Anime Reccomendations [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Cubey

2008-02-16, 01:03 PM

You liked FMA, so you'd also probably like Hellsing.

Wha? Fullmetal Alchemist is TOTALLY different from Hellsing, I have no idea how you made that connection. Also the old Hellsing anime was pretty bad - no idea about the new OVA though.

I suggest Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Because, frankly, you can't go wrong with that. It's a series, but fits into one DVD so it's still one-disc-at-a-time.

A few comments on other recommendations: Evangelion tends to opinionate people. Some (including me) call it brilliant, others call it unbearingly angsty and pretentious. Both factions tend to agree - the ending is so-so at best. I like all the episodes before that though. Cowboy Bebop is a golden classic, and you shouldn't miss it.

Ah, and if you didn't watch the 2nd Ghost in the Shell movie (Innocence), do it. I found it even better than the first one.

comicshorse

2008-02-16, 01:25 PM

Last Exile
Read or Die
Boggiepop Phantom ( but only the first half of the series)

Sampi

2008-02-16, 01:26 PM

Oh. Second vote for Cowboy Bebop. And my recollections of Hellsing may be too old to be reliable.

But Studio Ghibli is the way to go, in any case.

Obrysii

2008-02-16, 01:37 PM

Cowboy Bebop
Hellsing (old and new)
Full Metal Alchemist
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Gundam Wing
Mobile Suit Gundam
MSG: 8th MS Team
Outlaw Star
Those Who Hunt Elves
The Vision of Escaflowne

...those are all good, same with anything Miyazaki.

GrassyGnoll

2008-02-16, 01:37 PM

Cowboy Bebop forth'd. Hellsing kind of third'd, but only the OVA. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Trigun, Death Note, or FLCL.

Hijack: What would you all suggest for someone who has seen the above? A couple of my friends are suggesting Haruhi and Elven Lied, but I make it a policy to not watch "slice of life" shows. Is Gungrave any good?

Edit: Arrrr, scurvy ninjas

Mc. Lovin'

2008-02-16, 01:44 PM

I like bleach and D Gray Man

Querzis

2008-02-16, 01:47 PM

Trigun is a must. I really dont know why few people heard of it, I know its an old anime but its still one of the best ever and the main character, Vash the Stampede, is like the incarnation of chaotic good. Cowboy bebop is also a classic even if I didnt enjoy it as much as Trigun. Hellsing is great and bloody, dont watch it if you dont like violence. D gray man is getting better each episode even though I dont like Allen, the main character. I didnt enjoy Evangelion much, its just too crazy, especially the movie but I know many people like it anyway so watch it if you want.

Long anime like Naruto, One piece, Ranma 1/2 or Inuyasha are always better in manga. Naruto manga is still my favorite manga ever but the anime got so much fillers and pointless discussions. Beside they censored all the good parts in the anime and dont even get me started on the crappy kiddy english version. Anyway, I really recommend Naruto and One piece but read the manga, dont watch the anime.

Cubey

2008-02-16, 01:54 PM

Hijack: What would you all suggest for someone who has seen the above? A couple of my friends are suggesting Haruhi and Elven Lied, but I make it a policy to not watch "slice of life" shows. Is Gungrave any good?

Okay, you have a really wrong impression here.
Elfen Lied first - DEFINITELY not a slice of life show. It is an ecchi (read: for perverts, but nothing explicit yet - that'd be hentai) show + lots of more or less graphic violence. There's also some plot, but I found most characters so unlikeable that I couldn't bear to finish it. I don't recommend.
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya LOOKS like a slice of life show at first, but it fairly quickly (end of 3rd episode) reveals itself as something else - Sci-Fi with a strong philosophical bent. Oh, and quality comedy, too.

Attilargh

2008-02-16, 01:56 PM

A couple of my friends are suggesting Haruhi and Elven Lied, but I make it a policy to not watch "slice of life" shows.
...Huh, I think this is the first time I've seen Elfen Lied described as a "slice of life" show. Granted, I've heard there is plenty of slicing of life, so I guess the use is justified.

And Haruhi is... Well, okay. It can be described as a "slice of life" show. The life just happens to be a really, really (really, really) weird one. Plus, half of it is Kyon monologuing. Kyon's funny, go watch it.

Also, N+1-ing the recommendations for Cowboy Bebop, Hellsing Ultimate and FLCL. Samurai Champloo's good too.

Cespenar

2008-02-16, 01:59 PM

Seeing what you watched and liked, this advice looks like the best:

Anything from Hayao Miyazaki, really.

You haven't seen:

Porco Rosso
Totoro
Kiki's Delivery Service
Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
Laputa Castle in the Sky

And probably some I've forgotten. But Totoro you have to see.

, which I totally agree with as well. Apart from those and what you have watched, I suggest Rurouni Kenshin, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop and Death Note. I personally don't enjoy animes that goes over 20-30 episodes, with Rurouni Kenshin being a weird exception, so I can't help much with the other examples.

Cubey

2008-02-16, 02:02 PM

The OP's list of anime includes more or less "normal" titles, so I didn't include FLCL because I just KNOW it will weird him out. It's a great show, but it's so weird that you have to wonder what illegal substance influenced the creators.

