Recommended Anime/Manga?

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

Master slowpoke reporting in. Just wanted to say that Black Lagoon was a lot of fun, even though I don't normally care for action flicks. Sawyer the Cleaner is cute.

[moozooh]

Dead Leaves

Definitely one of the better English dubs I've heard. Voices and intonations are rather well-done at least, not completely sure about language accuracy.

[Obiwanshinobi]

1997:



2004:



Watched Kaleido Star. Enormously engrossing, falls a precious little short of instant classic. Second season is slightly more deus ex machina and a bit diluted by two recap episodes, but the new cast of characters and higher production values more than make up for it. There are still times when off-stage physics look weird, but there's more everyday human animations to it, just the way I like - BONES way. All in all - one of the most fulfilling anime treats by Gonzo. On top of that, somebody out there had quite a knack for canine animations too. Remember the cat from InuYasha? That masterpiece, humbling even the mighty Fuujin Monogatari in the feline department? Kaleido Star depicts dogs with just as much loving care.
Perhaps my somewhat theatrical upbringing (been exposed to stage performance and rehearsals, live and taped alike, for as long as I can remember) increased my viewing pleasure, or maybe those who entertain people for the living (Gonzo) just have what it takes to tell a story of professional entertainers. Either way, this well scripted, flawlessly paced show proves that there's still more to anime than just fanservice.

[StarCreator]

Love, love, love Kaleido Star. :3 Did you catch the three OVAs (Episode 52, Legend of phoenix, and Good da yo! Goood!!, all but the last one included in the boxed releases by FUNimation)?

[Obiwanshinobi]

Seen only one OAV episode so far - 52. I'm also interested in the unfinished manga thing.
Plugging this awesome vid in again. Irresistible, even if you don't like the music itself.

[Casper<3]

So I'm always searching for new stuff to check out. Hopefully the following lists will give you some ideas of stuff to recommend me!

My most recent anime purchases include.

Spice & Wolf (Seasons 1 & 2)
Welcome to The NHK
Battle Angel
Iria: Zeriem The Animation
Rayearth
Kanokon
Sky Girls (bootleg)
School Days (bootleg)

Next on my list is:

Strawberry Panic
Pani Poni Dash
Chaos Head (November)
Angel Beats
Sound of The Sky
Azumanga Daioh
Iczelion.

[xbl0x180]

So I'm always searching for new stuff to check out. Hopefully the following lists will give you some ideas of stuff to recommend me!

My most recent anime purchases include.

Spice & Wolf (Seasons 1 & 2)
Welcome to The NHK
Battle Angel
Iria: Zeriem The Animation
Rayearth
Kanokon
Sky Girls (bootleg)
School Days (bootleg)

Next on my list is:

Strawberry Panic
Pani Poni Dash
Chaos Head (November)
Angel Beats
Sound of The Sky
Azumanga Daioh
Iczelion.

I would recommend Strawberry Panic, but with a lot of reservations. There's a lot going against it, but I think it does very well towards the end down to the finale (it will resemble a very famous film). The series pretty much plays onto every popular theme in past yuri shoujo series such as Oniisama E... (big time - it's pretty much a remake of it in some respects), as well as the more subdued Marimite/"Maria Watches Over Us," except this one is way more overt and unapologetic - it's not a shoujo cartoon at all. At least, I wouldn't consider it to be and wouldn't recommend the show to young girls (or females in general). It pretty much panders to guys' fantasies about "lipstick lesbians." Speaking of which, the designs took some getting used to: they generally look like they are comprised of large heads with small/frail bodies and limbs; some girls actually looked bowlegged hahah. But the chara design for "Shizuma" and a few others were really well done

I would buy "Fight! Iczer-One," but would not get Iczelion. The designs don't look like something Hirano Toshihiro did and the animation is very choppy. I can't even remember what happened in the story and I owned the ADV VHS of it back in the 90s (whereas I can remember "Iczer-One" even though I've seen it about 20 years ago). So it's pretty forgettable fare.

Pani Poni Dash, Azumanga, and some other stuff I'd list in the "modern anime that sucks" thread

I would much rather suggest Denei Shoujo Ai and DNA^2, which still play into the harem and moe tropes, but they gots Katsura Masakazu designs!





I love the theme songs for this show. To this day, I still listen to them

[Randorama]

Azumanga, and some other stuff I'd list in the "modern anime that sucks" thread

I'll try to be polite.

Azumanga is virtually the only "cute girls" anime that does not use the formula in a cringe-worthy way. The characters have distinct, decently flashed out personalities; there are no pantsu/bra jokes; they are designed to look their age (one girl even has problems because of her "excessive" height, one girl feels she's too fat, etc.); adults are presented in a decent way (well, more or less); many jokes are actually witty.

Of course it lacks a true plot and recycles ideas: it originally was a strip about a group of girls going through senior high school, so you get three beach episodes, for instance (not a cheap pantsu shot, though). That's what every "minimalist" strip does (e.g. Peanuts). The rest can be thrown to the wolves, but Azumanga deserves some respect, unless you soldered those nostalgia googles on your retinas.

