Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers. During this special day of the year, we Muricans like to gather together with family and enjoy a bountiful meal from the harvest as we reflect on all the things we have in life, all the good things that happened to us this year that we are thankful for. It's a time of peace, reminiscence and attempting to form or reform connections. I wanted to do something special that fit the season so today I am going to be reflecting on all the various series I have watched together with friends over the past few years, giving my thoughts on them and explaining what I appreciate about them and what I think it fell short in. Because we are in the spirit of friendly competition I will also be ranking all 33 of the series I am going to be reviewing today from the one I liked least to the one I liked most to build up suspense, so Happy Reading!
Okami:
Ya know it did feel kinda weird rating this the lowest, But it is kinda how the cookie crumbled. Okami I thought was a fine series and I respect it immensely for its ambitious art style and usage of classic Japanese mythology. I thought the final boss fight against Yami in particular was very impressive and symbolically impactful. But overall I thought this game was somewhat of a chore to get through. Between the long stretches of gameplay, peaceful relaxing music and drowning alien language all the human characters speak, I accidently fell asleep multiple times watching it, which is not an issue I had with any other one of these. And that problem in particular was a little exasperated by how the primary way I was to understand what was going on was through reading subtitles, which in this series especially were super long and wordy. Things like Epic and Grandiose stuff from legends happening just doesn't particularly connect to me well, and While I enjoyed a lot of the characters and villains well enough, I also found it harder to connect to them due to their lack of anything for me to understand them with other than what I felt were overly long and fast moving subtitles. A lot of other series on this list had subtitles as well, but at least those were anime where the characters' facial expressions do a lot of the legwork, in a game like this, expressions don’t change at all to give me that kind of help. I’d say this series is quite good but may just not be well suited for me. I’d definitely recommend it to people who show interest in similar things, but I don’t think I'd go out of my way to watch it again unless prompted.
Shamanic Princess:
Ah Shamanic Princess. I think that this was one of the more interesting series in this list in terms of how unique it is and I enjoyed a lot of aspects of it, including its dark and more harcore and risque imagery than I see in almost any Magical Girl Series, several of the characters, and the pretty much masterful villain that Is the Throne of Yord. The whole theme of everything being connected and even two opposites are merely just two points on a sliding scale like Acid and Bases I thought was really interesting and compelling. That being said there were a few things that didn’t quite connect to me, one of which being that the series was pretty confusing in a lot of places and did not really hold your hand to I think a greater degree than any other series on this list, going so far as to have the events displayed in a non-chronological order. I also still heavily disagree with how the series paints the situation surrounding Graham to this day, where Graham was an obsessive and dangerous stalker that I would unironically equate to Kish, that Kagetsu killed completely in self defense, and Tiara is never gonna forgive him for that? That’s not cool with me. I feel like in most of these series, flaws like that wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but because this one is so short, things like that do more work to drag the overall content down as it's simply a larger percentage of what the series Is.
Madoka Magica:
Well we both knew this was coming. It's no secret that I am not exactly a big fan of the Madoka franchise. Now to be fair here, the series was a significant deal better than I thought it was going to be before I watched it, and had several scenes I liked a lot such as the scene at the train station, or Kyoka’s heart to heart with Sayaka, and I really liked several of the Magical Girls in the series such as Mami, Kyoko and Homura. The series was very smartly written, had a lot of compelling characters, and didn’t freak me out all that much like I assumed it would. I can see why it has been as influential on its genres as it has been. It does all of those things very well, I think the problem is the things it wants to do, are very much not things I personally enjoy immersing myself in. Most of this anime was extremely depressing and forlorn to me, seeming to lack the certain spark of hope that I experience in Life. I was shocked at how Mami Died and I surprisingly felt nothing about it, I didn’t think that could happen. Parts of the Anime that particularly made me not want to continue watching include large sections like Sayaka’s entire character arc, the Multiple ways they killed Kyoko, and basically everything about Kyubey who is easily my most despised character of any series on this list. If this was strictly about the OG Anime series, then this would clearly be on the bottom of the list, but it isn’t. The Rebellion movie was FANTASTIC, to the point it shocks me that the fanbase can be a little divided on It. It was like a hopeful breath of fresh Air that I needed after that anime filled with AWESOME Action sequences, Fun Character Moments, and an Epic Storyline that ends in a Dark Twist I actually can fully get behind. Meanwhile, I was a huge Fan of the Tart Magica side series, which if I was considering that as its own thing, would most likely end up somewhere in the middle of this list all on its own, being a dark yet badass Medieval Magical Girl series with almost Rebellion level Fight scenes. These two things add enough positives to the series to balance and raise it higher in the list for me, albeit still not cracking the top 30.
Commedia:
From a technical aspect, Dante’s Divine Comedy is the best series on this list by a mile, it is an artistic and literary masterpiece, objectively superior to every work I have ever consumed and every work I probably ever WILL consume, it is that level of achievement. This is a weird situation where I really don’t have any kind of Direct Negatives about the series that I can really point out as Reasons that it is so low. The Story was beautiful, inspiring and was influential to the point that basically every series I have ever experienced after its penning is ‘Dantean’ in nature. It Details my own Religion in I think the most digestible and fantastic Manner I am aware of, and legit predicted Scientific Discoveries that didn’t even happen yet. Really the primary reason I Rated this so low is based upon a Metric I used to decide a lot of these rankings, ‘how big is my desire to experience this series again’. And in Commedia’s case, rereading it is a massive time and energy investment on my part due to its length, highly eloquent language and powerful deep thinking Ideas. I Legit wouldn’t have been able to understand this piece without friends aid in explaining what was going on both literally and symbolically no less than half the time.
Undertale:
I really liked Undertale! I Appreciated the games clever and beautiful use of Celtic Mythology and legends to create its cast, settings and history. The Art, and especially Music of the game was top notch to the point the game can and functionally did work amazingly as a Musical. The Mechanics of the game are really awesome, using the Bullet Hell Mechanics the Touhou Fan in me can super appreciate, mixed in with some clever uses of the 4th wall which were both fun cool and artistically important as it gives the player the experience that it is not ‘Frisk’ doing these things on the adventure, THEY are. Also quite literally the entire cast of characters are super well done and made me happy every time they were on screen. PAPYRUS is a loveable goof, sans is the most entertaining and compelling character in the game, Undyne and Alphys’ relationship is PRECIOUS, Muffett is great, Goat Mom is wholesome and Flowey is a freaking Terrifying Villain to contemplate. So with all that in mind, why is this entry so down on the list? Well it basically stems from the fact that I can only really enjoy 67% of this game. Other than what I just described it has a psychopathic and grueling genocide run that seems to try and prove something cynically wrong with the people who actually bother to play it that way, and then prevents you from ever having a perfect happy ending again afterward. I Can appreciate that from an artist sense but not in a media I want to immerse myself in. Ironically if the Genocide Run wasn’t a thing this would certainly be higher up the list.
Metroid:
Ah, Metroid, the epic tale of the exploits of the Galaxy’s greatest Space Bounty Hunter, Samus Aran. As a fan of franchises such as Star Wars and ALIEN, this game certainly appealed to a couple of my interests going in. Samus is a really cool character. I like that not only is she a stoic badass but that she's also kinda a softie inside who is good with children as seen in the Manga. The series is also quite an interesting rabbit hole, with many of the old games having interesting remakes and running a series of 2D and 3D games simultaneously. I really enjoyed games such as Super Metroid, Metroid Prime 2 and Metroid Fusion especially for the interesting turns they took for the story. The Villains were really good and truly shined in turning this series from a Space adventure to a borderline Space Horror story with the various terrifying entities such as Mother Brain, Ridley, Dark Samus and the SA-X. But I think where Metroid kinda loses me a bit where things like Star Wars don’t is the story and characters. Metroid, despite being a very large game franchise, has surprisingly few characters and the vast majority of the time none of them are even around and you are just Following Samus herself, who isn’t exactly much of a talker most of the time. Because of that there isn’t really too much to keep you entertained especially when not playing the game directly for the majority of the time. My Favorite part of the series was actually the Manga for this reason, as that did the most legwork for me when it comes to setting up the world and giving characters personality.
Ouran Highschool Host Club:
Taking a very hard right in terms of Genre, next we are talking about Host Club. Of the series on this list this seems like one of the ones that I am the LEAST in the target audience for, as one of the world's most popular Shojo and somewhat of a reverse Harem one at that. Host Club I kinda looked at like a Reverse Tokyo Mew Mew, where TMM is about a Cafe of mostly cute Girls who do some male appealing things such like fighting aliens using superpowers, and all end up in serious relationships by the end, while Host Club is about a club of mostly boys who do mostly female appealing things like romance, getting in touch with their feelings and sleeping with teddys, and only one of them ends up in a relationship at the end. Just a random thing I thought up. Anyway, Host Club I thought was really funny. There's a humor that pops up in several of these anime series about super rich kids who are completely out of touch with how normal people live and This series I think does it especially well. I liked Each of the Hosts and thought they were unique characters who were each given a chance to shine, from Honey's overly innocent Cutsey act, to Kyoya’s hardcore, chibi Seto Kaiba-like drive and conviction. Another thing I appreciated about this series is it wasn’t afraid to be over the top and a little cartoony with having Honey being an unkillable Badass, to the comical private police forces they constantly pull out, the the treasure of Anime that is Renge who I am SO glad the anime decided to use far more often than the Manga ever did. My favorite character was Haruhi who I thought was very sweet and did a good job coming out of her shell to fulfill her role as a Host. I thought she had great chemistry with literally every other character, especially Tamaki, and liked that whole joke of her being incredibly smooth with the ladies because she literally is one. I suppose the reason this ended up on the low side is more because of how specifically feminine oriented it is, which is funny on a list of so many Magical Girl series, but in comparison to those not a TON happens in this series, it's mostly especially romantic slice of life stuff.
Stanley Parable:
Stanley Parable is a series I have an interesting history with, I never actually played the thing myself, but I have gone through most of the endings watching Let’s plays by everyone's favorite Bear fan, Ris Grestar, but I really did like it based on that alone. I think the main appeal of this series to me is just the fact that it's really funny, The Narrator constantly speaking in that dry British wit as he is forced to react to whatever ridiculous things you decide to make your player character do. It also has that mad genius level of flair for the random that is perfectly executed to be entertaining with the precision of a Doug Doug video, which is pretty fitting as the creator is his brother. The game is an interesting test of Free will that takes you through a variety of Mood Swings depending on the route you choose. As you start out wanting to not do what the Narrator tells you and mess around in the sandbox to see what can happen. Then as things go on you kinda start to feel Bad for the Narrator as he constantly mentions being upset that you are ruining the story he wants to tell just for the sake of messing around, and grow curious as to what his story is. But then after that you start to realize in a way the Narrator is kinda the main villain of the story, and is a fairly good one at that, like a author who just wants to tell his story, but his creations happen to be sentient, actually reminds me of ANOTHER series on this list in a way. Overall this series is very fun and entertaining, but I ended up ranking it on the low side, due to the game getting somewhat less entertaining as it goes on and the novelty of the Narrators reactions wanes, as well as just not having basically any character to interact with other than the Narrator, it feels more like you are locked in a box with him than experiencing a world, which is likely the Point, but that's just not as a appealing to me.
