do with a cute robot girl he found in the trash? *cough* Considering this is anime I could have guessed all night and not gotten that one correct. Chi and Hideki form an odd relationship but it's not cut and dried where it will go. The question you're probably dying to know is "where is her power switch?". *sigh* That one is more typical of anime.
Chrome Shelled Regios
Roaming cities which wander the wastelands of Earth, fighting over the one resource needed to survive. Pretty cool sci-fi stuff, with most everything else not being so great. An average watch as it stands now.
Clannad
Clannad is basically moe incarnate. From that perspective it's almost educational, although a little scary in how calculated it all is. The story is messy in parts, but it manages to be a fair watch.
Claymore
Claymores are demon/women hybrids used to fight pure blood demons. It's an interesting take on the anime fighting genre. The most notable thing about this title are the (highly sanitized view of) body parts that come flying off.
Comic Party
Comic Party looks like a title made for fans by fans. It's about making doujinshi (amature comics) but doesn't dig into the interesting points of the industry. The result is mixed with a decent underlying theme interrupted by stock anime characters.
Demon City Shinjuku
No summary
Devil Hunter Yohko
Devil Hunter Yohko is a fluff title that wouldn't be notable aside from being the first title ever released by ADV. The OVAs are released over a series of years and vary in quality, but are alright if you don't need a whole lot of depth.
Dominion Tank Police
When the criminals get tough, the police get tougher. Eventually that escalated to the police getting tanks. It's a so-so comedy for the first two episodes, but fell flat with the next two serious ones. Just be glad the police budget allocation for tactical nuclear weapons hasn't gone through (yet).
Eden of the East
A girl meets a guy who is buck naked and holding nothing but a cell phone and a hand gun in front of the White House. Now THAT'S how you start a show! Eden of the East has a lot of great ideas from a spy thriller type of story, but falters badly towards the end. I so wish more had come of this series.
El Cazador de la Bruja
El Cazador de la Bruja (Hunter of the Witch) is the third series featuring girls with guns from studio Bee Train. It's got a lot of filler content at the beginning but becomes decent by the end. Girls, guns and tacos; what else does an anime need?
Elfen Lied
Elfen Lied has nothing original, but packages extreme cuteness and brutal carnage in a package that makes it unique. This can make it very hard to watch, but can also be fascinating. Possibly the only series I've ever watched where I was never really sure if people were going to die.
End of Evangelion
One of the attempts to "fix" Evangelion, this one basically turns the end into a melodramatic apocalypse... that's really freaking weird. It's more remembered for one controversial aspect than doing a proper job of an ending. If you ever get a visit in the hospital from Shinji Ikari, you better be awake. Trust me on that one.
Evangelion: 1.11
An interesting update, but not as good as the original Evangelion. It basically takes all that cool edgy stuff and gets rid of it in favor of better animation. The result is that Evangelion 1.11 - You Can Not Advance is dumbed down to another giant robot show. Gendo still an ass. Shinji still insane. Misato still hot.
FF7 Advent Children
A movie with CGI stuff flying everywhere in such a dazzling manner you'll probably forget all about the lack of story. Best suited for FF7 fans who want some nostalgia, and want to see some mind blowing graphics. That aside you can always drool over Tifa.
FLCL
If you took a totally insane anime with robots fighting and a nurse beating the crap out of people with bass guitars and then put this in the middle of a alternative rock concert... you still wouldn't be close to describing how weird this one is.
Fairy Princess Ren
There are a lot of different formulas for comedy. Fairy Princess Ren takes the road less traveled by a blitzkrieg of insanity. That's funny? I thought it was, but I have to admit probably half of my laughter was from confusion and fear of this title. Archen's Anime Page Award: Most Insane Anime.
Fate Stay Night
Fate Stay Night is one of the best selling visual novels in Japan, and for good reason. The stories are excellent. This anime incarnation merges various sub plots from the visual novel, but doesn't do well in adapting them. On top of that the charters aren't as compelling as they ought to be. Results were alright but not stellar.
Full Metal Panic
Full Metal Panic is one of those series that looks like it could have been assembled from other anime series. I guess that's kind of obvious by combining generic anime title words like "Full Metal" and "Panic". It tries to sandwich a high school comedy with a mecha anime, but isn't very successful at it. Decent at best.
Full Metal Panic: 2nd Raid
It's back to the old FMP formula of high school comedy (attempt) and mecha anime. Does about as well as the first season with slightly improved animation and design. Sergent Sagura may not have a clue about civilian society, but I'm not sure how he doesn't have any hormones around Kaname.
Fushigi Yuugi
At one time this was the most talked about series on the Internet with more fan pages than any other. Funny how it's rarely brought up these days. While it was over hyped for its day, Fushigi Yuugi isn't that bad, just mediocre.
