#20: Angel Beats
Oh god, this anime was depressing. The anime is about a group of students who enter a high school that is a sort of limbo that is made to help the students pass onto the next world. Here, they rebel against god, and fight against a girl named Angel. Now, if there is anything this anime does right, it’s its story. It is just so original and something that hasn’t been done before and I love it. Another thing that needs to be pointed out is it’s animation. Sure, some of you nitpickers out there will say it looks just about the same as any other anime, but then, that means that every anime is beautiful, so….. Angel Beats is beautiful. Oh, and then there is the anime’s ending. OH GOD, the ending. I am not going to spoil it, but, let me tell you, it is easily one of the best anime endings out there, without question. So, yeah, Angel Beats has good animation, a good story, and an ending that really knows how to end the story perfectly.
#19: Assassination Classroom
Here it is. The latest anime on the list. Being an anime that was recently made, I was surprised to hear how much praise it was getting in such a short amount of time. So, I watched it… and I instantly loved it. The anime is about an alien creature named Korosensei, who blows up the moon and permanently makes it a crescent moon shape. After which, he promises to do the same to Earth, but gives Earth a chance to survive, stating that he will give a group of students one year to kill him before he destroys the Earth. But, it is very hard, due to his Mach 20 speed, and being the best teacher the students ever had. What makes this anime so great is how the characters are show. You have a sadistic student named Karma, a seductive assassin named Irina, a supercomputer named Ritsu, and so much more. Also, the humor is just amazing. I just love seeing Korosensei try to do such mundane tasks while avoiding getting assassinated. It’s just so funny. Assassination Classroom is easily one of my favorite animes of the recent years, and I hope to see more anime like it.
#18: Dave the Barbarian
Oh, god, I have yet to find a children’s cartoon that could be as funny as this show. Dave the Barbarian is about a barbarian named Dave, and his two sisters, Princess Candy and Fang, as their parents leave the kingdom for a while and leave the three siblings to watch over it, along with the help of the wizard, Oswidge. Now, again, the thing that makes this show amazing is it’s humor. There are so many jokes that work so well, that it is hard not to enjoy them. Not to mention they break the fourth wall more than Psycho Mantis having a field day. Hell, one of the running jokes is that they are talking to the narrator, and the narrator even gets kidnapped by one of the villains. My god, this show is just so funny. The show was so hilarious, in fact, that it even won an Annie Award. It just goes to show that even the shows that are only based on comedy and not story can win at something. And Dave the Barbarian definitely wins.
#17: Attack on Titan
When this anime came out, everyone was talking about how awesome it was. It’s popularity spread like cancer across the world. I didn’t know what people were talking about. That is until I watched it. And I am so glad that I did. The anime is about Eran, and his sister Mikasa, and friend Armin, as they try to fight Titans, which are large monsters that eat humans. What makes Attack on Titan such an awesome anime are it’s fight scenes. I mean, what other anime can have you say, “I just saw an anime where some kid just jumped around on buildings and killed a giant monster with a sword”. Not a whole lot, I’d expect. But that’s the beauty of Attack on Titan. It has such an original idea that hasn’t been done before, and then this anime comes along and gives us something new. It’s so awesome. If I were to know that all of the popularity this anime was getting was for something awesome, I would have watched Attack on Titan a long time ago.
#16: Code Geass
And people say that Light Yagami is the best anime anti-hero…. well, he is, but Lelouch is a close second. Anyway, Code Geass takes place in a alternate timeline, where the world is divided into three superpowers, one of them being Britannia, which takes over Japan and takes away all of the civilians rights. Here, Lelouch, an exiled Britannian prince, along with his sister, Nunnally, are sent to Japan, and are used to bargain with them before a war breaks out between Japan and Britannia. During the war, Lelouch is saved by a girl named C.C., who grants Lelouch a power called Geass, which allows him to control people's minds, which he uses to aid Japan against Britannia. Now, other than the fact that that is just the most awesome idea for an anime ever, this anime has quite an assortment of great characters that I really enjoy. Also, the story is just so amazing. It shows so many plot twists with each episode, giving us something new and interesting with each episode, weather it’s character deaths, a dangerous fight, or…. chasing a cat? Okay, there were some odd moments, but the anime was still awesome. And the ending was just perfect, which, like I stated with all the other endings, I will not spoil here. Code Geass is a well made anime, that I just can not get enough of, no matter how hard I try.