Cutie Honey:
Up next is the oldest Magical Girl franchise on this list. Of all the series on this list this is the one I was probably MOST nervous ranking, as I have seen the Least of it. Having only seen the Live Action Movie, and the Re OVA’s, which yes are both their own canons and are apparently some of the best pieces of media IN the franchise, but it still feels like a rather small amount of content for this. Anyway, based on those, I really liked Cutie Honey and its interesting somewhat over the top world. The cool Spy/Femme Fatale style art and music choices really helped make this series stand out and was super fitting with Honey’s incredibly sexy nature as well as her tendency to Disguise herself as various different types of women. It actually being a pioneer of both of these genres was great to experience, and I liked how its messaging of Honey constantly taking on different roles is telling girls from any walk of life they can be super cool like her, similar to something like Barbie, as well as just generally being incredibly Sex Positive earn it a lotta points with me. There aren’t too many characters in this series but some that made a very strong impression on me include the Dark and Terrifying Sister Jill, the Hilarious and entertaining Scarlet Claw, the comically badass cop/Lesbian Love Interest Na Chan, and of course Honey herself who is just such a positive, confident and sweet paragon of femininity without feeling like she’s flawless due to still being a relatable, gluttonous goof. The action, music, comedy and even romance were all pretty dang on point here and there's not too much I could complain about. I think that this series has potential to place even Higher on this list if things got more fleshed out, I would be interested in watching Cutie Honey Flash in the future to fix that.
Magicka:
Wizard Suicide Simulator! I thought this game was incredibly well designed and seriously appeals to one of the things I value most in fiction, Creativity. Being able to mix and match 8 different elements to create what seems like hundreds of different combinations to perform spells is AMAZING and can both make one laugh their Arses off at their own epic fails in the early game, and yet can make someone legit feel like a master sorcerer in the late game in a way I admire for being similar to how the game Monster Lab makes you feel like a master Mad Scientist by the end. But unlike Monster Lab which starts you out as a novice Mad Scientist who has to learn how to do the craft step by step, I Appreciate the bold yet awesome move of this game of having you play as a Master Wizard from the very beginning with every possible spell immediately available to you from the get go, and to the question ‘Wait doesn’t that mean if you use the right spell you can just instantly kill most bosses?’ the game just responds ‘Yes.’ The Lore of this game is pretty dang cool too, with magic that utilizes these elements balancing things by causing the opposite effect to happen elsewhere in the multiverse, or how the Wizards themselves are basically forces of nature who are driven almost entirely by ld Desires and not grand ambitions. But the game is also Really funny with how the Wizards are a bunch of complete goofs causing as much trouble as they solve and almost nothing they do has real consequences and the few things that Do have consequences are the things they fix. There’s also a few pretty dang cool and compelling characters in this series, especially Vlad, Grimnir and Lok, in addition to having some cool expansions with legitimate Lovcraftian bosses, and some Super epic fantasy music. All that said I do feel like putting a great majority of the lore of the series in a Novel that is a little to its detriment in this list, and some of the choices in Gameplay in the sequel game are a bit disappointing with putting limits on what seemed like a completely opened spell system, despite my enjoyment of its story.
God of War:
Well moving on from a Norse game, to a Greek game that went Norse later on. God of War is the awesome Hack and slash adventure game detailing the trials and tribulations of the Ghost of Sparta, Kratos and his never ending quest to Avenge and Protect his loved ones by being literally too angry to die. God of War is a, pun intended, Epic story that is written like a modern Greek Tragedy, and is centered around its deep ancient Mythos. Seeing Kratos get into conflict with so many iconic players from Greek Myth, from a Minotar to Heracles to the Fates to the Titans, to the Olympions and eventually Zeus himself, feels like watching a thrilling gauntlet which is exciting in a similar manner to seeing Ghost Rider fight his way through DC Hell. But the series is far from just hack and slash testosterone filled fun, the story is extremely deep portraying the tragic fall of the heroic Kratos and eventual redemption he manages to find through his son. The themes such as Loss, Fear and Parenthood are easily felt by even Me, and there's a lot of cool moments sprinkled throughout the series such as Kratos having to Re-Become the monster that killed his father to Save his son. The series had a great deal of cool villains, especially Ares, Zeus and Baldur, and some powerful twists that made the defeat of said villains pretty satisfying, but also in a way empty, because there was also a tragic event that was directly caused both to enable and later as a direct result of their defeat. I think what Ultimately held God of War back from making it higher up the list is my preference to an ensemble cast, I like seeing there being a notable deal of prominent characters in a series for me to connect to and see interact and play off of each other, its a large part of what I like in media. While GOW does Have some of that, for the most part we are just following Kratos on his solo crusade.
Freedom Force:
I am personally a big fan of Comic Book Superhero Media, and I think this is probably the best example of the genre I have seen in Video Games. Going through these games was kinda like going through a season long arc of Batman: The Brave and The Bold, only with completely new and interesting superheroes I knew nothing about going in, and that's all a very good thing. Its choice to adapt the famously goofy and cartoon like Silver Age into the modern setting worked wonders for the game where it still had plenty of corny elements like somehow getting full costumes and powers thematic to their personality every single time that keep it fun, but also was still able to be taken very seriously with themes of War, Entropy, Sacrifice and the flipping Nazi’s being the villains at one point. So many of the characters in this game I thought were really cool, With some particular Favorites being Sea Urchin, The Ant, Alchemiss, El Diablo and Man Bot on the hero side, as well as Time Master, Pan, and Shadow on the villains. And Unlike Magicka, the sequel game is actually somewhat of an improvement, having a massive and epic storyline featuring basically a Freedom Force version of the Phoenix Saga with Entropy, going back in time and meeting a bunch of vintage Golden Age heroes and paying incredible respect to them, and not to mention the fact that every new character they introduced in it would have been top tier awesome in the original such as Green Genie, Tombstone and Red Oktober. The game makes you feel like you are actually playing a comic book and does a great job balancing and using all of its cast, so if for some reason you went the entire game without using Sea Urchin once as a Totally Random Example, she still ends up being crucial to the plot progression. Apart from a couple extremely frustrating levels, you know which one I’m talking about, I’d call this an underrated gem which made me want to read some characters' solo series if they existed.
Pretty Cure:
Ya know this was a weird series for me to rate, I have seen more Pretty Cure content then I have content for any of these other series besides MAYBE DC Comics, by a pretty significant margin just due to its size. But I also feel weird ranking it just because I haven’t seen even half the content it offers. But overall I think from what I have seen this is roughly where I would place it. Pretty Cure is a fun series with a Lot of variety behind it with how each season is more or less a different show but takes place in the same universe and has similar mechanics to its storytelling, in that sense it's kinda like reviewing 6 shows in one, but also not too hard because of how much they DO actually have in common. Anyway, enough stalling, I think Pretty Cure is an extremely cute and wholesome series that has a wondrous message about friendship, which call me cheesy or corny or whatever food based terms you want, but I eat that stuff up! All of the various Cures I found to be interesting, likable and cool characters that I enjoyed following. From Nagisa’s tomboy nature that made all the girls have crushes on her, to Urara’s attempts to make her late mother proud, to Love's obsession with shipping her friends, to Erika’s hilarious cartoony antics I feel like there was something to love with each and every cure and it had very wide appeal in terms of relatability, as one of them was BOUND to be similar to you and people you know, while all still being very sweet. They also had decent supporting casts with the series generally having at least a couple standout supporting members, and from a technical standpoint, Pretty Cure has amazing music, artstyle, and easily the best fight choreography of any magical girl series on here on average due to its Toei Roots. That said it did have a fair share of weaknesses, firstly that the Villains were a Little hit or miss so far. Don’t get me wrong, there's some amazing villain groups in here such as the Fresh Villains, the Heartcatch Villains and the Early Futari Wa Villains. But there were also villains such as the Max Heart Crew and the Yes 5 Nightmare crew that kinda dragged the overall score down. But the thing that was more so a problem for me Is the seeming disconnect from the world the verse can have at times. Why do the cures spend almost their entire day doing normal school and social activities when there are beings who are actively trying to cause an apocalypse, shouldn’t they take that more seriously? Why do none of the Civilians in the early series question why they and hundreds of other people all suddenly fall unconscious for several minutes every episode? For the Love of God, WHY do the Pretty Cure have secret identities when all the villains Know exactly who they are and where they live Every Single Time? These Flaws don’t hurt the series’ good aspects That much to me which is why it is relatively high on this list, but they do make it more difficult for me to immerse myself in this series so it didn’t have as strong a connection as higher ones.
Hetalia:
I have been into things like Geography and World History for quite a long time and Personifying them and putting them into this show dramatizing their interactions commedically is a stroke of pure genius! I Like this series quite a lot for a few reasons. It is incredibly digestible, just being a short collection of sketches in eps that last maybe 5 minutes on average. It is a very smart show in a way, teaching me tons of historical things that even I didn’t know. And it's also very funny, with all the countries having their own INSANE personalities that do a great job bouncing off of each other, making it pretty fast paced and engaging. I really was a big Fan of Alfred, fitting with the seeming trend of people loving whoever their home country is in this series. He just was really funny, and made every scene better and was somehow filling me with both humility and pride at the same time. I also really liked Britain, Japan, Hungary, Germany, Canada, Wy, Belgium, Belarus and Czechia, and at least liked the vast majority of others! It was just a really funny cast who get up to some goofy antics, but then knew when to get serious and did so in that Awesome Paint it White movie where they had to prove their worth as nations, to actual aliens, and I loved how much of a love letter it was to the series to have even pretty specific call backs like getting Alfred’s buddy Tony involved in the plot. Also this series has a Narrator who can almost rival the Stanley Parable Narrator in terms of how much she made me laugh and that's saying something. The only shortcomings I can think of would be the occasional sketches that just didn’t land for me, being Overly Focused on both world powers and microstates while almost all the African and South-Central American Countries haven’t been represented, and also some of the countries being strangely not very good representations of their nation, such as Sweden, Finland and Latvia.
