Top 15 Studio DEEN TV Shows

digitalboy brings chii back from the dead with a studio post! I first saw his J.C. Staff post and encouraged him to do more saying that I would do so as well. Well here we are! I personally love lists to no end and when they pop up on blogs I can't help but to read. Even if I don't agree with it I'll still read it and be greatly entertained. The only thing I don't like about some lists is having to order them. Making them is the easy part but putting them in order from favourite to least favourite? Ick! That takes a lot of brain power and heartache in some cases.

Studio DEEN has a lot of my top 100 favourites and a lot of favourites that just didn't fit on a top 100 list! Sure some of their stuff isn't all that pretty to look at but honestly that doesn't bother me. Ironically I'm not an animation snob that one might associate with an anime fan. Anime being animation and all and generally that's what is suppose to really impress people, with how pretty it looks. I just want great stories and a decent enough ending. I want to be entertained to the max and honestly all these shows have done so for me in one way or another. Some even don't look that bad!

Consisting of 3 series, the first one being the longest at 51 glorious episodes. 6 ova's and specials and I can't only hope that there will be more someday! I really should pick up the manga someday. I can't get enough of this wacky police force. The chicks in it are total bad asses and their male counterparts match them quite well. It's another one of those adult slice of life series that I just can't get enough of!

We have 2 amazing series plus a bunch of OVA's (one coming this summer YAY) what more could I ask for? Great mystery and just the right amount of cute girls messing around in blood.

6 lovely normal everyday girls living out their very normal lives are about to be touched by the Diamond Dust tale. "When the moisture in the air freezes on a chilly day, the air seems to sparkle and shimmer. It is said that to see the diamond dust in its glory means that lovers will stay together forever, friendships will flourish, and dreams will be realized." Each story was rather touching and is just pure awesome. This is not generally an anime that people would peg me to enjoy but it's one of the best I've ever seen.

I like personified countries what can I say? It's super funny too and only 5 minute episodes. I love short series like this! I own mini figurines of 9 characters thanks to my boyfriend as an awesome birthday gift 2 years ago! This series is awesome. Go Canada XD

The best yuri toned anime by far. (As long as I don't count Puni Puni Poemy anyway) More thoughts here. I've since re-rated this anime 9/10 despite what my review says.

Umineko follows Higurashi with more twists and turns in a wonderful kind of mysterious way. It also pushes me closer and closer to actually playing the VN's but I will probably just end up waiting for a Season 2 of it instead. It will happen since that seems to be what DEEN is oh so good at!

Jointed with Studio Gallop, Studio DEEN actually did the "crappy" part of the series but did the amazing OVA's that everyone loves so much. I personally enjoyed even the filler part of Kenshin that they were part of. I enjoyed Trust & Betrayal alright but not to the extent that most others have. Still a great samurai story and worth the watch. Very excited about the upcoming new series attached to this wonderful franchise.

Everyone has fond memories of their first of anything. Sometimes anyway lol... Gravitation was my first yaoi series and honestly I know it's really not that great but I've watched it about 5+ times now and I can easily say that nostalgia just won't let me let go of this series. The music is crappy but the drama between those 2 boys is just something else. Not to mention all the other boys in the show! Oh yaoi!

First yaoi followed by one of the best yaoi I've ever seen. I can't really explain WHY I enjoyed it as much as I did but well yeah, chii has a BL fangirl inside her that sometimes (rarely actually) escapes~

Ok I know most people actually really dislike this series but I was highly entertained by it through and through. The complaints from it I believe were that it didn't live up to the manga (snort) but since I don't generally read manga I was perfectly ok with how things turned out in the end. I mean really, 2 souls in one body? I'll say awesome to that!

One of my first blind anime purchases and I was not disappointed. I really need to re-watch it actually as it's been 10 years now since I last watched it. I should watch the series that comes after the OVA but well something just keeps stopping me from doing so.

I first watched this series with my best friend then continued it with a past boyfriend to finish it off. Everything about it just makes me remember the "good old days" and I'd love to sit down again someday and watch it again. I'd turn into a lesbian for Shampoo.

I've actually only seen Season 1 of this series so it may move up in this list a lot once I do. But the first season was highly enjoyable and I actually plan on blogging it soon. (lol I always say this but I seriously will) I love supernatural shows like this and Ai is a delightful tragic girl that I enjoy watching oh so much.

Cheesy but fun. And honestly "Archer" is dead sexy. The Unlimited Blade Works rekindled my love for the series. But I wouldn't really recommend watching UBW before you watch the series.