#15: Soul Eater
Ah yes, when it comes to the classic anime, I look no further than Soul Eater. Every single anime fan has heard of Soul Eater by now, but, just incase, I’m gonna talk about it anyway. The anime takes place in a city called Death City, where the main character Maka, and her weapon, Soul, must collect 99 kishin souls and one witch soul to turn Soul into a Death Scythe, while also having to protect the world from Asura, the kishin who can cause chaos across the Earth. What makes this anime so amazing is it’s brilliant mix of both Japanese anime and CGI. It just looks so amazing, and it is something that I doubt anyone has ever seen before. Another thing to point out is the humor. By god, this what you’d get if Dave the Barbarian was an anime. The humor is just so fantastic, and I can never get enough of it. I’ve actually resorted to watching random clips of the anime on Youtube just to get a quick laugh. And the fight scenes are not to bad either. They are very quick paced, yet you are always able to enjoy them no matter what. And the characters. OH BOY, the characters. If I were to talk about them here, we would be here all day. Just trust me when I say that each one of them are good in one way or another. Soul Eater is a very popular anime, and for damn good reasons.
#14: Courage the Cowardly Dog
Ah yes. The nostalgia with this show is off the charts. The show was about a cowardly dog named Courage (How ironic), who lived in the middle of nowhere with his owners Muriel and Eustace Bag. However, a bunch of creepy things happen in the middle of nowhere, leaving Courage to save his naive owners from danger. The show always knew how to treat its viewers with respect, showing things that would be serious in real life, but would hide them behind a bunch of cartoony visuals. This show would hide some very serious things, like death, violence, and depression, but would never outright show it, and would hide it behind cartoon violence and humor, which shows just how much the writers are willing to respect their audience, while at the same time entertaining them. Also, for a kids show, this was a very creepy show. There are a LOT of episodes that scared kids, from the disturbing smile of Freaky Fred, to the haunting voice of King Ramses. This show was always creepy. But not a creepy as in making you stop watching the show. More of a creepy you are scared, yet you want to keep watching sort of way. And that’s what made Courage the Cowardly Dog the haunting children's classic that it is today.
#13: Rick and Morty
Back in 2010, if you told me about good adult cartoons, I would have disagreed with you, as around that time, I thought of adult cartoons as a dying breed. However, if you were to talk about good adult cartoons today, my mind would instantly go to Rick and Morty. Rick and Morty is about a high school boy, named Morty, and his alcoholic grandfather, Rick, who happens to be a scientist, as they go on many scientific adventures. This show is always able to do what other adult cartoons failed at doing. It can take very disturbing things, and yet, make them funny. Hell, it can even take childish things like urination, and make it funny. Also, the show is also able to show that Rick, while being a sociopathic jerk who seems to take Morty along on his misadventures just to torment him, can actually be a caring grandfather and look out for Morty. You know, which most families in adult cartoons fail to do. And, by god, I just love the humor in this. I actually thought I was going to hate this show, but the more I watched it, the more I laughed. I couldn’t believe that I was laughing at an adult cartoon in this day and age. Rick and Morty shows that even in a genre as awful as adult cartoons, there can be something worth salvaging from it.
#12: Powerpuff Girls
Remember when I said that My Little Pony wasn’t my favorite Lauren Faust show. Well, the Powerpuff Girls is. The show is about Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, three little girls who are created when a scientist known as Professor Utonium creates them using sugar, spice, and everything nice, but accidently adds Chemical X, which gives the girls super powers, which they use to defend the city of Townsville from evil. You know, when I write the premise of the show down, it’s actually a lot cooler than I remember. Anyway, this show was easily a massive hit at the time, and gained popularity due to its elements of crime fighting, as well as well done humor. And I just got to say, I love the villains in this show. There are so many, from the evil genius monkey, Mojo Jojo, the angry hillbilly, Fuzzy Lumpkins, to the evil demon known only as Him. This show was just so creative, and it even got a hit movie. Shame it didn’t do so well in theaters. Nowadays, with My Little Pony, when a new movie comes out, fans are all over it, but back then, people were too afraid to go into a theater to watch a movie meant for little girls. Shame, too. Powerpuff Girls was easily Faust’s magnum opus, and there is no doubt in my mind about that
#11: Looney Tunes
Ah yes, here it is. Warner Bros. timeless classic. I would talk about the premise of the show, but, you all know that the entire show was just a bunch of stories involving the Looney Tunes cast. But, the show was still amazing. There was so much humor, from Bugs always playing mind tricks on the antagonist, like a reverse Joker, to Daffy always trying to do something better than bugs, to Sylvester always trying to catch Tweety Bird, and failing, to Roadrunner always being able to outsmart Wile E Coyote. The show also had lots of wonderful slapstick humor. Sure, it may not have been the first cartoon to have slapstick humor, but no doubt, it was the show that perfected it. Now, I haven’t seen any of the later shows, like The Looney Tunes show, but I have been told by some friends that it’s just as funny as the original series. But, until I watch it, Looney Tunes will always remain the classic cartoon of an early generation.d
Oh god, this anime was depressing. The anime is about a group of students who enter a high school that is a sort of limbo that is made to help the students pass onto the next world. Here, they rebel against god, and fight against a girl named Angel. Now, if there is anything this anime does right, it’s its story. It is just so original and something that hasn’t been done before and I love it. Another thing that needs to be pointed out is it’s animation. Sure, some of you nitpickers out there will say it looks just about the same as any other anime, but then, that means that every anime is beautiful, so….. Angel Beats is beautiful. Oh, and then there is the anime’s ending. OH GOD, the ending. I am not going to spoil it, but, let me tell you, it is easily one of the best anime endings out there, without question. So, yeah, Angel Beats has good animation, a good story, and an ending that really knows how to end the story perfectly.
