View Full Version : Looking to give anime another shot
Glip the Gnome
09-03-06, 11:57 AM
So, I've never been a huge fan of anime. I think it was probably all the old Dragonball Z shows people used to watch when I was in school that soured me on it. I really wasn't a fan of them.
However, there are a few anime series that I do like. Robotech: New Generation -- I've got the whole series and am eagerly awaiting the release of the new movie (if it ever comes out :P) and Berserk -- again, which I also own and love.
I've seen both Vampire Hunter D movies and both Ghost in the Shell movies -- thought they were ok.
What I don't like, is all the flashy, fly at each other and scream, we only animated 2 cells and are just going to milk them for the whole show, type anime. I also tried to watch Record of the Lodoss Wars but just couldn't get into it.
So, my question is -- I like Robotech and Berserk. What else would you guys recommend? :P
It all depends on your tastes. As far as mech anime is concerned, I'd recommend Macross Plus, and Macross 0 if you can get ahold of it. Some others that are a bit less serious but built firmly in that vein are Nadesico and VanDread. Gundam 2083 was also very well done. Kind of a middle ground between the Macross and the Nadesico/VanDread.
Some non-mech series that were absolutely excellent are Outlaw Star, Trigun, Hikaru-No-Go (I loved it...a long series revolving around the board game Go....sounds like a horrible idea but was great), and a must see for any MMO gamer, .Hack/sign (based on a fictional MMO).
You said you did'nt really like Record of Lodoss wars, but that's mostly because (what I've gotten from my friends that couldn't watch it either) was that it was a bit boring, as it's based on an actual P&P D&D campaign. Give RoLodoss Wars: Chronicles of a Heroic Knight a try. A bit more modernized, and very well done.
Well I'll try my best with what you've mentioned. The first series you are almost absolutely going to love is Full Metal Panic!, as well as it's following sequels (Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu!, Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid, and the OVA's) I can almost guarantee your liking it. Fluidly animated and beautiful artwork, an engaging story, lots of humoric moments, etc.
Robotech means you will like Super Dimensional Fortress, Macross. That's almost a guarantee. Robotech is a hack of Macross, and widely regarded as a vastly inferior version of Macross SDF. (Robotech was made by butchering animation and rearranging it to suit a whole new storyline that vaugely resembled Macross) I hope I'm not sounding too elitist about this, I'm trying to be as objective as possible but it's hard to do as it's a very sensitive subject.
Ghost in the Shell means you'll like the TV runs. Far less cryptic and far more thorough than the movies. Two series, GitS: Stand Alone Complex and GitS: SAC: 2nd GIG.
Anime like Outlaw Star, Trigun, and Hikaru no Go are good in their own right, but generally are fan-favorites (i.e. fanboys attractors) so are better watched after finding what your niche is, usually. There are a lot of exceptions, of course.
On a similar line.. (fanboy stuff) most people on the Safehouse are going to appeal to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, a unlicensed title that is availble for free download. It has very geeky humor, and a cast that many can find interesting. It's almost outrageously funny at times, and serious at others. It's a smash hit in America and Japan both, and is being considered the fifth anime revolution since the creaton of anime (which is nothing to sneeze at, I assure you).
Lots of people are going to recommend the holy trinity of shounen, One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach. However, they are on a similar vein as Dragon Ball. Not nearly as "screaming and flying at each other for 30 episodes" as Dragon Ball (which had fights that lasted 20-40 episodes) where the holy trinity don't have any fights that last more than 4 episodes. Of the three, Naruto is the one you're going to find most of the Dragonball moments in. One Piece is considered vastly superior to the other two, with a more "adventure" theme than a "fighting" theme. So if you're going to watch anything, you'll most likely find One Piece to your liking, but it has a large "hook" to it. Shounen fans only need a few episodes to get into it, but nonshounen fans (such as yourself) need at least 20 episodes.
