My Top 10 Anime and Manga List

10) Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoiyo!! Masaru-san

A comedic anime about a teenage boy who trains in an ancient martial arts called Sexy Commando. Instead of relying on the basic fundamentals of fighting such as punching and kicking, Sexy Commando relies solely on creating an opening in the opponent's defence and ending the fight with a single attack through that opening. So how does one create such an opening? How about unzipping your trousers and throwing them down your knees in front of your opponent.

This anime has to be one of the funniest anime if not the funniest out there. Each episode is only 7 minutes long and although the art is a bit shabby, it's really worth the watch. It took me a long time to settle for an anime for 10th place but I chose this simply because of it's clever humour and original wit.

9) Zero No Tsukaima

A romantic adventure where your average bloke gets sent to a world of magic through a spell cast by a girl magician. This anime was a lot of fun to watch and the art is wonderful. It was also my first time seeing a tsundere-type character.

The only bad thing about it is that the anime gets worse as the season progress with season one being the best so this ranking only goes out for the first season.



8) Mirai Nikki

A manga about a teenage boy who keeps a diary in his cellphone. One day he wakes up discovering that his diary has entries about events even before he writes them - in other words future entries! He learns that he is actually part of a survival game with eleven other future diary holders with the objective being to be the last one alive.

He also finds out that one of the eleven future diary holders is a girl from his school who has a huge crush on him... or an obsession. The girl's diary contains events every ten minutes of events surrounding him, including where he is and what he is doing!

The girl was what made this manga special for me as she is a complete yandere-type character where she stalks the main character and even breaks into his house. She is also an expert at killing people. Now I have an obsession with yandere girls.



7) Higurashi Ni Koro Ni

Higurashi Ni Koro Ni is an anime about a guy who moves into a rural village called Hinamizawa from the city. He quickly befriends a group of friends but slowly learns that the village isn't all that it seems to be and his friends aren't all that they claim. The anime is separated into arcs in which the main character or one of his friends become paranoid and a crime is committed. More and more about the story and the truth behind Hinamizawa is revealed after each arc.

The anime does a really good job at building suspense and the voicing for the characters are done brilliantly. This anime actually made me notice its unique background noise that it uses to help build up to the climax. There is gore involved and the anime gets creepy at times but shouldn't be a worry for someone over 18.

If you liked this you would also like Umineko no Naku Koro ni as it is done by the same author.



6) Ichigo 100%

A school romance revolving around an aspiring movie director and several girls in his life. The story spans through the course of several years and unlike most harems the main character actually chooses a girl in the end.

This wins the title of best romance manga of all time for me. Everything I've seen in romance anime/mangas basically come back to this. There is also an anime version of it but I'd recommend just reading the manga one seeing as the anime version isn't complete and the art wasn't as good.



5) Monster

This is a realistic and dark anime/manga about a young Japanese doctor who had everything in life going his way. He was a highly accomplished brain surgeon, had a promotion in the offering and his fiancée was the hospital director's daughter. However he grows unsatisfied with the political bias of the hospital for treating patients and seizes his chance to change things after a strange massacre brings in two twins, one fatally injured from a bullet wound to the head.

This decision leads to the death of the mayor who was also in the hospital at the time but came later than the two children. He then loses all his social standing and his fiancee breaks the engagement off.

There's a lot more to the plot and the storyline spans through the course of ten or so years I think. The plot flows logically with the story and there are a lot of intelligent twists that really sets the anime going. This is a series that has both an anime and manga adaptation that are actually equally as good.



4) Elfen Lied

Elfen Lied takes place in an era of Japan where a new strain of human race, the Diclonius, are being developed. Diclonius are similar to humans in appearance but have a pair of horns protruding from the top of their heads. They also have the ability to control invisible hands that extend from their body with the power capacity to shred flesh and obstacles to pieces.

The character development in this manga is beautifully done with the end result being an emotional thriller that keeps you on the edge. I loved the fighting scenes and the whole design of the Diclonius. Although it is rather sadistic and dark with gore being abundant throughout the whole manga.

There's an anime version but the manga version as usual is much longer and just simply better.



3) Code Geass

Code Geass is set in an alternative present where the world is split between the three superpowers - the Holy Britannian Empire, the Chinese Federation and the Euro Universe. The story takes place after the Holy Britannian Empire's conquest on Japan with their newly developed weapon that is giant robot vehicles (something like Gundams).

Lelouch, an exiled Britannian prince, is sent to Japan as a hostage. He vows to destroy the Britannian empire after the death of his mother. In the series he meets a girl who grants him the power to issue a single irresistible command to anyone that he can make visual contact with. He uses this power to start a revolution against Britannia adopting the mask of a disguised figure called Zero.

The art is quite unique to animes I've seen with the arms and legs looking like long skinny sticks but the fighting scenes are quite an eyesight and the plot is wonderfully done from start to end. Surprisingly the second season is just as good as the first if not better whereas most animes degenerate throughout seasons. I guess that's just because it still involved the same plot. And yes this is an anime.



2) Great Teacher Onizuka

Great Teacher Onizuka, as the title suggests, is a manga about a man aspiring to become the greatest teacher in all of history. The thing is, he's also 22 years old, an ex-gang member and a virgin. He is eventually hired as a long-shot teacher in a privately operated school to tame a class that has driven one teacher to suicide, one to a nervous breakdown and another to joining a cult.

Although most of the things that the main character does are just plain outrageous, the author does a really good job at bringing out a deeper message amongst the hilarity and chaos that happens throughout the manga. The art is absolutely awesome and the manga really makes you think about your own life.

There's an anime version that I haven't watched but seeing as the manga is longer I'd say the manga one is better. Not to mention the art is better.

1) Death Note

Death Note is about an intelligent young adult named Light who finds a notebook that would end the life of any name written down in it's pages. He then decides to take it upon himself to rid the world of crime and evil after seeing how imperfect the justice system is by writing down the names of criminals across the world. This starts an intellectual battle between Light and L, the greatest detective in the world.

This is another anime that rivals its manga counterpart and the art is just fantastic. The whole thing that makes this anime so great is how clever the plot is done with each scene logically flowing with the next. The character's are also very realistic with the things they do and the way they think. Real life issues are also raised in the anime and I really had to sit down and re-evaluate my own life and values after finishing the series.

Honorary mention: Dragon Ball Z, Ranma 1/2, Fullmetal Alchemist, Inuyasha, Love Hina

Dragon Ball Z would have easily been in my top 10 list but I don't really consider it as an anime, more so a cartoon. Maybe it's because I watched it with English dubs but meh.

And this list is just a personal favourite, not official or anything so don't feel hurt if you don't see your favourite anime up there.