Anime Talk...

[Stalk]

Ah! My Goddess: Watched up to episode 17. It continues to follow the manga very closely. The two other sisters have showed up now, Skuld and Urd. It is very different from the OVA's and Movie, which did not follow the chronology of the manga. It is a slow-paced romance anime, and very sweet, not comedic like Love Hina or Mahoraba.


Akane Mainax Gaiden: This title is something of a guilty pleasure. Standalone, it is more horrible than... horrible. But I love this series. It is a Media Factory title so it is not availble on legit fansub sites (not licensed, long story). It is centered mostly around some random joe blow, but the "focus character" is Akane from Kimi ga Nozomu Eien. It is a slight parody on it, episode 2 had me convulsing in laughter. But non-kiminozo fans won't like it, and people who haven't played the original game, the KimiNozo ero-game, will not be able to fully appreciate it.


Basilisk ~Kouga Ninpo Chou~: Watched up to episode 2. It has a Ninja Scroll feel to it. It is mostly about Ninjas, but the first episode was so confusing, the second one was a little more clear but still confusing at times. I personally don't like the art style, and fighting style. My preference is more towards the "Shura no Toki" type of ninja, not the type with special physical characteristics (stretching body, air balloon body, hair like knifes, etc) that Basilisk has. But, it looks like it might have a strong story later on, so I will continue to watch in hopes of such.


Bleach: Watched up to episode 31. It continues to be a wonderful Shounen title in the same vein of Naruto, and One Piece. Even though I'm far ahead in the manga, watching the fights animated are very enjoyable, the lastest episode was especially good.


Bokusatsu Tenshi! Dokuro-chan!: Watched episode 1-2. This anime has a lot of blood and cockteasing. It is easier to show than describe, so I will post some pictures. Apparently, this one guy invented something terrifying in the future, so an angel was sent to the past to kill him, but fails. The title translates to... "Club-to-Death Angel! Dokuro-chan!". It's blood-level is Kill Bill vol. 1-esque.

Really now? (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap000.jpg)
Still think so? (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap001.jpg)
I do believe.. (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap002.jpg)
I have... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap003.jpg)
Now... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap007.jpg)
Lost my head. (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap008.jpg)
To believe you, or not to believe you? (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap009.jpg)
Wacky.. (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap016.jpg)
I thought... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap022.jpg)
I had... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap023.jpg)
Bad... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap024.jpg)
Diarrahea before... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap025.jpg)
Oops. (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap026.jpg)
This... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap029.jpg)
Can... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap030.jpg)
Not... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap031.jpg)
Be... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap033.jpg)
A... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap034.jpg)
Very.. (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap035.jpg)
Good... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap036.jpg)
Sign. (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap037.jpg)


Fushigi no Futago-Hime: Watched up to episode 2. Very cute anime about twin princesses from the Sun Kingdom. It's a mahou shoujo, and it gives cavities by the second. But, man, way too cute. I love it. I'd describe more, but if you didn't get turned off by the combination of cute and mahou shoujo, you'll probably end up checking it out anyway.

C..cute.. (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap039.jpg)
Too cute.... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap041.jpg)
Transformation! 1 (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap045.jpg)
Transformation! 2 (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap046.jpg)
Transformation! 3 (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap047.jpg)
Magic Spell! 1 (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap049.jpg)
Magic Spell! 2 (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap056.jpg)
Magic Spell! 3 (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap058.jpg)
Too...cute.... T_T (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap063.jpg)


Futakoi Alternative: Watched up to episode 4. The anime is wonderful, stylish, and funny as hell. The original Futakoi was cute, cliche, and generally not worth watching. There was no fanservice, no "sexy" or anything "adult-related". Futakoi ALternative, is about as alternative as it gets. All the characters that we watched being so sweet and innocent, are suddenly turned into gunslinging hardcore girls, tons of fanservice, comedy, and sexy as hell. It is hard to go throught he first series, but I feel it is worth it just to appreciate Alternative just that much more. But you can watch the first one without watching the second, they have nothing to do with each other AT ALL except the characters.


