Complete list of all media shown or mentioned: NOTE * = Featured Strawberry Marshmallow Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens Honey and Clover Please Twins! (also Onegai Twins) Bleach Full Metal Panic! Ah! My Goddess! Love Hina Azumanga Daioh Gurren Lagann Grenadier Midori Days Lucky Star Tales of Phantasia Gunslinger Girl Read or Die Pokemon Tales of Destiny (video game) Tales of Destiny Remake (video game) Spirited Away Ponyo Princess Mononoke Genshiken Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-Chan Welcome to the N.H.K. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Jet Set Radio (video game) Chobits* Beck Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien* Sakura Wars School Rumble Death Note DearS Blue Gender Kiddy Grade My-HiME Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Naruto Haibane Renmei Nodame Cantible Ninja Scroll Kokoro Library The Animatrix Rozen Maiden Kiss X Sis Elfen Lied* Excel Saga The Melencholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Air Dragon Ball Z Ai Yori Aoshi Cowboy Bebop The Movie Bible Black Desert Punk Ikki Tousen Berserk (original series) Eureka Seven Black Lagoon Paranoia Agent FLCL Samurai Champloo Neon Genesis Evangelion Bokurano Higurashi When They Cry Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Viewtiful Joe Kiki's Delivery Service Haikyu!! Akira Clannad Fruits Basket Mushishi

“Don’t watch Chobits when your parents are awake” Truer words have never been spoken. Dude was a BRO

Oh man, I saw the self titled video and got scared that it was a farewell KZfaq video for a second.

that "Let Me Be With You" is forever burned into my memory

You could not have put together a more sincere and heartfelt way to say out load exactly how I felt growing up with anime from the early 90s and how I feel now.

Honey wake up, Beyond Ghibli uploaded again

Wasnt expecting a love letter to Chobits from this channel lol. This video really resonated with me with my teenage binge into anime being around the same time. Elfenlied literally burned itself into my psyche as well. I have extremely mixed feelings about it in retrospect but I cannot deny how in a way it took away a part of my innocence and naivety about the cruelty of humanity. However the ability for those characters to find a family and relative happiness despite the trauma and cruelty they endured is definitely as impactful as the horrors the anime portrayed, if not more so.

I just want to take a moment and thank you for finding some time in your life to make such a personal video for your audience. Sometimes, uploading takes a backseat to real life, but remember that there is an audience you earned waiting to hear your voice when you'll have the time to share.

There's a part of me that can still lock onto that feeling of being 14 and experiencing Love Hina or Full Metal Panic as the pinacles of excitement and media transgression - gosh, I remember how loudly I laughed. It was a good time. We grow, and so does our taste, but it's also wise to keep a little bit of the preteen (and also the child, the adolescent, the young adult, even the baby) alive inside of us. Perhaps our excitements are not as explosive, but our sense of discovery and wonder is still here. Thank you for the video, it brought me back. I was also handed a CD, and I did my fair share of burning and gifting myself. I tried to learn how to sing, directly inspired by Beck. I studied Japanese for 2.5 years, all that good stuff. Now, like some people on the internet, I make videos about Miyazaki. It's nice to know we're not alone, isn't it?

This wasn't just a nostalgic look at early 2000s anime, this is a love letter to the whole medium, and it's beautiful! Thank you so much! You made me fall in love with anime all over again, and I never fell out in the first place!

At times I lose faith in youtube as a medium and then Beyond Ghibli uploads... So many memories come back with the shows shown and mentioned. Thank you soooo much for your incredible videos.

84 model here. Watched all these shows in the olden days and they also caressed desires and nurtured my maturity in ways that my broken home could not. I'm happy to have experienced these shows. I begun maybe a little earlier than you, being raised by Heidi and Moomin made by Hayao Myazaki before Studio Ghibli was a thing and I new what anime was.

I’m 55. I remember running home from elementary school each day to catch the newest episode of “Star Blazers”. After that we got “Battle of the Planets”. But, Star Blazers left a mark on me because of the drama that ran much deeper than other “cartoons” I watched. I’ll never forget the episode when Wildstar had his arm grazed by a blaster and you could see the blood oozing from the wound. The suspense and cliffhanger episode made me run home faster the next day…… Years later (early 90’s), I strolled into a comic shop and found a Macross comic and inquired about it because the art was reminiscent of Star Blazers. The owner suggested I check out the anime club meeting in the back room. I strolled to the back, pulled back a curtain and saw a sight I’ll never forget. A relatively small, cramped space filled with old, donated leather couches and chairs. The smell of pizza and a room full of nerds. The old LCD projection screen and a chain of VCR’s and laser disk players giving off electric warmth. That nights feature was Silent Mobius. The cyberpunk, Blade Runner vibe had me from the get go. I was hooked. I’ve been an anime nerd ever since. With the vapid, boiler plate trash that Hollywood puts out today…….I love it even more. Great video! Allergies acted up toward the end.

