Recommended Anime/Manga?

[Raytrace]

started reading Sagikake! Otokojuku and I fuckin love it so far, possibly even more than Be Bop High School

[Lord Satori]

Watched Shinsekai Yori.

I would definitely recommend it to people who love psychological anime. You're always on the edge of your seat, not knowing for sure how things are going to play out. I'm glad that it went in a direction that I never thought it would.

When all was said and done and the series was over, I'm glad that it ended the way it did, even it it's a little bittersweet.

Spoiler

By the way, the characters actually AGE! Several times! How rare is that?!

[Xyga]

Been re-watching R.O.D (Read Or Die) OVA + TV, after so many years.

Such a blast. How could I forget ?
And for the Nth time: wtf happened to animes of that quality ?

I think one of the most remarkable features of it today is the non-stupid non-full-moe non-oversexualized essentially female cast, each one of them is unique.
While Yomiko's cuteness still represents a kind of 'moe', her role in the series is definitely not that of an empty harem-material doll.
Good story, characters, atmosphere, alternate universe, ideas, yes it's creative (can we say it's 'paperpunk' or 'bibliopunk' ? ^^) still gives a strong 90's feel, especially the OVA.

And definitely: it's not outdated.
Sure a few episodes of the TV are a bit slow/flat and not essential to the main plot, animation isn't always at its best, but it's excused because you don't really want to leave the R.O.D universe so you're fine with the lows too.

[Ji-L87]

I have been watching the original Tenchi Muyo OVAs, with only about 2-3 episodes left, and I have to say I didn't at all expect to enjoy it this much. I mean, I know it's a very well known and quite famous IP but every time I hear the title mentioned, it's by jaded fans and people who were completely in love with the series early in their anime watching days, only to feel somewhat embarrassed about it all now.

I got a sudden, inexplicable craving for it and seeked it out. And I have been absolutely enjoying it. Fun characters, interesting themes (space asians?), cute critters and a surprisingly fun little soundtrack. Nothing special when outside the show but it works very well there.

The artwork is also quite another treat. Save for Tenchi, who despite being the male lead, is the least well drawn of the bunch and his actual face seems not only suffer from a somewhat odd round shape but also looks a bit different every time we see him. Now, I did get a hold of some BD rips which might explain why I've been liking the visuals so much, after all - oldschool anime restored to blu-ray quality is always a treat. Not really surprising, the background artwork benefits the most from this, and may I add that there are some nice background drawings in here. Actually, speaking of backgrounds, Tenchi's whole house is pretty dang cool, I like it.

To sum it up, it started off a little odd (if Ryoko's seen Tenchi grow up and also is madly in love with him, why does she first want to kill him?) but it's a quality production and I've been having unexpectedly fun with it.

[M.Knight]

R.O.D (Read Or Die) OVA + TV

Is the TV show really worth it? I loved the OVA's brisk pacing, the paper-based stuff, and Yomiko Readman's character, but I dropped the TV series after 3 episodes or so. It bored me to death with its out-of-place slice-of-life and school scenes, and the three new characters didn't really catch my attention.
That was a long time ago so my memory might be a bit fuzzy, but overall, I felt none of the things that made the OVA interesting were here. Does it get better later on?

[Xyga]

R.O.D (Read Or Die) OVA + TV

Is the TV show really worth it? I loved the OVA's brisk pacing, the paper-based stuff, and Yomiko Readman's character, but I dropped the TV series after 3 episodes or so. It bored me to death with its out-of-place slice-of-life and school scenes, and the three new characters didn't really catch my attention.
That was a long time ago so my memory might be a bit fuzzy, but overall, I felt none of the things that made the OVA interesting were here. Does it get better later on?

The TV is long and the school stuff is only when it's about Anita really, those are the 'lows' I've mentioned and it seems you've stopped precisely there.
But really you can't tell a much about the actual main central plot of ROD if you have seen only the OVA and a few episodes of the TV show.
It's hard to tell which people will like or not, because for instance the TV is closely related to the manga R.O.D and Read or Dream, but all four works have tone, art, pacing and overall feeling differences.
Some people will like one or the other best, but to what amount one will enjoy the whole thing accross the four works also depends on how much he read/watched about the plot and characters.

IIRC the correct order is;
R.O.D manga
R.O.D OVA
Read Or Dream manga
R.O.D TV

Though I could be wrong about where to place Read or Dream, and maybe some will consider it's optional since it's about the sisters who are part of the main story but with lesser importance compared to Yomiko, Nenene etc.

