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Crunchyroll Essential Anime: Fan Favorites, Memorable Masterpieces, and Cult Classics
Not yet published
Expected 5 Apr 44An insightful guide to the under-explored medium of anime, Crunchyroll's Essential Anime features 50 influential and unforgettable anime series and films that have left an undeniable impact on our culture.
More than just a list of anime to watch, Essential Anime digs into the distinct stories of the creators and studios behind the making of these must-see anime titles, as well as the personal connections and importance they hold with anime fans around the world. With commentary on anime's history and lasting appeal, recommendation lists, and hundreds of stunning images, Crunchyroll's Essential Anime is an indispensable guide for anime lovers and fans, offering an entertaining and moving narrative about anime's true impact on pop culture.
Ranging from classic and modern series and films this official guide will explore iconic and
More than just a list of anime to watch, Essential Anime digs into the distinct stories of the creators and studios behind the making of these must-see anime titles, as well as the personal connections and importance they hold with anime fans around the world. With commentary on anime's history and lasting appeal, recommendation lists, and hundreds of stunning images, Crunchyroll's Essential Anime is an indispensable guide for anime lovers and fans, offering an entertaining and moving narrative about anime's true impact on pop culture.
Ranging from classic and modern series and films this official guide will explore iconic and
- GenresManga
240 pages, Paperback
Expected publication April 5, 2044
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 7, 2025
A curation of fifty of the most renowned Anime titles from "Astro Boy (1963-1966)" to "Demon Slayer (2019-Present)". "Crunchyroll Essential Anime" is an excellent introduction to newcomers and a love letter to the Anime genre. Patrick Macias and Samuel Sattin highlight what makes each title groundbreaking as well as tell the stories of the geniuses behind them.
The list itself is extremely varied, from popular picks like "Dragon Ball Z (1989-1996)" and "One Piece (1999-Present), to more niche titles like "Tekkonkinkreet (2006)" and "In this Corner of the World (2016)". In addition, to avoid favoring a specific director, the authors intentionally chose to limit one title per director, such as selecting "Princess Mononoke (1997)" by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli fame and "Millennium Actress (2001)" by the late Satoshi Kon.
With any top X list, there are bound to be controversial picks and omissions. Patrick openly confesses "I can't lie to you and say 'Sword Art Online' is some kind of great work of art.", while Samuel writes that Pokémon "....may not measure up to many other of the entries in this book in quality...". Both admit, the titles were included due to their sheer influence and popularity. In addition, the vast majority of picks all had to have English dubs. Hence why I suspect Doraemon and Detective Conan are not on the list. Lastly there is some obvious bias, as most picks from 2010 and beyond, coincidentally were timed-exclusives on the Crunchyroll streaming platform (as of this review they can now be found on other streaming platforms).
About a quarter of the listings are covered by guest authors with a better grasp of the material especially the shōjo (girl) Anime titles like "Sailor Moon (1992-1997)" and "K-On! (2009-2010)". However, the guest articles are not written as well as Patrick and Samuel's pieces, leading to an odd juxtaposition when read chronologically. Some of the guest articles have spelling mistakes, go into side tangents and use a more basic vocabulary.
Anime is a visual medium, so it's expected for this book going to be filled to the brim with pictures. What is unexpected is the quality of the images: they are inconsistent, with some in shockingly poor quality. Getting high resolution images from an Anime should be as easy as searching for the DVD box art or promotional materials online. What is there instead, are fuzzy images that look like someone took pictures of their TV with their phone.
"Crunchyroll Essential Anime" is an excellent list of fifty Anime titles spanning the history of the medium. It is a love letter to Anime and demonstrates it is not just for kids, but can be enjoyed by adults as well. "Crunchyroll Essential Anime" is an enjoyable read as an e-book or a book borrowed from the library, but the inconsistent quality of the writing and the low resolution images will disappoint those who bought the paperback edition.
The list itself is extremely varied, from popular picks like "Dragon Ball Z (1989-1996)" and "One Piece (1999-Present), to more niche titles like "Tekkonkinkreet (2006)" and "In this Corner of the World (2016)". In addition, to avoid favoring a specific director, the authors intentionally chose to limit one title per director, such as selecting "Princess Mononoke (1997)" by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli fame and "Millennium Actress (2001)" by the late Satoshi Kon.
With any top X list, there are bound to be controversial picks and omissions. Patrick openly confesses "I can't lie to you and say 'Sword Art Online' is some kind of great work of art.", while Samuel writes that Pokémon "....may not measure up to many other of the entries in this book in quality...". Both admit, the titles were included due to their sheer influence and popularity. In addition, the vast majority of picks all had to have English dubs. Hence why I suspect Doraemon and Detective Conan are not on the list. Lastly there is some obvious bias, as most picks from 2010 and beyond, coincidentally were timed-exclusives on the Crunchyroll streaming platform (as of this review they can now be found on other streaming platforms).
About a quarter of the listings are covered by guest authors with a better grasp of the material especially the shōjo (girl) Anime titles like "Sailor Moon (1992-1997)" and "K-On! (2009-2010)". However, the guest articles are not written as well as Patrick and Samuel's pieces, leading to an odd juxtaposition when read chronologically. Some of the guest articles have spelling mistakes, go into side tangents and use a more basic vocabulary.
Anime is a visual medium, so it's expected for this book going to be filled to the brim with pictures. What is unexpected is the quality of the images: they are inconsistent, with some in shockingly poor quality. Getting high resolution images from an Anime should be as easy as searching for the DVD box art or promotional materials online. What is there instead, are fuzzy images that look like someone took pictures of their TV with their phone.
"Crunchyroll Essential Anime" is an excellent list of fifty Anime titles spanning the history of the medium. It is a love letter to Anime and demonstrates it is not just for kids, but can be enjoyed by adults as well. "Crunchyroll Essential Anime" is an enjoyable read as an e-book or a book borrowed from the library, but the inconsistent quality of the writing and the low resolution images will disappoint those who bought the paperback edition.
December 5, 2022
A interesting and informative book about anime. It’s given some recommendations of one I’ve never heard of before. Also helped me to view animes I’ve watched in a new light.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews