One of the things that makes anime so awesome is the way anything that can be imagined by the animators can be created visually on screen. This means that, unlike the classic sci-fi films and TV shows that I grew up with, the only limitation placed on anime showing us incredible visuals and mind-blowing ideas is the imaginations of the creators…and the limitations of the animation budget, I guess. I asked J-List’s customers, “What anime really took your breath away?” and here are some of the top responses!
Show us an anime shot that took your breath away the first time you saw it. Anime is Utena. pic.twitter.com/ERRy2HKzfl
— J-LIST (@jlist) October 2, 2020
We can always depend on the late, great anime director Satoshi Kon to bend our minds in new directions.
Of course seeing that really great shot of whatever our favorite Mobile Suit Gundam series was is another moment we can’t forget.
Another anime that took our breath away was Violet Evergarden, one of the legendary works by Kyoto Animation. Make sure you watch it, if you haven’t seen it!
Demon Slayer had some legendary action scenes. Zenitsu’s Thunderclap Flash was awesome to see.
“Anything with Levi in it.”
Naruto had some great action scenes that excited the show’s fans.
And who can forget the legend end of Vegeta?
Another scene that took our breath away was this exciting battle in The Sacred Blacksmith.
Any time our favorite raccoon girl jumps into battle to defend Naofumi-sama was also great.
It was pretty hard to watch this scene in Akira without having our collective breath taken away. pic.twitter.com/OysKE3ABMQ
— Peter Payne (@JListPeter) October 5, 2020
Imagine watching the awesomeness of Akira not in 2020, but back in 1988, when it came out in theatres. It floored us all with its quality, visuals and the hugeness of its story.
Another anime that impressed us was Princess Mononoke, one of the most popular films by Hayao Miyazaki.
Sporting character designs by Satoshi Urushihara as well as lots of sexy shots of Chun Li, 1995’s Street Fighter II film really made its mark on the era.
Many who became fans of anime in the 80s did so thanks to the Macross/Robotech, the influential franchise that’s still my single favorite anime. Here’s my post on the Macross 1984 film if you haven’t read it.
The Monogatari Series is also incredible, for its characters and visuals.
For many of us, seeing Sailor Moon transform on-screen was really magical, and made us lifelong anime fans.
I’m sure the visual beauty of Utena caused many girls to question their sexuality. It did for me, and I’m not even female.
Other times anime impresses us by showing us entirely new kinds of stories, which we didn’t imagine could be told. Yosuga no Sora was one glorious example.
Finally, while the Evangelion remake films are pretty and all, in the end, they can’t really approach the detail and darkness of the original series, especially the END OF EVANGELION film.
Well, did we miss an anime moment that took your breath away? Tell us below, on our Twitter feed, or on the newly-relaunched official J-List Discord!
