Recommended Anime/Manga?

[GaijinPunch]

I'm ashamed to admit it, but even though I've seen Akira over 100 times, it's been years since I last watched it all the way through. Gonna rectify that now and see if it looks or feels any different.

I popped a mate's cherry a few months ago. He can blast his stereo (I can't make a fucking peep in my house after the kid goes to sleep) so we watched the BluRay there. Start to finish.

I'm on book 2, btw.

doesn't have enough fluidity...

I didn't know cartoons had to completely mimic real life. My bad.

That is Japanese animation and you can see all that here at 5:28

Haha -- I love the first comment.

[Randorama]

For once I will troll:

Do we need another 6 pages of fried air and OCD discussions over nothing? The discussion about Akira's animation style, that is.

By the way: I think that SNK copied Akira's Tetsuo theme for the Bali theme in KOF 1997, or something (...or both copied some Gamelan composition). I am listening to its OST a lot these days. I think that '80s anime movies, inter alia, dared to use innovative music. I feel that from a given point onwards, this aspect has been vastly trascured. What am missing?

I'm on book 2, btw.

First time? I almost envy you, in this case!

Anyway:

Can someone suggest some "recent" good movies (1995 or later)? I would like to check what I am missing.

[StarCreator]

I just happened to hear Mimo wo sumaseba (Whisper of the Heart) is getting a BD release in Japan this summer. I might have to import that if a stateside release isn't announced soonish...

[Leader Bee]

I'd have to say that whisper of the heart isn't one of my favourite Ghibli movies; I prefer the more fantasy oriented early stuff such as Nausicaa and Laputa.

That said, I did add Ocean Waves to complete my collection and i'll have to find some time to watch that - after that I'll be waiting for The borrower arriety to come out.

[drauch]

This is an even worse argument than my Tarantino debate.

[moozooh]

Can someone suggest some "recent" good movies (1995 or later)? I would like to check what I am missing.

What I would recommend:

Mind Game — artsy, clever, awesomely motivating. Studio 4°C at its finest.

Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo / The Girl Who Leapt Through Time — a touching and well-done comedy with character designs done by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (NGE mangaka).

Dead Leaves — crazy non-stop action thriller with amazing design.

Perfect Blue; Millennium Actress; Tokyo Godfathers; Paprika — four movies by late Satoshi Kon. All awesome (though Tokyo Godfathers and Millennium Actress happen to be my favorites), contain zero fanservice, and are more-or-less animated movies rather than movies of anime genre.

Steamboy — Katsuhiro Otomo's attempt to <strike>go into Miyazaki's territory</strike> create a family movie in a steampunk setting. Quite successful, though, but not without his trademark grit.

Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho / The Place Promised in Our Early Days (alternatively, Beyond the Clouds, The Promised Place) — perhaps Makoto Shinkai's best movie. To be honest most of his movies are so similar they look like different versions of each other, telling the story of some introverted Japanese teenagers being sad about being separated from each other and shit, but this one is probably where he did it most tastefully. Amazing design and coloring. Watch on Blu-Ray if possible. If you like it, you might also like his next movie, 5 Centimeters per Second.

Tekkon Kinkreet — an anime movie directed by a non-Japanese man who has lived in Japan for a long time. Another high-grade Studio 4°C production, excellent design, excellent soundtrack by Plaid.

The Sky Crawlers — recent Mamoru Oshii. Not sure what to say about this one... I liked it, but it left a strange impression. Great main musical theme, though.

Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu / The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya — you'll love it if you've seen the TV series, otherwise don't watch.

Honorable mentions: Sword of the Stranger, Metropolis (Otomo + Tezuka), Summer Wars, new Evangelion movies, everything Miyazaki.

[Obiwanshinobi]

What I don't understand is how you consider well animated anime to have the same properties of movement as real life?

