reference: your top ten favorites

My top ten current favorites (in no particular order):
Tenshi Ni Narumon (TV)
Vampire Princess Miyu (OAV)
Earthian (OAV)
Fushigi Yugi (TV)
Perfect Blue (Movie)
Totoro (Movie)
Utena (TV and Movie)
Ranma 1/2 (TV)
Yami No Matsuei (TV)
Sailor Moon (TV and Movies)

Wow, that was really tough. And, there was just no way I could try and justify why I like these so much. LOL But, I will say that Sailor Moon had mostly the nostalgia vote.

One note is that I may have been misleading in my list. It's not necessarily things you'd recommend (I can't recommend YKK to a non-anime or non-sci-fi fan, for instance.)

Funny, there's things in your lists that just barely -- barely -- missed out on my second-tier list.

- **3x3 Eyes** is one of the most solid shows I've ever seen (adapted, if I'm not mistaken) but it didn't **affect** me in any way. I like it a lot, but I felt too neutral about it to include it. Wrote it in, but changed it after I ran out of room.

- **Karekano** is too uneven in the second half. They ran out of manga. First half is outstanding. I had it on my list before I erased it.

- **Now and Then** is outstanding in construction but questionable in the animation department. It was the first thing I typed in the second tier list. It probably deserves to replace YKK. They're both sorta geared at the same audience (quirky atypical science fiction).

- **Haibane Renmei** makes me mad. Not because it's bad in any way, but because they pull punches at the end. I'm sure I've ranted about this somewhere else. The darkness is the key to the whole show, yet somehow this is lost on the creators. Abe said something along the lines that the script for the last two episodes was late and it was either finish it or it doesn't air. IMO the most wasted potential of any fictional anime universe in the last ten years. Chop off the last three eps and build a real ending worthy of the carefully crafted puzzle box of a world, and this **immediately** gets top-tier ranking from me.

- Can I nominate something on design alone? **Samurai Champloo** is in danger of making the second-tier list by next year if the plot even ends up being passable -- on art and sound design alone. By far, the slickest product to come from Japanese television animation in 10+ years... but can slickness cover up weak plot construction? Must have cost a small fortune to produce, anyways.

I always keep a running favorite anime list. It has thrity six anime on it, but I'll narrow it down to ten. The way how I judge my favorite anime is by two factors:

1. How much I wouldn't mind rewatching the anime again right at this moment. Most anime I never feel like rewatching.

2. How much the anime still touches me emotionally in some way when I think back on it.

My favorite anime:

1. Maison Ikkoku
2. Hana Yori Dango
3. Rurouni Kenshin First OVA
4. Please Save My Earth
5. One Piece
6. Doukyuusei
7. Shoujo Kakyumei Utena
8. Kakyuusei TV series
9. Kakyuusei Elf version OVA
10.Tokimeki Memorial

Unfortunately most of the interesting titles are in between #10 and #25. Too bad they got cut off. :P

Without a doubt, my all-time favorite show would have to be Tenchi Muyo! (the OVA). The character development is, in my opinion, superb, and there's just the right amount of conflict and action thrown in to keep the show moving along. I never get tired of watching it.
I'm also a big fan of Gundam Wing (as is zerospace). That show got us both back into anime in a big way... awesome mechs, good character development and deepish political philosophy ? what's not to love?
Cowboy Bebop would make my list as well ? it's practically flawless as a series. I absolutely love watching "Pierrot le Fou." The movie didn't really do anything for me, though.
Akira is on my list, but I'd hesitate to recommend it as a first anime for someone. It's one of those shows that can either hook the viewer or turn them off of anime altogether. Some people we've shown it to found it a little too heady for their liking.
I'd place Evangelion in the same vein. It's just too good to ignore but I would never recommend it as a first anime.
I'm also fond of Outlaw Star, FLCL, Dirty Pair Flash, Armitage III (preferrably in OVA form), and Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex.

Right now I have two top favorite shows.
1. Inuyasha
2. Sailor Moon
Both have awesome characters and great graphics.
Casey