It's that time of the month.

Previous lists:
1995 - AotY: Golden Boy Magnetic Rose (from Memories)
1996 - AotY: Spring & Chaos
1997 - AotY: Noiseman Sound Insect

Credit where credit is due—1998 was indeed a relatively good year for anime. This is the point in time when all the post-Evangelion original shows that began cropping up around 1996 started to reach critical mass. It's the year that gave us Cowboy Bebop, for instance—considered by many to not only be one of the best shows ever, but the ultimate starting point to getting yourself into the medium itself.

That being said, Cowboy Bebop did not make this list. I have it as an honorable mention, so it's not that I hate the show or anything—I just don't personally consider it list-worthy. Remember that these lists are geared towards people who are like me and don't particularly enjoy anime, and are looking for something that they could enjoy—and while I did mention that Cowboy Bebop is the go-to recommendation, it's not the sort of show you'd recommend to someone who has no intention of ever becoming an anime fan. And besides, what if you don't like space operas?

What I aim to recommend in these threads are shows and movies that I think everyone should try, regardless of whether you're into the genre, regardless of whether you become an anime fan at the end of the day. I don't even consider myself one, so I couldn't possibly care to "convert" anyone to any fandoms to which I, myself, have not even been indoctrinated. No, all I'm trying to do here with these threads is present you with pieces of art that I think anyone could enjoy or respect. It's not your typical anime fare—the things I select are not only personal favorites, and things that mean a lot to me on a personal level, but things that I want to pass along to everyone else, too.

Even if you wind up not liking anything I have to share, most if not all of them will still leave upon you a lasting impression or something you can take with you.

With all that shit out of the way, here's a big long list of all the shows, movies, OVAs, and specials from 1998 that I did NOT watch, either because they're too hard to find streams for on the Internet, or because it's part of a larger franchise that I've already given up on. The reason I do this is for the sake of transparency—I can't really claim to have seen every anime in existence, but I can claim to have seen the most important and readily-available ones. Nonetheless, it only makes sense for me to share all the stuff I wasn't able to catch.


Now, onto to the list. If you haven't heeded any of my recommendations before, now might be the time, because I have some pretty great ones lined up this time.

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Perfect Blue is the directorial debut of the fabled Satoshi Kon (well, not counting that one JoJo's episode he did)—a man who's probably best known for Paprika, which you may or may not have seen, as well as Millenium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, and Paranoia Agent, several of which I still need to see. He was considered one of the best directors in the industry until he sadly died of pancreatic cancer in 2010. If people today still argue about what his magnum opus is, I would be surprised if he made anything better than Perfect Blue.

The story is about a weary idol singer named Mima Kirigoe, who wishes to retire from the music industry to become an actor instead. In doing so, however, she proceeds to trigger a series of events that spiral not only her life, but her perception of reality, wildly out of control. And, as you'd expect from an intense psychological thriller, things get pretty fucking insane.

Beautifully animated, the film can be seen (at least, on the surface) as a scathing critique of the Japanese entertainment industry. The gross exploitation, commodification, and objectification of young women and their bodies has been a part of Japanese culture for a very long time, and this film gives us a clear lens for us to peer into that seedy, disgusting world for a little while. The psychological effects that treatment could have on a person—especially the loss of identity—are deeply explored in the most mind-bendingly harrowing ways.

You will be made to feel sickened or uncomfortable with this movie. There are scenes that will make you think, "Should I be watching this?" but you won't be able to stop. If you're not paying attention, you're probably going to get confused. And if you're like me, you might just miss the point and not even like it the first time, in spite of how smart and mature the subject matter is handled.

Satoshi Kon clearly had a lot to say about the treatment of women in the entertainment industry, which I'm sure hasn't gotten any better in the past 20 years. I'm surprised how rarely this film gets celebrated in feminist circles, because I'm almost prepared to hail Kon as a feminist hero of sorts, if only I could dispense with all the baggage that term has in modernity.

If you've ever seen the Darren Aronofsky film Black Swan, then the plot of this movie probably seems quite familiar to you. That's because Black Swan is, more or less, Aronofsky's interpretation of the film into a more contemporary live action setting—it's not exactly a straight rip-off, but Aronofsky was unabashedly inspired by Kon's work, and whether you want to believe he's a hack or not, I still think the two films are great in their own respective rights, and they complement each other very nicely. If you like one, you're practically guaranteed to like the other.

That said, I do have to make this clear—this is one of those movies that's had to grow on me over time. My initial reactions were indifferent at best, and could be summarized as, "It was okay, but Black Swan is pretty much the same movie, but better"—and while it is true that the two films are very thematically similar, I've come to the realization that that's not a good reason to dismiss the very film that Aronofsky drew so much inspiration from in the first place. And if anything, the fact that Black Swan is predated by Perfect Blue by a whole twelve years is a credit to the latter. Kon was just ahead of the curve.

Also, the graphic depiction of sexuality in this movie, admittedly, is another issue I used to have as well—I understood exactly what they were going for, but I was still so put off at the time by the starkness of the images and the fluidity of the animation. There's so much care and detail, I thought, that it was like the animators were getting off to the fucked up situations that they were illustrating.

