The Summer Top Ten

HVO is lacking a comprehensive list, and to legitimise my position as a proper anime blog I've gotta have one. Plus it's an enjoyable way to break up the dominating Naruto chapter reviews and give me a platform to spout opinionated recommendations to the masses. Everyone loves a soapbox, after all.

So, think John Peel's Festive Fifty only less fundamental and more ffs obvs. Those with a solid taste in the objectively good can skim over this, as I doubt I'm recommending anything outlandishly different. But then who's to say that anything is objectively good . . . apart from the following ten things. :x

Alternatively, you can read it and criticise the chart positions. I swear that's probably the only reason I read these things anyway. Let's do it.

I still can't decide if I want to say I hold Howl's in the same regard as Mononoke when considering the Ghibli top-tier. It's certainly more frivolous than Mononoke, with fewer moral ambiguities and facets to its characters, but that's what I love about it. The process of making an old woman an exciting a lovable protagonist deserves respect for one thing, as well as the immense technical achievement this and every modern Ghibli film produces. True, it doesn't have all the clear-cut specifications to make it one of the greats, but I haven't had that much fun watching a film since early Disney. My inner seven-year-old is obnoxiously gesticulating a confirmation.

First controversial statement of the chart: I think I like Howl's more than Totoro. And Grave of the Fireflies. Bring on the lynch mob.

The release schedule for this manga is pretty much one volume a year, and yet I still find it required reading. The review of the first volume sums up most of my reasons for enjoying the series as much as I do, but in addition to that I think Bambi is a good example of how compelling visual storytelling can drive a comic book beyond the mediocre.

It's not deep and the violence is almost desensitising, but Kaneko Atsushi is a master visual storyteller. I have a great love for extremes in fiction (Chan-wook Park's trilogy being all-time cinematic favourites of mine) and Atsushi is fantastically visceral and unrestrained with his work. Technically speaking he's just fucking good. An auteur, if you like, with the use of different paper media being so creative and his line work having a shaky vibrancy that sets him apart from his peers. After reading some of his other work online (like Soil), it's obvious he operates on a different league to other mangaka and Bambi is a great example of this.

Probably the only slightly maligned title on this list, and I recommend it all the more for it. Bear in mind that it is incredibly violent, so those with lighter constitutions and aversions to heads being shot in two should avoid it.

Personally I see the tie-in between these series as superfluous. I certainly don't miss it in the xxxHOLiC anime and it's come to the point in each manga that you barely pick up on the connection. It's a playful addition that often gives rise to some entertaining comedy, true, but it really doesn’t define either series. Actually, for me, it's merely a justification to list two great series together in the one spot, although in all honesty it's 70% xxxHOLiC 30% Tsubasa.

This is mainly out of preference. I have little reason to speak poorly of Tsubasa - it hits every shonen manga checkpoint with style and the artwork is always fantastic. I just find more subtly in xxxHOLiC, as well as it appealing to the mild interest I have in Japanese mythology and the occult. I appreciate the slower pace of xxxHOLiC too; it allows the character-based moments to be more emotive. Of course Tsubasa's brisk variety is an exciting contrast and its characters are fun, if a little stereotypical.

I won't say one is better than the other. Both these series are excellent and fitting of the celebratory position they hold in the CLAMP catalogue. Perhaps xxxHOLiC's more definitive originality is what puts it in favour with me, but Tsubasa's ability to form its own identity based on previous characters is commendable in and of itself. Both are better books than a good two thirds of what's out there and both are equally worth your $10.

A dark horse for my manga collection, perhaps ironically when I'm frequently blinded by the hot pink covers. I can't decide if I'm just humouring the raging valley girl inside or finding legitimate emotional reasons for enjoying NANA as much as I do, but needless to say the series has layers. In its characters, plotlines; everything. Much in the same way I kinda liked Sex in the City because I respected the writing (no, seriously), NANA does the shoujo thing without making me act like a total man and roll my eyes. Okay, so Sex in the City constantly did that and so does NANA, but both have genuine pathos beneath the love for stylish aesthetic.

The anime upholds this principle and hopefully it will get its shit back together now they've retold the beginning six episodes in. Who knew Ai Yazawa is such a diva!

I write summaries for its weekly scanslation, irreverent as they tend to be, for good reason. Much in the same way it's so massively popular these days. I'll admit the anime variation still leaves me a bit uneasy (even when it follows the manga) but as a comic it simply is my favourite shonen book out there. All for the same reasons it's probably yours.

I think Kishimoto has found a perfect mix of emotional weight and exciting long-term plotting techniques that are (generally) pulled off with a dependable regularity. Granted, Part Two is showing Naruto's age, but I still have faith in what Kishimoto is aiming for, even if it isn't particularly original anymore. I'd happily agree that it has surpassed its spiritual successor in Dragon Ball and artistically I think it's achieved even more. Apart from that there's not much more to say on the matter. Naruto is just a distinctly likable series and one of my favs.