"For a fee, they will recover any lost or stolen item for a client with "a 100% success rate". That cockiness is what makes me love these 2 men so much. They have awesome superpowers and end up fighting a total awesome bad dude that seriously kicks ass for a baddie.

Other fun information

DEEN shows that I've watched that are awesome too but missed the list: Groove Adventure Rave, Amatsuki, Giant Killing, Nurarihyon no Mago, and Kore wa Zombie desu ka?

DEEN shows I still have to watch that will make this list a top 20 list eventually: Maison Ikkoku, Kyo Kara Maoh, Zipang, Eat-Man, and Touka Gettan

DEEN shows I still have to watch but have NO interest in actually watching them anytime soon: Princess Princess, Amaenaideyo, Shining Tears X Wind, Suteki Tantei Labyrinth, Vampire Knight, and Zenki

DEEN shows I simply can't stand: King of Bandit Jing, Mouse, Seitokai no Ichizon, Full Moon wo Sagashite, Yumeria, and Twilight Q (All are actually on my top 100 hate list)

DEEN shows I was really disappointed by: Shion no Oh, Fruits Basket, Maria-sama, Hatenkou Yuugi, and Code E/Mission E

Angel's Egg is a stand alone movie that DEEN did that is one of the best and most spectacular anime movies I've watched. If I included it in my top list above by joining Umineko with Higurashi (technically I could) it would take spot #6 easily.

More studio lists to come! Up next J.C. Staff! (because everyone else has one already LOL)

chii Finally Made One!

Favourites are a great thing. What makes these shows mine is that I think about them very often when I'm thinking about anime and wish to watch them more than once. Some of them I've already watched 5+ times. To be a favourite they also must be entertaining as a whole series. So if they have season 2's or more, I should have loved them just as much as their season one. Everything on the list below applies! I've been meaning to make this kind of list for many years now and I've finally sat down and mulled through all my anime titles and picked these 100 to be my absolute favourites.

Like digitalboy I'll be updating this list regularly from now on but not once a month. I will only update when I feel an anime has stood up to my standards to break into this 100 anime list. I will keep a list at the bottom of this page which of which anime has moved in and which it has kicked out. I doubt that it'll happen very often but time will tell. Check out my Does Not Want List for a taste of my dislikes.

1. Legend of the Galactic Heroes

2. Fullmetal Alchemist

3. Full Metal Panic!

4. Hikaru no Go

5. Macross Plus

6. Romance of the Three Kingdoms

7. Jyu Oh Sei

8. Baccano!

9. Ristorante Paradiso

10. Infinite Ryvius

11. Mushishi

12. Princess Mononoke

13. Serial Experiments Lain

14. Ninja Scroll

15. Berserk

16. Super Dimensional Fortress Macross

17. Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory

18. Strawberry Marshmallow

19. Hi no Tori

20. Nasu: Summer in Andalusia

21. Gintama

22. Neon Genesis Evangelion

23. Koi Kaze

24. Oseam

25. Rose of Versailles

26. You're Under Arrest!

27. Durarara!!

28. Kare Kano

29. Kita e ~Diamond Dust Drops~

30. Twelve Kingdoms

31. Kemono no Souja Erin

32. Cowboy Bebop

33. Crest of the Stars / Banner of the Stars

34. Mobile Suit Gundam 00

35. Himitsu: The Revelation

36. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni / Umineko no Naku Koro ni

