After going through my Favorite Opening and Endings for anime, I had so much fun rating them with my brother I decided to do a bigger project, this time with AMVs. For those who don’t know, fans make AMVs as a music video homage to anime they love. It requires a lot of precise editing and researching. Fans can do this without violating copyright infringement as long as they don’t post entire strips of content from the show for profit. Frankly, AMVs, if done by good editors, help promote anime and music.
That aside, I found almost 100 AMVs in the last week or so I thought should make it onto this list. For the first tier, I decided to grade the AMVs on four main criteria from 1-10:
Timing
Tone
Promotional Value
Music Choice
At first, I thought my brother and I would only have to go through them once to determine the best. However, apparently I am really good at finding good AMVs. So I had to rethink my decision. I’ve decided there will be four tiers of a variety of AMVs I could find. Out of the 90 my brother and I saw 55 had a a perfect score.
For this list, I will post the top 20 AMVs that didn’t quite have a perfect score. Note, some had the same score so I ranked the AMV with the higher timing score above the other(s).
Let’s us begin!
20. Haikyuu [AMV] – Stronger by ダルハDalha
Based on Haikyuu!!
The best part of this AMV was the first 25 seconds. The timing and tone, coupled with the music was pitch perfect. However, it lacked energy as it progressed and didn’t utilize the song to the best of its ability.
My score: 32
My Brother’s score: 37
Average score: 34.5
19. Mahoutsukai no Yome 「 AMV 」- Beautiful Creatures by AMV Koto
Based on The Ancient Magus’ Bride
This AMV has beautiful imagery, coupled with subtle timing. Though my brother disagreed, the song did add a nice flow to the serene, ethereal nature of The Ancient Magus Bride. The only thing it lacked was more crisp timing. For this show, the imagery should have felt more like a dance than a more casual memoir.
My score: 38
My Brother’s score: 32
Average Score: 35
18. AMV – Keep Your Hands Off !! – Bestamvsofalltime Anime MV by nerjaveika
Based on Skip Beat!
I’ve loved this AMV for awhile, probably because it makes me laugh till I cry. The song choice is spot on. The problem is the video doesn’t have completely crisp timing and the tone feels off sometimes. Otherwise this AMV is super fun to watch! Not perfect, of course. But fun nonetheless.
My Score: 33.5
My Brother’s Score: 37
Average Score: 35.25
17. Fly Away – AMV – 「Anime MV」by Light Raider
Based on a Variety of Anime
Here is another AMV with an amazing first 30 seconds. The problems lie only in some tonal issues because of the variety of different anime used for the video. They utilized the song well but couldn’t keep the same momentum throughout the video.
My score: 33
My Brother’s Score: 37.5
Average Score: 35.25
16. you can be king again by youlazybum
Based on Hotarubi no Mori e
I have so many memories tied to this AMV. It introduced me to this beautiful movie and made me cry when I first watched it. Despite my nostalgic feelings, I have to admit though it is a good AMV it lacks something in it timing and tone. As I said for “Beautiful Creatures”, these type of AMV need to feel either like a dance or a well balanced memoir. This AMV leans towards both but doesn’t quite reach either.
My Score: 35
My Brother’s Score: 36
Average Score: 35.5
15. AMV – The Butterfly Effect – Bestamvsofalltime Anime MV by Ariant
Based on Steins;Gate
“Butterfly Effect” has great timing and tone. However, the one thing going against is the song feels slightly off, like it doesn’t quite fit the message the editor tried to convey.
My Score: 35
My Brother’s Score: 36.5
Average Score: 35.5
14. AMV Akira- Little Dark Age by MGMT by 桜.
Based on Akira
I was surprised I was able to find a descent AMV for an 80s film like Akira. Usually, tonal problems as well as pacing arise in these type of AMV because of the more rugged look of the the animation. The one thing this AMV lacks in energy. It flows like a bad dream that takes awhile to unfold.
My Score: 36
My Brother’s Score: 36
Average Score: 36
13. Metropolis AMV (Grimes – 4ÆM) by Brown Charlie
Based on Metropolis (2001)
Anything I said about the last AMV applies to this one. The one thing it had going for it was it had a slightly better song choice.
My Score: 36.5
My Brother’s Score: 36
Average Score: 36.25
12. Hunter x Hunter AMV – Madness by IMarvelous
Based on Hunter X Hunter (2011)
When I watched this the first couple of times, I couldn’t pin point quite what was missing. It had great imagery, an engaging premise and a rock solid first 25 seconds. then it hit me, the timing, tone, and musicality felt slightly off because of the speaking parts. They slowed down the potential of the music and movement. Otherwise, this is a truly haunting AMV to watch. It made me want to go back and see the show.
