I have watched so many animated series and movies, read so many manga and comic books, enjoyed and hated countless CD’s, played an enormous number of video games, commented on so many different wrestling federations, seen so many live action imports and made so many asinine comments that I felt it was time to let the fans know exactly what I thought the best and worst were in so many different categories. This list is not reflective upon YBFREE.com as a whole, because my partner has her own favorites, but I do invite her and the readers to voice their own picks. This issue, I look at anime. Let me know what you think.

     Best Anime Movie: Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust: You can't top this movie. I keep watching it over and over again and I still want to see it more. A troubled hero and a likeable villian really made for one of the most all-out entertaining animated movies I have ever seen right down to the best supporting characters ever in anime history. This movie rocked and still stands up against everything else out there.

     Best Action/Drama Anime: Berserk: This is my favorite anime overall. With such a wonderful story from start to finish, never missing a beat, featuring characters that are memorable and real, with intense action, awesome animation, a kick ass soundtrack and so many wonderful plot points, it was hard not to love this anime. The ending pissed me off because the series basically ended unresolved. There needs to be another series created for fans of Berserk to enjoy.

     Best Mecha Anime: PatLabor: This series is not just about a girl and her robot. A story that could appeal to all anime fans, PatLabor is funny, action packed and creative. The series nicely mesh political espionage and police drama, combining them with elements of science fiction, comedy and the supernatural without messing anything up. You could like Evangelion all you want, but this tale is more heartwarming, character intensive and enjoyable, straightforward with an end that is not confusing and unlikable as Evangelion was.

     Best Shojo Anime: Real Bout High School: Samurai Girl: I am not afraid to admit to liking this tale about an empowered female, Ryoko, trying to become a samurai while looking for love and acceptance. Complete with a wacky high school atmosphere that encourages and grades students by their fights with their classmates and a supernatural world that is identically unique, Real Bout High School: Samurai Girl, to its core, is as real as any high school drama or comedy out there. You can not help but relate to the character interactions, the awkwardness among classmates, the problems students face struggling with popularity and the search everyone goes through to discover their own identity. Check it out for yourself.

     Best Comedy Anime: GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka: This tale is consistently funny and has been discovered by the people of Showtime, making its debut to a wider audience this November on cable. Hey, only in anime can a pedophile become hero. The teachers from Dangerous Minds and Substitute Teacher have nothing on this guy.

     Most Promising Anime Series: Ninja Scroll: the Series: I am so pumped about this one! I can’t wait to see the next installment. This show just kicks ass and shows no signs of slowing down. Based on the hugely popular movie of the same name, this series attempts to up the ante with more bad guys, more action and a great storyline. Jubei rules. If you like kick ass fights, villains with cool abilities, a pumping soundtrack and an adrenaline rush of action, this tale is for you.

     Living Legend: Dragon Ball Z: How can this tale not make my list? It has paved the way for anime to come into America. How many shows made it to the Cartoon Network based on the strengths of the Dragon Ball franchise? The legendary series had it all from lighthearted moments, to high drama and from slapstick comedy to hard hitting action. The Dragon Ball franchise boasts the best lineup of heroes and villains of any anime and is the longest running anime series to hit the United States with popularity continuing to soar as new episodes continue to show up on our televisions despite the series ending in Japan long ago. Rumors of a show titled Dragon Ball AF coming in the future have been swirling, but are unfounded. Fans are still crossing their fingers with sites dedicated to the subject. At least we have new games coming out based on the series for us to enjoy. Dragon Ball is one anime that will never go away.

     Best Anime Character besides Goku: Guts from Berserk: No other anime character has elicited so much emotion from me. Guts’ search for a purpose leads him into a battle for honor and respect. He doesn’t see what is right in front of him until it is too late and all that he loves is taken from him. This tragic hero deserves another great story. Even in the videogame, he rocks!

     Best U.S. Animated Series: The New He-Man: The Masters of the Universe: The new show rocks and brings memories back from the old series I enjoyed as a kid. It captures the feel of the old series, while taking hints from anime and other new twists that make each episode one to remember. I can’t wait for new episodes and hopefully an appearance by a certain popular sister. Plus, the toys are pretty cool.

     Best U.S. Animated Series of Old: Gi-Joe: A Real American Hero: They need to bring this back and not ruin it the way they did with a certain CGI movie that was shown on the Cartoon Network. This cartoon had great action and like Dragon Ball Z, had some of the best characters ever featured in a cartoon. Each episode was a lot of fun and was a rollercoaster ride of adrenaline. Even still, the show had untapped potential with more serious storylines that could have kept the show on for many more years. Instead, someone brought it back and made it for the stupid generation of kids who need social promotion to get through their school years.

