Comicon’s Best Anime Of 2023
by Tito W. James
All this week Tito W James brings his top picks of the year from the world of animation and anime. Today he picks out his favourite five anime.
Oshi No Ko
Oshi No Ko is a story that only anime could pull off. A bizarre twist on reincarnation and a glimpse into the dark side of the entertainment industry. Full of emotion, suspense, and humor, Oshi No Ko is like a mix between Erased and Perfect Blue. If this is your first encounter with anime, I’m so sorry, and you’re welcome!
Suzume
Any year we can get a new Makoto Shinkai film is a good year. Suzume blends drama and adventure and acts at an affecting metaphor for Japan recovering after the 3/11 earthquake. In world that appears more unstable by the day, it’s nice to know that a work of fiction resonated worldwide.
Pluto
Pluto is a Scifi thriller by Naoki Urasawa (Monster, 20th Century Boys) inspired by characters and concepts from Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka. This is the rare example of a master mangaka doing his own version of characters from another manga master. Pluto comes at an interesting time when Tezuka’s Scifi future may be closer than we think.
The Boy and the Heron
The Boy and the Heron is a return to form for Hayao Miyazaki proving once again that he’s the Beethoven of the anime industry. The film has echoes of Spirited Away and Disney’s Snow White while also creating its own thematic identity. When compared to most animation in the East and West, The Boy and the Heron is in a class of its own.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
What is the passage of time for someone who lives for thousands of years? Such is the question explored in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. We follow an Elf named Frieren and her group of companions after they’ve won a ten year war against the demon king. To Frieren, the decades pass by in a flash but to her human friends it’s a lifetime. Beyond Journey’s End dares to explore existential themes as characters find out what makes life worth living.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
The Scott Pilgrim comic series was a love letter to retro manga artists like Osamu Tezuka and Rumiko Takahashi. It’s fitting that the series would be adapted by the inventive anime studio Science Saru. The returning voice cast and soundtrack from the video game show that this anime series is a labor of love. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is a god-tier example of how to revisit a beloved story. The show gives the fans what they need by not giving them what they thought they wanted. I guarantee that the pop-surrealist romance between Ramona Flowers and Scott Pilgrim will rock audiences for generations to come.
