#70: Pokemon Origins
What? Another Pokemon show? Yep, and this time, it’s only 4 episodes….. yeah, this one is kinda the opposite of the other Pokemon series. Now, this one actually follows the actual events of Pokemon Red and Blue. It follows Red, a Pokemon trainer, as he travels across the Kanto region, battling the Gym Leaders and the Champion, and eventually catching Mewtwo. Yeah, if you know how Pokemon works (Which is probably 99% of you out there), then you can easily understand how the show works. And, I gotta say, for a show that is only four episodes long, the animation is just beautiful. It’s much better than the original Pokemon series. Hell, Pokemon Origins animation is even better than the newer episodes of the original Pokemon show. Sure, it may have been a very short series, but it sure was great to see a Pokemon show that actually follows the original story… Wait, do the Pokemon games really have a story
#69: Welcome to the N.H.K.
Oh great, another amazing series that I need to get into more. The story is about a university dropout named Tatsuhiro Sato, who is always avoiding social contact with most people, that is until he meets a mysterious girl named Misaki Nakahara. Once they meet, she says that she can help Tatsuhiro with his anti-socialism. They then meet at a park, where Misaki would talk to him to try and get him to change. The series then soon shows signs of loneliness, depression, and drug use later on. What makes this series very interesting is how it shows what being alone can do to a person, and how it affects them greatly. It is a very interesting look on life, but in the form of animation. Like Trigun, I sadly don’t have a lot to talk about it. But, I can assure you, I am definitely going to watch more of this amazing series.
#68: Danny Phantom
You know a show is good when they actually have a GOOD rap song for their opening. You know, a genre of music that is hard to make good when it comes to openings. The show is about a boy named Danny Fenton, a 14-year-old unpopular boy who has ghost hunting parents. When his parents fail to make a portal to the ghost world, known as the Ghost Zone, Danny secretly looks inside, where he accidently pushes the On button, making his DNA be fused with ectoplasm, turning him into a half-ghost, half-human, with ghost like abilities, where he then becomes the hero known as Danny Phantom. You can easily tell from the animation and the humor that the creators of Fairly Odd Parents had a major part in this shows creation, and I really love it for that. Not to mention, this series got real into it’s story, and this coming from guys whose shows are more comedy based. I guess that’s why I look at Danny Phantom as their magnum opes. Also, this show is filled with references to ghost movies. The school Danny goes to is called Casper High School, and the town he lives in is called Amity Park. Are you kidding me? Sure, the show may not be the first show that comes to mind when you think of a show made by Butch Hartman, but it is still one of Nickelodeon’s best.
#67: Codename: Kids Next Door
Oh man, now I’m really getting that nostalgic feeling. This was one of the major shows I watched on Cartoon Network. The show was about a group of kids named Numbuh One, Two, Three, Four, and Five, as they fought against adult tyranny, as grown-ups in this world used homework, brushing, and preventing snow days. Now, this was easily one of the greatest ideas I ever saw. Well, I never looked at the show that way as a kid. When I was a kid, I looked at it as an awesome cartoon. I actually tried being a part of this, and actually hit my parents legs with a toilet paper roll when I was like seven. Yes, I did look like an idiot, before you ask. But you know what, it was totally worth it. And, I gotta say, as they show went on, it actually got really into its story, and the major movie, Operation: Z.E.R.O proved that this show was not screwing around. No, this was a show that knew how to tell a good story. The funny thing was that this was made by Tom Warburton, the same guy who worked on Doug… Yeah… I’m still surprised that he made this ingenious show after working on that…. mistake. But yeah, Codename: Kids Next Door was one of the defining shows of Cartoon Network. But, was it the channel's best show? Oh, of course not. But, it did prove it’s worth
#66: Code Lyoko
This is a show for people who thought that Codename: Kids Next Door was a bit too kiddy. The first thing you need to know is that Code Lyoko is an anime…. from France. Hey, if Japan can do it, so can France. Anyway, the series is about a boy named Jeremie Belpois, who is a very intelligent thirteen-year-old, who soon discovers a supercomputer, which holds a virtual world called Lyoko. In it is a girl named Aelita, and a dangerous system known as X.A.N.A, who wants to take over earth and everyone who lives in it. So, Jeremie, along with his friends, Ulrich Stern, Odd Della Robbia, and Yumi Ishiyama, enter Lyoko to save Aelita and stop X.A.N.A. Now, this show had a very interesting sort of animation. Going from simple 2D animation, and having CGI animation in the virtual world. It was just awesome. Also, this show got away with A LOT. And when I say a lot, I mean…. partial nudity of underaged girls, and tentacles attacking women in a way that is enough for some fan to make hentai of it. Now, while the series did repeat a formula of X.A.N.A does something bad, they go in the virtual world, they stop X.A.N.A, epilogue, it was still a good series, and if this is what France’s anime is like, then I say bring over more. I’d like to see more stuff like this… Just don’t bring anything like Totally Spies over. That show wasn’t that good.
