When you work in pop culture, part of the challenge in doing so is keeping up with what’s relevant year after year. In my specific niche of entertainment, this means focusing on anime, cartoons, and video games.  Now, on the surface, this reads like a “dream come true” for so many of you on the Internet and – to a degree – it is a damn fine problem to have. Just past the initial cool factor, however, lies the layer of reality that there are only so many hours in a day.  Squeezing in “pop culture homework” is harder than you think.

As of this writing, I have a large stack of Green Arrow comics which I need to read. The only way around this, as far as I can tell, is to schedule a day off of doing nothing but sitting down on the couch, reading a comic, and then bag and boarding it. (I’m working on reading all the current issues while, simultaneously, building my back issue collection.  This is a project I started a while back.)

Next: video games. I don’t have a Nintendo Switch. Why, you ask? Because I still have two games for the Wii U that need completing first. I hate wasting a good game. Additionally, I have a stack of PS4 games (Christmas gifts, mostly) and a XBox One game that need finishing. All popular and relevant titles.

Television: I try to keep up on the CW DC shows, but there are so many now, and only a couple have stayed good enough to keep my interest. There are other genre shows, too, that I keep up with. Most of those are streaming, though. (Star Trek Discovery, etc.)

Which leads me to anime.

Anime is the hardest to watch because I generally enjoy watching it subtitled. That means, unlike TV or movies, I need to keep complete and undivided attention on it. No multi-tasking with my laptop while watching or phone: I have to keep my eyes on the screen.

(Or I have to learn Japanese.)

The best solution to this has been the gym. Luckily, a number of streaming services now offer the download option. This means I can download episodes of something and not have to worry about the spotty wi-fi at my gym. I get to the gym and – depending on the episode and my overall motivation for the morning – I can sit on a bike for 25-45 minutes and catch up on some series.  As a result, I’m finally on the final episode of Kill la Kill, and I plan on following that up by re-watching Cowboy Bebop.

This got me to thinking about what series I have watched, what I’m going to watch, and what I need to watch. As always, I’m open to suggestions but remember: I need them to be available via digital and download (not stream). Netflix, Amazon Prime, iTunes, etc.

Here’s what I can remember. (I reserve the right to come back and edit this as I recall more.) I have left Transformers off this list since the American/Canadian/Japanese series serve as their own genre in my opinion.

MOVIES

• Ah! My Goddess: The Movie (2000)
• Akira (1988)
• The Animatrix (2003)
• Blood: The Last Vampire (2000)
• Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie (1999)
• The Cat Returns (2002)
• Castle in the Sky (1986)
• The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
• Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (2001)
• Escaflowne: The Movie (2000)
• Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (2007)
• Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009)
• Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012)
• Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture (1994)
• Fist of the North Star (1991)
• Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa (2005)
• Ghost in the Shell (1995)
• Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (1998)
• Gurren Lagann The Movie: Childhood’s End (2013)
• Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
• My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
• Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth (1997)
• Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)
• Ninja Scroll (1993)
• Odin: Photon Sailer Starlight (1985)
• Pokemon: The First Movie (1998)
• Princess Mononoke (1997)
• Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie (1999)
• Sailor Moon R: The Movie (1993)
• Sailor Moon S: The Movie (1994)
• Sailor Moon Super S: The Movie (1995)
• Spirited Away (2001)
• Tenchi the Movie: Tenchi Muyo in Love (1996)
• Vampire Hunter D (1985)
• Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000)

SERIES

• .hack//Sign (Complete Series)
• Ah! My Goddess (Complete Series)
• Attack on Titan (S1) – need to watch S2
• Bleach (S1, S2, S3, S4, & S5)
• Cardcaptor Sakura (Complete Series)
• Castlevania (S1) – S2 not out yet
• Cowboy Bebop (Complete Series)
• Durarara!! (Complete Series)
• Escaflowne (1996)
• FLCL (Complete Series)
• Fullmetal Alchemist (Complete Series)
• Giant Robot (Complete Series)
• Goldenboy (Complete Series)
• Hand Maid May (Complete Series)
• Kill la Kill (Complete Series)
• Naruto (S1)
• Neon Genesis Evangelion (Complete Series)
• Otaku No Video (Complete Series)
• Panda Z (Complete Series)
• Penguindrum (Complete Series)
• Princess Tutu (Complete Series)
• Puella Magi Madoka Magica (Complete Series)
• Revolutionary Girl Utena (Complete Series)
• Serial Experiments Lain (Complete Series)

SERIES THAT I HAVE STARTED – BUT NEVER FINISHED A COMPLETE SEASON

• Bubblegum Crisis
• Chobits
• Magic User’s Club
• Sailor Moon Crystal
• Sgt. Frog
• Tenchi Muyo
• Trigun

SERIES/MOVIES IN QUEUE TO WATCH (IN ORDER OF PRIORITY)

• Cowboy Bebop (Re-watch on Amazon)
• My Hero Acadamia (iTunes)
• Godzilla (the new anime on Netflix)
• One Punch Man (Netflix)
• The Devil is Part-Timer (Netflix)
• Durarara!!x2 (Netflix)
• Deathnote (Netflix)
• both Puella Magi Madoka Magica movies (Netflix)
• the Macross/Robotech series (Amazon)