(Actually, it wasn't anything illegal - they had to relax themselves after making the End of Evangelion. End of Evangelion rant: the movie is not as much an alternative or supplementary ending to Evangelion as it is a giant middle finger pointed towards the fans. HOWEVER, I really understand Hideaki Anno, because he received a lot of criticism for how Evangelion ended, up and including to LIFE THREATS from so-called "fans". So it's a natural reaction that he made the movie the way he did, even if it is more than a little mean-spirited towards those of us who took the end to the series more gracefully.

Well, at least it allowed FLCL to exist. FLCL is what crack smokes when it wants to get high.)

GrassyGnoll

2008-02-16, 02:05 PM

Gotta clarify that I was referring to Haruhi when I mentioned "slice of life", not Elven Lied. Sorry bout my ambiguous sentence structuring.

Closet_Skeleton

2008-02-16, 02:09 PM

Okay, you have a really wrong impression here.
Elfen Lied first - DEFINITELY not a slice of life show. It is an ecchi show + lots of more or less graphic violence.

Elfen Lied is not an ecchi show. It has a lot of nudity in the first episode and some sexual situations but if you compared it to a real ecchi show you'd be able to see the differance.

Is Gungrave any good?

Yes, or at least better than the game it's based on

Or at least, episodes 2-14 are good and the final episode is brilliant. I liked episodes 15-24 but not everybody agrees with me. Episode 1 is sort of unnecesary and put me off the series before I forced myself to watch episode 2.

Gorbash

2008-02-16, 02:10 PM

How come no one mentioned Karas? o.O It's an OVA, but a pretty amazing one... Animation is... Beyond words. Just watch this (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VVH83taZ4s0) video, you'll see what I'm talking about.

Also Basilisk is pretty good, too. A moving story, and there's the part about 20 super-powered ninjas killing each other...

And the pure classic, only not a series, but still pretty awesome, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.

Nerd-o-rama

2008-02-16, 02:10 PM

Gotta clarify that I was referring to Haruhi when I mentioned "slice of life", not Elven Lied. Sorry bout my ambiguous sentence structuring.
Watch Haruhi anyway. Consider it science fiction if that helps.

Also things I can recommend personally:
Cowboy Bebop (again)
Trigun
If you watch more than half of Evangelion, be sure to watch Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann to cheer yourself up.
Or Martian Successor Nadesico.

My next show I watch is probably going to be Mobile Fighter G Gundam, and I hear nothing but neat things about it.

Oh, and to the OP specifically I recommend Azumanga Daioh. Cuteness overload!

Eldan

2008-02-16, 03:13 PM

I also recommend Cowboy bebop. It's awesome.
If you liked Ghost in the shell, then you should probably watch "Serial Experiment Lain". That's probably the most confusing experience you will ever have in your life, but it's worth it.

Cubey

2008-02-16, 03:34 PM

Elfen Lied is not an ecchi show. It has a lot of nudity in the first episode and some sexual situations but if you compared it to a real ecchi show you'd be able to see the differance.

Fair enough. Then instead of perv stuff+violence, it's violence+perv stuff. If you strip it from violence then only ecchi elements remain, and if you remove these then there's nothing left but a well-made opening.

This opinion, unsurprisingly, came from someone who didn't like Elfen Lied, and in fact lost interest before finishing watching the series.

Now, lesse what else I can recommend (as soon as I saw Nerd-o-rama posting, I new he'd offer TTGL)... there are two series to Fullmetal Panic, Fumoffu and Second Raid. I'm not sure if you saw these. Everything Miyazaki is good for you, but plenty of people said that already. You might like Steamboy, and it has a very good dub too - not a rarity these days, but still good to know. Ergo Proxy looks like Ghost in the Shell mixed in with Blade Runner at first, but after a few episodes gravitates towards twisting the viewer's mind - worth a shot.

That's all from me for now. Take note that this thread is about Proposing Anime Based on the List Provided by the OP, and not Listing Your Favourite Anime.

Rogue 7

2008-02-16, 03:49 PM

Another recommendation for Haruhi. Very funny stuff, very good stuff. With Kenshin, I really prefer the Manga, but the "Trust and Betrayal" OVA is fantastic. I got the box set of that, the Movie (fairly lousy, honestly), and Reflection (which I haven't watched but have not heard good things about).

Drascin

2008-02-16, 04:12 PM

Almost anything by Studio Ghibli is very good, and fits your list.

If you liked Fullmetal, you'll most likely like Trigun - it's a fantasy western story instead of a fantasy science story, but it's a kind of "shonen with an actual plot" much like Fullmetal, even if the plots are widely differing. And it manages to raise more than a few philosophical and psychological questions to boot, if you pay attention.

Haruhi should be at least tried by everyone - you'll love it or you'll hate it, but you have to watch it (oh, you might want to skip the first episode the first time you watch it depending on your resistance to absurdity). I myself am in the camp that loved it (in case my sig didn't give that away enough :smalltongue:), so I cannot recommend it enough, but I realize that this type of character-driven show is not for everyone.

And well, I'd like to second Nerd in his TTGL recommendation, but about this I'm not that sure if it'd fit your tastes... what are your opinions on mecha anime? More exactly, what are your opinions on very histrionic mecha anime that doesn't take itself seriously at all? :smalltongue:

Thimble

2008-02-16, 04:37 PM

Based on your list, I'd recommend:

Last Exile
Samurai Champloo
Read Or Die (the OAV) and R.O.D the series

and Cowboy Bebop (big surprise there).

