There is more to anime...

[Sophisticated_Gamer]

Well, I was just reading a thread and realized that to my belief I know very little about anime. I've watched core shows like DBZ, DBGT, Naruto, Bleach, One Peace, Grenadier, Helsing, Yu-Yu Hakushow Trigun, Full Metal Alchemist; and I have read some manga like Love Hina 1-14, S-Cry-ed, Trigun Maximum, Trigun, Bleach, Naruto. But I have never really watched the less known ones.
So I was wondering if you had some recomendations.

[Chase]

As for manga, I recommend Judas, Kamiyadori, Blood Sucker, and Death Note for recent series, and Berserk, BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad, and Monster for older bits of good soup.

The King of Thorn just came out this month, and is a great read, too.

[Sophisticated_Gamer]

Can you give a little description of each?

[Eliseu Gouveia]

Anime
Rahxephon (mecha)
Wolf´s Rain (wolves who desguise as men, nothing can top that)
Last Exile (gunships)
Paranoia Agent (the ultimate mind fuck)
Cowboy Bebop (the epythome of cool)
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Giant Robo (classic mecha)

[Chase]

Can you give a little description of each?

Sure! ^_^ By way of Wikipedia, IGN, or Amazon, unless I feel as though I need to edit it. ~_^ I'll toss in my two cents at the end of these intros.

Judas :: "Judas is cursed for his sins to kill 666 people to regain his humanity. However, he is forbidden human contact and has no corporeal body. In order to kill, he uses his slave, Eve, to kill for him. Every time Eve's blood is spilled, Judas comes out and forces Eve to "say his prayers", in other words, kill. However, despite being forced to commit such heinous acts, Eve is also forced to dress like a girl. Judas had mistaken him for girl when they had first met, and he has forced Eve to dress like a girl."

>> Chase: Other than Death Note, Judas is my favorite manga series. It's rich in Christianity and all that good ol' religious stuff, and does so to the extent of Neon Genesis Evangelion. However, humor is a great relaxing tool that Minazuki uses very well.

Kamiyadori :: "In the future, a nasty disease is slowly wiping out the Earth's population. Only this disease doesn't just kill you. It turns you into a monster called a Kamiyadori. The only cure is pacification by a group called the Right Arms. This military group doesn't work with needles or medicines, in case you were wondering."

>> Chase: Jil and Vivi. Quite possibly my current favorite duo in all of manga or anime. He's the Right Arm with the not-quite-so-sharpshooting mark, while she's a little girl who refuses to wear underwear. It's reminds me of Cable and his struggle with the techno-organic virus, but on a much larger, grotesque scale. Oh, and it's funny to boot.

Blood Sucker :: "Three centuries ago, the vampire Migiri ran a reign of terror across Japan, until he was decapitated and sent to the eternal damnation from whence he came...that is, until now. Migiri has been resurrected, and the only thing standing in the way of his vampire army and salvation is Yusuke Himukai, who has a special connection to the warrior who defeated Migiri centuries ago..."

>> Chase: If you like vampire fiction, you'll enjoy this series. It's not as great as Judas or Death Note, but it's worth pulling if you enjoy said fiction.

Death Note :: "The series primarily centers around a high school student who decides to rid the world of evil with the help of a supernatural notebook that kills anyone whose name is written in it."

>> Chase: The best work of fiction today. Fifty gold stars and a purple heart glazed in gold for honors. It's a suspenseful, thrilling psychological affair that revolves around L and Light, the Death Note(s), and Shinigami (Death Gods). You must start at the beginning, though, and the manga is easier to follow than the anime. But still, it's the best anime/manga out there today.

Berserk :: "With over 29 million volumes sold, it is one of the most successful adult manga ever. Berserk's setting is inspired by medieval Europe. It centers around the life of Guts, an orphaned mercenary warrior, and his relationship to Griffith, the leader of a mercenary band called the Band of the Hawk (鷹の団, Taka no Dan?). Both the manga and anime are noted for their heavy violence."

>> Chase: If you want action, then Berserk should be all the fix you need. There's also a good story, too, by the way.

BECK :: "It tells the story of a group of Japanese teenagers who form a rock band. The manga is currently licensed in the USA by TOKYOPOP. The series has also spawned three guidebooks. BECK won the 2002 Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen.