#19: Assassination Classroom
Here it is. The latest anime on the list. Being an anime that was recently made, I was surprised to hear how much praise it was getting in such a short amount of time. So, I watched it… and I instantly loved it. The anime is about an alien creature named Korosensei, who blows up the moon and permanently makes it a crescent moon shape. After which, he promises to do the same to Earth, but gives Earth a chance to survive, stating that he will give a group of students one year to kill him before he destroys the Earth. But, it is very hard, due to his Mach 20 speed, and being the best teacher the students ever had. What makes this anime so great is how the characters are show. You have a sadistic student named Karma, a seductive assassin named Irina, a supercomputer named Ritsu, and so much more. Also, the humor is just amazing. I just love seeing Korosensei try to do such mundane tasks while avoiding getting assassinated. It’s just so funny. Assassination Classroom is easily one of my favorite animes of the recent years, and I hope to see more anime like it.
#18: Dave the Barbarian
Oh, god, I have yet to find a children’s cartoon that could be as funny as this show. Dave the Barbarian is about a barbarian named Dave, and his two sisters, Princess Candy and Fang, as their parents leave the kingdom for a while and leave the three siblings to watch over it, along with the help of the wizard, Oswidge. Now, again, the thing that makes this show amazing is it’s humor. There are so many jokes that work so well, that it is hard not to enjoy them. Not to mention they break the fourth wall more than Psycho Mantis having a field day. Hell, one of the running jokes is that they are talking to the narrator, and the narrator even gets kidnapped by one of the villains. My god, this show is just so funny. The show was so hilarious, in fact, that it even won an Annie Award. It just goes to show that even the shows that are only based on comedy and not story can win at something. And Dave the Barbarian definitely wins.
#17: Attack on Titan
When this anime came out, everyone was talking about how awesome it was. It’s popularity spread like cancer across the world. I didn’t know what people were talking about. That is until I watched it. And I am so glad that I did. The anime is about Eran, and his sister Mikasa, and friend Armin, as they try to fight Titans, which are large monsters that eat humans. What makes Attack on Titan such an awesome anime are it’s fight scenes. I mean, what other anime can have you say, “I just saw an anime where some kid just jumped around on buildings and killed a giant monster with a sword”. Not a whole lot, I’d expect. But that’s the beauty of Attack on Titan. It has such an original idea that hasn’t been done before, and then this anime comes along and gives us something new. It’s so awesome. If I were to know that all of the popularity this anime was getting was for something awesome, I would have watched Attack on Titan a long time ago.
#16: Code Geass
And people say that Light Yagami is the best anime anti-hero…. well, he is, but Lelouch is a close second. Anyway, Code Geass takes place in a alternate timeline, where the world is divided into three superpowers, one of them being Britannia, which takes over Japan and takes away all of the civilians rights. Here, Lelouch, an exiled Britannian prince, along with his sister, Nunnally, are sent to Japan, and are used to bargain with them before a war breaks out between Japan and Britannia. During the war, Lelouch is saved by a girl named C.C., who grants Lelouch a power called Geass, which allows him to control people's minds, which he uses to aid Japan against Britannia. Now, other than the fact that that is just the most awesome idea for an anime ever, this anime has quite an assortment of great characters that I really enjoy. Also, the story is just so amazing. It shows so many plot twists with each episode, giving us something new and interesting with each episode, weather it’s character deaths, a dangerous fight, or…. chasing a cat? Okay, there were some odd moments, but the anime was still awesome. And the ending was just perfect, which, like I stated with all the other endings, I will not spoil here. Code Geass is a well made anime, that I just can not get enough of, no matter how hard I try.
