The all things Anime related thread.

seek said:

I havn't seen any anime for a quite some time now, and I kind of fancy getting back into it a little. Can any of you guys recommend some series that have been released in the last year or two?

I'm really out of the loop with recent anime. No idea what's good and what's not. :/

Click to expand...

What sort of anime do you like?

loopstah said:

What sort of anime do you like?

Click to expand...

I was thinking of listing a few, but I really don't have a specific taste. Good anime is good anime, regardless of genre!

A few of my favourites include, Ranma, Love Hina, Ghibli movies, Bubblegum Crisis/Crash (Classic), 3x3 Eyes, Evangelion, GitS, Full Metal Panic, Tenchi Muyo and Chobits. As well as the old classic movies Akira, Project A-ko and all the rest.

So I guess from that list it's romantic comedys and the occasional sci-fi/mech type stuff.

from that description Full Metal Panic will probably fit your requirements like a glove, it's a mix of comedy, action, (not quite) giant robots and a slight undertone of romance.

There is also FMP: Fumoffu which is the second series and is all comedy

Werewolf said:

from that description Full Metal Panic will probably fit your requirements like a glove, it's a mix of comedy, action, (not quite) giant robots and a slight undertone of romance.

There is also FMP: Fumoffu which is the second series and is all comedy

Click to expand...

Already got FMP (and Fumoffu). It's in the list!

Great series, but a bit lightweight, and doesnt really go anywhere. The earlier episodes are great, but then it tails off and gets a bit lame in the middle of the series. Love the comedy aspects though. Especially love the scene where the girl (can't remember her name) gets the flash bomb earings and sets them off in class

seek said:

I was thinking of listing a few, but I really don't have a specific taste. Good anime is good anime, regardless of genre!

A few of my favourites include, Ranma, Love Hina, Ghibli movies, Bubblegum Crisis/Crash (Classic), 3x3 Eyes, Evangelion, GitS, Full Metal Panic, Tenchi Muyo and Chobits. As well as the old classic movies Akira, Project A-ko and all the rest.

So I guess from that list it's romantic comedys and the occasional sci-fi/mech type stuff.

Click to expand...

Firstly I'll have to recommend the top 10 anime (not in order) I rate as the best I've seen (and I can cheat and copy/paste from ANN )

Then I'll recommend some sci/fi, mecha, comedy, romance stuff.

Then I'll add a few more I rate highly and you might like.

Elfen Lied

I loved the story and the characters. I was amazed how they managed to fit so many different emotions in to the anime. There was a lot of bad stuff happening but an equal amount of good stuff as well. My first impression was that it was a comedy series as it was very funny although it did sober up a bit near the end.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

I lost about 2 years of my life to Final Fantasy VII when it was released and I nearly wet myself with joy when I watched this. It might not have much appeal to anyone unfamiliar to the games but just seeing the team in full CGI beauty was a dream come true.

Gunbuster

I heard a lot about this before I saw it and I wasn't dissapointed.
It might be old but it's a great story, epic almost, especially the battles. I like Giant Robots and you don't get much bigger than the Gunbuster. The ending was moving as well and left me feeling elated yet sad at the same time.

Last Exile

Beautiful to look at. One of the best looking series I've seen but it isn't just flash and effects it has a great story and great characters as well. I'm a big Skies of Arcadia fan so the fact it had flying warships made me very happy as well.

Nadia: Secret of Blue Water

What a ride. I felt sad and empty when I ejected the last disc and realised my adventures with Nadia, Jean and Marie had finished. It might have got a bit ropey in the middle but I enjoy a bit of comic relief so it didn't bore me. Plenty of action in the rest of the series and a great story kept me glued to the screen.

ROD the TV

I enjoyed the OVA so I was looking forward to the TV series and it didn't let me down. More of the same, yet bigger and better. It looked nice and I loved the Paper Sisters, they made a great trio of heroines and they were fun to watch even when not doing anything exciting.

***RahXephon***

Simply the best Giant Robo style anime I've seen. I loved the fact it had an emotional side to it as well as the action. The animation was pretty and the characters were fun. Interesting story and Xephon just looked cool. One of the few anime I cried like a baby while watching, if you've seen it you know the part. Simply the best series I've seen so far. Everything about it just worked and I couldn't tear myself away from the screen until it had finished.

(Addition) a lot of people compare NGE and RahXephon and claim one is better than the other but personaly I think they aim for different things and the feeling RahXephon gives out appeals to me more than NGE's does. RahXephon is a love story at it's heart and NGE is about a boy struggling to find his place in the world, and I'm a sucker for love.