The original 26-episode anime television series was aired on Japan's TV Tokyo from October 2004 to March 2005. It was created by Osamu Kobayashi, animated by Madhouse and produced by Takeshi Shukuri and Yoshimi Nakajima. The series has received critical acclaim and was translated into English."

>> Chase: Think, if Paradise Kiss revolves around that one rocker designer and his twilight work as a rocker instead of his daylight gig as a fashion designer. It has a similar feel to ParaKiss, but without the grand cinematography.

Monster :: "The series follows Dr. Kenzo Tenma (天馬 賢三 Tenma Kenzo) as he pursues a young psychopath/sociopath named Johan, whose life Tenma once saved."

>> Chase: One of the best-paced, brilliantly-written series of both manga or anime. It's haunting and quite the thriller.

Mushishi is also supposed to be good. I watched the first several episodes and found it immensely boring. It's like the Ghost Whisperer but without the boobies.

[Chase]

Oh, and Mushishi is about...

"The story features ubiquitous creatures called Mushi that often display supernatural powers. Mushi are described as beings in touch with the essence of life, far more basic and pure than the grotesque creatures we are accustomed to. Due to their ephemeral nature most humans are incapable of perceiving Mushi and are oblivious to their existence, but there are a few who possess the ability to see and interact with Mushi. The Mushi depicted in the anime look very similar to floaters.

One such person is Ginko (ギンコ, Ginko?), the main character of the series. He employs himself as a Mushi master (蟲師, mushi-shi?), travelling from place to place to research Mushi and aid people suffering from problems caused by them. The series is an episodic anthology in which the only common elements among episodes are Ginko and the various types of Mushi. There is no over-arching plotline."

It sounds great, but, by golly, if it wasn't the most boring anime I've ever seen (and I've watched Love Love?).

[Alex L]

SG, which way did you want to go in your Japanese cartoon viewing?

This is gonna sound trite, but anime/manga can be about anything and everything.

- Schoolgirls with homicidal tendencies (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni)
- A board game (Hikaru no Go)
- A swordsman in historical Japan (Rurouni Kenshin, Blade of the Immortal, Lone Wolf and Cub)
- Making bread (Yakitake Japan)
- A shut-in recluse who becomes convinced his social phobias are the result of a conspiracy (Welcome to the NHK)


As far as recommendations, I quite enjoyed Welcome to the NHK and Kanon for newer stuff, and Ranma ½ (to a certain volume, then it gets repetitive) and Magic Knight Rayearth for older stuff.

Regardless of whether or not they like it, it seems like just about everyone has seen Neon Genesis Evangelion.

[Eliseu Gouveia]

I cannot believe I forgot Gunslinger Girl.

A group of cyberneticaly enhanced girls who work for the italian secret services


The opening song is awesome, albeit a bit tragic.

[yeoman]

Well, I was just reading a thread and realized that to my belief I know very little about anime. I've watched core shows like DBZ, DBGT, Naruto, Bleach, One Peace, Grenadier, Helsing, Yu-Yu Hakushow Trigun, Full Metal Alchemist; and I have read some manga like Love Hina 1-14, S-Cry-ed, Trigun Maximum, Trigun, Bleach, Naruto. But I have never really watched the less known ones.
So I was wondering if you had some recomendations.



You make me feel unimaginably old. Back in my day! core shows would have been considered DBZ, El-Hazard, Tenchi (the original OAV at that!), Ranma, Eva, Project A-ko and the like.

I;m just going to go over to this corner and be bitter and old for awhile.

[Robotech Master]

^The entertainment industry moves fast Yeoman. Back when people like you and I started getting into Anime, shows like El-Hazard, Tenchi, Ranma, DBZ, and Eva were considered core shows because they pretty much the only existing core shows we had access to at that.

Plenty of the popular modern shows obviously hadn't been conceived yet, and back then the licensing companies only bothered their time and money bringing over the "A List" titles to America. Now the supply is so big that finding the A list titles in the DVD aisle is like finding something good to watch on TV out of 1200 channels--its like gold digging.

But hey, at least we have all the variety coming over to our shores now. But generally a lot of people still only ever see the stuff that gets put on Television and nothing else.

[The Xenos]

JudasOther than Death Note, Judas is my favorite manga series. It's rich in Christianity and all that good ol' religious stuff, and does so to the extent of Neon Genesis Evangelion. However, humor is a great relaxing tool that Minazuki uses very well.