Gakuen Alice: Watched up to episode 7. I can't really tell why I enjoy this anime. It's nothing particularly impressive, but it has the potentional to become an extremely serious and heartwrenching show. It's about a young girl who had an Alice, which could be called a superpower, and went to a school for people with Alices. Something like the X-Men school, I guess. But you cannot leave this school. None of the students are allowed to contact their family. At first it was very cute, and danced around the harsh reality very well, but the lastest episode was very heartwrenching when she became homesick. I can't spoil more, but the story seems to be turning very dark.


Gallery Fake: Watched up to episode 4. Want style? Here's a whole lot of style on a platter. It's about paintings, and a genius art salesman and his exploits. He is no hero, that's for certain. Very highly recommended.


Girls Bravo S2: Episode 7. Well, it's a far cry from being anything good. It's stupid, worthless, and a waste of brain cells. But, it's one of my few fanservice shows, so it's nice to take a break from focusing and just lay back, get a boner, and enjoy using my little brain cells.


Gokujou Seitokai: Episode 3. An all-girls school anime. Style reminds me of a mix of Sensei no Ojikan and Azumanga Daioh. But it's very enjoyable, and interesting. Another of my "lay back and just enjoy it" anime. The main character is very cute with the way she uses the puppet. A lot of cute girls in the crowd.


Hachimatsu to Clover: Episode 2. It's based in college, and apparently an josei (young women's 18-25) anime. It has the most interesting male characters I've seen in a long time. Most men are made shallow and get the short end of the stick in character development, so it was a nice change. Hagu is irresistably cute >< Just a "college life" anime, it seems, so far.

Mad art style! 1 (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap071.jpg)
Mad art style! 2 (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap072.jpg)
I sense I'm about to do something embarassing... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap073.jpg)
The guy with the blue shirt is Morita... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap074.jpg)
And his friends... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap075.jpg)
Poor Hagu T_T (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap076.jpg)
No disagreement there... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap078.jpg)
I love morita.. and hagu... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap079.jpg)
You tell me.. (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap081.jpg)


He is My Master: Episode 3. Another of my "just sit back and watch" anime with fanservice. About lolita-maids, I guess, and a perverted master. What can I say... you're not watching it for the story so you either know you want to see it or not by now.


Ichigo 100%: Episode 5. Well, another sit back and enjoy the fanservice. School-life romance harem.


Iriya no Sora - UFO no Natsu: Episode 1. A very cute and interesting anime. It is based on an novel (like Maria-sama ga Miteru and Maburaho). It is a story about a girl who is a experimental pilot, and how she falls in love with someone from her high school. Their meeting is very sweet. A romance and heartwrenching show. It is an OVA, so it will take a long time to come out.

Kaleido Star S2: Episode 46. One of my favorite anime as always. Sora and Rosetta are just about my favorite female characters, well, ever. I always love seeing Rosetta do her diabolo acts, she is very cute when she does them. It's about a place similar to Cirque du Soliel. A stage with a story. I can't wait for her to finish the Angel's Act. Sora should be stunningly beautiful in it, just as she was in the Mystical Act of the first season.


Legend of the Condor Hero S2: Episode 39. Continues to be one of my favorite anime. I'm glad to see they seem to be coming on to how he comes to be known as the Condor Hero. A martial arts anime with a very strong story.


Loveless: Episode 5. CATGIRLS! ITS CATGIRLS! Tons of pics coming probably! Haha. But, it is centered around bishounens mostly. Unfortunate. It seems to be a "mysterous" anime, or at least it makes a poor attempt at doing so. But, the story seems decent enough, and I can't get enough of the female teacher and Youkia.