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust

A beautiful film. The art style, architecture and general feel of the film were fantastic. The story was exciting yet also moving and D is simply one of the best hero characters I've seen in an anime. The whole thing comes together to make an amazing viewing experience.

Vision of Escaflowne

I love the whole schoolgirl taken to another world style anime and this is the best of those I've seen. It beats Magic Knight Rayearth by a small margin due to it's cleaner visuals and more dramatic storyline. A fantastic fantasy adventure with a host of interesting characters and the Escaflowne wins my 2nd best looking Giant Robot award. A fantastic series.

X TV

Much more than a supernatural fight anime. A deep and intresting storyline, multi-faceted characters and some touching love stories combine to make a great series. I also really like the CLAMP style of characters and this is the best of their work.

####################################################

Ok, now for some others.

Have you seen the remake of Bubblegum Crisis?
Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 that's pretty good as well and not much different from the OVA, but different enough to be interesting.

Appleseed is a great looking film and a good sci-fi story. Well worth watching for the action and art.

If you like romantic stuff then you HAVE to watch Oh! My Goddess. It's just amazing and I'll probably nudge it up onto my top 10. There is also a newer TV series version but I haven't got round to watching it yet.

Photon: The Idiot Adventures is one you should watch if you like Tenchi. Very funny, a bit silly and features a boy with women all over him. (Although they dubbed a zoned out hippie voice on a young boy to make him seem legal )

Excel Saga is hilarious. It parodies a different anime genre each episode as part of a sort of continuing plot line although most of the stuff is just random. One of the funniest comedy anime I have seen and you're sure to find an episode that makes you ROFL, literally (I did).

Giant Robo: The Animation is a fantastic mecha style anime. It mimics the 50's character designs but was made in the 90's. A very good story with some good characters. Sort of a cross between a super-hero cartoon and and mech show. Another series I might bump into my top 10 as I really enjoyed it.

Gravion and Gravion Zwei are pretty funny mecha anime with plenty of fan service and over-the-top characters. Parodies the older style giant robot shows quite a bit.

Zone of the Enders is a pretty entertaining mecha anime with the addition of a squabbling family and a ditsy mech that thinks it's a little girl. Sounds a bit odd but it was very good.

Martian Successor Nadesico is a great sci/fi mech anime. I love the characters and I love the story. Avoid the film though as it is a bleak and harsh ruination of such a good series.

I can't recommend much romantic comedy stuff as I haven't got round to watching much myself, although I intend to remedy the situation soon.

####################################################


Finally some that aren't really in your watched genres and might sound a bit odd but are very good anime that I recommend anyway.

Angel Sanctuary might only be a short OVA but it is really the best manga advert ever cunningly disguised as an anime. I intend to pick up the manga series as soon as possible to see how the story develops.
It's basically an incestous love story that involves the corrupt forces of heaven, some badass angels, a few demons and a lad who contains the spirit of a heretical angel.

Chrono Crusade is set in the 30's I think. About a girl who fights demons but is seems to ***** it up a lot and her demon companion. It starts silly but gets more serious towards the end. I really enjoyed it.

Magic Knight Rayearth 1 + 2. The first series is slightly better than the second but I just love schoolgirls in alternate world anime. Also features mech of a sort and some romance but it's very girly so might not be your cup of tea.

Master of Mosquiton is a pretty daft vampire story although it does have a semi-coherent plot and looks nice. Very funny though.

Rune Soldier is a fantasy comedy. You have to love a magician who prefers to hit things with a stick rather than use magic. a lot of fun and I liked the characters.

Witch Hunter Robin is very good. About a bunch of church run witch hunters that chase down rogue psychics. A very interesting story and good animation. It gets dark in some places but has plenty of action as well.

Wolf's Rain is about a group of wolves who can look human searching for paradise. Sounds a bit odd but is very good, the characters develop well, the post-apocalyptic setting is good and it carries on at a good pace.

..

..

Just watched Patlabor the Movie and Patlabor 2 the Movie. Pretty good stories, much better animation than the OVA or TV series and some nice music, reminded me of Ghost in the Shell style wise. I had to watch them Subbed though as the dub voices were too different to the CPM voice actors I was used to, and they had no emotion. I hope the new Bandai dub is better or I'll be a bit upset when I buy the LE versions.

Just need to watch Wasted XIII now, I wonder how Pioneer handled the dubbing.

..

Well I came across Elfen Lied late last night and several hours later I’m an emotional mess now.

The work put into this is far beyond most of the American targeted crap and I can’t believe how much effort has been put into this.

Truly amazing…

Sparky__H said:

Well I came across Elfen Lied late last night and several hours later I’m an emotional mess now.