37. 3 x 3 Eyes

38. Whisper of the Heart

39. Honey and Clover

40. Now and Then, Here and There

41. Katanagatari

42. Kurenai

43. s-CRY-ed

44. D.Gray-man

45. Hunter X Hunter

46. Yakitate!! Japan

47. Detroit Metal City

48. Battle Angel Alita

49. Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo

50. Last Exile

51. Turn A Gundam

52. Guin Saga

53. Blue Submarine No. 6

54. Haibane Renmei

55. Astro Fighter Sunred AKA Tentai Senshi Sunred

56. One Piece

57. Detective Conan

58. Kara no Kyoukai - The Garden of Sinners

59. Bokurano

60. Claymore

61. House of Five Leaves AKA Sarai-ya Goyou

62. Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo

63. Chobits

64. Vandread

65. Hotori: Tada Saiwai o Koinegau

66. Tytania

67. Heroic Age

68. Dirty Pair

69. Millennium Actress

70. Neko Rahmen

71. Kuruneko

72. Kuragehime

73. Puni Puni Poemy

74. Excel Saga

75. Arakawa Under the Bridge

76. Giant Robo

77. Dominion Tank Police

78. Canaan

79. Antique Bakery

80. Tokyo Godfathers

81. Iria: Zeiram The Animation

82. Nodame Cantabile

83. Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind

84. Grave of the Fireflies

85. Trigun

86. Alien Nine

87. Gunbuster

88. Texhnolyze

89. Rurouni Kenshin

90. Patlabor: The Mobile Police

91. Junjou Romantica

92. Ryofuko-chan

93. Gravitation

94. Gungrave

95. Sora no Otoshimono

96. Video Girl AI

97. Simoun

98. Shangri-La

99. .hack//SIGN

100. X: The Movie

Simoun

This one was a surprise win for me. I'm generally not a big fan of the yuri anime genre because they are typically ALL the same. Simoun stands out among these yuri titles proudly. Sadly I think a lot of people would (and have) overlook this amazing title just because of the yuri tag. I will admit that is one of the reasons I stalled on picking this up till now. It's not that I don't like yuri titles... I just get bored with them because they are pretty boring for the most part. This one turned out very well becoming my second favourite yuri title.

The series takes place on a fictional world called Daikuuriku. War breaks out on this planet and the Sibylla Simoun pilot's must fight to end it.

Simoun are these crazy aircrafts that look very much like something you would find in a steampunk work. Which instantly made me think of Last Exile since I have just watched recently. The ships basically look like flying motorcycles that have two cockpits because it takes two girls to run it. It's powered by this green glowing orb in the middle of the cockpits that the girls first kiss each other then the orb. This alone is pretty funny. But it never takes away from the seriousness of the show. Granted when they go through 5 Simoun riders in a row smooching it does take the seriousness away a tiny little bit.

I really loved the choose your own gender idea. All are born female and develop as girls until they turn 17, when this happens they choose a permanent sex by going to the Spring. Sibylla are the girls that are allowed to fly the Simoun because they have not yet chosen a permanent sex and are allowed to fly as long as they don't choose.

Both animation and the soundtrack were stunning. Sometimes when anime flip flop between animation and still colour pictures it doesn't work out so well and throws the viewer off. But this anime pulled it off beautifully. I loved the soundtrack. Every track was so unique and really made you feel something. My only complaint about the music would be it was used in a lot of scenes that didn't quite fit what was happening. Wonderful songs just put in the wrong places at the wrong times. The all girl cast of Voice Actresses was REALLY strange. At first I thought there were no men in the show but eventually figured it out with some asking around just what was going on. Half of the time I couldn't figure out if what I thought was a male really was one. The voices on the older people were very hard to take seriously. Let alone how they looked. Some males would be wearing pearl ear rings on both ears for crying out loud!

The characters aside from the voice issues were really well done. Sure there were your annoying parts to some of the characters but those were pretty small. Something that really ticked me off was the constant bickering over Neviril because she was the best and everyone wanted to be chosen by her to be her "pair". It took her 8 episodes before she finally decided on one and it wasn't until the very last minute of the episode. Once they got that out of the way the plot was focused on much much more. Which made me super happy. This I consider the typical yuri part of the show which would be my only real complaint about the pacing. There's always girls battling over each other for something that is the best. Weather it be like in Maria-Sama (choosing of their petite soeur's) or in Strawberry Panic (choosing of the next Etoile), it's a very cliche part of the genre which I can't stand. One more thing that drove me a little crazy was their lips. Such a strange thing to bother me but they were so big and plump and exaggerated with lipstick, especially on Neviril.

Every character in this show was real. They learned and made mistakes. No one was afraid to show emotion no matter how bad ass they thought they were. I can't really choose a favourite easily and I certainly didn't hate any of them. They were all good and bad in their own way which added to the show perfectly. If I did have to pick a favourite it would be Mamina. Go check out her 365 days of anime characters entry here.

Overall I would urge people to watch this show. Do not pass it up simply because it has a yuri tag and a slow first few episodes.

* Story 8/10
* Animation 8/10
* Sound 8/10
* Characters 8/10
* Overall 8/10

365 Days of Anime Characters: Day 10/365 Mamina

Day 10/365

From the anime Simoun, Mamina is a very skilled sibylla pilot that wants nothing more than to be paired with Neviril, whom is known as the best sibylla pilot.

Why I like her: Determined to get what she wants no matter how hard she has to work to get it. She stood up to fight when none of the others would.

Why I hate her: Her snooty personality was a tad annoying. The way she treated Rodoreamon just because of class difference really bothered me as well. Rodoreamon was a sweet girl that just wanted to be Mamina's friend.

Overall: Mamina ended up being a very moving character not only for me but for her cast members. She effected them all in a way that was super touching and very well done. Do not watch the video below if you have not seen this show. There be spoilers!