Yuiko! 1 (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap084.jpg)
Yuiko! 2 (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap085.jpg)
Yuiko! 3 (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap086.jpg)
Sensei! 1 (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap087.jpg)
Sensei! 2 (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap088.jpg)
Oh my... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap091.jpg)
So perverted.. (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap092.jpg)
I love Yuiko! (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap093.jpg)
I do to- er no nevermind... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap094.jpg)
Yeah, that's what I meant too.. (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap095.jpg)
I love Sensei! (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap096.jpg)
You're cute when you're angry... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap097.jpg)
Also cute when you're confused... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap098.jpg)
Oh my, why are you so embarassed? (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap099.jpg)
Oh, a bishounen's in front of you. (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap101.jpg)
Close enough for me. (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap102.jpg)
Dumb bishounen, made sensei cry T_T (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap105.jpg)
Jeez.. (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap106.jpg)
Cute when you're tired too... (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap107.jpg)
And depressed... 1 (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap108.jpg)
And depressed... 2 (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap109.jpg)
Ah, cute when you're sleeping too! (http://stalk.theown.org/images/bscap110.jpg)


Mahoraba ~Heartful Days~: Episode 13. "turn the brain off, watch it, and enjoy" anime again. When I heard about the story, I was hoping the multiple personality disorder of Kozue-chan would be more apparent and taken more seriously. But it seems it is not. Too bad. But I enjoy it and the girls are all interesting and cute. Loser guy, harem of girls, cliche as cliche gets.


Mahou Sensei Negima: Episode 17. I'm still pissed they removed the manga's fanservice. It was the only reason to watch the show, mostly. But now I watch it for the twins. They are cute. And Honoka too. Another light anime.


Meine Liebe: Episode 8. Well, yet another anime that wants to be intellectual and mysterous. I watch it more for comedic value, rather than the seriousness it wants to be taken for. What really pisses me off about this anime is, it was based on a bishounen ero-game. You got that right. The GIRL chases the guys. I could not resist watching this anime. How disappointing. No girls to speak of. Unless you count Camus. I still can't see Camus as a guy.


Monster: Episode 49. Well, one of the greatest mystery anime of all time. I don't think anyone in the world is debating that, on this one. It really is universial. The animation quality is great, the story is greater, the characters are believable and the villian is terrifying.


Nekojiru Gekijou: Episode 6. Jesus, talk about being thrown off guard. A funny anime, one minute per episode. Worth checking out.


Futari wa Pretty Cure: Episode 23. Ah, damn. Honoka and Nagisa are way too cute. One of the better mahou shoujo there are. Cardcaptor Sakura level. The fights are intense, and well animated. I have some figures of them coming. The fact that I'm recommending this magical girl anime should be reason enough to check it out, because if you are willing to watch mahou shoujo then I don't need to explain it.


School Rumble: Episode 21. Ah, such a fun anime. A decent Azumanga replacement. Mostly revolves around high school girls. Lots of cute girls. Yakumo and her sister are both my favorites. Azumanga-like should be enough of a description.

Speed Grapher: Episode 5. I am really enjoying this series. It is brutal and has a very dark feel to it. One of the anime I would suggest you to check out for yourselves, no matter what kind of fan you are. It is very easy to get hooked on the first episode, so you will find out VERY fast if it's a series you will stick with or not.


That's about all I can bring myself to talk about right now. There are quite a few other new series I haven't mentioned, I'll probably get around to it sometime this week if the topic is still active.

And, to Pratell, unfortunately I have not found an series like Berserk. I found a manga that is similar, but it is only in japanese so I doubt you will be interested. Hard to live up to just about the greatest fantasy series of all time. I honestly rate it as close to A Game of Throne's equal.

I've also played quite a few ero-games, but the only one really worth mentioning is Love Death. It is a fully animated ero-game, and I did feel more immersed than usual into it. It wasn't particularly spectacular, though. What WAS spectacular, however, was the "bad ending." Your girlfriend gets murdered by the rival girl. >< what the hell.