As I said in the Judas thread, " rich in Christianity and all that good ol' religious stuff" isn't quite the way I'd put it. 'Takes Christianity, gets it totally wrong, but has a fun time anyway.' is more like it. Evangelion does this too, but it would take a hell of a lot for it, or anything, to match Eva in my book. Eva is Christianity, Kaballah, Jung, Freud, Childhood's End, and some random eastern religious thoughts tossed into a blender.

Of course, I'll also second Death Note, Berserk, Mushishi, and Monster.

Oh and Welcome to the NHK is an interesting look into the paranoid drug induced psychosis of a hikkamori turning into an otaku.

For a more normal take on otaku life, check out Genshiken. I like to say that it's like a Japanese version of Freaks and Geeks from what little I know of that show.

[OverMaster]

For anime, I'd suggest giving El Hazard, Slayers, Cowboy Bebop and My HiME a good try. Martian Successor Nadesico is also great, although it's better after you get mildly knowledgable about anime to get many of the otaku jokes. If you like light comedy/adventure, Saber Marionette J is well worth a look as well.

[yeoman]

^The entertainment industry moves fast Yeoman. Back when people like you and I started getting into Anime, shows like El-Hazard, Tenchi, Ranma, DBZ, and Eva were considered core shows because they pretty much the only existing core shows we had access to at that.

Plenty of the popular modern shows obviously hadn't been conceived yet, and back then the licensing companies only bothered their time and money bringing over the "A List" titles to America. Now the supply is so big that finding the A list titles in the DVD aisle is like finding something good to watch on TV out of 1200 channels--its like gold digging.

But hey, at least we have all the variety coming over to our shores now. But generally a lot of people still only ever see the stuff that gets put on Television and nothing else.

Thing of it is though, those shows were great and it's not that there's just more to the "core" shows, as a lot of those older shows arn't even rembered anymore. Heck, as I said elsewhere, Ranma used to be considered THE gateway anime.

[AnimeAvatar]

Well, I was just reading a thread and realized that to my belief I know very little about anime. I've watched core shows like DBZ, DBGT, Naruto, Bleach, One Peace, Grenadier, Helsing, Yu-Yu Hakushow Trigun, Full Metal Alchemist; and I have read some manga like Love Hina 1-14, S-Cry-ed, Trigun Maximum, Trigun, Bleach, Naruto. But I have never really watched the less known ones.
So I was wondering if you had some recomendations.

1) Most of the stuff i would have suggested has been mentioned already. I suppose for a bit of mega, random, insanity you could watch Excel-Saga and as far as manga goes... i would pick Battle Royale which is basicaly a bunch of 9th graders shoved on an island so they can kill each other as a giant game. FUN.

You make me feel unimaginably old. Back in my day! core shows would have been considered DBZ, El-Hazard, Tenchi (the original OAV at that!), Ranma, Eva, Project A-ko and the like.

I;m just going to go over to this corner and be bitter and old for awhile.

2)I haven't seen El-Hazard or Project A-ko, but i've seen the rest. You guys mean core shows as in "shows that are on more than others" right?

[Alex L]

"Core shows" refer to those shows that EVERYONE has seen (or at least knows of).

Right now, the core shows are Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece.

Ten years from now, there will be a new group of anime fans who haven't seen Naruto or Bleach, and look upon them the same way new fans today look at Ranma and Tenchi.

[OverMaster]

Thing of it is though, those shows were great and it's not that there's just more to the "core" shows, as a lot of those older shows arn't even rembered anymore. Heck, as I said elsewhere, Ranma used to be considered THE gateway anime.

Well, to be honest, a lot of the newer stuff is great too. And really, now we have a reason why American franchises tend to survive the test of time better than Japanese ones. Ranma ended up more than 10 years ago in Japan, and nothing new has come from it in that time. It's just natural it tends to fade away under that premise.

As much as the newer Tenchi stuff sucks, for instance, that series is in better shape than, say, Ranma or BGC right now because they at least keep cranking new material out.

[OverMaster]

1) Most of the stuff i would have suggested has been mentioned already. I suppose for a bit of mega, random, insanity you could watch Excel-Saga and as far as manga goes... i would pick Battle Royale which is basicaly a bunch of 9th graders shoved on an island so they can kill each other as a giant game. FUN. [/COLOR]

Excel Saga is not for everyone. I love it, but you have to own a sense of humor very keen on the loud and random to like it.