"The same" is not quite what I meant. I like my animation "human" so to speak, or life-like (to give a non-Japanese example). Say, Windy Tales looks expressionistic rather than realistic, but its animation carries great deal of informaion about the characters' mood, attitude, feelings etc. without ruining my suspension of disbelief.
If the body language, facial expressions, gesticulation and all that in Akira don't rub you the wrong way at the silghtest, I doubt you'll understand how I feel about it. Among Japanese cartoons known to me - be it well or badly animated - Akira sticks out like a sore thumb. The only other anime show that gave me similar feel was The Big O (which blatantly refers to the Golden Age of Comic Books in more ways than one). Somebody who generally shares my tastes in animation likes it better than I and believes the twitchy movements to be a purposeful re-creation of said comics' graphical untidyness. I'm inclined to agree as the android girl is a masterpiece. There's no hook like that in Akira, though.

If I saw a girl moving in real-life the way she is in the that Earthquake trailer you linked, I'd probably call the cops and try to catch it in a net for scientific studies.

What would you do if you saw dudes from Akira then? I'd probably assume they are puppets animated by a bad puppeteer. I linked to that trailer to give an example of cheaply produced animation that, despite cutting quite a few corners, retains the "human" factor I appreciate.

Can someone suggest some "recent" good movies (1995 or later)? I would like to check what I am missing.

If you liked Ninja Scroll, I recommend Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Highlander: The Search for Vengeance. Interestingly, both got released with English voice acting prior to the Japanese versions, therefore English versions can be considered "original".

[Skykid]

Can someone suggest some "recent" good movies (1995 or later)? I would like to check what I am missing.

If you liked Ninja Scroll, I recommend Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Highlander: The Search for Vengeance.

Gah! If you liked Ninja Scroll (and who doesn't?) do not go anywhere near Bloodlust or Highlander (especially Highlander). Bloodlust is just about watchable, has some nice artistry, but it's totally dull and empty. Highlander on the other hand is like a criminal offense. There are actual sections where they appear to have copied entire sections of animation from Ninja Scroll (like, traced it), and if that initially sounds like a good thing, it's worth noting that the film is so poor that even the embarrassment of having to trace your old good stuff can't save it.

Yoshiaki Kawajiri is dead. Ninja Scroll and Cyber City Oedo are like a past life compared to the dried up dust he turns out these days. He's like the McTiernan of Anime, pretty sad.

Last decent Kawajiri thing I watched was a ten minute short on a DVD called Neo Tokyo. It's called The Running Man and it's about a futuristic race where the competitors push speed limits until they're close to death (gritty sci-fi anime, y'know, the good stuff.)
It's from 1986 though so hardly qualifies as 'new'.

[Obiwanshinobi]

To be fair, I don't think Kawajiri's post-2000 films are quite as good as Ninja Scroll, but in the "popcorn movie" category both are decent in my book.

[moozooh]

Last decent Kawajiri thing I watched was a ten minute short on a DVD called Neo Tokyo.

Said DVD also contains another great piece by Otomo, called Construction Cancellation Order. :) He later went on to assemble his own anthology movie, Memories, which is a blast.

[Skykid]

Last decent Kawajiri thing I watched was a ten minute short on a DVD called Neo Tokyo.

Said DVD also contains another great piece by Otomo, called Construction Cancellation Order. He later went on to assemble his own anthology movie, Memories, which is a blast.

Didn't want to mention Construction Cancellation for fear of inciting any more Otomo rage, but it turned me into a limp sponge in my chair, such was its magnificence. I'm still debating if it's not the best animated short of all time.

To be fair, I don't think Kawajiri's post-2000 films are quite as good as Ninja Scroll, but in the "popcorn movie" category both are decent in my book.

There's a gulf of difference between Kawajiri's work in pre and post 2000 eras. Pre are some of the best examples of action anime ever, post are desperate failed attempts to re-capture what once made his work great.

Much like the anime industry entire.

[EinhanderZwei]

Steamboy — Katsuhiro Otomo's attempt to <strike>go into Miyazaki's territory</strike> create a family movie in a steampunk setting. Quite successful, though, but not without his trademark grit.

It disappointed me with its constant emphasis on destruction of large structures. Like, every key scene ends with them. I don't believe in a world where everything is THAT fragile...

[Obiwanshinobi]

There's a gulf of difference between Kawajiri's work in pre and post 2000 eras. Pre are some of the best examples of action anime ever, post are desperate failed attempts to re-capture what once made his work great.

