T5W#450-Top 5 Best Titles Ive Reviewed in 2014

I’ll be honest with everyone, I wrote this Top 5 list a lonnnnnng long time ago.  Everytime I think I’ve found a good place to slot it in, it gets bumped for some reason or another. However, this is scratching two big milestone events at the Gundam Anime Corner, so this long awaited lists time has come.  As some of you may know, while articles on this blog date back to 2015, the Gundam Anime Corner began life quietly on another platform back in 2014.  That was back before I was doing Top 5 Wednesdays so, ergo, I never did a Top 5 list for my very first year of titles I looked at.  Well with the 10^th Anniversary only a couple of days away, there’s not better way for T5W to commemorate the event with a look back to the beginnings of this blog.  Dear Readers, I present to you my 450^th Top 5 Wednesday, the Top 5 Best Titles Ive Reviewed in 2014.

 
#5-Summer Wars

Summer Wars is a very special movie to me for a number of personal reasons.  Even without those cryptic supports, it’s still a very well done Anime…which is even more amazing considering it’s a redone and bettered version of one of the older Digimon movies.  A great virtual world concept and the action within never overshadows the very human comedy and drama surrounding Kenji Koizo and the enoroumously lovable Jinnouchi clan.  And that one scene, where all seems lost and then one little boy appears to spark a much needed breath of hope, still moves me to tears every time.  This was the first Anime I reviewed that earned a score of 10/10 at the Gundam Anime Corner and still stands as probably my all time favorite Anime film (alongside Akira and Your Name)…so yeah it’s pretty damn good.

 
#4-Black Lagoon

For a show about bullets, blood, money and girls, Black Lagoon is wayyyy more deeper than I think anyone would expect.  The show accomplishes a brilliant but rare to pull of mix of stylish action and cereberal character studies.  Revy is one of the hottest and deadliest femme fatales in all of Anime and her relationship with Rock opens doors both characters never thought they wanted to open (for better or worse).  Plus the action…oh my God is this show is truly freaking awesome in that department.  Mercenaries, Nazi’s, killer maids, if it can be shot at you know Revy’s gonna try to do so.  And yeah, the one sided Nazi Hunt episode stands as one of my absolute favorite episodes in all of Anime PERIOD!!!

 
 #3-Eden of the East

This is where the Gundam Anime Corner began, the first series I ever reviewed and it stands as a very underrated gem in the world of Anime.  Political intrigue mixed with a cyberthriller vibe and some unexpected comedy, Eden of the East is a very different beast compared to Kenji Kamiyama’s more series work, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.  While the movies might have been a strange way to conclude the overall story, the original 11 episode Anime is a rapid fire thrill ride that is an easy and fun binge trip.  If you’ve never seen this one, I highly recommend it...The King of Eden and Paradise Lost I think are optional if you want the complete tale though I think the TV Series’ more ambiguous ending works far better.

 
#2-Cowboy Bebop

What else can be said about this one that hasn’t been said already?  Cowboy Bebop is one of the greatest Anime of all time.  It’s accessible to non Otaku; has a flawless blend of scifi and adult storytelling; features timeless characters like the King of Cool Spike Spiegel and the hottest of the classic Waifu’s Faye Valentine; epic action and the soundtrack that showed the world Yoko Kanno is Queen of the Anime OST’s.  Cowboy Bebop is a 26 episode thrill ride that everyone should experience at least once in their lives, whether theyre Otaku or just a casual viewer.  This, simply put, is an Anime for everyone.
 

#1-Neon Genesis Evangelion (Plus Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion)

Watching Evangelion for review led to me bonding with this show far greater than I ever had in the past.  Typing out my thoughts on the fragile psychies of Shinji, Asuka, Rei and Misato, looking deeper into the complexities of the plot and character relationships, doing a deep dive of the infamous directors cut episodes, and making an ultimate judgement call on the TV Series controversial ending, I was watching Evangelion in a brand new light this time around and I loved it.  My one regret is that I didn’t rate The End of Evangelion higher than a 7.5 when it rightfully deserves a 9.5 as it sometimes overshadowed the greatness of the TV Series.  I’m anxious to see this legendary Anime and it’s film companions arrive on Netflix and see how a whole new generation of Anime fans embraces this classic that, like Bebop, stands the test of time as one of the greatest Anime sagas of all time.