Yuki Yuna is a Hero:
Ya know, of EVERY single series on this list, this was by far the hardest one for me to rank among the others. On the one hand, Yuki Yuna I think is overall a really great series with a well rounded and loveable cast, powerful story, and fantastic music, animation, and artistic integrity. On the other hand, parts of this series made me actually have a panic attack, which is a level of awful experience for me that none of the lower series could match. This series could technically be in the top or bottom ten depending entirely on how I want to judge it, and this is where I ended up putting it. Yuki Yuna is a Hero is described by many as somewhat of an Answer to the Madoka Magica series’s more realistic and disturbing take on Magical Girls than what series like Pretty Cure often go for. Yuki Yuna ALSO goes that route but in different ways, their alien like Familiars are still benevolent and simply act as animals, and Magical Girls in the series usually don’t die, the worst case scenario for them is more the grimdark losing more and more functions of your body until you end up trapped in your own mind, both of which are changes that I Like more than Madoka. The Biggest thing I think is in YYH’s favor for me in the comparison is my complaint about Madoka is the series lacked Hope to an extent, the ultimate fight is a never ending war against the concept of Entropy. Yuki Yuna on the other hand, is a messed up world that is slowly getting better. The Girls can die in combat, Now they Can’t. The Girls are getting Crippled in combat, Now they Aren’t. The Villain is an evil God, but it Can be beaten! It makes me want to engage with it. Also the Characters in this show are FREAKING Great, like one of the best overall Casts in MG I know. Yuna and Itsuki are total sweethearts, Fu is a flirt that reminds me a lot of Yang, Sonoko is absolutely hilarious, Togo is extremely complex and cool, and Karin….sorry GODDAMN KARIN MIYOSHI, is Basically a Magical Girl version of Peacock in my eyes and the best part of the series. In my rankings, Hetalia I consider to be the lowest series that I would actively rewatch unprompted. This series, I would have to skip all of Season 2 if I were to rewatch, but it is so good otherwise I just have to place it this high.
xxxHolic:
xxxHolic is the first series on this list that I would officially consider for an 8/10 score, the series was enchanting, mysterious, and fascinating in several really interesting mythological ways that I really admired. Yuuko is an incredible character who is similar to a Sage of Gensokyo, particularly Yukari in terms of presence, mannerisms and sweet affection for her subordinates, and that is quite a compliment coming from me. But she's also a very distinct character in her own right, being incredibly mature and confident, but also playfully childish and will randomly do cute or funny things like play on a Swing, initiate a Snowball fight or proposition Watanuki for Sex to mess with him. Fitting for the prankster witch who can get one over on Clow Reed. When we first watched this show I was told that it has a tendency to make its audience feel extremely smart and wise while watching, and I think that nailed it on the head. It's impressive to me how CLAMP made such a sophisticatedly written show utilizing incredibly specific mythologies, but also made it digestable enough that basically anyone Can understand it and feel good about that fact. The rest of the cast of characters were likable and complemented Yuuko well, I enjoyed Watanuki’s spastic reactions to all this crazy stuff, Domeki’s deadpan lack of reaction to anything, and Himawari for just generally being a flashy sweetheart. But WOW were the supernatural elements well done in this series, and they had quite a lotta range to them from cute mysteries, to legitimate Horror stories. Some of my favorites being the story of the dark angel wings that spawn on your back and turn you into a serial killer, or the internet addict with the good message, or the AMAZING poetic justice that Yuuko dealt to the Murderer haunted by the ghost of her victim. The Series’ unique art style, music and atmosphere really work in favor of all of these supernatural occurrences as well. I’d say the series is very solid to me, with its most notable weakness being that it doesn’t really have a strong ending, due to it setting up for the events of Tsubasa, but still it was good for what it was.
Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt:
You know, if you put all the magical girl series on this list together and asked me to play “One of these Things is NOT like the Others” this is the one I would pick because WOW does this series stand out from the rest of its genre in a lot of ways, which is always a plus for me as someone who appreciates Creativity. Panty & Stocking is Trigger's fabulous series about a pair of Foul-Mouthed, Raunchy, Violent, Anarchist, Nymph Angels and their over the top adventures trying to Buy their way back into Heaven. Somehow it is both more awesome AND more hilarious than that description implies. Panty and Stocking is unapologetically itself and is willing to do crazy out of left field episodes often ranging from a massive Musical concert episode to an episode where they just sit on the couch all day talking about what to have for dinner, making it a fun and versatile show where you never know what to expect. When it is doing overarching plot stuff however, It ends up being at its best to me, having genuinely cool lore, fantastic music, a beautiful and stylish Western Grunge aesthetic and some impressively meaningful writing. Panty and Stocking are such Big and Iconic Personalities, these crass sultry Angels driven by Lust and Gluttony, who speak a mile a minute with snappy and shocking humor. In terms of Raw comedy this may be the Funniest series on this entire list as jokes that make me actually start laughing happen so often I sometimes miss OTHER Jokes that would do the same in the process. I also like the villainous Daemon sisters for essentially being super orderly Fascists as a direct contrast to these paragons of Anarchy. Despite being what would appear on a surface level to just be a crazy raunchy sex comedy show it has an Insane amount of effort into giving it gravatas and meaning, including having one of the BEST animated Fight Scenes I have ever seen, an actually Touching and Moving romance between Panty and Brief, and an extremely Sex Positive message stating that you shouldn’t be ashamed of your own sometimes perverted desires, which just makes me feel more comfortable in my own skin when watching. I had a great time watching this series overall, but I think sometimes they did feel a bit too experimental for my tastes, episodes like the Transformers Parody, the Zombie Ep or the Ep following a Japanese BusinessMan the whole time didn’t really do it for me, and I didn’t appreciate the end credits twist, although Since it, against the laws of Physics, is getting another season after all these years that last point is easily the most subject to changes.
Princess Tutu:
After Panty and Stocking we are going to talk about Princess Tutu, a Magical Girl series that is Absolutely NOTHING Like Panty and Stocking. Princess Tutu is an absolute Masterpiece of artistic beauty, being a classical Ballet based Magical Girl anime that takes heavy inspiration from Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and various old Fables. It takes place in a world created by the Ghost of the classical writer Drosselmeyer, and formed by his will. It makes for an interesting aesthetic where parts range between fantasy and reality as Drosselmeyer feels out what he wants this story to be about. Because of this the series feels extremely classic and sophisticated to an actually more extreme degree than xxxHolic, but still feels very approachable in large part thanks to its cast. The main character is Ahiru, a Duck that he turned into a Human, and she is one of the single most adorable and endearing characters I have ever seen. That said because Drosselmeyer is such a glutton for Tragedies you end up constantly feeling bad for the poor duckling as even at the start of the series her teacher keeps threatening to Marry her, one of her best friends is A Psychopath, and she keeps accidentally turning into a duck, and then accidentally ending up Naked in public whenever she turns back! Apart from her, the other relevant characters are Mythro, Rue and Fakir, who are all very 3 dimensional complex characters who are constantly shifting their goals and alliances in reaction to the various ways the Indecisive Writer Drosselmeyer keeps altering the direction of the story. It lets the characters feel more real and reasonable, plus the fact that in a way they are attempting to win against not just the Crow, the in universe villain, but more so Drosselmeyer, the creator of the story himself who is putting them through this, makes the story insanely more interesting and meaningful from a symbolic and connectivity standpoint. Rue and Fakir in particular are standout characters in this series to me, Rue the gothic reluctant villainous rebelling against the role her creator made for her, and Fakir, who started out as more of a side character but became the primary Male character and most badass character in the series shortly after. His status as the son of Drosselmeyer and his ability to somewhat alter the story himself was an amazing twist, especially his turning of Edel, literally his fathers puppet, a narrative tool, into Uzura, the adorable, unpredictable wild card element that could turn a story upside down. This was one of the best written series on this list for sure and I thoroughly enjoyed every part of it, but If i had to pick a flaw to name I would choose its Open ended Ending, where Ahiru ends up losing her human form shortly after they drive Drosselmeyer away. Now I personally headcanon that Fakir was eventually able to master his Plot Manipulation enough to restore her human form and the two of them got together romantically, and based on how the series ends that does clearly seem to be the most likely thing that will happen, but I still think the series shoulda just doubled down and showed that. It's not like there are too many other things that could happen, and the story having a Blatantly Happy Ending would serve as a perfect thematic defeat of Drosselmeyer, and I think by not showing it, all the series really does is rob us of that emotional payoff.
Bayonetta:
Now onto my Favorite of the Videogame series, as a matter of fact not just my favorite of this grouping but one of my Favorites of the medium as a whole, with Bayonetta 1 & 2 especially being nostalgic classics of 3D Beat Em Up that I would call masterpieces beyond anything in the entire genre. Bayonetta is Such a Larger than Life Iconic character, this Sassy ,Confident Witch is the number one most powerful, sexy and unstoppable Badass in the entire World, and she DEFINITELY Knows It. She is easily one of the most entertaining and awesome characters featured on this list. The world and lore are also super rich having a Multidimensional Structure loosely based upon Dante’s Divine Comedy having the dimensions of Purgatorio, Paradiso and Inferno overlapping with our own, and an ancient and lore-heavy war between the Umbran Witches and their demons and the Lumen Sages with their angels. The Sages and Angels act as high and mighty holier than thou beings, which Bayonetta Constantly teases and flirts with before violently killing them representing both Sex Positivity and Bayonetta’s unapologetic Femininity that is certainly Not a thing to be ashamed for. It’s KIND OF a similar dynamic that Panty and Stocking have with their foes, but taken much more seriously with a large amount of weight and gravatas. The Game has a Tremendous amount of Style, unbelievable music and setpieces and is one of the most delightfully fun games to play! I think the reason for this is that the Game takes place in what is honestly a pretty dang troubled world, constantly being plagued by horrifying monsters from other dimensions who look terrifying to behold, But you are playing as Bayonetta, this unbelievable heroin who goes in, totally confident and in complete control of the situation and humiliates and destroys these threats in style! When I freaking defeat a Dark God and punch him across the entire solar system into the freaking sun It just fills me with joy that we can conquer whatever our own problems are just like that if we set our minds to it. The rest of the cast is Great too! From Jeanne, to Luka to Joe Pesci (Enzo) to Rodin, a man so awesome that he looks just as cool no matter what ridiculous outfit they put him in. Really I don’t really have anything negative to say about the series, maybe this one should be higher ooooooh wait. Yeah so originally Bayonetta was quite a few places higher on this list, but when Making this I decided to finally watch all of Bayonetta 3 and was surprised to see…..I REALLY Strongly Disliked it overall, and it unfortunately ended up hurting my overall opinion of the series and knocking it down to here when averaged together. I was having a lotta fun with the Game early into it, the Homunculi were a interesting sounding concept, the story and characters felt familiar and nostalgic to the series, and I actually really liked the new character Viola, who was a really funny and endearing tomboy that had a cute eldritch cat demon in her sword, so was onboard for her inclusion. But as the game went on it just got worse and worse to me. I Hate Singularity as a Character, this insane High Heel wearing Wannabe Brainiac. He was described as a genius human who discovered the multiverse and tried to genocide all but his own universe to remove threats in a Vilgax kinda way, but then turns out to be some paste-y emotionless scientist also attacking his own universe and killing countless people because….he has a God Complex? This game has a real lack of the Hope and Style that previous installments had, It felt like the confident and Powerful Bayonetta couldn’t do ANYTHING in this game as she fails to prevent her alt reality selves and allies from being killed in ridiculously telegraphed attacks from super basic enemies, repetitively in the exact same manner like 6 different times throughout the games, Fails to save Jeanne, Fails to save Luka and Fails to save herself, only barely even managing to beat this bad guy when she had her selves from the previous 2 games backing her up which WHAT? You are telling me I haven’t even been following the same character this whole time? That Pisses me off honestly. And to see this game where every relevant Bayonetta character besides Rodin gets completely unceremoniously killed off by some bald asshole when actual God couldn’t just felt atrocious to me. And the emotional moments were dead on arrival as well, Jeanne died, the girl Bayo spent the 2nd game desperately going to hell and back to save, and we never even get Bayonetta’s reaction to this. Viola is revealed to be Bayonetta and Luka’s daughter, at like the very end of the game yet Bayonetta and Luka both had a far more parental relationship with literally her child self in the first game, and they have Viola take over the role of Bayonetta at the end which…..I already said I really like Viola, but she is NOT Bayonetta, that's like trying to have Joey Wheeler take over as King of Games. Bayonetta 3 is a game I genuinely wish didn’t exist, I would want it retconned from the Series.
