dacia's anime best of list!!!
nov 2002


yuki + shuichi (gravitation)

• best legs: Orphen (Sorceror Stabber Orphen) -- Whoa nelly, has this boy got some gams! Hubba, hubba! *ahem*

• best hair: Aya (Weiss Kreuz) -- We all know I'm addicted to Duo and his braid, but... it's Aya's red hair and those tails that get me...

• best girl (aka least annoying girl): Kagome (Inuyasha) -- So many anime females are whiny and obnoxious, and obsess about food or boys. Grrrr... Well, at least Kagome has some gumption -- she doesn't run screaming and she gives as good as she gets.

• best sexless PWP: Gestalt -- I loved this anime. I quite literally laughed my proverbial ass off watching this one. And can you say 'bishounen'? *swoon* Mind you, I never really did figure out whether or not there was an actual plot. When it was all over and done with, all I could think was 'ummmmmm...' Mind you, that didn't at all stop me from putting it on my 'to buy' list. [ note: all the reviews I could find it found it less that palatable, brain-dead-ness. and what exactly is wrong with that??? ]

• best sexful PWP (heh...): Level C -- Cute guy... picks up another cute guy... asks to live with him... pays his rent with his body... and they fall in love... after, of course, all that sex... Seen at Y-con, I literally planned to catch this. And dragged Suzume along for the ride. Heh... And the best part is that, unlike alot of other shounen ai/yaoi anime, you can actually buy this one. [ note: there aren't any reviews on this that I could find, just a 'back o' the box' blurb' that's... wrong. and by 'wrong', I mean just that. what they say happens isn't what happens at all. Kazuomi is a genuine casanova who never has his own home but lives with women whom he fulfills sexually, but not romantically. having been thrown out yet again by a miffed ex-lover, he runs into Mizuki, who happens to be an up and coming model and who attracts his eye right away. being the guy he is, he approaches Mizuki, asks to live with him and, when Mizuki takes him home, makes it very clear just how he's going to pay rent. *growl* Mizuki, never having been in a homosexual relationship and quite possibly a virgin, is a bit skittish, to say the least. but he accepts Kazuomi into his apartment and his life and gradually gets at ease with this whole 'you want to touch me where???' thing. when Mizuki is approached by a major corporation to be their spokesmodel, he's a bit wary, especially when it turns out that the female in charge knows much more about Kazuomi than she ought. but all ends well and, more importantly, all ends in bed. heh... ]

• best angst: Earthian -- Oh. My. God. I was looking forward to Earthian, since the two male angels are shown as established lovers, but... jeez. How depressing can you get? And it never lets up. *dacia shakes her head* As pretty as it may be, this is a series I will never watch again....

• best guy wandering around trying to redeem himself: Ogre Slayer (Ogre Slayer) -- This anime tells the story of a young man -- known only by the name of his sword, Ogre Slayer -- who, although he looks human, happens to be an ogre. He is fired and led by his belief that if he can kill all ogres, he himself will become human. Sure, there are plenty of other martyrs out there, Vash (Trigun) and Kenshin (Rorouni Kenshin) in particular come to mind, but this guy beats them hands down. He doesn't even have a proper name, for chrissakes... [ note: can't find a good review of this one, as nobody else seems to like it... but screw them. sure, the series is episodic and, yes, there is no real character development on the part of the ogre slayer, but... he's dedicated his very existence to ridding the world of the most unspeakable evils, by himself. what is he supposed to be doing? dating?? ] [ heh... ]

• this is fun! *cackle*

• best big brother figure: Shu (Arc the Lad) Not only does he care.... but he's damn gorgeous, to boot!! As much as I would rather see 2 guys going at it *ahem* rather than acting all brotherly, the relationship between Shu and Elk is nothing more than perfectly fraternal.

• best big brother (what? you didn't see that one coming?): Marron (Sorceror Hunters) -- *swoon* *twice* As far as looks go, Marron's got it all over Shu in this girl's opinion. Sure, he's on the feminine side, but he's so... Marron. *grin* And just to make me seem even less logical and even more the perv, I actually like Marron x Carrot, even though they are actually related. Heh...

• best 'what the hell is this?': Maze -- 'Big sister brother'?? If I had to hear that one more time, I would have blown a gasket. Maze is the story of a young, contemporary girl (natch) who gets swept through time and space (double natch) to a land where she is suddenly possessed of fearsome powers (triple natch) which will allow her to save the day (... I won't say it). During the day, she's a girl who doesn't want to hurt anyone and is kind of (wait for it... ) whiny. At night... she's a cute and rapaciously horny young man who's much more fun, but, kind of like Carrot (Sorceror Hunters), never gets any. It was fun, sure, but... what the hell... ??

• best cocky voice: Duo (Gundam Wing) -- Duh. ^_~

• best opening music: Nazca -- You know when you watch anime series they always re-do the opening sequence for each episode and you catch yourself fast forwarding through it? Well, this music is so good that I sat through 3 DVD's (of 5, I think...) and watched the the opener every single time. [ note: I never did rent the rest of this series cuz it eventually pissed me off and I didn't feel a need to see more, despite the pretty guys. the plot is intriguing -- telling the story of reincarnated Aztec warriors and the earth shattering struggle between one who wants to destroy the world and one who will do anything to stop him -- but eventually it got too... rhetorical. the 2 opposing warriors had know each other well in the contemporary world and the good guy just can't seem to wrap his mind around the fact that his sensei is now full on evil. reminds me of that spaceballs quote -- "evil will always triumph, because good is dumb". *snort* ]

• best cutest incidental pet: Jeep (Saiyuki) -- I spose everyone automatically thinks of Ryo-ohki (Tenchi Muyo). Cute cat/bunny? Turns into a spaceship? And although I love her, this little white, flying dragon (who turns into, you guessed it, a jeep) just rubbed me the right way. The guys themselves seem more like WK rip-offs than anything else, but maybe I needed to give it more than the first few episodes. After all, so many animes start off so damn silly and only later get to the actual plot.