They all have dubs that are decent-to-stunning, if that would affect your watching experience. The last, as well as being a nice little series, has a feature-length movie that stands just fine on its own.

Good watching!

Keris

2008-02-16, 08:55 PM

Dub quality doesn't usually affect me, I watch in Japenese with subs when available. :smalltongue:

Thanks for all the advice guys, I'll try and watch, or at least try, them all, and will definitely give Cowboy Bebop a shot.

nothingclever

2008-02-16, 09:21 PM

Hayate no Gotoku
Bamboo Blade

I can't really recommend any others because most anime sucks when you realize how many filler episodes they have if they last longer than the average time to slow down to the pace of the manga. If they didn't people would run out of story to tell since animation can convey so much more than still images in a short period of time but it still gets annoying. :/

I personally would avoid watching most of the anime listed above. Samurai Champloo is frustrating because every episode is about some sort of imprisonment. Characters either get stuck in jail, captured, sold to a brothel separated or whatever over and over again. The animation is good and so is the action but I couldn't stand all the bs where x character gets captured just so the others can have alone time to develop or have a side story.

There are plenty of other samurai anime that are great though because they have a more historical approach and are often hilarious when they treat everything as SERIOUS BUSINESS.

Rosen Maiden was a pretty awesome anime at least for a while because it was fun to watch little dolls beat up their master and drain his life force to beat him even harder.

Read or Die was good too because it stayed pretty interesting all the way through.

Eureka Seven was epic if only because it had massive explosions that killed hundreds of people appearing as giant rainbow mushroom clouds caused by air-skateboarding mechs. It stayed pretty enjoyable most of the way through until the main character went into an emo phase near the end but he gets out of it in time to save the day before you want to start cutting yourself.

Artemician

2008-02-16, 09:40 PM

[Unsell]

Trigun. It was considered good in it's time, and it still is (quite good). However, I don't think it aged very well; the animation palettes are quite bad.. the plot isn't that fantastic, and the episodic format made me angry. Such a pity, because the characters are really fabulous, the setting is amazing, and there was *really* a lot of potential. Watch it if you want, but don't expect to be amazed or astounded. It's above average, but not fantastic.

Neon Genesis Evangelion. Ditto, it was old, good, but in the context of newer, better stuff, it ain't so hot. Watch RahXephon if you want to see Evangelion done right.

Martian Sucessor Nadesico. Ditto (again). Newer mecha series are a *lot* better. But, since you've seen FMP, you might have a laugh at some of the references to Nadesico in FMP, but went completely over your head the first time round. And there are a *lot* of them.

Rurouni Kenshin. The OVAs are fantastic, but the main series is kind of lackluster. Watch the OVAs, they're excellent standalones.

[Sell]

Based on your watched animes, you appear to like stuff that's pretty mature and thought-provoking. So off go the silly, the funny, and the super actiony.

I recommend:

Tengen Toppa Guren Lagaan (Exalted: the Animated serires. Distilled badass in animated form)
Code Geass (Machiavelli's the Prince. And Death Note. With giant mecha. And a good plot. Nice)
Rurouni Kenshin OVAs
Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto (Warning, working knowledge of Japanese/Chinese culture required)
Shakugan no Shana (First season only, second season becomes a Rom-Com, sadly.

Nerd-o-rama

2008-02-17, 03:38 AM

Martian Sucessor Nadesico. Ditto (again). Newer mecha series are a *lot* better. But, since you've seen FMP, you might have a laugh at some of the references to Nadesico in FMP, but went completely over your head the first time round. And there are a *lot* of them.
What's funny here is I watched Evangelion (and parts of Mobile Suit Gundam) pretty much so I'd get the jokes in Nadesico. The cycle of homage, it goes on and on...probably all the way back to Gigantor and Astro Boy.

Cubey

2008-02-17, 03:44 AM

Haruhi should be at least tried by everyone - you'll love it or you are a heartless monster with no sense of humour

Fixed.

Okay, and on a serious note - I have yet to meet a person who disliked Haruhi. Anti-conformists who hate everything popular don't count.
(Conformists love the popular and hate unpopular, anti-conformists the other way around. True non-conformists care about quality, not popularity.)

Poison_Fish

2008-02-17, 03:44 AM

[Unsell]
Shakugan no Shana (First season only, second season becomes a Rom-Com, sadly.

And yet... the second season actually has the main character not become useless.

Also, it's finally getting somewhere and has changed it's entire tone again. It is no longer romantic comedy.

Tengu

2008-02-17, 03:51 AM

Bleh, this thread is too old for my to contribute now. I second everything that Nerd-o-rama and Cubey said (except that, unlike him, I consider Elfen Lied decent - though still not very good).

Keymort

2008-02-17, 03:57 AM

Without any doubt Naruto.
You can watch the full series on myspace, and it becomes so mad later on.

Rutee

2008-02-17, 04:00 AM

Bleh, this thread is too old for my to contribute now. I second everything that Nerd-o-rama and Cubey said (except that, unlike him, I consider Elfen Lied decent - though still not very good).

Seriously... I'd also add.. hm.. It's old, but let's say Gear Fighter Dendoh. Very cute Super Robot anime.

Fri

2008-02-17, 04:32 AM

Well... do you have any preferences? Beside that anime list? And hmm.. no slice of life anime.