[BryanM]

Does it get better later on?

No.

[Xyga]

I'm surprised, you don't suck like that usually.

[BryanM]

It's far, far from the worst thing ever, just saying it has no transformative moment where everything changes. Episodes 1 through 3 are very similar to episodes 12 through 300. If someone isn't into it by then, they're not gonna be anytime later. Stays very much on the rails.

[Xyga]

just saying it has no transformative moment where everything changes. Episodes 1 through 3 are very similar to episodes 12 through 300. If someone isn't into it by then, they're not gonna be anytime later. Stays very much on the rails.

Are you sure you really remember it ? Like 99% of the shit produced in recent years doesn't even come close to R.O.D in terms of story, script, character development, and if there aren't twists in R.O.D then what do you call them ?

R.O.D TV is slow paced at times, yes, and it's not earth-shattering, but that doesn't mean it's bad or boring. Fuck that, Cowboy Bebop is even slower-paced and lazier than R.O.D, I don't know how many times I yawned watching that so-called 'masterpiece' where like only 5 episodes or so out of 26 are essential to a plot that would fill half a page, but it's still great mainly for the atmosphere and good technique.

Are we going to make with anime the same we do with video games and make ever-narrower list of absolute 'best' or obscure hip shit and fight over their worth forever arguing everything else is crap ?
Objectivity is to say R.O.D is clearly in another league compared to your modern day generic animu-loli shit, not something like 'meh it's boring just pas it".

[Hagane]

Cowboy Bebop is even slower-paced and lazier than R.O.D

My god.

Catched up with Wolfsmund, a historical manga set during the Swiss wars against the Habsburgs in the 14th century. It starts focusing on a fortress that guards St. Gotthard's pass, which communicates Germany with Italy and was of vital strategical and monetary importance to the Holy Roman Empire. Wolfram directs the place, a sadistic and cunning man who is in charge of catching any rebel that tries to get through that pass.

I've seen many people drop it because it's an extremely cruel manga, in which really no character is safe from extremely gruesome deaths. Particularly up to volume 3,

Spoiler

you are presented by several characters that are members of this rebellion try to cross this pass and die in the most terrible ways due to Wolfram's extreme disregard for human life and attempts to force rebels into submission through terror.

But then it switches gears when the rebellion actually starts, when it starts focusing more on the battles of the Swiss against the Empire. The author displays a lot of knowledge in tactics of the time (the description of sieges in particular), and the battles feel rather realistic yet interesting at the same time. This period is very interesting in that it introduced revolutionary changes to warfare which marked the beginning of the end of the traditional heavily armored knight, and they were the first instance of a peasant army crushing a trained noble army.

In any case, the characters and events are interesting enough and is an entertaining title that feels refreshing in presenting the Middle Ages as cruel and dark as they really were instead of the usual romanticized version of it we usually get. The author worked as an assistant to Kentaro Miura and Kaoru Mori, so one can understand where she got the cruelty and attention to detail from. If you can stand seeing nice characters die constantly (when I say that no one is really safe I mean it) and like history you might find it interesting.

I've also read several volumes of one of mangas with the weirdest premises I've read, Shiori Experience. It stars Shiori, a 27 year old woman that used to be a musician but now leads a dull life devoid of any excitement as a teacher, in a family swamped in debt due to an event related to the protagonist's brother, a rock musician. But all changes when Shiori meets THE GHOST OF JIMI HENDRIX, who aids (or curses?) her in her way to greatness.

If you are a rock fan you might be annoyed at times at the over explanations of things that are reaaally common knowledge, and at times the events feel a bit silly, but it's worth reading at least for its imaginative premise.

Spoiler

more ghosts/stands appear later from the 27 club, such as Kurt Kobain, so things keep getting even more bizarre.

[Xyga]

Cowboy Bebop is even slower-paced and lazier than R.O.D

My god.

Don't quote me out of context, I'm talking about the story.
CB is paper-thin in comparison, it's really dishonest of people to focus on R.O.D's weakest episodes which must be about 3 to 5 at worst on the whole run, practically everything else is the plot going on, when the fucking 3/4 of Bebop is them failing missions, starving, making cool poses and remiscing about the past on a melancholic blues tune. It's Watanabe's thing, Champloo is like that too, I love it but there's barely any story to tell about as well.