Manga... I've usually been sticking with my normal series. Yakitate, Naruto, One Piece, Berserk. Oh, there is one worth mentioning. Death Note. Very interesting and it wont insult your intelligence. About a young boy who obtains a book of a shinagami to write the deaths of people in it. And another young boy who pursues him. A clash of geniuses, so to speak.

[DarthEnderX]

I like Bleach too. Its the third series I've decided to start following(after Naruto and One Piece).

[shehab aldean]

i'm enjoing eye shield 22

american football with crazy players

[Lenilya]

But now I watch it for the twins

Kaede Nagase-san! Nin-Nin!! Wish she'd give ME a bath :heart :naughty


btw, who's 'Honoka'? Noticed a 'Nodoka' and a 'Konoka' but not a Honoka :(

[Stalk]

I watched it right after watching Pretty Cure. I must have gotten confused. Nodoka is who I was thinking of. The shy shotacon girl :p

[Yalum]

Has anyone played Air the game? I just finished watching the anime (I can never seem to find time for fansubs, so the few I do watch I tend to be quite behind on), and it doesn't seem that many of the themes, like motherhood and sick children, would interact well with occasional bouts of hardcore sex. I can't imagine a writer saying "Ok, we just said a tearful goodbye to the ghost of the dead little girl, now it's time for the anal scene". So I'm wondering how much changed in the transition...

[Lenilya]

"Ok, we just said a tearful goodbye to the ghost of the dead little girl, now it's time for the anal scene".

lmao!

Tho you have quite a valid point, I've often had the same question with anime inspired by ero-games. Never played the games, but it really does make ya wonder, don't it?

[Stalk]

Well, I'm going to cite some other ero-games as an example. I've played most of the major ero-games. Air, KimiNozo, Akane Mainax Bonus DVD, Fate//Stay Night, Tsukihime, etc.

It works something like this. In Air, it's easy to see the mother and daughter as the "targets". But it's not just them. You have many others to go after.. Minagi, Kano, Haruko, Hijiri, Michiru, Misuzu, Shiraho, Kanna, Uraha to go after. I'm probably forgetting some.

The anime is really something like.. "Ok, I liked the idea of the main plot of Air, let's disregard everything and keep the characters and make a new story while keeping only the fundamentals."

And what happens for the sex scenes, it is not a suprise. For example, you are working with Misuzu, helping her deal with her problems and enjoying time with her. Misuzu loves you and vice versa. So some unlikely scenario places the two of you in her bedroom for a ero-scene.

This is just a cliche type, there are many ways to go about it that it seems natural. For many people, the ero-scenes are merely a "bonus" and don't deract from the story itself. Because, why would having sex change the fact that she is going through some suffering? It's just two people who are in love with each other, doing what most people who love each other do.

Also, the game is much more drawn out. A lot of things happen at her school, instead of focusing between Yukito and Misuzu. And Misuzu is not as innocent, as she is in the anime. But still very naive.

[Tabbran]

Anybody been reading Gantz? The anime is poo - but the manga is pretty good.

[Yalum]

So the two are only loosely related. I thought so. Air the anime seems downright orthogonal to erotica, the relationships are all familial rather than romantic. While there is a niche for that, Air is clearly much classier than that.

[Lenilya]

Watched a few from the big 'ol list up above so.....

Loveless is wierd as hell. Period. Catpeople notwithstanding, somebody had to be REALLY be hitting the crackpipe to think up a 20something guy that goes around hitting on sixthgrader catboys. WTF. He just outright disturbs me.


Dokuro-chan was interesting, to say the least. Gotta love the blood level. Tho i fear the whole gimmick can easily become a detriment once a few more episodes are out, and it's just not amusing anymore to see her cleave off people's heads with her club.

Bleach is teh awesome series atm. The wierd deadpan humor with naruto-esque action is a slick combo, and pulled off well.

