Recommended Anime/Manga?

[Raytrace]

watchin the penultimate of the LOGH gaidens and my favourite of all orchestral/classical pieces has just started - the 2nd movement of Beethoven's 7th - can't wait to see what epicness unfolds as that piece explodes to it's crescendo

[Icarus]

Spring anime season starts this week in full force.
And to that end, I just watched the first two episodes (web pre-air version) of Accel World, and I'm impressed so far. An interesting world setting (neuro-linked virtual/augmented reality), some interesting characters, and I'm now looking forward to the actual TV premiere on Friday. The character art style looks very familiar to me, but I can't quite put my finger on whose designs it resembles, however…

[xbl0x180]

I need to add that we need NTSC DVD releases of:

Ambassador Magma
Blue Sonnet
Dancougar
Luna Varga
Sol Bianca
Super Deformed Double Feature: 10 Little Gall Force and Scramble Wars


To be continued

[drboom]

Has anyone read through Silent Mobius? I just picked up a few volumes (waiting for them to arrive) and it sounds right up my alley. Anyone have any recommendations of similar manga?

[xbl0x180]

Has anyone read through Silent Mobius? I just picked up a few volumes (waiting for them to arrive) and it sounds right up my alley. Anyone have any recommendations of similar manga?

I only read a few issues back when Viz used to colourise their manga translations The covers for the Silent Mobius comics looked really attractive and the paper stock they used was something fancy that had a faint scent that I liked








Once they went full black and white, changed the covers, and the paper stock, I stopped following the manga. What would I recommend? I dunno. I was thinking about Mai, The Psychic Girl just on the paranormal aspect of the story, but as far as something that looks like it, that's a little harder for me to think about since I didn't follow a lot of different artists. I'd say you should also check out CLAMP's X and Tokyo Babylon



I used to have the blue poster, but then trashed it when I moved to uni

[Raytrace]

I'm just after watchin the 'Mutineer' arc of the Spiral Labyrinth LOTGH gaidens, really really great stuff - just perfect IMO...

[mesh control]

Any suggestions for violent anime from the 80's/early 90's?

Watching Hokuto no Ken. I've never finished the series. v_v
HnK and Dirty Pair are the only anime I've seriously watched.

[xbl0x180]

Any suggestions for violent anime from the 80's/early 90's?

Watching Hokuto no Ken. I've never finished the series. v_v
HnK and Dirty Pair are the only anime I've seriously watched.

How violent do you mean? Urotsukidoji was the first title that came to mind. It is fairly violent with lots of daemon sex thrown in. The movies edited together from the OAVs are pretty good as well. There's also Devilman, but the animation quality is too choppy to recommend to anyone other than Nagai Go purists.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Any suggestions for violent anime from the 80's/early 90's?

The movie Akira immediately comes to mind. There's also Violence Jack I've heard of that was made in the late 80's, but it's supposed to be an absolutely atrociously bad anime.

I enjoyed watching the 2001 movie Metropolis. Very good visuals, decent enough plot, and I'm fond of Osamu Tezuka's art style. Far worse anime out there.

[xbl0x180]

Hm. There is also the Crying Freeman and Kizuoibito OAVs, as well as Guy.



For other movies, check out Kawajiri Yoshiaki's "Wicked City" and Jubei Ninpucho

[mesh control]

How violent do you mean? Urotsukidoji was the first title that came to mind. It is fairly violent with lots of daemon sex thrown in. The movies edited together from the OAVs are pretty good as well. There's also Devilman, but the animation quality is too choppy to recommend to anyone other than Nagai Go purists.

I'll look into these.
More or less, I want manly shows.

more of this:

less of this:

[mesh control]

LOLZ
I'LL WATCH ANYTHING ACTUALLY.

[drauch]

Any suggestions for violent anime from the 80's/early 90's?

Watching Hokuto no Ken. I've never finished the series. v_v
HnK and Dirty Pair are the only anime I've seriously watched.

Well, you're off to a good start. I live for both of those series, so yeah, I like you better and better all the time. (no homo).

Yeah, anything Go Nagai is pretty ace. The OVA adaptation of Shuten Doji is pretty sweet, but if you want more blood/guts check out the Violence Jack OVAs.