"end of the prologue." Now you've got me wanting more! I'm honestly surprised that Haibane Renmei was one of those first four episodes. I watched it after your video on it, and it's certainly not an anime I'd expect teenage boys to appreciate.

The editing was perfection. Chobits was one of the first anime I watched knowing it was anime. So nostalgic and opened my eyes to a whole new world and ways of thinking. Anime has such diversity in story telling that you just couldn't find on western TV.

Man, there were SO MANY hidden moments in this video. How special. For someone who, more or less, grew up in a similar manner (my brother being my guide), and who ended with manga as my medium of choice in the end, this felt so special. Specially when you said you tried everything (THEN SHOWED A SCENE FROM BIBLE BLACK, DON'T THINK WE'RE LETTING THIS SHIT SLIDE). Much love, thank you for your own response art, it is quite beautiful. It reminded me of the powerful potential of storytelling. With the manga landscape being infested with lazy plots that I have to rifle through, I often times forget it. I forget that there's a reason our love for the artform runs so deep. But there are stories that can truly transform us, like Kimi Ga transformed you. And what a great reminder at the end. What is the language of art if not our collective perception of it? What is art, if it is not shared?

I discovered toonomi back in 2003, and I was hooked. They were stories and art style I had never seen before. I have been in love ever since.

Alright time to lock in.

Evangelion was my own beyond Ghibli moment. It started with a single image found in the depths of some early aught's forum or blog. I don't remember where I found it but the image remains stark strange and beautiful in my mind. A giant pale naked woman basked in an eerie monochromatic blood red. She towered above swirling clouds with strange appendages resembling insect wings sprouting from her back and legs. In her hands she cradled a soft white orb that she looked down on with an expression a mother might give their newborn child. It flipped a switch in my brain and I needed to know where this image came from, who made it, and why. Needless to say I always was and still am a Rei fan.

Elfen Lied... It's one of the most controversial shows. But also one of my all time favourites. Not because it's the one of the "best", but because it's succeeded to make me FEEL each time I rewatched it. (Maybe three times.) The tragedy somehow gets to me every time. I don't think I've ever cried more to an anime. And that's what entertainment is about, to me. Not crying, but feeling any sort of strong feelings.

2:11 those captions go crazy, damn

I didn’t expect to get so emotional over an video essay but you truly touched me. This is really a fantastic video!

I want you to know that you're an amazing creator. I enjoy your content, and value the zen like insights per episode. The recommendations and hidden finds within the videos are always top tier. 🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️

The classic children’s story book way that this personal tale of an anime fan is narrated is amazing. I feel such a strong but bizarre sense of nostalgia here. It feels almost like a parody, but I’m enjoying it immensely

It´s rare that I actually watched all animes you talk about in a video, albeit ages ago. I had forgotten how much Kimi ga nozomu eien still feels like a splinter in my heart. I had recommended the series to my friend when i was halfway through, and he caught up very quickly. I think I remember us meeting up twice in one day because we had both watched a significant episode and NEEDED to talk about it with someone. I have a fondness for that show

In the early 2000s I used to watch random anime online, like throwing a dart on a board. Rumbling Hearts was one of them, wow I honestly totally forgot about it and just the feeling it left in me and I’m getting again just watching this video. It had at the edge of my seat as any other shonen, it felt so adult back then. Thanks for reminding me.

My first dive into anime was Wolfs Rain when i was 13 and i find MYself constantly thinking back on it. All these years later and ive yet to rewatch it. I will one day. This video really resonated with me thank you for all the hard you put into it.

Welcome back, we missed you

Chobits actually getting into the ethics of being with a PC was a surpising angle but I'm glad they did. The anime feels juvenile and innocent yet also mature and adult while still never losing itself in the spectrum. With the rise or AI and more socially introverted people i wouldn't be surprised if chobits gains the popularity of something like serial experiments lain which is way more relevant now than it is today. That and being just an overall genuine and sweet romcom. I swear people need to talk about ones like chobits instead of bringing up clannad or toradora all the time which are understandably popular but i feel that chobits despite the metal framing has a real heart to it.