And Battle Royale stinks to me. A beyond the stupid premise and nihilistic, unlikable execution. I don't suggest it to anyone.

[OverMaster]

"Core shows" refer to those shows that EVERYONE has seen (or at least knows of).

Right now, the core shows are Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece.

Ten years from now, there will be a new group of anime fans who haven't seen Naruto or Bleach, and look upon them the same way new fans today look at Ranma and Tenchi.

Naruto has 'FAD' written all over it. Really, the series is decent, but nothing outstanding or really innovative, and it depends too much on its own hype. It really isn't worth, to me, all the time and money inversion you have to do to own such a long series, for the limited value you'll get for it.

[jesse_custer]

This is what I consider the definitive anime checklist:

Ninja Scroll (the film) - The best purely action-packed anime available. Awesome villains, a fascinating protagonist, superb animation, and an underrated soundtrack. Highly recommended and extremely rewatchable.

Macross Plus - The essential anime miniseries. It's one of the only shows out there that can handle a love triangle properly, and the philosophy of the series is intriguing. Groundbreaking animation for its time, and still better than most of the stuff today.

Akira - You should probably watch this before you watch anything else. Or maybe it would be better to save the best for last. In any case, I'm not going to detail much about this one. It's better watching it without not knowing anything about it. One hell of an experience.

Wings of Honneamise - This consistenly avoids the many cliches of anime to offer something that rarely works in the genre: believable drama.

Neon Genesis Evangelion - Has a startling amount of depth and a great cast of characters. A little overrated but still quite powerful.

Gantz - Full of dark humor, stream of consciousness, graphic violence, and generally unpredictable plot twists, this series simultaneously mocks and redefines anime as we know it. A lot of people (particularly fans of the Gantz manga) didn't appreciate the ambiguous ending of the anime, but little do they realize that the series is just playing another one of its mean tricks on them.

Cowboy Bebop - If you want great single-episode stories that are akin to the best single-issue comics, then watch this. Probably the best opening of any anime. Tons of fantastic music. Watch the first five episodes for guaranteed addiction.

Iria: Zeiram the Animation - A quirky sci-fi tale with possibly the best female protagonist in anime history. It's only six episodes. So unfortunately, you'll be wanting more. Still very much worth several watches.

Berserk - OK, so the animation is a bit rough. But this whole series is rough, so it all works together. This has one hell of an original timeframe, with the best first episode of any anime series I can think of.

Ranma 1/2 - Just laugh at this one.

Goldenboy - See above.

Spirited Away - This has more imaginative images than anything you'll ever see. Although it's two hours long, the pacing is impeccable.


On a final note, be aware that anything associated with Ghost in the Shell WILL HAVE stupendous animation. Unfortunately, it will also have a lot of boring dialogue, flat characters, and pretentious philosophy that's better left to the masters, like Plato and Descartes.

[Darth Joker]

For anime, I'd suggest giving El Hazard, Slayers, Cowboy Bebop and My HiME a good try. Martian Successor Nadesico is also great, although it's better after you get mildly knowledgable about anime to get many of the otaku jokes. If you like light comedy/adventure, Saber Marionette J is well worth a look as well.

I second this entire list (I've seen all of them except Martian Successor Nadesico).

I'd also recommend the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

[Alex L]

Naruto has 'FAD' written all over it. Really, the series is decent, but nothing outstanding or really innovative, and it depends too much on its own hype. It really isn't worth, to me, all the time and money inversion you have to do to own such a long series, for the limited value you'll get for it.

I'm not going to disagree, but a year or two ago (not sure about right now) it was absolutely the hottest thing going and it's been the gateway show for tons of current anime fans.

It is one of those shows that everyone knows about -- at least for this generation of anime fans.

[EmpressTira]

It really depends on the genres you like. I' d recommend Battle Athlete's, Fushigi Yugi, and Shojo Kakume (Revolutionary Girl) Utena. Those are my non-yaoi favorites.

[Armless Penguin]

I'm not going to disagree, but a year or two ago (not sure about right now) it was absolutely the hottest thing going and it's been the gateway show for tons of current anime fans.

It is one of those shows that everyone knows about -- at least for this generation of anime fans.

