We review what - in a personal capacity - are the 27 best movies and anime series produced between 2010 and 2019.
We continue in Espinof with the lists of the best of the decade - despite the arbitrary making a selection that is subjective and part of the difficulty of seeing absolutely everything done in ten years, we move on to a particular one: anime.
Here, the difficulty increases as the definition of the concept itself - which is still a shortening adapted in Japanese from animation - raises some controversy: even Hayao Miyazaki himself does not want his work to be considered as such.
In this selection, the films and series are that they are animation and have been made in Japan are those that fell within the possible range of those eligible according to the above criteria.
Knowing the incredible number of productions that respond to these characteristics and the enormous differences in genre, style or target audience, we review what - in a personal capacity - are the 27 best movies and anime series produced between 2010 and 2019.
'Colorful' (2010)
The exhilarating story of 'Colorful' starts with a soul that will have a second chance in the body of a 14-year-old boy who has just committed suicide.
A vitalist proposal that claims the difficulty of fitting into the current environment with a detective mystery as a narrative engine.
'The Tatami Galaxy' (2010)
Repetition is the main narrative engine of 'The Tatami Galaxy', a particular anime in its structure and its casual tone that wastes and overflows visually and verbally.
If this superb comic exercise of pseudo-romantic persecution is to be faulted, it is the speed at which its protagonist speaks and the consequent difficulty in reading subtitles.
'Hunter x Hunter' (2011)
One of the most interesting and bumpy shonen of recent times had a lively adaptation back in 2011, despite being forced to end by continued release delays from the original Yoshihiro Togashi manga.
148 chapters later, the new 'Hunter x Hunter' far surpassed its predecessor for two reasons: the first and logical, which could cover enough history to reach the memorable Chimera Ants arc, and second, that he did with commendable technical neatness and animation.
'Nichijou' (2011)
In the cheeky school of 'Nichijou' there is everything: robots, fighting deer, talking cats...
Although the particular and absurd Japanese humor is not for everyone, the series is more than grateful to those who enter its game by time that exemplifies the difficulty of living institute life.
'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' (2011)
The series that forever destroyed the genre of 'magical girls'.
The tremendous mutation of the plot of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' breaks the series in two by drastically modifying its rhythm and tone, taking a risk that ends up being a resounding success and that serves to transcend the generic codes of the stories about teenagers who gain powers.
'Jojo's Bizarre Adventure' (2012)
The second adaptation of the long-running Hirohiko Araki saga is by far the most resolute.
And although the tone of its first season could easily provoke the incomprehension of those who come to 'Jojo' thinking that it is a cult work, it is the fundamental one to explain the tragic history of the Joestar family and the one that marks the particular evolution of genres and styles of a mutant saga.
'The Wolf Children' (2012)
Perhaps the saddest story ever made by Mamoru Hosoda. 'Wolf Children' explores the eternal opposition between tradition and modernity through two brothers who have the ability to become a wolf, also focusing on the maternal question, loss and identity.
'Attack on Titan' (2013)
Despite the highs and lows of 'Attack on Titan', both for the spectacular technical work of the anime - except for the abuse of CGI in some seasons - and for its twisted narrative construction and its continuous generic mutation, the series is one of the most prominent in the Japanese television industry in recent times.
'The Tale of Princess Kaguya' (2013)
Isao Takahata's latest film is also a stunning piece that returns to Japanese folklore.
And following the pioneering path of its director, 'The tale of Princess Kaguya' avoids the conventional with a thick and blurred line that reminds of ink while simulating a kind of fading at the end of each shot.
'Flowers of Evil' (2013)
The daring and controversial adaptation of the self-titled Shûzô Oshimi manga uses rotoscopy to create an even more delusional and murky feeling compared to the original story by taking reality as a starting point in the designs of his characters.
This dark coming of age takes adolescent misunderstanding in the contemporary context as a starting point to explore the difficulty of fitting into the gear of the social machinery.
'The garden of words' (2013)
From Makoto Shinkai's work, 'The Garden of Words' is probably the most valuable. Forgetting her adolescent obsessions and with a special focus on loneliness and observation of the natural, this inspired medium-length film contains some of the best ideas from the director of 'Your name' and 'Time with you'.
'The wind rises' (2013)
Hayao Miyazaki's failed farewell composes an apocryphal pairing with 'Porco Rosso' by making aviation, the director's marked obsession, the focal point of the film.
Something further from other fixations such as the ecological complaint and with a male protagonist, 'The wind rises' is debated between epic and intimacy as a farewell to the genius of traditional Japanese animation.
'Ping-Pong: The Animation' (2014)
Once again Masaaki Yuasa appears on this list, this time with an adaptation of the Taiyô Matsumoto namesake manga that breaks the precepts and codes of spo-kon.
