Just Japanese: Anime Top 13 and 3 Things to Know about J-Pop

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Top 13 Anime Movies and TV Shows

  1. My Neighbor Totoro (Skylar and Emma’s Age Recommendation: All ages): This is a story about two sisters May and Satski who move to a new house with their dad near the hospital where their mother is. One day, May finds a three forest spirits: a small one, a medium one, and a big one. She names the big one “Totoro.” She tells her sister about these spirits then they visit them often and have many adventures.
  2. The Devil’s Part-Timer (Skylar and Emma’s Age Recommendation: Ages 11+): This anime is a hilarious comedy, sure to bring laughs to all who watch it. The anime starts off as a dramatic fantasy war in Ente Isla between the demons and the heros, but when they go through a portal to the real world (in Tokyo), things turn out differently than they expect. In Tokyo the two characters, Sadao Maou and Shirō Ashiya, must start their new life in Tokyo by getting money. When Maou needs to get a job he gets one at the fast food place “MgRonalds” (the anime version of McDonalds). Fun fact: They have actual McDonalds in Japan! This is one of our favorite animes and would recommend it to all comedy lovers!
  3. Angel Beats (Skylar and Emma’s Age Recommendation: Ages 10+): This anime is romance, action, and comedy–at first you’re laughing and then you’re crying. It does come in an English dub but but we recommend English sub(titles). It is about a boy named Otinashi who comes to this high school with no memory and soon finds out he is dead!
  4. Castle in the Sky (Skylar and Emma’s Age Recommendation: Ages 6-7+): A boy finds a girl falling slowly from the sky and finds out men are chasing her for some reason. The boy’s father was a pilot who one day found a castle in the sky but no one believed him. Wed don’t want to spoil anything, but this anime movie is very violent with lots of action.
  5. Howl’s Moving Castle (Skylar and Emma’s Age Recommendation: Ages 7-8+): A girl named Sophie has a normal, boring life working at a hat shop, but then one day the legendary wizard Howl–who is said to steal a woman’s heart then kill her–saves her from city guards and helps her visit a friend. When Sophie returns to her hat shop, a mysterious woman comes in and casts a spell on her that turns her into an old woman and part of the curse is she can’t tell anyone about it. Sophie then leaves town hoping no one will find out she turned into an old woman, then she happens to stumble into a moving castle and stays there for the night. When she wakes up she finds it was Howl’s castle, and for their hospitality, she has to be their (you have to watch to find out who “their” is) cleaning lady.
  6. Shugo Chara (Skylar and Emma’s Age Recommendation: Ages 9+): Amu is the most popular “spicy and cool” girl in school, but that comes with a price: the cool, spicy girl is actually the opposite of her real character. She is afraid if she changes no one will accept her. One day Amu makes a wish that she could be her true self instead of the cool and spicy punk she pretends to be. When she wakes up she finds three eggs… With a hint of comedy, romance, and action, this is good for children ages 9+ (but the manga is better and is for ages 10+).Warning: DON’T SKIP even though it’s kinda girly–it gets much better after 25 episodes.
  7. SAO (Skylar and Emma’s Age Recommendation: Ages 12+): Kirito plays an online game that is controlled by your mind with a helmet controller. In the game, the creator come online and announces that he has trapped everyone in the game, and they can’t log out. If users try to remove the helmet in the real world, they’ll die in real life! The only way to get out is by defeating the game…
  8. Soul Eater (Skylar and Emma’s Age Recommendation: Ages 14+): At a school for weapons and meisters, the main characters, Soul and Maka, are partnered up. Later, they must defeat many forces of evil. You must watch this absolutely amazing anime!
  9. Soul Eater Not (Skylar and Emma’s Age Recommendation: Ages 10+): A high school “girly” version of Soul Eater, but with no eating souls and a lot less killing.
  10. Black Butler (Skylar and Emma’s Age Recommendation: Ages 11+): Ciel’s parents are rich and own a toy company. A few years later, his parents die in a fire in their mansion. Watch the rest to find out who the mysterious, “one h**l of a butler” might be. Plus: ISsues 4 and 5 of this manga are available in the Blackburn Library!
  11. Fairy Tail (Skylar and Emma’s Age Recommendation: Ages 8+): This is an adventure comedy with some intense episodes and some comedic episodes. Fairy Tail is about a magical land full of wizard, demons, monsters, guilds, etc. One of the most popular guilds is the Fairy Tail guild…
  12. Spirited Away (Skylar and Emma’s Age Recommendation: Ages 7-8+): Chihiro Ogino and her family are looking for a new home. On their way, they get lost and find themselves near an old temple. Chihiro’s parents are curious and hungry and wonder what’s on the other side of the temple. On the other side of the temple are carnival grounds…and something magical happens.
  13. Pokemon (Skylar and Emma’s Age Recommendation: Ages 3+): This is the most generic anime, but we had to include it. Ash Ketchum wants to catch all Pokemon but he can’t because the series won’t end. Ash will never age due to the new audience; he will always try to be the Pokemon Master. However, the first theme was the only good one, then the creators ripped it off with the newest season’s theme. Pokemon also evolve into adorable little creatures that fight and kill each other (animal cruelty warning!).

Three Things to Know about J-Pop

  1. Vocaloid: Japanese digital singing programs. Since they’re so popular, Japan created concerts, including holograms of the singing manga style characters.
  2. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu: A singer in Japan. Her costumes are styled to be Harujuku (a Japanese clothing style that gives youthful appearances with ruffled layers of fabric and lace).
  3. Nightcore: Singers who sing in Japanese and English and they sing popular songs, but higher and faster than the originals.
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