With Anime Expo 2010 pretty much kicking down the door, I thought it would be kind of pertinent to list for you all my Top 10 Favorite Animes so you can see just where I am coming from with regards to my anime cred. Some of you may agree with my choices, many of you will not. But considering the sheer amount of anime out there, and considering the number of those that I have watched since 1983, that is a lot of anime to take in. So narrowing it down to a select ten is probably one of the hardest things I have had to do. With so many great anime series that I had to leave off of this list that include such memorable series as Cowboy Bebop, Fate/stay night, Ghost in the Shell, Akira, Elfen Lied, and Battle Angel, just to name a few, those that are on this list have left the biggest impression on me - and that is why they made this list over others.

10. The Vision of Escaflowne

Transporting a young woman from the modern world, Hitomi Kanzaki, to a fantastical world known as Gaea; and the Earth is visible in the sky and is known as the Mystic Moon. There, she is helped by the brave knight, Allen Schezar, and the brash but brave warrior, Van Fanel, prince of the decimated kingdom of Fanelia. Together, these three young heroes, along with several other brave men and women, fight the evil Zaibach Empire and their plans to rule all of Gaea. But several of the leaders of the Zaibach Empire have secrets in store that will shock both the main characters of the series as well viewers. Mixing in elements of mechs, steam punk, and fantasy animes, Escaflowne created a fun and adventurous world that took viewers on a journey to stop the evil of the world and find a way for Hitomi to get back to hers. A movie was later released that changed the plot around a bit but still kept the core elements of the series intact, making a wonderful compliment to the series.

9. Neon Genesis Evangelion

Mix religion with giant mechs and have humans stave off attacks by angels with a shady shadow government calling the shots and you have yourself a recipe for one of the hottest and most controversial animes of all time. Set 14 years after a catastrophic event known as Second Impact destroyed Antarctica and more than half of the human population, several special young children are chosen to pilot these huge mechs into battle with beings known as angels who are attempting to bring about a Third Impact and destroy all of mankind. Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, and Asuka Langley Soryu, under the command of Misato Kisaragi and NERV commander Gendo Ikari (Shinji’s distant father); these brave young children put their lives on the line to protect humanity. But is humanity even worth protecting at this point? With enough intrigue and suspense to keep any anime fan happy, Evangelion continues to define what an action/sci-fi anime series should be. And now with the re-release of this anime through a series of redone movies focusing more on the action than the deep character interaction of the series, Evangelion will be thrilling fans for years to come.

8. Please Teacher!

When you discover that your incredibly hot high school teacher turns out to be an alien from another galaxy spying on Earth, what are you supposed to do? In the case of the sickly Kei Kusanagi, he does the one thing that comes to mind to protect the secret of the beautiful alien Mizuho Kazami - he marries her. From then on, it is all laughs and heartbreak and Kei and Mizuho try their hardest not only to protect that they are secretly husband and wife, but also that Mizuho is an alien from another world. Extremely funny and sometimes deeply moving, Please Teacher was one of the best examples of how a harem anime series could be done right when treated properly. And its spin-off series, Please Twins, which introduces three new characters to the series who may or may not be related but all have feelings for one another, was another fine comedy anime; just a bit more on the cheekier side.

7. Dragon Ball series

This series has been going on strong since the first part of the series, the original Dragon Ball, was first aired in 1984. A variation of the traditional Chinese tale of the Monkey King, the Dragon Ball series followed the strong alien Goku, his bald but loyal friend Krillin, and the brash but brilliant Bulma, through their young lives competing in martial arts tournaments and searching for the elusive dragon balls in Dragon Ball. In Dragon Ball Z, Goku and crew, including his sons Gohan and Goten, must contend with one evil alien after another and protecting while making allies of former enemies including Picolo, Vegeta, Uub. And in the final chapter of the saga known as Dragon Ball GT, a Goku who has been reduced to a child again must travel around space defeating the evil spirits released from the dragon balls along with Vegeta’s son Trunks and his grand-daughter Pan. Because of the series popularity, several specials, movies, and video games have been produced under the Dragon Ball franchise, ensuring this beloved fighting anime a top spot in almost all anime lovers list.

6. Love Hina

When Keitaro Urashima fails to gain entry in Tokyo U. for the second time, he travels to the seaside town of Hinata. Through a series of unfortunate twist of fates, he ends up the manager of his grandmother’s hotel for women, the Hinata House. But when he first meets them, he comes off as a perv loser and is hated by all the girls. But all Keitaro really wants is to go to Tokyo U. to keep a promise he made with a childhood love. As time passes at the Hinata House, Keitaro may never get into Tokyo U. because of more misadventures; but it seems that his childhood love is closer than even she imagines. A harem comedy with enough fan service, humorous plotlines, and touching moments, Love Hina was once the top anime and manga in Japan and the US. With a full cast of loveable characters, Love Hina changed the way many harem comedies would be produced for years to come.

