Recommended Anime/Manga?

[KAI]

Watch this too:

[Raytrace]

Watch this too:

THanks but - have and I loved it, Area 88 has always been one of my favourite side scrollers so I was bound to watch it anyway - the fact that it happened to be absolutely brilliant was a great bonus

[drauch]

just watched first episode of The Cockpit - really liked it, the mechanical animation was incredible, and no corners seem to have been cut (i.e. the aircraft constantly change 'angle' etc. rather than one cel sliding across screen).

Is it drawn by same people as Harlock?

finished all 3 episodes now - man I really liked all 3 - in fact episode 1 was probably my least favourite and I liked that a lot already...

also reading Gunsmith Cats manga, very much like so far...

Regarding The Cockpit: Yeah, it's Leiji Matsumoto. Gunsmith Cats is great stuff as well. Shame the OVA is only in 3 parts. Rally Vincent is a hottie.

[Raytrace]

Watch this too:

THanks but - I have and I loved it, Area 88 has always been one of my favourite side scrollers so I was bound to watch it anyway - the fact that it happened to be absolutely brilliant was a great bonus

[Raytrace]

Regarding The Cockpit: Yeah, it's Leiji Matsumoto. Gunsmith Cats is great stuff as well. Shame the OVA is only in 3 parts. Rally Vincent is a hottie.

yeah 3 things made me notice - main guy in Episode 1 looks like Harlock

blonde girl has those eyelashes

characters in ep 2 and 3 have that 'tiny eyes' thing...

[drauch]

Yeah, a lot of his male characters have that sort of "Harlock sweep" of hair that covers an eye. Usually always a blonde girl, and most of the time their family name is Yuki (snow).

[xbl0x180]

just watched first episode of The Cockpit - really liked it, the mechanical animation was incredible, and no corners seem to have been cut (i.e. the aircraft constantly change 'angle' etc. rather than one cel sliding across screen).

Is it drawn by same people as Harlock?

finished all 3 episodes now - man I really liked all 3 - in fact episode 1 was probably my least favourite and I liked that a lot already...

also reading Gunsmith Cats manga, very much like so far...

I liked the first segment the best since it was directed by Kawajiri Yoshiaki (the same guy who did The Running Man, "Ninja Scroll," and Cyber City Oedo 808). The manga/designs were done by Matsumoto Leiji, who is better known for Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Queen Millennia, Ginga Tetsudou 999... and Daft Punk's Interstella 5555

[xbl0x180]

Regarding The Cockpit: Yeah, it's Leiji Matsumoto. Gunsmith Cats is great stuff as well. Shame the OVA is only in 3 parts. Rally Vincent is a hottie.

yeah 3 things made me notice - main guy in Episode 1 looks like Harlock

blonde girl has those eyelashes

characters in ep 2 and 3 have that 'tiny eyes' thing...

Don't forget the "potato"-shaped heads for some of the characters. The bodies are either really slender (Harlock, Emeraldas) or really short and stocky (Tochiro). That's his trademark style

[KAI]

Galaxy Express 999 (Movie) and Harlock: Waga Seishun no Arcadia are the best of Matsumoto imo.
100% recommended.

[xbl0x180]

His crowning achievement, though, was Uchu Senkan Yamato. It's like the animated version of Star Trek:




... and there's some of the girls with those eyes

[Raytrace]

Galaxy Express 999 (Movie) and Harlock: Waga Seishun no Arcadia are the best of Matsumoto imo.
100% recommended.

I'm watching Harlock TV atm and I do love it - is Galaxy Express 999 movie better than the TV?

[Raytrace]

His crowning achievement, though, was Uchu Senkan Yamato. It's like the animated version of Star Trek:




... and there's some of the girls with those eyes

cool yes I definitely intend to watch Yamato once I finish Harlock

[Raytrace]

Don't forget the "potato"-shaped heads for some of the characters. The bodies are either really slender (Harlock, Emeraldas) or really short and stocky (Tochiro). That's his trademark style

yeah those heads are very funny, it was kinda weird in The Cockpit cos it sortof jarred with the overall 'realistic' style, still I suppose you can represent more OTT emotions with those head shapes...

[xbl0x180]

I think it makes it a bit "realistic" to include odd-shaped people as part of the main cast. That's one of the things why animu looks awful today - all characters are based on some generic CG template. It's as if the animators are animating clip art rather than original designs

[Raytrace]

I think it makes it a bit "realistic" to include odd-shaped people as part of the main cast. That's one of the things why animu looks awful today - all characters are based on some generic CG template. It's as if the animators are animating clip art rather than original designs

yeah that is true, the shape of the heads are always the same, but I think a thing that probably also adds to it is they probably use 'tweening' for animating facial elements, as opposed to actually creating each frame, I don't like the look of this. However, the supposed 'smoothness' of thsi is why you hear people saying that modern look is better than 'old' animation sometimes, give me proper pencil drawn frames each time anyday, I don't care if its objectively even HALF the frame rate, I prefer it.