It really is. It's basically doing now what Dragonball Z did in the later '90s/early '00s and what Ranma 1/2 did in the early to mid '90s--opening up anime to people who would never have considered it otherwise. The thing about Ranma is that it managed to do this without being shown on TV, and thrived mostly on bootleg VHSs and early manga releases before it was finally picked up.

[OverMaster]

I second this entire list (I've seen all of them except Martian Successor Nadesico).

I'd also recommend the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

So, you finally watched My HiME, uh? Good.

Haruka for the eternal win. Oh, if only she would have been a HiME...

[T51R]

If you like sentimental anime with ecellent, and I mean EXCELLENT storytelling, check out these titles:

-Petitte Cossette: romantic/horror story.

-Haibane Renmei: this one will make you cry, especially when Quu takes her Day of Flight.

-Saikano and Saikano: Another Love Song. These will make you cry HARDCORE.

-Now and then, Here and there: great story, but the protagonist makes me sick.

-12 Kingdoms: this one is just. Plain. AWESOME. No Ki Blast, no crazy martial arts, just the journey of the Queen of Kei ever since she lands as a Kaikyaku. It's fookin' awesome, the animation is insane and the story is very, very deep.

-Stellvia: Space-based andevture built around a group of sutdents. Very emotional scenes, great beliveable science, the whole world is very well fleshed out. Endearing characters that you'll wat to see more of.

[AnimeAvatar]

I 2nd Jesse Custer and T51R on their lists.

[Jamal]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Princess Mononoke" this movie is one of the best anime in the last 15 years.

Also check out Samurai 7 and Samurai Champloo for a good mix of action and story.

[AnimeAvatar]

I didn't suggest anything, only seconded something, seeing as how my last suggestion was apparently a bad one.

[Sophisticated_Gamer]

Well just watched AKIRA, and wtf! lol
Nice action sequences, but the last phrase at the end made no sense.

[jesse_custer]

You'll have to watch Akira a couple of more times to really "get" it. The ending is very fitting to the movie.

[Totoro Man]

As far as recommendations, I quite enjoyed Welcome to the NHK and Kanon for newer stuff, and Ranma ½ (to a certain volume, then it gets repetitive) and Magic Knight Rayearth for older stuff.

Regardless of whether or not they like it, it seems like just about everyone has seen Neon Genesis Evangelion.

regarding Ranma 1/2... I loved it right up to about volume 13, then it got old, skipped a few chapters altogether, but volume 18-21 is pretty good... Takahashi's works usually start off good, become fantastic, and then start treading water for about 5 or 6 years and fizzle out. Maison Ikkoku and the Mermaid comics are the only qualified exceptions to that rule.

[Totoro Man]

Well, I was just reading a thread and realized that to my belief I know very little about anime. I've watched core shows like DBZ, DBGT, Naruto, Bleach, One Peace, Grenadier, Helsing, Yu-Yu Hakushow Trigun, Full Metal Alchemist; and I have read some manga like Love Hina 1-14, S-Cry-ed, Trigun Maximum, Trigun, Bleach, Naruto. But I have never really watched the less known ones.
So I was wondering if you had some recomendations.


y'know, the Naruto manga is better (for my money) than the anime. if you like Naruto then I suspect you might also like Ranma 1/2.

I enjoyed "Eureka Seven" mostly because of the supporting cast... it's not that I don't like the two main characters, it's just Holland is one of my favorite anime characters.

Samurai Champloo is great, as is Cowboy Bebop.

Nausicaa is good, but the manga is soo much better it's hard to compare the two. for example, Akira is a pretty good movie, but the manga is spectacular. I've met people who despised the movie who fell in love with the manga. it's that much better. the ONLY thing I was disappointed with was that the infamous teddy bear scene isn't shown in the manga. other than that, it's better in nearly every possible way.

Perfect Blue is a nicely done suspense thriller from Satoshi Kon. it's probably his best movie thus far (haven't seen Paprika, so I can't say that for certain)... it's like if Hitchcock and Mamoro Oshii decided to co-write a popcorn thriller together (I know that doesn't sound entirely complimentary, but I mean that in the best possible way)

[Majinlex]

I'm gonna throw my vote in with Monster as well. I hang out with some hardcore anime fans (I don't consider myself hardcore, just really enthused) and they'd never heard of it. So I started getting it and it's ridiculously good.

Mahoromatic's cool too.

[jesse_custer]

Need to see Monster but can't find it anywhere.