50. SakuraBipolar 2023 AMV Compilation
editor: SakuraBipolar
anime: various
music: various
VPR Warning: Severe flashing, strobing, high contrast

Wasting absolutely no time in starting off this countdown by cheating, including a compilation of an editor’s works released over the course of 2023 kind of definitely goes against the spirit of what I’m trying to do here, not to mention also completely wrecks the beginning of the playlist that I will eventually be posting of all these videos once I’m done with the entire countdown. But once I started watching this half hour-long video, it suddenly felt like the ideal showcase for this editor’s style. SakuraBipolar is an extremely prolific editor in the space of high-energy, visually dazzling, possibly seizure-inducing AMVs, and I’ve often found the experience of watching their videos to be sort of exhausting (they might take this as a compliment, in fact I’m hoping they do just that). Strung together in a lengthy mix like this, you’re simply along for the ride and the assurance that the video will be over in another two or three minutes is no longer a distracting resolution to anticipate. You’re simply tossed into the next AMV with no real sense of how long it’s going to last or what’s next. Packaging them into a much longer experience takes each of these individual edits, in all their intensely physical, sensory overwhelming excess, and completely changes their context for the viewer. After fifteen minutes of watching some of the busiest and most hyperactive editing I’ve ever seen with no breaks or intermissions, I found myself in the sort of headspace that I can only imagine marathon runners have to reach to keep themselves going once they hit that 20 mile-mark: this is not a stressful or wearisome place to be, but surprisingly peaceful, perhaps even meditative. Given enough time, this mix eventually establishes a brisk and endurable sense of flow that’s structured with the shorter and punchier AMVs loaded up front, which eventually give way to longer works that, even in their own assault of strobes, shakes and vivid colors, slowly provide a fitting comedown to the experience. You could play this in a convention rave and people would go nuts. That won’t happen, so start your own today with this AMV and check the rest of the editor’s channel for hours of mind-melting fun.

49. Cosmic Haze
editor: F-Zero TV
anime: various
music: Black Sabbath – “Cosmic Haze”
VPR Warning: Psychedelic coloramas, warping

The waveform rippling across the bottom of the screen throughout this video didn’t seem to bode well for this AMV: there are already a million videos on YouTube like this, why do we need another? Fortunately, this is not another looping gif video or even a “visualizer,” but a real AMV that captures a specific psychedelic vibe that, for most of you reading this, oh dear, you might have to ask your grandparents about. “Cosmic Haze” is loosely edited with a relaxed and unhurried groove that makes its surprisingly short runtime feel like a stretched-out jam that would last all night under the right conditions, or so I’ve heard. The best “chill out” AMVs are usually easy on the eyes, but the visual effects applied to this footage, which I can only assume involved messing with hue and saturation sliders to levels I’ve never quite dared, punch the colors into an extreme palette of electric greens, golds and a deep haze of a certain color that I’m just going to assume is on prevalent display in the thumbnail above. Unless you’re sensitive to this kind of thing (that VPR warning is up there for a reason), you’ll get used to it really quickly, trust me. Times are tough: you could go buy a lava lamp and some incense, but if you turn off your lights and fire up this AMV, you’ll get the same effect without breaking the bank.

48. Metamorphosis
editor: Pablo Shoe
anime: Land of the Lustrous
music: Marcioz – “Mate Um Bonito Hoje Mesmo!”
VPR Warning: Fast cuts, strobing

If you’re going to edit with a series as unique as this one, then you kinda owe it to the anime itself to be just as experimental and daring in how you show it to viewers. That’s a bunch of crap, of course, but my favorite Land of the Lustrous AMVs have never been boring or ordinary, and neither is anything that Pablo Shoe has ever edited, and I’m pleased to report that’s still the case four months after this AMV was released. This track sounds like the anime looks, with sounds splitting apart like light filtered through a prism and echoing like reflections in a hall of mirrors. The rapid cuts feel as precise and well defined as the finest facets of a polished gem. These comparisons are corny and I’m cringing as I write them but I couldn’t help but get the sense that the editor’s technique was playing into the strengths of these specific visuals to such a perfect degree that the content and the execution had formed an inseparable, natural bond. The “payoff” to this video is worth waiting for and experiencing on a real screen (not your phone). PB will not tone it down, and we love him for it.

47. The World of Pokémon!
editor: Kireblue
anime: Pokemon (various)
music: Walk Off the Earth – “Fireflies”

The Pokémon “tribute” video, always coming down the pike in batches as one animated series or game or the entire franchise hits one milestone’s anniversary after another, aren’t meant for a viewer like me. I’m not a fan, didn’t grow up on it, have no nostalgia for it and can’t connect with the emotions that the editors are usually trying to channel. “The World of Pokémon!” is the first time anything remotely resembling this recipe has broken down my barriers of indifference and skepticism, doing so first and foremost via really solid scene selection. The quality of animation in most of these scenes, not to mention the shot composition and all the opportunities they provide for internal sync, results in a video that’s pleasing and engaging even if you’re not the ideal viewer that it’s probably made for. I wouldn’t say this AMV “got to me” (but if it did, I wouldn’t deny it!) but for once I came away with a new understanding of what it’s celebrating and what that might mean to other people. Believe me when I say that’s no small accomplishment.