Much like the anime industry entire.

Not that I consider that particular director to be cream of the lot, but may I ask which post-2000 anime you actually watched? No need to list down every single one of them, just poster children for what makes anime of that period inferior in your book.

[Skykid]

Hmm, there's a good question, since I've gone off much anime these days.

Off the top of my head:

Air (series) - started well, ended averagely
Paprika - Good, but just too touch too much of a mindfuck
Samurai Champloo (series) - loved it
Naruto (first 20 episodes) - ok. Have seen some later fights that r awesome, but can't be bothered to get through the filler.
Paranoia Agent (series) - top stuff
Tokyo Godfathers - Incredible
Noir (series) - Awful
Steamboy - apart from the eye candy, a complete letdown
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust - vapid
Highlander - dire
Patlabor WXIII - One of the best in sci-fi flicks I've seen in ages (although I'm unsure if it's actually a 00's film?)
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time - pretty crappy, not sure why I bothered to finish it
Everything Miyazaki - all of high quality, all good (but not equally so)
Sky Blue - Korean and RUBBISH
Gunslinger Girl (several episodes) - Weak
Mezzo Forte - The director has real animation talent, it's a shame he's relegated to (admittedly well done) hardcore porn.
New Fist of the North Star (series) - not as good as old FOTNS


And probably a ton of other stuff I can't recall. If you're trying to get an angle on my tastes, I like stuff with depth and imagination, and sci-fi. I dislike over-sentimentality, male leads that look and behave like women, soap opera mentalities, excessive filler, action based stuff with no balls, just about anything that's all female based because they can't create established female heroes the way they used to with stuff like Bubblegum Crisis or Geobreeders, needless and intrusive fan service, annoying generic characters thrown in to accommodate weeaboo fanbases.

[GaijinPunch]

First time? I almost envy you, in this case!

Yeah. That's Japanese book 2, so I'm like 25% through the story. I tried it ages ago when I first moved here but there was no furigana and some odd characters. It's a breeze now... I should've done this years ago. It was one I always meant to read, but just never got around to it.

Tekkon Kinkreet — an anime movie directed by a non-Japanese man who has lived in Japan for a long time. Another high-grade Studio 4°C production, excellent design, excellent soundtrack by Plaid.

I think I'm the only gaijin in town that's not close friends with the director. He has roomed with friends of mine, and still regularly hangs out with people I've known since day one. Paths have just never crossed. O_o

If you liked Ninja Scroll,

Interestingly enough, I had a chat with a guy that's about my age and owns a bar I frequent. Similar tastes (years for the old school, etc.). He mentioned how sometimes you see some oddball things that simply didn't sell for shit in Japan but are praised big time in the west. Ninja Scroll was his example. Same can be said for just about anyone expatriating shit TV from America though.

[Skykid]

Tekkon Kinkreet — an anime movie directed by a non-Japanese man who has lived in Japan for a long time.

That explains it then. He's a lucky bastard to get a break like that (I know gaijin who would kill for that opportunity), he should have made a better film.

[Obiwanshinobi]

If you're trying to get an angle on my tastes, I like stuff with depth and imagination, and sci-fi. I dislike over-sentimentality, male leads that look and behave like women, soap opera mentalities, excessive filler, action based stuff with no balls, just about anything that's all female based because they can't create established female heroes the way they used to with stuff like Bubblegum Crisis or Geobreeders, needless and intrusive fan service, annoying generic characters thrown in to accommodate weeaboo fanbases.

Sounds like you can't go wrong with Hajime no Ippo (even if you are not into martial arts or sports in general). Virtually filler-free and ballsy.

[Randorama]

Thanks, guys.

...Can I ask you a general list of worthy anime movies?

There are things that I haven't seen in a while and my partner is weak on "classic" stuff. Also, I need to say that we watched Ghost in the Shell recently and I felt like it was the first time.

GP: please read the Nausicaa anime too, once you're done with Akira

[Skykid]

Sounds like you can't go wrong with Hajime no Ippo (even if you are not into martial arts or sports in general). Virtually filler-free and ballsy.