[BPzeBanshee]

Deadman Wonderland.

Fuck that show. I'm only watching it till the end because I need to see it wrapped up before it goes in the darkest corners of my external hard drive never to be seen again.

[M.Knight]

Thanks for the answers everyone. I had no idea there were two R.O.D. manga series, let alone one.
I may give it another chance in the future, but it is far from the top of my "to-watch" list.

CB is paper-thin in comparison

Nice one.
(For the record, I have never seen Cowboy Bebop nor have any opinion on it)

[Raytrace]

finished Getter Robo TV, good I think though definitely not my favourite Super Robot show - that is still Zambot 3 and maybe Combattler V. Gunbuster would be there also but I don't think of it as 'pure' Super Robot.

[soprano1]

Anyone enjoyed the first season of MS Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans? Next season needs more Gundams.

[Lord Satori]

Deadman Wonderland.

Fuck that show. I'm only watching it till the end because I need to see it wrapped up before it goes in the darkest corners of my external hard drive never to be seen again.

You and I are two very different people.

[Lord Satori]

(not gonna edit because that post is like a week old)

Watched Charlotte. I guess I liked the way it turned out, despite not really being okay with the overall message.

Spoiler

That message basically being "Fuck you, with your special abilities and hidden talents. You're diseased and better off being normal like the rest of us." In the final episode, the MC goes to purge the world of those abilities via his ability to steal abilities of others. He even takes away the abilities of a miracle healer living in a 3rd world country. People are going to DIE because of what you just did, dude!

Also, the explanation for why they had abilities in the first place didn't really make any sense.

[Ji-L87]

Just a little heads up: the Riding Bean kickstarter just entered it's final 30 hours.
It's already funded (and just stretching now) but perhaps there are some that want to get on this bandwagon and forgot about it

[BryanM]

People are going to DIE because of what you just did, dude!

An original story from Jun Maeda, creator of Angel Beats

Seems pretty consistent with his "we'd all be happier if only we were all dead" theme.

[EmperorIng]

Riding Bean and its companion, Gunsmith Cats are near and dear to my heart, if only for their lovingly-accurate portrayal of my hometown. With actual landmarks instead of "generic American city that's vaguely a New York/LA mix" that we usually get. Action and cute girls are a plus, of course.

Seems pretty consistent with his "we'd all be happier if only we were all dead" theme.

These folks are the worst. They've played too many games in their time and now think like a second-rate RPG villain.

Catched up with Wolfsmund, a historical manga set during the Swiss wars against the Habsburgs in the 14th century.

I've seen many people drop it because it's an extremely cruel manga, in which really no character is safe from extremely gruesome deaths.

In any case, the characters and events are interesting enough and is an entertaining title that feels refreshing in presenting the Middle Ages as cruel and dark as they really were instead of the usual romanticized version of it we usually get. The author worked as an assistant to Kentaro Miura and Kaoru Mori, so one can understand where she got the cruelty and attention to detail from. If you can stand seeing nice characters die constantly (when I say that no one is really safe I mean it) and like history you might find it interesting.

Well, it's not often that I see one of my Japanese animes deal with subjects I studied in graduate school, but hey, what a time to be alive. It reminds me a bit of The Vinland Saga, a manga loosely based off of... the Vinland Saga of Scandinavian/Viking fame. Though, the actual Vinland Saga is somewhat short and not very "action-packed"... though it does have a great scene of Native American Eskimos attacking the Viking camp when a pregnant Viking woman (the wife of Erik the Red I believe) grabs a sword and shield and makes such a scene, screaming and frothing that the Indians are terrified into retreating.

I will say (un-controversially) that I am not a huge fan of sadism literature, so the prospect of gleefully depicting people being butchered is not my thing. Though of course, casual violence is all over medieval literature (Viking literature especially), though poking out someone's eyes in a drunken brawl (see: Egil's Saga, entirety of) is of a different magnitude than panels devoted to an almost fetishistic depiction of torture devices. While life back then could certainly be cruel, I think we sometimes over-emphasize the cruelty (as people of all times do). Though no bones about it: there certainly was a spectacle of dismemberment that doesn't exist today. I go back and forth on Middle Ages and whether or not modern society is just as cruel (no gulags back then for one).

I guess I'll take a look, since it's so rare to get a medieval historical-fiction manga that isn't just Lodoss-esque fantasy.