Over The Garden Wall:
Oh My God I LOVE this series, Over The Garden Wall is a rich, fantastical and endlessly timeless Autumn classic that I have made it a yearly tradition to binge watch every October with whoever I can get. OTGW is an Enchanting short cartoon series made by Cartoon Network which is Loosely based on Dante’s Inferno, but draws a great deal of its artstyle, music and mythos from Classical American Folklore, including old legends, fairy tales and Native American Mythology, which makes for a completely unique standout series, but at the same time, it feels very familiar and homely in a way one cannot quite explain, but just as easily accepts. Fall is my favorite time of year with ease. It's a time of natural beauty, Harvesting amazing food, festivals ranging from Hokey to Spooky, and symbolically representing the end of something and the beginning of something else. I don’t know a single series I think fully encapsulates Autumn MORE than Over the Garden Wall, Most series just lean into the October Spooky season with a Halloween Special or something, and Yes Over the Garden Wall of course does have that too, but its only one of the aspects they have, as even pretty minor things specific to Fall in America like it being when kids go back to School for a new year, or it being the Football Season Do get brought into this series and play into an episode’s plot. Speaking of which, the Plot of this series is amazing! In a way it is simplistic, but since it starts out as a mystery story where you are presented with literally no real info on what's going on much like the Main Characters, it never feels that way, and its presentation with all the characters in each episode having their own little side stories just make this feel like a very rich and fleshed out world. I Love the dynamics between Wirt this cynical overdramatic teen and his unbelievably innocent and optimistic half brother Greg, as well as the large cast of other characters ranging from the morally complex Beatrice, the tortured Woodsmen, the Horrifying but good natured Auntie Whispers, and THE HighwayMan. The Beast on the other hand, he has to have one of the most amazing presences of any villain I have ever seen, with his dark twisted silhouette of a design, glowing eyes and haunting yet extremely sophisticated voice, one can really see why he represents the Death of Hope and I love the ways they play into that symbolically with the series slowly transitioning from Autumn to Winter as it goes on. It also does one of my fave twists I have ever seen with that at the end. The Message is also very important to me, The entire story the terror that they are faced comes from The Unknown, to the point that is the actual name of the woods they are lost in. Fear of the Unknown is the most primal of fears, and this series starts you out with a Lack of Knowledge, we don’t know where these woods are and are idea of what could BE in the woods becomes less and less certain as the series goes and continues to introduce more and more strange and bizarre things found inside. The Beast preys upon people through their lack of knowledge of him, not knowing his weakness, and often feeding them misinformation about his nature or the nature of those they love. And Wirt, a moody teenager who likewise looks to the future dreading how he doesn’t know what it's going to look like is especially vulnerable to it, while Greg, the youthful optimistic goofball isn’t afraid of anything even once the entire time. It's in a way a story about Wirt accepting Hope into his solemn heart.
Sailor Moon:
Man this one is going to be hard to write simply due to the fact I don’t think anything I could say about Sailor Moon hasn’t already been said better, but I’m going to try anyway. Sailor Moon is not a Magical Girl series, it is THE Magical Girl Series. In much the same way Halloween was to Slasher Movies, Sailor Moon may not have been the original MG, but is IS the one that made it popular, and established all the rules and troupes that almost all later ones would abide by or try to subvert. It's easily one of the most iconic series in Manga/Anime, and I have to say, reading it you very much can see why as the series manages to be super fast paced, but is absolutely overflowing with rich storytelling and symbolism, most of which often goes over my head but even the amount that I DO get at face value is extremely impressive! The series Primarily follows Usagi, the reincarnation of an ancient Moon Princess turned Magical Warrior and eventually the literal Messiah and benevolent ruler of Humankind. Usagi is a fantastic character, this clumsy, cowardly and gluttonous goofball who doesn’t do well in school, but has a giant heart and uncanny ability to see every single person for who they are inside and befriend them. It's a powerful message that this character who clearly a great deal of the audience would find extremely relatable and similar to themselves, not only can do amazing things, but IS the ultimate hero and for reasons related to her already present positive traits. Sailor Moon has a large cast of other Magical Girls backing Usagi Up. I have heard it often said that every other Sailor Senshi could easily be the protagonist of their own series, and I have to say that IS an accurate statement. I have seen every single one of their general archetypes be a MG protagonist before, heck Mina already was one basically, and these girls somehow manage to be really good examples of those archetypes despite not actually getting all that much screen time or characterization after their introduction compared to some other MG series. They all feel much deeper than their tropes, which in turn makes them feel more Three Dimensional and Real. Makoto and Rei were girls everyone was afraid of, but Makoto is really a girly sweetheart and Rei is very elegant and mature. Minako was thought by everyone to be an irresponsible, airheaded goofball, but becomes a big leader figure of the other guardian senshi. Hotaru is someone everyone regards as weak and frail but she is the most powerful and terrifying Senshi when she wants to be. And Usagi can see ALL of that. Some strengths of the series include having an Amazing sense of Atmosphere, from the Mysterious Dread of the Black Moon Arc to the Insidious Fun of the Dream Arc it is made very impactful without ever directly being addressed. Takeuchi seems to only be able to draw things 2 ways, Elegant and Beautiful or Absolutely Horrifying and that actually serves the series quite well showing the contrast between the heroes and the horrors they have to face. It Treats its audience with the Upmost respect, as despite being a story made for young girls, it never once shys away from some surprisingly mature topics, featuring everything from Philosophy to Religon, from War to Morality, and a ton of things that many would not find appropriate for the audience including characters having actual sex, showing violent child murder, and depicting everything from Suicide to Sexual Assult, but the series trusts its audience to be able to handel that and presents it in such a way it can actually serve as a lesson to those very events. Sailor Moon has a large, fantastic and varied cast of villains, who range from pure evil to Anti-Villains to every moral complexity in between. I love how they easy represent the theme of the arc from Identity in Dark Kingdom, to Responsibility in Black Moon, to Comoradere in Infinity, to Progress in Dream to the final arc Where Usagi Beautifully counters both the philosophies of Gnosticism held by Galaxia AND the philosophies of Nihilism held by Chaos with the only thing that CAN answer them both, Love. Speaking of which, Love is overall what I would say is the greatest strength of Sailor Moon, Her and Mamoru’s Miracle Romance relationship, and to a lesser extent both of their Parental relationships with Chibiusa, consistently are the primary focus of the series, the thing that is show in basically every single chapter in some form or another, and something that persists no matter what actual cosmic horrors come their way. Now with that long review said, While I think Sailor Moon is great it is interestingly enough too Deep for my tastes, with a lotta chapters prioritizing making symbolic sense over literal sense and that very much makes this one of the harder series to connect with. In an alternate reality where I read this series completely alone without having a lotta longform discussions about it this review would look completely different I am sure. For a series that I love, Sailor Moon is very much on the more Complicated side of the spectrum.
Tokyo Mew Mew:
To talk about a more simplistic series of similar quality, Let’s discuss Tokyo Mew Mew. So Tokyo Mew Mew was actually the first magical girl series I ever read and it was quite an awesome series to start out with as, much like a delicious dessert bar, I think this series does an especially good job having a little something for everyone to enjoy. This series is a weird combination of Romance story and Captain Planet but strangely kinda works. It follows Ichigo, an adorable romantic girl who, along with several other local girls, get unwillingly genetically mutated into freakish animal hybrids by a mad scientist, before being drafted into a war against psychotic aliens that wish to end human life…..it's a lot more cute and charming than that sounds. I have a LOT of experience with this series, having read the manga, watched the classic anime AND watched the new anime, and I can say one of the greatest aspects in this series is its sheer entertainment value. I would literally watch any of the main girls, the villains or the supporting characters make breakfast in any continuity because every single one of them would make it interesting in a different way! Your main characters are Ichigo, this super cute, clumsy and likable sweetheart who has a crush on Masaya, the coolest guy in school who all the girls crush on. Unlike a lotta plots like this, Ichigo actually DOES have the confidence to make moves on him pretty much immediately and it is actually reciprocated! This is something that made it stand out to me, while Tokyo Mew Mew is a Magical Girl Warrior series it is first and foremost a Romance, it is about Ichigo and Masaya as a couple and doesn’t do the will they won’t they thing, making it more similar to Spider-Man comics where the main conflict in the romance is Ichigo’s superhero responsibilities getting in the way. In another way it is similar to that series, I love all the early scenes of seeing Ichigo develop Cat-Like abilities as she slowly gains her powers at the same time, seemingly being some kinda puberty metaphor in that sci-fi superhero way I love so much. Her other Teammates are all awesome characters as well, Mint is perhaps the single most relatable Magical Girl I have ever met, especially within this list, from her struggles with her family, to her attitude, to her taste in everything from food to ladies. Lettuce is a sweetheart who has an extremely compelling romance of her own and develops into a much stronger person over the course of the show for it. Pudding is hilarious and charming and manages to be extremely entertaining in every scene she's in, but also has a very emotional backstory and situation that make her unbelievably compelling too. And Zakuro is just…SO Cool, this Badass, Mysterious Werewolf waifu. The way these 5 play off of each other whether it's fighting aliens or doing goofy shenanigans is always a treat to behold and makes them one of the most well rounded and fun magical girl teams I have ever experienced. I Really love the series’ attention to detail in its Romance Genre in making sure that not just Ichigo, but her entire team has a fully fleshed out Romantic Pairing by the end. But Obviously Ichigo’s is the best, what they Do with Masaya in this story is extremely powerful, filled with both deeply romantic moments as well as some truly shocking twists that come together in the end to show that Love is the greatest virtue of Humanity in a way I can really understand.
