Ah, the good old favourites list. It’s a tradition as old as anime itself – perhaps older – but it hasn’t lost its significance over the years. Your Top 5 list is the first thing people will notice about you on MAL, aside from your profile picture and your total completions. It’s the first thing that comes up in conversation when you’re meeting up with your fellow otaku at a convention, and a good list might make the difference between a good first impression and an awful one.
However, contrary to popular belief, there is more to creating a Top 5 list than selecting your 5 favourite anime. In order for a list to be effective, you must consider several other factors, which include – but are not limited to – an anime’s critical reception, popular reception, and cultural significance.
Does that sound pointless to you? Are you silently thinking that a favourites list should be nothing more than a favourites list? Skepticism is understandable, but if you’re willing to bear with me for the next thousand words, we just might get to the bottom of this.
Now, it’s true that people are more likely to notice your #1 anime before your #5, but because of that, your first choice is of the utmost importance. Therefore, following the traditional list format, I’m going work my way up in reverse.
#5 – The Good-But-Not-Great
Your 5th favourite anime shouldn’t be a difficult choice to make. What you’re looking for is something that’s good – preferably something unique that pushes the boundaries of its genre – but ultimately falls short of being a true masterpiece. It might be awkward to place real masterpieces in this position because the fans of said shows are bound to ask why you placed it below a noticeably inferior story. Of course, the show should still be something that you’d rate a 10, but I’d advise you to steer clear of the big-name titles. A good example would be ef – a tale of memories: the show uses a distinctive visual style to tell its story, but it’s hindered by its visual novel roots and moe character designs. An acceptable excuse line of reasoning.
#4 – The Obscure Gem
Ah, obscurity. The word that makes the high-brow critics giddy with excitement. Nothing proves your experience and knowledge as an anime fan more than placing an obscure title in your favourites list. It proves that you have taste, and that you can see things that the average fan can’t.
However, there’s one major pitfall to the obscure gem tactic: how do you know that the show you picked is good? Certainly, many lesser-known anime can be better than they look, but how do they compare to the true legends of the medium? Can one honestly say that Earth Girl Arjuna is better than Ghost in the Shell? Obscure, artsy picks are great for the 4th position because they prove your intellect without forcing you to make claims that are difficult to back up.
#3 – The Classic
I don’t need to tell you that classics are a necessity in every Top 5 list. In every medium, there are a few gems of greatness that appeal to a wide audience while maintaining an above-average ability to convey their message, either intellectually or emotionally. These are the works of art that are praised across the culture, known to the youth in the following generation as a natural part of the universe. Romeo and Juliet are symbols, not characters; lightsaber is no longer a proper noun.
It is essential to pick one of these world-renowned classics as one of your favourites, even in the world of anime. Titles such as Cowboy Bebop and Grave of the Fireflies are a good starting point. They’re the kind of shows that every fan must watch and enjoy, because every fan in the previous generation has watched and enjoyed them. However, since you don’t want to risk sounding like a beginner to the medium, mainstream classics should remain near the middle of the list.
#2 – The Work of Art
Art in anime has always been a touchy subject. However, it is indisputable that some series and movies were directed with enough care and attention to reach the same level as the films we revere in Western society. These are the stories that possess enough social, cultural, or emotional value to survive through the ages — true paragons of the medium. The selection of your 2nd favourite anime should be based largely on the shows that you feel passionate about, but you must remember to choose something that has met positive critical and popular reception. Solid choices include 5 Centimeters Per Second and Neon Genesis Evangelion.
#1 – The Unique, Obscure, Classic, Artsy Masterpiece
In other words, a combination of all of the above.
In a nutshell, your favourite anime should reflect all of the traits that made your previous shows selectable, minus the flaws. A #1 choice must be simply perfect, and you must be prepared enough to back up this claim. It’s a difficult task, but as a budding member of the otaku community, it is one that you must undertake. A favourite anime must be original, pushing the boundaries of its genre; it should be relatively obscure and unknown to a casual fan. It must be a classic while simultaneously not being mainstream; a well-respected show that is only known among those who are “in the know.” On top of that, it should be able to demonstrate expertise in various areas of the art form, proving that it can be shown to your 50-year-old film professor without any embarrassment.
But most importantly, above all of the aforementioned prerequisites, your all-time favourite anime must be something that you can defend. It doesn’t matter if you like it: so long as you arm yourself with the right quotes and terminology and literary jargon, you’ll be prepared to triumph against any plebeian Anime Suki amateur who dares to stand in your way. And if you’ve been following my advice, your #1 choice will be something that the entire community can stand behind, meaning that any naysayers will be blaspheming against anime as a whole. With an impregnable shield and a battalion of cleverly stolen words, you are guaranteed to earn the respect of your peers.
However, it is highly recommended that you pirate the occasional K-ON episode to enjoy in your downtime. If anyone catches you, just say that you’re taking notes for your next great essay on Why Moe Sucks!
~ ETERNAL
つづく
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To clarify: yes, this is a satire against arguments based on Top 5 lists, partially inspired by TJ Han‘s wise words from a time long past. However, it is not a satire against the recent “What do your top 5 anime say about you?” trend, which is a fun exercise for everyone, if not a little redundant.
Put simply, the self-proclaimed connoisseurs who attempt to factor objective analysis into a show’s enjoyment are always a great target for attack, especially since they’re not as rare as I’d like to think. Favourites are, and always will be, a measure of a person’s enjoyment. Viewers enjoy fiction for objective and subjective reasons, and unless you want every Top 5 list to look like the one above, keep in mind that people assign these ratings based on their own internal scale of quality. It would be quite a world if we were all afraid to speak up for the shows we genuinely enjoy instead of the shows we’re supposed to enjoy.