[KAI]

is Galaxy Express 999 movie better than the TV?

It was directed by Rintaro, so yes.


I watched Hi no Tori Houou-Hen yesterday. Tezuka X Rintaro, never fails.

[Raytrace]

It was directed by Rintaro, so yes.

ok cool I c

does it have different scenes etc. or is it all taken from the TV?

[Raytrace]

on a side note - I tried to watch Gundam 00 last night. I decided I'd give it a go as Colony Drops review seemed to say it was worth it. I have to say I did actually like the art overall, except for the bits which werent tooned/cel'd outlined enough, but it still just didn't 'feel' right. I might give it another go as apparently the first season does seem to be pretty good overall, and I have to be honest, I did like the choreography of the one mecha fight I saw...

[Raytrace]

I have to say, not that I give a shit on trying to 'prove' anime is 'art' to people (I think any form of intellectual snobbery based on the medium itself is pretty fucking stupid). But the next time some twonk says yeah but it's not 'real' or 'serious' art, I think they should be pointed to The Cockpit instead of Ghibli stuff, which seems to be the default thing 'normals' think should be taken 'seriously'.

I have to say it's ABSOLUTELY not Ghibli's fault, but it seems that they're sorta the 'acceptable' anime to pratter on about at dinner parties, much like the way Johnny Cash is 'acceptable' country music, even though the same people would look down at even directly related 'outlaw' style country, anwyay, I think you know what I mean...

[Raytrace]

watching Metal Skin Panic Madox-01 - love it, great mood, art and sounds.

- though I don't know how the hell that thing came out of that tiny box, apart from that I really like the Madox's design, it's like those hovery guys in Bubblegum Crisis - also like accurate detail on the other mechanical objects, especially the C-130 doing that rocket take off thing...

[blackoak]

I have to say, not that I give a shit on trying to 'prove' anime is 'art' to people (I think any form of intellectual snobbery based on the medium itself is pretty fucking stupid). But the next time some twonk says yeah but it's not 'real' or 'serious' art, I think they should be pointed to The Cockpit instead of Ghibli stuff, which seems to be the default thing 'normals' think should be taken 'seriously'.

I didn't know about The Cockpit, but I'll have to check it out. I love Kawajiri's work.

I avoid definitional arguments about art per se, but greatly enjoy informed qualitative discussions. If someone is genuinely curious and not just being an armchair blowhard, show them to the pelleas.net charisma animators page... it treats anime with the right kind of seriousness (ie, not stodgy or hipster seriousness). Interestingly, its a site closely affiliated with actual and aspiring animators.

I love Ghibli but would recommend Neo Tokyo or Angel's Egg for some high points in "arthouse." The thing with Ghibli, which probably makes it doubly galling in the dinner party sense, is that most of their work isn't especially challenging. Excluding Nausicaa, I think they trade on Japanese nostalgia a lot. I love their work regardless, but that kind of safe stuff makes for nauseating dinner party fare...

[Raytrace]

I avoid definitional arguments about art per se, but greatly enjoy informed qualitative discussions. If someone is genuinely curious and not just being an armchair blowhard, show them to the pelleas.net charisma animators page... it treats anime with the right kind of seriousness (ie, not stodgy or hipster seriousness). Interestingly, its a site closely affiliated with actual and aspiring animators.

I love Ghibli but would recommend Neo Tokyo or Angel's Egg for some high points in "arthouse." The thing with Ghibli, which probably makes it doubly galling in the dinner party sense, is that most of their work isn't especially challenging. Excluding Nausicaa, I think they trade on Japanese nostalgia a lot. I love their work regardless, but that kind of safe stuff makes for nauseating dinner party fare...

cool I shall check that site lots of data there to read

[Raytrace]

Madox 01 was brilliant - highly recommended -

watching more Harlock - I've come to decide that anyone who can skip through the opening music of Harlock does not have a soul...

[xbl0x180]

I think it makes it a bit "realistic" to include odd-shaped people as part of the main cast. That's one of the things why animu looks awful today - all characters are based on some generic CG template. It's as if the animators are animating clip art rather than original designs

yeah that is true, the shape of the heads are always the same, but I think a thing that probably also adds to it is they probably use 'tweening' for animating facial elements, as opposed to actually creating each frame, I don't like the look of this. However, the supposed 'smoothness' of thsi is why you hear people saying that modern look is better than 'old' animation sometimes, give me proper pencil drawn frames each time anyday, I don't care if its objectively even HALF the frame rate, I prefer it.

