Anime Girl Rankings

Divergent Convergence

The series included in tonight's update are so dissimilar from each other that the only real thing I can think of that connects them is their very appearance in this update. So let's get started, shall we?

First up, we have the interesting basketball series Hoop Days. Basketball is my favorite sport so I was looking forward to watching my first anime about it, but I came away with mixed feelings. I warmed up to it by the end, but for some reason it didn't dawn on me right away that the same studio who did Initial D did this, given the criminally low budget and reprehensible Eurobeat soundtrack.

Next we have the amazing Infinite Ryvius, a 'hard' sci-fi series about teenagers on a spaceship struggling to stay alive after an attack leaves all the adults dead. The writers covered all the nuances of attempting to keep societal order in the face of varying personalities, external threats, teenage uncertainty, and human nature. To call it 'Lord of the Flies in space' as I've seen it referred to elsewhere does it a disservice. Highly recommended.

Third is Madlax, the second of Bee Train's Girls with Guns trilogy, featuring the intertwining fates of a spacey girl in a peaceful town and the eponymous Madlax, a mercenary living in a war zone. As with El Cazador, I felt it didn't live up to the standard set by Noir, but the second half got me really invested in the characters.

Fourth, we have the cute series Pita Ten about Misha, a nincompoop angel trainee who moves next door to an elementary school boy and immediately grows attached to him. A slice of life comedy with bits of supernatural fun, I became extremely attached to Misha's counterpart Shia, an equally nincompoop trainee demon who is far too sweet to properly do her job.

Lastly, we have the girls from the Vampire Princess Miyu television series to go along with the already included OAV characters. The television series was suitably dark and brooding, with some nice gut-punch conclusions to episodes.

Cute girls abound in these otherwise disparate series and they all deserve votes!