Most of my favourite had been reccomended by other peoples, so...

What is everybody's thought on the Girl With Guns (and ominous latin chanting) trilogy from Beetrain? You know, Noir, Madlax, and El Casador de la Bruja. Though I mainly watch it for Kaijura Yuki's music. Actually I watch most film and anime for their soundtrack.

Not entirely a trilogy,just have the same 'girl with guns (and ominous latin chanting) theme.

There you have Noir for the realistic anime, somewhat inspired by the Bourne series or Luc Besson's Nikita. No fanservice at all, just john woo-ish gun battle with really, really amazing soundtrack. They said they tried to be as realistic as they can be (or, as anime can be).

Madlax, that is girls with guns plus supernatural twist and psychological thriller thingies and surrealism. And amazing soundtrack.

And El Casador de la Bruja. Some says the weakest part of the trilogy, but that's because it's somewhat a lighter series compared to the previous two that are quite dark. Mainly about girls with guns in spaghetti western setting traveling from town to town, evading bounty hunter and such. And amazing soundtrack.

Poison_Fish

2008-02-17, 04:35 AM

I liked the sound track of the third more, while the first I kind of liked the story more.

Tengu

2008-02-17, 04:44 AM

There you have Noir for the realistic anime, somewhat inspired by the Bourne series or Luc Besson's Nikita. No fanservice at all, just john woo-ish gun battle with really, really amazing soundtrack. They said they tried to be as realistic as they can be (or, as anime can be).

Noir has no fanservice? What about
Chloe's lesbian crush on Kirika, which includes a very suggestive bath and kiss scene together in one of the last episodes?
Not to mention that in the minds of some people, Mireille and Kirika are very close together - but I think these people are reading too much into this anime.

And yes, while Noir is not in my toplist, it is worth recommending.

Fri

2008-02-17, 04:58 AM

Oh that :) yes. I haven't watch it for a very long time. Well, if you look close enough, the THREE of them are full of erh... girl with really 'close friendship' with another girl. I'll look for one amazing summary of Noir about that.

edit:
Ah. Here it is.:smallbiggrin:

First Impression of Noir (http://www.tsunamichannel.com/index.php?date=2001-10-28&comic=Parody)

What is Noir? A summary of Noir part 1 (http://www.tsunamichannel.com/index.php?date=2001-12-19&comic=Parody)

And...

What is Noir? A summary of Noir part 2 (http://www.tsunamichannel.com/index.php?date=2001-12-20&comic=Parody)

That's not supposed to discourage you from watching Noir, mind you :D.

Rutee

2008-02-17, 05:05 AM

....It's got 3 main characters and you weren't expecting a love triangle? :P

Seriously, I get why people are anti-fan service, but there come points where you might as well just forgive 'em...

Tengu

2008-02-17, 05:08 AM

Actually, there are two main characters, one mysterious character which you are not certain is a protagonist or an antagonist until the very end of the series, and one Knight Templar BBEG who is even more mysterious and does not appear to be doing anything for most of the series. And all of them are female. There is a lot of subtext in the air, but apart from the exception I already spoilered there are no actual proofs of any romantic relations.

If you are male and starring in Noir, consider yourself lucky if you live to the end of the episode you are in (unless you are just a passerby visible only for a second).

Oh, and I'm not against fanservice. I just acknowledge its existence where it's present.

Cubey

2008-02-17, 05:19 AM

If you are male and starring in Noir, consider yourself lucky if you live to the end of the episode you are in (unless you are just a passerby visible only for a second).

And females have a 75% chance to be offed too.

I wouldn't call Noir slow in the term that DBZ or some Naruto/Bleach/[insert shonen anime here] episodes are slow - it isn't drudging in the way that you want to scream "FINISH IT ALREADY! COME ON, FASTER!" into the screen. It's just... unhasty. Gives you time to admire the views. Sort of anti-FLCL (because FLCL has a very, very speedy pacing, as everyone who watched it knows). Noir is a very "artistic" anime - great graphics, especially backgrounds and architecture, doubly great music, and a penchant for realism: for example, the creators counted the number of bullets shot, and made the characters reload when the guns were actually empty or low on ammo. Characters and the plot itself aren't as good as stuff I mentioned already, but it doesn't mean they are bad, or even average - simply not as good.
Noir, in general, isn't the best anime I saw or even in my top 5 favourites, but it's definitely one of the better ones out there. The best recommendation I can give is that I usually don't like stuff devoid of humour, and I like Noir while it doesn't have any comedy in it (it wouldn't fit into the theme anyway).

Closet_Skeleton

2008-02-17, 05:24 AM

I can't really recommend any others because most anime sucks when you realize how many filler episodes they have if they last longer than the average time to slow down to the pace of the manga. If they didn't people would run out of story to tell since animation can convey so much more than still images in a short period of time but it still gets annoying.

If you stick to 13 episode series that's unlikely to come up.

It stayed pretty enjoyable most of the way through until the main character went into an emo phase near the end but he
gets out of it in time to save the day before you want to start cutting yourself.

Funny, I could've sworn the main character's angsty faze was all in the middle.

Okay, and on a serious note - I have yet to meet a person who disliked Haruhi. Anti-conformists who hate everything popular don't count.

I've only managed to not like Haruhi as much as everyone else. I like it but I see no reason to rave about it and like other things a lot more.

