Anime recommendations

[Hoax]

Just because I see your point doesn't mean that I don't think your completely insane no?

[Furiously]

Have I mentioned Gankutsuou?

[RhyssaFireheart]

So staying up late the other night while the husband went to bed early garnered me control to the TV.  Surfing found me on Cartoon Network and Adult Swim (I think).  I ended up staying up late to watch Full Metal Alchemist and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.  Enjoyed both very much, and I wanted to see Neon Genesis Evangelion but there was something else on first and I didn't feel like staying up the extra half hour just to see one more show.  I'm not a person for TV anyways and rarely have time to watch DVDs for myself (husband doesn't like the same things I do, but gets pissy if I don't like, or at least watch, some of the things he does like.  Men!).

Anyways, the point I was aiming for was that the necro-res of this thread was timely, because I read through it all after my late night anime sojourn.  On the advice of several posters, I picked up Howl's Moving Castle at the local Target (hey, I was there picking up puppy chow) and got to watch it tonight.  Thoroughly enjoyed the movie.  So this is to say thanks for the recommendation and I think I'll be keeping my eye out for more in the future.

[Hoax]

Quick little bump have something worth mentioning.

Schild was spot-on about Saikano, while they tried to do a good job and avoided things that could have made it REALLY stupid, I got very bored with the show and didn't even finish.  In fact I've been having a hard time recently finding anything worth watching.  Stellvia was boring with a thin plot that didn't work well, Kenran Butou Sai was really stupid and Gun X Sword was so bad I'm actually going to watch the whole thing out of some kind of facination with crap.

I have watched the first few episodes of Planetes and it has some potential (the show is about space garbage collectors) but it is way too early to call.

There seems to be some decent stuff that is still on TV in Japan right now, I try not to watch anything before I can see the whole series but if you enjoy giant robots at all I suggest giving Eureka 7 a shot.  I'm not sure how it ends (mecha have a terrible precedent of ending poorly even by anime standards) but I've seen the fist 26 eps and enjoyed it.  Not art by any means, but fun on the giant robots are cool level.

[angry.bob]

Quick little bump have something worth mentioning.

Schild was spot-on about Saikano, while they tried to do a good job and avoided things that could have made it REALLY stupid, I got very bored with the show and didn't even finish.  In fact I've been having a hard time recently finding anything worth watching.  Stellvia was boring with a thin plot that didn't work well, Kenran Butou Sai was really stupid and Gun X Sword was so bad I'm actually going to watch the whole thing out of some kind of facination with crap.

I have watched the first few episodes of Planetes and it has some potential (the show is about space garbage collectors) but it is way too early to call.

There seems to be some decent stuff that is still on TV in Japan right now, I try not to watch anything before I can see the whole series but if you enjoy giant robots at all I suggest giving Eureka 7 a shot.  I'm not sure how it ends (mecha have a terrible precedent of ending poorly even by anime standards) but I've seen the fist 26 eps and enjoyed it.  Not art by any means, but fun on the giant robots are cool level.

Planetes was good I thought, in a kind of Wings of Honneamise sort of way. I just finished watching the first five episodes of Ergo Proxy and I liked that, though it looks like it has the potential to turn really stupid really fast. The next round of shows scheduled to start in Japan all appear to be total shit. Which is about right... 99% of all anime ever created is barely watchable garbage. But the good stuff tends to be really good so it sort of makes up for it.

[Hoax]

Big recommendation from me to any of you who prefer dubs to subs.

Check out Eureka seveN on [AS] tonight, no idea what time it will be playing but all signs point to its first showing being this Friday.

It has mecha, but they are mecha that surf (it is MUCH cooler then it sounds) in fact this might be some of the most enjoyable mecha combat sequences since Macross and its lovely robot-planes.

What it has that you might not be expecting is a very well developed story, with a very limited amount of angsty emo shit (although there are healthy doses of adult character drama).  Oh and of course our lead is involved in a cute romance with a mysterious girl who he just met, but come on who didn't see that comming?

Anyways, I have seen the first 26 ep's fansub'd I haven't mentioned it because there are 50eps in all and I wanted to finish it first.  But with the subs already appearing I would be remiss to not say something.  I have REALLY enjoyed this show, its a great story that manages to avoid some anime-cliches despite being in the most cliche prone genre of them all.  Some character wardrobe design features are really stupid, I'm sorry about that but that is my only real complaint.  Also there are a few sequences where you can see that somebody was trying to emulate aspects of American culture and just didn't quite get it.  But watching the highs and lows of the cast's journey far outweigh these minor flaws.

