Recommended Anime/Manga?

[Hagane]

6000 is looking like a pretty good horror / thriller. Too bad there are only two translated volumes so far.

Also Kotonoha is pretty active lately and regularly updating several projects. Most of the stuff they do is very good. Hope they do more Wolfsmund (made by an ex Kentaro Miura assistant). If you like brutal medieval stories then you'll most likely love it.

[drauch]

Currently obsessed with Marmalade Boy. Some of the best melodrama I've seen in quite some time. Sweet surreal backdrops and exaggerated musical cues amidst huge teenage love-triangles. I live for this. Also started Cream Lemon from the start finally. The incestuous subject matter of Ami is pretty standard, but the semi-child-molestation flashbacks made me exchange glances with my cat a few times. Also watched Outlanders tonight in between it all. Pretty fun OVA silly fest with boobies, cool tunes, sci-fi and fantasy. Sadly a bit short compared to what the manga is, but I can always dig the alien love Urusei Yatsura inspired bit.

[StarCreator]

If you're in the US, The Secret World of Arrietty (newest Studio Ghibli film, based on The Borrowers) is currently in theaters. I'm hearing it's a bit of a limited engagement (as in, it might be gone by Friday), so go see it while you have the chance!

[xbl0x180]

Currently obsessed with Marmalade Boy. Some of the best melodrama I've seen in quite some time. Sweet surreal backdrops and exaggerated musical cues amidst huge teenage love-triangles. I live for this. Also started Cream Lemon from the start finally. The incestuous subject matter of Ami is pretty standard, but the semi-child-molestation flashbacks made me exchange glances with my cat a few times. Also watched Outlanders tonight in between it all. Pretty fun OVA silly fest with boobies, cool tunes, sci-fi and fantasy. Sadly a bit short compared to what the manga is, but I can always dig the alien love Urusei Yatsura inspired bit.

You have hit paydirt in every respect. I cannot speak more highly of Marmalade Boy. This is what anime is all about - great character designs, catchy music, captivating melodrama. When I think about it, I can see how people can become emotionally-invested in these cartoons. The other series I'd consider on the same level or better are Candy Candy, Maison Ikkoku, and Kimagure Orange Road

I love those Cream Lemon "Ami" and "Escalation" story arcs; they're well thought-out melodramas with the really shocking and dark aspects of incest. Stuff like this was pretty much unheard of when they premiered back in '84 and '85, not to mention they were animated by people in the industry (Moriyama Yuuji, Hirano Toshihiro, and such). The music score was kinda catchy, employing synths and guitars which sounded a bit like Hi-NRG Italo Disco or French 80s Boogie. They're no Oniisama E..., but way better than most OAV series out there.

[Estebang]

If you're in the US, The Secret World of Arrietty (newest Studio Ghibli film, based on The Borrowers) is currently in theaters. I'm hearing it's a bit of a limited engagement (as in, it might be gone by Friday), so go see it while you have the chance!

Be warned: The dub inserts its own explanatory voiceover around the end.

[NTSC-J]

[Aconcit]

Welcome to the NHK, Serial Experiments Lain, Boogiepop Phantom, Kuchu Buranko, Paranoia Agent, Bokurano, and FLCL are my favorites.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

Please tell me I'm not the only one here following this series...

[moozooh]

Well, that having been posted, I bet you're definitely not the only one anymore.

[Ixmucane2]

How many Poochies in current anime... and instead of going back to their home planet, they are usually part of the show from beginning to end.
At least they tend to be decorative underdressed girls.

[Raytrace]

finished After War Gundam X - proper liked it and I wish they'd do more in that universe tbh...

On the recommendation from this here thread, I've watched 20 minutes of Legend Of The Galactic Heroes - My Conquest Is The Sea Of Stars and definitely think I'm going to enjoy it - loads of the stoic military talk I like :p

[drauch]

*Nevermind. I don't care.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Fansubbing anime is generaly a more noble endeavour than pirating porn.

