Over the last month or so, Madman Entertainment have been asking their fans to vote for their favourite anime releases from the company (Along with other releases which due to their diversity, most likely won’t make it into this top 20) and giving away on-the-spot prizes to those who provided interesting vote justifications. The intention of this is to generate what fans would consider the companies Top 20 series releases.
Beating all 99 other titles on offer, Madman have finally announced what title earned the top spot in their survey for their Top 20 Anime Releases. This title is Neon Genesis Evangelion, a series that began as a television anime series in the 90’s and more recently as film releases over the last few years – all of which have been released by the company and are still available for purchase. Personally, it was a good solid series and given its popularity I could see it having a place in the Top 20….. top spot…. was a bit surprising but it pulled it off in the end.
For the last time, here is what the team at Madman had to say about it, including a comment from Tim Anderson (Madman Founder and Managing Director).
It is fitting that the anime that defined Madman is #1 in the poll, and shows that Evangelion truly changed things when it arrived to blow our minds, first as a TV series in the 90s, and now as a film series today.
Encapsulating so many elements of anime, it redefined what anime could be with its emotionally complex characters and deep philosophical grounding, amongst a dramatic, sweeping, action packed science fiction epic.
Taking in the themes of isolation, loneliness and the difficulties of human relationships Eva then matches it with the tropes of giant robot and suit anime to force an often unwanted transformation and duty. For Shinji and the other children tasked with saving the world, there’s little thrill in all this power; it’s a burden to bear as they slowly realise it’s their connections to one another that make life truly worth living.
Evangelion is a truly paradigmatic anime – to mark time there is before, and then, after Evangelion. Just one of the many reasons this deserves it’s #1 spot as the greatest anime of all time.
“The Madman defining anime series. And still the only series I’ve ever watched more than once. Awesome.” – Tim Anderson – Madman Founder, Managing Director