This, too, is an emotional response that I've more or less reinterpreted. The fact that I was so disturbed by what I was seeing—that just means the movie was doing its job, and I regret ever having faulted the movie for that. I shouldn't be reading into the animator's intentions that hard, and even if I were right, it doesn't take from the film's message in any way.

Oh, and Junko Iwao's performance as Mima is probably my favorite VAing performance in all of anime, and is the first lady who actually made me start giving a fuck about voice actors' identities.

Anyways, I think I've typed enough. There's a lot more to parse and enjoy about this film than what I've discussed here—but in the interest of brevity (and not wanting to ruin the juicier bits for you), I'm gonna stop myself here.

Fucking watch this movie (preferably alone at night with no other distractions).

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The sophomore production of Ryūtarō Nakamura in collaboration with Chiaki J. Konaka, one of my new favorite writers, I am proud to say that Serial Experiments Lain has found itself not only at the top of my 1998 list, but currently sits as my second favorite anime of all time, just under Devilman, just above Grave of the Fireflies—and if you recall how excited I was when I found those two, you already know how ecstatic I am to talk about this show. I'll try to keep things simple without gushing too hard.

This is a show about technology—and that's the most straightforward thing I can say about it. Technology, machinery, communication, reality, humanity, and the relationships that exist between them. It's a very serious, very mature, very dark, and very confusing show—in fact, a lot of people like to claim that it takes at least four or five viewings to "completely" understand all the themes it has. Personally, I haven't found that to be all that necessary. I've only seen the show all the way through twice, but even after watching the first episode for the first time, I knew I was in for something special—but it's not going to sound very special if I describe the premise to you like normal.

The show follows a quiet, weird, and socially awkward little schoolgirl called Lain—I realize the red flags are probably waving like crazy right now, but once again, I ask you to bear with me. She acquires from her father a special device that allows her to browse a dark and mysterious place called "the Internet" (well, actually, they just call it "the Wired" in this show, but it's basically the Internet), wherein she's able to find comfort, communicate with others, and unlock the door to her true self—or so it would seem.

The series begins with the suicide of a girl named Chiso Yomoda, after which everyone in the school receives an e-mail in her name. Most of the student body brushes off as some kind of prank, but Lain is the only one who takes the e-mail seriously. Through this, she learns that Chiso didn't really kill herself—she was just disposing of her body to become one with the Wired. This inspires Lain to investigate the meaning behind that, and the rest of the story kicks off from there.

This is a very deep show, and the premise alone doesn't do it justice—hell, the episodes are called "layers," which should tell you a whole lot—but at the same time, I really don't want to make it seem like you, to be fair, have to have a very high IQ to understand it, or anything like that. You probably don't, as long as you're an attentive viewer. But it's still a very cerebral, challenging, and at times patience-testing show if you aren't prepared or in the mood for it. Philosophically, this show is everything I wanted from Ghost in the Shell but never got. It doesn't really require an astute mind as much as it requires an open one, and it probably helps if you're into cyberpunk themes as well.

I cannot begin to describe just how many meaningful things I was able to take away from this show, which is sort of one of its themes in and of itself—the overload of information on the Internet, and our daily struggle to mindlessly consume it all. It also explores the idea of friends, and whether it's really possible to have a "friend" over the Internet, why we care so much about our physical presence in the world, whether our bodies really have a purpose, and if there's any discernible, meaningful difference between the you that exists on the Internet vs. the you that exists in the real world—and much, much more.

As someone who values his presence on the Internet more than he values his presence in the "real world" (which I believe are one in the same—another concept that the series explores), you can probably see why this show resonates so much with me. That being said, I still feel as though I only have a surface level understanding of what this show has to offer, and I'm sure it's amazing for reasons I haven't even been able to figure out yet—based purely on the hundreds of long-form analysis videos I've seen on YouTube discussing it.

Like Ghost in the Shell, the show presents all these ideas and doesn't really give you any clear answers. Everything is very much up to interpretation and what you personally value. I initially faulted Ghost for doing this, but the reason it works in Lain is because the themes are explored in much more intellectually stimulating ways that don't involve parading a pretty naked lady around—which brings me to my next point.

This is probably the least anime-like anime I've ever seen, at least in terms of typical tropes and cliches. It still looks the part, but I never detected a single dumb annoying anime trope in the entire 13-episode series. On one hand, I'm pissed, because this would've been the perfect anime to recommend to me ten years ago, and I'm only really discovering it now. On the other, meh whatever, who cares. I'm aware of it now, and I'm delighted that it exists.

Another important thing to keep in mind that, in 1998, computers and the Internet were just beginning to become commonplace in households across the industrialized world. You wouldn't think anyone would have any idea how much the Internet would evolve in the future, let alone alter the fabric of our society—I'm sure a lot of people might've thought it would be a passing fad. This really goes to show you how ahead of its time this show really was, as our lives have pretty much been, for better or worse, collectively consumed by this technology.

