We all have ways of decompressing from the current dystopian reality, and one of ours is rewatching favorite anime. I know, I know — it’s easy to assume that ‘anime’ means interminable sagas about gotta-catch-em-all marketing tie-ins, space opera ultraviolence, or softcore porn for extremely niche targets. But that’s like judging ‘American books’ by what’s available at an airport book stall!
Here’s a handful of my personal favorites, variously available through Amazon Prime, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, and probably many other streaming services I don’t know (not to mention your local library). All of them are (mostly) non-violent, non-erotic (although frequently romantic!), and perhaps most importantly short. A 13-arc series of 23-minute episodes is approximately five hours of viewing, less than many mini-series… and you can usually tell by the end of the first episode whether a particular series is worth your time watching it. Also note the original broadcast dates in parentheses next to each title; in the older ones, some of the details are inevitably outdated, but the fact they’re still popular enough to be circulating is a testament to their worth.
Princess Tutu (2002)
Okay, this one is actually 26 episodes… but it breaks neatly into two parts, if that’s as much as you can stand. One of a kind is always special, Terry Pratchett would say — and I believe Sir Terry would’ve appreciated this completely individual saga based (very loosely) on Middle European folk tales as filtered through classical ballet. Gold Crown Town has been trapped in its bubble of magical realism ever since the inhabitants turned against an uncannily gifted author whose stories came true, but never happily ever after. There is a Sailor-Moon-style magical girl, with the inevitable power duels are settled with classical pas de deuxes. There is broad Harry-Potteresque classic-English-boarding-school-but-with-magic humor, and adolescent love triangles that turn into quadrangles and back again. And there is the overarching warning that all writers are bastards, and some of them are monsters. (Warning: Despite the ‘cute’ animation style, the second season in particular is rather too disturbing for young children.)
Princess Nine (1998)
Missing the boys of summer? High-school baseball is to Japan what high-school football is to Texas… if the annual football playoffs were on national television. Japan’s most powerful (and imperious) female CEO has decreed that female students should have the chance to compete against their male counterparts, and Ryo Hayakawa — inheritor of her late father’s renowned Miracle Pitch — is the keystone of that extremely ambitious plan. There’s plenty of teen drama, but also (I am informed by someone better equipped to judge) a decent introduction to besobaru. (Or you could hate-watch, to find out how badly I have been misled!)
Twin Spica (2003)
If you have fond memories of Robert Heinlein’s early young-adult novels, this one’s for you. Japan’s first space launch goes horribly awry, but little Asumi’s personal tragedy that day eventually leads her to a mysterious ‘guardian’ who will help her train for her dreams of becoming a ‘rocket pilot’. When an academy for (adolescent) potential astronauts is finally rebooted, Asumi and her new classmates win highly coveted slots… but can a girl (and a tiny little 4’9″ girl, at that) really aspire to astronaut status? Yet Asumi is so certain, so focused on her goal (like a good Heinlein hero) that even her ‘enemies’ can’t help but root for her…
Pop Culture Open Thread: Anime Suggestions for LockdownPost + Comments (166)