Ask John: What Were the Best Anime of 2003?

Question:
In 2002 someone asked you what your favorite titles of the year were. So my question to you… What are your favorite titles of 2003? What impressed you this year?

Answer:
While 2002 was an exceptionally good year for anime, 2003 hasn’t been quite as generous. Of all the anime released in 2003 that I would even potentially consider for inclusion on a personal best-of-the-year list, the only ones I haven’t seen, or haven’t seen enough of to critique are the new Astro Boy TV series and the motion picture Tokyo Godfathers. But just based on reviews and word of mouth, Tokyo Godfathers seems to be deserving of recognition as one of 2003’s very best releases.

2003 has produced several exceptional series, and quite a number of disappointments. In terms of runners-up, Scrapped Princess did an excellent job of transcending its overt fantasy setting, but never quite managed to develop as much emotional impact as I think it should have. Gadguard was possibly the year’s most stylish and original looking show, but hamstrung itself with poor writing and a virtually non-existent story. Half way through its run, Gunslinger Girl has shown off outstanding animation, lush character designs, and a unique noir/nouveau tone. But at just over half of its total episode count already aired, the series hasn’t developed any significant story depth or established any significant empathy between characters and viewer. It has so far been an interesting artistic and philosophical treatise, but a cold and distant one.

There were an unusual number of underwhelming and disappointing releases this year. With the OAV market on the verge of extinction, more nails were driven into the coffin with the poorly animated and painfully cliché Green Green OAV, the disjointed and poorly animated first Moeyokan OAV, and the mundane and somewhat ugly first episode of the third Tenchi Muyo OAV series. The highly anticipated Wolf’s Rain turned out to be a pointless and plodding exercise rather than a rousing adventure. Director Sakurabi Katsushi turned the fan favorite and award winning video games Gunparade March and Tsukihime into aggressively mediocre anime TV series. The L/R TV series attempted to recreate the charismatic appeal of spy thrillers and instead created an illogical and infuriating beast that wanted to be mystery and action and drama and comedy and ultimately succeeded at none of them. The Ninja Scroll TV series blasphemed its source by disregarding everything that made the Jubei Ninpucho movie so appealing. Likewise the Gungrave anime seemed to consciously avoid doing everything that made the original Playstation game so outstanding. Divergence Eve and Ikkitousen both relied on cheap sex appeal to distract attention from their poor animation quality and writing. Onegai Twins seemed to entirely forget that its audience was intelligent. Avenger seemed to forget that its audience wasn’t psychic by presuming that its viewers already knew everything about the show leaving no reason to clarify character relationships, story development, or even finish complete thoughts. The F-Zero Falcon Legend TV anime failed on even the level of video game advertisement as after seeing the anime I’d want nothing to do with anything even vaguely related to it. Gilgamesh has been a mixed bag of intriguing story told with ugly character designs and shockingly poor animation quality. And the R.O.D. TV series, while not bad in isolation, hasn’t lived up to the energetic vitality of the original OAV series it’s a sequel to.

All of that now out of the way, I’ll address my selections for best anime releases of 2003 beginning with the first rung of my ladder and climbing to the pinnacle of 2003 releases. Keep in mind that these selections aren’t particularly objective and are influenced by my own tastes in anime styles and genres.

As an adaptation of a popular and long running Japanese manga produced by animators whose previous credits include Berserk and Dragonball Z, it’s not difficult to expect good things from Air Master. I’ll admit that the character design is far from sexy, and the show itself may be an acquired taste, but for viewers that can appreciate its silly humor and breathtaking action choreography, few shows match this one. Every episode of Air Master was just a joy to watch, and every episode kept me on the edge of my seat in eager anticipation of the next. The fights stunned me with their ferocity and originality. The fact that Maki Aikawa was good natured but neither smart nor unbeatable made her sympathetic. And the simple, archetypal characters made choosing sides and cheering on heroes and hating foes natural and effortless. No other show of 2003 generated as much of an atmosphere of pure fun and entertainment as that which Air Master so casually created.

I’m hesitant to bring up a sequel series when its predecessor wasn’t “best of its year” material, but Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu? deserves mention. By concentrating entirely on fish out of water sitcom and further developing characterizations already established by the first FMP TV series, Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu? was able to be consistently witty and lighthearted and surprising. It did one thing, and successfully concentrated all of its effort into doing that thing well. Even with its occasionally lulls, the show’s constantly beautiful character design and outstanding animation perfectly complimented intelligent black comedy that never felt condescending or infantile. And on a side note, Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu? had one of the best opening animation sequences of the year, featuring beautiful animation, captivating editing, and an infectiously catchy theme song.

Uchuu no Stellvia was a minor masterpiece. From the way in which the show’s writing, character relationships and character reactions expressed a wealth of depth in just the first episode alone, to the spectacular animation quality and amazing eye for detail, virtually every aspect of the show oozed care and loving attention. Characterization in Stellvia took center stage in a way that I haven’t seen in an anime series since Berserk, and before that Fushigi Yuugi. An interesting story seemed like only a bonus on top of the wonderfully human and believable characters and their touching emotional and physical struggles.

Popotan was an immense surprise to me. For an anime based on an adult computer game, I certainly wasn’t expecting such intricate plotting and brilliant composition, not to mention gorgeous character design, lush animation, and wonderfully emotive voice acting. Popotan was alternately sexy and heartwarming and nerve wracking and saddening. Its mysterious story was revealed in precisely determined increments, always providing enough to let viewers feel as though they’d learned something major and new about the series, but never quite enough to let viewers predict what would happen next. That absolutely nothing in the series happens without reason, and everything and every character introduced in the show reveals greater significance in later episodes is a stroke of brilliance rare in fiction of any kind. Every episode was absolutely emotionally and intellectually satisfying, and every episode built upon what had come before, leading up to an amazing climax that was surprising and satisfying and even managed to bring the series full circle by summarizing the show’s theme succinctly, much the way Millennium Actress did with its final line of dialogue.

Last Exile is my choice for finest anime release of 2003. From Gonzo, a studio known for uneven productions, Last Exile exuded top notch quality and devoted attention from start to finish. The care put into realizing the world of Last Exile was simply staggering. The visuals of the show, mesmerizing. The story, totally involving and compelling. Last Exile not only managed to show viewers an epic adventure, it managed to make viewers a participant in the adventure through sympathetic characterizations and a rousing, sweeping sense of adventure that was never predictable and never condescending to cliché or expectation.