What is everybody's thought on the Girl With Guns (and ominous latin chanting) trilogy from Beetrain? You know, Noir, Madlax, and El Casador de la Bruja. Though I mainly watch it for Kaijura Yuki's music. Actually I watch most film and anime for their soundtrack.

Utterly prententious waste of time.

My brother really likes Noir, but non of his friends do.

Madlax, that is girls with guns plus supernatural twist and psychological thriller thingies and surrealism. And amazing soundtrack.

Never watched a whole episode but it just looked slow, confusing and boring.

And El Casador de la Bruja.

Didn't like it at all. Maybe the Maxwell's demon monologue at the begining of the first episode put me off by convincing me that the show had no idea what it was talking about.

Seriously, I get why people are anti-fan service, but there come points where you might as well just forgive 'em...

I'm not against fanservice. It just has to be good fanservice.

Cubey

2008-02-17, 05:27 AM

I've only managed to not like Haruhi as much as everyone else. I like it but I see no reason to rave about it and like other things a lot more.

And that counts as liking, just not being a rabid Harutard like most of us here. Including me.

I understand why people may dislike Noir, or Neon Genesis Evangelion. I just don't agree with them.

Drascin

2008-02-17, 05:37 AM

Okay, and on a serious note - I have yet to meet a person who disliked Haruhi. Anti-conformists who hate everything popular don't count.
(Conformists love the popular and hate unpopular, anti-conformists the other way around. True non-conformists care about quality, not popularity.)

That's my experience IRL as well - I've lent SHnY to about a dozen people, and not a single one came back saying it sucked. Most thought it was good, and a couple of them are even approaching serious Haruhism levels (not as much as me, of course, but then I I'm crazy so I don't count :smalltongue:). But on the internet you find pretty strange tastes at times, and I've come across a few people that seemed to hate the series' guts, so I preferred to give the OP a warning - hence the "you'll like it or you'll hate it" statement, since I haven't really seen anyone go "meh" at it :smallwink:.

Cubey

2008-02-17, 05:45 AM

Drascin

2008-02-17, 06:21 AM

I think people who hated Haruhi belong to the anti movement I described a few posts before. That is, for them if something is popular then it MUST suck. Only unpopular stuff is good.
Alternatively, people who think that something deep and philosophical MUST be dark, gritty or angsty, and if something is funny then it MUST be shallow and stupid, could dislike Haruhi as well.

Needless to say, I don't have much respect for both of these groups.

Indeed. Those two movements I know (and hate) personally, having fought with a slew of Spanish teachers who pretty much had the membership card - made every analysis of a book into utter hell, and had me convinced for years that language teachers were a dangerous species that should be shot on sight.

However, my actual suspicion is that most of the bashing people came expecting an extremely light comedy and were dissapointed by the character-driven plot and the "talky" parts (I have seen more bashing of Koizumi's scene in the car than even of the fanservice). Or at least I'd like to think so, as that'd have been a rational reason to dislike it and I like to think well of people :smallwink:.

Obrysii

2008-02-17, 08:39 AM

Indeed. Those two movements I know (and hate) personally, having fought with a slew of Spanish teachers who pretty much had the membership card - made every analysis of a book into utter hell, and had me convinced for years that language teachers were a dangerous species that should be shot on sight.

My creative writing teacher had (has?) this philosophy as well - and he applied it to students writings.

However, my actual suspicion is that most of the bashing people came expecting an extremely light comedy and were dissapointed by the character-driven plot and the "talky" parts (I have seen more bashing of Koizumi's scene in the car than even of the fanservice). Or at least I'd like to think so, as that'd have been a rational reason to dislike it and I like to think well of people :smallwink:.

I've only seen the first disc of Haruhi ... but the first ten minutes of the first episode (where they're making that movie) was enough for me to love it. Also, Crispin Freeman, one of the best VA's around, is in it, so...

Artemician

2008-02-17, 09:13 AM

And yet... the second season actually has the main character not become useless.

Also, it's finally getting somewhere and has changed it's entire tone again. It is no longer romantic comedy.

The grim and dark mood of Shana, as well as the fast and stark violence, is what really got me in, and when they scrapped it utterly in favour of it's antithesis... suffice to say I wasn't very happy. I sat through 8 episodes of Shana and Kazumi fighting over Yuji before I finally gave up and moved on to greener pastures. If you had the patience to sit through that, props to you, but I certainly don't.

Time is a valuable resource, and every half-hour I spend watching Shana go red in the face and squabble with Kazumi is a half-hour I can't spend watching Giant Mecha beat other Giant Mecha up.

Fixed.

Okay, and on a serious note - I have yet to meet a person who disliked Haruhi. Anti-conformists who hate everything popular don't count.
(Conformists love the popular and hate unpopular, anti-conformists the other way around. True non-conformists care about quality, not popularity.)

I have. My best friend, in fact. He's not one to care about popularity (his tastes run the gamut from Culture-Award winning shows to obscure doujin works), but he simply didn't see what the big fuss over Haruhi was. Frankly, both his brother and I think he's insane, but what's the point of arguing?

Nerd-o-rama

2008-02-17, 02:37 PM

I've only seen the first disc of Haruhi ... but the first ten minutes of the first episode (where they're making that movie) was enough for me to love it. Also, Crispin Freeman, one of the best VA's around, is in it, so...Crispin's good, but the rest of the dub cast is seriously meh, especially Wendee Lee. It's a series where I definitely prefer the subs. I mean, they dubbed over God Knows, for Haruhi's sake.

