#5-Patlabor 2: The Movie
Patlabor 2 is a lot more than just a mecha movie about a
police force equipped with giant robots.
The film has all the elements of a Tom Clancy novel: political intrigue,
commentary on matters of military and society, and a smart analysis of the
history of conflict and whether or not were doomed to repeat it if we cant
learn from it. At the center is a story
of a woman trying to keep her city together while confronting her sorted past
alongside her sarcastic but awesome partner.
It’s a calm film despite the pretty high stakes and yes, there are some
mecha battles thrown in. But trust me,
this movie is pretty far from boring. In
fact, it’s an Anime film that deserves far more recognition as one of the best
in the entire genre.
#4-Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid
While I know that it’s supposed to be a fusion of comedy
and military mecha drama, I always thought that Full Metal Panic worked better
if it stuck to one path or the other.
This worked with Full Metal Panic Fumoffu when it went the full blown
comedy route. The Second Raid amps up
the drama and pulls off a story that blows everything before it out of the
water. Separating and testing Sousuke
and Kaname does wonders for both characters, breaking them down and building
them up stronger than ever. The villains
are terrifying and left me really worried about the safety of Mithril’s A-Team. Of course, the action is vastly improved
too. In short, Full Metal Panic: The
Second Raid takes all the lessons learned from the past and gives us a solid
sequel that it’s subsequent 4th season, Invisible Victory, came
really close to surpassing (if it weren’t for another cliffhanger).
#3-Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
This movie holds a special place in my heart as its one
of the first Anime I got to see in theaters relatively close to when it came
out in Japan (there it came out in Summer 2004 and in the US it arrived around
my birthday in November). I go back on
forth on whether Innocence is just as good or better than the original Ghost in
the Shell and really, that’s the sign of a great sequel. It’s one of the most beautiful, best scored
Anime in existence that doubles down on the action and existential
conversations about the ever blurring line between man and machine. Loved it then, still love it today.
#2-Free! Eternal Summer
Free! Eternal Summer is the reason why Sports Anime are
so beloved. It not only inspires you and
gets you pumped up, it gives you legit reasons to care about the characters and
world around them. I’m not sure what I was expecting out of Free’s Sophomore
Season but I wasn’t expecting to love it even more than the first season. The amazing character writing gets taken to
the next level, injecting some natural growing pains drama into the lives of
the Iwatobi and Sumezuka Swim Teams.
Every character gets a fully rounded arc and you’re invested in everyone
future and not just how well they can beat their previous swim times. The trip to Australia that Rin and Haru take
is worth watching the whole season alone.
#1-Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage
How do you top the debut season of one of the best action
Anime of all time? First you double down
on the world building, opening up the doors of Roanapur and the rest of the
world like never before. Second, you
delve deeper into the lives of Revy and Rock and put their partnership through
the ringer than ever before. Last, you
dial the action to 11 and let the beast roam free. With a host of zany and tragic new hitmen and
some of the best character writing in all of Anime, Black Lagoon’s second season
is practically perfect and works as an in depth study of damaged people looking
for a purpose and a love letter to the action genre not just in Anime but in
general. Few Anime can be both this
heartbreaking and this fun at the same time.
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