46. Guiding Light
editor: Nekokitkat
anime: The Deer King
music: Ursine Vulpine – “Don’t Give Up”

There’s nothing “retro” about “Guiding Light” but it does scream “classic editing” to me, perhaps a dying breed of AMVs that focus on telling a brisk story that’s easy to follow while sweeping the viewer up with suspense and drama. I find myself encountering this sort of thing less and less these days, or maybe it’s still out there but just falling out of my feed that I’m foolishly mistaking for “the world.” But hey, aren’t we all? Nekokitkat is a master in this realm and any time she reaches into her bag of treats for an AMV like this, you better sit up and pay attention. (Special message to anyone running a brick and mortar anime store: put this AMV on and you will sell five copies of The Deer King.)

45. Purrgatory
editor: Violet Skies
animation: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
music: Klergy – “Hide and Seek”

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was still in theaters when I first watched this AMV, which was probably around the time that good word of mouth–a rare commodity these days as films get mere days to purrform and build audience momentum, not weeks like this movie–had slowly but surely built some substantial hype around the film, so initially I had a hard time separating my feelings for “Purrgatory” from my feelings about the movie and the bigger conversations happening around it. As time has passed and all of that has faded away, it’s finally become easy to recognize “Purrgatory” for what it is: a fundamentally solid action AMV that has a few tricks up its sleeve. Violet Skies leans into the dark atmosphere of the film’s most serious scenes, picking a cinematic-flavored song that’s a perfect match for the material’s haunting visual tone. The overall sync and pacing are excellent. At several points in the video, the editor even introduces lip sync into the mix. Given the style of the animation and its extremely non-static nature, I have absolutely no idea how this was pulled off as well as it was or how the idea to even try it ever presented itself. It will take you less than a minute to find a dozen other PiB:tLW videos that are running laps around this one in total views, but don’t be fooled by imitators. This one is the real deal.

44. Prodigal
editor: Tyken
animation: Samurai Jack
music: Tommee Profitt – “Vagabond”

I was familiar with this song before watching “Prodigal” and I did not care for it one bit–this is me putting it nicely, trust me–so seeing that it was about to soundtrack a video that was nearly five and a half minutes long did not fill me with excitement or hope. This is one of the only Samurai Jack AMVs I have ever seen, and the handful of others that come to mind were much more action-oriented than “Prodigal,” so on paper this was not a project that was going to make me feel anything or leave me curious to watch it multiple times. But Tyken’s take on this series feels quietly epic, with moments of drama and action that hit especially hard, but even longer stretches that focus on the still or relatively uneventful moments of the protagonist’s journey that convey a depth to the character and to the story that I’d never been exposed to before. I’m one of the last people who should try to describe the look of this series–fortunately, its reputation precedes it and there’s no need for myself or anyone else to “explain” it–but its signature aesthetics look especially beautiful here. This was another grower that had a lot of time to get to me and that was a good thing because my hardened opinions about media, whether it’s music or animation, are walls that sometimes need some extra time to break down.

43. Kaleidoscope
editor: janken
anime: Ashita no Nadja
music: Francisco Tárrega – “Estudio in E Minor”
VPR Warning: Kaleidoscopes

Perhaps the power of these visuals was dampened for me ever so slightly by the only other AMV that I’ve encountered them in, but just barely. janken successfully wrings endless problematic but palpable tragedy out of these brief but beautiful clips, capturing a romantic longing too pure and potent for this world. The classical guitar feels right at home with the enchanting mise-en-scène of every shot. You can’t front on this, it’s impossible! This one is over before you know it, so… just watch it twice or something. janken’s year-ending AMVs were also great but never had a chance to stick with me and stew like this one. Treat yourself and watch them all!

42. Fictoromantic
editor: Ileia
anime: Yamada-kun to Lv 999
music: Khole Rose – “Fictional”

Describing a previous version of this AMV that first debuted at a convention, the editor says her concept was “originally supposed to be sentimental with just a touch of cute, but literally everyone read it as a comedy.” Whatever changes were made to Fictoromantic 1.0, I feel like this version effectively gets her original intentions across loud and clear. It’s also (still) really funny, maybe not in the Laugh Out Loud sort of way the con viewing experience usually enhances, but it’s packed with silly sight gags that keep the mood buoyant even while most of the narrative is underpinned by heartbreak and solitude. There’s plenty of goofy visuals that aren’t even really jokes, per se, but work to make the protagonist feel likable and, one would hope, even lovable. Ileia’s personal touches to the awkward otaku-habits of the main character, from “Sword Daddies” to scenes from “100% Unrequited Love,” were the icing on the cake for me.

41. Rider’s Joy
editor: SilkAMV
anime: various
music: BAND-MAID – “Blooming”
VPR Warning: Fast cuts, flashes, motion

More than ten months after I first watched it, “Rider’s Joy” hasn’t lost any of its luster. SilkAMV’s feast of match cuts and super-kinetic scenes is still a rush to take in, seamlessly combining animation and live action in a convincing fashion while waving away the notion that blending the two was ever a challenge in the first place or even a “unique” decision to begin with. What gets me “pumped” while watching AMVs is probably very different from most viewers, but I can’t deny that this video is an adrenaline booster, not simply due to the content of the scenes and the upbeat music, but because one shockingly smooth sequence that would be the highlight of anyone else’s action AMV is quickly topped by yet another within seconds. Whether you’re a casual viewer or someone who knows the feeling of your eyes glazing over as you stare at a timeline with a hundred clips on it, “Rider’s Joy” raises the bar for what’s really possible in this hobby.