Drascin

2008-02-17, 02:46 PM

Crispin's good, but the rest of the dub cast is seriously meh, especially Wendee Lee. It's a series where I definitely prefer the subs. I mean, they dubbed over God Knows, for Haruhi's sake.

...they did? Man, sometimes I'm glad Haruhi has not been licensed to my country (the rest of the time is mostly because I can't help but feeling I'd probably not have to mount an expedition akin to the search of a Holy Grail to get a teeny tiny bit of merchandising if it was licensed)... I might suffer an aneurysm if subject to God Knows sung by one of the current popular singers around here.

Gah! Hearing an imagined version right now! Stupid overactive imagination! Please, someone knock me unconscious! :smallyuk:.

LurkerInPlayground

2008-02-17, 02:46 PM

I think people who hated Haruhi belong to the anti movement I described a few posts before. That is, for them if something is popular then it MUST suck. Only unpopular stuff is good.
Alternatively, people who think that something deep and philosophical MUST be dark, gritty or angsty, and if something is funny then it MUST be shallow and stupid, could dislike Haruhi as well.

Needless to say, I don't have much respect for both of these groups.
Ergo Proxy
Seriously. I don't know that it was all bad, but this is one of those shows that people consider deep that I disliked. I wouldn't mind if I thought they were being obtuse for a reason, but it just came off as being pretentious instead.

I think all the Christian motifs they injected towards the end of the story helped to turn me off of the show.

Rogue 7

2008-02-17, 02:49 PM

Christian motifs? What are you talking about?

Rutee

2008-02-17, 03:09 PM

Ergo Proxy
Seriously. I don't know that it was all bad, but this is one of those shows that people consider deep that I disliked. I wouldn't mind if I thought they were being obtuse for a reason, but it just came off as being pretentious instead.

I think all the Christian motifs they injected towards the end of the story helped to turn me off of the show.

...It was supposed to be deep, in a way besides seeing Haruhi and Kyon evolve somewhat? What gave you that idea?

Cubey

2008-02-17, 03:34 PM

@last 2 posters: Lurker was talking... er, writing about Ergo Proxy, not Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Although I like Ergo Proxy (great opening, great visuals and atmosphere, interesting scenario - I didn't finish watching the series yet, however), and Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya IS a deep anime in my book, whatever Rutee has to say.

Poison_Fish

2008-02-17, 03:48 PM

Aha! I knew I forgot a suggestion! Baccano!

An excellent light novel series and a fun, if not confusing at first, show.

Rogue 7

2008-02-17, 03:57 PM

Ah, color me stupid. I thought that Ergo Proxy was some weird latin thingy explaining why he didn't like Haruhi.

LurkerInPlayground

2008-02-17, 04:07 PM

I'm a rather big fan of Haruhi. To the point that I really can't be objective about it anymore. It does more with 14 episodes than most series manage in 26, if not 200+.

Noir suffers from some rather significant pacing problems. You can pretty much see the same in Hack/Sign. Wonderfully atmospheric and great soundtrack but the story moves at a snail's pace. Too many long quiet moments where people just sit around soaking atmosphere. No that's not deep. That's not even characterization. Tell the story already!

For an action anime, the action is far from believable or even interesting. Anybody with with even the slimmest iota of tactical-thinking or knowledge of how their body articulates, knows that the action onscreen is rather shallow.

Cubey

2008-02-17, 04:42 PM

Well, suit yourself. I am the rare kind of person who, when characters soak the atmosphere in, soaks it along with them. I can't stand slow pacing, but only when the situation is supposed to be dramatic and fast. Prime example: 95% of fights from any Shonen anime. Pick your title. Just not Avatar, its combat choreography rocks (if you consider Avatar an anime).

mikeloop86

2008-02-17, 07:19 PM

For Humor:

Full Metal Panic: Fumofu
Goldenboy
Tenchi Muyo (note: stay away from the Tenchi in Tokyo series, it's garbage)
Yugioh, the Abridged Series (found here: http://www.yugiohtheabridgedseries.com/

Adventure (SciFi/Fantasy):

Tenchi Universe
Full Metal Alchemist
Tenchi the Movie/aka Tenchi Muyo in Love

Horror/Gore:

The 8th Man After

Thats all I got, can't really offer much else, since most everything has already been mentioned, or isn't really worth the time taken to watch it.

Keris

2008-02-17, 07:56 PM

Yugioh, the Abridged Series (found here: http://www.yugiohtheabridgedseries.com/

Have you not seen my sig? :smalltongue:

Regarding my anime preferences, I tend to enjoy the "questions reality" stuff. If I want to watch again to understand it, it's worth keeping!
(While not anime, I only got a decent understanding of Donnie Darko after a third watching. Very wierd.)

Anything with mecha, or a decent plot is also good.:smalltongue:

Nerd-o-rama

2008-02-17, 08:10 PM

Have you not seen my sig? :smalltongue:

Regarding my anime preferences, I tend to enjoy the "questions reality" stuff. If I want to watch again to understand it, it's worth keeping!
(While not anime, I only got a decent understanding of Donnie Darko after a third watching. Very wierd.)

