Nevanna's Forest of Stories

flo_nelja asked me to list my top five anime, but my experience with this medium is actually a lot more limited than it might appear, and is primarily a result of my college besties sitting me down in front of their favorite series: Revolutionary Girl Utena, Vision of Escaflowne, Neon Genesis Evangelion, X, Death Note, Sekirei, Yona of the Dawn, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Izetta the Last Witch, and maybe a couple of others. (I’ve also seen parts of Fullmetal Alchemist and Sailor Moon.) Although I had a good time while I was watching, most of them didn’t make a lasting impression on me.

Instead of trying to tease a Top Five list out of that history, I’ve decided to talk about some of the common elements of the anime series that I did enjoy, in full or in part.

1. Relationship-driven storytelling. This is a must in pretty much all of the media that I enjoy, but I have very little interest in shows in which the question of “who would win in a fight?” is the sole focus of every episode, and prefer that characterization is front and center even when characters are regularly attacking each other with swords and/or magic.

2. Strong ensemble casts. Most of the series that I listed above have obvious protagonists, but the supporting characters still have recognizable motivations, challenges, and growth arcs of their own. If there’s room for characters who’ve never met on screen to meet in fanfic and have an interesting conversation (and/or a reason to kiss each other), then I consider that a narrative success.

3. A willingness to complicate and unpack the central premise of the story. Utena’s progression from a relatively lighthearted high school fantasy, to an examination of abuse, gender, and agency, is the most obvious example.

4. Memorable fantasy or science fiction world-building. I’m sure that excellent mundane slice-of-life series exist; I just haven’t gravitated toward them yet.

5. I can appreciate an ending that is neither straightforwardly happy nor excessively grim, although some of the series that I’ve enjoyed lean in one direction or another.