2004: Top 25 Anime

[Darkerangel]

Okay so I'm flipping through my old November vol 3 No 11 of Newtype USA and there's a piece about the top 25 anime in 2004. So I just curious to see everyone thoughts about it. Would you/do you agree...disagree? Even being 2010 does some still hold up to their titles?


#1: Neon Genesis Evangellion
#2: Cowboy Bebop
#3: Inuyasha
#4: Rurouni Kenshin
#5: Trigun

#6: Fruits Basket
#7: Robotech
#8: Ranma 1/2
#9: Love Hina
#10: Sailor Moon

#11: Hellsing
#12: FLCL
#13: Fushigi Yugi
#14: Chobits
#15: Akira

#16: Tenchi Muyo!
#17: Azumanga Daioh
#18: Initial D
#19: Dragon Ball Z
#20: Vision of Escaflowne

#21: Full Metal Panic!
#22: Gundam Seed
#23: Wolfs Rain
#24: Cardcaptor Sakura
#25: Excel Saga


Neon Genesis Evangellion number 1...who knew lol

[Overlord Zaru]

Okay so I'm flipping through my old November vol 3 No 11 of Newtype USA and there's a piece about the top 25 anime in 2004. So I just curious to see everyone thoughts about it. Would you/do you agree...disagree? Even being 2010 does some still hold up to their titles?


#1: Neon Genesis Evangellion
#2: Cowboy Bebop
#3: Inuyasha
#4: Rurouni Kenshin
#5: Trigun

#6: Fruits Basket
#7: Robotech
#8: Ranma 1/2
#9: Love Hina
#10: Sailor Moon

#11: Hellsing
#12: FLCL
#13: Fushigi Yugi
#14: Chobits
#15: Akira

#16: Tenchi Muyo!
#17: Azumanga Daioh
#18: Initial D
#19: Dragon Ball Z
#20: Vision of Escaflowne

#21: Full Metal Panic!
#22: Gundam Seed
#23: Wolfs Rain
#24: Cardcaptor Sakura
#25: Excel Saga


Neon Genesis Evangellion number 1...who knew lol

1.) Make's since.
2.) Agree
3.) wat
4.) Agree
5.) Didn't watch it so no opinion
6.) wat
7.) Didn't watch it.
8.) Agree
9.) Didn't watch it
10.) If the story was based on the manga and not with all of the filler and kiddy stuff, it would have been higher.
11.) Should be #1 if it's the OVA's, if not, then understandable
12.) Agree
13.) Didn't watch it. Looks like a glorifed version of Tsubusa Chron
14.) Wat
15.) Should be in the top 5...
16.) Should be in the top 10...
17.) Is this the begining of the Moe era?
18.) Didn't watch it. No opinion.
19.) Agree
20.) No Opinion.
21, 22, 24, 25.) Wat
23.) Should be in top 10.
That's my opinion.

[ShadowCell]

If that's all this thread is going to be, I'm locking it.

[TakaTahuNuva]

Just for comparison, here are two Japanese "top anime" lists from 2006: this one was ranked by official reviewers I believe, while this list was decided by fan votes. Here's a run-down of the top ten in both;

First list
1) Lupin III
2) Dragon Ball
3) Doraemon
4) Ashita no Joe
5) Mobile Suit Gundam
6) Dog of Flanders
7) Sazae-chan
8) Candy Candy
9) Attack no. 1
10) Urusei Yatsura

Second list
1) Fullmetal Alchemist　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
2) Neon Genesis Evangelion　　　　　　　　　　
3) Poni Poni Dash！　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
4) Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi
5)Magical Teacher Negima！
6) Mobile Suit Gundam
7) Bleach
8) Prince of Tennis
9) Rozen Maiden
10) Strawberry Marshmallow

[DuelGundam2099]

Would you/do you agree...disagree? Even being 2010 does some still hold up to their titles?

*cracks knuckles*
I haven't seen most of these but for those I have seen I'll comment on.

1. If this was 2004 I'd agree here, but here in 2010? Sorry, but four other anime came along and knocked it from first to fifth or at least in my opinion.
12. No. Way too high. The first half was kind of boring, but the second half was entertaining. I really don't see why people like this series so much.
15. It's a little high, but I think it's fine for 2004.
19. I haven't seen any of the original Japanese footage and I've only seen the US syndicated version so I can't really comment. This much I will say: Way too high.
20. Too low, it would fit in the top five easily.
21. I have nothing against FMP, but it had a lot of unused potential, should be somewhat lower.
22. Top five or ten easily. Before anyone asks yes the Cosmic Era's my favorite Gundam timeline.

