Otaku is a Japanese term for people with obsessive interests in anime, manga, or video games. Artwork is one major appeal of animes among Filipinos. It also inspired many young people to learn about Japanese culture. Here are the top Japanese animes that are popular in the Philippines.
#1. One Piece
One Piece follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a funny young man whose body gained the properties of rubber after unintentionally eating a Devil Fruit. With his diverse crew of pirates, named the Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy explores the ocean in search of the world’s ultimate treasure known as “One Piece” in order to become the next Pirate King.
#2. Naruto
It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and dreams to become the Hokage, the ninja in his village who is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of all.
#3. Attack on Titan
It is set in a world where humanity lives inside cities surrounded by enormous walls; a defense against the Titans, gigantic humanoids that eat humans seemingly without reason. The story initially centers on Eren Yeager, his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman and childhood friend Armin Arlert, who joins the military to fight the Titans after their home town is invaded and Eren’s mother is eaten. However, as the story progresses and the truths about the Titans are slowly revealed to the reader, the narrative shifts to encompass Historia Reiss, squad leader Levi, and other supporting characters.
#4. Dragon Ball
The series follows the adventures of the protagonist, Goku, from his childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven orbs known as the Dragon Balls, which summon a wish-granting dragon when gathered. Along his journey, Goku makes several friends and battles a wide variety of villains, many of whom also seek the Dragon Balls.
#5. Slam Dunk
Hanamichi Sakuragi is a delinquent and the leader of a gang. Sakuragi is very unpopular with girls, having been rejected an astonishing fifty times. In his first year at Shohoku High School, he meets Haruko Akagi, the girl of his dreams, and is overjoyed when she is not repulsed or scared of him like all the other girls he has asked out. Haruko, recognizing Sakuragi’s athleticism, introduces him to the Shohoku basketball team. Sakuragi is reluctant to join the team at first, as he has no prior experience in sports and thinks that basketball is a game for losers. Later on, Sakuragi realizes that he has come to actually love the sport, despite having previously played primarily because of his crush on Haruko. Kaede Rukawa, Sakuragi’s bitter rival, the star rookie and a “girl magnet” joins the team at the same time. Not long after, Hisashi Mitsui, a skilled three-point shooter and ex-junior high school MVP, and Ryota Miyagi, a short but fast point guard, both rejoin the team and together these four struggle to fulfill team captain Takenori Akagi’s dream of winning the national championship. Together, these misfits gain publicity and the once little-known Shohoku basketball team becomes an all-star contender in Japan.
#6. Prince of Tennis
The series is primarily set in Tokyo, and centers around Ryoma Echizen, a tennis prodigy who attends Seishun Academy, a private school famous for its strong tennis club and talented players. Ryoma quickly defeats numerous upperclassmen shortly after entrance to secure himself a spot as one of the team’s regulars. In pursuit of their ultimate goal of winning the National Middle School Tennis Championship, members of the team make new friends while learning and mastering increasingly complex techniques. Ryoma also begins to develop his own style of tennis, and eventually realizes what the sport really means to him.
#7. Detective Conan
Shinichi Kudo, a seventeen year old master detective, had it all. He could solve any case brought to his attention and in record time. His girlfriend, Ran, is a karate expert, and her father is a bumbling P.I. who is driven crazy by the fact that Shinichi gets all of the great cases. One day, while Shinichi and Ran are at an amusement park, the pair become separated. Shinichi catches wind of a dirty deal going down, and spies on a pair of men in dark trench coats. He’s caught and the men use an experimental poison on him, intending to kill him. However, things don’t work exactly as planned. When Shinichi comes to, he finds he’s shrunken down to the size of a fourth grader. He goes to the goofball inventor that lives next door to him for help, and the inventor agrees to give him a hand. When Ran comes looking for Shinichi, he and the inventor come up with a story saying that Shinichi is a child named Conan Edogawa. Ran offers to let “Conan” live with her family while his “family” is away. Shinichi then makes it his mission to one day find the men who poisoned him and get the antidote. Thus concludes the backstory to the series. In each episode, Conan solves a different case in the style of all good detective shows, giving hints to help the viewer try to guess who the villain is, while trying to keep his true identity a secret.
#8. Inu Yasha
InuYasha is a half-demon who was trapped in the Legendary Tree and was set free by Kagome, a girl who traveled 500 years through time. This time, both of them will have to face Menomaru, a Chinese demon whose father, known as Hyoga, came 300 years ago to invade Japan, but was stopped by InuYasha’s Father. InuYasha and Kagome, along with Sango, Miroku, Shippou, Kaede and Myoga, will try to stop Menomaru in his becoming the most powerful demon ever.
#9. Tokyo Ghoul
Ken Kaneki, a college student who barely survives a deadly encounter with Rize Kamishiro, his date who reveals herself as a ghoul, a human-like creature that hunts and devours human flesh, and is taken to the hospital in critical condition. After recovering, Kaneki discovers that somehow he underwent a surgery that transformed him into a half-ghoul by transferring some of Rize’s organs into his body, as she died when she attacked him, and just like them, he must consume human flesh to survive as well. With no one else to turn to, he is taken in by the ghouls who manage the coffee shop “Anteiku”, who teach him to deal with his new life as a half-human/half-ghoul, including interacting with ghoul society and its conflicting factions, while striving to keep his identity secret from other humans.
#10. Fairy Tail
Set in an imaginary world, the Earth Land, there exists a Mage Guild called “Fairy Tail.” Fairy Tail is stationed in the town Magnolia, residing in the Kingdom of Fiore, and is currently governed by Makarov, Guild’s master. Lucy Heartfilia, a 17-year-old girl, wishes to become a full-fledged mage and join one of the most prestigious Mage Guilds in the world, Fairy Tail. One day, out of pure coincidence, she meets Natsu Dragneel, a boy who is transportation-sick, but very cheerful in nature. However, the thing she does not know is that Natsu is the closest connection to Fairy Tail, as he is a Mage in Fairy Tail.
Image credit: www.techshout.com and www.flickr.com/photos/franklinparklibrary