Ah! My Goddess TV has been a nice, lighter fare series. Belldandy is kawaii as hell, as to be expected, tho a bit more of a serious storyarc is needed atm. just seems like a bunch of filler, when compared with the OAV and Movie.

[Stalk]

I wanted to bump this thread up to mention a series I recently got into.

I was watching Major, a anime about baseball. At first, I wasn't really into it, but I started to enjoy it by episode 3. I was completely hooked on episode 6.

The anime is very dramatic and has a lot of happy and sad moments. When they introduced Joe Gibson, the "omgz baseball player from america", I was a little disappointed by him seeming way too 2D. Typical money-hungry American.

But, man, did they change that to make him a wonderful character. Your everyday villian into a great man.

The games are exciting, the main character (Goro) is not a complete loser. There is a time jump in the series that brings him from age of 6 to 9, where he plays in the little leagues.

At first, I was turned off because, well, its hard to watch a buch of kids play. But, the 9 year olds are drawn like they were in the 13 year old range (Goro is muscular, the girl ont he team looks like she's at the "developing age", a certain scene shows them being more mature than their age) so it's much easier to get into.

And, man, does he draw girls well. Goro's mother is beautiful, I love he smiles of the girls in this anime. All very cute.

This was probably my greatest find this year. I did not expect such a wonderful anime to come out of Major. Undoubtly one of my favorites for the year. It's very Hajime no Ippo-like in sports style (as in, everything has SOME basis in reality, not like Prince of Tennis).

I actually got totally choked up at a certain episode this series. And so fast, too.

Anyway I hope you guys watch this with a open mind. The sports anime crowd will like the action, the drama crowd would love the drama, and it's IMO one of the best mixes of the two. It's not as exciting as Hajime no Ippo, but it can't be helped, it's Baseball, after all.

[Lenilya]

Honey & Clover. Wow, that's a nice series, thanks for pointing it out above, definately on my 'kill all other downloads to make it download quicker' list. The washed-out artstyle, cheeky yet deadpan humor, and the touch of mysterious drama just mesh ever so well.

[braincandy99]

could you post or direct me to a glossary for all the sub-genres that have been mentioned above?

[Stalk]

could you post or direct me to a glossary for all the sub-genres that have been mentioned above?

I don't know where one could find those. But, feel free to point out what you are interested in knowing. And someone will answer.

Now then, I wish to report, much to my suprise, a SECOND gem in the last month I found. Finding one is awesome enough these days, but I'm happy to find another. The title is "~Victorian Romance~ Emma." It's just called Emma on fansubs.

Man, what a wonderful show. The backgrounds are beautiful, the costumes are wonderful, the facial art is amazing. The story is just a simple love story, but done so well that it is very heartwarming and sad.

It is based in the Victorian era of London, a tale of a romance between an upper class man and a maid. The first few episodes are so wonderful and sweet, but I am starting to feel the approaching issues which is kind of disappointing because I would love to see them continue in their very cute way of getting to know each other.

But it was to be expected, and I have no doubts that the anime will go through the issues of having an upper class and maid romance well. This is not your skimpy, "He is my Master" maid. She wears more clothes than most people do during winter.

I heard some people complain that Emma looks like she's an ederly, but I don't understand this. While compared to almost any teenage girl in modern anime, she does look old, but that's external comparisions. Internally, if you compare her age to those around her, she does not look as old as the others.

She is only 20, by the way. This gets shown later in the episode ("Five years ago... when I was fifteen"). I constantly am amazed by how many times I think to myself, WOW! That's amazing! Now THIS is what I call a mature sort of beauty. She is obviously a very beautiful woman, but she has such a mature aura around her, and in her manners, way of speaking, etc.

I'm stoked. First Major, and now Emma.

Aside from that, I've watched a few new anime lately.

Basilisk ~Kouga Ninpou Chou~- It seems to be a good ninja action flick. I still don't like the character design, but the fights are at least somewhat interesting and brutal.

Erementrar Gerad- The show is nothing special, Just your typical shounen with a twist. But the girl is cute. So I mostly watch to see her.

