5 Anime that Have Stories with Great Impact

          Anime has been a big part of the entertainment industry ever since it began airing on television during the 20th century.  Even now as the first two decades of the 21st century is drawing near, anime still don't seem to lose its popularity, but in fact it spreads more around the world taking in more audiences - both people from the younger and older generations.  With a wide selection of different genres, and a lot of different titles released occasionally, a lot of different people have a wide range of anime to choose from based on what they like. Now to give some suggestions out of those anime, here are 5 anime that have great, wonderful stories.

*Caution: There might be a few spoilers ahead. A friendly reminder just in case you haven't watched these anime yet.

1. Fullmetal Alchemist/Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

          Number 1 on the list are the two anime adaptations of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga.  Now I categorized these two as one anime, firstly because they have the same titles, and secondly because even though they follow different plots in the progression of the story, they share a similar feeling or emotion during the epilogue of the story.  Now FMA is about two brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric who grew up learning alchemy, through the books of their father, Hohenheim - another great alchemist, who left his family one day without telling them his reason.  After their mother died, they tried reviving their mother by committing human transmutation - a taboo in alchemy.  In exchange for the failed transmutation, Edward's left leg and Alphonse's body was taken away from them. Edward, together with Alphonse, whose soul is now bound to an armor which acts as his body, went on a journey to find a way to bring back their old bodies.  Now what is so great about the story of Fullmetal Alchemist? Isn't it just an anime with a pretty common story? Well, what's so wonderful about FMA's story is the bonds between the characters.  In FMA, you'll see how the Elric brothers stuck together, not wanting to leave the other one behind, in order to reach their goal with their only remaining family.  Especially Edward who, as an older brother, strives really hard just to get back Alphonse's body back, no matter what danger he may face.  Well not only is it the Elric brothers, but you'll also see the passion within each character, and the love that they have for one another - always striving to do what's best for all of the people who's important to them.

2. Code Geass

          Now similar to Fullmetal Alchemist, what's great about Code Geass is the passion of the characters, especially the main character, Lelouch. Code Geass is about an exiled prince named Lelouch, who's dreaming to make the world a better place to live in for her blind and crippled younger sister, Nunally. One day he obtained the power of Geass from a mysterious girl named C.C., which allows him to compel anyone to absolutely obey his orders. However, the price for the Geass is heavy as he will be given a life of solitude, full of despair and misery. He used the power of the Geass in order to fulfill his desires and wishes - to crush the Kingdom of Brittania, which he hated not only because it deprived both him and his sister of their freedom, but because he sees it as the enemy of the world's happiness.  In the end, after going through a lot of despair while putting up lies after lies, he ended up losing a lot of people important to him, including her now sighted sister, who found out about how he was the most-wanted terrorist, and now is the new emperor of Brittania who is ready to crush the world for his desires.  The gist in the story of Code Geass is how the main character Lelouch desperately wanted to change the world, whatever it may take him to do- even becoming the world's greatest enemy, just for the sake of making it a better place.  Though seemingly confused at what to do next especially after losing most of his friends, he ended up taking the burden of being the world's enemy and being killed with the people's hatred towards him, just in order for the world to finally attain peace and freedom.

3. Orange

          Orange is about a group of friends, who were happy spending time with one another - walking home together, eating together, and making the best of memories with one another.  However, like any other group of friends, they encountered a few problems with each other such as a love triangle forming within the group, and other sorts of misunderstandings.  Additionally, one of them, Naruse Kakeru, was undergoing depression due to his mother's death. At first they didn't know it, or at least they took it for granted, that in the end they haven't done anything in order to help or save him from committing suicide.  Now, in order to correct their later realized mistakes, Takamiya Naho, and all of the others now living only with Kakeru's memory with them, decided to give letters back to their previous selves through some sort of time portal, telling them to help Kakeru - to not commit the same mistake that they have done.  This anime has great impact, especially to those who greatly value friendship.  Orange actually gives you the realization that you'll only see the significance of one thing only when it's gone, and will actually give you the urge to protect and appreciate all that you have now.  It also shows the joy of living and the effects of giving up on life, not only to oneself but also to the people around us, who considered us a part of them as we considered them a part of us. 

4. GoSick

          At first it looks just like a cool, mystery-solving anime, but GoSick's story goes deeper than that.  GoSick is set during 1924, following the perspective of young man, Kazuya Kujo, who became good friends with a girl named Victorique de Blois. Kujo values his friendship with Victorique so greatly, that he doesn't care no matter what danger he may face fighting for the sake of his friend.  At first they only began solving mysterious deaths and killings together, until Kujo, wanting to protect his friend, became involved with the matters of the de Blois family - using Victorique as a weapon, a strategist, for the war being instigated by Victorique's father, Albert de Blois.  The two of them were separated, Kujo becoming a soldier fighting during the war, and Victorique now a wanted fugitive.  The two of them managed to survive the hardships brought by life, and were later reunited at Kujo's homeland.  Not wanting to be apart again, they now stayed together and lived happily-ever-after.  GoSick is such a striking anime, especially on the romance part. It shows how a person really change after finding light on another person, who then gives them the desire to live.  Another aspect that is awesome about its story, is how it showed the joy that people feel when being reunited once more after being apart for a long time, without an actual guarantee that they will see each other again. GoSick really is an anime that has such a wonderful story that many people will be able to relate to.

5. Akame ga Kill

          Akame ga Kill is about a group of assassins trying to overthrow the corrupt leaders manipulating their Empire.  It starts with the point-of-view of a young man named Tatsumi, who seeks to help his village by working at the empire. After finding out about the corruption within the empire, he found himself helping a group of assassins called "Night Raid", with their cause to overthrow the corruption within their home.  After fighting many different enemies, some who side with the corrupt ones, while the others seeking to change the empire from the inside, Night Raid's cause finally bears fruit, defeating the empire and its rottenness, but not without the sacrifices of many different people, including Tatsumi, who fought with their lives to the end, not fearing death.  Akame ga Kill gives not only a story about war and heroes, and how fearless they are just to achieve their cause, but also about how great rewards are being brought upon by great, sincere sacrifices.