Again, this is not art, but it is close (good production values, solid music imo, solid storytelling) and it is more enjoyable then most art ever is.

[Lantyssa]

If you have ever been part of an Anime club, I recommend Genshiken.  I was giggling non-stop through the first disk yesterday.

[schild]

Genshiken is very good.

[JoeTF]

If you have ever been part of an Anime club, I recommend Genshiken.  I was giggling non-stop through the first disk yesterday.

Nah, even heving few firnds who dig anime will make you giggle all the way through this series.

Kiddy Grade: Weird beast. It's a mix of three totally different animes. Personally I love the middle part, but loathe everything else.

Dub vs. sub vs. voice-over? Dubs can be better than orginal movie/anime, but in last 15 years of Hollywood cinematography, it only happend three times. so, why can't anime companies just stick to voice-over? It's cheaper and leavesthe orginal feel of series.

[Hoax]

This thread misses me...

Here's a rundown of stuff that came out recently:

Good Shows:

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - You should watch this just so you know what everyone else is talking about, peer pressure 4tw!
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - This one has a lot of potential I am waiting for the fansubs to finish with it but the whole idea is bizarre in a way that could be quite interesting, will update once I've seen the whole thing.
Ergo Proxy - Like Bladerunner + the Animatrix - the taint of being associated with the Matrix I really dig the atmosphere of the whole show and the female lead may be the hottest animated goth of all time  :-D



Average Stuff:

Ouran Host Club - Its like a harem show + a school drama + the main character is a girl dressing like a boy, funny at times.  I've only seen the first 5 or so eps I'm not sure how long it can last before it gets repetitive.
xxxHOLiC - Odd premise, very ugly character design but sort of interesting story-wise and funny at times.
The Third: Aoi Hitomi no Shoujo - This may get very stupid, I'm not sure, will update later but the first few eps were solid
Juuousei - Short show, I haven't seen any has been getting pretty good feedback from people I trust, will update with my thoughts once the series is finished and I've watched it all the way through.
Eureka seveN - Goes in avg. only due to the stigma attached to mecha as a genre I think its fucking great, not art but quite entertaining.


If you are watching this you either
a)need more money for b33r
b)ran out of porn
c)need to get out more
d)really wish there was a good MMO out

-School Rumble
-Utawarerumono
-Black Lagoon
-Fate/Stay Night

These shows are the Japanese equivalent to a TV show about how much John Leguizamo loves to have Chris Kattan shit in his mouth narrated by the movie phone guy with a cameo from SirBruce:

-Kiba
-Soul Link

There are tons of other things but I know what I like and what I dont, these are the shows I bothered to check out.  Also here is a quick disclaimer, I haven't finished most of these (many aren't all the way out yet) so you can't cry to me if it turns crappy after the first story-arc.

[Strazos]

I just got around to watching the whole Evangelion series, including the movies.

Yeah, I'm a bit late to the party.

Anyway...End of Evangelion - so fucking sad, sad, sad....but I cannot dispute that it is a fitting ending.

Anyway, yeah - Haruhi is awesome, as is Higu. I really want Higu's new episode NO; huge fucking cliffhanger from last week's.

[Strazos]

Figures - I just read that Haruhi is only going 14 episodes, because the people producing it are taking people off of it to do a remake of something called Kanon.

Totally - WTF? I thought the series was just beginning to pick up steam...

[Stormwaltz]

Ergo Proxy - Like Bladerunner + the Animatrix - the taint of being associated with the Matrix I really dig the atmosphere of the whole show and the female lead may be the hottest animated goth of all time  :-D

Ergo Proxy lead vs. Evanescence singer - can YOU tell the difference?

EDIT: Posted itself before I was done...

The first Kanon was pretty good for what it was (an anime based on a game where you can woo and bed doe-eyed underage girls). I can't see the sequel achieving the "otaku darling" status Haruhi earned. It's possible that Haruhi was only budgeted for a half-season, though. That's become more prevalent in the last five years.

Personally, I'm intrigued by Strawberry Panic, for entirely callow reasons.

[Strazos]

I cannot possibly understand how, what with all the support the show is getting, Haruhi can be done in only 14 episodes - that means it will be done in a scant 2 weeks. There is no way this will be a fitting end for the series, when it's clear there is a TON of material that will simply be ignored. If you think about it, not a Whole lot has occurred in the series thus far.

It seems like someone is half-assing the thing. It's not like someone can't say, "Oh look, this series is really popular...perhaps we should actually give it a full season, and go from there..."