My Score: 36.5
My Brother’s Score: 36
Average Score: 36.25
11. Black Rock Shooter AMV – Pulse by Kashif
Based on Black★Rock Shooter (TV)
This AMV brought back so many memories! Black Rock Shooter was a big deal about ten years ago because of its high quality animation. (Not quite as high quality in its storyline though. So sad.) This AMV has everything going for it except it feels bogged down by too much movement. Even if the timing is crisp, if there is too much movement it is harder for a viewer to follow the action and story the editor is trying to convey in the video.
My Score: 34
My Brother’s score: 39
Average Score: 36.5
10. My Hero Academia Amv – Remember The Name by JazitJ
Based on My Hero Academia
This AMV has one of the best first 20 seconds of any I’ve seen these past week. The way the editor slowed down the facial expressions and eye movement was phenomenal. What pulled this AMV’s ranking down was the song choice. It didn’t quite fit the images the editor picked. The language was also jolting at times.
My Score: 35.5
My Brother’s Score: 38
Average Score: 36.75
9. Demon Slayer「 AMV」Natural by Double Production
Based on Demon Slayer
This AMV has so much going for it. It tells a more precise story through its visuals and music and has a fantastic song choice to fit the anime’s contest. However, it lacked better timing, or more precisely use of space within the video. Several times I thought, “Darn, you could have used this beat or crescendo.” All in all, it is a well-rounded AMV.
My Score: 36
My Brother’s Score: 38.5
Average Score: 37.25
8. AMV Your Lie In April | A Thousand Years by AMV-X
Based on Your Lie in April
“1000 years” was a great song choice for this bittersweet anime. Because of this, tonally this AMV flowed wonderfully. The one thing it lacked was clean and crisp timing.
My Score: 37
My Brother’s Score: 39
Average Score: 38
7. Glitter and Gold [ AMV – Mix ] Anime Mix by Sota
Based on a Variety of Anime
Great timing and utilization of a myriad of anime. It didn’t feel off balanced because of the different types of anime listed. However, what threw me off was how the editor included almost all the noises for the myriad of movements. The tone of the song and video suffered for it. (This AMVs position is entirely my fault. I admit it.)
My Score: 36
My Brother’s Score: 40
Average Score: 38
6. AMV – Black Impulse – Bestamvsofalltime Anime MV by MagicDarkIight
Based on Black★Rock Shooter (TV)
My brother gave this video a perfect score. Here is why I didn’t. It felt to crowded. There needs to be a balance between action and stillness, even in action AMVs. For that reason, its tone and promotional value slightly fell down.
My Score: 36
My Brother’s Score: 40
Average Score: 38
5. AMV – The Boy Who Murdered Love – Bestamvsofalltime Anime by ONEWAYS
Everything is spot on in this video except for one thing: it doesn’t have a recognizable promotional value. This is because the editor used the video to tell their own story, rather than the stories the videos are based on. This isn’t necessarily bad, just in this case it didn’t have quite a solid of a punch as other AMVs that do the same thing.
My Score: 38
My Brother’s Score: 39.5
Average Score: 38.75
4. AMV Zankyou no Terror – WARRIORS by Z0rekAMV
Based on Terror in Resonance
My brother and I both agreed this is a great AMV that lacked a little something. For him, it was the timing, specifically how the editor didn’t use every available moment cleanly. For me, I felt the song choice was a little strange. It didn’t quite work to promote the anime.
My Score: 39
My Brother’s Score: 39
Average Score: 39
3. AMV – Metamorphose – Bestamvsofalltime Anime MV by Umika Sayoji (Kaya ‘Yana’ Malaya)
Based on Blue Exorcist
Because I am not quite as big of a fan of this anime, I didn’t quite understand the promotional value of this video. I also felt the tone was a smidge off, considering the anime it came from. My brother, sadly, didn’t feel the same. (I’m sorry brother o’mine!)
My Score: 38.5
My Brother’s Score: 40
Average Score: 39.25
2. Best AMV you will ever see Part 2 by xxanime_otaku
Based on a Variety of Anime
Honestly, this is a great AMV. It has crisp timing, a great song choice, and has great promotional value for the listed anime. The one thing that held me back was all the noises going with the music. As a musician, if the sound is even a little bit off, it is hard to listen to.
My Score: 39
My Brother’s Score: 40
Average Score: 39.5
1.Violet Evergarden || Fight by Oblivionblade
Based on Violet Evergarden
Agh! This video almost had a perfect score. ALMOST. The one thing my brother and I thought was slightly off was the timing, a placement of certain video segments. Such a shame, because this video was an emotional journey.
My score: 39.5
My Brother’s Score: 39.5
Average Score: 39.5
That’s it for tier 1! Stay tuned for part two of this four part series.
AMV Showdown: Top 23 From Tier 2
So Many Thoughts 