Good one-shot animes?

[Jerry W. Loper]

What are some good one-shot story animes on DVD that are not part of a series? I already have Akira. Am thinking about getting Princess Mononoke.

[pirulaso]

vampire hunter D: bloodlust

Vampire Hunter D

Blood: Last Vampire

I think Spriggan but i dont know for sure

There is this new one by the makers of blood thats pretty good.

[chojinlocke]

For 80's fun, you could try Baoh.
Crusher Joe is cool, the dvd is actually OVAs + movie which is awesome.
I fig Tokyo Godfathers (not really actiony though).
The Ghibili movies are one shots for the most part as well...

[Kirayoshi]

Otaku No Video, often hailed as the 'This is Spinal Tap' of anime.
Wings of Honneamise, the Right Stuff in a parallel universe.
Nausicaa and Porco Rosso just came out.
Just saw Millenium Actress. Interesting non-linear approach.

[The Xenos]

Jin Roh is amazing. It's more drama and a little dry, but there's also some good action and messed up romance (my favorite kind). Plus the armor design is awesome.

Wings of Honneamise is a must for anyone interested in the space program even if it isn't set on this Earth.

The Vampire Hunter D movies are good. Though I loved it, many think it's too dry and slow.

Dead Leaves is the exact opposite with super caffinated action bouncing off the walls.

Cats Soup is Hello Kitty meets David Lynch's Eraserhead and Dali.

Speaking of being on drugs, Dragon Half is two episodes of madcap crazy fun. It's no wonder the director was arrested for drug use and didn't make more.

Memories is a film of three shorts by three great directors. One is a ghost story in space, one is a crazy black comedy about biological weapons gone amuck,a nd the last one I think is a alligorical piece about war. The two times we showed it at our club we kept running out of time and not seeing the last one.

Riding Bean is a bit hard to find, but a great short series (maybe a movie) if you like car chases and guns. It's a prequel to antoher good guns, girls, and fast cars series called Gunsmith Cats.

R.O.D.: Read Or Die the OAV is a three ep action masterpeice. I'd call it X-Men meets James Bond with books.

-Xenos

[pirulaso]

did u guys know jin roh is an anime based on these live action movies? there is three of em. any one ever see em? i wanna know if they are good.

[ouiyahtsiouiyah]

Perfect Blue, its not action but its awesome, and really leaves you thinking at the end...I'd watch it twice if I were u

[Sanagi]

Some that spring to mind...

The Studio Ghibli repertoire. (http://nausicaa.net/miyazaki/films/)

Spriggan's a good one. The story doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's a good example of what can be accomplished in high-budget anime.

Macross Plus: The Movie is excellent although it's a stitched-together version of the four-episode video series which is a bit better. Best dogfights ever.

Robot Carnival's a cool collection of short films based on robots. It's a bit old, and parts of it haven't aged well, but it's certainly worth watching.

Perfect Blue is a great mind-screw.

Read or Die OVA rocks.

[Spastic Minnow]

I personally like Mellenium Actress more than Perfect Blue. I'm a sucker for stories within stories like that.

[The Xenos]

did u guys know jin roh is an anime based on these live action movies? there is three of em. any one ever see em? i wanna know if they are good.

Kind of. I know two of the movies use the Kerberos Armor, but I'm uncertain as to how much they are related character and plot wise. I thought I heard it was mainly the armor. I know they were also written and directed by Oshii. I'm ever so tempted to picked them up as I love Oshii's work and the beutiful and dark design of the armor. Thought the price always seems a tad steep. Maybe osmeday I'll see it for a dacent price and pick it up.

-Xenos

[pirulaso]

i believe its not the jin roh as in characters but the world and agencies. i wish to watch it but i dont wanna spend money. (they only sell its in a 40 dollar trilogy set thing)

[The Xenos]

$40? Man, if I could find it for fourty I'd pick it up. I keep seeing $60 something. Of coruse I don't really shop online.

-Xenos

[Jerry W. Loper]

Thanks, guys! Having to invest in sets can get expensive. I have the complete series of Excel Saga (haven't seen it all yet) and Love Hina (HAVE seen all of that). I've collected a couple of Amazing Nurse Nanako DVDs, but decided I better cool in collecting ongoings for the time being.

[Sheldon]

Get Grave of the Fireflies.


It is an amazing film.....probably one of the most moving films I've ever seen.