[Casper<3]

So I'm always searching for new stuff to check out. Hopefully the following lists will give you some ideas of stuff to recommend me!

My most recent anime purchases include.

Spice & Wolf (Seasons 1 & 2)
Welcome to The NHK
Battle Angel
Iria: Zeriem The Animation
Rayearth
Kanokon
Sky Girls (bootleg)
School Days (bootleg)

Next on my list is:

Strawberry Panic
Pani Poni Dash
Chaos Head (November)
Angel Beats
Sound of The Sky
Azumanga Daioh
Iczelion.

I would recommend Strawberry Panic, but with a lot of reservations. There's a lot going against it, but I think it does very well towards the end down to the finale (it will resemble a very famous film). The series pretty much plays onto every popular theme in past yuri shoujo series such as Oniisama E... (big time - it's pretty much a remake of it in some respects), as well as the more subdued Marimite/"Maria Watches Over Us," except this one is way more overt and unapologetic - it's not a shoujo cartoon at all. At least, I wouldn't consider it to be and wouldn't recommend the show to young girls (or females in general). It pretty much panders to guys' fantasies about "lipstick lesbians." Speaking of which, the designs took some getting used to: they generally look like they are comprised of large heads with small/frail bodies and limbs; some girls actually looked bowlegged hahah. But the chara design for "Shizuma" and a few others were really well done

I would buy "Fight! Iczer-One," but would not get Iczelion. The designs don't look like something Hirano Toshihiro did and the animation is very choppy. I can't even remember what happened in the story and I owned the ADV VHS of it back in the 90s (whereas I can remember "Iczer-One" even though I've seen it about 20 years ago). So it's pretty forgettable fare.

Pani Poni Dash, Azumanga, and some other stuff I'd list in the "modern anime that sucks" thread

I would much rather suggest Denei Shoujo Ai and DNA^2, which still play into the harem and moe tropes, but they gots Katsura Masakazu designs!





I love the theme songs for this show. To this day, I still listen to them

Well I've already seen some of strawberry panic and I loved it, that's why it's on my "to buy" list. Same thing with Iczelion. I enjoyed it tons, just been trying to find the VHS in good condition for a good price.

[xbl0x180]

Azumanga, and some other stuff I'd list in the "modern anime that sucks" thread

I'll try to be polite.

Azumanga is virtually the only "cute girls" anime that does not use the formula in a cringe-worthy way. The characters have distinct, decently flashed out personalities; there are no pantsu/bra jokes; they are designed to look their age (one girl even has problems because of her "excessive" height, one girl feels she's too fat, etc.); adults are presented in a decent way (well, more or less); many jokes are actually witty.

Of course it lacks a true plot and recycles ideas: it originally was a strip about a group of girls going through senior high school, so you get three beach episodes, for instance (not a cheap pantsu shot, though). That's what every "minimalist" strip does (e.g. Peanuts). The rest can be thrown to the wolves, but Azumanga deserves some respect, unless you soldered those nostalgia googles on your retinas.

Pretty much I throw a lot into that blender, although, now that I think about it, that junk is not as loathsome as I used to find it back in the 90s, so I could probably watch an episode or two or buy the set if it's cheap enough, which is how I came to buy Strawberry Panic and Negima in the first place

Lately, I've been re-watching 90s anime series with the "ghost hunter" theme. I just got the first disc set for Ghost Sweeper Mikami and three seasons of Yu Yu Hakusho, all the while watching Yuugen Kaisha and the OAVs of Kyuuketsuki Miyu. I tried watching "Witch Hunter Robin," but the colours and designs for it looked a bit drab. I can deal with the crappy animation for Ghost Sweeper and YYH since one packs some comedy and the other has action, but "Robin" seemed boring to me in spite of its smooth animation and dark story.

[moozooh]

I'll try to be polite.

Azumanga is virtually the only "cute girls" anime that does not use the formula in a cringe-worthy way. The characters have distinct, decently flashed out personalities; there are no pantsu/bra jokes; they are designed to look their age (one girl even has problems because of her "excessive" height, one girl feels she's too fat, etc.); adults are presented in a decent way (well, more or less); many jokes are actually witty.

Of course it lacks a true plot and recycles ideas: it originally was a strip about a group of girls going through senior high school, so you get three beach episodes, for instance (not a cheap pantsu shot, though). That's what every "minimalist" strip does (e.g. Peanuts). The rest can be thrown to the wolves, but Azumanga deserves some respect, unless you soldered those nostalgia googles on your retinas.

Agreed completely. Azumanga is a very kind, light-hearted, and at the same time tasteful comedy. Has anybody started animating Yotsuba to! yet?

[Obiwanshinobi]

Not saying Azumanga... isn't all that (haven't seen it yet), but there seems to be quite a large batch of prudish anime products about girlies on the market. Let me guess, none of Azumaga... girls shows interest in boys, do they?
One user on here once opposed strongly when I likened Aria to K-On!, but there's no denying both are concocted by similar rulesets. I'm pretty sure there's a policy in that share of market to not include pantyshots and the likes, leaving the audience as much gaps to fill with imagination as they please.