• best super deformations: Gravitation -- You know what super deformed characters are, right? It's when a character who looks normal all of the sudden, and temporarily, becomes chibi-fied or sprouts humungous eyes or gets all sparkly and effervescent. It can either be a really cute affect, or a really obnoxious one. Gravi is chock full of deformations (I don't even know if that's the proper term, but I bet you wouldn't have known that if I hadn't told ya...). Every other second, Shuichi is turning into a chibi or a chibi in a puppy costume, or he becomes paper thin and blows away... and it's fun and cute as hell. Doesn't hurt that Gravi is pretty shounen ai, neither. *nudge nudge*

• best wind: Robot Carnival -- I know -- kind of a funny 'best' category, ne? Robot Carnival was one of the first anime features I ever saw and it blew me away. Pun intended. I had seen anime before, sure, but the realism of RC animation was fascinating in the extreme. One of the most vivid recollections I have of it is watching cloth flutter in an anime wind. That, my friend, means something...

• best kink: Boku no Sexual Harassment -- Corn!! *ahem* Think about it... [ note: since the only sub of this is owned solely by Y-con, I couldn't find any reviews of this, either. hell, I couldn't even find the names of the characters! suffice it to say the the story revolves around a young man who's gung ho to make it in a highly competitive Japanese business world. instead of taking the hard route, when his boss asks him to 'entertain' a male client, he agrees. and his career takes off (if it makes you feel any better, he is very sweet and really quite good at what he does.... I mean out of bed, you hentai!! ^_~). his boss, who is married with a child and who later claims to love him, keeps up with his antics, though not on a constant basis (and somehow he never seems the perv). top this off with a co-worker who has fallen in love with him and lots of bondage and sex, and you get BnSH. in a nutshell. not shakespeare by a long shot... but there's all that sex... *drool* *ahem* ]

• best scars: Black Jack (Black Jack) -- A brilliant young surgeon with a mysterious past. I still haven't figured out how he got those scars. Sure, Vash (Trigun) has a whole array of scars, as well, but at least you have some idea of how he got them. With Blackjack... you really don't have a clue. And is that guy cute or what. Heh...

• best dubbing: Sorceror on the Rocks -- I know there are a whole heckload of folks who are adamantly and vehemently against dubbing. I, myself, kind of like it. Unless the English voice actors are truly hideous (see 'Nightwalker' *shudder*), I actually prefer it. Mind you, I always try it both ways just to see what I'm missing, if anything. SotR is hilarious, for lack of a better word. Reminiscent of Bastard, but without the kid *grimace*, it cracked me up. And it has (yes, I kno, I kno... ) cute as hell guys, one of whom is intensely attracted to the other. But when I went back to watch it with the subtitles, all those subtle nuances were lost... It was a totally different anime and not half as good. Literally. [ note: not many seem to like this one, either. idiots. *snort* so read the review and ignore all the bad bits. this baby is fun. mindless fun, yes, but fun nonetheless... ]

• best shounen ai: Yami no Matsuei -- *swoon* No female characters at all. That's the ticket! ^_~ The sexual tension between Murakai and Tsuzuki is... definitive.

• best yaoi: Ai no Kusabi -- Not your average love story, by any means, and yet by the end it touches your heart, anyway. In a far future on a distant planet, your role is life is not only proscribed by where you're born, but what you look like. Society is split into the elite Blondies and the dark-haired Mongrels. They interact, yes, but solely on a voyeuristic level. Love just never comes into the mix, and when it does... there will literally be hell to pay.

• best 'what? that's it??!': Fish in a Trap -- Hands down. I mean... jeez! If I was more of a writer, I would simply love to continue this story, which leaves off just as it's getting... well, to be story-like. Anyone wanna take this one on? I'll be your best fr~iend... *chibi eyes*

• best school setting: Koko wa Greewnwood -- Shinobu... Mitsuru... *pause* *repeat* Just their presence alone makes this the best school. *laugh* Luckily enough, there also happens to be a cool/funny set of stories (episodes 5 & 6 notwithstanding *grimace*) to go along with the cute as hell boys. This anime is also possessed of one of those shounen ai undercurrents that is there and not there at the same time, and is one of the reasons I find the fanfiction so addictive...

• best guy getting naked for no particular reason: Griffith (Berserk) Is it natural to have talks with your second in command while you're in the buff? I'm certainly not complaining, but... I think if I had been a guy I would have been squirming in my seat. [ and you can interpret that 'squirm' any way you like. *grin* ]

• best fluff: Fruits Basket -- Caught this one at Y-con, as well, mostly because... well, I hadn't heard of it before. *grin* I had my doubts about it, having seen some merchandise portraying the characters as almost too cute, but, my god, was this one worth it. In only 2 episodes, I was hooked. FB tells the story of a young girl who, despite a run of hideously bad luck, remains hopeful and happy. Forced to live in a tent in the woods after her mother's untimely death, she is taken in by a classmate and his older cousin, both of whom are bishounen to die for and who turn out to me much more than meets the eye...

• best god dang near everything: Cowboy Bebop -- 'Nuf said.

[ note: I must be just as odd as I think I am cuz many of the anime titles that many found to be unspeakably horrendous, I found hilarious. what do these people want, anyways? isn't bad humour a good thing...? ]

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