Beyond the interesting part of its history, the section that stands out the most is its exquisite visual finish, with a delirious animation that has a marked influence from Tex Avery in exploring the possibilities of animation representation.
'Miss Hokusai' (2015)
Despite the fact that Keiichi Hara's adaptation refuses to use designs based on ukiyo-e, just as it happened in the original manga, 'Miss Hokusai' recovers the legacy of Katsushika Ōi, the third daughter of the legendary Japanese painter Hokusai who made of anonymously many works attributed to his father.
Through a markedly traditional portrait centered on episodes of the daily life of Ōi and his father, the film calmly reflects on authorship and the reconciliation between art and craft.
'The boy and the beast' (2015)
The mixture of epic fantasy and everyday life find an almost perfect balance in 'The boy and the beast', a work of sublime animation - frantic in the bustle, contained in the representation of the everyday - that served Hosoda himself to try to understand the importance of paternity and the paternal-filial relationship without forgetting the interesting parallelism between the urban and the rural.
'In this corner of the world' (2016)
Sunao Katabuchi's tragic work could well go parallel to 'The Grave of the Fireflies' for its thematic line.
But although 'In this corner of the world' explores the warlike horror and the tragedy of the Second World War for Japan, the view of the particular Japanese idiosyncrasy has echoes of Ozu in his sense costumbrista portrait.
'Mob Psycho 100' (2016)
After the success of the adaptation of 'One-Punch Man', the BONES studio decided to bring to the small screen the story of Mob, a young psychic with extraordinary powers.
Despite its similarity to the story of the lazy hero Saitama, 'Mob Psycho 100' stands out from the spectacular animation of the previous one to enhance its own identity with nervous strokes and blurred contours while continuing with the hilarious eccentricities of its protagonist.
'A Silent Voice' (2016)
The suggestive images of Naoko Yamada, star of the ill - fated Kyoto Animation studio, make up one of the great films of recent Japanese animation.
Halfway between denunciation, coming of age and adolescent romance, 'A Silent Voice' finds its best moments in the aesthetic observation of silence and anatomical fixation as a particular example of the psychology of its characters.
The Ancient Magus' Bride' (2017)
As troublesome as it may be for the series 'trigger to be for an immortal sorcerer to adopt a fifteen-year-old girl to end up becoming his wife.
'The Ancient Magus 'Bride' stands out for her particular narrative development and mime in careful and meticulous animation.
'Little Witch Academia' (2017)
This charming story of girls with magical powers stands out not only for its careful style and aesthetic neatness, but also for its touching history and its exquisite treatment of the relationships between its protagonists.
'Made in Abyss' (2017)
Between Final Fantasy: Christal Chronicles and Miyazaki is the preciousness of 'Made in Abyss', one of the best visual invoice anime in recent years.
To its spectacular and colorful setting is added a story that darkens as its protagonists explore the unknown by descending the deadly abyss in search of its secrets.
'Night Is Short, Walk On Girl' (2017)
Spiritual heir to 'The Tatami Galaxy' and twinned with the latter by being based on another work by Tomohiko Mori, 'Night Is Short, Walk On Girl' finds in her casual portrait of night madness and her uninhibited and eccentric animation the very particular virtues that treasure the essential work of Masaaki Yuasa.
'Devilman: Crybaby' (2018)
At a stroke, Yuasa rethought Devilman, updating a fundamental franchise in the Japanese imagination while redrawing the expressive limits of animation in this frantic proposal that, without a doubt, is one of the great original productions of Netflix to date.
'Mirai, my little sister' (2018)
The mature work of Mamoru Hosoda confirmed to Hayao Miyazaki distanced himself from time to collecting witness of their society in the reconciliation and responsibility in the tasks of home and family care.
All this under the gaze of a child whose emotions fluctuate at the same time as a ribbon that stretches and contracts, with its own pulse, in a heartfelt reflection on family, time and the Japanese past itself.
'A Place Further Than the Universe' (2018)
This particular slice of life not only stands out for its attractive animation and its particular sensitivity in representing the relationships between its four young protagonists.
The obsessive representation of reality and the world of the series, which could well remember Makoto Shinkai in its millimeter precision, carries a tender story of adolescent redemption against the prevailing social cohesiveness.
'Carole & Tuesday' (2019)
Music continues to be a central piece in Shin'ichiro Watanabe's work, although in 'Carole & Tuesday' it goes from being one more aspect of his particular creative puzzle to being the generating element of the series.
Dystopia and science fiction go hand in hand in a series where the main claim is the importance of creation, the robotization of cultural appreciation and, evidently, its superb soundtrack.
'Dororo' (2019)
This revival of the Osamu Tezuka classic maintains the original spirit of the "god of manga" designs while updating its animation to a frenzy and fluid style in the action scenes.
Not only is it one of the great animated series of recent times, but it also highlights the continued relevance of Tezuka's work fifty years later.
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