Recently I came up with the idea to do at least a few top-5, top-10 texts. Thanks to this, I have the opportunity to write about titles that I don't usually think about often, or to touch on other topics. In this case it is different, each of these titles is often recommended by me, and in their case there is never too much praise. I would like to add that if you are not bothered by some things characteristic of anime, there is a lot of attractive content there that will not disappoint you. If you have any suggestions for more titles to discuss, go ahead - if I like it, I will try to implement it. By the way, this year I plan to write a text (or rather the first in the series) that will be an anime review on my AniList and MyAnimeList accounts - I will be grading tiers. From the weakest to the best anime. The place on the list does not matter, I like each of them more or less the same.
[Legend of the Galactic Heroes]
One of my favorite titles. I love it so much that I imported books from England through Amazon, on the basis of which 2 anime were created (the third series only filmed 3 out of 10 volumes - or will it actually film, because we will see it only in spring 2022). So far 24 episodes, probably 36 after S3 (assuming 3 movies will be reworked into 12 episodes anime). Lots of people compare LotGH to the greatest classics like "Ghost in the Shell" (movies and series), "Akira", "Ninja Scroll", Ghibli's best movies, "Cowboy Bebop" and several others (or a dozen, depending on how you rate it). And I agree with their opinions - I have not seen many recognized films or series myself, but after what I have seen, it is difficult for me to have a different opinion. It's true, it's not a perfect title - with each approach I see more and more flaws, but apart from one of them, these are IMO things that are insignificant in relation to what Yoshiki Tanaka and the adaptation authors have created. And what is that? Lots of references to politics, history, war and humanity. Brilliant characters (there are plenty of them, like in "One Piece" and a few other titles, in fact only a few of them can match OP and LotGH in this field), an idea for the future, or new technologies. When I watch new anime or read books, I have the impression that it was written by a geopolitician or political scientist, such as George Friedman or his Polish equivalent, Dr. Jacek Bartosiak. Additionally, this specialist has a rich imagination to combine these aspects with an engaging storyline and interesting characters. Something like the above-mentioned people after a merger with an author similar to Andrzej Sapkowski, but more talented - say Brandon Sanderson (I haven't read it personally, but for many years I have heard praise from people with much better taste than me, whom I have known for a long time). To sum up, it's a kind of "Star Wars", but better invented and conducted, but without aliens, but with much more emphasis on politics. We even have the Empire and the Democrats, which is the same as in the work of George Lucas. It is a must for lovers of politics, history and war games. For ordinary people who don't really like politics (why I'm not surprised at all, it's a terrible mess, although life without it would be impossible - or otherwise, it would be drastically difficult), I also recommend it. Thanks to this you will understand why I think so and you will understand this topic better. Yoshiki Tanaka did a great job and you will often be surprised by his accurate observations and comments.
[Gundam the Origin]
One of the classics, a cult title for the Japanese - something like "Star Wars" several dozen years ago or "Dragon Ball" for people of our generation. Mobile Suit Gundam is also happening in the future, but is slightly different to what we will see at LotGH. We have mechs here, more emphasis on the so-called "Black Projects" (top secret military projects - in this case, we are talking about Mobile Suits), space colonies, more action, and besides, a lot of war, well-created characters, engaging storyline showing people as they are. What does this slogan mean? Cynicism, the will to earn money, the desire for power or a departure from the good-evil duality. Or in other words, in many situations we deal with the "rather bad" and "rather good" side (although not always, because sometimes it is a fight between evil and evil or a lesser and greater evil). swamps without getting dirty. It is exactly the same during a conflict or war - every person will always make at least one (optimistically assuming) wrong decision or will be forced to act cynically in order to save himself, his citizens or pursue his interests (implicitly - the interests of the state he represents). Therefore, war is inseparable from man. Therefore, the colony will try to become independent of the mother-state over time. We saw it in the case of the beginning of the USA, when it fought the then hegemon - Great Britain. Or later, when there were real plans for a war between the two countries. The same scenario probably awaits us when colonies on Mars and other planets develop, although it will be many years before that happens. For now, we can see it on the example of the anime I am writing about. You can get offended to the truth, but the truth has our complaints in the ass. "Gundam" shows it well - the House of Zabi, the rulers of the strongest colonies, joined forces with several other families in order to defeat the Earth and the colonies that are allied with them. Thus, the One Year War took place, the events that we observe from the perspective of the heroes on both sides of the barricade. Although both anime show the cruelty and brutality of armed conflicts (less than "Berserk" or "Kingdom", but in an equally shocking way - for example, through nuclear annihilation or the dropping of a giant colony on Earth), their message is strongly pacifist. Not on the principle of "no more wars, let's hug and love", as the hippies or the modern left saw it, in a stupid way. Sometimes conflicts are inevitable, which many people forget or pretend not to know. The point is that people often antagonize conflicts unnecessarily, which often serves only to satisfy our ambitions, the desire to retaliate or destroy the opponent. In summary, I recommend to all lovers of great robots - one of the best titles of this type that have been created.
