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60 Highly Recommended Anime Series Part 6: The last 10

1.

When Okajima Rokuro (aka Rock) visits Southeast Asia carrying a top secret disk, he is kidnapped by pirates riding in the torpedo boat, Black Lagoon. Although he thought he would be rescued soon, the company actually abandons him, and sends mercenaries to retrieve the secret disk. He narrowly escapes with his life, but has nowhere to go. He gives up his name and past, and resolves to live as a member of the Black Lagoon.

2.

Makunouchi Ippo is an ordinary high school student in Japan. Since he spends most of his time away from school helping his mother run the family business, he doesn't get to enjoy his younger years like most teenagers. Always a target for bullying at school (the family fishing business grants him a distinct odor), Ippo's life is one of hardship.

One of these after-school bullying sessions turns Ippo's life around for the better, as he is saved by a boxer named Takamura. He decides to follow in Takamura's footsteps and train to become a boxer, giving his life direction and purpose. Ippo's path to perfecting his pugilistic prowess is just beginning …

3.

17-year-old Izumi Shin'ichi lives with his mother and father in a quiet neighborhood in Tokyo. One night, worm-like parasitic aliens invade Earth, taking over the brains of human hosts by entering through their ears or noses. One such parasite attempts to crawl into Shinichi's ear while he sleeps, but fails since he is wearing headphones; it enters his body by burrowing into his arm instead, taking over his right hand and eventually receiving the name Migi from him.

Because Migi matured in Shin'ichi's hand, it wasn't able to travel further up into his brain, and as such both beings retain their separate intellect and personality. As they encounter other hosts to these parasites, they capitalize on their strange situation and gradually form a strong bond, working together to survive. This gives them an edge in battling the other aliens, who have taken over their human hosts' brains and attack the pair upon realizing that Shin'ichi's human brain is still intact. Shin'ichi feels compelled to fight the other parasites, who devour humans as food, and he enlists Migi's help to that end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4arXErLNQg

4.

Tanaka Yukio, better known by his nickname Koyuki is a 14 year old who feels disconnected from life in general. Through the act of saving a mismatched dog, he meets guitarist Minami Ryuusuke, and becomes involved in Ryuusuke's new band BECK. Koyuki's life starts to change as the band struggles towards fame.

5.

Shindou Hikaru, a 6th grader, finds an old go table in the attic of his grandfather's house. He sees some blood stains on the go table, and tries to wipe it off… when a ghost dressed in Heian period clothes pops out, and takes over his body.

The ghost happens to be Fujiwara no Sai, a member of the court during the Heian period. Sai was one of the two men who was assigned as the go tutor to the emperor. The other tutor was envious of Sai, and challenged him to a go match – whoever wins gets to stay as the court's go master. Sai's opponent cheats during the match, and before Sai could say anything about it, the opponent accused Sai of cheating. Sai was banished from the court, and because of regret and anger, he committed suicide. But as with all unrepented souls, Sai was unable to leave the material world… until he is able to master go, and get one step closer to kami no itte, or god's hand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpV4ZWh4NkQ

6.

Itou Kaiji is a bum who steals car emblems and slashes tires on a regular basis. However, one day, this routine changes when a man in a trench coat pays him a visit. The man reveals himself as Endou, a debt collector, who has come to claim an unpaid loan of 300,000 yen, which Kaiji had previously co-signed with his co-worker, Furuhata Takeshi.

Because of Takeshi's disappearance, Kaiji is left with an overwhelming balance, but is given the chance to gamble against other bankrupt bums aboard a boat — each gambler is loaned additional money, giving them a chance to pay their dues or become in even deeper debt.

Kaiji accepts the challenge in hopes of repaying the compounded debt of 3,850,000 yen and, with luck, winning additional cash…

7.

In the future, it is possible to quantitatively measure a person's emotions, desires, and every inclination. In this way, it is also possible to measure a person's criminal tendency factor, which is used to judge criminals.

This is the story of a team of policemen dedicated to maintaining public order. Some of them work in the Enforcement Division, responsible for the apprehension of criminals, while others belong to the Supervisory Division which oversees their colleagues in Enforcement.

8.

Vash the Stampede is a gunman on the run with a 60 billion double-dollar bounty on his head which has made it difficult for him to go anywhere without being chased and shot at. Every town he visits ends up being destroyed because of his pursuers, but miraculously no one ever gets killed.

Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson are two insurance agents that have been sent to find Vash the Stampede and keep him under surveillance so no more damage is caused. Meryl, who leads the pair, refuses to believe that the man they have met can possibly be the legendary gunman. This spiky-haired, gangly, young man is extremely friendly, a pacifist, hates blood and suicide, absolutely loves doughnuts, and is a dork and a crybaby, a far cry from a notorious outlaw. But there is more to Vash and his past than meets the eye…

9.

In the American underworld, Mafia leaders are being killed one after another, with rumours of Inferno and the organisation's top assasssin Phantom circulating around them. A boy, traveling alone in America becomes involved in one of these incidents and unexpectedly encounters Phantom.

10. Wolf's Rain

There is an old legend that speaks of a hidden paradise on Earth — a paradise which only wolves can find. And while thought to have been extinct for hundreds of years, wolves indeed still walk the earth… hidden among mankind. Now, a group of outcast wolves set out to find Paradise: Kiba, Hige, Tooboe and Tsume. Each wolf is driven by their own personality and desire, but together they are pursued by humans seeking to quench their own thirst for power.

About the author

Panos Kotzathanasis

My name is Panos Kotzathanasis and I am Greek. Being a fan of Asian cinema and especially of Chinese kung fu and Japanese samurai movies since I was a little kid, I cultivated that love during my adolescence, to extend to the whole of SE Asia.

Starting from my own blog in Greek, I then moved on to write for some of the major publications in Greece, and in a number of websites dealing with (Asian) cinema, such as Taste of Cinema, Hancinema, EasternKicks, Chinese Policy Institute, and of course, Asian Movie Pulse. in which I still continue to contribute.

In the beginning of 2017, I launched my own website, Asian Film Vault, which I merged in 2018 with Asian Movie Pulse, creating the most complete website about the Asian movie industry, as it deals with almost every country from East and South Asia, and definitely all genres.

You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

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