Advice on what to watch/read?

[Krazzman]

Hello fellow playgrounders,

next week I will have unwanted vacation (I won't be able to walk properly and as such will be staying home for around 1 week).

Currently I am only following Naruto Shippuuden in terms of Anime I watch. I ordered World War Z a few days ago and will be reading that together with playing WoW most of the time. But to get a few other ideas on what I should watch (mostly animes) or read (for free in the internet) I would like to have your input.

Currently next to Naruto I started to watch Thundercats 2011 again.
What I would like to see is some sort of Action, without getting too much goofing type of stuff or Horror/trippy horror type of stuff. To say it cautiously: the newer the better. I have some problems with certain artstyles from different "era's".

Already seen and enjoyed(in no particular order):
Black Lagoon
Darker than Black
Record of Lodoss War
Slayers
Rune Soldier
Trigun
Code Geass
Bleach
Hellsing (and OVA until the fight against Rip van Winkel or how he/she is called)
Cowboy Bebop
Fate/Stay/Night (or how you write it)
Full Metal Alchemist (and Brotherhood)
Berserk
Avatar (both so far)
Hunter X Hunter
Soul Eater
D-Gray-Man (?)
Highschool of the Dead
Gantz
Elfenlied
Fairy Tail until: (contains spoiler)they plopped Back into the current time phase (7 years later)
And "read/watched" One Piece until they got scattered on that Island and "paused" for 2 years.

EDIT forgotten Animes:
Claymore
Witchblade
Fate/Zero (1st Half/season?)


Animes I didn't finish were Eyeshield 21 and the one with Kamina due to forgetting the name and losing the link to it.

I hope you can help me with this as I will definitly be bored in that week.

[Feytalist]

I have the feeling you'll like Basilisk. Follows a war between two ninja clans in the 1600s. Sort-of historically accurate, pretty decent story and lots of violence.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Animes I didn't finish were Eyeshield 21 and the one with Kamina due to forgetting the name and losing the link to it.

That'd be TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN (okay, forgive the gratuitous capitalization...). If there's no particular reason you stopped watching (other than losing the link), pick it back up again--it gets pretty good as the series moves on.

If you liked Fate Stay/Night (or however it's spelled?) check out Fate/Zero. It's Gen Urobochi's prequel to FSN, and from everything I hear it's much better. The characters are a riot (especially FZ's incarnation of Rider), though you've already been spoiled as to a plot point or two. But it's a great action-heavy ride (though with some darker stuff).

Claymore is a pretty badass dark fantasy action show about a class of warrior women who protect humanity from youma (translated as "demon" or "monster" or whatever...from what I understand, it doesn't map easily into an English concept), but are part monster themselves.

Baccano! isn't a shounen action series, but it's a hectic and tangled violence narrative (akin to Quentin Tarantino's work) about 1930s mobsters, centered around a fateful transcontinental train ride. Very snappy and bloody and quick and with delicious characterization.

[Krazzman]

I have the feeling you'll like Basilisk. Follows a war between two ninja clans in the 1600s. Sort-of historically accurate, pretty decent story and lots of violence.

Gonna check it out.


That'd be TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN (okay, forgive the gratuitous capitalization...). If there's no particular reason you stopped watching (other than losing the link), pick it back up again--it gets pretty good as the series moves on.

Will be done. Can't remember that name for the love of all things holy.


If you liked Fate Stay/Night (or however it's spelled?) check out Fate/Zero. It's Gen Urobochi's prequel to FSN, and from everything I hear it's much better. The characters are a riot (especially FZ's incarnation of Rider), though you've already been spoiled as to a plot point or two. But it's a great action-heavy ride (though with some darker stuff).

Fate/Zero... I think I saw some parts of it. The last thing I saw was that Saber wanted to kill Wizard after he summoned something in the river.


Claymore is a pretty badass dark fantasy action show about a class of warrior women who protect humanity from youma (translated as "demon" or "monster" or whatever...from what I understand, it doesn't map easily into an English concept), but are part monster themselves.

Already seen. I think I read the Manga afterwards. It was ok but I didn't really enjoy it.


Baccano! isn't a shounen action series, but it's a hectic and tangled violence narrative (akin to Quentin Tarantino's work) about 1930s mobsters, centered around a fateful transcontinental train ride. Very snappy and bloody and quick and with delicious characterization.

Going to give it a look.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Fate/Zero... I think I saw some parts of it. The last thing I saw was that Saber wanted to kill Wizard after he summoned something in the river.

Oh--that's actually about halfway through Fate/Zero.

[Wookieetank]

Anime:
~Saikano: one of my all time favorites, but very high on the depressing scale. Hard to say much else without spoiling bits of the show.
~Gunslinger Girl: haven't finished it yet, but I've liked it so far, also on the depressing side
~El Hazard: A bit goofy, but lots of fun to watch, I've only seen the 7ep long one, so I don't know how the other El Hazards stand up other than that one.
~Rozen Maiden: Magical Dolls fight each other in epic battles. Has a very well done art style, and a decent plot, despite how silly it sounds.
~Mai Hime: School full of magical girls fight against eldricth abominations and are unkowningly being used as part of a conspiracy. Bit of the fanservicy side of things, but decent otherwise.

Books:
Anything by China Meville is worth a look see
House of Leaves

[Xeratos]

But to get a few other ideas on what I should watch (mostly animes) or read (for free in the internet) I would like to have your input.

I'm going to point to my own signature if you're looking for things to read for free. I like to think I do a decent job as a writer, but then, I'm probably pretty biased. A lot of the stories have d&d/generic fantasy roots, with some oddball things thrown in as well (I note that you mentioned playing WoW. Back when I used to play, I wrote a piece about the original SFK vs. the changes made in Cata (http://www.alabasterink.com/2013/02/return-to-shadowfang-keep-wow/)).

[Hopeless]

Anime:
~El Hazard: A bit goofy, but lots of fun to watch, I've only seen the 7ep long one, so I don't know how the other El Hazards stand up other than that one.


The OVA involves Makoto being forced into a bit of cross dressing that ends up being used again in the following sequel.

The actual series is the one with Princess Rune not having a younger sister who resembles Makoto and unlike the OVA doesn't share the same ending.

Have you tried Tiger & Bunny?

[Feytalist]

Anime:
~Saikano: one of my all time favorites, but very high on the depressing scale. Hard to say much else without spoiling bits of the show.
~Gunslinger Girl: haven't finished it yet, but I've liked it so far, also on the depressing side

Saikano is indeed a great little series, and certainly in my top five list. But it's not really in line with the OP's list, which seems to be more straightforward action genre type stuff. Saikano is more of a mind-crushingly depressing romance; light on the action.

Gunslinger Girl is good, though. And because I equate these two in my head, another good one is Noir. Follows two female assassins doing their thing, with a nicely intriguing uberplot with some vague semi-mythical overtones. Also nicely violent.

Also, and I just thought of this, Witch Hunter Robin. Chick who... hunts witches, for a sort of secret organisation. Who happens to be a witch. Pretty generic, but pretty decent.

Also also, Scryed. Various super-powered humans versus various other super-powered humans. It's better than it sounds.

Also also also, while I'm at it, Trinity Blood. Vampire story, but with various Sci-Fi overtones (vampirism is a virus which came from Mars, for instance). Also with nanomachines and stuff. The ending is really weird, but the series is good enough for that not to matter.

[Cen]

Will be done. Can't remember that name for the love of all things holy.

But you remembered that Kamina was in it? Couldn't you just google Kamina?

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Gunslinger Girl is good, though. And because I equate these two in my head, another good one is Noir. Follows two female assassins doing their thing, with a nicely intriguing uberplot with some vague semi-mythical overtones. Also nicely violent.
Noir...I have a very soft spot in my heart for that show. But I don't know if it fits the action-heavy request of the OP. It's a deceptively reflective show, despite the violence, which is there mostly as a tone-setter.

[Krazzman]

But you remembered that Kamina was in it? Couldn't you just google Kamina?

Yeah, I did... multiple times. I'm easy to distract while on the internet...

I've seen Trinity Blood but I have a hard time remembering names or certain other animes in general since I've seen so many...

[Feytalist]

Noir...I have a very soft spot in my heart for that show. But I don't know if it fits the action-heavy request of the OP. It's a deceptively reflective show, despite the violence, which is there mostly as a tone-setter.

It's girls with guns, should be enough for any action-lover! :smalltongue:

But you're right, of course. The action is certainly not the main theme of the show. It can get quite introspective at times.

For what it's worth, Noir has a special place in my memory as well.