[drauch]

Eh? I won't disagree.

[xbl0x180]

Fansubbing anime is generaly a more noble endeavour than pirating porn.

Pirating H-anime cancels both out

I grew up with fansubbed anime when it used to be distributed by Arctic Animation. Man, they had a ton of rules to get stuff that it became a big hassle to get a few episodes of Gundam or Cream Lemon (they required photo ID to get those ).

I don't understand the discussion, though. Aren't the fansubs available prior to the commercial release or are these being done concurrently with the official releases in North America?

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Checked out a few episodes of Nisemonogatari. Never a dull moment with the ever-changing background scenery for eye-candy appeal -- it's like something out of a graphic novel with not knowing what's coming up next. The banter between the characters is quite deep & refreshing aside from the more lighter anime series nowdays (kinda like anime + Awaking Life with deep & intellectual characters for a change type of senario). The visual insider nods towards Evangelion, T2 & Akira are all present in the first three episodes indeed.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[drauch]

Aye, yeah. I originally had a big write up from another forum I kinda visit but I deleted it due to the fact I hate arguing. But yeah, most fansubs are available prior to release, but not all. Even after release, fan subs stay around and most don't buy a physical release. My main concern is the decline of future official releases of older material. Even though a lot of fan subs are released, a lot of the time the actual video itself is a poor, grainy, or damaged VHS or film roll; for there is only so much a fan subber can do. I just want a cleaned up copy of Twilight of the Cockroaches, dammit.

[xbl0x180]

I used to have an extensive list of anime I wanted to get by official means on DVD, but it'll be a cold day in hell before anyone is crazy enough to license them. I realise a lot of it is trash and not worth recommending, yet, the collectr0 in me wants to have these to see a few more times

- Angel's Egg (never released in North America)
- Cobra Space Adventure (the original series - never released in North America)
- The Cockpit (available only as a dubbed VHS)
- Cream Lemon (never released in North America, except for a few badly-dubbed episodes)
- Dokyusei (available only as a censored VHS)
- The Enemy Is The Pirate (available only as a dubbed PAL VHS)
- Fantastic Adventure Of Yohko Leda (available only as a VHS)
- God Bless Dancougar (available only as VHS)
- Grey: Digital Target (available only as a VHS)
- Homeroom Affairs (available only as a VHS)
- Idol Defense Force Hummingbird (available only as dubbed PAL VHS)
- La Blue Girl (uncensored and uncut - available only as the first-run VHS)
- Ladius (available only as a dubbed PAL VHS)
- Mermaid's Scar (available only as dubbed VHS)
- Minna Agechau (was slated to be released in the US and then immediately cancelled)
- Orguss (available only as dubbed VHS)
- Robot Carnival (available only as a dubbed VHS)
- Rumic World OAVs (available only as VHS)
- Salamander (available only as a dubbed PAL VHS)
- Samurai Gold (available only as a dubbed PAL VHS)
- The Sensualist (available only as a PAL VHS)
- Shin Angel (available only as VHS)
- Shonan Bakusozoku (available only as VHS)
- Slow Step (available only as a dubbed PAL VHS)
- The Ultimate Teacher (available only as VHS)
- Urotsukidoji (uncensored)
- Wannabes (available only as VHS)
- Windaria (available only as a dubbed VHS)
- Zilion (available only as a dubbed VHS)


This is the short list, the one that I can still remember.

[hzt]

Last night with my friend I watched (the currently aired episodes of) Bodacious Space Pirates. This anime is not "good" and I can not in good conscience "recommend" it but I would like to state some facts about it:

• You have never heard of an anime with a name as rad as this (don't try to prove me wrong, I'm not)
• Even for anime the premise is blatantly retarded
• Half of it is in a girl's school even though its title claims it to be about space pirates (linked to the above point)
• The school has a space yacht club
• The show has at least one space princess
• Look how many things are just regular things except with space put in front of them
• My friend and I are convinced that one character's outfit gets slightly skimpier each time she's seen in it
• There's a girl that looks exactly like a fat anime John Lennon

Also I was able to watch it without getting bored or angry after drinking only half a bottle of whisky (less than most anime for the past few years).

[xbl0x180]

How could I not guess this was a Sentai Films release?

Bringing back the theme of Colorful. One other anime this show reminded me was of the raunchier and, at times, better-animated Kounai Shasei, based on the U-Jin manga of the same name. The series was structured in the same way: short vignettes put together into 15, 30, and 45-minute OAVs. Compiled together, I think there were 3 Kounai Shasei OAVs. The stand outs are the two episodes done by Urushihara Satoshi and Yoshimoto Kinji from the Earth Works studio.

[drauch]

Ughhh, I hear ya Xblox. I actually just watched Leda: The Fantastic Adventures of Yohko a few nights ago. I was doing some research on it and I noticed that RightStuf actually put it on dubbed VHS back in the day. Maybe hope of a DVD release at some point? Highly doubtful, yeah, but I can hope. I'm hoping that at least with the live-action adaptation of Cobra that someone will pick up either the original manga or anime; whenever that comes out, that is.

[Icarus]

Currently watching: Black Rock Shooter, Senki Zesshou Symphogear and Amagami SS Plus.
Recently finished: Amagami SS and Working'!!.

Symphogear is pretty cool, like a weird mix of Macross (space opera style), Nanoha (techno-mahoushoujo) and Madoka Magica (bad shit will happen, yo), while BRS is just like the OVA, except a little freakier. I quite enjoyed Amagami SS for what it is, and SS Plus is basically what happened after each arc, so more of the same. Working!! S1 and S2 are hilarious.

[Raytrace]

watched Space Adventure Cobra (movie) - loved it - absolutely 0% whinge :p

for some bizzare reason I'm forcing myself to continue watching Lagrange (probably cos I literally just like it's colours and backgrounds) - the contrast between the two is massive eheh
all that 'woof' shit is pure annoying...

[drauch]

Check out the Space Adventure Cobra series if you haven't. It's the greatest thing ever.

[Raytrace]

Check out the Space Adventure Cobra series if you haven't. It's the greatest thing ever.

yeah don't worry I have that ready to go once I'm finished Turn A Gundam -

http://myanimelist.net/animelist/r4ytrace

what are the modern 'Cobra - The Animation' ones like?

one thing I REALLY liked in Cobra was all the incredible parallax backgrounds - as a shmup person I'm sure you must have appreciated that :p, I loved all the 'trailly' bits aswell and in general the acid-tinged feel of the whole thing - that Crystal bastard was freaky as fvck!

[xbl0x180]

Yep, Cobra's foreground and backgrounds moved separately and the cinematographer/editors also added "handheld" camera angles during running sequences, which made for a great action effect without relying on fancy computer graphics (because there were none!). The look of it was sort of a James Bond/In Like Flint style ranging from the over-the-top suave slapstick action hero with hot women at every turn down to the psychedelic angles and colours they'd use. Terasawa Buichi has a very recognisable look. God damn, I love that movie and original series

I bought Amagami SS back in December and I still have not watched it... it's still in the box! And I'm already curious about Working!, but the price is about 40 bucks for the first set (actually, all those NIS releases are $35+). I'm also wanting to get Rosario + Vampire, but, again, each season costs $35+

Meh, I just bought 50 bucks' worth of cheap0 animu:

Chrono Crusade Collection
Divergence Eve Collection
Divergence Eve - Misaki Chronicles
Green Green (3 vols.)
MAPS
Pretear Collection

[Raytrace]

Yep, Cobra's foreground and backgrounds moved separately and the cinematographer/editors also added "handheld" camera angles during running sequences, which made for a great action effect without relying on fancy computer graphics (because there were none!). The look of it was sort of a James Bond/In Like Flint style ranging from the over-the-top suave slapstick action hero with hot women at every turn down to the psychedelic angles and colours they'd use. Terasawa Buichi has a very recognisable look. God damn, I love that movie and original series

Yeah it really is a very cool look - to me it felt like watching the centre colour spread of a late 70s/early 80s Eagle or 2000AD comic coming to life .
It was so stylized too, whenever there was a back view of a vehicle moving, it would just be like trippy tunnel or spirally art - brilliant stuff.
- is there any other spacey stuff this Terasawa Buichi guy drew you could recommend? (or is he the original Manga artist (sorry for my ignorance )) ?

