Favorite AMVs of 2021 (special/honorable mentions)

I haven’t prepared much to say here, at least not in terms of accounting for this past year and all it meant for me personally. That’s pretty weird since I probably have more to say in this space than ever before. Many posts were written for this blog over the past year. None were ever finished. Hope is still high for some of them.

The next few entries will count down my favorite AMVs from 2021 (AMVs uploaded to the Internet from December 1, 2020 to November 30, 2021). I have my reasons for wanting to do it that way. The entry that you’re reading right now will include some favorites that didn’t quite make that list, but will be preceded by mention of a few other AMVs that I also like and sincerely hope that you, whether you’re a curious newcomer to AMVs or a longtime fan, will check them out.

Beginning next week, I will posting my 50 favorite AMVs from 2021 over the course of five days. It will look something like one of these.

(Full-time employment, burnout and a growing frustration with the baffling decisions that WordPress that made over the years–once an extremely user-friendly website that was an easy to use, fun, powerful tool for self expression now boasts a barely useable, counterintuitive interface where the simplest of tasks are convolutedly difficult or simply impossible–has me strongly suspecting that this will be the last time I do a list like this. It’s absolutely possible that I might, but my track record for getting this done in a reasonable amount of time is really, really bad, and continues to track in the wrong direction with every passing year. I could scale this down to a more manageable size, but the ridiculous excess of it is kind of what I love most about doing it. I expect to do something AMV-related at the end of 2022, but we probably won’t know what that is for at least another eleven months. So get the most of out of this one while you still can!)

SPECIAL MENTIONS

Abstract Ni Attack – Nostalgic Wonder
editor: solid snake
anime: Only Yesterday, Cowboy Bebop
music: Abstract Ni Attack – “Nostalgic Wonder”

Basically rapping over someone else’s track–a description that I actually don’t intend in the dismissive way that so many people do when they talk about hip-hop–solid snake (possibly the least searchable editor name anywhere on this whole list) provides his own soundtrack to this delightful AMV. This is a two-for-one special with a pleasant lo-fi hip-hip instrumental featuring Cowboy Bebop clips on the flipside, not really giving us anything we haven’t seen anymore but ending this still brisk watch on a relaxing and surprising note. But the first minute and a half finds the editor rapping over scenes from Only Yesterday, not being the first creator I’ve seen to try this sort of thing but really making it work better than I’ve ever seen/heard before (I’m not going to throw anyone else under the bus by comparing and criticizing, forget that). The lyric sync here is ridiculously inventive and on point, leaving me wonder if the editing actually came before the songwriting or vice versa. Either way, this is a super cute and admirably original effort that I hope more people watch and an editor that I hope continues to share their work in the year to come.

Attack on Angles Anime The Final Season OP – My Congruent Angle War
editor: EnergizedClippy
video source: “Journey to the Center of a Triangle,” Attack on Titan
music: Shinsei Kamattechan – “My War”

I’m including this mostly because I missed out on “Congruent Angles Anime OP – A Cruel Angle’s Thesis” when EnergizedClippy released it five years ago. I don’t find this particular edit of this educational film from 1977 to be quite as enjoyable by comparison, but it’s still an inspired and hilariously creative remix in its own right, especially if you’ve already spent time with the opening of last year’s FINAL SEASON (lol) of Attack on Titan. Predictably, Internet users seemed intent on turning this opening and this song into a meme. I doubt that anyone succeeded with as little to work with as EnergizedClippy did in this video.

Bleach Moods
editor: takada
anime: Bleach
music: Shirō Sagisu – various songs

“Bleach Moods” is a series of short edits featuring scenes from Bleach. This AMV is as simple and low-stakes as they come but it really won me over in approaching this material in a way I’ve never seen anyone try before. Compared to Naruto and One Piece, editors haven’t seemed to be too interested in exploring the boundaries outside of the typical action AMV when it comes to this series, let alone using it for much of anything at all over the past decade. I realize this is a generalization and that I’ve most certainly missed out on a lot of Bleach AMVs that would prove me wrong in this regard, but I do feel safe in predicting that few editors would ever consider making anything like this with it. This could have been released well over a decade ago and it probably would have flown under the radar in the same way it did this year. Nothing in this will blow viewers away, but it has a simple charm and a rare sense of playfulness that defies expectations.