#15: Soul Eater
Ah yes, when it comes to the classic anime, I look no further than Soul Eater. Every single anime fan has heard of Soul Eater by now, but, just incase, I’m gonna talk about it anyway. The anime takes place in a city called Death City, where the main character Maka, and her weapon, Soul, must collect 99 kishin souls and one witch soul to turn Soul into a Death Scythe, while also having to protect the world from Asura, the kishin who can cause chaos across the Earth. What makes this anime so amazing is it’s brilliant mix of both Japanese anime and CGI. It just looks so amazing, and it is something that I doubt anyone has ever seen before. Another thing to point out is the humor. By god, this what you’d get if Dave the Barbarian was an anime. The humor is just so fantastic, and I can never get enough of it. I’ve actually resorted to watching random clips of the anime on Youtube just to get a quick laugh. And the fight scenes are not to bad either. They are very quick paced, yet you are always able to enjoy them no matter what. And the characters. OH BOY, the characters. If I were to talk about them here, we would be here all day. Just trust me when I say that each one of them are good in one way or another. Soul Eater is a very popular anime, and for damn good reasons.
#14: Courage the Cowardly Dog
Ah yes. The nostalgia with this show is off the charts. The show was about a cowardly dog named Courage (How ironic), who lived in the middle of nowhere with his owners Muriel and Eustace Bag. However, a bunch of creepy things happen in the middle of nowhere, leaving Courage to save his naive owners from danger. The show always knew how to treat its viewers with respect, showing things that would be serious in real life, but would hide them behind a bunch of cartoony visuals. This show would hide some very serious things, like death, violence, and depression, but would never outright show it, and would hide it behind cartoon violence and humor, which shows just how much the writers are willing to respect their audience, while at the same time entertaining them. Also, for a kids show, this was a very creepy show. There are a LOT of episodes that scared kids, from the disturbing smile of Freaky Fred, to the haunting voice of King Ramses. This show was always creepy. But not a creepy as in making you stop watching the show. More of a creepy you are scared, yet you want to keep watching sort of way. And that’s what made Courage the Cowardly Dog the haunting children's classic that it is today.
#13: Rick and Morty
Back in 2010, if you told me about good adult cartoons, I would have disagreed with you, as around that time, I thought of adult cartoons as a dying breed. However, if you were to talk about good adult cartoons today, my mind would instantly go to Rick and Morty. Rick and Morty is about a high school boy, named Morty, and his alcoholic grandfather, Rick, who happens to be a scientist, as they go on many scientific adventures. This show is always able to do what other adult cartoons failed at doing. It can take very disturbing things, and yet, make them funny. Hell, it can even take childish things like urination, and make it funny. Also, the show is also able to show that Rick, while being a sociopathic jerk who seems to take Morty along on his misadventures just to torment him, can actually be a caring grandfather and look out for Morty. You know, which most families in adult cartoons fail to do. And, by god, I just love the humor in this. I actually thought I was going to hate this show, but the more I watched it, the more I laughed. I couldn’t believe that I was laughing at an adult cartoon in this day and age. Rick and Morty shows that even in a genre as awful as adult cartoons, there can be something worth salvaging from it.
#12: Powerpuff Girls
Remember when I said that My Little Pony wasn’t my favorite Lauren Faust show. Well, the Powerpuff Girls is. The show is about Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, three little girls who are created when a scientist known as Professor Utonium creates them using sugar, spice, and everything nice, but accidently adds Chemical X, which gives the girls super powers, which they use to defend the city of Townsville from evil. You know, when I write the premise of the show down, it’s actually a lot cooler than I remember. Anyway, this show was easily a massive hit at the time, and gained popularity due to its elements of crime fighting, as well as well done humor. And I just got to say, I love the villains in this show. There are so many, from the evil genius monkey, Mojo Jojo, the angry hillbilly, Fuzzy Lumpkins, to the evil demon known only as Him. This show was just so creative, and it even got a hit movie. Shame it didn’t do so well in theaters. Nowadays, with My Little Pony, when a new movie comes out, fans are all over it, but back then, people were too afraid to go into a theater to watch a movie meant for little girls. Shame, too. Powerpuff Girls was easily Faust’s magnum opus, and there is no doubt in my mind about that
#11: Looney Tunes
Ah yes, here it is. Warner Bros. timeless classic. I would talk about the premise of the show, but, you all know that the entire show was just a bunch of stories involving the Looney Tunes cast. But, the show was still amazing. There was so much humor, from Bugs always playing mind tricks on the antagonist, like a reverse Joker, to Daffy always trying to do something better than bugs, to Sylvester always trying to catch Tweety Bird, and failing, to Roadrunner always being able to outsmart Wile E Coyote. The show also had lots of wonderful slapstick humor. Sure, it may not have been the first cartoon to have slapstick humor, but no doubt, it was the show that perfected it. Now, I haven’t seen any of the later shows, like The Looney Tunes show, but I have been told by some friends that it’s just as funny as the original series. But, until I watch it, Looney Tunes will always remain the classic cartoon of an early generation.d