My favorites I saw in 2013:

Evangelion 3.33 - sure it went in a different direction and was the weakest out of the 3 movies done so far....still was a good watch and kept me interested, and that opening action sequence! Bring on 4.44!

Arpeggio of Blue Steel - probably the most underated series of the year...while the fanservice was a little offputting, there is just something special about this show, and it will make you cry.

RWBY - I'm calling it anime because that what it's an homage to...anyways - love the comedy, action scenes, and music in this short first season...come on second season!

New Dominion Tank Police - and oldie but really good OVA, got DVD on big holiday discount. If you like Appleseed and Patlabor check it out...

Ghost in the Shell: Arise OVA (episode 1 - Ghost Pains) - Almost as good as GITS SAC TV series... special collectors Blu-Ray edition is a great value too. Can't wait for the remaining 3 episodes.

Submarine 707R OVA - Wow, this 2 episode OVA really would have been cool if they continued it....best naval combat anime ever?!?! Had some awkward scenes though involving the First officer and the captains not yet teen daughter...pervert!

and finally the Anime of the year..

Attack on Titan - I watched it episode by episode, week by week as it was simulcast - Couldn't, not watch it, and counted down in anticipation until each new episode was released. I need to find and see the OVA's and special episodes that were recently released and of course anticipating season 2 whenever it comes out! Bought the OST albums and will buy the Blu-Ray. I hope whenever season 2 is made that this song from the Linked Horizon single CD is used for an ED, seems like ~ 2min 2sec in would be perfect starting point for a 1:30 ending.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc0_P9HzH1A"]Shingeki No Kyojin 3rd Single[Linked Horizon] - YouTube[/ame]

The naturo soundtrack is still my favorite since I love to play My Irish Penny Whistle and meh Fiddle.

What I like about it is how the melodies are all so simple ...yet are very well prepared. Like a small plate of expertly prepared flavors. LIKE THE BRZ/FRS =D

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdU5JJNka_k"]Naruto Shippuden OST - Man of the World - YouTube[/ame]

But this has to be my all time favorite Anime track. Couple diff versions, decide which is best

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNSl8nhoPlE"]Bleach - never meant to belong (piano violin) - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ7fsaj-8jc"]Bleach: Never Meant to Belong - Violin Solo, Taylor Davis - YouTube[/ame]

I can whistle it pitch perfect =D. People hate me because I can hit such a high register when I whistle. I have my own eternal soundtrack, at work I whistle maybe 100 diff songs daily, maybe its anime. Maybe its a movie soundtrack, maybe its journey's guitar lead, or a rush song ...or maybe its super mario brothers or the pokemon bike theme. w/e pops into my head ..I am ADHD as hell and no one at work is really talkative. Assembly line work sucks....meh ...Id do better playing it on the violin.

Violins can "Weep" like no other instrument. And you do not need much complexity in composition ..

My all time favorite OST's are from Attack on Titan, Birdy the Mighty: Decode (which only Attack on Titan tops overall for me), Beck, Bubblegum Crisis 2031, Burst Angel, Gunslinger Girl, and Princess Nine.

Huge orchestral, electronica, and instrumental rock are my musical preferences.

Oh, and because of Attack on Titan, I found this dude who "metalizes" stuff like anime, game, movie, and TV songs:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVO-iK2aTK4"]Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) Op 1 Meets Metal - YouTube[/ame]

Love his take on the Sherlock and Dr. Who theme songs and The Last of the Mohicans...

The movie Pacific Rim was based on Evangelian I think. With the countdowns to the monsters arriving, and the human powered fighting robots, that was in Evangelian as well I think.

I haven't see Nausicaa of the valley of the wind, I'll have to check it out. Thanks!

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYoAIgjlvL4"]Guillermo del Toro meets Gundam in Japan - YouTube[/ame]

I believe so also Gundam as well. This is the vid when Del Toro went to Japan.

If it isn't (loosely) based on it, then it's the closest we're going to get to live-action NGE!

Glad you're a fan. I was a stuntman in Japan and worked on the super sentai series as a suit actor. My GF actually was the yellow samurai power ranger suit actor that they filmed in NZ.

Don't think the bots were powered by humans... They had a battery pack and Evangelion was more religious based than anything.

Evangelion = Robots that were controlled by specific "children" that had a battery pack that lasted for 15 mins upon disconnection with their "umbilical cord" (power source).

Pacific Rim = Just robots powered by peeps.

not to knock the movie, but just not based on that anime. As far as I can tell, it's more closely related to power rangers since the fight monsters from outer space that come to earth?!

That's really awesome, love to hear more about it :)!


And if I remembered correctly EvA weren't even robots, more like clones of the monsters with mechanical restraints.

Evas were clones of Lilith (Lilim) which is also where Ayanami Rei comes from.

Love the Sentai Stuff -- wish there were more of it here, except without the cheesy stories of friends and kids.

with the exception of EVA 1 which was Adam? or wait weren't they all clones of adam, and Eva 1 was Lilith. I haven't seen EVA in a long time and I didn't see the movies yet.

I have never watched NGE. I was at a social dynamics seminar once and NGE was mentioned by the host as having some deep subject matter regarding social norms and conformity?

I usually watch Anime for its themes.

Gantz for instance covers blind obedience to authority, and most of the characters are innately selfish ..working together only towards a common goal for no other reason than being placed into an environment where they are "Told to do so". Why are we killing these aliens? because we are told to ...

Naruto covers aspects of authenticity and tenacity and emotional bonding.

Death note covers the whole "power corrupts" bit. And is a great example of why democratic regimes are the best way to live , because even if you "are" right, it should not be up to any one party to make decisions on peoples lives and the only true form of evil in a morally gray reality is the imposition of divine right, enforcing absolute standards at the expense of free will and free speech. Lights world was a fascist world where only his sense of morality was correct.

So how would you discribe NGE's themes in these regard?