While there's a time difference of almost two entire decades, I can relate to remembering that feeling of discovering something amazing when getting into anime. Being drawn into a world that feels so unlike everything you've seen before, but also just... makes sense on some instinctual level. Binging hours after hours, watching and enjoying things you wouldn't watch or enjoy now. I was a bit of a dumbass then, but I can't deny sometimes wishing I could return to those days.

Elfen Lied was my very first anime I looked at for myself. It's stuck with me ever since, especially that delightfully haunting song. It's a must watch for those who haven't seen it yet.

What a beautiful video essay of your personal journey. Although I didn't get into anime until the late 2000s (through discovering a lot of harem shows), I encountered similar points in which the medium shaped my life. Also oh my god, those captions are a work of art in themselves.

these subtitle shenanigans have got to be a throwback to the fansubs of the old!

It’s ironic you’re saying you wouldn’t recommend KimiNozo, because this video is probably the most heartfelt recommendation the series has received in years. The way your voice breaks a bit around 20:28 hit my tear ducts like a truck. It’s so wonderful to hear people’s experiences with anime, and I’m very glad you shared this with us. I never watched the show, but now I want to.

As a seasoned anime enthusiast, I have had the pleasure of witnessing the evolution of the medium over several decades. Your clips consistently showcase hidden gems from the past, characterized by their sophisticated production values. Great work, as always 👏

The tidal wave of nostalgia brought by this video, the kind you can't fight but to which you must surrender, enveloped me in memories, feelings, and thoughts; that I desperately tried to forget, because the heartache is too much, but without which I can't be. Thank you.

I feel a tinge of envy that I can't reminisce about these highlighted series as some others in the comment section can. The overall feeling is something I can understand however, and it has me reflecting on the series that were formative to my early anime years. Thank you for this gift :)

Chobits influenced so much of my style when I was learning to draw, you can still see it somewhat in the way I draw hair too nowadays. I was waiting for someone to talk about this series I love so much

It's a testament to your video making skills that you managed to make me vaguely nostalgic for Elfen freaking Lied of all things

6:47 that transition to OP hit way harder than it had any right to. I’m glad I’m not the only one “Chobits” helped pave the way to fandom.

I am in LOVE with these subtitles. I had no idea youtube had support for this kind of creativity and style. Can't wait to see more of this kind of amazing content. Worth every second of the wait. Stay amazing Beyond, you're an incredibe inspiration indeed. ❤

Seeing the old titles brings back lots of fuzzy memories. Thanks!

Chobits was one of my favorite anime/manga of my youth, and Video Girl Ai. Unforgettable

I watched evengalion on a bootleg vhs back in the late 90s thats when i had my first "wtf is this!" moment. i spent a whole decade trying to convince friends, family, and anyone who'd listen to my taste in shows, that anime is the best of story telling. Any story is possible, anything can be converted to a visual median, even dreams. after being ridiculed time and time again even by my own brother. in the past 10 years he now watches anime weekly (all be it dub) but now when we get together its what we talk about. i now give him seasonal recommendations and we deep dive shows. its been a long battle to see anime finally get the recognition it deserves.

My man, i feel you. Kimi Ga is always with me since the time i watched it for the first time. Right time and place it was

Chobits was the first anime I actively sought out to watch from start to finish, I could (and still can) sing the opening theme song, I made robot ears out of construction paper, I drew art of it, Chii was the girl on my birthday cake that year. I'm so glad my parents had no idea what it was cause I was like 10 or 11, I watched it in the basement on Comcast On Demand.

One of the most beautiful, heartfelt tributes to anime I’ve seen in quite some time. Anime has made a clear mark on all of us; it really is a gift that keeps on giving. I’m glad to have been given the chance to experience a medium bursting with that special flavor of profound, one that has never stopped inspiring fans old and new. Thank you for this introspective masterpiece of a video, made me cry.

CHOBITS and Elfen Lied are among the first shows I saw when properly getting into anime yet it was 15 years after they came out, but equally the "cartoons" I remember the most growing up turned out to be anime! Ulysses 31, Dogtanian, Willy Fogg and The Mysterious Cities of Gold. The first anime I saw knowing it was anime was when Akira first aired in the UK, but it didn't stick, then Spirited Away won the Oscar and I watched the rest of Ghibli on Film4, but again it didn't stick then I saw the likes of Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne and the original Fullmetal Alchemist on the briefly lived AnimeCentral, but it still didn't stick. It wasn't till Netflix started to push anime that I finally got sucked in and I signed up to Crunchyroll and haven't looked back. That when I saw those 2 shows among many other classics and then started watching current stuff too.