The main song from Cobra (and the intro animation to accompany it) - is pure 110% AMAZE...

[PC Engine Fan X!]

How's the storyline and whom's the character designer of both Divergence Eve Collection
Divergence Eve - Misaki Chronicles anime series?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Daigohji]

I used to have an extensive list of anime I wanted to get by official means on DVD, but it'll be a cold day in hell before anyone is crazy enough to license them. I realise a lot of it is trash and not worth recommending, yet, the collectr0 in me wants to have these to see a few more times

- Angel's Egg (never released in North America)
- Cobra Space Adventure (the original series - never released in North America)
- The Cockpit (available only as a dubbed VHS)
- Cream Lemon (never released in North America, except for a few badly-dubbed episodes)
- Dokyusei (available only as a censored VHS)
- The Enemy Is The Pirate (available only as a dubbed PAL VHS)
- Fantastic Adventure Of Yohko Leda (available only as a VHS)
- God Bless Dancougar (available only as VHS)
- Grey: Digital Target (available only as a VHS)
- Homeroom Affairs (available only as a VHS)
- Idol Defense Force Hummingbird (available only as dubbed PAL VHS)
- La Blue Girl (uncensored and uncut - available only as the first-run VHS)
- Ladius (available only as a dubbed PAL VHS)
- Mermaid's Scar (available only as dubbed VHS)
- Minna Agechau (was slated to be released in the US and then immediately cancelled)
- Orguss (available only as dubbed VHS)
- Robot Carnival (available only as a dubbed VHS)
- Rumic World OAVs (available only as VHS)
- Salamander (available only as a dubbed PAL VHS)
- Samurai Gold (available only as a dubbed PAL VHS)
- The Sensualist (available only as a PAL VHS)
- Shin Angel (available only as VHS)
- Shonan Bakusozoku (available only as VHS)
- Slow Step (available only as a dubbed PAL VHS)
- The Ultimate Teacher (available only as VHS)
- Urotsukidoji (uncensored)
- Wannabes (available only as VHS)
- Windaria (available only as a dubbed VHS)
- Zilion (available only as a dubbed VHS)


This is the short list, the one that I can still remember.

The Cockpit had a subbed DVD release in the UK, but it's long out of print and a nightmare to find. I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy it when I had the chance, as my Kiseki Films VHS of it has messed up audio that's swamped with white noise (more than is usual for VHS).

I think Ultimate Teacher might have had a US DVD release under its original title, Final Lesson, but I'm not certain.

The original Orguss TV series had a limited US DVD release from the ridiculously short-lived Imaginasian label. It was one of a handful of shows that they sold via a print-on-demand DVD duplication service. The first volume included a clamshell case for the series, and subsequent volumes were sold in paper slipcovers. Due to issues with the manufacturer, all of Imaginasian's licesned shows went out of print within six months, making it ones of the shortest-lived anime labels in history. I managed to get the first three volumes, but the DVDs hardly ever turn up on eBay.

Windaria had a US DVD release under the title Once Upon a Time, though this may have been an edited version. I haven't seen it, but there are a couple of new copies on Amazon at the moment.

[xbl0x180]

Yeah it really is a very cool look - to me it felt like watching the centre colour spread of a late 70s/early 80s Eagle or 2000AD comic coming to life .
It was so stylized too, whenever there was a back view of a vehicle moving, it would just be like trippy tunnel or spirally art - brilliant stuff.
- is there any other spacey stuff this Terasawa Buichi guy drew you could recommend? (or is he the original Manga artist (sorry for my ignorance )) ?

