What is a Masterpiece?

What makes an anime perfect?

Honestly, no anime is perfect. No matter how impressive a series is or how much praise it receives, it will always have some flaws. However, that down not keep me and others in the anime community from referring to a select few series as masterpieces.

 But what makes an anime a masterpiece? To answer this, let's look at the actual definition of "Masterpiece". According to one definition, a masterpiece is "a work done with extraordinary skill, especially: a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement". In other words, a masterpiece is anything that took a lot of skill to create and can also be considered smart or groundbreaking.

Animation and storytelling alone take a lot of skill and talent, but those anime that have exceptional animation and storytelling really do standout among the thousands of anime that have come from Japan. And among those that are technically impressive, only a few of those feel fresh or say something profound.

Within the anime community, there are a few series that are often called masterpieces. These include shows like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Steins;Gate. But while these series receive a lot of praise, not everyone considers these series to be perfect anime or even masterpieces. For example, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is the highest rated anime on MyAnimeList but it has an average score of 9.24/10, it's not a perfect 10/10.

Everyone has different tastes and experiences that shape their enjoyment of media. While there are anime that easily make me laugh or cry, not everyone is going to have the same reaction to the same show. That means that there are some people that have watched some of the most critically acclaimed anime and finish thinking that they're overrated or uninteresting.

There are a few anime that I love and refer to as masterpieces like Death Parade and Revolutionary Girl Utena. While I hold these series in high regard, I've also read reviews where I've found out that some don't think that these series are as great. And that's fine, since I know that everyone has different tastes.

When I call an anime a masterpiece, I am not making the claim that the series are perfect or that everyone should love them. I call an anime a masterpiece because I feel like the message it is delivering is very important or valuable to me. Whether it be Penguindrum's story about family and destiny, SSSS.Gridman's adventure into the heart of a villain, and Fate/Zero's philosophical debates on heroism and nobility, really spoke to me

It is those anime that made me take a step back and think about my own life the world around me. When I get that feeling and go back to those series over and over again, I can't help but call those anime masterpieces.

But then that's just me. Let me know what you think on this topic and let me know what anime you consider to be a masterpiece.