Bleach is the other end of One Piece, where it's mostly action. There's a vague resemblance of plot holding together a string of stunninly animated fights. Where DB was 2 frames for a 30 minute fight, Bleach is 24 frames per second of a 30 minute fight. Very fluid and constantly animated, exciting, and flashy. Naruto is in between the two, it has a more definite story than Bleach, but not nearly half the story of One Piece. The fighting is more frequent than One Piece, but less than Bleach. It's more drawn out than both of them.
You enjoyed Berserk, so start reading the manga right now. Where the anime is enjoyable, the manga is an epic on the scale of most great fantasy novels. Begin at the beginning, as the anime is a hacked down version of the manga. Lots of things were omitted. You won't regret it, I'll personally buy your books from you full price if you disagree.
This is probably enough to get you started. As you watch more anime, I'll be able to do better recommendations, because it's hard to give non-fan favorite recommendations without knowing your personal niche.
Suggest you check out Mushishi, beautifully animated and a bit unconventional as far as Anime goes. Story is about a person "Mushishi" who has a greater insight and knowledge of how the given world works in seemingly normal world of hours, yet totally unlike our own.
Honey and Clover... it's just pure love :p comedy, romance, drama, art.
Black Lagoon. Action, and some more beautifully done action.
DarthEnderX
09-03-06, 07:44 PM
You LIKE Robotech?
Sorry, I got nothing for ya man.
Lenilya
09-03-06, 08:20 PM
Everything I'd say had been said in numerous threads over the years, but I believe finding your niche, then branching out, will prolly work best.
Trying to go from one style that you like to another can be pretty hit-or-miss.
Elerion
09-03-06, 09:13 PM
In a similar line - are there any actual dubs of anime that don't suck? I watch most of my TV shows in bed, and straining my eyes to read the subtitles defeats the purpose of being lulled to sleep.
I like the .hack series so far. A few weeks ago I picked up the .hack//SIGN anime legends set when it came out, and I'll probably pick up .hack//Legend Of The Twilight next week when its AL set comes out.
I normally read long sci-fi series that take years for the later books in the series to come out. So I figure the .hack series of series is kind of like that, a nice sized continuity of stories involving generations of characters.
ShadowCross
09-03-06, 10:07 PM
Maybe Full Metal Alchemist?
Other than that, Stalk covered it pretty well :)
Rumbleguts
09-04-06, 01:47 AM
Series I recommend:
Elfin Lied - bloody, brutal, and cruel, but very well done with a great story.
Lain - but only if you are willing to watch it twice, good scifi/drama/horror.
Bubblegum Crisis/Crash - both the old and the new are quite good, scifi.
El Hazad - fun fantasy.
Hellsing - mean and dirty occult action. If you like Beserk you will like this.
Gasaraki - good occult/scifi action/drama.
Bastard - just watch it.
Ranma 1/2 - but only through season 3 - adolescent martial arts mayhem with a twist.
Twelve Kingdoms - long convoluted beautiful fantasy drama - only major downside is they never finished the story.
Record of the Lodoss War - quite good pure fantasy.
Those Who Hunt Elves - just pure fun, although a bit silly.
Armitage - if you can get the original 4 VHS set, the DVD compilation leaves out too much story and gets lost. Good scifi.
Ghost in the Shell - good series based on the movie, scifi.
Cowboy Bebop - great scifi drama.
Dual - comedy making fun of so many other animes.
3x3 Eyes - occult action/drama, must find the complete DVD, for quite awhile the series wasn't finished and ended with a hell of a cliffhanger.
Sorcerer Hunters - silly comedy action (some of the characters' names are Mouse and Carrot to give you an idea) that switches to a powerful drama in the last few episodes.
Neo Genesis Evangelion - yup I recommend it still despite Keichi.
Edit - Dammit I almost forgot GTO (Great Teacher Onizuke) - fun drama but a helluva series.
Devil Hunter Yoko - great old style occult anime, fun to watch.
DarthEnderX
09-04-06, 02:33 AM
Other than that, Stalk covered it pretty well :)Yeah, that summary of Naruto/One Piece/Bleach is pretty much spot on.
If you can't get into any of those shows, then your taste is 180 degrees from mine and I can't honestly suggest anything for you.
I will second Full Metal Alchemist though.
shehab aldean
09-04-06, 03:19 AM
Series I recommend:
you gave a big specturm , don't do that unless you know what the guy taste is like
what i normaly do is do test , talk about taste and such, then recommend 1 series if that fly then i go with series like it
Yeah, I tried to be as specific as possible. In my experience, allowing a person the opportunity to enjoy anime is a very difficult thing to do. It's easy to suggest many good anime and overwhelm. First impressions are generally the biggest thing, so showing them a series that's totally unrelated to their personal niche often will end up with them thinking "bah, it's a waste of my time to even try!"
So I do feel it's best to start with things most closely related to the series you watch.
However, I did forget about Fullmetal Alchemist. It is quite an excellent starter anime in my experience. There's a good amount of the flashy shounen fighting, but none lasting more than an episode, and the story itself doesn't revolve around it. It has an extremely strong story, and is not too overwhelming to get into. You can really find many spectrums of anime inside it. Watching through it, you can find out better what you like - the strong story, the action, the philosophical aspect, comedy, and the like. By explaining what you find enjoyable, it's much easier to recommend other series.
In a similar line - are there any actual dubs of anime that don't suck? I watch most of my TV shows in bed, and straining my eyes to read the subtitles defeats the purpose of being lulled to sleep.
The only dubs that I've never had much problem with are the Studio Ghibli films, and the Ranma dubs (surprising considering how long ago Ranma was dubbed).
In about two weeks the Gunslinger Girl (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=2947) complete collection should be released for around $40; it's an excellent series that I thought was well worth the $75cdn or so I paid for the three disks. Gunslinger Girl and Haibane Renmei (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=1871) are my two favourite 13 episode anime series, though they're very different from each other.
Armitage - if you can get the original 4 VHS set, the DVD compilation leaves out too much story and gets lost. Good scifi.
Your kidding me!?!
I just replaced my 4 VHS's with the OAV Series DVD and put it up for sale. You mean the OAV DVD dosnt' have all the VHS does? Its 140 minutes long.
Or are you talking about the Dual-Matrix movie that is more or less the compressed series?
Your kidding me!?!
I just replaced my 4 VHS's with the OAV Series DVD and put it up for sale. You mean the OAV DVD dosnt' have all the VHS does? Its 140 minutes long.
Or are you talking about the Dual-Matrix movie that is more or less the compressed series?
Armitage OAV was used to make the Armitage III Polymatrix movie (Armitage Dual Matrix is the movie sequel). If yours is 140 minutes long it's the full OAV, not the movie.
Another good anime I'd suggest is Noir, though it does re-use quite a bit of material to draw out the story (with flashbacks; they don't re-use the same material in different scenes).
Lenilya
09-05-06, 07:14 PM
Noir also has really good music. Except for the OP, I can't stand that song. :(
DarthEnderX
09-05-06, 11:23 PM
...I notice a new wave of catgirl avatar's has swept through the Safehouse...
...I think I need new antibodies.
or you could get a dogman avatar to chase them away:
Try watching Now and Then, Here and There. A relatively short and easy to digest anime at 13 episodes but one of the best out there. Takes a sci fi setting with a boy being sucked into a future world and having to cope with being forced into an military unit fighting for a cause he doesn't understand and saving the girl he met before going there. The animation is great as well as the characters and plot.
ShadowCross
09-06-06, 12:48 AM
Uhm Ruccus - that guy looks way more like a cat than a dog...
DarthEnderX
09-06-06, 01:06 AM
that guy looks way more like a guy that needs a kick in the throat than a cat or a dog.
Thats Joshua from Dark Angel. "He's Special, Unique, First."
He's a transgenic dog boy.
Dual-Matrix / Poly-Matrix I always get those two mixed up. :oops
I have all three dvd's. Both movies and the OAV just for collector's sake. Tis a good series if you ask me. Real Cyberpunkish.
The 140 minutes thing is why I was scoffing. The VHS tapes were 140 minutes which is why I went ahead and sold them in replacement of the DVD OAV Set.
Just setting things straight. :D
Noir was pretty good in my opinion as well. The whole sleeper assassin thing is always an intresting plot point though. It was very... "Professional" (the movie with Leon and the little girl)
Glip the Gnome
09-06-06, 10:26 AM
Thanks for the suggestions, all!
Well I'll try my best with what you've mentioned. The first series you are almost absolutely going to love is Full Metal Panic!, as well as it's following sequels (Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu!, Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid, and the OVA's) I can almost guarantee your liking it. Fluidly animated and beautiful artwork, an engaging story, lots of humoric moments, etc.
I think I'll check out Full Metal Panic first then -- does it have anything to do with Full Metal Alchemist or is it just a similar name? Because I think I've seen bits and pieces of the latter.
Anime like Outlaw Star, Trigun, and Hikaru no Go are good in their own right, but generally are fan-favorites (i.e. fanboys attractors) so are better watched after finding what your niche is, usually. There are a lot of exceptions, of course.
Agreed, I tried watching Outlaw Star with my brother who is more into that stuff and he enjoyed it a whole lot more than I did. I was either lost or annoyed by their voice pretty much the whole time. :P
You enjoyed Berserk, so start reading the manga right now. Where the anime is enjoyable, the manga is an epic on the scale of most great fantasy novels. Begin at the beginning, as the anime is a hacked down version of the manga. Lots of things were omitted. You won't regret it, I'll personally buy your books from you full price if you disagree.
I actually had the full manga for a while (and probably still have it on an old hard drive) but it was before it started to come out in the states, so it was fan stuff. Its Dark Horse that publishes it here, right? Do they have it all finished here yet or will I have to wait?
Thanks gain!
Lenilya
09-06-06, 11:16 AM
FM panic and FM alchemist simply share a first name, nothing more.
Not sure how you have the complete Berserk manga! :p
Berserk is being distributed by Dark Horse. They are up to volume 12 now. Berserk in Japan is currently up to about volume 32, and last I heard from Murata is he's about the halfway point of the story.
So the manga is ongoing! The story slowed down a little bit lately but its coming back in full force now.
I hope you enjoy Full Metal Panic. My basis for recommending it is your enjoyment of Robotech, which would mean you're not averse to mecha like I am (well, I do watch the classic ones or the fun ones I.e. Macross, Sousei no Aquarion, FMP). You liked good animation, as told by your dislike of slowness in DB. And I understand your personality a little bit from seeing your posts in the past, so I think you would appreciate the humor in it. I think you would enjoy it, so let me know. If you don't, just tell me what aspects you didn't like and I'll be able to give a more informed suggestion. Once you find your niche it becomes far easier to get recommendations or find shows yourself.
And do yourself a favor and ignore most fanboy hype. I've known a lot of people to misunderstand anime as a concept, because they try a handful of shows and don't find something they like. There's something for everyone, and very few people are actually "anime fans" but rather are just fans of certain genres, so when they try anime, they label it as all the same. Either you like anime or not. Which isn't true.
Well I'm just overexplaining a trivial concept but I'm at work watching my brother work because its his first solo install and I'm bored to death. :)
braincandy99
09-06-06, 12:08 PM
Some classic stuff I first watched was Bubblegum Crisis and the one off(?) movie called Baoh.
Full Metal Panic is a well done series (it's a Gonzo series, so if you read what I wrote in the Speed Grapher thread about being disappointed in the animation it's because their previous work in series like FMP was very good) that strikes an excellent balance between humour and action/seriousness.