[Full Metal Panic]
Now we are going to move away from epic, gigantic stories about all of humanity and move on to a more down-to-earth story that is just as emotional. FMP begins as a story about a girl with superhuman powers (this can be compared to, for example, the heroes of Marvel or DC, bringing you closer to the context), whose bodyguard is an experienced and highly gifted soldier. Over time, their relationship turns into love, and in the background we see a growing military and political conflict. The series masterfully combines serious elements, realism, Japanese way of showing the story, comedy and action. Seasons 1 and 2 are more comedic, focused on the loose action known from Hollywood movies. 3 and 4, on the other hand, are getting darker and more mature, they have more blood, and we are more sad than happy. I can sum up season 4 by saying - "pedal to the metal", we get fucking strong feedback. Even though I am having a great time with Season 2 of "Kingdom", FMP4 is still the best anime I saw last year. Championship in every way, an excellent series for which you should watch a very good 1 and even better 3 season. You can watch 2 later, because it's such a midquel - it doesn't develop threads from season 1 and there are a lot of comedy elements that IMO will appreciate more later.
I can classify this series into the sub-genre of "real mecha" (the genre is divided into super-mecha - ones that are completely unrealistic or not taken seriously, such as in "Mobile Suit Gundam" and real-mecha - that is, who do not have superhuman powers try to pretend to be realistic.) This is because they are technically justifiable (or at least within this universe), are used as tools by the military, and are (at least partially) subject to the laws of physics. Obviously, you have to take an amendment for this as we are talking about anime, but both the anime and the book deal with the subject just like a good Hollywood movie - if you overlook some inaccuracies, you can enjoy a good entertainment. Additionally, the series is very good in terms of heroes. The good guys may not be some outstanding creations, but I cannot say anything bad about them - they have interesting elements of character, they are full-blooded, their relationships are not artificial. However, it is different with bad characters - in this respect, the FMP has been shining since the first season. Each of the opponents of Sagara and his organization are great characters that stand out from the rest of the anime. Even though it's been a few months since I watched everything from this franchise, my opinion about them has not changed. Each of them is different and poses a separate challenge. When Sagara fights them, any duel can end in a lethal way for him. I recommend it, you will not be disappointed.
[Kingdom]
I've been writing a lot about this title lately, so this time it will be short. If I had to sum up this title in one sentence, I would say this - "Chinese version of GoT". Developing - the series and comic books tell of real events, the Warring States Period. During this "era", generals, kings, chancellors and prime ministers vie for influence and power. We have a lot of charismatic heroes in this title who either act on their own (as long as they are powerful enough to afford it) or serve their rulers. In some anime, it is often complained that not much is happening, that the characters usually just talk ... In the case of "Kingdom" you can throw these allegations into the garbage can. When the action takes off after the first arc (boring and repulsive due to the plot and, above all, the visual setting), something is happening all the time. If we have quiet stages, they do not last too long or seemingly nothing is happening in them - we have a lot of conspiracies, attempts to weaken our rivals, superiors or improve our own position. If you don't mind reading the comic on your computer or smartphone, I recommend that you ignore the adaptation and read the comic. It is true that I do not like to read them in this form and I am waiting for a publishing house to finally release "Kingdom" in Poland, but I saw a few frames and I am delighted with them. The line is wonderful ("Berserker" level or even higher), there is more brutality (an entire army is buried alive in deep pits or a triumphal arch was created out of dismembered human bodies), the plot is even better than in the anime + comic level according to my colleagues does not drop not for a moment. The only drawbacks are the plot armor of many commanders and anime elements (too strong characters, sometimes impossible actions), but if you turn a blind eye to it, you will get one of the best titles that have been released in Japan. I think it's worth experiencing - apart from "Full Metal Panic", I haven't enjoyed bing-watching of a Japanese cartoon for years.
[Vinland Saga]
And finally, a proposal for lovers of the series with Travis Fimmel. At one time "Vikings" was very popular, but unfortunately this is one example of the fact that not all series are popular or can be excessively lengthened. It is also not without significance that with each season, the series lost more and more realism and meaning (the first one is recommended by all historians or its fans). From the very beginning, "Vinland Saga" flies too much towards fantasy (however, if you have a high tolerance for elements straight from DBZ, it may not bother you), but it has good morals, great characters and an interesting and attractively presented story. And if we add a very good, technical performance from the WIT studio, there is nothing else to do but watch. The more that, despite a few unrealistic characters and fights, it portrays those times quite well. By the way, we get a brutal show in which blood is spilled and we will see scenes pleasing to the male eye several times.
The plot tells about Thorkell - a young boy who one day set out with his father (probably the most powerful Viking in that universe). During it, they were attacked by Askeladd and his pirates. Thors has been murdered, but the pirate leader shows him mercy and accepts his son into his team. Together they take part in various fights - against the English, Danes, French and other groups of Vikings who behave like mercenaries - they will fight for the ruler who will pay the most. During the first season, Thorfinn tries to take revenge for his father's death by killing Askeladd in a 1v1 duel. The first season is a masterpiece, an ideal proposition for people who used to love the History TV series. There are even characters that were not made up by the creator of the comic, but really walked on the Earth and swam on its oceans. The second one has already been announced and we will probably get it this year (or 2023). The plot of the second half of the comic is said to differ significantly from what we saw in the first. It arouses a lot of controversy among fans, but from what I read about his plot, it is not some ass-pull and it remains consistent with what we saw. Just a fan expected something different. Which does not surprise me, I myself would be very surprised if I got such a plot without warning. Nevertheless, if you are looking for a good animation for adult viewers, then VS.
That's it for me. What anime on this type of theme could you recommend me? I would love to hear it.