Recommended Anime/Manga?

[GaijinPunch]

Good move. I've read both the American translation and the nihongo versions in their entirety, and it's no small feat. While I enjoy the story and the characters, the art is the real star. In my opinion, Otomo is the best comic artist ever, with no equal in terms of perspective and architecture.

Yeah, I remember you saying that. Crazy that a manga would take so much energy. But yeah... dope story. Are there any major differences in the translation? The coloration of the whitie version always irked me... even when I didn't know better.

I've been buying a lot of random manga at Book Off lately in the hopes of finding some buried treasures on par with Berserk and it's become clear that this is an impossible task.

Yeah, I'll bet. I need to go back over that thread at gamengai for your recommendations. I decided to get Akira on the cheap from YJ (but for some dumb reason keep forgetting to bid) and then move on to a few others. Maybe the original Ghost in the Shell (also not an easy feat by any stretch).

[chempop]

Nice hearing people enjoy Lain, Ergo Proxy, and Texhnolyze. Add
Mushishi
Gungrave
Boogiepop Phantom
Gankutsuou
Shigurui
Baccano
Paranoia Agent
Wolfs Rain
GitS:SAC
Otogi Zoshi
Berserk
Last Exile
Kinos Jourey

And you've got my all time favorite list.

[xris]

I've read Akira and thought it was pretty good, but loooong. Kasuhiro Otomo is such an amazing illustrator though! (I really have to agree with NTSC-J on that) I prefered his short story Domu to Akira though, I just found the compact story worked better than his epic.
As far as Shirow goes, how come nobody ever talks about Orion? By far the work I enjoyed the most from him. Appleseed is good, but when you need a guide book to understand the politics to go along with it, it is a bit much. GITS is an illustration/storytelling masterwork, but gets way too over-hyped. In many ways it is just too full of it's self, maybe to grandiose.
Zeether, thanks for the heads up on Redline, that looks really good.

[Skykid]

Just finished the latest two Blade of the Immortal volumes. It's the only manga I still buy these days, which is nice and economical because they only release about 2 or three volumes a year (they caught up to the Japanese releases so we're all waiting on the sublime Hiroaki Samura to get quicker with his pens.)

After all these years of reading it (probably 10 or so) I still can't recommend it enough. The artwork and storytelling are raw and wonderful, and it's somehow un-apolagetically violent yet never wantonly.

If you're getting tired of all the girly pap Japan's manga industry produces these days, a cast of heroes (and anti-heroes) lives on in Blade. Highly recommended stuff.

[GaijinPunch]

I've read Akira and thought it was pretty good, but loooong.

Yeah, that's the point. I kind of want a long story. I've seen the movie 20 times at least, and I never get sick of it. My favorite are when hard core anime fans say "it's not that good". Awesome!

Kasuhiro Otomo is such an amazing illustrator though! (I really have to agree with NTSC-J on that) I prefered his short story Domu to Akira though, I just found the compact story worked better than his epic.

I read this a LOONG time ago, and should probably read it again. Actually, the bar keep of a local watering hole I go to about once a week is only a couple of years older than me and has a soft spot for that nostalgic anime/manga. He played Memories on the projector once and we kinda went off. He said he'd bring me some stuff to read. Then, we had the Earthquake, so I'll need to remind him.

As far as Shirow goes, how come nobody ever talks about Orion? By far the work I enjoyed the most from him.

Forgot about this. Should try to grab it.

Appleseed is good, but when you need a guide book to understand the politics to go along with it, it is a bit much.

Word. I read this in English a long fucking time ago. I'd love to get the original and experience that, but daunting would be an understatement. It's more like reading a book.

Zeether, thanks for the heads up on Redline, that looks really good.

I made a thread on readline at gamengai when I saw the previews last Spring. Apparently it was shown in festivals all over the world and everyone got to see it before me. I got busy and never went. Might try to grab the BluRay of it.

[Blackbird]

Akira is definitely good (most would call it a classic, actually), but I find it extremely depressing to watch. If I'm just looking to be entertained, it's not the first anime I'd go to =P.

[RNGmaster]

Really enjoyed the first few episodes of Lain so far, and I can't wait to unravel the rest. Don't spoil me!

[stryc9]

Hokuto No Ken, Jojo's Bizarre adventure, Ninja Scroll (all time favourites) and Blade of the Immortal looked good from the little Ive seen of it.

[NTSC-J]

Good move. I've read both the American translation and the nihongo versions in their entirety, and it's no small feat. While I enjoy the story and the characters, the art is the real star. In my opinion, Otomo is the best comic artist ever, with no equal in terms of perspective and architecture.

Yeah, I remember you saying that. Crazy that a manga would take so much energy. But yeah... dope story. Are there any major differences in the translation? The coloration of the whitie version always irked me... even when I didn't know better.

I've been buying a lot of random manga at Book Off lately in the hopes of finding some buried treasures on par with Berserk and it's become clear that this is an impossible task.

