Recommendations For Someone New?

[Mr. Holmes]

Okay I watched a little bit of Toonami stuff when i was a kid like Dragon Ball, but otherwise I'm pretty much new to any anime. After watching the whole Avatar series, including the first Korra book, I'm hoping I can find something like that here: something with a deep mythology and world building with well developed characters. \

Any recommendations?

[Froggy]

well idk how deep you'd find it, but I've always liked Fist of the North Star. It's got quite a lengthy tale and a sort of "mad max meets kung fu" world, so you'd get to see a lot of stuff there. well developed characters in the main guy and his 'family', along with the villains



I'd also try gundam too, anything like 08th ms team, the OG mobile suit gundam, and probably uh Gundam 00 (I thought both seasons were pretty good but the second one gets shitted on it seems by quite a few folks and I can see why) for some other suggestions

oh yeah Trigun, 26 episodes, kind of a finite story but that's because the manga is much longer in comparison

[The Man Without Fear]

Are you looking explicitly for a fantasy series set in a different world like Avatar? If so, then I'd first recommend The Vision of Escaflowne. It's got a bit of everything, from magic, to mecha, to action, to romance, The Vision of Escaflowne is a fantasy war epic which explores the concepts of love and fate and asks the question of which is ultimately more powerful. It's my favorite anime of all-time, and I really don't think you can go wrong with it. 26 episodes in length, too, so it's not that big of a commitment in the extremely off-chance that you don't like it. It's also a bit older (1996), but I think the animation has held up tremendously well.

In a similar vein, there's Last Exile. It's technically a future world setting, but it looks more steam punk-fantasy to me, and The Legend of Korra actually kind of reminds me of it from a visual standpoint. Story's about two young couriers in the midst of a war that wind up with what may be the key to ending the conflict. Another 26-episode series, although I understand there's a sequel out around the same length (which I've yet to see).

If you like characters that can do cool stuff like the benders of Avatar, then maybe give Witch Hunter Robin a shot. It starts out like an anime take on X-Files, with most of the early episodes being very standalone in nature, but it quickly develops a tightly interwoven plot of deception and intrigue. It's set on Earth, but in a world where "witches," or people with unique abilities, are relatively common, and centers around a young witch named Robin who's just starting out working for an organization that's responsible for keeping rogue witches in check. 26 episodes in length, if memory serves.

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit is the story of Balsa, a bodyguard-for-hire in an ancient fantasy setting who is given the task of protecting a young prince named Chagum who's inhabited by a water spirit. The wrinkle? Most of his own kingdom believes that this possession means doom for their nation unless the young prince is sacrificed. Balsa and Chagum must hide and outwit an entire kingdom and the assassins that are sent after them, all the while Balsa and her allies search for the real reason behind Chagum's possession and how to exercise it. 26 episodes spanning the gamut of anguish, humor, wonder, subtle shades of romance, and all-out action, all the while Balsa earns salvation and Chagum becomes a man.

Not to be outdone by bad omens and prophesies of ill-will, Scrapped Princess is a 26-episode anime about Pacifica, a princess who was to be killed as an infant to stymy a curse surrounding her sixteenth birthday. Now, 15 years later, with her death still in doubt (and for good reason, since she's not actually dead), assassins and warriors of the kingdom begin to scour the land in search of her before the day of her sixteenth birthday arrives and results in potential doom for everyone the world over. This is a show about self-doubt and overcoming impossible odds as much as it is about fantasy and intrigue.

More recently, I'd recommend Guin Saga and Broken Blade. The former is based on a long-running series of Japanese fantasy novels. It's about royal twins who are forced from their kingdom and their journey to reclaiming it. Along the way, they meet Guin, a mysterious and unmatched warrior with one distinguishing trait: he has the head of a leopard, and he doesn't remember why. 26 episodes, but be warned that it ends on sort of a cliffhanger (there are over a hundred novels in the series, after all).

Meanwhile, Broken Blade is another war series with mecha, but a lot of fantasy elements are thrown in for good measure. The mecha are primarily constructed out of quartz, which most people in the world of Broken Blade can manipulate at will. The protagonist Rygart, however, is an "un-sorcerer," meaning he's one of a very few whom don't share this gift, which leads to him being looked down upon by most in his society (one of two reasons for the fitting title of series). However, an ancient mecha is soon unearthed that no one can operate, and Rygart is called upon by his king and former friend to try and pilot it, which he reluctantly does to awesome effect. This one is a scant 6, 45-minute long episodes, but it's a highly enjoyable action series. I'm planning to read the manga soon, as the anime is cut very short by comparison, although the ending is still pretty satisfying.

That should keep you busy for a while. These are some of my favorites, and all of them are entertaining but thought-provoking shows that I think most Avatar fans would enjoy.

- Manning

[Mr. Holmes]

Awesome, thanks!

[ChrisIII]

You might want to give Tenchi Muyo a try. It's mainly a comedy but has some interesting concepts. However, pretty much every Tenchi production is it's own continuity/tangent, so it's easy to get confused. The original OAV series is the best version, although the Tenchi Muyo In Love movie (mainly based on the TV series continuity) is one of the better anime theatrical movies from the 90s, although the plot is somewhat deriative of Back To The Future.

[MrV]

A neat non-fantasy anime I watch is Detective Conan/Case Closed. Since it is very long, I recommend only checking out the key episodes and skip the fillers. Most of these can be found here: http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Anime#Episodes

Just follow the Plot Legend they present you with.

A shorter and more epic anime is Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I strongly recommend this one as it has a deep mythology and well fleshed-out cast.

[Nik Hasta]

I'll second Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood though the original Fullmetal Alchemist is just as good and worth a look as well. The world is really solid, a fairly deep amount of lore and compelling characters and operates in that sort of steam-punkish/fantasy area which makes for intriguing visuals and cool powers.

Baccano is always worth a look. An extremely gripping story about immortal 1920's gangsters and a train heist gone horribly awry. Fun characters, very stylish world and incredibly well-paced storytelling.

If you're looking for manga to read, I'd recommend D.Grey-man because it has fantastic characters, a superb gothic horror flavour and really cool and deep mythology to boot. There is an anime of it but the animation isn't great, the colourisation kind of ruins a lot of the more striking looks that worked in black and white and it stops midway through the story. Check out the manga, it's good stuff.

Also, as proviso to Fist of the North Star, while it is an excellent series and one of the defining seinen stories of it's time... it is an adult series. There's a lot of gore and people exploding messily all over the place. It's very good it might be a bit extreme as a starting off point.

[Mr. Holmes]

You might want to give Tenchi Muyo a try. It's mainly a comedy but has some interesting concepts. However, pretty much every Tenchi production is it's own continuity/tangent, so it's easy to get confused. The original OAV series is the best version, although the Tenchi Muyo In Love movie (mainly based on the TV series continuity) is one of the better anime theatrical movies from the 90s, although the plot is somewhat deriative of Back To The Future.

Sounds interesting, thanks. Is this one of those fan service shows?

A neat non-fantasy anime I watch is Detective Conan/Case Closed. Since it is very long, I recommend only checking out the key episodes and skip the fillers. Most of these can be found here: http://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Anime#Episodes

Detective Conan huh? Is this anything like that certain other detective?

I will definitely check out Fullmetal Alchemist, I've heard good things about that one. I guess the steampunk/fantasy is similar to Korra. I'm also watching Cowboy Bebop on Youtube, which I'm enjoying a lot.

[[Trigger]]

You seem to be someone who would enjoy Monster. It's 70 episodes long. It's a show about a Doctor who saves a little boy's life and ends up regretting it and trying to rectify that mistake.


Science(sort of) based:
Full Metal Alchemist
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood (based on the manga)
Stein's Gate (time travel): A young science geek accidentally invents something that works. He later on discovers the responsibilities that come with the power to control time.

Space:
Cowboy Bebop: you're watching it already.
Outlaw Star: Two guys run a business and are eventually given a job to be body guards and are then involved in a mystery they don't really understand while being chased by many people.

About the human mind and society:
Monster: Doctor saves a boy's life. He later finds out the actions of the boy and goes on a quest to try and correct his mistake of saving his life.
Paranoia Agent: A boy with a baseball bat seems to be appearing as people are having life crisis.
Durarara!!: Boy wants to move somewhere more exciting as his childhood friend gives him an invitation. Once he moves he soon learns that not everyone is really who they seem to be.
Ghost in the Shell stand alone complex in a world where digital and internet technology rules. There is a special task force in place led by a female android.
Ghost in the Shell stand alone complex 2nd gig

Post apocalyptic
Trigun - A spikey haired blonde in a red trench coat roams around as trouble seems to follow him
Wolf's Rain - In a word that is coming to an end, wolves have the power to disguise themselves as humans to find paradise.
Desert Punk- Short sarcastic bounty hunter of sorts who just tries to make ends mean with odd jobs.