[Yoru]

Figures - I just read that Haruhi is only going 14 episodes, because the people producing it are taking people off of it to do a remake of something called Kanon.

Totally - WTF? I thought the series was just beginning to pick up steam...

Er, really? Where'd you read that? That would seem very odd to me, since I originally heard it was specced for 26 episodes.

While not exactly contradicted, it's strongly implied when you look at the mapping between Haruhi's episode numbers, given in the end-of-ep previews and the airing-order episode numbers.

 A friend of mine put together this chart comparing the two; it hasn't been updated with the ep13 Haruhi number yet.

Code:

Airing #        Haruhi's #
    1               ??
    2               1
    3               2
    4               7
    5               3
    6               9
    7               8
    8               10
    9               14
    10              4
    11              13
    12              12

Note the missing numbers: 5, 6, 11. Given episode 12, episode 1 is probably episode 11. Would they end the show with #s 5 and 6? That would be strange. You can already see that, if it's only 14 eps, then the series ending was already played.. in episode 9.

[Strazos]

I read that on a few different anime blogs, who I am guessing got the info from the Korean animators.

And from the direction episode 9 took, I can kind of see where the producers might pick it back up next "season," which would suck because I might very well forget to pay attention this time next year. I plan on being very busy with actual work at this point next year....so ending the series at 14 episodes would suck balls.



I'm also stil waiting for the release of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni episode 12 subbed. I'm using the WIND subs, and they are not out yet.....anyone else using subs from a different group that HAS released episode 12? I hate waiting for stuff like this when I'm expecting it, like when I have something cool coming in from UPS/FedEx.

EDIT: Durka, I meant subbed.

[Yoru]

I think the Haruhi rumor is going to fall into the "I'll believe it when I see it" bin.

As for Higu... Um.. dubbed or subbed? I'm not aware of any groups fandubbing Higu yet. Higu releases Tuesday or Wednesday in Japan; Wind usually has a Higu ep out on Friday or Saturday US time, subtitled.

[schild]

Jesus. Fandubs. The mind boggles.

[Hoax]

Personally I think that f13 should do a fandub of some atrocious show, that would be le awesome!

[WayAbvPar]

Goddamn it. I accidentally opened this thread. I may have to kill myself now.

[Strazos]

It's like Pandora's Box...

[Yoru]

Jesus. Fandubs. The mind boggles.

I've seen it done. Mostly as a stunt for a convention, but it does happen occasionally.

The magic of the intarweb.

[schild]

Personally I think that f13 should do a fandub of some atrocious show, that would be le awesome!

This idea has merit. But do we use the original dialogue? Or create our own?

[Strazos]

I would think our own. This would be a completely scandalous endeavor.

[Hoax]

Yeah definately our own, we could use one of the .hack series and it could be all about how ghey MMO's have gotten.

1. Fandub
2.
3. Profit!

[Rhonstet]

OP: Irresponsible Captain Tylor (silly/funny), Paranoia Agent (weird), FLCL (very weird).

The .hack series had at least two series for TV, 'Sign' and 'Legend of Twilight'.  'Sign' takes itself so seriously it practically begs to be parodied.

[Strazos]

I hate on Paranoia Agent. I find it to be completely insufferable.

FLCL, on the other hand, is gold.

[stray]

Yeah definately our own, we could use one of the .hack series and it could be all about how ghey MMO's have gotten.

1. Fandub
2.
3. Profit!

I do a good Nick Nolte impression.

[schild]

I guess I could download a couple of the .hack episodes and piece together a script.

[Strazos]

Dibs on goofy supporting non-mangina role?

[schild]

Odd, I had you penciled in for the supporting goofy loli-mangina role.

WORLDS COLLIDE.

[Strazos]

Couldn't it at least be a killer-loli?

Also:

[Llyse]

I hate on Paranoia Agent. I find it to be completely insufferable.

FLCL, on the other hand, is gold.

FLCL is one of my favourites even with the Peter Townshend impersonations.
Try Read or Die (OVA not the TV series), something I usually recommend to anyone who hasn't seen anime before.
Porco rosso is another solid starter, being a Miyazaki work almost gives it a good review before viewing. Try to obtain the older non Disney redubb/voice over with Michael Keaton as the protagonist, the new Disney remake is god awful if you've seen the early one dubbed version. I guess it wouldn't matter to a newcomer though

[Hoax]

I guess I could download a couple of the .hack episodes and piece together a script.

I will play anything, including a tree that only makes tree noises... 

I live to serve!

[Yoru]

I'll play the guy who only says "...".

Fortunately, this means my VA work is already done.