Anything with mecha, or a decent plot is also good.:smalltongue:
Then I guess you should probably go ahead and watch Evangelion. Although its reality-questioning varies between intelligent and self-indulgent depending on the viewer, it hits all of the high points you just listed. You'll probably love the last two episodes.

Haruhi Suzumiya has a pretty deep post-modern premise when you think about it, but mostly plays it for comedy (to the dismay of pretentious people everywhere). It's still a damn good show.

I leave the other philosophical shows for other people to recommend, since I personally gravitate to straightforward action and/or comedy.

FdL

2008-02-17, 08:18 PM

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann!! ^^

Awesomely fun show, and has a lot of jaw dropping action and gets really epic.

My next show after this...Hmmm, I have so many to watch.

Eldan

2008-02-18, 05:43 AM

I'll repeat myself: For all people who want to watch a mix between the philosophical parts of Ghost in the Shell and Evangelion, just with more weirdness and an extra load of references to just about everything (not needed to understand what's going on, they are just small references):
Serial Experiments Lain.
It is about questioning reality... I guess. Perhaps I should rephrase: "It seems to be about questioning the existence of reality." Or something. It's complicated. And computery.

Fri

2008-02-18, 10:55 AM

Noir suffers from some rather significant pacing problems. You can pretty much see the same in Hack/Sign. Wonderfully atmospheric and great soundtrack but the story moves at a snail's pace. Too many long quiet moments where people just sit around soaking atmosphere. No that's not deep. That's not even characterization. Tell the story already!

And both of their soundtrack are composed by Kaijura Yuki. Noticed a pattern here? :smalltongue:

Dunno, Maybe, just maybe, if Dragonball Z have soundtrack composed by Kaijura Yuki it would be watchable. Imagine watching goku trounced someone ass with canta per me as the bgm.

Anyway, back to topic. It's a lot easier after you wrote your preference. There should be a lot of good anime by that 'questioning reality' theme. But sadly, it's not my favourite genre. Mecha is another way though.

So. My favourites that had been recommended:
-Studio Ghibli's movies. You can't go wrong with ghibli. My personal favourites are Porco Rosso (pig with airplane in world war 1 era?) and Kiki's Delivery Service (dunno why, just personal favourite)

-Cowboy Beebop. Whatever your preferenced genre are, you must watch this series.

-Samurai Champloo. Cowboy beebop in feudal japan. Not as good as its spiritual predecessor, but still quite good.

-Last Exile. I always love steampunk. Though it have some unexplained things at the end (which I bet they explained it on some kind of 'universe bible' or things like that) still quite good.

-Code Geass. As they said. Death Note (or if you didn't watch/read death note, Machievelli's The Prince) with GIANT MECHA. Can't explain it better.

-Gurenn Lagann. Awesomeness Incarnated. Exalted the Series. It define what super robot is. They beat their enemies with their sheer hot bloodedness and baddassery some people said.

My favourites which people had not recommended (And you might like):

-Escaflowne. Perfect Mix of Shonen (giant robot, sword battle, kickass battle scene) and Shoujo (magical girl transported into another dimension, convoluted love dodecahedron). Great story. Plus it had soundtrack by Yoko Kanno, the only being in the universe that might wrestle the title of 'best anime soundtrack composer' from Kaijura Yuki. An anime that you can watch with your girlfriend. Had an OVA, that is a retell of the anime, with slight adaptation (somewhat more angsty. Less giant robot. But still good).

For animes in your preferences (mind you, I haven't watched most of them. Just watched bits of it, heard from friend, and read its review on sites/magazines.)

-Serial Experimental Lain? Exactly as you wanted. Questioning reality and stuff. My friend loved it, but I haven't watched it.

-Digimon Tamers. Serial Experimental Lain with DIGIMON! No really, they even have the same director. On second thought, it's probably not in your preference area at all.

-Paranoia Agent. From those people who made SE Lain? I forgot. Somewhat same theme, questioning reality and stuff. But SE Lain is about Internet, Paranoia Agent is about... Popular culture, society's perception, and stuff like that. Haven't watched it.

-Evangelion. You probably had heard about this. So I leave this at your discretion.

-Rahxephon. Just as evangelion, but with less angst (is it?) I haven't watched the series, but I read the manga (somewhat the series' compilation).

-Ghost in the shell? The Original stand alone movie is somewhat overrated in my opinion. But the series is quite good.

-Haruhi. Yes, it's post-mo, questioning reality, kind of anime. But they wrapped it as a comedy.

-Hack//Sign have somewhat 'questioning reality' things on it. It's about people trapped inside an online game for god's sake. But I haven't watched it.

Well... I'll post more recommendation later, maybe. Meanwhile, any comment about those anime above?

Closet_Skeleton

2008-02-18, 04:29 PM

-Paranoia Agent. From those people who made SE Lain? I forgot. Somewhat same theme, questioning reality and stuff. But SE Lain is about Internet, Paranoia Agent is about... Popular culture, society's perception, and stuff like that. Haven't watched it.

Pretty sure Paranoia Agent was made by the same peopel as Serial Experiments Lain. The director for Paranoia Agent was Satoshi Kon, who's done a few movies.

GrassyGnoll

2008-02-18, 11:42 PM

Horror/Gore:

The 8th Man After

Whenever I look that up all I get is 8man, some old cyborg superhero. Any direct links?