DrwnKd – 👍
editor: SwaggerLikeUz
video source: Exit
music: DrwnKd – “👍“

Just one wrong move and maybe I would have been criticizing this video for trying to have it both ways, as it precariously balances its cheerful music with the absolute nightmare that’s slowly revealed in these scenes. But this editor leans into both and allows the dissonance to slowly reveal itself in a way that’s not immediately apparent but feels gradually unsettling, or at least twisted in a way that’s consistent with the tone and content of this short film. I try not to be too easily won over by videos that introduce me to new series or movies that I’d never heard of before, but the novelty of seeing this early 90s Swedish animation set to lo-fi hip-hop is just not what I was expecting to find online today and I’ll never say no to unexpected combinations like this. There’s just enough sync in this for it to click and feel much more purposeful than the series of random scenes that most editors would slap together with these ingredients.

Her Smile
editor: Animetrash AMVs
video source: Katawa Shoujo
music: Emezie – “Golden Girl”

It’s been almost ten years since I played Katawa Shoujo and, totally desperate to contribute to The Discourse of the dying blogosphere or something, wrote a review about it that’s still on this blog (I’m not linking to it as I’m certain it’s the cringiest thing I have still not deleted from this place… yet). I really don’t want to pass judgment on anyone who’s into this game or others like it when I say this but, yeah, 2012-2014 were some dark times in here and choosing to engage with this story and particularly all the hype around it was probably not the best decision for me to make with my time or my emotions, even I only spent a matter of weeks or even days with it. If you played this game and you still adore it, nothing but love and respect from me! It’s just a piece of media I’ll always associate with a weird and difficult part of my life. I can still step back from that and admire the effort that its creators put into making it, certainly in its animated cutscenes that are obviously the product of certain limitations but still look really nice from a compositional standpoint today.

I’ve also wanted to credit Animetrash AMVs for all the increasingly interesting and entertaining AMVs they’ve been creating over the last year, which are all over the place in terms of style and tone and source material. This editor is down for just about anything and has been putting up full length AMVs at a rate of one per week since mid-2020, efforts that have shown creative progression and technical improvements on a steady basis. One aspect of their work that has frustrated me since the beginning is a continued reliance on sped-up footage, which I’ve personally found can spoil a mood or break the illusion of an otherwise nicely-edited work when it’s overused or simply not called for at all. There are examples where this serves the concept and tone of a video, but countless more where I thought it felt very out of place. Fortunately, “Her Smile” does not feature this effect whatsoever, just a nice montage of these scenes that plays as a thoughtful and respectful ode to this game and all its characters. I still wish this wasn’t cut off so abruptly at its conclusion, but it’s still a big step in the right direction for this editor, which I hope will be eventually be rewarded with the views that have so far been siphoned off to far less ambitious editors elsewhere.

INTERNET SHOW V1.0 – K!LL SCREEN AMV – 07/11/21
editor: K!LL SCREEN
anime: various
music: various
warning: flashing/strobe effects

There’s a lot going on in this that I’m never been a big fan of–relentlessly sped-up footage, a lack of commitment to the aesthetic premise the entire video is presented in, this specific sort of brutally aggressive techno music–but somehow it all comes together and easily held my attention for its entire duration, which kind of means something considering how this would easily be the longest video on this list in any other year than this one (you’ll see what I mean by that very soon). I’ve always loved the idea of AMVs working as a visual backdrop in a live music setting, and if this video was not made for that purpose, it absolutely invokes the experience of a late night anime convention rave in its unapologetic gaudiness and hyperactive pursuit of a continuous dopamine rush that never ends. The visual effects and graphics are in your face and nothing less than the polar opposite of the subtle approach I always endorse, but there’s a surprising amount of effort and craft poured into them that takes this concept to the next level. This video is utterly exhausting, but in this case I mean that as a compliment.