Action and Adventure:
Last Exile: Steampunk of Steampunk anime. World is filled with flying airships and people willing to go to war for the "last exile". Follows two young pilot messengers who are later dragged into war.
Samurai 7- Seven samurai meet up to fight an army (based on the original asian movie)
Read or Die TV - A bookworm has the power over paper and she is a secret agent for the government.
Rurouni Kenshin- A wandering samurai with a secret past who refuses to kill.
Samurai Champloo- Two samurai must postpone their fight to kill each other to accompany a woman to fine a samurai who smells of sunflowers
Claymore (it only lasts 26 episodes but continues in the manga)- an organization breeds special woman who hunt demons
Gantz (same as above)- after death an odd black ball resurrects people to life and makes them partake in game to hunt aliens and stay alive


Superhero related:
Tiger and Bunny- world with superheroes where they participate on a tv show
Darker than Black- world with superpowered beings that have to pay a price every time they use their powers.


Anti heroes:
Deathnote- a college student gets a hold of a book that has the power to kill people by writing their names in the book. He goes on to try and rid the world of evil
Code Geass- a student gains power to control people. He uses said power to try and bring down a country.

Mecha/robot shows:
Eureka 7 a young mechanic gets thrust into a problem not his own when his grandfather fixes an aircraft for a young girl. He later realizes that he has now joined the very team he idolized growing up.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team gundam series that focuses more on the people than the actual fighting robots.


Movies:
Spirited Away
Summer Wars
Princess Monoke
Metropolis
Steamboy
Read or Die
Redline
Akira

Did these summaries mostly from memory. This is what I could best distill from my list (I have 183 anime/movies on my list).I also hear Baccano is good, have yet to watch it

[Mr. Holmes]

Thanks for the list.

I'm enjoying the hell out of Cowboy Bebop. It's like Pulp Fiction meets Blade Runner.

[Ghost]

Okay I watched a little bit of Toonami stuff when i was a kid like Dragon Ball, but otherwise I'm pretty much new to any anime. After watching the whole Avatar series, including the first Korra book, I'm hoping I can find something like that here: something with a deep mythology and world building with well developed characters. \

Any recommendations?

To Aru Majutsu no Index, To Aru Kagaku no Railgun and Shakugan no Shana all have pretty extensive mythologies. (Sometimes a bit too extensive, since they are based on novel series and sometimes introduces concepts and characters with very little context. But for the most part they are prefectly watchable by themselves.)

Similarly, Fate/Stay Night is worth a look. The Nasuverse mythology gets even more complicated when you start looking at the lore material, but doing so isn't really neccesary for enjoying the show. Has a newer prequel I haven't watched, and an alternative continuity movie I also haven't watched.

Currently watching Accel World, which kicks all kinds of ass. Sacred Seven, while a bit light on the world-building, definitely needs more love and attention than it gets. If you want something a bit darker, try Guilty Crown.

Seconding Nik on Baccano, though be warned that the plot is told out of chronological order along two or three parallel plotlines, so it might be a bit jarring going in unprepared. I haven't seen FMA: Brotherhood but since it's supposed to be the Fullmetal Alchemist manga animated it's probably worth watching, because the FMA manga is a goddamned masterpiece.

[[Trigger]]

Once you get into anime again you may be up for Naruto and Bleach. Here in the US it's targeted towards kids but it's big with everyone overseas. They are long, ongoing, build and expand upon on the world. Only thing I'd warn is that they have the habit of adding filler episodes to extend the series.

[jesse_custer]

You should check out stuff directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. His work has incredible action and creativity:

Ninja Scroll (make sure it's the movie, not the television show)
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Highlander: Search for Vengeance
Cyber City Oedo 808

[Mr. Holmes]

Thanks again, everyone.

Are there any classic or noirish detective shows?

I tried watching Case Closed. I honestly didn't mind the soap opera/teen Sherlock Holmes thing they had going, but I didn't really care for the premise of the show otherwise (being in a kids body, looked after by his love interest, etc.).

[[Trigger]]

Detective related shows (not all classic or noirish)

Monster
Deathnote
Paranoia Agent
Ghost in the Shell: stand alone complex
Witch hunter robin
The Big O

Haven't seen but people recommend
Gosick
Heat Guy J
Kaze no Yojimbo
Ghost Hunt

also found this
http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=33229
http://www.anime-planet.com/forum/ge...dations-2.html