The main song from Cobra (and the intro animation to accompany it) - is pure 110% AMAZE...

The animation director was Dezaki Osamu and there are some things I can recommend:

- Versailles No Bara/"Rose Of Versailles" (from Ikeda Ryoko's manga)
- Ashita No Joe (the boxing anime)
- Ace Wo Nerae/"Aim For The Ace" (the tennis anime)
- The first Golgo 13 movie
- Oniisama E... (from Ikeda Ryoko's manga)
- His adaptation of Hector Malot's Sans Famille/Remi
- His adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island

There are more, but those are the ones I can recall at the moment. I've written this before, but Dezaki Osamu had a distinct style: He had a knack of using thick, well-defined lines, and at very dramatic moments or conclusions he would freeze/frame it.



Terasawa Buichi is the manga artist for Cobra and he had a few other titles, although nowhere near as famous or as good. There was Takeru, Raven Tengu Kabuto, and Midnight Eye Goku. His stuff seems to be very macho, action-oriented stuff, drawn in a style that is less traditional and more as if it were some Heavy Metal on-going series. Other artists that struck me as having similar themes and styles are Ikegami Ryoichi and Buronson (although the latter is more exaggerated in his forms and lines - "Fist Of The North Star"!).

How's the storyline and whom's the character designer of both Divergence Eve Collection
Divergence Eve - Misaki Chronicles anime series?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I dunno. I just got the box and packages of this junk yesterday, and opened it right now. Divergence Eve looks like the most rediculous usage of fan service series I've seen since Agent Aika and Sekirei. Oddly enough, it gets fairly good reviews all around from reading Amazon reviews; the mania.com product review warn't horrible either. I mainly got them because they were on the cheep at The Right Stuf, Intl. and at Amazon

Here's a review for Misaki Chronicles:

http://www.mania.com/divergence-eve-mis ... 79209.html

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
To say that I was looking forward to seeing Divergence Eve: Misaki Chronicles would be an understatement. The first show was one of the better science fiction shows, anime or not, that I had seen in a long time, and I was chomping at the bit to find out what happened after the show's creators left us hanging at the end of Divergence Eve. Misaki Chronicles gives us these answers, and more, though it does not quite live up to the expectations I had.

The only thing I wouldn't recommend is getting the Seraphim Collection of Divergence Eve, which has both seasons, because it is packaged so cheaply as a spindle case and the DVDs pop out, get severely scratched during shipping... As for the series itself, I have zero expectations; I don't expect much from bargain bin junk. It might work to its advantage if there is anything good because I will come here and rave about it hahahah. I've seen this other set of DVDs for UFO Ultramaiden and it reminds me of that (maybe it's the same animators?).

The Cockpit had a subbed DVD release in the UK, but it's long out of print and a nightmare to find. I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy it when I had the chance, as my Kiseki Films VHS of it has messed up audio that's swamped with white noise (more than is usual for VHS).

I think Ultimate Teacher might have had a US DVD release under its original title, Final Lesson, but I'm not certain.

The original Orguss TV series had a limited US DVD release from the ridiculously short-lived Imaginasian label. It was one of a handful of shows that they sold via a print-on-demand DVD duplication service. The first volume included a clamshell case for the series, and subsequent volumes were sold in paper slipcovers. Due to issues with the manufacturer, all of Imaginasian's licesned shows went out of print within six months, making it ones of the shortest-lived anime labels in history. I managed to get the first three volumes, but the DVDs hardly ever turn up on eBay.

Windaria had a US DVD release under the title Once Upon a Time, though this may have been an edited version. I haven't seen it, but there are a couple of new copies on Amazon at the moment.

I used to think those Imaginasian DVDs were bootlegs! AAAAaaAAarGH! "Once Upon A Time" is the cheep, edited English dub version of Windaria. I'd stab myself on the head if I had to sit through this horrible dub.

I'm gonna have to see if I can track down a few of those videos. I have a purpose in lyfe now