Interstellar
editor: Lux
anime: various
music: Arctic Empire – “Interstellar | Epic Chillstep & Melodic Dubstep Mix”

This is a 62-minute long AMV made by a single editor with dozens and dozens of different anime sources, set to a continual mix of upbeat EDM. Surprisingly, it is purposefully synced from beginning to end, and it is as technically flawless as a video with so many opportunities for mistakes can reasonably be. Putting it on this list and not my actual favorites is probably a backhanded compliment, as its positive aspects far outweigh anything it actually does wrong. Personally, there is a limit to how much of this kind of music I can take in a single sitting, and the flow of anime scenes sometimes feels a little too random to compel an attentive single-session viewing. That being said, there is a strong consistency in source selection that never feels jarring in its transition from one anime to the next, and there’s a lack of particularly popular and/or violent series that could break up the upbeat mood of this AMV and feel out of place next to so many of the slice of life-themed anime here. I don’t believe that “more” of anything is always a good thing, but the time and care that went into this video is evident. I’m on the fence about whether this is a true achievement or just a tremendous effort, but either way I wish it wasn’t trapped in the deepest depths of YouTube, likely out of the algorithm’s reach and any chance of being discovered and seen. Lux deserves better than this.

Rika’s Blindness 2
editor: SQ
anime: Digimon Tamers
music: Linkin Park – “P5hng Me A*wy”

In late 2002 (on Christmas day, no less!?) I replied to an Internet message board comment from an AMV editor planning to make a Digimon AMV. Nearly two decades later I rediscovered this message from the past still online and realized that I’d actually interacted with one of my closest Internet pals today, then only 15 years old, with one of the most unintentionally hilarious and embarrassingly pretentious bits of writing I’ve ever posted online. The AMV that SQ would release soon after that exchange would linger in the depths of his AMVography–finally uploaded to YouTube in all its watermarked, 240p glory this year–but would later serve as the inspiration for a new video with considerably upgraded technical specs, one given to me as a birthday gift last July. It’s a completely different video than its predecessor, one that’s fantastically synced and channels the emotions of the song in a way that young SQ certainly felt eighteen years ago but wasn’t quite ready to craft at the time, at least with the humble tools and less than ideal footage that were at hand to work with. I was completely inebriated the first time I saw this and didn’t fully appreciate it like I should have, so it took multiple viewings to really sink in and appreciate. It’s possibly the best character profile video I’ve ever seen made with Digimon Tamers (which is easily the most character-focused of all the Digimon series I’ve watched), without a single bad scene and with a solid ending (the last 30 seconds of this AMV are why I love Digimon and, yes, Linkin Park too). I can’t really “rate” a video that was made for me, but every time I watch this I’m surprised by how much it accomplishes with only a handful of scenes and one of the most overused (but unfairly lamented) songs in the history of this hobby.

Summertime Shine
editor: JamesBlond
anime: various
music: Atmosphere – “Sunshine”

“Summertime Shine” is as cheerful and upbeat as AMVs get, an invitation to relax and bask in the good vibes that this song channels along with scenes that illustrate the lyrics as closely as possible. The editing is smooth and unhurried, and JamesBlond depicts the introspective ups and downs of the narration with a thorough scene selection and perfect timing. The commitment to literal sync throughout so much of this is admirable and the greatest strength of the video. Yet I found this to be a case where the editor sets such a high bar for themselves that it’s difficult to top on every single attempt: scenes where the lyrics don’t quite match the onscreen action might have held this good AMV back from being something even greater, but that’s my demanding and unreasonable expectations at work. If you can kick back and just appreciate this video for what it is, an ode to summer or a simple celebration of being alive, you’ll have even more fun with it than I did.