I really feel like I'm underselling this show, but I'm also scared of overselling it. I don't feel as though I've perfectly captured what makes this show so great, especially on a personal level, but I'm afraid that if I go in too deep, it'll just look like gushing and people will lose interest. I don't know how to sell this show to you—all I can really say is, if you're even remotely interested, please check it out. And be patient with it. It's kinda slow, odd, not very action-packed, and you might come out hating it if you aren't prepared for something extremely heady and out there. But don't think of it as impenetrable, either. Just watch it, parse what you can from it, and enjoy. It's my second favorite anime for a reason.


And apparently, liking this show brings me one step closer to my destiny.

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Cowboy Bebop - It has to be mentioned. Look, by all means—if you haven't seen this show, and you like space operas, go and watch it. It's a classic. I don't think it's list-worthy, but everyone in the universe thinks it's the bees' knees, so go try it out for yourself. You'll probably end up liking it just like everyone else, unless you're Flee.

Blue Submarine No. 6 - This is a short and sweet romp with some dated CG, but I actually thought it was enjoyable, and not one I've ever see people talk about. The art and character designs are great, but the story is fairly standard apocalypse-type stuff, only its set in the maritime. I don't know, I thought it was fun. Only 4 episodes, too.

Gasaraki - Looks like a shitty Evangelion ripoff at first, but it's actually kind of an original mecha series with smart, grounded, and realistic mecha designs (and if you know anime, you know how rare that is). I personally don't give that much of a fuck about mecha as a genre, but if you do, maybe check this one out.

His and Her Circumstances - I have this listed as an honorable mention, but to be honest with you, I barely remember anything about it, lmao. All it says in my notes is that it was directed by Hideaki Anno (of Evangelion) and that it was the only romance that didn't make me want to kill myself in frustration. I guess that's a plus.

Ninja Resurrection - This is a pretty cool film that has nothing to do with Ninja Scroll, but apparently was advertised as a sequel, despite having nothing to do with it—hence why it has a relatively low MAL score. Good stuff if you like stylish, ultraviolent romps, but not much else to offer if that's not your bag.

And lastly...

Super Milk-chan - This is a good show if you like really retarded shit like me, ironically. Otherwise, avoid at all costs.

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When will verb be kawaii? It's a possibility that he would become a furry as well after enough Disney movies.

been there done that

Shouldnt animators do their best at the scenarios theyre given? I mean theyre not the ones who wrote the damn thing.

that's what i was saying—i had a problem with it when i first saw it, but then i got over it

when you expose yourself to dozens of shows that are certifiably nothing but fanservice garbage, it tends to fuck with your perception of when it's actually being used in a smart or artistic fashion, and on top of that, i'm also very cynical and sometimes i just don't care what an artist is trying to do

but yeah no, i was basically trying to contextualize why the movie had to grow on me, and why i was wrong to fault it for that

no one cares, kupo

Quote from: Ender on June 27, 2018, 12:54:54 AM

no one cares, kupo

who are you

naru

Writing show about the internet and the technology in 1998, when such things only starting to appear. I wonder if Despera will ever come out, or even if it will, will it add something new.

Quote from: Verbatim on June 26, 2018, 08:14:23 PM

Cowboy Bebop - It has to be mentioned. Look, by all means—if you haven't seen this show, and you like space operas, go and watch it. It's a classic. I don't think it's list-worthy, but everyone in the universe thinks it's the bees' knees, so go try it out for yourself. You'll probably end up liking it just like everyone else, unless you're Flee.

Fine, I'll try it again and will watch more than just 1 episode. This time I might make a thread about it to review and list all my gripes.

maybe watch perfect blue, too

it's probably the most "mature" anime i've ever seen, with a very smart plot, and it's almost completely devoid of everything i hate in the medium (and by extension, what you hate)

and it's just over an hour long, so it won't be much of a time commitment either

Where's Trigun?

generally speaking, i don't like giving recommendations—even soft recommendations—of shows i have not completed, especially if i wasn't able to enjoy any of the episodes that i watched

trigun falls under that umbrella, i just didn't consider it good enough

Quote from: Verbatim on June 27, 2018, 12:57:22 AM

Quote from: Ender on June 27, 2018, 12:54:54 AM

no one cares, kupo

who are you

naru

naruhodo

Quote from: Lady on July 02, 2018, 08:26:56 AM

Quote from: Verbatim on July 02, 2018, 01:16:11 AM

Quote from: Lady on July 02, 2018, 01:00:51 AM

Where's Trigun?

generally speaking, i don't like giving recommendations—even soft recommendations—of shows i have not completed, especially if i wasn't able to enjoy any of the episodes that i watched

trigun falls under that umbrella, i just didn't consider it good enough

That's fine then, I just didn't see it in the other thread's OP catalog of things you've seen so far. Thought you just skipped over it for some reason.

oh, okay—if it's something i already reviewed before, i usually leave it out of the catalog

i realize i dropped it pretty early, but nothing is dropped forever—i'm not opposed to giving it another shot some day

>three episodes

I'll just say that it transitions out of the episodic formula starting the next episode and starts to delve a little deeper.