The Owl House:
Next up we got the Youngest series on this entire list by a fair margin. Coming out within the 2020s, The Owl House has the unique distinction on this list of being both a Cartoon Series, AND a Magical Girl series, and it is a really really good example of both! The Owl House is a Disney Channel series that actually takes place in the same universe as Gravity Falls and Amphibia, and in a way that does feel fitting as it does share many similarities with those series, especially in its heavy usage of mysteries and essentially being an Isekai story. It follows Luz Noceda, an eccentric dork with a single mom who doesn’t fit in at school, who, during summer break, gets Isekai’d into The Boiling Isles, an alternate dimension of Witches and Demons, where she vows to spend her summer learning to become a Witch. I think the Boiling Isles is a really cool setting being this creepy high fantasy world set on the decaying body of a titanic monster in a Boiling Sea, and the Series is quick to introduce us to a lot of neat concepts such as The Owl Beast Curse, the 8 different subsets of magic, Palismens and the unique Rune based magic that humans can use. But I think the most standout aspect of this series is its cast of characters. King is one of the most adorable little guys you’ll ever see, and the way he grows from wanting to be an all powerful demon lord to being reluctant (Pretty much) New God of this world is really cool. Eda is an endlessly entertaining bad girl, but mother figure who may or may not be Gruncle Stan’s Ex. And a lotta the supporting cast they introduce along the way like Willow, Gus, Hunter, Vee and Especially Amity get extremely compelling arcs of their own throughout the course of the series. The Main theme of this series has a lot to do with accepting people for who they are and how even those who are lacking in some ways are often amazing at something else, a message about Understanding others that is frankly displayed very beautifully in several moments and as an overarching message of the show in how every character ends up in a far better mental and physical place than they started out in. Fitting to this, the Primary antagonist of the show, Emperor Belos, is this terrifying silver tongued Witch Hunter who represents bigotry and repression, those who hate and wish to do harm to others for being different. Belos is very well done and ties deeply into pretty much every single character. I especially like how he and the series as a whole ties into the real world Connecticut Witch Trials, and how that overall gives this show a much more spooky vibe. The show’s other highlights include a great sense of humor, Beautifully animated fight sequences and an extremely wholesome and well written Romance between Luz and Amity, which I would say is my favorite romantic ship of any cartoon on this list, as well as to my knowledge the best Lesbian Romance in Western Cartoons at present, given how heavily they go into it and how we get to see the two AS a couple from basically the halfway point of the show onwards. The Owl House is in my opinion one of those shows that actually consistently gets better as it goes along. When the series started I thought it was good, but not amazing, then I thought it was really good by the last Quarter of Season 1 and it just kept on going up for me. It is no secret that Disney Nixed this series from getting a full Season 3 and led to the story being heavily altered from around the midpoint of Season 2. But the Midpoint from season 2 onwards is like, the BEST part of the show for me, it was far faster paced and moved on from its more standard School plots from Season 1.
Saint Seiya:
Kicking off the Top 10, we are getting to the Shonen series and the first up is none other than Saint Seyia! Now this is a Freaking AWESOME series, full of that classic METAL 80’s goodness, and its use of Greek and other Mythologies, ESP, Astrology, and various more obscure things like cyborgs at one point, make is at the same time timeless in addition to unbelievably Epic! The way it ties all of these mystical and mythological elements together as if it's just some kinda normal scientific system to the saints makes not only their own world, but Our world seem more rich and fascinating. This series inspired multiple series that I love including my favorite anime Fairy Tail, and it’s clear to see why with its awesome music, grand storyline and characters, and absolutely mind blowingly intense fight scenes. Saints often die or get horrendously crippled in combat in this show only to persist through their own Cosmos and Drive and it creates some of the most Hype Battle conclusions I have seen, I’m talking about Shiryu VS Deathmask, Ikki VS Shaka, freaking Everyone VS Siegfried and More. I Like all 5 of the central protagonists from the pure hearted staple of Justice, Shiryu, to the Badass antihero Ikki, and tons of stand out characters in between such as Pandora, Milo, and ESPECIALLY Shoko. The Story also doesn’t shy away from having meaningful relationship stuff in favor of more action, having a lotta touching family relationships like Shun and Ikki’s bond, Seyia’s sister, Hyoga’s Mom and Shiryu and Shunrei, all being welcome additions to the story and serving as motivation to make the battles more impactful, like how Shunrei’s Prayers made a meaningful impact that got directly involved in the Deathmask fight. I think the series’ biggest weakness is its tendency towards repetition, doing things such as essentially doing the Sanctuary Arc 3 separate times in the classic anime. Now yes they do make more than enough changes to make it new to not lose its audience, but as someone who values creativity this slightly lowers its position.
Magic Knight Rayearth:
Ah, Magic Knight Rayearth, this started as a series I merely researched for a blog but became a series I very much fell in love with, being among my first anime and manga series. I have a lot of experience with this series having seen the anime multiple times, read the manga multiple times, and even seen its weird ass OVA series that had nothing to do with it, but I had fun nonetheless. Magic Knight Rayearth Is a High Fantasy Magical Girl series loosely based off of JRPG Video Games. I have never in my life played any of those games, I was much more of a TV kid and didn't have the time or patience for them, even though I am sure I would have loved many of them. That said I am quite familiar with the troupes of those kind of series and based on that, WOW is Magic Knight Rayearth not only a massive homage but a genuinely amazing example of it. This series essentially is a Masterpiece of an RPG game in anime form, and that is the ideal way for someone like me to experience one. It follows Hikaru, Umi and Fuu, 3 young girls from different schools who, while they all happen to visit Tokyo tower, get Isakai’d into the magical, medieval kingdom of Cephiro where they must become the legendary Magic Knights and defend the world. I have to say, all three of these main girls are Fantastic characters, which is perfect because much like an RPG campaign you have to spend a Lot of time with them and only them as they adventure through the series, seeing them do everything from the mundane to the fantastical. Hikaru is an adorable little firecracker, the fact she is easily the most adorable character of the group while also simultaneously this unquestionable BADASS is a fantastic dichotomy that never fails to keep her entertaining. These two traits actually enhanced each other, as seeing a badass be cutesy and friendly makes her more down to earth and approachable, while seeing this super cute young girl be Badass actually makes it even MORE Badass as you would think she’d be at more of a disadvantage than normal. Umi is the elegant one of the group, so you would expect her to be the most reserved, cool, collected and naturally excelling at things. But that isn’t the case at all, Umi is clearly the most hot headed and aggressive member of the group, never afraid to speak her mind and be quite blunt, she is also usually the last to advance or become proficient at things, as in a sweet way she progresses more for the sake of others than herself. Fuu on the other hand is not just your average brainy nerd girl, being wise, genre savvy, and having a lot of funny in-jokes. Her knack for figuring out situations and capacity to be fiery and cold blooded lead to especially cool moments. The World of Cephiro is extremely well fleshed out with Cool lore splattered around everywhere, from the Piller System which lets people accomplish things through Willpower, to the magical super metal Escudo which changes based on character progression, to a large number of unique creatures and locations it just feels super immersive and fleshed out. This can especially be seen in the 2nd half of the season where they expand the story out into the Solar System and introduce multiple other planets, based on real world countries, that have their own architecture, magic systems and unique problems, I found this Incredibly cool and interesting. The Series has a fairly wide cast of villains and supporting characters, and Every Single One of them legitimately was Awesome, there is not a single character I wish was left out. Zagato was a fantastic villain with perhaps the single most interesting twist to his motivation of ANY villain on this list, Ferio was an awesome Rogue character who created a lot of interesting drama within the story, Lantis was this complete stoic and compelling heroic knight, Eagle had some of the most unbelievable conviction from any character I know, and….do I even need to mention the Queen, the Icon, the LEGENDARY Lady Aska, who stole every single scene she was in with her hilarious entertaining personality and surprisingly sweet sentiment in her goals and views! I could keep going on but Magic Knight Rayearth is an Adventure I will always treasure and have a fun time with. I Think one of the more strange aspects of the series to me is how radically different the second half of the story is between the manga and anime versions, and the worst part of it is, I like both versions of the story quite a lot, and it makes it hard to pick and choose which one I call superior considering I am missing out on some Awesome things no matter which I go with,
Yu Yu Hakusho:
Up next we have YYH….the other one….. Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the most awesome Shonen series I have ever seen and did a fantastic job being an early defining member of the genre in modern day. The series I hear most compared to this is Bleach for a variety of reasons, but I can safely say, as someone who has seen both, this series kicks Bleach’s ass in basically every way. The Cast of Characters in this series was Really great, with every single one of them being interesting, entertaining and having a ton that makes them shine, from Comic-Relief, Kuwabara managing to be a badass on several occasions, to Anti-Hero, Hiei having a heart of gold for his sibling, to the seemingly calm, handsome and rational Kurama being a bigger psychopath than arguably most villains. The main protagonist is Yusuke, a punk delinquent from a broken home that no one expected anything from, the world rejected him and he had every reason to just reject it back, but didn’t, and that defiance of fate leads to the eventual saving of the human race itself. The first episode of the series IS Straight up one of the best first episodes in fiction as is often pointed out for how well it sets this up. The fact that the Managaka tied so many of the events and character moments of this series into the stresses and insecurities of his own life makes them incredibly powerful and passionate in a way only someone who really was suffering can do, and while I am glad he eventually got the help he needs, I hope he knows now just what a masterpiece he was able to produce. The Supporting cast was awesome in this series, Botan was adorable and could always force a smile onto ones face, Yukina was unbelievably compelling, Genkai serving as Yusuke’s parental figure in a way down the line was amazing, and WOW did they have the best announcer in the history of Tournaments! Speaking of which The Dark Tournament is one of the greatest arcs of its kind I’ve ever seen, with numerous super memorable and impactful battles and Toguro was such an example of how to really hype up a villain as an insurmountable threat, to the point he's still scary after the series ends when he's long since been powercrept. I think the best part of this series for me is the Chapter Black arc, where the series introduces a lot of really interesting, obscure and broken new abilities that really expand my own scope of possibilities, and also goes a lot more into the Horror Element, focusing on the Evils of Mankind with this band of evil serial killers with superpowers basically, motivated to follow Sensui after the use of the Chapter Black tape. It's a Scary concept, and one I in particular love to see combatted. The Issues I took with the series were the fact that the conclusion to the series is very rushed, although this is significantly less of a problem in the Anime version we watched which I appreciate, and also those teachers in Yusuke’s school, who are the only characters who can compete with Kyubey in how much I hate their very existence, but thankfully they don’t show up much after the first few small arcs.