     Best Anime Company: TOKYOPOP/Urban Vision: I applaud TOKYOPOP for taking the risk and bringing some great anime to our shores. GTO and Real Bout High School are two favorites of mine that I may have never tried if it was not for TOKYOPOP asking me to review the first episodes of each series. Initial D also looks to be very promising. Urban Vision, on the other hand, is very picky with what shows they release and thankfully so. I always say you get the very best from Urban Vision and we have been treated to classics, like Vampire Hunter D and its sequel Bloodlust, the Golgo 13 series, Cockpit, Petshop of Horrors, Gatchaman, Tekkaman and the newest series, Ninja Scroll. Slammin' Sammy was a break from the norm and a risk that worked to bring educational animation to our nation’s youth. Thank you.

     Anime I Most Want to See: Trigun/Cowboy Bebop: I never get a chance to catch too many episodes of either series, but from what I have seen, I am intrigued and looking forward to finding the time to sit back, relax and enjoy.

     Best Anime Director: Satoshi Kon: This guy never makes a bad film. Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress and Tokyo Godfathers were anime movies that could have easily been live action films. They could easily stack up with any major movie release. The themes of each film were real, touching, dramatic, intense, prophetic and worth watching again and again. If a film could make you forget it’s animated, it deserves all the credit it can get. I will never forget the emotion I felt while three homeless people take care of an abandoned child and risked their lives to see it safely returned to its mother. I will never forget the intensity of the Perfect Blue thriller or the amazing storytelling of the Millennium Actress. These are epic films and I await Kon’s next offering. Maybe I will see it at next year’s Big Apple Anime Festival?

     Best Anime Concept: .hack Saga: This was a great way to get new fans into anime, manga and/or video games. By tying the three mediums together to present one amazing tale of an online gaming world and the people playing within it, we were sucked in, trying new things and becoming a part of the World depicted before us. Each medium featured something different with the anime tale very dramatic; the manga a lot more fun and the game filled with even more action than the previous two mediums combined. If you haven’t checked it out, now is the time to do so.

     Best Anime Soundtrack: .hack//SIGN: I really liked the Berserk soundtrack, but overall, I am going to have to say .hack//SIGN's soundtrack is the best. Obsession is the greatest beginning song ever and it is still in my head as I type this. The rest of the songs are just as catchy and unique. Berserk and Ninja Scroll get honorable mention.

     Worst Anime: Too many: Just because it is from Japan, does not make it good. Manga’s Angel Cop proved that to me. Even Jin-Roh was not as good as all the hype surrounding it and neither was Ghost in the Shell. I fell asleep through many movie.

     Best Hentai: Mystery of the Necronomicon: This tale sure had a lot of sex for no reason, but what amazed me was that it also was very high on story, featuring a real mystery that I could not solve until the end of the first tape and was shocked by its ending and the promise of more to follow. This was very entertaining and a perfect anime for us adults. Night Shift Nurses was good at creating a dark world, but it was very twisted and was just there to give us new ways of torturing women through sex. La Blue Girl was just stupid and funny for all the wrong reasons. Mystery of the Necronomicon held my interest and I even went out to buy the sequel.

     Thank you: Fansubbers: Without them, we wouldn’t know many of the titles existed in the first place. They brought us titles that many U.S. companies were afraid to touch and they might have been bootlegs and illegal, but without them, those same companies would not have discovered just how popular various anime was and just how important uncut anime was to fans. The practice helped make a lot of these companies a great deal of money.

     Best New Innovations: Anime on Demand, Complete Series and Free Giveaways: The new cable channel Anime on Demand costs only $6.95 a month (through Cablevisions, IO Cable service) and features a great number of anime titles for fans to watch for a limited time. If you like it, you may buy the series, which helps the companies put out even more anime for you thirsty fans. It’s a great way to allow fans to sample shows and a great way for companies to see exactly what the fans want to see. If you already own a great series, you may want to shell out a few extra dollars to buy a great new innovation called the complete series, which compiles 26 episodes on six to eight DVDs onto three DVDs and puts them into a space saving, nice looking, convenient package. It may or may not be legal and I probably won’t take part in the practice, but it could change the way companies release titles. Fans want it all right away. Finally, I received a DVD catalog from Media Blasters and noticed that they had a plethora of trailers for many great anime titles and, get this, two anime episodes to give fans an opportunity to screen anime they may have never thought of buying. Give them some so they buy a lot. Good idea.

     Send your comments and or questions to JMinners@ybfree.com.

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