Gekiganger III
This is based on the anime series seen in (the anime) Martian Successor Nadesico. It's a quirky satire of old school giant robot shows. If you like those kinds of shows for the cheese factor, you'll get a few laughs from this one. It also includes some short teasers for Nadesico fans.
Ghost in the Shell
If you're into cyberpunk, this is a must see. Ghost in the Shell is the best cyberpunk anime ever produced. Features high quality... everything.
Golden Boy
Kintaro wanders Japan doing odd jobs, and often for attractive women. As Kintaro is very much a pervert, this one was a bit too sleazy for me to get in to, but not as bad as expected either.
Golgo 13 - TV
The TV series follows the manga pretty closely, and thus character development and stories are nearly non existant. Instead Golgo 13 is all about how he manages to pull of nearly impossible feats to get the job done. Hey, it's a forumla that has worked for nearly half a century. Don't knock it.
Golgo 13: The Professional
This takes Golgo 13 and plops him into an 80s action movie, and mostly ignores what made the franchise interesting. This film features the first CGI sequence in anime, and has some very cool animation sequences. Aside from that it's a bunch of sex and violence.
Gunslinger Girl II: Teatrino
No summary
Hell Girl
No summary
Hellsing
Hellsing is a vampire that kills other vampires. The concept doesn't seem that bad, but it manages to be completely uninspired. The usual saving grace for this kind of title (undead goth girls) is also absent here.
Highschool of the Dead
Not going to work and having no more dishes to clean are things I normally think of as positives with the end or the world, but if it involves even half the amount of boob jiggles and panty shots contained in HSTD, I'll be happy to support the apocalypse. It fails to blaze new territory as it combines the tired concepts of zombie movie and anime fan service, but if that's exactly what you want, HSTD delivers.
Himikoden
No summary
Initial D: Stage 1
An anime all about street racing that's really catchy. Even has crazy music. Unfortunately it has terrible designs and CGI animated cars that detract a lot from the title. While many are indifferent about Initial D, this series also has a rabid following. Certainly worth checking out for those into cars.
Initial D: Stage 2
On par with Stage 1. Fujiwara Tofu Shop has half of its profits go up in smoke each week with the way Takumi burns through tires.
Initial D: Stage 3 - movie
First he raced for his pride. Then he raced for a challenge. This time he races for his woman!
Kakyuusei - OVA
There's nothing outstanding about the Kakyuusei OVA, but it's always been a favorite of mine as a great execution of the classic high school anime romance. Great character designs, and a fair amount of charm.
Kaze no Stigma
She's the hot (headed) fire user who will take over the Kanagi family. He's the guy who was cast out of the clan and returned as a very powerful wind user. Who's the sidekick here? It's a mediochre title at best, but one I liked more then I should have.
Key the Metal Idol
No summary
Laughing Target
Yuzura was promised to marry his cousin at a young age. She appears years later and turned out to be quite the hottie. Yuzura didn't think she took it seriously, but then again when your childhood fiance is possessed by demons, she is probably unusually serious about a lot of things. What all this has to do with the title is anyone's guess.
Love Hina
Keitaro is a loser who fails to get into college, and ends up being the manager for a girls dormitory. Love Hina is one of the first titles where the whole harem anime concept was distilled down to a formula. Despite being a huge fan of the manga, I wasn't impressed by the anime.
Macross II
Many years after the original Macross, the primary defense of the Earth is still making aliens go insane by playing Minmei music videos. Finally the Zentradi gets a pop star of their own and the Earth doesn't know what to do. This one basically capitalizes on the weakest parts of Macross and doesn't do a terrible job, but was pretty lame all things considered.
Mahoromatic
Decent comedy. Decent story. Best in class as far as robot maid anime titles go, although I'm not sure that's saying very much...
Mahoromatic 2: SMB
Some of the Mahoromatic content starts to feel a little tired by the time this one gets started. Much of it also revolves around a new character that I didn't like. On top of that the ending was freaking weird. If you're happy leaving well enough alone, this ion might be better to skip.
Mahoromatic: Summer Special
Mahoro might look like a simple cute robot maid, but she's also a blood thirsty hunter who would like nothing better than to exterminate all porno mags. Especally those in Suguru's collection. Don't give in man! Don't give in!
Marmalade Boy
Hard to believe one of the cornerstones of shoujo anime is about a guy made of marmalade. Actually it's not about that at all. Marmalade Boy is typical for the genre, but interesting enough to keep it fresh. For me it was too melodramatic, but not bad all things considered.
Master of Mosquiton - OVA
No summary
Maze: Megaburst Space - TV
Maze is a girl who ends up in a land of mecha armor and sorcery, along with a cast of other characters cut out from an RPG. She also turns into a lecherous male at night. It's not bad, but pretty generic. Has a very catchy ending sequence though.