Yeah, I'll bet. I need to go back over that thread at gamengai for your recommendations. I decided to get Akira on the cheap from YJ (but for some dumb reason keep forgetting to bid) and then move on to a few others. Maybe the original Ghost in the Shell (also not an easy feat by any stretch).

It's been probably 10 years since I read either the Marvel comics (the colored one) translation or the Dark Horse one, so I dunno how the translations hold up. On a related note, I adore the Streamline Pictures dub of Akira with Cam Clarke as Kaneda and hear him every time I read it. One of only two dubs that are essential (the other being the Overfiend, which happens to be my current avatar).

For other manga pics, I would recommend Dominion over Ghost in the Shell as the best Shiro book to read. When he gets too serious and epic like with GitS, the story gets to be more of a mess than its worth.

[xris]

It looks like you went with Amano Jyaku from Inferno Road, instead of the earlier design. I'll admit that I'm a fan of the Overfiend as well. It really is the definitive apocalyptic battle between good and evil. I'm a huge fan of Devilman also, so you might see where I'm coming from.
I've read most of the series when it was translated in english, Toshio Maeda is another illustrator that I really respect. It takes huge balls to be that daring, and graphic. The english dub of the anime does hold up really well. It falls into that 'which version did you see first' category.
The one anime that I find is way better in english is Colorful.

[Skykid]

I've seen the movie 20 times at least, and I never get sick of it. My favorite are when hard core anime fans say "it's not that good". Awesome!

Yeah, that amuses me too. Such remarks are an instant write off of taste and a signal to discontinue any further discussion on the topic.

I've got the full set of Akira books (the coloured ones released in the 90's). One of the best things I've ever read.

[Obiwanshinobi]

The animation in Akira is nearly as awful as in your average Disney film. Even Japanese people do not move like that. Baffling, as it was the most expensive Japanese animation of its time. The plot... well, I guess that's how Lord of the Rings would have turned out had they made it an hour and a half long. Cool music, though.
If you badly need something to help you feel cooler than thou, there's always Cat Soup (which happens to be well animated).

[NTSC-J]

It looks like you went with Amano Jyaku from Inferno Road, instead of the earlier design. I'll admit that I'm a fan of the Overfiend as well. It really is the definitive apocalyptic battle between good and evil. I'm a huge fan of Devilman also, so you might see where I'm coming from.

Actually I took it from the original (the uncut version), this was just a particularly cartoony shot of him. I really only like the original Overfiend anime that was re-edited for American theaters, and was disappointed by the story and look of the sequels as well as the manga, which has a bizarrely ugly Western style to it.

I could go on at length about how brilliant and underappreciated the original anime is, but I`ll save that for another day.

[eatingbadly]

Many, many series adapted from manga can't hold a candle to the original. Berserk is one of the better examples, but still far from ideal with how compressed it is (although there's a reboot in the works which is supposed to be better), and that's beside the fact that it ends on the most abrupt spot possible without ever being continued. Golden Boy is way too short. Gantz just omits the overarching storyline completely and ends on an arbitrary spot. Blood of the Immortal botches everything up horribly from the start for no apparent reason. Hellsing (the TV series) takes the storyline, throws it out of the window, and substitutes with something completely inane; the ongoing OVA series remedies that by animating pretty much every page of the manga starting with episode V, which takes its toll on the release schedule (with the astounding pace of 1½ episodes per year on average). Trigun attempts to piece together the main storyline, its earlier version, and a custom ending, and ends up with a result that doesn't make much sense at all. There is also a good deal of great manga that never received any kind of anime adaptation, such as Battle Angel Alita and Yotsuba&!.

That's from my experience alone; I'm sure there's a lot more examples such as this.

The Berserk anime was one of my favorites as a kid. I actually just started reading the manga though and its so so amazing. I blazed through the first 17 volumes in a day or two. The anime is great but the manga is just brilliant.

The Hellsing TV series is mediocre (EXCEPT THE MUSIC!). But tht eHellsing OVAs are awesome. I will prob check out that manga when I finish Berserk, Akagi, and enma kun.

In general, animes based on manga are usually not as great as anime that are from an original concept. Code Geass, FLCL, Evangelion, Enma Kun are my favorites and all started off as an anime. Im sure i could think of a lot of excpetions (for example Urotsukidoji which is sooo sick animated) but in general that seems to be the case.

Except for Bleach, One Piece and Naruto. The anime and manga both suck equally for those three.

[moozooh]

Evangelion is an odd case. Its first manga publications preceded the anime airing by nearly a year, but Sadamoto worked together with Anno on the anime story, and is helping again with the currently produced reboot. It's a bit funny that the manga that started it all won't be finished until after having received two complete TV adaptations. And it's even funnier that there will be three different storylines as a result, so much that at this point I'm not even sure what we're wanted to consider as canon. Gainax is trying hard to milk the franchise, indeed. If you already have a set of figurines and posters for Shinji, Asuka, and Rei, how to make you consume more? Correct, introduce another character. :)

[StarCreator]

I know I'm replying to an ancient post here, but...

