For many, there will never be a better way to experience a story than reading a book. There’s something that happens on such a personal level that moves the reader and invites them and only them to explore the world within the pages. There’s another way, however, that can be just as personal and contemplative. Despite it being an audiovisual medium, stories in anime are rarely ever explored in the same way that live-action films and series do.
Unlike books, anime can engage with multiple senses at once. Anime’s vivid animation turns every frame into a work of art, and superb voice acting powerfully brings complex character arcs to life. The best anime don’t just tell a story; they make the viewer fully experience it. While there are plenty of anime releases every year, there are bound to be some that are worse than others. The best of the best, however, will no doubt make book readers abandon their pages and turn to the silver screen instead.
5 Cowboy Bebop is a Sci-Fi Anime Staple That Never Gets Old
Трансляция на Crunchyroll
Ковбой Бибоп changes the game by masterfully fusing elements of Westerns, film noir and science fiction. By doing so, the anime creates a one-of-a-kind storytelling experience that pushes beyond the medium’s boundaries. The anime stars a bounty-hunting crew who take on jobs simply for money. Each member aboard the Bebop has their own dark past they’re grappling with, from Edward being abandoned at an orphanage to Spike Spiegel’s ties to his love Julia and former ally Vicious.
The Bebop’s crew aren’t idealized heroes fighting for the greater good, but a group of outcasts trying to make ends meet and find their place in the world. They can never go back to the place they were before, so the only place they can look is ahead to the future. The anime delves deeply into the backstories and psyche of its main characters, making them some of the most fleshed-out characters not just in anime, but literature.
Ковбой Бибоп works so well, not because of otherworldly wonders, but because the characters are so down-to-earth and unabashedly human in the fantastical imagination of outer space. They don’t need to be special space magic-wielding heroes to make a difference. They’re ordinary souls who’ve been dealt a bad hand by life. Despite this, they’re determined to overcome the obstacles life has placed before them or go out with a bang trying.
4 Your Lie in April Rivals the Most Tragic Love Stories That Books Can Offer
Трансляция на Crunchyroll
Ваша ложь в апреле intricately explores themes of love, loss, and coming-of-age, delivering an emotionally resonant story that deeply connects with its viewers. There’s a reason anime fans return to this series every year in April. Ваша ложь в апреле stars Kosei Arima, a brilliant pianist, who, after the death of his overbearing and abusive mother, builds a creative wall and quits music all together. His strict attitude comes in stark contrast to the free-spirited violinist Kaori Miyazono.
Kaori may be full of life with music, but she’s been worn down from illnesses that stifle even her passionate flame. While Kosei wants to become the structured accompanist to the life and energy Kaori puts into playing violin, he continues to struggle with his mental chains. Across the season, Kaori and Kosei slowly grow closer as the anime’s slow-burn romance blooms, only to shatter viewers’ hearts as the series comes to a close.
Ваша ложь в апреле seamlessly weaves classical music into its story and uses the performances to delve deeper into the characters’ psyche. It is exactly that bold narrative choice that makes Ваша ложь в апреле a powerful experience. The anime’s cinematic qualities, accompanied by its score, create this masterful symphonic narrative that is impossible to replicate in a novel.
3 Violet Evergarden is One of the Best Romance Anime of all Time
Потоковое на Netflix
Фиолетовый Эвергард is a powerful anime character study starring one of the most layered female protagonists in the entire medium. While the series has an overarching narrative journey, each episode is a self-contained story that gives Violet a chance to further explore humanity and, more importantly, different aspects of love. No anime gives so much attention to its side characters as much as Фиолетовый Эвергард does, and that’s what makes the anime series so special.
While Violet is the protagonist, she is an android, and thus almost like a blank slate that the audience explores the world through. Her journey from an emotionless soldier with PTSD to someone who fully understands and can convey human emotions makes the anime timeless. Violet takes on a job as an Auto Memory Doll with CH Postal Company. There she finds clients to write letters for and those letters become the key to Violet connecting with others in a way she never could before.
Другой аспект Фиолетовый Эвергард that stands out is the anime’s high production value. There’s so much attention to detail that the anime uses more close-ups than any other in the medium. The narrative rivals classic romance novels that sweep the reader off of their feet, and does so with flying colors. Forget Wuthering Heights, Фиолетовый Эвергард will forever reign supreme.
2 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Has Some of the Richest Lore Anime Has to Offer
Трансляция на Crunchyroll
Стальной Алхимик: Братство is the heartfelt story of two brothers trying to regain what was lost. Edward and Alphonse Elric were young boys when they used forbidden taboo alchemy to bring their mother back from the dead, but that mistake cost them everything. Edward lost an arm and a leg, while Alphonse lost his entire body. The Elric brothers seek answers and the Philosopher’s Stone, while getting caught up in politics and war.
The anime constructs a fully realized, unique world with internally consistent rules that have real consequences. Стальной Алхимик: Братство‘s magic system is one of the most solid in anime and lays the foundation for its story. The lore behind alchemy, and the political intrigue that slithers its way throughout the series, make Amestris feel like a living, breathing world. Стальной Алхимик: Братство excellently balances its heartfelt moments with action-packed fights and plenty of humor.
The reason this anime rose in popularity and acclaim is because of how faithful the anime adaptation is to the original source material. Hollywood should take notes. The anime follows the manga’s complete arc and honors the storylines and characters by giving them the attention and time they need. Стальной Алхимик: Братство also delivers the most complex and layered villains in all anime. From the tragic homunculi to Father’s god-complex, each antagonist has a distinct philosophy and depth, rivalling any villains in modern literature.
1 Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Rose to Critical Acclaim & For Good Reason
Трансляция на Crunchyroll
While only having one season, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End had a clear impact not just on anime fans but on the entire industry. The story alone flips the traditional fantasy formula of the hero’s journey by starting the narrative after the return home. The series asks: «What happens to the heroes after they defeat the Demon King,» a question very similar to the one that George R.R. Martin asked himself before writing Игра престолов. For Martin, it was, «What happened in the years of Aragorn’s rule at the end of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings?
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End thoughtfully and intentionally explores themes of time and mortality through the eyes of an elf. By placing Frieren as the protagonist, the series contemplates the importance of connection, and how different and more valuable time is for those who aren’t immortal. Through her newfound relationship with her apprentice Fern and their warrior companion Stark, Frieren slowly learns and understands the beauty in the mundane.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End also offers an element that isn’t found in most new-gen anime. The series has a cozy tone and calm atmosphere. There are moments of silence that allow the viewer to contemplate along with the characters. The narrative is perfect for fans of Tolkien’s work as it is rich with themes of hope, friendship, and love. The anime has received widespread critical acclaim, with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. If there was one anime that would make readers forget all about books, there’s no doubt that Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End would be the one to do so.
