Best Anime of All Time
This is a list of my favorite anime of all time. It is very subjective and personal, so please don't take it too seriously. The focus is on the lessons and messages that the anime conveys, not the story or characters. (I hate waifu anime, and I believe that those animes ruined the anime industry) These anime are the ones that I would recommend to anyone, as they are philosophically deep and have a lot of lessons to learn from, rather than just being a fun watch and selling waifu girls to the audience.
1. 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン
Best anime of all time. I have watched this anime 3 times, both the TV version and the movie version. Personally, I like the TV version better, but the movie version is also very good.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is sometimes considered as a waifu anime, but it's not. Actually, throughout the anime, the director criticizes people who are obsessed with waifu girls and refuse to live in the real world.
The story gives a lot of lessons about the nature of human beings and the meaning of life. It also has a lot of philosophical and existential questions that are very deep and thought-provoking. Through this anime, the director throws questions about human relationships and protecting emotionally oneself from others.
These days, I see people who are afraid of being hurt by others through conversation or friendship. Some of them build their own bubble and refuse to interact with others. Yet, the director tells us that sometimes it is inevitable to be hurt by others while interacting with them.
2. PSYCHO-PASS サイコパス
Psycho-Pass is a very deep anime and is also graphic. It's about a dystopian world where the government controls the people's thoughts and actions. Although most people under the government's control seem happy and safe, the system is flawed and unfair.
These days, we see government controlling the people's thoughts and actions by controlling the information that they can access (Bill C-18, Online News Act). Some people might say that the government is doing it for the safety of the people, but the anime tells us that we should have the right to choose what we want to see and hear without being controlled by the government.
In the world of information and with the rise of AI, it is important to be aware of the information that we are consuming. The information that we consume might be selected and filtered by the government or corporations to manipulate our thoughts and actions.
3. 名探偵コナン: ベイカー街の亡霊
Although this movie was released in 2002, the director already had the idea of the negative impact of AI on the world. I think what happens in the movie is not far from what will happen in the future (~2030s).
The director criticizes the world where people in power abuses technology for their own benefit, not for the benefit of the people. They often exploit others to achieve their own goals, even by abandoning ethical values.
The director also condemns the world where the social hierarchy is inherited in same families for generations. Because of this, people in different classes can never understand each other, and this leads to hate and prejudice against each other.