[Gus]

No idea why there's so much hate for fan service shows. If you actually watch them and not just hate on them for things "moe" and "pantsu" you'll see they have every bit as much depth and are just as well written as most of the best 90s shows.

[Obiwanshinobi]

A digression - service is not only about pants and girls. It may very well be about robots and chemitrails. For instance, to me Gundam SEED seemed to be entirely made of fanservice for people who "got" older Gundams. I didn't "get" them, so it was not for me. It was a "service instead of production values" deal, mecha edition.
I don't mind service as such, but since FLCL or so many shows seem to contain more service (broadly speaking) than anything else. The anime's got a bit oversaturated with service, that's all.
I like to think about Tenamonya Voyagers as a parody of those long gone, sevice-heavy lavish OAVs in their heyday (i.e. pumping hella lot of oomph in a handful of episodes, then cutting the crap when funds are gone, Gunbuster way).

[xbl0x180]

I love everything Gundam up to Gundam F91. I really didn't like Gundam SEED in spite of whatever "service" it's supposed to dish out. Chuck that s*** into the "why modern anime sucks" thred

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

Has anybody started animating Yotsuba to! yet?

Yeah, Diomedea has. It's under the title Shiryaku! Ika Musume.
(According to Wikipedia, second season is scheduled to start airing at the end of this month!)

[Casper<3]

so any recommendations for me?

[Obiwanshinobi]

Kaleido Star.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

so any recommendations for me?

Stay the fuck away from Angel Beats. It's by Key Visual Arts, so that alone should tell you about the quality of the writing. Everything made by Shaft is hipster trash. NO EXCEPTIONS.

[ryu]

oh man, angel beats.

you know your show sucks when your only good character is fucking comic relief. although i'd recommend watching it for how hilariously bad it can get, and it's just about 12 episodes so the suffering won't be for very long.

Everything made by Shaft is hipster trash. NO EXCEPTIONS.

i can see where you're coming from, but sayonara zetsubou sensei is pretty much fantastic and arakawa under the bridge is one of the more enjoyable shows out there too.

[Casper<3]

so any recommendations for me?

Stay the fuck away from Angel Beats. It's by Key Visual Arts, so that alone should tell you about the quality of the writing. Everything made by Shaft is hipster trash. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Except I'm a huge fan of Key's work. Little Busters!!!

[RNGmaster]

Everything made by Shaft is hipster trash. NO EXCEPTIONS.

I heard Madoka was pretty good. I like the art style of it, at least - more surreal horror and less moe than anything would lead you to expect.

Come on, you can't say this isn't cool.

[ryu]

sorry but that looks just stupid

[RNGmaster]

[ryu]

but honetsly, i think that art direction in madoka is one of the more "hipster shit" things shinbo (shafts hipster director) has done. those paper cut-outs didn't add anything to the show (other than making it look different without substance) and what really made the show "dark" were all those actually dark alleyways the characters were talking in. all those out of place artworks were just bonus for the most part.

[Casper<3]

Are people seriously using the term "hipster" in reference to anime. If you just did that, you're a failure at life. You need to turn off the internet, leave your bedroom, and do something productive for at least an hour.


I'm going to check out DNA2 pending I find it at a good price.

Can't say that I care for Kalido Star. Kind of insulted that such stuff is actually being recommended. :/

[Icarus]

Yeah, Diomedea has. It's under the title Shiryaku! Ika Musume.
(According to Wikipedia, second season is scheduled to start airing at the end of this month!)

Thanks for reminding me about this one. Just started watching it now, and I'm in hysterics at the moment.
A proper Yotsubato! anime would be awesomesauce, though.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

I heard Madoka was pretty good. I like the art style of it, at least - more surreal horror and less moe than anything would lead you to expect.

In that case, just play Grief Syndrome; that way you'll get your fancy grimdark paper cutout art style without having to endure the blandly terrible drama. It's by Tasofro, and they're god tier as far as doujin developers go.

Yeah, Diomedea has. It's under the title Shiryaku! Ika Musume.
(According to Wikipedia, second season is scheduled to start airing at the end of this month!)

Thanks for reminding me about this one. Just started watching it now, and I'm in hysterics at the moment.
A proper Yotsubato! anime would be awesomesauce, though.

Yes! I knew I'd get another member soon enough! it's a good thing you held off for so long, the wait for season 2 was pretty painful.

[StarCreator]

but honetsly, i think that art direction in madoka is one of the more "hipster shit" things shinbo (shafts hipster director) has done. those paper cut-outs didn't add anything to the show (other than making it look different without substance) and what really made the show "dark" were all those actually dark alleyways the characters were talking in. all those out of place artworks were just bonus for the most part.

To each their own, I guess... the paper cut-out style is actually the work of a doujin animator group that Shinbo discovered and hired thanks to their distinctive style. Madoka is probably his most prominent use of his work, but I think they've also been used for some of the Sayonara Zetsuboi Sensei openings or something.

[iconoclast]

I think they've also been used for some of the Sayonara Zetsuboi Sensei openings or something.

Yep. The third Goku SZS opening is one of my favorites.