Still stuck for something to watch? Then let Azure Flame once again guide you to the best of the best, the cream of the crop in the world of anime.
Hello Kitty and Friends
Many have written off Hello Kitty as a kids’ show, but there is so much more to it than that. In animated form, Hello Kitty is a delightful slice-of-life tale, following the daily lives of Kitty and her sister Mimmy as they discover the world around them. Second only to Aria in terms of quality and tranquillity, Hello Kitty is a must-see series for anyone who wants to enjoy a quieter pace of life.
Mai-Otome
How foolish I was to ever pan Mai-Otome, for on re-watching, I can truly appreciate the depth and greatness that was never before apparent to my shallow and uneducated self. Less a mere anime series than an attempt to capture a sprawling universe of complexity on the small screen, Mai-Otome creates a whole new world for us to explore, complete with socio-political interactions between neighbouring states that subtly comment on the state of contemporary society. Fear not, however, for the series also takes time to focus on more personal issues, with everything from adoption, taboo love, the duty of rulership and gender issues explored by way of its sympathetic and multi-faceted characters.
Love Hina
More than a mere harem series, Love Hina is an exploration of the dynamics created when a man interacts with a group of females over an extended period of time. A pioneering social experiment, Love Hina was the first series to lift the lid on what we in our ignorance class as “harem”, all the while shunning such stale conventions as plot and character development in favour of offering an in-depth examination of one particular situation.
Disgaea
If sophisticated humour is your thing, then the anime adaptation of Disgaea must surely be the one for you. Packed to the brim with subtle jokes and adult humour, Disgaea is so hilarious that you won’t know where to start laughing. In fact, you’d best watch it multiple times if you want to properly absorb everything the series has to offer.
DiceMasters
Better even than the much loved Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokemon and Beyblade franchises, DiceMasters is the shounen series we’ve all been waiting for. With its revolutionary new storyline about a popular dice game and the talented boy who loves playing it, DiceMasters is full of surprises, and is a real breath of fresh air for the genre.
Final Thoughts
In case you hadn’t guessed, this article was written in the sprit of the date it was published…
You know what? I never appreciated before how Hello Kitty functions as a subtle, allegorical claim for unreadable hu/m/an/imal ambiguities and how Mai Otome takes an even sharper scalpel to political philosophy than Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
Some great recommendations, but you seem to have forgotten the darker subliminal messages of Satanism and terror held within Hello Kitty. 😉
Hm, I was wondering what the hell was wrong with you there a moment Karura!!
But then again, if you end the post like that it becomes to obvious 🙂
Good one though.