Anime of the Decade – Part 4: Filipino Perspectives

Image source: Wikipilipinas

In the prior installments of this "Anime of the Decade" feature, I've covered the diverse and surprising opinions on the best anime shows of the decade, and I've talked about shows that were one of the seemingly "most acclaimed" shows of the decade (and those that at least merit an honorable mention). But most of the lists I surveyed were not written by Filipinos, and I was interested in finding out what local anime fans thought of the shows which the rest of the Internet seems to adore, as well as their own favorites from the past ten years. In this final installment, I'' share what two of them had to say:

ROCHELLE DUMLAO runs Magnetic Rose, one of the--if not the--most popular Filipino-run anime blogs on the Internet. She also writes for the MTV Asia Gadgets and Games Blog:

On the "Best Of" lists: Personally, I noticed that too many "Top Ten" or "Best of" lists were skewed in favor of shows that had a strong auteur-istic (if that's even a word) streak – as if the list-makers were trying to prove to other fans that they were intellectually superior, and deliberately left popular (populist?) titles like Naruto, Bleach, and Pokemon off their line-ups.

On Other Absent Big Names: Also surprisingly off many lists are: K-on! – a slice-of-life school anime which has inspired a level of fanaticism that could only be described as a "one-band stimulus package", and Macross Frontier – the newest incarnation of Kawamori Shouji's seminal fighter-pilots-and-idol-singers mecha anime. I sadly echo Japanator's regrets that the show will never see widespread licensing outside of Japan, no thanks to Robotech and Harmony Gold.

On Death Note: Although not one of the best ever – not by a long shot (the series jumped the shark after the death of [redacted due to an old, yet still important, spoiler]) – pundits can't deny the fact that Death Note was one of the most influential anime of the previous decade. Having a real-life cult put together to worship the fictional godhead Kira, as well as having a series of copycat crimes committed in its wake, should've cemented it in the annals of anime history.

Yes – we do have to suffer the fate of too many annoying cosplayers putting too little effort in their Death Note cosplays, but anime fans should never forget the fact that before the onslaught of obese L's, pimply Raito's, and trashy Misa's , Death Note was pretty damn cool.

On Code Geass: Solid storytelling aside, Code Geass enjoyed a leg up at the ratings game when the producers hired shoujo mangaka and BL-fodder feeders CLAMP to do their character designs. They already had the mecha fans on their side at the word "mecha", but with this move they made significant headway with the XX side of the fandom. They must've been taking notes when Gundam Seed was rolling in fan dough forked over by their adoring female followers.

On Her Favorites: Since movies were left off many lists, my own list will include several feature-length films. I will also be basing my criteria on three things: 1) production values; 2) storytelling; and 3) its influence on fan culture and the mainstream audience as whole. They are (in no particular order):

Tengen Toppa Gurren Laggan - 2008: Any show that gives rise to such internet memes as "Row Row Fight the Powah" and "My drill shall pierce the heavens!" deserves a place in animation history. More than just a show about oversized robots and miniscule bikini tops, TTGL is about the simple struggles of a young man trying to find his way to adulthood. Ridiculously funny and unexpectedly thought-provoking at the same time, TTGL is another classic from Gainax (the same studio that effed up the kids of the 90s with Shin Seiki Evangelion).
Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) - 2001: Spirited Away is a fairy tale for adults disguised as an animated film for children. Its rich imagery, exquisite production values, and nuanced storytelling make it brilliant for viewers of all ages. I also love the fact that it never talks down to children – Spirited Away relies on their innate sensitivity and unfettered intelligence to figure out the story on their own.
Millennium Actress (Sennen Joyuu) - 2001: For many fans, the quintessential Kon Satoshi film is Paprika or Tokyo Godfathers – but for me, Millennium Actress was the film that made me sit up and pay attention to the then up-and-coming animation director. It is a love story that spans an entire lifetime, and what makes it particularly poignant is the absence of a happy ending. A mesmerizing blend of reality and fantasy, Millennium Actress also casts a spotlight on the death of the classic film studio as an institution, and the sense of loss that accompanies it.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo) – 2006: Deceptively simple at first--a young girl discovers she has the power to twist time to suit her desires--the movie nevertheless spools off into the realm of both science fiction and philosophy by way of the temporal paradox. However, the single most compelling reason for me to place this film in my top five list, is Konno Makoto. She is a unique, strong-willed individual in a sea of awkward, self-loathing, damsel-in-distress female protagonists from a million other anime titles.
Macross Frontier - 2009: Giant mecha space opera with a spunky self-made diva (no, not Ranka) and a prettier-than-thou pilot princess, with lots of fan service and Easter eggs thrown in for good measure – what’s not to like?!

ERICA GONZALES is an anime fan and a published author whose speculative fiction stories have appeared in Philippine Speculative Fiction IV, Ruin and Resolve, and the Digest of Philippine Genre Stories. She blogs at livejournal.

You're mostly looking at American lists on American forums and blogs. They have different tastes out there, and there are big releases there that were not big releases in Southeast Asia (or were barely noticed when released on either Hero or Animax, due to a lack of word-of-mouth amongst non-Japanese Asian fans). This is true of Black Lagoon, Twelve Kingdoms, FLCL, Mushishi, Monster. For instance, Twelve Kingdoms and Monster were both on Hero but with such an unbearable Tagalog dub only a few people took notice. The others I cited were never aired on the anime channels, as far as I know.

Most Pinoys don't want to make lists because most only watch the shows which appeal to them, and not the whole spectrum of available anime. (Not that there is a lot available nowadays--despite the presence of Hero, Animax, and TV5, there is less anime than there used to be on local television.) For instance, I personally prefer science-fiction, thus I watch shows with this element, such as Gundam SEED , Gundam OO, Code Geass, Gurren Lagann, Samurai 7, Gankutsuou, .hack//sign, Time of Eve, Xam'd:Lost Memories. It's not the buzz that will draw me to the show but the presence of that element: one of my favorite shows is this semi-obscure, artsy, indie-ish thing called Texhnolyze (pronounced tek-no-laiz, from Serial Experiments Lain's Yoshitoshi ABe).

Of course, sometimes the quality of a show allows me to go beyond my usual genre: while I normally do not watch fantasy, I do like Fullmetal Alchemist--but that says something about its very solid writing, characterization, and world-building. I also like shows with lots of characters, as long as it's done right, such as in Ouran High School Host Club and Fruits Basket. And I'm a fangirl of the fangirl-magnet shonen series Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn.

Other popular shows are hit-or-miss: a slew of cute-girl series and game-based series flew by me, such as K-on!, Lucky Star, Shakugan no Shana, Fate/stay : Night. I liked Haruhi Suzumiya but did not think it was super-special. Supernatural shows are just not my thing, thus I passed on most of Blood+, much of Naruto, Jigoku Shoujo, Kuroshitsuji, Vampire Knight, Inuyasha, and Bleach.

My point is this: I watch only what I want to watch. If people like a show which I didn't, or which I never saw, that's fine with me. I think it's the same for most other Pinoys. My top 10 is not someone else's, and while I might compare notes with others, I don't think my own list is going to be objective/universal.

Here are my personal favorites from the decade, no particular order: