Author Topic: The Anime Thread: Finding Good Anime  (Read 30607 times)

DragonmasterDan

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The Anime Thread: Finding Good Anime
« on: July 08, 2011, 05:15:05 AM »
I figured I'd ask the board what anime they like.

I'm very particular about anime and for a long time didn't really watch much of it (largely because most of what I saw was crap). I grew up watching old Streamline distributed movies in edited fashion on local broadcast TV here in Chicago, enjoyed a lot of the movies I saw. Then as anime because more popular in the US as the mid 90s approached, I saw more and more crap and really quit seeking out good anime.

I now have every Studio Ghibli movie in one form or another and am for the most part am a fan as I'm greatly impressed by quality 2D hand drawn style animation, while I borderline detest CG animation.

In any event I was wondering what anime people here like or recommend, or watch?
--DragonmasterDan

blueraven

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Re: The Anime Thread: Finding Good Anime
« Reply #1 on: July 08, 2011, 05:31:03 AM »
I really dug Lupin. He was a serious badass.

I also used to watch the B&W episodes of Gigantor and Speed racer as a kid, so I saw a lot of the 80's stuff.

When I was younger, as far as comics, I LOVED the Comico Robotech issues, Ninja High School, and the Akira issues on Marvel/Epic which the movie left so much out of. Once I got a little older, I started moving away form the more mainstream stuff. 

Lone Wolf and Cub is probably one of my all-time favorites, but I don't think they made that into an actual movie or show.
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sunteam_paul

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Re: The Anime Thread: Finding Good Anime
« Reply #2 on: July 08, 2011, 05:53:18 AM »
I struggle to find decent anime these days which isn't typical teenage garbage.

Almost anything by Studio Ghibli is a must, of course - but don't forget the non-Miyazaki films such as Pom Poko and Whisper of the Heart, which is up there in my top 5 movies of all time.

In terms of series:
The City Hunter TV series is cool, although the feature length 'The Motion Picture' failed to work for me.
Urusei Yatsura is possibly the best anime series ever made.
Cowboy Bebop is just great, the dub is actually really nice.
Vision of Escaflowne was pretty good also.

Movies or OAVs:
Akira (of course).
Wings of Honneamise is thoughtful and atmospheric.
Paprika, Perfect Blue & Tokyo Godfathers, directed by Satoshi Kon are clever, mature and a bit mental at times.
Jin-Roh.
I like the 2 new semi-3D Appleseed movies. Much better than the crappy original one.
Gunbuster is one of my favourite anime series ever (pity the UK version has been censored).
Bubblegum Crisis - worth it for the songs.
Metropilis is cool.
Steamboy is also pretty good, I need to watch it again though as it's been a while.
Ghost in the Shell 2 is better than 1 in my opinion. It has some lovely visuals and a cool dog in it.
Also, check out Sky Blue/Wonderful Days which is Korean (I think) and has a technique of using models as backgrounds.

If anyone has further suggestions for decent mature anime (no I don't meen ettchi), then please list them.
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xelement5x

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Re: The Anime Thread: Finding Good Anime
« Reply #3 on: July 08, 2011, 02:28:51 PM »
I'm also into older stuff, since it's mainly what I grew up on.  I find that a lot of the older shows have a lot more attention to detail, probably because many of them were made in the late 80's so there was money to dump into production budgets for anime before the bubble burst.  However, that's not to say there is not still some good stuff coming out, but almost all of it is a manga conversion or leans towards fan service in some way (I'm looking at you Gainex).

Some of the older ones I enjoy series wise are:
Ranma 1/2
Urusei Yatsura (this was essentially the Simpsons of Japan, only it stopped before getting bad  :P )
Legend of the Galactic Heroes (110 episode OVA, I'm only partway through now but it's an epic space saga)
Record of Lodoss War OVA (Typical fantasy fare, but pretty good)
Evangelion (some might say overrated or not worth the time, but the animation is great and the story is, well...)
Cowboy Bebop (Like sunteam_paul said, a classic.  Worth watching anytime)

For newer series (good animation, but better stories):
Mushishi (mysterious occurrences/situations in nature and and man who investigates them)
Mononoke (basically 2-3ep shorts about mysterious occurrences and the man who solves them) [Awesome visual style]
Plantes (It's about space debris, the people who collect it, and their lives)
Kino no Tabi (Kino's Journey-An outsider's take on many different fictional cultures)
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Examination of the human condition)

Movies/OVA:
Akira (again)
Memories
Steamboy
El Hazard (fun little OVA)
The Cat Returns (More Ghibli, but I love it)
Summer Wars
5 Centimeters Per Second (just, yeah...)

I'd recommend www.crunchyroll.com or torrents if you don't want to invest in DVDs right away.  I'm gonna stop now though, could probably talk about old anime for hours if I wasn't careful :)
Gredler: spread her legs and push her down to make her more lively<br>***<br>majors: You used to be the great man, this icon we all looked up to and now your just a pico collecting 'tard...oh, how the mighty have fallen...<br>***<br>_joshuaTurbo: Sex, Lies, Rape and Arkhan. A TurboGrafx love story

PunkicCyborg

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Re: The Anime Thread: Finding Good Anime
« Reply #4 on: July 08, 2011, 02:54:12 PM »
yeah its all about the 80s and early 90s stuff. I tried watching some new stuff and I feal anime has lots it's charm and style.
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sunteam_paul

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Re: The Anime Thread: Finding Good Anime
« Reply #5 on: July 08, 2011, 08:13:44 PM »
Another couple I forgot:

Venus Wars - subtitled only, the dub lessens the experience.
The Place Promised in our Early Days - This doesn't manage to reach its potential, but it has a great atmosphere to it.
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ParanoiaDragon

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Re: The Anime Thread: Finding Good Anime
« Reply #6 on: July 08, 2011, 08:23:39 PM »
Well, I'm sure some people around here will hate some of the stuff I love, but, here goes:

Cowboy Bebop(as already mentioned)
Samurai Champloo(pretty much from the same guys that did Cowboy Bebop)
Trigun(might be my favorite series ever)
Samurai 7(steampunk retelling of the classic Seven Samurai flick, love it even more now that I've watched the original movie)
Vandread(fun & wacky)
Ys series(not the best, not the worst)
Those Who Hunt Elves(a pretty absurd series)
Azumanga Daioh(another wacky series)
The Big O(kind of interesting, it's sort of like if Batman had a mech...kinda)
Cromartie High School(very ridiculous)
Rahxephon(like Evangelion....but better IMHO)
Dragon Ball & Dragon Ball Z(I like them even with the filler material, but now there's Dragon Ball Kai which gets rid of the filler)
Dragon Half(good cheap ridiculous fun)
Full Metal Panic(the whole series is great, the first & third seasons are more serious, with the second season being more wacky)
Geneshaft(I don't recall much about it, but, I recall enjoying it)
Gate Keepers(in general just was a really fun series IMO)
Happy Lesson(wackiness in the same genre as Tenchi Muyo)
Love Hina(ditto)
Last Exile(it's been awhile, but, I recall really enjoying this one)
Eureka 7(serious mecha series)
Outlaw Star(just a really fun series)
Please/Onegi Teacher & Please Twins((see Tenchi Muyo)
Lupin(as mentioned previously)
Project A-ko(it's been yeaaaaaaaaaars since I've seen them but recall enjoying them)
Read or Die(LOVE this series, it's like Bond mixed with The Avengers or X-men)
Serial Experiment Lain(wierd but interesting)
Tenchi Muyo(absurd "harem" anime series)
Evangelion(there's supposed to be some kind of total reboot of the series that comes in 4 parts, but, I haven't checked it out yet)

There's more I enjoy, & there's some I just haven't sat down & watched yet, like S-Cry-ed, Excel Saga, & the Ghost in the Shell series, but lastly, ...(I'll probably get hate for this), is Naruto!  It has similarities to the DB series, but, I think it blows it away.  Plus, I'm a sucker not only for ninja's but for the underdog(probably why I love the Turbo so much!).

Forgot about Code Geass!  I loved this series, I kept craving to watch each episode, had me on my toes.
« Last Edit: July 08, 2011, 08:27:51 PM by ParanoiaDragon »

TR0N

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Re: The Anime Thread: Finding Good Anime
« Reply #7 on: July 08, 2011, 08:32:38 PM »
If you like 80's anime then i highly suggest armored troopers votoms  :dance:
One of the best sci-fi anime to come out of that time period.

Btw it did go out of print years ago but you can find people that sell it on,ebay and on amazon still.

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rag-time4

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Re: The Anime Thread: Finding Good Anime
« Reply #8 on: July 15, 2011, 07:37:58 PM »
My first recommendation is always Grave of the Fireflies, which deals with the brutal and deliberate U.S. attacks on civilians during world war 2. Dan, I'm assuming you already have that one...?

I recently watched the complete series of yu yu hakusho with my wife. It was her favorite as a kid in the philippines. I really enjoyed the series. It was really amazing to see how the young characters matured and developed as the series went along.

I'm looking forward to watching wataru (keith courage), genesis climber mospeada (character designer Yoshitaka Amano of final fantasy fame), and the fist of the north star series, because the movie was my favorite anime when i was younger.

SuperDeadite

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Re: The Anime Thread: Finding Good Anime
« Reply #9 on: July 15, 2011, 10:24:59 PM »
PERFECT BLUE
HADES PROJECT ZEORYMER
DANGAIOH
LEGEND OF LEMNEAR
TOP OH NERAI (GUNBUSTER)

Those must be watched by all, they are all very short too. :)
WATCH THEM NOW.  OR I WILL WATCH YOU!
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DragonmasterDan

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Re: The Anime Thread: Finding Good Anime
« Reply #10 on: July 16, 2011, 12:45:41 AM »
My first recommendation is always Grave of the Fireflies, which deals with the brutal and deliberate U.S. attacks on civilians during world war 2. Dan, I'm assuming you already have that one...?

Yep, I've got it.
--DragonmasterDan

BlackandBlue

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Re: The Anime Thread: Finding Good Anime
« Reply #11 on: July 16, 2011, 06:24:25 AM »
Do yourself a favor and watch Deathnote.  Absolutely fantastic series. 
Another douche trying to obtain a full Turbo collection.  119/146 so far.  Got a long way to go. Half way there. Hit the 100 mark. ich bein ein obeyer

Digi.k

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Re: The Anime Thread: Finding Good Anime
« Reply #12 on: July 16, 2011, 06:41:52 AM »
Yay someone mentioned Azumaga Daioh!  I love that show. the anime show while great and has some fantastic gags is a bit too fast paced I'd advise you to read the manga first since there is a lot of stuff missing in the anime show.

another great show from the past is Fushigi Yuugi if you like shojo stuff.


if you don't mind watching a show based mostly on high school girls and lots of random happenings there is Nichijou




and.... if you are looking for a site to download subbed anime you can try this link.

http://www.animetake.com/


EDIT

also if you don't mind watching weird shit.. there is another old show called serial experiments lain.

plus if you can get hold of it.. a very very old show called Genesis Survivor Gaiarth and ah my goddess!!

Armitage III (get the ova's  I'm not keen on the movie)  average story but the music is fantastic.

http://www.youtube.com/user/FCipher#p/u/97/Gmcmdq-ezYo
http://www.youtube.com/user/FCipher#p/u/98/z6CeZFDKk3E
dunno why.. this music along with the battle always brings a tear to my eye ;_;

plus Cyber city oedo
« Last Edit: July 16, 2011, 07:20:13 AM by Digi.k »

SignOfZeta

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Re: The Anime Thread: Finding Good Anime
« Reply #13 on: July 16, 2011, 08:10:32 AM »
The anime industry has really taken a shit in the last 10 years with almost nothing of quality being released. A casual fan won't notice this since he'd be looking at the entirety of anime, but as some who's been a big fan since about 1979 I went from, "Dang, I haven't seen a good new show in a while." to "I'm starting to wonder if they even make decent anime anymore." to "New anime sucks ass".

Occasionally some good stuff comes out, but almost everything is either based on a Jump manga that regurgitates the Dragon Ball Z formula for the 100th time, or some sort of pederast school girl/maid bullshit. Things are bad, really bad. The two problems are 1) lack of money and 2) lack of talent. The two have been feeding off each other for a decade and a half and the result is that positions in the industry have been largely outsourced completely outside of Japan and the ones that still are in Japan pay very little. The producers will only approve tried and true concepts, so you get more and more of the same shit. Therefore making anime is no longer a respectable career, not even for otaku, since it pays nothing and only produces masturbatory shite.

However, good stuff still does manage to squeak through once in a while. The best thing I've seen recently is the new reboot of Mazinger Z. Since I've been a Mazinger kid for decades I can't really say how great this show would be for people who are new to the universe, but I was very very impressed. Its super hot blooded! Actual name: Shin Mazinger Shogeki! Z Hen. This is not to be confused with Mazinkaiser SKL, which was also cool, but way shorter and more abstract in an OVA sort of way. Shin Mazinger Shogeki! Z Hen the first all new TV length series with the old characters since the early 70s.

The best series I'm currently into is Gundam Unicorn. Its a 6 part OVA that will be released every 6 months until its done. If you like UC Gundam and have wondered what goes on after Char's Counterattack, you have to see this one.

Mainly my interests are 80s scifi and "adventure" anime like Gundam, Macross, Votoms, everything Miyazaki/Ghibli, ect. Things I would recommend to someone like myself grouped by release method:

TV: Votoms, Macross (OG), Macross 7, Macross F (maybe), Mospeada, Initial D, Yawara!, Touch, Nadia: The Secret of Bluewater, Z Gundam, Lupin III, Patlabor...honestly 80s TV anime is an almost inexhaustible well. I'm still finding awesome shit to watch.

OVA: Lupin III, Aim for the Top!: Gunbuster (I cannot recommend this one highly enough! Made by dudes who have read something besides manga in their life!), FLCL (pure rock and roll, I love it), Giant Robo (soooooo awesome. Best soundtrack of anything ever, amazing visuals, coolest f*cking characters I've ever seen), Angels Egg, Patlabor, To-y (hah, there's one nobody else here will suggest), Megazone 23 (all three parts, but mainly the first one), Birth, Dragon's Heaven.

Film: Macross: Do You Remember Love?, Patlabor 1 and 2, Robot Carnival, Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack, Project A-Ko, Lupin III, Ghost in the Shell, The Wings of Honneamise (sometimes called The Royal Space Force).

Made for TV Movie: Lupin III (there is a new one every year, more or less), Crayon Shin-chan: The Parents Strike Back (soooo nostalgic and awesome/hilarious, best Shin-chan ever).

Things that deserve specific mention:

Run Melos: This was a direct to TV anime based on, I think, an early 20th century Japanese novel set in ancient greece. Its almost totally unknown and this is a shame because its one of the best things I've ever seen. If I had to sum it up on one word the word would be "trust". This is what I sometimes call "romance between straight guys" which is actually pretty common in asian movies (think: The Killer, 1989) but almost non-existant in the west for some reason. A man loves another man, but not sexually. Very hard to explain...

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: If you are into true hard scifi, not that Firefly bullshit, real scifi like 2001, Bladerunner, Solaris, Max Headroom, then you must see this. It addresses the inevitable conflicts that science and technology will bring to us in the coming decades like nothing else I've ever seen, and it does it episode after episode. Sadly the 2nd season really falls off, but the first is tremendous.

sunteam_paul

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Re: The Anime Thread: Finding Good Anime
« Reply #14 on: July 16, 2011, 09:45:42 AM »
I really need to go back and watch through the stacks of anime VHS tapes I have stored away. Most of it I only watched once, but I'm sure I'm forgetting some classics.
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