Demon City Shinjuku movie, Mad Bull 34 OVA, M.D. Geist (it's really, really bad), and Genocyber should whet your appetite for a bit. If you're into manga it's hard to beat the original Devilman, but I've never watched the OVAs like Xblox recommended. And yeah, the Urotsukidoji manga/everything ever Toshio Maeda did is pretty gnarly.

[xbl0x180]

OMG OMG OMGz! Little girls doing cute things! EEEEEEEE!

[mesh control]

they all have the same mouth and eyes.
>_>


like & o_o

[drauch]

Oh! And by the way, Demon City Shinjuku and Wicked City are getting re-releases. Get that shiz.

[xbl0x180]

There is also the Baoh OAV (manga done by the same guy who did "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure")




I only recommend the 90s OAVs and not the prequel episodes made in the 2000s for "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure"


The Guyver series has its moments (a bio-weapon story in the same vein as Genocyber):




There is the first Golgo 13 movie, which is bad ass and directed by Dezaki Osamu (one of the best animated film directors)

[drauch]

Oh wow, I forgot all about Baoh. Man, the Jojo's OVA I couldn't get into. I dunno, something about the art style and the way it's presented didn't set with me. I'm a big fan of the manga but didn't feel the adaptation was as close to the arc as it should have. Shame they didn't adapt the original first two arcs during the years it was published! So good.

[moozooh]

Guyver is boring.

Try Riki-Oh for violent early-90s anime.

[mesh control]

Are the Dirty Pair OVAs worth a viewing?


All I've seen are these: http://www.amazon.com/Dirty-Pair-Origin ... 431&sr=8-2

I'm not sure where else to venture into the series.


Also, the Akira movie is terrible. I've read the manga 4 times and the movies does it no justice. I'd rather watch Stalker then sit through that crawl again.

[xbl0x180]

Are the Dirty Pair OVAs worth a viewing?


All I've seen are these: http://www.amazon.com/Dirty-Pair-Origin ... 431&sr=8-2

I'm not sure where else to venture into the series.


Also, the Akira movie is terrible. I've read the manga 4 times and the movies does it no justice. I'd rather watch Stalker then sit through that crawl again.

I love everything about The Dirty Pair, including the cheapie Flash offshoot and those awful Adam Warren Americanised manga (where I actually was first exposed to the series). Guy has serious problems drawing hands and fingers - they looked like sausages





Akira, the movie, is great

[Randorama]

Akira, the movie, is great

But does the manga no justice at all, though. Plus, it is animated horribly, as we all know, isn't it?

[xbl0x180]

Akira, the movie, is great

But does the manga no justice at all, though. Plus, it is animated horribly, as we all know, isn't it?

I don't give a s*** about the manga when I watch animation inasmuch as I only pay attention to the character designs. Akira had smooth animation sequences, Blade Runner-like city landscapes, faithful chara designs, and a good music score. It's a good cyberpunk film overall

[Obiwanshinobi]

Any magical girls shows worth checking out? I liked Uta∽Kata rather a lot, but it wasn't exactly heroic. Cardcaptor Sakura wasn't all that great if you ask me (not that I think it owed me anything); I liked Angelic Layer better, but it wasn't a magical girl show at all. Now I just watched the first episode of Futari wa Pretty Cure (which obviously doesn't owe me anything either), and it seems like Cardcaptor Sakura revisited, so I think I'll pass.
There should be something at least as good as Uta∽Kata out there. Utena mayhaps? But the hardcore shoujo manga visual style (i.e. the gals are not allowed to look prettier than the lads) turns me off.
(Yes, I watched Kannazuki no Miko. No, it wasn't great whatsoever. What made me watch it all was the tall girl thing, which I have a soft spot for.)

I'd rather watch Stalker then sit through that crawl again.

Dude, watch Andrei Rublev instead and if you like your anime "dark" and po-faced, watch The Big O or something else that doesn't blow. There's so much good stuff out there that's been mentioned multiple times already...

[Randorama]

I don't give a shit edit by me, three cheers for bad words, the forum is not in the US about the manga when I watch animation inasmuch as I only pay attention to the character designs.
Akira had smooth animation sequences, Blade Runner-like city landscapes, faithful chara designs, and a good music score. It's a good cyberpunk film overall

Still, the movie mangles the manga's plot. I don't doubt that it is good (for a movie), but if they would have gone with an OVA series, they would have been able to adapt the full Manga, perhaps. This holds whether you just look at stuff for the graphics or not.