Eureka Seven- What the heck. I don't particularly like the show, but the one of the guys is very interesting. The hero guy. He's very laid back. And it has a skateboarding atmosphere around it which I found interesting. I'm not a fan of mecha though, so it might be good, it might not, it's not good enough to catch my interest as a non-mecha fan.

Eyeshield 21- A fast paced show about football (American). It's somewhat interesting, but I don't really like the show much. I'm not a big fan of the whole "oh, wow, I'm fast for no reason at all!' aspect. But the insane quarterback is fun to watch, and the girl is cute too :p

Glass Mask 2005- I watched the first 1987 run, but it's worth mentioning again. It's a wonderful show, mostly a drama. It being a drama, well, I don't need to get much into it. You know if you like dramas or not. It's about a girl who is trying to become an actress.

Iriya no Sora - UFO no Natsu (Iriya of the Sky, UFO of the Summer)- It's a interesting show. I can't say much about it because only the first OVA has been released, and the second OVA got released recently. But, it's worth watching. The meeting at the pool was cute, and some parts are really sad. You get the feeling that she probably endured a lot.

Izumo Takeki Tsurugi no Senki- Not worth watching at all. It's so generic and has absolutely NOTHING to stand itself out of the crowd. I'm not very picky with my series, as long as it has at least -something- interesting about it. Twist one cliche among a thousand present cliches, and I'll watch the show. But there's nothing interesting at all about this show. Yuck.

MaRChen Awakens Romance- I watched the first episode. I'm not too interested, but I'm giving it a few more episodes. It somewhat caught my attention, but not by much.

Twillight Q- This is not a new series, but it's a Twilight Zone type of anime. Only two episodes subbed so far. Definitely worth watching if you like the Twilight Zone as much as I do.

Trinity Blood- I only watched the first episode, it seems decent enough. Nothing stands out. It's a vampire anime, I don't know much more than this so far though. Although, I thought I would mention... One thing in the show I found funny. The guy says, "What? Vampires eat Humans, Humans eat animals, and you never thought there was something that eats Vampires?" I thought it was a stupid comment. It could go on and on. I know it was meant to be a "OMG" comment, but lol.

Zipang- I'm actually interested in this comment. It seems that a Japanese superpowerful cruiser got sent back in time to the WW2 era. I don't know much more than this, but it seems like a "changing history" type of thing. In any event, my attention is caught. I'm going to watch a few more episodes to confirm my feelings.

I'm glad you watched HachiKo at my suggestion, Leniya. It's a fun show. Morita is cool eh? Heh.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I forgot one more.

Sousei no Aquarion- Good god, this show has me laughing so hard. It seems to be a serious show, but holy ****. It HAS to be a parody mecha anime. During the combination sequence, one of the girl says, literally, "I'm.... COMING." I was laughing so much. The fights are stupid, the *shock* animation has been used so many times in this show I am almost certain it takes up half the episodes. "This guy is... THE SOLAR WING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" /cue *SHOCK* animations from 20 people. "This is my new move.... THE PUNCH LANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" /cue *SHOCK* animation from 30 people. I love this show so much. It's either so horrible that it's funny, or it's trying to be funny. I can't tell at all. HAS TO BE A JOKE.

[Lenilya]

How many episodes of Futakoi should I watch afore watching Alternative?

Cause Futakoi makes me MAD. Seriously. I've never before experienced something so mundane throw me into a frenzy like this before. The main character is SO WORTHLESS that whenever he freaks out about random_meaningless_thing_#566 I get really angry. Total seething frenzy.

Like 'must not throw keyboard at wall' mad. It's totally bizarre. :crazy

I've made it midway thru ep3 so far, and this is after two weeks of trying. Main dude makes Shinji Ikari look downright macho... there's just not a lot worse than that. :brow

[Stalk]

Well, you don't have to watch Futakoi. But I will definitely say that the more you watch, the bigger the Alternative effect will be. I know it's difficult to watch. Billy the Goat was annoying as **** too.

