Requested by tman, and not a bad idea if I say so myself as well. One of the joys of watching anime is that at times, you run into series that really blow you away. Inspired by Wakaranai, these are the ten anime that I consider best.

Some series who barely didn’t make this list: Paranoia Agent, Hi no Tori, Haibane Renmei, Les Miserables, Toward the Terra and Mushishi.

10: Fantastic Children

Fantastic children probably has one of the best plot twists ever, but that’s not the only great part of this anime. Its narrative style, great characters and deep plot made this an anime I won’t forget anytime soon.

9: Shion no Ou

At first, I didn’t have that much hope for a series that was about a game I knew nothing of (Shougi), but Shion no Ou came and totally proved me wrong. With an amazing cast of characters and a terrific plot to back them up, Shion no Ou quickly dominated all the other shows in the season it aired in with its quality

8: Revolutionary Girl Utena

Ah, Utena. You’re probably one of the strangest, most eccentric anime out there, but also one of the best. Its first half never failed to entertain me, while especially the final episodes starting from episode 30 were insanely good. For the first and probably only time, recycled scenes actually helped to improve an anime, giving it a ritualistic feeling, which turned out perfectly.

7: The Third: Aoi Hitomi no Shoujo

I consider The Third as one of the best action-series, due to its incredibly versatile character of Honoka. She really is one of my favourite characters so far, and this show never failed to entertain me. It’s also one of the few shows with an actually great ending, which is a very rare thing in anime.

6: Bokura no

It may have turned down a lot of fans from the manga, but nonetheless I personally adored Bokura no. When it started, it got to work with one of the most promising premises I’ve seen, and it has definitely lived up to these expectations. The huge cast of characters has proven to be amazing as they move through the tragedy-filled story, without ever degrading into a pointless emo-fest.

5: .Hack//Sign

.Hack//Sign has a considerable sentimental value for me, as it was the first anime I managed to see from fansubs, and I still consider it as one of the best anime ever. Okay, it’s slow, but because it was so slow, it made sure to take its time to develop its characters, only to feature a brilliant second half, full of thought-provoking character-development. It really utilized some of the best aspects of MMORPGs.

4: Simoun

Ah, Simoun. This series has been an awesome character-study, featuring some of the saddest but also grandest scenes I’ve seen. Everything seemed to fit. It’s a true gem that doesn’t deserve its negligence.

3: Visions of Escaflowne

Up till episode twelve, I just thought this as a normal series. But then with the arrival of episode thirteen, Visions of Escaflowne stole my heart, with one of the most intense scenes I had ever seen. To make things even better, starting from that point, the quality of this anime never even once declined, making Escaflowne a truly memorable story.

2: Noein

At the end of the first episode, I knew that this series was going to be something special, but I never knew that it would turn out this awesome. Noein has been an amazing ride, featuring some of the best character-developments ever.

1: Mahou Shoujotai

I don’t think it comes as a surprise to see this one at the #1. Everyone has probably one series which stands miles above the others. If you haven’t yet seen such a series: keep searching, as it’s out there somewhere. For me, Mahou Shoujotai captivated me like no other, heck, it’s one of the reasons I started blogging in the first place. It’s got one of the best stories and settings I’ve ever seen, the themes are awesome, and it seems like every single episode featured a new plot twist. Add some thought-provoking themes, excellent storytelling, and I’m hooked.

I’ll continue updating this list as I finish anime who are good enough to take up a spot. Obviously, anime which I haven’t seen completely are left out of it, as you’ll never know when they might turn bad or disappointing.

Now that that’s said, I’d love to everyone else’s favourite series. Don’t be afraid to drop a comment. :)

(Last Updated on 3-5-2008)