The movie's revenues would have been worse, probably - and Otomo took forever to write the final chapter.

[xbl0x180]

You could say that about a lot of movies and their original source (books and theatrical plays). Manga may feel a lot closer to animation because they're both visual forms, but Otomo could take his time with one select panel from Akira, whereas animation has to be completed quickly and has to look/flow as smoothly as possible. The main problem with Akira, the movie, is that it tried too hard to encompass a lot of aspects from the comic and it got tangled. However, story aside, there are very few animated films that look and sound like Akira and that are on the same scale of 120 minutes.

We could reel off animated films from big studio names, famous directors, and some obscure stuff from Eastern Europe and Russia. It's a very select list up there, at the very top of the animation game. I think Akira is up there, in spite of its storytelling drawback and lack of top, top, top quality of animation. Yeah, it's not perfect and it didn't reinvent animation. Still, the premiere of Akira seems to mark a point in time when animation quality in anime was beginning to be less choppy and smoother. As for the best/perfect animated film, I can't think of a perfect animated film at the moment, except for Toy Story, which I believe revolutionised the way animated films were made and accustomed mass audieces to this style (I am aware there were short films made prior to this).




I liked Uta~Kata, but it lacked a lot of substance. It was a really short series at 12 episodes. The music was good, especially the little jingle for the commercial break. The chara designs looked a little on the simplistic side and perhaps this was the intention in order to keep a better quality of animation. Personally, I thought the last episode was a bit of a cop out, but, then, the intended audience for this show... I don't think they were going for their fat, old otaku section. It bears some repeat viewings. The other magical girl shows I watched after that were Wedding Peach and Magical Stage Fancy Lala, of which Uta~Kata looked and sounded better. Storywise, Fancy Lala is a bit like Jem, but also shares the same weak point as Uta~Kata in that she doesn't fight anyone or solve much of anything. She just transforms and keeps her new identity a secret. I liked the chara designs a lot more than Uta~Kata (done by Takada Akemi, of PatLabor and Orange Road fame), but the animation quality was choppy as hell. 26 episodes leads to a little more character development, although I didn't feel too compelled to feel much for anyone. I don't know if I will be rewatching this series any time soon.

Addendum: I forgot I bought two seasons of Magical Knight Rayearth and that I have the old Software Sculptors releases of Utena. The former fits better into the Magical Girl genre - and they fight bad guys

[drauch]

Dirty Pair OVAs are incredible. Watch them all. I personally hate the other shit (Flash and the American garbage). The original light novels are awesome as well if you want to venture into that territory.

[xbl0x180]

Dirty Pair OVAs are incredible. Watch them all. I personally hate the other shit (Flash and the American garbage). The original light novels are awesome as well if you want to venture into that territory.

Plus they OAVs and movies got re-released by The Right Stuf, Intl., so the video quality and special features should be alright, almost like the old AnimEigo stuff

I almost regret forking over for the old ADV releases - they cost twice as much! But they were very enjoyable. Hell, I remember going to see Affair In Nolandia at the cinema during a midnight showing at the old Laemmle Theatre in Los Angeles: They used to run Streamline Pictures, Central Park Media/US Manga Corps, and Manga Video movie releases

Man, I miss this movie joint: http://www.yelp.com/biz/laemmle-sunset-5-los-angeles

[Obiwanshinobi]

Just watched Kanashimi no Belladonna and that's where the Japanese animation shines. Crying shame that Belladonna and Cat Soup are remembered, if remembered at all, mostly as fucked up and artsy, whereas their animation is painstakingly lyrical (can't put my finger on a better word) in places. It's not about the tools at work (Cat Soup has a hefty dose of computer rendering), but about sensibility of the animators to life around them. I'm afraid the epoque when such out and out expressionist anime was possible to fund ended with Windy Tales.

[xbl0x180]

I've only seen clips of it from the PBS and the local community college's ARTS that air on teevee (i.e., they're highlights of all kinds of recorded performance arts, films, and videos). Oshii Mamoru's Tenshi No Tamago felt the same way; I think I still have a videocassette bootleg of that



Usually, stuff such as this was limited to short films. Liquid TV would feature some of it, Spike And Mike had a few more, and the rest would just pop up in random places