#65: Bleach
Alright, here is one of anime's Big 3… and it’s only at number sixty five. The show is about Ichigo, a boy who later gains the abilities of a Soul Reaper, after Rukia, an original Soul Reaper, loses her powers against a powerful Hollow. After this, Ichigo learns that his friends have powers of their own, and they now must defend both his world, as well as the world of Soul Society. Now, before you all burn me at the steak for making this amazing anime not even near the top fifty, you are all probably asking why it is this low. Well, just like Trigun and Welcome to the N.H.K, I haven’t gotten the chance to watch much of it. Yeah, I know, blasphemy of the highest proportions, but, I have a real good excuse. The first time I saw this anime was in 2005, but, I was only like six when I first saw it, and I had no idea what was going on. But, goddamn it, I loved it so much. I am working on watching the entire series right now, and, it’s coming along quite nicely. I hope to finish the anime soon. Until then, I can see why an anime this awesome made it into the Big 3
#64: Mirai Nikki
Or, Future Diaries if you want to be rude about it. But, I started calling it the Japanese name long ago, so I don’t care. Now, Mirai Nikki is about Yukiteru Amano, who writes a diary on his phone, and talks to his imaginary friend, Deus Ex Machina, the God of Time and Space. However, it is revealed he is not imaginary, and tells him of the end of the world in 90 days, and the only one who can stop is is someone who has a diary that tells the future, which Yuki has. And the other diary owners have to fight to the death to stop the end of the world, and become the new God of Time and Space. As this occurs, Yuki teams up with Yuno Gasai, the 2nd diary owner, and Yuki’s stalker, who loved Yuki to the point that she will keep everyone from making any contact with him. And I gotta say, the characters are very great. Especially Yuno, for being, what I believe, is the most insane character in all of anime. And the story just builds up more and more, adding more suspense to the show. I just can’t get enough, and I want to see what will happen next. It’s just that addicting of a story. Mirai Nikki is an anime that gets really disturbing really easily, but, goddamn, it’s worth it.
#63: When They Cry
Ooooooooh God… You all probably know this anime, don’t you. You know, the anime that is easily one of the most disturbing in anime history? Yeah, well, When They Cry is about a group of students who greet the newcomer to the rural village, Keiichi Maebara. Life starts out well, until Keiichi hears about murders that occurred in the village and how a manager to a dam construction was dismembered and the killer was still at large. After that, murder and death of many teens occurs. You want to know what the VERY first scene of the series is… Keiichi beating two girls to death with a bat…. Yep. And, once the series reaches it’s fourth episode, and you think that’s all, folks… The series repeats itself. Why? Not sure, but, all I can say is that you best be prepared, because it does this every four episodes, each one having a story more screwed up and bloody than the last. It’s disturbing, yes, but, it is easily one of my favorite horror anime.