Cardcaptor Sakura:
And my favorite Magical Girl series on the list IS…none other than Cardcaptor Sakura herself! This is a magical girl series that was made by Clamp and came out shortly after Magic Knight Rayearth, and if you asked me if it was possible for them to oneup themselves given MKR, I would have had my doubts but Boy would they have proven me wrong. If there was one series on this list I would call Magical, one series I would believe is actually Enchanted, this would be it, regardless of if you are reading the manga or watching the anime. There is something that Cardcaptor Sakura has in this list that I don’t think any other series has. A lot of series on this list are products of when they came out and have distinct traits because of that, some series have been running so long they have built a sense of legacy into itself, but Cardcaptor Sakura has something unique here, and that is being Timeless. CCS captures a magical classical iconicness similar to that commonly attributed to older Disney or Ghibli films, but it also doesn’t feel like a big budget work of art like those series, instead feeling like a wholesome, down to earth and familiar nostalgic show even to those who have never seen it once. The Uniquely peaceful and jovial aesthetic and music of this setting make this a super calming and relaxing series that makes whatever anxieties I am feeling drop down and gives me a strong feeling everythings going to be alright. Sakura Kinomoto is the single most Adorable, Wholesome, Precious and Sweet Magical Girl I have Ever Seen, and it is Not a close contest. The series has somewhat of a theme that the innocence of a young girl can mend tensions and fix broken relationships and holy crap I could not imagine a character exemplifying that better because It's impossible to not be having a good day with Sakura around. I don’t care if my house burned down, her smile would still melt my heart. Sakura is the peppy, excitable and fun loving, rollerblading good girl who happens to be the descendant of the most powerful wizard who ever lived, and has to earn her place as the inheritor of his awesome powers by capturing/befriending all his various creations and going through trials to make them her own. The series is kinda like a combination of Lilo & Stitch and Martin Mystery in that way but also much brighter and has a unbelievably strong message about Hope that I honestly just eat right up. The series is also surprisingly mature for its target demographic as well, not that it has anything explicit but more because the series is just Extremely intelligently written, every bit as much as xxxHolic just with having a lot of complex character motivations, behavioral subtleties and inventive ways of Sakura capturing Card Spirits that are surprising for me even as an adult. I think that this series does a greater job than any Clamp series I have seen at exemplifying its messaging of their being Magic within the Mundane, as the vast majority of this series IS the Mundane, with Sakura and other magical characters never really using their magic to interfere with day to day life beyond subtle manipulations, despite having the most potent magic of any Magical girl I know. A lot of the other characters in this series are fantastic as well. Kero is the best magical girl familiar I have ever seen, and can easily be wise or hilarious within the same scene he's featured in. Toya, Sakura’s older brother, I found extremely relatable as the oldest sibling of my own family, and I loved his protective love towards Sakura and Yukito as well as his hilarious running gag of having every other job in the entire city. Tomoyo is one of the funniest characters in the series being as transfixed by Sakura’s cuteness as a lot of the audience is, while also being one of the most emotionally mature characters. Heck even smaller characters like Naoko totally had me fully invested in their fun personality dynamics, her’s especially due to her strong interest in all things horror. This series also doesn’t really have villains, it has antagonists, but exactly none of which are bad people who are doing something with a nefarious or unreasonable goal. These antagonists generally end up being interesting characters in their own right and welcome additions to the cast. Also the cast is like, the single most Bisexual cast I have ever seen, like Even Steven Universe didn’t go this hard with the representation, I don’t think there is a single purely straight character in the series, nor is there really a Straight relationship beyond the endgame with the main characters, as even with the parent characters who Had a straight relationship, we only ever meet one of them. This is monumental for coming out in 1996 and the series doesn’t even make a big deal out of it, true again to its casual nature. But I think it is in that casual nature that It makes some of its episodes so stand out powerful such as the Episode where Sakura messes up her dads Business project, the episode where Toya gives his magical power to Yukito, or ALL the episodes where someone finally confesses their love.
DC Comics:
I have been a Fan of DC Comics before I can even remember, I seriously cannot register a time in my life where I didn’t at least Know about Batman and Superman and thought they were cool. In regards to the actual comics, I’ve not read too many, but I’ve really liked the vast majority of the ones I have read. Things I like about DC in general is their Massive positive View of all things Humanity, and messages of Hope, their vast appreciation of their own legacy and history as the largest media franchise, and its willingness to accept and utilize goofy and cartoony things as serious parts of its main canon. Fitting to that last point, the vast majority of my Experience from DC Comics comes from its cartoons, something It always particularly Kicked Marvels Ass at. I Grew up Loving tons of DC Shows including Justice League, Static Shock, Batman Beyond, The Batman, Teen Titans, Batman: The Brave and The Bold and far FAR more, and got to love tons and Tons of the DC Comics Heroes, the vast majority of whom seem just like genuinely smart, funny, kind and cool people that I never get tired of watching no matter if they are fighting crime or just hanging out, as well as their Villains, in which case I think they POSSIBLY have the greatest roster of bad guys in fiction if we go by total amount of villains who achieved household name status. I also love a lot of other DC Material too including Video Games, Animated Films and a lot of their Live Action Movies, with Wonder Woman, Aquaman and The Zack Snyder Justice League in particular being things I like better than any film in the MCU. Yeah with a franchise this long there are obviously some installments of DC that are absolutely TERRIBLE, but like, I am pretty sure the worst I have experienced Directly is Injustice 2, so it really doesn’t matter to me. Unlike any other series on this list NO ONE is expected to experience ALL of DC, it's a series so large that its fans pick and choose the adventures they want to go on, and the ones I chose are the only thing I can judge it by as a result. I love a great deal of DC Comics heroes, from obvious choices like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, to much more obscure picks like B’wana Beast, Black Bat and Jinx. That's another one of the beauties of DC to me, It not only has a truly massive amount of characters but Proportionate to its size it might have one of the most overall likable casts I have ever scene because almost every single character who stayed remotely relevant is a cool and interesting archetypal hero, and they often get matched up against what many consider the overall greatest rogues gallery of villains ever.
Xiaolin Showdown:
I’m going to tell you right now, I had a time trying to find an order to place the top 5 in, It was not easy because for the most part I consider them pretty similar in quality, but to explore the order I chose, let's talk about the Wuxia Action Cartoon, Xiaolin Showdown. Xiaolin Showdown is a series which started on KidsWB and migrated its way over to being a Cartoon Network show after the two merged. It is about a group of chosen monks who are seeking to collect ancient magical artifacts called Shen Gong Wu before they fall into the wrong hands, and It. Is. AWESOME! I was Absolutely Obsessed with this series growing up, to the point of actually making several of my own Shen Gong Wu, like the time I painted one of my Hulk Hands to look like the Fist of Tebigong, was great. I will admit, a good amount of my favorite series of all time are nostalgic series, as the series you loved as a kid essentially will never be topped by series you see later regardless of quality just because your childhood wonder gave you so much more of an ability to love a series at the time. Anyway, XS is an action packed show filled with characters battling to possess these Wu through mystical contests called, what else, Xiaolin Showdowns. The series is bright, colorful, imaginative, funny, charming and has an almost supernaturally consistent quality of writing. You can more or less flip on any episode of this series and have a good time no matter what. I really love its cast of characters, the hero’s side featuring Omi, Clay, Kimiko and Raimundo, all or which are from different countries and have very different personalities and cultures as a result, plus they are even constantly Traveling the world in search of the Wu giving a large amount of locations, something I particularly like. Though they are stereotypical of a person from their country of origin to some extent, it's done in the charming, realistic sense where they still very much feel like real characters and play off each other quite well. I Really enjoyed how Clay had a very laid back and calm demeanor, and that wasn’t seen as a hindrance, as he was one of the most reliable members, having the highest win ratio in the Showdowns and sometimes Literally carrying his team. Kimiko had a super fiery attitude, but her anger was very controlled. She doesn’t come off as aggressive or intimidating as she's mostly just confident and sweet, getting Angry only at things pretty reasonable to be mad at. Omi and Raimundo are the stars of the show and their dynamic is key to the heart of the series. Omi being this super cocky and overconfident warrior who honestly DOES have a right to brag given how skilled he is, especially compared to others in the show's beginning. Raimundo on the other hand is more of a sly sneaky irreverent sourpuss who slacks off a lot but does show surprising cleverness and ingenuity when he puts his mind to something. They are also opposites in terms of weaknesses, where Omi struggles with being an orphan who has no family and lacking ability to connect to the outside world around him, things that are no trouble for Raimundo. Their development where Raimundo goes from the anti hero monk falling from grace to being the Leader and chosen one, and Omi humbling enough to accept him, is one of the most powerful aspects of the series to me. The Villains are also very entertaining and often interesting characters, from the legendarily funny Jack Spicer to the more serious and competent bad guys like Wuya and Chase Young who still ooze personality and presence in every scene. This franchise also has some rich lore based heavily off of various eastern mythologies which are played as surprisingly grandiose and meaningful. There's a lot of standout episodes to me, even outside of the badass season finale events. I was a sucker for episodes such as the first time we saw Mala Mala Jong the Shen Gong Wu monster, or the Sapphire Dragon the evil Wu that basically is made to end the world. These are absolutely fantastic ideas in concept that child me just thought were the coolest shit and made my imagination run wild with possibilities, and their execution was always excellent. This series really does have something for everyone, although I would assume the thing it lacks most is Romance, something that I didn’t care that much about as a kid, but that said this show is mostly about Monks fighting bad guys, and doesn't have THAT big a cast, so to some extent I’d ask what did you expect. But yeah, I always loved this series and always Will.
