Ask John: What are the Best Anime of the Past Ten Years?

Question:
With the decade coming to an end, what was some of the best anime to come out 10 years ago?

Answer:
Considering the phrasing and context of this question I understand that it literally seeks the best anime releases of 1999, but I wonder if its intent was to inquire about the best anime of the past ten years. In order to cover both possibilities, I’ll answer both interpretations. The past ten years have given anime fans a number of long lived and very popular franchises, including One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Inuyasha, Ojamajo Doremi, Pretty Cure, Suzumiya Haruhi, and Lucky Star. I’ll cite those titles to ensure that I’m not presumed to be forgetting them. My own perspective on the characteristics of best anime of the past ten years focuses on artistic quality rather than popularity. I consider “best” the anime that excelled in animation and narrative; the anime that broke new ground and contributed to expanding and evolving the potential of the art form. With so many anime released over the past ten years, I’ll have to be brief and highly selective to pick examples of the best. I hope my own list serves as a guide, an observation, rather than a conclusive and definitive catalog.

The gorgeous, haunting, and emotionally powerful Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuioku Hen OVA series that revealed the tragic past of wandering samurai Himura Kenshin may be the finest anime production of 1999, and is certainly one of the most outstanding anime of the past ten years. It’s exceptional contemporaries include the challenging Utena: Apocalypse of Adolescence movie, the excellent Yamamoto Yohko TV series that introduced director Akiyuki Shinbo’s trademark directorial style to viewers, and the well animated and especially unique Tenshi ni Narumon TV series.

Jin-Roh dominates 2000 as the year’s best anime production, and stands one of the most exceptional anime films ever made. Escaflowne may not be immediately recognized as one of the best anime ever, but it may be considered the best TV anime of the year and certainly deserves to be recognized as one of the best anime creations of the past decade.

Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away may not be the studio’s finest work, but it is the only one to have won an Oscar. Satoshi Kon’s Millennium Actress wasn’t quite as internationally acclaimed, but it’s no less a superior film. Creator Shouji Kawamori’s Chikyu Shoujo Arjuna isn’t well remembered now, but it is a fascinating and impressive production. 2001’s Noir TV series has as many critics as fans, but the series undeniably introduced a stylish aesthetic and tone to TV anime, and launched the revolution of neo-Gothic music in anime.

Despite its weaknesses, animator Makoto Shinkai’s 2002 short film Hoshi no Koe is a moving story and an impressive one-man show. Furthermore, it introduced a promising new talent to anime and inspired a new visual approach to anime production. The Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex TV series introduced a new peak of sophistication to weekly TV anime. Princess Tutu applied a brilliant literary and artistic approach to conventional shoujo anime, resulting in a unique and fascinating series.

2003 was an unusually weak year, but it did bring us the intelligent and captivating Fullmetal Alchemist television series.

Mamoru Oshii’s 2004 film Innocence is a visual marvel, although much like Oshii’s following film, Sky Crawlers, it’s a cold and emotionless production. Director Masaaki Yuasa’s Mind Game is exactly the opposite – rough, frenetic, and wildly creative. Studio Ghibli’s Howl’s Moving Castle falls in between. Again, it’s not one of director Hayao Miyazaki’s best works, but the film does include moments that match the best anime that Miyazaki has ever created. The Monster TV series didn’t revolutionize anything. It simply delivered excellence in a genre, and with an approach rare in anime.

Similarly, the 2005 Honey & Clover TV series isn’t narratively or visually unique, but the show achieved greatness by simply getting everything it did perfect. The Mushishi TV series is more unique and original. That immersive originality combined with outstanding production quality make it one of the most brilliant anime productions ever crafted. Kamichu isn’t likely to be acknowledged as one of the best anime productions ever made, but within the 2000s alone its exceptionally good animation quality and its intriguing depiction of a natural unity of mundane and spiritual/supernatural Japanese culture make it distinctive and praiseworthy.

The 2006 Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo anime film is literally the little movie that could. It’s a film that demonstrates the ability of strong characterizations and an affecting story to succeed without needing to use exceptional animation as a crutch. The Death Note TV series, however, serves as a contrary reminder that great looking visuals and obviously strong animation certainly don’t hurt an already strong narrative.

The grossly overlooked Oh! Edo Rocket TV series from 2007 is a reminder of the tremendous potential that anime has to be exceptional when creative artists are given free reign to express their creativity. That principle also describes Gainax’s cult hit Gurren Lagann television series. The wild exuberance that characterizes Gurren Lagann is both absurd and brilliant. The Seirei no Moribito and Denno Coil TV anime both took a more subdued approach, impressing by depicting sympathetic and fascinating people within fictional but entirely believable alternate worlds.

The 2008 Macross F TV series simply laid waste to its competition by exerting overwhelming technical proficiency. Macross F is proof that dumping a lot of money into something literally can result in a product that looks like a million bucks. After a decade of making thematically heavy pictures, Hayao Miyazaki returned to the simpler and gentler tone of his 80’s anime with Ponyo, in the process, creating his most charming picture in years. After the admirable mis-step Kemonozume, Mind Game director Masaaki Yuasa impressed with the Kaiba TV series that literally brought the anime of the 60s and 70s into the 21st century.

We now come to this year, at which point I’ll abruptly stop. Rather than summarize a brief impression of this year, I’m already formulating a detailed analysis of the year’s anime that will merit its own, individual discussion.