Miyuki-chan in Wonderland
Basically take Alice in Wonderland, remove Alice and instead insert the very cute Miyuki. On top of this, all the other characters are female and have rather.. naughty intentions. It's a total fluff piece, but has an odd following among anime fans.
Moldiver
No summary
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit
No summary
Murder Princess
There are many types of Barbie dolls, but nothing like one I'd make. If I were going to make a Barbie, she would be 'Ass Kicking Princess of Metal Barbie'. She'd look like a princess. She'd be backed by screaming guitars. She'd also be covered in the blood of her slain enemies, as she protected her kingdom. This would be her anime.
Nadesico: Prince of Darkness
While not bad in many respects, the story leaves a lot to be desired. Even fans might want to avoid this one since it takes an upbeat series and gets WAY too dark. The good news for Nadesico fans is that Ruri is pretty close to legal in this one.
Neo Ranga
What is a good concept, and could have been a totally awesome giant monster anime, ended up dull with a plot that was too convoluted when it occasionally did manage to gain some focus. Cool music, and does have an unusual Polynesian flavor that might make it worth watching.
New Cutey Honey
This OVA series picks up the Cutey Honey franchise, and executes it with reasonable quality. Cutey Honey is a series that is mainly likable because it's oddly adorable, and this incarnation manages to be a little too dark and leering with the fan service to pull it off.
Noir
Girls with guns in an action title that's often boring. It starts strong and ends strong, but sandwiched in between is a lot of stuff that might put you to sleep.
Oh My Goddess: The Movie
No summary
Onegai Sensei
A tad heavy with the fan service, silly concept and full of gimmicks. But lets face it. You could probably see all that coming from a plot driven buy a boy who marries his teacher from outer space. This title which manages to be decent despite all that.
Otaku-no Anime
Literally means an anime fan's anime, which makes it fairly cool to watch if you're an anime fan yourself. Makes references to very dated titles, and includes some 'mocumentary' stuff, but is a very good show if you can relate to the toils of an otaku.
Peacock King
You may have seen Alien vs Predator, or Alien vs Ninja, but in this title we get Demon possessed Nazis vs Shinto Priest. Yeah, that's right: PRIEST. Normally relegated to support roles, a priest finally gets his time to shine by kicking the butt of the ultimate evil. Unfortunately the title itself is only so-so.
Plastic Little
It's a sci-fi story that isn't very interesting, but this title does sport good character designs, lots of nudity and very impressive animation. Aside from the animation, there isn't much of a reason to watch but it was decent enough.
Revolutionary Girl Utena
If the end of the world were a Starbucks, Utena would hijack a semi truck of shoujo style and drive it right through the front door. In the back seat someone would be slapping the rose bride Anthy. This anime makes as much sense as that explanation.
Rideback
Ridebacks are a hybrid of motorcycle and robot. Take a former ballet prodigy and put her on one, and you've got a pretty cool anime. It gets into this police state resistance plot I wasn't to hip on, but I liked the main character more than enough to overlook that.
Riding Bean
No summary
Rosario + Vampire
Harem anime meets monster show. It's about on the level of fluff you might expect, but wasn't bad. In fact it's probably one of the better harem titles I could name.
Sacred Blacksmith
A series with some pretty cool ideas. Features a heroin who is really stupid. It's a mix of good and bad, but worth watching. Features a blacksmith that is fairly cold, and a sword which is kinda hot.
Sakura Diaries
No summary
Sands of Destruction
From outward appearances, Sands of Destruction looks quirky and unusual, but under that surface lies a title which doesn't get deep enough into anything. Still likable for what it is.
School Rumble: 1st Semester
This is surprisingly not an anime about fighting, but a general high school comedy with a huge cast of characters. It took a little while for me to warm up to it, but I really do like some of the characters in this one.
School Rumble: 2nd Semester
Basically season 1 all over again. Hang in there Harima. Someday you'll figure out Tenma is totally not worth the effort. Hint: Eri is rich.
Seraphim Call
If Seraphim Call were a girl, she'd be a misunderstood aloof beauty. Guys would hit on her because she's attractive, but would discover that she's incredibly brainy and way out of their league. While true she gets scary crazy if she forgets her meds, and she can space out like she's in a coma, she's not deserving of her bad rep just because a lot of guys got shot down. It's not her fault she only wants to talk about philosophy and astrophysics. Maybe the problem is more with the guys asking her out.
Serial Experiments Lain
When it came out, everyone was gushing about how this was such an incredible show. Personally I don't see it, and it strikes me as average at best. It has some interesting ideas about the future integration of humanity as we become more and more interconnected through the Internet. Aside from that, pretty dull.