#62: Ping Pong: The Animation
“Ugh, this animation style is so ugly. That means that this anime is gonna suck”. That is what I always hear from people on Youtube comments who are talking about Ping Pong: The Animation. Maybe if you actually watched it, you would see that it is actually a great show. The anime is about two boys, Peco, and Smile. Peco is a very joyful and cocky boy, while Smile is a quiet boy who never smiles. Both of the boys are in the table tennis club at Katase High School, and each facing their own problems. Peco becomes devastated after losing to a Chinese ping pong player, while Smile’s coach, Coach Jo, tries to help him with his psychological problem. This is easily one of the best coming of age stories, and one of my favorite anime of the past year. And as for the animation style? I actually kinda like it. A lot of people say that the style is ugly, and looks nothing like anime. Just because an art style is new doesn’t make is bad. Ping Pong: The Animation is a perfect example of not to judge something solely on appearance. And if they keep making anime this good nowadays, then I can really enjoy anime a lo-
#61: D-Frag
What do you know, they DO make anime as good as Ping Pong: The Animation nowadays. D-Frag is about a delinquent, Kanji Kazama, who wants to be someone other than a thug, so he attempts to try and do something else in life, which leads him to the school’s Game Creation Club, where he meets Roka, a small and humorous girl, Chitose, the school president and a very violent kind of girl, Sakura, a idiotic, but energetic girl, and Minami, a school teacher and slacker. Joining the Game Creation Club leads to Kanji meeting the REAL Game Creation Club, lead by Takao, a friend of Roka who has…… a large chest, we’ll say. And I gotta say, I love the idea these guys made for the animation. They chose different kinds of anime styles, from chibi, to moa, to shonen, and yes, even ecchi. And most of the comedy comes from how Kanji reacts to a lot of things. It cracks me up every time he reacts to something that normal people would know is stupid. Sadly, D-Frag hasn’t completed its series yet. But, I am well waiting for it to finish. I REALLY want to see what the creators have into store for it next time.
What? Another Pokemon show? Yep, and this time, it’s only 4 episodes….. yeah, this one is kinda the opposite of the other Pokemon series. Now, this one actually follows the actual events of Pokemon Red and Blue. It follows Red, a Pokemon trainer, as he travels across the Kanto region, battling the Gym Leaders and the Champion, and eventually catching Mewtwo. Yeah, if you know how Pokemon works (Which is probably 99% of you out there), then you can easily understand how the show works. And, I gotta say, for a show that is only four episodes long, the animation is just beautiful. It’s much better than the original Pokemon series. Hell, Pokemon Origins animation is even better than the newer episodes of the original Pokemon show. Sure, it may have been a very short series, but it sure was great to see a Pokemon show that actually follows the original story… Wait, do the Pokemon games really have a story
#69: Welcome to the N.H.K.
Oh great, another amazing series that I need to get into more. The story is about a university dropout named Tatsuhiro Sato, who is always avoiding social contact with most people, that is until he meets a mysterious girl named Misaki Nakahara. Once they meet, she says that she can help Tatsuhiro with his anti-socialism. They then meet at a park, where Misaki would talk to him to try and get him to change. The series then soon shows signs of loneliness, depression, and drug use later on. What makes this series very interesting is how it shows what being alone can do to a person, and how it affects them greatly. It is a very interesting look on life, but in the form of animation. Like Trigun, I sadly don’t have a lot to talk about it. But, I can assure you, I am definitely going to watch more of this amazing series.