The Powerpuff Girls:
Next up we actually have one of the Original Cartoon Cartoons on this list. I had independently seen every single Cartoon on this list well in advance, and as the oldest one, Powerpuff Girls is the first series featured on this list that I had ever watched, making it the MOST Nostalgic series to me. As a Kid I naturally wanted to shy away from watching anything girly, in fact most young boys my age thought this same thing, but I remember distinctly that Powerpuff Girls was one of those series every single one of us secretly watched and loved, citing things like how they Kick serious Ass as a way to justify it to ourselves and others. And Kick Ass they do! One of the things I especially like About the Powerpuff girls is that it just has that Raw 90’s Edge where they are not at all afraid to show these Little Girls in these super violent altercations. They beat the crap out of people, knock out teeth, draw blood, and a lot of the times when fighting crime the villains come off as realistically threatening and not always just silly cartoon villains. The series HAS Silly Cartoon villains, but it straight up has a spectrum from the Silly Amoeba Boys to the Pure Evil Transvestite Devil, HIM, with the Main Villain, Mojo Jojo being a switch hitter dead in the middle. Powerpuff Girls was created by Craig McCracken one of the most iconic cartoonists in modern times and the series is completely oozing with his distinct styles from its use of dramatic slow mo and sound effects to its imaginative and adventurous plots. I, and frankly everyone who knows anything about this series, LOVE all 3 of the main characters. The Powerpuff Girls are 3 adorable sisters who live with their single dad, attend Pokey Oaks kindergarten, and do various little girl things…..while also happening to be incredibly powerful, nigh-indestructible superheroes with powers similar to some Silverage Kryptonians. It's this dichotomy of seeing these cute little girls be the most powerful heroes on Earth playfully kicking the snot outta bad guys left and right that makes it so funny yet also really cool. As a Kid, me and a lot of other boy’s favorite was Buttercup, which makes sense she was QUITE the tomboy and did girly stuff by far the least often which made her easiest to connect to. But rewatching it many times since then, I have come to really appreciate the others as well. Bubbles is a real sweetheart and also incredibly funny, being used just as often for goofball comedy and lunacy as she is for being cute, both of which she not only excels at but also really shows the values in those traits, such as the time she saved the city from a monster they couldn’t beat up by asking it politely to leave. Blossom on the other hand is my actual favorite these days. I Love her competence and confidence as she tries to be the fair and balanced leader of the group, she's super relatable to me and has a lot of my favorite moments both in giving and learning lessons. Actually there are a lot of good lessons in this show and a lotta standout eps, I know everyone remembers episodes like Boogie Frights, Super Zeroes, Beat Your Greens and especially Twisted Sister for these reasons. The series also has a great rogues gallery of bad guys, Staple characters like Mojo Jojo, HIM and Princess, are obviously ICONS and have a great deal of episodes dedicated to them, but I think even the one off baddies like Femme Fatal, Mr. Mime and Abra-Cadaver were great to the point I remember them to this day despite them only getting 1 episode. That I think is the standout thing about this series to me, Iconicness. Everything about this series is just very archetypal and has become iconic, from the narrator, to the end card, to the themes and bad guys. It just keeps on coming back, getting numerous canon specials years after the fact, a flipping ANIME Adaptation, and at least two different reboots in the past decade. This series EARNED its place in the top 5. Some weaknesses of this series that kept it from being placed higher Is like any old cartoon it has its fair share of episodes that don’t really hold up viewing it later. In particular, several of the episodes and specials that occurred post season 4 are just a lot worse in overall quality, relying more on gross out humor and nonsensical plots. I think a Good example would be The Powerpuff Girls Rule, which was just such a disingenuous shame on the franchise.
Danny Phantom:
When it comes to Nickelodeon series that receive praise for being able to be taken seriously as a story driven action adventure, they talk about the Avatar series, but the one they talk about the 2nd most is definitely Danny Phantom. Danny Phantom is an awesome and iconic superhero series made by one of Nickelodeon’s most prolific creators, Butch Hartmen, and personally, this is the best series he ever made hands down. I am a Big fan of both the gothic/horror genres and the Superhero genre and this series has both in spades. It was pointed out to me that the series starts more on the horror side in season 1, has a fair balance between the genres in season 2 and goes basically all in on the superhero side by the final season, and yeah, looking at it like that it is plain to see. In season 1, I was basically obsessed with this show, getting super excited when every new episode came out. I Love Horror, I loved Ghosts and Spooky things from a very young age and this was like a smorgasbord of new superpowered ghost creatures being introduced every episode, and I would make a lot of little art projects with the rogues gallery. The show would create a cool atmosphere where everything would go all dark and spooky and with haunting music when the Ghosts would appear. They would also often give the Ghosts backstories of who they were when they were alive, how they died and why they developed the unique powers they have. And some of these, if you looked into them got pretty dang dark, like Ember, who killed herself by burning herself alive after her crush broke her heart, That's messed up and I love how this show is willing to have things like that, it treats every villain like its own spooky campfire ghost story. The Superhero side of the series I think is pretty equally well done, Danny Phantom clearly draws its superhero inspiration most from Spider-Man comics, having Danny struggle with a lot of real world problems such as school, relationships and his own coming of age, being interrupted by this double life he is forced to live battling ghosts to keep his town safe. Danny is considered an unremarkable loser at his school by most of his peers, and his superhero alter ego is considered a villain who is a danger to public safety for most of the series, showing Danny’s job to be somewhat thankless, but also making him compelling and relatable at the same time. Danny himself was a very relatable but also flawed character, he was a good and heroic person, but he could also be selfish, stubborn, shallow and angsty in ways that proved he wasn’t some paragon either. His parents are obsessive Ghost Hunters who accidentally gave him his powers, and he spends most of the series hiding his secret identity from them NOT because he's afraid of the villains harming them, but because he's afraid of what they might Do to him, which was a pretty unique take on that dynamic. The other supporting characters are great too, with Sam, Tucker and Jazz all having lots of funny jokes and standout character moments. But the Rogues Gallery on this series is my favorite Rogues Gallery in all these cartoons, heck it's actually a better rogues gallery than any series on this list other than DC Comics. There are tons of villains on this list from other series I like as much or more than the Danny Phantom ones, but there are no series (Besides DC) that have anywhere near as numerous villains at this consistent level of quality. Some of my favorites being Walker, Young Blood, Spectra, Technis, Ember, The Fright Knight, and ofcourse the main antagonist Vlad Plasmus. Vlad was an Awesome Villain, being the first half-ghost hybrid his parents made and swearing revenge on Danny’s father for ruining his life. The guy is a lot more powerful than Danny for most of the series sheerly due to having trained and mastered his powers for a far longer time than Danny has even been alive, in addition to being super wealthy, intelligent and socially powerful making him one of the most intimidating threats to take on. And he also just has so much personality and charisma that he chews up any scene he is in, you could make an entire episode purely focused on Vlad and it might be one of the best episodes of this series. Apart from pure villains, the series also has some morally complex characters such as Valerie, who goes from being a civilian background character, to major Anti-Villain, to a straight Rival character. There were a lot of really standout episodes in this series from the fantastic villain introduction eps in season 1 such as Bitter Reunions, Fanning the Flame, Prisoners of Love and especially My Brother’s Keeper, which felt like episodes only this series could do well and featured some truly fantastic villains. Season 2 Is where the show really found its footing, having some truly fantastic sci-fi and supernatural events such as Reign Storm and Ultimate Enemy which I remember being a Massive Deal when they came out. And How could I forget that Danny Phantom had some of the best Holiday specials of any cartoon, with Both their Halloween and Christmas specials being ones I was most excited for as a kid. Season 3 gets a bit of flack for having some disorganization, Ghosts weren’t so much presented as scary undead anymore, but rather forces of nature, with almost every plot in season 3 feeling like a Minievent onto itself, often times without much setup in the episode itself as it tries to fit an ep probably designed to fit into a 2 parter into a single episode using lightning quick pace. I still had a lot of fun with these episodes and it did a good job making the show feel more epic as it went on. Something that disappointed me however was the Glitch in Time follow up graphic novel, which actually started pretty good, but by the end of the thing where they just Undid all the Status Quo changes that happened at the end of the original series finale other than Danny and Sam getting together. I don’t get it, it's not like you have big plans for the series later, and Danny at the end of Phantom Planet achieved the good ending? And it's extra insulting that this is the 2nd time they have undid Danny being outed to his parents and him being weirdly cool with erasing their memories despite them completely accepting him.
Yu-Gi-Oh!:
Well well well, what can really be said about Yu-Gi-Oh! I first watched this series when I was no more than 6 years old, and it was, I think, the first series that I REALLY Got into. I Asked Santa for a buttload of Yu-Gi-Oh cards that year and that was one of the most magical Christmases I ever had! I Still play the game occasionally to this day. I think that the amazing Occult Mysticism and magical fantasy and all the incredibly cool monster designs absolutely Transfixed me as a kid, and be it nostalgia or it genuinely holding up, It still has that magical effect on me when I see it to this day. The Duals in the series are REALLY Cool with how they are essentially like a squad on squad shonen fight scene but no matter HOW one sided such a battle is they are forced to use strategy to win leading to all of them being well thought out with plenty of cool moments every single time. Even a rather subpar series like Yu-Gi-Oh GX still has very entertaining and fun Duals all the time, but in the OG Series, they were unbelievable with how they essentially told you everything you needed to know about the characters and their dynamic against one another through symbolism and dramatize a battle between their wills on top of that. Yugi Moto is a Badass, his unwavering confidence as he rocks his look, pushes through scary scenarios, outsmarts and outskills anyone, and occasionally crushes their minds like a boss, made him one of the coolest characters I had ever seen at the time. But I think as an adult what Is Even More Cool is how the more innocent side of himself kept his powerful self from going too far and showed him humanity, while at the same time rising in his own confidence and competence until he literally Surpassed that side of himself all on his own. I actually think a Lot of what appealed to me as a kid was how much more badass this world seemed, without actually being a series that had anything to do with fighting. Joey, Tristan, Tea, they don’t have parental supervision, they get into fights, they ride around on motorcycles, explore cities by themselves, adventure together, stop organized supervillains, they are almost like the humans you’d see in YYH but without having any superpowers or nothing, getting by with grit, street smarts and a reliance on their bond as friends. Kaiba is the most awesome rival character in the history of shonen and I am not apologizing for it, going from a generic evil villain to going on an awesome redemption arc and being awesome. And Yami Bakura is just my Favorite Villain. Oh not in this series by the way, I mean on this Entire List. His amazing design, Badass and Terrifying personality and having the thematic weight and drive to threaten all of time is impactful enough as it is, but The thief king’s use of the spookiest, scariest and most evil and horror themed monsters, I just thought was the coolest thing ever and easily had the biggest influence on me when making my own decks, to the point that even today, I model them after Bakura. Yu-Gi-Oh is a series I never tire of, or get bored of and despite watching at such an early age, has stuck with me all my life and I am sure will continue to do so.