The work put into this is far beyond most of the American targeted crap and I can’t believe how much effort has been put into this.

Truly amazing…

Click to expand...

Exactly what I thought, one of the best Anime's I've ever seen.

If you enjoyed that then I highly recommend Gunslinger Girl...thats just plain brilliant.

Well I finally watched some Anime recently & am now up to Volume 4 of Gantz & it just keeps getting better & better, loads of gore, great story, brilliant characters & some funny moments, really worth checking out if you havent seen it.

Watched the first volume of Gilgamesh as well & have to say I was actually really let down by it...it has a really fresh look & some great gothic overtones but it just doesnt do anything for me, quite slow paced & just not very interesting dont think I'll bother with the next volume.

Neil

Watched Patlabor the Movie 3: Wasted XIII. Was a pretty good film although it only had a slim link to SVU 2, though this meant I could watch it dubbed as the usual characters hardly had a part so I just enjoyed the movie.

The extra discs Mini-Pato episodes were odd but interesting.

Decided to invest in some Manga so I ordered the full series of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind to start me off. I was going to get Akira but it works out at £90+ for the 6 books , so I'll leave it for now.

soundwave said:

If you enjoyed that then I highly recommend Gunslinger Girl...thats just plain brilliant.
Neil

Click to expand...

Well I have just finished watching ep13 of gunslinger girl and I don’t know if I like it or not.

I feel really sorry for the girls and it’s kind of sad what they have had done to them and the lives they are forced to lead.

Top notch animation and a good story but yet again I’m forced to endure .mkv

..

Emo_hug said:

Gunsling girls is an interesting take on the Girls with guns genra.

Click to expand...

I have yet to find anything close to Evangelion and Elfen Lied for pure heart wrenching sorrow.

I’ve been out of the anima scene for a while and just though I’d have a look at what’s about. Naruto was interesting until ep95 or so then the fillers have slowly killed off my resolve to watch it.

And what the conkers is up with only 13 episodes per series now? Back in my day we got 24!!

soundwave said:

Well I finally watched some Anime recently & am now up to Volume 4 of Gantz & it just keeps getting better & better, loads of gore, great story, brilliant characters & some funny moments, really worth checking out if you havent seen it.

Click to expand...

Just seen the first part of ep 1, going to have to wait a while for the rest .

Haven't seen enough to judge it yet but what’s up with black orb that produces guns and naked girls?

More importantly where the hell can I get one !?!?!?!

..

Emo_hug said:

Seems like its pot luck as it also produces granies, and stalker women that look like Sadako that just appears from no wear.

Click to expand...

What you're saying is the manufacturers have sub standard quality control?

Shocking…

Is it just the 26 episodes?

Watched Geobreeders and Geobreeders Breakthrough yesterday. Quite a fun little OVA with some funny characters and an odd story. I enjoyed Breakthrough more than the first volume though as it seemed more comedic and the story was better.

I need to stop ordering stuff, I have about £400 worth of stuff on backorder from TRSI (It's a real handy way of securing rare/limited/special offer items if you order with a pre-release as they reserve everything till the pre-release arrives ).

Finished work yesterday, so I'll cancel the pre-releases (and everything will ship out) when my student loan arrives and replace the money with my last pay cheque as the only reason I worked an extra 2 weeks was to fund some anime.

I'm waiting on the full Ranma 1/2 series and some Maison Ikkoku boxes (due to the VIZ sale) and the Card Captor Sakura and Tenchi In Tokyo bundles. They have some really great deals at TRSI sometimes

Sparky__H said:

I have yet to find anything close to Evangelion and Elfen Lied for pure heart wrenching sorrow.

Click to expand...

Have you seen RahXephon? I cried like a baby at a certain heart wrenching scene (I rate that scene as the saddest and most heart wrenching scene I've seen in an anime) and with the lighter tone of the rest of the show it stood out a lot more than the stuff in Elfen Lied, although Elfen Lied certainly hits you more often, especially near the end.

Out of interest what part of Evangelion did you find sad? the only thing I can think of was the last angel.



Has anyone seen Battle Athletes? I've just ordered the OVA and series as it sounds fun.

The End of Evangelion when Komm Sussor Todd starts (sp?). When he finally stands up to Asuka and the beginning of the 3rd great extinction begins.

I’m sorry to say that I followed Shinji throughout the series and when the end finally came, when the pieces fall into place and Lilith manifested for the second time it was the most heart wrenching thing I have ever seen…

Evangelion is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen and should be a notational treasure of Japan.


EDIT: Ok thats all 26ep of Gantz over, whats next?