Some things are universal. I first encountered anime in the 80s boom, with Robotech, Captain Harlock and Thundersub on Super Channel being noticeably different than the other weekend morning cartoons that occupied my childhood, but I got into it properly with the early 90s explosion and all the baggage that came with it. I remember staying up late at 16 or so to watch Cyber City Oedo and Doomed Megalopolis in Channel 4's Saturday night extreme cinema slot... and worrying about how to explain the latter to my parents if they came downstairs and asked exactly what was going on in the show. Exactly like that Chobits moment.

Welcome back brother, it's been a while.

I cried while watching Chobits bro. The storyline was really great.

I remember those days of passing CD-Rs around, or having a FanSubbed taped that was a copy of a copy of a copy... watching Dragon Ball Z in it's raw form before any english dub existed, or being enchanted by "Warriors of the Wind" when I was 8 yrs old and hadn't yet heard the names "Ghibli" or "Miyazaki".... Anyway, thank you for this video, and your other works. The feeling of your videos, the style... it's influenced me somewhat in the videos I've been making on my own channel, in it's cadence and long-form presentation. It's as soothing as it is inspiring. Keep up the great work!

Fevol knocked it out of the park with the captions. Beautiful work

I love anime in my childhood - Marine Boy, Space Ace, 8th Man, Wonder 3, Kimba The White Lion (The Lion King was a rip-off), Speed Racer - I am way older than you. But it was Ah! My Goddess and Azumanga Daioh that pulled me back in.

ty for including mushishi. its a very special anime to me, i teared up immediately at the short clip.

Very moving video essay. I feel exceptionally lucky to have experienced them in real time and can still share these feelings today. A picture book, Mayaul no okurimono (A gift from Mayaul) is still with me after all those years.

Amazing editing, thank you for the video ❤

this was a great video, gave me a lot to check out. Thanks for being so open and making this

I love chobits and no one ever does it like retrospect about it. I'm so excited to watch this tonight

Thank you for sharing your early experience with anime. Always a delight watching your videos!

I really enjoyed this video, as someone with a 99% similar anime experience, I found that the commentary and the scenes selection were superb. It was great remembering all those stories. And as you said some of those will be stuck with us forever in our minds, the anime that still haunts me to this day is Texhnolyze, that one was cruel.

What a beautiful essay, now I can't help but remember how I started watching anime and to reminisce in how it has impacted my own life and development over the years. Seriously, for a video to put me in this mood, it has to both be really well done and connect to me emotionally, and this one easily clears both marks. Thank you for this, your work is beyond words!

i love that you list the names of everything in the corner it makes it so much easier to find new stuff

I was just rewatching your videos and noticed you hadn’t uploaded recently. So happy to see another vid you’re probably my favorite anime channel

Amazing video, love the personal context and earnesty you give to these shows. I hope you never stop making videos.

Loved seeing the clips from other nostalgic anime! My uncle lending me Animatrix as a kid was what made me realise a bunch of what I'd already been watching religiously on Toonami was part of a whole new world of amazing art!

Absolute banger of a video! Thankyou for distilling my similar thoughts and feelings into it! Great Job!❤

Thank you again Fevol for the wonderful captions. (I'd rather have a background for contrast but still wonderful)

My turning point where I became a fan was watching Gundam Wing on Toonami as a 6 or 7 year old and realizing that cartoons can be used to tell stories about violence. I didn't really get the theme, but i thought it was cool. Same feeling when I first watched NGE 3 years later

An upload just when I needed it :)

As always, that was beautiful. I'm not sure which was the first anime to change my life like that, but it was such a great nostalgia hit to see all those old anime!

