If you don’t know me very well then you might be surprised to learn that I’m an avid anime buff.  And with anime gaining popularity in the U.S. (with peple who wouldn’t normally watch it) i’ve compiled a list of the Top 10 Must-See Anime Series for those of you looking to pop your anime cherry.  Now while there are alot more (and better) ones out there, I decided to stick with the more popular and completed ones that you can actually buy in this country without having to look that hard.

2.  DBZ (Dragonball Z)

What Wikipedia Says:

A monkey-tailed boy named Goku is found by an old martial arts expert who raises him as his grandson. One day Goku meets a girl named Bulma and together they go on a quest to retrieve the seven Dragon Balls, mythical objects that can summon a dragon who will grant any wish. Along the way, they meet and befriend a plethora of martial artists. They also undergo rigorous training regimes and educational programs in order to fight in the World Martial Arts Tournament, a tournament in which the most powerful fighters in the world compete. Outside the tournaments, Goku faces diverse villains such as Emperor Pilaf, the Red Ribbon Army, a demon known as Piccolo Daimao and his offspring.

As a young adult, Goku meets his older brother, Raditz, who tells him that they come from a race of extraterrestrials called Saiyans. The Saiyans had sent Goku to Earth to destroy it, but his ship crashes upon arrival. Goku fell into a deep ravine and lost all memory of his mission. Goku refuses to help Raditz continue the mission, after which he begins to encounter others who want to battle him, such as the Saiyan prince Vegeta. He also encounters Frieza, who is considered to be one of the strongest beings in the universe, after which Goku begins training his first child, Son Gohan, to be his successor. Years later, a group of soldiers from the Red Ribbon army known as androids appear to kill Goku. Another android, Cell, absorbs Androids #17 and #18 from the Red Ribbon army to increase his power, then fights Goku and Gohan, resulting in the former’s death. Goku decides to stay dead for seven years to train in the Other World. When he returns, he is drawn into a battle for the universe against an extraterrestrial named Majin Buu. Joined by Vegeta and Gohan, the evil half of Buu is destroyed and the Good Buu (Mr. Buu) settles down with them. Ten years later at a martial arts tournament, Goku meets evil Buu’s human reincarnation, Uub. At the end of the series, Goku takes Uub away on a journey to train him as another successor.

Why it made the list:

I’ll level with ya, I honestly don’t have any tangible reasons why this made the list other than that its a classic and has more memorable moments than any other series.  Anybody that knows anime would have DBZ on their list somewhere and they wouldn’t really be able to tell you why other than to cite certain instances where something cool or profound happened.  It has fans everywhere and holds a special spot in the hearts of people like myself, it being my first anime series completely seen.  But its more than that, it has achieved “classic” status because of the great story, intense action, and stupid comedy (ok so I finally thought of some reasons).  DBZ did something that few anime’s at the time did action-wise, they had no weapons.  No swords or hammers or guns, it was just your two fists and your cunning.  And because everybody ended up getting so strong toward the end, it was the cunning that decided the winner.  Its the definition of a classic anime series and to watch it (with the original Japanese voices with subtitles)  is to understand why.

OCBENJI One Line Review:

“Ka – Me – Ka – Ha- Me – HA!”