Discussion What is the anime canon?

[KaiserWilhelmll]

Just like there's a canon in literature. You can't be a part of the ongoing conversation unless you've read certain works. Haven't grappled with Wuthering Heights or Picture of Dorian Gray? What are you even doing here.

I wonder if there's such a canon in anime. What shows do you think are essentials to this medium and its history? The ultimate bucket list

Spoiler

inb4 boku no pico

 

[PointOfNoReturn]

Hunter x Hunter
Cowboy Bebop
Full Metal Alchemist
Ashita no Joe

 

[PointOfNoReturn]

What's so canon about them?

I could propose the same question to you for the faggotry you listed, GrAYcel.
Hunter x Hunter is peak combat shonen. Has the most mogger OST. Togashi has the best approach to fighting out of any shonen mangaka, see YYH too. Every character is dynamic with their own motives, whereas other generic shonen have characters thrown in as props or MacGuffins because they lack the ability to properly flesh out and develop a plot. Alongside peak character design.
Maybe you can take notes from Gon and try to find your father.

 

[ZZebra786]

i think it just depends on the genre. Ive seen around 400 anime and there is good and bad in all....

 

[PointOfNoReturn]

Reads like a copypasta
It might be true that the shows you listed are great individually, but were they made by the same studio and then put together in a bizarre slice of life? No?
HxH, YYH, FMA, etc. are all best in the realm of light novels and manga but nothing beats PuYUKAI among anime studios.

Cowboy Bebop is peak episodic fiction. Unlike One Piss this series knew when to conclude. Great and imaginative pacing, and story telling. Never strays too far off from the prior episode. I’m glad it doesn’t follow the same generic episodic shonen formula. It makes every episode memorable and iconic. The cast, like HxH, are all memorable and seem to have taken on their own person that transcends the series. Spike Spiegel is synonymous with anime the same way Goku is. the dramaticism each episode provides is unparalleled.

Ashita no Joe is the end all be all of combat manga/anime. This series influenced every sports series that follows it. Joes characterization and development throughout the series is peak. From an angsty hoodlum that gets in to fights and verbal disputes here and there, to a protagonist that faces his own trials in and outside of the cage. The portrayal of his inner conflicts can provide everyone something to reflect on. Make sure to read the manga. There’s not a series I can say a appreciate more.

FMA can be excluded, but the aforementioned series have in some form shaped the way manga and anime is created.

 

[PointOfNoReturn]

Lol you were actually serious sorry bud

I am the GREAT SHONEN MANGAKA WARRIOR, I have to filter through tons of trash tier series and fight off hordes of rabid fanboys to provide casuals the most peak fiction available.

 

[PointOfNoReturn]

Any reason why you didn't mention JoJo?

I haven’t read JoJo in almost a decade. I will go back through the series and write a review on each part soon

 

[KaiserWilhelmll]

Isekai Quartet

Would this represent the entire isekai genre in canon? What about popular isekai from other studios? Like mushoku tensei or sheild hero. Which of them would you consider "essential watch"

Hunter x Hunter
Cowboy Bebop
Full Metal Alchemist
Ashita no Joe

Reasonable choices though I haven't heard much about Ashita no Joe. I think the big 3 would make essential shonen. What of anime outside of shonen.

 

[worthless]

generic answer, but evangelion.

it has a clever direction, full of interesting religious symbolism and plausible freudian takes on behaviour, has a good overall production for the most part, is an authentic work that didn't exist purely to breed some money (at least the main tv series), has a great lore, although its worldbuilding is a bit of a mess (which is justifiable, given that the world there isn't the focus) and, imo, it portraits denpa very interestingly, which for me counts a lot because denpa is cool af.