Yeah, that always looked cool. I liked the Treasure GBA game.

...Can I ask you a general list of worthy anime movies?

Wings of Honneamise is a good one, although you need to be a patient film watcher to appreciate it.

[genecyst]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cockpit_(OVA)

[moozooh]

Wings of Honneamise is a good one, although you need to be a patient film watcher to appreciate it.

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 00#p677600

[Randorama]

Lol post SK, but of course I completely agree with your comment

Interestingly, A recurring rumour (Anno never confirmed it) is that several elements of Evangelion were originally thought as part of a second Honemmaise movie.

By the way, did you find Paprika too psychedelic?...given your previous comment. I thought it was interesting, although it could have been more surreal in style.

I just realized that I never saw Tokyo Godfathers, I need to rectify soon during this Easter.

[GaijinPunch]

GP: please read the Nausicaa anime too, once you're done with Akira

Tried this one years ago. Appreciated the movie, but nothing like Akira -- top quality production on all counts. While I like Ghibli's creativiy, it lacks the edginess I often like. Might do that though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cockpit_(OVA)

I actually translated this w/ my Japanese TA (my Japanese sucked) & subtitled this from LD back in the day. Great stuff.

[apple arcade]

Seitokai no Ichizon - I love this show. It crosses all my favorite types of anime, Slice of Life & Harem. Highly recomended if you like stuff such as Lucky Star, School Days, or Shuffle.

(BTW) Lucky Star - My all time favorite anime.

Spice & Wolf - I watched the American Dub and enjoyed every second of it. It's a bit abstract when compared to most anime. It's about the relationship between two characters and the theme is financial based. Really good.

School Days - I love this anime, it's both insanely unrealistic and very relate-able at the same time. If you've ever heard the phrase "nice boat" this is the show it comes from.

Blood+ - Such an awesome series. 50 episodes but worth while.

Ergo Proxy - Dope sci-fi journey. Very enjoyable. Beautiful

K-On - Awesome fun show.

Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan - This show is just awesome, It's about an angel sent from the future to kill a boy who finds a way to stop aging at 12 and creates a pedophile world. Very fun, amusing, and bloody!

Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase - Loli-vampire. Maybe not for every one but good IMO.

Kara no Kyoukai - Type-Moon/Masterpiece/Enoughsaid

My current in progress list is:

Spice & Wolf II
Needless
Strawberry Panic
Yumekui Merry
Kore We Zombie Desu Ka
Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne

So I'll update after I finish those.


BTW does anyone know any good Mech anime? or Mech-Girl? (you know where it's a girl with like a half a mech suite, think Triggerheart Exelica)

[greg]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cockpit_(OVA)

Ooh, good call on that one! Unfortunately, this was never released on DVD domestically. I especially liked the one about the German A-bomb pilot.

[ryu]

Seitokai no Ichizon? Really?

That show is pretty much all that's wrong with anime these days

[moozooh]

Seitokai no Ichizon? Really?

That show is pretty much all that's wrong with anime these days

You should have read the next sentence in the same paragraph, it clears up many things.

[Barrakketh]

BTW does anyone know any good Mech anime?

What are you looking for? Something more like GaoGaiGar, or NGE, or Mazinger, or Gurren Lagann, or (the fabulous) Code Geass?

Given what you've already said you like, watch Code Geass (esp. if you like Clamp noodle-people) or Gurren Lagann.

[Zeether]

Spice & Wolf - I watched the American Dub and enjoyed every second of it. It's a bit abstract when compared to most anime. It's about the relationship between two characters and the theme is financial based. Really good.

Seconded on this. The chemistry between the two kind of keeps the financial stuff from becoming boring.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Spice & Wolf is odd one. Drawn like porn. The bloke sleeping in his daily clothes (in bed, not under the brigde). Weird gestures all around (is that how the Japanese picture everyday behaviour of westerners?) and so on. Can't say it was much pain to watch, but it certainly was something of a guilty pleasure (Ami Koshimizu and Kaori Nazuka in one show reminded me of Eureka Seven - I'm easily pleased by such things).

BTW does anyone know any good Mech anime?

Eureka Seven.