I probably had an easier time watching it because I didn't have to watch more than one episode a week. I'm not sure if I could have handled more than that.

But you've been introduced to some of the characters, and know the basics, so you should be ok by now. But the real main characters of Alternative don't show up until the later episodes of the original Futakoi.

[braincandy99]

Ok i'll put up what is not clear for me. I've watched a bunch of different anime over the years, all kinds of styles, though I never was much into mecha types

shounen?

mahou shoujo?

fanservice?


To give an idea of what I've watched (and can remember) here's a few (most are movies, most also their English subnames):

Baoh
Vampire Hunter D
Bubblegum Crisis
Urotsukidoji
La blue girl
Moonlight Lady
A Forbidden Time
Black Bible

Despite the mention of the big grandaddy(?) of hentai, I'm mostly looking for story. I don't care the commensurate US rating of the show, G-X is ok if the story is good. Is it bad that I absolutely loved FLCL?

[Stalk]

Shounen means anime aimed at young boys. I don't remember the exact ages, but it's like something that's aimed at our version of 3rd to 8th graders. Typical Shounen series would be, Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, Shaman King, etc.

Shoujo means anime aimed at young girls. Girls the same age as it's shounen counterpart. It's difficult to name some Shoujo anime. While Shoujo manga is popular, there are few anime made out of it. Some Shoujo would be Peach Girl, probably Maria-sama ga Miteru. My allergies have me in a mental block right now though.

Mahou Shoujo would mean, Magical Girl. About the same age as Shoujo, but also for very young to infants. Typical Mahou Shoujo would be, Sailor Moon, Futari wa Pretty Cure, Pretear, etc.

Fanservice would mean the act of giving service to the audience. Typical fanservice is panty shots, swimsuit episodes, erotic positioning, the "KYAA!!!" moments you often see girls do in anime.

And man, you have the weirdest "watched" list I've ever seen. Only 1/4 of what you listed was anime, not hentai! But then again, I've heard there are many who dislike anime but love hentai. I guess it's not all that unusual. But what a suprise.

When you said you're looking for story, do you mean story within a hentai? If so I can't really help you there. I don't watch much hentai. But if it's anime... I'll also need to know if you are able to obtain fansubs (www.animesuki.com). Or if you are limited to US releases.

It's not bad to love FLCL. It was a very popular title in it's time. I own FLCL myself. It was a very unique show. The person who made FLCL, Hideaki Anno, also made the very famous title, Neon Genesis Evangelion.

If you're not a fan of Mecha, then it makes things easier for me. I'll name a few titles to get you started. It's easy to list many titles to watch, but if you're just getting into anime, it's a good idea to watch a variety of shows so you can get a good perceptive of what sort of anime you enjoy.

For action oriented anime, you would want to try Naruto and One Piece out. Both are massively popular, with One Piece currently (and for the last 4ish years) reigning supreme. But USA fans seem to enjoy Naruto more for some reason. Mostly because of the art style, and that One Piece has too much story and development.

For romance anime, there's shows like Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien and To Heart.

Harem anime (loser guy many chicks) would be stuff like Love Hina, Tenchi Muyo. But many people dislike this genre because of the loser main character they can't relate to.

Sports anime (a underappreciated genre in USA) would definitely be Hajime no Ippo, without a doubt. It's a boxing anime. It has a massive following.

Samurai anime would be stuff like Rurouni Kenshin (and the Samurai X OVA's, which I preferred far more than the series itself).

Crazy fun like FLCL would be Excel Saga, but while it's funny, you have to be very knowledgable about anime to get a full appreciation of the show, unlike FLCL.

Most of the above are just good starter anime. Everyone has their own preferences to what's the best of the genre. From there, you have classic stuff like the Leiji Matsumoto universe, World Masterpiece Theatre anime, etc. There are many anime considered classics in the USA, but usually for different reasons. For example, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a classic for being a great anime in the US, but in Japan, it's not considered a classic for being great as much as it is for defining to society that anime is not just for children to watch.