Woodpecker No. 2
editor: Extraterrestrial Elephant
anime: Serial Experiments Lain
music: Merzbow – “Woodpecker No. 2”
warning: flashing/strobe effects

Much like listening to Merzbow, I don’t know how much I really enjoy watching this, but I’m still very glad it exists. Extraterrestrial Elephant avoids the temptation to treat this music as a joke or a meme–for our convenience, other YouTube users are here to show just what I mean by that–and uses the rich psychedelia of Serial Experiments Lain, possibly combined with further visual effects, to illustrate the pileup of static and feedback that comprises this piece of music. It is a deliriously lush and colorful AMV, one that I would advise any remotely visually sensitive person to avoid at all costs, yet coming back to it months and months later, it’s far less of a “difficult” watch than I remember it being.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

I don’t have quite as much to say about any of the following AMVs, except that most of them were among the most difficult final cuts I had to make to round out my top 50 favorites of 2021. They are all very good AMVs and you should watch them:

Beautiful Morning With Y̶o̶u̶ Selen?! [Selen Tatsuki clip?]
editor: Kurissuu Trash
I’ve gone the entire year not fully comprehending what a “VTuber” is and I’m not about to break that streak by putting in the work that would actually help me understand what this video actually is. Yes, I’m out of the loop here. I hope there’s no sinister meaning to this that’s going over my head. This is just really weird and I love it.

black pepper
editor: Lux
warning: flashing/strobe effects
The unique look and feel of this anime is doing a lot of the work here but clearly Lux knows how to stay out of its way and let it these scenes linger with a beautifully relaxed sense of flow… that makes its unexpected twists hit that much harder.

Dance 11: Where’s the Gif?
editor: ngsilver
This video kind of fell flat for me when viewed in the context of a contest, but when I was finally able to just sit back and enjoy it for what it was, it really shines with a sense of joy and humor that puts a smile on my face. This editor has never made traditional “dance” AMVs… and that’s fine! I’d rather watch a video like this to be honest.

Deep Wild
editor: vivafringe
The irony of sitting at my computer and praising a video that evokes the relaxing pleasures of prying your eyes away from a screen and appreciating the natural world isn’t lost on me… but it’s zero degrees outside right now and I’m not talking Celsius here so cut me some slack. This is a beautifully simple video that’s one of the most relaxing AMVs I’ve ever laid eyes on.

EizouCon IV
editor: illdie
You don’t need to be familiar with the classic anime short that “EizouCon IV” is invoking to enjoy this AMV. Sure, it’s probably gonna help, but recognizing the deeper referential connections of this premise isn’t a prerequisite for viewers to get caught up in this tribute to Eizouken and its celebration of imagination and wonder that these characters and scenes embody with so much charisma. The action scenes in this video, as roughly sketched or unfinished as they often are, provide ample opportunities for sync that illdie makes the most of. This AMV isn’t upbeat so much as it’s uplifting in a way that anyone with a passion for creating art or vicariously witnessing that process in all its ups and downs will find something to love in.

Esoteric Electrolysis (Director’s Cut)
editor: Shizaya
warning: flashing/strobe effects
This video was absolutely good enough to make my top 50, it just fell between the cracks despite my most studious efforts yet to be meticulous about keeping track of what I watched last year. By the time I realized I’d spaced on this one, it seemed inappropriate to slot it in and boot someone else’s work from the list. I don’t know, I reached a top 50 list that I liked and I didn’t want to change it, I guess! I’m copping to this and taking full responsibility. If you watch one AMV on this page, make sure it’s this one. It’s a ridiculously imaginative and creative effort that deserves at least a hundred times more views than what it’s been stuck with over the past eight months.

an exploration of the souls’ transcendence on contemplation of the dull roar of a train.
editor: SadSack
I wish more editors would do things like this. But then again, maybe I don’t! Few would deliver the feeling that this one does.

