COWBOY BEBOP
Bebop has been one of the most dominant series in the entire history of anime. Based on a manga of the same name written by Hajime Yatate, the series follows Spike Spiegel in 2071, who is a registered bounty hunter (also known as Cowboys) who bring in criminals alive in return for a reward. Spike and his crew, consisting of; Jet Black, Faye Valentine, Edward Wong, and Ein, over the course of the series, this crew gets involved in many disastrous situations leaving them without money and often facing relics of their past.
The main reason why this series is so dear to me and why I chose it as the very first to write about in this article is because of how much this series means to me, as a young person, I saw it and was ushered into a new kind of anime, a sort where it wasn’t just meant for kids but it wasn’t too vile for me to watch. A series that challenged me to think philosophically, question my own beliefs and ideologies, and society around me.
But the main appeal of Bebop is not only its extremely well-written cast of characters but also its incredible storytelling. Any great series or film would clutch the viewers’ minds directly within its world, and boy did Bebop deliver on that account. I was hooked from the first episode to the very last, and as embarrassing as it is for me to say this; the last episode made me shed many tears. Combine that with some of the best animations of its time, making the setting of Bebop feel like a living breathing world, you have the most ideal recipe for great anime.
If you haven’t yet, give Cowboy Bebop a clear-minded watch, I can guarantee that you will at least like it if not completely get immersed in its world.
NARUTO
This is a series that’s been there for as long as I can remember, I still remember catching up on re-runs of each episode that I saw earlier in the evening, Naruto is a series that will forever remain one of the greats, it’s not because of the beautifully choreographed action sequences or the excellent voice acting or writing, but because of the characters, Naruto by design was a show that was made to make you fall in love with its incredibly large cast of characters, from its wily young and passionate protagonist to its experienced and brilliant antagonist, Naruto has a character for everybody, and everybody can relate to one or the other at the very least.
Aside from a variety of different characters, Naruto has large and expansive lore to it, the number of Jutsus that are mentioned in the series is countless and each one is countered by some other kind of Jutsu or mental or physical training. Naruto’s more detailed wikis show how deep the lore flows for this series, the characters, and their families, each one having a different tribe and every different tribe having different abilities and different stories behind them.
The story, however, is just icing on the cake, Naruto’s story has to be one of the longest and most well written in the history of anime, while it’s not as a relatable or unique, it has emotion, and the emotion definitely gets channeled by every single viewer when they go through the series, man, even the fillers are fun to watch in the series! I’ve been recently rewatching the final few episodes of the series, and they’re still some of the best penultimate and final chapters that I’ve watched in any anime, the sheer scale and size of these episodes is just breathtaking.
ONE PIECE
Alright, this one is probably a bit weird for some of you out there, but just hear me out before judging me.
One Piece has been the longest-running anime series, and the popularity is not decreasing, it’s actually steadily growing, more people are reading the manga than ever, more people are watching the anime more than ever. There’s a good reason for that; the reason is consistency. The series is improving with each arc, with each season the show gets more and more evolved into a better version of itself. The series’ writers and their passion for the anime are insanely addictive, and it is noticeable if you know where to look, the show gets better with each arc is not just something I’m saying, but there’s the logical proof behind it if you do a little research.
The reason why I find the series so enjoyable and fun to watch is the humor and the way the characters bounce off of each other, the long open journeys between the fights and duels are made so much more enjoyable now than in the beginning of the series as the writers have learned to perfect their craft, making the journeys absolutely hilarious, the series also has emotional strength where it needs it and every arc has a better representation of this growth, the characters just get better and better each arc too.
The series has had approximately 800 episodes, the amount of content it has scares people away from watching it that is for sure, but if people actually gave the series a chance, they would be hooked to it unlike anything, one piece is definitely that casual experience that is catered towards people of all ages and the constant growth in maturity and story-telling is what makes people come back to it.
Kenpuu Denki (BERSERK)
Berserk is a conflicting anime, many fans of the anime consider it to be horrible, many consider it to be subpar but still claim the manga as king. But that is just a discussion that will always happen when you compare an A-tier anime to an S-tier manga.
My two cents on this series as you know should already be clear, I love it. The one thing that the series has that the manga does not; the soundtrack, I live for that soundtrack, sometimes I just turn it on and do my daily chores and activities as it plays, the soundtrack is designed so articulately that it just fits every single part of the series that it’s supposed to fit into, it has to be one of the most spectacular Original Sound Tracks that I have ever heard, and genuinely encapsulates the anime as solid.
Now that the soundtrack is out of the way, I want to talk about the series as a whole, I have read the manga, and I can certainly say the manga is top tier, the series is incomparable to the manga when it comes to the story and the basic plot, but that by no means makes the anime bad, it just makes it different. The anime takes different decisions for its characters and the story and makes it a bit more in-depth, it only chooses to focus on one arc from the manga and commits to it, the fact that they managed to make such a deep and archetypical story out of one arc is kind of amazing in my opinion, but yeah it’s not as great as the anime, but I love it because it is different and it takes risks, for me that is cooler than mainstream success. Definitely give it a shot if you want to watch something different, and the glorious soundtrack, man the soundtrack.
Rurouni Kenshin (Samurai X)
Rurouni Kenshin, also known as Samurai X in the western world, is a series that is focused on pure samurai action with hints of romance.
It starts out strong, a nice premise, to begin with, a likable and mysterious protagonist with somewhat unclear motives, some of the cleanest and cutest romance, great side characters to keep the story interesting and changing.
Then the series picks up, the Kyoto arc, and I lost my mind when I watched it for the first time. Man oh, man, that particular arc gets so strong that I would without any second thoughts consider it some of the best anime I’ve ever seen in my entire life, the soundtrack is very interesting and while it doesn’t do anything like the Berserk soundtrack, it has a lot of great moments that make it fun to listen to.
The animation is a little dated if you want to watch it now, so do keep that in consideration when you want to watch it, but the series’ Kyoto arc, possibly the best thing I’ve ever seen in anime, I can’t even begin to explain how good it is, imagine Boku No Hero Academia’s Season 3’s final few episodes, but lasting for 10 episodes and on a bit larger of a scale.
Incredibly well-written series, however, the series does turn into filler after episode 55 or so, so it loses that oomph that it had in the start and mid of its run, but the fillers are still fun and they’re not boring to watch whatsoever.