5. Ninja Scroll

Violent, unrelenting, and contained within a well thought out plot, Ninja Scroll tells the tale of wandering samurai, Jubei Kibagami, who comes across the female ninja, Kagero, and her mission as the only surviving member of the Koga Ninja team to investigate the mysterious deaths in Shimoda Village. Unfortunately, the deaths in the village are perpetrated by the mysterious Devils of Kimon and their leader, Himuru Gemma - who shares a mysterious past with Jubei. Bloody duel after bloody duel, Jubei and Kagero, along with the government spy Dakuan, make their way through the Devils’ ranks to uncover the secret behind the deaths at Shimoda, lost government gold, and how a man once beheaded is living and controlling everything from the shadows. One of the best known animes outside of Japan, Ninja Scroll told an interesting tale while showing most American audiences that cartoons can be a smart and adult oriented form of entertainment.

4. The Guyver: Bio Booster Armor

When Sho Fukamachi finds a mysterious alien artifact, he opens up a world of living monsters and secrets that tears apart his life. When he activates the device, he becomes fused with the most powerful weapon in existence, the Guyver; a bio-booster armor that makes him an unstoppable killing machine. But the Chronos Corporation wants the Guyver unit back so they can use, and they send out an army of Zoanoids, genetically altered humans who can become living monsters, to retrieve the unit by any means necessary, even if it means killing those closest to Sho to get what they want. This anime defined what hyper-violence was for me. Unforgiving in their approach, the anime is filled with gruesome deaths, torturous scenes of battle, and unforgivable moments of destruction as nothing is safe, not even a school full of children. Years later, the Guyver would see a second anime series that more closely followed the manga it is derived from. But the original OVA is still considered a bench mark in violent anime.

3. Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles

Put together some of the best ideas to come out of the all female manga creative team known as CLAMP and mix them into a story that traverses realms and time and you have a very memorable and touching story of love and loyalty that is hard to copy. Syaoran and Princess Sakura are friends from the world of Clow. But when Sakura one day exhibits a power that was not completely unexpected, Syaoran jumps in to save his friend. In order to save her from what has happened, Syaoran takes Sakura to the world of the dimensional witch, Yuko, who tells him that he must sacrifice something valuable for her help. He gives up that which is most dear to him, he and two others, the wizard Fay D. Flourite and the swordsman Kurogane, must traverse the known realms to collect pieces of Sakura’s memory to save her. With each world representing known projects from the vastness of CLAMP’s published works, all the cameos from all their characters not only adds to the delight of this series, but seems like a reward to all their loyal fans. And I can think of no better way for it to have been done.

2. Grave of the Fireflies

I can’t even watch this anime without shedding a few tears by the time the credits role. From legendary Studio Ghibli, Grave of the Fireflies tells the story of two orphaned siblings, pre-teen Seita and his younger sister Setsuko, as they struggle to survive in the waning months of World War II. When their mother is killed in the firebombing of Kobe, Japan, and their father killed along with most of the Japanese Imperial Navy, the two siblings must try to survive on their own with no one to care for them after their aunt refers to them as having outstayed their welcome. Desperate, the two find lodging in an abandoned bomb shelter and try to make life work there. But when Setsuko becomes gravely ill, Seita does all he can to help her; all of it in vain. Cremating her remains and storing them in a fruit candy tin which also holds a picture of their dead father. Soon, he also succumbs to malnourishment as this tragic tale of innocence lost comes to a close. As stirring as Steven Spielberg’s World War II epic Schindler’s List, Grave of the Fireflies is touching and moving in ways that surpass the anime genre and transcend all mediums. This is definitely one anime that everyone, and I mean everyone, should watch.

1. Sailor Moon series

For a time, there was a point where I had almost all but stopped watching anime. During the 1980s and 90s, there was little way of discovering new animes if you were not really in the loop as to where to find it. And if you did find it, it was pretty expensive to purchase. This is the time before the advent of the internet or Netflix, and chains like Blockbuster carried only one or two animes a store. Then one morning while working in my mother’s store, I saw this anime about a magical girl who fought with her friends to defend the earth from evil forces from space. A ditzy blonde girl with a talking cat and four friends with powers derived from their corresponding stellar avatars fought a brave battle. That anime was Sailor Moon. And from the very first episode that I watched, I was hooked. Excellent characterization, a wonderful and lush back story, just enough of a love story to move the plot alone, and a surprising amount of action drew me in day after day to watch the adventures of Sailor Moon and the other Sailor Scouts. Perhaps one of the best known animes aside from Dragon Ball and Gundam, Sailor Moon almost single handedly created the magical girl genre and introduced anime to a large number of fans, most important female fans, which helped bring about a greater sense of awareness to this form of entertainment. Spanning several series, and a few movies, Sailor Moon will always be my favorite anime for bringing me back into the anime fold.

So there you have it, my ten favorite animes. I am sure that as time passes, some titles on this list will move up or down or be removed completely, but as of right now, this is how it stands and how I feel about each of these titles. Love them or hate them, there is no denying that the animes on this list have left a very distinguishable mark on the anime world on one form or another. They certainly have left their mark on me.