Masterpiece

[Takai]

Which anime do you consider a masterpiece? Something that is absolutely outstanding in all categories? This is different from 'favorite anime' topics. Nor is every anime you rate 10/10 a masterpiece. Which anime do you think stands above all others in its genre, or above most others in general? Please provide reasons. You don't need to write a review, but do talk about some of the aspects that bring a certain work toward perfection.

I have given a lot of 10s, but as i think back on them, most were special favorites rather than masterpieces. After looking through my entire list, so far i found six titles that i can truly call a masterpiece. Here are some of them:

MONSTER (2004-2005)
psychological, mystery, drama.
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Monster is a high quality drama and, possibly, the most realistic (in all senses) anime i have ever watched. It is a story about a successful doctor who had everything and one day was left with absolutely nothing, all because he saved a life of a little boy. Little did he know that his true nightmare would begin when the boy grows up to become a serial killer... (this is not a spoiler; the official synopsis is actually more detailed).
Realism is exactly what makes Monster a masterpiece. Human behavior, reactions, mental struggles, everything is portrayed realistically. There are no cliche stereotypes or any other overused elements; the characters are like people you see everyday, except they are involved in a rather bizarre story with numerous plot twists.
Honestly, i cannot worship Urasawa Naoki enough for creating Monster. It's hard to believe that one man could think up such a complex story and so many developed characters, each with their own reasons and inner struggles. Even the title. There is so much meaning in that one word that you can't help but think back and ask who the real monster was.
That being said, Monster is an anime i would recommend to absolutely anyone, regardless of what genres they prefer. Yes, 70+ episodes isn't a short watch, but every detail is vitally important and every episode is worth it.

MONONOKE (2007)
historical fantasy, horror, mystery, drama.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a68/vitas_fd/stuff/mpiece02.jpg
Mononoke is a piece of art. It's a moving painting, and the word "beautiful" doesn't even begin to describe it. It may sound like i'm exaggerating, but this is truly the most visually stunning anime i have ever seen.
Of course, i can't call something a masterpiece for artwork only. But that's not a problem. Because Mononoke is a collection of several mysterious and rather twisted stories revolving around Japanese folklore. Some are quite disturbing and some are simply beautiful, but each one of them is a masterpiece of its own.
The anime is (sadly) very short, only 12 episodes (15, if you count the final arc of Ayakashi Japanese Classic Horror, which was where Mononoke began before it span off into an independent series). So if you are into 'artistic' anime and don't want to worry about plot continuity, this is for you.

I was going to talk about other anime in this post, but i am frankly tired of typing this up ^^; So i will mention the rest in my next post.

Please share what you consider a masterpiece and why, and feel free to discuss the already brought up titles.

[Nyuu]

Okay so what I did was post the MAL description and then a brief answer to why I love the anime as much as I do ^_^

Elfen Lied


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The Diclonius, a mutated homo sapien that is said to be selected by God and will eventually become the destruction of mankind, possesses two horns in their heads, and has a "sixth sense" which gives it telekinetic abilities. Due to this dangerous power, they have been captured and isolated in laboratories by the government. Lucy, a young and psychotic Diclonius, manages to break free of her confines and brutally murder most of the guards in the laboratory, only to get shot in the head as she makes her escape. She survives and manages to drift along to a beach, where two teenagers named Kouta and Yuka discovers her. Having lost her memories, she was named after the only thing that she can now say, "Nyuu," and the two allow her to stay at Kouta's home. However, it appears that the evil "Lucy" is not dead just yet...

It's gory, brutal, and a very tragic love story. Not to forget the art is just beautiful. I can't express how much I love this anime. I cried and felt so emotianally involved with the characters (minus
Yuka I hate Yuka.) It was also Elfen Lied that broaught me back in to anime.

Death Note

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During just another normal day, Yagami Light stumbles upon a black notebook known as the Death Note. This notebook belongs to a shinigami, Ryuk, having the ability to kill anyone who has their name written in it. As the new owner of the Death Note, Light's true desires surface, yearning to cleanse the world of evil by murdering a large number of criminals. When the world begins to notice the existence of this unknown killer, legendary detective L is brought onto the case; starting a war between "Kira" and L. Whoever is able to find out the others identity first will be the one to survive. Based on the manga by Tsugumi Ooba and Takeshi Obata.

This anime can only be described as epic if you haven't seen it you must. Even people who I know hate anime love this and Elfen Lied but with Elfen Lied you must have a strong stomach for gore. Death Note also has the best ending for any anime I have ever seen it will leave you thinking.

Clannad
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Tomoya is labelled as a delinquent at his school because he is constantly late and skips classes, but he seems to have little care about how others perceive of him. Everything in his life seemed dull and unchanging until one morning he meets Nagisa Furukawa on the road to his school; he finds her muttering to herself to give her more motivation for the day. She has an odd habit of saying the names of foods she is going to eat to encourage herself. Nagisa has been sick for almost a year last year and subsequently has to repeat her third year of school. But now all her friends have graduated and she feels alone. For some reason, after hearing Nagisa talking to herself, Tomoya becomes interested and befriends her.

Following this meeting, Nagisa decides to revive the school's drama club. In his attempt to help by recruiting new members, Tomoya befriends several other girls at the school, two of which have their own mysterious past.

This I must say is the funnest anime I have every watched. Though at times I balled my eyes out. I would say all of the characters are very lovable and there was not one that I did not like. If you like romance or comedy anime you have to see this. This anime is just so sweet and heart warming I can talk about it for ages.

[Takai]

@Nyuu, i think you might be confusing the purpose of this thread with "my favorite anime and why i like it". I'll try to clarify. You seem to be stating the reasons why you personally enjoyed these anime, and there is nothing wrong with that, but what i am looking for is reasons why these anime are above others in their genre or why you would recommend it to most people. What brings them closer to perfection than other series?
For example, you mentioned that Elfen Lied is "gory" and "brutal", and i am not sure how being gory and brutal makes something a masterpiece. Did it increase dramatic and emotional impact in Elfen Lied's case? Was it a necessary kind of violence that enhanced the story instead of taking away from it? You might want to elaborate. For example, there were some graphic scenes in Monster (of course not as excessive as in Elfen Lied), but they were well coordinated within the plot, and none of them made me think "was this really necessary?" Because all of it really was necessary; there wasn't a single unnecessary scene in the entire series. Which is why i dared to say that it's near perfection.
Don't get me wrong. I haven't even seen Elfen Lied, so i am not saying "it's not a masterpiece". I would just like to hear more of the reasons why (almost) everyone would find it to be a great anime, as opposed to why you personally find it to be a great anime.

I hope this also clarified the purpose of this thread for the other people who will post here in the future.

I am still deciding whether i will call Death Note a masterpiece or not. Maybe i will think on it more when (and if) the popularity dies down a bit. For now it looks to me like its drowning in its own popularity, and i can't judge it clearly. But that's just me and my bias against overly praised anime; which is why i will only mention the lesser famous ones in this thread.

[Nyuu]

Oh *embarrassed* :oops: sorry I'd fix it but I just found out I'll be working on a big project soon and I just wont have the time to add more. I really wont have much time to do anything else for a while you can delete my post if you want to.

[Takai]

Oh *embarrassed* :oops: sorry I'd fix it but I just found out I'll be working on a big project soon and I just wont have the time to add more. I really wont have much time to do anything else for a while you can delete my post if you want to.

No no, nobody is going to delete your post. You can add to it later when you have time. I just wanted to clarify what exactly i was looking for so that other people wouldn't get confused :) It was my fault for not making it clear in the first place :)