#68: Danny Phantom
You know a show is good when they actually have a GOOD rap song for their opening. You know, a genre of music that is hard to make good when it comes to openings. The show is about a boy named Danny Fenton, a 14-year-old unpopular boy who has ghost hunting parents. When his parents fail to make a portal to the ghost world, known as the Ghost Zone, Danny secretly looks inside, where he accidently pushes the On button, making his DNA be fused with ectoplasm, turning him into a half-ghost, half-human, with ghost like abilities, where he then becomes the hero known as Danny Phantom. You can easily tell from the animation and the humor that the creators of Fairly Odd Parents had a major part in this shows creation, and I really love it for that. Not to mention, this series got real into it’s story, and this coming from guys whose shows are more comedy based. I guess that’s why I look at Danny Phantom as their magnum opes. Also, this show is filled with references to ghost movies. The school Danny goes to is called Casper High School, and the town he lives in is called Amity Park. Are you kidding me? Sure, the show may not be the first show that comes to mind when you think of a show made by Butch Hartman, but it is still one of Nickelodeon’s best.
#67: Codename: Kids Next Door
Oh man, now I’m really getting that nostalgic feeling. This was one of the major shows I watched on Cartoon Network. The show was about a group of kids named Numbuh One, Two, Three, Four, and Five, as they fought against adult tyranny, as grown-ups in this world used homework, brushing, and preventing snow days. Now, this was easily one of the greatest ideas I ever saw. Well, I never looked at the show that way as a kid. When I was a kid, I looked at it as an awesome cartoon. I actually tried being a part of this, and actually hit my parents legs with a toilet paper roll when I was like seven. Yes, I did look like an idiot, before you ask. But you know what, it was totally worth it. And, I gotta say, as they show went on, it actually got really into its story, and the major movie, Operation: Z.E.R.O proved that this show was not screwing around. No, this was a show that knew how to tell a good story. The funny thing was that this was made by Tom Warburton, the same guy who worked on Doug… Yeah… I’m still surprised that he made this ingenious show after working on that…. mistake. But yeah, Codename: Kids Next Door was one of the defining shows of Cartoon Network. But, was it the channel's best show? Oh, of course not. But, it did prove it’s worth
#66: Code Lyoko
This is a show for people who thought that Codename: Kids Next Door was a bit too kiddy. The first thing you need to know is that Code Lyoko is an anime…. from France. Hey, if Japan can do it, so can France. Anyway, the series is about a boy named Jeremie Belpois, who is a very intelligent thirteen-year-old, who soon discovers a supercomputer, which holds a virtual world called Lyoko. In it is a girl named Aelita, and a dangerous system known as X.A.N.A, who wants to take over earth and everyone who lives in it. So, Jeremie, along with his friends, Ulrich Stern, Odd Della Robbia, and Yumi Ishiyama, enter Lyoko to save Aelita and stop X.A.N.A. Now, this show had a very interesting sort of animation. Going from simple 2D animation, and having CGI animation in the virtual world. It was just awesome. Also, this show got away with A LOT. And when I say a lot, I mean…. partial nudity of underaged girls, and tentacles attacking women in a way that is enough for some fan to make hentai of it. Now, while the series did repeat a formula of X.A.N.A does something bad, they go in the virtual world, they stop X.A.N.A, epilogue, it was still a good series, and if this is what France’s anime is like, then I say bring over more. I’d like to see more stuff like this… Just don’t bring anything like Totally Spies over. That show wasn’t that good.