No Roman numeral numbering for Europe, just Dragon Quest: Journey of the Cursed King; it being the first ever Dragon Quest game to reach our neglected shores. But what a refreshingly traditional game, eh? I won't wax on how beautiful it is - that being a lot harder now I have a 360 - but the level of design is definitely a strong feature of the game. Toriyama's designs spring to life more vividly than two thirds of the Dragonall anime ever did and it's a pleasure to control them through the solid environments and fight the silly monsters (the little devils who sultrily dance being personal favourites, the slags).

I think 'solid' and 'pleasurable' sum up DQ:VIII perfectly. No bells, no whistles and truly affable for it. It's making an enjoyable starter (along with Vagrant Story, god how I love that game) for the forthcoming epic that-will-be Final Fantasy XII. Granted, it will have to be a starter that will have to last me for another 140 fucking days, but there's loads of games in the interim. I think it's testament to how bloody ridiculous the European release schedule is when Kingdom Hearts 2 isn't even out until late August. But anyway, I'll stop ranting. I'll just put my zimmer frame away and let you damn whippersnappers (by which I mean Square Enix) exploit me.

Regardless of some of the current ecchi trash Gainax churns out they remain one of the most dependable studios for replay value (and occasionally future excitement). FLCL and Evangelion are two of the three shows I watch every six months and still offer consistent emotional impact each and every time. End of Evangelion continues to flaw me and with each viewing the heinous apocalypse pop song sickens me less. That must be saying something, right? They're also the first port of call when showing people who have no anime experience, and they have a habit of converting most of them to anime's fickle ways. Even without Miyazaki, Akira or GiTS.

Based purely on these merits they get a high spot in the chart, and with shows I haven't currently finished like Gunbuster 2, Kare Kano and Abenobashi they still offer some excellent prospects. Yeah, I'm a shameless GAINAX fanboy and the flagrant bias that entails is something I'd happily admit to. To put it bluntly: they are the main reason I watch TV/OAV anime. They're the benchmark I measure everything by.

Really, reeling off phrases like 'definitive' and 'cannon' is a mute point. I'd rather do it this way than dedicate five separate positions to the bastards, because they'd hog them so effortlessly. Episode five of Gunbuster 2 needs to hurry the fuck up and get subbed.

I can't help but feel something of tool for succumbing to all the hyperbole this series gets, but it is founded on factual truth; Monster is really that awesome. This and this explains why.

The prior GAINAX gushing underpins my love for pretentious wankery, and out of the current season of shows Ergo Proxy tickles my fancy the most for that specific reason. In many ways it represents what I want an anime to do; to challenge the way I understand the events that unfold, roll out consistent surprises and taxing ideas.

Some of the less attractive conventions I find in anime are the constant need to lay out a definitive premise and character set from the get-go. Ergo Proxy's almost meandering pace (of course coupled with a explicit, conflicting sense of premeditation) in doing this is incredibly appealing. Vincent's constantly morphing role, for instance, is fantastic and so unconventional. How he begins are inconsequential supporting character to become the main protagonist is refreshingly staggered. Not to mention the strange sense of stasis we get from Real Mayer's development, who seems to be especially guarded for one of the main characters.

Of course it's still early days for Ergo Proxy, with potentially still seventeen episodes left to be released/subbed. God knows what will come next, because in its weirdly tense and slow way so much has already happened.

Similarly to the GAINAX, Del Rey are rapidly becoming synonymous with quality. Much in the same way I might be more inclined to listen to artists on a certain record label I pick up Del Rey books because I trust their sense of quality.

Quite apart from the fact I've listed two of their series here, Del Rey as a company do exactly what I want from manga publishers. Their production values are restrained and appropriate, their translations are worthy of their Random House parentage and they pick series that are almost always worth your time and money. I'm sure if I could afford the more expensive Dark Horse output I'd feel the same way about them - the two companies sharing similar respectable ethos that I love so much - but fate would have it Forbidden Planet don't include Dark Horse manga in their 3 for £15 deal. Much of Del Rey's output speaks for itself, as well as their future plans relating to new acquisitions and the mature titles line. Just a fantastic company that grow from strength to strength.

Comments

[andrei]

I'm really happy of reading your post, especially the ergo proxy part, man, i love that show, im not really into anime-manga-japanese stuff, but cowboy bebop, samurai champloo and ergo proxy kick ass, lets see how the story continues... the only really big problem with ergo proxy is the quality of raws and subs, too damn dark!!!... hopefully the dvd will come to europe this summer...

cool blog, cool reviews :) keep the great work

[Hopeless]

If Monster currently resides in a position as high as third place, I can only assure you that it is likely to the pinnicle of the list after just a smattering more volumes; the suspense and character development evident in the early chapters is only heightened.

As an aside, based on your lost-fm listings on this page, I must ask you your opinion of the new Camera Obscura album - I have no hesitation in saying that it is the band's masterpiece thus far.

[Hige]

Andrei: Cheers! I'm looking forward to the EP DVD release. We've been lucky enough to get Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo in the UK, so hopefully EP will get the same treatment.

Hopeless: I'm glad to hear Monster doesn't falter. I'm half-way through vol. 3 at the moment and it's generally kept up the pace, even if the broader picture is a little choppier than vol. 2. Going to write more on it soon...

And I'm loving Camera Obscura's new one! The title track is definitely my favourite. I'm seeing them live with My Latest Novel at my union on 17th June. Can't wait XD