[Nowhere Man]

Hmm... is this really a "Best of 2004" list? Or a "Best of All Time" list? Because if it's the latter, and I have reason to believe that's the case*, this is a pretty bad countdown. I feel like I saw this list 6 years ago and was terribly disappointed.

I realize that Newtype USA was probably only counting anime released in America, but... some of these are crap. Where's Princess Mononoke or Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade? Those films beat out 1/2 of the choices on this list -- though I can't profess to have seen many of them.

And Jeebus, has it really been six years since Mobile Suit Gundam SEED aired on Cartoon Network?

[*Robotech, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, and Tenchi Muyo! are in here? Were they even airing on anything in 2004?]

[wonton bob]

Robotech?! Didn't this come out in 1985? Or do they mean the Shadow thing chronicles? which in that case it shouldn't be on any list.

[Darkerangel]

Hmm... is this really a "Best of 2004" list? Or a "Best of All Time" list? Because if it's the latter, and I have reason to believe that's the case*, this is a pretty bad countdown. I feel like I saw this list 6 years ago and was terribly disappointed.

I realize that Newtype USA was probably only counting anime released in America, but... some of these are crap. Where's Princess Mononoke or Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade? Those films beat out 1/2 of the choices on this list -- though I can't profess to have seen many of them.

And Jeebus, has it really been six years since Mobile Suit Gundam SEED aired on Cartoon Network?

[*Robotech, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, and Tenchi Muyo! are in here? Were they even airing on anything in 2004?]

Correct: "The best anime of all time, voted on by you, the readers of Newtype USA!"

12. No. Way too high. The first half was kind of boring, but the second half was entertaining. I really don't see why people like this series so much.

haha we're on the same page because FLCL went right passed me lol.

[Amadi Akintunde]

You missed Trigun? Aw.

[Nowhere Man]

Correct: "The best anime of all time, voted on by you, the readers of Newtype USA!"

Ah, well that would explain why this list sucks.

[Koshernova]

It looks, however, like the Japanese fan-voted list doesn't fare much better than the American one. Haruhi? Negima? Really? Over classics that changed anime forever such as, I don't know, The Rose of Versailles, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Tetsuwan Atom, Captain Harlock, Mazinger, Akira?

In the end, the problem with asking readers/fans what are 'the best anime of all time' will run into these problems:

1) Who is answering the question? Many fans who are avid readers of fandom magazines will be more interested in newer shows, and care little for shows with old animation and which have different sensibilities.

2) What is the 'best' anime? The most popular? The most influential in Japan? Or outside of Japan? Because, for a rough example, if the 'best' anime is the most popular outside of Japan, Saint Seiya would probably top these lists (if, say, anime fans outside the english-speaking world were asked this question). But in Japan it'd never scratch the top 50.

3) There is no number 3.

[blind_dead_mcjones]

actually there is a number 3) the entire deal is subjective, as is everything else in the world thats based on opinion, and largely pointless due to the list very quickly becoming outdated when a new anime comes along which turns out to be brilliant, course such occurences are few and far between but still

[Darkerangel]

<.<....is anyone a little/tad bit sho...stunned that Gundam Seed out did Gundam Wing in terms of the list?

[jabman025]

Okay I am very well versed with this volume of Newtype USA because I am the guy that was qouted in the magazine when describing gundam seed. I voted for the gundam franchise in general and they used that vote for Seed, I think in that magazine they just used Seed as the Gundam franchise to represent in the final count, wich always bothered me. Does gundam as a franchise really rank that low on the list?

[CidHighwind]

Wow. Its like they look a list of every Adult Swim/Toonami anime that was even slightly popular (minus 5 or so) and made a list of it. But makes complete sense, considering how ignorant the US as a whole is about anime. But whats surprising, is this is a poll from Newtype, who's readership should have been a little more... discerning. I mean, the magazine's namesake, UC Gundam series(es) didnt even make the list. And then Robotech, not Macross, was high up. Thats fine, because it would have an oldschool audience, but why not anything else from the early anime series to circulate in the US? Megazone and Akira and the like.

Its just sort of weird.