I like to buy 'complete collection' versions of anime but I'll pick one series to follow through and buy individually (currently I've got one Ghost in the Shell 2nd Gig disk to go, then I think I'll keep working on Speed Grapher), and in November when the first disk of Full Metal Panic the Second Raid is released here I think I'll be following through on buying those individually, just based on how much I enjoyed the first season.
Glip the Gnome
09-06-06, 01:45 PM
Not sure how you have the complete Berserk manga! :p
Berserk is being distributed by Dark Horse. They are up to volume 12 now. Berserk in Japan is currently up to about volume 32, and last I heard from Murata is he's about the halfway point of the story.
So the manga is ongoing! The story slowed down a little bit lately but its coming back in full force now.
Yeah, my bad. I meant I had everything he'd finished as of a few years ago. I'll check out the Dark Horse ones though because I'd rather read a translation that was professionally done. :D
I'll see how quickly I can get ahold of Full Metal Panic -- thanks again!
DarthEnderX
09-06-06, 03:34 PM
Speaking of the Berserk Manga, holy crap is that awsome.
I can't believe how much it's changed from the series. Starts out as this kinda feudal knights story, then goes all demonic super dark apeshit and the end of the anime and stays that way for awhile afterwards. Now it's almost Lord of the Ringsish with all the fairies and magic weapons and stuff.
I can't believe he just finally became a Berserker a couple volumes ago. (Yes, I realize the series isn't called Berserk in japan), but holy crap that ruled!
Yeah, my bad. I meant I had everything he'd finished as of a few years ago. I'll check out the Dark Horse ones though because I'd rather read a translation that was professionally done. :D
I'll see how quickly I can get ahold of Full Metal Panic -- thanks again!
To be honest there are lots of places that I preferred the fan's translation. They did a really good job. Not to completely trash DH's version, just there were places I didn't think came out as well. That and recently the subbing of SFX in their Berserk volumes have been problematic.
When you get through with Full Metal Panic, if you find that you weren't really a fan of the humorous parts, but loved the drama and action, just skip FMP?! Fumoffu, because it's all comedy. But if you like the comedy, then Fumoffu is pure comedy gold.
The third installment, again centered on action and drama, FMP: The Second Raid, begins release at the end of the year from Funimation, and it's great.
Yes, I realize the series isn't called Berserk in japan
Actually it is. The katakana of the title literally spells out Berserk, or as near as the written Japanese language can approximate - be-ru-se-ru-ku :)
DarthEnderX
09-06-06, 04:17 PM
Ahh, I thought it was called Young Animal but upon looking it up I see that's just the name of the magazine that the manga appears in.
Rumbleguts
09-15-06, 02:38 AM
Armitage OAV was used to make the Armitage III Polymatrix movie (Armitage Dual Matrix is the movie sequel). If yours is 140 minutes long it's the full OAV, not the movie.
Another good anime I'd suggest is Noir, though it does re-use quite a bit of material to draw out the story (with flashbacks; they don't re-use the same material in different scenes).
Thanks for the update. I was only aware of the Polymatrix which I picked up when it first came out. Now I am going to have to get the full length version.
If you don't like the vein of dragonball-type anime i highly recommend Cowboy Bebop. Highly stylized, awesome fighting, endearing characters, and one the greatest anime soundtracks.
Cowboy Bebop.
'Nuff said.
DarthEnderX
09-16-06, 12:15 AM
And if you like Cowboy Bepop, you'll like Samurai Champloo
Pyrocat Moonstalker
09-24-06, 01:18 PM
Full Metal Alchemist, thirded (at least). If you like mystery/romance with a fair bit of sappiness, try Kanon. For random crazy doesn't-make-much-sense-until-2nd-viewing but really well animated anime, check out Furi Kuri (FLCL)