Hope I helped somewhat. It's a little hard for me to do this without feeling like I'm overwhelming you.

[Yalum]

For those who liked FLCL I always recommend Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi. It's got a lot of the same artistic and comedic sensibilities (and some of the same plot themes too, if you were one of the few people able to extract a storyline from Fooly Cooly), without being so Japan in-jokey as Excel Saga. The soundtrack isn't as fantastic, but then, whose is?

Although speaking of soundtracks, Cowboy Bebop should be on your list. Not only as a kickass series itself, but if you keep reading about anime someone is going to spoil it for you, and that would be awful.

Now to switch gears entirely: After this thread I grabbed the first episode of Loveless. Because, well, catgirls, right? The cat ear mechanics are actually pretty interesting, as an outward sign of youth/innocence, but are they letting a 14-year-old girl write their gay romance? It's bad to the point of comedy.

[braincandy99]

unfortunately I can't remember all of the stuff that I watched back in college, when we had a group of people that spoke either japanese or chinese and had a wide array of shows we would watch (1992ish timeframe)

as for what I meant, well I think of hentai as porn anime specifically with demons/monsters. If hentai is more wide of a subject that encompasses any kind of porn anime then my statement might be confusing.

I'm looking for good/unique stories. My GF and I have a preference for mature subjects/material but that doesn't necessarily mean hardcore stuff. FLCL seemed to have a lot of 'fanservice' and that level of adult material is right around our preference level. urotsukidoji is at the extreme end of my tastes, but pretty much beyond hers. We love Cowboy Bebop and again that level of 'fanservice' is enjoyable to us. I didn't mention most of the current crop of anime on Cartoon Network, but most of that we watch and enjoy as well (Full Metal, Ghost in the Shell, Inuyasha (not so much me, but she likes it), Trigun (again more her than i), Witch Hunter Robin, Wolf's Rain, Lupin 3, Big O, etc).

I guess what I was trying to get at is, I assume there are anime's out there that are of the quality (of story, of animation) as those we see on Cartoon Network that could never be shown on basic cable because of subject matter/nekkidness. I'm open to suggestions.

I have access to fansubs.

[Lenilya]

never be shown on basic cable because of subject matter/nekkidness

Elfen Lied should be right about up yer alley.

[Stalk]

Haha, now I like that list of watched anime better :p

You've watched a good amount, so you're not entirely new to it. Elfin Lied as mentioned before would be great for you. Bloody, nudity, lolicon, implied rape, etc.

Your girlfriend would enjoy Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien, and perhaps you too. It's a very mature show. A lot of people got turned off by it because of it's extreme basis in reality and brutality.

I honestly, truly wish I could recommend Peacemaker Kurogane, because my god, what SHOULD have been episode 27+ would have been so brutal and depressing. But, while there's a lot of comedy and implied homosexuality, it's mostly a setup for a EXTREMELY dark second season, which was written in the manga (availble in the US, but it starts where the anime ends, unfortunately. The manga version of the anime is not released in the US yet for some reason.)

Another mature show would be Gunslinger Girl. It's a very depressing show about young girls who had brutal pasts and got adopted by a social agency, given cyborg bodies, conditioned to forget their past, and trained to be assassins. It sounds like a cliche story, but they take the story seriously and are honest about the real sadness of doing so.

Allergies bugging me again, so I can't really say much more without risking my life. Off to sleep.

[Yalum]

Now & Then, Here & There (Ima, Sokoni Iru Boku) - Been a few years since I've watched this one, but something about Stalkyr's post there brought it back to mind. I recall a dark and powerful series that was over the line for TV, and not because of boobies or even really blood, but just because it contained a whole host of things most people would rather not think about.

[Urusai]

I agree Now & Then, Here & There is a powerful anime to watch. Can leave you really depressed if you let it get to you to much.
Id says its akin to Saikano. Another one that can hit you if you let it.