Shingetsu Tsukihime
No summary
Speed Grapher
Saiga is a photographer who ends up with the power to destroy things he takes pictures of. Running off with the heiress of the Tenozu group corperation gets him in trouble with not only the company, but his obsessed "kind of" girlfriend. Bad animation, good story, a few stand out characters, and debauchery that would even make Rick James blush.
Spice and Wolf
An anime featuring an adorable wolf girl, whose focus is on a plot based around economics. It has an interesting chemistry between the two main characters (one of which is adorable wolf girl) but the plot ends up being too convoluted and poorly executed. Not a bad show but needs work. Also, adorable wolf girl.
Strawberry Eggs
No summary
Sukeban Deka
Satsuki is a girl brought in from a prison to help clean up a school, on the condition that her mom will be taken off death row. Armed with nothing more than a yo-yo and her wits she's got her work cut out for her. One of those concepts that is awesome in an 80's way, it's not surprising to see why this series was a cult classic even before they made this anime - which was pretty good all things considered.
Tekkaman Blade II
After the last Radam invasion, the Earth has a new elite fighting force of Tekkaman. In the end Tekkaman Blade can't take all the whining from these new punk kids and has to take matters into his own hands to save the Earth again. Can't you kids do ANYTHING by yourself?
Tenchi in Tokyo
Tenchi can't fit any more women in his house so he moves to Tokyo so he can collect a few more. A new love interest appears and despite being a normal girl, she introduces some interesting situations. The rest of the series doesn't fair so well...
Tenjou Tenge
Tenjou Tenge is a martial arts fighting anime that takes place at a high school. It works pretty well but there isn't anything remarkable about it aside from the average female bust size. Actually there is a fight in episode 2 which is remarkable due to one character getting his ass kicked on a level that is nothing short of epic.
The Cockpit
The Cockpit covers an array of characters during World War II, who resign their fate and bravely go into battle with no chance of survival. While it attempts to be majestic and touching, I found it too depressing.
Those Who Hunt Elves
In a fantasy land of swords and sorcery three brave warriors wandered the land. Their mission is to return home, and to do that they have to find spell fragments imprinted on the skin of elves. Their solution is to strip every elf in the land naked. Now high priestess Celcia is trying to help them, not out of the kindness of her heart, but to get them the hell out of her world. It's ok for a fluff title.
Those Who Hunt Elves II
This one picks up where the last season left off. A lot of the gimicks start to feel a bit tired though.
Tokko
Not particularly original with demons trying to take over the world, and secret group trying to stop them. Unfortunate that the animation is bad, but still manages to be a good watch.
Trigun
No summary
Vampire Hunter D
One of the first anime movies ever imported, certified classic. Basically a a halfbreed vampire saving a village girl from an ancient and very powerful vampire. Not exactly a revolutionary idea, but a very cool watch all the same.
Vampire Princess Miyu - TV
This is a TV series which follows Miyu around a modern school. It has a much different feel when compared to the OVA, and comes off more like an occult magical girl show. A decent title with a mix of good and bad.
Vandred: 2nd Stage
Season 2 picks up where season 1 left off, but kicks it up a notch in almost every area and manages to become a decent sci-fi show. Season 1 is a lot to slog through, to watch this one so I'm not sure I'd recommend this series or not
Wicked City
Wicked City is an erotic horror movie that is perilously close to (and often confused with) hentai horror. There's a lot of violence, and it's heavily oriented towards that erotic element but manages to pull off a story that's alright. I honestly have no idea why I liked this show because it should be the sort of thing I strait out hate.
X 1999 - movie
X is an odd title that sports some of the best animation I've ever seen. It also has the most depressingly heavy and horrible story I could name. Pretty much everything in this show is overbearing and dark. As it introduces a fairly large cast that is killed throughout the movie. This isn't a title well remembered in anime.
XxxHolic - TV
Watanuki is an ordinary student with the unusual problem that spirits follow him around. A shop owner named Yuko deals with granting wishes and offers to help if he'll be her assistant. From here xxxHolic deals with many interesting occult stories and adventures with working for such an unusual boss. A cool series I rather liked.
XxxHolic - movie
As far as plot goes, the movie isn't that interesting. Where this movie shines is the surreal environment where it takes place. Believe it or not that might be a good enough reason to check this one out.
You're Under Arrest: Specials
A series of very short episodes (around 15 minutes each including opening and credits), these are simple fluff stories that unfortunately almost always revolve around the theft of panties. That gets a little tiresome, but it's not too bad for what it is. That aside the animation is terrible.
You're Under Arrest: The Movie
This takes the cast of You're Under Arrest and puts them in their own action thriller. Which would be fine except that pretty much completely ignores what made the series popular. Pretty "meh" for an action movie.