If you're looking for something more (I often do) but don't want it to be unpalatable (Infinite Ryvius, Evangelion [blegh], etc.)

What about Infinite Ryvius is unpalatable? It's definitely in my top 10.

[Icarus]

If you already have a set of figurines and posters for Shinji, Asuka, and Rei, how to make you consume more? Correct, introduce another character.

Speaking of Mari Illustrious Makinami, are the first two parts of Rebuild of Evangelion any good? Need something to pass the time, and current anime seasons aren't doing it for me at the moment. ;p

[greg]

Really enjoyed the first few episodes of Lain so far, and I can't wait to unravel the rest. Don't spoil me!

Lain may take a second viewing in order to properly understand. I was able to understand it the first time through, which is surprising since I usually require a second viewing in order to understand movies (I still need to watch Inception a second time). This won't be much of a spoiler, but I had read in a William Gibson novel, Idoru, that mentioned a cult that believed that as the population of the world continues to increase, there will be an amount of neural tissue in the world reached that would establish a collective consciousness, like a neural network in the world. This won't make sense to you now in regards to Lain, but as you watch the show, you'll see that the show has a similar premise.

[moozooh]

Speaking of Mari Illustrious Makinami, are the first two parts of Rebuild of Evangelion any good? Need something to pass the time, and current anime seasons aren't doing it for me at the moment. ;p

The first movie is nearly identical to the first few episodes of the TV series, but animation and stuff is top-notch, some of the best stuff I've seen. Gainax at its finest. The second completely deviates from the canon from the get-go and remains quite... different. Not sure if for better or worse, but it left me waiting for the remaining two movies. Now that I think about it, waiting and watching all of them one after another would have resulted in a more pleasant and coherent experience.

[ryu]

Need something to pass the time, and current anime seasons aren't doing it for me at the moment. ;p

You've missed Tatami Galaxy.

Rebuild 2.22 is a cheap market sellout.

[Icarus]

You've missed Tatami Galaxy.

Just checked out a synopsis of this, and it seems quite interesting. Fetching now, thanks for the heads up. ^_-

[z0mbie90]

Some one can recommend me a cool Mech anime. I want action and explotions.

I have seen:
Gundam
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Full Metal Panic.
Forgot about Macross

They have been good, but I want more action and giant robots

[Ebbo]

Action and explosions? Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann has got plenty of both >)

[LtC]

Some one can recommend me a cool Mech anime. I want action and explotions.

I have seen:
Gundam
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Full Metal Panic.
Forgot about Macross

They have been good, but I want more action and giant robots

It's pretty odd you don't see that many mecha / sci-fi anime mentioned around here.

Break Blade
It's a series of movies currently 4/6 movies out. One of the best mecha animation I've seen so far, specially in episode 4. From what I've read the manga you can expect great things from episodes 5 and 6 that will come out later.

Shin Getter Robo
Like Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann but better, it was one of the series that inspired it after all. Probably the most badass mecha protag ever.

VOTOMS (Main series + OVAs & spinoffs)
The main series is quite old but it's still worth a watch if you can get into it.

Legend of Galactic Heroes
Not very much mecha action but holy shit it's fleets of tens and hundreds of thousands of spaceships fighting each other with great plot and characters. It's a very long OVA series and has great movies as well.

And mentioning just in case you haven't seen them: Macross plus Movie/OVA & UC Gundam OVAs.

[z0mbie90]

Thanks for the tips Ebbo and Ltc, I will look closer and see if it something I like.
I'm not that much of an anime, manga fan but I have always loved Mechs

[GaijinPunch]

Shin Getter Robo
Like Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann but better, it was one of the series that inspired it after all. Probably the most badass mecha protag ever.

Giant Robo
I so need to rewatch this. It took Gainax like what -- 6 years to complete this? Was damn good though.

[Icarus]

You've missed Tatami Galaxy.

Just checked out a synopsis of this, and it seems quite interesting. Fetching now, thanks for the heads up. ^_-

Status report: finished fetching this, and currently watching the first episode. Not a bad start, quite enjoying it - narrator/main character sounds and acts like Kyon from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and the artstyle is very 'animated manga' in visual style, with a lot of flat colors and bold typography, which reminds me of Negima!? in many ways. Standard "university student life" kind of story, with a load of surrealism thrown in, which is stuff I usually enjoy when done well. Hopefully the rest of the series will be as good, or better.

[Zeether]

If you haven't seen G Gundam, here's why you should:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_au7Jc4JbY

[BIL]

Legend of Galactic Heroes
Not very much mecha action but holy shit it's fleets of tens and hundreds of thousands of spaceships fighting each other with great plot and characters. It's a very long OVA series and has great movies as well.

I'll be checking this out - I love anime and manga with large-scale space battles of the sort Taito and more recently Siter Skain are clearly so fond of.

[neorichieb1971]

I bought appleseed Exmachina yesterday. I have no idea what to expect lol.