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
editor: takara
I wouldn’t call this “old-school” but it’s absolutely in the classic vein of what got me into this hobby to begin with. Haibane Renmei holds a special place in my heart and this is one of the best takes on it that I’ve ever seen.

Kaliyuga Pro – 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙎 𝙊𝙉𝙀
editor: Karmelin
Karmelin’s AMVs usually feature the editor’s own hypnotic music but not this time around. The result is still captivating.

Love Like Fools
editors: Obsidian Zero, Xophilarus
Tween romance can be a hard sell for me to truly buy into but this one is so damn cute and its heart is in the right place… and it’s so tightly edited that it feels more substantial and dramatic than it would have in less capable hands than these.

My Next Life As An AMV About Bunnies
editor: Eis AMV
With a handful of leads and little else to work with, this song had stuck around my to-edit queue for a long time until I saw this video by Eis. Thankfully, I can now spare myself the labor and the disappointment of putting in the work for what surely would have been a far less funny or visually pleasing finished product than this. Overall, I’m usually not a huge fan of this style of editing. But I love the choices this editor makes and how they got a bunch of random clips to really work together in spite of all their seemingly incompatible visual differences.

neil young pocahontas fan music video
editor: gkeane392
This editor has a few other videos on this list and eventually I decided it was time to cut them off from overrunning the whole thing. That’s a shame because, like, look at this video and tell me if you’ve ever seen anything else like it! Now see if you can guess who made this.

Relationship_Final.MP4
editor: TroubleClef
It would be a stretch to say that this past year had better AMVs than 2020 but I have the feeling that something like this would surely have easily made the top 30 or so in years past.

Sapphic Serenity
editor: Joya AMV
This is another Liz and the Blue Bird AMV, you probably know what to expect and… you’re not wrong, not by a long shot. But this has that x-factor that leaves me feeling this one more than most.

Second Wish
editor: nakana
Rare source material like this always gets my attention but I’d never have expected this to work as well as it does. nakana walks a fine line that’s comfortably soothing and disarmingly tragic.

There Are Two (2) Millennial Non-Binary Hoes Inside You
editor: SQ
I’m irrationally critical of these kind of videos in ways that are too ludicrous to even begin to unpack here. But this is so well done that it breaks down my cynicism and sells me on the illusion that there is no preexisting Internet comedy video out there featuring this song, let alone one that has hundreds of millions of views.

To Pimp a Ghost.
editor: pack
Masterful effects work that’s too artistic and tasteful for the Instagram hypebeast audience that this kind of thing is usually made for, though too short and disjointed to pass for fans of “traditional” AMVs, “To Pimp a Ghost.” dwells in a space that’s difficult to define, daring to be genuinely weird in ways that even the edgiest AMV studios *ahem* collectives can barely even comprehend.

Welcome Back (Don’t Call it a Comeback)
editor: FashionableJellyfish
Irresistibly likeable, I don’t think I need to convince anyone of how good this is. You’ll have fun. Bring the kids along.

Wild is the Wind
editor: year zero
“Wild is the Wind” is a classy and unapologetically slow meditation of the somber sense of tragedy that hangs in the air in between Cowboy Bebop‘s most memorable action and comedic sequences. It’s well traveled territory at this point, but few videos have explored the proverbial blues of the story in such mature and timeless fashion.

Wild Love
editor: NekoKitKat
In the process of making these lists, I’m a little more critical of Cowboy Bebop AMVs than any other source. This one is very good! A couple of tweaks could have pushed this one over the top but there I go giving “tips” to an editor whose flair for this is far beyond any level that I’ll ever reach. If the live action adaptation of this series was really the disappointing disaster everyone is saying it is, this AMV might be the palate cleanser you’ve been looking for.