For the past few decades, anime has become a hugely popular Japanese export. Starting in the late 90’s, we started to really see anime gain a large fanbase in the United States and around the world. By the 2000’s, what used to be obscure media that you could only find in catalogs and specialty stores was airing on cable TV and available for purchase in stores like Best Buy.

Last week, I went over the top 5 anime movies that influenced my love of the genre. Anime month continues here at retro room as I go through the anime TV shows that had a similar impact on me.

#5 Dragon Ball Z

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Gotta get this one out of the way. DBZ is a classic series that really needs no introduction and I was a huge fan of the series during its original run on Cartoon Network. The stack of dozens of DBZ DVDs I now own attest to how addictive I found the series.

#4 Neon Genesis Evangelion

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In the late 90’s, Evangelion became a hugely popular series. The show took the tired mecha genre and turned it on its head by introducing brain-twisting themes and ideas that inspired countless discussions and debates about what Eva was trying to convey to its audience. With theology, ssychology and philosophy all sprinkled throughout the show, its something you really have to dig into to get the most out of it. Devoted fans found a lot to debate when it comes to Evangelion and it remains an anime classic over 20 years after it first aired.

#3 Death Note

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A powerful premise sets the stage for this series. What would you do if you had the power to kill anyone simply by writing their name in a book? That’s the philosophical debate that surrounds Death Note, where the highly intelligent student Light Yagami acquires such book and sets out to reshape the world by eliminating criminals en masse.

The attention to detail and chess-like planning between Light and the investigators trying to figure out who’s carrying out these murders is brilliant and highly engaging.

#2 Ranma 1/2

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Ya pa pa, ya pa pa…that theme song from season 1 gets burned into my brain just thinking about Ranma 1/2. A fun an often hilarious series from Inu-Yasha creator Rumiko Takahashi, the show is a screwball comedy that ties together martial arts and romance with an amazing gimmick. When Ranma a cursed boy who, when splashed with cold water, turns into a girl. Hot water returns him to his normal boy form. Other characters develop curses as well that turns his father into a giant panda, a love interest into a cat and his rivals into a tiny big and a goose. The show is weird, but in all the right ways.

#1 Cowboy Bebop

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I’ll state to this day that Cowboy Bebop is just about the coolest thing ever created. The space western theme combined with the amazing jazz soundtrack sets the stage for a series with fantastic characters, great pacing, an overarching story peppered with unique standalone episodes and a perfect ending.

Cowboy Bebop isn’t just my favorite anime series of all time, its my favorite TV show of all time.

Honorable mentions

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• Hellsing
• Trigun
• Berserk
• Tenchi Muyo
• Rurouni Kenshin
• Slayers

So if you're an anime fan, which movies were the most influential on you? I'm sure I've left off many people's favorites like Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist, Naruto, One Piece, Sailor Moon, Gundam, among others. Let's discuss!

Thanks for reading. As always, upvotes, resteems and comments are appreciated!

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