Xefas

2008-02-19, 12:08 AM

I hear that in some parts of the world you aren't considered sentient enough to be fully human until you see Cowboy Bebop.

I don't know where those places are, exactly (save for my living room), but just in case you ever accidentally find yourself in such an area...

Yami

2008-02-19, 01:50 AM

Well, seeing as how you asked for anime reccomendations on a D&D board, I feel comppelled to suggest the Record of Lodoss War OAV's.

Now onto something that's not completely different from what you seem to be looking for. I cannot beleive no one has suggested Key: the Metal Idol yet.

....

So I suggest that one.

Drascin

2008-02-19, 02:06 AM

Well, seeing as how you asked for anime reccomendations on a D&D board, I feel comppelled to suggest the Record of Lodoss War OAV's.

Why do people keep associating D&D with Lodoss first and foremost? Seriously, the best representation of the average D&D campaign in anime is not Lodoss, it's Slayers :smalltongue:.

Rutee

2008-02-19, 02:55 AM

Yami

2008-02-19, 03:10 AM

Why do people keep associating D&D with Lodoss first and foremost? Seriously, the best representation of the average D&D campaign in anime is not Lodoss, it's Slayers :smalltongue:.

Perhaps this is because Lodoss is based on an actual game the producer was in, whereas Slayers, while amusing is as Rutee put it, out side the relms of D&D.

Honestly now, watch the two, you'll see the difference. One has all the base classes save halfling, the other has the awesomest spell ever, Flare Carrot.

Drascin

2008-02-19, 03:51 AM

Perhaps this is because Lodoss is based on an actual game the producer was in, whereas Slayers, while amusing is as Rutee put it, out side the relms of D&D.

Oh, I know Lodoss is pretty much a recounting of a campaign - hell, I've seen it, and the most entertaining part of it was trying to use my scarce knowledge of older editions to identify who had what. But I can't help but feel it's a heavily romantiziced recount - without all the utter silliness, OOC moments, and complete and utter disregard for NPC life that a normal game of D&D tends to entail. Slayer's off the wall characters (the good-hearted warrior who dumped Int, the blasty and psychopathic sorcerer, the totally overpowered BBEG that for some reason manages to lose to the heroes, etc, etc) reflect on that much more, and so, make it much more alike to any of my D&D experiences - in a random sampling, I'd say there is a higher chance that a D&D character acts like Lina Inverse or Jester the Adventurer than he does Parn or Deedlit :smalltongue:.

No, that's Slayers d20 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Slayers_d20). DnD isn't capable of the awesome action in Slayers.

...mmm, you might have a point there. Especially with the spells. Vancian just has problems getting things like Dragonslayer on its boundaries. Still, I stand by my position that Slayers is nearer to the average D&D game than Lodoss just due the psychological level of both :smalltongue:

BTW, Rutee, if you have tried it, is that Slayers D20 book any good? I might try to get it if it is, I quite liked Slayers.

Nerd-o-rama

2008-02-19, 09:34 AM

I've mentioned this before, but:

Lodoss War is the Japanese equivalent of Dragonlance. Based on someone's D&D campaign, but heavily edited into a coherent story rather than trying to keep the feel of RPGs.

Slayers is the Japanese equivalent of OotS or RPGWorld. A story that was made up entirely by the author, but intentionally in the style and with all the tropes associated with tabletop roleplaying. Lina Inverse is pretty much the archetypal D&D hero: greedy, self-absorbed, sociopathic, but who nonetheless is somehow on the side of Good killing Evil. Gourry is Fighter (or rather, the other way around). Full stop. Zelgadis is the angsty tragic backstory who just happens to be angsting over his nonsensical cheesed-out character build (he's an example of a Human Half-Golem Half-Fiend in practice). They fight bandits and trolls and get picked on by the BBEG for no reason other than to involve them in the plot.

I'd list more, but I only managed to watch about half a season before TV-Links got Cease & Desisted.

Tengu

2008-02-19, 06:03 PM

I think it would have been hilarious if either FLCL or Ghost in the Shell: Innocence (the second movie, more precisely) was the anime that is most similar to the way people play DND and other RPGs. Although the second case is probably true for those who play WoD, without doing it in an emo way.

Poison_Fish

2008-02-19, 06:27 PM

I'd say GiTS hits cyberpunk 2020 quite well.

Tengu

2008-02-19, 06:59 PM

The first movie and the series do, but I'm meaning the second one here. Which lands squarely in the "mind screw" category.

Poison_Fish

2008-02-19, 08:15 PM

Ok, fair enough. Change it to... uhh.. Cyber-Cthullhu.

Rutee

2008-02-19, 10:32 PM

...mmm, you might have a point there. Especially with the spells. Vancian just has problems getting things like Dragonslayer on its boundaries. Still, I stand by my position that Slayers is nearer to the average D&D game than Lodoss just due the psychological level of both :smalltongue:

BTW, Rutee, if you have tried it, is that Slayers D20 book any good? I might try to get it if it is, I quite liked Slayers.

...Yes. Yes it is. Only played it myself once, but I watched a campaign with it. Most good. Personally, I got to Gunslinger, found their capstone (Portable Armory; You no longer worry about ammunition, and you can conceivably pull any weapon out of your cloak) and said "<3". It's pretty awesome.

I think it would have been hilarious if either FLCL

That's what our games are like, sometimes. But we also have weird things like a Gnomish God of Heavy Artillery