[hitokiri_]

Otaku No Video, often hailed as the 'This is Spinal Tap' of anime.



bored me for the first 30 mins then i felt pity to the otakus. GP!!!

[DoubleWide]

They Were 11 is very good. As part of a final exam at an elite space acadmey, students are broken up into groups of 10 and assigned a ship for 30 days to test their mettle. However, there is an 11th member of the crew and he/she is trying to hinder the test.

[SpydaWeb]

did u guys know jin roh is an anime based on these live action movies? there is three of em. any one ever see em? i wanna know if they are good.

They're very low budget and there really isn't any action in them. You're talking about the two live action films that Oshii wrote and directed. Red Spectacles and Stray Dog. The third called Talking Head is not related, storywise.

I enjoyed them, personally, but mostly for the ingenuity he put into creating the films. I wouldn't recommend this to regular folks. You have to be really into film and filmmaking to have much appreciation for these films. Their pace is very slow and there really isn't too much that holds your attention.

[SpydaWeb]

My film recommendations are as follows.

Junkers Come Here - this is about a talking dog and it's little girl owner. Very touching coming of age story. Very much like a Miyazaki film.

Ah! My Goddess the movie - I'm a guy and I can proudly admit to still having enjoyed this obviously girly film.

Armitage III - I'm not a huge fan of these films, including this one, but the action is noteworthy. I recommend it even just to see the battle at the end of the film.

Patlabor 1-3 movies - The quality gets better with each successive entry of this movie series, based on the tv show of the same name.

Bounty Dog - Just see it. Thank me later.

Cat Returns - Spin-off to one of Miyazaki's previous short films, this one was handled by a colleague of Miyazaki's, but it's just as fun to watch.

Macross Plus OVA - NOT the movie, but the mini-series. Great airplane action.

Pet Shop of Horrors - Kind of like twilight zone. Different stories centered around a pet shop that sells the real strange stuff in the back. Creepy stuff. I love the mermaid segment.

Queen Emeraldas - Dated look, but still fun stuff. If you like Lupin III, you should enjoy this too.

Roujin Z - Medical equipment that helps old people goes wacky and tries to escape. The military is brought in. Hilarity ensues. Reminds me of the Memories trilogy segment called Stink Bomb.

[Sanagi]

Armitage III - I'm not a huge fan of these films, including this one, but the action is noteworthy. I recommend it even just to see the battle at the end of the film.
If you mean Poly-Matrix, the original OVA version is a lot better, as I remember it.

[Guts/Batman]

I liked Vampire Hunter D:Bloodlust way more than i liked the first one. Not only cuz of the animation in it but because of the overall feel of it. The music, the villains, the story, etc.

As for Akira, although i own it on dvd. I have only watched it twice. Although it changed the way i look at animation. But the ending confuses me, or i could just be stupid. (laughs)

[Melchior]

For humor, there's my classic triumvirate:

1. "Dragon Half" - hilarious fantasy, with an SD half-dragon for a main character (and a half-slime for a rival). The creator was arrested on drug charges after the second episode, and its obvious why. Great ending theme, too, had a table of AE students begging me to punch up the volume when it came up (the Baptists at the next table were too confused to do anything). Only two episodes ever made.

2. "Shinesmen" - business people meet power rangers, without the zords. They ran out of money after two episodes, despite the comercials thrown into it. The dub is a must here! "My Montag!", "I can't die here! She has bad hair!", and the ever famous "Shinesman Red! Shinesman Sepia! Shinesman Grey! Shinesman Moss Green! Shinesman Salmon Pink!". And remember, just two episodes.

3. "Elf Princess Rane" - a little more risque then the above two, featuring a small elf princess trying to save her world by finding some magical stuff, by going to modern Earth. Fortunately, the person she latches on to is a treasure-finding nut/adventurer. Unfortunately, there's a little problem with a language barrier. Add in a set of identical 20-uplet girls in various jobs, and an interior designer who's so out there that no one knows what he's really saying (seriously, the dub just borrows weird phrases out of the Transformers movie and "Army of Darkness", and the sub is promotional phrases spelled backwards), and you have comedy gold. And just two episodes, so no long series to worry about. No, I have no clue why they ended there.

Oh, those of you who have seen Doki Doki Productions "Right Now" AMV, the guy with the blue hair in the pink field comes from Elf Princess Rane. The scene IS dumber than it looks. For those you have not seen it.... download it. It's practically required viewing for big fans.