Wander Over Yonder:
Yes and the number 1 series on this list is none other than Wander over Yonder! I said that the Top 5 series on this list are all fairly comparable in quality to me. Numbers 5-2 are series that came out when I was a child and I have a lot of nostalgic connection to as a result, but this series came out when I was starting College, so what made me place it above the rest? Well there's an old metric that I used to judge series a lot as a kid, one goal that If a series can accomplish It automatically joins my favorites list. I am not a very emotional person most of the time, so If a series can make me Cry, that means it touched me in a way that most series can only hope to aspire too. Wander over Yonder is not a particularly long series, yet it somehow has at least 7 episodes that can Make me ball my eyes out every single time, a Higher quantity than any other series I am familiar with. This series was created by Craig McCraken, the creator of Powerpuff Girls, taking his first crack at a Disney series and It has a lot of the same imagination and style I have seen in his earlier work from the good vs evil unconventional superhero dynamics of PPG to the over the top creative character designs and plots from Fosters. Wander over Yonder is a goofy, fun and over the top space odyssey about a happy-go-lucky nomadic yokal named Wander and his trusty steed Sylvia exploring the strange and zany Yonder Galaxy. Wander is a super positive, excitable, charming, sweet, wise and curious little scamp who genuinely wants, borderline NEEDS, to help and befriend any and all of the kind folks he meets. Sylvia on the other hand is the more rough tomboyish bruiser who keeps Wanders enthusiasm in check and goals somewhat realistic but believes in his cause just as much after he helped her long ago. While these two easily get along with most of the galaxy the primary problem with their plan is all the active Supervillains in the galaxy causing trouble for others that they end up having to deal with more often than not. The most prominent by far being Lord Hater, the initial main antagonist, heavily inspired by over the top 80’s villains such as Skeletor, as well as his little assistant Commander Peepers. I think what makes this show unique is Wander doesn’t merely want to Stop Hater, foiling the bad person in favor of the good masses they are messing with, he wants to help and befriend EVERYONE, a quality I have seen featured this prominently in only Squirrel Girl, one of my favorite superheroes of all time. Wander wants to help and befriend Hater too, trying to get him to give up his evil ways and be a happier person, which is a good message for those who have Hater-like personality traits like his need to be seen as cool and awesome by everyone. Not to mention it constantly leads to some pretty funny scenarios. I think season 1 of this show is pretty good all things considered, but Season 2 is where this series becomes truly incredible, being superior to season 1 in every way, and elevating the series, largely thanks to the addition to the new Main Antagonist, Lord Dominator. Dom is the villain this show needed and deserved, being based off hard core anime villains the most prominent being Sailor Freaking Galaxia, she has a terrifying and commanding presence in every single scene she is in. She has her goofy traits and quirks here and there in line with the tone of this series, but she is just so cool and has so much presence that those things don’t manage to detract from it at all. Dominator is a challenge to this series, she is Stronger than Hater, she is Faster than Sylvia, she is Smarter than Peepers, and she Genuinely loves doing Evil as much as Wander loves doing Good. Dominator is not even IN the majority of Season 2’s episodes, but the impact she has with what she is doing impacts every single episode in untold ways and forces characters into character arcs in reaction to what she is doing. Characters Wander encounters are more desperate and hopeless at their planets continuously being destroyed pushing him to try harder and fruitlessly try and still see the positives. Sylvia becomes terrified of having to deal with Dom and tries to flee her responsibilities. And Lord Hater goes on unironically one the greatest cartoon character arcs since Prince Zuko as he tries to make himself into a more opened, caring, humble and better man to genuinely try and open up to her for a relationship, before realizing what a menace she is to everyone around her and ends up being the Galaxies unlikely savior. Dominator and Wander’s ideologies clashing consistently ended up making some of the most powerful and understandable messages I have seen in cartoons in quite a long time, especially in episodes like My Fair Hatey, The Flower and The End of the Galaxy. This is my 2nd Favorite Disney Cartoon Ever made, and yeah Season 1 is a lot weaker but and It’s got a fairly small cast of prominent characters, but at the end of the day, the BIGGEST issue I can take with Wander is simply that it never got a 3rd season to keep making beautiful stories.
Anyway, that's My ranking of this large collection of series. I hope that you enjoyed hearing my thoughts on these and hey, I know some of these can be pretty hot takes so if you have any differing opinions on these series that you want to share please let me know. I had a lot of fun reminiscing about all these shows, comics and games so I would love to Keep talking about them more. But regardless I hope you all have a safe and Happy thanksgiving and Holiday season as a whole!
I am not sure what to say first. Thank you Thor for making this blog. It's been a real rush down memory lane reading this and getting to know your thoughts better. There were somethings I definitely expected (I knew you didn't like Puella Magi and that WOY would be near the top) and some things I didn't expect (I didn't know Owl House would be as high as it was nor that Undertale would be as low as it was) but I love all these series and I can totally understand putting your position just from knowing you.
ReplyDeleteIt was an absolute blast going through all these series and remembering the good times with them. These are my favorite series in the world and your thoughts and perspectives have been consistently enlightening on them and helped me understand you as a person. One of the recurring themes of this blog and one of the differences is in our artistic tastes is that I'm very interested in the theme of loneliness and isolation due to my personal experiences whereas you seem to prefer a large and robust cast of characters. It's not impossible to do both of those things, but for obviously reasons it's rather hard. This, combined with some other factors like your general more upbeat preferences in fiction is really showcasted in how you ranked these series. I also think it showed you really think in images more than words, or at least a much higher amount of images compared to me. For me reading subtitles has never been particularly troublesome, I often prefer it though it seems to be a real hinderance on your enjoyment, possibly because I think you think more in images than I do.
I think I somehow underestimated your love for cartoons when 4 of the 6 cartoons made it into the top 5! :D Considering that the other two were pretty high as well I'm just glad the cartoon expert is validating my tastes in cartoons as legit. It's really cool to see that your favorite on my favorite series list is Wander over Yonder. Wander over Yonder is a great series with several really fantastic eps.
One series I really have to call out your review of was Cardcaptor Sakura's. SM vs CCS was the big MG rivalry back in the 90s and while I love both I definitely picked a side :P That said if there was any MG I wouldn't mind being thought of as better than SM it would be CCS and I think you got down the appeal of it perfectly, as good as I could write as someone whose been a fan of it since childhood and is super invested in the Magical Girl genre. I have to particularly call out the line that CCS feels like a series that is always nostalgic even if you've never seen because even for me who the series is nostalgic for I instantly know what you're talking about with CCS. That was a brilliant evocation of it in words.
I enjoyed all your reviews, even when we disagreed because I got to know you as a person better through them and I thought you did a really good job explaining why you preferred this or that. I think my biggest achievement here tho, even more then Commedia was getting you to watch PreCure given just how comically hard it is to get the West to watch PreCure. I'm glad you're enjoying it so far though yeah obviously it's got a lot more seasons. A few other reviews I wanna call out for being especially evocative of your feelings towards the series would be Freedom Force, Yuki Yuna, xxxHolic, Princess Tutu and Tokyo Mew Mew. All of these were series I was unsure of how you'd rank them and you really helped express why they were in they were.
The one criticism I would give is that it seemed a little inconsistent at times what your criteria was, whether you were judging by the hypothetical totality of what you think the series is (Undertale) or judging based specifically on the parts you've seen (DC Comics, Cutie Honey), I'd suggest when ranking to make a clear criteria for yourself on what you are ranking on.
However, broadly speaking I couldn't be happier reading this and want to thank you so much. I'm glad you've enjoyed my favorite series. I hope you can continue to enjoy them in the future!
Great job Thor! This blog was a nice treat to celebrate Thanksgiving with. It was pretty interesting seeing a ranking blog like this from you. I have seen a small chunk of these series at this point, but this ranking only emphasizes that there are a lot more on this list I really need to get into.
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty cool to see where you ended up ranking a lot of these series. It was interesting to see how Yugioh ended up being your favorite Shonen series on the list and how Cardcaptor Sakura ended up being your favorite magical girl series on the list. I also didn’t expect Okami to be the bottom entry, even under Madoka, but then again that’s one of the series on this list I don’t have much exposure to. With that being said, the top 5 aren’t too big a surprise but I liked hearing everything you especially liked about those series.
I definitely think we have certain differences in our tastes, which can be seen with shows like Madoka. I think I’m fairly tolerant of exploration of darker themes in fiction… for better or for worse. I do find value in series that explore those kinds of grim themes, but it can definitely affect one’s mood in a negative way if someone fixates too heavily on them. I definitely think hanging with you has helped me lighten up a bit, and you exposed me to cool positive shows such as OK KO or LWA which just put me in a good mood just watching them.
The other difference is I have somewhat of a complicated relationship with sexual topics as someone raised in a fairly conservative background. For instance, I am sure Panty & Stocking is a well made show that is deserving of its praise, but its raunchy humor might not be my cup of tea personally. Regardless, I do really appreciate reading your insight even where we differ and I can definitely see where you are coming from on all of these series.
On the other hand, I do think we both like seeing creativity in fiction, and I find myself agreeing with your praises and criticisms of series based on that parameter such as Saint Seiya. There are several entries that I think I can closely agree with you on. The Over the Garden Wall entry was fantastic and I agree with you on every point you stated; really one of the best series I’ve seen to represent Autumn. I haven’t read all of Divine Comedy yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if my feelings on that series end up somewhat similar to yours (older literature can be really fascinating but it sometimes takes a lot of effort to go through). And of course, I agree with everything you said regarding DC Comics, and I liked your point that fans can easily pick and choose their adventures with that massive franchise.
I liked hearing your childhood experiences with the various series in the Top 5, especially since I also watched and enjoyed a lot of them. It is true that childhood wonder and nostalgia can heavily influence a series you have an attachment to throughout your life. I can easily recognize that in myself and the series I like as well. I think my experience with PPG as a kid is fairly similar as far as not normally watching “girly” series, but secretly liking that show. Not to mention, I also have my fair share of old Yugioh cards that me and my brother collected.
Once again, it was really cool hearing your thoughts on these! If there is anything that I got from this blog, it is that I need to put Wander Over Yonder on my priority list, among other series.