Animation Revelation's Top 65 Animated Series of All Time

K

Kunmui

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Okay, so after seeing some of the displeasure around here over IGN's list of the 100 greatest animated series, and Geek Cast Radio's list, the cool guys at Animation Revelation decided to take a shot at naming the top 65 of animation's best series. The list is just starting up, but over the next few days more and more of the list will be revealed.

So, if you disagree where your favorite series landed, or if you're wondering why a certain show didn't make it, discuss it here.

Here's the first five, numbers 65-61.


EDIT: Here's what we've got so far

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] Part 1: 65 - 61 [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]
Part 2: 60 - 56 [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] Part 3: 55 - 51 [/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] Part 4: 50 - 46 [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] Part 5: 45 - 41 [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] Part 6: 40 - 36 [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] Part 7: 35 - 31[/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]
[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] Part 8: 30 - 26[/FONT][/FONT]
 
From what I've seen, I don't think Cow and Chicken is all that great. However I'm glad that EMH placed. The first season has been pretty awesome, and I'm glad it's getting some recognition. Haven't heard about the other 3, so I can't comment on those.
 
I was not expecting American Dragon: Jake Long on this list, let alone higher than W.I.T.C.H. I liked American Dragon. It was my favorite out of the Disney Channel animated series back in the 2000's mainly because I think dragons are awesome, but it was also pretty fun to watch in general. I definitely agree that the first season wasn't that great outside of a handful of plot-related episodes and that season two had greatly improved writing and character development. Homecoming is the only episode of any of Disney Channel's animated series that left me wanting to cry a little by the end. I agree that the relationship between Jake and Rose was handled quite well, at least in season two and up until the rushed finale. Though, if it was an hour long finale, it probably would have made more sense. I'm not sure if I would have put it higher than W.I.T.C.H though. While I haven't seen all of the episodes for that series, what I saw of season one was much stronger than in the first season of American Dragon, which probably would have knocked it a bit further down the list for me. I remember seeing Reboot and not really caring for it, but I haven't seen the show in ages.

I also wasn't expecting Courage the Cowardly Dog to be on the list. That is one of my favorite older Cartoon Network shows, if only because I love dogs and always found Courage's attempts to save his new home so sweet. I thought it was a shame when they didn't have Courage talk as much. I'm not sure if I'd put it on a Top list like this, but it is a fun show.
 
So far, it's a pretty decent list. Really, I'm interested in seeing what series can outrank Baccano!, Cow & Chicken, and American Dragon. They're not what I would put on the top of my list, so their ranking here is very appropriate.

Though, I'm more interested in seeing what the top 20 will look like. That part is the most vital on of them all when it comes to these list, if not the top 10.
 
We were constantly swapping series in and out of positions all through the formation of the list. The entire AR staff collectively worked together to try to make this the best list we could (though some had more to say than others, every opinion and view was taken into account) and we are very proud of the final result.

I feel safe in saying that this is the best type of list of this sort that you'll see out there.
 
Well, to be fair, we aren't exactly claiming that our list is true fact or anything of that sort, and admittedly our first 15 choices (as in #'s 65-51) were more like honorable mentions that couldn't make the top 50, since this list was originally supposed to contain 50 entries. They are more opinionated and based on personal preferences than anything else, but we worked really hard on the list and while there may be some odd choices in the top 50, we put them there because we believe them to be quality shows that deserve their rankings. That doesn't mean that some entries aren't still influenced to some extent by our personal opinions as well, but what I can guarantee is that none of this list is influenced by blind nostalgia. Any so-called classics that rank on our list are shows that undoubtedly hold up to this day and stand the test of time. I can promise that much for certain.
 
Oh yeah, I'm not saying these are objectively the 65 best cartoons ever, I'm just saying that I think our list is the best one out there as a list. It might not be to everyone's taste, but I think this came out great.
 
I didn't count the OVAs due to technical reasons, so I was referring to the TV series having to end production prematurely, since it ended in the middle of an arc with no real conclusion. To be honest, though, I feel that if I did include the OVAs it would only drag the quality of the show down aside from the first OVA series which concluded the story arc left unfinished in the TV series. I have to say The Greed Island OVAs seemed to be a huge step backwards for the series in terms of quality.
 
Il have to disagree on that, Greed Island is my favorite arc in the series in both the anime and in the manga, even though its pretty much a glorified training arc with its own Genkai like character (lol Togashi how original) i have to admit the world of the game was pretty cool, the episodes starting from after the dodgeball game with Reiza towards the end with the Gensuru fight were especially intense.

Though if the Chimera ant arc ever sees the light of animation that would probably change (is like the most action packed part of Hunter x Hunter, seeing that animated would be glorious)... if Togashi ever stops playing video games long enough to finish the arc that is.
 
Well, I don't want to derail the topic by just talking about one series (though if you want to create a topic for this on the anime board or revive the old HXH topic, I'd be glad to discuss it with you), but we all have different opinions on different things. The important thing is that we at least agree that the TV series is quality stuff, and its one of those few entries that I feel makes this list for AR really feel like our own. For most people this will just come off as some obscure anime that they have never heard of and for any anime fans it would probably just come off as another generic shonen (for all people who haven't seen the series), but in this case I got it ranked low on the list because I do feel that it deserves some recognition for its high leve lof quality. Sometimes, even if a series isn't as popular as significant as one would expect for a list such as this, we will still have a place for it if we feel that its truly a great animated series.

At any rate, once we get into the top 50 of this list, the series listed will be of a much more objective level of quality and we made sure to resist using any personal biases when formulating most of our top 50 entries. I'm personally very proud of how the list turned out on the whole, and for the record as it stands right now I don't think I'd take back a single one of these choices, myself.
 
Honestly, I pushed for it precisely because everything it does it does really well, not necessarily because it's overly unique or original. I think it's a high quality show on pretty normal terms like animation and writing, giving it a spot (but not a high one) on the list.
 
Really glad to see Courage make the list. As an avid fan of cartoons and horror, it's always been a favorite of mine. And I actually just watched Freaky Fred earlier today! :anime:
 
I'm going to be one of the few that supports Cow & Chicken making this list. Not that it was the best cartoon of all time, but Cow & Chicken was a quality cartoon with humorous writing and well done animation and visual gags.

Looking forward to the rest of this list.
 
Wow, cool to see this thing getting some good responses. Good job on the list guys, keep it up.

Anyways, here's the next part, numbers 55-51. I myself was surprised to see on of the shows on this go around, and enjoyed the write up for it, but I'll leave it to you to guess which one it is.
 
Ah finally. I've been waiting for this.

One thing is for sure. This list is unlike any I've seen before and given most tend to get everything but maybe the top 5 to 10 wrong. I'm looking forward to seeing what else makes it to this list and where it falls.
 
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