AMV Anime Music Video Battle

I'll do this by rating each AMV in each round, adding up the ratings at the end, and awarding the win based on who got the highest total rating.

Round 1:
Pro: 9/10
One of the best examples of strong editing across all the rounds, it’s an incredibly solid AMV that’s incredibly well-synced the music. It mostly fits the song pretty well, though it lapses in a few places. On the whole, an excellent AMV with a lot to praise.
Con: 8/10
Well-timed with a strong link to the music. Not quite as crisp on the editing, but exceptional nonetheless. It ends up relying quite a bit on rapid flashes between scenes, which are a bit disorientating.

Round 2:
Pro: 8/10
The best of the character-focused AMVs across all the rounds, it’s very nicely edited with the camera roll aesthetic. It fits the song better early on, but it works well for the theme throughout. It’s well-paced, and tells a pretty clear story throughout.
Con: 6/10
It’s definitely one of the more innovative song choices, but while the song as a whole seems to match pretty well with the anime, the scene selection and sync timing could use some work. It’s a pretty well constructed AMV, but nothing particularly special.

Round 3:
Pro (1): 3/10
This is probably my least favorite of the bunch. It’s got a lot of problems: poorly synced to the music, sped up scenes (often without purpose), a linear presentation of material from the anime, not the best animation quality… in essence, it could use some work. Big fan of Whitebeard, but beyond picking a decent song to represent him, this lets him down.
Pro (2): 10/10
Interesting that my favorite AMV in this whole debate is paired with it. This is one of three AMVs in this debate I was familiar with before I started going through this debate, and it’s incredibly well done. It’s got some really innovative editing, it’s tightly synced to the music, and it’s an interesting song that it makes work for the anime.
Con (1): 5/10
It’s a pretty solid AMV with a really appropriate and interesting song choice, but it doesn’t have much that sets it apart. No clever or interesting edits, a lot of sped up scenes, largely linear storytelling, and while the scenes are cool, there’s little syncing to the song. It just doesn’t do much for me.
Con (2): 9/10
Ah, a classic (and another of the 3 I was familiar with ahead of time). I think this was among the first AMVs that really got me into watching them. Another great AMV with a ton of incredible editing, especially for the time it was produced, all set to an incredibly appropriate song. What sets this apart is that it’s telling a story with added elements that weren’t a part of the original show, and that comes through in the editing. Some of the later parts don’t quite fit the theme it was initially going for as well, particularly as it’s rushing through elements of Hueco Mundo, but it’s still a great entry.

Round 4:
Pro: 5/10
Much as I’m a fan of Lindsey Sterling, the choice of a song without lyrics means the animation has to do the heavy lifting when it comes to keeping it engaging. In that sense, it kind of manages, but it once again falls victim to linear storytelling and focuses solely on a movie with not the greatest animation. It’s well-synced, but doesn’t have much in the way of interesting edits. Overall, fun to watch the action and a great listen, but not memorable.
Con: 9/10
Picked this one up recently (the third of the 3), and just as floored by it as I was the first time I found it. It’s an incredibly well-selected song and matches the scenes well. It transitions a little quickly from arc to arc, which loses some of the strength of focusing on each, but the editing is on point and it’s built to impress.

Round 5:
Pro: 6/10
It’s a stronger entry than the previous round, but not by much. Those subtitles, which just distract from the scenes, drag down the store a bit, as does the inconsistent application of scenes for the purpose of following the song. It’s synced well to the song and for the most part, they use some pretty good scene choices, though I can’t ignore the missed opportunities.
Con: 7/10
Starting with some dialogue sets this one apart in a good way. The action scenes are great to watch, and the song complements them well. The editing suits the song, but it’s often more distracting than it is helpful. I’m not familiar with this series, but I’ll have to check it out.

Total:
Pro: 41
Con: 44
As a side-note, I would have given Con two extra points at the end, one for having a greater diversity of song choices, and one for the diversity of anime choices. I know One Piece has a ton of AMVs and there are a lot of great ones out there (my personal favorite isn’t in this), but I personally would reward the decision to go further afield. Regardless, the vote goes to Con.