What a wonderful video, so personal and heartfelt. Thank you.

im always so excited, happy and relaxed when a new beyond ghibli video is released my favourite anime videos ever and lovely recommendations

I got dvds of Chobits & Elfen Lied at the same time one summer during middle school, and slept on the couch so I could marathon both back to back easier. It's the clearest memory I have of watching anything, & of that particular childhood house. So different that I never even registered the similarities, and both are permanently burned into my brain, with the two opening themes being the most immediately recognizable sounds in the world to me. Lied is, truthfully, not nearly as good as it is important. Its unflinching maturity was intoxicating for a generation of kids just discovering that such things were available. For all that it is shock value & the original author's skeeviness, Elfen Lied is a phenomena that genuinely only happened once & never will again. I wouldn't say I love it, or even respect it, but I have to honor it, & wouldn't change a thing. Chobits, though? Phenomenal. To this day, it has one of 3 episodes of anime that make me break down into tears every single time. I memorized the OP to be able to say "dakishimetainoni" when I got a girlfriend, & got too distracted by having a girlfriend to remember after. I think I have to rewatch it now. Chobits is not really one of my favorites anymore, but I love it dearly.

This is being unexpectedly beautiful thanks, man I didn't know i needed this

Such a beautiful way to express your love for anime, nostalgia hit harder while watching your video. Thank you.

It is always fun to reminisce the past on how one person began a journey to greatness.

Yes please! More videos!!!!! I love watching your video essays!

I think all anime, even bad or simple anime, leaves an imprint on you. It's always a part of your memory and experiences, after you watch it...

I really appreciate the effort you are making with the names of each anime that you are showing. Looking forward to the next video of this series!

Thank you for this. We are inseparable from the art we engage with and the art we make and I'm so happy to hear your story, so that I can make my own

WAKE UP NEW BEYOND GHIBLI VID. I've been waiting for this, it's super nice to see that you've uploaded. That little extra on a Friday 🥂❤

This was fantastic. I wish I could put it into better words but you captured the feeling of discovering anime in the 2000s perfectly. Very glad I found your channel

Pokémon was also my introduction to anime. I dressed up as Pikachu one Halloween and had the Ash Ketchum hat.

I can’t get over how good you are at distilling the way I feel about anime into videos . I often share your videos with friends and family and hope you realise just how important they are becoming to the medium we love

Man, that was incredible 👏 you can tell how much time you put into scripting this one. Amazing work ❤

17:15 ooo, DBZ and hitting reruns of the episode over and over again because I didn't always have the controller 😂

This was so good and beautiful 🥺 Thank you

Thank you friend for making me feel less alone in this world, as I recognized myself in many of your thoughts! Magnificent essay.

Aaahh... Chobits. Good memories. Great video, loved your take and feelings on Chobits especially.

So wonderful it is to recall the sincerity of one's youth and to look upon it with affection, yet without working to minimise the importance of these things, to the person we were then, and to the person we are now. I really loved this video.

I see Beyond Ghibli post; stops what I'm doing to watch/ listen.

This was incredible. My experience was very similar. This era of anime was magical. It was full of constant discovery, shared with a small group of friends. It's a time I miss. Thanks for this one.

First time I have watched someone talk about rumbling hearts (kiminozo) and you have captured the same emotions I felt when I watched it and the emotions I feel looking back at it now.. absolutely loved this video

I'm glad I watched this and now I got to finish Elfen Lied so I can watch the entirety of this video. Thank you for your hard work, it is uplifting.

My origin story was with Monster Musume. Back in 2015, that was the first anime Crunchyroll showed me when I installed it on my crummy Samsung phone. That scene with the spider lady awakened my interest for legs. After that, I watched Squid Girl. As a preteen, it was one of the few times I ever thought "CUTE!" while watching a show. (Now, as an adult, I love cute anime!) Some point later, I found out about Kill la Kill, & it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. Mind-blowing. Still can't get enough of that show.

OMG! YES! I've been waiting so long for this one

Great stuff, it's awesome to see you back. Like a lot kids my age, I was introduced to anime through Pokémon, even if I had no idea what anime was back then. It wasn't until college when my friend showed me Naruto that I was hooked, and I soon spent most of my free time consuming as much anime as I could. Your channel has let me revisit old classics through nostalgia, and has introduced new ones I never would have discovered or considered otherwise. I always look forward to your fantastic videos, thank you for creating them.

It’s all ways good to see your channel show up, how you tell of the wandering of your hart when you watch anime. Keep it up 👍

My initial taste in anime was in 2004 on Adult Swim. My first full season episode watch was in 2010 with High School of the dead, and at the beginning of 2015, I started looking for it on my own. Up till now, I'm over 500 anime series in according to MyAnimelist. Just as you stated how you felt first watching it and the flow of emotions just watching anything anime as a young child, Is the same thing that I've felt at the age of 39. Anime does change you with the stories of the characters they portray and the lives they live. Another great video. Thank you for sharing! 🙏