I've also read several volumes of one of mangas with the weirdest premises I've read, Shiori Experience. It stars Shiori, a 27 year old woman that used to be a musician but now leads a dull life devoid of any excitement as a teacher, in a family swamped in debt due to an event related to the protagonist's brother, a rock musician. But all changes when Shiori meets THE GHOST OF JIMI HENDRIX, who aids (or curses?) her in her way to greatness.

I've read a little bit, and the premise is at least interesting, if not weird! I'm not hugely knowledgeable about rock but can enjoy a music-themed yarn, as long as it isn't treated as window dressing to banal crap (K-ON). Thanks for bringing it up, though the prospect of ghosts of Cobain, Hendrix, and more (the possibilities... James Brown? Janis Joplin? John Lennon? Buddy Holly?!?).

[Hagane]

I will say (un-controversially) that I am not a huge fan of sadism literature, so the prospect of gleefully depicting people being butchered is not my thing. Though of course, casual violence is all over medieval literature (Viking literature especially), though poking out someone's eyes in a drunken brawl (see: Egil's Saga, entirety of) is of a different magnitude than panels devoted to an almost fetishistic depiction of torture devices.

It's not that kind of sadism (the instances of actual torture are sparse),

Spoiler

more than the main antagonist enjoys toying with the trespassers, who for the first volumes seem to have an upper hand but end up dying horribly in graphic ways because Wolfram was one step ahead most of the time

. Even later on when the story switches to battles,

Spoiler

many characters that are given a good deal of backstory end up dying pretty badly.

So it's more the kind of violence you speak of, people with broken skulls or eaten by dogs or being hanged in public display serving as an example to terrorize would-be rebels.

Vinland Saga is great too, yes. It changed a lot with time, from being focused on the shounen superskilled young hero to history and political machinations to farming and now sailing. And all of those parts are enjoyable to me. If you enjoy history you might also like Historie by Hitoshi Iwaaki of Parasyte fame. Focuses on the life of Eumenes, Alexander's secretary. Of course, as his personality was mostly shrouded in mistery, it takes quite a few liberties. Alexandros by good old Yasuhiko Yoshikazu is more grounded in actual facts and is a good read, plus it has great art as one might expect from that artist.

Otoyomegatari is a must read too, even though it focuses more on customs (mostly related to marriages) of Central Asia circa 1850 rather than big historical events (even though the story seems to happen close to the Crimean War and that might be relevant later on). One of the most unique mangas out there.

I've also heard good things about Ad Astra, which focuses on the life of Hannibal Barca and his battles against Rome, but I haven't read after the first chapter.

EDIT: Oh, and I forgot about Gunka no Baltzer, which takes place on an alternate 19th century not-Europe and the battles of not-Prussia against not-Austro-hungarian Empire and other not-German nations. As you can guess the nations are fictitious but the events have a lot in common with the actual events of that timeframe. Lots of research on weaponry, tactics and machinery, with emphasis on political intrigue. Some characters are a bit shoddy and too animeish, but it's not too offensive.

[EmperorIng]

Several of those look very cool (there's not enough Greco-Roman-themed media in general I say). Otoyomegatari looks really interesting based off its unique premise alone. Thanks for the rec's!

[Xyga]

So...a few decently moeshit-free, teenager-free, maybe worth watching upcoming animes;

Kōtetsujō no Kabaneri looks promising, or too much, hard to tell;
- alternate Meiji~ish Japan
- steampunk-heavy
- zombie war
Here's the irritating trailer http://youtu.be/cbxfXbs9Mpo

Bungou Stray Dogs
- detectives
- supernatural abilities/cases
http://youtu.be/cbxfXbs9Mpo

Joker Game
- pre-WWII Japan
- kind of MI-6 / spy agency story
http://youtu.be/tO9ZbrpFoK4

Also there's the new JOJO of course.

Lastly, I'm not a fan of the show but kind of liked the ridiculous trailer of the new Terra Formars http://youtu.be/nQxO_hs7VBk
"Collegues! I have to pick one of you to accompany me to that 3-days conference run (where there will be free food, booze, and hostesses)!"

[KAI]

Joker Game all the way.
Watched Kuma Miko, Mayoiga, Luluco and hero academia and they were all meh.