I don't care for smoothness of animation, unless the animators can pull it off (e.g., Urushihara and Kawajiri). Otherwise, stick to drawing the god damn frames rather than running it on some cheap0 proggy. I can deal with hack/CG "animation" if the designs and story are unique and compelling (i.e., indie stuff such as Aeon Flux and The Maxx up to the more popular series such as Futurama and South Park). The thing is, most productions nowadays lack good designs and compelling stories - they're the same ugly moe and kid pilot trash over and over and over

[Raytrace]

are there any other animes in the Madox 01 universe? - I really liked it, especially the exoskeleton mecha itself - I thought the bits with him walking down the street were hilarious too

[xbl0x180]

are there any other animes in the Madox 01 universe? - I really liked it, especially the exoskeleton mecha itself - I thought the bits with him walking down the street were hilarious too

He was trying to eat that huge tempura shrimp on a bench at the park while sitting in his suit. Classic scene

Unfortunately, I don't even remember who directed it. I know I liked it a lot when I first saw it back when it was first released in the early 90s, but never followed up on the director and designer(s). There never was a follow-up animated OAV, movie, or series for it.

I can recommend something completely unrelated, yet has some good mecha preparation and action sequences:

Kishin Heidan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAAKxiAKRBw




There IS a kid pilot in it! Hahaha. Still, I like how it's all kept as a secret organisation fighting aliens who have aligned themselves with the Nazis

[Raytrace]

He was trying to eat that huge tempura shrimp on a bench at the park while sitting in his suit. Classic scene

Unfortunately, I don't even remember who directed it. I know I liked it a lot when I first saw it back when it was first released in the early 90s, but never followed up on the director and designer(s). There never was a follow-up animated OAV, movie, or series for it.

I can recommend something completely unrelated, yet has some good mecha preparation and action sequences:

Kishin Heidan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAAKxiAKRBw




There IS a kid pilot in it! Hahaha. Still, I like how it's all kept as a secret organisation fighting aliens who have aligned themselves with the Nazis

haha yeah the shrimp eating bit was hilarious and buying the bento box thing in the newsagent cos he felt guilty for smashing it up !

it's a pity they didn't continue Madox universe - I really liked it, in fact I'd say it almost gave me the same feel as Bubblegum Crisis - though obviously it didn;t have even nearly the same level as music, but it similarly had that nice colouring and highlight shading the mecha have in Bubblegum Crisis

I'm watching Patlabor On TV episode 10 (the Christmas one) - man I love Christmas in anime, it always looks so magical, then again I suppose I love Christmas in live action films also...

that Kishin Heidan looks ace

[xbl0x180]

haha yeah the shrimp eating bit was hilarious and buying the bento box thing in the newsagent cos he felt guilty for smashing it up !

it's a pity they didn't continue Madox universe - I really liked it, in fact I'd say it almost gave me the same feel as Bubblegum Crisis - though obviously it didn;t have even nearly the same level as music, but it similarly had that nice colouring and highlight shading the mecha have in Bubblegum Crisis

I'm watching Patlabor On TV episode 10 (the Christmas one) - man I love Christmas in anime, it always looks so magical, then again I suppose I love Christmas in live action films also...

that Kishin Heidan looks ace

These were what AnimEigo was releasing when they first debuted as a company and they made a big impact in my formative years on choosing to continue watching modern anime ("modern" at that time, in the 90s). Up to that point, I only knew of the stuff from the 60s, 70s, and early 80s, so I missed a whole lot in the middle, including "Robotech." Streamline Pictures's cinematic releases of Akira and "Wicked City" were also very important to me. MTV's Liquid TV was the icing on the cake. Those were what I'd consider the Golden Age of indie productions and OAVs, and they had that look and sound that BubbleGum Crisis and Madox-01 had. I think these were produced or distributed by Toshiba EMI and AIC (same companies responsible for Blue Gender, surprise surprise).

Anyway, AnimEigo was a great company, which unfortunately licensed stuff that was too niche and too good for regular collectros and fans. These are the guys who licensed the unwieldy Urusei Yatsura into 60 DVDs! It's a totally awersome series, but new fans are not going to like the "retro" designs and choppy animation when they see smooth animation in Rosario + Vampire (ignoring the fact it is one of the crappiest and unfunniest cartoons ever made).

Back to the look and sound of these OAVs, I'd say if you're not too picky and would venture into watching a harem anime or a drama, then you really should check out Kimagure Orange Road: great/memorable Pop music, attractive designs, and that same use of colour that you notice in the BGC and Madox videos. These were also released by AnimEigo...




I guess if you will not watch these, then there is Zillion, which used similar designs in a Sci-Fi setting:




They were slightly cheaper-looking, but you can still see the semblance of the same animators and designers.

[Raytrace]

cool stuffs - yeah I remember watching Wicked City back then - I'll never forget that old guys hands melting into that girl's breasts!

I also remember Aeon Flux on Liquid TV I think - I think it was also shown on some Channel 4 Sunday arts show or something...

I might check out the harem one - if I really like the art I might be able to watch it eheh

I'll deffo check out Zillion though - apparently I.G.'s first work?

[xbl0x180]

I don't know if it was I.G. that worked on it, but it was featured in a Michael Jackson music vid in the mid-90s. The man was crazy. He had good taste in anime, though