#65: Bleach
Alright, here is one of anime's Big 3… and it’s only at number sixty five. The show is about Ichigo, a boy who later gains the abilities of a Soul Reaper, after Rukia, an original Soul Reaper, loses her powers against a powerful Hollow. After this, Ichigo learns that his friends have powers of their own, and they now must defend both his world, as well as the world of Soul Society. Now, before you all burn me at the steak for making this amazing anime not even near the top fifty, you are all probably asking why it is this low. Well, just like Trigun and Welcome to the N.H.K, I haven’t gotten the chance to watch much of it. Yeah, I know, blasphemy of the highest proportions, but, I have a real good excuse. The first time I saw this anime was in 2005, but, I was only like six when I first saw it, and I had no idea what was going on. But, goddamn it, I loved it so much. I am working on watching the entire series right now, and, it’s coming along quite nicely. I hope to finish the anime soon. Until then, I can see why an anime this awesome made it into the Big 3
#64: Mirai Nikki
Or, Future Diaries if you want to be rude about it. But, I started calling it the Japanese name long ago, so I don’t care. Now, Mirai Nikki is about Yukiteru Amano, who writes a diary on his phone, and talks to his imaginary friend, Deus Ex Machina, the God of Time and Space. However, it is revealed he is not imaginary, and tells him of the end of the world in 90 days, and the only one who can stop is is someone who has a diary that tells the future, which Yuki has. And the other diary owners have to fight to the death to stop the end of the world, and become the new God of Time and Space. As this occurs, Yuki teams up with Yuno Gasai, the 2nd diary owner, and Yuki’s stalker, who loved Yuki to the point that she will keep everyone from making any contact with him. And I gotta say, the characters are very great. Especially Yuno, for being, what I believe, is the most insane character in all of anime. And the story just builds up more and more, adding more suspense to the show. I just can’t get enough, and I want to see what will happen next. It’s just that addicting of a story. Mirai Nikki is an anime that gets really disturbing really easily, but, goddamn, it’s worth it.
#63: When They Cry
Ooooooooh God… You all probably know this anime, don’t you. You know, the anime that is easily one of the most disturbing in anime history? Yeah, well, When They Cry is about a group of students who greet the newcomer to the rural village, Keiichi Maebara. Life starts out well, until Keiichi hears about murders that occurred in the village and how a manager to a dam construction was dismembered and the killer was still at large. After that, murder and death of many teens occurs. You want to know what the VERY first scene of the series is… Keiichi beating two girls to death with a bat…. Yep. And, once the series reaches it’s fourth episode, and you think that’s all, folks… The series repeats itself. Why? Not sure, but, all I can say is that you best be prepared, because it does this every four episodes, each one having a story more screwed up and bloody than the last. It’s disturbing, yes, but, it is easily one of my favorite horror anime.
#62: Ping Pong: The Animation
“Ugh, this animation style is so ugly. That means that this anime is gonna suck”. That is what I always hear from people on Youtube comments who are talking about Ping Pong: The Animation. Maybe if you actually watched it, you would see that it is actually a great show. The anime is about two boys, Peco, and Smile. Peco is a very joyful and cocky boy, while Smile is a quiet boy who never smiles. Both of the boys are in the table tennis club at Katase High School, and each facing their own problems. Peco becomes devastated after losing to a Chinese ping pong player, while Smile’s coach, Coach Jo, tries to help him with his psychological problem. This is easily one of the best coming of age stories, and one of my favorite anime of the past year. And as for the animation style? I actually kinda like it. A lot of people say that the style is ugly, and looks nothing like anime. Just because an art style is new doesn’t make is bad. Ping Pong: The Animation is a perfect example of not to judge something solely on appearance. And if they keep making anime this good nowadays, then I can really enjoy anime a lo-
#61: D-Frag
What do you know, they DO make anime as good as Ping Pong: The Animation nowadays. D-Frag is about a delinquent, Kanji Kazama, who wants to be someone other than a thug, so he attempts to try and do something else in life, which leads him to the school’s Game Creation Club, where he meets Roka, a small and humorous girl, Chitose, the school president and a very violent kind of girl, Sakura, a idiotic, but energetic girl, and Minami, a school teacher and slacker. Joining the Game Creation Club leads to Kanji meeting the REAL Game Creation Club, lead by Takao, a friend of Roka who has…… a large chest, we’ll say. And I gotta say, I love the idea these guys made for the animation. They chose different kinds of anime styles, from chibi, to moa, to shonen, and yes, even ecchi. And most of the comedy comes from how Kanji reacts to a lot of things. It cracks me up every time he reacts to something that normal people would know is stupid. Sadly, D-Frag hasn’t completed its series yet. But, I am well waiting for it to finish. I REALLY want to see what the creators have into store for it next time.