[GaijinPunch]

Riding Bean and its companion, Gunsmith Cats are near and dear to my heart, if only for their lovingly-accurate portrayal of my hometown. With actual landmarks instead of "generic American city that's vaguely a New York/LA mix" that we usually get. Action and cute girls are a plus, of course.

I rewatched this recently (now a resident of said City) after some 20+ years have passed from my first viewing. I was all, "Hori Shitto!". Totally forgot that it was set in Chicago. Cool stuff. RIP Old days. I miss you.

On a similar note, I finally made it through the end of Yamato 2199. It sucked.

[soprano1]

Holy shit, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is great. Watching it for sure.

[Durandal]

this is shaping up to be a great season

Joker Game
WWII drama about a Japanese spy agency in training. The characters show alot of promise, and the sheer disbelief on the MC's face when presented with the possibility of Japan losing the war had me in stitches.

Uchuu Patrol Luluco
Trigger actually put some money into something this time, and the animation this time around is pretty great, reminds me of older CN stuff. not!Inferno-Cop and aliens everywhere will make something great

Boku no Hero Academia
an anime adaptation from the manga, the animation and VA are alright. nothing much to say about it since I already read the manga, the MC does stop being a wuss later on.

Ace Attorney
The animation is as you'd expect for a VN adaptation (shit), and right now we are still at the tutorial case. The music is nowhere near as good from the game, not even the remixes. Maybe this one will be good, maybe not, I'll just keep watching because I played the games. Hopefully they don't literally translate the VN to the anime medium and actually try to add something into the mix like how Kaiji did tension, so there will be a reason to watch the anime over playing the games aside from having everything voiced.

Bungou Stray Dogs
It's Kekkai Sensen, but not as crazy, and without an interesting setting (so far). The animation here is great and the 'agency of supernatural specialists' premise always shows promise. Pretty funny too. Although even this anime has another 'MY ABILITY CANCELS OUT ALL OTHER ABILITIES' guy which seems to become increasingly prevalent in shonen anime.

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress
some serious AOTS potential right here. Imperial Japanese Steampunk with zombies sounds like a terrible mashup, but this looks like it could actually work. Despite all the Shingeki no Kyojin vibes one might get from just looking at it, it's not shit (so far). The production value here is superb, and the setting has alot of potential. Just having more stations instead of one giant outpost like in SnK doesn't mean that every encounter must be won or else all is lost (which obviously wouldn't happen until near the end of the season), so the tension wouldn't have to suffer in KotIF. Although despite all the great stuff, the writer is the one who wrote Code Geass and there are still some questionable things from what we saw (why didn't they place some kind of threshold to check whether a train is infested BEFORE it gets in the city? how can they maintain the rails?), so the possibility of the series becoming a trainwreck later on might still be there. I did like how everyone poked fun at the MC for being a stereotypical hero, though. It doesn't seem like they'll turn that into a running gag, so maybe something interesting will happen to the MC later on.

JoJo part 4: Diamond is not Break
it's fucking Jojo, nuff said

Kuma Miko
loli meets bear

probably comedy anime of the season

[Blinge]

Ace Attorney
The animation is as you'd expect for a VN adaptation (shit), and right now we are still at the tutorial case. The music is nowhere near as good from the game, not even the remixes. Maybe this one will be good, maybe not, I'll just keep watching because I played the games. Hopefully they don't literally translate the VN to the anime medium and actually try to add something into the mix like how Kaiji did tension, so there will be a reason to watch the anime over playing the games aside from having everything voiced.

This. Hell, there wasn't any dramatic tension in that first episode at all.
Also, VN?

I'm more hyped about JoJo Part 4 than I have been about anything else for the past year.

[Durandal]

Ace Attorney
The animation is as you'd expect for a VN adaptation (shit), and right now we are still at the tutorial case. The music is nowhere near as good from the game, not even the remixes. Maybe this one will be good, maybe not, I'll just keep watching because I played the games. Hopefully they don't literally translate the VN to the anime medium and actually try to add something into the mix like how Kaiji did tension, so there will be a reason to watch the anime over playing the games aside from having everything voiced.

This. Hell, there wasn't any dramatic tension in that first episode at all.
Also, VN?

VN, point 'n click, adventure game, whatever

Also, Sakamoto desu ga is pretty legit
the adventures of people trying to best a Gary Stu out of jealousy, only to fail and realize that Sakamoto is a pretty cool guy and that they should probably re-examine their lives
at the very least I do hope that's not what every episode will be like